Facilitatory stimulation of the pre-SMA in healthy aging has distinct effects on task-based activity and connectivity

Semantic cognition is central to communication and our understanding of the world. It is usually well preserved in healthy aging. However, semantic control processes, which guide semantic access and retrieval, decline with age. The present study explored the potential of intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) to enhance semantic cognition in healthy middle-aged to older adults. Using an individualized stimulation approach, we applied iTBS to the pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA) and assessed task-specific effects on semantic judgments in functional neuroimaging. We found increased activation after effective relative to sham stimulation only for the semantic task in visual and dorsal attention networks. Further, iTBS increased functional connectivity in domain-general executive networks. Notably, stimulation-induced changes in activation and connectivity related differently to behavior: While increased activation of the parietal dorsal attention network was linked to poorer semantic performance, its enhanced coupling with the pre-SMA was associated with more efficient semantic processing. Our findings indicate differential effects of iTBS on activity and connectivity. We show that iTBS modulates networks in a task-dependent manner and generates remote network effects. Stimulating the pre-SMA was linked to more efficient but not better performance, indicating a role in domain-general semantic control processes distinct to domain-specific semantic control

The cushion region and dayside magnetodisc structure at Saturn

A sustained dipolar magnetic field between the current sheet outer edge and the magnetopause, known as a cushion region, has yet to be observed at Saturn. Whilst some signatures of reconnection occurring in the dayside magnetodisc have been identified, the presence of this large-scale structure has not been seen. Using the complete Cassini magnetometer data, the first evidence of a cushion region forming at Saturn is shown. Only five potential examples of a sustained cushion are found, revealing this phenomenon to be rare. This feature more commonly occurs at dusk compared to dawn, where it is found at Jupiter. It is suggested that due to greater heating and expansion of the field through the afternoon sector the disc is more unstable in this region. We show that magnetodisc breakdown is more likely to occur within the magnetosphere of Jupiter compared to Saturn

Modeling magnetospheric fields in the Jupiter system

The various processes which generate magnetic fields within the Jupiter system are exemplary for a large class of similar processes occurring at other planets in the solar system, but also around extrasolar planets. Jupiter's large internal dynamo magnetic field generates a gigantic magnetosphere, which is strongly rotational driven and possesses large plasma sources located deeply within the magnetosphere. The combination of the latter two effects is the primary reason for Jupiter's main auroral ovals. Jupiter's moon Ganymede is the only known moon with an intrinsic dynamo magnetic field, which generates a mini-magnetosphere located within Jupiter's larger magnetosphere including two auroral ovals. Ganymede's magnetosphere is qualitatively different compared to the one from Jupiter. It possesses no bow shock but develops Alfv\'en wings similar to most of the extrasolar planets which orbit their host stars within 0.1 AU. New numerical models of Jupiter's and Ganymede's magnetospheres presented here provide quantitative insight into the processes that maintain these magnetospheres. Jupiter's magnetospheric field is approximately time-periodic at the locations of Jupiter's moons and induces secondary magnetic fields in electrically conductive layers such as subsurface oceans. In the case of Ganymede, these secondary magnetic fields influence the oscillation of the location of its auroral ovals. Based on dedicated Hubble Space Telescope observations, an analysis of the amplitudes of the auroral oscillations provides evidence that Ganymede harbors a subsurface ocean. Callisto in contrast does not possess a mini-magnetosphere, but still shows a perturbed magnetic field environment. Callisto's ionosphere and atmospheric UV emission is different compared to the other Galilean satellites as it is primarily been generated by solar photons compared to magnetospheric electrons.Comment: Chapter for Book: Planetary Magnetis

The Sausapor Declaration: Challenges in promoting good governance to protect customary communities and natural resources in Tambrauw district, West Papua

The Sausapor Declaration has served as a stepping stone towards convening and balancing the dynamics of governmental politics, conservation efforts, the protection of customary communities’ rights, and the sustainable management of natural resources in Tambrauw District. The Declaration supported the establishment of Tambrauw as a Conservation District, while also acknowledging the rights of customary communities in shaping political priorities of the local government, which include: a) stewardship of extensive remaining tropical forests (91.9% forest cover); b) management of protected areas, which represent 77-80% of the total area of the District; c) acknowledging the cultural traditions of five major indigenous groups; and, d) securing the active support of formal institutions for these goals. Two stages have shaped the effort to establish the Conservation District.  The first stage involved the period prior to the formal declaration, while the second ecompasses development and implementation of related policies.  Establishing local regulations and protecting local communities required extensive lobbying with the provincial and national government, as well as advocacy in various seminars, including both national and international conferences that provided strategic opportunities for securing support for the Conservation District. These steps have been instrumental in gaining legitimacy and public support for relevant conservation policies and for protecting the rights of customary communities. As one example, the review of Tambrauw spatial planning documents  (RTRW) led to prioritizing eco-tourism as a leading sector for economic development, along with the creation of an overall agropolitan and renewable energy strategy

A Genome-Wide RNAi Screen in Caenorhabditis elegans Identifies the Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Subunit ACR-7 as an Antipsychotic Drug Target

We report a genome-wide RNA interference (RNAi) screen for Suppressors of Clozapine-induced Larval Arrest (scla genes) in Caenorhabditis elegans, the first genetic suppressor screen for antipsychotic drug (APD) targets in an animal. The screen identifies 40 suppressors, including the α-like nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) homolog acr-7. We validate the requirement for acr-7 by showing that acr-7 knockout suppresses clozapine-induced larval arrest and that expression of a full-length translational GFP fusion construct rescues this phenotype. nAChR agonists phenocopy the developmental effects of clozapine, while nAChR antagonists partially block these effects. ACR-7 is strongly expressed in the pharynx, and clozapine inhibits pharyngeal pumping. acr-7 knockout and nAChR antagonists suppress clozapine-induced inhibition of pharyngeal pumping. These findings suggest that clozapine activates ACR-7 channels in pharyngeal muscle, leading to tetanus of pharyngeal muscle with consequent larval arrest. No APDs are known to activate nAChRs, but a number of studies indicate that α7-nAChR agonists may prove effective for the treatment of psychosis. α-like nAChR signaling is a mechanism through which clozapine may produce its therapeutic and/or toxic effects in humans, a hypothesis that could be tested following identification of the mammalian ortholog of C. elegans acr-7

Probing Ganymede's atmosphere with HST Lyα\alpha images in transit of Jupiter

We report results from far-ultraviolet observations by the Hubble Space Telescope of Jupiter's largest moon Ganymede transiting across the planet's dayside hemisphere. {Within} a targeted campaign on 9 September 2021 two exposures were taken during one transit passage to probe for attenuation of Jupiter's hydrogen Lyman-$\alpha$ dayglow above the moon limb. The background dayglow is slightly attenuated over an extended region around Ganymede, with stronger attenuation in the second exposure when Ganymede was near the planet's center. In the first exposure when the moon was closer to Jupiter's limb, the effects from the Ganymede corona are hardly detectable, likely because the Jovian Lyman-$\alpha$ dayglow is spectrally broader and less intense at this viewing geometry. The obtained vertical H column densities of around $(1-2)\times 10^{12}$~cm$^{-2}$ are consistent with previous results. Constraining angular variability around Ganymede's disk, we derive an upper limit on a local H$_2$O column density of $(2-3)\times 10^{16}$~cm$^{-2}$, such as could arise from outgassing plumes in regions near the observed moon limb