Early-type stars observed in the ESO UVES Paranal Observatory Project - V. Time-variable interstellar absorption

The structure and properties of the diffuse interstellar medium (ISM) on small scales, sub-au to 1 pc, are poorly understood. We compare interstellar absorption-lines, observed towards a selection of O- and B-type stars at two or more epochs, to search for variations over time caused by the transverse motion of each star combined with changes in the structure in the foreground ISM. Two sets of data were used: 83 VLT- UVES spectra with approximately 6 yr between epochs and 21 McDonald observatory 2.7m telescope echelle spectra with 6 - 20 yr between epochs, over a range of scales from 0 - 360 au. The interstellar absorption-lines observed at the two epochs were subtracted and searched for any residuals due to changes in the foreground ISM. Of the 104 sightlines investigated with typically five or more components in Na I D, possible temporal variation was identified in five UVES spectra (six components), in Ca II, Ca I and/or Na I absorption-lines. The variations detected range from 7\% to a factor of 3.6 in column density. No variation was found in any other interstellar species. Most sightlines show no variation, with 3{\sigma} upper limits to changes of the order 0.1 - 0.3 dex in Ca II and Na I. These variations observed imply that fine-scale structure is present in the ISM, but at the resolution available in this study, is not very common at visible wavelengths. A determination of the electron densities and lower limits to the total number density of a sample of the sightlines implies that there is no striking difference between these parameters in sightlines with, and sightlines without, varying components.Comment: 19 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Crime and Psychiatric Disorders Among Youth in the US population: An Analysis of the National Comorbidity Survey-Adolescent Supplement

Objective Current knowledge regarding psychiatric disorders and crime in youth is limited to juvenile justice and community samples. This study examined relationships between psychiatric disorders and self-reported crime involvement in a sample of youth representative of the US population. Method The National Comorbidity Survey–Adolescent Supplement (N = 10,123; ages 13–17 years; 2001–2004) was used to examine the relationship between lifetime DSM-IV–based diagnoses, reported crime (property, violent, other), and arrest history. Logistic regression compared the odds of reported crime involvement with specific psychiatric disorders to those without any diagnoses, and examined the odds of crime by psychiatric comorbidity. Results Prevalence of crime was 18.4%. Youth with lifetime psychiatric disorders, compared to no disorders, had significantly greater odds of crime, including violent crime. For violent crime resulting in arrest, conduct disorder (CD) (odds ratio OR = 57.5; 95% CI = 30.4, 108.8), alcohol use disorders (OR = 19.5; 95% CI = 8.8, 43.2), and drug use disorders (OR = 16.1; 95% CI = 9.3, 27.7) had the greatest odds with similar findings for violent crime with no arrest. Psychiatric comorbidity increased the odds of crime. Youth with 3 or more diagnoses (16.0% of population) accounted for 54.1% of those reporting arrest for violent crime. Youth with at least 1 diagnosis committed 85.8% of crime, which was reduced to 67.9% by removing individuals with CD. Importantly, 88.2% of youth with mental illness reported never having committed any crime. Conclusion Our findings highlight the importance of improving access to mental health services for youthful offenders in community settings, given the substantial associations found between mental illness and crime in this nationally representative epidemiological sample

Advection, diffusion and delivery over a network

Many biological, geophysical and technological systems involve the transport of resource over a network. In this paper we present an algorithm for calculating the exact concentration of resource at any point in space or time, given that the resource in the network is lost or delivered out of the network at a given rate, while being subject to advection and diffusion. We consider the implications of advection, diffusion and delivery for simple models of glucose delivery through a vascular network, and conclude that in certain circumstances, increasing the volume of blood and the number of glucose transporters can actually decrease the total rate of glucose delivery. We also consider the case of empirically determined fungal networks, and analyze the distribution of resource that emerges as such networks grow over time. Fungal growth involves the expansion of fluid filled vessels, which necessarily involves the movement of fluid. In three empirically determined fungal networks we found that the minimum currents consistent with the observed growth would effectively transport resource throughout the network over the time-scale of growth. This suggests that in foraging fungi, the active transport mechanisms observed in the growing tips may not be required for long range transport.Comment: 54 pages including appendix, 10 figure

Descriptive Analysis of Common Functional Limitations Identified by Patients with Shoulder Pain

Context: Recent establishment of G-codes by the US government requires therapists to report function limitations at initial evaluation. Limited information exists specific to the most common limitations in patients with shoulder pain. Objective: To describe the most commonly expressed shoulder limitations with activities and their severity/level of impairment from a patient’s perspective on the initial evaluation. Design: Descriptive. Setting: Patients reporting pain with overhead activity and seeking medical attention from one orthopedic surgeon were recruited as part of a cohort study. Patients: 176 with shoulder superior labral tear from anterior to posterior (SLAP), subacromial impingement, combined SLAP and rotator cuff, and nonspecific (female = 53, age = 41 ± 13 y; male = 123, age = 41 ± 12 y). Interventions: Data were obtained on the initial visit from the Patient-Specific Functional Scale (PSFS) questionnaire. Three researchers extracted meaningful concepts from the PSFS and linked them to the International Classification of Functioning (ICF) categories according to established ICF linking rules. Results: 176 participants yielded 765 meaningful concepts that were linked to the ICF with a 66% agreement between researchers before consensus. There were no differences between diagnoses. Of all patients, 88% reported functional limitations coded into meaningful concepts as represented by 10 ICF codes; 634 (83%) meaningful concepts were linked to the activities and participation domain while 129 (17%) were linked to the body function domain. Only 2 reported functional limitations that were considered nondefinable (nd). The overall average initial impairment score on the PSFS = 4 ± 2.5 out of 10 points. Conclusion: Meaningful concepts from the activities and participation domain were most commonly identified as functional limitations and were more prevalent than limitations from the body function domain. This information helps identify some of the most common limitations in patients with shoulder pain that therapists can use to efficiently document patient functional impairment

Role of circulating polyunsaturated fatty acids on cardiovascular diseases risk:analysis using Mendelian randomization and fatty acid genetic association data from over 114,000 UK Biobank participants

BACKGROUND: Despite early interest in the health effects of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), there is still substantial controversy and uncertainty on the evidence linking PUFA to cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). We investigated the effect of plasma concentration of omega-3 PUFA (i.e. docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and total omega-3 PUFA) and omega-6 PUFA (i.e. linoleic acid and total omega-6 PUFA) on the risk of CVDs using Mendelian randomization. METHODS: We conducted the largest genome-wide association study (GWAS) of circulating PUFA to date including a sample of 114,999 individuals and incorporated these data in a two-sample Mendelian randomization framework to investigate the involvement of circulating PUFA on a wide range of CVDs in up to 1,153,768 individuals of European ancestry (i.e. coronary artery disease, ischemic stroke, haemorrhagic stroke, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, peripheral arterial disease, aortic aneurysm, venous thromboembolism and aortic valve stenosis). RESULTS: GWAS identified between 46 and 64 SNPs for the four PUFA traits, explaining 4.8–7.9% of circulating PUFA variance and with mean F statistics >100. Higher genetically predicted DHA (and total omega-3 fatty acids) concentration was related to higher risk of some cardiovascular endpoints; however, these findings did not pass our criteria for multiple testing correction and were attenuated when accounting for LDL-cholesterol through multivariable Mendelian randomization or excluding SNPs in the vicinity of the FADS locus. Estimates for the relation between higher genetically predicted linoleic acid (and total omega-6) concentration were inconsistent across different cardiovascular endpoints and Mendelian randomization methods. There was weak evidence of higher genetically predicted linoleic acid being related to lower risk of ischemic stroke and peripheral artery disease when accounting by LDL-cholesterol. CONCLUSIONS: We have conducted the largest GWAS of circulating PUFA to date and the most comprehensive Mendelian randomization analyses. Overall, our Mendelian randomization findings do not support a protective role of circulating PUFA concentration on the risk of CVDs. However, horizontal pleiotropy via lipoprotein-related traits could be a key source of bias in our analyses. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12916-022-02399-w

Chandra Detections of Two Quiescent Black Hole X-Ray Transients

Using the Chandra X-ray Observatory, we have detected the black hole transients V4641 Sgr and XTE J1859+226 in their low luminosity, quiescent states. The 0.3-8 keV luminosities are (4.0^(+3.3)_(-2.4))E31 (d/7 kpc)^2 erg/s and (4.2^(+4.8)_(-2.2))E31 (d/11 kpc)^2 erg/s for V4641 Sgr and XTE J1859+226, respectively. With the addition of these 2 systems, 14 out of the 15 transients with confirmed black holes (via compact object mass measurements) now have measured quiescent luminosities or sensitive upper limits. The only exception is GRS 1915+105, which has not been in quiescence since its discovery in 1992. The luminosities for V4641 Sgr and XTE J1859+226 are consistent with the median luminosity of 2E31 erg/s for the systems with previous detections. Our analysis suggests that the quiescent X-ray spectrum of V4641 Sgr is harder than for the other systems in this group, but, due to the low statistical quality of the spectrum, it is not clear if V4641 Sgr is intrinsically hard or if the column density is higher than the interstellar value. Focusing on V4641 Sgr, we compare our results to theoretical models for X-ray emission from black holes in quiescence. Also, we obtain precise X-ray positions for V4641 Sgr and XTE J1859+226 via cross-correlation of the X-ray sources detected near our targets with IR sources in the 2 Micron All-Sky Survey catalog.Comment: 4 pages, Accepted by ApJ Letter