Assessing the Vulnerability of Agriculture Systems to Climate Change in Coastal Areas: A Novel Index

This study proposes a novel index to evaluate agricultural vulnerability to climate change in coastal areas, using the case of Andhra Pradesh, the state with the second longest coastline in India. Field data was collected from more than 1000 farmers (involved in over 50 varieties of crops) in 22 riverine and coastal case study areas. Data was collected through site visits, surveys and five workshops conducted between November 2018 and June 2019. Based on the collected data sets, a new Agricultural Coastal Vulnerability Index (AGCVI) was developed and applied to the 22 sites located in two districts (Krishna and Guntur) of Coastal Andhra Pradesh. The analysis revealed that the areas with three crop seasons (Kharif, Rabi and Zaid) per year are highly vulnerable to climate change. On the other hand, sites with one crop season (Kharif) per annum are the least vulnerable to climate change. Moreover, grains (particularly rice), flowers and fruit crops are more susceptible to climate change and its induced impacts. Rice is no longer a profitable crop in the case study areas partly as a result of unfavourable weather conditions, inadequate insurance provision and lack of government support for farmers. Cumulatively, all these circumstances impact farmers’ incomes and socio-cultural practices: this is leading to a marriage crisis, with a reduction in the desirability of matrimony to farmers. These findings provide valuable information that can support climate and agriculture policies, as well as sustainable cropping patterns among farmers’ communities in coastal areas of India in the future

A New Method for Characterizing Very-Low-Mass Companions with Low Resolution Near-Infrared Spectroscopy

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from IOP Publishing via the DOI in this record.We present a new and computationally efficient method for characterizing very low-mass companions using low-resolution (R ~ 30), near-infrared (YJH) spectra from high-contrast imaging campaigns with integral field spectrograph (IFS) units. We conduct a detailed quantitative comparison of the efficacy of this method through tests on simulated data comparable in spectral coverage and resolution to the currently operating direct-imaging systems around the world. In particular, we simulate Project 1640 data as an example of the use, accuracy, and precision of this technique. We present results from comparing simulated spectra of M, L, and T dwarfs with a large and finely sampled grid of synthetic spectra using Markov-chain Monte Carlo techniques. We determine the precision and accuracy of effective temperature and surface gravity inferred from fits to PHOENIX dusty and cond, which we find reproduce the low-resolution spectra of all objects within the adopted flux uncertainties. Uncertainties in effective temperature decrease from ± 100-500 K for M dwarfs to as small as ± 30 K for some L and T spectral types. Surface gravity is constrained to within 0.2-0.4 dex for mid-L through T dwarfs, but uncertainties are as large as 1.0 dex or more for M dwarfs. Results for effective temperature from low-resolution YJH spectra generally match predictions from published spectral type-temperature relationships except for L-T transition objects and young objects. Single-band spectra (i.e., narrower wavelength coverage) result in larger uncertainties and often discrepant results, suggesting that high-contrast IFS observing campaigns can compensate for low spectral resolution by expanding the wavelength coverage for reliable characterization of detected companions. We find that S/N ~ 10 is sufficient to characterize temperature and gravity as well as possible given the model grid. Most relevant for direct-imaging campaigns targeting young primary stars is our finding that low-resolution near-infrared spectra of known young objects, compared to field objects of the same spectral type, result in similar best-fit surface gravities but lower effective temperatures, highlighting the need for better observational and theoretical understanding of the entangled effects of temperature, gravity, and dust on near-infrared spectra in cool low-gravity atmospheres.This research was supported in part by the American Astronomical Society’s Small Research Grant Program, NASA Astrophysics Data Analysis Program (ADAP) award 11- ADAP11-0169, and by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1211568. A portion of this work was supported by NASA Origins of the Solar System Grant No. NMO7100830/102190. A portion of the research in this paper was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and was funded by internal Research and Technology Development funds. In addition, part of this work was performed under a contract with the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) funded by NASA through the Sagan Fellowship Program. The members of the Project 1640 team are also grateful for support from the Cordelia Corporation, Hilary and Ethel Lipsitz, the Vincent Astor Fund, Judy Vale, Andrew Goodwin, and an anonymous donor. This research has made use of the IRTF Spectral Library, the SIMBAD database, operated at CDS, Strasbourg, France, and NASA’s Astrophysics Data System

Novel Phage Lysin Abp013 against Acinetobacter baumannii.

As antimicrobial resistance (AMR) continues to pose an ever-growing global health threat, propelling us into a post-antibiotic era, novel alternative therapeutic agents are urgently required. Lysins are bacteriophage-encoded peptidoglycan hydrolases that display great potential as a novel class of antimicrobials for therapeutics. While lysins against Gram-positive bacteria are highly effective when applied exogenously, it is challenging for lysins to access and cleave the peptidoglycan of Gram-negative bacteria due to their outer membrane. In this study, we identify a novel phage lysin Abp013 against Acinetobacter baumannii. Abp013 exhibited significant lytic activity against multidrug-resistant strains of A. baumannii. Notably, we found that Abp013 was able to tolerate the presence of human serum by up to 10%. Using confocal microscopy and LIVE/DEAD staining, we show that Abp013 can access and kill the bacterial cells residing in the biofilm. These results highlight the intrinsic bacteriolytic property of Abp013, suggesting the promising use of Abp013 as a novel therapeutic agent

Direct spectrum of the benchmark t dwarf HD 19467 B

This is the final version of the article. Available from the American Astronomical Society / IOP Publishing via the DOI in this record.HD 19467 B is presently the only directly imaged T dwarf companion known to induce a measurable Doppler acceleration around a solar-type star. We present spectroscopy measurements of this important benchmark object taken with the Project 1640 integral field unit at Palomar Observatory. Our high-contrast R ≈ 30 observations obtained simultaneously across the JH bands confirm the cold nature of the companion as reported from the discovery article and determine its spectral type for the first time. Fitting the measured spectral energy distribution to SpeX/IRTF T dwarf standards and synthetic spectra from BT-Settl atmospheric models, we find that HD 19467 B is a T5.5 ± 1 dwarf with effective temperature Teff = 978+20 -43 K. Our observations reveal significant methane absorption affirming its substellar nature. HD 19467 B shows promise to become the first T dwarf that simultaneously reveals its mass, age, and metallicity independent from the spectrum of light that it emits.The TrenDS high-contrast imaging program is supported by NASA Origins of Solar Systems grant NNX13AB03G and the NASA Early Career Fellowship program. A portion of this work was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Numbers AST-0215793, 0334916, 0520822, 0804417 and 1245018. This work was partially supported by NASA ADAP grant 11-ADAP11-0169 and NSF award AST 1211568. A portion of the research in this Letter was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. J.A. is supported by the National Physical Science Consortium. This research has benefitted from the SpeX Prism Spectral Libraries, maintained by Adam Burgasser.1

Design and feasibility testing of a novel group intervention for young women who binge drink in groups

BackgroundYoung women frequently drink alcohol in groups and binge drinking within these natural drinking groups is common. This study describes the design of a theoretically and empirically based group intervention to reduce binge drinking among young women. It also evaluates their engagement with the intervention and the acceptability of the study methods.MethodsFriendship groups of women aged 18–35 years, who had two or more episodes of binge drinking (>6 UK units on one occasion; 48g of alcohol) in the previous 30 days, were recruited from the community. A face-to-face group intervention, based on the Health Action Process Approach, was delivered over three sessions. Components of the intervention were woven around fun activities, such as making alcohol free cocktails. Women were followed up four months after the intervention was delivered. Results The target of 24 groups (comprising 97 women) was recruited. The common pattern of drinking was infrequent, heavy drinking (mean consumption on the heaviest drinking day was UK 18.1 units). Process evaluation revealed that the intervention was delivered with high fidelity and acceptability of the study methods was high. The women engaged positively with intervention components and made group decisions about cutting down. Twenty two groups set goals to reduce their drinking, and these were translated into action plans. Retention of individuals at follow up was 87%.ConclusionsThis study successfully recruited groups of young women whose patterns of drinking place them at high risk of acute harm. This novel approach to delivering an alcohol intervention has potential to reduce binge drinking among young women. The high levels of engagement with key steps in the behavior change process suggests that the group intervention should be tested in a full randomised controlled trial

Your space or mine? : Mapping self in time

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Prime movers : mechanochemistry of mitotic kinesins

Mitotic spindles are self-organizing protein machines that harness teams of multiple force generators to drive chromosome segregation. Kinesins are key members of these force-generating teams. Different kinesins walk directionally along dynamic microtubules, anchor, crosslink, align and sort microtubules into polarized bundles, and influence microtubule dynamics by interacting with microtubule tips. The mechanochemical mechanisms of these kinesins are specialized to enable each type to make a specific contribution to spindle self-organization and chromosome segregation

Project 1640 Observations of Brown Dwarf GJ 758 B: Near-infrared Spectrum and Atmospheric Modeling

The nearby Sun-like star GJ 758 hosts a cold substellar companion, GJ 758 B, at a projected separation of $\lesssim$30 AU, previously detected in high-contrast multi-band photometric observations. In order to better constrain the companion's physical characteristics, we acquired the first low-resolution ($R \sim 50$) near-infrared spectrum of it using the high-contrast hyperspectral imaging instrument Project 1640 on Palomar Observatory's 5-m Hale telescope. We obtained simultaneous images in 32 wavelength channels covering the $Y$, $J$, and $H$ bands ($\sim$952-1770 nm), and used data processing techniques based on principal component analysis to efficiently subtract chromatic background speckle-noise. GJ 758 B was detected in four epochs during 2013 and 2014. Basic astrometric measurements confirm its apparent northwest trajectory relative to the primary star, with no clear signs of orbital curvature. Spectra of SpeX/IRTF observed T dwarfs were compared to the combined spectrum of GJ 758 B, with ${\chi}^2$ minimization suggesting a best fit for spectral type T7.0$\pm$1.0, but with a shallow minimum over T5-T8. Fitting of synthetic spectra from the BT-Settl13 model atmospheres gives an effective temperature $T_{\text{eff}}=741 \pm 25$ K and surface gravity $\log g = 4.3 \pm 0.5$ dex (cgs). Our derived best-fit spectral type and effective temperature from modeling of the low-resolution spectrum suggest a slightly earlier and hotter companion than previous findings from photometric data, but do not rule out current results, and confirm GJ 758 B as one of the coolest sub-stellar companions to a Sun-like star to date

Project 1640 observations of the white dwarf HD 114174 B

We present the rst near infra-red spectrum of the faint white dwarf companion HD 114174 B, obtained with Project 1640. Our spectrum, covering the Y, J and H bands, combined with previous TRENDS photometry measurements, allows us to place fur- ther constraints on this companion. We suggest two possible scenarios; either this ob- ject is an old, low mass, cool H atmosphere white dwarf with Te 3800 K or a high mass white dwarf with Te > 6000 K, potentially with an associated cool (Te 700 K) brown dwarf or debris disk resulting in an infra-red excess in the L0 band. We also provide an additional astrometry point for 2014 June 12 and use the modelled companion mass combined with the RV and direct imaging data to place constraints on the orbital parameters for this companion