Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Generalized model-independent characterization of strong gravitational lenses V: reconstructing the lensing distance ratio by supernovae for a general Friedmann universe

We determine the cosmic expansion rate from supernovae of type Ia to set up a data-based distance measure that does not make assumptions about the constituents of the universe, i.e. about a specific parametrization of a Friedmann cosmological model. The scale, determined by the Hubble constant H0, is the only free cosmological parameter left in the gravitational lensing formalism. We investigate to which accuracy and precision the lensing distance ratio D is determined from the Pantheon sample. Inserting D and its uncertainty into the lensing equations for given H0, especially the time-delay equation between a pair of multiple images, allows to determine lens properties, especially differences in the lensing potential (Δϕ), without specifying a cosmological model. We expand the luminosity distances into an analytic orthonormal basis, determine the maximum-likelihood weights for the basis functions by a globally optimal χ2-parameter estimation, and derive confidence bounds by Monte Carlo simulations. For typical strong lensing configurations between z = 0.5 and 1.0, Δϕ can be determined with a relative imprecision of 1.7 per cent, assuming imprecisions of the time delay and the redshift of the lens on the order of 1 per cent. With only a small, tolerable loss in precision, the model-independent lens characterisation developed in this paper series can be generalised by dropping the specific Friedmann model to determine D in favour of a data-based distance ratio. Moreover, for any astrophysical application, the approach presented here, provides distance measures for z ≤ 2.3 that are valid in any homogeneous, isotropic universe with general relativity as theory of gravity.
Influence of Bacterial Secondary Symbionts in Sitobion avenae on Its Survival Fitness against Entomopathogenic Fungi, Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium brunneum

Simple Summary Symbiotic relationships are common in nature and have influenced the evolution of life across the cosmos. Bacterial secondary symbionts are linked to the evolution of aphids’ heightened natural enemy defense mechanisms. Due to their significant historical contributions to insect control, entomopathogenic fungi are recognized as potential biocontrol agents. The research highlights the role of symbiotic bacteria in the protection of insects, especially aphids, against the entomopathogenic fungi and discuss potential implications of this symbiosis. Abstract The research was focused on the ability of wheat aphids Sitobion avenae, harboring bacterial secondary symbionts (BSS) Hamiltonella defensa or Regiella insecticola, to withstand exposure to fungal isolates of Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium brunneum. In comparison to aphids lacking bacterial secondary symbionts, BSS considerably increased the lifespan of wheat aphids exposed to B. bassiana strains (Bb1022, EABb04/01-Tip) and M. brunneum strains (ART 2825 and BIPESCO 5) and also reduced the aphids’ mortality. The wheat aphid clones lacking bacterial secondary symbionts were shown to be particularly vulnerable to M. brunneum strain BIPESCO 5. As opposed to wheat aphids carrying bacterial symbionts, fungal pathogens infected the wheat aphids lacking H. defensa and R. insecticola more quickly. When treated with fungal pathogens, bacterial endosymbionts had a favorable effect on the fecundity of their host aphids compared to the aphids lacking these symbionts, but there was no change in fungal sporulation on the deceased aphids. By defending their insect hosts against natural enemies, BSS increase the population of their host society and may have a significant impact on the development of their hosts.
Form factors ofBu,d,sdecays intop-wave axial-vector mesons in the light-cone sum rule approach

We calculate the vector and axial-vector form factors of B{sub u,d,s} decays into P-wave axial-vector mesons in the light-cone sum rule approach. For the sum rule results, we have included corrections of order m{sub A}/m{sub b}, where m{sub A} is the mass of the axial-vector meson A. The results are relevant to the light-cone distribution amplitudes of the axial-vector mesons. It is important to note that, owing to the G parity, the chiral-even two-parton light-cone distribution amplitudes of the {sup 3}P{sub 1} ({sup 1}P{sub 1}) mesons are symmetric (antisymmetric) under the exchange of quark and antiquark momentum fractions in the SU(3) limit. For chiral-odd light-cone distribution amplitudes, it is the other way around. The predictions for decay rates of B{sub u,d,s}{yields}Ae{nu}{sub e} are also presented.
Are static posturography-assisted biofeedback exercises effective in Parkinson's disease?

Abstract Background Parkinson disease (PD) is a progressive condition that causes disorders in movement and balance. Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of static posturography-assisted biofeedback exercises in PD-related balance disorder. Methods We screened 83 patients, 48 of whom were enrolled, and 41 completed the study. The sample was randomized into two groups, one submitted to static posturography-assisted biofeedback exercises and the other, to a conventional exercise program. The patients in the biofeedback group ( n = 20) performed biofeedback exercises in addition to conventional balance exercises. Those in the conventional exercise group ( n = 21) performed classic balance exercises. Both groups were treated for 20 minutes per session 3 times a week for 6 weeks. The patients were evaluated using the Hoehn and Yahr Scale, the Movement Disorder Society–Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS), the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), the Tinetti Gait and Balance Assessment (TGBA), the Timed Up and Go Test (TUG), the Tandem Stance Test (TST), a Turkish version of the Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) before and at the end of the treatment. Results No statistically significant differences were observed between the two groups in terms of the MDS-UPDRS, BBS, TGBA, TST, TUG, HAQ, or BDI measurements before and after the treatment ( p > 0.05). Conclusions Improved balance parameters were observed following balance training in the patients with PD, although static posturography-assisted biofeedback exercises appeared to provide no additional benefit. However, larger, randomized controlled trials are needed to investigate their effectiveness.
A New Definition of Thrombocytopenia Following Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation: Incidence, Outcome, and Predictors

Background: The aim of this study was to assess the incidence, outcomes, and risk factors associated with thrombocytopenia following TAVI according to a corrected platelet count (CPC), to avoid the bias of hemodilution/concentration. Methods: We analyzed patients who underwent TAVI in our center between 2009 and 2018. The study population were divided into three groups: none (NT), mild (MT), and severe (ST) postoperative thrombocytopenia. Primary outcomes were bleedings, length of hospital stay, and mortality. A multivariate logistic regression was performed to assess risk factors for ST. Results: A total of 907 patients were included in the analysis. MT was observed in 28.1% and ST in 2.6% of all patients. The following clinical outcomes were recorded: incidence of life-threatening and major bleeding (NT = 14.2%, MT = 20.8%, ST = 58.3%), the median length of hospital stay (NT = 8, MT = 10, ST = 14 days), in-hospital mortality (NT = 3.9%, MT = 6.3%, ST = 16.7%), and the overall significance in comparison with NT (p < 0.05). The logistic regression showed ST was associated with preoperative CPC, transapical access, diabetes mellitus, and the critical preoperative state. Conclusions: Worse clinical outcomes are associated with both MT and ST after TAVI. In particular, ST is associated with higher in-hospital and 30-day mortality. Management of modifiable baseline and procedural variables may improve this outcome.
Intra-professional stress-demonstrating veterinarian identity in Hong Kong.

OBJECTIVE Little is known about the contributing factors of mental health among veterinarians in Hong Kong. This qualitative study aimed to examine potential contributing factors that lead to their stress and poor mental health. PROCEDURES Potential participants were screened and recruited using purposive and snowball sampling to maximise variations. Semi-structured interviews were conducted between December 2020 and April 2021. The data collection and analysis adopted the constructivist grounded theory's three-stage coding process and were thematically coded and analysed. RESULTS Eighteen veterinarians took part in the study. Intra-professional stress was classified by stressors from individual veterinarians, expectations of their workplace, and shared values among the profession. Participants expected themselves to exhibit professionalism when under low-quality workplace leadership with restrictions from the profession's institutional regulations and resources. The urbanised culture and cyberbullying phenomenon in Hong Kong contributed significantly to the stress and impacted their mental well-being. CONCLUSION AND RELEVANCE The quality of communication and the feasibility of meeting expectations were overarching concepts associated with intra-professional stressors. While this paper focuses on stressors residing within the veterinary community, veterinarians' responses to expectations of the animal-health enthusiast community were equally influential. This study enabled an international comparison of the profession's distress from non-Anglosphere, urbanised city, and will shed light on the development of future research and practice to improve the mental health of veterinarians, which directly influences the well-being of the animals and their owners in Hong Kong.
Accretion states of the Galactic microquasar GRS 1758-258

We present the results of a radio and X-ray study of the Galactic micro quasar GRS 1758-258, using unpublished archival data and new observations. We focus in particular on the 2000-2002 state transitions, and on its more quiet behaviour in 2008-2009. Our spectral and timing analysis of the XMM-Newton data shows that the source was in the canonical intermediate, soft and hard states in 2000 September 19,2001 March 22 and 2002 September 28, respectively. We estimate the disk size, luminosity and temperature, which are consistent with a black hole mass approx.10 Solar Mass, There is much overlap between the range of total X-ray luminosities (on average approx. 0.02L(sub Edd)) in the hard and soft states, and probably between the corresponding mass accretion rates; in fact, the hard state is often more luminous. The extended radio lobes seen in 1992 and 1997 are still present in 2008-2009. The 5-GHz radio core flux density has shown variability between approx. 0.1-0.5 mJy over the last two decades. This firmly places GRS 1758-258 in the radio-quiet sequence of Galactic black holes, in the radio/X-ray plane. We note that this dichotomy is similar to the dichotomy between the radio/X-ray sequences of Seyfert and radio galaxies. We propose that the different radio efficiency of the two sequences is due to relativistic electron/positron jets in radio-loud black holes, and sub-relativistic, thermally dominated outflows in radio-quiet sources.
Specific knockout of Sox2 in astrocytes reduces reactive astrocyte formation and promotes recovery after early postnatal traumatic brain injury in mouse cortex

In response to central nervous system (CNS) injury, astrocytes go through a series of alterations, referred to as reactive astrogliosis, ranging from changes in gene expression and cell hypertrophy to permanent astrocyte borders around stromal cell scars in CNS lesions. The mechanisms underlying injury‐induced reactive astrocytes in the adult CNS have been extensively studied. However, little is known about injury‐induced reactive astrocytes during early postnatal development. Astrocytes in the mouse cortex are mainly produced through local proliferation during the first 2 weeks after birth. Here we show that Sox2, a transcription factor critical for stem cells and brain development, is expressed in the early postnatal astrocytes and its expression level was increased in reactive astrocytes after traumatic brain injury (TBI) at postnatal day (P) 7 in the cortex. Using a tamoxifen‐induced hGFAP‐CreERT2; Sox2flox/flox; Rosa‐tdT mouse model, we found that specific knockout of Sox2 in astrocytes greatly inhibited the proliferation of reactive astrocytes, the formation of glia limitans borders and subsequently promoted the tissue recovery after postnatal TBI at P7 in the cortex. In addition, we found that injury‐induced glia limitans borders were still formed at P2 in the wild‐type mouse cortex, and knockout of Sox2 in astrocytes inhibited the reactivity of both astrocytes and microglia. Together, these findings provide evidence that Sox2 is essential for the reactivity of astrocytes in response to the cortical TBI during the early postnatal period and suggest that Sox2‐dependent astrocyte reactivity is a potential target for therapeutic treatment after TBI.
Can Essential Oils Provide an Alternative Adjuvant Therapy for COVID-19 Infections and Pain Management at the Same Time?

The active compounds from essential oils have been an important asset in treating different diseases for many centuries. Nowadays, there are various available formulations used as food supplements to stimulate the immune system. In light of the current pandemic and the large amount of fake news circulating the internet, it is important to analyze which of the active compounds from essential oils can be successfully used in the treatment of COVID-19 infections. We analyzed the current literature on the effects of essential oils against the new SARS-CoV-2 virus to gain a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms of these compounds and establish their possible antiviral efficacy. The available studies have highlighted the antiviral potential of active compounds from essential oils, indicating that they could be used as adjuvants in treating various viral infections, including COVID-19, leading to a milder course of the disease, and improving patients’ outcomes. At the same time, these compounds relieve pain and lift the mood in comorbid patients suffering from opioid addiction. Essential oils might be useful as adjuvant tools, not only against SARS-CoV-2 but also for a subset of especially vulnerable patients affected with both COVID-19 and opioid addiction. However, randomized clinical trials are needed to determine their efficacy and develop standardized high-quality preparations that can be safely administered to the general population.
The joint evolution of baryons and dark matter haloes

ABSTRACT We have studied the dark matter (DM) distribution in a ≈ 10 12 h −1 M⊙ masshalo extracted from a simulation consistent with the concordance cosmology, wherethe physics regulating the transformation of gas into stars was allowed to changeproducing galaxies with diﬀerent morphologies. The presence of baryons produces theconcentration of the DM halo with respect to its corresponding dissipationless run,but we found that this response does not only depend on the amount of baryonsgathered in the central region but also on the way they have been assembled. DMand baryons aﬀect each other in a complex way so the formation history of a galaxyplays an important role on its ﬁnal total mass distribution. Supernova (SN) feedbackregulates the star formation and triggers galactic outﬂows not only in the centralgalaxy but also in its satellites. Our results suggest that, as the eﬀects of SN feedbackget stronger, satellites get less massive and can even be more easily disrupted bydynamical friction, transferring less angular momentum. We found indications thatthis angular momentum could be acquired not only by the outer part of the DMhalo but also by the inner ones and by the stellar component in the central galaxy.The latter eﬀect produces stellar migration which contributes to change the innerpotential well, probably working against further DM contraction. As a consequenceof the action of these processes, when the halo hosts a galaxy with an important discstructure formed by smooth gas accretion, it is more concentrated than when it hostsa spheroidal system which experienced more massive mergers and interactions. Wealso found that in the later case, the halo has less radial velocity anisotropy thanwhen the halo hosts a disc galaxy. In most of our runs with baryons, we do not detectthe inversion of the velocity dispersion characteristic of the dissipationless haloes. Wehave found that rotation velocities for the systems that were able to develop a discstructure are in good agreement with the observations and none of them have beenformed satisfying the adiabatic contraction hypothesis.Key words: galaxies: halos, galaxies: structure, cosmology: dark matter
Impact of Planting Date and Insecticide Application Methods on Melanaphis sorghi (Hemiptera: Aphididae) Infestation and Forage Type Sorghum Yield

Simple Summary Infestation of forage sorghum by Melanaphis sorghi remains a major threat to silage production in the southeastern USA. Studies aiming to refine IPM strategies are crucial to improve management of this invasive pest. Here, we investigated the impact of planting date and insecticide application methods, including in-furrow vs. foliar applications, on M. sorghi infestation and grain sorghum yield in Tifton, GA, and Florence, SC, USA. In-furrow applications of flupyradifurone significantly suppressed aphid infestations in both the early and late planted sorghum at both study locations in both years, while aphid populations were also successfully suppressed following the foliar application of the insecticide after threshold numbers of aphids per leaf were reached. Early planting and in-furrow insecticide application improved yield the most at Florence in the 2020 study. However, in years of low aphid abundance, no difference in yield was observed between treatments, including untreated. This research demonstrates that early planting and in-furrow and foliar insecticide applications provided sufficient protection to prevent significant yield loss. Thus, this suggests that early planting of forage sorghum combined with in-furrow and foliar insecticide applications can suppress aphid infestations and improve silage production in southern USA. Abstract Studies on the management of the invasive Melanaphis sorghi are essential to refining integrated pest management strategies against M. sorghi in forage sorghum in the USA. The objective of this study was to determine the impact of planting date (early planting and late planting) and in-furrow and foliar insecticide application of flupyradifurone, on M. sorghi infestation and forage sorghum yield in Tifton, Georgia and Florence, South Carolina, USA, in 2020 and 2021. Early planted sorghum supported slightly higher aphid density and severity of infestation as evident in the greater cumulative insect days values in the early planted sorghum at both Florence and Tifton in 2020 and 2021. A single foliar application reduced aphid infestations below the threshold level of 50 aphids per leaf. In contrast, in-furrow insecticidal application in selected plots at both locations significantly suppressed M. sorghi density to near-zero levels. Yield results in Florence in 2020 showed that sorghum yield was over 50% greater in early planted plots compared to late planted plots. Both insecticide treatments (foliar and in-furrow) resulted in significantly higher yield than untreated plots. These data indicate that early planting coupled with in-furrow and foliar insecticide applications can suppress M. sorghi infestations and improve silage production in forage sorghum in the USA.
Reduced Sulcal Depth in Central Sulcus of Major Depressive Disorder

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is one of the most common psychiatric disorders, and present various symptoms such as the dysregulation of mood, cognition, and behavior. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the morphometric change in MDD patients by voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and sulcal depth analyses. Forty-six MDD patients (mean age, SD; 36.07±14.34), and 23 age- and sex-matched normal controls (NML) (mean age, SD; 36.78±14.42) were included. Coronal 3D T1 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was obtained with the resolution of isotropic 1.0 mm. To check morphological changes of brain, T1 MRIs were objectively processed by VBM and sulcal depth methods. In sulcal depth analysis, depressed patients showed reduced sulcal depth in the areas of left posterior ramus of the lateral sulcus, superior frontal sulcus, supramarginal gyrus, central sulcus (Rolando's fissure), and Heschl's gyrus. And right posterior ramus of the lateral sulcus, temporal plane of the superior temporal gyrus, anterior transverse collateral sulcus, and central sulcus (Rolando’s fissure) were also reduced compared to NML. But, VBM analyses did not showed significant finding. Reduced sulcal depth in the motor and emotion related areas were found in patients with MDD. Especially reduced sulcal depth in bilateral central sulci which are connecting between primary motor cortex and primary sensory cortex seems to be related with social and physical anhedonia in MDD.
RADIO–FAR-INFRARED CORRELATION IN “BLUE CLOUD” GALAXIES WITH 0 < z < 1.2

We study the radio–far-infrared (FIR) correlation in “blue cloud” galaxies chosen from the PRism MUltiobject Survey up to redshift (z) of 1.2 in the XMM-LSS field. We use rest-frame emission at 1.4 GHz in the radio and both monochromatic (at 70 μm) and bolometric (between 8 and 1000 μm) emission in the FIR. To probe the nature of the correlation up to z ∼1.2, where direct detection of blue star-forming galaxies is impossible with current technology, we employ the technique of image stacking at 0.325 and 1.4 GHz in the radio and in six infrared bands, 24, 70, 160, 250, 350, and 500 μm. For comparison, we also study the correlation for more luminous galaxies that are directly detected. The stacking analysis allows us to probe the radio–FIR correlation for galaxies that are up to two orders of magnitude fainter than the ones detected directly. The k correction in the infrared wavebands is obtained by fitting the observed spectral energy distribution with a composite mid-IR power law and a single temperature graybody model. We find that the radio luminosity at 1.4 GHz ( L 1.4 GHz ? > ) is strongly correlated with monochromatic FIR luminosity at 70 μm ( L 70 &mgr; m ? > ) having slope 1.09 ± 0.05 and with bolometric luminosity ( L TIR ? > ) having slope 1.11 ± 0.04. The quantity q TIR ( = log 10 [ L TIR / ( 3.75 × 10 12 L 1.4 GHz ) ] ) ? > is observed to decrease with redshift as q TIR ∝ ( 1 + z ) − 0.16 ± 0.03 ? > probably caused due to the nonlinear slope of the radio–FIR correlation. Within the uncertainties of our measurement and the limitations of our flux-limited and color-selected sample, we do not find any evolution of the radio–FIR correlation with redshift.