LAMOST Experiment for Galactic Understanding and Exploration (LEGUE)——The survey's science plan

We describe the current plans for a spectroscopic survey of millions of stars in the Milky Way galaxy using the Guo Shou Jing Telescope （GSJT, formerly calledthe Large sky Area Multi-Object fiber Spectroscopic Telescope -- LAMOST）. The survey will obtain spectra for 2.5 million stars brighter than r 〈 19 during dark/grey time, and 5 million stars brighter than r 〈 17 or J 〈 16 on nights that are moonlit or have low transparency. The survey will begin in the fall of 2012, and will run for at least four years. The telescope＇s design constrains the optimal declination range for observations to 10~ 〈 di 〈 50~, and site conditions lead to an emphasis on stars in the direction of the Galactic anticenter. The survey is divided into three parts with different target selection strategies： disk, anticenter, and spheroid. The resulting dataset will be used to study the merger history of the Milky Way, the substructure and evolution of the disks, the nature of the first generation of stars through identification of the lowest metallicity stars, and star formation through study of open clusters and OB associations. Detailed design of the LAMOST Experiment for Galactic Understanding and Exploration （LEGUE） survey will be completed in summer 2012, after a review of the results of the pilot survey.

The site conditions of the Guo Shou Jing Telescope

The weather at the Xinglong Observing Station, where the Guo Shou Jing Telescope （GSJT） is located, is strongly affected by the monsoon climate in north- east China. The LAMOST survey strategy is constrained by these weather patterns. We present statistics on observing hours from 2004 to 2007, and the sky brightness, seeing, and sky transparency from 1995 to 2011 at the site. We investigate effects of the site conditions on the survey plan. Operable hours each month show a strong cor- relation with season： on average there are eight operable hours per night available in December, but only one-two hours in July and August. The seeing and the sky trans- parency also vary with season. Although the seeing is worse in windy winters, and the atmospheric extinction is worse in the spring and summer, the site is adequate for the proposed scientific program of the LAMOST survey. With a Monte Carlo simulation using historical data on the site condition, we find that the available observation hours constrain the survey footprint from 22h to 16h in right ascension; the sky brightness allows LAMOST to obtain a limiting magnitude of V = 19.5 mag with S/N= 10.

The LEGUE input catalog for dark night observing in the LAMOST pilot survey

We outline the design of the dark nights portion of the LAMOST Pilot Survey, which began observations in 2011 October. In particular, we focus on Milky Way stellar candidates that are targeted for the LEGUE （LAMOST Experiment for Galactic Understanding and Exploration） survey. We discuss the regions of sky in which spectroscopic candidates were selected, and the motivations for selecting each of these sky areas. Some limitations due to the unique design of the telescope are discussed, including the requirement that a bright （V 〈 8） star be placed at the center of each plate for wavefront sensing and active optics corrections. The target selection categories and scientific goals motivating them are briefly discussed, followed by a detailed overview of how these selection functions were implemented. We illustrate the difference between the overall input catalog - Sloan Digital Sky Survey （SDSS） photometry - and the final targets selected for LAMOST observations.

The LEGUE high latitude bright survey design for the LAMOST pilot survey

We describe the footprint and input catalog for bright nights in the LAMOST Pilot Survey, which began in October 2011. Targets are selected from two stripes in the north and south Galactic Cap regions, centered at δ = 29°, with 10° width in declination, covering right ascensions of 135° to 290° and -30° to 30° re- spectively. We selected spectroscopic targets from a combination of the SDSS and 2MASS point source catalogs. The catalog of stars defining the field centers （as re- quired by the Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor at the center of the LAMOST field） consists of all V 〈 8m stars from the Hipparcos catalog. We employ a statistical selection algorithm that assigns priorities to targets based on their positions in mul- tidimensional color/magnitude space. This scheme overemphasizes rare objects and de-emphasizes more populated regions of magnitude and color phase space, while en- suring a smooth, well-understood selection function. A demonstration of plate design is presented based on the Shack-Hartmann star catalog and an input catalog that was generated by our target selection routines.

The LEGUE disk targets for LAMOST's pilot survey

We describe the target selection algorithm for the low latitude disk por- tion of the LAMOST Pilot Survey, which aims to test systems in preparation for the LAMOST spectroscopic survey. We use the PPMXL astrometric catalog, which provides positions, proper motions, B/R/I magnitudes （mostly） from USNO-B and d/H/Ks from the Two Micron All Sky Survey （2MASS） as well. We chose eight plates along the Galactic plane, in the region 0° 〈 α° 〈 67° and 42° 〈 δ 〈 59°, which cover 22 known open clusters with a range of ages. Adjacent plates may have some small overlapping area. Each plate covers an area of 2.5° in radius, with its cen- tral star （for the Shack-Hartmann guider） brighter than 8th magnitude. For each plate, we create an input catalog in the magnitude range 11.3 〈 Imag 〈 16.3 and Bmag available from PPMXL. The stars are selected to satisfy the requirements of the fiber positioning system and have a uniform distribution in the I vs. B - I color-magnitude diagram. Our final input catalog consists of 12 000 objects on each of eight plates that are observable during the winter observing season from the Xinglong Station of the National Astronomical Observatory of China.

Assessment of quality of life in children with osteogenesis imperfecta: a review

Osteogenesis imperfecta is a rare hereditary bone disease which is commonly classified into types I-IV,each of varying severity.The clinical symptoms of the disease consist of increased bone brittleness and recurrent fractures coupled with a variety of complications.The disease damages children’s body functions and restricts their daily activities,thus affects their psychological experience of living conditions and reduces their quality of life.The quality of life of children with osteogenesis imperfecta is primarily assessed through a universal scale and so far there is no osteogenesis imperfecta-specific quality of life scale,which is of great value to the assessment of quality of life.Pain symptoms,related complications,and limitations on physical exercise have been shown to be related to the assessment of quality of life and negatively affect the physical and psychological aspects of quality of life in children with osteogenesis imperfecta.This negative effect is found to be more serious in children diagnosed with severe types of osteogenesis imperfecta.Initial research into bisphosphonate therapy as a treatment for osteogenesis imperfecta has shown promising results in providing a better quality of life,but this treatment needs to be further studied and guided by the assessing results of quality of life.In the future,better methods of assessment and improvement of quality of life for children with osteogenesis imperfecta still rely on the efforts of all sectors of society.

Halysis Høeg,1932—An ancestral tabulate coral from the Ordos Basin,North China

The problematic calcareous microfossil Halysis is abundant in the Middle Ordovician Darriwilian Stage of the western edge of the Ordos Basin,North China.The rich and well-preserved specimens of Halysis in this area facilitate detailed studies for its skeletal construction and tube microstructure.Halysis differs from calcified cyanobacteria and calcareous red and green algae in morphology,skeletal construction and microstructure,as well as reproduction mode.Halysis typically consists of multiple juxtaposed parallel tubes arranged in sheets(‘multiple-tube'type)or is just composed of one tube(‘single-tube'type).In‘multiple-tube'Halysis,tube fission by bifurcation results from the insertion of a microcrystalline wall at the center of a mother tube.This study demonstrates for the first time that the tube walls of Halysis have a laminofibrous(fibronormal)microstructure,composed of fibrous calcite perpendicular to wall surface,and recognizes the‘single-tube'type Halysis composed of one tube;in addition,for the first time,this study finds out that‘multiple-tube'Halysis develops buddings from the conjunction of two tubes and‘single-tube'Halysis shows wide-angle Y-shaped branchings.Based on these findings,this study further compares Halysis with tabulate corals.Halysis appears stratigraphically earlier than Catenipora and Aulopora,and has a smaller tube size.‘Multiple-tube'Halysis resembles Catenipora and‘single-tube'Halysis resembles Aulopora in skeletal construction and microstructure,and in their tube walls of laminofibrous microstructure composed of fibrous calcite perpendicular to the tube wall surface.Catenipora and Halysis are both characterized by the absence of septal spines.The similarities suggest that Halysis may be the ancestor of Catenipora-like and Aulopora-like tabulate corals.