Dense molecular gas toward W49A: A template for extragalactic starbursts?

The HCN, HCO+, and HNC molecules are commonly used as tracers of dense star-forming gas in external galaxies, but such observations are spatially unresolved. Reliably inferring the properties of galactic nuclei and disks requires detailed studies of sources whose structure is spatially resolved. We compare the spatial distributions and abundance ratios of HCN, HCO+, and HNC in W49A, the most massive and luminous star-forming region in the Galactic disk, based on maps of a 2' (6.6 pc) field at 14" (0.83 pc) resolution of the J=4-3 transitions of HCN, H13CN, HC15N, HCO+, H13CO+, HC18O+ and HNC. The kinematics of the molecular gas in W49A appears complex, with a mixture of infall and outflow motions. Both the line profiles and comparison of the main and rarer species show that the main species are optically thick. Two 'clumps' of infalling gas appear to be at ~40 K, compared to ~100 K at the source centre, and may be ~10x denser than the rest of the outer cloud. Chemical modelling suggests that the HCN/HNC ratio probes the current gas temperature, while the HCN/HCO+ ratio and the deuterium fractionation were set during an earlier, colder phase of evolution. The data suggest that W49A is an appropriate analogue of an extragalactic star forming region. Our data show that the use of HCN/HNC/HCO+ line ratios as proxies for the abundance ratios is incorrect for W49A, suggesting the same for galactic nuclei. Our observed isotopic line ratios such as H13CN/H13CO+ approach our modeled abundance ratios quite well in W49A. The 4-3 lines of HCN and HCO+ are much better tracers of the dense star-forming gas in W49A than the 1-0 lines. Our observed HCN/HNC and HCN/HCO+ ratios in W49A are inconsistent with homogeneous PDR or XDR models, indicating that irradiation hardly affects the gas chemistry in W49A. Overall, the W49A region appears to be a useful template for starburst galaxies.Comment: Accepted by A&A; 17 pages, 15 figure

Molecules as tracers of galaxy evolution: an EMIR survey. I. Presentation of the data and first results

We investigate the molecular gas properties of a sample of 23 galaxies in order to find and test chemical signatures of galaxy evolution and to compare them to IR evolutionary tracers. Observation at 3 mm wavelengths were obtained with the EMIR broadband receiver, mounted on the IRAM 30 m telescope on Pico Veleta, Spain. We compare the emission of the main molecular species with existing models of chemical evolution by means of line intensity ratios diagrams and principal component analysis. We detect molecular emission in 19 galaxies in two 8 GHz-wide bands centred at 88 and 112 GHz. The main detected transitions are the J=1-0 lines of CO, 13CO, HCN, HNC, HCO+, CN, and C2H. We also detect HC3N J=10-9 in the galaxies IRAS 17208, IC 860, NGC 4418, NGC 7771, and NGC 1068. The only HC3N detections are in objects with HCO+/HCN<1 and warm IRAS colours. Galaxies with the highest HC3N/HCN ratios have warm IRAS colours (60/100 {\mu}m>0.8). The brightest HC3N emission is found in IC 860, where we also detect the molecule in its vibrationally excited state.We find low HNC/HCN line ratios (<0.5), that cannot be explained by existing PDR or XDR chemical models. Bright HC3N emission in HCO+-faint objects may imply that these are not dominated by X-ray chemistry. Thus the HCN/HCO+ line ratio is not, by itself, a reliable tracer of XDRs. Bright HC3N and faint HCO+ could be signatures of embedded starformation, instead of AGN activity

Antithrombotic therapy in patients undergoing TAVI: an overview of Dutch hospitals

To assess current antithrombotic treatment strategies in the Netherlands in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). For every Dutch hospital performing TAVI (n = 14) an interventional cardiologist experienced in performing TAVI was interviewed concerning heparin, aspirin, thienopyridine and oral anticoagulation treatment in patients undergoing TAVI. The response rate was 100 %. In every centre, a protocol for antithrombotic treatment after TAVI was available. Aspirin was prescribed in all centres, concomitant clopidogrel was prescribed 13 of the 14 centres. Duration of concomitant clopidogrel was 3 months in over two-thirds of cases. In 2 centres, duration of concomitant clopidogrel was based upon type of prosthesis: 6 months versus 3 months for supra-annular and intra-annular prostheses, respectively. Leaning on a small basis of evidence and recommendations, the antithrombotic policy for patients undergoing TAVI is highly variable in the Netherlands. As a standardised regimen might further reduce haemorrhagic complications, large randomised clinical trials may help to establish the most appropriate approac

Patient-reported outcomes during checkpoint inhibition: insight into symptom burden in daily clinical practice

CONTEXT: While praised for inducing durable anti-tumour responses, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) also cause immune-related adverse events (irAEs) that can vary in severity and affect health-related quality of life (HRQL). OBJECTIVES: This study was performed to provide insight into the course of symptoms and the influence of irAEs on HRQL measured with the treatment-specific Utrecht Symptom Diary Immunotherapy (USD-I). METHODS: In this observational cohort study, melanoma or non-small lung cancer (NSCLC) patients treated with PD(L)1-inhibitors between February 2016 and December 2018 were included. Data on symptoms, wellbeing and influence of side effects on HRQL were obtained using the patient-scored, treatment-specific USD-I, which was completed as part of routine care. Patients scored symptom intensity on a 0-10 numeric rating scale (NRS); NRS≥3 considered clinically relevant. RESULTS: A total of 162 melanoma (55%) or NSCLC (45%) patients completed 1493 USDs (median seven per patient). Most common patient-reported clinically relevant symptoms were: inactivity, fatigue, pain, cough and sleeping problems. Symptom prevalence decreased during treatment. Patients generally reported a low influence of side effects on HRQL. A higher number of clinically relevant symptoms at a certain time point correlated with poorer wellbeing. CONCLUSIONS: These data illustrate that ICI-treatment is generally well tolerated. However, especially the number of clinically relevant symptoms can impact patients wellbeing. Systematic use of an ICI-tailored PROM could create a window to discuss symptoms in a structured way which may promote personalized care during treatment

Dapdiamides, Tripeptide Antibiotics Formed by Unconventional Amide Ligases†

Construction of a genomic DNA library from Pantoea agglomerans strain CU0119 and screening against the plant pathogen Erwinia amylovora yielded a new family of antibiotics, dapdiamides A-E (1-5). The structures were established through 2D-NMR experiments and mass spectrometry, as well as the synthesis of dapdiamide A (1). Transposon mutagenesis of the active cosmid allowed identification of the biosynthetic gene cluster. The dapdiamide family's promiscuous biosynthetic pathway contains two unconventional amide ligases that are predicted to couple its constituent monomers

Gravitational lensing reveals extreme dust-obscured star formation in quasar host galaxies

We have observed 104 gravitationally-lensed quasars at $z\sim1-4$ with Herschel/SPIRE, the largest such sample ever studied. By targeting gravitational lenses, we probe intrinsic far-infrared (FIR) luminosities and star formation rates (SFRs) more typical of the population than the extremely luminous sources that are otherwise accessible. We detect 72 objects with Herschel/SPIRE and find 66 percent (69 sources) of the sample have spectral energy distributions (SEDs) characteristic of dust emission. For 53 objects with sufficiently constrained SEDs, we find a median effective dust temperature of $38^{+12}_{-5}$ K. By applying the radio-infrared correlation, we find no evidence for an FIR excess which is consistent with star-formation-heated dust. We derive a median magnification-corrected FIR luminosity of $3.6^{+4.8}_{-2.4}~\times 10^{11}~{\rm L_{\odot}}$ and median SFR of $120^{+160}_{-80}~{\rm M_{\odot}~yr^{-1}}$ for 94 quasars with redshifts. We find $\sim10$ percent of our sample have FIR properties similar to typical dusty star-forming galaxies at $z\sim2-3$ and a range of SFRs $<20-10000~{\rm M_{\odot}~yr^{-1}}$ for our sample as a whole. These results are in line with current models of quasar evolution and suggests a coexistence of dust-obscured star formation and AGN activity is typical of most quasars. We do not find a statistically-significant difference in the FIR luminosities of quasars in our sample with a radio excess relative to the radio-infrared correlation. Synchrotron emission is found to dominate at FIR wavelengths for $<15$ percent of those sources classified as powerful radio galaxies.Comment: 47 pages, 89 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Do parents who smoke underutilize health care services for their children? A cross sectional study within the longitudinal PIAMA study

Background. A higher prevalence of respiratory symptoms and an associated increase in health care utilization among children with parents who smoke is to be expected. From previous studies however, it appears that parents who smoke may underutilize health services for their children, especially with respect to respiratory care. This study explores the validity and generalizability of the previous assumption. Methods. Data were obtained from a Dutch birth-cohort study; the Prevention and Incidence of Asthma and Mite Allergy (PIAMA) project. Information regarding parental smoking, the child's respiratory symptoms and health care use and potential confounders were obtained by postal questionnaires. Multivariate logistic models were used to relate parental smoking to the child's respiratory symptoms and health care use. Results. The study comprised 3,564, 4-year old children. In the crude analysis, respiratory symptoms were more frequent among children with a parent who smoked, while health care utilization for respiratory symptoms was not significantly different between children with or without a parent who smoked. In the multivariate analyses, maternal smoking had a larger impact on the child's respiratory symptoms and health care use as compared to paternal smoking. Maternal smoking was positively associated with mild respiratory symptoms of the child, adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 1.50 (1.19-1.91), but not with severe respiratory symptoms AOR 1.03 (0.75-1.40). Among children with mild respiratory symptoms, children with a mother who smoked were less likely to be taken to the general practitioner (GP) for respiratory symptoms, than children with mothers who did not smoke, AOR 0.58 (0.33-1.01). This finding was less pronounced among children with severe respiratory symptoms AOR 0.86 (0.49-1.52). Neither GP visits for non-respiratory symptoms nor specialized care for respiratory disease were significantly associated with parental smoking. Conclusion. Mothers who smoke appear to underutilize health care for their children with mild respiratory symptoms. Health care workers should be informed about this phenomenon. Inquiring after the respiratory health of the children during regular visits to healthy baby clinics may help to tr

Shear wave velocity prediction using seismic attributes and well log data

Formation’s properties can be estimated indirectly using joint analysis of compressional and shear wave velocities. Shear wave data isnot usually acquired during well logging, which is most likely for costsaving purposes. Even if shear data is available, the logging programs provide only sparsely sampled one-dimensional measurements: this informationis inadequate to estimate reservoir rock properties. Thus, if the shear wave data can be obtained using seismic methods, the results can be used across the field to estimate reservoir properties. The aim of this paper is to use seismic attributes for prediction of shear wave velocity in a field located in southern part of Iran. Independent component analysis(ICA) was used to select the most relevant attributes to shear velocity data. Considering the nonlinear relationship between seismic attributes and shear wave velocity, multi-layer feed forward neural network was used for prediction of shear wave velocity and promising results were presented