The Experience Of Knowledge Workers In Remote Environments During The COVID-19 Pandemic

When regional quarantine restrictions were rapidly implemented in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, knowledge workers were forced to vacate their traditional shared office spaces and transition to remote work environments. This unprecedented mass exodus from traditional in-person physical workplaces was facilitated by existing and new software and technology that allowed workers to remain connected and working. This phenomenological study explored the lived experiences and perceptions of knowledge workers who experienced this transition to a full-time remote work environment. The study also examined how knowledge workers perceived work performance relative to their experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews with 18 knowledge workers in the New England region of the United States to document their feelings and experiences and to offer a “snapshot” of shared perspectives. Five themes emerged from the data: navigating connectivity gaps and remote communication challenges; isolation and technological barriers contrasting with freedom and flexibility; the intersection of remote work and family dynamics; navigating remote work environments; and collaboration, leadership, and communication in remote teams. The findings showed that knowledge workers preferred a hybrid approach, one that allows for in-person professional interactions and flexibility to work remotely when needed due to personal commitments or preferences. Effective communication was the most common challenge encountered by study participants, and maintaining professional relationships was strained in remote environments. Benefits included increased time spent with family, the perception of improved levels of productivity, and less time spent commuting. Keywords: remote work, work from home, knowledge workers in remote work environments, hybrid work environments, challenges in remote work environments, benefits of remote work environments, lived experience of remote workers during the COVID-19 pandemi

Molecular gas and star formation in early-type galaxies

We present new mm interferometric and optical integral-field unit (IFU) observations and construct a sample of 12 E and S0 galaxies with molecular gas which have both CO and optical maps. The galaxies contain 2 x 10^7 to 5 x 10^9 M\odot of molecular gas distributed primarily in central discs or rings (radii 0.5 to 4 kpc). The molecular gas distributions are always coincident with distributions of optically-obscuring dust that reveal tightly-wound spiral structures in many cases. The ionised gas always approximately corotates with the molecular gas, evidencing a link between these two gas components, yet star formation is not always the domi- nant ionisation source. The galaxies with less molecular gas tend to have [O III]/H{\beta} emission-line ratios at high values not expected for star formation. Most E/S0s with molecular gas have young or intermediate age stellar populations based on optical colours, ultraviolet colours and absorption linestrengths. The few that appear purely old lie close to the limit where such populations would be undetectable based on the mass fractions of expected young to observed old stars. The 8{\mu}m polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) and 24{\mu}m emission yield similar star formation rate estimates of E/S0s, but the total infrared overpredicts the rate due to a contribution to dust heating from older stars. The radio-far infrared relation also has much more scatter than for other star-forming galaxies. However, despite these biases and additional scatter, the derived star formation rates locate the E/S0 galaxies within the large range of the Schmidt-Kennicutt and constant efficiency star formation laws. Thus the star formation process in E/S0s is not overwhelmingly different than in other star-forming galaxies, although one of the more reliable tracers (24{\mu}m) points to a possible lower star-formation efficiency at a given gas surface density.Comment: submitted to MNRA

ACCESS IV: The quenching of star formation in a cluster population of dusty S0s

We present an analysis of the mid-infrared (MIR) colours of 165 70um-detected galaxies in the Shapley supercluster core (SSC) at z=0.048 using panoramic Spitzer/MIPS 24 and 70um imaging. While the bulk of galaxies show f70/f24 colours typical of local star-forming galaxies, we identify a significant sub-population of 23 70micron-excess galaxies, whose MIR colours (f70/f24>25) are much redder and cannot be reproduced by any of the standard model infrared SEDs. These galaxies are found to be strongly concentrated towards the cores of the five clusters that make up the SSC, and also appear rare among local field galaxies, confirming them as a cluster-specific phenomenon. Their optical spectra and lack of significant UV emission imply little or no ongoing star formation, while fits to their panchromatic SEDs require the far-IR emission to come mostly from a diffuse dust component heated by the general interstellar radiation field rather than ongoing star formation. Most of these 70micron-excess galaxies are identified as ~L* S0s with smooth profiles. We find that almost every cluster galaxy in the process of star-formation quenching is already either an S0 or Sa, while we find no passive galaxies of class Sb or later. Hence the formation of passive early-type galaxies in cluster cores must involve the prior morphological transformation of late-type spirals into Sa/S0s, perhaps via pre-processing or the impact of cluster tidal fields, before a subsequent quenching of star formation once the lenticular encounters the dense environment of the cluster core. In the cases of many cluster S0s, this phase of star-formation quenching is characterised by an excess of 70um emission, indicating that the cold dust content is declining at a slower rate than star formation.Comment: 17 pages, 12 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA

Planck 2013 results. XI. All-sky model of thermal dust emission

This paper presents an all-sky model of dust emission from the Planck 353, 545, and 857 GHz, and IRAS 100 \u3bcm data. Using a modified blackbody fit to the data we present all-sky maps of the dust optical depth, temperature, and spectral index over the 353-3000 GHz range. This model is a good representation of the IRAS and Planck data at 5\u2032 between 353 and 3000 GHz (850 and 100 \u3bcm). It shows variations of the order of 30% compared with the widely-used model of Finkbeiner, Davis, and Schlegel. The Planck data allow us to estimate the dust temperature uniformly over the whole sky, down to an angular resolution of 5\u2032, providing an improved estimate of the dust optical depth compared to previous all-sky dust model, especially in high-contrast molecular regions where the dust temperature varies strongly at small scales in response to dust evolution, extinction, and/or local production of heating photons. An increase of the dust opacity at 353 GHz, \u3c4353/NH, from the diffuse to the denser interstellar medium (ISM) is reported. It is associated with a decrease in the observed dust temperature, Tobs, that could be due at least in part to the increased dust opacity. We also report an excess of dust emission at H i column densities lower than 1020 cm-2 that could be the signature of dust in the warm ionized medium. In the diffuse ISM at high Galactic latitude, we report an anticorrelation between \u3c4353/NH and Tobs while the dust specific luminosity, i.e., the total dust emission integrated over frequency (the radiance) per hydrogen atom, stays about constant, confirming one of the Planck Early Results obtained on selected fields. This effect is compatible with the view that, in the diffuse ISM, Tobs responds to spatial variations of the dust opacity, due to variations of dust properties, in addition to (small) variations of the radiation field strength. The implication is that in the diffuse high-latitude ISM \u3c4353 is not as reliable a tracer of dust column density as we conclude it is in molecular clouds where the correlation of \u3c4353 with dust extinction estimated using colour excess measurements on stars is strong. To estimate Galactic E(B-V) in extragalactic fields at high latitude we develop a new method based on the thermal dust radiance, instead of the dust optical depth, calibrated to E(B-V) using reddening measurements of quasars deduced from Sloan Digital Sky Survey data. \ua9 2014 ESO

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey: Technical Summary

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) will provide the data to support detailed investigations of the distribution of luminous and non- luminous matter in the Universe: a photometrically and astrometrically calibrated digital imaging survey of pi steradians above about Galactic latitude 30 degrees in five broad optical bands to a depth of g' about 23 magnitudes, and a spectroscopic survey of the approximately one million brightest galaxies and 10^5 brightest quasars found in the photometric object catalog produced by the imaging survey. This paper summarizes the observational parameters and data products of the SDSS, and serves as an introduction to extensive technical on-line documentation.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, AAS Latex. To appear in AJ, Sept 200

The genetic architecture of the human cerebral cortex

The cerebral cortex underlies our complex cognitive capabilities, yet little is known about the specific genetic loci that influence human cortical structure. To identify genetic variants that affect cortical structure, we conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of brain magnetic resonance imaging data from 51,665 individuals. We analyzed the surface area and average thickness of the whole cortex and 34 regions with known functional specializations. We identified 199 significant loci and found significant enrichment for loci influencing total surface area within regulatory elements that are active during prenatal cortical development, supporting the radial unit hypothesis. Loci that affect regional surface area cluster near genes in Wnt signaling pathways, which influence progenitor expansion and areal identity. Variation in cortical structure is genetically correlated with cognitive function, Parkinson’s disease, insomnia, depression, neuroticism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

A systematic review, evidence synthesis and meta-analysis of quantitative and qualitative studies evaluating the clinical effectiveness, the cost-effectiveness, safety and acceptability of interventions to prevent postnatal depression

Background: Postnatal depression (PND) is a major depressive disorder in the year following childbirth, which impacts on women, their infants and their families. A range of interventions has been developed to prevent PND. Objectives: To (1) evaluate the clinical effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, acceptability and safety of antenatal and postnatal interventions for pregnant and postnatal women to prevent PND; (2) apply rigorous methods of systematic reviewing of quantitative and qualitative studies, evidence synthesis and decision-analytic modelling to evaluate the preventive impact on women, their infants and their families; and (3) estimate cost-effectiveness. Data sources: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, Science Citation Index and other databases (from inception to July 2013) in December 2012, and we were updated by electronic alerts until July 2013. Review methods: Two reviewers independently screened titles and abstracts with consensus agreement. We undertook quality assessment. All universal, selective and indicated preventive interventions for pregnant women and women in the first 6 postnatal weeks were included. All outcomes were included, focusing on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), diagnostic instruments and infant outcomes. The quantitative evidence was synthesised using network meta-analyses (NMAs). A mathematical model was constructed to explore the cost-effectiveness of interventions contained within the NMA for EPDS values. Results: From 3072 records identified, 122 papers (86 trials) were included in the quantitative review. From 2152 records, 56 papers (44 studies) were included in the qualitative review. The results were inconclusive. The most beneficial interventions appeared to be midwifery redesigned postnatal care [as shown by the mean 12-month EPDS score difference of –1.43 (95% credible interval –4.00 to 1.36)], person-centred approach (PCA)-based and cognitive–behavioural therapy (CBT)-based intervention (universal), interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT)-based intervention and education on preparing for parenting (selective), promoting parent–infant interaction, peer support, IPT-based intervention and PCA-based and CBT-based intervention (indicated). Women valued seeing the same health worker, the involvement of partners and access to several visits from a midwife or health visitor trained in person-centred or cognitive–behavioural approaches. The most cost-effective interventions were estimated to be midwifery redesigned postnatal care (universal), PCA-based intervention (indicated) and IPT-based intervention in the sensitivity analysis (indicated), although there was considerable uncertainty. Expected value of partial perfect information (EVPPI) for efficacy data was in excess of £150M for each population. Given the EVPPI values, future trials assessing the relative efficacies of promising interventions appears to represent value for money. Limitations: In the NMAs, some trials were omitted because they could not be connected to the main network of evidence or did not provide EPDS scores. This may have introduced reporting or selection bias. No adjustment was made for the lack of quality of some trials. Although we appraised a very large number of studies, much of the evidence was inconclusive. Conclusions: Interventions warrant replication within randomised controlled trials (RCTs). Several interventions appear to be cost-effective relative to usual care, but this is subject to considerable uncertainty. Future work recommendations: Several interventions appear to be cost-effective relative to usual care, but this is subject to considerable uncertainty. Future research conducting RCTs to establish which interventions are most clinically effective and cost-effective should be considered

The genetic architecture of the human cerebral cortex

INTRODUCTION The cerebral cortex underlies our complex cognitive capabilities. Variations in human cortical surface area and thickness are associated with neurological, psychological, and behavioral traits and can be measured in vivo by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Studies in model organisms have identified genes that influence cortical structure, but little is known about common genetic variants that affect human cortical structure. RATIONALE To identify genetic variants associated with human cortical structure at both global and regional levels, we conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of brain MRI data from 51,665 individuals across 60 cohorts. We analyzed the surface area and average thickness of the whole cortex and 34 cortical regions with known functional specializations. RESULTS We identified 306 nominally genome-wide significant loci (P < 5 × 10−8) associated with cortical structure in a discovery sample of 33,992 participants of European ancestry. Of the 299 loci for which replication data were available, 241 loci influencing surface area and 14 influencing thickness remained significant after replication, with 199 loci passing multiple testing correction (P < 8.3 × 10−10; 187 influencing surface area and 12 influencing thickness). Common genetic variants explained 34% (SE = 3%) of the variation in total surface area and 26% (SE = 2%) in average thickness; surface area and thickness showed a negative genetic correlation (rG = −0.32, SE = 0.05, P = 6.5 × 10−12), which suggests that genetic influences have opposing effects on surface area and thickness. Bioinformatic analyses showed that total surface area is influenced by genetic variants that alter gene regulatory activity in neural progenitor cells during fetal development. By contrast, average thickness is influenced by active regulatory elements in adult brain samples, which may reflect processes that occur after mid-fetal development, such as myelination, branching, or pruning. When considered together, these results support the radial unit hypothesis that different developmental mechanisms promote surface area expansion and increases in thickness. To identify specific genetic influences on individual cortical regions, we controlled for global measures (total surface area or average thickness) in the regional analyses. After multiple testing correction, we identified 175 loci that influence regional surface area and 10 that influence regional thickness. Loci that affect regional surface area cluster near genes involved in the Wnt signaling pathway, which is known to influence areal identity. We observed significant positive genetic correlations and evidence of bidirectional causation of total surface area with both general cognitive functioning and educational attainment. We found additional positive genetic correlations between total surface area and Parkinson’s disease but did not find evidence of causation. Negative genetic correlations were evident between total surface area and insomnia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, depressive symptoms, major depressive disorder, and neuroticism. CONCLUSION This large-scale collaborative work enhances our understanding of the genetic architecture of the human cerebral cortex and its regional patterning. The highly polygenic architecture of the cortex suggests that distinct genes are involved in the development of specific cortical areas. Moreover, we find evidence that brain structure is a key phenotype along the causal pathway that leads from genetic variation to differences in general cognitive function

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least $4m$. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the $6.5m$ James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure

The genetic architecture of the human cerebral cortex

The cerebral cortex underlies our complex cognitive capabilities, yet little is known about the specific genetic loci that influence human cortical structure. To identify genetic variants that affect cortical structure, we conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of brain magnetic resonance imaging data from 51,665 individuals. We analyzed the surface area and average thickness of the whole cortex and 34 regions with known functional specializations. We identified 199 significant loci and found significant enrichment for loci influencing total surface area within regulatory elements that are active during prenatal cortical development, supporting the radial unit hypothesis. Loci that affect regional surface area cluster near genes in Wnt signaling pathways, which influence progenitor expansion and areal identity. Variation in cortical structure is genetically correlated with cognitive function, Parkinson's disease, insomnia, depression, neuroticism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder