bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Intergenerational Social Mobility and Allostatic Load in Midlife and Older Ages: A Diagonal Reference Modeling Approach
Authors: McLoughlin Sinéad , Präg Patrick , Bartley Mel , Kenny Rose Anne , McCrory Cathal
Published: August 2022

Objectives

This study aims to understand the association of life-course intergenerational social mobility with allostatic load (AL) burden in midlife and older ages in Ireland.

Methods

The study involved biological data for 3,987 older adults participating in The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA). Intergenerational social mobility was characterized using the cross-classification of origin socioeconomic position (SEP; i.e., father’s occupation) and destination SEP (i.e., own occupation). AL was operationalized using 12 biomarkers tapping cardiovascular, metabolic, renal, and immune system dysregulation. Diagonal reference modeling (DRM) and ordinary least square regression techniques were applied to explore the effect of social mobility on AL burden.

Results

A total of 55.5% experienced intergenerational mobility: 37.5% were upwardly mobile, 18.0% were downwardly mobile. A social gradient in AL was observed among the socially non-mobile. Destination SEP (b = 0.74, 95% CI = 0.57, 0.92) predominated in influence over origin, although both life stages exerted significant influence on later-life AL. Social mobility in either direction was not associated with AL burden. Mobility coefficients were substantially small across a large variety of model specifications.

Discussion

Findings provide evidence for an accumulation model of social inequalities in which disparities in health are diluted rather than increased by social mobility (i.e., gradient constraint), with the socially mobile having an AL score that is intermediate between their origin class and destination class. This implies that the effects of origin SEP on health are not immutable, but are instead responsive to changing socioeconomic circumstances across the life course.
Inversion of shear wave waveforms reveal deformation in the lowermost mantle
Authors: Asplet Joseph , Wookey James , Kendall Michael
Published: August 2022

It is well known that regions of the lowermost mantle—D″—exhibit significant seismic anisotropy. Identifying a unique mechanism for seismic anisotropy in D″ and interpreting results in terms of mantle flow has proved challenging. In an attempt to address this, we outline a method for the direct inversion of shear wave waveform data for the orientation and strength of seismic anisotropy. We demonstrate our method by jointly inverting SKS, SKKS and ScS shear wave data for seismic anisotropy in a fast shear wave velocity anomaly beneath the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Using our inversion method we evaluate four candidate mechanisms for seismic anisotropy in D″: elliptical transverse isotropy (representing layering or inclusions), bridgmanite and post-perovskite (for fabrics dominated by either [100](001) or [100](010) slip). We find that all candidate mechanisms can reasonably explain our input data, with synthetic inversions demonstrating that improved backazimuthal coverage is required to identity a single best-fitting mechanism. By inverting for orientation and anisotropic strength parameters we are able to discount bridgmanite as a candidate mechanism as less plausible solution, as our inversion requires an unreasonable ca. 40 per cent of D″ to consist of aligned bridgmanite crystals. The inversion results for the 4 candidate mechanisms predict two different mantle flow regimes, near vertical upwelling (or downwelling) or predominantly horizontal Southwesterly (or Northwesterly) deformation, both of which are inconsistent with recent mantle flow models. These results show that our new inversion method gives seismologists a powerful new tool to constrain lowermost mantle anisotropy, allowing us to test predictions of lowermost mantle flow.
Sustained indentation in 2-D models of continental collision involving whole mantle subduction
Authors: Laik Arijit , Schellart Wouter P , Strak Vincent
Published: August 2022

Continental collision zones form at convergent plate boundaries after the negatively buoyant oceanic lithosphere subducts entirely into the Earth’s mantle. Consequently, orogenesis commences, and the colliding continents are sutured together. During the collision, plate convergence and motion of the sutured boundary towards the overriding plate are manifest in its deformation, as is the case for the long-term (∼50 Ma) and nearly constant convergence rate at the India–Eurasia collisional zone that hosts the Himalaya. However, despite the long history of modelling subduction-collision systems, it remains unclear what drives this convergence, especially in models where subduction is driven solely by buoyancy forces. This paper presents dynamic self-consistent buoyancy-driven 2-D whole-mantle scale numerical models of subduction-and-collision processes to explore variations in density and rheological stratification of the colliding continent and overriding plate (OP) viscosity (a proxy for OP strength) that facilitate post-collisional convergence and collisional boundary migration. In models with a moderately buoyant indenting continent, the collisional boundary advance is comparatively low (0.1–0.6 cm yr–1), and convergence is driven by the dense continental lithospheric mantle that continues to subduct as it decouples from its deforming crust. Conversely, models with a highly buoyant indenting continent show sustained indentation at 0.5–1.5 cm yr–1 until the slab detaches. Furthermore, models with a weaker OP and lower backarc viscosity show an enhanced propensity for indentation by a positively buoyant continent. These models additionally highlight the role of whole mantle flow induced by the sinking of the detached slab in the lower mantle as it sustains slow convergence at an average rate of 0.36 cm yr–1 for ∼25 Myr after break-off as well as prevents the residual slab from educting. In previous buoyancy-driven partial mantle depth models such eduction does generally occur, given that free-sinking of the detached slab in the mantle is not modelled. Although these findings widen the understanding of the long-term convergence of indenting continents, the lower post-collisional advance rates (0.3–1.5 cm yr–1) compared to India’s approximate 1000–2000 km of northward indentation during the last 50 Myr attest to the need for 3-D models.
PuWRKY31 affects ethylene production in response to sucrose signal in pear fruit
Authors: Li Xinyue , Guo Wei , Xu Mingyang , Zhao Jiaming , Wang Guan , Yuan Hui , Wang Aide
Published: August 2022

The ripening of climacteric fruits is mainly controlled by the plant hormone ethylene. The regulatory effect of sucrose on ethylene biosynthesis in fruits remains unclear. Here we examined ethylene production in two Ussurian pear (Pyrus ussuriensis) varieties, ‘Nanguo’ (NG) pear and its bud sport variety (BNG), which has a higher sucrose content. We found that the peak of ethylene release occurred earlier in BNG fruit than in NG fruit during ripening. The expression of the transcription factor PuWRKY31 was higher in BNG fruit than in NG fruit, and was induced by sucrose treatment. Furthermore, PuWRKY31 bound to the promoters of ethylene biosynthetic genes and upregulated their transcription. Our findings suggest a mechanism by which sucrose regulates ethylene biosynthesis in pears.
β′-Phenylfentanyl Metabolism in Primary Human Hepatocyte Incubations: Identification of Potential Biomarkers of Exposure in Clinical and Forensic Toxicology
Authors: Brunetti Pietro , Lo Faro Alfredo F , Di Trana Annagiulia , Montana Angelo , Basile Giuseppe , Carlier Jeremy , Busardò Francesco P
Published: August 2022

From 2014 onwards, illicit fentanyl and analogues have caused numerous intoxications and fatalities worldwide, impacting the demographics of opioid-related overdoses. The identification of cases involving fentanyl analogues is crucial in clinical and forensic settings to treat patients, elucidate intoxications, address drug use disorders and tackle drug trends. However, in analytical toxicology, the concentration of fentanyl analogues in biological matrices is low, making their detection challenging. Therefore, the identification of specific metabolite biomarkers is often required to document consumption. β′-Phenylfentanyl (N-phenyl-N-[1-(2-phenylethyl)-4-piperidinyl]-benzenepropanamide) is a fentanyl analogue that was first detected in Sweden in 2017 and has recently reemerged onto the American illicit drug market. There is little data available on β′-phenylfentanyl effects and toxicokinetics and its metabolism is yet to be studied. We aimed to investigate β′-phenylfentanyl human metabolism to identify potential biomarkers of use. To assist in β′-phenylfentanyl metabolite identification, a list of putative reactions was generated using in silico predictions with GLORYx freeware. β′-phenylfentanyl was incubated with cryopreserved 10-donor-pooled human hepatocytes, analyses were performed by liquid chromatography–high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry (LC–HRMS-MS) and data were processed using a partially automated targeted/untargeted approach with Compound Discoverer. We identified 26 metabolites produced by N-dealkylation, oxidation, hydroxylation, O-glucuronidation, O-methylation and combinations thereof. We suggest β′-phenylnorfentanyl (N-phenyl-N-4-piperidinyl-benzenepropanamide) and further metabolites 1-oxo-N-phenyl-N-4-piperidinyl-benzenepropanamide and 1-hydroxy-N-phenyl-N-4-piperidinyl-benzenepropanamide as major biomarkers of β′-phenylfentanyl use. In silico predictions were mostly wrong, and β′-phenylfentanyl metabolic fate substantially differed from that of a closely related analogue incubated in the same conditions, highlighting the value of the experimental assessment of new psychoactive substance human metabolism. In vivo data are necessary to confirm the present results. However, the present results may be necessary to help analytical toxicologists identify β′-phenylfentanyl-positive cases to provide authentic samples.
The Role of the Outpatient Occupational Therapist Treating Patients With Small Burns: A Retrospective Audit of Practice
Authors: O’Reilly Sarah , Strong Jennifer , Ziviani Jenny , Brown Jason , McAuliffe Tomomi
Published: August 2022

Current Australian burn care practice guidelines recommend therapies prescribed for burn injuries, irrespective of burn size. These guidelines have been informed by research related to large burns and associated treatment burden. This article describes the clinical management of small burns by occupational therapists at a large tertiary facility in Australia. A retrospective clinical chart audit was conducted for the 12-month period from January to December 2019. Participants were eligible if they had sustained a burn of 1% TBSA or less. Eligibility criteria were met for 454 patients, reflecting 77% of new outpatients in 2019. Of these, 247 or 54% of patients saw an occupational therapist. Noninvasive therapies such as scar massage, compression, silicone and taping were prescribed for 35%, 32.6%, 22.6%, and 5.9% of patients, respectively. Occupational therapist involvement was more likely postsurgical intervention (84.5%). The data presented contribute to limited research available for the management of small burns. Findings reflect use of traditional forms of therapies for small scar management; however, there appeared little use of alternative therapies, such as tapes, which may be beneficial. This study highlights the potential need for current standard practice guidelines be nuanced according burn surface area.
Search Frictions in International Goods Markets
Authors: Lenoir Clémence , Martin Julien , Mejean Isabelle
Published: August 2022

This paper studies how frictions in the acquisition of new customers distort the allocation of activities across heterogeneous producers. We add bilateral search frictions in a Ricardian model of trade and use French firm-to-firm trade data to estimate search frictions faced by French exporters in foreign markets. Estimated coefficients display a strong degree of heterogeneity across countries and products that correlates with various proxies for information frictions. Markets with high estimated frictions are shown to display less dispersion in sales between high- and low-productivity firms, a consequence of the distortive impact of frictions. A counterfactual reduction in the level of search frictions significantly improves the efficiency of the selection process by pushing the least productive exporters out of the market while increasing export sales at the top of the productivity distribution.
Modeling maternal cholesterol exposure reveals a reduction of neural progenitor proliferation using human cerebral organoids
Authors: Fan Pan , Wang Yuanhao , Lu Kaiqin , Hong Yuan , Xu Min , Han Xiao , Liu Yan
Published: August 2022

Maternal obesity raises the risk of high-cholesterol exposure for their offspring. Studies in cohorts and animal models report that maternal obesity could increase the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in offspring including intellectual disabilities and autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). However, whether exposure to high cholesterol is responsible for brain developmental defects, as well as its underlying mechanism, is still unclear. Here, we constructed a cholesterol exposure model utilizing human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)-derived cerebral organoids by exogenously adding cholesterol into the culture system. We observed enlargement of endosomes, decreased neural progenitor proliferation, and premature neural differentiation in brain organoids with the treatment of cholesterol. Moreover, in comparison with published transcriptome data, we found that our single-cell sequencing results showed a high correlation with ASD, indicating that high cholesterol during maternal might mediate the increased risk of ASD in the offspring. Our results reveal a reduction of neural progenitor proliferation in a cholesterol exposure model, which might be a promising indicator for prenatal diagnosis and offer a dynamic human model for maternal environment exposure.
Gamma-ray emission from primordial black hole–neutron star interaction
Authors: del Barco Oscar
Published: August 2022

The interaction of an asteroid-mass primordial black hole (PBH) with a slowly rotating neutron star (NS) can lead to detectable gamma-ray emission via modern observatories like Fermi-LAT or e-ASTROGRAM. Depending on the specific PBH relativistic orbit in the NS Schwarschild space–time and the relative orientation of this binary system with respect to Earth, the PBH Hawking radiation will show a characteristic temperature profile over time. Essentially, a moderate heating behaviour (or even a progressive and constant cooling phase) is found for the majority of the event, followed by a sudden and dramatic cool-down at the end of the burst. Our theoretical model might provide a means of identification of such hypothetical PBH–NS interactions, based on the distinctive temperature evolution of thermal-like gamma-ray bursts described in this article.
KilonovaNet: Surrogate models of kilonova spectra with conditional variational autoencoders
Authors: Lukošiute K , Raaijmakers G , Doctor Z , Soares-Santos M , Nord B
Published: August 2022

Detailed radiative transfer simulations of kilonova spectra play an essential role in multimessenger astrophysics. Using the simulation results in parameter inference studies requires building a surrogate model from the simulation outputs to use in algorithms requiring sampling. In this work, we present kilonovanet, an implementation of conditional variational autoencoders (cVAEs) for the construction of surrogate models of kilonova spectra. This method can be trained on spectra directly, removing overhead time of pre-processing spectra, and greatly speeds up parameter inference time. We build surrogate models of three state-of-the-art kilonova simulation data sets and present in-depth surrogate error evaluation methods, which can in general be applied to any surrogate construction method. By creating synthetic photometric observations from the spectral surrogate, we perform parameter inference for the observed light-curve data of GW170817 and compare the results with previous analyses. Given the speed with which kilonovanet performs during parameter inference, it will serve as a useful tool in future gravitational wave observing runs to quickly analyse potential kilonova candidates.
Enrichment of the Galactic disc with neutron-capture elements: Gd, Dy, and Th
Authors: Mishenina T , Pignatari M , Gorbaneva T , Côté B , Yagüe López A , Thielemann F-K , Soubiran C
Published: August 2022

The study of the origin of heavy elements is one of the main goals of nuclear astrophysics. In this paper, we present new observational data for the heavy r-process elements gadolinium (Gd, Z= 64), dysprosium (Dy, Z= 66), and thorium (Th, Z= 90) in a sample of 276 Galactic disc stars (–1.0 < [Fe/H] < + 0.3). The stellar spectra have a high resolution of 42 000 and 75 000, and the signal-to-noise ratio higher than 100. The LTE abundances of Gd, Dy, and Th have been determined by comparing the observed and synthetic spectra for three Gd lines (149 stars), four Dy lines (152 stars), and the Th line at 4019.13 Å (170 stars). For about 70 per cent of the stars in our sample, Gd and Dy are measured for the first time, and Th for 95 per cent of the stars. Typical errors vary from 0.07 to 0.16 dex. This paper provides the first extended set of Th observations in the Milky Way disc. Together with europium (Eu, Z= 63) data from our previous studies, we have compared these new observations with nucleosynthesis predictions and Galactic Chemical Evolution simulations. We confirm that [Gd/Fe] and [Dy/Fe] show the same behaviour of Eu. We study with GCE simulations the evolution of [Th/Fe] in comparison with [Eu/Fe], showing that unlike Eu, either the Th production is metallicity dependent in case of a unique source of the r-process in the Galaxy, or the frequency of the Th-rich r-process source is decreasing with the increase in [Fe/H].
Average characteristics of high-energy magnetospheric electron flux enhancements and the parameters of near-Earth and interplanetary medium in 1987–2021
Authors: Kryakunova O N , Belov A V , Yakovets A F , Abunin A A , Tsepakina I L , Seifullina B B , Abunina M A , Nikolayevskiy N F , Shlyk N S , Andreyev A B
Published: August 2022

Based on the data of 35-yr (1987–2021) measurements of magnetospheric electron fluxes with energy >2 MeV in geostationary orbits, solar wind speed, and geomagnetic activity, a catalogue of electron flux enhancements was compiled in which the electron fluence exceeds 108 cm–2 sr–1 d–1. The epoch superposition method performed using the GOES-13 spacecraft data shows that large electron flux enhancements are preceded by a significant increase in the solar wind velocity and the Ap index of geomagnetic activity, and immediately before the increase the relativistic electron flux decreases. For the events of the catalogue, the average characteristics of electron flux enhancements and parameters of the interplanetary and near-Earth medium were calculated: the mean values of the diurnal and total fluences during an event and the average duration of electron enhancements. The average duration of the electron flux enhancement is 5 d, and the maximum duration is 24 d. Based on the calculated mean values of the electron fluences, solar wind velocity, and Ap-index of geomagnetic activity on the day of electron enhancement and on previous days, a typical behaviour of these parameters during and before an electron flux enhancement was obtained. The average characteristics of electron flux enhancements and the parameters of interplanetary and near-Earth medium are calculated before large electron flux enhancements, when the fluence exceeds 3 × 108, 5 × 108, and 109 particles cm–2 sr–1 d–1, respectively. It is shown that the greater the increase in solar wind velocity and geomagnetic activity the larger the subsequent electron flux enhancement.
Mimicking mergers: mistaking black hole captures as mergers
Authors: Guo Weichangfeng , Williams Daniel , Heng Ik Siong , Gabbard Hunter , Bae Yeong-Bok , Kang Gungwon , Zhu Zong-Hong
Published: August 2022

As the number of gravitational wave observations has increased in recent years, the variety of sources has broadened. Here, we investigate whether it is possible for the current generation of detectors to distinguish between very short-lived gravitational wave signals from mergers between high-mass black holes and the signal produced by a close encounter between two black holes, which results in gravitational capture and ultimately a merger. We compare the posterior probability distributions produced by analysing simulated signals from both types of progenitor events, both under ideal and realistic scenarios. We show that while under ideal conditions it is possible to distinguish both progenitors, under realistic conditions they are indistinguishable. This has important implications for the interpretation of such short signals, and we therefore advocate that these signals be the focus of additional investigation even when satisfactory results have been achieved from standard analyses.
Hyperfine resolved rate coefficients of HC17O+ with H2 (j = 0)
Authors: Tonolo F , Lique F , Melosso M , Puzzarini C , Bizzocchi L
Published: August 2022

The formyl cation (HCO+) is one of the most abundant ions in molecular clouds and plays a major role in the interstellar chemistry. For this reason, accurate collisional rate coefficients for the rotational excitation of HCO+ and its isotopes due to the most abundant perturbing species in interstellar environments are crucial for non-local thermal equilibrium models and deserve special attention. In this work, we determined the first hyperfine resolved rate coefficients of HC17O+ in collision with H2 (j = 0). Indeed, despite no scattering calculations on its collisional parameters have been performed so far, the HC17O+ isotope assumes a prominent role for astrophysical modelling applications. Computations are based on a new four dimensional (4D) potential energy surface obtained at the CCSD(T)-F12a/aug-cc-pVQZ level of theory. A test on the corresponding cross-section values pointed out that, to a good approximation, the influence of the coupling between rotational levels of H2 can be ignored. For this reason, the H2 collider has been treated as a spherical body and an average of the potential based on five orientations of H2 has been employed for scattering calculations. State-to-state rate coefficients resolved for the HC17O+ hyperfine structure for temperature ranging from 5 to 100K have been computed using recoupling techniques. This study provides the first determination of HC17O+–H2 inelastic rate coefficients directly computed from full quantum close-coupling equations, thus supporting the reliability of future radiative transfer modellings of HC17O+ in interstellar environments.
The SAMI Galaxy Survey: flipping of the spin–filament alignment correlates most strongly with growth of the bulge
Authors: Barsanti Stefania , Colless Matthew , Welker Charlotte , Oh Sree , Casura Sarah , Bryant Julia J , Croom Scott M , D’Eugenio Francesco , Lawrence Jon S , Richards Samuel N , van de Sande Jesse
Published: August 2022

We study the alignments of galaxy spin axes with respect to cosmic web filaments as a function of various properties of the galaxies and their constituent bulges and discs. We exploit the SAMI Galaxy Survey to identify 3D spin axes from spatially resolved stellar kinematics and to decompose the galaxy into the kinematic bulge and disc components. The GAMA survey is used to reconstruct the cosmic filaments. The mass of the bulge, defined as the product of stellar mass and bulge-to-total flux ratio Mbulge = M⋆ × (B/T), is the primary parameter of correlation with spin–filament alignments: galaxies with lower bulge masses tend to have their spins parallel to the closest filament, while galaxies with higher bulge masses are more perpendicularly aligned. M⋆ and B/T separately show correlations, but they do not fully unravel spin–filament alignments. Other galaxy properties, such as visual morphology, stellar age, star formation activity, kinematic parameters, and local environment, are secondary tracers. Focussing on S0 galaxies, we find preferentially perpendicular alignments, with the signal dominated by high-mass S0 galaxies. Studying bulge and disc spin–filament alignments separately reveals additional information about the formation pathways of the corresponding galaxies: bulges tend to have more perpendicular alignments, while discs show different tendencies according to their kinematic features and the mass of the associated bulge. The observed correlation between the flipping of spin–filament alignments and the growth of the bulge can be explained by mergers, which drive both alignment flips and bulge formation.
Properties of shocked dust grains in supernova remnants
Authors: Priestley F D , Chawner H , Barlow M J , De Looze I , Gomez H L , Matsuura M
Published: August 2022

Shockwaves driven by supernovae both destroy dust and reprocess the surviving grains, greatly affecting the resulting dust properties of the interstellar medium (ISM). While these processes have been extensively studied theoretically, observational constraints are limited. We use physically motivated models of dust emission to fit the infrared (IR) spectral energy distributions of seven Galactic supernova remnants, allowing us to determine the distribution of dust mass between diffuse and dense gas phases, and between large and small grain sizes. We find that the dense ($\sim \! 10^3\ {\rm cm}^{-3}$), relatively cool ($\sim \! 10^3\ {\rm K}$) gas phase contains $\gt 90{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ of the dust mass, making the warm dust located in the X-ray emitting plasma ($\sim \! 1\ {\rm cm}^{-3}$/$10^6\ {\rm K}$) a negligible fraction of the total, despite dominating the mid-IR emission. The ratio of small ($\lesssim\!{10}\ {\rm nm}$) to large ($\gtrsim \! 0.1\ {\rm \mu m}$) grains in the cold component is consistent with that in the ISM, and possibly even higher, whereas the hot phase is almost entirely devoid of small grains. This suggests that grain shattering, which processes large grains into smaller ones, is ineffective in the low-density gas, contrary to model predictions. Single-phase models of dust destruction in the ISM, which do not account for the existence of the cold swept-up material containing most of the dust mass, are likely to greatly overestimate the rate of dust destruction by supernovae.
Photometric redshifts for quasars from WISE-PS1-STRM
Authors: Kunsági-Máté Sándor , Beck Róbert , Szapudi István , Csabai István
Published: August 2022

Three-dimensional wide-field galaxy surveys are fundamental for cosmological studies. For higher redshifts (z ≳ 1.0), where galaxies are too faint, quasars still trace the large-scale structure of the Universe. Since available telescope time limits spectroscopic surveys, photometric methods are efficient for estimating redshifts for many quasars. Recently, machine-learning methods are increasingly successful for quasar photometric redshifts, however, they hinge on the distribution of the training set. Therefore, a rigorous estimation of reliability is critical. We extracted optical and infrared photometric data from the cross-matched catalogue of the WISE All-Sky and PS1 3$\pi$ DR2 sky surveys. We trained an XGBoost regressor and an artificial neural network on the relation between colour indices and spectroscopic redshift. We approximated the effective training set coverage with the K-nearest neighbours algorithm. We estimated reliable photometric redshifts of 2 562 878 quasars which overlap with the training set in feature space. We validated the derived redshifts with an independent, clustering-based redshift estimation technique. The final catalogue is publicly available.
Towards 21-cm intensity mapping at z = 2.28 with uGMRT using the tapered gridded estimator I: Foreground avoidance
Authors: Pal Srijita , Elahi Kh Md Asif , Bharadwaj Somnath , Ali Sk Saiyad , Choudhuri Samir , Ghosh Abhik , Chakraborty Arnab , Datta Abhirup , Roy Nirupam , Choudhury Madhurima , Dutta Prasun
Published: August 2022

The post-reionization (z ≤ 6) neutral hydrogen (H i) 21-cm intensity mapping signal holds the potential to probe the large-scale structures, study the expansion history, and constrain various cosmological parameters. Here, we apply the Tapered Gridded Estimator (TGE) to estimate P(k⊥, k∥) the power spectrum of the $z = 2.28\, (432.8\, {\rm MHz})$ redshifted 21-cm signal using a $24.4\, {\rm MHz}$ sub-band drawn from uGMRT Band 3 observations of European Large-Area ISO Survey-North 1 (ELAIS-N1). The TGE allows us to taper the sky response, which suppresses the foreground contribution from sources in the periphery of the telescope’s field of view. We apply the TGE on the measured visibility data to estimate the multifrequency angular power spectrum (MAPS) Cℓ(Δν) from which we determine P(k⊥, k∥) using maximum likelihood that naturally overcomes the issue of missing frequency channels (55 per cent here). The entire methodology is validated using simulations. For the data, using the foreground avoidance technique, we obtain a $2\, \sigma$ upper limit of $\Delta ^2(k) \le (133.97)^2 \, {\rm mK}^{2}$ for the 21-cm brightness temperature fluctuation at $k = 0.347 \, \textrm {Mpc}^{-1}$. This corresponds to $[\Omega _{\rm H\, {\small I}~}b_{\rm H\, {\small I}~}] \le 0.23$, where $\Omega _{\rm H\, {\small I}~}$ and $b_{\rm H\, {\small I}~}$, respectively, denote the cosmic H i mass density and the H i bias parameter. A previous work has analysed $8 \, {\rm MHz}$ of the same data at z = 2.19, and reported $\Delta ^{2}(k) \le (61.49)^{2} \, {\rm mK}^{2}$ and $[\Omega _{\rm H\, {\small I}~} b_{\rm H\, {\small I}~}] \le 0.11$ at $k=1 \, {\rm Mpc}^{-1}$. The upper limits presented here are still orders of magnitude larger than the expected signal corresponding to $\Omega _{\rm H\, {\small I}~} \sim 10^{-3}$ and $b_{\rm H\, {\small I}~} \sim 2$.
UOCS –VIII. UV study of the open cluster NGC 2506 using ASTROSAT★
Authors: Panthi Anju , Vaidya Kaushar , Jadhav Vikrant , Rao Khushboo K , Subramaniam Annapurni , Agarwal Manan , Pandey Sindhu
Published: August 2022

We study an intermediate-age open cluster (OC) NGC 2506 using the ASTROSAT/UVIT data and other archival data. We identified 2175 cluster members using a machine learning-based algorithm, ML–MOC, on Gaia EDR3 data. Among the cluster members detected in UVIT filters, F148W, F154W, and F169M, we detect nine blue straggler stars (BSS), three yellow straggler stars (YSS), and three red clump (RC) stars. We construct multiwavelength spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of these objects to characterize them and to estimate their parameters. We discovered hot companions to three BSS, two YSS, and three RC candidates and estimated their properties. The hot companions with estimated temperatures, Teff ∼ 13250–31 000 K, are WDs of extremely low mass (ELM, ∼ 0.20 M⊙), low mass (LM, ∼ 0.20–0.40 M⊙), normal mass (∼ 0.40–0.60 M⊙), and high mass (∼ 0.8 M⊙). We suggest that systems with ELM and LM WDs as companions are formed via Case-A/Case-B mass transfer mechanism. A BSS is the likely progenitor of the high-mass WD, as a star with more than the turn-off mass of the cluster is needed to form a high-mass WD. Thus, systems with a high-mass WD are likely to be formed through merger in triple systems. We conclude that mass transfer as well as merger pathways of BSS formation are present in this cluster.
Birth of a Be star: an APOGEE search for Be stars forming through binary mass transfer
Authors: El-Badry Kareem , Conroy Charlie , Quataert Eliot , Rix Hans-Walter , Labadie-Bartz Jonathan , Jayasinghe Tharindu , Thompson Todd , Cargile Phillip , Stassun Keivan G , Ilyin Ilya
Published: August 2022

Motivated by recent suggestions that many Be stars form through binary mass transfer, we searched the APOGEE survey for Be stars with bloated, stripped companions. From a well-defined parent sample of 297 Be stars, we identified one mass-transfer binary, HD 15124. The object consists of a main-sequence Be star ($M_{\rm Be}=5.3\pm 0.6\, {\rm M}_{\odot }$) with a low-mass ($M_{\rm donor}=0.92\pm 0.22\, {\rm M}_{\odot }$), subgiant companion on a 5.47-d orbit. The emission lines originate in an accretion disc caused by ongoing mass transfer, not from a decretion disc as in classical Be stars. Both stars have surface abundances bearing imprint of CNO processing in the donor’s core: the surface helium fraction is YHe ≈ 0.6, and the nitrogen-to-carbon ratio is 1000 times the solar value. The system’s properties are well-matched by binary evolution models in which mass transfer begins while a $3-5\, {\rm M}_{\odot }$ donor leaves the main sequence, with the originally less massive component becoming the Be star. These models predict that the system will soon become a detached Be + stripped star binary like HR 6819 and LB-1, with the stripped donor eventually contracting to become a core helium-burning sdO/B star. Discovery of one object in this short-lived (∼1 Myr) evolutionary phase implies the existence of many more that have already passed through it and are now Be + sdO/B binaries. We infer that $(10-60)\, {{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ of Be stars have stripped companions, most of which are $\sim 100\, \times$ fainter than the Be stars in the optical. Together with the dearth of main-sequence companions to Be stars and recent discovery of numerous Be + sdO/B binaries in the UV, our results imply that binarity plays an important role in the formation of Be stars.
Signatures of Convergent Evolution and Natural Selection at the Alcohol Dehydrogenase Gene Region are Correlated with Agriculture in Ethnically Diverse Africans
Authors: McQuillan Michael A , Ranciaro Alessia , Hansen Matthew E B , Fan Shaohua , Beggs William , Belay Gurja , Woldemeskel Dawit , Tishkoff Sarah A
Published: August 2022

The alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) family of genes encodes enzymes that catalyze the metabolism of ethanol into acetaldehyde. Nucleotide variation in ADH genes can affect the catalytic properties of these enzymes and is associated with a variety of traits, including alcoholism and cancer. Some ADH variants, including the ADH1B*48His (rs1229984) mutation in the ADH1B gene, reduce the risk of alcoholism and are under positive selection in multiple human populations. The advent of Neolithic agriculture and associated increase in fermented foods and beverages is hypothesized to have been a selective force acting on such variants. However, this hypothesis has not been tested in populations outside of Asia. Here, we use genome-wide selection scans to show that the ADH gene region is enriched for variants showing strong signals of positive selection in multiple Afroasiatic-speaking, agriculturalist populations from Ethiopia, and that this signal is unique among sub-Saharan Africans. We also observe strong selection signals at putatively functional variants in nearby lipid metabolism genes, which may influence evolutionary dynamics at the ADH region. Finally, we show that haplotypes carrying these selected variants were introduced into Northeast Africa from a West-Eurasian source within the last ∼2,000 years and experienced positive selection following admixture. These selection signals are not evident in nearby, genetically similar populations that practice hunting/gathering or pastoralist subsistence lifestyles, supporting the hypothesis that the emergence of agriculture shapes patterns of selection at ADH genes. Together, these results enhance our understanding of how adaptations to diverse environments and diets have influenced the African genomic landscape.
Comparative cisplatin reactivity towards human Zn7-metallothionein-2 and MTF-1 zinc fingers: potential implications in anticancer drug resistance
Authors: Bulathge Anjala W , Villones Rhiza Lyne E , Herbert Fabian C , Gassensmith Jeremiah J , Meloni Gabriele
Published: August 2022

Cis-diamminedichloroplatinum(II) (cisplatin) is a widely used metal-based chemotherapeutic drug for the treatment of cancers. However, intrinsic and acquired drug resistance limit the efficacy of cisplatin-based treatments. Increased production of intracellular thiol-rich molecules, in particular metallothioneins (MTs), which form stable coordination complexes with the electrophilic cisplatin, results in cisplatin sequestration leading to pre-target resistance. MT-1/-2 are overexpressed in cancer cells, and their expression is controlled by the metal response element (MRE)-binding transcription factor-1 (MTF-1), featuring six Cys2His2-type zinc fingers which, upon zinc metalation, recognize specific MRE sequences in the promoter region of MT genes triggering their expression. Cisplatin can efficiently react with protein metal binding sites featuring nucleophilic cysteine and/or histidine residues, including MTs and zinc fingers proteins, but the preferential reactivity towards specific targets with competing binding sites cannot be easily predicted. In this work, by in vitro competition reactions, we investigated the thermodynamic and kinetic preferential reactivity of cisplatin towards human Zn7MT-2, each of the six MTF-1 zinc fingers, and the entire human MTF-1 zinc finger domain. By spectroscopic, spectrometric, and electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSA), we demonstrated that cisplatin preferentially reacts with Zn7MT-2 to form Cys4-Pt(II) complexes, resulting in zinc release from MT-2. Zinc transfer from MT-2 to the MTF-1 triggers MTF-1 metalation, activation, and binding to target MRE sequences, as demonstrated by EMSA with DNA oligonucleotides. The cisplatin-dependent MT-mediated MTF-1 activation leading to apo-MT overexpression potentially establishes one of the molecular mechanisms underlying the development and potentiation of MT-mediated pre-target resistance.
Directed evolution of colE1 plasmid replication compatibility: a fast tractable tunable model for investigating biological orthogonality
Authors: Chaillou Santiago , Stamou Pinelopi-Eleftheria , Torres Leticia L , Riesco Ana B , Hazelton Warren , Pinheiro Vitor B
Published: August 2022

Plasmids of the ColE1 family are among the most frequently used in molecular biology. They were adopted early for many biotechnology applications, and as models to study plasmid biology. Their mechanism of replication is well understood, involving specific interactions between a plasmid encoded sense-antisense gene pair (RNAI and RNAII). Due to such mechanism, two plasmids with the same origin cannot be stably maintained in cells—a process known as incompatibility. While mutations in RNAI and RNAII can make colE1 more compatible, there has been no systematic effort to engineer new compatible colE1 origins, which could bypass technical design constraints for multi-plasmid applications. Here, we show that by diversifying loop regions in RNAI (and RNAII), it is possible to select new viable colE1 origins compatible with the wild-type one. We demonstrate that sequence divergence is not sufficient to enable compatibility and pairwise interactions are not an accurate guide for higher order interactions. We identify potential principles to engineer plasmid copy number independently from other regulatory strategies and we propose plasmid compatibility as a tractable model to study biological orthogonality.
DupScan: predicting and visualizing vertebrate genome duplication database
Authors: Lu Jianguo , Huang Peilin , Sun Jialiang , Liu Jian
Published: August 2022

Duplicated genes prevail in vertebrates and are important in the acquisition of new genes and novelties. Whole genome duplication (WGD) is one of the sources of duplicated genes. It can provide raw materials for natural selection by increasing the flexibility and complexity of the genome. WGDs are the driving force for the evolution of vertebrates and contribute greatly to their species diversity, especially in fish species with complicated WGD patterns. Here, we constructed the DupScan database (https://dupscan.sysumeg.com/) by integrating 106 chromosomal-level genomes, which can analyze and visualize synteny at both the gene and genome scales, visualize the Ka, Ks, and 4DTV values, and browse genomes. DupScan was used to perform functional adaptation for the intricate WGD investigation based on synteny matching. DupScan supports the analysis of five WGD rounds (R): VGD2 (vertebrate genome duplication 2), Ars3R (Acipenser-ruthenus-specific 3R), Pss3R (Polyodon-spathula-specific 3R), Ts3R (teleost-specific duplication 3R), Ss4R (salmonid-specific 4R), and Cs4R (carp-specific 4R). DupScan serves as one-stop analysis platform for synteny and WGD research in which users can analyze and predict synteny and WGD patterns across 106 species of whole genome sequences. This further aided us in elucidating genome evolutionary patterns across over 60,000 vertebrate species with synteny and WGD events.
Therapy in Patients with Hematologic Malignancies, Seroconversion Rates, and SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination
Authors: Sriwijitalai Won , Wiwanitkit Viroj
Published: August 2022

This letter to the editor comments on a recently published article on seroconversion rates after COVID-19 vaccination.
Are Public Reason Liberalism’s Epistemological Commitments Indefensible?
Authors: Tahzib Collis
Published: August 2022

Public reason liberalism holds that laws and policies must be justifiable to all reasonable citizens. Recently, David Enoch has offered an impressive and influential argument against the epistemological commitments of public reason liberalism on the grounds that they are ‘highly controversial’. After setting out this argument (Sections I and II), I show how its central claim is ambiguous between two senses of ‘controversial’. This gives rise to a dilemma: either Enoch's claim is that the relevant epistemological commitments are controversial in the sense of being subject to controversy amongst actual people, in which case this is true but not troubling for public reason theorists; or the claim is that the relevant commitments are controversial in the sense of being subject to controversy amongst reasonable people, in which case this simply begs the question against public reason theorists (Section III). I then defend each horn of the dilemma against objections (Sections IV and V). I conclude by generalizing this dilemma, showing how it defuses not just Enoch's argument but also a number of other arguments frequently made in the literature on public reason liberalism (Section VI).
Leptonic and semi-leptonic neutrino interactions with muons in proto-neutron star cooling
Authors: Sugiura Ken’ichi , Furusawa Shun , Sumiyoshi Kohsuke , Yamada Shoichi
Published: August 2022

It is known that muons are scarce just after the birth of a proto-neutron star via a supernova explosion, but get more abundant as the proto-neutron star cools via neutrino emissions on the Kelvin–Helmholtz timescale. We evaluate all the relevant rates of the neutrino interactions with muons at different times in the proto-neutron star cooling. We are particularly interested in the late phase ($t \gtrsim 10 \operatorname{s}$), which will be accessible in the next Galactic supernova but has not been studied well so far. We calculate both leptonic and semi-leptonic processes, for the latter of which we also pay attention to the form factors with their dependence on the transferred momentum as well as to the modification of the dispersion relations for nucleons on the mean field level. We find that the flavor-exchange reactions νe + μ− → νμ + e− and $\bar{\nu }_{\mu } + \mu ^- \rightarrow \bar{\nu }_e + e^-$ can be dominant, particularly at low energies, over the capture of νe on neutron and the scatterings of $\bar{\nu }_{\mu }$ on nucleons as the opacity sources for these species, and that the inverse muon decay $\bar{\nu }_e + \nu _{\mu } + e^- \leftrightarrows \mu ^-$ can overwhelm the scatterings of $\bar{\nu }_e$ and νμ on nucleons again at low energies. At high energies, on the other hand, the corrections in the semi-leptonic processes mentioned above are more important. We also show the non-trivial energy and angular dependencies of the flavor-exchange reactions and the inverse muon decay. In the study of the diffusion coefficients from these reactions, we find that $\bar{\nu }_{\mu }$ is most affected. These pieces of information are indispensable for numerical computations and the interpretation of their results for proto-neutron star cooling, particularly at the very late phase.
Learning about German farmers’ willingness to cooperate from public goods games and expert predictions
Authors: Rommel Jens , Schulze Christoph , Matzdorf Bettina , Sagebiel Julian , Wechner Vera
Published: August 2022

There is a growing interest in collective contracts to address agri-environmental policy goals at landscape scales. Yet, little is known about farmers’ general willingness to cooperate. We developed four treatments of a linear public goods game to investigate farmers’ willingness to cooperate: (1) heterogeneous endowments, (2) leading-by-example, (3) social norms, and (4) pinpointing the socially optimal solution. Based on a sample of 358 German farmers, we find that contributions reach more than two-thirds of the initial endowment across different treatments on average. Nudging the socially optimal solution is the most effective treatment. In addition to the experiment, we elicited incentivized predictions on experimental outcomes from 212 experts. Expert beliefs on treatment effects appear to be calibrated on laboratory studies, highlighting the need to conduct, communicate, and discuss experimental studies outside the laboratory. Young female academics with an Economics background most accurately predict farmers’ behaviour in the experiment.
Metabolic Maturation Increases Susceptibility to Hypoxia-induced Damage in Human iPSC-derived Cardiomyocytes
Authors: Peters Marijn C , Maas Renee G C , van Adrichem Iris , Doevendans Pieter A M , Mercola Mark , Šarić Tomo , Buikema Jan W , van Mil Alain , Chamuleau Steven A J , Sluijter Joost P G , Hnatiuk Anna P , Neef Klaus
Published: August 2022

The development of new cardioprotective approaches using in vivo models of ischemic heart disease remains challenging as differences in cardiac physiology, phenotype, and disease progression between humans and animals influence model validity and prognostic value. Furthermore, economical and ethical considerations have to be taken into account, especially when using large animal models with relevance for conducting preclinical studies. The development of human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CMs) has opened new opportunities for in vitro studies on cardioprotective compounds. However, the immature cellular phenotype of iPSC-CMs remains a roadblock for disease modeling. Here, we show that metabolic maturation renders the susceptibility of iPSC-CMs to hypoxia further toward a clinically representative phenotype. iPSC-CMs cultured in a conventional medium did not show significant cell death after exposure to hypoxia. In contrast, metabolically matured (MM) iPSC-CMs showed inhibited mitochondrial respiration after exposure to hypoxia and increased cell death upon increased durations of hypoxia. Furthermore, we confirmed the applicability of MM iPSC-CMs for in vitro studies of hypoxic damage by validating the known cardioprotective effect of necroptosis inhibitor necrostatin-1. Our results provide important steps to improving and developing valid and predictive human in vitro models of ischemic heart disease.