Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Outflow-dominated Emission from the Quiescent Massive Black Holes in NGC 4621 and NGC 4697

The nearby elliptical galaxies NGC 4621 and NGC 4697 each host a supermassive black hole with M• > 108 M☉. Analysis of archival Chandra data and new NRAO Very Large Array data shows that each galaxy contains a low-luminosity active galactic nucleus (LLAGN), identified as a faint, hard X-ray source that is astrometrically coincident with a faint 8.5-GHz source. The latter has a diameter less that 0.3″ (26 pc for NGC 4621, 17 pc for NGC 4697). The black holes energizing these LLAGNs have Eddington ratios L(2–10 keV)/L(Edd) ∼ 10−9, placing them in the so-called quiescent regime. The emission from these quiescent black holes is radio-loud, with log RX = log ν Lν(8.5 GHz)/L(2–10 keV) ∼ − 2, suggesting the presence of a radio outflow. Also, application of the radio-X-ray-mass relation from Yuan & Cui for quiescent black holes predicts the observed radio luminosities ν Lν(8.5 GHz) to within a factor of a few. Significantly, that relation invokes X-ray emission from the outflow rather than from an accretion flow. The faint, but detectable, emission from these two massive black holes is therefore consistent with being outflow-dominated. Observational tests of this finding are suggested.
Severity stages of chronic nodular prurigo: analysis of associated itch intensity and quality of life impairment

Introduction: Chronic nodular prurigo (CNPG) is a pruritic neuroinflammatory skin disease characterized by the presence of multiple pruriginous nodules. Previous psychometric analyzes showed the presence of moderate to severe pruritus and a considerable impairment of quality of life. A detailed study of these parameters in relation to the severity of the disease defined by the number of lesions is lacking. Methods: A total of 131 adult patients with CNPG were included. The number of pruriginous lesions and disease stage was determined by using the Prurigo Activity and Severity (PAS) scale and the prurigo-specific Investigator’s Global Assessment (IGA) scale. Patient-reported outcomes comprised pruritus intensity (worst itch intensity of the previous 24 h using the numerical rating scale; WI-NRS/24 h) and the impairment of quality of life (ItchyQol, Dermatology Life Quality Index; DLQI). Results: The counted and estimated number of pruriginous nodules correlated strongly with each other (r=0.82; P<0.001), moderately with the WI-NRS/24 h (counted number: r=0.44, P<0.001; estimated number: r=0.45, P<0.001) and with the DLQI score (counted number: r=0.40, P<0.001; estimated number: r=0.38, P<0.001). The severity groups of the CNPG, as defined by the IGA scale, correlated strongly with the WINRS/24 h and DLQI scores. With increasing severity of CNPG, increasing pruritus intensity and DLQI/ItchyQoL scores were recorded. Conclusion: The correlation between objective (disease stage) and subjective (itch intensity, quality of life) CNPG disease parameters argues for a representative disease severity characterization via physician assessments using either PAS or IGA.
Trends and Outcomes of Fungal Temporal Bone Osteomyelitis: A Scoping Review

Introduction Temporal bone osteomyelitis is an invasive infection most often caused by bacteria and associated with high mortality. Fungal etiologies are rare and little is known of the predictors of disease severity and outcomes in fungal temporal bone osteomyelitis. Materials and Methods A scoping review was performed to determine what is known from the literature on how clinical, diagnostic, and treatment characteristics relate to patient outcomes in fungal temporal bone osteomyelitis. Using PRISMA guidelines, three databases were searched to identify all published cases of fungal temporal bone osteomyelitis. Data were extracted from each study, including clinical, diagnostic, and treatment characteristics, and outcomes. Results Sixty-eight studies comprising 74 individual cases of fungal temporal bone osteomyelitis were included. All studies were case reports. There were high rates of diabetes, facial nerve palsy, infectious complications, and need for surgical intervention, as well as a significant delay in the evaluation and diagnosis of fungal temporal bone osteomyelitis. Disease recovery was greater in patients presenting with otorrhea, comorbid diabetes, and in those without facial nerve palsy. Discussion Many of the defining characteristics of fungal temporal bone osteomyelitis remain unknown, and future reports should focus on determining factors that improve timely diagnosis and treatment of fungal TBO in addition to identifying prognostic indicators for outcomes and survival.
School Hearing Screening With a Portable, Tablet-Based, Noise-Attenuating Audiometric Headset in Rural Nicaragua

Objective To investigate the utility and effectiveness of a noise-attenuating, tablet-based mobile health system combined with asynchronous telehealth evaluations for screening rural Nicaraguan schoolchildren for hearing loss. Study Design Prospective population-based survey. Setting Rural Nicaraguan communities. Patients There were 3,398 school children 7 to 9 years of age. Intervention(s) Diagnostic automated and manual audiometry, detailed asynchronous telehealth evaluations Main Outcome Measure(s) Referral rates, ambient noise levels, and audiometric results as well as hearing loss prevalence, types, and risk factors. Results Despite high ambient noise levels during screening (46.7 dBA), no effect of noise on referral rates on automated audiometry or confirmatory manual audiometry in those who failed automated testing was seen. The overall audiometric referral rate was 2.6%. Idiopathic sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) and cerumen impaction were the most common types of hearing loss in this population with an estimated prevalence of hearing loss (all types) of 18.3 per 1,000 children. SNHL was associated with both drug exposure during pregnancy (p = 0.04) and pesticide exposure in the home (p = 0.03). Conclusion Hearing screening using a tablet-based, noise-attenuating wireless headset audiometer is feasible and effective in rural low-resource environments with moderately elevated ambient noise levels. The referral rate with noise-attenuating headsets was much lower than that previous reports on this population. In addition, manual audiometry resulted in much lower referral rates than automated audiometry. The confirmed hearing loss rate in this study is comparable to reports from other low-income countries that use some form of noise attenuation during screening. Pesticide exposure and drug exposure during pregnancy are potential causes of SNHL in this population.
Video Analysis of Otologic Instrument Movement During Resident Mastoidectomies

Objective To measure surgical instrument movement during resident mastoidectomies and identify metrics that correlate with experience. Study Design Retrospective case series. Setting Tertiary care center. Subjects Ten postgraduate year (PGY) 2, 6 PGY3, 7 PGY4, and 19 PGY5 recordings of mastoidectomy performed by otolaryngology residents. Interventions One-minute intraoperative recordings of mastoidectomies performed during cochlear implantation were collected. Drill and suction-irrigator motion were analyzed with sports motion tracking software. Main Outcome Measures Mean instrument speed, angle, and angular velocity were calculated. Mann-Whitney U tests compared mean instrument metrics between PGY levels. Change in drill speed for seven residents between their PGY2 to PGY5 years was individually analyzed. Results Mean drill speed was significantly greater for PGY5 residents compared with PGY2s (2.9 versus 1.8 cm/s, p = 0.001). Compared with PGY2 residents, suction speed was greater as a PGY5 (1.2 versus 0.9 cm/s; p = 0.201) and significantly greater as a PGY4 (1.5 versus 0.9 cm/s, p = 0.039). Of the seven residents individually analyzed, group mean drill speed increased by 0.4 cm/s, yearly. Conclusions Drill and suction-irrigator movement during the second minute of drilling of a cortical mastoidectomy seems to increase with resident level. Objective video analysis is a potential adjunct for differentiating novices from more experienced surgeons and monitoring surgical skills progress.
PRACTICAL METHODS FOR CONTINUOUS GRAVITATIONAL WAVE DETECTION USING PULSAR TIMING DATA

Gravitational waves (GWs) are tiny ripples in the fabric of space time predicted by Einstein's general relativity. Pulsar timing arrays (PTAs) are well poised to detect low-frequency (10−9–10−7 Hz) GWs in the near future. There has been a significant amount of research into the detection of a stochastic background of GWs from supermassive black hole binaries (SMBHBs). Recent work has shown that single continuous sources standing out above the background may be detectable by PTAs operating at a sensitivity sufficient to detect the stochastic background. The most likely sources of continuous GWs in the pulsar timing frequency band are extremely massive and/or nearby SMBHBs. In this paper we present detection strategies including various forms of matched filtering and power spectral summing. We determine the efficacy and computational cost of such strategies. It is shown that using an optimal matched filter explicitly including the poorly constrained pulsar distances with a grid-based method is computationally infeasible. We show that an Earth-term-matched filter constructed using only the correlated signal terms is robust, computationally viable and highly sensitive to GW signals. We further show that a simple power spectral summing technique is nearly equivalent to the Earth-term-matched filter in terms of the minimum detectable amplitude. Both of these techniques are only a factor of two less sensitive than the computationally unrealizable optimal matched filter. We also show that a pairwise matched filter, taking the pulsar distances into account, is comparable to the optimal matched filter for the single template case and comparable to the Earth-term-matched filter for many search templates. Finally, using simulated data optimal quality, we place a theoretical minimum detectable strain amplitude of h > 2 × 10−15 from continuous GWs at frequencies on the order ∼1/Tobs.
Observational evidence for the evolution of nuclear metallicity and star formation rate with the merger stage

We investigate the evolution of nuclear gas-phase oxygen abundance and star formation rate (SFR) of local far-infrared selected star-forming galaxies along the merger sequence, as traced by their optical morphologies. The sample was drawn from a cross-correlation analysis of the IRAS Point Source Catalog Redshift Survey and 1 Jy ultraluminous infrared galaxy sample with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7 database. The investigation is done by comparing our sample to a control sample matched in the normalized redshift distribution in two diagnostics, which are the nuclear gas-phase metallicity vs. stellar mass and the nuclear SFR vs. stellar mass diagrams. Galaxies with different morphological types show different mass-metallicity relations (MZRs). Compared to the MZR defined by the control sample, isolated spirals have comparable metallicities with the control sample at a given stellar mass. Spirals in pairs and interacting galaxies with projected separations of rp > 20 kpc show a mild metallicity dilution of 0.02–0.03 dex. Interacting galaxies with rp < 20 kpc, pre-mergers and advanced mergers are underabundant by ∼ 0.06, ∼ 0.05 and ∼ 0.04 dex, respectively. This shows an evolutionary trend that the metallicity is increasingly depressed as the merging proceeds and it is diluted most dramatically when two galaxies are closely interacting. Afterwards, the interstellar medium (ISM) is enriched when the galaxies coalesce. This is the first time that such ISM enrichment at the final coalescence stage has been observed, which demonstrates the importance of supernova explosions in affecting the nuclear metallicity. Moreover, the central SFR enhancement relative to the control sample evolves simultaneously with the nuclear gas-phase oxygen abundance. Our results support the predictions from numerical simulations.
In hot water: effects of temperature-dependent interiors on the radii of water-rich super-Earths

Observational advancements are leading to increasingly precise measurements of super-Earth masses and radii. Such measurements are used in internal structure models to constrain interior compositions of super-Earths. It is now critically important to quantify the effect of various model assumptions on the predicted radii. In particular, models often neglect thermal effects, a choice justified by noting that the thermal expansion of a solid Earth-like planet is small. However, the thermal effects for water-rich interiors may be significant. We have systematically explored the extent to which thermal effects can influence the radii of water-rich super-Earths over a wide range of masses, surface temperatures, surface pressures and water mass fractions. We developed temperature-dependent internal structure models of water-rich super-Earths that include a comprehensive temperature-dependent water equation of state. We found that thermal effects induce significant changes in their radii. For example, for super-Earths with 10 per cent water by mass, the radius increases by up to 0.5$\,$R$_\oplus$ when the surface temperature is increased from 300 to 1000$\,$K, assuming a surface pressure of 100$\,$bar and an adiabatic temperature gradient in the water layer. The increase is even larger at lower surface pressures and/or higher surface temperatures, while changing the water fraction makes only a marginal difference. These effects are comparable to current super-Earth radial measurement errors, which can be better than 0.1$\,$R$_\oplus$. It is therefore important to ensure that the thermal behaviour of water is taken into account when interpreting super-Earth radii using internal structure models.
AJEMS-06-2021-0304_proof 480..507

Purpose – This study aims to investigate the factors that affect the likelihood of formalizing informal sector activities in 13 Sub-Saharan African countries, usingWorld Bank enterprise survey data collected between the periods 2009 and 2018. Notwithstanding the great contribution of the informal economy in Africa, developing countries may stand to gain more if they make inroads in formalizing the informal sector. Design/methodology/approach – Since the dependent variable is binary taking the value of one if the firm is willing to formalize and zero otherwise, the study will employ a discrete choice probit model. Findings –Results inter alia show that firms that aremore likely to formalize are young, owned by individuals with high levels of education and, have registered before. Governments should therefore target firms that are young and provide them with information about the benefits of registration, and if these firms are owned by experienced and educated individuals, the likelihood for them to register would be high. Research limitations/implications – The study uses cross sectional data and therefore cannot capture time variant factors affecting the probability to register and also cannot correct effectively for endogeneity. Practical implications – Governments should therefore target firms that are young and provide them with as much information as possible about the benefits of registration, and if these firms are owned by experienced and educated individuals, the likelihood to convince them to register would be high. They should also reduce the cost of registration so as to improve net benefits in line with the rational exit view. Social implications – Formalizing informal activities will help improve the performance of these firms, reduce vulnerable employment as well as crime, poverty and inequality. Providing decent operating and working conditions to informal players will reduce social and political unrest. Originality/value – The African continent is home to many informal firms accounting for roughly 55% of economic activity with 90% of workers eking out a living in a sector that does not respect worker rights, provide decent working conditions and where changes in growth have done little to reduce its size. Regulatory reforms have also been implemented resulting in the number of start-up registration procedures falling from 11 in 2003 to seven in 2019. The uniqueness of Sub Saharan Africa in terms of entrepreneurial culture, political, institutional and economic conditions as well as lack of consensus in the extant empirical literature make this study pertinent.
Electromechanical properties of freestanding graphene functionalized with tin oxide (SnO2) nanoparticles

Freestanding graphene membranes were functionalized with SnO2 nanoparticles. A detailed procedure providing uniform coverage and chemical synthesis is presented. Elemental composition was determined using scanning electron microscopy combined with energy dispersive x-ray analysis. A technique called electrostatic-manipulation scanning tunneling microscopy was used to probe the electromechanical properties of functionalized freestanding graphene samples. We found ten times larger movement perpendicular to the plane compared to pristine freestanding graphene and propose a nanoparticle encapsulation model.
Nonlinear growth of zonal flows by secondary instability in general magnetic geometry

We present a theory of the nonlinear growth of zonal flows in magnetized plasma turbulence, by the mechanism of secondary instability. The theory is derived for general magnetic geometry, and is thus applicable to both tokamaks and stellarators. The predicted growth rate is shown to compare favorably with nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations, with the error scaling as expected with the small parameter of the theory.
UNVEILING THE THREE-DIMENSIONAL STRUCTURE OF GALAXY CLUSTERS: RESOLVING THE DISCREPANCY BETWEEN X-RAY AND LENSING MASSES

We present the first determination of the intrinsic three-dimensional (3D) shapes and the physical parameters of both dark matter (DM) and intracluster medium (ICM) in a triaxial galaxy cluster. While most previous studies rely on the standard spherical modeling, our approach allows us to infer the properties of the non-spherical intracluster gas distribution sitting in hydrostatic equilibrium within triaxial DM halos by combining X-ray, weak-lensing, and strong-lensing observations. We present an application of our method to the galaxy cluster MACS J1423.8+2404. This source is an example of a well-relaxed object with a unimodal mass distribution, and we infer shape and physical properties of the ICM and the DM for this source. We found that this is a triaxial galaxy cluster with DM halo axial ratios 1.53 ± 0.15 and 1.44 ± 0.07 on the plane of the sky and along the line of sight, respectively. We show that accounting for the 3D geometry allows us to solve the long-standing discrepancy between galaxy cluster masses determined from X-ray and gravitational-lensing observations. We also focus on the determination of the inner slope of the DM density profile α, since the cuspiness of DM density profiles in the central regions is one of the critical tests of the cold dark matter (CDM) paradigm for structure formation: we measure α = 0.94 ± 0.09 by accounting explicitly for the 3D structure for this cluster, a value that is close to the CDM predictions, while the standard spherical modeling leads to the biased value α = 1.24 ± 0.07. Our study proves that it is not possible to disprove the manifestation of the DM with ∼0.25% of error in failing to reject the null hypothesis. Our findings provide further evidences that support the CDM scenario and open a new window in recovering the intrinsic shapes and desired physical parameters of galaxy clusters in a bias-free way. This has important consequences in using galaxy clusters as cosmological probes.
The effect of tax avoidance and firm’s life cycle on cash holdings: Evidence from Egyptian stock market

This research aims to investigate the impact of tax avoidance and firm life cycle on cash holdings for a sample of 126 non-financials companies listed on the Egyptian stock market with 711 observations for the period 2012 2019. Tax avoidance, the first independent variable is measured by two proxies: the current effective tax rate (ETR), and book tax difference ratio (BTD). For the second independent variable, firm’s life cycle, the cash flow approach is used to capture the five stages of the life cycle. Turning to the cash holdings as the dependent variable, two indicators are used. The first main indicator is Ln cash ratio calculated by taking the natural logarithm of cash and cash equivalents to total assets. The second indicator is used in the robustness test, which is calculated as the natural logarithm of cash and cash equivalents divided by total assets minus cash and cash equivalents. The results elaborated that there is a significant negative relationship between tax avoidance measured by the two proxies and cash holdings measured by the two indicators. Additionally, the findings displayed that the introduction stage of the firm’s life cycle has a significant negative impact on cash holdings and a significant positive effect of shake-out stage on cash holdings while there is no relationship between the growth, mature and decline stages and cash holdings. The statistical tests are repeated for all variables using the second indicator of cash holding and the same results are obtained. Beyond these tests, for more analysis the research sample is divided into five subsamples presented the five stages of firm’s life cycle. The results showed that higher negative impact of tax avoidance on cash holdings lies in the shake-out and the decline stages. On the other side, no impact of tax avoidance on cash holdings in the remaining stages.
Spin-singlet superconductivity in the doped topological crystalline insulator Sn0.96In0.04Te

The In-doped topological crystalline insulator Sn1−x InxTe is a candidate for a topological superconductor, where a pseudo-spin-triplet state has been proposed. To clarify the spin symmetry of Sn1−x InxTe, we perform 125Te-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements in polycrystalline samples with 0 x 0.15. The penetration depth calculated from the NMR line width is T independent below half the superconducting transition temperature (Tc) in polycrystalline Sn0.96In0. 04Te, which indicates a fully opened superconducting gap. In this sample, the spin susceptibility measured by the spin Knight shift (Ks) at an external magnetic field of μ0H0 = 0.0872 T decreases below Tc, and Ks(T = 0)/Ks(T = Tc) reaches 0.36 ± 0.10, which is far below the limiting value 2/3 expected for a spin-triplet state for a cubic crystal structure. Our result indicates that polycrystalline Sn0.96In0. 04Te is a spin-singlet superconductor.
Kinematically Detected Polar Rings/Disks in Blue Compact Dwarf Galaxies

Polar ring galaxies are systems with nearly orthogonally rotated components. We have found the gas on polar (or strongly inclined) orbits in two BCD galaxies using ionized gas velocity fields taken with a Fabry-Perot interferometer of the SAO RAS 6-m telescope. Our analysis shows that all ionized gas in Mrk 33 is concentrated in a compact disk (3 kpc in diameter) which rotates in the polar plane relative to the main stellar body. The gaseous disk in Mrk 370 has a more complex structure with a heavily warped innermost part. The presence of polar gaseous structures supports an idea that current the burst of star formation in these galaxies is due to the external gas accretion or merging. A possible fraction of polar structures among BCD galaxies seems to be very large (up to 10–15%).