Should heroin be prescribed to heroin misusers? Yes

Some heroin addicts are very difficult to treat. Jürgen Rehm and Benedikt Fischer believe that maintenance with heroin is the way forward for this group, but Neil McKeganey argues that it is treating the effects of misuse not the addictio

Symmetry energy impact in simulations of core-collapse supernovae

We present a review of a broad selection of nuclear matter equations of state (EOSs) applicable in core-collapse supernova studies. The large variety of nuclear matter properties, such as the symmetry energy, which are covered by these EOSs leads to distinct outcomes in supernova simulations. Many of the currently used EOS models can be ruled out by nuclear experiments, nuclear many-body calculations, and observations of neutron stars. In particular the two classical supernova EOS describe neutron matter poorly. Nevertheless, we explore their impact in supernova simulations since they are commonly used in astrophysics. They serve as extremely soft and stiff representative nuclear models. The corresponding supernova simulations represent two extreme cases, e.g., with respect to the protoneutron star (PNS) compactness and shock evolution. Moreover, in multi-dimensional supernova simulations EOS differences have a strong effect on the explosion dynamics. Because of the extreme behaviors of the classical supernova EOSs we also include DD2, a relativistic mean field EOS with density-dependent couplings, which is in satisfactory agreement with many current nuclear and observational constraints. This is the first time that DD2 is applied to supernova simulations and compared with the classical supernova EOS. We find that the overall behaviour of the latter EOS in supernova simulations lies in between the two extreme classical EOSs. As pointed out in previous studies, we confirm the impact of the symmetry energy on the electron fraction. Furthermore, we find that the symmetry energy becomes less important during the post bounce evolution, where conversely the symmetric part of the EOS becomes increasingly dominating, which is related to the high temperatures obtained. Moreover, we study the possible impact of quark matter at high densities and light nuclear clusters at low and intermediate densComment: 19 pages, 13 figures, submitted to EPJA special volume on symmetry energ

Gilvocarcin Gene Cluster, Recombinant Production and use Thereof

A nucleic acid molecule encoding the gilvocarcin V gene cluster and subunits thereof. Recombinant vectors and host cells comprising a nucleic acid compound encoding the gilvocarcin V gene cluster or subunits thereof. Host cells comprising recombinant vectors encoding the gilvocarcin polyketide synthase and gilvocarcin post-PKS modifying enzymes from Streptomyces griseoflavus can be used to produce gilvocarcin and functional gilvocarcin mutants, analogs and derivatives thereof with application as antibiotics, anticancer agents, immunosuppressants, antivirals, and neuroprotective agents

Transports and pathways of the upperlayer circulation in the western tropical Atlantic

The mean warm water transfer toward the equator along the western boundary of the South Atlantic is investigated, based on a number of ship surveys carried out during 1990–96 with CTD water mass observations and current profiling by shipboard and lowered (with the CTD/rosette) acoustic Doppler current profiler and with Pegasus current profiler. The bulk of the northward warm water flow follows the coast in the North Brazil Undercurrent (NBUC) from latitudes south of 10°S, carrying 23 Sv (Sv ≡ 106 m3 s−1) above 1000 m. Out of this, 16 Sv are waters warmer than 7°C that form the source waters of the Florida Current. Zonal inflow from the east by the South Equatorial Current enters the western boundary system dominantly north of 5°S, adding transport northwest of Cape San Roque, and transforming the NBUC along its way toward the equator into a surface-intensified current, the North Brazil Current (NBC). From the combination of moored arrays and shipboard sections just north of the equator along 44°W, the mean NBC transport was determined at 35 Sv with a small seasonal cycle amplitude of only about 3 Sv. The reason for the much larger near-equatorial northward warm water boundary current than what would be required to carry the northward heat transport are recirculations by the zonal current system and the existence of the shallow South Atlantic tropical–subtropical cell (STC). The STC connects the subduction zones of the eastern subtropics of both hemispheres via equatorward boundary undercurrents with the Equatorial Undercurrent (EUC), and the return flow is through upwelling and poleward Ekman transport. The persistent existence of a set of eastward thermocline and intermediate countercurrents on both sides of the equator was confirmed that recurred throughout the observations and carry ventilated waters from the boundary regime into the tropical interior. A strong westward current underneath the EUC, the Equatorial Intermediate Current, returns low-oxygen water westward. Consistent evidence for the existence of a seasonal variation in the warm water flow south of the equator could not be established, whereas significant seasonal variability of the boundary regime occurs north of the equator: northwestward alongshore throughflow of about 10 Sv of waters with properties from the Southern Hemisphere was found along the Guiana boundary in boreal spring when the North Equatorial Countercurrent is absent or even flowing westward, whereas during June–January the upper NBC is known to connect with the eastward North Equatorial Countercurrent through a retroflection zone that seasonally migrates up and down the coast and spawns eddies. The equatorial zone thus acts as a buffer and transformation zone for cross-equatorial exchanges, but knowledge of the detailed pathways in the interior including the involved diapycnal exchanges is still a problem

The flow field off southwest India at 8°N during the southwest monsoon of August 1993

The flow field off the southwest coast of India at 8N was investigated during RV Sonne cruise 89 in August 1993 by direct velocity observations from shipboard- and lowered-ADCP and geostrophic computations from CTD stations. The upper ocean between 75E and 76°52′E near the South Indian shelf was governed by a northward flow with a subsurface velocity maximum of 25 cm s−1 at about 100 m depth. This flow, organized as a poleward undercurrent hugging the continental slope, is typical for the southwest monsoon season. The northward transport in August 1993 was 4.7 Sv (1 Sverdrup = 106 m3 s−1) for the upper 300 m from the shipboard ADCP. Earlier geostrophic observations showed southward surface flow above the poleward undercurrent, but in August 1993 the northward flow reached to the surface and in the geostrophy calculations, i.e. without the southward Ekman flow near the surface, there was even no clear subsurface core. The T-S characteristics show that Bay of Bengal Water (BBW) was carried with this flow, and low wind conditions seemed to be connected to the flow of BBW from the southern tip of Sri Lanka toward the southwest coast of India. Further offshore, two meridional current bands were identified in the upper 300 m of the ocean. West of the coastal undercurrent a band of southward flow existed with velocities up to 35 cm s−1 above and to the east of the Chagos-Laccadive Ridge, from 72°10′E to 75E. The associated geostrophic transport in the upper 500 m was 5.2 Sv. As the T-S relation was different from that of the northward flow, this current band was not a local recirculation of the poleward undercurrent. Further west, the flow was weak, but intensified toward the central Arabian Sea, between 66E and 69°20′E, where another southward current band was found with velocities of up to 20 cm s−1 and a total geostrophic transport for the upper 300 m of −7.2 Sv

A New Retrieval of Sun-Induced Chlorophyll Fluorescence in Water from Ocean Colour Measurements Applied on OLCI L-1b and L-2

The retrieval of sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence is greatly beneficial to studies of marine phytoplankton biomass, physiology, and composition, and is required for user applications and services. Customarily phytoplankton chlorophyll fluorescence is determined from satellite measurements through a fluorescence line-height algorithm using three bands around 680 nm. We propose here a modified retrieval, making use of all available bands in the relevant wavelength range, with the goal to improve the effectiveness of the algorithm in optically complex waters. For the Ocean and Land Colour Instrument (OLCI), we quantify a Fluorescence Peak Height by fitting a Gaussian function and related terms to the top-of-atmosphere reflectance bands between 650 and 750 nm. This algorithm retrieves, what we call Fluorescence Peak Height by fitting a Gaussian function upon other terms to top-of-atmosphere reflectance bands between 650 and 750 nm. This approach is applicable to Level-1 and Level-2 data. We find a good correlation of the retrieved fluorescence product to global in-situ chlorophyll measurements, as well as a consistent relation between chlorophyll concentration and fluorescence from radiative transfer modelling and OLCI/in-situ comparison. Evidence suggests, the algorithm is applicable to complex waters without needing an atmospheric correction and vicarious calibration, and features an inherent correction of small spectral shifts, as required for OLCI measurements