A purely geometric distance to the binary star Atlas, a member of the Pleiades

We present radial velocity and new interferometric measurements of the double star Atlas, which permit, with the addition of published interferometric data, to precisely derive the orbital parameters of the binary system and the masses of the components. The derived semi-major axis, compared with its measured angular size, allows to determine a distance to Atlas of 132+-4 pc in a purely geometrical way. Under the assumption that the location of Atlas is representative of the average distance of the cluster, we confirm the distance value generally obtained through main sequence fitting, in contradiction with the early Hipparcos result (118.3+-3.5 pc).Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in A&A Letter

Observations of the biological communities at Bolsa Chica artificial reef

Bolsa Chica Artificial Reef (BCAR) was constructed in November 1986 with 10,400 tons of concrete rubble and eight concrete and steel barges. Prior to any additional augmentation of BCAR, the u.s. Army Corps of Engineers and the California Coastal Commission required the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) to survey the bioloqical communities on and around BCAR. In April 1992, qualitative surveys of the biological communities were conducted on one of the eight modules at BCAR and at a nearby sand-only site. One of the modules, Module D, located in 90 feet of water (MLLW), was surveyed for fish, macroinvertebrates, and turf community organisms (small plants and sessile animals). Twelve species of fish were observed, including kelp bass (Paralabrax clathratus) and barred sand bass (P. nebulifer). Eight macroinvertebrate species were observed, rock scallops (Crassedoma giganteum) being the most abundant. The turf community was comprised of thirteen invertebrate taxa, among which erect ectoprocts (Bugula spp.) were the most numerous. Two species of foliose red algae (Rhodymenia pacifica and Anisocladella pacifica) were also observed. The reef has reached an advanced stage of successional development with fish and invertebrate communities diverse and well established. However, due,.to its depth and the turbidity of surrounding waters, this reef is not likely to ever support a diverse algal community. The diversity and abundance of fish and macroinvertebrates were, as to be expected, much lower in the nearby sand-only site. Only two species of fish and seven macroinvertebrate species were observed. Of these, only the sea pen, Stylatula elongata, was common. Overall, when compared to nearby sand-only habitats, Bolsa Chica Artificial Reef appears to contribute substantially to the local biological productivity. In addition, the concrete rubble used in BCAR' s construction appears to be performing as well as the quarry rock used in all of CDFG's experimental reefs. (Document pdf contains 22 pages

Demographic characteristics of patients with extrapulmonary tuberculosis in Germany

The aim of the present study was to determine the demographics of patients with extrapulmonary tuberculosis in Germany. Data on 26,302 tuberculosis cases from a national survey carried out during the period 1996-2000 were analysed. The crude proportion of tuberculosis patients with extrapulmonary manifestations was 21.6%. Extrapulmonary tuberculosis was most likely among females, children aged <15 yrs and persons originating from Africa and Asia. Females tended to be more likely to have any form of extrapulmonary tuberculosis than males, except pleural tuberculosis. The strength of this association was strongest in the age range 25-64 yrs and less pronounced amongst the oldest patients. Children were particularly prone to the development of lymphatic and meningeal tuberculosis, whereas the likelihood of genitourinary tuberculosis increased with increasing age. Asian and African patients were generally more likely than persons from other areas to have lymphatic, osteoarticular, meningeal and miliary tuberculosis. The analysis shows important differences, by age, sex and origin, in the likelihood of a tuberculosis patient presenting with extrapulmonary tuberculosis. Since the relative contribution of the foreign-born to tuberculosis in low-prevalence countries is rising, extrapulmonary tuberculosis must be taken into account more often in the differential diagnostic work-up of these patients, particularly among those originating from Asia and Africa

Samuel L. Clemens, Journalist

The purposes of this thesis are two-fold-: 1) in light of the information which is now available, to record accurately the events of the long newspaper career of Samuel L. Clemens; and, 2) to attempt to assess the influence of his journalistic experiences on him as a man, as an observer of humanity, as a reporter fulfilling his assignments, as a developing artist, and as a future author of books

What does your neighbourhood say about you? : a study of life expectancy in 1.3 million Swiss neighbourhoods

BACKGROUND: Switzerland had the highest life expectancy at 82.8 years among the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries in 2011. Geographical variation of life expectancy and its relation to the socioeconomic position of neighbourhoods are, however, not well understood. METHODS: We analysed the Swiss National Cohort, which linked the 2000 census with mortality records 2000-2008 to estimate life expectancy across neighbourhoods. A neighbourhood index of socioeconomic position (SEP) based on the median rent, education and occupation of household heads and crowding was calculated for 1.3 million overlapping neighbourhoods of 50 households. We used skew-normal regression models, including the index and additionally marital status, education, nationality, religion and occupation to calculate crude and adjusted estimates of life expectancy at age 30 years. RESULTS: Based on over 4.5 million individuals and over 400,000 deaths, estimates of life expectancy at age 30 in neighbourhoods ranged from 46.9 to 54.2 years in men and from 53.5 to 57.2 years in women. The correlation between life expectancy and neighbourhood SEP was strong (r=0.95 in men and r=0.94 women, both p values &lt;0.0001). In a comparison of the lowest with the highest percentile of neighbourhood SEP, the crude difference in life expectancy from skew-normal regression was 4.5 years in men and 2.5 years in women. The corresponding adjusted differences were 2.8 and 1.9 years, respectively (all p values &lt;0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Although life expectancy is high in Switzerland, there is substantial geographical variation and life expectancy is strongly associated with the social standing of neighbourhoods

A systematic review of the survival and complication rates of zirconia-ceramic and metal-ceramic multiple-unit fixed dental prostheses

Objectives: The aim of the present review was to compare the outcomes, that is, survival and complication rates of zirconia-ceramic and/or monolithic zirconia implant-supported fixed dental prostheses (FDPs) with metal-ceramic FDPs. Materials and Methods: An electronic MEDLINE search complemented by manual searching was conducted to identify randomized controlled clinical trials, prospective cohort studies and retrospective case series on implant-supported FDPs with a mean follow-up of at least 3&nbsp;years. Patients had to have been examined clinically at the follow-up visit. Assessment of the identified studies and data extraction was performed independently by two reviewers. Failure and complication rates were analyzed using robust Poisson regression models to obtain summary estimates of 5-year proportions. Results: The search provided 5,263 titles and 455 abstracts. Full-text analysis was performed for 240 articles resulting in 19 studies on implant FDPs that met the inclusion criteria. The studies reported on 932 metal-ceramic and 175 zirconia-ceramic FDPs. Meta-analysis revealed an estimated 5-year survival rate of 98.7% (95% CI: 96.8%–99.5%) for metal-ceramic implant-supported FDPs, and of 93.0% (95% CI: 90.6%–94.8%) for zirconia-ceramic implant-supported FDPs (p&nbsp;&lt;&nbsp;0.001). Thirteen studies including 781 metal-ceramic implant-supported FDPs estimated a 5-year rate of ceramic fractures and chippings to be 11.6% compared with a significantly higher (p&nbsp;&lt;&nbsp;0.001) complication rate for zirconia implant-supported FDPs of 50%, reported in a small study with 13 zirconia implant-supported FDPs. Significantly (p&nbsp;=&nbsp;0.001) more, that is, 4.1%, of the zirconia-ceramic implant-supported FDPs were lost due to ceramic fractures compared to only 0.2% of the metal-ceramic implant-supported FDPs. Detailed analysis of factors like number of units of the FDPs or location in the jaws was not possible due to heterogeneity of reporting. No studies on monolithic zirconia implant-supported FDPs fulfilled the inclusion criteria of the present review. Furthermore, no conclusive results were found for the aesthetic outcomes of both FDP-types. Conclusion: For implant-supported FDPs, conventionally veneered zirconia should not be considered as material selection of first priority, as pronounced risk for framework fractures and chipping of the zirconia veneering ceramic was observed. Monolithic zirconia may be an interesting alternative, but its clinical medium- to long-term outcomes have not been evaluated yet. Hence, metal ceramics seems to stay the golden standard for implant-supported multiple-unit FDPs

Biochemical characterization of the Nocardia lactamdurans ACV synthetase

The L-δ-(α-aminoadipoyl)-L-cysteinyl-D-valine synthetase (ACVS) is a nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) that fulfills a crucial role in the synthesis of β-lactams. Although some of the enzymological aspects of this enzyme have been elucidated, its large size, at over 400 kDa, has hampered heterologous expression and stable purification attempts. Here we have successfully overexpressed the Nocardia lactamdurans ACVS in E. coli HM0079. The protein was purified to homogeneity and characterized for tripeptide formation with a focus on the substrate specificity of the three modules. The first L-α-aminoadipic acid-activating module is highly specific, whereas the modules for L-cysteine and L-valine are more promiscuous. Engineering of the first module of ACVS confirmed the strict specificity observed towards its substrate, which can be understood in terms of the non-canonical peptide bond position