On the Iwasawa-Taniguchi effect of radio-quiet AGN

The existence of an anti-correlation between the Equivalent Width (EW) of the neutral narrow core of the iron Kalpha emission line and the 2-10 keV luminosity (the so-called `X-ray Baldwin' or `Iwasawa-Taniguchi' effect) has been debated in the last years. We aim at testing this claim on the largest catalogue of radio quiet AGN high-quality X-ray spectra ever published. The final sample comprises 157 objects. We search for a relation of the iron line EW not only with the X-ray luminosity, but also with the Black Hole mass, the Eddington ratio and the cosmological distance. The data presented here were analyzed homogeneously, all spectra are from the same instrument and with high Signal-to-Noise Ratio. A linear censored fit on the EW versus 2-10 keV luminosity is highly significant and yields $\log(EW_{Fe}) = (1.73\pm0.03) + (-0.17\pm0.03) \log(L_{X,44})$, where $EW_{Fe}$ is the EW of the neutral iron Kalpha line in eV and $L_{x,44}$ is the 2-10 keV X-ray luminosity in units of $10^{44}$ erg s$^{-1}$. The anti-correlation with the Eddington ratio is also very significant, while no dependence of the iron EW on the BH mass is apparent.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics Letter

High-accuracy numerical models of Brownian thermal noise in thin mirror coatings

Brownian coating thermal noise in detector test masses is limiting the sensitivity of current gravitational-wave detectors on Earth. Therefore, accurate numerical models can inform the ongoing effort to minimize Brownian coating thermal noise in current and future gravitational-wave detectors. Such numerical models typically require significant computational resources and time, and often involve closed-source commercial codes. In contrast, open-source codes give complete visibility and control of the simulated physics and enable direct assessment of the numerical accuracy. In this article, we use the open-source SpECTRE numerical-relativity code and adopt a novel discontinuous Galerkin numerical method to model Brownian coating thermal noise. We demonstrate that SpECTRE achieves significantly higher accuracy than a previous approach at a fraction of the computational cost. Furthermore, we numerically model Brownian coating thermal noise in multiple sub-wavelength crystalline coating layers for the first time. Our new numerical method has the potential to enable fast exploration of realistic mirror configurations, and hence to guide the search for optimal mirror geometries, beam shapes and coating materials for gravitational-wave detectors.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures. Results are reproducible with the ancillary input file

A scalable elliptic solver with task-based parallelism for the SpECTRE numerical relativity code

Elliptic partial differential equations must be solved numerically for many problems in numerical relativity, such as initial data for every simulation of merging black holes and neutron stars. Existing elliptic solvers can take multiple days to solve these problems at high resolution and when matter is involved, because they are either hard to parallelize or require a large amount of computational resources. Here we present a new solver for linear and non-linear elliptic problems that is designed to scale with resolution and to parallelize on computing clusters. To achieve this we employ a discontinuous Galerkin discretization, an iterative multigrid-Schwarz preconditioned Newton-Krylov algorithm, and a task-based parallelism paradigm. To accelerate convergence of the elliptic solver we have developed novel subdomain-preconditioning techniques. We find that our multigrid-Schwarz preconditioned elliptic solves achieve iteration counts that are independent of resolution, and our task-based parallel programs scale over 200 million degrees of freedom to at least a few thousand cores. Our new code solves a classic black-hole binary initial-data problem faster than the spectral code SpEC when distributed to only eight cores, and in a fraction of the time on more cores. It is publicly accessible in the next-generation SpECTRE numerical relativity code. Our results pave the way for highly-parallel elliptic solves in numerical relativity and beyond.Comment: 24 pages, 18 figures. Results are reproducible with the ancillary input file

Genotyping of Human Lice Suggests Multiple Emergences of Body Lice from Local Head Louse Populations

While being phenotypically and physiologically different, human head and body lice are indistinguishable based on mitochondrial and nuclear genes. As protein-coding genes are too conserved to provide significant genetic diversity, we performed strain-typing of a large collection of human head and body lice using variable intergenic spacer sequences. Ninety-seven human lice were classified into ninety-six genotypes based on four intergenic spacer sequences. Genotypic and phylogenetic analyses using these sequences suggested that human head and body lice are still indistinguishable. We hypothesized that the phenotypic and physiological differences between human head and body lice are controlled by very limited mutations. Under conditions of poor hygiene, head lice can propagate very quickly. Some of them will colonize clothing, producing a body louse variant (genetic or phenetic), which can lead to an epidemic. Lice collected in Rwanda and Burundi, where outbreaks of louse-borne diseases have been recently reported, are grouped tightly into a cluster and those collected from homeless people in France were also grouped into a cluster with lice collected in French non-homeless people. Our strain-typing approach based on highly variable intergenic spacers may be helpful to elucidate louse evolution and to survey louse-borne diseases

Population analysis of vitamin D receptor polymorphisms and the role of genetic ancestry in an admixed population

The vitamin D receptor (VDR) is an essential protein related to bone metabolism. Some VDR alleles are differentially distributed among ethnic populations and display variable patterns of linkage disequilibrium (LD). In this study, 200 unrelated Brazilians were genotyped using 21 VDR single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and 28 ancestry informative markers. The patterns of LD and haplotype distribution were compared among Brazilian and the HapMap populations of African (YRI), European (CEU) and Asian (JPT+CHB) origins. Conditional regression and haplotype-specific analysis were performed using estimates of individual genetic ancestry in Brazilians as a quantitative trait. Similar patterns of LD were observed in the 5′ and 3′ gene regions. However, the frequency distribution of haplotype blocks varied among populations. Conditional regression analysis identified haplotypes associated with European and Amerindian ancestry, but not with the proportion of African ancestry. Individual ancestry estimates were associated with VDR haplotypes. These findings reinforce the need to correct for population stratification when performing genetic association studies in admixed populations

CAIXA: a Catalogue of AGN In the XMM-Newton Archive I. Spectral analysis

We present CAIXA, a Catalogue of AGN In the XMM-Newton Archive. It consists of all the radio-quiet X-ray unobscured ($\mathrm{N_H}<2\times10^{22}$ cm$^{-2}$) Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) observed by XMM-Newton in targeted observations, whose data are public as of March 2007. With its 156 sources, this is the largest catalogue of high signal-to-noise X-ray spectra of AGN. All the EPIC pn spectra of the sources in CAIXA were extracted homogeneously and a baseline model was applied in order to derive their basic X-ray properties. These data are complemented by multiwavelength data found in the literature: Black Hole masses, Full Width Half Maximum (FWHM) of H$\beta$, radio and optical fluxes. Here we describe our homogeneous spectral analysis of the X-ray data in CAIXA and present all the results on the parameters adopted in our best-fit models.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic

Microwave-assisted multicomponent synthesis of julolidines using silica-supported calix[4]arene as heterogeneous catalyst

The application of immobilizing calixarene onto the surface of silica using a sol-gel method, as an efficient heterogeneous catalyst (CX4SO3HSi(n)) for multicomponent Povarov reaction has been described. Catalytic activity of the CX4SO3HSi(n) for the synthesis of julolidines under greener and environmentally benign conditions in simple and efficient method was explored. Notably, only 0.5 mol% of the catalyst is sufficient to catalyze the Povarov solvent-free reaction under microwave-assistance. Besides, this protocol allows the construction of four new C–C bonds and two C–N bonds in a single step. To the best of our knowledge, this consists the first silica support calix[4]arene as a heterogeneous catalyst for multicomponent synthesis of julolidines.Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ciencias Aplicada

Y Chromosome Lineages in Men of West African Descent

The early African experience in the Americas is marked by the transatlantic slave trade from ∼1619 to 1850 and the rise of the plantation system. The origins of enslaved Africans were largely dependent on European preferences as well as the availability of potential laborers within Africa. Rice production was a key industry of many colonial South Carolina low country plantations. Accordingly, rice plantations owners within South Carolina often requested enslaved Africans from the so-called “Grain Coast” of western Africa (Senegal to Sierra Leone). Studies on the African origins of the enslaved within other regions of the Americas have been limited. To address the issue of origins of people of African descent within the Americas and understand more about the genetic heterogeneity present within Africa and the African Diaspora, we typed Y chromosome specific markers in 1,319 men consisting of 508 west and central Africans (from 12 populations), 188 Caribbeans (from 2 islands), 532 African Americans (AAs from Washington, DC and Columbia, SC), and 91 European Americans. Principal component and admixture analyses provide support for significant Grain Coast ancestry among African American men in South Carolina. AA men from DC and the Caribbean showed a closer affinity to populations from the Bight of Biafra. Furthermore, 30–40% of the paternal lineages in African descent populations in the Americas are of European ancestry. Diverse west African ancestries and sex-biased gene flow from EAs has contributed greatly to the genetic heterogeneity of African populations throughout the Americas and has significant implications for gene mapping efforts in these populations

Subcellular specificity of cannabinoid effects in striatonigral circuits

Recent advances in neuroscience have positioned brain circuits as key units in controlling behavior, implying that their positive or negative modulation necessarily leads to specific behavioral outcomes. However, emerging evidence suggests that the activation or inhibition of specific brain circuits can actually produce multimodal behavioral outcomes. This study shows that activation of a receptor at different subcellular locations in the same neuronal circuit can determine distinct behaviors. Pharmacological activation of type 1 cannabinoid (CB1) receptors in the striatonigral circuit elicits both antinociception and catalepsy in mice. The decrease in nociception depends on the activation of plasma membrane-residing CB1 receptors (pmCB1), leading to the inhibition of cytosolic PKA activity and substance P release. By contrast, mitochondrial-associated CB1 receptors (mtCB1) located at the same terminals mediate cannabinoid-induced catalepsy through the decrease in intra-mitochondrial PKA-dependent cellular respiration and synaptic transmission. Thus, subcellular-specific CB1 receptor signaling within striatonigral circuits determines multimodal control of behavior

Mortality and pulmonary complications in patients undergoing surgery with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection: an international cohort study

Background: The impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on postoperative recovery needs to be understood to inform clinical decision making during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study reports 30-day mortality and pulmonary complication rates in patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: This international, multicentre, cohort study at 235 hospitals in 24 countries included all patients undergoing surgery who had SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed within 7 days before or 30 days after surgery. The primary outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality and was assessed in all enrolled patients. The main secondary outcome measure was pulmonary complications, defined as pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or unexpected postoperative ventilation. Findings: This analysis includes 1128 patients who had surgery between Jan 1 and March 31, 2020, of whom 835 (74·0%) had emergency surgery and 280 (24·8%) had elective surgery. SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed preoperatively in 294 (26·1%) patients. 30-day mortality was 23·8% (268 of 1128). Pulmonary complications occurred in 577 (51·2%) of 1128 patients; 30-day mortality in these patients was 38·0% (219 of 577), accounting for 81·7% (219 of 268) of all deaths. In adjusted analyses, 30-day mortality was associated with male sex (odds ratio 1·75 [95% CI 1·28–2·40], p\textless0·0001), age 70 years or older versus younger than 70 years (2·30 [1·65–3·22], p\textless0·0001), American Society of Anesthesiologists grades 3–5 versus grades 1–2 (2·35 [1·57–3·53], p\textless0·0001), malignant versus benign or obstetric diagnosis (1·55 [1·01–2·39], p=0·046), emergency versus elective surgery (1·67 [1·06–2·63], p=0·026), and major versus minor surgery (1·52 [1·01–2·31], p=0·047). Interpretation: Postoperative pulmonary complications occur in half of patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection and are associated with high mortality. Thresholds for surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic should be higher than during normal practice, particularly in men aged 70 years and older. Consideration should be given for postponing non-urgent procedures and promoting non-operative treatment to delay or avoid the need for surgery. Funding: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, Bowel and Cancer Research, Bowel Disease Research Foundation, Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons, British Association of Surgical Oncology, British Gynaecological Cancer Society, European Society of Coloproctology, NIHR Academy, Sarcoma UK, Vascular Society for Great Britain and Ireland, and Yorkshire Cancer Research