The influence of demographic characteristics, living conditions, and trauma exposure on the overall health of a conflict-affected population in Southern Sudan

BACKGROUND: There remains limited evidence on how armed conflict affects overall physical and mental well-being rather than specific physical or mental health conditions. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of demographic characteristics, living conditions, and violent and traumatic events on general physical and mental health in Southern Sudan which is emerging from 20 years of armed conflict. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of 1228 adults was conducted in November 2007 in the town of Juba, the capital of Southern Sudan. Multivariate linear regression analysis was used to investigate the associations and relative influence of variables in three models of demographic characteristics, living conditions, and trauma exposure, on general physical and mental health status. These models were run separately and also as a combined model. Data quality and the internal consistency of the health status instrument (SF-8) were assessed. RESULTS: The variables in the multivariate analysis (combined model) with negative coefficients of association with general physical health and mental health (i.e. worse health), respectively, were being female (coef. -2.47; -2.63), higher age (coef.-0.16; -0.17), absence of soap in the household (physical health coef. -2.24), and experiencing within the past 12 months a lack of food and/or water (coef. -1.46; -2.27) and lack of medical care (coef.-3.51; -3.17). A number of trauma variables and cumulative exposure to trauma showed an association with physical and mental health (see main text for data). There was limited variance in results when each of the three models were run separately and when they were combined, suggesting the pervasive influence of these variables. The SF-8 showed good data quality and internal consistency. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides evidence on the pervasive influence of demographic characteristics, living conditions, and violent and traumatic events on the general physical and mental health of a conflict-affected population in Southern Sudan, and highlights the importance of addressing all these influences on overall health

The Curious Case of ASASSN-20hx: A Slowly Evolving, UV- and X-Ray-Luminous, Ambiguous Nuclear Transient

We present observations of ASASSN-20hx, a nearby ambiguous nuclear transient (ANT) discovered in NGC 6297 by the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASAS-SN). We observed ASASSN-20hx from -30 to 275 days relative to the peak UV/optical emission using high-cadence, multiwavelength spectroscopy and photometry. From Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite data, we determine that the ANT began to brighten on 2020 June 22.8 with a linear rise in flux for at least the first week. ASASSN-20hx peaked in the UV/optical 30 days later on 2020 July 22.8 (MJD = 59052.8) at a bolometric luminosity of L = (3.15 ± 0.04) × 1043 erg s-1. The subsequent decline is slower than any TDE observed to date and consistent with many other ANTs. Compared to an archival X-ray detection, the X-ray luminosity of ASASSN-20hx increased by an order of magnitude to L x ∼1.5 × 1042 erg s-1 and then slowly declined over time. The X-ray emission is well fit by a power law with a photon index of "∼2.3-2.6. Both the optical and near-infrared spectra of ASASSN-20hx lack emission lines, unusual for any known class of nuclear transient. While ASASSN-20hx has some characteristics seen in both tidal disruption events and active galactic nuclei, it cannot be definitively classified with current data

Investigating the Nature of the Luminous Ambiguous Nuclear Transient ASASSN-17jz

We present observations of the extremely luminous but ambiguous nuclear transient (ANT) ASASSN-17jz, spanning roughly 1200 days of the object's evolution. ASASSN-17jz was discovered by the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASAS-SN) in the galaxy SDSS J171955.84+414049.4 on UT 2017 July 27 at a redshift of z = 0.1641. The transient peaked at an absolute B-band magnitude of M B,peak = -22.81, corresponding to a bolometric luminosity of L bol,peak = 8.3 × 1044 erg s-1, and exhibited late-time ultraviolet emission that was still ongoing in our latest observations. Integrating the full light curve gives a total emitted energy of E tot = (1.36 ±0.08) × 1052 erg, with (0.80 ± 0.02) × 1052 erg of this emitted within 200 days of peak light. This late-time ultraviolet emission is accompanied by increasing X-ray emission that becomes softer as it brightens. ASASSN-17jz exhibited a large number of spectral emission lines most commonly seen in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) with little evidence of evolution. It also showed transient Balmer features, which became fainter and broader over time, and are still being detected >1000 days after peak brightness. We consider various physical scenarios for the origin of the transient, including supernovae (SNe), tidal disruption events, AGN outbursts, and ANTs. We find that the most likely explanation is that ASASSN-17jz was a SN IIn occurring in or near the disk of an existing AGN, and that the late-time emission is caused by the AGN transitioning to a more active state

SN 2021gno: a calcium-rich transient with double-peaked light curves

We present extensive ultraviolet (UV) and optical photometric and optical spectroscopic follow-up of supernova (SN) 2021gno by the 'Precision Observations of Infant Supernova Explosions' (POISE) project, starting less than 2 d after the explosion. Given its intermediate luminosity, fast photometric evolution, and quick transition to the nebular phase with spectra dominated by [Ca ii] lines, SN 2021gno belongs to the small family of Calcium-rich transients. Moreover, it shows double-peaked light curves, a phenomenon shared with only four other Calcium-rich events. The projected distance from the centre of the host galaxy is not as large as other objects in this family. The initial optical light-curve peaks coincide with a very quick decline of the UV flux, indicating a fast initial cooling phase. Through hydrodynamical modelling of the bolometric light curve and line velocity evolution, we found that the observations are compatible with the explosion of a highly stripped massive star with an ejecta mass of and a 56Ni mass of 0.024 M⊙. The initial cooling phase (first light-curve peak) is explained by the presence of an extended circumstellar material comprising ∼ with an extension of. We discuss if hydrogen features are present in both maximum-light and nebular spectra, and their implications in terms of the proposed progenitor scenarios for Calcium-rich transients

Severe persistent visual field constriction associated with vigabatrin (multiple letters) [7]

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The Spectroscopic Classification of Astronomical Transients (SCAT) Survey: Overview, Pipeline Description, Initial Results, and Future Plans

Abstract We present the Spectroscopic Classification of Astronomical Transients (SCAT) survey, which is dedicated to spectrophotometric observations of transient objects such as supernovae and tidal disruption events. SCAT uses the SuperNova Integral-Field Spectrograph (SNIFS) on the University of Hawai’i 2.2 m (UH2.2m) telescope. SNIFS was designed specifically for accurate transient spectrophotometry, including absolute flux calibration and host-galaxy removal. We describe the data reduction and calibration pipeline including spectral extraction, telluric correction, atmospheric characterization, nightly photometricity, and spectrophotometric precision. We achieve ≲5% spectrophotometry across the full optical wavelength range (3500–9000 Å) under photometric conditions. The inclusion of photometry from the SNIFS multi-filter mosaic imager allows for decent spectrophotometric calibration (10%–20%) even under unfavorable weather/atmospheric conditions. SCAT obtained ≈640 spectra of transients over the first 3 yr of operations, including supernovae of all types, active galactic nuclei, cataclysmic variables, and rare transients such as superluminous supernovae and tidal disruption events. These observations will provide the community with benchmark spectrophotometry to constrain the next generation of hydrodynamic and radiative transfer models