Lack Of Evolution Research Articles

Evolving Assessment in Medical Education: Exploring the Role of Open-Book Examinations.

The landscape of medical education has witnessed significant transformations over the past decades, particularly with the advent of active teaching methodologies. However, despite these advancements, the traditional theoretical assessment methods have remained largely unchanged. This lack of evolution in assessment systems poses a challenge as it is crucial for assessment methods to evolve in tandem with teaching approaches to ensure a comprehensive and effective learning process in medical education. This paper reviews the integration and effectiveness of open-book examinations (OBEs) in medical education, reflecting their growing significance. An integrative review of the literature was conducted, drawing from a range of relevant publications over the last decade, sourced from databases such as PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and ERIC. The inclusion criteria focused on full-text articles in English, with search terms including "medicine," "assessment," "open book examination," "open book exam," and "open book assessment," combined using Boolean operators. Thirteen publications were selected and critically appraised using The Critical Appraisal Skills Program checklist. The analysis identified three primary thematic categories: "Teaching Strategy for Pandemic and Challenging Conditions," "Tool of Learning & Educational Impact", and "Operational Challenges & Future Directions". These themes were explored to understand the role and impact of open-book examinations in medical education. The findings indicate that open-book examinations are a crucial component in the evolving landscape of medical education. While certain reservations remain, open-book examinations have shown significant potential in fostering critical thinking, argumentation skills, and lifelong learning among medical students. They reflect the ongoing evolution of knowledge in the medical field and contribute to the development of professionals' adept at navigating and applying complex information. Further research is recommended to solidify these findings and expand the understanding of open-book examinations in medical education.

Observed cosmic evolution of galaxy dust properties with metallicity and tensions with models

ABSTRACT The dust abundance of the interstellar medium plays an important role in galaxy physics, the chemical evolution of matter, and the absorption and re-emission of stellar light. The last years have seen a surge in observational and theoretical studies constraining the dust-abundance of galaxies up to z ∼ 5. In this work, we gather the latest observational measurements (with a focus on absorption studies covering metallicities in the range 6.8 < 12 + log (O/H) < 9) and theoretical predictions (from six different galaxy formation models) for the dust-to-gas (DTG) and dust-to-metal (DTM) ratio of galaxies. The observed trend between DTG and DTM and gas-phase metallicity can be described by a linear relation and shows no evolution from 0 < z < 5. Importantly, the fit to the DTG-metallicity relation provides a refined tool for robust dust-based gas mass estimates inferred from millimeter dust-continuum observations. The lack of evolution in the observed relations are indicative of a quickly reached balance (already when the Universe was 1.2-Gyr old) between the formation and destruction of dust and a constant time-scale for star formation at fixed metallicities over cosmic time. None of the models is able to reproduce the observed trends over the entire range in metallicity and redshift probed. The comparison between models and simulations furthermore rules out some of the current implementations for the growth and destruction of dust in galaxy formation models and places tight constraints on the predicted time-scale for star formation.

Evaluation of a Digitally Guided Self-Rehabilitation Device Coupled With Telerehabilitation Monitoring in Patients With Parkinson Disease (TELEP@RK): Open, Prospective Observational Study.

BackgroundParkinson disease is a neurodegenerative disease causing a progressive loss of autonomy. This requires long-term rehabilitation care. Currently, new technologies are being developed for use in daily life, and there is a progressive implementation of telerehabilitation.ObjectiveThe aim of this study (the TELEP@RK study) is to evaluate the uses of a digital self-rehabilitation device in patients with Parkinson disease and their independent physiotherapists on the scale of a health territory.MethodsA total of 10 independent physiotherapists and 31 patients with Parkinson disease were followed for 1 year to evaluate the use of a telerehabilitation tool (digital tablet and inertial sensor) via questionnaires of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). The questionnaires were submitted to participants at 0, 2, and 12 months from the start of follow-up. The averages of the scores of the different determinants and constructs of the UTAUT questionnaires were compared at the different follow-up times.ResultsAmong professionals, the averages of the various determinants were generally high at the beginning of the study with an average (out of 5) performance expectancy of 4.19, effort expectancy of 3.88, social influence of 3.95, facilitating conditions of 4, and intention to use of 3.97. These averages decreased over time.ConclusionsAcceptability, acceptance, and appropriation of the tool were very high among the physiotherapists as well as the patients, despite the tool’s lack of evolution during the study. In the current health care context, these results allow us to envision a new organization of the care pathway for patients with chronic diseases, with the increased use of new technologies associated with telecare.

The Magellan M2FS Spectroscopic Survey of High-z Galaxies: Lyα Emitters at z ≈ 6.6 and the Evolution of Lyα Luminosity Function over z ≈ 5.7–6.6

Abstract We present a sample of Lyα emitters (LAEs) at z ≈ 6.6 from our spectroscopic survey of high-redshift galaxies using the multi-object spectrograph M2FS on the Magellan Clay telescope. The sample consists of 36 LAEs selected by the narrowband (NB921) technique over nearly 2 deg2 in the sky. These galaxies generally have high Lyα luminosities spanning a range of ∼3 × 1042–7 × 1043 erg s−1, and include some of the most Lyα-luminous galaxies known at this redshift. They show a positive correlation between the Lyα line width and Lyα luminosity, similar to the relation previously found in z ≈ 5.7 LAEs. Based on the spectroscopic sample, we calculate a sophisticated sample completeness correction and derive the Lyα luminosity function (LF) at z ≈ 6.6. We detect a density bump at the bright end of the Lyα LF that is significantly above the best-fit Schechter function, suggesting that very luminous galaxies tend to reside in overdense regions that have formed large ionized bubbles around them. By comparing with the z ≈ 5.7 Lyα LF, we confirm that there is a rapid LF evolution at the faint end, but a lack of evolution at the bright end. The fraction of the neutral hydrogen in the intergalactic medium at z ≈ 6.6 estimated from such an evolution is about 0.3 ± 0.1, supporting a rapid and rather late process of cosmic reionization.

Total mass density slopes of early-type galaxies using Jeans dynamical modelling at redshifts 0.29 < z < 0.55

ABSTRACT The change of the total mass density slope, γ, of early-type galaxies through cosmic time is a probe of evolutionary pathways. Hydrodynamical cosmological simulations show that at high redshifts density profiles of early-type galaxies were on average steep (γ ∼ −3). As redshift approaches zero, gas-poor mergers progressively cause the total mass density slope to approach the ‘isothermal’ slope of γ ∼ −2. Simulations therefore predict steep density slopes at high redshifts, with little to no evolution in density slopes below z ∼ 1. Gravitational lensing results in the same redshift range find the opposite, namely a significant trend of shallow density slopes at high redshifts, becoming steeper as redshift approaches zero. Gravitational lensing results indicate a different evolutionary mechanism for early-type galaxies than dry merging, such as continued gas accretion or off-axis mergers. At redshift zero, isothermal solutions are obtained by both simulations and dynamical modelling. This work applies the Jeans dynamical modelling technique to observations of galaxies at intermediate redshifts (0.29 < z < 0.55) in order to derive density slopes to address the tension between observations and simulations. We combine two-dimensional kinematic fields from Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer data with Hubble Space Telescope photometry. The density slopes of 90 early-type galaxies from the Frontier Fields project are presented. The total sample has a median of γ = −2.11 ± 0.03 (standard error), in agreement with dynamical modelling studies at redshift zero. The lack of evolution in total density slopes in the past 4–6 Gyr supports a dry merging model for early-type galaxy evolution.

Biomineralization of Polychaete Annelids in the Fossil Record

Ten distinct microstructures occur in fossil serpulids and serpulid tubes can contain several layers with different microstructures. Diversity and complexity of serpulid skeletal structures has greatly increased throughout their evolution. In general, Cenozoic serpulid skeletal structures are better preserved than Mesozoic ones. The first complex serpulid microstructures comparable to those of complex structures of molluscs appeared in the Eocene. The evolution of serpulid tube microstructures can be explained by the importance of calcareous tubes for serpulids as protection against predators and environmental disturbances. Both fossil cirratulids and sabellids are single layered and have only spherulitic prismatic tube microstructures. Microstructures of sabellids and cirratulids have not evolved since the appearance of calcareous species in the Jurassic and Oligocene, respectively. The lack of evolution in sabellids and cirratulids may result from the unimportance of biomineralization for these groups as only few species of sabellids and cirratulids have ever built calcareous tubes.

SPIDERS: overview of the X-ray galaxy cluster follow-up and the final spectroscopic data release

ABSTRACT SPIDERS (The SPectroscopic IDentification of eROSITA Sources) is a large spectroscopic programme for X-ray selected galaxy clusters as part of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-IV (SDSS-IV). We describe the final data set in the context of SDSS Data Release 16 (DR16): the survey overall characteristics, final targeting strategies, achieved completeness, and spectral quality, with special emphasis on its use as a galaxy cluster sample for cosmology applications. SPIDERS now consists of about 27 000 new optical spectra of galaxies selected within 4000 photometric red sequences, each associated with an X-ray source. The excellent spectrograph efficiency and a robust analysis pipeline yield a spectroscopic redshift measurement success rate exceeding 98 per cent, with a median velocity accuracy of 20 km s−1 (at z = 0.2). Using the catalogue of 2740 X-ray galaxy clusters confirmed with DR16 spectroscopy, we reveal the 3D map of the galaxy cluster distribution in the observable Universe up to z ∼ 0.6. We highlight the homogeneity of the member galaxy spectra among distinct regions of the galaxy cluster phase space. Aided by accurate spectroscopic redshifts and by a model of the sample selection effects, we compute the galaxy cluster X-ray luminosity function and we present its lack of evolution up to z = 0.6. Finally we discuss the prospects of forthcoming large multiplexed spectroscopic programmes dedicated to follow up the next generation of all-sky X-ray source catalogues.

A lack of evolution in the very bright end of the galaxy luminosity function from z ≃ 8 to 10

ABSTRACT We utilize deep near-infrared survey data from the UltraVISTA fourth data release (DR4) and the VIDEO survey, in combination with overlapping optical and Spitzer data, to search for bright star-forming galaxies at z ≳ 7.5. Using a full photometric redshift fitting analysis applied to the ∼6 $\, {\rm deg}^2$ of imaging searched, we find 27 Lyman break galaxies (LBGs), including 20 new sources, with best-fitting photometric redshifts in the range 7.4 < z < 9.1. From this sample, we derive the rest-frame UV luminosity function at z = 8 and z = 9 out to extremely bright UV magnitudes (MUV ≃ −23) for the first time. We find an excess in the number density of bright galaxies in comparison to the typically assumed Schechter functional form derived from fainter samples. Combined with previous studies at lower redshift, our results show that there is little evolution in the number density of very bright (MUV ∼ −23) LBGs between z ≃ 5 and z ≃ 9. The tentative detection of an LBG with best-fitting photometric redshift of z = 10.9 ± 1.0 in our data is consistent with the derived evolution. We show that a double power-law fit with a brightening characteristic magnitude (ΔM*/Δz ≃ −0.5) and a steadily steepening bright-end slope (Δβ/Δz ≃ −0.5) provides a good description of the z > 5 data over a wide range in absolute UV magnitude (−23 < MUV < −17). We postulate that the observed evolution can be explained by a lack of mass quenching at very high redshifts in combination with increasing dust obscuration within the first ${\sim}1 \, {\rm Gyr}$ of galaxy evolution.

Distorção idade-série de estudantes paulistas com e sem necessidades educacionais especiais

<p>O estudo visou a analisar a distorção idade-série de estudantes paulistas da educação básica, comparando-se aqueles designados como público-alvo da educação especial (PAEE) em relação aos demais. Os dados foram extraídos do Censo Escolar, com amostra segmentada de estudantes de 48 cidades paulistas, no período histórico de 2008 a 2014, considerando-se o ano de nascimento e a série do estudante. Os resultados evidenciaram, em relação ao PAEE, entrada tardia na educação infantil, proporção muito mais elevada de distorção idade-série concentrada já nos anos iniciais do ensino fundamental, e falta de evolução nesses indicadores ao longo da série histórica dos sete primeiros anos de vigência da política de inclusão escolar. Conclui-se que é preciso avançar para que, mais do que uma carteira em uma classe comum, o país assegure de fato o direito à educação para o público-alvo de educação especial e torne suas escolas mais inclusivas.</p><p><strong>Palavras-chave</strong>: Educação Especial, Defasagem Idade-Série, Estatística da Educação Especial, Censo Escolar.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Distorsión edad-año escolar de estudiantes de São Paulo con y sin necesidades educativas especiales </strong></p><p>El estudio tuvo el propósito de analizar la distorsión edad-año escolar de estudiantes de São Paulo de educación básica, comparando los designados como público-objetivo de la educación especial (PAEE) a los demás. Los datos se obtuvieron en el Censo Escolar, con una muestra segmentada de alumnos de 48 ciudades de São Paulo, en el periodo histórico de 2008 a 2014, considerándose el año de nacimiento y el año escolar del estudiante. Los resultados pusieron de manifiesto en relación ao PAEE un ingreso tardío en educación infantil, proporción mucho más elevada de distorsión edad-año escolar concentrada ya en los primeros años de educación fundamental, y falta de evolución en estos indicadores a lo largo de la serie histórica de los siete primeros años de vigencia de la política de inclusión escolar. Se concluye que hay que avanzar para que, más que un asiento en una clase común, el país con efecto asegure el derecho a la educación al público-objetivo de educación especial y haga que sus escuelas sean más inclusivas.</p><p align="left"><strong>Palabras clave:</strong> Educación Especial, Desfase Edad-Año Escolar, Estadística de la Educación Especial, Censo Escolar.</p><p align="left"> </p><p><strong>Age-grade distortion of students from São Paulo with and without special educational needs</strong></p><p>This study aimed to analyze the age-grade distortion of basic education students from the state of São Paulo, comparing the target population of special education (PAEE) to the others. The data were collected from the School Census, with a quota sample of students from 48 cities in São Paulo, in the historical period from 2008 to 2014, considering the student’s birth year and grade. In relation to the PAEE, the results showed a late entry into early childhood education, a much higher proportion of age-grade distortion concentrated already in the initial years of basic education, and a lack of evolution in these indicators along the historical series of the first seven years of the school inclusion policy. It can be concluded that there is a need to move forward so that, more than simply providing a desk in a regular classroom, the country can effectively ensure the right to education for the target population of special education and make its schools more inclusive.</p><p align="left"><strong>Keywords:</strong> Special Education, Age-Grade Distortion, Statistics of Special Education, School Census.</p><p> </p>

Ex situ collections and their potential for the restoration of extinct plants.

The alarming current and predicted species extinction rates have galvanized conservationists in their efforts to avoid future biodiversity losses, but for species extinct in the wild, few options exist. We posed the questions, can these species be restored, and, if so, what role can ex situ plant collections (i.e., botanic gardens, germplasm banks, herbaria) play in the recovery of plant genetic diversity? We reviewed the relevant literature to assess the feasibility of recovering lost plant genetic diversity with using ex situ material and the probability of survival of subsequent translocations. Thirteen attempts to recover species extinct in the wild were found, most of which used material preserved in botanic gardens (12) and seed banks (2). One case of a locally extirpated population was recovered from herbarium material. Eight (60%) of these cases were successful or partially successful translocations of the focal species or population; the other 5 failed or it was too early to determine the outcome. Limiting factors of the use of ex situ source material for the restoration of plant genetic diversity in the wild include the scarcity of source material, low viability and reduced longevity of the material, low genetic variation, lack of evolution (especially for material stored in germplasm banks and herbaria), and socioeconomic factors. However, modern collecting practices present opportunities for plant conservation, such as improved collecting protocols and improved cultivation and storage conditions. Our findings suggest that all types of ex situ collections may contribute effectively to plant species conservation if their use is informed by a thorough understanding of the aforementioned problems. We conclude that the recovery of plant species currently classified as extinct in the wild is not 100% successful, and the possibility of successful reintroduction should not be used to justify insufficient in situ conservation.

Improving person centered care in district health systems of Sud Kivu in DRC: an innovative tool for primary care organizational analysis

Introduction: In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the health care system remains essentially focused on the management of the disease. The health center, the first point of contact between the community and the health system, operates on the basis of standardized flow charts that do not take into account the other dimensions of the person. How to ensure at the level of the health centers a psychomedicosocial care, centered on the patient? The first stage of the study aims to analyze the organizational capacity of health centers. Methodology: A grid, inspired by the components of the Context and Capabilities for Integrating Care CCIC Framework has been developed, including the different components. The grid takes into account the importance of each of these components for the actors of the 6 study health centers. The pre-test of the grid at the level of a health center made it possible to improve it and to draw up a maintenance guide based on the management of a psychomedicosocial situation at the health center level. Results: Preliminary results shed light on the lack of evolution of health centre for key characteristics included in the framework for providing patient centred care. It concerns, amongst others, 1 information systems too much focused on reports writing for donors agencies and ignoring individual comprehensive patient file, 2 tools for decision making too much oriented towards single disease management; 3 disintegrated multiple leadership, structured amongst specific disease control programs. Opportunities exist, i.e., on partnership with community and large experience of nurse’s in-charge as part of a multi-disciplinary team. Discussion and conclusion: The framework make it possible to identify emerging dynamics unconducive for the development of person centred care at health centre level. Through structured discussion, this framework helped the health centre staff to better understand how concretely reform health centre organisation for developing a psycho-medico-social approach called person centred care in 6 primary care facilities in Sud-Kivu in DRC. Future follow-up will assess the organisational changes implemented and the consequence on care provision in these facilities in DRC.

Predicting Evolution of the Transcription Regulatory Network in a Bacteriophage.

Prediction of evolutionary trajectories has been an elusive goal, requiring a deep knowledge of underlying mechanisms that relate genotype to phenotype plus understanding how phenotype impacts organismal fitness. We tested our ability to predict molecular regulatory evolution in a bacteriophage (T7) whose RNA polymerase (RNAP) was altered to recognize a heterologous promoter differing by three nucleotides from the wild-type promoter. A mutant of wild-type T7 lacking its RNAP gene was passaged on a bacterial strain providing the novel RNAP in trans. Higher fitness rapidly evolved. Predicting the evolutionary trajectory of this adaptation used measured in vitro transcription rates of the novel RNAP on the six promoter sequences capturing all possible one-step pathways between the wild-type and the heterologous promoter sequences. The predictions captured some of the regulatory evolution but failed both in explaining 1) a set of T7 promoters that consistently failed to evolve and 2) some promoter evolution that fell outside the expected one-step pathways. Had a more comprehensive set of transcription assays been undertaken initially, all promoter evolution would have fallen within predicted bounds, but the lack of evolution in some promoters is unresolved. Overall, this study points toward the increasing feasibility of predicting evolution in well-characterized, simple systems.

J-101 Current challenges in HIV diagnostics–Time to revise our approach?

HIV infection remains a public health challenge; HIV testing serving as the gateway to entrance into the HIV care, treatment, and prevention cascade. Whether laboratory evidence of infection is generated by Point of Care test algorithms or highly sophisticated 4th and 5th generation immunoassay/supplemental serological and/or molecular confirmatory algorithms, diagnostic accuracy, correct classification of HIV infection status, is now challenged by the HIV field's most notable advances in the arenas of HIV Prevention and Intervention. Paradigms such as Test and Treat, Treatment as Prevention, Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), and Post-exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) reduce viral burden, viral reservoir constitution, the potential for onward HIV transmission, and decrease the risk of serious AIDS related health outcomes. These highly effective strategies however, have also been shown to cause the delay, reduction, or reversal of evolution of serological responses to infection and/or reduce molecular markers to below limits of detection by currently employed assay. Lack of evolution and/or suppression of markers long used by the laboratory to generate evidence confirming or refuting HIV infection can thus lead to misclassification of status. This talk will focus on current HIV testing modalities, challenges of HIV testing under the aforementioned scenarios, presentation of case studies, and considerations for a revised approach.

Internal clock formulation of quantum mechanics

The basic tenet of the present work is the assumption of the lack of external and fixed time in the Universe. This assumption is best embodied by general relativity, which replaces the fixed space-time structure with the gravitational field, which is subject to dynamics. The lack of time does not imply the lack of evolution but rather brings to the forefront the role of internal clocks which are some largely arbitrary internal degrees of freedom with respect to which the evolution of timeless systems can be described. We take this idea seriously and try to understand what it implies for quantum mechanics when the fixed external time is replaced by an arbitrary internal clock. We put the issue in a solid, mathematically rigorous framework. We find that the dynamical interpretation of a quantum state of a timeless system depends on the employed internal clock. In particular, we find that the continuous spectra of well-known dynamical observables like the position of a free particle on the real line may turn discrete if measured in unusual clocks. We discuss the meaning of our result for attempts at quantization of global gravitational degrees of freedom.

Performance measurement maturity in a national set of universities

PurposePerformance measurement in higher education has attracted substantial attention, often focussing on the applicability and value of performance measurement concepts to the sector. The purpose of this paper is to use components of a seven-element maturity model to examine the development of performance measurement maturity in New Zealand universities in the period 2008-2013.Design/methodology/approachDocumentary analysis was the primary approach. A total of 48 annual reports were examined. The focus was the statement of service performance, but all surrounding material was also examined. Each annual report was subjected to a range of quantitative and semi-quantitative analyses.FindingsUniversities have shown strengths in aligning measures to strategic direction, the quality of commentary, and improvement in the use of outcomes frameworks. More variable results have been seen in the breadth and quality of measures, and most importantly, in the use of performance information to guide institutional decision-making. This lack of evolution is likely to be linked to the particular accountability relationships surrounding the universities, which while part of the public sector are semi-autonomous. It is also likely to be linked to academic organisational culture.Originality/valueThere have been few examinations of the use of performance measurement by universities, with most studies focussing less on operational practice than on broader theoretical issues. This study provides useful information about the actual use of performance measurement.

TheXMMCluster Survey: evolution of the velocity dispersion–temperature relation over half a Hubble time

We measure the evolution of the velocity dispersion--temperature ($\sigma_{\rm v}$--$T_{\rm X}$) relation up to $z = 1$ using a sample of 38 galaxy clusters drawn from the \textit{XMM} Cluster Survey. This work improves upon previous studies by the use of a homogeneous cluster sample and in terms of the number of high redshift clusters included. We present here new redshift and velocity dispersion measurements for 12 $z > 0.5$ clusters observed with the GMOS instruments on the Gemini telescopes. Using an orthogonal regression method, we find that the slope of the relation is steeper than that expected if clusters were self-similar, and that the evolution of the normalisation is slightly negative, but not significantly different from zero ($\sigma_{\rm v} \propto T^{0.86 \pm 0.14} E(z)^{-0.37 \pm 0.33}$). We verify our results by applying our methods to cosmological hydrodynamical simulations. The lack of evolution seen in our data is consistent with simulations that include both feedback and radiative cooling.

THE EVOLUTION OF THE GALAXY REST-FRAME ULTRAVIOLET LUMINOSITY FUNCTION OVER THE FIRST TWO BILLION YEARS

We present a robust measurement and analysis of the rest-frame ultraviolet (UV) luminosity function at z=4-8. We use deep Hubble Space Telescope imaging over the CANDELS/GOODS fields, the Hubble Ultra Deep Field and the Year 1 Hubble Frontier Field deep parallel observations. These surveys provides an effective volume of 0.6-1.2 x 10^6 Mpc^3 over this epoch, allowing us to perform a robust search for faint (M_UV=-18) and bright (M_UV < -21) galaxies. We select candidate galaxies using a well-tested photometric redshift technique with careful screening of contaminants, finding a sample of 7446 galaxies at 3.5<z<8.5, with >1000 galaxies at z~6-8. We measure the luminosity function using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo analysis to measure robust uncertainties. At the faint end our results agree with previous studies, yet we find a higher abundance of UV-bright galaxies at z>6, with M* ~ -21 at z>5, different than that inferred based on previous trends at lower redshift. At z=8, a single power-law provides an equally good fit to the UV luminosity function, while at z=6 and 7, an exponential cutoff at the bright-end is moderately preferred. We compare to semi-analytical models, and find that the lack of evolution in M* is consistent with models where the impact of dust attenuation on the bright-end of the luminosity function decreases at higher redshift. We measure the evolution of the cosmic star-formation rate density, correcting for dust attenuation, and find that it declines as (1+z)^(-4.3 +/- 0.5) at z>4, consistent with observations at z>9. Our observations are consistent with a reionization history that starts at z>10, completes at z>6, and reaches a midpoint (x_HII = 0.5) at 6.7<z<9.4. Finally, our observations predict that the abundance of bright z=9 galaxies is likely higher than previous constraints, though consistent with recent estimates of bright z~10 galaxies. [abridged]

Lack of evolution in a leaf beetle that lives on two contrasting host plants.

The interactions between plant-eating insects and their hosts have shaped both the insects and the plants, driving evolution of plant defenses and insect specialization. The leaf beetle Trirhabda eriodictyonis (Chrysomelidae) lives on two shrubs with differing defenses: Eriodictyon crassifolium has hairy leaves, whereas E.trichocalyx has resinous leaves. We tested whether these beetles have differentiated onto the two host plants, and if not, whether the beetles prefer the better host plant and prefer mates who are from that host plant. In feeding tests, adult beetles strongly preferred eating E.trichocalyx regardless of which host they came from. In addition, females laid more eggs if they ate E.trichocalyx than E.crassifolium. So, E.trichocalyx is generally the better host. However, beetle mate preference was not in line with food choice. Males did not prefer to mate with females from E.trichocalyx. Females from E.crassifolium did prefer males from E.trichocalyx over males from E.crassifolium, but did not lay more eggs as a result of these matings. We conclude that the beetle populations we studied have not differentiated based on their host plants and may not have even adapted to the better host. Although to humans these host plant defenses differ dramatically, signs that they have caused evolution in the beetles are lacking. The case of T.eriodictyonis stands counter to many other studies that have seen the differentiation of ecotypes and/or adaptive coordination of an herbivore's life cycle based on host plant differences.

THE PANCHROMATICHUBBLEANDROMEDA TREASURY. XI. THE SPATIALLY RESOLVED RECENT STAR FORMATION HISTORY OF M31

We measure the recent star formation history (SFH) across M31 using optical images taken with the \texit{Hubble Space Telescope} as part of the Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury (PHAT). We fit the color-magnitude diagrams in ~9000 regions that are ~100 pc $\times$ 100 pc in projected size, covering a 0.5 square degree area (~380 kpc$^2$, deprojected) in the NE quadrant of M31. We show that the SFHs vary significantly on these small spatial scales but that there are also coherent galaxy-wide fluctuations in the SFH back to ~500 Myr, most notably in M31's 10-kpc star-forming ring. We find that the 10-kpc ring is at least 400 Myr old, showing ongoing star formation over the past ~500 Myr. This indicates the presence of molecular gas in the ring over at least 2 dynamical times at this radius. We also find that the ring's position is constant throughout this time, and is stationary at the level of 1 km/s, although there is evidence for broadening of the ring due to diffusion of stars into the disk. Based on existing models of M31's ring features, the lack of evolution in the ring's position makes a purely collisional ring origin highly unlikely. We find that the global SFR has been fairly constant over the last ~500 Myr, though it does show a small increase at 50 Myr that is 1.3 times the average SFR over the past 100 Myr. During the last ~500 Myr, ~60% of all SF occurs in the 10-kpc ring. Finally, we find that in the past 100 Myr, the average SFR over the PHAT survey area is $0.28\pm0.03$ M$_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$ with an average deprojected intensity of $7.3 \times 10^{-4}$ M$_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$ kpc$^{-2}$, which yields a total SFR of ~0.7 M$_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$ when extrapolated to the entire area of M31's disk. This SFR is consistent with measurements from broadband estimates. [abridged]

(137) Lack of evolution of Emergency Department treatment of migraine

(137) Lack of evolution of Emergency Department treatment of migraine