237 research outputs found
Effects of cortisol on female-to-male sex change in a wrasse
Sex change occurs as a usual part of the life cycle for many teleost fish and the modifications involved (behavioural, gonadal, morphological) are well studied. However, the mechanism that transduces environmental cues into the molecular cascade that underlies this transformation remains unknown. Cortisol, the main stress hormone in fish, is hypothesised to be a key factor linking environmental stimuli with sex change by initiating gene expression changes that shift steroidogenesis from oestrogens to androgens but this notion remains to be rigorously tested. Therefore, this study aimed to experimentally test the role of cortisol as an initiator of sex change in a protogynous (female-to-male) hermaphrodite, the New Zealand spotty wrasse (Notolabrus celidotus). We also sought to identify potential key regulatory factors within the head kidney that may contribute to the initiation and progression of gonadal sex change. Cortisol pellets were implanted into female spotty wrasses under inhibitory conditions (presence of a male), and outside of the optimal season for natural sex change. Histological analysis of the gonads and sex hormone analyses found no evidence of sex change after 71 days of cortisol treatment. However, expression analyses of sex and stress-associated genes in gonad and head kidney suggested that cortisol administration did have a physiological effect. In the gonad, this included upregulation of amh, a potent masculinising factor, and nr3c1, a glucocorticoid receptor. In the head kidney, hsd11b2, which converts cortisol to inactive cortisone to maintain cortisol balance, was upregulated. Overall, our results suggest cortisol administration outside of the optimal sex change window is unable to initiate gonadal restructuring. However, our expression data imply key sex and stress genes are sensitive to cortisol. This includes genes expressed in both gonad and head kidney that have been previously implicated in early sex change in several sex-changing species
Rest-frame near-infrared sizes of galaxies at cosmic noon: objects in JWST's mirror are smaller than they appeared
Galaxy sizes and their evolution over cosmic time have been studied for
decades and serve as key tests of galaxy formation models. However, at
these studies have been limited by a lack of deep, high-resolution
rest-frame infrared imaging that accurately traces galaxy stellar mass
distributions. Here, we leverage the new capabilities of the James Webb Space
Telescope to measure the 4.4m sizes of galaxies with
and from public CEERS
imaging in the EGS deep field. We compare the sizes of galaxies measured from
NIRCam imaging at 4.4m (m) with sizes
measured at m (A). We find that, on
average, galaxy half-light radii are % smaller at 4.4m than
1.5m in this sample. This size difference is markedly stronger at higher
stellar masses and redder rest-frame colors: galaxies with have 4.4m sizes that are % smaller
than their 1.5m sizes. Our results indicate that galaxy mass profiles are
significantly more compact than their rest-frame optical light profiles at
cosmic noon, and demonstrate that spatial variations in age and attenuation are
important, particularly for massive galaxies. The trend that we find here
impacts our understanding of the size growth and evolution of galaxies, and
suggests that previous studies based on rest-frame optical light may not have
captured the mass-weighted structural evolution of galaxies. This paper
represents a first step towards a new understanding of the morphologies of
early massive galaxies enabled by JWST's infrared window into the distant
universe.Comment: Accepted to ApJL. 10 pages, 4 figures, 1 table with full size catalog
in F150W and F444
Wage Gains Among Job Changers Across the Business Cycle: Insight from State Administrative Data
This paper uses unique employer-employee matched administrative data files to determine that firm and industry employment dynamics play significant roles in the earnings gains of workers who change jobs and in different ways across the business cycle. Among the more notable results is the finding that job-changers who leave a firm that is shutting down experience a greater earnings loss than job-changers who leave a firm that is merely contracting. In addition, the earnings loss from changing industries where firm-specific human capital is likely to be important has the potential of creating a much greater barrier to labor mobility during recessionary times than during an expansion
Feasibility and safety of planned early discharge following laparotomy in gynecologic oncology with enhanced recovery protocol including opioid-sparing anesthesia
ObjectiveThis study aims to evaluate the feasibility and safety of planned postoperative day 1 discharge (PPOD1) among patients who undergo laparotomy (XL) in the department of gynecology oncology utilizing a modified enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocol including opioid-sparing anesthesia (OSA) and defined discharge criteria.MethodsPatients undergoing XL and minimally invasive surgery (MIS) were enrolled in this prospective, observational cohort study after the departmental implementation of a modified ERAS protocol. The primary outcome was quality of life (QoL) using SF36, PROMIS GI, and ICIQ-FLUTS at baseline and 2- and 6-week postoperative visits. Statistical significance was assessed using the two-tailed Student's t-test and non-parametric Mann–Whitney two-sample test.ResultsOf the 141 subjects, no significant demographic differences were observed between the XL group and the MIS group. The majority of subjects, 84.7% (61), in the XL group had gynecologic malignancy [vs. MIS group; 21 (29.2%), p < 0.001]. All patients tolerated OSA. The XL group required higher intraoperative opioids [7.1 ± 9.2 morphine milligram equivalents (MME) vs. 3.9 ± 6.9 MME, p = 0.02] and longer surgical time (114.2 ± 41 min vs. 96.8 ± 32.1 min, p = 0.006). No significant difference was noted in the opioid requirements at the immediate postoperative phase and the rest of the postoperative day (POD) 0 or POD 1. In the XL group, 69 patients (73.6%) were successfully discharged home on POD1. There was no increase in the PROMIS score at 2 and 6 weeks compared to the preoperative phase. The readmission rates within 30 days after surgery (XL 4.2% vs. MIS 1.4%, p = 0.62), rates of surgical site infection (XL 0% vs. MIS 2.8%, p = 0.24), and mean number of post-discharge phone calls (0 vs. 0, p = 0.41) were comparable between the two groups. Although QoL scores were significantly lower than baseline in four of the nine QoL domains at 2 weeks post-laparotomy, all except physical health recovered by the 6-week time point.ConclusionsPPOD1 is a safe and feasible strategy for XL performed in the gynecologic oncology department. PPOD1 did not increase opioid requirements, readmission rates compared to MIS, and patient-reported constipation and nausea/vomiting compared to the preoperative phase
JADES + JEMS: A Detailed Look at the Buildup of Central Stellar Cores and Suppression of Star Formation in Galaxies at Redshifts 3 < z < 4.5
We present a spatially resolved study of stellar populations in 6 galaxies
with stellar masses at using 14-filter
JWST/NIRCam imaging from the JADES and JEMS surveys. The 6 galaxies are
visually selected to have clumpy substructures with distinct colors over
rest-frame \r{A}, including a bright dominant stellar core that is
close to their stellar-light centroids. With 23-filter photometry from HST to
JWST, we measure the stellar-population properties of individual structural
components via SED fitting using Prospector. We find that the central stellar
cores are times more massive than the Toomre mass, indicating they
may not form via in-situ fragmentation. The stellar cores have stellar ages of
Gyr that are similar to the timescale of clump inward migration due
to dynamical friction, suggesting that they likely instead formed through the
coalescence of giant stellar clumps. While they have not yet quenched, the 6
galaxies are below the star-forming main sequence by dex. Within each
galaxy, we find that the specific star formation rate is lower in the central
stellar core, and the stellar-mass surface density of the core is already
similar to quenched galaxies of the same masses and redshifts. Meanwhile, the
stellar ages of the cores are either comparable to or younger than the
extended, smooth parts of the galaxies. Our findings are consistent with model
predictions of the gas-rich compaction scenario for the buildup of galaxies'
central regions at high redshifts. We are likely witnessing the coeval
formation of dense central cores, along with the onset of galaxy-wide quenching
at .Comment: 32 pages, 16 figures, submitted to ApJ. Comments are welcom
The galaxies missed by Hubble and ALMA: the contribution of extremely red galaxies to the cosmic census at 3<z<8
Using deep JWST imaging from JADES, JEMS and SMILES, we characterize
optically-faint and extremely red galaxies at that were previously
missing from galaxy census estimates. The data indicate the existence of
abundant, dusty and post-starburst-like galaxies down to M, below
the sensitivity limit of Spitzer and ALMA. Modeling the NIRCam and HST
photometry of these red sources can result in extreme, high values for both
stellar mass and star formation rate (SFR); however, including 7 MIRI filters
out to 21m results in decreased mass (median 0.6 dex for
logM/M10), and SFR (median 10 for SFR100
M/yr). At , our sample includes a high fraction of little red
dots (LRDs; NIRCam-selected dust-reddened AGN candidates). We significantly
measure older stellar populations in the LRDs out to rest-frame 3m (the
stellar bump) and rule out a dominant contribution from hot dust emission, a
signature of AGN contamination to stellar population measurements. This allows
us to measure their contribution to the cosmic census at , below the
typical detection limits of ALMA (). We find that
these sources, which are overwhelmingly missed by HST and ALMA, could
effectively double the obscured fraction of the star formation rate density at
compared to some estimates, showing that prior to JWST, the obscured
contribution from fainter sources could be underestimated. Finally, we identify
five sources with evidence for Balmer breaks and high stellar masses at
. While spectroscopy is required to determine their nature, we
discuss possible measurement systematics to explore with future data.Comment: submitted to AAS Journals, comments welcome
Inside the bubble: exploring the environments of reionisation-era Lyman-α emitting galaxies with JADES and FRESCO⋆
© 2024 The Author(s). Published by EDP Sciences. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/We present a study of the environments of 17 Lyman-α emitting galaxies (LAEs) in the reionisation-era (5.8 5%) observed in our sample of LAEs, suggesting the presence of ionised hydrogen along the line of sight towards at least eight out of 17 LAEs. We find minimum physical 'bubble'sizes of the order of R ion ∼ 0.1- 1pMpc are required in a patchy reionisation scenario where ionised bubbles containing the LAEs are embedded in a fully neutral IGM. Around half of the LAEs in our sample are found to coincide with large-scale galaxy overdensities seen in FRESCO at z ∼ 5.8- 5.9 and z ∼ 7.3, suggesting Lyman-α transmission is strongly enhanced in such overdense regions, and underlining the importance of LAEs as tracers of the first large-scale ionised bubbles. Considering only spectroscopically confirmed galaxies, we find our sample of UV-faint LAEs (M UV ≳ -20mag) and their direct neighbours are generally not able to produce the required ionised regions based on the Lyman-α transmission properties, suggesting lower-luminosity sources likely play an important role in carving out these bubbles. These observations demonstrate the combined power of JWST multi-object and slitless spectroscopy in acquiring a unique view of the early Universe during cosmic reionisation via the most distant LAEs.Peer reviewe
The Star-forming and Ionizing Properties of Dwarf z~6-9 Galaxies in JADES: Insights on Bursty Star Formation and Ionized Bubble Growth
Reionization is thought to be driven by faint star-forming galaxies, but
characterizing this population in detail has long remained very challenging.
Here we utilize deep nine-band NIRCam imaging from JADES to study the
star-forming and ionizing properties of 756 galaxies, including
hundreds of very UV-faint objects (). The faintest
() galaxies in our sample typically have stellar masses of
and young light-weighted ages (50
Myr), though some show strong Balmer breaks implying much older ages (500
Myr). We find no evidence for extremely massive galaxies (
) in our sample. We infer a strong (factor 2) decline in the
typical [OIII]H EWs towards very faint galaxies, yet a
weak UV luminosity dependence on the H EWs at . We demonstrate
that these EW trends can be explained if fainter galaxies have systematically
lower metallicities as well as more recently-declining star formation histories
relative to the most UV-luminous galaxies in our sample. Our data provide
evidence that the brightest galaxies are frequently experiencing a recent
strong upturn in SFR. We also discuss how the EW trends may be influenced by a
strong correlation between and Lyman continuum escape fraction.
This alternative explanation has dramatically different implications for the
contribution of galaxies along the luminosity function to cosmic reionization,
highlighting the need for deep spectroscopic follow-up. Finally, we quantify
the photometric overdensities around two strong Ly emitters in
the JADES footprint. One Ly emitter lies close to a strong photometric
overdensity while the other shows no significant nearby overdensity, perhaps
implying that not all strong Ly emitters reside in large ionized
bubbles.Comment: 29 pages, 16 figures. Submitted to MNRAS. Comments welcom
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