bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Competing for the Youth: Jewish Scout Identity, Religion, and Gender during the Holocaust in France
Authors: Balint Barnabas
Published: December 2023

This article examines Jewish youth identity, gender, and ideology during the Holocaust in France in order to understand how young people responded to persecution. The author’s attempts to understand the youth perspective reveals that these adolescents’ experiences were distinct and varied, and each traversed complex and multifaceted paths through the war. Always in perpetual negotiation with other elements of their identities—such as their ideology, religion, and gender—for many, youth movements greatly impacted how they developed and matured into adulthood. Coming of age during the Holocaust meant not only enduring persecution, but also traditional discourses on the place of young people in society. Charting the trajectories of individual young people and Jewish youth groups within the context of the war, the Holocaust, and French Jewish history reveals their radicalized and accelerated wartime development. In researching this phenomenon, it becomes possible to decenter entrenched narratives of persecution and resistance and enhance our understanding of wartime gender roles, the impact of Judaism, and the various ideologies that informed these youths’ lives.
Gaining an Empathetic Insight into Parenting: Evaluating Infant Simulator Dolls for Professional Learning
Authors: Whiting Lisa , Petty Julia , Roberts Sheila , Littlechild Brian , Mills Karen
Published: December 2023

The development of an empathetic approach when working with parents and families is fundamental to both social work and children’s nursing; however, opportunities to develop this are limited. RealCare Baby infant simulator dolls were used with the aim of enabling students to gain an empathetic insight into parenting. A qualitative, evaluation study involving semistructured interviews with 10 social work and 11 children’s nursing students was undertaken to evaluate experiences and views of infant simulator dolls, in relation to professional learning. Using reflexive thematic analysis of interview data, six key themes were identified: (1) positive experiences, (2) challenges, (3) impact on self, (4) empathy toward parents, (5) realism and (6) learning by reflection. All themes were evident from the participants’ accounts in the context of the parenting experience. In addition to the overall positive impact on students, practical and technical challenges were also identified. However, despite these difficulties, participants valued the learning experience gained from caring for a doll and many articulated how an empathetic understanding of the parenting role was enhanced. This will potentially enable social work and children’s nursing students to support parents more sensitively and empathetically.
Characteristics of Interventional Trials for Patients Living With Intestinal Stoma Registered in ClinicalTrials.gov With a Focus on Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Authors: Vuyyuru Sudheer K , Ma Christopher , Sharma Tanmay , Nguyen Tran M , Bessissow Talat , Narula Neeraj , Singh Siddharth , Rieder Florian , Jairath Vipul
Published: December 2023

Background

This systematic review was performed to characterize the landscape of research conducted in patients with intestinal stoma (IS) and highlight unmet needs for clinical research in Crohn’s disease (CD) and IS.

Methods

We searched ClinicalTrials.gov from inception to May 25, 2022, to identify clinical trials assessing interventions in patients with an IS, as well as those with an IS and CD. Studies were grouped according to type of intervention. We excluded observational studies with no treatment arm.

Results

A total of 253 studies were included in the final analysis. Most studies investigated devices (n = 122 [48.2%]), or surgical procedures (n = 63 [24.9%]), followed by behavioral interventions (n = 30 [11.8%]), drugs (n = 20 [7.9%]), dietary interventions (n = 2 [0.8%]), skin care products (n = 2 0.8%]), and others (n = 14 [5.5%]). A total of 50.9% (n = 129) of studies had completed recruitment, enrolling 11 116 participants. Only 6 studies (surgery: n = 3; physiological studies: n = 2; drugs: n = 1) exclusively included patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and 16 studies commented that patients with IBD were excluded in their eligibility criteria. No study assessed efficacy of drugs in patients with CD and IS. Approximately one-quarter of studies (n = 65 of 253) included quality of life as an outcome measure.

Conclusion

There is a paucity of research in IBD patients with IS, with the majority focusing on devices and surgical procedures. There have been no drug trials evaluating efficacy in patients with CD and IS. There is an urgent need to identify barriers to enrollment and develop eligibility and outcome measures that enable the inclusion of patients with CD with stoma into clinical trials.
A constraint dissolving approach for nonsmooth optimization over the Stiefel manifold
Authors: Hu Xiaoyin , Xiao Nachuan , Liu Xin , Toh Kim-Chuan
Published: December 2023

This paper focuses on the minimization of a possibly nonsmooth objective function over the Stiefel manifold. The existing approaches either lack efficiency or can only tackle prox-friendly objective functions. We propose a constraint dissolving function named NCDF and show that it has the same first-order stationary points and local minimizers as the original problem in a neighborhood of the Stiefel manifold. Furthermore, we show that the Clarke subdifferential of NCDF is easy to achieve from the Clarke subdifferential of the objective function. Therefore, various existing approaches for unconstrained nonsmooth optimization can be directly applied to nonsmooth optimization problems over the Stiefel manifold. We propose a framework for developing subgradient-based methods and establishing their convergence properties based on prior works. Furthermore, based on our proposed framework, we can develop efficient approaches for optimization over the Stiefel manifold. Preliminary numerical experiments further highlight that the proposed constraint dissolving approach yields efficient and direct implementations of various unconstrained approaches to nonsmooth optimization problems over the Stiefel manifold.
Evaluation of selected natural sesquiterpenes as sensitizing agents of β-lactam-resistant bacterial strains
Authors: Cruz-Martínez Yesica R , Hernández-Delgado Tzasna , Valencia Israel , Nieto-Camacho Antonio , Ramírez-Apan María Teresa , Espinosa-García Francisco Javier , Delgado Guillermo
Published: December 2023

Aims

To evaluate the capacity of fourteen sesquiterpenes to enhance the action of known antibiotics against two β-lactam resistant strains, and to determine a possible mechanism of antibiotic sensitization by assessing their ability to inhibit a β-lactamase enzyme.

Methods and results

The broth microdilution method was used to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of β-lactams cefuroxime (CEFM) and cefepime (CPM) against Staphylococcus aureus 23MR and Escherichia coli 82MR strains in the absence and presence of subinhibitory concentrations of fourteen natural sesquiterpenes. (1R,4R)-4H-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-1-hydroxycadalen-15-oic acid (5), xerantolide (8), estafiatin (11), and ambrosin (12) exhibited the best sensitizing effects in both strains. These compounds were able to reduce the MIC of CEFM by 2-fold (from 15.0 to 7.5 µg/mL) and CPM by 15-fold (from 0.9 to 0.06 µg/mL) in S. aureus 23MR. For E. coli 82MR, the MIC of CEFM was reduced up to 8-fold (from 120.0 to 15.0 µg/mL). In this strain, the activity of 8 and 11 surpassed that of clavulanic acid (positive reference), which reduced the MIC of CEFM from 120.0 to 60.0 µg/mL. To elucidate a possible mechanism of antibiotic sensitization, molecular docking studies were conducted with β-lactamases. These studies revealed an affinity with the enzymes (energies > –4.93 kcal/mol) by the formation of hydrogen bonds with certain conserved amino acid residues within the active sites. However, the in vitro results indicated only marginal inhibition, with percentages <50%.

Conclusions

The bioevaluations indicate that nine of fourteen sesquiterpenes enhance the action of CEFM and CPM against the β-lactam resistant strains, and these compounds displayed moderate activity as inhibitors of β-lactamase.
Automatically pre-screening patients for the rare disease aromatic l-amino acid decarboxylase deficiency using knowledge engineering, natural language processing, and machine learning on a large EHR population
Authors: Cohen Aaron M , Kaner Jolie , Miller Ryan , Kopesky Jeffrey W , Hersh William
Published: December 2023

Objectives

Electronic health record (EHR) data may facilitate the identification of rare diseases in patients, such as aromatic l-amino acid decarboxylase deficiency (AADCd), an autosomal recessive disease caused by pathogenic variants in the dopa decarboxylase gene. Deficiency of the AADC enzyme results in combined severe reductions in monoamine neurotransmitters: dopamine, serotonin, epinephrine, and norepinephrine. This leads to widespread neurological complications affecting motor, behavioral, and autonomic function. The goal of this study was to use EHR data to identify previously undiagnosed patients who may have AADCd without available training cases for the disease.

Materials and Methods

A multiple symptom and related disease annotated dataset was created and used to train individual concept classifiers on annotated sentence data. A multistep algorithm was then used to combine concept predictions into a single patient rank value.

Results

Using an 8000-patient dataset that the algorithms had not seen before ranking, the top and bottom 200 ranked patients were manually reviewed for clinical indications of performing an AADCd diagnostic screening test. The top-ranked patients were 22.5% positively assessed for diagnostic screening, with 0% for the bottom-ranked patients. This result is statistically significant at P < .0001.

Conclusion

This work validates the approach that large-scale rare-disease screening can be accomplished by combining predictions for relevant individual symptoms and related conditions which are much more common and for which training data is easier to create.
Endogenous reductase activities for the generation of ribitol-phosphate, a CDP-ribitol precursor, in mammals
Authors: Hoshino Shunsuke , Manya Hiroshi , Imae Rieko , Kobayashi Kazuhiro , Kanagawa Motoi , Endo Tamao
Published: December 2023

The core M3 O-mannosyl glycan on α-dystroglycan serves as the binding epitope for extracellular matrix molecules. Defects in core M3 glycans cause congenital muscular dystrophies that are collectively known as dystroglycanopathies. The core M3 glycan contains a tandem D-ribitol-5-phosphate (Rbo5P) structure, which is synthesized by the Rbo5P-transferases fukutin and fukutin-related protein using CDP-ribitol (CDP-Rbo) as a donor substrate. CDP-Rbo is synthesized from CTP and Rbo5P by CDP-Rbo pyrophosphorylase A. However, the Rbo5P biosynthesis pathway has yet to be elucidated in mammals. Here, we investigated the reductase activities toward four substrates, including ribose, ribulose, ribose-phosphate and ribulose-phosphate, to identify the intracellular Rbo5P production pathway and elucidated the role of the aldo-keto reductases AKR1A1, AKR1B1 and AKR1C1 in those pathways. It was shown that the ribose reduction pathway is the endogenous pathway that contributes most to Rbo5P production in HEK293T cells and that AKR1B1 is the major reductase in this pathway.
A Preclinical Blinded Randomized-Controlled Trial Evaluating the Clinical Relevance of Polyp Size Measurement Using a Virtual Scale Endoscope
Authors: Kaufman Daniel , Djinbachian Roupen , Taghiakbari Mahsa , Popescu Crainic Ioana , Haumesser Claire , Abou Khalil Maria , Sidani Sacha , Liu Chen Kiow Jeremy , Panzini Benoit , von Renteln Daniel
Published: December 2023

Background

The virtual scale endoscope (VSE) helps endoscopists measure colorectal polyp size more accurately compared to visual assessment (VA). However, previous studies were not adequately powered to evaluate the sizing of polyps at clinically relevant size thresholds and relative accuracy for size subgroups.

Methods

We created 64 artificial polyps of varied sizes and Paris class morphology, randomly assigned 1:1 to be measured (383 total measurement datapoints with VSE and VA by 6 endoscopists blinded to true size) in a colon model. We added data from two previous trials (480 measurement datapoints). We evaluated for correct classification of polyps into size groups at 3 mm, 5 mm, 10 mm, and 20 mm size thresholds and the relative size measurement accuracy for diminutive polyps (≤5 mm), small polyps (5–9 mm), large polyps at 10–19 mm, and polyps (≥20).

Results

VSE had significantly less size group misclassifications at the 5 mm, and 10 mm thresholds (28 percent vs. 45 percent, P = 0.0159 and 26 percent vs. 44 percent, P = 0.0135, respectively). For the 3 mm and 20 mm thresholds, VSE had lower misclassifications; however, this was not statistically significant (36 percent vs. 46 percent, P = 0.3853 and 38 percent vs. 41 percent, P = 0.2705, respectively). The relative size measurement accuracy was significantly higher for VSE compared to VA for all size subgroups (diminutive (P < 0.01), small polyps (P < 0.01), 10–19 mm (P < 0.01), and ≥20 mm (P < 0.01)).

Conclusion

VSE outperforms VA in categorizing polyps into size groups at the clinically relevant size thresholds of 5 mm and 10 mm. Using VSE resulted in significantly higher relative measurement accuracy for all size subgroups.
Molecular data highlight cryptic diversity and reveal a new species in theSynalpheus brevicarpus(Herrick, 1891) complex (Decapoda: Caridea: Alpheidae) in the Western Atlantic
Authors: Mantelatto Fernando L , França Nielson F C , Cunha Andressa M , Almeida Alexandre O
Published: December 2023

Representatives of species of alpheid shrimps included in Synalpheus Spence Bate, 1888 exhibit spectacular and distinct behaviors such as eusociality. The wide range of morphological variations in these taxa makes taxonomic understanding difficult. The phylogenetic relationships of the species that comprise the Synalpheus brevicarpus (Herrick, 1891) complex are little known, especially for individuals from South America. Our investigation represents an additional approach to elucidate some aspects of the phylogeny of this species complex. Morphological and molecular evidence resulting from our analyses revealed the existence of a cryptic entity within the S. brevicarpus complex in southeastern Brazil.
Review of surveillance systems for tephritid fruit fly threats in Australia, New Zealand, and the United States
Authors: Kean John M , Manoukis Nicholas C , Dominiak Bernie C
Published: December 2023

Many countries conduct fruit fly surveillance but, while there are guidelines, practices vary widely. This review of some countries in the Pacific region demonstrates the diversity of fruit fly surveillance practices. All utilize 3 parapheromones—trimedlure, cuelure, and methyl eugenol—to trap adult male fruit flies. Some target species are not attracted to these compounds so other attractants such as food-based lures are used in certain areas or circumstances. Lure loading and replacement cycles depend on the target species and the local climate. Malathion and dichlorvos (DDVP) are commonly used toxicants, but not in all countries, and other toxicants are being developed to replace these older-generation pesticides. Jackson and Lynfield are commonly used trap designs but newer designs such as cone and Biotrap are being adopted. Local factors such as chemical registrations and climate affect the choice of trap, lure, dispenser, toxicant, and bait concentration. These choices affect the efficacy of traps, in turn influencing optimal trap deployment in space and time. Most states now follow similar practices around trap inspection, servicing, and data handling, but these processes will be disrupted by emerging automated trap technologies. Ultimately, different practices can be attributed to the unique fruit fly risk profiles faced by each state, particularly the suite of fruit flies already present and those that threaten from nearby. Despite the diversity of approaches, international trade in fruit continues with the assurance that fruit fly surveillance practices evolve and improve according to each country’s risk profile and incursion experience.
Unbalanced optimal transport for full waveform inversion in visco-acoustic media
Authors: Tian Wenbin , Liu Yang , Dong Zilong
Published: December 2023

As a high-precision parameter inversion method, visco-acoustic full waveform inversion (QFWI) is widely used in the inversion of parameters such as velocity and quality factor Q in visco-acoustic media. Conventional QFWI, using the L2 norm as the objective function, is susceptible to face the cycle-skipping problem, especially with inaccurate initial models. Lately, adopting the optimal transportation (OT) distance as the objective function in QFWI (OT-QFWI) has become one of the most promising solutions. In OT-QFWI, converting oscillatory seismic data into a probability distribution that satisfies equal-mass and non-negativity conditions is essential. However, seismic data in visco-acoustic media face challenges in meeting the equal-mass assumption, primarily due to the attenuation effect (amplitude attenuation and phase distortion) associated with the quality factor Q. Unbalanced optimal transportation (UOT) has shown potential in solving equal-mass assumption. It offers the advantage of relaxing equal-mass requirements through entropy regularization. Owing to this advantage, UOT can mitigate the attenuation effect caused by inaccurate quality factor Q during the inversion. Simultaneously, the Sinkhorn algorithm can quickly solve the UOT distance through CUDA programming. Accordingly, we propose a UOT-based QFWI (UOT-QFWI) method to improve the accuracy of two-parameter inversion. The proposed method mitigates the impact of inaccurate quality factor Q by introducing the UOT distance to calculate the objective function, thereby helping to obtain more accurate inverted parameters. Experimental tests on the 1D Ricker wavelet and 2D synthetic model are used to validate the effectiveness and robustness of our proposed method.
Mitogenomic analysis of a late Pleistocene jaguar from North America
Authors: Srigyan Megha , Schubert Blaine W , Bushell Matthew , Santos Sarah H D , Figueiró Henrique Vieira , Sacco Samuel , Eizirik Eduardo , Shapiro Beth
Published: December 2023

The jaguar (Panthera onca) is the largest living cat species native to the Americas and one of few large American carnivorans to have survived into the Holocene. However, the extent to which jaguar diversity declined during the end-Pleistocene extinction event remains unclear. For example, Pleistocene jaguar fossils from North America are notably larger than the average extant jaguar, leading to hypotheses that jaguars from this continent represent a now-extinct subspecies (Panthera onca augusta) or species (Panthera augusta). Here, we used a hybridization capture approach to recover an ancient mitochondrial genome from a large, late Pleistocene jaguar from Kingston Saltpeter Cave, Georgia, United States, which we sequenced to 26-fold coverage. We then estimated the evolutionary relationship between the ancient jaguar mitogenome and those from other extinct and living large felids, including multiple jaguars sampled across the species’ current range. The ancient mitogenome falls within the diversity of living jaguars. All sampled jaguar mitogenomes share a common mitochondrial ancestor ~400 thousand years ago, indicating that the lineage represented by the ancient specimen dispersed into North America from the south at least once during the late Pleistocene. While genomic data from additional and older specimens will continue to improve understanding of Pleistocene jaguar diversity in the Americas, our results suggest that this specimen falls within the variation of extant jaguars despite the relatively larger size and geographic location and does not represent a distinct taxon.
Competitor Coupons: A Remedy for Residual Collusion
Authors: Harrington Joseph E
Published: December 2023

There are well-documented episodes of prices remaining at supracompetitive levels even after a cartel was shut down by the competition authority. As long as market conditions remain reasonably stable, collusive prices may still be incentive compatible so the collusive equilibrium could continue after firms are no longer engaging in illicit communications. This situation poses a challenging dilemma: consumer harm persists because of past unlawful conduct but there is no apparent recourse. This paper offers a remedy in the form of coupons. As part of the penalty imposed by the competition authority, each cartel member is required to distribute coupons to its past purchasers. Contrary to their usual form, these coupons can only be used to buy from a firm’s competitors. I show how this temporary intervention can help destabilize collusion and restore competition.
War-induced energy insecurity in Europe: what role for liquefied natural gas after the Russia’s invasion of Ukraine?
Authors: Soliman Hunter Tina
Published: December 2023

This article addresses the issue of energy insecurity in Europe arising from the Russia–Ukraine war, and Europe’s decision to ‘consciously uncouple’ from its use and reliance on Russian gas. After considering the cause and consequences of EU reliance on Russian gas, this article considers the role of floating storage and regassification units (FSRUs), vessels designed to store liquefied natural gas (LNG) until needed and then to regassify the LNG directly into the gas pipeline distribution network. This article considers FSRUs in general, and the experiences of Finland and Germany as they diversify away from Russian gas. It also considers the contribution of Croatia’s Krk Terminal in Croatian and Balkan energy security. Finally, this article considers legal issues arising from the rapid deployment of FSRUs, especially in countries with no previous experience of such hazardous facilities.
Update of the Shakespeare First Folio Census
Authors: James West Anthony
Published: December 2023

This update of the Shakespeare First Folio Census (2003) records all sales and discoveries of First Folios since 2000. Each of the seven ‘new’ Folios, ones that did not appear among the 228 Folios in the Census, is given a new ‘West’ number, accompanied by information on provenance and seller, auctioneer or bookseller, and buyer and price, plus comments as appropriate. There are now 235 extant First Folios in the world, each with an identifying number, and the precise location is known of almost all. It is likely there are more First Folios lurking somewhere. The two addenda may help to find them: Pursuing Leads to ‘New’ Folios; and Some Targets for First Folio Hunters.
Criminogenic Needs and Legal Problem Severity Among Legal System Involved Veterans
Authors: Bowdring Molly A , Macia Kathryn S , Shaffer Paige M , Smelson David , Blonigen Daniel M
Published: December 2023

Background

Many veterans seeking behavioral health services have history of criminal–legal involvement. Research on criminogenic needs of legal system involved veterans is burgeoning. However, most research has relied on cross-sectional examinations and the vast majority of prior work has focused assessment on just one criminogenic need per study.

Methods

The present study evaluated seven key criminogenic needs of legal system involved veterans (N = 341) enrolled in one of three U.S. Veterans Health Administration residential behavioral health treatment programs. Criminogenic needs and legal problem severity were assessed at baseline, and at 6 months and 12 months post-baseline. Directionality of associations between participants’ criminogenic needs and legal problem severity was examined using latent change score models.

Results

Results revealed having more antisocial associates at a previous timepoint was associated with greater subsequent improvements in legal problem severity ($\beta $=−0.01, P < 0.02) and greater improvements in legal problem severity predicted greater subsequent improvements in alcohol problem severity ($\beta $=0.13, P < 0.01).

Conclusions

In one of the most comprehensive single-study assessments of criminogenic needs among a sample of legal system involved veterans, results highlight links between antisocial associates and alcohol problem severity with legal problem severity.
Young Man With Primary Mucinous Cell Carcinoma of the Eyelid: 36 Month Follow Up
Authors: Alazawi Sama S , Katana Vienna G
Published: December 2023

Primary cutaneous mucinous carcinoma (PCMC) is a malignant adnexal tumor that masquerades as a benign periocular lesion. We present a case of a 29-year-old male with an eyelid PCMC misdiagnosed as a chalazion. He underwent Mohs microscopic surgery for definitive treatment, with no recurrence at his 36 month follow up. Given the rarity and poorer prognosis in younger patients, a high index of suspicion is crucial for biopsying periocular lesions that fail conservative therapy.
When Patient Portals Break Bad News
Authors: Iodice Eleanor , Penick Emily , Winkler Stuart S
Published: December 2023

Electronic patient portals facilitate communication between providers and patients, but they can complicate the art of breaking bad news. Nearly half of oncology patients will view their diagnosis on a patient portal before speaking with a provider. Physicians and advanced practice providers receive training on how to deliver bad news in person and over the telephone. This is done in an empathetic and supportive manner. The patient’s emotions are acknowledged, and questions are answered. While surveys of patients suggest that most people prefer an in-person or telephone conversation to receive bad news, the electronic portal can undermine this delicate conversation when oncology reports are prematurely accessed. Military providers should be aware of the impact electronic portal usage may have on patients. We provide suggestions for providers to adjust their practice accordingly, such as warning patients about their early access to results prior to a planned follow-up visit. We also suggest that MHS GENESIS, the electronic health record for the Military Health System (MHS), allows for sensitive reports to be released to patients after the results are discussed rather than automatically after 36 hours. Electronic portals streamline patient–provider communication and increase transparency; however, we should consider that the task of delivering bad news was never meant for computers.
Mitigating astrometric bias in barycentric correction with PEXO
Authors: Rui Yicheng , Feng Fabo
Published: December 2023

Extremely precise radial velocity is essential for the detection of sub-m s−1 radial velocity of stars induced by Earth-like planets. Although modelling of the barycentric correction of radial velocity could achieve 1 mm s−1 precision, the input astrometry could be biased due to non-linear motions of stars caused by companions. To account for astrometry induced bias in barycentric correction, we correct for astrometric bias by minimizing the scatter of reduced RV data with Precise EXOplanetology (PEXO). In particular, we apply this method to the barycentric correction for 266 stars from HARPS data archive. We find that the RV scatter for eight targets are significantly reduced due to correction of astrometric bias. Among these targets, two targets exhibit bias caused by known massive companions, while for the remaining six targets, the bias could be attributed to unknown companions or Gaia systematics. Furthermore, 14 targets have an astrometry induced annual RV variation higher than 0.05  m s−1, and 10 of them are closer than 10 pc. We show the results of Barnard’s star as an example, and find that an annual RV bias of 10 cm s−1 is mitigated by replacing BarCor by PEXO as the barycentric correction code. Our work demonstrates the necessity of astrometric bias correction and the utilization of barycentric correction code within a relativistic framework in high-precision RV for the detection of Earth-like planets.
The impact of gas accretion and AGN feedback on the scatter of the mass–metallicity relation
Authors: Yang Nancy , Scholte Dirk , Saintonge Amélie
Published: December 2023

The gas-phase metallicity of galaxies encodes important information about galaxy evolution processes, in particular star formation, feedback, outflows, and gas accretion, the relative importance of which can be extracted from systematic trends in the scatter of the mass–metallicity relation (MZR). Here, we use a sample of low-redshift (0.02 < z < 0.055) galaxies from SDSS to investigate the nature of the scatter around the MZR, the observables and physical processes causing it, and its dependence on galaxy mass. We use cold gas masses inferred from optical emission lines using the technique of Scholte & Saintonge (2023) to confirm that at fixed stellar mass, metallicity and gas mass are anticorrelated, but only for galaxies up to M* = 1010.5 M⊙. In that mass regime, we find a link between the offset of a galaxy from the MZR and halo mass, using the amplitude of the two-point correlation function as a proxy for halo mass; at fixed stellar mass, the most gas-poor galaxies reside in the most massive haloes. This observation is consistent with changes in gas accretion rates onto galaxies as a function of halo mass, with environmental effects acting on satellite galaxies also contributing. At higher stellar masses, the scatter of the MZR does no longer correlate with gas or halo mass. Instead, there is some indication of a link with AGN activity, as expected from models and simulations that metallicity is set by the interplay between gas in- and outflows, star formation, and AGN feedback, shaping the MZR and its scatter.
On the detectability of interstellar diaminomethane ((NH2)2CH2)
Authors: Watrous Alexandria G , Westbrook Brent R , Fortenberry Ryan C
Published: December 2023

The recent synthesis of diaminomethane ((NH2)2CH2) under simulated interstellar conditions implies that this molecule is likely present in the interstellar medium (ISM), and this work provides the highly accurate quantum chemically computed rotational constants and IR frequencies for comparison to experiment that may aid in its potential future detection. This simplest geminal diamine of prebiotic note has a transition for its ν18 fundamental frequency at 702.5 cm−1 (14.23 μm) with an intensity on level with that of the antisymmetric stretch in carbon dioxide. Additionally, its 1.72 D dipole moment for the most stable C2v conformer should make it detectable with radiotelescopes as well. The C2 conformer may also be detectable in similar regions where the C2v form is present, but only warmer or higher-energy regions will allow for possible observation of the C1 conformer. In any case, rotational constants for these other two conformers are also provided in addition to the full set of fundamental vibrational frequencies for the C2v conformer. These data will assist with further laboratory classification and possible interstellar detection of this prebiotic molecule.
Post-reionization H i 21-cm signal: a probe of negative cosmological constant
Authors: Dash Chandrachud B V , Guha Sarkar Tapomoy , Sen Anjan A
Published: December 2023

In this study, we investigate a cosmological model involving a negative cosmological constant (AdS vacua in the dark energy sector). We consider a quintessence field on top of a negative cosmological constant and study its impact on cosmological evolution and structure formation. We use the power spectrum of the redshifted H i 21-cm brightness temperature maps from the post-reionization epoch as a cosmological probe. The signature of baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) on the multipoles of the power spectrum is used to extract measurements of the angular diameter distance DA(z) and the Hubble parameter H(z). The projected errors on these are then subsequently employed to forecast the constraints on the model parameters ($H_0, \Omega _{m}, \Omega _\Lambda , w_0, w_a$) using Markov chain Monte Carlo techniques. We find that a negative cosmological constant with a phantom dark energy equation of state (EoS) and a higher value of H0 is viable from BAO distance measurements data derived from galaxy samples. We also find that BAO imprints on the 21-cm power spectrum obtained from a futuristic SKA-mid like experiment yield a 1σ error on a negative cosmological constant and the quintessence dark energy EoS parameters to be $\Omega _\Lambda =-1.030^{0.589}_{-1.712}$ and $w_0=-1.023^{0.043}_{-0.060}$, $w_a=-0.141^{0.478}_{-0.409}$ respectively.
Discovery of a circularly symmetric extended diffuse radio emission around an elliptical galaxy with the VLA FIRST survey
Authors: Kumari Shobha , Pal Sabyasachi
Published: December 2023

We identify a source (J1507+3013) with an extended diffuse radio emission around an elliptical galaxy from the Very Large Array (VLA) Faint Images of Radio Sky at Twenty-cm (FIRST) survey. J1507+3013 possesses a morphology similar to the recently identified circular, low-surface-brightness, edge-brightened radio sources commonly known as odd radio circles (ORCs). Such diffuse emissions, as reported in this paper, are also found in mini-haloes and fossil radio galaxies, but the results presented here do not match the properties of mini-haloes or of fossil radio galaxies. The extended emission observed in J1507+3013 around an elliptical galaxy is a very rare class of diffuse emission that is unlike any previously known class of diffuse emission. The extended diffuse emission of J1507+3013 is also detected in the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) at 144 MHz. J1507+3013 is hosted by an optical galaxy near the geometrical centre of the structure with a photometric redshift of z = 0.079. The physical extent of J1507+3013 is approximately 68 kpc, with a peak-to-peak angular size of 44 arcsec. It shows significantly higher flux densities compared with previously discovered ORCs. The spectral index of J1507+3013 varies between −0.90 and −1.4 in different regions of the diffuse structure, which is comparable to the case for previously discovered ORCs but less steep than for mini-haloes and fossil radio galaxies. If we consider J1507+3013 as a candidate ORC, then this would be the closest and most luminous ORC discovered so far. This paper describes the radio, spectral, and optical/IR properties of J1507+3013 in order to study the nature of this source.
Artificial Intelligence Techniques for Uncovering Resolved Planetary Nebula Candidates from Wide-field VPHAS+ Survey Data
Authors: Sun Ruiqi , Li Yushan , Parker Quentin , Li Jiaxin , Li Xu , Cao Liang , Jia Peng
Published: December 2023

Artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning techniques are playing an increasing role in astronomy to deal with the data avalanche. Here we describe an application for finding resolved planetary nebulae (PNe) in crowded, wide-field, narrow-band Hα survey imagery in the Galactic plane, to test and facilitate more objective, reproducible, efficient and reliable trawls for them. PNe are important for studying the late-stage stellar evolution of low-mass to intermediate-mass stars. However, the confirmed ∼3800 Galactic PNe fall far short of the numbers expected. Traditional visual searching for resolved PNe is time-consuming because of the large data size and areal coverage of modern astronomical surveys. The training and validation data set of our algorithm was built with the INT Photometric Hα Survey (IPHAS) and true PNe from the Hong Kong/AAO/Strasbourg Hα (HASH) data base. Our algorithm correctly identified 444 PNe in the validation set of 454 PNe, with only 16 explicable ‘false’ positives, achieving a precision rate of 96.5 per cent and a recall rate of 97.8 per cent. After transfer learning, it was then applied to the VST Photometric Hα Survey of the Southern Galactic plane and bulge (VPHAS+), examining 979 out of 2284 survey fields, each covering 1° × 1°. It returned ∼20 000 detections, including 2637 known PNe and other kinds of catalogued non-PNe. A total of 815 new high-quality PNe candidates were found, 31 of which were selected as top-quality targets for optical spectroscopic follow-up. We found that 74 per cent of them are true, likely, and possible PNe. Representative preliminary confirmatory spectroscopy results are presented here to demonstrate the effectiveness of our techniques, with full details to be given in our forthcoming paper.
An extended catalogue of galaxy morphology using deep learning in southern photometric local universe survey data release 3
Authors: Bom C R , Cortesi A , Ribeiro U , Dias L O , Kelkar K , Smith Castelli A V , Santana-Silva L , Lopes-Silva V , Gonçalves T S , Abramo L R , Lima E V R , Almeida-Fernandes F , Espinosa L , Li L , Buzzo M L , Mendes de Oliveira C , Sodré L , Ferrari F , Alvarez-Candal A , Grossi M , Telles E , Torres-Flores S , Werner S V , Kanaan A , Ribeiro T , Schoenell W
Published: December 2023

The morphological diversity of galaxies is a relevant probe of galaxy evolution and cosmological structure formation. However, in large sky surveys, even the morphological classification of galaxies into two classes, like late-type (LT) and early-type (ET), still represents a significant challenge. In this work, we present a Deep Learning (DL) based morphological catalogue built from images obtained by the Southern Photometric Local Universe Survey (S-PLUS) Data Release 3 (DR3). Our DL method achieves a purity rate of 98.5 per cent in accurately distinguishing between spiral, as part of the larger category of LT galaxies, and elliptical, belonging to ET galaxies. Additionally, we have implemented a secondary classifier that evaluates the quality of each galaxy stamp, which allows to select only high-quality images when studying properties of galaxies on the basis of their DL morphology. From our LT/ET catalogue of galaxies, we recover the expected colour–magnitude diagram in which LT galaxies display bluer colours than ET ones. Furthermore, we also investigate the clustering of galaxies based on their morphology, along with their relationship to the surrounding environment. As a result, we deliver a full morphological catalogue with 164 314 objects complete up to rpetro < 18, covering ∼1800 deg2, from which ∼55 000 are classified as high reliability, including a significant area of the Southern hemisphere that was not covered by previous morphology catalogues.
Probing supermassive black hole growth and its dependence on stellar mass and star formation rate in low-redshift galaxies
Authors: Torbaniuk O , Paolillo M , D’Abrusco R , Vignali C , Georgakakis A , Carrera F J , Civano F
Published: December 2023

We present an improved study of the relation between supermassive black hole growth and their host galaxy properties in the local Universe (z < 0.33). To this end, we build an extensive sample combining spectroscopic measurements of star formation rate (SFR) and stellar mass from Sloan Digital Sky Survey, with specific Black Hole accretion rate (sBHAR, $\lambda _{\mathrm{sBHAR}} \propto L_{\rm X}/\mathcal {M}_{\ast }$) derived from the XMM–Newton Serendipitous Source Catalogue (3XMM–DR8) and the Chandra Source Catalogue (CSC2.0). We find that the sBHAR probability distribution for both star-forming and quiescent galaxies has a power-law shape peaking at log λsBHAR ∼ −3.5 and declining towards lower sBHAR in all stellar mass ranges. This finding confirms the decrease of active galactic nucleus (AGN) activity in the local Universe compared to higher redshifts. We observe a significant correlation between $\log \, \lambda _{\rm sBHAR}$ and $\log \, {\rm SFR}$ in almost all stellar mass ranges, but the relation is shallower compared to higher redshifts, indicating a reduced availability of accreting material in the local Universe. At the same time, the BHAR-to-SFR ratio for star-forming galaxies strongly correlates with stellar mass, supporting the scenario where both AGN activity and stellar formation primarily depend on the stellar mass via fuelling by a common gas reservoir. Conversely, this ratio remains constant for quiescent galaxies, possibly indicating the existence of the different physical mechanisms responsible for AGN fuelling or different accretion mode in quiescent galaxies.
On the identification of the first two young asteroid families in g-type non-linear secular resonances
Authors: Carruba V , Aljbaae S , Knežević Z , Mahlke M , Masiero J R , Roig F , Domingos R C , Huaman M , Alves A , Martins B S , Caritá G , Lourenço M , Destouni S C
Published: December 2023

Linear secular resonances happen when there is a commensurability between the precession frequency of the pericenter, g, or longitude of the node, s, of an asteroid and a planet. Non-linear resonances are higher order combinations of these frequencies. Here, we studied the three most diffusive g-type non-linear secular resonances using Artificial Neural Networks. We identified a population of more than 2100 resonant objects in the g − 2g6 + g5 and g − 3g6 + 2g5 resonances. This allows the creation of a Convolutional Neural Network model for the g − 2g6 + g5 resonance, able to predict the status of several thousands of asteroids in seconds. We identified 12 new possible dynamical groups among the resonant population, including the 5507 and 170776 families, which have both estimated ages of less than 7 Myr. These are the two first-ever identified young families in resonant configurations of the investigated resonances, which allows for setting limits on their original ejection velocity field.
Viscous overstability in dense planetary rings – effect of vertical motions and dense packing
Authors: Lehmann Marius , Salo Heikki
Published: December 2023

We investigate the linear axisymmetric viscous overstability in dense planetary rings with typical values of the dynamical optical depth τ ≳ 0.5. We develop a granular flow model which accounts for the particulate nature of a planetary ring subjected to dissipative particle collisions. The model captures the dynamical evolution of the disc’s vertical thickness, temperature, and effects related to a finite volume filling factor of the ring fluid. We compute equilibrium states of self-gravitating and non-self-gravitating rings, which compare well with existing results from kinetic models and N-body simulations. Subsequently, we conduct a linear stability analysis of our model. We briefly discuss the different linear eigenmodes of the system and compare with existing literature by applying corresponding limiting approximations. We then focus on the viscous overstability, analysing the effect of temperature variations, radial and vertical self-gravity, and for the first time the effects of vertical motions on the instability. In addition, we perform local N-body simulations incorporating radial and vertical self-gravity. Critical values for the optical depth and the filling factor for the onset of instability resulting from our N-body simulations compare well with our model predictions under the neglect of radial self-gravity. When radial self-gravity is included, agreement with N-body simulations can be achieved by adopting enhanced values of the bulk viscous stress.
Restrander: rapid orientation and artefact removal for long-read cDNA data
Authors: Schuster Jakob , Ritchie Matthew E , Gouil Quentin
Published: December 2023

In transcriptomic analyses, it is helpful to keep track of the strand of the RNA molecules. However, the Oxford Nanopore long-read cDNA sequencing protocols generate reads that correspond to either the first or second-strand cDNA, therefore the strandedness of the initial transcript has to be inferred bioinformatically. Reverse transcription and PCR can also introduce artefacts which should be flagged in data pre-processing. Here we introduce Restrander, a lightning-fast and highly accurate tool for restranding and removing artefacts in long-read cDNA sequencing data. Thanks to its C++ implementation, Restrander was faster than Oxford Nanopore Technologies’ existing tool Pychopper, and correctly restranded more reads due to its strategy of searching for polyA/T tails in addition to primer sequences from the reverse transcription and template-switch steps. We found that restranding improved the process of visualising and exploring data, and increased the number of novel isoforms discovered by bambu, particularly in regions where sense and anti-sense transcripts co-occur. The artefact detection implemented in Restrander quantifies reads lacking the correct 5′ and 3′ ends, a useful feature in quality control for library preparation. Restrander is pre-configured for all major cDNA protocols, and can be customised with user-defined primers. Restrander is available at https://github.com/mritchielab/restrander.
The ERK inhibitor LY3214996 augments anti-PD-1 immunotherapy in preclinical mouse models of BRAFV600E melanoma brain metastasis
Authors: de Sauvage Magali A , Torrini Consuelo , Nieblas-Bedolla Edwin , Summers Elizabeth J , Sullivan Emily , Zhang Britney S , Batchelor Emily , Marion Braxton , Yamazawa Erika , Markson Samuel C , Wakimoto Hiroaki , Nayyar Naema , Brastianos Priscilla K
Published: December 2023

Background

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have revolutionized cancer treatment; however, only a subset of patients with brain metastasis (BM) respond to ICI. Activating mutations in the mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway are frequent in BM. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether therapeutic inhibition of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) can improve the efficacy of ICI for BM.

Methods

We used immunotypical mouse models of BM bearing dual extracranial/intracranial tumors to evaluate the efficacy of single-agent and dual-agent treatment with selective ERK inhibitor LY3214996 (LY321) and anti-programmed death receptor 1 (PD-1) antibody. We verified target inhibition and drug delivery, then investigated treatment effects on T-cell response and tumor-immune microenvironment using high-parameter flow cytometry, multiplex immunoassays, and T-cell receptor profiling.

Results

We found that dual treatment with LY321 and anti-PD-1 significantly improved overall survival in 2 BRAFV600E-mutant murine melanoma models but not in KRAS-mutant murine lung adenocarcinoma. We demonstrate that although LY321 has limited blood–brain barrier (BBB) permeability, combined LY321 and anti-PD-1 therapy increases tumor-infiltrating CD8+ effector T cells, broadens the T-cell receptor repertoire in the extracranial tumor, enriches T-cell clones shared by the periphery and brain, and reduces immunosuppressive cytokines and cell populations in tumors.

Conclusions

Despite the limited BBB permeability of LY321, combined LY321 and anti-PD-1 treatment can improve intracranial disease control by amplifying extracranial immune responses, highlighting the role of extracranial tumors in driving intracranial response to treatment. Combined ERK and PD-1 inhibition is a promising therapeutic approach, worthy of further investigation for patients with melanoma BM.