Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
POPULATION STUDIES. XIII. A NEW ANALYSIS OF THE BIDELMAN–MACCONNELL “WEAK-METAL” STARS—CONFIRMATION OF METAL-POOR STARS IN THE THICK DISK OF THE GALAXY

A new set of very high signal-to-noise (S/N > 100/1), medium-resolution (R ∼ 3000) optical spectra have been obtained for 302 of the candidate “weak-metal” stars selected by Bidelman & MacConnell. We use these data to calibrate the recently developed generalization of the Sloan Extension for Galactic Exploration and Understanding and Exploration (SEGUE) Stellar Parameter Pipeline, and obtain estimates of the atmospheric parameters (Teff, log g, and [Fe/H]) for these non-Sloan Digital Sky Survey/SEGUE data; we also obtain estimates of [C/Fe]. The new abundance measurements are shown to be consistent with available high-resolution spectroscopic determinations, and represent a substantial improvement over the accuracies obtained from the previous photometric estimates reported in Paper I of this series. The apparent offset in the photometric abundances of the giants in this sample noted by several authors is confirmed by our new spectroscopy; no such effect is found for the dwarfs. The presence of a metal-weak thick-disk (MWTD) population is clearly supported by these new abundance data. Some 25% of the stars with metallicities −1.8 < [Fe/H] ⩽−0.8 exhibit orbital eccentricities e < 0.4, yet are clearly separated from members of the inner-halo population with similar metallicities by their location in a Lindblad energy versus angular momentum diagram. A comparison is made with recent results for a similar-size sample of Radial Velocity Experiment stars from Ruchti et al. We conclude, based on both of these samples, that the MWTD is real, and must be accounted for in discussions of the formation and evolution of the disk system of the Milky Way.
Finding the chiral gravitational wave background of an axion-SU(2) inflationary model using CMB observations and laser interferometers

A detection of B-mode polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) anisotropies would confirm the presence of a primordial gravitational wave background (GWB). In the inflation paradigm this would be an unprecedented probe of the energy scale of inflation as it is directly proportional to the power spectrum of the GWB. However, similar tensor perturbations can be produced by the matter fields present during inflation, breaking this simple relationship. It is therefore important to be able to distinguish between different generation mechanisms of the GWB. In this paper, we analyse the detectability of a new axion-SU(2) gauge field model using its chiral, scale-dependent tensor spectrum. We forecast the detectability of the resulting CMB TB and EB cross-correlations by the LiteBIRD satellite, considering the effects of residual foregrounds, gravitational lensing, and for the first time assess the ability of such an experiment to jointly detect primordial TB and EB spectra and self-calibrate its polarimeter. We find that LiteBIRD will be able to detect the chiral signal for $r_*>0.03$ with $r_*$ denoting the tensor-to-scalar ratio at the peak scale, and that the maximum signal-to-noise for $r_*<0.07$ is $\sim 2$. We go on to consider an advanced stage of a LISA-like mission, and find that such experiments would complement CMB observations by providing sensitivity to GWB chirality on scales inaccessible to the CMB. We conclude that in order to use the CMB to distinguish this model from a conventional vacuum fluctuation model two-point statistics provide some power, but to achieve high statistical significance we would require higher order statistics which take advantage of the model's non-Gaussianity. On the other hand, in the case of a spectrum peaked at very small scales, inaccessible to the CMB, a highly significant detection could be made using space-based laser interferometers.
Galaxies with background QSOs - I. A search for strong galactic Hα lines

A search for emission lines in foreground galaxies in quasar spectra (zgal < zQSO) of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey data release 5 reveals 23 examples of quasars shining through low redshift, foreground galaxies at small impact parameters (<10 kpc). About 74 000 quasar spectra were examined by searching for narrow Hα emission lines at z < 0.38, at a flux level greater than 5 × 10−17 erg cm−2 s−1, and then confirming that other expected emission lines of the H ii regions in the galaxy are detected. The galaxies were deblended from the quasar images to get colours and morphologies. For cases that allow the galaxy and the quasar to be deblended, the galaxies are blue (0.95 < (u−r) < 1.95). Extinction and reddening through the galaxies are determined from the (g−i) colour excess of the quasars. These reddening values are compared with the flux ratio of Hα to Hβ, which reflect the extinction for an undetermined fraction of the sightline through each galaxy. No trends were found relating E(B−V)(g−i), impact parameter (b), and (u−r) for the galaxies or between E(B−V) derived from (g−i) and that derived from Hα/Hβ. Comparison with previous studies of quasar absorption systems indicates that our sample is more reddened, suggesting disc-dominated absorber galaxies. Measurement or limits on galactic, interstellar Ca ii and Na i absorption lines are given from the quasar spectrum. No trends were found relating the Ca ii equivalent width W (Ca ii) or the Na i equivalent width W (Na i) to b, but a correlation of rs=−0.77 (α= 0.05) was found relating W (Ca ii) and E(B−V)(g−i).
Cosmic-ray ionisation in collapsing clouds

Context. Cosmic rays play an important role in dense molecular cores, affecting their thermal and dynamical evolution and initiating the chemistry. Several studies have shown that the formation of protostellar discs in collapsing clouds is severely hampered by the braking torque exerted by the entrained magnetic field on the infalling gas, as long as the field remains frozen to the gas.Aims. In this paper we examine the possibility that the concentration and twisting of the field lines in the inner region of collapse can produce a significant reduction of the ionisation fraction.Methods. To check whether the cosmic-ray ionisation rate can fall below the critical value required to maintain good coupling, we first study the propagation of cosmic rays in a model of a static magnetised cloud varying the relative strength of the toroidal/poloidal components and the mass-to-flux ratio. We then follow the path of cosmic rays using realistic magnetic field configurations generated by numerical simulations of a rotating collapsing core with different initial conditions.Results. We find that an increment of the toroidal component of the magnetic field, or, in general, a more twisted configuration of the field lines, results in a decrease in the cosmic-ray flux. This is mainly due to the magnetic mirroring effect that is stronger where larger variations in the field direction are present. In particular, we find a decrease of the cosmic-ray ionisation rate below 10-18 s-1 in the central 300–400 AU, where density is higher than about 109 cm-3. This very low value of the ionisation rate is attained in the cases of intermediate and low magnetisation (mass-to-flux ratio λ = 5 and 17, respectively) and for toroidal fields larger than about 40% of the total field.Conclusions. Magnetic field effects can significantly reduce the ionisation fraction in collapsing clouds. We provide a handy fitting formula to compute approximately the attenuation of the cosmic-ray ionisation rate in a molecular cloud as a function of the density and the magnetic configuration.
Two New Super Li-rich Core He-burning Giants: A New Twist to the Long Tale of Li Enhancement in K Giants

In this Letter we report two new super Li-rich K giants, KIC2305930 and KIC12645107, with Li abundances exceeding that of the interstellar medium (ISM; A(Li) ≥ 3.2 dex). Importantly, both of the giants have been classified as core He-burning red clump (RC) stars based on asteroseismic data from Kepler mission. Also, both of the stars are found to be low mass (M ≈ 1.0 M⊙), which, together with an evidence of their evolutionary status of being RC stars, implies that the stars have gone through both the luminosity bump and He-flash during their red giant branch (RGB) evolution. The stars’ large Li abundance and evolutionary phase suggest that Li enrichment occurred very recently, probably at the tip of the RGB either during He-flash, an immediate preceding event on the RGB, or by some kind of external event such as merger of an RGB star with white dwarf. The findings will provide critical constraints to theoretical models for understanding of Li enhancement origin in RGB stars.
EXPLORING B4: A PULSATING sdB STAR, IN A BINARY, IN THE OPEN CLUSTER NGC 6791

We report on Kepler photometry of the hot subdwarf B (sdB) star B4 in the open cluster NGC 6791. We confirm that B4 is a reflection effect binary with an sdB component and a low-mass main-sequence companion with a circular 0.3985 day orbit. The sdB star is a g-mode pulsator (a V1093 Her star) with periods ranging from 2384 s to 7643 s. Several of the pulsation modes show symmetric splitting by 0.62 μHz. Attributing this to rotational splitting, we conclude that the sdB component has a rotation period of approximately 9.63 days, indicating that tidal synchronization has not been achieved in this system. Comparison with theoretical synchronization time provides a discriminant between various theoretical models.
Periodicities in the coronal rotation and sunspot numbers

This study is an attempt to investigate the long-term variations in coronal rotation by analysing the time-series of the solar radio emission data at 2.8 GHz frequency for the period 1947-2009. Here, daily adjusted radio flux (known as Penticton flux) data are used. The autocorrelation analysis shows that the rotation period varies between 19.0-29.5 sidereal days (mean sidereal rotation period is 24.3 d). This variation in the coronal rotation period shows evidence of two components in the variation: (1) 22-yr component which may be related to the solar magnetic field reversal cycle or Hale's cycle; and (2) a component which is irregular in nature, but dominates over the other components. The cross-correlation analysis between the annual average sunspot number and the coronal rotation period also shows evidence of its correlation with 22-yr Hale's cycle. The 22-yr component is found to be almost in phase with the corresponding periodicities in the variation of the sunspot number.
WHEN DO STARS IN 47 TUCANAE LOSE THEIR MASS?

By examining the diffusion of young white dwarfs through the core of the globular cluster 47 Tucanae, we estimate the time when the progenitor star lost the bulk of its mass to become a white dwarf. According to stellar evolution models of the white-dwarf progenitors in 47 Tucanae, we find this epoch to coincide approximately with the star ascending the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) (3.0 ± 8.1 Myr before the tip of the AGB) and more than ninety million years after the helium flash (with 90% confidence). From the diffusion of the young white dwarfs we can exclude the hypothesis that the bulk of the mass loss occurs on the red-giant branch (RGB) at the 4σ level. Furthermore, we find that the radial distribution of horizontal branch stars is consistent with that of the red-giant stars and upper-main-sequence stars and inconsistent with the loss of more than 0.2 solar masses on the RGB at the 6σ level.
A critical appraisal of space and time in Articulatory Phonology in the 21 st century

Articulatory Phonology and Task Dynamics have modelled spoken language mathematically based on dynamical systems, expressing the view that speaking is contiguous in nature with many other biological phenomena that can be described in this way. In this paper, we present a critical appraisal of the developments in Articulatory Phonology and Task Dynamics in the 21 st century. Our paper identifies some of the key areas in which progress has been made, and others in which more progress is warranted. We thereby touch on recent work contributing to the empirical underpinning of some assumptions of the Task Dynamic model. We further consider recent proposals of how Articulatory Phonology can deal with linguistically structured macro- and microscopic variation in constriction gestures induced by syllabic and phrasal prosodic structure. Part and parcel of these developments is the integration of the dynamical expression of phonological contrast into a model of utterance planning. Central to our exposition is the integration of accounts for contrastive spatial goals with accounts for the prosodic structuring of time. We finish our overview with a discussion on how a stronger link between articulation and acoustics could further enhance the dynamical approach to spoken language.
Baryon number asymmetry and dark matter in the neutrino mass model with an inert doublet

The radiative neutrino mass model with an inert doublet scalar has been considered as a promising candidate which can explain neutrino masses, dark matter abundance and baryon number asymmetry if dark matter is identified with the lightest neutral component of the inert doublet. We reexamine these properties by imposing all the data of the neutrino oscillation, which are recently suggested by the reactor experiments. We find that the sufficient baryon number asymmetry seems not to be easily generated in a consistent way with all the data of the neutrino masses and mixing as long as the right-handed neutrinos are kept in TeV regions. Two possible modifications of the model are examined.
Supermassive black holes in disc-dominated galaxies outgrow their bulges and co-evolve with their host galaxies

The deep connection between galaxies and their supermassive black holes is central to modern astrophysics and cosmology. The observed correlation between galaxy and black hole mass is usually attributed to the contribution of major mergers to both. We make use of a sample of galaxies whose disc-dominated morphologies indicate a major-merger-free history and show that such systems are capable of growing supermassive black holes at rates similar to quasars. Comparing black hole masses to conservative upper limits on bulge masses, we show that the black holes in the sample are typically larger than expected if processes creating bulges are also the primary driver of black hole growth. The same relation between black hole and total stellar mass of the galaxy is found for the merger-free sample as well as a sample that has experienced substantial mergers, indicating that major mergers do not play a significant role in controlling the co-evolution of galaxies and black holes. We suggest that more fundamental processes that contribute to galaxy assembly are also responsible for black hole growth.
Demystifying Kepler Data: A Primer for Systematic Artifact Mitigation

The Kepler spacecraft has collected data of high photometric precision and cadence almost continuously since operations began on 2009 May 2. Primarily designed to detect planetary transits and asteroseismological signals from solar-like stars, Kepler has provided high-quality data for many areas of investigation. Unconditioned simple aperture time-series photometry is, however, affected by systematic structure. Examples of these systematics include differential velocity aberration, thermal gradients across the spacecraft, and pointing variations. While exhibiting some impact on Kepler’s primary science, these systematics can critically handicap potentially ground-breaking scientific gains in other astrophysical areas, especially over long timescales greater than 10 days. As the data archive grows to provide light curves for 105 stars of many years in length, Kepler will only fulfill its broad potential for stellar astrophysics if these systematics are understood and mitigated. Post-launch developments in the Kepler archive, data reduction pipeline and open source data analysis software have helped to remove or reduce systematic artifacts. This paper provides a conceptual primer to help users of the Kepler data archive understand and recognize systematic artifacts within light curves and some methods for their removal. Specific examples of artifact mitigation are provided using data available within the archive. Through the methods defined here, the Kepler community will find a road map to maximizing the quality and employment of the Kepler legacy archive.
On the gamma-ray emission from 3C 120

We report the analysis of Fermi Large Area Telescope data from five years of observations of the broad line radio galaxy 3C 120. The accumulation of larger data set results in the detection of high-energy $\gamma$-rays up to 10 GeV, with a detection significance of about $8.7\sigma$. A power-law spectrum with a photon index of $2.72\pm0.1$ and integrated flux of $F_{\gamma}=(2.35\pm0.5)\times10^{-8}\:\mathrm{photon\:cm}^{-2}s^{-1}$ above 100 MeV well describe the data averaged over five year observations. The variability analysis of the light curve with 180-, and 365- day bins reveals flux increase (nearly twice from its average level) during the last year of observation. This variability on month timescales indicates the compactness of the emitting region. The $\gamma$-ray spectrum can be described as synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) emission from the electron population producing the radio-to-X-ray emission in the jet. The required electron energy density exceeds the one of magnetic field only by a factor of 2 meaning no significant deviation from equipartition.
Single-dose of a replication-competent adenovirus-vectored vaccine provides sterilizing protection against Rift Valley fever virus challenge

Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is one of the most important virulent pathogens causing severe disease in animals and humans. However, there is currently no approved vaccine to prevent RVFV infection in humans. The use of human adenovirus serotype 4 (Ad4) as a vector for an RVFV vaccine has not been reported. Here, we report the generation of a replication-competent recombinant Ad4 vector expressing codon-optimized forms of the RVFV glycoproteins Gn and Gc (named Ad4-GnGc). Intramuscular immunization with Ad4-GnGc elicited robust neutralizing antibodies against RVFV and cellular immune responses in mice. A single low-dose vaccination with Ad4-GnGc completely protected interferon-α/β receptor-deficient A129 mice from lethal RVFV infection. More importantly, Ad4-GnGc efficacy was not affected by pre-existing immunity to adenovirus serotype 5, which currently exists widely in populations. These results suggest that Ad4-GnGc is a promising vaccine candidate against RVFV.
The lysosome as a novel therapeutic target of EGFR-mediated tumor inflammation

EGFR-mediated tumors have been targeted to overcome several different malignant cancers. EGFR overexpression and mutations are directly related to the malignancy, which makes the therapy more complicated. One reason for the malignancy is the induction of AP1 followed by inflammation via IL-6 secretion. Current therapeutic strategies to overcome EGFR-mediated tumors are tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), anti-EGFR monoclonal antibodies, and the combination of these two agents with classic chemotherapy or immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). Although the strategies are straightforward and have shown promising efficacy in several studies, there are still hurdles to overcoming the adverse effects and limited efficacy. This study reviews the current therapeutic strategies to target EGFR family members, how they work, and their effects and limitations. We also suggest developing novel strategies to target EGFR-mediated tumors in a novel approach. A lysosome is the main custodial staff to discard unwanted amounts of EGFR and other receptor tyrosine kinase molecules. Targeting this organelle may be a new approach to overcoming EGFR-mediated cancers.
Status of maternal serum B vitamins and pregnancy outcomes: New insights from in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET) treatment

The influence of B vitamins on human fertility and infertility treatments remains elusive. Therefore, this study investigated the association of most B vitamins with IVF-ET outcomes. A total of 216 subjects aged <35 year in their first oocyte retrieval cycle were recruited. Blood samples from the participants were collected before the oocyte pick-up procedure, and serum levels of riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, vitamin B6 (including PA and PLP), folate, and methylmalonic acid (MMA) were detected using high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). Endpoints were classified into three groups according to tertiles (lower, middle, and upper) of each vitamin index, and the association of the serum vitamin status with intermediate and clinical outcomes was analyzed using a generalized estimating equation model. Higher riboflavin levels were associated with elevated probabilities of high-quality embryos, as well as clinical pregnancy after embryo transfer. A greater likelihood of transferable embryos was found in the middle tertile of serum folate. Similarly, a negative correlation of serum MMA, a marker of vitamin B12 deficiency, with high-quality embryos was identified. No significance was observed for other vitamins in terms of all endpoints. Therefore, sufficient levels of pre-conception riboflavin, folate, and vitamin B12 are recommended for successful infertility treatment and pregnancy planning; further evidence is needed to confirm our conclusion.
Microcirculation function assessment in acute myocardial infarction: A systematic review of microcirculatory resistance indices

Background Up to 50% of acute myocardial infarction (MI) patients present with microvascular dysfunction, after a successful percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), which leads to worse clinical outcomes. The main purpose of this study is to provide a critical appraisal of the emerging role of invasive microvascular resistance indices in the MI setting, using the index of microcirculatory resistance (IMR), hyperemic microvascular resistance (HMR) and zero-flow pressure (Pzf). Methods We systematically explored relevant studies in the context of MI that correlated microcirculation resistance indices with microvascular dysfunction on cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR), microvascular dysfunction occurring in infarct related arteries (IRA) and non-IRA and its relation to clinical outcomes. Results The microcirculation resistance indices correlated significantly with microvascular obstruction (MVO) and infarct size (IS) on CMR. Although HMR and Pzf seem to have better diagnostic accuracy for MVO and IS, IMR has more validation data. Although, both IMR and HMR were independent predictors of adverse cardiovascular events, HMR has no validated cut-off value and data is limited to small observational studies. The presence of microvascular dysfunction in non-IRA does not impact prognosis. Conclusion Microvascular resistance indices are valuable means to evaluate microcirculation function following MI. Microvascular dysfunction relates to the extent of myocardial damage and clinical outcomes after MI. Systematic review registration [https://www.crd. york.ac. uk/prospero/display_record. php? ID=CRD42021228432], identifier [CRD42021228432].