Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Measuring our peculiar velocity by ``pre-deboosting'' the CMB

It was recently shown that our peculiar velocity β with respect to the CMB induces mixing among multipoles and off-diagonal correlations at all scales which can be used as a measurement of β, which is independent of the standard measurement using the CMB temperature dipole. The proposed techniques rely however on a perturbative expansion which breaks down for ℓ≳1/β ≈ 800. Here we propose a technique which consists of deboosting the CMB temperature in the time-ordered data and show that it extends the validity of the perturbation analysis multipoles up to ℓ ∼ 10000. We also obtain accurate fitting functions for the mixing between multipoles valid in a full non-linear treatment. Finally we forecast the achievable precision with which these correlations can be measured in a number of current and future CMB missions. We show that Planck could measure the velocity with a precision of around 60 km/s, ACTPol in 4 years around 40 km/s, while proposed future experiments could further shrink this error bar by over a factor of around 2.
The dark matter density in the solar neighborhood reconsidered

The peculiar dip in the outer rotation curve at a distance of 9 kpc, which was recently confirmed by precise measurements with the VERA VLBI array in Japan, suggests donut-like substructures in the dark matter (DM) halo, since spherical or elliptical distributions will not cause a dip. Additionally, such a donut-like DM structure seems to be required by the dip in the gas flaring of the disk. In this paper we consider the impact of such DM substructure in the disk on the rotation curve, the gas flaring, the local DM density and the local surface density. A global fit shows that the rotation curve is best described by an NFW DM profile complemented by two donut-like DM substructures at radii of 4.2 and 12.4 kpc, which coincide with the local dust ring and the Monocerus ring of stars, respectively. Both regions have been suggested as regions with tidal streams from ``shredded'' satellites, thus enhancing the plausibility for additional DM. If real, the radial extensions of these nearby ringlike structures enhance the local dark matter density by a factor of four to about 1.3±0.3 GeV/cm3. We find that i) this higher DM density is perfectly consistent with the local gravitational potential determining the surface density and ii) the s-shaped gas flaring is explained. Such a possible enhancement of the local DM density is of great interest for direct DM searches and the ringlike structure would change the directional dependence of gamma rays for indirect DM searches.
Determining Central Black Hole Masses in Distant Active Galaxies

An empirical relationship, of particular interest for studies of high-redshift active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and quasars, between the masses of their central black holes and rest-frame ultraviolet (UV) parameters measured in single-epoch AGN spectra is presented. This relationship is calibrated to recently measured reverberation masses of low-redshift AGNs and quasars. An empirical relationship between single-epoch rest-frame optical spectrophotometric measurements and the central masses is also presented. The UV relationship allows reasonable estimates of the central masses to be made for high-redshift AGNs and quasars for which these masses cannot be directly or easily measured by the techniques applicable to the lower luminosity, nearby AGNs. The central mass obtained by this method can be estimated to within a factor of ~3 for most objects. This is reasonable given the intrinsic uncertainty of a factor of less than 2 in the primary methods used to measure the central masses of nearby inactive and active galaxies, namely, resolved gas and stellar kinematics in the underlying host galaxy and reverberation-mapping techniques. The UV relationship holds good potential for being a powerful tool for studying black hole demographics at high redshift as well as statistically studying the fundamental properties of AGNs. The broad-line region size-luminosity relationship is key to the calibrations presented here. The fact that its intrinsic scatter is also the main source of uncertainty in the calibrations stresses the need for better observational constraints to be placed on this relationship. The empirically calibrated relationships presented here will be applied to quasar samples in forthcoming work.
The time-dependent process of oxidation of the surface of Bi2Te3 studied by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

The process of oxidation of the Bi2Te3 surface was investigated by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The oxidized surface layer was found to have a definite thickness, with configurations where O is bonded with Bi and Te, and Bi and Te are bonded with three and four oxygens, respectively. The oxidation time dependence of the oxidized layer thickness d(t) estimated from the XPS behaved as (t-t0)1/2 when d(t) was smaller than the thickness of a single oxidized quintuple atomic layer in our oxide model and behaved as t-t1 when it was larger than that. Experimental data were compared to our oxidation process model for the layered structure with the van der Waals gap and very good agreement was found.
Improved constraints on inelastic dark matter

We perform an extensive study of the DAMA annual modulation data in the context of inelastic dark matter. We find that inelastic dark matter with mass mχ≳15 GeV is excluded at the 95% confidence level by the combination of DAMA spectral information and results from other direct detection experiments. However, at smaller mχ, inelastic dark matter constitutes a possible solution to the DAMA puzzle.
Adhesion Conditions of Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum KAKii to Human Enterocyte-like Caco-2 Cell Lines.

Attachment ability of bifidobacteria strains to human intestinal surface is one of an important criterion as probiotic candidate. However, the attachment activity is influence by external and internal conditions. The study was conducted to screened cell surface hydrophobicity and adhesion score of bifidobacteria strains. Attachment conditions (pH and exposure time) of selected strain to human enterocyte-like Caco-2 cell lines were investigated subsequently. Three different solvents (n-hexadecane, Toluene and Xylene) were used in cell surface hydrophobicity analysis. Based on the result obtained, it shows that xylene has presented consistence cell hydrophobicity activity in all strains used. Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum KAKii (wild type strain) had gave a promising cell hydrophobicity activity with no significant difference (p>0.05) when compared to Lactobacillus plantarum NBRC 3070 with xylene as a solvent and also presented a significant higher attachment score (p<0.05) compared to all strains used. The influence of pH and time exposure B. pseudocatenulatum KAKii to Caco-2 cells had revealed that this strain was favor to attach to the intestinal cell line at pH 6 and after 120 minutes of exposure. Further optimization of attachment conditions will be carried out.
O cuidado sob a ótica do paciente diabético e de seu principal cuidador

Este estudo de caso tem por objetivo descrever como o paciente diabetico e seu principal cuidador percebem as dificuldades para o controle do diabetes. Os dados foram coletados por meio de registro audiogravado e submetidos a analise tematica de conteudo, no Centro Educativo de Enfermagem para Adultos e Idosos, em abril de 2003. Os temas que emergiram da analise foram: transgressao alimentar, problemas com a medicacao e influencias interpessoais. Esses temas reportam-se as influencias interpessoais familiares e do grupo de iguais, que estao alicercadas em um conjunto de crencas e valores que interferem na motivacao e na capacidade de os pacientes enfrentarem a sua doenca. Com base nos resultados, recomenda-se conhecer os padroes de resposta do paciente e de seu principal cuidador, em relacao aos seus sentimentos, conflitos e necessidades, estabelecendo um vinculo efetivo que proporcione condicoes para, em conjunto, tracarem-se estrategias direcionadas a alcancar o controle metabolico.
Comparison of some models of reaction kinetics in HV circuit breakers with SF6 after current zero

In this paper, the solutions of three models of reaction kinetics in HV circuit breakers with SF6 after current zero are presented and compared. One model has been proposed by Bartlová, the co-author of this paper, the other two models under comparison have been taken over from the literature. In all the three models a constant pressure p(t) = 4 atm and the same dependence of temperature on time T(t) are assumed. For the description of the relation between equilibrium and kinetic composition in a system, the concept of asymptotic composition is introduced. A comparison of the composition and enthalpy of the products of SF6 dissociation and ionization for the given pressure and T(t) is made. General conclusions have been derived from the comparison.
The influence of O2 on the electronic structure of clean and ion sputtered surfaces of 2H-MoS2(0001)

UPS, XPS, AES and LEED have been applied to the study on the samples prepared by low energy N+ (0.5KeV) sputtering of the clean cleavaged surface of 2H-MoS2(0001). A new "shoulder" of a band tail above the top of the dz2 band shows that the surface is chemically active to O2 at room temperature. The causes for the chemical activeness have been analyzed.
Body Dissatisfaction: Among Middle-aged and Older Women

With the growing pervasiveness of mass media, individuals of all ages and both sexes are bombarded with images that glorify youthfulness, messages that tie self-worth to thinness, and products that promise youth and beauty forever. Aging women are vulnerable to these societal messages and experience strong pressures to maintain their youth and thinness. As the physiological changes that accompany normal aging move these women farther from the “ideal” image, body dissatisfaction may increase. These women are confronted with the impossible task of trying to defy the natural process of aging through a variety of means, including fashion, cosmetics, selective surgeries, and personal food choices. The resulting body image issues, weight preoccupation, and eating disturbances can lead to voluntary food restriction, depression, social withdrawal, lower self-esteem, and disordered eating, all of which can have a negative impact on quality of life and nutritional status. In this review we explore existing research.
Modified gradient approach to inverse scattering for binary objects in stratified media

We are concerned herein with inverse scattering problems in stratified media and aspect-limited data configurations. In such configurations, the sources and receivers of the probing waves are located in a medium different from the one which contains the object under test. This results in a lack of information which enhances the inherent ill-posedness of the inverse problem. To make the problem more tractable, we assume that the test object is homogeneous with known constitutive parameters so that the inverse problem consists of reconstructing its shape and location. This non-linear inverse problem is solved using the modified gradient method in which the a priori information is introduced as a binary constraint. A cooling parameter is introduced at the same time, which allows us to control the evolution of the iterative process. The effectiveness of this algorithm is studied for three different physical applications.
Reduced Default Mode Network Functional Connectivity in Recurrent Patients with Major Depressive Disorder: Evidence from 25 Cohorts

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is common and disabling, but its neural pathophysiology remains unclear. Functional brain network studies in MDD have largely had limited statistical power and data analysis approaches have varied widely. The REST-meta-MDD Project of resting-state fMRI (R-fMRI) addresses these issues. The 25 research groups in China composing the REST-meta-MDD Project contributed R-fMRI data of 1,300 patients with MDD and 1,128 normal controls (NCs). The data were preprocessed locally with a standardized protocol prior to aggregated group analyses. We focused on functional connectivity (FC) within the default mode network (DMN), frequently reported to show increased FC in MDD. We found decreased instead of increased DMN FC when comparing 848 MDDs with 794 NCs from 17 sites after data exclusion. We found FC reduction only in recurrent MDD, not in first-episode drug-naïve MDD. Decreased DMN FC was associated with medication usage but not with MDD duration. DMN FC was also positively related to symptom severity but only in recurrent MDDs. Exploratory analyses also revealed alterations of local intrinsic activity in MDD. We confirmed the key role of DMN in MDD but found reduced rather than increased FC within the DMN. Future studies should test whether decreased DMN FC mediates treatment response. This manuscript announces the publicly available resting-state fMRI indices of the REST-meta-MDD consortium shared via the R-fMRI Maps Project. The REST-meta-MDD model can be generalized to longitudinal depression studies and to other psychiatric disorders. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Functional connectivity within the default mode network in major depressive disorder patients has been frequently reported abnormal but with contradicting directions in previous small sample size studies. By creating the REST-meta-MDD consortium containing neuroimaging data of 1,300 depressed patients and 1,128 normal controls from 25 research groups in China, we found decreased default mode network functional connectivity in depressed patients, driven by patients with recurrent depression, and associated with current medication treatment but not with disease duration. These findings suggest that default mode network functional connectivity remains a prime target for understanding the pathophysiology of depression, with particular relevance to revealing mechanisms of effective treatments.
Prevalence of fibropapillomatosis on stranded sea turtles in the Venezuelan coast

The Venezuelan coast supports a variety of critical habitats for foraging, development and reproduction to five species of sea turtles. The aim of this paper is to inform about the presence of fibropapillomatosis in some of the sea turtle populations in the Venezuelan waters, and to record the presence of this pathology in the species Eretmochelys imbricata in the country. Between 1999 and 2014, 391 records of sea turtles stranding/sightings were recorded alongside the coast of Venezuela, from which, 20 cases of animals presented external tumors on their soft tissues, likely to fibropapillomatosis. This pathology was confirmed due to the presence of fibroepithelial lesions (papilloma tumors), and it was registered in two species: Chelonia mydas (n=19) and Eretmochelys imbricata (n=1). The region with the largest number of turtles with fibropapillomas was Zulia state with 45 % (n=9), then Sucre state (35 %, n= 7), Vargas state (10 %, n= 2), and one report (5 %) in Falcon state, and one in the “Archipielago de Los Roques” National Park (Miranda Insular Territory). More than half of the animals (n=11), ten individuals of C. mydas and the only one of E. imbricata, were found alive and they were released. Finally, we recommended increasing the training and active participation of veterinarians within the conservation programs of these species in the country.
Efecto de dietas con ensilado biológico de residuos de molusco en el crecimiento del camarón Cryphiops caementarius y tilapia Oreochromis niloticus en co-cultivo intensivo

El objetivo fue evaluar el efecto de dietas con ensilado biologico de residuos del molusco bivalvo en el crecimiento del camaron Cryphiops caementarius y tilapia Oreochromis niloticus en co-cultivo intensivo. Se emplearon 72 camarones machos (5,16 ± 0,37 cm de longitud total y 4,78 ± 1,13 g de peso humedo) y 48 alevines revertidos de tilapia (4,28 ± 0,31 cm de longitud total y 2,86 ± 0,45 g de peso humedo). Se emplearon tres dietas experimentales (25, 50 y 75% de ensilado) y una dieta control, con tres repeticiones. El ensilado se elaboro de visceras y mantos del molusco Argopecten purpuratus . El co-cultivo se realizo en 12 acuarios (55 L) implementados con seis recipientes de cultivo individual de camaron (32 camarones m -2 ), y la tilapia se sembro en el agua restante (22 tilapias m -2 ). El experimento duro 90 dias. El crecimiento del camaron fue similar entre tratamientos. El crecimiento de tilapia fue mayor con 25% y 50% de ensilado. El FCA fue bajo (1,5 a 1,7) en camaron y alto (1,9 a 2,1) en tilapia, hasta con 50% de ensilado. Dieta con 50% de ensilado es recomendado para machos de camaron, aunque para de tilapia se sugiere ensayar otra dieta.
Impurity reduction during 'puff and pump' experiments on DIII-D

Results are presented from an experiment in which a large amount of deuterium gas was continuously puffed at the scrape-off layer and exhausted from the DIII-D pump divertor ('puff and pump' technique). The experiments were conducted with a single null divertor configuration during edge localized mode (ELM)ing H mode. Steady state density conditions were attained during the strong deuterium puff. The deuterium puff reduced the central plasma density of argon, puffed continuously as a trace impurity, by as much as a factor of 20, and the central argon radiated power density by as much as a factor of 10
Disease Activity, Glucocorticoid Exposure, and Rituximab Determine Body Composition Changes during Induction Treatment of ANCA‐Associated Vasculitis

Introduction: We investigated the relationships between glucocorticoid (GC) use, disease activity, and changes in body mass index (BMI) in patients with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV). Methods: We analyzed AAV patients enrolled in the Rituximab in ANCA-Associated Vasculitis (RAVE) trial. GC use, BMI, and disease activity were measured regularly during the trial period. We performed mixed effects regressions to examine the associations of time-dependent cumulative average GC use and disease activity with changes in body mass index (BMI) over time, while adjusting for potential confounders. Results: The baseline BMI among the 197 patients enrolled was 28.8 (±6.3) kg/m2. Patients with newly-diagnosed AAV tended to have a lower mean BMI compared to those with relapsing disease (28.0±5.7kg/m2 vs 29.6 ±6.8kg/m2) and a higher disease activity Birmingham Vasculitis Activity Score for Wegener's Granulomatosis (BVAS/WG, 8.7±3.3 vs 7.4±2.7). The most significant change in BMI occurred during the first six months of the trial (+1.1±2.2 kg/m2, P<0.0001). Disease activity improvement, GC exposure, and randomization to rituximab were each independently associated with increase in BMI (P<0.001 for all analyses). Discussion: Our findings suggest that changes in BMI are independently associated with improvements in disease activity as well as GC exposure in AAV. Rituximab may also have effects on BMI independent of its impact on disease activity. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
The role of SIMS in the investigation of the complex crystal chemistry of mica minerals

A full characterisation of micas requires complete chemical analysis, including the determination of light elements, combined with Mössbauer spectroscopy or any technique suitable for the determination of ferric and ferrous iron contents, and crystal structural analysis (SCXRD). In this context, the SIMS technique is essential for a deeper understanding of the crystal chemistry of mica owing to its capability of precise and accurate quantification of light elements, i.e., H, Li, B, F, . The role of SIMS is here outlined in the investigation of the complex crystal structure of mica, with new data on a set of volcanic samples, and their comparison with those from literature on trioctahedral micas from volcanic areas of Southern Italy. The importance of SIMS micro-spot (in-situ) analysis is here emphasized as a modern approach to gain insight into physico-chemical processes that affect grain-to-grain or intra-grain chemical variability in complex mineral structures.
Characterization of surface-bonded piezoelectric actuators on curved beams

In this paper, we examine and evaluate the effectiveness of different types and configurations of surface-bonded piezoelectric actuators on curved beams. Firstly, an analytical model for curved piezoelectric actuators is developed to investigate the actuation mechanism, considering the effects of the interfacial peeling stresses as well as the shear stresses. The average value of the moment distribution calculated from the interfacial stresses is used as a performance index to evaluate the actuation authority, treating the piezoelectric patch as a point moment actuator. Parametric studies on the actuation authorities are performed to examine the effects of the parameters: radius, Young's modulus of bonding layers, and thickness of bonding layers, actuators and host structures. Secondly, for the analysis of flat actuators, a three-dimensional finite element method is used to include the effects of interfacial peeling stresses, and similar parametric studies are performed. Finally, experiments are carried out to verify the numerical model. The results show that the effects of interfacial peeling stresses should be considered under certain conditions depending on the system parameters, especially when the thickness of the host structure is relatively thin. It is also shown that the orders of the actuation authorities among a set of three treatment configurations (two with flat actuators and one with a curved actuator) vary significantly with respect to these system parameters.
Developmental Deficits in Thalamic Binocular Integration Revealed by In Vivo Thalamocortical Axon Imaging

SUMMARY Developing neural circuits are particularly vulnerable to alterations in early sensory experience. For example, monocular deprivation (MD) during a juvenile critical period leads to long-lasting changes in binocularity and spatial acuity of the visual system. The locus of these changes has been widely considered to be cortical. However, recent evidence indicates that binocular integration occurs first in the dorsolateral geniculate nucleus of the thalamus (dLGN) and that dLGN binocularity may be susceptible to changes in visual experience. This leaves open the question of whether MD during the critical period leads to long-lasting deficits in dLGN binocular integration. Using in vivo two-photon Ca 2+ imaging of dLGN afferents and excitatory neurons in superficial layers of binocular V1, we demonstrate that critical-period MD leads to a persistent and selective loss of binocular dLGN inputs, while leaving visual acuity in the thalamocortical pathway intact. Moreover, we found profound mismatch of preferred spatial frequency and orientation detected at the level of individual thalamocortical synapses. In V1 neurons, we found significant reductions in binocularity and visual acuity following critical-period MD. Our data suggest that alterations in cortical ocular dominance and binocular matching following critical-period MD may partially reflect a dysfunction of binocular integration in dLGN neurons. pathway remains intact in deprived mice, despite marked acuity loss in V1 neurons. These findings provide further evidence for the hypothesis that distinct mechanisms are involved in fine-tuning of neural circuits underlying binocular vision vs. spatial acuity