The clustering and bias of radio-selected AGN and star-forming galaxies in the COSMOS field

Dark matter haloes in which galaxies reside are likely to have a significant impact on their evolution. We investigate the link between dark matter haloes and their constituent galaxies by measuring the angular two-point correlation function of radio sources, using recently released 3 GHz imaging over $\sim 2 \ \mathrm{deg}^2$of the COSMOS field. We split the radio source population into Star Forming Galaxies (SFGs) and Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), and further separate the AGN into radiatively efficient and inefficient accreters. Restricting our analysis to$z<1$, we find SFGs have a bias,$b = 1.5 ^{+0.1}_{-0.2}$, at a median redshift of$z=0.62$. On the other hand, AGN are significantly more strongly clustered with$b = 2.1\pm 0.2$at a median redshift of 0.7. This supports the idea that AGN are hosted by more massive haloes than SFGs. We also find low-accretion rate AGN are more clustered ($b = 2.9 \pm 0.3$) than high-accretion rate AGN ($b = 1.8^{+0.4}_{-0.5}$) at the same redshift ($z \sim 0.7$), suggesting that low-accretion rate AGN reside in higher mass haloes. This supports previous evidence that the relatively hot gas that inhabits the most massive haloes is unable to be easily accreted by the central AGN, causing them to be inefficient. We also find evidence that low-accretion rate AGN appear to reside in halo masses of$M_{h} \sim 3-4 \times 10^{13}h^{-1}$M$_{\odot}$at all redshifts. On the other hand, the efficient accreters reside in haloes of$M_{h} \sim 1-2 \times 10^{13}h^{-1}$M$_{\odot}$at low redshift but can reside in relatively lower mass haloes at higher redshifts. This could be due to the increased prevalence of cold gas in lower mass haloes at$z \ge 1$compared to$z<1$.Comment: 20 pages, 10 figures, 1 table, accepted by MNRA

The role of co-parenting alliance as a mediator between trait anxiety, family system maladjustment, and parenting stress in a sample of non-clinical Italian parents

This study investigated the role of co-parenting alliance in mediating the influence of parents' trait anxiety on family system maladjustment and parenting stress. A sample of 1606 Italian parents (803 mothers and 803 fathers) of children aged one to 13 years completed measures of trait anxiety (State Trait Anxiety Inventory-Y), co-parenting alliance (Parenting Alliance Measure), family system maladjustment (Family Assessment Measure-III), and parenting stress (Parenting Stress Inventory-Short Form). These variables were investigated together comparing two structural equations model-fitting including both partners. A model for both mothers and fathers was empirically devised as a series of associations between parent trait anxiety (independent variable), family system maladjustment and parenting stress (dependent variables), mediated by coparenting alliance, with the insertion of cross predictions between mothers and fathers and correlations between dependent variables for both parents. Results indicated that the relation between mothers and fathers' trait anxiety, family system maladjustment and parenting stress was mediated by the level of co-parenting alliance. Understanding the role of couples' co-parenting alliance could be useful during the family assessment and/or treatment, since it is an efficient and effective tool to improve the family system maladjustment and stress

SPRITZ is sparkling: Simulated CO and [C II] luminosities

Aims. We present a new prediction for the luminosity functions (LFs) of the [C II] line at 158 mu M, of the CO lines from J = 0 to J = 24, and of the molecular gas mass density up to z = 10, using the Spectro-Photometric Realisations of Infrared-selected Targets at all-z (SPRITz) simulation.Methods. We update the state-of-the-art phenomenological simulation SPRITZ to include both the CO (J &lt;= 24) and the [C II] line luminosities. This has been performed using different empirical and theoretical relations to convert the total infrared luminosity (or star formation rate, SFR) to the [C II] or CO luminosity. The resulting line LFs were compared for validation with a large set of observations available in the literature. We then used the derived CO and [C II] line luminosities to estimate the molecular gas mass density and compare it with available observations.Results. The CO and [C II] LFs presented here are in good agreement with all the available observations. In particular, the best results for [C II] are obtained deriving the [C II] luminosity directly from the SFR, but considering a dependence of this relation on the gas metallicity. For all the CO LFs, the estimates favoured by the data are derived considering different relations, depending on the ionisation mechanism dominating each galaxy, namely star formation or active galactic nuclei, and, moreover, by deriving the J &gt;= 4 CO lines directly from the [C II] luminosity. However, further data are necessary to fully distinguish between models. Finally, the best agreements with observations of the molecular gas mass density are derived by converting the [C II] luminosity to H-2 mass, using a [C II]-to-H-2 conversion similar to 130 M-circle dot/L-circle dot. All the line LFs, useful for planning and interpreting future observations, are made publicly available

Herschel Far-IR counterparts of SDSS galaxies: Analysis of commonly used Star Formation Rate estimates

We study a hundred of galaxies from the spectroscopic Sloan Digital Sky Survey with individual detections in the Far-Infrared Herschel PACS bands (100 or 160 $\mu$m) and in the GALEX Far-UltraViolet band up to z$\sim$0.4 in the COSMOS and Lockman Hole fields. The galaxies are divided into 4 spectral and 4 morphological types. For the star forming and unclassifiable galaxies we calculate dust extinctions from the UV slope, the H$\alpha$/H$\beta$ ratio and the $L_{\rm IR}/L_{\rm UV}$ ratio. There is a tight correlation between the dust extinction and both $L_{\rm IR}$ and metallicity. We calculate SFR$_{total}$ and compare it with other SFR estimates (H$\alpha$, UV, SDSS) finding a very good agreement between them with smaller dispersions than typical SFR uncertainties. We study the effect of mass and metallicity, finding that it is only significant at high masses for SFR$_{H\alpha}$. For the AGN and composite galaxies we find a tight correlation between SFR and L$_{IR}$ ($\sigma\sim$0.29), while the dispersion in the SFR - L$_{UV}$ relation is larger ($\sigma\sim$0.57). The galaxies follow the prescriptions of the Fundamental Plane in the M-Z-SFR space.Comment: 24 pages, 23 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

The Hyperphagia Questionnaire: Insights From a Multicentric Validation Study in Individuals With Prader Willi Syndrome

Background/objectives: The present study aimed to validate the Italian version of the Hyperphagia Questionnaire (HQ), a 11-items questionnaire developed to assess hyperphagia in individuals with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS). This is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by endocrine dysfunction, hypotonia, intellectual disability, psychiatric disorders and obesity. Methods: Parents of 219 individuals with PWS (age range 3-54 years; Mage = 17.90; 108 Males), recruited in 12 hospitals in Italy responded to HQ during routine visits. In function of the level of analyses the sample was divided into two subgroups (&lt;18&gt; years) or into four age-subgroups (2.5-4.5; 4.5-8; 8-18; &gt;18 years) corresponding to different clinical stages. Results: Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) confirmed the three hyperphagic subdimensions of the original structure (behavior, drive, and severity), but one item was dropped out, reducing the final version to 10 items. Using multi-group CFA, HQ showed satisfactory indexes of measurement invariance by age. Good indexes of internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha and McDonald's Omega coefficients) were found for each subdimension. The three hyperphagia subdimensions positively converged with other food-related measures: emotional overeating, food enjoyment, food responsiveness, and satiety responsiveness. A significant increase of all hyperphagic subdimensions was found across age groups. Higher hyperphagic levels were found in participants with higher body mass index. Hyperphagic drive differently increased in function of the interaction between age and underlying genetic mechanisms. Conclusion: The Italian version of the HQ is a psychometrically valid and reliable instrument for assessing hyperphagia in individuals with PWS. This tool may prove useful to evaluate the efficacy of pharmacologic and rehabilitative treatments

The Assertive Brain : Anterior Cingulate Phosphocreatine plus Creatine Levels Correlate With Self-Directedness in Healthy Adolescents

Despite various advances in the study of the neurobiological underpinnings of personality traits, the specific neural correlates associated with character and temperament traits are not yet fully understood. Therefore, this study aims to fill this gap by exploring the biochemical basis of personality, which is explored with the temperament and character inventory (TCI), during brain development in a sample of adolescents. Twenty-six healthy adolescents (aged between 13 and 21 years; 9 males and 18 females) with behavioral and emotional problems underwent a TCI evaluation and a 3T single-voxel proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H MRS) acquisition of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Absolute metabolite levels were estimated using LCModel: significant correlations between metabolite levels and selective TCI scales were identified. Specifically, phosphocreatine plus creatine (PCr+Cre) significantly correlated with self-directedness, positively, and with a self-transcendence (ST), negatively, while glycerophosphocholine plus phosphocholine (GPC+PC) and myo-inositol negatively correlated with ST. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study reporting associations of brain metabolites with personality traits in adolescents. Therefore, our results represent a step forward for personality neuroscience within the study of biochemical systems and brain structures

Insula volumes in first-episode and chronic psychosis: A longitudinal MRI study

Background Alterations in insular grey matter (GM) volume has been consistently reported for affective and non-affective psychoses both in chronic and first-episode patients, ultimately suggesting that the insula might represent a good region to study in order to assess the longitudinal course of psychotic disorders. Therefore, in this longitudinal Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) study, we aimed at further investigating the key role of insular volumes in psychosis. Material and Methods 68 First-Episode Psychosis (FEP) patients, 68 patients with Schizophrenia (SCZ), 47 Bipolar Disorder (BD) patients, and 94 Healthy Controls (HC) were enrolled and underwent a 1.5 T MRI evaluation. A subsample of 99 subjects (10 HC, 23 BD, 29 SCZ, 37 FEP) was rescanned after 2,53 ± 1,68 years. The insular cortex was manually traced and then divided into an anterior and posterior portion. Group and correlation analyses were then performed both at baseline and at follow-up. Results At baseline, greater anterior and lower posterior insular GM volumes were observed in chronic patients. At follow-up, we found that FEP patients had a significant GM volume increase from baseline to follow-up, especially in the posterior insula whereas chronic patients showed a relative stability. Finally, significant negative correlations between illness severity and pharmacological treatment and insular GM volumes were observed in the whole group of psychotic patients. Conclusions The longitudinal assessment of both chronic and first-episode patients allowed us to detect a complex pattern of GM abnormalities in selective sub-portions of insular volumes, ultimately suggesting that this structure could represent a key biological marker of psychotic disorders

ALMA view of a massive spheroid progenitor: a compact rotating core of molecular gas in an AGN host at z=2.226

We present ALMA observations at 107.291 GHz (band 3) and 214.532 GHz (band 6) of GMASS 0953, a star-forming galaxy at z=2.226 hosting an obscured AGN that has been proposed as a progenitor of compact quiescent galaxies (QG). We measure for the first time the size of the dust and molecular gas emission of GMASS 0953 that we find to be extremely compact ($\sim$1 kpc). This result, coupled with a very high ISM density (n$\sim$10$^{5.5}$ cm$^{-3}$), a low gas mass fraction ($\sim$0.2) and a short gas depletion timescale ($\sim$150 Myr) imply that GMASS 0953 is experiencing an episode of intense star-formation in its central region that will rapidly exhaust its gas reservoirs, likely aided by AGN-induced feedback, confirming its fate as a compact QG. Kinematic analysis of the CO(6-5) line shows evidence of rapidly-rotating gas ($V_{rot}$=320$^{+92}_{-53}$ km s$^{-1}$), as observed also in a handful of similar sources at the same redshift. On-going quenching mechanisms could either destroy the rotation or leave it intact leading the galaxy to evolve into a rotating QG.Comment: MNRAS in press, 8 pages, 8 figure