Broad-band X-ray spectral analysis of the Seyfert 1 galaxy GRS 1734-292

We discuss the broad-band X-ray spectrum of GRS 1734−292 obtained from non-simultaneous XMM–Newton and NuSTAR (Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array) observations, performed in 2009 and 2014, respectively. GRS1734−292 is a Seyfert 1 galaxy, located near the Galactic plane at z = 0.0214. The NuSTAR spectrum (3–80 keV) is dominated by a primary power-law continuum with Γ = 1.65 ± 0.05 and a high-energy cut-off Ec=53+11−8 keV, one of the lowest measured by NuSTAR in a Seyfert galaxy. Comptonization models show a temperature of the coronal plasma of kTe=11.9+1.2−0.9 keV and an optical depth, assuming a slab geometry, τ=2.98+0.16−0.19 or a similar temperature and τ=6.7+0.3−0.4 assuming a spherical geometry. The 2009 XMM–Newton spectrum is well described by a flatter intrinsic continuum (⁠Γ=1.47+0.07−0.03⁠) and one absorption line due to Fe XXV Kα produced by a warm absorber. Both data sets show a modest iron Kα emission line at 6.4 keV and the associated Compton reflection, due to reprocessing from neutral circumnuclear material

Callous-unemotional traits, low cortisol reactivity and physical aggression in children: findings from the Wirral Child Health and Development Study

Callous-unemotional (CU) traits are thought to confer risk for aggression via reduced amygdala responsivity to distress cues in others. Low cortisol reactivity is thought to confer risk for aggression via reduced arousal and this effect may be confined to boys. We tested the hypothesis that the association between childhood CU traits and aggression would be greatest in the absence of the inhibitory effects of cortisol reactivity, and that this effect would be sex dependent. Participants were 283 members of a stratified subsample within an epidemiological longitudinal cohort (WCHADS). Cortisol reactivity to a social stressor was assessed at 5 years. CU traits were reported by mothers at 5 years, and physical aggression by mothers and teachers at age 7. Results showed that CU traits were associated with elevated aggression at 7 years controlling for earlier aggression. There was no main effect of cortisol reactivity on regression. The association between CU traits and aggression was moderated by cortisol reactivity (p = .011) with a strong association between CU traits and aggression in the presence of low reactivity, and a small and non-significant association in the presence of high reactivity. This association was further moderated by child sex (p = .041) with the joint effect of high CU traits and low cortisol reactivity seen only in boys (p = .016). We report first evidence that a combined deficit in inhibitory processes associated with CU traits and low cortisol reactivity increases risk for childhood aggression, in a sex-dependent manner

No evidence for an association between the -36A>C phospholamban gene polymorphism and a worse prognosis in heart failure

Background: In Brazil, heart failure leads to approximately 25,000 deaths per year. Abnormal calcium handling is a hallmark of heart failure and changes in genes encoding for proteins involved in the re-uptake of calcium might harbor mutations leading to inherited cardiomyopathies. Phospholamban (PLN) plays a prime role in cardiac contractility and relaxation and mutations in the gene encoding PLN have been associated with dilated cardiomyopathy. In this study, our objective was to determine the presence of the -36A>C alteration in PLN gene in a Brazilian population of individuals with HF and to test whether this alteration is associated with heart failure or with a worse prognosis of patients with HF. Methods: We genotyped a cohort of 881 patients with HF and 1259 individuals from a cohort of individuals from the general population for the alteration -36A>C in the PLN gene. Allele and genotype frequencies were compared between groups (patients and control). In addition, frequencies or mean values of different phenotypes associated with cardiovascular disease were compared between genotypic groups. Finally, patients were prospectively followed-up for death incidence and genotypes for the -36A>C were compared regarding mortality incidence in HF patients. Results: No significant association was found between the study polymorphism and HF in our population. In addition, no association between PLN -36A>C polymorphism and demographic, clinical and functional characteristics and mortality incidence in this sample of HF patients was observed. Conclusion: Our data do not support a role for the PLN -36A>C alteration in modulating the heart failure phenotype, including its clinical course, in humans

NuStar observations of WISE J1036+0449, a galaxy at z ∼ 1 obscured by hot dust

Hot dust-obscured galaxies (hot DOGs), selected from Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer’s all-sky infrared survey, host some of the most powerful active galactic nuclei known and may represent an important stage in the evolution of galaxies. Most known hot DOGs are located at z> 1.5, due in part to a strong bias against identifying them at lower redshift related to the selection criteria. We present a new selection method that identifies 153 hot DOG candidates at z˜ 1, where they are significantly brighter and easier to study. We validate this approach by measuring a redshift z = 1.009 and finding a spectral energy distribution similar to that of higher-redshift hot DOGs for one of these objects, WISE J1036+0449 ({L}{Bol}≃ 8× {10}46 {erg} {{{s}}}-1). We find evidence of a broadened component in Mg II, which would imply a black hole mass of {M}{BH}≃ 2× {10}8 {M}⊙ and an Eddington ratio of {λ }{Edd}≃ 2.7. WISE J1036+0449 is the first hot DOG detected by the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, and observations show that the source is heavily obscured, with a column density of {N}{{H}}≃ (2{--}15)× {10}23 {{cm}}-2. The source has an intrinsic 2-10 keV luminosity of ˜ 6× {10}44 {erg} {{{s}}}-1, a value significantly lower than that expected from the mid-infrared/X-ray correlation. We also find that other hot DOGs observed by X-ray facilities show a similar deficiency of X-ray flux. We discuss the origin of the X-ray weakness and the absorption properties of hot DOGs. Hot DOGs at z≲ 1 could be excellent laboratories to probe the characteristics of the accretion flow and of the X-ray emitting plasma at extreme values of the Eddington ratio

Disulfide-activated protein kinase G I alpha regulates cardiac diastolic relaxation and fine-tunes the Frank-Starling response

British Heart Foundation, European Research Council (ERC Advanced award), Medical Research Council and the Department of Health via the NIHR cBRC award to Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. Part supported by the NIHR University College London Hospitals Biomedical Research Centre

Understanding How University Students Use Perceptions of Consent, Wantedness, and Pleasure in Labeling Rape.

While the lack of consent is the only determining factor in considering whether a situation is rape or not, there is sufficient evidence that participants conflate wantedness with consent and pleasurableness with wantedness. Understanding how people appraise sexual scenarios may form the basis to develop appropriate educational packages. We conducted two large-scale qualitative studies in two UK universities in which participants read vignettes describing sexual encounters that were consensual or not, wanted or unwanted and pleasurable or not pleasurable. Participants provided free-text responses as to whether they perceived the scenarios to be rape or not and why they made these judgments. The second study replicated the results of the first and included a condition where participants imagined themselves as either the subject or initiator of the sexual encounter. The results indicate that a significant portion of our participants held attitudes reflecting rape myths and tended to blame the victim. Participants used distancing language when imagining themselves in the initiator condition. Participants indicated that they felt there were degrees of how much a scenario reflected rape rather than it simply being a dichotomy (rape or not). Such results indicate a lack of understanding of consent and rape and highlight avenues of potential educational materials for schools, universities or jurors

Protocol for investigating genetic determinants of posttraumatic stress disorder in women from the Nurses' Health Study II

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>One in nine American women will meet criteria for the diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in their lifetime. Although twin studies suggest genetic influences account for substantial variance in PTSD risk, little progress has been made in identifying variants in specific genes that influence liability to this common, debilitating disorder.</p> <p>Methods and design</p> <p>We are using the unique resource of the Nurses Health Study II, a prospective epidemiologic cohort of 68,518 women, to conduct what promises to be the largest candidate gene association study of PTSD to date. The entire cohort will be screened for trauma exposure and PTSD; 3,000 women will be selected for PTSD diagnostic interviews based on the screening data. Our nested case-control study will genotype1000 women who developed PTSD following a history of trauma exposure; 1000 controls will be selected from women who experienced similar traumas but did not develop PTSD.</p> <p>The primary aim of this study is to detect genetic variants that predict the development of PTSD following trauma. We posit inherited vulnerability to PTSD is mediated by genetic variation in three specific neurobiological systems whose alterations are implicated in PTSD etiology: the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, the locus coeruleus/noradrenergic system, and the limbic-frontal neuro-circuitry of fear. The secondary, exploratory aim of this study is to dissect genetic influences on PTSD in the broader genetic and environmental context for the candidate genes that show significant association with PTSD in detection analyses. This will involve: conducting conditional tests to identify the causal genetic variant among multiple correlated signals; testing whether the effect of PTSD genetic risk variants is moderated by age of first trauma, trauma type, and trauma severity; and exploring gene-gene interactions using a novel gene-based statistical approach.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>Identification of liability genes for PTSD would represent a major advance in understanding the pathophysiology of the disorder. Such understanding could advance the development of new pharmacological agents for PTSD treatment and prevention. Moreover, the addition of PTSD assessment data will make the NHSII cohort an unparalleled resource for future genetic studies of PTSD as well as provide the unique opportunity for the prospective examination of PTSD-disease associations.</p