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Meat quality is not only influenced by breed but also rearing environment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of different housing environments on growth performance, carcase traits, meat quality, physiological response pre-slaughter and fatty acid composition in two pig breeds. A total of 120 growing pigs at 60-70 days of age were arranged in a 2 × 2 factorial design with the breeds (Duroc × Landrace × Large White [D × L × LW] and Duroc × Landrace × Min pig [D × L × M]) and environmental enrichment (barren concrete floor or enriched with straw bedding) as factors. Each treatment was performed in triplicate with ten pigs per replicate. The pigs housed in the enriched environment exhibited a higher average daily gain, average daily feed intake, saturated fatty acid percentage and backfat depth than the pigs reared in the barren environment. Plasma cortisol levels were lower and growth hormone higher in enriched compared to barren pens. The D × L × M pigs showed lower cooking loss compared with the D × L × LW pigs. Moreover, the D × L × M pigs exhibited poor growth performance but had a better water-holding capacity. Only carcase traits and meat quality interaction effects were observed. We concluded that an enriched environment can reduce preslaughter stress and improve the growth performance of pigs and modulate the fatty acid composition of pork products.
We present the Widefield ASKAP L-band Legacy All-sky Blind surveY (WALLABY) Pilot Phase I Hi kinematic models. This first data release consists of Hi observations of three fields in the direction of the Hydra and Norma clusters, and the NGC 4636 galaxy group. In this paper, we describe how we generate and publicly release flat-disk tilted-ring kinematic models for 109/592 unique Hi detections in these fields. The modelling method adopted here—which we call the WALLABY Kinematic Analysis Proto-Pipeline (WKAPP) and for which the corresponding scripts are also publicly available—consists of combining results from the homogeneous application of the FAT and 3DBarolo algorithms to the subset of 209 detections with sufficient resolution and
$S/N$
in order to generate optimised model parameters and uncertainties. The 109 models presented here tend to be gas rich detections resolved by at least 3–4 synthesised beams across their major axes, but there is no obvious environmental bias in the modelling. The data release described here is the first step towards the derivation of similar products for thousands of spatially resolved WALLABY detections via a dedicated kinematic pipeline. Such a large publicly available and homogeneously analysed dataset will be a powerful legacy product that that will enable a wide range of scientific studies.
We present WALLABY pilot data release 1, the first public release of H i pilot survey data from the Wide-field ASKAP L-band Legacy All-sky Blind Survey (WALLABY) on the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder. Phase 1 of the WALLABY pilot survey targeted three
$60\,\mathrm{deg}^{2}$
regions on the sky in the direction of the Hydra and Norma galaxy clusters and the NGC 4636 galaxy group, covering the redshift range of
$z \lesssim 0.08$
. The source catalogue, images and spectra of nearly 600 extragalactic H i detections and kinematic models for 109 spatially resolved galaxies are available. As the pilot survey targeted regions containing nearby group and cluster environments, the median redshift of the sample of
$z \approx 0.014$
is relatively low compared to the full WALLABY survey. The median galaxy H i mass is
$2.3 \times 10^{9}\,{\rm M}_{{\odot}}$
. The target noise level of
$1.6\,\mathrm{mJy}$
per 30′′ beam and
$18.5\,\mathrm{kHz}$
channel translates into a
$5 \sigma$
H i mass sensitivity for point sources of about
$5.2 \times 10^{8} \, (D_{\rm L} / \mathrm{100\,Mpc})^{2} \, {\rm M}_{{\odot}}$
across 50 spectral channels (
${\approx} 200\,\mathrm{km \, s}^{-1}$
) and a
$5 \sigma$
H i column density sensitivity of about
$8.6 \times 10^{19} \, (1 + z)^{4}\,\mathrm{cm}^{-2}$
across 5 channels (
${\approx} 20\,\mathrm{km \, s}^{-1}$
) for emission filling the 30′′ beam. As expected for a pilot survey, several technical issues and artefacts are still affecting the data quality. Most notably, there are systematic flux errors of up to several 10% caused by uncertainties about the exact size and shape of each of the primary beams as well as the presence of sidelobes due to the finite deconvolution threshold. In addition, artefacts such as residual continuum emission and bandpass ripples have affected some of the data. The pilot survey has been highly successful in uncovering such technical problems, most of which are expected to be addressed and rectified before the start of the full WALLABY survey.
Mental health regional differences during pregnancy through the COVID-19 pandemic is understudied.
Objectives
We aimed to quantify the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal mental health during pregnancy.
Methods
A cohort study with a web-based recruitment strategy and electronic data collection was initiated in 06/2020. Although Canadian women, >18 years were primarily targeted, pregnant women worldwide were eligible. The current analysis includes data on women enrolled 06/2020-11/2020. Self-reported data included mental health measures (Edinburgh Perinatal Depression Scale (EPDS), Generalized Anxiety Disorders (GAD-7)), stress. We compared maternal mental health stratifying on country/continents of residence, and identified determinants of mental health using multivariable regression models.
Results
Of 2,109 pregnant women recruited, 1,932 were from Canada, 48 the United States (US), 73 Europe, 35 Africa, and 21 Asia/Oceania. Mean depressive symptom scores were lower in Canada (EPDS 8.2, SD 5.2) compared to the US (EPDS 10.5, SD 4.8) and Europe (EPDS 10.4, SD 6.5) (p<0.05), regardless of being infected or not. Maternal anxiety, stress, decreased income and access to health care due to the pandemic were increasing maternal depression. The prevalence of severe anxiety was similar across country/continents. Maternal depression, stress, and earlier recruitment during the pandemic (June/July) were associated with increased maternal anxiety.
Conclusions
In this first international study on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, CONCEPTION has shown significant country/continent-specific variations in depressive symptoms during pregnancy, whereas severe anxiety was similar regardless of place of residence. Strategies are needed to reduce COVID-19’s mental health burden in pregnancy.
We report the experimental results of the commissioning phase in the 10 PW laser beamline of the Shanghai Superintense Ultrafast Laser Facility (SULF). The peak power reaches 2.4 PW on target without the last amplifying during the experiment. The laser energy of 72 ± 9 J is directed to a focal spot of approximately 6 μm diameter (full width at half maximum) in 30 fs pulse duration, yielding a focused peak intensity around 2.0 × 1021 W/cm2. The first laser-proton acceleration experiment is performed using plain copper and plastic targets. High-energy proton beams with maximum cut-off energy up to 62.5 MeV are achieved using copper foils at the optimum target thickness of 4 μm via target normal sheath acceleration. For plastic targets of tens of nanometers thick, the proton cut-off energy is approximately 20 MeV, showing ring-like or filamented density distributions. These experimental results reflect the capabilities of the SULF-10 PW beamline, for example, both ultrahigh intensity and relatively good beam contrast. Further optimization for these key parameters is underway, where peak laser intensities of 1022–1023 W/cm2 are anticipated to support various experiments on extreme field physics.
In order to improve the resiliency of the grid and to enable integration of renewable energy sources into the grid, the utilization of battery systems to store energy for later demand is of the utmost importance. The implementation of grid-scale electrical energy storage systems can aid in peak shaving and load leveling, voltage and frequency regulation, as well as emergency power supply. Although the predominant battery chemistry currently used is Li-ion; due to cost, safety and sourcing concerns, incorporation of other battery technologies is of interest for expanding the breadth and depth of battery storage system installations. This Element discusses existing technologies beyond Li-ion battery storage chemistries that have seen grid-scale deployment, as well as several other promising battery technologies, and analyzes their chemistry mechanisms, battery construction and design, and corresponding advantages and disadvantages.
This study aimed to elucidate whether molecular signalling involved in upper airway remodelling is enhanced in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea.
Method
Twenty patients with mild obstructive sleep apnoea (control group) and 40 patients with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnoea (obstructive sleep apnoea group) who desired uvulopalatopharyngoplasty were recruited for the study. After uvulopalatopharyngoplasty, surgical specimens of the uvula were subjected to haematoxylin and eosin, Masson's trichrome and immunohistochemical staining. Western blot and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction were used to evaluate the protein and messenger RNA expressions.
Results
The obstructive sleep apnoea group showed more severe inflammation, increased collagen deposition and higher immunohistochemical staining intensity for TGF-ß and MMP-9 as well as higher protein and messenger RNA expression of MMP-9, VEGF, TGF-ß, p38 MAPK, SMAD 2/3, AKT and JNK in the uvula than control group.
Conclusion
Patients with obstructive sleep apnoea demonstrated more severe inflammation, increased airway remodelling, and increased protein and messenger RNA expression of pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrotic cytokines in the uvula than control participants.
Background: While pediatric high-grade glioma (HGG) has a poor prognosis, the relationship between extent of resection (EOR), tumor location, and survival remains unclear. Our aim is to determine whether gross-total resection (GTR) is associated with prolonged survival relative to subtotal resection (STR) and biopsy. Methods: PubMed, Ovid EBM Reviews, Embase, and MEDLINE were systematically reviewed. Eligible articles were included for study-level and individual-patient data (IPD) meta-analysis. Difference by study-level and IPD characteristics were estimated using subgroup meta-analysis and meta-regression. PRISMA guidelines were followed. Results: In total, 33 studies were included. Study-level meta-analysis found GTR conferred decreased mortality relative to STR at 1 year (RR=0.73, 95%CI=0.59-0.89) and 2 years (RR=0.74, 95%CI=0.64-0.84). STR did not demonstrate survival advantages compared to biopsy at 1 year (RR=0.81, 95%CI=0.64-1.03), but showed decreased mortality at 2 years (RR=0.90, 95%CI=0.82-0.99). IPD meta-analysis comprised 186 patients, and indicated that STR (HR=2.61, 95%CI=1.56-4.38) and biopsy (HR=2.83, 95%CI=1.54-5.19) had shortened survival relative to GTR, with no differences between STR and biopsy (HR=0.93, 95%CI=0.55-1.56). In subgroup analysis, GTR was associated with prolonged survival for hemispheric tumors (HR=0.16, 95%CI=0.07-0.36) Conclusions: Among pediatric patients with HGGs, GTR was independently associated with better overall survival compared to STR and biopsy, especially in patients with hemispheric tumors.
Mid- and far-infrared (IR) photometric and spectroscopic observations are fundamental to a full understanding of the dust-obscured Universe and the evolution of both star formation and black hole accretion in galaxies. In this work, using the specifications of the SPace Infrared telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics (SPICA) as a baseline, we investigate the capability to study the dust-obscured Universe of mid- and far-IR photometry at 34 and
$70\, {\rm{\mu }}\mathrm{m}$
and low-resolution spectroscopy at
$17{-}36\, {\rm{\mu }}\mathrm{m}$
using the state-of-the-art Spectro-Photometric Realisations of Infrared-selected Targets at all-z (Spritz) simulation. This investigation is also compared to the expected performance of the Origins Space Telescope and the Galaxy Evolution Probe. The photometric view of the Universe of a SPICA-like mission could cover not only bright objects (e.g.
$L_{IR}>10^{12}\,{\rm L}_{\odot}$
) up to
${z}=10$
, but also normal galaxies (
$L_{IR}<10^{11}\,{\rm L}_{\odot}$
) up to
$\textit{z}\sim4$
. At the same time, the spectroscopic observations of such mission could also allow us to estimate the redshifts and study the physical properties for thousands of star-forming galaxies and active galactic nuclei by observing the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and a large set of IR nebular emission lines. In this way, a cold, 2.5-m size space telescope with spectro-photometric capability analogous to SPICA, could provide us with a complete three-dimensional (i.e. images and integrated spectra) view of the dust-obscured Universe and the physics governing galaxy evolution up to
$\textit{z}\sim4$
.
The cosmic evolution of the chemical elements from the Big Bang to the present time is driven by nuclear fusion reactions inside stars and stellar explosions. A cycle of matter recurrently re-processes metal-enriched stellar ejecta into the next generation of stars. The study of cosmic nucleosynthesis and this matter cycle requires the understanding of the physics of nuclear reactions, of the conditions at which the nuclear reactions are activated inside the stars and stellar explosions, of the stellar ejection mechanisms through winds and explosions, and of the transport of the ejecta towards the next cycle, from hot plasma to cold, star-forming gas. Due to the long timescales of stellar evolution, and because of the infrequent occurrence of stellar explosions, observational studies are challenging, as they have biases in time and space as well as different sensitivities related to the various astronomical methods. Here, we describe in detail the astrophysical and nuclear-physical processes involved in creating two radioactive isotopes useful in such studies,
$^{26}\mathrm{Al}$
and
$^{60}\mathrm{Fe}$
. Due to their radioactive lifetime of the order of a million years, these isotopes are suitable to characterise simultaneously the processes of nuclear fusion reactions and of interstellar transport. We describe and discuss the nuclear reactions involved in the production and destruction of
$^{26}\mathrm{Al}$
and
$^{60}\mathrm{Fe}$
, the key characteristics of the stellar sites of their nucleosynthesis and their interstellar journey after ejection from the nucleosynthesis sites. This allows us to connect the theoretical astrophysical aspects to the variety of astronomical messengers presented here, from stardust and cosmic-ray composition measurements, through observation of
$\gamma$
rays produced by radioactivity, to material deposited in deep-sea ocean crusts and to the inferred composition of the first solids that have formed in the Solar System. We show that considering measurements of the isotopic ratio of
$^{26}\mathrm{Al}$
to
$^{60}\mathrm{Fe}$
eliminate some of the unknowns when interpreting astronomical results, and discuss the lessons learned from these two isotopes on cosmic chemical evolution. This review paper has emerged from an ISSI-BJ Team project in 2017–2019, bringing together nuclear physicists, astronomers, and astrophysicists in this inter-disciplinary discussion.
Mars exploration motivates the search for extraterrestrial life, the development of space technologies, and the design of human missions and habitations. Here, we seek new insights and pose unresolved questions relating to the natural history of Mars, habitability, robotic and human exploration, planetary protection, and the impacts on human society. Key observations and findings include:
– high escape rates of early Mars' atmosphere, including loss of water, impact present-day habitability;
– putative fossils on Mars will likely be ambiguous biomarkers for life;
– microbial contamination resulting from human habitation is unavoidable; and
– based on Mars' current planetary protection category, robotic payload(s) should characterize the local martian environment for any life-forms prior to human habitation.
Some of the outstanding questions are:
– which interpretation of the hemispheric dichotomy of the planet is correct;
– to what degree did deep-penetrating faults transport subsurface liquids to Mars' surface;
– in what abundance are carbonates formed by atmospheric processes;
– what properties of martian meteorites could be used to constrain their source locations;
– the origin(s) of organic macromolecules;
– was/is Mars inhabited;
– how can missions designed to uncover microbial activity in the subsurface eliminate potential false positives caused by microbial contaminants from Earth;
– how can we ensure that humans and microbes form a stable and benign biosphere; and
– should humans relate to putative extraterrestrial life from a biocentric viewpoint (preservation of all biology), or anthropocentric viewpoint of expanding habitation of space?
Studies of Mars' evolution can shed light on the habitability of extrasolar planets. In addition, Mars exploration can drive future policy developments and confirm (or put into question) the feasibility and/or extent of human habitability of space.
This study investigated the audiometric and sound localisation results in patients with conductive hearing loss after bilateral Bonebridge implantation.
Method
Eight patients with congenital microtia and atresia supplied with bilateral Bonebridge devices were enrolled in this study. Hearing tests and sound localisation were tested under unaided, unilateral and bilateral aided conditions.
Results
Mean functional gain was higher with a bilateral fitting than with a unilateral fitting, especially at 1.0–4.0 kHz (p < 0.05, both). The improvement in speech reception threshold in noise with a bilateral fitting was a 2.3 dB higher signal-to-noise ratio compared with unilateral fitting (p < 0.05). Bilateral fitting had better sound localisation than unilateral fitting (p <0.001). Four participants who attended follow up showed improved sound localisation ability after one year.
Conclusion
Patients demonstrated better hearing threshold, speech reception thresholds in noise and directional hearing with bilateral Bonebridge devices than with a unilateral Bonebridge device. Sound localisation ability with bilateral Bonebridge devices can be improved through long-term training.
The Variables and Slow Transients Survey (VAST) on the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) is designed to detect highly variable and transient radio sources on timescales from 5 s to
$\sim\!5$
yr. In this paper, we present the survey description, observation strategy and initial results from the VAST Phase I Pilot Survey. This pilot survey consists of
$\sim\!162$
h of observations conducted at a central frequency of 888 MHz between 2019 August and 2020 August, with a typical rms sensitivity of
$0.24\ \mathrm{mJy\ beam}^{-1}$
and angular resolution of
$12-20$
arcseconds. There are 113 fields, each of which was observed for 12 min integration time, with between 5 and 13 repeats, with cadences between 1 day and 8 months. The total area of the pilot survey footprint is 5 131 square degrees, covering six distinct regions of the sky. An initial search of two of these regions, totalling 1 646 square degrees, revealed 28 highly variable and/or transient sources. Seven of these are known pulsars, including the millisecond pulsar J2039–5617. Another seven are stars, four of which have no previously reported radio detection (SCR J0533–4257, LEHPM 2-783, UCAC3 89–412162 and 2MASS J22414436–6119311). Of the remaining 14 sources, two are active galactic nuclei, six are associated with galaxies and the other six have no multi-wavelength counterparts and are yet to be identified.
Substantial progress has been made in the standardization of nomenclature for paediatric and congenital cardiac care. In 1936, Maude Abbott published her Atlas of Congenital Cardiac Disease, which was the first formal attempt to classify congenital heart disease. The International Paediatric and Congenital Cardiac Code (IPCCC) is now utilized worldwide and has most recently become the paediatric and congenital cardiac component of the Eleventh Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11). The most recent publication of the IPCCC was in 2017. This manuscript provides an updated 2021 version of the IPCCC.
The International Society for Nomenclature of Paediatric and Congenital Heart Disease (ISNPCHD), in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), developed the paediatric and congenital cardiac nomenclature that is now within the eleventh version of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11). This unification of IPCCC and ICD-11 is the IPCCC ICD-11 Nomenclature and is the first time that the clinical nomenclature for paediatric and congenital cardiac care and the administrative nomenclature for paediatric and congenital cardiac care are harmonized. The resultant congenital cardiac component of ICD-11 was increased from 29 congenital cardiac codes in ICD-9 and 73 congenital cardiac codes in ICD-10 to 318 codes submitted by ISNPCHD through 2018 for incorporation into ICD-11. After these 318 terms were incorporated into ICD-11 in 2018, the WHO ICD-11 team added an additional 49 terms, some of which are acceptable legacy terms from ICD-10, while others provide greater granularity than the ISNPCHD thought was originally acceptable. Thus, the total number of paediatric and congenital cardiac terms in ICD-11 is 367. In this manuscript, we describe and review the terminology, hierarchy, and definitions of the IPCCC ICD-11 Nomenclature. This article, therefore, presents a global system of nomenclature for paediatric and congenital cardiac care that unifies clinical and administrative nomenclature.
The members of ISNPCHD realize that the nomenclature published in this manuscript will continue to evolve. The version of the IPCCC that was published in 2017 has evolved and changed, and it is now replaced by this 2021 version. In the future, ISNPCHD will again publish updated versions of IPCCC, as IPCCC continues to evolve.
A new near-infrared direct acceleration mechanism driven by Laguerre–Gaussian laser is proposed to stably accelerate and concentrate electron slice both in longitudinal and transversal directions in vacuum. Three-dimensional simulations show that a 2-μm circularly polarized ${\mathrm{LG}}_p^l$ (p = 0, l = 1, σz = −1) laser can directly manipulate attosecond electron slices in additional dimensions (angular directions) and give them annular structures and angular momentums. These annular vortex attosecond electron slices are expected to have some novel applications such as in the collimation of antiprotons in conventional linear accelerators, edge-enhancement electron imaging, structured X-ray generation, and analysis and manipulation of nanomaterials.
We present 63 new multi-site radial velocity (RV) measurements of the K1III giant HD 76920, which was recently reported to host the most eccentric planet known to orbit an evolved star. We focused our observational efforts on the time around the predicted periastron passage and achieved near-continuous phase coverage of the corresponding RV peak. By combining our RV measurements from four different instruments with previously published ones, we confirm the highly eccentric nature of the system and find an even higher eccentricity of
$e=0.8782 \pm 0.0025$
, an orbital period of
$415.891^{+0.043}_{-0.039}\,\textrm{d}$
, and a minimum mass of
$3.13^{+0.41}_{-0.43}\,\textrm{M}_{\textrm{J}}$
for the planet. The uncertainties in the orbital elements are greatly reduced, especially for the period and eccentricity. We also performed a detailed spectroscopic analysis to derive atmospheric stellar parameters, and thus the fundamental stellar parameters (
$M_*, R_*, L_*$
), taking into account the parallax from Gaia DR2, and independently determined the stellar mass and radius using asteroseismology. Intriguingly, at periastron, the planet comes to within 2.4 stellar radii of its host star’s surface. However, we find that the planet is not currently experiencing any significant orbital decay and will not be engulfed by the stellar envelope for at least another 50–80 Myr. Finally, while we calculate a relatively high transit probability of 16%, we did not detect a transit in the TESS photometry.