Group, field and isolated early-type galaxies I. Observations and nuclear data

This is the first paper of a series on the investigation of stellar population properties and galaxy evolution of an observationally homogeneous sample of early-type galaxies in groups, field and isolated galaxies. We present high S/N long-slit spectroscopy of 86 nearby elliptical and S0 galaxies. 8 of them are isolated, selected according to a rigorous criterion. This survey has the advantage of covering a larger wavelength range than normally found in the literature, including [OIII]5007 and Halpha, both important for emission correction. Among the 86 galaxies with S/N>15 (per resolution element, for r_e/8 central aperture), 57 have their Hbeta-index corrected for emission, average correction is 0.190A in Hbeta; 42 galaxies reveal [OIII]5007 emission, of which 16 also show obvious Halpha emission. Most of the galaxies in the sample do not show obvious signs of disturbances nor tidal features in the morphologies, although 11 belong to the Arp catalogue of peculiar galaxies; only 3 of them (NGC750, NGC751, NGC3226) seem to be strongly interacting. We present the measurement of 25 central line-strength indices calibrated to the Lick/IDS system. Kinematic information is obtained for the sample. We analyse the line-strength index vs velocity dispersion relations for our sample of mainly low density environment galaxies, and compare the slope of the relations with cluster galaxies from the literature. Our main findings are that the index-sigma_0 relations presented for low-density regions are not significantly different from those of cluster E/S0s. The slope of the index-sigma_0 relations does not seem to change for early-type galaxies of different environmental densities, but the scatter of the relations seems larger for group, field and isolated galaxies than for cluster galaxies.Comment: Accepted for publication in the MNRA

Seasonal climatic effects and feedbacks of anthropogenic heat release due to global energy consumption with CAM5

Anthropogenic heat release (AHR) is the heat generated in global energy consumption, which has not been considered in global climate models generally. The global high-resolution AHR from 1992 to 2013, which is estimated by using the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP)/Operational Linescan System (OLS) satellite data, is implemented into the Community Atmosphere Model version 5 (CAM5). The seasonal climatic effects and possible feedbacks of AHR are examined in this study. The modeling results show that AHR increases the global annual mean surface temperature and land surface temperature by 0.02 ± 0.01 K (1σ uncertainty) and 0.05 ± 0.02 K (1σ uncertainty), respectively. The global climatic effect of AHR varies with season: with a stronger climatic effect in the boreal winter leading to global mean land surface temperature increases by 0.10 ± 0.01 K (1σ uncertainty). In the selected regions (40°N–60°N, 0°E–45°E) of Central and Western Europe the average surface temperature increases by 0.46 K in the boreal summer, and in the selected regions (45°N–75°N, 30°E–140°E) of northern Eurasia the average surface temperature increases by 0.83 K in the boreal winter. AHR changes the height and thermodynamic structure of the global planetary boundary layer, as well as the stability of the lower troposphere, which affects the global atmospheric circulation and low cloud fraction. In addition, at the surface both the shortwave radiation flux in the boreal summer and the down-welling longwave flux in the boreal winter change signifi- cantly, as a result of the change in low clouds caused by the effect of AHR. This study suggests a possible new mechanism of AHR effect on global climate through changing the global low-cloud fraction, which is crucial for global energy balance, by modifying the thermodynamic structure and stability of the lower troposphere. Thus this study improves our understanding of the global climate change caused by human activities

Detection and Functional Characterization of a 215 Amino Acid N-Terminal Extension in the Xanthomonas Type III Effector XopD

During evolution, pathogens have developed a variety of strategies to suppress plant-triggered immunity and promote successful infection. In Gram-negative phytopathogenic bacteria, the so-called type III protein secretion system works as a molecular syringe to inject type III effectors (T3Es) into plant cells. The XopD T3E from the strain 85-10 of Xanthomonas campestris pathovar vesicatoria (Xcv) delays the onset of symptom development and alters basal defence responses to promote pathogen growth in infected tomato leaves. XopD was previously described as a modular protein that contains (i) an N-terminal DNA-binding domain (DBD), (ii) two tandemly repeated EAR (ERF-associated amphiphillic repression) motifs involved in transcriptional repression, and (iii) a C-terminal cysteine protease domain, involved in release of SUMO (small ubiquitin-like modifier) from SUMO-modified proteins. Here, we show that the XopD protein that is produced and secreted by Xcv presents an additional N-terminal extension of 215 amino acids. Closer analysis of this newly identified N-terminal domain shows a low complexity region rich in lysine, alanine and glutamic acid residues (KAE-rich) with high propensity to form coiled-coil structures that confers to XopD the ability to form dimers when expressed in E. coli. The full length XopD protein identified in this study (XopD1-760) displays stronger repression of the XopD plant target promoter PR1, as compared to the XopD version annotated in the public databases (XopD216-760). Furthermore, the N-terminal extension of XopD, which is absent in XopD216-760, is essential for XopD type III-dependent secretion and, therefore, for complementation of an Xcv mutant strain deleted from XopD in its ability to delay symptom development in tomato susceptible cultivars. The identification of the complete sequence of XopD opens new perspectives for future studies on the XopD protein and its virulence-associated functions in planta

Effects of a high-dose 24-h infusion of tranexamic acid on death and thromboembolic events in patients with acute gastrointestinal bleeding (HALT-IT): an international randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Background: Tranexamic acid reduces surgical bleeding and reduces death due to bleeding in patients with trauma. Meta-analyses of small trials show that tranexamic acid might decrease deaths from gastrointestinal bleeding. We aimed to assess the effects of tranexamic acid in patients with gastrointestinal bleeding. Methods: We did an international, multicentre, randomised, placebo-controlled trial in 164 hospitals in 15 countries. Patients were enrolled if the responsible clinician was uncertain whether to use tranexamic acid, were aged above the minimum age considered an adult in their country (either aged 16 years and older or aged 18 years and older), and had significant (defined as at risk of bleeding to death) upper or lower gastrointestinal bleeding. Patients were randomly assigned by selection of a numbered treatment pack from a box containing eight packs that were identical apart from the pack number. Patients received either a loading dose of 1 g tranexamic acid, which was added to 100 mL infusion bag of 0·9% sodium chloride and infused by slow intravenous injection over 10 min, followed by a maintenance dose of 3 g tranexamic acid added to 1 L of any isotonic intravenous solution and infused at 125 mg/h for 24 h, or placebo (sodium chloride 0·9%). Patients, caregivers, and those assessing outcomes were masked to allocation. The primary outcome was death due to bleeding within 5 days of randomisation; analysis excluded patients who received neither dose of the allocated treatment and those for whom outcome data on death were unavailable. This trial was registered with Current Controlled Trials, ISRCTN11225767, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01658124. Findings: Between July 4, 2013, and June 21, 2019, we randomly allocated 12 009 patients to receive tranexamic acid (5994, 49·9%) or matching placebo (6015, 50·1%), of whom 11 952 (99·5%) received the first dose of the allocated treatment. Death due to bleeding within 5 days of randomisation occurred in 222 (4%) of 5956 patients in the tranexamic acid group and in 226 (4%) of 5981 patients in the placebo group (risk ratio [RR] 0·99, 95% CI 0·82–1·18). Arterial thromboembolic events (myocardial infarction or stroke) were similar in the tranexamic acid group and placebo group (42 [0·7%] of 5952 vs 46 [0·8%] of 5977; 0·92; 0·60 to 1·39). Venous thromboembolic events (deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism) were higher in tranexamic acid group than in the placebo group (48 [0·8%] of 5952 vs 26 [0·4%] of 5977; RR 1·85; 95% CI 1·15 to 2·98). Interpretation: We found that tranexamic acid did not reduce death from gastrointestinal bleeding. On the basis of our results, tranexamic acid should not be used for the treatment of gastrointestinal bleeding outside the context of a randomised trial

Sub-cooled and flashing liquid jets and droplet dispersion I. Overview and model implementation/validation

Many accidents involve two-phase releases of hazardous chemicals into the atmosphere. This paper describes the results of a third phase of a Joint Industry Project (JIP) on liquid jets and two-phase droplet dispersion. The aim of the project is to increase the understanding of the behaviour of sub-cooled non-flashing and superheated flashing liquid jets, and to improve the prediction of initial droplet size, droplet dispersion and rainout.Phase III of the JIP first included scaled experiments for materials with a range of volatilities (water, cyclohexane, butane, propane and gasoline). These experiments were carried out by Cardiff University including measurements of flow rate and initial droplet size across the full relevant range of superheats. See the companion paper II for further details of these experiments and the derivation of new refined correlations for droplet size distribution and Sauter Mean Diameter. Furthermore large-scale butane experiments were carried out by INERIS (France) to ensure that for more realistic scenarios the derived droplet size correlations are accurate.Model validation and model improvements were carried out by DNV Software, including validation of release rate and initial droplet size against the above scaled and large-scale experiments. New correlations for droplet size distribution and Sauter Mean Diameter (SMD) were implemented into the Phast discharge model. These were compared against a range of other droplet size and rainout correlations published in the literature, in conjunction with validation against an extensive set of experiments. It was shown that the new droplet size correlation agrees better against experimental data than the existing Phast correlation. To further improve the rainout prediction, the Phast dispersion model (UDM) was also extended to allow simultaneous modelling of a range of droplet sizes and distributed rainout (rather than rainout at one point). © 2010 Elsevier Ltd

Two-phase jet releases and droplet dispersion : scaled and large-scale experiments, droplet-size correlation development and model validation

Many accidents involve two-phase releases of hazardous chemicals into the atmosphere. Rainout results in reduced concentrations in the remaining cloud, but can also lead to extended cloud duration because of re-evaporation of the rained-out liquid. For accurate hazard assessment one must accurately predict both the amount of rainout and re-evaporation of the pool. This presentation provides an overview of the results of a third phase of a Joint Industry Project (JIP) on liquid jets and two-phase droplet dispersion. The aim of the project is to increase the understanding of the behaviour of sub-cooled (non-flashing) or superheated (flashing) liquid jets, and to improve the prediction of droplet atomisation, droplet dispersion and rainout. Phase II of the JIP was limited to scaled experiments for water with initial droplet-size data measured at a single value of the superheat only. Furthermore the modelling simplistically assumed one single averaged droplet size (Sauter Mean Diameter, SMD) with rainout at a single point only. As a result Phase III was started to account for these issues. It was sponsored by DNV Software, Gaz de France, RIVM (Dutch Government), TOTAL, Norske Hydro and Statoil (currently merged into StatoilHydro). The tri-linear modelling approach proposed in Phase II is endorsed in Phase III via additional scaled water experiments at Cardiff University including measurements of flow rate and initial droplet size across the full relevant range of superheats. Phase III also included scaled experiments for cyclohexane, butane, propane and gasoline at the gas turbine research centre (Cardiff University), to ensure that the derived droplet size correlations are also valid for other chemicals than water. Furthermore large-scale butane experiments were carried out by INERIS (France) to ensure that for more realistic scenarios the derived droplet size correlations are accurate. Model validation and model improvements were carried out by DNV Software, including validation of release rate and initial droplet size against the above scaled and large-scale experiments. New refined correlations for droplet size correlation and SMD were formulated and implemented into the Phast discharge model. It was compared against a range of other droplet size and rainout correlations published in the literature, in conjunction with validation against an extensive set of experiments. It was shown that the new droplet size correlation agrees much better against experimental data than the existing Phast correlation. To further improve the rainout prediction, the Phast dispersion model (UDM) was also extended to allow simultaneous modelling of a range of droplet sizes and distributed rainout (rather than rainout at one point). It also included further improvements to pool and dispersion modelling after rainout, and validation for dispersion from LNG and LPG pool

NMR spectroscopic and theoretical analysis of a spontaneously formed Lys-Asp isopeptide bond

One bond makes all the difference: Three suitably positioned amino acid side chains (see picture) and a hydrophobic environment are all that is required for an amidation reaction with remarkable consequences. An emerging central building block of bacterial surface proteins owes its stability to a spontaneously formed isopeptide bond. The impact of this bond on protein structure and dynamics and the mechanism of its formation are scrutinized in detail.</p