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.

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 present the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology – Taylor–Couette set-up (OIST-TC), a new experimental set-up for investigating turbulent Taylor–Couette (TC) flow. The set-up has independently rotating inner and outer cylinders, and can achieve Reynolds numbers up to $10^6$. Noteworthy aspects of its design include innovative strategies for temperature control and vibration isolation. As part of its flow-measurement instrumentation, we have implemented the first ‘flying hot-wire’ configuration to measure the flow velocity whilst either or both cylinders are rotating. A significant challenge for obtaining reliable measurements from sensors within the inner cylinder is the data distortion resulting from electrical and electromagnetic interference along the signal pathway. Our solution involves internal digitization of sensor data, which provides notable robustness against noise sources. Additionally, we discuss our strategies for efficient operation, outlining custom automation tools that streamline both data processing and operational control. We hope this documentation of the salient features of OIST-TC is useful to researchers engaged in similar experimental studies that delve into the enchanting world of turbulent TC flow.

Background: Sleep-wake states (SWS) affect the expression of interictal epileptiform discharges (“spikes”), which affects resultant source localization calculations used in epilepsy evaluation. We hypothesize that spike localizations from non-REM sleep 1-3 are most concordant with one another. Methods: We used Standardized low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (sLORETA) in Curry 8 software to calculate source localization voxels of spikes in N1-3, REM, or wakefulness (W). We assessed voxel concordance between N1-N2-N3/N1-N2-W/N1-N3-W/N2-N3-W/REM-N1-N2/REM-N1-N3/REM-N2-N3/REM-N1-W/REM-N2-W/REM-N3-W. We classified concordances into those containing and not containing a SWS (e.g. N1 vs. not-N1 = N1-N2-N3/N1-N2-W/N1-N3-W/REM-N1-N2/REM-N1-N3/REM-N1-W vs. REM-N2-W/REM-N3-W/REM-N2-N3/N2-N3-W) for comparison. Results: Concordances did not differ for N1-3 or W. However, concordances with REM were lower than those without REM as a fraction of source localization space (median 32.1% vs. 56.1%, p<0.001) and cortical grey matter (median 20.4% vs. 27.3%, p=0.003). Conclusions: As expected, source localizations from spikes in N1, N2, and N3 did not significantly differ from one another because these three states are constituent members of non-REM sleep. Surprisingly, however, source localizations derived from awake spikes – not a constituent of non-REM sleep – also did not differ. In contrast, REM was most different by reproducibly exhibiting the least three-way concordance. These findings reinforce the unique localizing ability of REM sleep.

Laser plasma accelerators (LPAs) enable the generation of intense and short proton bunches on a micrometre scale, thus offering new experimental capabilities to research fields such as ultra-high dose rate radiobiology or material analysis. Being spectrally broadband, laser-accelerated proton bunches allow for tailored volumetric dose deposition in a sample via single bunches to excite or probe specific sample properties. The rising number of such experiments indicates a need for diagnostics providing spatially resolved characterization of dose distributions with volumes of approximately 1 cm${}^3$ for single proton bunches to allow for fast online feedback. Here we present the scintillator-based miniSCIDOM detector for online single-bunch tomographic reconstruction of dose distributions in volumes of up to approximately 1 cm${}^3$. The detector achieves a spatial resolution below 500 $\unicode{x3bc}$m and a sensitivity of 100 mGy. The detector performance is tested at a proton therapy cyclotron and an LPA proton source. The experiments’ primary focus is the characterization of the scintillator’s ionization quenching behaviour.

The yield of contact investigation on relapsed tuberculosis (TB) cases can guide strategies and resource allocation in the TB control programme. We conducted a retrospective cohort study to review the yield of contact investigation in relapsed TB cases and identify factors associated with TB infection (TBI) among close contacts of relapsed TB cases notified between 2018 and 2022 in Singapore. TB infection positivity was higher among contacts of relapsed cases which were culture-positive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex compared to those who were only polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-positive (14.8% vs. 12.3%). On multivariate analysis, after adjusting for age and gender of the index, gender, and existing comorbidities of contacts, factors independently associated with TBI were culture and smear positivity of the index (AOR 1.41, 95%CI 1.02–1.94), higher odds with every 10 years of increase in age compared to contacts below aged 30, contacts who were not Singapore residents (AOR 2.09, 95%CI 1.46–2.97), and household contacts (AOR 2.19, 95%CI 1.44–3.34). Although the yield of screening was higher for those who were culture-positive compared to only PCR-positive relapsed cases, contact tracing for only PCR-positive cases may still be important in a country with moderate TB incidence, should resources allow.

Soft sets were introduced as a means to study objects that are not defined in an absolute way and have found applications in numerous areas of mathematics, decision theory, and in statistical applications. Soft topological spaces were first considered in Shabir and Naz ((2011). Computers & Mathematics with Applications 61 (7) 1786–1799) and soft separation axioms for soft topological spaces were studied in El-Shafei et al. ((2018). Filomat 32 (13) 4755–4771), El-Shafei and Al-Shami ((2020). Computational and Applied Mathematics 39 (3) 1–17), Al-shami ((2021). Mathematical Problems in Engineering 2021). In this paper, we introduce the effective versions of soft separation axioms. Specifically, we focus our attention on computable u-soft and computable p-soft separation axioms and investigate various relations between them. We also compare the effective and classical versions of these soft separation axioms.

Laser–plasma accelerated (LPA) proton bunches are now applied for research fields ranging from ultra-high-dose-rate radiobiology to material science. Yet, the capabilities to characterize the spectrally and angularly broad LPA bunches lag behind the rapidly evolving applications. The OCTOPOD translates the angularly resolved spectral characterization of LPA proton bunches into the spatially resolved detection of the volumetric dose distribution deposited in a liquid scintillator. Up to 24 multi-pinhole arrays record projections of the scintillation light distribution and allow for tomographic reconstruction of the volumetric dose deposition pattern, from which proton spectra may be retrieved. Applying the OCTOPOD at a cyclotron, we show the reliable retrieval of various spatial dose deposition patterns and detector sensitivity over a broad dose range. Moreover, the OCTOPOD was installed at an LPA proton source, providing real-time data on proton acceleration performance and attesting the system optimal performance in the harsh laser–plasma environment.

Background: Recent evidence shows that epileptiform activity (EA) in sleep can present early in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) with faster cognitive decline. Existing literature examining sleep, AD and seizures is mostly qualitative. We conducted a systematic review to quantify the sleep stage most associated with EA in AD and amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI)Methods: We searched MEDLINE and Embase using MeSH terms: “Alzheimer’s Disease” AND “Epilepsy” OR “Seizures’’ AND “Sleep” OR “REM” (rapid eye movement sleep). We extracted data to determine the EA distribution across sleep stages. We averaged percentages across studies. If a study had AD and aMCI subgroups, we averaged percentages to represent that study. Results: 4/14 articles had quantitative sleep stage EA data from a total of 111 AD or aMCI patients. Most EA occurred in the non-REM stage (N2; 36.1±17.8%). EA next most frequently occurred in slow-wave sleep (SWS; 34.1±9.9%), N1 (15.5±6.7%), and REM (14.4±11.6%). Conclusions: N2 and slow-wave sleep were most associated with sleep EA in AD or aMCI. This suggests the importance of therapeutic interventions that may decrease N2 and slow-wave sleep and increase REM. Future studies could explore whether it is the quantity or quality of the N2 and slow-wave sleep that is associated with EA.

Background: The Canadian Resident Matching Services (CaRMS) collects comprehensive data on residency applicants. However, match outcomes by age were not reported. It was unclear whether older applicants found it more difficult to match to the specialties of their choice, i.e. does age influence match? We ask in particular, does age affect the neurology match? Methods: In response to written request, CaRMS provided pre-pandemic age data for 2015-2019 inclusive, divided into group 1 (30 or younger) and group 2 (31-40 inclusive). Results: In 2019, 39 of the 69 group 1 and 6 of the 23 group 2 neurology applicants were matched into neurology (odds ratio (OR)=2.2|p=0.01). In contrast, urology (OR=6|p=0.001) had the worst odds and family medicine (OR=1.2|p=0.002) had the best odds for older applicants in 2019. Average OR (2015-2019) was 1.6 for neurology, 3.1 for urology, 1.3 for family medicine, and between 1.3 and 3.1 for nearly all other specialties. Conclusions: Older neurology applicants were less likely to match than younger peers while match probability was statistically significantly lower in nearly all specialties for older applicants.