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Severely stigmatised skin neglected tropical diseases: a protocol for social science engagement
More than one billion people are affected by neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and many of these diseases are preventable. While the grouping of these conditions as NTDs has generated vast mapping, mass drug administration and surveillance programmes, there is growing evidence of gaps and weaknesses in purely biomedical approaches, and the need for responses that also recognise the social determinants of health. In order to unpack the social and political determinants of NTDs, it is important to view the problem from a social science perspective. Given this background, the Social Sciences for Severe Stigmatizing Skin Diseases (5S) Foundation has recently been established by the Centre for Global Health Research at Brighton and Sussex Medical School. The broad aim of the 5S Foundation is to incorporate social science perspectives in understanding and addressing the problems around three NTDs, namely, podoconiosis, mycetoma and scabies. This protocol paper sets out the aims and approaches of the 5S Foundation while activities such as research, public engagement, training and capacity building get underway
High-Redshift Galaxy Candidates at as Revealed by JWST Observations of WHL0137-08
JWST was designed to peer into the distant universe and study galaxies nearer
the beginning of time than previously. Here we report the discovery of 12
galaxy candidates observed 300-600 Myr after the Big Bang with photometric
redshifts between z ~ 8.5-13 measured using JWST NIRCam imaging of the galaxy
cluster WHL0137 observed in 8 filters spanning 0.8-5.0 m, plus 9 HST
filters spanning 0.4-1.7 m. Three of these candidates are gravitationally
lensed by the foreground galaxy cluster and have magnifications of . The remaining nine candidates are located in a second JWST NIRCam module,
centered ~29' from the cluster center, with expected magnifications of <~
1.1. Our sample of high-redshift candidates have observed F200W AB magnitudes
between 25.9 and 28.1 mag and intrinsic F200W AB magnitudes between 26.4 and
29.7 mag ( = -22.5 to -17). We find the stellar masses of these
galaxies are in the range = 8 - 9, and down to 7.5 for
the lensed galaxies. All are young with mass-weighted ages < 100 Myr, low dust
content < 0.15 mag, and high specific star formation rates sSFR ~10-50
Gyr for most. One z ~ 9 candidate is consistent with an age < 5 Myr and
a sSFR ~250 Gyr, as inferred from a strong F444W excess, implying
[OIII]+H-beta rest-frame equivalent width ~2000 Angstrom, although an older and
redder z~ 10 object is also allowed. Another z~9 candidate ID9356 is lensed
into an arc 2.6" long by the effects of strong gravitational lensing (~8),
and has at least two bright knots of unevenly distributed star formation. This
arc is the most spatially-resolved galaxy at z~9 known to date, revealing
structures ~30 pc across. Follow-up spectroscopy of WHL0137 with JWST/NIRSpec
is planned for later this year, which will validate some of these candidates
and study their physical properties in more detail.Comment: submitted to Ap
Two lensed star candidates at behind the galaxy cluster MACS J0647.7+7015
We report the discovery of two extremely magnified lensed star candidates
behind the galaxy cluster MACS J0647.7+7015, in recent multi-band James Webb
Space Telescope (JWST) NIRCam observations. The candidates are seen in a
previously known, dropout giant arc that straddles the
critical curve. The candidates lie near the expected critical curve position
but lack clear counter images on the other side of it, suggesting these are
possibly stars undergoing caustic crossings. We present revised lensing models
for the cluster, including multiply imaged galaxies newly identified in the
JWST data, and use them to estimate a background macro-magnification of at
least and at the positions of the two candidates,
respectively. With these values, we expect effective, caustic-crossing
magnifications of for the two star candidates. The Spectral Energy
Distributions (SEDs) of the two candidates match well spectra of B-type stars
with best-fit surface temperatures of K, and K,
respectively, and we show that such stars with masses M
and M, respectively, can become sufficiently magnified to
be observed. We briefly discuss other alternative explanations and conclude
these are likely lensed stars, but also acknowledge that the less magnified
candidate may instead be or reside in a star cluster. These star candidates
constitute the second highest-redshift examples to date after Earendel at
, establishing further the potential of studying extremely
magnified stars to high redshifts with the JWST. Planned visits including
NIRSpec observations will enable a more detailed view of the candidates already
in the near future.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables. Fixed Fig 3. comments are welcom
BUFFALO/Flashlights: Constraints on the abundance of lensed supergiant stars in the Spock galaxy at redshift 1
We present a constraint on the abundance of supergiant (SG) stars at redshift
z approx. 1, based on recent observations of a strongly lensed arc at this
redshift. First we derive a free-form model of MACS J0416.1-2403 using data
from the BUFFALO program. The new lens model is based on 72 multiply lensed
galaxies that produce 214 multiple images, making it the largest sample of
spectroscopically confirmed lensed galaxies on this cluster. The larger
coverage in BUFFALO allows us to measure the shear up to the outskirts of the
cluster, and extend the range of lensing constraints up to ~ 1 Mpc from the
central region, providing a mass estimate up to this radius. As an application,
we make predictions for the number of high-redshift multiply-lensed galaxies
detected in future observations with JWST. Then we focus on a previously known
lensed galaxy at z=1.0054, nicknamed Spock, which contains four previously
reported transients. We interpret these transients as microcaustic crossings of
SG stars and compute the probability of such events. Based on simplifications
regarding the stellar evolution, we find that microlensing (by stars in the
intracluster medium) of SG stars at z=1.0054 can fully explain these events.
The inferred abundance of SG stars is consistent with either (1) a number
density of stars with bolometric luminosities beyond the Humphreys-Davidson
(HD) limit (L ~ ) that is below 400 stars per sq. kpc,
or (2) the absence of stars beyond the HD limit but with a SG number density of
~ 9000 per sq. kpc for stars with luminosities between and
. This is equivalent to one SG star per 10x10 pc. We finally
make predictions for future observations with JWST's NIRcam. We find that in
observations made with the F200W filter that reach 29 mag AB, if cool red SG
stars exist at z~1 beyond the HD limit, they should be easily detected in this
arcComment: 24 pages & 18 figure
Reaching for the stars – JWST/NIRSpec spectroscopy of a lensed star candidate at z = 4.76
We present JWST/NIRSpec observations of a highly magnified star candidate at a photometric redshift of zphot ≃ 4.8, previously detected in JWST/NIRCam imaging of the strong lensing (SL) cluster MACS J0647+7015 (z = 0.591). The spectroscopic observation allows us to precisely measure the redshift of the host arc at zspec = 4.758 ± 0.004, and the star’s spectrum displays clear Lyman- and Balmer-breaks commensurate with this redshift. A fit to the spectrum suggests a B-type super-giant star of surface temperature K with either a redder F-type companion ( K) or significant dust attenuation (AV ≃ 0.82) along the line of sight. We also investigate the possibility that this object is a magnified young globular cluster rather than a single star. We show that the spectrum is in principle consistent with a star cluster, which could also accommodate the lack of flux variability between the two epochs. However, the lack of a counter image and the strong upper limit on the size of the object from lensing symmetry, r ≲ 0.5 pc, could indicate that this scenario is somewhat less likely – albeit not completely ruled out by the current data. The presented spectrum seen at a time when the Universe was only ∼1.2 Gyr old showcases the ability of JWST to study early stars through extreme lensing
Reaching for the stars -- JWST/NIRSpec spectroscopy of a lensed star candidate at
We present JWST/NIRSpec observations of a highly magnified star candidate at
a photometric redshift of , previously detected in
JWST/NIRCam imaging of the strong lensing (SL) cluster MACS J0647+7015
(). The spectroscopic observation allows us to precisely measure the
redshift of the host arc at , and the star's
spectrum displays clear Lyman- and Balmer-breaks commensurate with this
redshift. A fit to the spectrum suggests a B-type super-giant star of surface
temperature K with either a redder F-type
companion (K) or significant dust attenuation
() along the line of sight. We also investigate the possibility
that this object is a magnified young globular cluster rather than a single
star. We show that the spectrum is in principle consistent with a star cluster,
which could also accommodate the lack of flux variability between the two
epochs. However, the lack of a counter image and the strong upper limit on the
size of the object from lensing symmetry, pc, could indicate
that this scenario is somewhat less likely -- albeit not completely ruled out
by the current data. The presented spectrum seen at a time when the Universe
was only Gyr old showcases the ability of JWST to study early stars
through extreme lensing.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS letters. v2 updated to match the
published versio
Sweet taste pleasantness is modulated by morphine and naltrexone
Rodent models highlight the key role of µ-opioid receptor (MOR) signaling in palatable food consumption. In humans however, the effects of MOR stimulation on eating and food liking remain unclear. In a bidirectional psychopharmacological cross-over study, 49 healthy men underwent a sweet taste paradigm following double-blind administration of the MOR agonist morphine, placebo, and the opioid antagonist nalt rexone. We hypothesized that behaviors regulated by the endogenous MOR system would be enhanced by MOR agonism, and decreased by antagonism. The strongest drug effects were expected for the sweetest (high-calorie) sucrose solution, as reported in rodents. However, very sweet sucrose-water solutions are considered sickly and aversive by many people (called sweet dislikers). Since both sweet likers and dislikers were tested, we were able to assess whether MOR manipulations affect pleasantness ratings differently depending on both subjective and objective value. As hypothesized, MOR stimulation with morphine increased pleasantness of the sweetest of five sucrose solutions, without enhancing pleasantness of the lower-sucrose solutions. For opioid antagonism, an opposite pattern was observed for the sweetest drink only. This bidirectional effect of agonist and antagonist treatment is consistent with rodent findings that MOR manipulations most strongly affect the highest-calorie foods. Importantly, the observed drug effects on pleasantness of the sweetest drink did not differ between sweet likers and dislikers. We speculate that the MOR system promotes survival in part by increasing concordance between the objective (caloric) and subjective (hedonic) value of food stimuli, so that feeding behaviour becomes more focused on the richest food available
JWST reveals a possible galaxy merger in triply-lensed MACS0647JD
MACS0647JD is a triply-lensed galaxy originally discovered with
the Hubble Space Telescope. Here we report new JWST imaging, which clearly
resolves MACS0647JD as having two components that are either merging
galaxies or stellar complexes within a single galaxy. Both are very small, with
stellar masses and radii . The brighter
larger component "A" is intrinsically very blue (), likely due
to very recent star formation and no dust, and is spatially extended with an
effective radius . The smaller component "B" appears redder
(), likely because it is older () with mild dust
extinction (), and a smaller radius . We
identify galaxies with similar colors in a high-redshift simulation, finding
their star formation histories to be out of phase. With an estimated stellar
mass ratio of roughly 2:1 and physical projected separation ,
we may be witnessing a galaxy merger 400 million years after the Big Bang. We
also identify a candidate companion galaxy C away, likely
destined to merge with galaxies A and B. The combined light from galaxies A+B
is magnified by factors of 8, 5, and 2 in three lensed images JD1, 2, and
3 with F356W fluxes , , (AB mag 25.1, 25.6, 26.6).
MACS0647JD is significantly brighter than other galaxies recently discovered
at similar redshifts with JWST. Without magnification, it would have AB mag
27.3 (). With a high confidence level, we obtain a photometric
redshift of based on photometry measured in 6 NIRCam filters
spanning , out to rest-frame. JWST NIRSpec
observations planned for January 2023 will deliver a spectroscopic redshift and
a more detailed study of the physical properties of MACS0647JD.Comment: 27 pages, 14 figures, submitted to Natur
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