Recent changes to US research funding are having far-reaching consequences that imperil the integrity of science and the provision of care to vulnerable populations. Resisting these changes, the BJPsych Portfolio reaffirms its commitment to publishing mental science and advancing psychiatric knowledge that improves the mental health of one and all.

The First Large Absorption Survey in H i (FLASH) is a large-area radio survey for neutral hydrogen in and around galaxies in the intermediate redshift range $0.4\lt z\lt1.0$, using the 21-cm H i absorption line as a probe of cold neutral gas. The survey uses the ASKAP radio telescope and will cover 24,000 deg$^2$ of sky over the next five years. FLASH breaks new ground in two ways – it is the first large H i absorption survey to be carried out without any optical preselection of targets, and we use an automated Bayesian line-finding tool to search through large datasets and assign a statistical significance to potential line detections. Two Pilot Surveys, covering around 3000 deg$^2$ of sky, were carried out in 2019-22 to test and verify the strategy for the full FLASH survey. The processed data products from these Pilot Surveys (spectral-line cubes, continuum images, and catalogues) are public and available online. In this paper, we describe the FLASH spectral-line and continuum data products and discuss the quality of the H i spectra and the completeness of our automated line search. Finally, we present a set of 30 new H i absorption lines that were robustly detected in the Pilot Surveys, almost doubling the number of known H i absorption systems at $0.4\lt z\lt1$. The detected lines span a wide range in H i optical depth, including three lines with a peak optical depth $\tau\gt1$, and appear to be a mixture of intervening and associated systems. Interestingly, around two-thirds of the lines found in this untargeted sample are detected against sources with a peaked-spectrum radio continuum, which are only a minor (5–20%) fraction of the overall radio-source population. The detection rate for H i absorption lines in the Pilot Surveys (0.3 to 0.5 lines per 40 deg$^2$ ASKAP field) is a factor of two below the expected value. One possible reason for this is the presence of a range of spectral-line artefacts in the Pilot Survey data that have now been mitigated and are not expected to recur in the full FLASH survey. A future paper in this series will discuss the host galaxies of the H i absorption systems identified here.

Community-engaged research is essential to advance the implementation of evidence-based practices, but engagement quality is rarely assessed. We evaluated community health centers’ (CHCs) experiences partnering with the Implementation Science Center for Cancer Control Equity (ISCCCE) using an online survey of 59 CHC staff. Of 38 respondents (64.4% response rate), most perceived their engagement positively, with over 92% feeling respected by ISCCCE collaborators and perceiving projects as beneficial. Limited staff time and resources were the main challenges identified. This study suggests the utility of gathering feedback to evaluate community research engagement and inform adaptations of research processes to optimize partnership quality.

Spirometra is a genus of zoonotic cestodes with an ambiguous species-level taxonomic history. Previously, Spirometra mansonoides was considered the only species present in North America. However, recent molecular data revealed the presence of at least three distinct species in the USA: Spirometra sp. 2 and 3, and Spirometra mansoni. This study aimed to elucidate the diversity and potential host associations of Spirometra species among companion animals in the USA. Samples (N = 302) were examined from at least 13 host species, including mammals, amphibians and reptiles. Sample types included eggs isolated from faeces (n = 222), adult specimens (n = 71) and plerocercoids (n = 9) from 18 different states and 2 territories across the USA. Extracted genomic DNA was subjected to PCR targeting a fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) gene. Generated sequences (n = 136) were included in a phylogenetic analysis. Spirometra mansoni was detected in domestic cats (n = 76), dogs (n = 12), a White’s tree frog (n = 1), a Cuban knight anole (n = 1), a green iguana (n = 1) and a serval (n = 1) across 15 states and Puerto Rico. Spirometra sp. 2 was found only in dogs (n = 3) from Florida and Spirometra sp. 3 was found only in cats (n = 41) from 17 states. All plerocercoid samples were consistent with S. mansoni. The results confirm that at least three distinct Spirometra species are present and established in companion animals, such as dogs and cats, and likely are using various native and exotic species as paratenic hosts within the USA.

Objectives/Goals: This study tests how fiber microstructural integrity and myelination levels within the cingulum connectome are associated with information processing speed (IPS) in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). We investigate the functional impact of structural coherence, myelin content, and white matter hyperintensities (WMH) load on IPS. Methods/Study Population: Data from 63 RRMS and 25 healthy controls (HC) were used. We hypothesize that the structural integrity of the cingulum bundle and its structural network – or connectome – is distinctly associated with IPS function in people with RRMS (vs. HC) due to myelin-related plasticity across the wiring. Using diffusion spectrum imaging and high-resolution tract segmentation, we constructed individualized white matter connectomes. Diffusion quantitative anisotropy (QA) and myelin fractions (MWF) were used to quantify structural coherence and myelination. WMH load was measured with T2-FLAIR imaging. Bayesian–Pearson correlations, mixed-linear, and moderation models explored how fiber-specific QA, MWF, and WMH load relate to IPS function in RRMS, as measured by Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT). Results/Anticipated Results: We theorize that (1) QA in the cingulum connectome correlates with SDMT performance dimensionally, indicating that structural coherence in the white matter supports IPS function among both groups; (2) increased myelination will strengthen the positive association between QA and SDMT scores, suggesting that connectome-specific myelin content facilitates IPS; (3) conversely, WMH load within the cingulum connectome is expected to inversely correlate with SDMT scores, reflecting the detrimental impact of lesion burden on IPS function; (4) myelination in specialized tracts within the cingulum connectome play a compensatory role to support IPS function in the RRMS group. These investigations can offer a mechanistic clue to potential neuroplastic targets for cognitive interventions in MS. Discussion/Significance of Impact: By linking white matter integrity to cognitive function at the connectome level, this study can support neuroregenerative strategies to mitigate cognitive burden in RRMS. Our findings may advance understanding of how structural coherence, tract myelination, and WMH affect IPS, shaping personalized prognostic and therapeutic interventions.

We study the planar FitzHugh–Nagumo system with an attracting periodic orbit that surrounds a repelling focus equilibrium. When the associated oscillation of the system is perturbed, in a given direction and with a given amplitude, there will generally be a change in phase of the perturbed oscillation with respect to the unperturbed one. This is recorded by the phase transition curve (PTC), which relates the old phase (along the periodic orbit) to the new phase (after perturbation). We take a geometric point of view and consider the phase-resetting surface comprising all PTCs as a function of the perturbation amplitude. This surface has a singularity when the perturbation maps a point on the periodic orbit exactly onto the repelling focus, which is the only point that does not return to stable oscillation. We also consider the PTC as a function of the direction of the perturbation and present how the corresponding phase-resetting surface changes with increasing perturbation amplitude. In this way, we provide a complete geometric interpretation of how the PTC changes for any perturbation direction. Unlike other examples discussed in the literature so far, the FitzHugh–Nagumo system is a generic example and, hence, representative for planar vector fields.

In 1946, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was formed to promote peace through education and cross-cultural understanding. In the postwar atomic age, American leaders saw UNESCO and education for world citizenship as critical to the prevention of future war, the promotion of a new pluralistic vision, and the development of a well-informed society. A hyper-local case study, this article follows the story of Milton S. Eisenhower, leading UNESCO delegate and president of Kansas State College, and the series of progressive reforms he pursued to promote democracy, citizenship, and global peacebuilding at a rural land-grant college in the center of the former “isolationist belt” of America. This article traces the impact of these curricular reforms, the UNESCO campus-community partnership they inspired, and the subsequent peacebuilding movement that agitated for humanitarian action, civic participation, and desegregation from 1947 to 1950.

Current standard microbiological techniques are generally very time consuming, usually requiring 24–72 h to establish a diagnosis. Consequentially, contemporary clinical practices implement broad-spectrum antibiotic administration prior to pathogen detection, prompting the emergence of extremely dangerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Additionally, lengthy test-to-result turnover times can greatly exacerbate the rate of disease spread. Rapid point-of-care (POC) diagnostics has quickly gained importance since the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic; accordingly, we have developed a rapid four-channel POC plasmonic quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) machine (Kimera P-IV) to respond to the deficiencies in infection control. Utilizing gold nanorods (GNRs) as nano-heaters and integrating vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSEL) to replace traditional Peltier blocks, the Kimera P-IV has also incorporated quantitative real-time fluorescent monitoring. Using Chlamydia trachomatis genetic material to evaluate the rapid thermocycling performance of the platform, we have generated positive amplicons in less than 13 min; however, to achieve these results, several biological reagent considerations needed to be taken into account, specifically primer design. The device can achieve a limit of detection (LoD) of <101 DNA copies, a PCR efficiency of 88.3%, and can differentiate positive from negative results with 100% accuracy. Moreover, it can also analyze C. trachomatis DNA spiked urine samples via a simple dilution, suggesting that a separate nucleic acid step may not be needed for diagnosing infections. In conclusion, the operation of the Kimera P-IV prototype places it in a unique position of POC devices to revolutionize infectious disease diagnosis.

We present the first results from a new backend on the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder, the Commensal Realtime ASKAP Fast Transient COherent (CRACO) upgrade. CRACO records millisecond time resolution visibility data, and searches for dispersed fast transient signals including fast radio bursts (FRB), pulsars, and ultra-long period objects (ULPO). With the visibility data, CRACO can localise the transient events to arcsecond-level precision after the detection. Here, we describe the CRACO system and report the result from a sky survey carried out by CRACO at 110-ms resolution during its commissioning phase. During the survey, CRACO detected two FRBs (including one discovered solely with CRACO, FRB 20231027A), reported more precise localisations for four pulsars, discovered two new RRATs, and detected one known ULPO, GPM J1839 $-$10, through its sub-pulse structure. We present a sensitivity calibration of CRACO, finding that it achieves the expected sensitivity of 11.6 Jy ms to bursts of 110 ms duration or less. CRACO is currently running at a 13.8 ms time resolution and aims at a 1.7 ms time resolution before the end of 2024. The planned CRACO has an expected sensitivity of 1.5 Jy ms to bursts of 1.7 ms duration or less and can detect $10\times$ more FRBs than the current CRAFT incoherent sum system (i.e. 0.5 $-$2 localised FRBs per day), enabling us to better constrain the models for FRBs and use them as cosmological probes.

We establish hyperweak boundedness of area functions, square functions, maximal operators, and Calderón–Zygmund operators on products of two stratified Lie groups.

Fully relativistic particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations are crucial for advancing our knowledge of plasma physics. Modern supercomputers based on graphics processing units (GPUs) offer the potential to perform PIC simulations of unprecedented scale, but require robust and feature-rich codes that can fully leverage their computational resources. In this work, this demand is addressed by adding GPU acceleration to the PIC code Osiris. An overview of the algorithm, which features a CUDA extension to the underlying Fortran architecture, is given. Detailed performance benchmarks for thermal plasmas are presented, which demonstrate excellent weak scaling on NERSC's Perlmutter supercomputer and high levels of absolute performance. The robustness of the code to model a variety of physical systems is demonstrated via simulations of Weibel filamentation and laser-wakefield acceleration run with dynamic load balancing. Finally, measurements and analysis of energy consumption are provided that indicate that the GPU algorithm is up to ${\sim }$14 times faster and $\sim$7 times more energy efficient than the optimized CPU algorithm on a node-to-node basis. The described development addresses the PIC simulation community's computational demands both by contributing a robust and performant GPU-accelerated PIC code and by providing insight into efficient use of GPU hardware.

The validity of a univocal multiple-choice test is determined for varying distributions of item difficulty and varying degrees of item precision. Validity is a function of σd2 + σy2, where σd measures item unreliability and σy measures the spread of item difficulties. When this variance is very small, validity is high for one optimum cutting score, but the test gives relatively little valid information for other cutting scores. As this variance increases, eta increases up to a certain point, and then begins to decrease. Screening validity at the optimum cutting score declines as this variance increases, but the test becomes much more flexible, maintaining the same validity for a wide range of cutting scores. For items of the type ordinarily used in psychological tests, the test with uniform item difficulty gives greater over-all validity, and superior validity for most cutting scores, compared to a test with a range of item difficulties. When a multiple-choice test is intended to reject the poorest F per cent of the men tested, items should on the average be located at or above the threshold for men whose true ability is at the Fth percentile.

A new solution to the additive constant problem in metric multidimensional scaling is developed. This solution determines, for a given dimensionality, the additive constant and the resulting stimulus projections on the dimensions of a Euclidean space which minimize the sum of squares of discrepancies between the formal model for metric multidimensional scaling and the original data. A modification of Fletcher-Powell style functional iteration is used to compute solutions. A scale free index of the goodness of fit is developed to aid in selecting solutions of adequate dimensionality from multiple candidates.

A logit vector model and a logit ideal point model are presented for external analysis of paired comparison preference judgments aggregated over a homogeneous group. The logit vector model is hierarchically nested within the logit ideal point model so that statistical tests are available to distinguish between these two models. Generalized least squares estimation procedures are developed to account for heteroscedastic sampling error variances and specification error variances. Two numerical illustrations deal with judgments concerning employee compensation plans and preferences for salt and sugar in the brine of canned green beans.

Non-spurious methods are needed for estimating the coefficient of equivalence for speeded tests from single-trial data. Spuriousness in a split-half estimate depends on three conditions; the split-half method may be used if any of these is demonstrated to be absent. A lower-bounds formula, rc, is developed. An empirical trial of this coefficient and other bounds proposed by Gulliksen demonstrates that, for moderately speeded tests, the coefficient of equivalence can be determined approximately from single-trial data. It is proposed that the degree to which tests are speeded be investigated explicitly, and an index τ is advanced to define this concept.