The scientific potential of space-based gravitational wave detectors

The millihertz gravitational wave band can only be accessed with a space-based interferometer, but it is one of the richest in potential sources. Observations in this band have amazing scientific potential. The mergers between massive black holes with mass in the range 10 thousand to 10 million solar masses, which are expected to occur following the mergers of their host galaxies, produce strong millihertz gravitational radiation. Observations of these systems will trace the hierarchical assembly of structure in the Universe in a mass range that is very difficult to probe electromagnetically. Stellar mass compact objects falling into such black holes in the centres of galaxies generate detectable gravitational radiation for several years prior to the final plunge and merger with the central black hole. Measurements of these systems offer an unprecedented opportunity to probe the predictions of general relativity in the strong-field and dynamical regime. Millihertz gravitational waves are also generated by millions of ultra-compact binaries in the Milky Way, providing a new way to probe galactic stellar populations. ESA has recognised this great scientific potential by selecting The Gravitational Universe as its theme for the L3 large satellite mission, scheduled for launch in ~2034. In this article we will review the likely sources for millihertz gravitational wave detectors and describe the wide applications that observations of these sources could have for astrophysics, cosmology and fundamental physics.Comment: 18 pages, 2 figures, contribution to Gravitational Wave Astrophysics, the proceedings of the 2014 Sant Cugat Forum on Astrophysics; v2 includes one additional referenc

Composição bromatológica, consumo e digestibilidade in vivo de dietas com diferentes níveis de feno de catingueira (Caesalpinea bracteosa), fornecidas para ovinos Morada Nova Bromatological composition, intake and in vivo digestibility of the diets with different levels of "catingueira" hay (Caesalpinea bracteosa), fed to Morada Nova sheep

Com objetivo de determinar o consumo e a digestibilidade in vivo, bem como a composição química de dietas com níveis crescentes (0, 50 e 100%) de feno de catingueira (FC), utilizaram-se 15 ovinos Morada Nova, durante um período de 22 dias. Foi usado delineamento inteiramente casualizado com três tratamentos e cinco repetições. O FC apresentou 91,5% de matéria seca (MS), 93,89% de matéria orgânica (MO), 11,25% de proteína (PB), 4,31% de extrato etéreo (EE), 45,47% de fibra em detergente neutro (FDN), 37,08% de fibra em detergente ácido (FDA), 8,39% de hemicelulose (HE), 24,37% de celulose (CE), 12,52% de lignina e 6,30% de tanino condensado. Os consumos de MO e MS, em g/dia, g/kg0,75 e %PV; energia bruta (EB), em kcal/kg/dia e kcal/kg0,75; e dos componentes da parede celular foram reduzidos linearmente pelo aumento de FC na dieta. Os consumos de PB, proteína digestível (PD) e EE aumentaram linearmente com o aumento do FC na dieta. Os coeficientes de digestibilidade da MS, MO, PB e EB das dietas não foram afetados pela inclusão do FC. No entanto, observou-se redução linear para os coeficientes de digestibilidade da FDN, FDA, CE e EE e efeito quadrático para o coeficiente de digestibilidade da HE. Os consumos médios de MS e PB verificados nos níveis intermediários de FC atenderam as exigências de mantença dos animais.<br>Fifteen male castrated sheep were used during a period of 22 days to determine the bromatological composition, intake and in vivo digestibility of diets with increasing levels (0, 50 and 100%) of "catingueira" hay (CH). A completely randomized experimental design with three treatment and five replications was used. "Catingueira" hay presented a 91.5% dry matter (DM), 93.89% organic matter (OM), 11.25% crude protein (CP), 4.31% ether extract (EE), 45.47% neutral detergent fiber (NDF), 37.08% acid detergent fiber (ADF), 8.39% hemicellulose (HE), 24.37% cellulose (CE), 12.52% lignin, 1.86% silica and 6.30% condensed tannin. The increased CH levels in the diet linearly reduced the intakes of OM and DM (express in g/day, g/kg.75 and %LW), of gross energy (GE) (express in kcal/kg.day and kcal/kg0,75) and of the cell wall components were. The intakes of CP, digestible protein (DP) and EE linearly increased as CH levels increased in the diet. The coefficients of digestibility of the DM, OM, CP and CE were not affected ed by inclusion of CH. However, a negative linear effect was observed for the coefficients digestibility of the NDF, ADF, CE and EE and a quadratic effect for the coefficient of digestibilities of HE. The average intake of DM and CP observed in the intermediate levels of CH attained the maintenance requirements of the animals

Immunocompromised patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome : Secondary analysis of the LUNG SAFE database

The aim of this study was to describe data on epidemiology, ventilatory management, and outcome of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in immunocompromised patients. Methods: We performed a post hoc analysis on the cohort of immunocompromised patients enrolled in the Large Observational Study to Understand the Global Impact of Severe Acute Respiratory Failure (LUNG SAFE) study. The LUNG SAFE study was an international, prospective study including hypoxemic patients in 459 ICUs from 50 countries across 5 continents. Results: Of 2813 patients with ARDS, 584 (20.8%) were immunocompromised, 38.9% of whom had an unspecified cause. Pneumonia, nonpulmonary sepsis, and noncardiogenic shock were their most common risk factors for ARDS. Hospital mortality was higher in immunocompromised than in immunocompetent patients (52.4% vs 36.2%; p < 0.0001), despite similar severity of ARDS. Decisions regarding limiting life-sustaining measures were significantly more frequent in immunocompromised patients (27.1% vs 18.6%; p < 0.0001). Use of noninvasive ventilation (NIV) as first-line treatment was higher in immunocompromised patients (20.9% vs 15.9%; p = 0.0048), and immunodeficiency remained independently associated with the use of NIV after adjustment for confounders. Forty-eight percent of the patients treated with NIV were intubated, and their mortality was not different from that of the patients invasively ventilated ab initio. Conclusions: Immunosuppression is frequent in patients with ARDS, and infections are the main risk factors for ARDS in these immunocompromised patients. Their management differs from that of immunocompetent patients, particularly the greater use of NIV as first-line ventilation strategy. Compared with immunocompetent subjects, they have higher mortality regardless of ARDS severity as well as a higher frequency of limitation of life-sustaining measures. Nonetheless, nearly half of these patients survive to hospital discharge. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02010073. Registered on 12 December 2013

The effect of n vs. iso isomerization on the thermophysical properties of aromatic and non-aromatic ionic liquids

This work explores the n vs. iso isomerization effects on the physicochemical properties of different families of ionic liquids (ILs) with variable aromaticity and ring size. This study comprises the experimental measurements, in a wide temperature range, of the ILs' thermal behaviour, heat capacities, densities, refractive indices, surface tensions, and viscosities. The results here reported show that the presence of the iso-alkyl group leads to an increase of the temperature of the glass transition, T-g. The isopyrrolidinium (5 atoms ring cation core) and iso-piperidinium (6 atoms ring cation core) ILs present a strong differentiation in the enthalpy and entropy of melting. Non-aromatic ILs have higher molar heat capacities due to the increase of the atomic contribution, whereas it was not found any significant differentiation between then and iso-alkyl isomers. A small increase of the surface tension was observed for the non-aromatic Its, which could be related to their higher cohesive energy of the bulk, while the lower surface entropy observed for the iso isomers indicates a structural resemblance between the IL bulk and surface. The significant differentiation between ILs with a 5 and 6 atoms ring cation in the n-alkyl series (where 5 atoms ring cations have higher surface entropy) is an indication of a more efficient arrangement of the non-polar region at the surface in ILs with smaller cation cores. The ILs constituted by non aromatic piperidinium cation, and iso-alkyl isomers were found to be the most viscous among the studied Its due to their higher energy barriers for shear stress. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier B.V

Mechanical ventilation in patients with cardiogenic pulmonary edema : a sub-analysis of the LUNG SAFE study

Patients with acute respiratory failure caused by cardiogenic pulmonary edema (CPE) may require mechanical ventilation that can cause further lung damage. Our aim was to determine the impact of ventilatory settings on CPE mortality. Patients from the LUNG SAFE cohort, a multicenter prospective cohort study of patients undergoing mechanical ventilation, were studied. Relationships between ventilatory parameters and outcomes (ICU discharge/hospital mortality) were assessed using latent mixture analysis and a marginal structural model. From 4499 patients, 391 meeting CPE criteria (median age 70 [interquartile range 59-78], 40% female) were included. ICU and hospital mortality were 34% and 40%, respectively. ICU survivors were younger (67 [57-77] vs 74 [64-80] years, p < 0.001) and had lower driving (12 [8-16] vs 15 [11-17] cmHO, p < 0.001), plateau (20 [15-23] vs 22 [19-26] cmHO, p < 0.001) and peak (21 [17-27] vs 26 [20-32] cmHO, p < 0.001) pressures. Latent mixture analysis of patients receiving invasive mechanical ventilation on ICU day 1 revealed a subgroup ventilated with high pressures with lower probability of being discharged alive from the ICU (hazard ratio [HR] 0.79 [95% confidence interval 0.60-1.05], p = 0.103) and increased hospital mortality (HR 1.65 [1.16-2.36], p = 0.005). In a marginal structural model, driving pressures in the first week (HR 1.12 [1.06-1.18], p < 0.001) and tidal volume after day 7 (HR 0.69 [0.52-0.93], p = 0.015) were related to survival. Higher airway pressures in invasively ventilated patients with CPE are related to mortality. These patients may be exposed to an increased risk of ventilator-induced lung injury. Trial registration Clinicaltrials.gov NCT02010073

Resolved versus confirmed ARDS after 24&#160;h: insights from the LUNG SAFE study

Purpose: To evaluate patients with resolved versus confirmed ARDS, identify subgroups with substantial mortality risk, and to determine the utility of day 2 ARDS reclassification. Methods: Our primary objective, in this secondary LUNG SAFE analysis, was to compare outcome in patients with resolved versus confirmed ARDS after 24\ua0h. Secondary objectives included identifying factors associated with ARDS persistence and mortality, and the utility of day 2 ARDS reclassification. Results: Of 2377 patients fulfilling the ARDS definition on the first day of ARDS (day 1) and receiving invasive mechanical ventilation, 503 (24%) no longer fulfilled the ARDS definition the next day, 52% of whom initially had moderate or severe ARDS. Higher tidal volume on day 1 of ARDS was associated with confirmed ARDS [OR 1.07 (CI 1.01\u20131.13), P = 0.035]. Hospital mortality was 38% overall, ranging from 31% in resolved ARDS to 41% in confirmed ARDS, and 57% in confirmed severe ARDS at day 2. In both\ua0resolved and confirmed\ua0ARDS, age, non-respiratory SOFA score, lower PEEP and P/F ratio, higher peak pressure and respiratory rate were each\ua0associated with mortality. In confirmed ARDS, pH and the presence of immunosuppression or neoplasm were also associated\ua0with mortality. The increase in area under the receiver operating curve for ARDS reclassification on day 2 was marginal. Conclusions: ARDS, whether resolved or confirmed at day 2, has a high mortality rate. ARDS reclassification at day 2 has limited predictive value for mortality. The substantial mortality risk in severe confirmed ARDS suggests that complex interventions might best be tested in this population. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02010073. \ua9 2018, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature and ESICM