Digital Commons Network^™

Correction To: Polygenic Effects On The Risk Of Alzheimer’S Disease In The Japanese Population (Alzheimer's Research & Therapy, (2024), 16, 1, (45), 10.1186/S13195-024-01414-X), Masataka Kikuchi, Akinori Miyashita, Norikazu Hara, Kensaku Kasuga, Yuko Saito, Shigeo Murayama, Akiyoshi Kakita, Hiroyasu Akatsu, Kouichi Ozaki, Shumpei Niida, Ryozo Kuwano, Takeshi Iwatsubo, Akihiro Nakaya, Takeshi Ikeuchi, Michael W. Weiner, Sara S. Mason, Colleen S. Albers, David Knopman, Kris Johnson, Paul Aisen, Ronald Petersen, Clifford R. Jack, William Jagust, John Q. Trojanowki, Arthur W. Toga, Lon S. Schneider, Sonia Pawluczyk, Mauricio Beccera, Liberty Teodoro, Bryan M. Spann, Laurel Beckett, Robert C. Green, John Morris, Leslie M. Shaw

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

Following publication of the original article [1], the authors corrected an error in Fig. 2. (Figure presented.) The PRS.noAPOE and PRS.adjLD correlated with CSF Tau/Aβ42 ratios in the MCI. CSF tTau/Aβ42 (A, C) and pTau/Aβ42 (B, D) ratios by decile of PRS are shown in each diagnostic group. The participants were divided into ten groups based on the PRS.noAPOE, ranging from the lowest group (1st decile) to the highest group (10th decile). CN = cognitively normal; MCI = mild cognitive impairment; ADD = Alzheimer’s disease dementia Error: Figs. 2C and D are the same figures as Figs. 2A and B …

Sex Differences In Interacting Genetic And Functional Connectivity Biomarkers In Alzheimer’S Disease, Jordan N. Williamson, Shirley A. James, Sean P. Mullen, Bradley P. Sutton, Tracey Wszalek, Beni Mulyana, Peter Mukli, Andriy Yabluchanskiy, Balebail Ashok Raj, Kristin Fargher, Amanda Smith, Lisa Raudin, Gloria Chaing, Norman Relkin, Karen Elizabeth Smith, Hyungsub Shim, Laura L.Boles Ponto, Susan K. Schultz, Antero Sarrael, Raymundo Hernando, Nunzio Pomara, Dick Drost, Andrew Kertesz, John Rogers, Irina Rachinsky, Stephen Pasternak, Elizabether Finger, David Bachman, Kenneth Spicer, Jacobo Mintzer, Bruce L. Miller, Howard J. Rosen, Stephen Correia, Paul Malloy

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

As of 2023, it is estimated that 6.7 million individuals in the United States live with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Prior research indicates that AD disproportionality affects females; females have a greater incidence rate, perform worse on a variety of neuropsychological tasks, and have greater total brain atrophy. Recent research shows that hippocampal functional connectivity differs by sex and may be related to the observed sex differences in AD, and apolipoprotein E (ApoE) ε4 carriers have reduced hippocampal functional connectivity. The purpose of this study was to determine if the ApoE genotype plays a role in the observed sex differences in …

Cerebrovascular Markers Of Wmh And Infarcts In Adni: A Historical Perspective And Future Directions, Pauline Maillard, Evan Fletcher, Owen Carmichael, Christopher Schwarz, Stephan Seiler, Charles Decarli

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

White matter hyperintensities (WMH) and infarcts found on magnetic resonance imaging (MR infarcts) are common biomarkers of cerebrovascular disease. In this review, we summarize the methods, publications, and conclusions stemming from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) related to these measures. We combine analysis of WMH and MR infarct data from across the three main ADNI cohorts with a review of existing literature discussing new methodologies and scientific findings derived from these data. Although ADNI inclusion criteria were designed to minimize vascular risk factors and disease, data across all the ADNI cohorts found consistent trends of increasing WMH volumes associated …

Blood And Mri Biomarkers Of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury In Non-Concussed Collegiate Football Players, Eunhan Cho, Joshua Granger, Bailey Theall, Nathan Lemoine, Derek Calvert, Jack Marucci, Shelly Mullenix, Hollis O’Neal, Tomas Jacome, Brian A. Irving, Neil M. Johannsen, Owen Carmichael, Guillaume Spielmann

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

Football has one of the highest incidence rates of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) among contact sports; however, the effects of repeated sub-concussive head impacts on brain structure and function remain under-studied. We assessed the association between biomarkers of mTBI and structural and functional MRI scans over an entire season among non-concussed NCAA Division I linemen and non-linemen. Concentrations of S100B, GFAP, BDNF, NFL, and NSE were assessed in 48 collegiate football players (32 linemen; 16 non-linemen) before the start of pre-season training (pre-camp), at the end of pre-season training (pre-season), and at the end of the competitive season (post-season). …

Evidence For A Shock-Compressed Magnetic Field In The Northwestern Rim Of Vela Jr. From X-Ray Polarimetry, Dmitry A. Prokhorov, Yi Jung Yang, Riccardo Ferrazzoli, Jacco Vink, Patrick Slane, Enrico Costa, Stefano Silvestri, Ping Zhou, Niccolò Bucciantini, Alessandro Di Marco, Martin C. Weisskopf, Luca Baldini, Victor Doroshenko, Steven R. Ehlert, Jeremy Heyl, Philip Kaaret, Dawoon E. Kim, Frédéric Marin, Tsunefumi Mizuno, Chi Yung Ng, Melissa Pesce-Rollins, Carmelo Sgrò, Paolo Soffitta, Douglas A. Swartz, Toru Tamagawa, Fei Xie, Iván Agudo, Lucio A. Antonelli, Matteo Bachetti, Wayne H. Baumgartner, Ronaldo Bellazzini, Stefano Bianchi, Stephen D. Bongiorno

Faculty Publications

Synchrotron X-ray emission has been detected from nearly a dozen young supernova remnants (SNRs). X-rays of synchrotron origin exhibit linear polarization in a regular, non-randomly oriented magnetic field. The significant polarized X-ray emission from four such SNRs has already been reported on the basis of observations with the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE). The magnetic-field structure as derived from IXPE observations is radial for Cassiopeia A, Tycho's SNR, and SN 1006, and tangential for RX J1713.7-3946. The latter together with the recent detection of a tangential magnetic field in SNR 1E 0102.2-7219 by the Australia Telescope Compact Array in the …

Identification And Expression Analysis Of Phosphate Transporter 1 (Pht1) Genes In The Highly Phosphorus-Use-Efficient Hakea Prostrata (Proteaceae), Benjamin J. Nestor, Toby Bird, Anita A. Severn-Ellis, Philipp E. Bayer, Kosala Ranathunge, M. Asaduzzaman Prodhan, Maheshi Dassanayake, Jacqueline Batley, David Edwards, Hans Lambers, Patrick M. Finnegan

Faculty Publications

Heavy and costly use of phosphorus (P) fertiliser is often needed to achieve high crop yields, but only a small amount of applied P fertiliser is available to most crop plants. Hakea prostrata (Proteaceae) is endemic to the P-impoverished landscape of southwest Australia and has several P-saving traits. We identified 16 members of the Phosphate Transporter 1 (PHT1) gene family (HpPHT1;1-HpPHT1;12d) in a long-read genome assembly of H. prostrata. Based on phylogenetics, sequence structure and expression patterns, we classified HpPHT1;1 as potentially involved in Pi uptake from soil and HpPHT1;8 and HpPHT1;9 as potentially involved in Pi uptake and root-to-shoot …

Management Strategies For Preventing And Recovering From Bermudagrass Winterkill, W. J. Hutchens, T. Q. Carr, A. J. Patton, C. A. Bigelow, E. J. Deboer, J. M. Goatley, D. L. Martin, D. S. Mccall, G. L. Miller, J. S. Powlen, M. D. Richardson, M. Xiang

Faculty Publications

Bermudagrass (Cynodon spp. Rich) is a warm-season grass that is widely planted throughout tropical, sub-tropical, and even temperate climates, and it generally requires fewer inputs than most cool-season turfgrasses. In recent years, the area of adaptation for bermudagrass has progressively expanded to cooler climates due to the development of more cold-tolerant cultivars. The expanded area of adaptation as well as the reduced inputs required to maintain healthy turfgrass have made bermudagrass a popular choice in areas of marginal adaptation. In these areas, the greatest threat to bermudagrass health and survivability is winterkill. This management guide seeks to describe winterkill: what …

Substituent Effects On The Photophysical Properties Of A Series Of 8(Meso)-Pyridyl-Bodipys: A Computational Analysis Of The Experimental Data †, Petia Bobadova-Parvanova, Dylan Goliber, Elijuah Hernandez, Daniel Lamaster, Maria Da Graça H. Vicente

Faculty Publications

Recently, a series of 8(meso)-pyridyl-BODIPYs (2-pyridyl, 3-pyridyl, and 4-pyridyl) and their 2,6-substituted derivatives were synthesized and their structure and photophysical properties were studied both experimentally and computationally. One of the main observed trends was that the 2-pyridyl-BODIPYs were consistently less fluorescent than their 3-pyridyl and 4-pyridyl analogs, regardless of the 2,6-substituents. Herein, we extend our previous computational studies and model not only the ground but also the excited states of the entire series of previously synthesized meso-pyridyl-BODIPYs with the aim of explaining the observed differences in the emission quantum yields. To better understand the trends and the effect of 2- …

Cgbi_Yolo: Lightweight Land Target Detection Network, Ruiyang Wang, Siyu Lu, Jiawei Tian, Lirong Yin, Lei Wang, Xiaobing Chen, Wenfeng Zheng

Faculty Publications

Object detection algorithms for optical remote sensing images often face challenges in computational efficiency, particularly when detecting small and densely packed targets. This paper introduces CGBi_YOLO, a novel lightweight land target detection network designed to optimize computational resource utilization while maintaining detection capabilities for small-scale targets. Our approach incorporates an innovative lightweight optimization strategy featuring a new lightweight backbone feature extraction network: CSPGhostNet. This model significantly enhances the detection ability of small objects within optical remote sensing images without increasing computational demands. The efficacy of the proposed model is validated through rigorous experimentation on the DOTA dataset. Compared to the …

Research Overview On Urban Heat Islands Driven By Computational Intelligence, Chao Liu, Siyu Lu, Jiawei Tian, Lirong Yin, Lei Wang, Wenfeng Zheng

Faculty Publications

In recent years, the intensification of the urban heat island (UHI) effect has become a significant concern as urbanization accelerates. This survey comprehensively explores the current status of surface UHI research, emphasizing the role of land use and land cover changes (LULC) in urban environments. We conducted a systematic review of 8260 journal articles from the Web of Science database, employing bibliometric analysis and keyword co-occurrence analysis using CiteSpace to identify research hotspots and trends. Our investigation reveals that vegetation cover and land use types are the two most critical factors influencing UHI intensity. We analyze various computational intelligence techniques, …

Cryo-Em Structure Of A Photosystem I Variant Containing An Unusual Plastoquinone Derivative In Its Electron Transfer Chain, Christopher J. Gisriel, Vasily Kurashov, David F. Iwig, Brandon P. Russell, David J. Vinyard, Gary W. Brudvig, John H. Golbeck, K. V. Lakshmi

Faculty Publications

Photosystem I (PS I) is a light-driven oxidoreductase responsible for converting photons into chemical bond energy. Its application for renewable energy was revolutionized by the creation of the MenB deletion (ΔmenB) variant in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, in which phylloquinone is replaced by plastoquinone-9 with a low binding affinity. This permits its exchange with exogenous quinones covalently coupled to dihydrogen catalysts that bind with high affinity, thereby converting PS I into a stable solar fuel catalyst. Here, we reveal the 2.03-Å-resolution cryo-EM structure of a recent MenB variant of PS I. The quinones and their binding environment are …

Metabolic Scaling, Energy Allocation Tradeoffs, And The Evolution Of Humans’ Unique Metabolism, Andrew K. Yegian, Steven B. Heymsfield, Eric R. Castillo, Manfred J. Müller, Leanne M. Redman, Daniel E. Lieberman

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

All organisms use limited energy to grow, survive, and reproduce, necessitating energy allocation tradeoffs, but there is debate over how selection impacted metabolic budgets and tradeoffs in primates, including humans. Here, we develop a method to compare metabolic rates as quotients of observed relative to expected values for mammals corrected for size, body composition, environmental temperature, and phylogenetic relatedness. Contrary to previous analyses, these quotients reveal that nonhuman primates have total metabolic rates expected for similar-sized mammals in similar environments. In addition, data from several small-scale societies show that humans evolved exceptionally high resting, activity, and total metabolic rates apparently …

Understanding Mechanisms For Coastal Marsh Sustainability In A Changing Climate, Ashley R. Booth

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In the Chenier Plain of Louisiana and Texas, coastal marshes are subject to high rates of relative sea level rise (RSLR), restricted sedimentation, and declining elevation attributed to subsidence and decades of intensive management. These marshes were created via mineral sedimentation but now largely accrete via organic matter accumulation. This organic matter accumulation (OMA) – or the balance between plant productivity and decomposition – is essential for maintaining elevation and thus long-term sustainability. However, management for elevation is complicated by a poor understanding of how abiotic factors like flooding and salinity impact processes driving OMA and elevation. To better understand …

Vision-Language Integration For Enhanced Locomotion Mode Prediction, Ehsan Ahmadi

LSU Master's Theses

Wearable exoskeletons offer significant potential in enhancing human mobility in industrial environments. However, their adaptability to dynamic, task-intensive settings presents challenges, especially in accurately predicting locomotion modes such as ladder climbing, stair navigation, low-space movement, and obstacle navigation. This research proposes a multimodal framework that integrates visual data and speech commands to improve locomotion mode prediction in unpredictable environments. Multimodal data was collected using smart glasses, capturing both the user’s perspective (field-of-view, FOV) and voice during locomotion tasks. State-of-the-art models—CLIP, ImageBind, and GPT-4o—process these visual and linguistic inputs to predict locomotion activities. The models were evaluated in zero-shot and fine-tuned …

Measuring And Modeling Grease Degradation, Alan Gurt

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Lubricating grease is an ideal lubricant for many devices such as roller bearings, journal bearings, slide bearings, gears, and many types of joints due to its simplicity. Once grease is put in place, it can often provide adequate lubrication for extended periods of time without the need for a complex supply system that would generally be needed for oil lubrication. However, during prolonged use, various degradation mechanisms change the physical and chemical properties of grease, possibly leading to inadequate performance and machinery failure.

In order to succinctly quantify the degradation of grease, it is essential to have robust, meaningful test …

Forensicllm: A Local Large Language Model For Digital Forensics, Binaya Sharma

LSU Master's Theses

Large Language Models (LLMs) excel in diverse natural language tasks but often lack specialization in fields like digital forensics. Their reliance on cloud-based APIs or high-performance computers restricts their use in resource-limited environments, and response hallucinations could compromise their applicability in forensic contexts. We introduce ForensicLLM, a 4-bit quantized LLaMA-3.1-8B model fine-tuned using Retrieval Augmented Fine-tuning (RAFT) on 6,739 Q&A samples extracted from 1,082 digital forensic research articles and curated digital artifacts. Evaluation on 2,244 Q&A samples showed that ForensicLLM outperformed the base LLaMA-3.1-8B model by 4.06%, 5.43%, and 15.79% on BERTScore F1, BGE-M3 cosine similarity, and G-Eval, respectively. Compared …

Effect Of Workload And Trust On Automation Levels In Human-Robot Collaboration, Abhiram Maddula

LSU Master's Theses

Automation is becoming increasingly common in manufacturing and assembly plants. The future lies in hybrid workspaces where the strengths of humans and robots complement each other, with robots excelling in precision, speed, and strength, and humans excelling in creativity, emotional intelligence, and complex decision-making. Collaborative robots can foster a more efficient and productive work environment by bridging the gap between human and machine capabilities. This study examines how semi-automated and automated modes impact human-robot collaboration, focusing on mental workload, trust, and task performance.

In this experiment, 58 participants performed a primary task alongside a collaborative robot assembling a miniature lamppost …

Des Rois Anglais Qui Parlent Français : Une Etude Sur La Situation Linguistique En Angleterre Après La Conquête Normande, Trent Dunkin

Tête à Tête: Journal of Francophone Studies

Prior to 1066, England was ruled by the Germanic speaking Anglo-Saxons. However, after the defeat of Harold II at the Battle of Hastings, William the Conqueror became King of England, ushering in a lengthy era in which English monarchs were primarily francophone. This article explores the linguistic situation in England before, during, and after the Norman Conquest of 1066. Specifically, this article looks at the Anglo-Norman dialect as a distinct Langue d’Oïl, focusing primarily on its phonetics, syntax, and orthography, using examples found in Laüstic and Chèvrefeuille, two lais written by Marie de France in the late 12 …

L’Insécurité Linguistique Et La Confiance De S’Identifier Comme Bilingue: Le Cas Des Élèves D’Immersion Française En Saskatchewan Au Canada, Olushola J. Adedeji, Michael Akinpelu

Tête à Tête: Journal of Francophone Studies

Les élèves d’immersion française partout au Canada ont le droit de s’identifier avec grande fierté et légitimité comme des bilingues (en anglais et français) canadiens. Pourtant, le niveau de fierté de s’identifier ainsi dépend largement de son niveau de confiance dans les deux langues. La présente étude examine les discours des élèves et des enseignants en immersion française pour dégager des idéologies linguistiques qui influent négativement sur la confiance des jeunes d’immersion française de se connaitre comme des bilingues. Les extraits de discours utilisés pour cette étude proviennent des données qualitatives et quantitatives collectées pour une thèse de doctorat (Auteur …

Short Communication: Numerically Simulated Time To Steady State Is Not A Reliable Measure Of Landscape Response Time, Nicole M. Gasparini, Adam M. Forte, Katherine R. Barnhart

Faculty Publications

Quantifying the timescales over which landscapes evolve is critical for understanding past and future environmental change. Computational landscape evolution models are one tool among many that have been used in this pursuit. We compare numerically modeled times to reach steady state for a landscape adjusting to an increase in rock uplift rate. We use three different numerical modeling libraries and explore the impact of time step, grid type, numerical method for solving the erosion equation, and metric for quantifying the time to steady state. We find that modeled time to steady state is impacted by all of these variables. Time …

Mapping Gender And Territory: The Continent Allegories On European World Maps From The Late Middle Ages To The Renaissance Until The Early Enlightenment, Katharina Eva Oehmichen

Comparative Woman

The four-part set of female continent allegories, which originated in the early Renaissance, was born out of a European need for a new vehicle of thought that served the functions of representing imperial expansion and the superiority of Western science and civilization, while gratifying the curiosity of the readers about newly discovered lands at the same time. The shift from the Christian symbolic tradition of the representation of the continents on world maps mirrored the shift in Western perception and knowledge of the world and Europe’s position in it. Apart from geo-political and imperial agendas that might have favored a …

Online Eye Tracking For Aphasia: A Feasibility Study Comparing Web And Lab Tracking And Implications For Clinical Use, Willem S. Van Boxtel, Michael Linge, Rylee Manning, Lily N. Haven, Jiyeon Lee

Faculty Publications

Background & Aims: Studies using eye-tracking methodology have made important contributions to the study of language disorders such as aphasia. Nevertheless, in clinical groups especially, eye-tracking studies often include small sample sizes, limiting the generalizability of reported findings. Online, webcam-based tracking offers a potential solution to this issue, but web-based tracking has not been compared with in-lab tracking in past studies and has never been attempted in groups with language impairments. Materials & Methods: Patients with post-stroke aphasia (n = 16) and age-matched controls (n = 16) completed identical sentence-picture matching tasks in the lab (using an EyeLink system) and …

In Silico And Functional Analysis Identifies Key Gene Networks And Novel Gene Candidates In Obesity-Linked Human Visceral Fat, Lijin Wang, Pratap Veerabrahma Seshachalam, Ruiming Chua, Hongwen Zhou, Sun Lei, Sujoy Ghosh

Division of Basic Science Faculty Publications

Objective: Visceral adiposity is associated with increased proinflammatory activity, insulin resistance, diabetes risk, and mortality rate. Numerous individual genes have been associated with obesity, but studies investigating gene regulatory networks in human visceral obesity have been lacking. Methods: We analyzed gene regulatory networks in human visceral adipose tissue (VAT) from 48 and 11 Chinese patients with and without obesity, respectively, using gene coexpression and gene regulatory network construction from RNA-sequencing data. We also conducted RNA interference-based functional tests on selected genes for effects on adipocyte differentiation. Results: A scale-free gene coexpression network was constructed from 360 differentially expressed genes between …

Metabolomic Fingerprints Of Medical Therapy Versus Bariatric Surgery In Patients With Obesity And Type 2 Diabetes: The Stampede Trial, Christopher L. Axelrod, Adithya Hari, Wagner S. Dantas, Sangeeta R. Kashyap, Philip R. Schauer, John P. Kirwan

Division of Basic Science Faculty Publications

Objective: Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) and sleeve gastrectomy (SG) are effective procedures to treat and manage type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, the underlying metabolic adaptations that mediate improvements in glucose homeostasis remain largely elusive. The purpose of this study was to identify metabolic signatures associated with biochemical resolution of T2D after medical therapy (MT) or bariatric surgery. Research Design and Methods: Plasma samples from 90 patients (age 49.9 ± 7.6 years; 57.7% female) randomly assigned to MT (n = 30), RYGB (n = 30), or SG (n = 30) were retrospectively subjected to untargeted metabolomic analysis using ultra performance liquid …

Validation Of The Quick Mild Cognitive Impairment Screen In An American Sample Of Patients With Mild Cognitive Impairment And Mild Dementia, Dariella A. Fernandez, Suzanne Schmitz, Heather Foil, Robert Brouillette, Jeffrey N. Keller, Robin C. Hilsabeck

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

Objective: Early detection of cognitive impairment is critical for patient outcomes, yet cognitive impairment is under identified in primary care settings largely due to time constraints. The Quick Mild Cognitive Impairment (Qmci) screen was developed to address the need for a short cognitive screening instrument (< 5 min) that is sensitive to early cognitive change but has not been validated in the United States (US). The objective of this study was to examine the classification accuracy of the Qmci in participants from two memory specialty (e.g., secondary outpatient) clinics in the US. Methods: Participants were 152 older adults: 87 participants were cognitively normal (CN), 48 were diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and 17 were diagnosed with mild dementia (DEM). Classification accuracy of the Qmci and Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) were compared in participants with and without cognitive impairment. Results: The Qmci demonstrated higher classification accuracy in differentiating CN from cognitively impaired participants (i.e., MCI and DEM) (AUC = 0.82) than the MMSE (AUC = 0.77). The optimal cut-off score for the Qmci was < 67, which achieved a sensitivity of 79% and specificity of 80%. The optimal MMSE cut-off score was < 27, which achieved a sensitivity of 97% and specificity of 43%. Conclusions: The Qmci is a valid cognitive screening instrument for detecting early stages of cognitive impairment in memory clinic samples in the US. Its short administration time and increased specificity for detecting MCI make it an attractive option for use in primary care settings. Further validation of the Qmci is needed, specifically within primary care settings.

Genomic Analysis Of Intracranial And Subcortical Brain Volumes Yields Polygenic Scores Accounting For Variation Across Ancestries, Luis M. García-Marín, Adrian I. Campos, Santiago Diaz-Torres, Jill A. Rabinowitz, Zuriel Ceja, Brittany L. Mitchell, Katrina L. Grasby, Jackson G. Thorp, Ingrid Agartz, Saud Alhusaini, David Ames, Philippe Amouyel, Ole A. Andreassen, Konstantinos Arfanakis, Alejandro Arias-Vasquez, Nicola J. Armstrong, Lavinia Athanasiu, Mark E. Bastin, Alexa S. Beiser, David A. Bennett, Joshua C. Bis, Marco P.M. Boks, Dorret I. Boomsma, Henry Brodaty, Rachel M. Brouwer, Jan K. Buitelaar, Ralph Burkhardt, Wiepke Cahn, Vince D. Calhoun, Owen T. Carmichael, Mallar Chakravarty, Qiang Chen, Christopher R.K. Ching, Sven Cichon

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

Subcortical brain structures are involved in developmental, psychiatric and neurological disorders. Here we performed genome-wide association studies meta-analyses of intracranial and nine subcortical brain volumes (brainstem, caudate nucleus, putamen, hippocampus, globus pallidus, thalamus, nucleus accumbens, amygdala and the ventral diencephalon) in 74,898 participants of European ancestry. We identified 254 independent loci associated with these brain volumes, explaining up to 35% of phenotypic variance. We observed gene expression in specific neural cell types across differentiation time points, including genes involved in intracellular signaling and brain aging-related processes. Polygenic scores for brain volumes showed predictive ability when applied to individuals of diverse …

Studying Geometry Of The Ultraluminous X-Ray Pulsar Swift J0243.6+6124 Using X-Ray And Optical Polarimetry, Juri Poutanen, Sergey S. Tsygankov, Victor Doroshenko, Sofia V. Forsblom, Peter Jenke, Philip Kaaret, Andrei V. Berdyugin, Dmitry Blinov, Vadim Kravtsov, Ioannis Liodakis, Anastasia Tzouvanou, Alessandro Di Marco, Jeremy Heyl, Fabio La Monaca, Alexander A. Mushtukov, George G. Pavlov, Alexander Salganik, Alexandra Veledina, Martin C. Weisskopf, Silvia Zane, Vladislav Loktev, Valery F. Suleimanov, Colleen Wilson-Hodge, Svetlana V. Berdyugina, Masato Kagitani, Vilppu Piirola, Takeshi Sakanoi, Iván Agudo, Lucio A. Antonelli, Matteo Bachetti, Luca Baldini, Wayne H. Baumgartner, Ronaldo Bellazzini

Faculty Publications

Discovery of pulsations from a number of ultra-luminous X-ray (ULX) sources proved that accretion onto neutron stars can produce luminosities exceeding the Eddington limit by several orders of magnitude. The conditions necessary to achieve such high luminosities as well as the exact geometry of the accretion flow in the neutron star vicinity are, however, a matter of debate. The pulse phase-resolved polarization measurements that became possible with the launch of the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) can be used to determine the pulsar geometry and its orientation relative to the orbital plane. They provide an avenue to test different theoretical …

Probing The Polarized Emission From Smc X-1: The Brightest X-Ray Pulsar Observed By Ixpe, Sofia V. Forsblom, Sergey S. Tsygankov, Juri Poutanen, Victor Doroshenko, Alexander A. Mushtukov, Mason Ng, Swati Ravi, Herman L. Marshall, Alessandro Di Marco, Fabio La Monaca, Christian Malacaria, Guglielmo Mastroserio, Vladislav Loktev, Andrea Possenti, Valery F. Suleimanov, Roberto Taverna, Iván Agudo, Lucio A. Antonelli, Matteo Bachetti, Luca Baldini, Wayne H. Baumgartner, Ronaldo Bellazzini, Stefano Bianchi, Stephen D. Bongiorno, Raffaella Bonino, Alessandro Brez, Niccolò Bucciantini, Fiamma Capitanio, Simone Castellano, Elisabetta Cavazzuti, Chien Ting Chen, Stefano Ciprini, Enrico Costa

Faculty Publications

Recent observations of X-ray pulsars (XRPs) performed by the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) have made it possible to investigate the intricate details of these objects in a new way, thanks to the added value of X-ray polarimetry. Here we present the results of the IXPE observations of SMC X-1, a member of the small group of XRPs displaying super-orbital variability. SMC X-1 was observed by IXPE three separate times during the high state of its super-orbital period. The observed luminosity in the 2- 8 keV energy band of L ∼ 2 × 10³⁸ erg s^{- 1} makes …

The Effects Of Anthropogenic Stressors On Above- And Belowground Phytochemical Diversity Of The Wetland Grass, Phragmites Australis, Andrea E. Glassmire, Ana L. Salgado, Rodrigo Diaz, Joseph Johnston, Laura A. Meyerson, Joshua S. Snook, James T. Cronin

Faculty Publications

Coastal wetlands face threats from climate change-induced flooding and biological invasions. Plants respond to these stressors through changes in their phytochemical metabolome, but it is unclear whether stressors affecting one tissue compartment (e.g., leaves) create vulnerabilities in others (e.g., roots) or elicit similar responses across tissues. Additionally, responses to multiple simultaneous stressors remain poorly understood due to the focus on individual metabolites in past studies. This study aims to elucidate how the phytochemical metabolome of three Phragmites australis (Cav.) lineages, common in the Mississippi River Delta, responds to flooding and infestation by the non-native scale insect Nipponaclerda biwakoensis (Kuwana). Among …

Historic Breeding Practices Contribute To Germplasm Divergence In Leaf Specialized Metabolism And Ecophysiology In Cultivated Sunflower (Helianthus Annuus), Jordan A. Dowell, Alan W. Bowsher, Amna Jamshad, Rahul Shah, John M. Burke, Lisa A. Donovan, Chase M. Mason

Faculty Publications

Premise: The use of hybrid breeding systems to increase crop yields has been the cornerstone of modern agriculture and is exemplified in the breeding and improvement of cultivated sunflower (Helianthus annuus). However, it is poorly understood what effect supporting separate breeding pools in such systems, combined with continued selection for yield, may have on leaf ecophysiology and specialized metabolite variation. Methods: We analyzed 288 lines of cultivated H. annuus to examine the genomic basis of several specialized metabolites and agronomically important traits across major heterotic groups. Results: Heterotic group identity supports phenotypic divergences between fertility restoring and cytoplasmic male-sterility maintainer …