Spectroscopic observations are essential for confirming associations, measuring kinematics, and determining stellar populations in dwarf galaxies. Here, we present Keck CosmicWeb Imager (KCWI) spectra for 12 MATLAS survey dwarfs. For 9, we confirm recession velocities consistent with their literature-assumed host galaxies. We propose revisions of the host galaxy associations for MATLAS-631, 1494, and 1938. For MATLAS-1494, our measured redshift reclassifies it from an ultra-diffuse galaxy candidate to a dwarf galaxy that is of smaller physical size and places it in the field. It also appears old and passive, providing a challenge to models that invoke quenching by tidal effects. Additionally, we measure stellar population estimates for 7 of the 12 galaxies, finding a ‘mixed bag’ of old quenched galaxies and those that are currently forming stars. Compared to the literature we find generally younger ages and higher metallicities. This result may help reconcile the observed offset of MATLAS survey dwarf galaxies from the universal stellar mass–metallicity relationship reported by Heesters et al. (2023).

There have been no culturally validated measures to screen for depression in Madagascar. In 2022–2023, we conducted qualitative studies in the Bay of Ranobe area in southwestern Madagascar to understand local mental health syndromes specific to this region. We found that the 8-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8) shares symptoms with the general distress-like, depressive-like and grief-like syndromes elicited locally. We adapted the PHQ-8 to align with the unique symptoms found in the region that were missing from the measure. We administered the adapted PHQ-8 to 809 participants aged 16 and above. We found that the one-factor (Depression) model (root mean square error of approximation [RMSEA] = 0.046, standardized root mean square residual [SRMR] = 0.053, Comparative Fit Index [CFI] = 0.993 and Tucker–Lewis Index [TLI] = 0.991) had a better fit to our data than the two-factor (Cognitive–Affective and Somatic) model (RMSEA = 0.047, SRMR = 0.052, CFI = 0.994 and TLI = 0.990). The one-factor (Depression) model demonstrated good internal consistency (MacDonald’s omega coefficient $ {\omega}_0 $ = 0.81 and ordinal alpha $ {\alpha}_0 $ = 0.87). We conducted a multigroup confirmatory factor analysis to establish measurement invariance (MI) across four groups (sex, ethnicity, level of education and age group) and found that all levels of MI were achieved across groups. Our research provides a validated method to assess the probable prevalence of current depression in southwestern Madagascar.

Objectives/Goals: Transmission-blocking vaccines hold promise for malaria elimination by reducing community transmission. But a major challenge that limits the development of efficacious vaccines is the vast parasite’s genetic diversity. This work aims to assess the genetic diversity of the Pfs25 vaccine candidate in complex infections across African countries. Methods/Study Population: We employed next-generation amplicon deep sequencing to identify nonsynonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 194 Plasmodium falciparum samples from four endemic African countries: Senegal, Tanzania, Ghana, and Burkina Faso. The individuals aged between 1 and 74 years, but most of them ranged from 1 to 19 years, and all presented symptomatic P. falciparum infection. The genome amplicon sequencing was analyzed using Geneious software and P. falciparum 3D7 as a reference. The SPNs were called with a minimum coverage of 500bp, and for this work, we used a very sensitive threshold of 1% variant frequency to determine the frequency of SNPs. The identified SNPs were threaded to the crystal structure of the Pfs25 protein, which allowed us to predict the impact of the novel SNP in the protein or antibody binding. Results/Anticipated Results: We identified 26 SNPs including 24 novel variants, and assessed their population prevalence and variant frequency in complex infections. Notably, five variants were detected in multiple samples (L63V, V143I, S39G, L63P, and E59G), while the remaining 21 were rare variants found in individual samples. Analysis of country-specific prevalence showed varying proportions of mutant alleles, with Ghana exhibiting the highest prevalence (44.6%), followed by Tanzania (12%), Senegal (11.8%), and Burkina Faso (2.7%). Moreover, we categorized SNPs based on their frequency, identifying dominant variants (>25%), and rare variants (Discussion/Significance of Impact: We identified additional SNPs in the Pfs25 gene beyond those previously reported. However, the majority of these newly discovered display low variant frequency and population prevalence. Further research exploring the functional implications of these variations will be important to elucidate their role in malaria transmission.

We report pattern formation in an otherwise non-uniform and unsteady flow arising in high-speed liquid entrainment conditions on the outer wall of a wide rotating drum. We show that the coating flow in this rotary dragout undergoes axial modulations to form an array of roughly vertical thin liquid sheets which slowly drift from the middle of the drum towards its sidewalls. Thus, the number of sheets fluctuates in time such that the most probable rib spacing varies ever so slightly with the speed, and a little less weakly with the viscosity. We propose that these axial patterns are generated due to a primary instability driven by an adverse pressure gradient in the meniscus region of the rotary drag-out flow, similar to the directional Saffman–Taylor instability, as is wellknown for ribbing in film-splitting flows. Rib spacing based on this mechanistic model turns out to be proportional to the capillary length, wherein the scaling factor can be determined based on existing models for film entrainment at both low and large capillary numbers. In addition, we performed direct numerical simulations, which reproduce the experimental phenomenology and the associated wavelength. We further include two numerical cases wherein either the liquid density or the liquid surface tension is quadrupled while keeping all other parameters identical with experiments. The rib spacings of these cases are in agreement with the predictions of our model.

The hemlock woolly adelgid, Adelges tsugae Annand (Hemiptera: Adelgidae), has distinct native and invasive populations in Canada. On the country’s west coast, the adelgid is a native insect that feeds on western hemlock, Tsuga heterophylla (Rafinesque-Schmaltz) Sargent, and mountain hemlock, Tsuga mertensiana (Bongard) Carrière (Pinaceae). In eastern Canada, the adelgid is an invasive species that attacks and kills eastern hemlock, Tsuga canadensis (Linnaeus) Carrière (Pinaceae). We obtained all Canadian records of A. tsugae in institutional and public databases, developed updated range maps and phenologies for the species in British Columbia and eastern Canada, and developed dispersal estimates for populations in Nova Scotia. In British Columbia, A. tsugae’s observed distribution is centred around the Lower Mainland and on Vancouver Island but with populations in the British Columbia Interior and along the Pacific coast that have been poorly explored. In eastern Canada, the adelgid has invaded southern Nova Scotia, portions of the Niagara region in Ontario as far west as Hamilton, and at least one site on the north shore of Lake Ontario. No populations have been found in New Brunswick, Quebec, or Prince Edward Island, Canada. Finally, we estimated the rate of spread in Nova Scotia at 12.6 ± 8.2 to 20.5 ± 27.21 km/year.

Given a set of items (predictors) suppose one wishes to predict another set of items (predictands) in asimultaneous way. Such a situation may occur when the predictands are different measurable aspects of the same phenomenon. Alternatively one might wish to predict the success of an event (say a successfully performed task) which has many correlated or uncorrelated failure modes (say a set of possible mental or physical disabilities each of them by itself precluding the achievement of the said task.) In such a case a unidimensional prediction is of value only if prediction is simultaneous for all possible failure modes. A linear summarization of the predictors is suggested, which is unique and has “maximum” predictability value for all predictands simultaneously. Other summarizations or scores are found that give “maximum” explanation of residual measures on the predictands and that are uncorrelated. The set of those simultaneous linear predictions is compared to the set of the individual multiple regression predictions as used, for instance, in the same context by Horst [4] for each predictand given the original predictors. We suggest that this technique can be applied in particular to the summarization of a subset of items when the whole set of items constitutes the set of predictands.

A previous article was concerned with simultaneous linear prediction. There one was given a set of predictor tests or items and one predicted a set of predictands (also tests or items, or perhaps criteria.) We proposed a simultaneous prediction which was a certain weighted sum of the predictors. In the present article the constraint that the prediction be a weighted sum is relaxed. We seek a general function of the predictors which will maximize the quantity chosen for measuring prediction efficiency. This quantity is the same as the one used in linear prediction and we justify this approach by showing it is the appropriate one when there is only one predictand. In order to solve the problem we restrict consideration to a vector of predictors having only a finite number of possible values, i.e., it possesses discrete probability distribution weights. This can be applied in the case of dichotomous items for instance. It may also be used in continuous distributions as an approximation, by first dividing the original range of values into a finite number of intervals. Then one attributes to the interval the weight corresponding to the probability mass it underlies in the original distribution.

The relevance of education and outreach (E&O) activities about the Antarctic Treaty has been recognized at the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings (ATCM) and at the Committee for Environmental Protection (CEP). This study examines the key topics and the target audiences detailed in papers submitted to the ATCM on E&O. Since the Antarctic Treaty entered into force in 1961, a total of 216 ATCM papers on E&O have been produced. The number of papers has increased substantially since the mid-1990s. ‘Science’ (76.9%) and ‘Wildlife/Biodiversity/Environment’ (75.5%) were the most addressed topics in these papers, while the ‘Public’ (81.0%) and those attending ‘Schools’ (69.0%) are the main target audiences. ‘Science’ in ATCM papers increased ~120-fold from 1961–1997 to 2015–2023, while ATCM papers discussing engagement with the ‘Public’ increased ~40-fold during the same period. ‘Climate change’ was first mentioned in 2006, and the number of papers per year increased fourfold by 2015–2023. This study shows the increasing interest in E&O through time, addressing key topics to relevant audiences related to the Antarctic region. From an educational perspective, attention should be paid to emerging topics (e.g. equity, diversity and inclusion), and the engagement of early-career professionals and educators should be made a priority.

Ice rises hold valuable records revealing the ice dynamics and climatic history of Antarctic coastal areas from the Last Glacial Maximum to today. This history is often reconstructed from isochrone radar stratigraphy and simulations focusing on Raymond arch evolution beneath the divides. However, this relies on complex ice-flow models where many parameters are unconstrained by observations. Our study explores quad-polarimetric, phase-coherent radar data to enhance understanding near ice divides and domes, using Hammarryggen Ice Rise (HIR) as a case study. Analysing a 5 km profile intersecting the dome, we derive vertical strain rates and ice-fabric properties. These align with ice core data near the summit, increasing confidence in tracing signatures from the dome to the flanks. The Raymond effect is evident, correlating with surface strain rates and radar stratigraphy. Stability is inferred over millennia for the saddle connecting HIR to the mainland, but dome ice-fabric appears relatively young compared to 2D model predictions. In a broader context, quad-polarimetric measurements provide valuable insights into ice-flow models, particularly for anisotropic rheology. Including quad-polarimetric data advances our ability to reconstruct past ice flow dynamics and climatic history in ice rises.

A number of nearby dwarf galaxies have globular cluster (GC) candidates that require spectroscopic confirmation. Here, we present Keck telescope spectra for 15 known GCs and GC candidates that may be associated with a host dwarf galaxy and an additional 3 GCs in the halo of M31 that are candidates for accretion from a now-disrupted dwarf galaxy. We confirm six star clusters (of intermediate-to-old age) to be associated with NGC 247. The vast bulk of its GC system remains to be studied spectroscopically. We also confirm the GC candidates in F8D1 and DDO190, finding both to be young star clusters. The three M31 halo GCs all have radial velocities consistent with M31 and are old and very metal-poor. Their ages and metallicities are consistent with accretion from a low-mass satellite galaxy. Finally, three objects are found to be background galaxies – two are projected near NGC 247 and one (candidate GCC7) is near the IKN dwarf. The IKN dwarf thus has only five confirmed GCs but still a remarkable specific frequency of 124.

Applying a variational analysis, a minimum-enstrophy vortex in three-dimensional (3-D) fluids with continuous stratification is found, under the quasi-geostrophic hypothesis. The buoyancy frequency is held constant. This vortex is an ideal limiting state in a flow with an enstrophy decay while energy and generalized angular momentum remain fixed. The variational method used to obtain two-dimensional (2-D) minimum-enstrophy vortices is applied here to 3-D integral quantities. The solution from the first-order variation is expanded on a basis of orthogonal spherical Bessel functions. By computing second-order variations, the solution is found to be a true minimum in enstrophy. This solution is weakly unstable when inserted in a numerical code of the quasi-geostrophic equations. After a stage of linear instability, nonlinear wave interaction leads to the reorganization of this vortex into a tripolar vortex. Further work will relate our solution with maximal entropy 3-D vortices.

Dealumination of vermiculite was carried out using (NH4)2SiF6 solutions. The dealuminated products were studied by high-resolution solid state 29Si and 27Al nuclear magnetic resonance. A decrease in the cation-exchange capacity (CEC) resulted from the partial removal of Al from the tetrahedral layer, which decreased the framework negative charge, and from the partial replacement of Mg by Al in the octahedral layer, which increased its positive charge contribution. The lowest CEC was obtained by swelling the structure with butyl-ammonium prior to the reaction with (NH4)2SiF6. Thus, CECs in the range observed for beidellite were measured; however, the lowest (Al/Si)IV ratio was still more than twice as high as in beidellite. In addition, the dealumination reaction yielded noncrystalline silica as a by-product.

In contact with a solution of Al hydroxypolymer (Al13), the dealuminated vermiculite showed no 18-Å reflection characteristic of Al13-intercalated smectite; instead it showed an ill-defined interstratification. For some samples, however, a significant increase in the specific surface area (as much as 230 m2/g) was observed, suggesting that an intercalation of Al moieties did occur. The 27Al resonance spectra of the intercalated structure showed at least two components in octahedral coordination. On thermal activation, a resonance line attributable to pentacoordinated Al was observed.

NMR spectra of PF1-1 Floridan palygorskite strongly suggest that Al3+ occurs only in octahedral coordination. X-ray microanalysis of the palygorskite fibers indicate a chemical composition defined by the atomic ratios: Mg/Si = 0.34, Al/Si = 0.27, and Fe/Si = 0.04. Considering the NMR and CEC data in this report along with the previously published results of IR and Mössbauer spectroscopic studies, the following structural formula is proposed for PF1-1 palygorskite:

$${\rm{(M{g_{2.12}}A{l_{1.68}}F{e^{3 + }}_{0.24}{\square _{0.96}})S{i_8}{O_{20}}{(OH)_2}{(O{H_2})_4}}}$$

Halloysite is a common pedogenic clay mineral, often found in young soils developed on volcanic deposits (Dixon, 1989), It is a member of the kaolin group of clays with the same ideal stoichiometric composition as kaolinite [Al2Si2O5(OH)4]. Halloysite, however, often contains water of hydration (i,e., Al2Si2O5(OH)4·nH2O), and is commonly found with a tubular morphology, This “rolling” of halloysite has received a great deal of study because there is no generally agreed upon mechanism for the process and there is no corresponding phenomenon in natural kaolinite (e.g. , Bates et al., 1950; Bailey, 1989; Singh, 1996; Singh and Mackinnon, 1996). The crystal structure of halloysite often shows stacking disorder. This property, combined with a rolled morphology, makes identification by X-ray diffraction (XRD) difficult. The XRD peaks at 7.5, 4.4, and 3.6 Å are often asymmetric with a large width at half peak height (Bailey, 1989).

When a liquid jet plunges into a pool, it can generate a bubble-laden jet flow underneath the surface. This common and simple phenomenon is investigated experimentally for circular jets to illustrate and quantify the role played by the net gas/liquid void fraction on the maximum bubble penetration depth. It is first shown that an increase in either the impact diameter or the jet fall height to diameter ratio at constant impact momentum leads to a reduction in the bubble cloud size. By measuring systematically the local void fraction using optical probes in the biphasic jet, it is then demonstrated that this effect is a direct consequence of the increase in air content within the cloud. A simple momentum balance model, including only inertia and the buoyancy force, is shown to predict the bubble cloud depth without any fitting parameters. Finally, a Froude number based on the bubble terminal velocity, the cloud depth and also the net void fraction is introduced to propose a simple criterion for the threshold between the inertia-dominated and buoyancy-dominated regimes.

The Maramures Basin, in the Carpathian mountain belt of northern Romania on the border with the Ukraine, belongs to the eastern part of the Pannonian Basin. In the study area, extensional tectonic movements during the Miocene were coeval with silicic and intermediate volcanism in the inner part of the Eastern Carpathians. Throughout this region, explosive events have resulted in the deposition of pyroclastic flows and ash-fall deposits interbedded with marine sediments.

Several tuff units of Badenian (15–13.6 Ma) age occurring throughout the area are extensively zeolitized. These rocks occur as massive homogeneous beds, white to pale greenish-blue, and are commonly extensively jointed. In the Bârsana-Calinesti area and along the Morii Valley, two conspicuous tuff units that can be traced over many km are separated by a calcareous sandstone bed. Most tuffs have a vitroclastic texture in which former glass shards are pseudomorphed by clay minerals and clinoptilolite. Opal-CT commonly occurs as clumps of radiating rods that produce a spherical morphology. Also, rare celadonite is found in the lower greenish tuffs. Pyrogenic crystal fragments are quartz, plagioclase and biotite. Folded muscovite plates and fragments of basement rocks are dominant among the lithic clasts. Above the Bârsana Formation, a second series of white zeolitized tuff, the Ocna Sugatag Formation, is represented by at least two different units overlying an evaporite salt deposit. A large outcrop of a massive white tuff at this locality contains abundant fine-grained clinoptilolite and cation-exchange capacity values of >160 meq/100 g. Clinoptilolite-Ca is also present in the Sighetu tuff unit in the northern part of the Maramures Basin where a distinctive horizon contains plant remains preserved in spherical concretions. Plant material and algal limestones in the same succession strongly suggest that the marine depositional environment was close inshore, and shallow-rather than deep-water conditions are inferred. A mineralogically similar, unaltered, volcanic tuff found in the Coas area suggests that the precursor glass was rhyolitic (72–74% SiO2) with a high-K calc-alkaline affinity. We conclude that pervasive zeolitization is due to the interaction between seawater and vitroclasts at an early stage after deposition.