The genomes of two key bumblebee species with primitive eusocial organization

Background: The shift from solitary to social behavior is one of the major evolutionary transitions. Primitively eusocial bumblebees are uniquely placed to illuminate the evolution of highly eusocial insect societies. Bumblebees are also invaluable natural and agricultural pollinators, and there is widespread concern over recent population declines in some species. High-quality genomic data will inform key aspects of bumblebee biology, including susceptibility to implicated population viability threats. Results: We report the high quality draft genome sequences of Bombus terrestris and Bombus impatiens, two ecologically dominant bumblebees and widely utilized study species. Comparing these new genomes to those of the highly eusocial honeybee Apis mellifera and other Hymenoptera, we identify deeply conserved similarities, as well as novelties key to the biology of these organisms. Some honeybee genome features thought to underpin advanced eusociality are also present in bumblebees, indicating an earlier evolution in the bee lineage. Xenobiotic detoxification and immune genes are similarly depauperate in bumblebees and honeybees, and multiple categories of genes linked to social organization, including development and behavior, show high conservation. Key differences identified include a bias in bumblebee chemoreception towards gustation from olfaction, and striking differences in microRNAs, potentially responsible for gene regulation underlying social and other traits. Conclusions: These two bumblebee genomes provide a foundation for post-genomic research on these key pollinators and insect societies. Overall, gene repertoires suggest that the route to advanced eusociality in bees was mediated by many small changes in many genes and processes, and not by notable expansion or depauperation

Measurement of the inclusive and dijet cross-sections of b-jets in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The inclusive and dijet production cross-sections have been measured for jets containing b-hadrons (b-jets) in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of sqrt(s) = 7 TeV, using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements use data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 34 pb^-1. The b-jets are identified using either a lifetime-based method, where secondary decay vertices of b-hadrons in jets are reconstructed using information from the tracking detectors, or a muon-based method where the presence of a muon is used to identify semileptonic decays of b-hadrons inside jets. The inclusive b-jet cross-section is measured as a function of transverse momentum in the range 20 < pT < 400 GeV and rapidity in the range |y| < 2.1. The bbbar-dijet cross-section is measured as a function of the dijet invariant mass in the range 110 < m_jj < 760 GeV, the azimuthal angle difference between the two jets and the angular variable chi in two dijet mass regions. The results are compared with next-to-leading-order QCD predictions. Good agreement is observed between the measured cross-sections and the predictions obtained using POWHEG + Pythia. MC@NLO + Herwig shows good agreement with the measured bbbar-dijet cross-section. However, it does not reproduce the measured inclusive cross-section well, particularly for central b-jets with large transverse momenta.Comment: 10 pages plus author list (21 pages total), 8 figures, 1 table, final version published in European Physical Journal

Observation of Two New Excited Ξb0 States Decaying to Λb0 K-π+

Two narrow resonant states are observed in the Λb0K-π+ mass spectrum using a data sample of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, collected by the LHCb experiment and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 6 fb-1. The minimal quark content of the Λb0K-π+ system indicates that these are excited Ξb0 baryons. The masses of the Ξb(6327)0 and Ξb(6333)0 states are m[Ξb(6327)0]=6327.28-0.21+0.23±0.12±0.24 and m[Ξb(6333)0]=6332.69-0.18+0.17±0.03±0.22 MeV, respectively, with a mass splitting of Δm=5.41-0.27+0.26±0.12 MeV, where the uncertainties are statistical, systematic, and due to the Λb0 mass measurement. The measured natural widths of these states are consistent with zero, with upper limits of Γ[Ξb(6327)0]&lt;2.20(2.56) and Γ[Ξb(6333)0]&lt;1.60(1.92) MeV at a 90% (95%) credibility level. The significance of the two-peak hypothesis is larger than nine (five) Gaussian standard deviations compared to the no-peak (one-peak) hypothesis. The masses, widths, and resonant structure of the new states are in good agreement with the expectations for a doublet of 1D Ξb0 resonances

Pooled analysis of WHO Surgical Safety Checklist use and mortality after emergency laparotomy

Background The World Health Organization (WHO) Surgical Safety Checklist has fostered safe practice for 10 years, yet its place in emergency surgery has not been assessed on a global scale. The aim of this study was to evaluate reported checklist use in emergency settings and examine the relationship with perioperative mortality in patients who had emergency laparotomy. Methods In two multinational cohort studies, adults undergoing emergency laparotomy were compared with those having elective gastrointestinal surgery. Relationships between reported checklist use and mortality were determined using multivariable logistic regression and bootstrapped simulation. Results Of 12 296 patients included from 76 countries, 4843 underwent emergency laparotomy. After adjusting for patient and disease factors, checklist use before emergency laparotomy was more common in countries with a high Human Development Index (HDI) (2455 of 2741, 89.6 per cent) compared with that in countries with a middle (753 of 1242, 60.6 per cent; odds ratio (OR) 0.17, 95 per cent c.i. 0.14 to 0.21, P <0001) or low (363 of 860, 422 per cent; OR 008, 007 to 010, P <0.001) HDI. Checklist use was less common in elective surgery than for emergency laparotomy in high-HDI countries (risk difference -94 (95 per cent c.i. -11.9 to -6.9) per cent; P <0001), but the relationship was reversed in low-HDI countries (+121 (+7.0 to +173) per cent; P <0001). In multivariable models, checklist use was associated with a lower 30-day perioperative mortality (OR 0.60, 0.50 to 073; P <0.001). The greatest absolute benefit was seen for emergency surgery in low- and middle-HDI countries. Conclusion Checklist use in emergency laparotomy was associated with a significantly lower perioperative mortality rate. Checklist use in low-HDI countries was half that in high-HDI countries.Peer reviewe

38-GHz millimeter wave beam steered fiber wireless systems for 5G indoor coverage: architectures, devices, and links

\u3cp\u3eMillimeter wave (mm-wave) beam steering is a key technique for the next generation (5G) wireless communication. The 28 and 38-GHz bands are widely considered as the candidates for 5G. In the context of indoor coverage, fiber-wireless systems with multiple simplified remote antenna sites are attractive to avoid the indoor coverage problem caused by the high wall penetration loss of mm-wave signals. To allow enough antenna gain at the mm-wave bands, radio beam steering (and beamforming) is desired. Combining fiber-wireless system with remotely controlled photonic mm-wave beam steering can bring significant advances in terms of energy efficiency and cost. In this paper, we explore two kinds of indoor fiber-wireless network architectures for such mm-wave beam steering. Then, we discuss and investigate the key enabling device, which is an arrayed waveguide grating feedback loop (AWG-loop). Based on the AWG-loop, we further design two fiber-wireless links to accommodate the two network architectures. Both links with bit rates from 50 Mb/s to 8 Gb/s per spatial channel are experimentally demonstrated with a 38-GHz carrier frequency. The advanced reversely modulated optical transmitter and half-cycled 16 quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM-16) are employed to realize a simplified mm-wave beam steered fiber-wireless link with the record-breaking 16-b/s/Hz (4 spatial channels × 4/s/Hz) spatial-spectral efficiency in its kind.\u3c/p\u3

A compact and fast photonic true-time-delay beamformer with integrated spot-size converters

First results are reported on a very compact InP-based True-Time-Delay beamformer with integrated Spot-size converters, based on a vertical taper. The chip has been designed for controlling the beam of a 4-element microwave patch antenna operating at 40 GHz. The fiber-chip coupling of the SSCs is 3.5 dB

Electro-optical and temperature tunable WDM filter

We present a new concept of a tuneable WDM filter. With this device we demonstrate that tuning over the complete C or L band is feasible by using either Temperature or the Electro-Optic effect. We have simulated and designed a device in the InP-based material system with capacity for two channels spaced 15 nm. Design, simulation, and the preliminary experimental results are presented in this paper

16 channels optical interface utilizing InP-based mode adapters combined with 30um intervals spaced fibre pitch converters

The performance of an optical connection is determined between 16 single mode fibres and an InP-based chip. The optical interface consists of a fibre pitch converter in combination with on-chip spot-size converters. All optical transitions are uniform spaced at 30 !m intervals. The coupling efficiencies are 3 dB / channel and the 1-dB alignment tolerances are 1.2 !m for both linear lateral x- and transversal ytranslations. The rotational 1-dB tolerance for the 'z roll position is ± 0.3°, measured at the outermost points of the fibres in the optical bus

Ecodefecografia tridimensional dinâmica: nova técnica para avaliação da Síndrome da Defecação Obstruída (SDO)

O objetivo deste estudo é apresentar novas técnicas para avaliação da SDO, utilizando a ultra-sonografia endorretal tridimensional dinâmica e comparando os resultados com a defecografia. Foram incluídas neste estudo 25 mulheres adultas, distribuídas em dois grupos. Grupo I: 15 mulheres normais, idade média de 52,4 anos (23-76) e todas se submeteram ao exame proctológico completo e à ultra-sonografia anorretal tri-dimensional dinâmica para se estabelecer os padrões de normalidade do canal anal e reto. Grupo II: 10 pacientes mulheres com evacuação obstruída, idade média de 47,8 anos (33 a 65 anos), apresentando como principais sintomas a sensação de evacuação incompleta, disquezia e digitação vaginal ou perineal. Submeteram-se a exame proctológico completo, seguindo-se defecografia e posteriormente ecodefecografia por dois examinadores que desconheciam o resultado do exame anterior. A ecodefecografia dinâmica foi realizada com um equipamento B-K Medical®, sonda 360º, tipo 2050, com escaneamento automático durante 50 segundos com 6 cm de extensão. O tamanho médio do ângulo formado pelo músculo PR no repouso foi 87,13º (variação 78,9 - 90,8°) (± 1,01) e no esforço evacuatório 99,22º (variação 84,9 - 114,5°) (± 1,84) nas mulheres normais (grupo I). Houve elevação do ângulo em todas as pacientes normais, significando relaxamento normal do PR durante o esforço evacuatório. Com relação à avaliação da anoretocele, a parede posterior da vagina se manteve na posição horizontal durante todo o esforço evacuatório, exceto nas portadoras de anoretocele. Foram diagnosticadas anoretocele (grau I = 1, grau II = 5, grau III = 4) em todas as pacientes do grupo II pelo exame clínico e defecografia. Todos os casos foram confirmados pela ecodefecografia. A partir destes resultados, foram estabelecidos os valores para classificar a anorectocele de acordo com a ecodefecografia (grau I - distância entre as posições da parede vaginal até 5,0mm, grau II de 6,0 a 12,0mm, grau III além de 12,0mm). Foi identificado anismus em uma paciente com anoretocele grau II e em outra com grau III na defecografia e confirmado na ecodefecografia pela redução no ângulo formado pelo PR ao comparar as posições em repouso e durante o esforço evacuatório. A defecografia demonstrou também quatro casos de intussuscepção enquanto a ecodefecografia confirmou estes casos e identificou dois outros. Em conclusão, a ecodefecografia pode ser utilizada como um método alternativo para o diagnóstico da SDO, pois identifica e quantifica todas as disfunções anorretais responsáveis pela evacuação obstruída. Apresenta também a grande vantagem de avaliar os distúrbios da continência, identificando lesões esfincterianas, mesmo ocultas. É minimamente invasivo, bem tolerado, baixo custo, não expondo o paciente à radiação e demonstrando com precisão todas as estruturas anatômicas envolvidas com a defecação.<br>The aim of the present study is to show novel techniques to evaluate the ODS using dynamic three-dimensional endorectal ultrasound and comparing the results with defecography. Twenty-five adult women were included and distributed in two groups. Group I: Fifteen normal women, mean age 52,4 years old (range 23-76) submitted to full proctologic exam and dynamic 3D anorectal ultrasonography to establish the normal patterns of the rectum and anal canal. Group II: Ten female patients complaining of obstructed defecation, mean age 47,8 years old (33 a 65). The main symptoms were incomplete evacuation, disquezia and vaginal or perineal digitation. They were submitted to full proctologic evaluation, followed by defecography and lastly echodefecography by two examiners without knowing the defecography results. The dynamic echodefecography was performed using B-K Medical® equipment, 360º endoprobe, type 2050, with automatic scan during 50 seconds. The mean angle size formed by the PR at rest position (group I) was 87,13º (range 78,9 - 90,8°) (± 1,01) and 99,22º (range 84,9 - 114,5°) (± 1,84) during evacuatory effort.. It was observed that the angle size increased in all normal women, demonstrating PR relaxation during the evacuatory effort. Concerning to anorectocele evaluation, the posterior vagina wall was kept at horizontal position during the evacuatory effort, except in patients with anorectocele. All patients from group II had anorectocele ( grade I = 1, grade II = 5, grade III = 4) demonstrated at clinical and defecography evaluation. All cases were also confirmed by echodefecography. Based on such results, it was established the reference parameters to classify anorectocele according to echodefecography. (grade I - distance of the vaginal wall positions until 5,0mm, grade II from 6,0 to 12,0mm, grade III above 12,0mm). Defecography identified anismus in one patient with anorectocele grade II and in another with grade III and both were confirmed at echodefecography by decreasing the PR angle when compared the resting with straining positions. Defecography showed also four cases of rectal intussusceptions while echodefecography confirmed such findings and identified two other cases. In conclusion, echodefecography can be used as an alternative method to assess patients with ODS because it identifies and quantifies all the anorectal dysfunctions associated with the obstructed defecation, with the advantage to evaluate also the continence disturbances, identifying sphincter injuries. It's minimally invasive, well tolerated, low cost, no radiation exposure and demonstrates precisely all the anatomic structures involved with defecation