Exchangeable partitions of the integers and their corresponding mass partitions on $\mathcal{P}_{\infty} = \{\mathbf{s} = (s_{1},s_{2},\ldots)\colon s_{1} \geq s_{2} \geq \cdots \geq 0$ and $\sum_{k=1}^{\infty}s_{k} = 1\}$ play a vital role in combinatorial stochastic processes and their applications. In this work, we continue our focus on the class of Gibbs partitions of the integers and the corresponding stable Poisson–Kingman-distributed mass partitions generated by the normalized jumps of a stable subordinator with an index $\alpha \in (0,1)$, subject to further mixing. This remarkable class of infinitely exchangeable random partitions is characterized by probabilities that have Gibbs (product) form. These partitions have practical applications in combinatorial stochastic processes, random tree/graph growth models, and Bayesian statistics. The most notable class consists of random partitions generated from the two-parameter Poisson–Dirichlet distribution $\mathrm{PD}(\alpha,\theta)$. While the utility of Gibbs partitions is recognized, there is limited understanding of the broader class. Here, as a continuation of our work, we address this gap by extending the dual coagulation/fragmentation results of Pitman (1999), developed for the Poisson–Dirichlet family, to all Gibbs models and their corresponding Poisson–Kingman mass partitions, creating nested families of Gibbs partitions and mass partitions. We focus primarily on fragmentation operations, identifying which classes correspond to these operations and providing significant calculations for the resulting Gibbs partitions. Furthermore, for completion, we provide definitive results for dual coagulation operations using dependent processes. We demonstrate the applicability of our results by establishing new findings for Brownian excursion partitions, Mittag-Leffler, and size-biased generalized gamma models.

The Mazon Creek Lagerstätte (Moscovian Stage, late Carboniferous Period; Illinois, USA) captures a diverse view of ecosystems in delta-influenced coastal settings through exceptional preservation of soft tissues in siderite concretions. The generally accepted paradigm of the Mazon Creek biota has been that of an inferred paleoenvironmental divide between what have been termed the Braidwood and Essex assemblages, wherein the former represents a freshwater ecosystem with terrestrial input and the latter a marine-influenced prodelta setting with abundant cnidarians, bivalves, worm phyla, and diverse arthropods. Here, we revisit the paleoecology of the Mazon Creek biota by analyzing data from nearly 300,000 concretions from more than 270 locations with complementary multivariate ordinations. Our results show the Braidwood assemblage as a legitimate shoreward community and provide evidence for further subdivision of the Essex assemblage into two distinct subassemblages, termed here the Will-Essex and Kankakee-Essex. The Will-Essex represents a benthos dominated by clams and trace fossils along the transition between nearshore and offshore deposits. The Kankakee-Essex is dominated by cnidarians, presenting an ecosystem approaching the geographic margin of this taphonomic window. These new insights also allow a refined taphonomic model, wherein recalcitrant tissues of Braidwood organisms were subject to rapid burial rates, while organisms of the Essex assemblage typically had more labile tissues and were subject to slower burial rates. Consequently, we hypothesize that the Braidwood fossils should record more complete preservation than the Essex, which was exposed for longer periods of aerobic decomposition. This is supported by a higher proportion of non-fossiliferous concretions in the Essex than in the Braidwood.

Threat sensitivity, an individual difference construct reflecting variation in responsiveness to threats of various types, predicts physiological reactivity to aversive stimuli and shares heritable variance with anxiety disorders in adults. However, no research has been conducted yet with youth to examine the heritability of threat sensitivity or evaluate the role of genetic versus environmental influences in its relations with mental health problems. The current study addressed this gap by evaluating the psychometric properties of a measure of this construct, the 20-item Trait Fear scale (TF-20), and examining its phenotypic and genotypic correlations with different forms of psychopathology in a sample of 346 twin pairs (121 monozygotic), aged 9–14 years. Analyses revealed high internal consistency and test-retest reliability for the TF-20. Evidence was also found for its convergent and discriminant validity in terms of phenotypic and genotypic correlations with measures of fear-related psychopathology. By contrast, the TF-20’s associations with depressive conditions were largely attributable to environmental influences. Extending prior work with adults, current study findings provide support for threat sensitivity as a genetically-influenced liability for phobic fear disorders in youth.

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.

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic, painful inflammatory skin disease affecting 0.1% of the US population. Limited understanding of HS biology and ineffective treatments leave patients dissatisfied, facing misdiagnosis, and diagnostic delays. To address these challenges, the Rockefeller University Center for Clinical Translational Science, Clinical Directors Network, and the HS Foundation launched an initiative to foster engagement among stakeholders. Three full spectrum town halls (FSTH) were designed to engage patients, scientists, and clinicians bidirectionally. Topics spanned the translational research spectrum to amplify patient testimony, update the HS community on scientific and clinical research advances, and promote patient-centered research and care. The FSTH model aims to enhance empathy, foster trust, accelerate scientific discovery, and improve care. FSTH-2018 showcased patients’ experiences living with HS, the scientific and clinical state of the art, and tailored a new HS study to patient preferences. FSTH-2021 shared results of the study, including new insights into HS biology. FSTH-2023 highlighted best practices for outpatient surgical care of HS. Participant feedback underscored FSTH’s role in nurturing empathy and advancing discovery and patient engagement. FSTH serves as an effective model for uniting stakeholders, bridging gaps in knowledge and trust, and accelerating translational research to improve HS care.

The powered vector method of factor analysis yields directly and without rotation factors satisfying objectives of parsimony, orthogonality, and meaningfulness. The method is objective, computationally efficient, and easily programmed for digital computers. The computational procedure is described. Illustrative analyses are presented. Results of applications of the powered vector method are compared with results obtained using the principal axes solution followed by orthogonal rotation.

Pearson's formula for univariate selection was derived with the assumption of normality of variates before and after selection. This study examined the influence of skew upon estimates from Pearson's formula under certain conditions. It was found that even with essentially symmetric distributions, a large proportion of the data is necessary to obtain reasonably precise estimates of low correlations. With increasing skew, estimates become increasingly erroneous, the direction of the error depending upon which tail of the distribution is the basis of the estimates. Difficulties in applying correction for univariate selection in several studies of the predictability of college-grades for Negroes from scores on standard aptitude tests are discussed.

We present an approach for evaluating coherence in multivariate systems that considers all the variables simultaneously. We operationalize the multivariate system as a network and define coherence as the efficiency with which a signal is transmitted throughout the network. We illustrate this approach with time series data from 15 psychophysiological signals representing individuals’ moment-by-moment emotional reactions to emotional films. First, we summarize the time series through nonparametric Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves. Second, we use Spearman rank correlations to calculate relationships between each pair of variables. Third, based on the obtained associations, we construct a network using the variables as nodes. Finally, we examine signal transmission through all the nodes in the network. Our results indicate that the network consisting of the 15 psychophysiological signals has a small-world structure, with three clusters of variables and strong within-cluster connections. This structure supports an effective signal transmission across the entire network. When compared across experimental conditions, our results indicate that coherence is relatively stronger for intense emotional stimuli than for neutral stimuli. These findings are discussed in relation to multivariate methods and emotion theories.

Young stellar objects (YSOs) are protostars that exhibit bipolar outflows fed by accretion disks. Theories of the transition between disk and outflow often involve a complex magnetic field structure thought to be created by the disk coiling field lines at the jet base; however, due to limited resolution, these theories cannot be confirmed with observation and thus may benefit from laboratory astrophysics studies. We create a dynamically similar laboratory system by driving a $\sim$1 MA current pulse with a 200 ns rise through a $\approx$2 mm-tall Al cylindrical wire array mounted to a three-dimensional (3-D)-printed, stainless steel scaffolding. This system creates a plasma that converges on the centre axis and ejects cm-scale bipolar outflows. Depending on the chosen 3-D-printed load path, the system may be designed to push the ablated plasma flow radially inwards or off-axis to make rotation. In this paper, we present results from the simplest iteration of the load which generates radially converging streams that launch non-rotating jets. The temperature, velocity and density of the radial inflows and axial outflows are characterized using interferometry, gated optical and ultraviolet imaging, and Thomson scattering diagnostics. We show that experimental measurements of the Reynolds number and sonic Mach number in three different stages of the experiment scale favourably to the observed properties of YSO jets with $Re\sim 10^5\unicode{x2013}10^9$ and $M\sim 1\unicode{x2013}10$, while our magnetic Reynolds number of $Re_M\sim 1\unicode{x2013}15$ indicates that the magnetic field diffuses out of our plasma over multiple hydrodynamical time scales. We compare our results with 3-D numerical simulations in the PERSEUS extended magnetohydrodynamics code.

Recent research has explored gender ratios in orchestras but not specifically in brass playing, a historically masculine field. Three studies investigated gender ratios in a variety of brass-playing situations. Public domain and questionnaire data were analysed using descriptive statistics, and a chi-square test found a significant effect of instrument size on gender ratios. The highest percentage of female brass players was found in youth ensembles, followed by the freelance workforce, semi-professional brass bands and then professional orchestras, indicating a leaky pipeline effect. These results show that women are still under-represented in most brass-playing contexts, particularly the most prestigious positions, and that more can be done in music education to change this.