Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Different Expression of Thyroid-Specific Proteins in Thyroid Cancer Cells between 2-Dimensional (2D) and 3-Dimensional (3D) Culture Environment

The two-dimensional (2D) monolayer culture as a conventional method has been widely applied in molecular biology fields, but it has limited capability to recapitulate real cell environments, being prone to misinterpretation with poor prediction of in vivo behavior. Recently, the three-dimensional (3D) spheroid culture has been studied extensively. Spheroids are self-assembled cell aggregates that have biomimicry capabilities. The behavior of thyroid cancer under the 3D spheroid culture environment has been studied; however, there are no reports regarding differences in the degree of thyroid cancer cell differentiation under 2D and 3D culture conditions. This study investigated the expression of thyroid differentiation proteins related to iodide-metabolizing mechanisms in thyroid cancer cells under different culture conditions. Four thyroid cancer cell lines and one thyroid follicular epithelial cell line were grown in adherent 2D cell culture and 3D spheroid culture with agarose-coated plates. We observed changes in proliferation, hypoxia, extracellular matrix (ECM), cytoskeleton, thyroid-specific proteins, and thyroid transcription factors. All cell lines were successfully established in the spheroid following cell aggregation. Proliferation considerably decreased, while hypoxia-inducible factor 1-α(HIF1-α) was promoted in 3D spheroids; moreover, 3D spheroids with thyroid cancers showed diminished thyroid differentiation markers, but thyroid follicular epithelial cells revealed either a maintenance or weak decline of protein expression. We verified that the 3D spheroid culture environment can be similar to in vivo conditions because of its alterations in numerous cellular and functional activities, including morphology, cellular proliferation, viability, hypoxia, ECM, cytoskeleton, and thyroid differentiation, compared to the conventional 2D monolayer culture environment. An in vitro experimental study using 3D spheroid culture is ideal for the faster discovery of new drugs.
Uniformly bounded orthonormal sections of positive line bundles on complex manifolds

We show the existence of uniformly bounded sequences of increasing numbers of orthonormal sections of powers $L^k$ of a positive holomorphic line bundle $L$ on a compact K\"ahler manifold $M$. In particular, we construct for each positive integer $k$, orthonormal sections $s^k_1,\dots,s^k_{n_k}$ in $H^0(M,L^k)$, $n_k\ge\beta\dim H^0(M,L^k)$, such that $\{s^k_j\}$ is a uniformly bounded family, where $\beta$ is an explicit positive constant depending only on the dimension of $M$. For $m=1$, we can take $\beta=. 99564$.
Vacuum Effective Actions and Mass-Dependent Renormalization in Curved Space

We review past and present results on the non-local form-factors of the effective action of semiclassical gravity in two and four dimensions computed by means of a covariant expansion of the heat kernel up to the second order in the curvatures. We discuss the importance of these form-factors in the construction of mass-dependent beta functions for the Newton’s constant and the other gravitational couplings.
Cosmology with massive neutrinos I: towards a realistic modeling of the relation between matter, haloes and galaxies

By using a suite of large box-size N-body simulations that incorporate massive neutrinos as an extra set of particles, with total masses of 0.15, 0.30, and 0.60 eV, we investigate the impact of neutrino masses on the spatial distribution of dark matter haloes and on the distribution of galaxies within the haloes. We compute the bias between the spatial distribution of dark matter haloes and the overall matter and cold dark matter distributions using statistical tools such as the power spectrum and the two-point correlation function. Overall we find a scale-dependent bias on large scales for the cosmologies with massive neutrinos. In particular, we find that the bias decreases with the scale, being this effect more important for higher neutrino masses and at high redshift. However, our results indicate that the scale-dependence in the bias is reduced if the latter is computed with respect to the cold dark matter distribution only. We find that the value of the bias on large scales is reasonably well reproduced by the Tinker fitting formula once the linear cold dark matter power spectrum is used, instead of the total matter power spectrum. We also investigate whether scale-dependent bias really comes from purely neutrino's effect or from nonlinear gravitational collapse of haloes. For this purpose, we address the Ων-σ8 degeneracy and find that such degeneracy is not perfect, implying that neutrinos imprint a slight scale dependence on the large-scale bias. Finally, by using a simple halo occupation distribution (HOD) model, we investigate the impact of massive neutrinos on the distribution of galaxies within dark matter haloes. We use the main galaxy sample in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) II Data Release 7 to investigate if the small-scale galaxy clustering alone can be used to discriminate among different cosmological models with different neutrino masses. Our results suggest that different choices of the HOD parameters can reproduce the observational measurements relatively well, and we quantify the difference between the values of the HOD parameters between massless and massive neutrino cosmologies.
Study of Changes in Crystallinity and Functional Properties of Modified Sago Starch (Metroxylon sp.) Using Physical and Chemical Treatment

Sago starch has weaknesses such as low thermal stability and high syneresis. Modifications were made to improve the characteristics of native sago starch. In this study, sago starch was modified by autoclave-heating treatment (AHT), osmotic-pressure treatment (OPT), octenyl-succinic anhydride modification (OSA), and citric acid cross-linking (CA). This study aimed to examine the changes in chemical composition, crystallinity, and functional properties of the native sago starch after physical and chemical modifications. The results show that physical modification caused greater granule damage than chemical modification. All modification treatments did not alter the type of crystallinity but decreased the relative crystallinity of native starch. New functional groups were formed in chemically modified starches at a wavelength of 1700–1725 cm−1. The degree of order (DO) and degree of double helix (DD) of the modified starches were also not significantly different from the native sample, except for AHT and OPT, respectively. Physical modification decreased the swelling volume, while chemical modification increased its value and is inversely proportional to solubility. AHT and OPT starches have the best freeze–thaw stability among others, indicating that both starches have the potential to be applied in frozen food.
Episodic disc accretion in the halo of the ‘old’ pre-main-sequence cluster η Chamaeleontis★

We present multi-epoch medium-resolution observations of two M4.5 candidate members in the halo of the ∼8 Myr η Chamaeleontis open cluster. During six months of observations, both stars exhibited variations in their Hα line profiles on time-scales of days to months, with at least one episode of substantial activity attributable to accretion from a circumstellar disc. We derive an accretion rate of ∼10−8.7 M⊙ yr−1 for this event, with a rate of ∼10−10.6 M⊙ yr−1 in quiescence. Episodic accretion like that observed here suggests existing surveys of accreting weak-lined T Tauri stars in young clusters are likely incomplete and that gas dissipation time-scales calculated from the fraction of accreting objects are underestimates.
Stable isotope hydrology of surface and groundwater from the Doon Valley: geometeorological processes and hydraulic linkages

ABSTRACT Effective management of water resources requires an understanding of local hydrology and its links to precipitation. This study provides insights into geometeorological controls on precipitation and the hydraulic relationship between the water sources in the Doon Valley of the Indian Himalaya. Results suggest that inherent variance in isotopic characteristics of precipitation is closely associated with the evolution of different sources of moisture and topographic features. Back trajectories and d-excess suggest that precipitation is transported from the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal, and the Mediterranean Sea. The differences in slopes and intercepts of δ18O–δ2H regressions with space reveal that evaporation and local recycling regulate the compositional variation of precipitation. The study suggests a strong hydraulic connection between surface water and groundwater and recharge through flowpaths with higher permeability, where the Indian summer monsoon acts as the dominant replenishment input. Using the vertical isotopic gradient of precipitation, the groundwater feeding zones were also determined.
Discovery of the Kinematic Alignment of Early-type Galaxies in the Virgo Cluster

Using the kinematic position angles (PAkin), an accurate indicator for the spin axis of a galaxy, obtained from the ATLAS3D integral-field-unit (IFU) spectroscopic data, we discovered that 57 Virgo early-type galaxies tend to prefer the specific PAkin values of 20° and 100°, suggesting that they are kinematically aligned with each other. These kinematic alignment angles are further associated with the directions of the two distinct axes of the Virgo cluster extending east–west and north–south, strongly suggesting that the two distinct axes are the filamentary structures within the cluster as a trace of infall patterns of galaxies. Given that the spin axis of a massive early-type galaxy does not change easily even in clusters from the hydrodynamic simulations, Virgo early-type galaxies are likely to fall into the cluster along the filamentary structures while maintaining their angular momentum. This implies that many early-type galaxies in clusters are formed in filaments via major mergers before subsequently falling into the cluster. Investigating the kinematic alignment in other clusters will allow us to understand the formation of galaxy clusters and early-type galaxies.
THE EFFECTS OF STELLAR ROTATION. II. A COMPREHENSIVE SET OF STARBURST99 MODELS

We present a new set of synthesis models for stellar populations obtained with Starburst99 and based on new stellar evolutionary tracks with rotation. We discuss models with zero rotation velocity and with velocities of 40% of the break-up velocity on the zero-age main-sequence. These values are expected to bracket realistic rotation velocity distributions in stellar populations. The new rotating models for massive stars are more luminous and hotter due to a larger convective core and enhanced surface abundances. This results in pronounced changes in the integrated spectral energy distribution of a population containing massive stars. The changes are most significant at the shortest wavelengths where an increase of the ionizing luminosity by up to a factor of five is predicted. We also show that high equivalent widths of recombination lines may not necessarily indicate a very young age but can be achieved at ages as late as ∼107 yr. Comparison of these two boundary cases (0% and 40% of the break-up velocity) will allow users to evaluate the effects of rotation and provide guidance for calibrating the stellar evolution models. We also introduce a new theoretical ultraviolet spectral library built from the Potsdam Wolf–Rayet atmospheres. Its purpose is to help identify signatures of Wolf–Rayet stars in the ultraviolet whose strength is sensitive to the particulars of the evolution models. The new models are available for solar and one-seventh solar metallicities. A complete suite of models can be generated on the Starburst99 Web site. The updated Starburst99 package can be retrieved from that Web site as well.
SHOCK-DRIVEN ACCRETION IN CIRCUMPLANETARY DISKS: OBSERVABLES AND SATELLITE FORMATION

Circumplanetary disks (CPDs) control the growth of planets, supply material for satellites to form, and provide observational signatures of young forming planets. We have carried out two-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations with radiative cooling to study CPDs and suggested a new mechanism to drive the disk accretion. Two spiral shocks are present in CPDs, excited by the central star. We find that spiral shocks can at least contribute to, if not dominate, the angular momentum transport and energy dissipation in CPDs. Meanwhile, dissipation and heating by spiral shocks have a positive feedback on shock-driven accretion itself. As the disk is heated up by spiral shocks, the shocks become more open, leading to more efficient angular momentum transport. This shock-driven accretion is, on the other hand, unsteady due to production and destruction of vortices in disks. After being averaged over time, a quasi-steady accretion is reached from the planet’s Hill radius all the way to the planet surface, and the disk α coefficient characterizing angular momentum transport is ∼0.001–0.02. The disk surface density ranges from 10 to 1000 g cm−2 in our simulations, which is at least three orders of magnitude smaller than the “minimum-mass subnebula” model used to study satellite formation; instead it is more consistent with the “gas-starved” satellite formation model. Finally, we calculate the millimeter flux emitted by CPDs at ALMA and EVLA wavelength bands and predict the flux for several recently discovered CPD candidates, which suggests that ALMA is capable of discovering these accreting CPDs.
THE EFFECT OF STARSPOTS ON ACCURATE RADIUS DETERMINATION OF THE LOW-MASS DOUBLE-LINED ECLIPSING BINARY GU Boo

GU Boo is one of only a relatively small number of well-studied double-lined eclipsing binaries that contain low-mass stars. López-Morales & Ribas present a comprehensive analysis of multi-color light and radial velocity curves for this system. The GU Boo light curves presented by López-Morales & Ribas had substantial asymmetries, which were attributed to large spots. In spite of the asymmetry, López-Morales & Ribas derived masses and radii accurate to ≃2%. We obtained additional photometry of GU Boo using both a CCD and a single-channel photometer and modeled the light curves with the ELC software to determine if the large spots in the light curves give rise to systematic errors at the few percent level. We also modeled the original light curves from the work of López-Morales & Ribas using models with and without spots. We derived a radius of the primary of 0.6329 ± 0.0026 R☉, 0.6413 ± 0.0049 R☉, and 0.6373 ± 0.0029 R☉ from the CCD, photoelectric, and López-Morales & Ribas data, respectively. Each of these measurements agrees with the value reported by López-Morales & Ribas (R1 = 0.623 ± 0.016 R☉) at the level of ≈2%. In addition, the spread in these values is ≈1%–2% from the mean. For the secondary, we derive radii of 0.6074 ± 0.0035 R☉, 0.5944 ± 0.0069 R☉, and 0.5976 ± 0.0059 R☉ from the three respective data sets. The López-Morales & Ribas value is R2 = 0.620 ± 0.020 R☉, which is ≈2%–3% larger than each of the three values we found. The spread in these values is ≈2% from the mean. The systematic difference between our three determinations of the secondary radius and that of López-Morales & Ribas might be attributed to differences in the modeling process and codes used. Our own fits suggest that, for GU Boo at least, using accurate spot modeling of a single set of multi-color light curves results in radii determinations accurate at the ≈2% level.
On the HU Aquarii planetary system hypothesis

In this paper, we investigate the eclipse timing of the polar binary HU Aquarii that has been observed for almost two decades. Recently, Qian et al. attributed large (O–C) deviations between the eclipse ephemeris and observations to a compact system of two massive Jovian companions. We improve the Keplerian, kinematic model of the light travel time effect and re-analyse the whole currently available data set. We add almost 60 new, yet unpublished, mostly precision light curves obtained using the time high-resolution photopolarimeter Optical Timing Analyzer (OPTIMA), as well as photometric observations performed at the Monitoring Network of Telescopes/North, Physics Innovations Robotic Astronomical Telescope Explorer and Carlos Sanchez Telescope. We determine new mid-egress times with a mean uncertainty at the level of 1 s or better. We claim that because the observations that currently exist in the literature are non-homogeneous with respect to spectral windows (ultraviolet, X-ray, visual and polarimetric mode) and the reported mid-egress measurements errors, they may introduce systematics that affect orbital fits. Indeed, we find that the published data, when taken literally, cannot be explained by any unique solution. Many qualitatively different and best-fit two-planet configurations, including self-consistent, Newtonian N-body solutions may be able to explain the data. However, using high-resolution, precision OPTIMA light curves, we find that the (O–C) deviations are best explained by the presence of a single circumbinary companion orbiting at a distance of ∼4.5 au with a small eccentricity and having ∼7 Jupiter masses. This object could be the next circumbinary planet detected from the ground, similar to the announced companions around close binaries HW Vir, NN Ser, UZ For, DP Leo, FS Aur or SZ Her, and planets of this type around Kepler-16, Kepler-34 and Kepler-35.
Does Health System Responsiveness Differ between Insured and Uninsured Outpatients in Primary Health Care Facilities in Asagirt District, Ethiopia? A Cross-Sectional Study

Background. An effective designation of health facilities improves the facility’s ability to respond to patients’ legitimate expectations. Limited evidence exists regarding the association between health system responsiveness and financial fairness in Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in Ethiopia. The purpose of the study was, therefore to evaluate the health system responsiveness among insured and uninsured outpatients in primary healthcare facilities and determine the association between health insurance and health system responsiveness among outpatients. Methods. A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted between March 30 and April 30,2021. The study sampled 423 participants using a systematic random sampling technique, and the data was collected with structured and pretested questionnaires administered by interviewers. Responsiveness was measured using the short version of the World Health Organization’s multicountry responsiveness survey, which has seven dimensions including autonomy, communication, confidentiality, attention, dignity, choice, and amenities. Using quantile regression, a specific association between health insurance and the health system responsiveness index was examined, adjusting for sociodemographic, quality, and satisfaction-related factors. Results. Of a total of 417 outpatients, 70.74% had health insurance. There was no statistical difference in health system responsiveness among insured and uninsured outpatients. Possession of health insurance was not associated with responsiveness (−0.67; 95%CI: −1.59, 0.25). There was a statistically significant negative relationship between age and responsiveness (−1.33; 95% CI: −2.47, −0.19) among 30–39 year olds and (−1.66; 95% CI: −3.02, −0.32) among 40–49 year olds. However, there was a positive statistical association between responsiveness with urban residence (+1.33; 95%CI: 0.37, 2.29), perceived quality of healthcare (+2.96; 95%CI: 1.95, 4.05), and patient satisfaction (3; 95%CI: 1.94, 4.07). Conclusions. There was no difference in the responsiveness of the health system between insured and uninsured outpatients. All domains need further improvement, particularly those more closely related to patients’ concerns, such as waiting time to get service and choices of healthcare providers. Furthermore, health facility administrators and the government should enhance responsive healthcare services in parallel with quality improvement and patient satisfaction, based on feedback from service users for better performance.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ENTREPRENEURIAL ORIENTATION AND THE PERFORMANCE OF REAL ESTATE FIRMS: INVESTIGATING THE MODERATING ROLE OF FIRMS’ AGE

In Nigeria, there is a dearth of information on the moderating role of the age of firms in determining the performance of such firms. This study, therefore, examines the moderating role of the age of firms on the relationship between Entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and the performance of real estate firms in Lagos, Nigeria. Data were collected through questionnaire administration and analysed using Hierarchical linear regression model. The results, among others, revealed that the age of firms is positive and significant at P < 0.05 to the performance of the real estate firms in the study area. To generalize the results of this study, it is recommended that the model used in this study be replicated in different industries in future research.
An environmental Butcher–Oemler effect in intermediate-redshift X-ray clusters*

We present uniform CFHT Megacam g and r photometry for 34 X-ray selected galaxy clusters drawn from the X-ray Multi-Mirror (XMM) Large Scale Structure (LSS) survey and the Canadian Cluster Comparison Project (CCCP) having X-ray temperatures of 1 < kT(keV) < 12, and a relatively narrow redshift interval of 0. 15 < z < 0. 41 in order to minimize any redshift dependent photometric effects. We investigate the colour bimodality of the cluster galaxy populations and compute blue fractions using criteria derived from [Butcher and Oemler, ApJ 285, 426 (1984)]. We identify an environmental dependence of cluster blue fraction in that cool (low mass) clusters display higher blue fractions than hotter (higher mass) clusters. The results of blue fraction calculations as a function of this global cluster environment alone are not enough to disentangle the process(es) which are transforming galaxies, and so are combined with an initial analysis of local density measurements.
An updated analysis of two classes of f(R) theories of gravity

The observed accelerated cosmic expansion can be a signature of fourth-order gravity theories, where the acceleration of the Universe is a consequence of departures from Einstein General Relativity, rather than the sign of the existence of a fluid with negative pressure. In the fourth-order gravity theories, the gravity Lagrangian is described by an analytic function f(R) of the scalar curvature R subject to the demanding conditions that no detectable deviations from standard GR is observed on the Solar System scale. Here we consider two classes of f(R) theories able to pass Solar System tests and investigate their viability on cosmological scales. To this end, we fit the theories to a large dataset including the combined Hubble diagram of Type Ia Supernovae and Gamma Ray Bursts, the Hubble parameter H(z) data from passively evolving red galaxies, Baryon Acoustic Oscillations extracted from the seventh data release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and the distance priors from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe seven years (WMAP7) data. We find that both classes of f(R) fit very well this large dataset with the present-day values of the matter density, Hubble constant and deceleration parameter in agreement with previous estimates; however, the strong degeneracy among the f(R) parameters prevents us from strongly constraining their values. We also derive the growth factor g = dln δ/dln a, with δ = δρM/ρM the matter density perturbation, and show that it can still be well approximated by g(z)∝ΩM(z)γ. We finally constrain γ (on some representative scales) and investigate its redshift dependence to see whether future data can discriminate between these classes of f(R) theories and standard dark energy models.