D-terms and D-strings in open string models

We study the Fayet-Iliopoulos (FI) D-terms on D-branes in type II Calabi-Yau backgrounds. We provide a simple worldsheet proof of the fact that, at tree level, these terms only couple to scalars in closed string hypermultiplets. At the one-loop level, the D-terms get corrections only if the gauge group has an anomalous spectrum, with the anomaly cancelled by a Green-Schwarz mechanism. We study the local type IIA model of D6-branes at SU(3) angles and show that, as in field theory, the one-loop correction suffers from a quadratic divergence in the open string channel. By studying the closed string channel, we show that this divergence is related to a closed string tadpole, and is cancelled when the tadpole is cancelled. Next, we study the cosmic strings that arise in the supersymmetric phases of these systems in light of recent work of Dvali et. al. In the type IIA intersecting D6-brane examples, we identify the D-term strings as D4-branes ending on the D6-branes. Finally, we use N=1 dualities to relate these results to previous work on the FI D-term of heterotic strings.Comment: 29 pages, 5 figures; v2: improved referencin

Standards of Care for the Health of Transgender and Gender Diverse People, Version 8

Background: Transgender healthcare is a rapidly evolving interdisciplinary field. In the last decade, there has been an unprecedented increase in the number and visibility of transgender and gender diverse (TGD) people seeking support and gender-affirming medical treatment in parallel with a significant rise in the scientific literature in this area. The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) is an international, multidisciplinary, professional association whose mission is to promote evidence-based care, education, research, public policy, and respect in transgender health. One of the main functions of WPATH is to promote the highest standards of health care for TGD people through the Standards of Care (SOC). The SOC was initially developed in 1979 and the last version (SOC-7) was published in 2012. In view of the increasing scientific evidence, WPATH commissioned a new version of the Standards of Care, the SOC-8. Aim: The overall goal of SOC-8 is to provide health care professionals (HCPs) with clinical guidance to assist TGD people in accessing safe and effective pathways to achieving lasting personal comfort with their gendered selves with the aim of optimizing their overall physical health, psychological well-being, and self-fulfillment. Methods: The SOC-8 is based on the best available science and expert professional consensus in transgender health. International professionals and stakeholders were selected to serve on the SOC-8 committee. Recommendation statements were developed based on data derived from independent systematic literature reviews, where available, background reviews and expert opinions. Grading of recommendations was based on the available evidence supporting interventions, a discussion of risks and harms, as well as the feasibility and acceptability within different contexts and country settings. Results: A total of 18 chapters were developed as part of the SOC-8. They contain recommendations for health care professionals who provide care and treatment for TGD people. Each of the recommendations is followed by explanatory text with relevant references. General areas related to transgender health are covered in the chapters Terminology, Global Applicability, Population Estimates, and Education. The chapters developed for the diverse population of TGD people include Assessment of Adults, Adolescents, Children, Nonbinary, Eunuchs, and Intersex Individuals, and people living in Institutional Environments. Finally, the chapters related to gender-affirming treatment are Hormone Therapy, Surgery and Postoperative Care, Voice and Communication, Primary Care, Reproductive Health, Sexual Health, and Mental Health. Conclusions: The SOC-8 guidelines are intended to be flexible to meet the diverse health care needs of TGD people globally. While adaptable, they offer standards for promoting optimal health care and guidance for the treatment of people experiencing gender incongruence. As in all previous versions of the SOC, the criteria set forth in this document for gender-affirming medical interventions are clinical guidelines; individual health care professionals and programs may modify these in consultation with the TGD person

Universal DNA methylation age across mammalian tissues

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT : The individual-level data from the Mammalian Methylation Consortium can be accessed from several online locations. All data from the Mammalian Methylation Consortium are posted on Gene Expression Omnibus (complete dataset, GSE223748). Subsets of the datasets can also be downloaded from accession numbers GSE174758, GSE184211, GSE184213, GSE184215, GSE184216, GSE184218, GSE184220, GSE184221, GSE184224, GSE190660, GSE190661, GSE190662, GSE190663, GSE190664, GSE174544, GSE190665, GSE174767, GSE184222, GSE184223, GSE174777, GSE174778, GSE173330, GSE164127, GSE147002, GSE147003, GSE147004, GSE223943 and GSE223944. Additional details can be found in Supplementary Note 2. The mammalian data can also be downloaded from the Clock Foundation webpage: https://clockfoundation.org/MammalianMethylationConsortium. The mammalian methylation array is available through the non-profit Epigenetic Clock Development Foundation (https://clockfoundation.org/). The manifest file of the mammalian array and genome annotations of CpG sites can be found on Zenodo (10.5281/zenodo.7574747). All other data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. The chip manifest files, genome annotations of CpG sites and the software code for universal pan-mammalian clocks can be found on GitHub95 at https://github.com/shorvath/MammalianMethylationConsortium/tree/v2.0.0. The individual R code for the universal pan-mammalian clocks, EWAS analysis and functional enrichment studies can be also found in the Supplementary Code.SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL 1 : Supplementary Tables 1–3 and Notes 1–6.SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL 2 : Reporting SummarySUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL 3 : Supplementary Data 1–14.SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL 4 : Supplementary Code.Aging, often considered a result of random cellular damage, can be accurately estimated using DNA methylation profiles, the foundation of pan-tissue epigenetic clocks. Here, we demonstrate the development of universal pan-mammalian clocks, using 11,754 methylation arrays from our Mammalian Methylation Consortium, which encompass 59 tissue types across 185 mammalian species. These predictive models estimate mammalian tissue age with high accuracy (r > 0.96). Age deviations correlate with human mortality risk, mouse somatotropic axis mutations and caloric restriction. We identified specific cytosines with methylation levels that change with age across numerous species. These sites, highly enriched in polycomb repressive complex 2-binding locations, are near genes implicated in mammalian development, cancer, obesity and longevity. Our findings offer new evidence suggesting that aging is evolutionarily conserved and intertwined with developmental processes across all mammals.https://www.nature.com/nataginghj2024Zoology and EntomologySDG-15:Life on lan

Social networks in the lek-mating wire-tailed manakin (Pipra filicauda)

How social structure interacts with individual behaviour and fitness remains understudied despite its potential importance to the evolution of cooperation. Recent applications of network theory to social behaviour advance our understanding of the role of social interactions in various contexts. Here we applied network theory to the social system of lek-mating wire-tailed manakins (Pipra filicauda, Pipridae, Aves). We analysed the network of interactions among males in order to begin building a comparative framework to understand where coordinated display behaviour lies along the continuum from solitary to obligately cooperative dual-male displays in the family Pipridae. Network degree (the number of links from a male to others) ranged from 1 to 10, with low mean and high variance, consistent with the theory for the evolution of cooperation within social networks. We also assessed factors that could predict social and reproductive success of males. Four network metrics, degree, eigenvector centrality, information centrality and reach, some of which assess circuitous as well as the shortest (geodesic) paths of male connectivity, predicted male social rise. The duration of a male's territorial tenure during the 4 years of the study predicted his probability of siring offspring