Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Survival probabilities of atmospheric particles: comparison based on theory, cluster population simulations, and observations in Beijing

Abstract. Atmospheric new particle formation (NPF) events are regularly observed in urban Beijing, despite high concentrations of background particles which, based on theory, should inhibit NPF due to high values of coagulation sink (CoagS). The survival probability, which depends on both CoagS and particle growth rate (GR), is a key parameter in determining the occurrence of NPF events as it describes the fraction of newly formed particles that survive from a smaller diameter to a larger diameter. In this study, we investigate and compare survival probabilities from 1.5 to 3 nm (J3/J1.5), from 3 to 6 nm (J6/J3), and from 6 to 10 nm (J10/J6) based on analytical formulae, cluster population simulations, and atmospheric observations from Beijing. We find that survival probabilities based on the cluster population simulations and one of the analytical formulae are in a good agreement. However, at low ratios between the background condensation sink (CS) and GR, and at high concentrations of sub-3 nm clusters, cluster–cluster collisions efficiently lower survival probabilities in the cluster population simulations. Due to the large concentrations of clusters and small particles required to considerably affect the survival probabilities, we consider it unlikely that cluster–cluster collisions significantly affect atmospheric survival probabilities. The values of J10/J6 observed in Beijing show high variability, most likely due to influences of primary particle emissions, but are on average in relatively good agreement with the values based on the simulations and the analytical formulae. The observed values of J6/J3 are mostly lower than those predicted based on the simulations and the analytical formulae, which could be explained by uncertainties in CS and GR. The observed values of J3/J1.5 at high CS / GR are much higher than predicted based on the simulations and the analytical formulae. We argue that uncertainties in GR or CS are unlikely to solely explain the observed values of J3/J1.5 under high CS conditions. Thus, further work is needed to better understand the factors influencing survival probabilities of sub-3 nm atmospheric particles in polluted environments.
Open Research Online How consumer acculturation inﬂuences interpersonal trust

The paper contributes to a growing stream of research on consumer acculturation, examining the influence of acculturation on interpersonal trust in the banking sector. This study develops a conceptual model based on culture-based differences in cognitive and affective trust. The moderating effect of consumer acculturation level on cognitive trust, affective trust, and targets of commitment is considered among Chinese immigrants to New Zealand. Structural equation modelling and multi-group analysis are applied to assess the causal relationships among the model constructs. The paper offers new insights into the service relationships between acculturating consumers and their banking suppliers. The findings show that acculturation level moderates interpersonal trust towards the target of commitment. The implications for researchers and practitioners are explored and recommendations for future research are made.
Finite-temperature auxiliary-field quantum Monte Carlo: Self-consistent constraint and systematic approach to low temperatures

We describe an approach for many-body calculations with a finite-temperature, grand canonical ensemble formalism using auxiliary-field quantum Monte Carlo (AFQMC) with a self-consistent constraint to control the sign problem. The usual AFQMC formalism of Blankenbecler, Scalapino, and Sugar suffers from the sign problem with most physical Hamiltonians, as is well known. Building on earlier ideas to constrain the paths in auxiliary-field space [Phys. Rev. Lett. \textbf{83}, 2777 (1999)] and incorporating recent developments in zero-temperature, canonical-ensemble methods, we discuss how a self-consistent constraint can be introduced in the finite-temperature, grand-canonical-ensemble framework. This together with several other algorithmic improvements discussed here leads to a more accurate, more efficient, and numerically more stable approach for finite-temperature calculations. We carry out a systematic benchmark study in the two-dimensional repulsive Hubbard model at $1/8$ doping. Temperatures as low as $T=1/80$ (in units of hopping) are reached. The finite-temperature method is exact at very high temperatures, and approaches the result of the zero-temperature constrained-path AFQMC as temperature is lowered. The benchmark shows that systematically accurate results are obtained for thermodynamic properties.
Generalized structure of hadron-quark vertex function in Bethe- Salpeter framework: Applications to leptonic decays of V-mesons

We employ the framework of the Bethe–Salpeter equation under a covariant instantaneous ansatz to study the leptonic decays of vector mesons. The structure of the hadron–quark vertex function Γ is generalized to include various Dirac covariants (other than iγ ⋅ e) from their complete set. They are incorporated in accordance with a naive power counting rule order-by-order in powers of the inverse of the meson mass. The decay constants for ρ, ω and mesons are calculated with the incorporation of leading-order covariants.
The Eﬀect of Mild Sleep Deprivation on Students’ Cognitive Function during Covid-19 Pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic has altered students' sleep pa�erns due to increasing academic demands as a compromise to switching the learning mode from direct classroom interaction to online learning. As a result, some believed it would aﬀect the quality of cognitive functions. We conducted one experiment involving ~200 undergraduate students to measure their inhibitory control -a segment of cognitive process that allows controlling the unnecessary but often striking impulses – under two conditions, i.e., suﬃcient sleep and lack of sleep. Participants were asked to record their regular sleeping hours a week before the measurement period to get the baseline condition. Lack of sleep condition was determined by taking only partitions (less than 85%) of the regular sleeping hours overnight. Inhibitory control was measured using the online version of Simon Task about 30 minutes after the participants woke up in the morning. We found no direct eﬀect of sleep deprivation on the performance of the Simon Task. Participants performed the Simon Task comparably well between the Sleep Deprived and Suﬃcient Sleep conditions. However, sleep deprivation inhibited the learning process required to perform identical Simon Task on the subsequent measurement intake. Our ﬁnding demonstrates that despite no empirical evidence of the direct impact of sleep deprivation on cognitive function per se, it aﬀects the covert learning process required to perform well in future assignments. and deprived-sleep conditions, we observed the deteriorated learning performance as a function of the sequential learning on the group which was under deprived-sleep condition and followed by the suﬃcient-sleep condition. Hence, our study suggested that deprived-sleep condition aﬀects the learning process despite of no evidence of impaired performance per se on the cognitive tasks.
Formation and impacts of nitryl chloride in Pearl River Delta

Abstract. Here we present a field measurement of ClNO2 (nitryl chloride) and N2O5 (dinitrogen pentoxide) by a time-of-flight chemical ionization mass spectrometer (ToF-CIMS) with the Filter Inlet for Gas and AEROsols (FIGAERO) at a regional site in the Pearl River Delta during a photochemical pollution season from 26 September to 17 November 2019. Three patterns of air masses are sampled during this campaign, including the dominating air masses from the north and northeast urban regions (Type A), the southeast coast (Type B), and the South China Sea (Type C). The concentration of ClNO2 and N2O5 was observed to be much higher in Type A and B than in Type C, indicating that the urban nighttime chemistry is more active than the background marine regions. The N2O5 uptake coefficient and ClNO2 production yield were estimated based on the field measurement, and the performance of the previously derived parameterizations was assessed. The nighttime ClNO2 correlated with particulate chloride and the mass concentration of fine particles (most likely due to aerosol surface area) suggested that the ClNO2 formation was limited by the N2O5 uptake at this site. By examining the relationship between particulate chloride and other species, we implied that anthropogenic emissions (e.g., biomass burning) rather than sea salt particles dominate the origin of particulate chloride, although the site was only about 100 km away from the ocean. A box model with detailed chlorine chemistry is used to investigate the impacts of ClNO2 chemistry on atmospheric oxidation. Model simulations showed that the chlorine radical liberated by ClNO2 photolysis during the next day had a slight increase in concentrations of OH, HO2, and RO2 radicals, as well as minor contributions to RO2 radical and O3 formation (< 5 %, on daytime average), in all the three types of air masses. Relatively high contributions were observed in Type A and B. The overall low contributions of ClNO2 to atmospheric oxidation are consistent with those reported recently from wintertime observations in China (including Shanghai, Beijing, Wangdu, and Mt. Tai). This may be attributed to the following: (1) relatively low particle mass concentration limited ClNO2 formation; (2) other reactions channels, like nitrous acid (HONO), oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs, including formaldehyde), and ozone photolysis had a more significant radical formation rate during the ozone pollution episodes and weakened the ClNO2 contribution indirectly. The results provided scientific insights into the role of nighttime chemistry in photochemical pollution under various scenarios in coastal areas.
Numerical modelling of rapidly varied river flow

A new approach to solve shallow water flow problems over highly irregular geometry both correctly' and efficiently is presented in this thesis. Godunov-type schemes which are widely used with the finite volume technique cannot solve the shallow water equations correctly unless the source terms related to the bed slope and channel width variation are discretized properly, because Godunov-type schemes were developed on the basis of homogeneous governing equations which is not compatible with an inhomogeneous system. The main concept of the new approach is to avoid a fractional step method and transform the shallow water equations into homogeneous form equations. New definitions for the source terms which can be incorporated into the homogeneous form equations are also proposed in this thesis. The modification to the homogeneous form equations combines the source terms with the flux term and solves them by the same solution structure of the numerical scheme. As a result the source terms are automatically discretized to achieve perfect balance with the flux terms without any special treatment and the method does not introduce numerical errors. Another point considered to achieve well-balanced numerical schemes is that the channel geometry should be reconstructed in order to be compatible with the numerical flux term which is computed with piecewise constant initial data. In this thesis, the channel geometry has been changed to have constant state inside each cell and, consequently, each cell interface is considered as a discontinuity. The definition of the new flux related to the source terms has been obtained on the basis of the modified channel geometry. A simple and accurate algorithm to solve the moving boundary problem in two-dimensional modelling case has also been presented in this thesis. To solve the moving boundary condition, the locations of all the cell interfaces between the wet and dry cells have been detected first and the integrated numerical fluxes through the interfaces have been controlled according to the water surface level of the wet cells. The proposed techniques were applied to several well-known conservative schemes including Riemann solver based and verified against benchmark tests and natural river flow problems in the one and two dimensions. The numerical results shows good agreement with the analytical solutions, if available, and recorded data from other literature. The proposed approach features several advantages: 1) it can solve steady problems as well as highly unsteady ones over irregular channel geometry, 2) the numerical discretization of the source terms is always performed as the same way that the flux term is treated, 3) as a result, it shows strong applicability to various conservative numerical schemes, 4) it can solve the moving (wetting/drying) boundary problem correctly. The author believes that this new method can be a good option to simulate natural river flows over highly irregular geometries.
Pretreatment “prognostic nutritional index” as an indicator of outcome in lung cancer patients receiving ICI-based treatment: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: The pretreatment prognostic nutritional index (PNI) is an indicator of nutritional and immune status, and has potential use as a predictor of survival in cancer patients. Several retrospective studies have used the PNI to predict the outcome of lung cancer patients receiving different immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), but the results have been inconsistent. The objective of our study is to assess the relationship of pretreatment PNI with survival outcomes in lung cancer patients who received ICI-based treatments by meta-analysis. Methods: We searched the EMBASE, PubMed, Cochrane Library, American Society of Clinical Oncology, and European Society of Medical Oncology databases to identify studies that reported overall survival (OS) or progression-free survival (PFS) in eligible patients. Eight studies were eligible based on predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data and pooled indicators were extracted from these studies. Meta-analysis was used to analyze hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for OS and/or PFS and the prognostic value of pretreatment PNI. We completed the registration of the research protocol (Registration number: INPLASY202240087, DOI number: 10.37766/inplasy2022.4.0087). Results: We analyzed data from 8 eligible studies (831 patients). Meta-analysis showed that relative to patients with low pretreatment PNI, those with a high pretreatment PNI had better OS (HR = 2.50, 95% CI = 1.44–4.33, P = .001) and better PFS (HR = 1.94, 95% CI = 1.56–2.42, P < .001). Sensitivity analysis indicated these results were robust. There was also no evidence of publication bias. Conclusion: Lung cancer patients receiving ICI-based treatments who had higher pretreatment PNI had better OS and PFS.
Forming Mercury by Giant Impacts

The origin of Mercury’s high iron-to-rock ratio is still unknown. In this work we investigate Mercury’s formation via giant impacts and consider the possibilities of a single giant impact, a hit-and-run, and multiple collisions, in one theoretical framework. We study the standard collision parameters (impact velocity, mass ratio, impact parameter), along with the impactor’s composition and the cooling of the target. It is found that the impactor’s composition affects the iron distribution within the planet and the final mass of the target by up to 25%, although the resulting mean iron fraction is similar. We suggest that an efficient giant impact has to be head-on at high velocity, while in the hit-and-run case the impact can occur closer to the most probable collision angle (45°). It is also shown that Mercury’s current iron-to-rock ratio can be a result of multiple collisions, with their exact number depending on the collision parameters. Mass loss is found to be more significant when the collisions are close together in time.
The Role of the Hormone Estrogen on the Recovery of Women During COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease that attacks the respiratory tract and it is known that the female sex shows a higher cure rate than men due to hormonal influences, namely the hormone estrogen. This research aims to conduct a systematic review of the results of the latest research on the effect of the hormone estrogen on the recovery of female with COVID-19. The article search found 1373 articles from 4 electronic databases, namely PubMed, Research Gate, Science Direct, and Google Scholar which were published in 2020-2021 using keywords and the boolean operator AND. Then the articles were selected using the PRISMA Flow Diagram instrument so that 11 articles were obtained that met the inclusion criteria. The eleven articles were then analyzed to assess the quality of the articles using The Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) instrument. An article that deserves a review if it gets a score of more than 50%. After analyzing the assessment with JBI, 11 articles were declared eligible for review because them get a score of more than 50%. Seven of the 11 articles stated that the hormone estrogen had a significant effect on healing COVID-19, especially in female. Four other articles stated that the hormone estrogen had no significant effect on the recovery of women with COVID-19 due to several influencing factors including age, Body Mass Index (BMI), comorbid diseases, and smoking habits. The hormone estrogen affects the recovery of female with COVID-19 especially in young female, normal BMI, no comorbid, and not smoking. It is necessary to carry out a further literature review on the effect of the hormone estrogen on healing COVID-19 in female by taking into account the number of samples, sample criteria, and measurement of estrogen hormone levels.
Effects of imidacloprid on stretching and production of wax in domestic bees Apis mellifera intermissa in North Africa (Algeria)

Imidacloprid is a well-known systemic insecticide, which has a deleterious impact on honeybees. Beekeepers in the Wilaya of Tizi-Ouzou (Algeria) reported unusual losses and deaths of bee colonies in the places where imidacloprid insecticide was used. Even at sublethal doses, insecticide can affect tasks performed by workers in a colony, such as comb building. The study investigated the effect of an imidacloprid based insecticide (Confidor®Supra) on the production of wax by the honeybee Apis mellifera intermissa. After the imidacloprid LD 50 was determined in controlled conditions, three sublethal doses were tested. The mortality of the bees, syrup consumption and the weight of the wax generated were recorded. The imidacloprid insecticide LD 50 at 48 hours was 3.5 ng bee –1 for 4-day old spring worker bees. The three sublethal doses (0.175 mg L –1 , 0.087 mg L –1 and 0.035 mg L –1 ) had an impact on the syrup consumption and the wax production of adult bees. Bees exposed to sublethal doses of insecticide consumed less syrup and produced less wax (between 0.040–0.415 g) than the bees in the control (0.745 g). A dose response was observed regarding the production of wax. This impact could have harmful consequences for bee colonies, as wax production is the basis of comb building. The physiological causes of the reduction in wax production remain to be investigated.
ALMA Thermal Observations of Europa

We present four daytime thermal images of Europa taken with the Atacama Large Millimeter Array. Together, these images comprise the first spatially resolved thermal data set with complete coverage of Europa’s surface. The resulting brightness temperatures correspond to a frequency of 233 GHz (1.3 mm) and a typical linear resolution of roughly 200 km. At this resolution, the images capture spatially localized thermal variations on the scale of geologic and compositional units. We use a global thermal model of Europa to simulate the ALMA observations in order to investigate the thermal structure visible in the data. Comparisons between the data and model images suggest that the large-scale daytime thermal structure on Europa largely results from bolometric albedo variations across the surface. Using bolometric albedos extrapolated from Voyager measurements, a homogenous model reproduces these patterns well, but localized discrepancies exist. These discrepancies can be largely explained by spatial inhomogeneity of the surface thermal properties. Thus, we use the four ALMA images to create maps of the surface thermal inertia and emissivity at our ALMA wavelength. From these maps, we identify a region of either particularly high thermal inertia or low emissivity near 90° west and 23° north, which appears anomalously cold in two of our images.
Atmospheric data support a multi-decadal shift in the global methane budget towards natural tropical emissions

Abstract. We use the GEOS-Chem global 3-D model and two inverse methods (the maximum a posteriori and ensemble Kalman filter) to infer regional methane (CH4) emissions and the corresponding stable-carbon-isotope source signatures from 2004–2020 across the globe using in situ and satellite remote sensing data. We use the Siegel estimator to determine linear trends from the in situ data. Over our 17-year study period, we estimate a linear increase of 3.6 Tg yr−1 yr−1 in CH4 emissions from tropical continental regions, including North Africa, southern Africa, tropical South America, and tropical Asia. The second-largest increase in CH4 emissions over this period (1.6 Tg yr−1 yr−1) is from China. For boreal regions we estimate a negative emissions trend of −0.2 Tg yr−1 yr−1, and for northern and southern temperate regions we estimate trends of 0.03 Tg yr−1 yr−1 and 0.2 Tg yr−1 yr−1, respectively. These increases in CH4 emissions are accompanied by a progressively isotopically lighter atmospheric δ13C signature over the tropics, particularly since 2012, which is consistent with an increased biogenic emissions source and/or a decrease in a thermogenic/pyrogenic emissions source with a heavier isotopic signature. Previous studies have linked increased tropical biogenic emissions to increased rainfall. Over China, we find a weaker trend towards isotopically lighter δ13C sources, suggesting that heavier isotopic source signatures make a larger contribution to this region. Satellite remote sensing data provide additional evidence of emissions hotspots of CH4 that are consistent with the location and seasonal timing of wetland emissions. The collective evidence suggests that increases in tropical CH4 emissions are from biogenic sources, with a significant fraction from wetlands. To understand the influence of our results on changes in the hydroxyl radical (OH), we also report regional CH4 emissions estimates using an alternative scenario of a 0.5 % yr−1 decrease in OH since 2004, followed by a larger 1.5 % drop in 2020 during the first COVID-19 lockdown. We find that our main findings are broadly insensitive to those idealised year-to-year changes in OH, although the corresponding change in atmospheric CH4 in 2020 is inconsistent with independent global-scale constraints for the estimated annual-mean atmospheric growth rate.