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Origin of the X-ray emission in blazars through multiwavelength polarization
No full textThe origin of the high-energy emission in astrophysical jets from black holes is a highly debated issue. This is particularly true for jets from supermassive black holes that are among the most powerful particle accelerators in the Universe. So far, the addition of new observations and new messengers have only managed to create more questions than answers. However, the newly available X-ray polarization observations promise to finally distinguish between emission models. We use extensive multiwavelength and polarization campaigns as well as state-of-the-art polarized spectral energy distribution models to attack this problem by focusing on two X-ray polarization observations of blazar BL Lacertae in flaring and quiescent γ-ray states. We find that regardless of the jet composition and underlying emission model, inverse-Compton scattering from relativistic electrons dominates at X-ray energies.This work was supported by JST, the establishment of university fellowships towards the creation of science technology innovation, Grant Number JPMJFS2129. D.B. acknowledge support from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Unions Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No. 771282. J.O.-S. acknowledges founding from the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN) Cap. U.1.01.01.01.009.http://arxiv.org/abs/2505.1360
X-Ray Polarimetric Observations of the Western Hotspot of Pictor A
No full textWe present the results of the analysis of a ∼2 Msec spectropolarimetric observation of the western hotspot (WHS) of the radio galaxy Pictor A. This is the brightest extragalactic radio source that allows us to carry out spatially resolved observations using the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) because its WHS is located at ∼250″ from the radio core. The Pictor A WHS can be detected with IXPE as a pointlike source, with very low contamination from the nuclear emission, and it is extremely polarized at both radio and optical frequencies, where its emission is well described as synchrotron radiation. We find no X-ray polarization for the Pictor A WHS. However, the derived upper limit allows us to set a first constraint on the radiative processes occurring therein, ruling out a simple synchrotron scenario where particles, with a random distribution of pitch angles, radiate in a uniform magnetic field. We also tested a scenario with a random magnetic field compressed along the jet direction.This investigation is supported by the NASA grant 80NSSC24K1763, awarded under the IXPE Cycle 1 observations. H.L.M. was supported in part by contract 80MSFC17C0012 from the Marshall Space Flight Center to MIT in support of the IXPE project. N.C. was funded by the project “SKYNET: Deep Learning for Astroparticle Physics”, PRIN 2022 (CUP: D53D23002610006), funded by the European Union—Next Generation EU, Missione 4 Componente 1. I.L. and A.P. were funded by the European Union ERC-2022-STG—BOOTES— 101076343. Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Council Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for themhttps://dx.doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/adcdf
Cloud Optical Thickness Retrievals Using Angle Invariant Attention Based Deep Learning Models
No full text2025 IEEE International Conference on Image Processing (ICIP), 14 - 17 September, Anchorage, AlaskaCloud Optical Thickness (COT) is a critical cloud property influencing Earth’s climate, weather, and radiation budget. Satellite radiance measurements enable global COT retrieval, but challenges like 3D cloud effects, viewing angles, and atmospheric interference must be addressed to ensure accurate estimation. Traditionally, the Independent Pixel Approximation (IPA) method, which treats individual pixels independently, has been used for COT estimation. However, IPA introduces significant bias due to its simplified assumptions. Recently, deep learning-based models have shown improved performance over IPA but lack robustness, as they are sensitive to variations in radiance intensity, distortions, and cloud shadows. These models also introduce substantial errors in COT estimation under different solar and viewing zenith angles. To address these challenges, we propose a novel angle-invariant, attention-based deep model called Cloud-Attention-Net with Angle Coding (CAAC). Our model leverages attention mechanisms and angle embeddings to account for satellite viewing geometry and 3D radiative transfer effects, enabling more accurate retrieval of COT. Additionally, our multi-angle training strategy ensures angle invariance. Through comprehensive experiments, we demonstrate that CAAC significantly outperforms existing state-of-the-art deep learning models, reducing cloud property retrieval errors by at least a factor of nine.This research is partially supported by grants from NSF 2238743 and NASA 80NSSC21M0027.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/1108469
The Role of Childhood Adversity and Social Drivers of Health in Subjective Cognitive Decline
No full textAmerican Public Health Association (APHA) 2024, Minneapolis, MN, September 2024Introduction: Cognitive health is influenced by a complex interplay of factors throughout the lifespan. Identifying childhood adversities and social needs can be important in mitigating subjective cognitive decline and promoting healthy aging. This study analyzes the role of social drivers of health on adverse childhood experiences and subjective cognitive decline. Methods: We conducted structural equation modeling on data from the 2023 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System to investigate the association among adverse childhood experiences, social drivers of health, and subjective cognitive decline in a sample of adults aged 45 years or older (n = 35,754).Results: In our study sample, 17.7% reported experiencing subjective cognitive decline within the past 12 months. Adverse childhood experiences were significantly associated with greater subjective cognitive decline (β = 0.136, P < .001). Adverse childhood experiences were negatively associated with both social drivers of health, perceived social support (β = -0.517, P < .001), and socioeconomic stability (β = -0.022, P = .047). However, greater perceived social support (β = -0.260, P < .001) and socioeconomic stability (β = -0.086, P < .001) reduced the effects of adverse childhood experiences on subjective cognitive decline. Conclusion: Adverse childhood experiences were significantly associated with subjective cognitive decline; however, this association was attenuated when mediated by perceived social support and socioeconomic stability. These findings can inform public health providers and policymakers to implement targeted interventions, such as promoting resilience, reinforcing nurturing parenting styles, strengthening community networks, and integrating behavioral health into primary care settings.https://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2025/25_0116.ht
An Interdisciplinary Review of Commonsense Reasoning and Intent Detection
No full textThis review explores recent advances in commonsense reasoning and intent detection, two key challenges in natural language understanding. We analyze 28 papers from ACL, EMNLP, and CHI (2020-2025), organizing them by methodology and application. Commonsense reasoning is reviewed across zero-shot learning, cultural adaptation, structured evaluation, and interactive contexts. Intent detection is examined through open-set models, generative formulations, clustering, and human-centered systems. By bridging insights from NLP and HCI, we highlight emerging trends toward more adaptive, multilingual, and context-aware models, and identify key gaps in grounding, generalization, and benchmark design.http://arxiv.org/abs/2506.1404
Complete genome sequences of Streptomyces phages HazuAndZazu and Tubberson
No full textBacteriophages HazuAndZazu and Tubberson, belonging to the BI1 and BC1 subclusters, are Caudoviricetes with a siphoviral morphology that infect Streptomyces species. They have GC contents of 59.5% and 71.5%, and genomes 55,823 and 39,028 bp long, respectively. Annotation of cluster BC phage Tubberson includes an immunity mechanism.This article was funded in part by a grant from the United States Department of State. The opinions, findings, and conclusions stated are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the United States Department of State.https://journals.asm.org/doi/full/10.1128/mra.00361-2
Is the $1 Billion for RFK Stadium a Good Bet for DC?
No full textWashington DC Council has been getting ready to vote on Mayor Muriel Bowser’s plan to redevelop the RFK Stadium and its adjacent land as the new home for the Washington Commanders football team, which will cost the city $1 billion. Sunil Dasgupta talked to the DC Policy Center Executive Director and longtime DC public finance economist Yasim Say if this was a fair deal? Music by Washington DC prog rock band, A Shrewdness of Apes.https://open.spotify.com/episode/7KgeDLfXP5UkywyMLsKOZ
Uncanny or Not? Perceptions of AI-Generated Faces in Autism
No full textAs artificial intelligence (AI) systems become increasingly sophisticated at generating synthetic human faces, understanding how these images are perceived across diverse populations is important. This study investigates how autistic individuals/individuals with autism perceive AI-generated faces, focusing on the uncanny valley effect. Using a qualitative approach, we analyzed discussions from the r/autism community on Reddit to explore how autistic participants/participants with autism describe their experiences with AI-generated faces and the uncanny valley phenomenon. The findings suggest that autistic people/people with autism may experience the uncanny valley differently, often reporting stronger discomfort with real human faces than with artificial ones. This research contributes to our understanding of visual perception in autism and has implications for the development of inclusive AI systems and assistive technologies.http://arxiv.org/abs/2507.0823
I Hate the News Jul 8
No full textThe weekly news analysis from I Hate Politics: Wrongly-imprisoned Baltimore man James Langhorne speaks to the difficulties of returning to society after 27 years in prison even as he is awarded $2.9 million. Maryland’s new 3 percent tech services tax started July 1 Montgomery county, Maryland, gas leaf blower ban went into effect July 1, but Gabe Albornoz, wants a 3-year fall season exemption for commercial landscapers. Councilmember Dawn Luedtke explains her “house party” bill. Music by Washington DC art-pop rock band, Catscan!https://open.spotify.com/episode/4TxSB6hSO0jIdsINLwa6J
Generalizable Metamaterials Design Techniques Inspire Efficient Mycelial Materials Inverse Design
No full textFungal mycelial materials can mimic numerous nonrenewable materials; they are even capable of outperforming certain materials at their own applications. Fungi’s versatility makes mock leather, bricks, wood, foam, meats, and many other products possible. That said, there is currently a critical need to develop efficient mycelial materials design techniques. In mycelial materials, and the wider field of biomaterials, design is primarily limited to costly forward techniques. New mycelial materials could be developed faster and cheaper with robust inverse design techniques, which are not currently used within the field. However, computational inverse design techniques will not be tractable unless clear and concrete design parameters are defined for fungi, derived from genotype and bulk phenotype characteristics. Through mycelial materials case studies and a comprehensive review of metamaterials design techniques, we identify three critical needs that must be addressed to implement computational inverse design in mycelial materials. These critical needs are the following: 1) heuristic search/optimization algorithms, 2) efficient mathematical modeling, and 3) dimensionality reduction techniques. Metamaterials researchers already use many of these computational techniques that can be adapted for mycelial materials inverse design. Then, we suggest mycelium-specific parameters as well as how to measure and use them. Ultimately, based on a review of metamaterials research and the current state of mycelial materials design, we synthesize a generalizable inverse design paradigm that can be applied to mycelial materials or related design fields.This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 2006190 and No. 2006189.https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsbiomaterials.4c0198