Baryons: What, When and Where?

We review the current state of empirical knowledge of the total budget of baryonic matter in the Universe as observed since the epoch of reionization. Our summary examines on three milestone redshifts since the reionization of H in the IGM, z = 3, 1, and 0, with emphasis on the endpoints. We review the observational techniques used to discover and characterize the phases of baryons. In the spirit of the meeting, the level is aimed at a diverse and non-expert audience and additional attention is given to describe how space missions expected to launch within the next decade will impact this scientific field.Comment: Proceedings Review for "Astrophysics in the Next Decade: JWST and Concurrent Facilities", ed. X. Tielens, 38 pages, 10 color figures. Revised to address comments from the communit

Additional records and observations of monocotyledons naturalised or casual in Manawatu Ecological Region, New Zealand, 1980–2019

It has been 38 years since a comprehensive account of adventive monocotyledons in New Zealand was published, other than for grasses. This paper examines new adventive monocotyledon records from the Manawatu Ecological Region (MER), in the south-west of the North Island. Evidence is given for accepting five taxa as Naturalised and 64 as Casual. Of the Casual records, 36 are recorded in MER as New records for New Zealand. Three of the Naturalised taxa and 13 New Casual plant records are from the sand-country portion of MER, namely Foxton Ecological District (FED). Ten of the New Casual taxa have established from garden discards or plantings in dunes, two are recent garden escapes. Twenty-three New Casual plant records are from the marine terrace portion of MER (Manawatu Plains Ecological District, MPED), most being cultivation escapes within gardens. Several of these Casual taxa are sufficiently well established, in one or more sites, that it is likely they will naturalise in the future. In addition to New records, we include 33 Casual occurrences of monocotyledon taxa in MER, taxa which have been collected elsewhere in New Zealand, some of which have been published in reports or newsletters in the past

Palaeosalinity variations in the Early Cretaceous of the Neuquen Basin, Argentina: evidence from oxygen isotopes and palaeoecological analysis

The Neuquén Basin is a stratigraphically- and economically-important Early Cretaceous depocentre located in west-central Argentina. The Early Valanginian to Early Barremian succession (upper Vaca Muerta, Mulichinco and Agrio Formations) contains a rich fossil record, with abundant bivalves and ammonoids. Palaeosalinities are determined systematically throughout the succession, based on an oxygen isotope analysis of unaltered oyster shells from two localities in Neuquén province. A total of 188 oyster samples from 52 stratigraphic levels were processed. A total of 52 mean values of δ18O isotope are used to calculate palaeosalinities, assuming an estimated water temperature of 25 °C. The observed range of palaeosalinities, between the maximum and the minimum, is 19, which is in conflict with published accounts of this being a fully marine succession. The isotopic data are combined with independent faunal evidence to evaluate palaeosalinity variation both laterally and temporally. Significant fluctuations in water salinity are indicated, with a clear tendency to increase from brachyhaline to euhaline and near hyperhaline conditions through time. The fluctuations were probably due to dilution from normal marine water, caused primarily by variations in rainfall and continental runoff. In addition, the presence of a volcanic island arc along the western margin of the basin may have at least partially isolated the basin from the marine waters of the Pacific Ocean. Also, a gulf-shaped basin may have inhibited hydrodynamic exchange with the ocean while enhancing retention of continental waters.Fil: Lazo, Dario Gustavo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Estudios Andinos "Don Pablo Groeber". Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Estudios Andinos "Don Pablo Groeber"; ArgentinaFil: Aguirre-Urreta, Maria Beatriz. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Estudios Andinos "Don Pablo Groeber". Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Estudios Andinos "Don Pablo Groeber"; ArgentinaFil: Price, Gregory D.. University of Plymouth; Reino UnidoFil: Rawson, Peter F.. Colegio Universitario de Londres; Reino UnidoFil: Ruffell, Alastair H.. The Queens University of Belfast; IrlandaFil: Ogle, N.. The Queens University of Belfast; Irland

Business intelligence design for live piloting of order fulfilment centers

Other fulfillment centers focus on fast paced timely preparation and outbound shipment of customer orders from a large mix of temporarily stored inbound products acquired to satisfy these orders. In order to be both price and service competitive, such fulfillers thrive on real-time synchronization and bee-hive efficiency in highly turbulent demand an supply. Originally conceived for simpler slower pace warehouses and distribution centers, warehouse management systems (WMS) have been transplanted for use in fulfillers. They help fulfillers survive the complexity, yet at the cost of lower productivity and service levels. This paper proposes enhancing WMS with business intelligence to create a Fulfiller Piloting System (FPS). The aim is to enable smart live piloting of fulfillers, exploiting the real-time feed of information fro both sides of the fulfiller's demand and supply network, as well as from its internal operations. A FPS drives for dynamic distributed synchronization of operations and optimization of decisions by a combination of human and virtual agents, with the objective of higher overall productivity and service

Supplementary Material for: Insights from the WHO and National Lists of Essential Medicines: Focus on Pediatric Diabetes Care in Africa

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Access to essential medicines in pediatric endocrinology and diabetes is limited in resource-limited countries. The World Health Organization (WHO) maintains two non-binding lists of essential medicines (EMLs) which are often used as a template for developing national EMLs. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> We compared a previously published master list of medicines for pediatric endocrinology and diabetes with the WHO EMLs and national EMLs for countries within the WHO African region. To better understand actual access to medicines by patients, we focused on diabetes and surveyed pediatric endocrinologists from 5 countries and assessed availability and true cost for insulin and glucagon. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Most medicines that are essential in pediatric endocrinology and diabetes were included in the national EMLs. However, essential medicines, such as fludrocortisone, were present in less than 30% of the national EMLs despite being recommended by the WHO. Pediatric endocrinologists from the 5 focus countries reported significant variation in terms of availability and public access to insulin, as well as differences between urban and rural areas. Except for Botswana, glucagon was rarely available. There was no significant relationship between Gross National Income and the number of medicines included in the national EMLs. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> Governments in resource-limited countries could take further steps to improve EMLs and access to medicines such as improved collaboration between health authorities, the pharmaceutical industry, patient groups, health professionals, and capacity-building programs such as Paediatric Endocrinology Training Centres for Africa