Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Status of MagAO and review of astronomical science with visible light adaptive optics

We review astronomical results in the visible (λ<1μm) with adaptive optics and note the status the MagAO system and the recent upgrade to visible camera’s Simultaneous/Spectra Differential Imager (SDI+) mode. Since mid- 2013 there has been a rapid increase visible AO with over 50 refereed science papers published in just 2015-2016 timeframe. Currently there are productive small (D < 2 m) visible light AO telescopes like the UV-LGS Robo-AO system (Baranec, et al. 2016). The largest (D=8m) telescope to achieve regular visible AO science is SPHERE/ZIMPOL. ZIMPOL is a polarimeter fed by the ~1.2 kHz SPHERE ExAO system (Fusco et al. 2016). ZIMPOL’s ability to differentiate scattered polarized light from starlight allows the sensitive detection of circumstellar disks, stellar surfaces, and envelopes of evolved AGB stars. The main focus of this paper is another large (D=6.5m Magellan telescope) AO system (MagAO) which has been very productive in the visible as well (particularly at the H−alpha emission line). MagAO is an advanced Adaptive Secondary Mirror (ASM) AO system at the Magellan in Chile. This ASM secondary has 585 actuators with < 1 msec response times (0.7 ms typically). MagAO utilizes a 1 kHz pyramid wavefront sensor (PWFS). The relatively small actuator pitch (~22 cm/subap, 300 modes, upgraded to 30 pix dia. PWFS) allows moderate Strehls to be obtained in the visible (0.63-1.05 microns). Long exposures (60s) achieve <30mas resolutions and 30% Strehls at 0.62 microns (r') with the VisAO camera (0.5-1.0 μm) in 0.5” seeing with bright R ≤ 9 mag stars (~10% Strehls can be obtained on fainter R~12 mag guide stars). Differential Spectral Imaging (SDI) at H-alpha has been very important for accreting exoplanet detection. There is also a 1-5micron science camera (Clio; Morzinski et al. 2016). These capabilities have led to over 35 MagAO refereed science publications. Here we review the key steps to having good performance in the visible and review the exciting new AO visible science opportunities and science results in the fields of: exoplanet detection; circumstellar and protoplanetary disks; young stars; AGB stars; emission line jets; and stellar surfaces. The recent rapid increase in the scientific publications and power of visible AO is due to the maturity of the next-generation of AO systems and our new ability probe circumstellar regions with very high (10-30 mas) spatial resolutions that would otherwise require much larger (<10m) diameter telescopes in the infrared.
The brightest asymptotic giant branch stars in the Leo I dwarf spheroidal galaxy

The first results of a study of the dwarf spheroidal galaxy Leo I using the new Nagoya‐South African Infrared Survey Facility (IRSF) are presented. J, H and Ks observations show that most, if not all, of at least the top magnitude of the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) in Ks is populated by carbon stars. In addition there are five very red objects which are believed to be dust-enshrouded AGB stars. One of these is, remarkably, well outside the main body of the galaxy. Three of these obscured stars and five known carbon stars show variability in
X-ray study of the double radio relic Abell 3376 with Suzaku

We present an X-ray spectral analysis of the nearby double radio relic merging cluster Abell 3376 (z = 0.046), observed with the Suzaku XIS instrument. These deep (∼360 ks) observations cover the entire double relic region in the outskirts of the cluster. These diffuse radio structures are amongst the largest and arc-shaped relics observed in combination with large-scale X-ray shocks in a merging cluster. We confirm the presence of a stronger shock (ℳW = 2.8 ± 0.4) in the western direction at r ∼ 26′, derived from a temperature and surface brightness discontinuity across the radio relic. In the east, we detect a weaker shock (ℳE = 1.5 ± 0.1) at r ∼ 8′, possibly associated with the “notch” of the eastern relic, and a cold front at r ∼ 3′. Based on the shock speed calculated from the Mach numbers, we estimate that the dynamical age of the shock front is ∼0.6 Gyr after core passage, indicating that Abell 3376 is still an evolving merging cluster and that the merger is taking place close to the plane of the sky. These results are consistent with simulations and optical and weak lensing studies from the literature.
The Short-Baseline Neutrino Program at Fermilab

The Short-Baseline Neutrino (SBN) program consists of three liquid argon time-projection chamber detectors located along the Booster Neutrino Beam at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. Its main goals include searches for New Physics—particularly eV-scale sterile neutrinos, detailed studies of neutrino–nucleus interactions at the GeV energy scale, and the advancement of the liquid argon detector technology that will also be used in the DUNE/LBNF long-baseline neutrino experiment in the next decade. We review these science goals and the current experimental status of SBN.
Second Data Release of the 6dF Galaxy Survey

Abstract The 6dF Galaxy Survey is measuring around 150 000 redshifts and 15 000 peculiar velocities from galaxies over the southern sky at |b| > 10°. When complete, it will be the largest survey of its kind by more than an order of magnitude. Here we describe the characteristics of the Second Incremental Data Release and provide an update of the survey. This follows earlier data made public in 2002 December and 2004 March. A total of 83 014 sources now have their spectra, redshifts, and near-infrared and optical photometry available online and searchable through an Structured Query Language database at www-wfau.roe. ac.uk/6dFGS/.
CCD Photometry of RR Lyrae Stars in M5 as a Test for the Pulsational Scenario

In this paper we present new CCD investigations of RR Lyrae pulsators in the Oo.I globular cluster M5. B V curves of light for 15 RR Lyrae are presented. With the addition of further 11 curves of light by Storm, Carney and Beck (1991) one is dealing with a sample of 26 well studied cluster pulsators whose properties have been implemented with similar data for RR Lyrae in clusters M3, M15, M68 to allow a comparison with the theoretical scenario recently presented by Bono and Stellingwerf (1994). On this basis, we discuss the distribution of stars in the period amplitude diagram, disclosing a substantial reduction of Sandage's period shift. We suggest that theoretical constraints concerning periods and amplitudes could allow information on masses and luminosity of the pulsators directly from Bailey's diagram only. Static temperatures have been derived for all stars in the sample, discussing the dependence on the temperature of the observed pulsational properties.
Comparing Interleukin-6, C-Reactive Protein, Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate, and White Blood Cell Count for the Early Diagnosis of Acute Pyelonephritis in Children

Background: Urinary tract infection (UTI) is common in children. Differentiating lower UTI from acute pyelonephritis (APN) is of great importance in children since early diagnosis and timely management can prevent kidney scarring and associated complications. Objectives: We aimed to compare the diagnostic performance of serum C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and white blood cell (WBC) count with interleukin-6 (IL-6) for the diagnosis of APN in children. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 38 children with APN (based on clinical findings and positive urine culture) aged 1 month to 15 years admitted to Bandar Abbas Pediatric Hospital, Bandar Abbas, Iran, during 2019-2020. Serum CRP, WBC, IL-6, and WBC count were measured in all children. Age and sex of the participants were also recorded. Results: The mean ± SD age of the children was 65.82±46.67 months, of whom 23 (60.5%) were girls. The sensitivity of WBC, ESR, CRP, and IL-6 for the early diagnosis of APN was 39.5%, 71.1%, 60.5%, and 71.1%, respectively. Taking the results of ESR, CRP, and WBC into account as the basis of diagnosis, altogether 9.98 pg/mL was the best cut-off of serum IL-6 for the diagnosis of APN with 70%-80% sensitivity and 56.5%-73.7% specificity. A significant correlation was found between serum IL-6 and CRP, ESR, and WBC with the strongest correlation between IL-6 and CRP (r=0.451, P=0.004). Age and sex did not affect these correlations. The sensitivity of serum IL-6 at the 5 pg/mL cut-off for the diagnosis of APN was higher in boys and children younger than 6 years. Conclusion: IL-6 can diagnose APN in children aged 1 month to 15 years with 71.1% sensitivity. Its sensitivity is superior to CRP and WBC and comparable with ESR in this regard.
Efficient computational design and optimization of dielectric metamaterial devices

Dielectric structures composed of many inclusions that manipulate light in ways the bulk materials cannot are commonly seen in the field of metamaterials. In these structures, each inclusion depends on a set of parameters such as location and orientation which are difficult to ascertain. We propose an optimization-based approach for designing such metamaterials in two dimensions by using a fast integral equation and multiple-scattering solver for a given set of parameters. This approach provides the backbone of an automated process for the design and analysis of metamaterials that does not rely on analytical approximations. We demonstrate the validity of our approach with simulations that converge to optimal parameter values and result in substantially better-performing devices.
The black hole fundamental plane in low-excitation radio galaxies

The radio-X-ray slope in the fundamental plane of radio-loud active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is found to be steeper compared with that of radio-quiet AGNs in previous works. In this work, we reinvestigate the fundamental plane in radio-loud AGNs by compiling a sample of 13 low-excitation radio galaxies (LERG) from the 3CR radio galaxies, for the reason that the accretion mode in LERG is believed to be a radiatively inefficient accretion flow. All the sources in our sample possess the data available at both the 5 GHz core radio luminosity detected by VLA/VLBI/VLBA and the core X-ray luminosity detected by Chandra/XMM-Newton. Surprisingly, we find the slope in the fundamental plane ($\log L_{\rm R}=0.52 \log L_{\rm X}+ 0.84 \log M_{\rm BH} + 10.84$) of LERG is well consistent with that reported by \citet{m2003}. However, the normalization is found to be shifted by about 0.7 dex, which can be due to the difference on magnetic field strength in different objects. A shallower slope of $L_{\rm R}-L_{\rm X}$ relation ($L_{\rm R}\sim L_{\rm X}^{0.63}$) is also given by our sample, which demonstrates that the X-ray emission in LERG may come from accretion disc instead of jets as suggested by previous works.
An approach to directly probe simultaneity

The theory of special relativity derives from the Lorentz transformation. The Lorentz transformation implies differential simultaneity and light speed isotropy. Experiments to probe differential simultaneity should be able to distinguish the Lorentz transformation from a kinematically-similar alternate transformation that predicts absolute simultaneity, the absolute Lorentz transformation. Here, we describe how published optical tests of light speed isotropy/anisotropy cannot distinguish between the two transformations. We show that the shared equations of the two transformations, from the perspective of the "stationary" observer, are sufficient to predict null results in optical resonator experiments and in tests of frequency changes in one-way light paths. In an influential 1910 exposition on differential simultaneity, Comstock described how a "stationary" observer would observe different clock readings for spatially-separated "moving" clocks. The difference in clock readings is an integral aspect of differential simultaneity. We derive the equation for the difference in clock readings and show that it is equivalent to the Sagnac correction that describes light speed anisotropies in satellite communications. We describe an experimental strategy that can measure the differences in spatially-separated clock times to allow a direct probe of the nature of simultaneity.
SPECTRAL AND TIMING PROPERTIES OF THE BLACK HOLE X-RAY BINARY H1743−322 IN THE LOW/HARD STATE STUDIED WITH SUZAKU

We report on the results from Suzaku observations of the Galactic black hole X-ray binary H1743−322 in the low/hard state during its outburst in 2012 October. We appropriately take into account the effects of dust scattering to accurately analyze the X-ray spectra. The time-averaged spectra in the 1–200 keV band are dominated by a hard power-law component of a photon index of ≈1.6 with a high-energy cutoff at ≈60 keV, which is well described with the Comptonization of the disk emission by the hot corona. We estimate the inner disk radius from the multi-color disk component, and find that it is 1.3–2.3 times larger than the radius in the high/soft state. This suggests that the standard disk was not extended to the innermost stable circular orbit. A reflection component from the disk is detected with R = Ω/2π ≈ 0.6 (Ω is the solid angle). We also successfully estimate the stable disk component independent of the time-averaged spectral modeling by analyzing short-term spectral variability on a ∼1 s timescale. A weak low-frequency quasi-periodic oscillation at 0.1–0.2 Hz is detected, whose frequency is found to correlate with the X-ray luminosity and photon index. This result may be explained by the evolution of the disk truncation radius.
Exact black hole solutions in shift-symmetric quadratic degenerate higher-order scalar-tensor theories

We find various exact black hole solutions in the shift-symmetric subclass of the quadratic degenerate higher-order scalar-tensor (DHOST) theories with linearly time dependent scalar field whose kinetic term is constant. The exact solutions are the Schwarzschild and Schwarzschild-(anti-)de Sitter solutions, and the Schwarzschild-type solution with a deficit solid angle, which are accompanied by nontrivial scalar field regular at the black hole event horizon. We derive the conditions for the coupling functions in the DHOST Lagrangian that allow the exact solutions, clarify their compatibility with the degeneracy conditions, and provide general form of coupling functions as well as simple models that satisfy the conditions.
ANNz: Estimating Photometric Redshifts Using Artificial Neural Networks

We introduce ANNz, a freely available software package for photometric redshift estimation using artificial neural networks. ANNz learns the relation between photometry and redshift from an appropriate training set of galaxies for which the redshift is already known. Where a large and representative training set is available, ANNz is a highly competitive tool when compared with traditional template‐fitting methods. The ANNz package is demonstrated on the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 1, and for this particular data set the rms redshift error in the range 0≲z≲0.7 is σrms = 0.023. Nonideal conditions (spectroscopic sets that are small or brighter than the photometric set for which redshifts are required) are simulated, and the impact on the photometric redshift accuracy is assessed.
X-Ray Reverberation Mapping and Dramatic Variability of Seyfert 1 Galaxy 1H 1934-063

A fraction of active galactic nuclei (AGN) exhibit dramatic variability, which is observed on timescales down to minutes in the X-ray band. We introduce the case study of 1H 1934-063 (z = 0.0102), a Narrow-line Seyfert 1 among the brightest and most variable AGN ever observed with XMM-Newton. This work includes spectral and temporal analyses of a concurrent XMM-Newton and NuSTAR 2015 observation lasting 130 kiloseconds, during which the X-ray source exhibited a steep (factor of ∼6) plummet and subsequent full recovery of the flux level, accompanied by deviation from a single log-normal flux distribution. We rule out Compton-thin obscuration as the cause for this dramatic variability observed even at NuSTAR energies. In order to constrain coronal geometry, dynamics, and emission/absorption processes, we compare a detailed spectral fitting with a Fourier-based timing analysis. Similar to other well-studied, highly variable Seyfert 1s, this AGN is X-ray bright and displays strong reflection features. We find a narrower broad iron line component compared to most Seyfert 1s, and constrain the black hole spin to be <0.1, one of the lowest yet discovered for such systems. Combined spectral and timing results are consistent with a dramatic change in the continuum on timescales as short as a few kiloseconds dictating the nature of this variability. We also discover a Fe–K time lag, measuring a delay of 20 s between relativistically blurred reflection off the inner accretion flow and the hard X-ray continuum emission.
ALMA Observation of NGC 5135: The Circumnuclear CO (6–5) and Dust Continuum Emission at 45 pc Resolution

We present high-resolution (0.″17 × 0.″14) Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations of the CO (6–5) line and 435 μm dust continuum emission within a ∼9″ × 9″ area centered on the nucleus of the galaxy NGC 5135. NGC 5135 is a well-studied luminous infrared galaxy that also harbors a Compton-thick active galactic nucleus (AGN). At the achieved resolution of 48 × 40 pc, the CO (6–5) and dust emissions are resolved into gas “clumps” along the symmetrical dust lanes associated with the inner stellar bar. The clumps have radii in the range of ∼45–180 pc and CO (6–5) line widths of ∼60–88 . The CO (6–5) to dust continuum flux ratios vary among the clumps and show an increasing trend with the [Fe ii]/Brγ ratios, which we interpret as evidence for supernova-driven shocked gas providing a significant contribution to the CO (6–5) emission. The central AGN is undetected in continuum, nor is it detected in CO (6–5) if its line velocity width is no less than ∼ 40 . We estimate that the AGN contributes at most 1% of the integrated CO (6–5) flux of 512 ± 24 Jy within the ALMA field of view, which in turn accounts for ∼32% of the CO (6–5) flux of the whole galaxy.
Bacterial biofilm detection methods in the laboratory

Biofilm formation is a key virulence factor among many microorganisms. Importantly, biofilm formation is implicated as a significant factor involved in a number of chronic human infections. Development of new technologies in molecular biology, biochemical methods and imaging techniques lead a better understanding of biofilm science. The question of using these technologies in vitro and in vivo or both makes the biofilm science a lively field of study. On the contrary the lack of standardized methods for the culture of biofilm is troublesome for many studies. The culturing techniques usually preferred might have difficulties when other laboratories attempt to confirm results produced by another laboratory. Culturing techniques designed for microscopy investigation are not always suited for other types of analyses, such as harvesting biofilm biomass for biochemical measurements. In many cases these culturing methods can be adapted to mimic certain aspects of the system in which the researcher is interested, like the replacement of abiotic attachment surfaces with pathogenically relevant biotic surfaces. Biofilm formation in microtiter plates is the most common and convenient method used in the laboratories. There are numerous methods used and planned for the cultivation of biofilm in vitro, like microfluidic devices which are designed for future bacterial biofilm studies. The biofilm biomass can be detected with microbiological, physical, chemical, microscopical and molecular methods. In this article old and new biofilm detection methods used in the laboratories will be discussed.
On the Reflectivity of Materials for Radio Telescope and Space Antenna Applications: Antenna reflector loss needs to be known for many specific antenna applications

System requirements can dictate the use of antenna reflector materials that are not electrically optimum and clearly not “perfectly electrically conducting. ” This makes loss measurements necessary. A loss that is not acceptable for one application might be acceptable for another application. Instrument or radiometer antennas require a low loss, but, sometimes, this could be less critical for telecommunication antennas. We investigated less conventional materials, including a nickel-based material, for a radio telescope antenna (Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array [ALMA]) and other materials as needed in certain space antenna applications. A sensitive open resonator was used. The data collected provide an understanding of and insight into the loss properties for the respective applications. This has led to useful models confirmed by the data.
Fast Semantic-Aware Motion State Detection for Visual SLAM in Dynamic Environment

Existing visual SLAM (vSLAM) systems fail to perform well in dynamic environments as they cannot effectively ignore moving objects during pose estimation and mapping. We propose a lightweight approach to improve the robustness of existing feature based RGB-D and stereo vSLAM by accurately removing dynamic outliers in the scene that contribute to failures in pose estimation and mapping. First, a novel motion state detection algorithm using the depth and feature flow information is presented to identify regions in the scene with high moving probability. This information is then fused with semantic cues via a probability framework to enable accurate and robust moving object extraction to retain the useful features for pose estimation and mapping. To reduce the computational complexity of extracting semantic information in every frame, we propose to extract semantics only on keyframes with significant changes in image content. Semantic propagation is used to compensate for the changes in the intermediate frames (i.e., non-keyframes). This is achieved by computing the dense transformation map using the available feature flow vectors. The proposed techniques can be integrated into existing vSLAM systems to increase their robustness in dynamic environments without incurring much computation cost. Our work highlights the importance of distinguishing between motion states of potential moving objects for vSLAM in highly dynamic environments. We provide extensive experimental results on four well-known RGB-D and stereo datasets to show that the proposed technique outperforms existing vSLAM methods in indoor and outdoor environments under various dynamic scenarios including crowded scenes. We also perform our experiments on a low-cost embedded platform, i.e., Jetson TX1, to demonstrate the computational efficiency of our method.