Bayesian joint models with INLA exploring marine mobile predator-prey and competitor species habitat overlap

EPSRC grant Ecowatt 2050 EP/K012851/1 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We would like to thank the associate editor and the anonymous reviewers for their useful and constructive suggestions which led to a considerable improvement of the manuscript. The authors would also like to thank the following people/organizations for making large datasets available for use in this paper: Mark Lewis (Joint Nature Conservation Committee), Philip Hammond (Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St. Andrews), Susan Lusseau (Marine Scotland Science), Darren Stevens (The Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science, PML), and Yuri Artioli (Plymouth Marine Laboratory). This work was supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EcoWatt250; EPSRC EP/K012851/1).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

A survey of physician receptivity to molecular diagnostic testing and readiness to act on results for early-stage colon cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: We sought to assess physician interest in molecular prognosic testing for patients with early stage colon cancer, and identify factors associated with the likelihood of test adoption. METHODS: We identified physicians who care for patients with early-stage (pN0) colon cancer patients, mailed them a survey, and analyzed survey responses to assess clinician receptivity to the use of a new molecular test (GUCY2C) that identifies patients at risk for recurrence, and clinician readiness to act on abnormal test results. RESULTS: Of 104 eligible potential respondents, 41 completed and returned the survey. Among responding physicians, 56 % were receptive to using the new prognostic test. Multivariable analyses showed that physicians in academic medical centers were significantly more receptive to molecular test use than those in non-academic settings. Forty-one percent of respondents were ready to act on abnormal molecular test results. Physicians who viewed current staging methods as inaccurate and were confident in their capacity to incorporate molecular testing in practice were more likely to say they would act on abnormal test results. CONCLUSIONS: Physician receptivity to molecular diagnostic testing for early-stage colon cancer patients is likely to be influenced by practice setting and perceptions related to delivering quality care to patients. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01972737

Ecological costs of climate change on marine predator-prey population distributions by 2050

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We would like to thank the following people/organizations for making large data sets available for use in this paper: Mark Lewis (Joint Nature Conservation Committee), Philip Hammond (Scottish Oceans Institute), Susan Lusseau (Marine Scotland Science) and the ICES Herring Assessment Working Group (HAWG), Darren Stevens (The Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science, PML), and Yuri Artioli (Plymouth Marine Laboratory). We would also like to thank two anonymous reviewers that improved the clarity of this work.This work was supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EcoWatt2050; EPSRC EP/K012851/1). Work conducted by D. Sadykova was partially supported by a Grant from Science Foundation Ireland (15/IA/2881).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Proposal for Quantum Simulation via All-Optically Generated Tensor Network States

We devise an all-optical scheme for the generation of entangled multimode photonic states encoded in temporal modes of light. The scheme employs a nonlinear down-conversion process in an optical loop to generate one- and higher-dimensional tensor network states of light. We illustrate the principle with the generation of two different classes of entangled tensor network states and report on a variational algorithm to simulate the ground-state physics of many-body systems. We demonstrate that state-of-the-art optical devices are capable of determining the ground-state properties of the spin-1/2 Heisenberg model. Finally, implementations of the scheme are demonstrated to be robust against realistic losses and mode mismatch.Comment: 6 pages main text plus 6 pages Supplementary Material and many figures. Updated to published version. Comments welcom

Further Examination of the Geographic Range of Eriogonum corymbosum var. nilesii (Polygonaceae, Eriogoneae)

The wild buckwheat Eriogonum corymbosum is widely distributed throughout the southwestern United States, forming a complex of eight varieties. E. corymbosum var. nilesii is a predominantly yellow-flowered variant reported primarily from Clark Co., Nevada. A previous genetic study by our research group found that var. nilesii is genetically distinct from other E. corymbosum varieties, based on a limited number of populations. Here, we assess genetic variation in 14 newly sampled yellow-flowered populations from southern Nevada, southern Utah, and northern Arizona, and compare them to genetic variation in six populations of previously determined E. corymbosum varieties. Of the new populations, we identified four as var. nilesii, four as var. aureum, three as var. glutinosum, two as apparent hybrids involving vars. aureum and nilesii, and one as a more distantly related admixture involving E. thompsoniae. Our results extend the range and area of E. corymbosum var. nilesii considerably from that traditionally stated in the literature. However, this extended range is confined to the Mojave Desert region of southern Nevada, and the number of known populations remains limited

Matching scope, purpose and uses of planetary boundaries science

Background: The Planetary Boundaries concept (PBc) has emerged as a key global sustainability concept in international sustainable development arenas. Initially presented as an agenda for global sustainability research, it now shows potential for sustainability governance. We use the fact that it is widely cited in scientific literature (>3500 citations) and an extensively studied concept to analyse how it has been used and developed since its first publication. Design: From the literature that cites the PBc, we select those articles that have the terms 'planetary boundaries' or 'safe operating space' in either title, abstract or keywords. We assume that this literature substantively engages with and develops the PBc. Results: We find that 6% of the citing literature engages with the concept. Within this fraction of the literature we distinguish commentaries—that discuss the context and challenges to implementing the PBc, articles that develop the core biogeophysical concept and articles that apply the concept by translating to sub-global scales and by adding a human component to it. Applied literature adds to the concept by explicitly including society through perspectives of impacts, needs, aspirations and behaviours. Discussion: Literature applying the concept does not yet include the more complex, diverse, cultural and behavioural facet of humanity that is implied in commentary literature. We suggest there is need for a positive framing of sustainability goals—as a Safe Operating Space rather than boundaries. Key scientific challenges include distinguishing generalised from context-specific knowledge, clarifying which processes are generalizable and which are scalable, and explicitly applying complex systems' knowledge in the application and development of the PBc. We envisage that opportunities to address these challenges will arise when more human social dimensions are integrated, as we learn to feed the global sustainability vision with a plurality of bottom-up realisations of sustainability

Exploring the Impact of Galaxy Interactions over Seven Billion Years with CAS

We explore galaxy assembly over the last seven billion years by characterizing "normal" galaxies along the Hubble sequence, against strongly disturbed merging/interacting galaxies with the widely used CAS system of concentration (C), asymmetry (A), and 'clumpiness' (S) parameters, as well as visual classification. We analyze Hubble Space Telescope (HST) ACS images of ~4000 intermediate and high mass (> 10^9 solar masses) galaxies from the GEMS survey, one of the largest HST surveys conducted to date in two filters. We explore the effectiveness of the CAS criteria [A>S and A>~0.35] in separating normal and strongly disturbed galaxies at different redshifts, and quantify the recovery and contamination rate. We also compare the average star formation rate and the cosmic star formation rate density as a function of redshift between normal and interacting systems identified by CAS.Comment: ASP conference proceedings of 2007 Bash Symposium. Latex with asp2006.sty. 4 pages, 4 figure

Solar Contamination in Extreme-precision Radial-velocity Measurements: Deleterious Effects and Prospects for Mitigation

Solar contamination, due to moonlight and atmospheric scattering of sunlight, can cause systematic errors in stellar radial velocity (RV) measurements that significantly detract from the ~10 cm s−1 sensitivity required for the detection and characterization of terrestrial exoplanets in or near habitable zones of Sun-like stars. The addition of low-level spectral contamination at variable effective velocity offsets introduces systematic noise when measuring velocities using classical mask-based or template-based cross-correlation techniques. Here we present simulations estimating the range of RV measurement error induced by uncorrected scattered sunlight contamination. We explore potential correction techniques, using both simultaneous spectrometer sky fibers and broadband imaging via coherent fiber imaging bundles, that could reliably reduce this source of error to below the photon-noise limit of typical stellar observations. We discuss the limitations of these simulations, the underlying assumptions, and mitigation mechanisms. We also present and discuss the components designed and built into the NEID (NN-EXPLORE Exoplanet Investigations with Doppler spectroscopy) precision RV instrument for the WIYN 3.5 m telescope, to serve as an ongoing resource for the community to explore and evaluate correction techniques. We emphasize that while "bright time" has been traditionally adequate for RV science, the goal of 10 cm s−1 precision on the most interesting exoplanetary systems may necessitate access to darker skies for these next-generation instruments

Mechanism of action of probiotics

The modern diet doesn't provide the required amount of beneficial bacteria. Maintenance of a proper microbial ecology in the host is the main criteria to be met for a healthy growth. Probiotics are one such alternative that are supplemented to the host where by and large species of Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium and Saccharomyces are considered as main probiotics. The field of probiotics has made stupendous strides though there is no major break through in the identification of their mechanism of action. They exert their activity primarily by strengthening the intestinal barrier and immunomodulation. The main objective of the study was to provide a deep insight into the effect of probiotics against the diseases, their applications and proposed mechanism of action

The N2K Consortium. II. A Transiting Hot Saturn Around HD 149026 With a Large Dense Core

Doppler measurements from Subaru and Keck have revealed radial velocity variations in the V=8.15, G0IV star HD 149026 consistent with a Saturn-Mass planet in a 2.8766 day orbit. Photometric observations at Fairborn Observatory have detected three complete transit events with depths of 0.003 mag at the predicted times of conjunction. HD 149026 is now the second brightest star with a transiting extrasolar planet. The mass of the star, based on interpolation of stellar evolutionary models, is 1.3 +/- 0.1 solar masses; together with the Doppler amplitude, K=43.3 m s^-1, we derive a planet mass Msin(i)=0.36 Mjup, and orbital radius of 0.042 AU. HD 149026 is chromospherically inactive and metal-rich with spectroscopically derived [Fe/H]=+0.36, Teff=6147 K, log g=4.26 and vsin(i)=6.0 km s^-1. Based on Teff and the stellar luminosity of 2.72 Lsun, we derive a stellar radius of 1.45 Rsun. Modeling of the three photometric transits provides an orbital inclination of 85.3 +/- 1.0 degrees and (including the uncertainty in the stellar radius) a planet radius of 0.725 +/- 0.05 Rjup. Models for this planet mass and radius suggest the presence of a ~67 Mearth core composed of elements heavier than hydrogen and helium. This substantial planet core would be difficult to construct by gravitational instability.Comment: 25 pages, 5 figures, accepted by the Astrophysical Journa