The First Brown Dwarf Discovered by the Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 Citizen Science Project

The Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) is a powerful tool for finding nearby brown dwarfs and searching for new planets in the outer solar system, especially with the incorporation of NEOWISE and NEOWISE-Reactivation data. So far, searches for brown dwarfs in WISE data have yet to take advantage of the full depth of the WISE images. To efficiently search this unexplored space via visual inspection, we have launched a new citizen science project, called "Backyard Worlds: Planet 9," which asks volunteers to examine short animations composed of difference images constructed from time-resolved WISE coadds. We report the discovery of the first new substellar object found by this project, WISEA J110125.95+540052.8, a T5.5 brown dwarf located approximately 34 pc from the Sun with a total proper motion of $\sim$0.7 as yr$^{-1}$. WISEA J110125.95+540052.8 has a WISE $W2$ magnitude of $W2=15.37 \pm 0.09$, this discovery demonstrates the ability of citizen scientists to identify moving objects via visual inspection that are 0.9 magnitudes fainter than the $W2$ single-exposure sensitivity, a threshold that has limited prior motion-based brown dwarf searches with WISE.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal Letter

Global Climate and Atmospheric Composition of the Ultra-Hot Jupiter WASP-103b from HST and Spitzer Phase Curve Observations

We present thermal phase curve measurements for the hot Jupiter WASP-103b observed with Hubble/WFC3 and Spitzer/IRAC. The phase curves have large amplitudes and negligible hotspot offsets, indicative of poor heat redistribution to the nightside. We fit the phase variation with a range of climate maps and find that a spherical harmonics model generally provides the best fit. The phase-resolved spectra are consistent with blackbodies in the WFC3 bandpass, with brightness temperatures ranging from $1880\pm40$ K on the nightside to $2930 \pm 40$ K on the dayside. The dayside spectrum has a significantly higher brightness temperature in the Spitzer bands, likely due to CO emission and a thermal inversion. The inversion is not present on the nightside. We retrieved the atmospheric composition and found the composition is moderately metal-enriched ($\mathrm{[M/H]} = 23^{+29}_{-13}\times$ solar) and the carbon-to-oxygen ratio is below 0.9 at $3\,\sigma$ confidence. In contrast to cooler hot Jupiters, we do not detect spectral features from water, which we attribute to partial H$_2$O dissociation. We compare the phase curves to 3D general circulation models and find magnetic drag effects are needed to match the data. We also compare the WASP-103b spectra to brown dwarfs and young directly imaged companions and find these objects have significantly larger water features, indicating that surface gravity and irradiation environment play an important role in shaping the spectra of hot Jupiters. These results highlight the 3D structure of exoplanet atmospheres and illustrate the importance of phase curve observations for understanding their complex chemistry and physics.Comment: 25 pages, 17 figures, 7 tables; accepted to A

The Science Case for an Extended Spitzer Mission

Although the final observations of the Spitzer Warm Mission are currently scheduled for March 2019, it can continue operations through the end of the decade with no loss of photometric precision. As we will show, there is a strong science case for extending the current Warm Mission to December 2020. Spitzer has already made major impacts in the fields of exoplanets (including microlensing events), characterizing near Earth objects, enhancing our knowledge of nearby stars and brown dwarfs, understanding the properties and structure of our Milky Way galaxy, and deep wide-field extragalactic surveys to study galaxy birth and evolution. By extending Spitzer through 2020, it can continue to make ground-breaking discoveries in those fields, and provide crucial support to the NASA flagship missions JWST and WFIRST, as well as the upcoming TESS mission, and it will complement ground-based observations by LSST and the new large telescopes of the next decade. This scientific program addresses NASA's Science Mission Directive's objectives in astrophysics, which include discovering how the universe works, exploring how it began and evolved, and searching for life on planets around other stars.Comment: 75 pages. See page 3 for Table of Contents and page 4 for Executive Summar

Protoplanetary Disk Science Enabled by Extremely Large Telescopes

The processes that transform gas and dust in circumstellar disks into diverse exoplanets remain poorly understood. One key pathway is to study exoplanets as they form in their young (∼few~Myr) natal disks. Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs) such as GMT, TMT, or ELT, can be used to establish the initial chemical conditions, locations, and timescales of planet formation, via (1)~measuring the physical and chemical conditions in protoplanetary disks using infrared spectroscopy and (2)~studying planet-disk interactions using imaging and spectro-astrometry. Our current knowledge is based on a limited sample of targets, representing the brightest, most extreme cases, and thus almost certainly represents an incomplete understanding. ELTs will play a transformational role in this arena, thanks to the high spatial and spectral resolution data they will deliver. We recommend a key science program to conduct a volume-limited survey of high-resolution spectroscopy and high-contrast imaging of the nearest protoplanetary disks that would result in an unbiased, holistic picture of planet formation as it occurs

Substance Use In Pregnancy: Impacts of State Policies on Maternal and Child Outcomes

Date of Presentation: October 5th, 2023 Presented by: Laura J. Faherty, MD, MPH, MSHP Senior Physician Policy Researcher | RAND Corporation Professor of Policy Analysis | Pardee RAND Graduate School Associate Director, Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital Scholars Academy | Maine Medical Center Assistant Professor of Pediatrics | Tufts University School of Medicine CME available for 1 year after presentation CME Text Code: 84199https://knowledgeconnection.mainehealth.org/pediatrics_gr/1031/thumbnail.jp

New prescription fills of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Los Angeles County, California

OBJECTIVE: This study examined whether the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with changes in new selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) prescription fills. METHODS: Using IQVIA Xponent data on new SSRI fills in Los Angeles (L.A.) County from March 2019 to June 2021, the authors implemented an interrupted time series analysis comparing the monthly volume and trend of overall fills and fills by age and gender from before to after the pandemic declaration. RESULTS: The rate of new SSRI prescription fills briefly decreased after the pandemic declaration but then consistently increased through the rest of the study period. These increases were primarily driven by women, young adults (i.e., 18-39 year-olds), and those under 18 years old. LIMITATIONS: Sample is limited to one county and may not be generalizable to other municipalities. CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with significant increases in new SSRI fills among women, young adults, and those under 18. These increases were relatively small compared to increases in depressive symptoms during the same time period

Consensus Guidelines and State Policies: The Gap Between Principle and Practice at the Intersection of Substance Use and Pregnancy.

The opioid crisis has had a substantial effect on women who are pregnant and parenting, focusing both public health and policymaker attention on opioids and on other substance use in pregnancy and postpartum. There is overwhelming consensus on the principle of a non-punitive approach towards substance use in pregnancy. Experts universally endorse supportive policies, which reduce barriers to care, and oppose punitive policies, which can increase the fear of legal penalties, discouraging women from seeking prenatal care and addiction treatment during pregnancy. We review the change over time in state-level policy environments around substance use in pregnancy and contrast the policy response with the principles and guidance from professional societies and federal agencies. Between 2000 and 2015, more states adopted punitive policies than supportive policies, in direct contrast with guidance from professional societies and federal agencies. The increase in punitive policies over the past two decades suggests that the gap between principles and practice is widening. Furthermore, the increase in punitive policies is occurring in the context of significant structural barriers to comprehensive health care across the woman's entire life course, a growing awareness of racial and ethnic inequities in maternal morbidity and mortality, and increasing restrictions at the state level on abortion access. Women with substance use disorder (SUD) need comprehensive, coordinated, evidence-based, trauma-informed, family-centered care. This care should be delivered in a compassionate and non-punitive environment, and clinicians, policymakers, and public health officials all have a role to play in achieving this goal

Trends in 2-1-1 Calls During Public Health Emergencies, Overall and By Gender: Hurricane Irma and COVID-19 in Broward County, Florida

Trends in 2-1-1 calls reflect evolving community needs during public health emergencies (PHEs). The study examined how changes in 2-1-1 call volume after 2 PHEs (Hurricane Irma and the coronavirus disease 2019 [COVID-19] pandemic declaration) in Broward County, Florida, varied by PHE type and whether variations differed by gender and over time. Examining 2-1-1 calls during June to December 2016, June to December 2017, and March 2019 to April 2021, this study measured changes in call volume post-PHEs using interrupted time series analysis. Hurricane Irma and the COVID-19 pandemic were associated with increases in call volume (+81 calls/d and +84 calls/d, respectively). Stratified by gender, these PHEs were associated with larger absolute increases for women (+66 and +57 calls/d vs +15 and +27 calls/d for men) but larger percent increases above their baseline for men (+143% and +174% vs +119% and +138% for women). Calls by women remained elevated longer after Hurricane Irma (5 wk vs 1 wk), but the opposite pattern was observed after the pandemic declaration (8 vs 21 wk). PHEs reduce gender differences in help-seeking around health-related social needs. Findings demonstrate the utility of 2-1-1 call data for monitoring and responding to evolving community needs in the PHE context