Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Some integrals related to the Fermi function

Some elaborations regarding the Hilbert and Fourier transforms of Fermi function are presented. The main result shows that the Hilbert transform of the difference of two Fermi functions has an analytical expression in terms of the $\Psi$ (digamma) function, while its Fourier transform is expressed by mean of elementary functions. Moreover an integral involving the product of the difference of two Fermi functions with its Hilbert transform is evaluated analytically. These findings are of fundamental importance in discussing the transport properties of electronic systems.
Disclinations, dislocations and continuous defects: a reappraisal

Disclinations were first observed in mesomorphic phases. They were later found relevant to a number of ill-ordered condensed-matter media involving continuous symmetries or frustrated order. Disclinations also appear in polycrystals at the edges of grain boundaries; but they are of limited interest in solid single crystals, where they can move only by diffusion climb and, owing to their large elastic stresses, mostly appear in close pairs of opposite signs. The relaxation mechanisms associated with a disclination in its creation, motion, and change of shape involve an interplay with continuous or quantized dislocations and/or continuous disclinations. These are attached to the disclinations or are akin to Nye’s dislocation densities, which are particularly well suited for consideration here. The notion of an extended Volterra process is introduced, which takes these relaxation processes into account and covers different situations where this interplay takes place. These concepts are illustrated by a variety of applications in amorphous solids, mesomorphic phases, and frustrated media in their curved habit space. These often involve disclination networks with specific node conditions. The powerful topological theory of line defects considers only defects stable against any change of boundary conditions or relaxation processes compatible with the structure considered. It can be seen as a simplified case of the approach considered here, particularly suited for media of high plasticity or/and complex structures. It cannot analyze the dynamical properties of defects nor the elastic constants involved in their static properties; topological stability cannot guarantee energetic stability, and sometimes cannot distinguish finer details of the structure of defects.
Prior entanglement between senders enables perfect quantum network coding with modification

We find a protocol transmitting two quantum states crossly in the butterfly network only with prior entanglement between two senders. This protocol requires only one qubit transmission or two classical bits (cbits) transmission in each channel in the butterfly network. It is also proved that it is impossible without prior entanglement. More precisely, an upper bound of average fidelity is given in the butterfly network when prior entanglement is not allowed. The presented result concerns only the butterfly network, but our techniques can be applied to a more general graph.
An $(\underline{s},\overline{s},S)$ optimal maintenance policy for systems subject to shocks and progressive deterioration

We define a model of a system that deteriorate as a result of (i) shocks, modeled as a compound Poisson process and (ii) deterministic, state dependent progressive rate, with variable and fixed maintenance cost. We define maintenance strategies based on an impulse control model where time and size of interventions are executed according the the system state, which is obtained from permanent monitoring. We characterize the value function as the unique viscosity solution of the HJB equation and prove that a $(\underline{s},\overline{s},S)$ policy is optimal. We also provide numerical examples. Finally, a singular control problem is proposed when there is no fixed cost, which study and relation with the former problem is open for future discussion.
Half the entanglement in critical systems is distillable from a single specimen

We establish a quantitative relationship between the entanglement content of a single quantum chain at a critical point and the corresponding entropy of entanglement. We find that, surprisingly, the leading critical scaling of the single-copy entanglement with respect to any bipartitioning is exactly one-half of the entropy of entanglement, in a general setting of conformal field theory and quasifree systems. Conformal symmetry imposes that the single-copy entanglement scales as ${E}_{1}({\ensuremath{\rho}}_{L})=(c∕6)\mathrm{ln}\phantom{\rule{0.2em}{0ex}}L\ensuremath{-}(c∕6)({\ensuremath{\pi}}^{2}∕\mathrm{ln}\phantom{\rule{0.2em}{0ex}}L)+O(1∕L)$, where $L$ is the number of constituents in a block of an infinite chain and $c$ denotes the central charge. This shows that from a single specimen of a critical chain, already half the entanglement can be distilled compared to the rate that is asymptotically available. The result is substantiated by a quantitative analysis for all translationally invariant quantum spin chains corresponding to all isotropic quasifree fermionic models. An example of the $XY$ spin chain shows that away from criticality the above relation is maintained only near the quantum phase transition.
Reverse Branch Target Buffer Poisoning

—Memory corruption attacks are widely used to achieve remote code execution or privilege escalation in applications. To mitigate these attacks, the operational system usually randomizes the addresses of pages using Address Layout Randomization (ASLR). Using speculative execution, modern CPUs rely on branch predictors to choose the next instruction to be fetched in the CPU pipeline. This paper presents a new Spectre v2-based technique for abusing branch predictors to bypass ASLR on Intel CPUs. Our attack abuses the fact that not only can the attacker pollute the branch target buffer such as in a specter-like scenario, but victims can also trigger a branch misprediction in the attacker process, leading the attacker to speculatively jump to the same ASLR-protected address. Using a second cache side channel the attacker can then retrieve the address, completely bypassing the ASLR for the target process. Using a real 3rd generation Intel processor hosted on Google’s cloud, we successfully recovered the victim’s address 40% of the time, with 100% accuracy when recovered, with each execution taking around 15 seconds to complete.
RNA m6A and 5hmC regulate monocyte and macrophage gene expression programs

Background RNA modifications are essential for the establishment of cellular identity. Although increasing evidence indicates that RNA modifications regulate the innate immune response, their role in monocyte-to-macrophage differentiation and polarisation is unclear. To date, most studies have focused on m6A, while other RNA modifications, including 5hmC, remain poorly characterised. The interplay between different RNA modifications that may occur in specific cellular contexts remains similarly unexplored. Results We profiled m6A and 5hmC epitranscriptomes, transcriptomes, translatomes and proteomes of monocytes and macrophages at rest and pro- and anti-inflammatory states. We observed that decreased expression of m6A and 5hmC writers, METTL3 and TET-enzymes respectively, facilitated monocyte-to-macrophage differentiation. Despite a global trend of m6A and 5hmC loss during macrophage differentiation, enrichment of m6A and/or 5hmC on specific categories of transcripts essential for macrophage differentiation positively correlated with their expression and translation. m6A and 5hmC mark and are associated with the expression of transcripts with critical functions in pro- and anti-inflammatory macrophages. Notably, we also discovered the coexistence of m6A and 5hmC marking alternatively-spliced isoforms and/or opposing ends of the untranslated regions (UTR) of transcripts with key roles in macrophage biology. In specific examples, RNA 5hmC controls the decay of transcripts independently of m6A. Conclusions This study: i) uncovers m6A, 5hmC and their writer enzymes as regulators of monocyte and macrophage gene expression programs and ii) provides a comprehensive dataset to interrogate the role of RNA modifications in a plastic system. Altogether, this work sheds light on the role of RNA modifications as central regulators of effector cells in innate immunity.
Malassezia sympodialis Mala s 1 allergen is a potential KELCH protein that cross reacts with human skin

Malassezia yeast species are the dominant commensal fungal species of the human skin microbiota, but are also associated with inflammatory skin diseases, such as seborrheic dermatitis and atopic eczema (AE). Mala s 1, a β-propeller protein, is an allergen identified in Malassezia sympodialis inducing both IgE and T-cell reactivity in the majority of patients with AE. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the role of Mala s 1 allergen in skin disease. An anti-Mala s 1 antibody was used to investigate the cellular localisation of Mala s 1, the potential of Mala s 1 as a therapeutic target and examine cross-reactivity of the anti-Mala s 1 antibody with human skin. We demonstrate by high pressure freezing electron microscopy and immune-staining that Mala s 1 is located in the cell wall of M. sympodialis yeast cells. Despite the ability of the anti-Mala s 1 antibody to bind to yeast cells, it did not inhibit M. sympodialis growth suggesting Mala s 1 may not be an attractive antifungal target. The Mala s 1 predicted protein sequence was analysed in silico and was found to contain a motif indicative of a KELCH protein, a group of β-propeller proteins. Humans express a large number of KELCH proteins including some that are localised in the skin. To test the hypothesis that antibodies against Mala s 1 cross react with human skin proteins we examined the binding of anti-Mala s 1 antibody to human skin explant samples. Reactivity with the antibody was visualised in the epidermal layer of skin. To further characterise putative human targets recognised by the anti-Mala s 1 antibody, proteins were extracted from immunoblot gel bands and proteomic analysis performed. Several candidate human proteins were identified. To conclude, we propose that Mala s 1 is a KELCH-like β-propeller protein with similarity to human skin proteins and Mala s 1 recognition may trigger the production of cross-reactive responses that contribute to skin diseases associated with M. sympodialis.
A new take on model-based and model-free influences on mental effort and striatal prediction errors

A standard assumption in neuroscience is that low-effort model-free learning is automatic and continuously employed, while more complex model-based strategies are only used when the rewards they generate are worth the additional effort. We present evidence refuting this assumption. First, we demonstrate flaws in previous reports of combined model-free and model-based reward prediction errors in the ventral striatum that likely led to spurious results. More appropriate analyses yield no evidence of a model-free prediction errors in this region. Second, we find that task instructions generating more correct model-based behaviour reduce rather than increase mental effort. This is inconsistent with cost-benefit arbitration between model-based and model-free strategies. Together, our data suggest that model-free learning may not be automatic. Instead, humans can reduce mental effort by using a model-based strategy alone rather than arbitrating between multiple strategies. Our results call for re-evaluation of the assumptions in influential theories of learning and decision-making.
Topology of Kähler Manifolds with Weakly Pseudoconvex Boundary

We study Kahler manifolds-with-boundary, not necessarily compact, with weakly pseudoconvex boundary, each component of which is compact. If such a manifold $K$ has $l\ge2$ boundary components (possibly $l=\infty$), then it has first betti number at least $l-1$, and the Levi form of any boundary component is zero. If $K$ has $l\ge1$ pseudoconvex boundary components and at least one non-parabolic end, the first betti number of $K$ is at least $l$. In either case, any boundary component has non-vanishing first betti number. If $K$ has one pseudoconvex boundary component with vanishing first betti number, the first betti number of $K$ is also zero. Especially significant are applications to Kahler ALE manifolds, and to Kahler 4-manifolds. This significantly extends prior results in this direction (eg. Kohn-Rossi), and uses substantially simpler methods.
Excursion and return times of a geodesic to a subset of a hyperbolic Riemann surface

We calculate the asymptotic average rate at which a generic geodesic on a finite area hyperbolic 2-orbifold returns to a subsurface with geodesic boundary. As a consequence we get the average time a generic geodesic spends in such a subsurface. Related results are obtained for excursions into a collar neighborhood of a simple closed geodesic and the associated distribution of excursion depths.
SUMOylation regulates Lem2 function in centromere clustering and silencing

Regulation by the small modifier SUMO is heavily dependent on spatial control of enzymes that mediate the attachment and removal of SUMO on substrate proteins. Here we show that in fission yeast, delocalisation of the SUMO protease Ulp1 from the nuclear envelope results in centromeric defects that can be attributed to hyper-SUMOylation at the nuclear periphery. Unexpectedly, we find that while this localised hyper-SUMOylation impairs centromeric silencing, it can also enhance centromere clustering. Moreover, both effects are at least partially dependent on SUMOylation of the inner nuclear membrane protein Lem2. Lem2 has previously been implicated in diverse biological processes, including the promotion of both centromere clustering and silencing, but how these distinct activities are coordinated was unclear; our observations suggest a model whereby SUMOylation may serve as a regulatory switch, modulating Lem2 interactions with competing partner proteins to balance its roles in alternative pathways. Our findings also reveal a previously unappreciated role for SUMOylation in promoting centromere clustering.
Target–Distractor Competition Modulates Saccade Trajectories in Space and Object Space

Visual Abstract Saccade planning and execution can be affected by a multitude of factors present in a target selection task. Recent studies have shown that the similarity between a target and nearby distractors affects the curvature of saccade trajectories, because of target–distractor competition. To further understand the nature of this competition, we varied the distance between and the similarity of complex target and distractor objects in a delayed match-to-sample task to examine their effects on human saccade trajectories and better understand the underlying neural circuitry. For trials with short saccadic reaction times (SRTs) when target–distractor competition is still active, the distractor is attractive and saccade trajectories are deviated toward the distractor. We found a robust effect of distance consistent with saccade vector averaging, whereas the effect of similarity suggested the existence of an object-based suppressive surround. At longer SRTs, there was sufficient time for competition between the objects to complete and the distractor to be repulsive, which resulted in saccade trajectory deviations away from the distractor exhibiting the effects of a spatial suppressive surround. In terms of similarity, as the target–distractor similarity decreased, the initial saccade angle shifted toward the target, reflecting stronger distractor inhibition. There were no interactions between distance and similarity at any point in the time course of target–distractor competition. Together, saccade trajectories reflect target–distractor competition that is affected independently by both spatial and object space suppressive surrounds. The differences in saccade trajectories at short and long SRTs distinguish between active and completed decision-making processes.
Entropy in the classical and quantum polymer black hole models

We investigate the entropy counting for black hole horizons in loop quantum gravity (LQG). We argue that the space of 3D closed polyhedra is the classical counterpart of the space of SU(2) intertwiners at the quantum level. Then computing the entropy for the boundary horizon amounts to calculating the density of polyhedra or the number of intertwiners at fixed total area. Following the previous work (Bianchi 2011 Class. Quantum Grav. 28 114006) we dub these the classical and quantum polymer models for isolated horizons in LQG. We provide exact micro-canonical calculations for both models and we show that the classical counting of polyhedra accounts for most of the features of the intertwiner counting (leading order entropy and log-correction), thus providing us with a simpler model to further investigate correlations and dynamics. To illustrate this, we also produce an exact formula for the dimension of the intertwiner space as a density of ‘almost-closed polyhedra’.
Tropomyosin Cdc8 acetylation enhances binding to expressed S. pombe actin but does not promote differential association with fission yeast formins

It was proposed from cellular studies that S. pombe tropomyosin Cdc8 (Tpm) segregates into two populations due to the presence or absence of an amino-terminal acetylation that specifies which formin-mediated F-actin networks it binds (Coulton et 2010). Such a mechanism would have a profound impact on how actin networks self-segregate to perform different cellular functions, but direct biochemical evidence for this interaction is lacking. To address this knowledge gap, we employed 3-color TIRF microscopy using all recombinant S. pombe proteins to probe in vitro multicomponent mechanisms involving S. pombe actin, acetylated and unacetylated Tpm, formins Cdc12 and For3, and myosins Myo2 and Myo51. We show that acetyl-Tpm exhibits tight binding to actin in contrast to weaker binding by unacetylated Tpm. This result is consistent with acetylation promoting end-to-end polymerization of Tpm but inconsistent with unacetylated Tpm functioning as an independent variant, especially at low concentrations. In disagreement with the differential recruitment model, fluorescently labeled Tpm, with or without acetylation, showed no preferential binding to filaments assembled by different formins, nor did Tpm binding have any bias towards the growing formin-bound barbed ends of filaments. We also showed that despite a 12% sequence divergence between skeletal and S. pombe actin, S. pombe myosins Myo2 and Myo51 exhibited similar motile behavior with the two actins, consistent with the structural finding that myosin interacts with a conserved footprint on actin (Robert-Paganin et al., 2021). Although our in vitro findings do not support a direct formin-tropomyosin interaction, there remains the possibility that formins bias differential tropomyosin isoform recruitment through an undiscovered mechanism involving additional proteins.
Complete conformal field theory solution of a chiral six-point correlation function

Using conformal field theory, we perform a complete analysis of the chiral six-point correlation function with the four ϕ1, 2 operators at the corners of an arbitrary rectangle, and the point z = x + iy in the interior. We calculate this for arbitrary central charge (equivalently, SLE parameter κ > 0). C is of physical interest because for percolation (κ = 6) and many other two-dimensional critical points, it specifies the density at z of critical clusters conditioned to touch either or both vertical ends of the rectangle, with these ends ‘wired’, i.e. constrained to be in a single cluster, and the horizontal ends free. The correlation function may be written as the product of an algebraic prefactor f and a conformal block G, where f = f(x, y, m), with m a cross-ratio specified by the corners (m determines the aspect ratio of the rectangle). By appropriate choice of f and using coordinates that respect the symmetry of the problem, the conformal block G is found to be independent of either y or x, and given by an Appell function.
Examples of dynamical degree equals arithmetic degree

Let f : X --> X be a dominant rational map of a projective variety defined over a number field. An important geometric-dynamical invariant of f is its (first) dynamical degree d_f= lim SpecRadius((f^n)^*)^{1/n}. For algebraic points P of X whose forward orbits are well-defined, there is an analogous (upper) arithmetic degree a_f(P) = limsup h_X(f^n(P))^{1/n}, where h_X is an ample Weil height on X. In an earlier paper, we proved the fundamental inequality a_f(P) \le d_f and conjectured that a_f(P) = d_f whenever the orbit of P is Zariski dense. In this paper we show that the conjecture is true for several types of maps. In other cases, we provide support for the conjecture by proving that there is a Zariski dense set of points with disjoint orbits and satisfying a_f(P) = d_f.
Marvel’s Agent Carter: Portraying a strong woman in 1940s America

Abstract:Marvel’s Agent Carter was the first woman-led comics-based Marvel television show. The two-season series features Peggy Carter, a strong woman and leader who not only combated agents that endangered late 1940s America but also the sexism and racism of the period. Her most powerful opponent in each season is a similarly strong woman, in each case a version of the femme fatale of 1940s film noir. The show underlines that while both Carter and the women who oppose her seek empowerment, their goals differ. The series shows that women’s choices were constrained and sexual harassment was commonplace in this era, with links to ongoing struggle for equality in the present. One reason provided for male behavior towards women during this time is a feeling of threatened masculinity in the wake of the Second World War. Eventually, the show’s social critique is expanded to highlight the racism of the era as well, whereas Carter is shown to value people based on their character and capability, not other factors. The series also reveals the disparity between women’s lived reality and the media portrayals of the time. Critical assessments of media themes of female representation and empowerment, such as in this series, have differed: negative appraisals have criticized such narratives for not pointing to how systemic change can and needs to occur, while positive assessment can be drawn from observing changes that have resulted from “negotiations” taking place between those making the television shows and films and the audiences upon who their success depends. As a result of this ongoing process, a growing number of Marvel television shows and films are being made with strong women in leading roles. Agent Carter, an intelligent, resilient woman who is an able leader, therefore turned out to be the prototypical heroine for later Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) productions with women in leading roles.
The Rise of Neo-Abolitionism in Europe: Exploring the role of the Neoliberalism–Vulnerability–Security Nexus in the Prostitution Policies of the United Kingdom, Spain, France, and Ireland

Abstract:This article explains the rise of neo-abolitionism in Europe with reference to the intersection that it enables between the gender and sexual politics of neoliberalism, vulnerability, and security. Analyzing the recent adoption of neo-abolitionist prostitution policies in the United Kingdom, Spain, France, and Ireland, it contends that neo-abolitionism offers a suitable response to the needs that globalized neoliberalism creates for European states, allowing them to extend their control, disguise their moral agenda, and reproduce their material and normative foundations, guaranteeing the reproduction of the population and accumulation of wealth while reasserting their sovereignty and political identity as progressive in gender and sexual terms.