Solar wind and geomagnetism: toward a standard classification of geomagnetic activity from 1868 to 2009

We examined solar activity with a large series of geomagnetic data from 1868 to 2009. We have revisited the geomagnetic activity classification scheme of Legrand and Simon (1989) and improve their scheme by lowering the minimum Aa index value for shock and recurrent activity from 40 to 20 nT. This improved scheme allows us to clearly classify about 80% of the geomagnetic activity in this time period instead of only 60% for the previous Legrand and Simon classification

Autism with intellectual disability is associated with increased levels of maternal cytokines and chemokines during gestation.

Immune abnormalities have been described in some individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) as well as their family members. However, few studies have directly investigated the role of prenatal cytokine and chemokine profiles on neurodevelopmental outcomes in humans. In the current study, we characterized mid-gestational serum profiles of 22 cytokines and chemokines in mothers of children with ASD (N=415), developmental delay (DD) without ASD (N=188), and general population (GP) controls (N=428) using a bead-based multiplex technology. The ASD group was further divided into those with intellectual disabilities (developmental/cognitive and adaptive composite score<70) (ASD+ID, N=184) and those without (composite score⩾70) (ASD-noID, N=201). Levels of cytokines and chemokines were compared between groups using multivariate logistic regression analyses, adjusting for maternal age, ethnicity, birth country and weight, as well as infant gender, birth year and birth month. Mothers of children with ASD+ID had significantly elevated mid-gestational levels of numerous cytokines and chemokines, such as granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor, interferon-γ, interleukin-1α (IL-1α) and IL-6, compared with mothers of children with either ASD-noID, those with DD, or GP controls. Conversely, mothers of children with either ASD-noID or with DD had significantly lower levels of the chemokines IL-8 and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 compared with mothers of GP controls. This observed immunologic distinction between mothers of children with ASD+ID from mothers of children with ASD-noID or DD suggests that the intellectual disability associated with ASD might be etiologically distinct from DD without ASD. These findings contribute to the ongoing efforts toward identification of early biological markers specific to subphenotypes of ASD

Effective yields as tracers of feedback effects on metallicity scaling relations in the EAGLE cosmological simulations

Effective yields, $y_{\rm eff}$, are defined by fundamental galaxy properties (i.e., stellar mass -$M_{\star}$-, gas mass -$M_{\rm gas}$- and gas-phase metallicity). For a closed-box model, $y_{\rm eff}$ is constant and equivalent to the mass in metals returned to the gas per unit mass locked in long-lived stars. Deviations from such behaviour have been often considered observational signatures of past feedback events. By analysing EAGLE simulations with different feedback models, we evaluate the impact of supernovae (SN) and active galactic nuclei (AGN) feedback on $y_{\rm eff}$ at redshift $z=0$. When removing supermassive black holes (BH) and, hence, AGN effects, in simulations, galaxies are located around a plane in the $M_{\star} - M_{\rm gas} - {\rm O/H}$ parameter space (being O/H a proxy for gas metallicity, as usual), with such a plane roughly describing a surface of constant $y_{\rm eff}$. As the ratio between BH mass and $M_{\star}$ increases, galaxies deviate from that plane towards lower $y_{\rm eff}$ as a consequence of AGN feedback. For galaxies not strongly affected by AGN feedback, a stronger SN feedback efficiency generates deviations towards lower $y_{\rm eff}$, while galaxies move towards the opposite side of the plane (i.e., towards higher values of $y_{\rm eff}$) as SN feedback becomes weaker. Star-forming galaxies observed in the Local Universe are located around a similar 3D plane. Our results suggest that the features of the scatter around the observed plane are related to the different feedback histories of galaxies, which might be traced by $y_{\rm eff}$.Comment: 20 pages, 13 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS. Supplementary material can be requested to the corresponding autho

Insulin-like growth factor II prevents oxidative and neuronal damage in cellular and mice models of Parkinson's disease

Oxidative distress and mitochondrial dysfunction, are key factors involved in the pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease (PD). The pleiotropic hormone insulin-like growth factor II (IGF-II) has shown neuroprotective and antioxidant effects in some neurodegenerative diseases. In this work, we demonstrate the protective effect of IGF-II against the damage induced by 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP+) in neuronal dopaminergic cell cultures and a mouse model of progressive PD. In the neuronal model, IGF-II counteracts the oxidative distress produced by MPP + protecting dopaminergic neurons. Improved mitochondrial function, increased nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like2 (NRF2) nuclear translocation along with NRF2-dependent upregulation of antioxidative enzymes, and modulation of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signalling pathway were identified as mechanisms leading to neuroprotection and the survival of dopaminergic cells. The neuroprotective effect of IGF-II against MPP + -neurotoxicity on dopaminergic neurons depends on the specific IGF-II receptor (IGF-IIr). In the mouse model, IGF-II prevents behavioural dysfunction and dopaminergic nigrostriatal pathway degeneration and mitigates neuroinflammation induced by MPP+. Our work demonstrates that hampering oxidative stress and normalising mitochondrial function through the interaction of IGF-II with its specific IGF-IIr are neuroprotective in both neuronal and mouse models. Thus, the modulation of the IGF-II/IGF-IIr signalling pathway may be a useful therapeutic approach for the prevention and treatment of PD

Epidemiology of Coxiella burnetii infection in Africa: a OneHealth systematic review

Background: Q fever is a common cause of febrile illness and community-acquired pneumonia in resource-limited settings. Coxiella burnetii, the causative pathogen, is transmitted among varied host species, but the epidemiology of the organism in Africa is poorly understood. We conducted a systematic review of C. burnetii epidemiology in Africa from a “One Health” perspective to synthesize the published data and identify knowledge gaps.<p></p> Methods/Principal Findings: We searched nine databases to identify articles relevant to four key aspects of C. burnetii epidemiology in human and animal populations in Africa: infection prevalence; disease incidence; transmission risk factors; and infection control efforts. We identified 929 unique articles, 100 of which remained after full-text review. Of these, 41 articles describing 51 studies qualified for data extraction. Animal seroprevalence studies revealed infection by C. burnetii (≤13%) among cattle except for studies in Western and Middle Africa (18–55%). Small ruminant seroprevalence ranged from 11–33%. Human seroprevalence was <8% with the exception of studies among children and in Egypt (10–32%). Close contact with camels and rural residence were associated with increased seropositivity among humans. C. burnetii infection has been associated with livestock abortion. In human cohort studies, Q fever accounted for 2–9% of febrile illness hospitalizations and 1–3% of infective endocarditis cases. We found no studies of disease incidence estimates or disease control efforts.<p></p> Conclusions/Significance: C. burnetii infection is detected in humans and in a wide range of animal species across Africa, but seroprevalence varies widely by species and location. Risk factors underlying this variability are poorly understood as is the role of C. burnetii in livestock abortion. Q fever consistently accounts for a notable proportion of undifferentiated human febrile illness and infective endocarditis in cohort studies, but incidence estimates are lacking. C. burnetii presents a real yet underappreciated threat to human and animal health throughout Africa.<p></p&gt

Effect of thrombin peptide 508 (TP508) on bone healing during distraction osteogenesis in rabbit tibia

Thrombin-related peptide 508 (TP508) accelerates bone regeneration during distraction osteogenesis (DO). We have examined the effect of TP508 on bone regeneration during DO by immunolocalization of Runx2 protein, a marker of osteoblast differentiation, and of osteopontin (OPN) and bone sialoprotein (BSP), two late markers of the osteoblast lineage. Distraction was performed in tibiae of rabbits over a period of 6 days. TP508 (30 or 300 μg) or vehicle was injected into the distraction gap at the beginning and end of the distraction period. Two weeks after active distraction, tissue samples were harvested and processed for immunohistochemical analysis. We also tested the in vitro effect of TP508 on Runx2 mRNA expression in osteoblast-like (MC3T3-E1) cells by polymerase chain reaction analysis. Runx2 and OPN protein were observed in preosteoblasts, osteoblasts, osteocytes of newly formed bone, blood vessel cells and many fibroblast-like cells of the soft connective tissue. Immunostaining for BSP was more restricted to osteoblasts and osteocytes. Significantly more Runx2- and OPN-expressing cells were seen in the group treated with 300 μg TP508 than in the control group injected with saline or with 30 μg TP508. However, TP508 failed to increase Runx2 mRNA levels significantly in MC3T3-E1 cells after 2–3 days of exposure. Our data suggest that TP508 enhances bone regeneration during DO by increasing the proportion of cells of the osteoblastic lineage. Clinically, TP508 may shorten the healing time during DO; this might be of benefit when bone regeneration is slow

Low-energy Calibration of XENON1T with an Internal 37^{37}Ar Source

A low-energy electronic recoil calibration of XENON1T, a dual-phase xenontime projection chamber, with an internal $^{37}$Ar source was performed. Thiscalibration source features a 35-day half-life and provides two mono-energeticlines at 2.82 keV and 0.27 keV. The photon yield and electron yield at 2.82 keVare measured to be (32.3$\pm$0.3) photons/keV and (40.6$\pm$0.5) electrons/keV,respectively, in agreement with other measurements and with NEST predictions.The electron yield at 0.27 keV is also measured and it is(68.0$^{+6.3}_{-3.7}$) electrons/keV. The $^{37}$Ar calibration confirms thatthe detector is well-understood in the energy region close to the detectionthreshold, with the 2.82 keV line reconstructed at (2.83$\pm$0.02) keV, whichfurther validates the model used to interpret the low-energy electronic recoilexcess previously reported by XENON1T. The ability to efficiently remove argonwith cryogenic distillation after the calibration proves that $^{37}$Ar can beconsidered as a regular calibration source for multi-tonne xenon detectors.<br

Low-energy calibration of XENON1T with an internal 37^{{\textbf {37}}}Ar source

A low-energy electronic recoil calibration of XENON1T, a dual-phase xenon time projection chamber, with an internal 37Ar source was performed. This calibration source features a 35-day half-life and provides two mono-energetic lines at 2.82 keV and 0.27 keV. The photon yield and electron yield at 2.82 keV are measured to be (32.3±0.3) photons/keV and (40.6±0.5) electrons/keV, respectively, in agreement with other measurements and with NEST predictions. The electron yield at 0.27 keV is also measured and it is (68.0+6.3−3.7) electrons/keV. The 37Ar calibration confirms that the detector is well-understood in the energy region close to the detection threshold, with the 2.82 keV line reconstructed at (2.83±0.02) keV, which further validates the model used to interpret the low-energy electronic recoil excess previously reported by XENON1T. The ability to efficiently remove argon with cryogenic distillation after the calibration proves that 37Ar can be considered as a regular calibration source for multi-tonne xenon detectors