Toward the Potential Scale-Up of Sn0.9_{0.9}Mn0.1_{0.1}O2_{2}||LiNi0.6_{0.6}Mn0.2_{0.2}Co0.2_{0.2}O2_{2} Li-Ion Batteries – Powering a RemoteControlled Vehicle and Life Cycle Assessment

Academic research in the battery field frequently remains limited to small coin or pouch cells, especially for new materials that are still rather far from commercialization, which renders a meaningful evaluation at an early stage of development challenging. Here, the realization of large lab-scale pouch cells comprising Sn$_{0.9}$Mn$_{0.1}$O$_{2}$ (SMO), prepared via an easily scalable hydrothermal synthesis method, as an alternative active material for the negative electrode and LiNi$_{0.6}$Mn$_{0.2}$Co$_{0.2}$O$_{2}$ (NMC$_{622}$) as a commercially available active material for the positive electrode is reported. Nine double-layer pouch cells are connected in series and parallel, suitable for powering a remote-controlled vehicle. Subsequently, these SMO‖NMC$_{622}$ cells are critically evaluated by means of an early-stage life cycle assessment and compared to graphite‖NMC$_{622}$ cells, in order to get first insights into the potential advantages and challenges of such lithium-ion chemistry

Cardiorespiratory fitness predicts clustered cardiometabolic risk in 10-11.9 year olds

The aim of this study was to investigate levels of clustered cardiometabolic risk and the odds of being ‘at risk’ according to cardiorespiratory fitness status in children. Data from 88 10–11.9-year-old children (mean age 11.05 ± 0.51 years), who participated in either the REACH Year 6 or the Benefits of Fitness Circuits for Primary School Populations studies were combined. Waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, glucose, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, adiponectin and C-reactive protein were assessed and used to estimate clustered cardiometabolic risk. Participants were classified as ‘fit’ or ‘unfit’ using recently published definitions (46.6 and 41.9 mL/kg/min for boys and girls, respectively), and continuous clustered risk scores between fitness groups were assessed. Participants were subsequently assigned to a ‘normal’ or ‘high’ clustered cardiometabolic risk group based on risk scores, and logistic regression analysis assessed the odds of belonging to the increased cardiometabolic risk group according to fitness. The unfit group exhibited significantly higher clustered cardiometabolic risk scores (p < 0.001) than the fit group. A clear association between fitness group and being at increased cardiometabolic risk (B = 2.509, p = 0.001) was also identified, and participants classed as being unfit were found to have odds of being classified as ‘at risk’ of 12.30 (95 % CI = 2.64–57.33).\ud \ud Conclusion Assessing cardiorespiratory fitness is a valid method of identifying children most at risk of cardiometabolic pathologies. The ROC thresholds could be used to identify populations of children most at risk and may therefore be used to effectively target a cardiometabolic risk-reducing public health intervention

A cross-curricular physical activity intervention to combat cardiovascular disease risk factors in 11-14 year olds: 'Activity Knowledge Circuit'

Background: Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality worldwide. Risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease have been shown to track from childhood through to adulthood. Previous school-based physical activity interventions have demonstrated modest improvements to cardiovascular disease risk factors by implementing extra-curricular activities or improving current physical education curriculum. Few have attempted to increase physical activity in class-room taught curriculum subjects. This study will outline a school-based cross-curricular physical activity intervention to combat cardiovascular disease risk factors in 11-14 year old children. Method/Design: A South Wales Valley school of low socio-economic status has been selected to take part. Participants from year eight (12-13 years) are to be assigned to an intervention group, with maturation-matched participants from years seven (11-12 years) and nine (13-14 years) assigned to a control group. A cross-curricular physical activity intervention will be implemented to increase activity by two hours a week for 18 weeks. Participants will briskly walk 3200 m twice weekly during curriculum lessons (60 minutes duration). With the exception of physical education, all curriculum subjects will participate, with each subject delivering four intervention lessons. The intervention will be performed outdoors and on school premises. An indoor course of equal distance will be used during adverse weather conditions. Cardiovascular disease risk factors will be measured pre- and post-intervention for intervention and control groups. These will take place during physical education lessons and will include measures of stature, mass, waist, hip, and neck circumferences, together with skinfold measure's taken at four sites. Blood pressure will be measured, and fitness status assessed via the 20 m multi-stage fitness test. Questionnaires will be used to determine activity behaviour (physical activity questionnaire for adolescence), diet (seven day food diary) and maturation status. Fasting blood variables will include total cholesterol, lowdensity lipoprotein cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, insulin, glucose, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, adiponectin, and fibrinogen. Motivational variables and psychological well-being will be assessed by questionnaire. Discussion: Our study may prove to be a cost effective strategy to increase school time physical activity to combat cardiovascular disease risk factors in children.</p

The mir-51 Family of microRNAs Functions in Diverse Regulatory Pathways in Caenorhabditis elegans

The mir-51 family of microRNAs (miRNAs) in C. elegans are part of the deeply conserved miR-99/100 family. While loss of all six family members (mir-51-56) in C. elegans results in embryonic lethality, loss of individual mir-51 family members results in a suppression of retarded developmental timing defects associated with the loss of alg-1. The mechanism of this suppression of developmental timing defects is unknown. To address this, we characterized the function of the mir-51 family in the developmental timing pathway. We performed genetic analysis and determined that mir-51 family members regulate the developmental timing pathway in the L2 stage upstream of hbl-1. Loss of the mir-51 family member, mir-52, suppressed retarded developmental timing defects associated with the loss of let-7 family members and lin-46. Enhancement of precocious defects was observed for mutations in lin-14, hbl-1, and mir-48(ve33), but not later acting developmental timing genes. Interestingly, mir-51 family members showed genetic interactions with additional miRNA-regulated pathways, which are regulated by the let-7 and mir-35 family miRNAs, lsy-6, miR-240/786, and miR-1. Loss of mir-52 likely does not suppress miRNA-regulated pathways through an increase in miRNA biogenesis or miRNA activity. We found no increase in the levels of four mature miRNAs, let-7, miR-58, miR-62 or miR-244, in mir-52 or mir-52/53/54/55/56 mutant worms. In addition, we observed no increase in the activity of ectopic lsy-6 in the repression of a downstream target in uterine cells in worms that lack mir-52. We propose that the mir-51 family functions broadly through the regulation of multiple targets, which have not yet been identified, in diverse regulatory pathways in C. elegans

First measurement of the Hubble Constant from a Dark Standard Siren using the Dark Energy Survey Galaxies and the LIGO/Virgo Binary–Black-hole Merger GW170814

International audienceWe present a multi-messenger measurement of the Hubble constant H 0 using the binary–black-hole merger GW170814 as a standard siren, combined with a photometric redshift catalog from the Dark Energy Survey (DES). The luminosity distance is obtained from the gravitational wave signal detected by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO)/Virgo Collaboration (LVC) on 2017 August 14, and the redshift information is provided by the DES Year 3 data. Black hole mergers such as GW170814 are expected to lack bright electromagnetic emission to uniquely identify their host galaxies and build an object-by-object Hubble diagram. However, they are suitable for a statistical measurement, provided that a galaxy catalog of adequate depth and redshift completion is available. Here we present the first Hubble parameter measurement using a black hole merger. Our analysis results in , which is consistent with both SN Ia and cosmic microwave background measurements of the Hubble constant. The quoted 68% credible region comprises 60% of the uniform prior range [20, 140] km s−1 Mpc−1, and it depends on the assumed prior range. If we take a broader prior of [10, 220] km s−1 Mpc−1, we find (57% of the prior range). Although a weak constraint on the Hubble constant from a single event is expected using the dark siren method, a multifold increase in the LVC event rate is anticipated in the coming years and combinations of many sirens will lead to improved constraints on H 0

Reconstructing the Deep Population History of Central and South America

We report genome-wide ancient DNA from 49 individuals forming four parallel time transects in Belize, Brazil, the Central Andes, and the Southern Cone, each dating to at least 9,000 years ago. The common ancestral population radiated rapidly from just one of the two early branches that contributed to Native Americans today. We document two previously unappreciated streams of gene flow between North and South America. One affected the Central Andes by 4,200 years ago, while the other explains an affinity between the oldest North American genome associated with the Clovis culture and the oldest Central and South Americans from Chile, Brazil, and Belize. However, this was not the primary source for later South Americans, as the other ancient individuals derive from lineages without specific affinity to the Clovis-associated genome, suggesting a population replacement that began at least 9,000 years ago and was followed by substantial population continuity in multiple regions

GWTC-1: A Gravitational-Wave Transient Catalog of Compact Binary Mergers Observed by LIGO and Virgo during the First and Second Observing Runs

We present the results from three gravitational-wave searches for coalescing compact binaries with component masses above 1  M⊙ during the first and second observing runs of the advanced gravitational-wave detector network. During the first observing run (O1), from September 12, 2015 to January 19, 2016, gravitational waves from three binary black hole mergers were detected. The second observing run (O2), which ran from November 30, 2016 to August 25, 2017, saw the first detection of gravitational waves from a binary neutron star inspiral, in addition to the observation of gravitational waves from a total of seven binary black hole mergers, four of which we report here for the first time: GW170729, GW170809, GW170818, and GW170823. For all significant gravitational-wave events, we provide estimates of the source properties. The detected binary black holes have total masses between 18.6−0.7+3.2  M⊙ and 84.4−11.1+15.8  M⊙ and range in distance between 320−110+120 and 2840−1360+1400  Mpc. No neutron star-black hole mergers were detected. In addition to highly significant gravitational-wave events, we also provide a list of marginal event candidates with an estimated false-alarm rate less than 1 per 30 days. From these results over the first two observing runs, which include approximately one gravitational-wave detection per 15 days of data searched, we infer merger rates at the 90% confidence intervals of 110−3840  Gpc−3 y−1 for binary neutron stars and 9.7−101  Gpc−3 y−1 for binary black holes assuming fixed population distributions and determine a neutron star-black hole merger rate 90% upper limit of 610  Gpc−3 y−1

GW190412: Observation of a Binary-Black-Hole Coalescence with Asymmetric Masses

We report the observation of gravitational waves from a binary-black-hole coalescence during the first two weeks of LIGO’s and Virgo’s third observing run. The signal was recorded on April 12, 2019 at 05∶30∶44 UTC with a network signal-to-noise ratio of 19. The binary is different from observations during the first two observing runs most notably due to its asymmetric masses: a ∼30 M_⊙ black hole merged with a ∼8 M_⊙ black hole companion. The more massive black hole rotated with a dimensionless spin magnitude between 0.22 and 0.60 (90% probability). Asymmetric systems are predicted to emit gravitational waves with stronger contributions from higher multipoles, and indeed we find strong evidence for gravitational radiation beyond the leading quadrupolar order in the observed signal. A suite of tests performed on GW190412 indicates consistency with Einstein’s general theory of relativity. While the mass ratio of this system differs from all previous detections, we show that it is consistent with the population model of stellar binary black holes inferred from the first two observing runs

Erratum: “Searches for Gravitational Waves from Known Pulsars at Two Harmonics in 2015–2017 LIGO Data” (2019, ApJ, 879, 10)

Due to an error at the publisher, in the published article the number of pulsars presented in the paper is incorrect in multiple places throughout the text. Specifically, "222" pulsars should be "221." Additionally, the number of pulsars for which we have EM observations that fully overlap with O1 and O2 changes from "168" to "167." Elsewhere, in the machine-readable table of Table 1 and in Table 2, the row corresponding to pulsar J0952-0607 should be excised as well. Finally, in the caption for Table 2 the number of pulsars changes from "188" to "187.