Interstellar 12C/13C from CH+ absorption lines: Results from an extended survey

The 12C/13C isotope ratio in the interstellar medium (ISM), and its evolution with time, is an important tracer of stellar yields. Spatial variations of this ratio can be used to study mixing in the ISM. We want to determine this ratio and its spatial variations in the local ISM from CH+ absorption lines in the optical towards early-type stars. The aim is to determine the average value for the local ISM and study possible spatial variations. We observed a large number of early-type stars with Feros to extend the sample of suitable target stars for CH+ isotope studies. The best suited targets were observed with Uves with higher signal-to-noise ratio and spectral resolution to determine the isotope ratio from the interstellar CH+ lines. This study significantly expands the number of 13CH+ detections. We find an average ratio of = 76.27 +- 1.94 or, for f = 1/R, = (120.46 +- 3.02) 10^{-4}. The scatter in f is 6.3 sigma(). This findings strengthens the case for chemical inhomogeneity in the local ISM, with important implications for the mixing in the ISM. Given the large scatter, the present-day value in the ISM is not significantly larger than the solar value, which corresponds to the local value 4.5 Gyr ago.Comment: 11 pages, 16 figures, 2 tables, A&A submitte

Interstellar 12C/13C ratios through CH+ ll 3957,4232 absorption in local clouds: incomplete mixing in the ISM

The 12C/13C isotope ratio is a tracer of stellar yields and the efficiency of mixing in the ISM. 12CH+/13CH+ is not affected by interstellar chemistry, and is the most secure way of measuring 12C/13C in the diffuse ISM. R= 12C/13C is 90 in the solar system. Previous measurements of 12CH+ ll3957.7,4232.3 and 13CH+ ll3958.2,4232.0 absorption toward nearby stars indicate some variations in 12C/13C, with values ranging from 40 to 90 suggesting inefficient mixing. Except for the cloud toward zeta Oph, these R values are strongly affected by noise. With UVES on the VLT we have improved on the previous interstellar 12C/13C measurements. The weighted 12C/13C ratio in the local ISM is 78.27 +- 1.83, while the weighted dispersion of our measurements is 12.7, giving a 6.9 sigma scatter. Thus we report on a 6.9 sigma detection of 16.2% root-mean-square variations in the carbon isotopic ratio on scales of ~100 pc: R= 74.7 +- 2.3 in the zetaOph cloud, while R = 88.6 +- 3.0 toward HD152235 in the Lupus clouds, R = 62.2 +- 5.3 towards HD110432 in the Coalsack, and R = 98.9 +- 10.1 toward HD170740. The observed variations in 13C/12C are the first significant detection of chemical heterogeneity in the local ISM.Comment: 18 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in A&

Is there a potential of misuse for venlafaxine and bupropion?

© 2018 Schifano and Chiappini. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.Objective: Traditionally, studies on the nonmedical use of pharmaceutical products have focused on controlled substances; e.g. opiates/opioids; and benzodiazepines. Although both bupropion and venlafaxine have been reported as being misused, only anecdotal reports have been made available so far. Hence, the European Monitoring Agency (EMA) Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs), misuse/abuse/dependence and withdrawal, venlafaxine- and bupropion-related, database was here analyzed. Methods: All EMA spontaneous reports relating to venlafaxine (2005-2016) and bupropion (2003-2016) notifications were here analyzed, to provide a descriptive analysis by source, gender, age, and type of report. The UK-based, 2000-2016, Yellow Card Scheme pharmacovigilance database, bupropion and venlafaxine withdrawal reports were compared as well with those pertaining to fluoxetine and paroxetine. Results: Out of 20,720 (bupropion) and 47,516 (venlafaxine) total number of ADRs, some 2,232 (10.8%), and 4,071 (8.5%) misuse/abuse/dependence ADRs were respectively associated with bupropion and venlafaxine. Conversely, bupropion withdrawal-related ADRs were here reported in 299/20,720 (1.44%) cases and in 914/47,516 (1.92%) cases for venlafaxine. Overall, all bupropion and venlafaxine misuse-/abuse-/dependence- and withdrawal-ADRs were related to a respective number of 264 and 447 patients. According to the Proportional Reporting Ratio (PRR) computation, in comparison with venlafaxine bupropion resulted to be more frequently misused/abused (PRR: 1.50), but less frequently associated with both dependence (PRR: 0.92) and withdrawal (PRR: 0.77) issues. Yellow Card Scheme data suggested that paroxetine and venlafaxine, in comparison with fluoxetine and bupropion, were associated with higher number of withdrawal-related reports. Conclusions: The dopaminergic, stimulant-like, bupropion activities may be associated with its possible recreational value. Present data may confirm that the occurrence of a withdrawal syndrome may be a significant issue for venlafaxine-treated patients.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Interstellar CN and CH+ in Diffuse Molecular Clouds: 12C/13C Ratios and CN Excitation

We present very high signal-to-noise ratio absorption-line observations of CN and CH+ along 13 lines of sight through diffuse molecular clouds. The data are examined to extract precise isotopologic ratios of 12CN/13CN and 12CH+/13CH+ in order to assess predictions of diffuse cloud chemistry. Our results on 12CH+/13CH+ confirm that this ratio does not deviate from the ambient 12C/13C ratio in local interstellar clouds, as expected if the formation of CH+ involves nonthermal processes. We find that 12CN/13CN, however, can be significantly fractionated away from the ambient value. The dispersion in our sample of 12CN/13CN ratios is similar to that found in recent surveys of 12CO/13CO. For sight lines where both ratios have been determined, the 12CN/13CN ratios are generally fractionated in the opposite sense compared to 12CO/13CO. Chemical fractionation in CO results from competition between selective photodissociation and isotopic charge exchange. An inverse relationship between 12CN/13CN and 12CO/13CO follows from the coexistence of CN and CO in diffuse cloud cores. However, an isotopic charge exchange reaction with CN may mitigate the enhancements in 12CN/13CN for lines of sight with low 12CO/13CO ratios. For two sight lines with high values of 12CO/13CO, our results indicate that about 50 percent of the carbon is locked up in CO, which is consistent with the notion that these sight lines probe molecular cloud envelopes where the transition from C+ to CO is expected to occur. An analysis of CN rotational excitation yields a weighted mean value for T_01(12CN) of 2.754 +/- 0.002 K, which implies an excess over the temperature of the cosmic microwave background of only 29 +/- 3 mK. This modest excess eliminates the need for a local excitation mechanism beyond electron and neutral collisions. The rotational excitation temperatures in 13CN show no excess over the temperature of the CMB.Comment: 27 pages, 21 figures, emulateapj style, accepted for publication in Ap

Identification of CpG island at the 5' end of murine leukemia inhibitory factor gene

AbstractWe identified a CpG island at the 5' end of murine leukemia inhibitory factor gene (LIF). The CpG island is 0.6 kb long and covers most of the first exon and first intron. The region is non-methylated, its G+C content is 65% and relative frequency of CpG dinucleotide is 0.7. The block of 150 nucleotides, which is 72% conserved between murine, human, ovine and porcine genes, is a part of the CpG island. Two DNA fragments from this CpG island interact with nuclear proteins from NIH 3T3 cells. One fragment partially covers the block of conserved nucleotides. Human, ovine and porcine LIF genes also contain G+C- and CpG-rich sequences in the corresponding region

The influence of nova nucleosynthesis on the chemical evolution of the Galaxy

We adopt up-to-date yields of 7Li, 13C, 15N from classical novae and use a well tested model for the chemical evolution of the Milky Way in order to predict the temporal evolution of these elemental species in the solar neighborhood. In spite of major uncertainties due to our lack of knowledge of metallicity effects on the final products of explosive nucleosynthesis in nova outbursts, we find a satisfactory agreement between theoretical predictions and observations for 7Li and 13C. On the contrary, 15N turns out to be overproduced by about an order of magnitude.Comment: 8 pages, latex, 3 figures. To appear in "The Chemical Evolution of the Milky Way: Stars versus Clusters", eds. F. Giovannelli and F. Matteucci (Kluwer: Dordrecht

Fate of Sudden Deafness Occurring in the Only Hearing Ear: Outcomes and Timing to Consider Cochlear Implantation

The present study was undertaken to learn the outcome of patients with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL) in their only hearing ear. Timing to conduct a cochlear implantation was also determined in those who did not recover the hearing. The study group comprised 25 patients who confronted ISSNHL in their only hearing ear. A total of 192 patients, who had ISSNHL in one ear and had normal contralateral ear, served as the control. Demographically there were no significant differences between the groups. The recovery rate was similar between the groups: 64.0% in the experimental and 62.5% in the control group. The duration until the recovery of ISSNHL in the only hearing ear was 5-90 days (average 17.6 days). In the experimental group, 8 patients did not recover from ISSNHL, and underwent cochlear implantation in 6 with satisfactory results. These results suggest that the same treatment is applicable for patients with ISSNHL regardless of whether their contralateral ear is deaf or normal. For those who do not recover from ISSNHL in their only hearing ear, culminating in bilateral deafness, we may consider further definitive treatment including cochlear implantation as early as 3 months after initiating the treatment of ISSNHL

Fate of Sudden Deafness Occurring in the Only Hearing Ear: Outcomes and Timing to Consider Cochlear Implantation

The present study was undertaken to learn the outcome of patients with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL) in their only hearing ear. Timing to conduct a cochlear implantation was also determined in those who did not recover the hearing. The study group comprised 25 patients who confronted ISSNHL in their only hearing ear. A total of 192 patients, who had ISSNHL in one ear and had normal contralateral ear, served as the control. Demographically there were no significant differences between the groups. The recovery rate was similar between the groups: 64.0% in the experimental and 62.5% in the control group. The duration until the recovery of ISSNHL in the only hearing ear was 5-90 days (average 17.6 days). In the experimental group, 8 patients did not recover from ISSNHL, and underwent cochlear implantation in 6 with satisfactory results. These results suggest that the same treatment is applicable for patients with ISSNHL regardless of whether their contralateral ear is deaf or normal. For those who do not recover from ISSNHL in their only hearing ear, culminating in bilateral deafness, we may consider further definitive treatment including cochlear implantation as early as 3 months after initiating the treatment of ISSNHL

A Search Cost Model of Obfuscation

This paper develops search-theoretic models in which it is individually rational for firms to engage in obfuscation. It considers oligopoly competition between firms selling a homogeneous good to a population of rational consumers who incur search costs to learn each firm's price. Search costs are endogenized: obfuscation is equated with unobservable actions that make it more time-consuming to inspect a product and learn its price. One model involves search costs that are convex in the time spent shopping. Here, we show that even slight convexity can dramatically change the equilibrium price distribution. A second model examines an informational linkage between current and future search costs: consumers are initially unaware of the exogenous component of search costs. Here, a signal-jamming mechanism can also lead to equilibrium obfuscation.National Science Foundation (U.S.) (grant SES- 0550897)Toulouse Network for Information TechnologyNational Science Foundation (U.S.) (Graduate Fellowship Program