The Twin Astrographic Catalog (TAC) Version 1.0

A first version of the Twin Astrographic Catalog (TAC) of positions for 705,679 stars within $-18^{\circ} \le \delta \le 90^{\circ}$ has been produced. The sky coverage of the TAC is complete to over 90\% in that area. The limiting magnitude is about B=11.5. Positions are based on $4912$ plates taken with the U.S. Naval Observatory Twin Astrograph (blue, yellow lens) at epochs 1977--1986. The TAC is supplemented by proper motions which are obtained from a combination with a re--reduced Astrographic Catalog (AC). Some AC zones are available now and a complete northern hemisphere is expected by fall 1996. Proper motions of almost all TAC stars will be generated as the AC work progresses. The average precision of a catalog position is 90 mas per coordinate at epoch of observation. A large fraction of that error is introduced by the currently available reference stars. The inherent precision of the TAC data is considerably better. The precision of the proper motions is currently 2.5 to 4 mas/yr. Magnitude--dependent systematic errors have been found and preliminarily corrected. The final reduction of this plate material will be performed with the Hipparcos catalog in 1997. The TAC is about 3 times more precise than the PPM or ACRS in the northern hemisphere at current epochs and contains about 3 times more stars. The TAC has a higher star density than the Tycho catalog and provides independent, high precision positions for a large fraction of the Tycho stars at an epoch about 10 years earlier than the Tycho mean epoch. The TAC version 1.0 data are released as the AC zones become available. For latest information, look at the US Naval Observatory World Wide Web page http://aries.usno.navy.mil/ad/tac.html.Comment: 22 pages LaTex, accepted by AJ, scheduled for Nov., no figures provided, needs aasms4.st

The StarScan plate measuring machine: overview and calibrations

The StarScan machine at the U.S. Naval Observatory (USNO) completed measuring photographic astrograph plates to allow determination of proper motions for the USNO CCD Astrograph Catalog (UCAC) program. All applicable 1940 AGK2 plates, about 2200 Hamburg Zone Astrograph plates, 900 Black Birch (USNO Twin Astrograph) plates, and 300 Lick Astrograph plates have been measured. StarScan comprises of a CCD camera, telecentric lens, air-bearing granite table, stepper motor screws, and Heidenhain scales to operate in a step-stare mode. The repeatability of StarScan measures is about 0.2 micrometer. The CCD mapping as well as the global table coordinate system has been calibrated using a special dot calibration plate and the overall accuracy of StarScan x,y data is derived to be 0.5 micrometer. Application to real photographic plate data shows that position information of at least 0.65 micrometer accuracy can be extracted from course grain 103a-type emulsion astrometric plates. Transformations between "direct" and "reverse" measures of fine grain emulsion plate measures are obtained on the 0.3 micrometer level per well exposed stellar image and coordinate, which is at the limit of the StarScan machine.Comment: 24 pages, 8 figures, accepted for PAS

The second US Naval Observatory CCD Astrograph Catalog (UCAC2)

The second USNO CCD Astrograph Catalog, UCAC2 was released in July 2003. Positions and proper motions for 48,330,571 sources (mostly stars) are available on 3 CDs, supplemented with 2MASS photometry for 99.5% of the sources. The catalog covers the sky area from -90 to +40 degrees declination, going up to +52 in some areas; this completely supersedes the UCAC1 released in 2001. Current epoch positions are obtained from observations with the USNO 8-inch Twin Astrograph equipped with a 4k CCD camera. The precision of the positions are 15 to 70 mas, depending on magnitude, with estimated systematic errors of 10 mas or below. Proper motions are derived by utilizing over 140 ground-and space-based catalogs, including Hipparcos/Tycho, the AC2000.2, as well as yet unpublished re-measures of the AGK2 plates and scans from the NPM and SPM plates. Proper motion errors are about 1 to 3 mas/yr for stars to 12th magnitude, and about 4 to 7 mas/yr for fainter stars to 16th magnitude. The observational data, astrometric reductions, results, and important information for the users of this catalog are presented.Comment: accepted by AJ, AAS LaTeX, 14 figures, 10 table

Brorfelde Schmidt CCD Catalog (BSCC)

The Brorfelde Schmidt CCD Catalog (BSCC) contains about 13.7 million stars, north of +49 deg Declination with precise positions and V, R photometry. The catalog has been constructed from the reductions of 18,667 CCD frames observed with the Brorfelde Schmidt Telescope between 2000 and 2007. The Tycho-2 catalog was used for astrometric and photometric reference stars. Errors of individual positions are about 20 to 200 mas for stars in the R = 10 to 18 mag range. External comparisons with 2MASS and SDSS reveal possible small systematic errors in the BSCC of up to about 30 mas. The catalog is supplemented with J, H, and K_s magnitudes from the 2MASS catalog. The catalog data file (about 550 MB ASCII, compressed) will be made available at the Strasbourg Data Center (CDS).Comment: 16 pages, 22 figures, 2 tables, accepted by A

Glass-Like Heat Conduction in High-Mobility Crystalline Semiconductors

The thermal conductivity of polycrystalline semiconductors with type-I clathrate hydrate crystal structure is reported. Ge clathrates (doped with Sr and/or Eu) exhibit lattice thermal conductivities typical of amorphous materials. Remarkably, this behavior occurs in spite of the well-defined crystalline structure and relatively high electron mobility ($\sim 100 cm^2/Vs$). The dynamics of dopant ions and their interaction with the polyhedral cages of the structure are a likely source of the strong phonon scattering.Comment: 4 pages, 3 postscript figures, to be published, Phys. Rev. Let

Multilevel Community Engagement to Inform a Randomized Clinical Trial

OBJECTIVE: To explore how patients, community-based perinatal support professionals, and health system clinicians and staff perceived facilitators and barriers to implementation of a randomized clinical trial (RCT) designed to optimize Black maternal heart health. METHODS: This article describes the formative work that we believed needed to occur before the start of the Change of H.E.A.R.T (Here for Equity, Advocacy, Reflection and Transformation) RCT. We used a qualitative, descriptive design and community-based, participatory approach, the latter of which allowed our team to intentionally focus on avoiding harm and equalizing power dynamics throughout the research process. Data were collected between November 2021 and January 2022 through six semistructured focus groups that included attending physicians and midwives (n=7), residents (n=4), nurses (n=6), support staff (n=7), community-based perinatal support professionals (n=6), and patients (n=8). RESULTS: Four primary themes emerged. The first three themes were present across all groups and included: 1) Trauma in the Community and Health System, 2) Lack of Trust, and 3) Desire to Be Heard and Valued. The fourth theme, Hope and Enthusiasm, was expressed predominantly by patients, community-based perinatal support professionals, residents, and support staff, and less so by the attending physician group. CONCLUSION: Participants articulated a number of key sentiments regarding facilitators and barriers to implementing Change of H.E.A.R.T. We noted variability in perceptions from different groups. This has important implications for health equity efforts in similarly underresourced health systems where Black birthing people experience the greatest morbidity and mortality. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT05499507

Tumor Endothelium Marker-8 Based Decoys Exhibit Superiority over Capillary Morphogenesis Protein-2 Based Decoys as Anthrax Toxin Inhibitors

Anthrax toxin is the major virulence factor produced by Bacillus anthracis. The toxin consists of three protein subunits: protective antigen (PA), lethal factor, and edema factor. Inhibition of PA binding to its receptors, tumor endothelium marker-8 (TEM8) and capillary morphogenesis protein-2 (CMG2) can effectively block anthrax intoxication, which is particularly valuable when the toxin has already been overproduced at the late stage of anthrax infection, thus rendering antibiotics ineffectual. Receptor-like agonists, such as the mammalian cell-expressed von Willebrand factor type A (vWA) domain of CMG2 (sCMG2), have demonstrated potency against the anthrax toxin. However, the soluble vWA domain of TEM8 (sTEM8) was ruled out as an anthrax toxin inhibitor candidate due to its inferior affinity to PA. In the present study, we report that L56A, a PA-binding-affinity-elevated mutant of sTEM8, could inhibit anthrax intoxication as effectively as sCMG2 in Fisher 344 rats. Additionally, pharmacokinetics showed that L56A and sTEM8 exhibit advantages over sCMG2 with better lung-targeting and longer plasma retention time, which may contribute to their enhanced protective ability in vivo. Our results suggest that receptor decoys based on TEM8 are promising anthrax toxin inhibitors and, together with the pharmacokinetic studies in this report, may contribute to the development of novel anthrax drugs

The daily association between affect and alcohol use: a meta-analysis of individual participant data

Influential psychological theories hypothesize that people consume alcohol in response to the experience of both negative and positive emotions. Despite two decades of daily diary and ecological momentary assessment research, it remains unclear whether people consume more alcohol on days they experience higher negative and positive affect in everyday life. In this preregistered meta-analysis, we synthesized the evidence for these daily associations between affect and alcohol use. We included individual participant data from 69 studies (N = 12,394), which used daily and momentary surveys to assess affect and the number of alcoholic drinks consumed. Results indicate that people are not more likely to drink on days they experience high negative affect, but are more likely to drink and drink heavily on days high in positive affect. People self-reporting a motivational tendency to drink-to-cope and drink-to-enhance consumed more alcohol, but not on days they experienced higher negative and positive affect. Results were robust across different operationalizations of affect, study designs, study populations, and individual characteristics. These findings challenge the long-held belief that people drink more alcohol following increases in negative affect. Integrating these findings under different theoretical models and limitations of this field of research, we collectively propose an agenda for future research to explore open questions surrounding affect and alcohol use.The present study was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Grant MOP-115104 (Roisin M. O’Connor), Canadian Institutes of Health Research Grant MSH-122803 (Roisin M. O’Connor), John A. Hartford Foundation Grant (Paul Sacco), Loyola University Chicago Research Support Grant (Tracy De Hart), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Grant T03OH008435 (Cynthia Mohr), National Institutes of Health (NIH) Grant F31AA023447 (Ryan W. Carpenter), NIH Grant R01AA025936 (Kasey G. Creswell), NIH Grant R01AA025969 (Catharine E. Fairbairn), NIH Grant R21AA024156 (Anne M. Fairlie), NIH Grant F31AA024372 (Fallon Goodman), NIH Grant R01DA047247 (Kevin M. King), NIH Grant K01AA026854 (Ashley N. Linden-Carmichael), NIH Grant K01AA022938 (Jennifer E. Merrill), NIH Grant K23AA024808 (Hayley Treloar Padovano), NIH Grant P60AA11998 (Timothy Trull), NIH Grant MH69472 (Timothy Trull), NIH Grant K01DA035153 (Nisha Gottfredson), NIH Grant P50DA039838 (Ashley N. Linden-Carmichael), NIH Grant K01DA047417 (David M. Lydon-Staley), NIH Grant T32DA037183 (M. Kushner), NIH Grant R21DA038163 (A. Moore), NIH Grant K12DA000167 (M. Potenza, Stephanie S. O’Malley), NIH Grant R01AA025451 (Bruce Bartholow, Thomas M. Piasecki), NIH Grant P50AA03510 (V. Hesselbrock), NIH Grant K01AA13938 (Kristina M. Jackson), NIH Grant K02AA028832 (Kevin M. King), NIH Grant T32AA007455 (M. Larimer), NIH Grant R01AA025037 (Christine M. Lee, M. Patrick), NIH Grant R01AA025611 (Melissa Lewis), NIH Grant R01AA007850 (Robert Miranda), NIH Grant R21AA017273 (Robert Miranda), NIH Grant R03AA014598 (Cynthia Mohr), NIH Grant R29AA09917 (Cynthia Mohr), NIH Grant T32AA07290 (Cynthia Mohr), NIH Grant P01AA019072 (P. Monti), NIH Grant R01AA015553 (J. Morgenstern), NIH Grant R01AA020077 (J. Morgenstern), NIH Grant R21AA017135 (J. Morgenstern), NIH Grant R01AA016621 (Stephanie S. O’Malley), NIH Grant K99AA029459 (Marilyn Piccirillo), NIH Grant F31AA022227 (Nichole Scaglione), NIH Grant R21AA018336 (Katie Witkiewitz), Portuguese State Budget Foundation for Science and Technology Grant UIDB/PSI/01662/2020 (Teresa Freire), University of Washington Population Health COVID-19 Rapid Response Grant (J. Kanter, Adam M. Kuczynski), U.S. Department of Defense Grant W81XWH-13-2-0020 (Cynthia Mohr), SANPSY Laboratory Core Support Grant CNRS USR 3413 (Marc Auriacombe), Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Grant (N. Galambos), and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Grant (Andrea L. Howard)

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead