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Age-related effects of task switching have been extensively studied based on cognitive tasks and simple motor tasks, but less on complex cognitive-motor tasks involving dynamic balance control while walking. The latter tasks may especially be difficult and relevant for older adults in terms of safe mobility in daily life. The aim of the present study was, therefore, to examine age-related changes in task-switching adaptability using a novel voluntary gait adaptability test protocol. Fifteen healthy young (27.5 ± 2.9 years) and 16 healthy old (70.9 ± 7.6 years) adults carried out 2 different visual target stepping tasks (either target avoidance or stepping) twice in a block (A–B–A–B, 2 min per task; three blocks in total) without any intrablock breaks. Our results showed that old adults showed significantly more step errors both in Tasks A and B as well as more interference effects than young adults. Age-related differences in step accuracy were significant in the anterior–posterior direction both in Task A and B but not in the mediolateral direction. Both in step errors and accuracy, no interaction effects of age and trial were shown. Our results suggest that old adults could not cope with rapid and direct task changes in our voluntary gait adaptability task as young adults. Since the significant main effect of trial for Task B, but not Task A appears to be due to different task complexity, further studies may determine the effect of task complexity or task switch timing.

[Purpose] Voluntary gait adaptability is a complex construct that requires cognitive demands and dynamic balance control; it also has implications for the daily lives of older adults. This ability has been extensively studied, however, a comprehensive overview of appropriate tasks for measuring voluntary gait adaptability in older adults is lacking. Our scoping review aimed to identify existing voluntary gait adaptability tasks for older adults, summarize the specific methodological features requiring cognitive demands found in previous studies, and categorize these tasks according to experimental procedure and setup.[Methods] A comprehensive literature search was performed using six databases (PubMed, SPORTDiscus, Web of Science, CINAHL, MEDLINE, and Embase). This included studies that investigated voluntary gait adaptability in older adults (≥ 65 years old) with and without neurological disorders, with a focus on experimental tasks requiring cognitive function (e.g., response to visual or auditive stimuli) while walking.[Results] Sixteen studies were included; most involved visual stimuli, such as obstacles, stairs, or colored cues, and few required auditory stimuli. The studies were categorized according to the experimental procedure, for example, ascent/descent of obstacles (n = 3), inconsistent surfaces (n = 1), lateral gait adjustment (n = 4), obstacle avoidance (n = 6), and stepping tasks (n = 2), as well as experimental setup, including instrumented treadmills (n = 3), stairs (n = 3), and walkways (n = 10).[Conclusion] The results show wide heterogeneity between studies regarding experimental procedures and setup. Our scoping review highlights the need for additional experimental studies and systematic reviews on voluntary gait adaptability in older adults.

Residential and employment locational decisions for working households are frequently commingled. Numerous economic and social factors like job accessibility, wage differentials, housing markets, travel time, trip-chaining opportunities, dual employment, and other quality-of-life considerations influence where a household ultimately chooses to reside relative to places of employment. These choices in turn shape commuting patterns within a region. Using the U.S. Census Bureau's LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES), the authors explore longitudinal changes in the growth of commuting patterns based on commuters traveling 50 miles or more between their place of residence and place of employment for counties in Midwestern states from 2002 to 2019. The authors find that the rate of commuters traveling 50 miles or more appears to have increased in rural areas across several periods and regions. Thus, rural communities concerned about labor supply constraints must take into consideration more expansive geographic labor markets and approach labor force development in partnership across local economic development institutions. In essence, the growth in commuting sheds requires stronger regional partnerships to address the issue.

With unparalleled rotational stability, millisecond pulsars (MSPs) serve as ideal laboratories for numerous astrophysical studies, many of which require precise knowledge of the distance and/or velocity of the MSP. Here, we present the astrometric results for 18 MSPs of the "MSPSR$\pi$" project focusing exclusively on astrometry of MSPs, which includes the re-analysis of 3 previously published sources. On top of a standardized data reduction protocol, more complex strategies (i.e., normal and inverse-referenced 1D interpolation) were employed where possible to further improve astrometric precision. We derived astrometric parameters using sterne, a new Bayesian astrometry inference package that allows the incorporation of prior information based on pulsar timing where applicable. We measured significant ($>3\,\sigma$) parallax-based distances for 15 MSPs, including $0.81\pm0.02\,$kpc for PSR J1518+4904 -- the most significant model-independent distance ever measured for a double neutron star system. For each MSP with a well-constrained distance, we estimated its transverse space velocity and radial acceleration. Among the estimated radial accelerations, the updated ones of PSR J1012+5307 and PSR J1738+0333 impose new constraints on dipole gravitational radiation and the time derivative of Newton's gravitational constant. Additionally, significant angular broadening was detected for PSR J1643-1224, which offers an independent check of the postulated association between the HII region Sh 2-27 and the main scattering screen of PSR J1643-1224. Finally, the upper limit of the death line of $\gamma$-ray-emitting pulsars is refined with the new radial acceleration of the hitherto least energetic $\gamma$-ray pulsar PSR J1730-2304., Comment: 23 pages, 6 figures, 10 tables, published in MNRAS

Aggregates of medin amyloid (a fragment of the protein MFG-E8, also known as lactadherin) are found in the vasculature of almost all humans over 50 years of age1,2, making it the most common amyloid currently known. We recently reported that medin also aggregates in blood vessels of ageing wild-type mice, causing cerebrovascular dysfunction3. Here we demonstrate in amyloid-β precursor protein (APP) transgenic mice and in patients with Alzheimer’s disease that medin co-localizes with vascular amyloid-β deposits, and that in mice, medin deficiency reduces vascular amyloid-β deposition by half. Moreover, in both the mouse and human brain, MFG-E8 is highly enriched in the vasculature and both MFG-E8 and medin levels increase with the severity of vascular amyloid-β burden. Additionally, analysing data from 566 individuals in the ROSMAP cohort, we find that patients with Alzheimer’s disease have higher MFGE8 expression levels, which are attributable to vascular cells and are associated with increased measures of cognitive decline, independent of plaque and tau pathology. Mechanistically, we demonstrate that medin interacts directly with amyloid-β to promote its aggregation, as medin forms heterologous fibrils with amyloid-β, affects amyloid-β fibril structure, and cross-seeds amyloid-β aggregation both in vitro and in vivo. Thus, medin could be a therapeutic target for prevention of vascular damage and cognitive decline resulting from amyloid-β deposition in the blood vessels of the brain. Aggregates of medin amyloid (a fragment of the protein MFG-E8, also known as lactadherin) are found in the vasculature of almost all humans over 50 years of age1,2, making it the most common amyloid currently known. We recently reported that medin also aggregates in blood vessels of ageing wild-type mice, causing cerebrovascular dysfunction3. Here we demonstrate in amyloid-β precursor protein (APP) transgenic mice and in patients with Alzheimer’s disease that medin co-localizes with vascular amyloid-β deposits, and that in mice, medin deficiency reduces vascular amyloid-β deposition by half. Moreover, in both the mouse and human brain, MFG-E8 is highly enriched in the vasculature and both MFG-E8 and medin levels increase with the severity of vascular amyloid-β burden. Additionally, analysing data from 566 individuals in the ROSMAP cohort, we find that patients with Alzheimer’s disease have higher MFGE8 expression levels, which are attributable to vascular cells and are associated with increased measures of cognitive decline, independent of plaque and tau pathology. Mechanistically, we demonstrate that medin interacts directly with amyloid-β to promote its aggregation, as medin forms heterologous fibrils with amyloid-β, affects amyloid-β fibril structure, and cross-seeds amyloid-β aggregation both in vitro and in vivo. Thus, medin could be a therapeutic target for prevention of vascular damage and cognitive decline resulting from amyloid-β deposition in the blood vessels of the brain. ispartof: Nature vol:612 issue:7938 pages:123-131 ispartof: location:England status: published

The cytokine tumor necrosis factor (TNF) is involved in the regulation of physiological and pathophysiological processes in the central nervous system. In previous work, we showed that mice lacking constitutive levels of TNF exhibit a reduction in spine density and changes in spine head size distribution of dentate granule cells. Here, we investigated which TNF-receptor pathway is responsible for this phenotype and analyzed granule cell spine morphology in TNF-R1-, TNF- R2-, and TNF-R1/R2-deficient mice. Single granule cells were filled with Alexa568 in fixed hippocampal brain slices and immunostained for the actin- modulating protein synaptopodin (SP), a marker for strong and stable spines. An investigator blind to genotype investigated dendritic spines using deconvolved confocal image stacks. Similar to TNF- deficient mice, TNF-R1 and TNF-R2 mutants showed a decrease in the size of small spines (SP−negative) with TNF-R1/R2-KO mice exhibiting an additive effect. TNF-R1 mutants also showed an increase in the size of large spines (SP−positive), mirroring the situation in TNF-deficient mice. Unlike the TNF-deficient mouse, none of the TNF-R mutants exhibited a reduction in their granule cell spine densities. Since TNF tunes the excitability of networks, lack of constitutive TNF reduces network excitation. This may explain why we observed alterations in spine head size distributions in TNF- and TNF-R-deficient granule cells. The changes in spine density observed in the TNF- deficient mouse could not be linked to canonical TNF-R-signaling. Instead, noncanonical pathways or unknown developmental functions of TNF may cause this phenomenon.

The article considers the global historiography of Europe from two angles. First it outlines the difficulties, both historical and epistemological, that Europe poses as an object of study, especially after the historiographical transformations prompted by the events of 1989, the rise of postcolonial studies, the growing critique of Eurocentrism, and, most recently, the “global turn.” The conceptions of Europe that emerge from these currents have often been based on a rather homogenized vision of the continent, centered on the great nation-states of western Europe and their imperial policies. They also perpetuate, even as they criticize it, the legacy of a conception of modernity that positions Europe as both its historical center and the agent of its expansion on a global scale. The second part of the paper proposes to limit the blind spots inherent in this kind of vision by shifting our gaze to the eastern and Balkan margins of Europe, where the Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman, and Russian empires intersected over the “long” nineteenth century. This change of perspective displaces the history of Europe’s connection to modernity, revealing the great diversity of local actors, the importance of multicultural and pluriethnic societies, and the particular role of transnational populations such as Jews, who, while negotiating their own relationship to a European modernity, escaped the grip of national movements.

The flipped classroom is an active learning method that helps the teacher to promote a significant change in the teaching and learning process, inverting activities and revolutionizing the traditional learning model. However, the application of the flipped classroom is not simple and involves the teacher's dedication to facilitate the student self-regulation of activities to promote learning. The objective proposed in this article was to investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of the application of the flipped classroom in the teaching of Artificial Intelligence. To assess the results, a mixed methodology, qualitative and quantitative, combined with discourse analysis was applied. The results were satisfactory, indicating the potential of the flipped classroom applied to the teaching of Artificial Intelligence.

We present a comprehensive study of the rotational and emission properties of PSR J0738$-$4042 using a combination of observations taken by the Deep Space Network, Hartebeesthoek, Parkes (Murriyang) and Molonglo observatories between 1972 and 2023. Our timing of the pulsar is motivated by previously reported profile/spin-down events that occurred in September 2005 and December 2015, which result in an anomalously large braking index of $n = 23300 \pm 1800$. Using a Gaussian process regression framework, we develop continuous models for the evolution of the pulsar spin-down rate ($\dot{\nu}$) and profile shape. We find that the pulse profile variations are similar regardless of radio observing frequency and polarisation. Small-scale differences can be ascribed to changes in the interstellar medium along the line of sight and frequency-dependent changes in magnetospheric radio emission height. No new correlated spin-down or profile events were identified in our extended dataset. However, we found that the disappearance of a bright emission component in the leading edge of archival profiles between 1981-1988 was not associated with a substantial change in $\dot{\nu}$. This marks a notable departure from the previous profile/spin-down events in this pulsar. We discuss the challenges these observations pose for physical models and conclude that interactions between the pulsar and in-falling asteroids or a form of magnetospheric state-switching with a long periodicity are plausible explanations., Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS

Efforts are underway to magnetically confine electron--positron pair plasmas to study their unique behavior, which is characterized by significant changes in plasma time and length scales, supported waves, and unstable modes. However, use of conventional plasma diagnostics presents challenges with these low-density and annihilating matter-antimatter plasma. To address this problem, we propose to develop techniques based on the distinct emission provided by annihilation. This emission exhibits two spatial correlations: the distance attenuation of isotropic sources and the back-to-back propagation of momentum-preserving 2-$\gamma$ annihilation. We present the results of our analysis of the $\gamma$ emission rate and the spatial profile of the annihilation in a magnetized pair plasma from direct pair collisions, from the formation and decay of positronium, as well as from transport processes. In order to demonstrate the effectiveness of annihilation-based techniques, we tested them on annular $\gamma$ emission profiles produced by a $\beta^+$ radioisotope on a rotating turntable. Direct and positronium-mediated annihilation result in overlapping volumetric $\gamma$ sources, and the 2-$\gamma$ emission from these volumetric sources can be tomographically reconstructed from coincident counts in multiple detectors. Transport processes result in localized annihilation where field lines intersect walls, limiters, or internal magnets. These localized sources can be identified by the fractional $\gamma$ counts on spatially distributed detectors., Comment: 21 pages, 11 figures, 2 tables, contribution to the 13th International Workshop on Non-Neutral Plasmas

A sala de aula invertida muda a forma pela qual a aprendizagem ocorre, transformando o aluno em um agente ativo da aprendizagem. Para que o potencial da sala de aula invertida possa ser aproveitado adequadamente é importante que o aluno autorregule suas atividades individuais e em grupo. A aprendizagem comportamental possui perspectivas que podem contribuir para a estruturação do comportamento e melhorar a aprendizagem. Neste artigo é implementado o comportamento operante de Skinner para apoiar a aprendizagem. Foi realizado um estudo qualitativo que indicou sucesso no potencial do uso da sala de aula invertida aliada a aprendizagem comportamental com foco no ensino de programação.

Working with extreme mood states is a regular challenge for law enforcement officers. In their encounters during police actions, they very often face manifestations of anger and aggression, as well as vulnerable states such as ones involving fear, helplessness, or humiliation. In this study, we investigated whether officers could reliably identify emotional states in the persons they encountered, using the Schema Therapy concept of “schema modes.” Although the mode concept has been extensively validated in the field of forensic mental health, this is its first application to police work. Twenty-seven police officers working for two different German police headquarters were asked to report about a recent operation involving a person showing intense emotional states. After receiving a short training in using the iModes, cards that facilitate working with modes, they retrospectively rated the presence and intensity of the schema modes of the persons whom they encountered. Two experts in Schema Therapy independently rated the same scenarios, using the Mode Observation Scale (MOS). Intraclass correlations showed moderate to excellent levels of agreement between the officers’ and experts’ mode-ratings. Modes involving anger (70%), aggression (70%), indirect hostility (44%), and arrogance/grandiosity (41%) were the most prevalent, while modes involving vulnerable emotions were less common. It can be concluded that police officers can reliably assess different modes in encountered persons, even without extensive training. This initial study suggests that the mode concept has applicability to police work and merits additional study for its potential for de-escalation and conflict management in police contexts.

We report the detection of FRB20191107B with UTMOST radio telescope at a dispersion measure (DM) of 714.9 pc cm−3. The burst consists of three components, the brightest of which has an intrinsic width of only 11.3 μs and a scattering tail with an exponentially decaying time-scale of 21.4 μs measured at 835 MHz. We model the sensitivity of UTMOST and other major fast radio burst (FRB) surveys to such narrow events. We find that $\gt 60{{\ \rm per\, cent}}$ of FRBs like FRB20191107B are being missed, and that a significant population of very narrow FRBs probably exists and remains underrepresented in these surveys. The high DM and small scattering time-scale of FRB20191107B allows us to place an upper limit on the strength of turbulence in the intergalactic medium, quantified as scattering measure (SM), of SMIGM < 8.4 × 10−7 kpc m−20/3. Almost all UTMOST FRBs have full phase information due to real-time voltage capture, which provides us with the largest sample of coherently dedispersed single burst FRBs. Our 10.24 μs time resolution data yields accurately measured FRB scattering time-scales. We combine the UTMOST FRBs with 10 FRBs from the literature and find no obvious evidence for a DM-scattering relation, suggesting that IGM is not the dominant source of scattering in FRBs. We support the results of previous studies and identify the local environment of the source in the host galaxy as the most likely region that dominates the observed scattering of our FRBs.

The FLIMFLAM survey is collecting spectroscopic data of field galaxies near fast radio burst (FRB) sightlines to constrain key parameters describing the distribution of matter in the Universe. In this work, we leverage the survey data to determine the source of the excess extragalactic dispersion measure (DM), compared to the Macquart relation estimate of four FRBs: FRB20190714A, FRB20200430A, FRB20200906A, and FRB20210117A. By modeling the gas distribution around the foreground galaxy halos and galaxy groups of the sightlines, we estimate DMhalos, their contribution to the FRB dispersion measures. The FRB20190714A sightline shows a clear excess of foreground halos which contribute roughly 2/3rd of the observed excess DM, thus implying a sightline that is baryon-dense. FRB20200906A shows a smaller but non-negligible foreground halo contribution and further analysis of the IGM is necessary to ascertain the true cosmic contribution to its DM. FRB20200430A and FRB20210117A show negligible foreground contributions, implying a large host galaxy excess and/or progenitor environment excess., https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.07387

This article presents a systematic review of the literature in order to define a more general concept of the term "coolness" and exemplify how it can be operationalized to measure how much the user experience is "cool". The motivation for carrying out this work is that the term has been integrated into the design of computational interfaces and has become part of human-computer interaction (IHC). Despite the valuable contributions to date, there is still no well-established concept. There is a need to develop a more comprehensive definition and a demand for the creation of an instrument that can determine how cool a computational interface is. Through a systematic review of the literature, articles that address the term "coolness" were analyzed. In this process, several subconcepts linked to each area were integrated, as well as instruments generated from these subconcepts to measure how legal a digital product is.

Background Working alliance is an important component in the therapy process, however its’ role in bereavement interventions has rarely been studied. This study investigates the relationship between working alliance and treatment outcome, the change of working alliance throughout therapy and patient characteristics as predictors of working alliance. Methods Data from a randomized controlled trial including 44 participants was used. Patient characteristics were assessed at baseline and working alliance was assessed after two, four, six, eight and ten sessions. A linear mixed model, multiple linear regression and best subset regression were conducted. Results Working alliance changed significantly during therapy (β = 1.46, SE = 0.27, t(162) = 5.38, p p = .023). Moreover, self-efficacy (β = .47, p p = .010) predicted early working alliance. Conclusions This study shows the relevance of establishing early working alliance in the therapeutic process. Attention should be paid to the initial self-efficacy and need for social support of patients, as it influences the experience of working alliance. To address individual working alliance patterns and characteristics in therapy, further research is needed.

Research on the effectiveness of age-friendly organizational practices tends to focus on older employees’ perceptions of these. Drawing on perceptual congruence and psychological contract theory, we hypothesize that leaders’ perceptions of these organizational practices are relevant as well. Specifically, we argue that (dis)agreement between leaders’ and older employees’ perceptions (i.e., perceptual (in)congruence) of organizational practices related to age-friendly organizational climate, management, and work design plays a role in older employees’ well-being. Polynomial regression and response surface analysis were applied to a dyadic sample of 484 older employees and their leaders from 100 diverse organizations. Results reveal that leader-employee perceptual congruence on high levels of perceived age-friendly work design was related to higher employee well-being. By contrast, older employees’ well-being was lower when leaders evaluated the three age-friendly organizational practices higher than their older employees. Our findings suggest that further theoretical consideration of the role of leader-employee perceptual (in)congruence for aging workforces is needed, and that scholars and organizations should acknowledge the relevance and interplay of different stakeholders’ perceptions within an organization.

The axon initial segment (AIS) is the site of action potential initiation and important for the integration of synaptic input. Length and localization of the AIS are dynamic, modulated by afferent activity and contribute to the homeostatic control of neuronal excitability. Synaptopodin is a plasticity-related protein expressed by the majority of telencephalic neurons. It is required for the formation of cisternal organelles within the AIS and an excellent marker to identify these enigmatic organelles at the light microscopic level. Here we applied 2 h of high frequency stimulation of the medial perforant path in rats in vivo to induce a strong long-term potentiation of dentate gyrus granule cells. Immunolabeling for βIV-spectrin and synaptopodin were performed to study structural changes of the AIS and its cisternal organelles. Three-dimensional analysis of the AIS revealed a shortening of the AIS and a corresponding reduction of the number of synaptopodin clusters. These data demonstrate a rapid structural plasticity of the AIS and its cisternal organelles to strong stimulation, indicating a homeostatic response of the entire AIS compartment.

In the wake of stagnant modal share of the European rail freight sector, this support study provides market information for the revision of the Guidelines on State aid for railway undertakings. It addresses four areas of interest: status of rail infrastructure; accessibility and costs pertaining to rolling stock; profitability and demand elasticity of rail freight ser- vices; and effectiveness of State support measures. A novel dataset of costs and revenues of rail freight across Europe, compiled using both publicly available data and input from extensive stakeholder consultation was built for that purpose. The findings are as follows. The inadequacy of intermodal terminals, congested rail networks, and costliness of private sidings all restrict the capacity of European rail infrastructure. Access to rolling stock is characterised by high costs and a lack of technical standardisation across Member States. We find that rail freight sectors in many countries are loss-making, with some segments being profitable. Efficient transshipment and transport of high freight volumes over long distances improves profitability of intermodal operations. The study shows that price sen- sitivity of rail freight services differs depending on the level of competition faced by road transport. The study also highlights to what extent higher thresholds for proportionate State aid and improved flexibility of schemes could be considered.

SummaryDendritic spines are crucial for excitatory synaptic transmission as the size of a spine head correlates with the strength of its synapse. The distribution of spine head sizes follows a lognormal-like distribution with more small spines than large ones. We analysed the impact of synaptic activity and plasticity on the spine size distribution in adult-born hippocampal granule cells from rats with induced homo- and heterosynaptic long-term plasticity in vivo and CA1 pyramidal cells from Munc-13-1-Munc13-2 knockout mice with completely blocked synaptic transmission. Neither induction of extrinsic synaptic plasticity nor the blockage of presynaptic activity degrades the lognormal-like distribution but changes its mean, variance and skewness. The skewed distribution develops early in the life of the neuron. Our findings and their computational modelling support the idea that intrinsic synaptic plasticity is sufficient for the generation, while a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic synaptic plasticity maintains lognormal like distribution of spines.

The mechanism that produces fast radio burst (FRB) emission is poorly understood. Targeted monitoring of repeating FRB sources provides the opportunity to fully characterize the emission properties in a manner impossible with one-off bursts. Here, we report observations of the source of FRB 20201124A, with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) and the ultra-wideband low (UWL) receiver at the Parkes 64-m radio telescope (Murriyang). The source entered a period of emitting bright bursts during early 2021 April. We have detected 16 bursts from this source. One of the bursts detected with ASKAP is the brightest burst ever observed from a repeating FRB source with an inferred fluence of $640\pm70$ Jy ms. Of the five bursts detected with the Parkes UWL, none display any emission in the range 1.1--4 GHz. All UWL bursts are highly polarized, with their Faraday rotation measures (RMs) showing apparent variations. We obtain an average RM of $-614$ rad m$^{-2}$ for this FRB source with a standard deviation of $16$ rad m$^{-2}$ in the UWL bursts. In one of the UWL bursts, we see evidence of significant circularly polarized emission with a fractional extent of $47\pm1$ per cent. Such a high degree of circular polarization has never been seen before in bursts from repeating FRB sources. We also see evidence for significant variation in the linear polarization position angle in the pulse profile of this UWL repeat burst. Models for repeat burst emission will need to account for the increasing diversity in the burst polarization properties., 14 pages, 8 figures; accepted for publication in MNRAS

An epidemic of silicosis has emerged due to a failure to control risks associated with exposure to high-silica content respirable dust generated while working with artificial stone products. Methods for quantification of alveolar crystal burden are needed to advance our understanding of the pathobiology of silica-related lung injury as well as assisting in the diagnosis, clinical management and prognostication of affected workers. The objective of this study was to develop and validate novel methods to quantify alveolar crystal burden in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid from patients with artificial stone silicosis.New methods to quantify and analyse alveolar crystal in BAL from patients with artificial stone silicosis were developed. Crystals were isolated and counted by microscopy and alveolar crystal burden was calculated using a standard curve generated by titration of respirable α-Quartz. The utility of the assay was then assessed in 23 patients with artificial stone silicosis.Alveolar crystal burden was greater in patients with silicosis (0.44 picograms [pg]/cell [0.08-3.49]) compared to patients with other respiratory diagnoses (0.057 pg/cell [0.01-0.34]; p 0.001). Alveolar crystal burden was positively correlated with years of silica exposure (ρ = 0.49, p = 0.02) and with decline in diffusing capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide (ρ = -0.50, p = 0.02).Alveolar crystal burden quantification differentiates patients with silicosis from patients with other respiratory disorders. Furthermore, crystal burden is correlated with the rate of decline in lung function in patients with artificial stone silicosis.

Studies of the time-domain structure of fast radio bursts (FRBs) require an accurate estimate of the FRB dispersion measure in order to recover the intrinsic burst shape. Furthermore, the exact DM is itself of interest when studying the time-evolution of the medium through which multiple bursts from repeating FRBs propagate. A commonly used approach to obtain the dispersion measure is to take the value that maximizes the FRB structure in the time domain. However, various authors use differing methods to obtain this structure parameter, and do not document the smoothing method used. Furthermore, there are no quantitative estimates of the error in this procedure in the FRB literature. In this letter, we present a smoothing filter based on the discrete cosine transform, and show that computing the structure parameter by summing the squares of the derivatives and taking the square root immediately lends itself to calculation of uncertainty of the structure parameter. We illustrate this with FRB181112 and FRB210117 data, which were detected by the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder, and for which high-time-resolution data is available., 10 pages, 15 figures; submitted to ApJ

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are being detected with increasing regularity. However, their spontaneous and often once-off nature makes high-precision burst position and frequency-time structure measurements difficult without specialised real-time detection techniques and instrumentation. The Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) has been enabled by the Commensal Real-time ASKAP Fast Transients Collaboration (CRAFT) to detect FRBs in real-time and save raw antenna voltages containing FRB detections. We present the CRAFT Effortless Localisation and Enhanced Burst Inspection pipeline (CELEBI), an automated software pipeline that extends CRAFT's existing software to process ASKAP voltages in order to produce sub-arcsecond precision localisations and polarimetric data at time resolutions as fine as 3 ns of FRB events. We use Nextflow to link together Bash and Python code that performs software correlation, interferometric imaging, and beamforming, making use of common astronomical software packages., 17 pages, 13 figures, minor revisions, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Computing

A frequent starting point of quantum computation platforms are two-state quantum systems, i.e., qubits. However, in the context of integer optimization problems, relevant to scheduling optimization and operations research, it is often more resource-efficient to employ quantum systems with more than two basis states, so-called qudits. Here, we discuss the quantum approximate optimization algorithm (QAOA) for qudit systems. We illustrate how the QAOA can be used to formulate a variety of integer optimization problems such as graph coloring problems or electric vehicle (EV) charging optimization. In addition, we comment on the implementation of constraints and describe three methods to include these into a quantum circuit of a QAOA by penalty contributions to the cost Hamiltonian, conditional gates using ancilla qubits, and a dynamical decoupling strategy. Finally, as a showcase of qudit-based QAOA, we present numerical results for a charging optimization problem mapped onto a max-$k$-graph coloring problem. Our work illustrates the flexibility of qudit systems to solve integer optimization problems., updated text and figures

The Macquart relation describes the correlation between the dispersion measure (DM) of fast radio bursts (FRBs) and the redshift $z$ of their host galaxies. The scatter of the Macquart relation is sensitive to the distribution of baryons in the intergalactic medium (IGM) including those ejected from galactic halos through feedback processes. The width of the distribution in DMs from the cosmic web (${\rm DM}_{\rm cosmic}$) is parameterized by a fluctuation parameter $F$, which is related to the cosmic DM variance by $σ_{\rm DM}= F z^{-0.5}$. In this work, we present a new measurement of $F$ using 78 FRBs of which 21 have been localized to host galaxies. Our analysis simultaneously fits for the Hubble constant $H_0$ and the DM distribution due to the FRB host galaxy. We find that the fluctuation parameter is degenerate with these parameters, most notably $H_0$, and use a uniform prior on $H_0$ to measure $\log_{10} F > -0.89$ at the $3σ$ confidence interval and a new constraint on the Hubble constant $H_0 = 85.3_{-8.1}^{+9.4} \, {\rm km \, s^{-1} \, Mpc^{-1}}$. Using a synthetic sample of 100 localized FRBs, the constraint on the fluctuation parameter is improved by a factor of $\sim 2$. Comparing our $F$ measurement to simulated predictions from cosmological simulation (IllustrisTNG), we find agreement between $0.4 < z < 2$. However, at $z < 0.4$, the simulations underpredict $F$ which we attribute to the rapidly changing extragalactic DM excess distribution at low redshift., Submitted to ApJ. 11 pages, 9 figures, 4 tables

We present a comprehensive catalog of observations and stellar population properties for 23 highly secure host galaxies of fast radio bursts (FRBs). Our sample comprises six repeating FRBs and 17 apparent non-repeaters. We present 82 new photometric and eight new spectroscopic observations of these hosts. Using stellar population synthesis modeling and employing non-parametric star formation histories (SFHs), we find that FRB hosts have a median stellar mass of $\approx 10^{9.9}\,M_{\odot}$, mass-weighted age $\approx 5.1$ Gyr, and ongoing star formation rate $\approx 1.3\,M_{\odot}$ yr$^{-1}$ but span wide ranges in all properties. Classifying the hosts by degree of star formation, we find that 87% (20/23 hosts) are star-forming, two are transitioning, and one is quiescent. The majority trace the star-forming main sequence of galaxies, but at least three FRBs in our sample originate in less active environments (two non-repeaters and one repeater). Across all modeled properties, we find no statistically significant distinction between the hosts of repeaters and non-repeaters. However, the hosts of repeating FRBs generally extend to lower stellar masses, and the hosts of non-repeaters arise in more optically luminous galaxies. While four of the galaxies with the most clear and prolonged rises in their SFHs all host repeating FRBs, demonstrating heightened star formation activity in the last $\lesssim 100$ Myr, one non-repeating host shows this SFH as well. Our results support progenitor models with short delay channels (i.e., magnetars formed via core-collapse supernova) for most FRBs, but the presence of some FRBs in less active environments suggests a fraction form through more delayed channels., Comment: 52 pages, 32 figures, 6 tables, submitted

We present high-resolution 1.5--6 GHz Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) and $\textit{Hubble Space Telescope}$ ($\textit{HST}$) optical and infrared observations of the extremely active repeating fast radio burst (FRB) FRB$\,$20201124A and its barred spiral host galaxy. We constrain the location and morphology of star formation in the host and search for a persistent radio source (PRS) coincident with FRB$\,$20201124A. We resolve the morphology of the radio emission across all frequency bands and measure a star formation rate SFR $\approx 8.9\,M_{\odot}$ yr$^{-1}$, a factor of $\approx 4-6$ larger than optically-inferred SFRs, demonstrating dust-obscured star formation throughout the host. Compared to a sample of all known FRB hosts with radio emission, the host of FRB$\,$20201124A has the most significant obscured star formation. While ${\it HST}$ observations show the FRB to be offset from the bar or spiral arms, the radio emission extends to the FRB location. We propose that the FRB progenitor could have formed $\textit{in situ}$ (e.g., a magnetar central engine born from the explosion of a massive star). It is still plausible, although less likely, that the progenitor of FRB$\,$20201124A migrated from the central bar of the host, e.g., via a runaway massive star. We further place a limit on the luminosity of a putative PRS at the FRB position of $L_{\rm 6.0 \ GHz}$ $\lesssim$ 2.6 $\times$ $10^{27}$ erg s$^{-1}$ Hz$^{-1}$, two orders of magnitude below any PRS known to date. However, this limit is still broadly consistent with both magnetar nebulae and hypernebulae models assuming a constant energy injection rate of the magnetar and an age of $\gtrsim 10^{5}$ yr in each model, respectively., Comment: 21 pages, 6 figures, 3 tables, Submitted

We use four observations with the European VLBI network to measure the first precise radio parallax of the Crab Pulsar. We found two in-beam extragalactic sources just outside the Crab Nebula, with one bright enough to use as a background reference source in our data. We use the Crab Pulsar's giant pulses to determine fringe and bandpass calibration solutions, which greatly improved the sensitivity and reliability of our images and allowed us to determine precise positional offsets between the pulsar and the background source. From those offsets, we determine a parallax of $\pi=0.53\pm0.06\rm{\;mas}$ and proper motion of $(\mu_{\alpha},\mu_{\delta})=(-11.34\pm0.06,2.65\pm0.14)\rm{\;mas\;yr^{-1}}$, yielding a distance of $d=1.90^{+0.22}_{-0.18}\rm{\;kpc}$ and transverse velocity of $v_{\perp}=104^{+13}_{-11}\rm{\;km\;s^{-1}}$. These results are consistent with the Gaia 3 measurements, and open up the possibility of far more accurate astrometry with further VLBI observations., Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

We present the first X-ray census of fast radio burst (FRB) host galaxies to conduct the deepest search for AGN and X-ray counterparts to date. Our sample includes seven well-localized FRBs with unambiguous host associations and existing deep Chandra observations, including two events for which we present new observations. We find evidence for AGN in two FRB host galaxies based on the presence of X-ray emission coincident with their centers, including the detection of a luminous ($L_X \approx 5 \times 10^{42} \ \rm erg \ s^{-1}$) X-ray source at the nucleus of FRB20190608B's host, for which we infer an SMBH mass of $\rm M_{\rm BH} \sim 10^{8} \ M_{\odot}$ and an Eddington ratio $L_{\rm bol}/ L_{\rm Edd} \approx 0.02$, characteristic of geometrically thin disks in Seyfert galaxies. We also report nebular emission line fluxes for 24 highly secure FRB hosts (including 10 hosts for the first time), and assess their placement on a BPT diagram, finding that FRB hosts trace the underlying galaxy population. We further find that the hosts of repeating FRBs are not confined to the star-forming locus, contrary to previous findings. Finally, we place constraints on associated X-ray counterparts to FRBs in the context of ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs), and find that existing X-ray limits for FRBs rule out ULXs brighter than $L_X \gtrsim 10^{40} \ \rm erg \ s^{-1}$. Leveraging the CHIME/FRB catalog and existing ULX catalogs, we search for spatially coincident ULX-FRB pairs. We identify two ULX in the galaxy NGC 2633 that are spatially coincident with the repeating FRB20180908B and for which the DM-inferred redshift is comparable to the distance of the galaxy, assuming a $\rm DM_{host}$ contribution of $150 \ \rm pc \ cm^{-3}$., Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures; submitted to ApJ

The cation-chloride cotransporters KCC2 and NKCC1 regulate the intracellular Cl− concentration and cell volume of neurons and/or glia. The Cl− extruder KCC2 is expressed at higher levels than the Cl− transporter NKCC1 in mature compared to immature neurons, accounting for the developmental shift from high to low Cl− concentration and from depolarizing to hyperpolarizing currents through GABA-A receptors. Previous studies have shown that KCC2 expression is downregulated following central nervous system injury, returning neurons to a more excitable state, which can be pathological or adaptive. Here, we show that deafferentation of the dendritic segments of granule cells in the outer (oml) and middle (mml) molecular layer of the dentate gyrus via entorhinal denervation in vivo leads to cell-type- and layer-specific changes in the expression of KCC2 and NKCC1. Microarray analysis validated by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction revealed a significant decrease in Kcc2 mRNA in the granule cell layer 7 days post-lesion. In contrast, Nkcc1 mRNA was upregulated in the oml/mml at this time point. Immunostaining revealed a selective reduction in KCC2 protein expression in the denervated dendrites of granule cells and an increase in NKCC1 expression in reactive astrocytes in the oml/mml. The NKCC1 upregulation is likely related to the increased activity of astrocytes and/or microglia in the deafferented region, while the transient KCC2 downregulation in granule cells may be associated with denervation-induced spine loss, potentially also serving a homeostatic role via boosting GABAergic depolarization. Furthermore, the delayed KCC2 recovery might be involved in the subsequent compensatory spinogenesis.

Universal scaling dynamics of a many-body system far from equilibrium signals the proximity of the time-evolution to a non-thermal fixed point. We find universal dynamics connected with rogue-wave like events in the mutually coupled magnetic components of a spinor gas which propagate in an effectively random potential. The frequency of these caustics is affected by the time varying spatial correlation length of the potential, giving rise to an additional exponent $\delta_\mathrm{c} \simeq 1/3$ for temporal scaling, which is different by a factor $\sim 4/3$ from the exponent $\beta_V \simeq 1/4$ characterizing the scaling of the correlation length $\ell_V \sim t^{\,\beta_V}$ with time. As a result of the caustics, real-time instanton defects appear in the Larmor phase of the spin-1 system as vortices in space and time. The temporal correlations determining the frequency of instanton events to occur scale in time as $t^{\, \delta_\mathrm{I}}$. This suggests that the universality class of a non-thermal fixed point could be characterized by different, mutually related exponents defining the coarsening evolution in time and space, respectively. Our results have a strong relevance for understanding pattern coarsening from first principles and potential implications for dynamics ranging from the early universe to geophysical dynamics and micro physics.

Quantum simulators offer powerful means to investigate strongly correlated quantum matter. However, interpreting measurement outcomes in such systems poses significant challenges. Here, we present a theoretical framework for information extraction in synthetic quantum matter, illustrated for the case of a quantum quench in a spinor Bose-Einstein condensate experiment. Employing non-parametric unsupervised learning tools that provide different measures of information content, we demonstrate a system-agnostic approach to identify dominant degrees of freedom. This enables us to rank operators according to their relevance, akin to effective field theory. To characterize the corresponding effective description, we then explore the intrinsic dimension of data sets as a measure of the complexity of the dynamics. This reveals a simplification of the data structure, which correlates with the emergence of time-dependent universal behavior in the studied system. Our assumption-free approach can be immediately applied in a variety of experimental platforms., Comment: 5+5 pages, 3+5 figures

As the sample size of repeating fast radio bursts (FRBs) has grown, an increasing diversity of phenomenology has emerged. Through long-term multi-epoch studies of repeating FRBs, it is possible to assess which phenomena are common to the population and which are unique to individual sources. We present a multi-epoch monitoring campaign of the repeating FRB source 20180301A using the ultra-wideband low (UWL) receiver observations with Murriyang, the Parkes 64-m radio telescope. The observations covered a wide frequency band spanning approximately 0.7--4 GHz, and yielded the detection of 46 bursts. None of the repeat bursts displayed radio emission in the range of 1.8--4 GHz, while the burst emission peaked at 1.1 GHz. We discover evidence for secular trends in the burst dispersion measure, indicating a rate of $-2.7\pm0.2\,{\rm pc\,cm^{-3}\,yr^{-1}}$. We also found significant variation in the Faraday rotation measure of the bursts across the follow-up period, including evidence of a sign reversal. While a majority of bursts did not exhibit any polarization, those that did show a decrease in the linear polarization fraction as a function of frequency, consistent with spectral depolarization due to scattering observed in other repeating FRB sources. Surprisingly, no significant variation in the polarization position angles was found, which is in contrast with earlier measurements reported for the FRB source. We measure the burst rate and sub-pulse drift rate variation and compare them with the previous results. These novel observations, along with the extreme polarization properties observed in other repeating FRBs, suggest that a sub-sample of FRB progenitors possess highly dynamic magneto-ionic environments., Comment: 21 pages, 14 figures; submitted to MNRAS

Includes additional methods and supplementary figures