Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Who develops pandemic fatigue? Insights from Latent Class Analysis

According to the World Health Organization, pandemic fatigue poses a serious threat for managing COVID-19. Pandemic fatigue is characterized by progressive decline in adherence to social distancing (SDIS) guidelines, and is thought to be associated with pandemic-related emotional burnout. Little is known about the nature of pandemic fatigue; for example, it is unclear who is most likely to develop pandemic fatigue. We sought to evaluate this issue based on data from 5,812 American and Canadian adults recruited during the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Past-year decline in adherence to SDIS had a categorical latent structure according to Latent Class Analysis, consisting of a group adherent to SDIS (Class 1: 92% of the sample) and a group reporting a progressive decline in adherence to SDIS (i.e., pandemic fatigue; Class 2: 8% of the sample). Class 2, compared to Class 1, was associated with greater pandemic-related burnout, pessimism, and apathy about the COVID-19 pandemic. They also tended to be younger, perceived themselves to be more affluent, tended to have greater levels of narcissism, entitlement, and gregariousness, and were more likely to report having been previously infected with SARSCOV2, which they regarded as an exaggerated threat. People in Class 2 also self-reported higher levels of pandemic-related stress, anxiety, and depression, and described making active efforts at coping with SDIS restrictions, which they perceived as unnecessary and stressful. People in Class 1 generally reported that they engaged in SDIS for the benefit of themselves and their community, although 35% of this class also feared they would be publicly shamed if they did not comply with SDIS guidelines. The findings suggest that pandemic fatigue affects a substantial minority of people and even many SDIS-adherent people experience emotionally adverse effects (i.e., fear of being shamed). Implications for the future of SDIS are discussed.
Is the 130 GeV line real? A search for systematics in the Fermi-LAT data

Our recent claims of a Galactic center feature in Fermi-LAT data at approximately 130 GeV have motivated a large number of papers proposing explanations ranging from dark matter annihilation to monoenergetic pulsar winds. Because of the importance of such interpretations for physics and astrophysics, a discovery will require not only additional data, but a thorough investigation of possible LAT systematics. While we do not have access to the details of each event reconstruction, we do have information about each event from the public event lists and spacecraft parameter files. These data allow us to search for suspicious trends that could indicate a spurious signal. We consider several hypotheses that might make an instrumental artifact more apparent at the Galactic center, and find them implausible. We also search for an instrumental signature in the Earth limb photons, which provide a smooth reference spectrum for null tests. We find no significant 130 GeV feature in the Earth limb sample. However, we do find a marginally significant 130 GeV feature in Earth limb photons with a limited range of detector incidence angles. This raises concerns about the 130 GeV Galactic center feature, even though we can think of no plausible model of instrumental behavior that connects the two. A modest amount of additional limb data would tell us if the limb feature is a statistical fluke. If the limb feature persists, it would raise doubts about the Pass 7 processing of E > 100 GeV events. At present we find no instrumental systematics that could plausibly explain the excess Galactic center emission at 130 GeV.
The filamentation instability driven by warm electron beams: statistics and electric field generation

The filamentation instability of counterpropagating symmetric beams of electrons is examined with 1D and 2D particle-in-cell simulations, which are oriented orthogonally to the beam velocity vector. The beams are uniform, warm and their relative speed is mildly relativistic. The dynamics of the filaments is examined in 2D and it is confirmed that their characteristic size increases linearly in time. Currents orthogonal to the beam velocity vector are driven through the magnetic and electric fields in the simulation plane. The fields are tied to the filament boundaries and the scale size of the flow aligned and the perpendicular currents are thus equal. It is confirmed that the electrostatic and the magnetic forces are equally important, when the filamentation instability saturates in 1D. Their balance is apparently the saturation mechanism of the filamentation instability for our initial conditions. The electric force is relatively weaker but not negligible in the 2D simulation, where the electron temperature is set higher to reduce the computational cost. The magnetic pressure gradient is the principal source of the electrostatic field, when and after the instability saturates in the 1D simulation and in the 2D simulation.
Conductance of a superconducting Coulomb-blockaded Majorana nanowire

In the presence of an applied magnetic field introducing Zeeman spin splitting, a superconducting (SC) proximitized one-dimensional (1D) nanowire with spin-orbit coupling can pass through a topological quantum phase transition developing zero-energy topological Majorana bound states (MBSs) on the wire ends. One of the promising experimental platforms in this context is a Coulomb blockaded island, where by measuring the two-terminal conductance one can in principle investigate the MBS properties. We theoretically study the tunneling transport of a single electron across the superconducting Coulomb blockaded nanowire at finite temperature to obtain the generic conductance equation. By considering all possible scenarios where only MBSs are present at the ends of the nanowire, we compute the nanowire conductance as a function of the magnetic field, the temperature, and the gate voltage. In the simplest 1D topological SC model, the oscillations of the conductance peak spacings (OCPSs) arising from the MBSs overlap from the two wire ends manifest an increasing oscillation amplitude with increasing magnetic field (in agreement with theories without Coulomb blockade and in disagreement with a recent experimental observation). We develop a generalized finite temperature master equation theory including not only multiple subbands in the nanowire, but also the possibility of ordinary Andreev bound states in the non-topological regime. Inclusion of all four effects (temperature, multiple subbands, Andreev bound states, and MBSs) provides a complete picture of the tunneling transport properties. Based on this complete theory, we indeed obtain OCPSs whose amplitudes decrease with increasing magnetic field in qualitative agreement with recent experimental results, but this happens only for rather high temperatures with multisubband occupancy and the presence of both Andreev bound states and MBSs.
Exploring Potential Antimalarial Candidate from Medicinal Plants of Kheaw Hom Remedy

The Kheaw Hom remedy is a traditional Thai medicine widely used to treat fevers. Some plant ingredients in this remedy have been investigated for their antimicrobial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant activities. However, there have been no reports on the antimalarial activities of the medicinal plants in this remedy. Therefore, this study focuses on identifying potential antimalarial drug candidates from the medicinal plant ingredients of the Kheaw Hom remedy. Eighteen plants from the Kheaw Hom remedy were extracted using distilled water and ethanol. All extracts were investigated for their in vitro antimalarial activity and cytotoxicity. An extract that exhibited good in vitro antimalarial activity and low toxicity was selected for further investigation by using Peter’s 4-day suppressive test and an acute oral toxicity evaluation in mice. Based on the in vitro antimalarial activity and cytotoxicity studies, the ethanolic extract of Globba malaccensis rhizomes showed promising antimalarial activity against the Plasmodium falciparum K1 strain (IC50 = 1.50 µg/mL) with less toxicity to Vero cells (CC50 of >80 µg/mL). This extract exhibited a significant dose-dependent reduction in parasitemia in P. berghei-infected mice. The maximum suppressive effect of this extract (60.53%) was observed at the highest dose administered (600 mg/kg). In a single-dose acute toxicity test, the animals treated at 2000 mg/kg died within 48 h after extract administration. In conclusion, our study indicates that the ethanolic extract of G. malaccensis rhizomes exhibited in vitro and in vivo antimalarial activities, which could serve as a promising starting point for antimalarial drug.
Perturbative Quantum Gravity Comes of Age

I argue that cosmological data from the epoch of primordial inflation is catalyzing the maturation of quantum gravity from speculation into a hard science. I explain why quantum gravitational effects from primordial inflation are observable. I then review what has been done, both theoretically and observationally, and what the future holds. I also discuss what this tells us about quantum gravity.
Observation of large spin accumulation voltages in nondegenerate Si spin devices due to spin drift effect: Experiments and theory

A large spin-accumulation voltage of more than 1.5 mV at 1 mA, i.e., a magnetoresistance of 1.5 {\Omega}, was measured by means of the local three-terminal magnetoresistance in nondegenerate Si-based lateral spin valves (LSVs) at room temperature. This is the largest spin-accumulation voltage measured in semiconductor-based LSVs. The modified spin drift-diffusion model, which successfully accounts for the spin drift effect, explains the large spin-accumulation voltage and significant bias-current-polarity dependence. The model also shows that the spin drift effect enhances the spin-dependent magnetoresistance in the electric two terminal scheme. This finding provides a useful guiding principle for spin metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) operations.
Hierarchical Structure and Properties of the Bone at Nano Level

Bone is a highly hierarchical complex structure that consists of organic and mineral components represented by collagen molecules (CM) and hydroxyapatite crystals (HAC), respectively. The nanostructure of bone can significantly affect its mechanical properties. There is a lack of understanding how collagen fibrils (CF) in different orientations may affect the mechanical properties of the bone. The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of interaction, orientation, and hydration on atomic models of the bone composed of collagen helix (CH) and HAC, using molecular dynamics simulations and therefrom bone-related disease origins. The results demonstrate that the mechanical properties of the bone are affected significantly by the orientation of the CF attributed to contact areas at 0° and 90° models. The molecular dynamics simulation illustrated that there is significant difference (p < 0.005) in the ultimate tensile strength and toughness with respect to the orientation of the hydrated and un-hydrated CF. Additionally, the results indicated that having the force in a longitudinal direction (0°) provides more strength compared with the CF in the perpendicular direction (90°). Furthermore, the results show that substituting glycine (GLY) with any other amino acid affects the mechanical properties and strength of the CH, collagen–hydroxyapatite interface, and eventually affects the HAC. Generally, hydration dramatically influences bone tissue elastic properties, and any change in the orientation or any abnormality in the atomic structure of either the CM or the HAC would be the main reason of the fragility in the bone, affecting bone pathology.
Asymmetric isolated skyrmions in polar magnets with easy-plane anisotropy

We introduce a new class of isolated magnetic skyrmions emerging within tilted ferromagnetic phases of polar magnets with easy-plane anisotropy. The asymmetric magnetic structure of these skyrmions is associated with an intricate pattern of the energy density, which exhibits positive and negative asymptotics with respect to the surrounding state with a ferromagnetic moment tilted away from the polar axis. Correspondingly, the skyrmion-skyrmion interaction has an anisotropic character and can be either attractive or repulsive depending on the relative orientation of the skyrmion pair. We investigate the stability of these novel asymmetric skyrmions against the elliptical cone state and follow their transformation into axisymmetric skyrmions, when the tilted ferromagnetic moment of the host phase is reduced. Our theory gives clear directions for experimental studies of isolated asymmetric skyrmions and their clusters embedded in tilted ferromagnetic phases.
Philanthropy, audit firms culture and auditor independence

In this study, we examine how the prosocial ethical culture in audit firms, measured as their philanthropic contributions over gross revenues, influences auditor independence. Using 5,246 audits in the Chinese market between 2010 and 2012, we find that the level of ethical culture in audit firms is significantly negatively associated with the magnitude of earnings management and the frequencies of financial restatements of their client firms. We also find this association is even stronger when auditors provide services to clients that are economically important or when signing auditors bear school ties with at least one top executive of the client. Further evidence show that the ethical culture can both act as a mechanism that attract auditors with a compatible internal norm, and great a group norm in audit firms that directly shape auditor behavior. Collectively, our study suggests that ethical culture of audit firms can significantly improve auditor independence.
Fecal Microbiota Transplantation Alleviated Cerebral Ischemia Reperfusion Injury in Obese Rats.

This study aimed to investigate whether fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) provides protection for stroke injury in obese patients. Rats were fed high-fat diet (HFD) for 4 weeks and subjected to middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). After FMT for 30 days, body weight, serum total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TG) levels, neurological score, brain water content, and cerebral infarction volume were measured. Brain reactive oxygen species (ROS), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were detected and the levels of Bcl-2, Bax and cleaved caspase-3 were examined. Rats fed with HFD had higher body weight and higher serum TC and TG levels. Neurological score was lower, brain water content and cerebral infarction volume were higher in obese rats following MCAO, but FMT improved neurological deficit. Moreover, oxidative stress was enhanced in obese rats following MCAO, but FMT attenuated oxidative stress. Brain Bcl-2 level was lower while Bax and cleaved caspase-3 levels were higher in obese rats following MCAO, but FMT increased brain Bcl-2 level and decreased Bax and cleaved caspase-3 levels. In conclusion, FMT attenuated cerebral ischemic injury in obese rats and the beneficial effects of FMT may be mediated by the attenuation of oxidative stress and apoptosis in the brain.
On the detection of CO and mass-loss of bulge OH/IR stars

We report on the successful search forCO(2-1) and (3-2) emission associated with OH/IR stars in the Galactic bulge. We observed a sample of eight extremely red asymptotic giant branch stars with the Atacama Pathfinder EXperiment telescope and detected seven. The sources were selected at a sufficiently high galactic latitude to avoid interference by interstellar CO, which hampered previous studies of inner galaxy stars. To study the nature of our sample and the mass-loss, we constructed the spectral energy distribution (SEDs) from photometric data and Spitzer IRS spectroscopy. In a first step, we apply radiative transfer modelling to fit the SEDs and obtain luminosities and dust mass-loss rates (MLRs). Through dynamical modelling, we then retrieve the total MLR and the gas-to-dust ratios. We derived variability periods of our stars. The luminosities range between approximately 4000 and 5500 L⊙and periods are shorter than 700 d. The total MLR ranges between 10-5and 10-4M⊙yr-1. Comparison with evolutionary models shows that the progenitor mass ≈ 1.5 M⊙, similar to the bulge Miras of intermediate age (3 Gyr). The gas-to-dust ratios are between 100 and 400 and are similar to what is found for OH/IR stars in the galactic disc. One star, IRAS 17347-2319, has a very short period of approximately 300 d that may be decreasing further. It may belong to a class of Mira variables with a sudden change in period as observed in some Galactic objects. It would be the first example of an OH/IR star in this class and deserves further follow-up observations.
Part two: Gravitational waves and their mathematics

This is an overview article of the mathematics of gravitational waves. We explain the mathematics and physics of these waves in general relativity theory, discuss the gravitational wave experiment aLIGO and their detection of gravitational waves as well as its implications for astrophysics. A version of this article was published in the AMS Notices, Vol. 64, Issue 07, 2017, (August issue 2017).
GeV emission from gamma‐ray bursts: a radiative fireball?

We study the emission observed at energies > 100 MeV of 11 gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) detected by the Fermi-Large Area Telescope (LAT) until 2009 October. The GeV emission has three main properties: (i) its duration is often longer than the duration of the softer emission detected by the Gamma Burst Monitor onboard Fermi (this confirms earlier results from the Energetic Gamma-Ray Experiment Telescope); (ii) its spectrum is consistent with F ν ∝ ν ―1 and does not show strong spectral evolution; and (iii) for the brightest bursts the flux detected by the LAT decays as a power law with a typical slope t ―1.5 . We argue that the observed >0.1 GeV flux can be interpreted as afterglow emission shortly following the start of the prompt phase emission as seen at smaller frequencies. The decay slope is what is expected if the fireball emission is produced in the radiative regime, i.e. all dissipated energy is radiated away. We also argue that the detectability in the GeV energy range depends on the bulk Lorentz factor Γ of the bursts, being strongly favoured in the case of large Γ. This implies that the fraction of bursts detected at high energies corresponds to the fraction of bursts having the largest r. The radiative interpretation can help to explain why the observed X-ray and optical afterglow energetics are much smaller than the energetics emitted during the prompt phase, despite the fact that the collision with the external medium should be more efficient than internal shocks in producing the radiation that we see.
Complementary resistive switching in tantalum oxide-based resistive memory devices

Complementary resistive switches (CRS) are considered as a potential solution for the sneak path problem in large-scale integration of passive crossbar resistive memory arrays. A typical CRS is composed of two bipolar memory cells that are connected anti-serially. Here, we report a tantalum-oxide based resistive memory that achieves the complementary switching functionality within a single memory cell. The complementary switching effect is accompanied by switching polarity reversal in different voltage bias regimes. These effects were explained by the redistribution of oxygen vacancies inside the tantalum-oxide layers. The effects of symmetry breaking on bipolar switching and complementary switching were also discussed.
Detecting neutral hydrogen in emission at redshift z ~ 1

We use a large N-body simulation to examine the detectability of HI in emission at redshift z ’ 1, and the constraints imposed by current observations on the neutral hydrogen mass function of galaxies at this epoch. We consider three different models for populating dark matter halos with HI, designed to encompass uncertainties at this redshift. These models are consistent with recent observations of the detection of HI in emission at z ’ 0:8. Whilst detection of 21cm emission from individual halos requires extremely long integrations with existing radio interferometers, such as the Giant Meter Radio Telescope (GMRT), we show that the stacked 21cm signal from a large number of halos can be easily detected. However, the stacking procedure requires accurate redshifts of galaxies. We show that radio observations of the field of the DEEP2 spectroscopic galaxy redshift survey should allow detection of the HI mass function at the 5‐12 level in the mass range 10 11:4 h 1 M Mhalo 10 12:5 h 1 M , with a moderate amount of observation time. Assuming a larger noise level that corresponds to an upper bound for the expected noise for the GMRT, the detection significance for the HI mass function is still at the 1:7‐3 level. We find that optically undetected satellite galaxies enhance the HI emission profile of the parent halo, leading to broader wings as well as a higher peak signal in the stacked profile of a large number of halos. We show that it is in principle possible to discern the contribution of undetected satellites to the total HI signal, even though cosmic variance limitation make this challenging for some of our models.
RADIATION-HYDRODYNAMIC SIMULATIONS OF THE FORMATION OF ORION-LIKE STAR CLUSTERS. I. IMPLICATIONS FOR THE ORIGIN OF THE INITIAL MASS FUNCTION

One model for the origin of typical Galactic star clusters such as the Orion Nebula Cluster (ONC) is that they form via the rapid, efficient collapse of a bound gas clump within a larger, gravitationally unbound giant molecular cloud. However, simulations in support of this scenario have thus far not included the radiation feedback produced by the stars; radiative simulations have been limited to significantly smaller or lower-density regions. Here we use the ORION AMR code to conduct the first ever radiation-hydrodynamic simulations of the global collapse scenario for the formation of an ONC-like cluster. We show that radiative feedback has a dramatic effect on the evolution: once the first ∼10%–20% of the gas mass is incorporated into stars, their radiative feedback raises the gas temperature high enough to suppress any further fragmentation. However, gas continues to accrete onto existing stars, and, as a result, the stellar mass distribution becomes increasingly top-heavy, eventually rendering it incompatible with the observed initial mass function (IMF). Systematic variation in the location of the IMF peak as star formation proceeds is incompatible with the observed invariance of the IMF between star clusters, unless some unknown mechanism synchronizes the IMFs in different clusters by ensuring that star formation is always truncated when the IMF peak reaches a particular value. We therefore conclude that the global collapse scenario, at least in its simplest form, is not compatible with the observed stellar IMF. We speculate that processes that slow down star formation, and thus reduce the accretion luminosity, may be able to resolve the problem.