MaNGIA: 10,000 mock galaxies for stellar population analysis

Modern astronomical observations give unprecedented access to the physical properties of nearby galaxies, including spatially resolved stellar populations. However, observations can only give a present-day view of the Universe, whereas cosmological simulations give access to the past record of the processes that galaxies have experienced in their evolution. To connect the events that happened in the past with galactic properties as seen today, simulations must be taken to a common ground before being compared to observations. We emulate data from the MaNGA survey, which is the largest integral field spectroscopic galaxy survey to date with its 10,000 nearby galaxies of all types. For this, we use the cosmological simulations TNG50 to generate MaNGIA (Mapping Nearby Galaxies with IllustrisTNG Astrophysics), a mock MaNGA sample of similar size that emulates observations of galaxies for stellar population analysis. We choose TNG galaxies to match the MaNGA sample selection to limit the impact of selection effects. We produce MaNGA-like datacubes from all simulated galaxies, and process these with the pyPipe3D analysis code. This allows us to extract spatially resolved stellar maps. This first paper presents the approach to generate the mock sample and provides an initial exploration of its properties. We show that the stellar populations and kinematics of the simulated MaNGIA galaxies are overall in good agreement with observations. Specific discrepancies, especially in the age and metallicity gradients in low- to intermediate-mass regimes and in massive galaxies' kinematics, require further investigation. We compare our results to other attempts to mock similar observations, all of smaller data sets. Our final dataset will be released with the publication, consisting of >10,000 post-processed data-cubes analysed with pyPipe3D, along with the codes developed to create it.Comment: Submitted to A&A, 21 pages, 17 figures, 1 tabl

Proposal for Quantum Simulation via All-Optically Generated Tensor Network States

We devise an all-optical scheme for the generation of entangled multimode photonic states encoded in temporal modes of light. The scheme employs a nonlinear down-conversion process in an optical loop to generate one- and higher-dimensional tensor network states of light. We illustrate the principle with the generation of two different classes of entangled tensor network states and report on a variational algorithm to simulate the ground-state physics of many-body systems. We demonstrate that state-of-the-art optical devices are capable of determining the ground-state properties of the spin-1/2 Heisenberg model. Finally, implementations of the scheme are demonstrated to be robust against realistic losses and mode mismatch.Comment: 6 pages main text plus 6 pages Supplementary Material and many figures. Updated to published version. Comments welcom

Olympia, Griechenland. Die Rekontextualisierung von Befunden und Funden der Schatzhausterrasse von Olympia – Ein Zwischenbericht. Die Arbeiten der Jahre 2019 und 2020

The digital documentation system iDAI.field 2.0. provides the basis to evaluate excavation data and publish them online. »Die Schatzhausterrasse von Olympia: Rekontextualisierung von Befunden und Funden« is one of the projects, in which the retrospective processing and publication of earlier excavations is being tested. The treasuries at Olympia have been excavated in the early campaigns in Olympia between 1875–1881. The documentation consists of site notebooks, handwritten reports, sketches, registers as well as the publication of the excavation results and part of the finds. The project aims to combine these data sets and recontextualize them in iDAI.field 2.0 to publish the archaeological contexts and the related finds online

Frequency-specific coupling between trial-to-trial fluctuations of neural responses and response-time variability

We assessed intra-individual variability of response times (RT) and single-trial P3 amplitudes following targets in healthy adults during a Flanker/NO-GO task. RT variability and variability of the neural responses coupled at the faster frequencies examined (0.07-0.17 Hz) at Pz, the target-P3 maxima, despite non-significant associations for overall variability (standard deviation, SD). Frequency-specific patterns of variability in the single-trial P3 may help to understand the neurophysiology of RT variability and its explanatory models of attention allocation deficits beyond intra-individual variability summary indices such as SD

The impact of successful learning of self-regulation on reward processing in children with ADHD using fMRI

Neurofeedback (NF) is a non-pharmacological treatment for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) that is targeting self-regulation, is efficacious when standard protocols are used and induces partly specific neurophysiological changes in the inhibitory network. However, its effects on reward processing, which is also considered an important aspect of ADHD and has been linked to neurophysiological deficits, remain unknown. Children with ADHD (N = 15, mean age 11.8, SD 1.52) were randomly assigned to either slow cortical potential NF (n = 8) or EMG biofeedback control training (n = 7) and received 20 sessions of training under comparable conditions. Learning was defined as the slope of successful training runs across all transfer sessions. Whole brain analysis, region-of-interest analysis of anticipatory ventral striatal (VS) activation, and analysis of behavioral data were performed. Clinically, the NF group improved more than the EMG group. Whole brain analysis indicated increased activation in the left superior frontal gyrus in the control group only, and in medial prefrontal cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal gyrus (DLPFC) after treatment across all groups. Only successful learners of self-regulation (n = 8) showed increased left inferior frontal gyrus and DLPFC activation after treatment. Left VS activation was increased after treatment and showed a significant time*medication-status interaction. Specific treatment effects were found in left frontal regions for the control treatment and successful learners. Also, unmedicated participants, irrespective of treatment type or successful learning, showed treatment-induced improvement in reward processing. The results suggest no prominent specific effect of NF on reward processing. However, cautious interpretation is warranted due to the small sample

Early Maternal Care and Amygdala Habituation to Emotional Stimuli in Adulthood

Evidence suggests that maternal care constitutes a protective factor for psychopathology which may be conditional on the level of family adversity. Given that psychopathology is frequently linked with social deficits, and the amygdala with social functioning, we investigated the impact of early maternal care on amygdala function under high versus low familial risk for psychopathology. Amygdala activity and habituation during an emotional face-matching paradigm was analyzed in participants of an epidemiological cohort study followed since birth (N=172, 25 years). Early mother-infant interaction was assessed during a standardized nursing and play setting at the age of 3 months. Information on familial risk during the offspring's childhood and on the participants' lifetime psychopathology was obtained with diagnostic interviews. An interaction between maternal stimulation and familial risk was found on amygdala habituation but not on activation, with higher maternal stimulation predicting stronger amygdala habituation in the familial risk group only. Furthermore, amygdala habituation correlated inversely with ADHD diagnoses. The findings underline the long-term importance of early maternal care on the offspring´s socioemotional neurodevelopment and of interventions targeting maternal sensitivity early in life, particularly by increasing maternal interactive behavior in those with familial risk

Moderating role of FKBP5 genotype in the impact of childhood adversity on cortisol stress response during adulthood

Recent research suggests an important role of FKBP5, a glucocorticoid receptor regulating co-chaperone, in the development of stress-related diseases such as depression and anxiety disorders. The present study aimed to replicate and extend previous evidence indicating that FKBP5 polymorphisms moderate hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) function by examining whether FKBP5 rs1360780 genotype and different measures of childhood adversity interact to predict stress-induced cortisol secretion. At age 19 years, 195 young adults (90 males, 105 females) participating in an epidemiological cohort study completed the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) to assess cortisol stress responsiveness and were genotyped for the FKBP5 rs1360780. Childhood adversity was assessed using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and by a standardized parent interview yielding an index of family adversity. A significant interaction between genotype and childhood adversity on cortisol response to stress was demonstrated for exposure to childhood maltreatment as assessed by retrospective self-report (CTQ), but not for prospectively ascertained objective family adversity. Severity of childhood maltreatment was significantly associated with attenuated cortisol levels among carriers of the rs1360780 CC genotype, while no such effect emerged in carriers of the T allele. These findings point towards the functional involvement of FKBP5 in long-term alterations of neuroendocrine stress regulation related to childhood maltreatment, which have been suggested to represent a premorbid risk or resilience factor in the context of stress-related disorders

Positive coping styles and ACC volume - two related mechanisms for conferring resilience?

Stress exposure has been linked to increased rates of depression and anxiety in adults, particularly in females, and has been associated with maladaptive changes in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), which is an important brain structure involved in internalizing disorders. Coping styles are important mediators of the stress reaction by establishing homeostasis, and may thus confer resilience to stress-related psychopathology.Anatomical scans were acquired in 181 healthy participants at age 25 years. Positive coping styles were determined using a self-report questionnaire (German Stress Coping Questionnaire, SVF78) at age 22 years. Adult anxiety and depression symptoms were assessed at ages 22, 23 and 25 years with the Young Adult Self-Report. Information on previous internalizing diagnoses was obtained by diagnostic interview (2-19 years).Positive coping styles were associated with increased ACC volume. ACC volume and positive coping styles predicted anxiety and depression in a sex-dependent manner with increased positive coping and ACC volume being related to lower levels of psychopathology in females, but not in males. These results remained significant when controlled for previous internalizing diagnoses.These findings indicate that positive coping styles and ACC volume are two linked mechanisms, which may serve as protective factors against internalizing disorders

Frequency-specific coupling between trial-to-trial fluctuations of neural responses and response-time variability

We assessed intra-individual variability of response times (RT) and single-trial P3 amplitudes following targets in healthy adults during a Flanker/NO-GO task. RT variability and variability of the neural responses coupled at the faster frequencies examined (0.07-0.17Hz) at Pz, the target-P3 maxima, despite non-significant associations for overall variability (standard deviation, SD). Frequency-specific patterns of variability in the single-trial P3 may help to understand the neurophysiology of RT variability and its explanatory models of attention allocation deficits beyond intra-individual variability summary indices such as SD