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Modelling the evolution and influence of dust in cosmological simulations that include the cold phase of the interstellar medium
No full textWhile marginal in mass terms, dust grains play an outsized role in both the physics and observation of the interstellar medium (ISM). However, explicit modelling of this ISM constituent remains uncommon in large cosmological simulations. In this work, we present a model for the life-cycle of dust in the ISM that couples to the forthcoming COLIBRE galaxy formation model, which explicitly simulates the cold ISM. We follow six distinct grain types: three chemical species, including carbon and two silicate grains, with two size bins each. Our dust model accounts for seeding of grains from stellar ejecta, self-consistent element-by-element metal yields and growth by accretion, grain size transfer (shattering and coagulation) and destruction of dust by thermal sputtering in the ISM. We detail the calibration of this model, particularly the use of a clumping factor, to account for unresolved gas clouds in which dust readily evolves. We present a fiducial run in a 25 cMpc cosmological volume that displays good agreement with observations of the cosmic evolution of dust density, as well as the galaxy dust mass function and dust scaling relations. We highlight known tensions between observational data sets of the dust-to-gas ratio as a function of metallicity depending on which metallicity calibrator is used; our model favours higher normalization metallicity calibrators, which agree with the observations within 0.1 dex for stellar masses . We compare the grain size distribution to observations of local galaxies, and find that our simulation suggests a higher concentration of small grains, associated with more diffuse ISM and the warm-neutral medium, which both play a key role in boosting H content. Putting these results and modelling approaches in context, we set the stage for upcoming insights into the dusty ISM of galaxies using the COLIBRE simulations
Dietary DNA Metabarcoding From Animal Fecal Samples
No full textFecal DNA metabarcoding is a powerful tool for examining animal diets with unprecedented resolution, offering insights into ecological patterns shaped by trophic interactions. As a result, dietary metabarcoding has become widely applied across ecology, evolution, behavior, and conservation. This article provides a practical guide to the key steps involved in metabarcoding animal fecal samples, from field collection and storage through to laboratory processes, such as DNA extraction, PCR amplification, and sequencing library preparation. It also outlines a bioinformatics workflow using the open‐source QIIME2 platform to filter, error‐correct, and assign taxonomy to dietary DNA sequences. We present key considerations for study design, highlighting potential caveats and limitations to enable researchers to make informed methodological choices. In addition, we offer guidance on the statistical analysis of diet data, including generalized linear models, multivariate analyses, and network analyses. © 2026 The Author(s). Current Protocols published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. Basic Protocol 1: Metabarcoding library preparation of animal fecal dietary DNA for Illumina MiSeq sequencing Support Protocol 1: Making a SpeedBeads solution Support Protocol 2: Calibrating the SpeedBeads solution Basic Protocol 2: QIIME2 bioinformatics workflow for metabarcoded dietary DN
Name your enemy: Lysias the metic vs the social network of power
No full textThe speech Against Eratosthenes was composed for a private case in which Lysias sought retribution for the killing of his brother Polemarchus at the hands of the Thirty. Eratosthenes, Lysias’ target, belonged to the moderate faction of the regime at the time of the events, but was one of the two surviving members who had remained in Athens, where he was not particularly unpopular. Lysias thus needed to portray the Thirty as a close-knit, corporative group whose members were all to be held responsible and liable for collective crimes. In this connection, a striking feature of this speech is the high number and frequency of personal names. The high density of prosoponyms contributes to painting a vivid picture of the events and their context. In particular, the large cast of villains portrays the oligarchs as an extended but well-defined social network, cornering Lysias into a position of isolation. Theramenes, their mastermind, is in turn portrayed as a well-connected but ultimately solitary villain—the mirror image of the persecuted metic
Replicating the unconscious working memory effect: a multisite Registered Report
No full textAlthough in recent years some studies have found evidence suggesting that working memory (WM) may operate on unconscious perceptual contents, decisive demonstrations of the existence of unconscious WM are lacking. In the present Registered Report, we replicate the first study on this topic by Soto et al. (Working memory without consciousness. Curr Biol 2011;21:R912–3.): a visual discrimination task asking participants to report the direction in which a subliminal Gabor grating was rotated after a 2-s delay. We acquired a multisite sample from 19 laboratories, with a larger number of participants (N = 531) and trials (720 in two sessions) than those typically used in previous studies. As a result, a large-sample, international, and open-access dataset is now available for researchers and future analyses. Furthermore, some minimal baseline requirements were guaranteed for the experimental task (i.e. number of valid trials, motivation, and consistent labels for the Perceptual Awareness Scale). The results showed (1) above-chance WM performance in cue-present trials reported as unseen (.55 accuracy), (2) a significant positive correlation between WM performance and cue detection sensitivity (r = .228), and (3) a significant above-chance intercept in the regression of performance on sensitivity (β0 = .521). These findings suggest that WM can operate on unconscious representations, although it remains positively associated with perceptual sensitivity. Crucially, because measurement error could compromise the interpretation of these three results, we provide evidence for our measures’ excellent reliability and, more fundamentally, for their validity
National Estimates of Subjective Wellbeing in the UK Using the Personal Wellbeing Index
Get PDFThis paper presents the first estimates of subjective wellbeing in the UK population using the Personal Wellbeing Index (PWI) on a probability sample. The PWI’s generality and simplicity make it a promising tool for measuring subjective wellbeing (SWB) cross-culturally and among sub-groups. We used a mixed online and phone survey of a weighted probability sample of 2067 participants to estimate the mean PWI scores in the UK. The findings confirmed the PWI’s psychometric properties. The mean PWI was 68.66 percentage points (pp). The score was lower than other western industrialised countries and just outside the range predicted by the homeostatic theory of SWB. The relatively low score was partly due to low mean scores in domains that failed to contribute much unique variance, so we recommend use of a short-form version of the PWI in the UK. The mean PWI score, even in a short form version, however, was low largely because the achieving in life domain was relatively low. A range of sub-group differences in mean PWI scores were explored. There were few differences by geography, gender and ethnicity. Significant differences by age, socioeconomic status, relationship status, autistic spectrum disorder and disability were identified. The mean PWI scores for both the entire sample and by sub-groups were consistent with mean general life satisfaction scores but with the advantage that differences by domains could be identified. The findings give researchers using the PWI in the UK normative scores they can use to benchmarks their findings against
Exploring the quasar disc–wind–jet connection with LoTSS and SDSS
Get PDFWe investigate the relationship between disc winds, radio jets, accretion rates, and black hole masses of a sample of 100 k quasars at z 2. Combining spectra from the 17th data release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) with radio fluxes from the 2nd data release of the Low Frequency ARray (LOFAR) Two-Meter Sky Survey (LoTSS), we statistically characterize a radio-loud and radio-quiet population using a two-component Gaussian Mixture model, and perform population matching in black hole mass and Eddington fraction. We determine how the fraction of radio-loud sources changes across this parameter space, finding that jets are most efficiently produced in quasars with either a very massive central black hole () or one that is rapidly accreting (). We also show that there are differences in the blueshift of the 1549 Å line and the equivalent width of the 1640 Å line in radio loud and radio-quiet quasars that persist even after accounting for differences in the mass and accretion rate of the central black hole. Generally, we find an anticorrelation between the inferred presence of disc winds and jets, which we suggest is mediated by differences in the quasars’ spectral energy distributions. The latter result is shown through the close coupling between tracers of wind kinematics and the ionizing flux – which holds for both radio-loud and radio-quiet sources, despite differences between their emission line properties – and is hinted at by a different Baldwin effect in the two populations
Centring Tourettic Experiences in Technology: Tourette Syndrome, Median Nerve Stimulation, and the Role of Technoableism in Self-Harm and Stigma
Get PDFTourette Syndrome (TS) is commonly conceptualised as a neurological disorder that frequently has childhood onset, and is characterised by tics – impulsive vocalisations or movements such as twitches, coughs, grunts or fuller and more complex words, phrases and actions. Progress in the treatment of TS and other tic disorders has recently taken a significant pivot towards the consideration of wearable technological treatments – notably wearable health technology that allows for the self-administering of median nerve stimulation (MNS) in an attempt to minimise tourettic tics and premonitory urges. The need for further research into TS, TS treatments and service provision is high. However, this commentary seeks to employ a more nuanced consideration of published findings surrounding MNS more broadly speaking, raising important ethical questions surrounding safety, self-harm, stigma and the general safeguarding of the tourettic community in community-based treatment options for TS in relation to the concept of technoableism – the focus on cure rather than the centring of disabled people themselves. This commentary calls for a centring on the experiences of potential tourettic users of wearable MNS technologies, rather than on the cure and compliance to expected social norms
Chronic intestinal immune activation reveals separable impacts of inflammation and barrier loss on hallmarks of ageing
Get PDFInflammaging is considered a driver of age-associated pathology across tissues. Similarly, intestinal permeability is a feature of ageing and underlies a range of inflammatory and age-related diseases. Increased intestinal permeability has been described as both a cause and a consequence of inflammation. Both intestinal permeability and inflammation are closely associated with microbial dysbiosis, epithelial dysplasia and mortality but dissecting the complex interplay between these phenotypes remains challenging. Here we genetically induce intestinal immune activation in Drosophila and stratify animals by their intestinal barrier status using the Smurf assay. We demonstrate that intestinal barrier failure has a distinct impact on the microbiota. Further, immune activation, both within the intestine and systemically, drives intestinal barrier failure and mortality even in the absence of the microbiota. Importantly, immune-induced intestinal barrier failure takes time to develop and is closely associated with the onset of mortality. Our work adds to building evidence that the impact of intestinal permeability on the microbiota and on animal health needs to be considered independently of its relationship with inflammation
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