Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Lifetimes of Phases in High-mass Star-forming Regions

High-mass stars form within star clusters from dense, molecular regions (DMRs), but is the process of cluster formation slow and hydrostatic or quick and dynamic? We link the physical properties of high-mass star-forming regions with their evolutionary stage in a systematic way, using Herschel and Spitzer data. In order to produce a robust estimate of the relative lifetimes of these regions, we compare the fraction of DMRs above a column density associated with high-mass star formation, N(H2) > 0.4–2.5 × 1022 cm−2, in the “starless” (no signature of stars ≳10 forming) and star-forming phases in a 2° × 2° region of the Galactic Plane centered at ℓ = 30°. Of regions capable of forming high-mass stars on ∼1 pc scales, the starless (or embedded beyond detection) phase occupies about 60%–70% of the DMR lifetime, and the star-forming phase occupies about 30%–40%. These relative lifetimes are robust over a wide range of thresholds. We outline a method by which relative lifetimes can be anchored to absolute lifetimes from large-scale surveys of methanol masers and UCHII regions. A simplistic application of this method estimates the absolute lifetime of the starless phase to be 0.2–1.7 Myr (about 0.6–4.1 fiducial cloud free-fall times) and the star-forming phase to be 0.1–0.7 Myr (about 0.4–2.4 free-fall times), but these are highly uncertain. This work uniquely investigates the star-forming nature of high column density gas pixel by pixel, and our results demonstrate that the majority of high column density gas is in a starless or embedded phase.
Perspectives of traditional Chinese medicine to patch up immune checkpoint blockers

In this era of cancer immunotherapy, the response rates of immune checkpoint blockers (ICBs) are still too low and the adverse events may also be significant. Of the ways of patching up such deficits, chemotherapy (ChT), especially if metronomic, seems promising, especially as immunity induced by immunogenic cell death (ICD) may be preserved. However, side effects, e.g., lymphocytopenia and interstitial pneumonitis cannot be ignored; eventually, resistance may also ensue. Vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGFs), being potent angiogenic factors, promote cancer cells’ purposeful angiogenesis rendering an extremely resistant tumor microenvironment (TME). This highly evasive and extremely resilient TME actually demands multi-agent, multi-target agents as currently in use through traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). With a good track record of 3,000 years, TCM is favored by mainland Chinese cancer patients. Although TCM had been criticized as unscientific and imprecise, recently, artificial intelligence (AI) technologies serve to elucidate the sound scientific basis and validity of TCM. Several TCM preparations having anti-VEGF actions are found; others suppress immune checkpoints. Especially, these herbs’ multi-prong approach appears to be more effective than Western medicine’s primarily monotherapy approach if one wishes to eradicate the very resistant TME. A “bonus” point is that some autoimmune-related adverse side effects of ICBs may also be reduced by TCM. Nevertheless, as the TCM experience is mostly anecdotal, robust clinical trials are mandatory. Moreover, other TCM problems, e.g., herbal batch variations and consistency and uniformity of herbal prescriptions are outstanding. Invariably, TCM prescriptions have daily variations as the practice of “syndrome differentiation” is hailed. Despite experienced TCM practitioners would refuse to give up their time-honored traditional practice, the multi-prong approach is still very attractive for the undue resilience of TME, let alone its good safety profile, ready availability, and eminent affordability. Although the passage is dark, light is now appearing at the end of the tunnel.
Band alignment and charge transfer in complex oxide interfaces

The synthesis of transition metal heterostructures is currently one of the most vivid fields in the design of novel functional materials. In this paper we propose a simple scheme to predict \emph{band alignment }and \emph{charge transfer} in complex oxide interfaces. For semiconductor heterostructures band alignment rules like the well known Anderson or Schottky-Mott rule are based on comparison of the work function or electron affinity of the bulk components. This scheme breaks down for oxides due to the invalidity of a single workfunction approximation as recently shown (Phys. Rev. B 93, 235116; Adv. Funct. Mater. 26, 5471). Here we propose a new scheme which is built on a continuity condition of valence states originating in the compounds' shared network of oxygen. It allows for the prediction of sign and relative amplitude of the intrinsic charge transfer, taking as input only information about the bulk properties of the components. We support our claims by numerical density functional theory simulations as well as (where available) experimental evidence. Specific applications include i) controlled doping of SrTiO$_3$ layers with the use of 4$d$ and 5$d$ transition metal oxides and ii) the control of magnetic ordering in manganites through tuned charge transfer.
Modeling face similarity in police lineups.

Police investigators worldwide use lineups to test an eyewitness's memory of a perpetrator. A typical lineup consists of one suspect (who is innocent or guilty) plus five or more fillers who resemble the suspect and who are known to be innocent. Although eyewitness identification decisions were once biased by police pressure and poorly constructed lineups, decades of social science research led to the development of reformed lineup procedures that provide a more objective test memory. Under these improved testing conditions, cognitive models of memory can be used to better understand and ideally enhance eyewitness identification performance. In this regard, one question that has bedeviled the field for decades is how similar the lineup fillers should be to the suspect to optimize performance. Here, we model the effects of manipulating filler similarity to better understand why such manipulations have the intriguing effects they do. Our findings suggest that witnesses rely on a decision variable consisting of the degree to which the memory signal for a particular face in the lineup stands out relative to the crowd of memory signals generated by the set of faces in the lineup. The use of that decision variable helps to explain why discriminability is maximized by choosing fillers that match the suspect on basic facial features typically described by the eyewitness (e.g., age, race, gender) but who otherwise are maximally dissimilar to the suspect. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
Digital Commons @ Connecticut College Digital Commons @ Connecticut College Mental Health in Italy: Systems, Stigma, and Impact of COVID-19 Mental Health in Italy: Systems, Stigma, and Impact of COVID-19

In 1978, Italy became the first European nation to radically change its mental healthcare system. Psychiatric hospitals were shut down, and a community-based publicly-funded system of mental healthcare took its place. This reform sought to restore dignity to those with mental illnesses through rehabilitation and increased participation in the community and daily activities. Though characteristics of marginalization and exclusion were relatively eliminated, covert stigmas surrounding mental illness remain a persisting problem. This review seeks to 1) evaluate the historical progression of mental health reform as well as the effectiveness of the current system of mental healthcare in Italy 2) explore theoretical perspectives of stigma and investigate the embeddedness of mental illness stigma (MIS) in Italian culture 3) review research regarding how to combat MIS, as well as criterion for effective anti-stigma projects 4) assess recent literature on the Italian response to the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of mental healthcare, and the extent to which the current system can withstand public health crises of such magnitude. More high-quality information regarding the effectiveness of the current system is needed to provide all people in Italy with equitable quality and access to psychological care.
NITROUS OXIDE EMISSION AND PRODUCTION PATHWAYS UNDER ALTERNATE WETTING-DRYING CONDITIONS IN RICE PADDY SOILS

The aim of this study was to evaluate the relative contributions of nitrification and denitrification in rice paddy soils under various water events. A laboratory incubation study was conducted in China to quantify N 2 O production during alternate wetting and drying cycle (AWD) versus permanent flooding (PF). The soils were treated with long-term chemical fertilizer (CF); chemical fertilizer plus pig manure (PMCF); and chemical fertilizer plus rice straw (SRCF) for 5 years. The results showed that N 2 O flux during AWD was consistently higher than PF. The highest N 2 O flux during AWD was 1.94 mg m -2 h -1 . The PMCF and SRCF soils had higher N 2 O emissions compared to CF and CK soils. Ammonia oxidizer community peaks were found at 60% field capacity (FC) (p < 0.0001), while, for denitrifier, this increase was maintained for a certain period of time (10d) and then started to decrease. Autotrophic nitrification appeared to be an important and dominant process of N 2 O emissions during AWD and PF, contributed 79.03% of N 2 O emissions during AWD, while 36.53% during PF. Thus, the results concluded that under AWD event the addition of pig manure and rice straw plus chemical fertilizer significantly increased the N 2 O flux, by stimulating the growth of microbial communities.
Observational Viability of an Inflation Model with E-model Nonminimal Derivative Coupling

By starting with a two-fields model in which the fields and their derivatives are nonminimally coupled to gravity, and then by using a conformal gauge, we obtain a model in which the derivatives of the canonically normalized field are nonminimally coupled to gravity. By adopting some appropriate functions, we study two cases with constant and E-model nonminimal derivative coupling, while the potential in both cases is chosen to be E-model one. We show that contrary to the single-field α-attractor model, there is an attractor point in the large N and small α limits in our setup, and for both mentioned cases there is an attractor line in these limits that the r−ns trajectories tend to. By studying the linear and nonlinear perturbations in this setup, and by comparing the numerical results with Planck2015 observational data, we obtain some constraints on the free parameter α. We show that by considering the E-model potential and coupling function, the model is observationally viable for all values of M (mass scale of the model). We use the observational constraints on the tensor-to-scalar ratio and the consistency relation to obtain some constraints on the sound speed of the perturbations in this model. As a result, we show that in a nonminimal derivative α-attractor model, it is possible to have small sound speed and therefore large non-Gaussianity.
Intra-night Optical Variability Monitoring of Fermi Blazars: First Results from 1.3 m J. C. Bhattacharya Telescope

We report the first results obtained from our campaign to characterize the intra-night-optical variability (INOV) properties of Fermi detected blazars, using the observations from the recently commissioned 1.3 m J. C. Bhattacharya telescope (JCBT). During the first run, we were able to observe 17 blazars in the Bessel R filter for ∼137 hr. Using C- and scaled F-statistics, we quantify the extent of INOV and derive the duty cycle (DC), which is the fraction of time during which a source exhibits a substantial flux variability. We find a high DC of 40% for BL Lac objects and the flat spectrum radio quasars are relatively less variable (DC ∼ 15%). However, when estimated for blazars sub-classes, a high DC of ∼59% is found in low synchrotron peaked (LSP) blazars, whereas, intermediate and high synchrotron peaked objects have a low DC of ∼11% and 13%, respectively. We find evidence of the association of the high amplitude INOV with the γ-ray flaring state. We also notice a high polarization during the elevated INOV states (for the sources that have polarimetric data available), thus supporting the jet based origin of the observed variability. We plan to enlarge the sample and utilize the time availability from the small telescopes, such as 1.3 m JCBT, to strengthen/verify the results obtained in this work and those existing in the literature.
Phase separation in LixFePO4 induced by correlation effects

We report on a significant failure of LDA and GGA to reproduce the phase stability and thermodynamics of mixed-valence Li$_x$FePO$_4$ compounds. Experimentally, Li$_x$FePO$_4$ compositions ($0 \leq x \leq 1$) are known to be unstable and phase separate into Li FePO$_4$ and FePO$_4$. However, first-principles calculations with LDA/GGA yield energetically favorable intermediate compounds an d hence no phase separation. This qualitative failure of LDA/GGA seems to have its origin in the LDA/GGA self-interaction which de localizes charge over the mixed-valence Fe ions, and is corrected by explicitly considering correlation effects in this material. This is demonstrated with LDA+U calculations which correctly predict phase separation in Li$_x$FePO$_4$ for $U-J \gtrsim 3.5$eV. T he origin of the destabilization of intermediate compounds is identified as electron localization and charge ordering at different iron sites. Introduction of correlation also yields more accurate electrochemical reaction energies between FePO$_4$/Li$_x$FePO$_ 4$ and Li/Li$^+$ electrodes.
Extended Sunyaev-Zeldovich Map of the Most Luminous X-Ray Cluster, RX J1347–1145

We present a high-resolution (22'' FWHM) extended map at 2.1 mm of the Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect toward the most luminous X-ray cluster, RX J1347-1145. These observations have been performed with the Diabolo photometer working at the focus of the 30 m IRAM radiotelescope. We have derived a projected gas mass of (1.1 ± 0.1) × 1014 h M☉ within an angular radius of θ = 74′′ (i.e., projected radius of 0.6 Mpc, H0 = 50 km s-1 Mpc-1, Ωm = 0.3, ΩΛ = 0.7). This result matches very well the expected gas mass from the cluster models of X-ray data. With an unprecedented sensitivity level, our measurement does not show significant departure from a spherical distribution. The data analysis also allows us to characterize the 2.1 mm flux of a well-known radio source lying in the center of the cluster, FRS(2.1 mm) = 5.7 ± 1.6 mJy.
Solar-wind predictions for the Parker Solar Probe orbit

The scope of this study is to model the solar-wind environment for the Parker Solar Probe's unprecedented distances down to 9.86 Rs in its mission phase during 2018-2025. The study is performed within the CGAUSS project which is the German contribution to the PSP mission as part of the WISPR imager on PSP. We present an empirical solar-wind model for the inner heliosphere which is derived from OMNI and Helios data. The sunspot number (SSN) and its predictions are used to derive dependencies of solar-wind parameters on solar activity and to forecast them for the PSP mission. The frequency distributions for the solar-wind key parameters magnetic field strength, proton velocity, density, and temperature, are represented by lognormal functions, considering the velocity distribution's bi-componental shape. Functional relations to the SSN are compiled using OMNI data and based on data from both Helios probes, the parameters' frequency distributions are fitted with respect to solar distance. Thus, an empirical solar-wind model for the inner heliosphere is derived, accounting for solar activity and solar distance. The inclusion of SSN predictions and the extrapolation down to PSP's perihelion region enables us to estimate the solar-wind environment for PSP's planned trajectory during its mission duration. This empirical model yields estimated solar-wind values for PSP's 1st perihelion in 2018 at 0.16 au: 87 nT, 340 km s-1, 214 cm-3 and 503000 K. The estimates for PSP's first closest perihelion, occurring in 2024 at 0.046 au, are 943 nT, 290 km s-1, 2951 cm-3, and 1930000 K. Since the modeled velocity and temperature values below approximately 20 Rs appear overestimated in comparison with existing observations, this suggests that PSP will directly measure solar-wind acceleration and heating processes below 20 Rs as planned.
Theory of the orbital moment in a superconductor

The chiral p-wave superconducting state is comprised of spin triplet Cooper pairs carrying a finite orbital angular momentum. For the case of a periodic lattice, calculating the net magnetisation arising from this orbital component presents a challenge as the circulation operator $\hat{\bf{r}} \times \hat{\bf{p}}$ is not well defined in the Bloch representation. This difficulty has been overcome in the normal state, for which a modern theory is firmly established. Here, we derive the extension of this normal state approach, generating a theory which is valid for a general superconducting state, and go on to perform model calculations for a chiral p-wave state in Sr$_2$RuO$_4$. The results suggest that the magnitude of the elusive edge current in Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ is finite, but lies below experimental resolution. This provides a possible solution to the long-standing controversy concerning the gap symmetry of the superconducting state in this material.
Dualité des nombres d'entropie pour des opérateurs à valeurs dans un espace de Hilbert

In this note the comparison is made between an asymptotic behaviour of sequences of entropy numbers (e k (u)) and (e k (u*)) of u and its dual u*, for any compact operator u with values in a Hilbert space. It is shown that these sequences belong to the same symmetric sequence Banach spaces and that their norms are equivalent. Under natural regularity conditions one can compare individual entropy numbers e k (u) and e k (u*) On compare le comportement a l'infini des suites de nombres d'entropie (e k (u)) et (e k (u*)) d'un operateur u et de son transpose u*, lorsque u est compact et a valeurs dans un espace de Hilbert. On montre que ces deux suites appartiennent aux memes espaces de Banach (a base) symetrique et que leurs normes sont equivalentes. Sous des hypotheses naturelles de regularite, on peut egalement comparer les nombres d'entropie e k (u) et e(u*) pour chaque entier k
Sparsity-Driven Statistical Inference for Inverse Problems

This thesis addresses statistical inference for the resolution of inverse problems. Our work is motivated by the recent trend whereby classical linear methods are being replaced by nonlinear alternatives that rely on the sparsity of naturally occurring signals. We adopt a statistical perspective and model the signal as a realization of a stochastic process that exhibits sparsity as its central property. Our general strategy for solving inverse problems then lies in the development of novel iterative solutions for performing the statistical estimation. The thesis is organized in five main parts. In the first part, we provide a general overview of statistical inference in the context of inverse problems. We discuss wavelet--based and gradient--based algorithms for linear and nonlinear forward models. In the second part, we present an in-depth discussion of cycle spinning, which is a technique used to improve the quality of signals recovered with wavelet--based methods. Our main contribution here is its proof of convergence; we also introduce a novel consistent cycle-spinning algorithm for denoising statistical signals. In the third part, we introduce a stochastic signal model based on L\'evy processes and investigate popular gradient--based algorithms such as those that deploy total-variation regularization. We develop a novel algorithm based on belief propagation for computing the minimum mean-square error estimator and use it to benchmark several popular methods that recover signals with sparse derivatives. In the fourth part, we propose and analyze a novel adaptive generalized approximate message passing (adaptive GAMP) algorithm that reconstructs signals with independent wavelet-coefficients from generalized linear measurements. Our algorithm is an extension of the standard GAMP algorithm and allows for the joint learning of unknown statistical parameters. We prove that, when the measurement matrix is independent and identically distributed Gaussian, our algorithm is asymptotically consistent. This means that it performs as well as the oracle algorithm, which knows the parameters exactly. In the fifth and final part, we apply our methodology to an inverse problem in optical tomographic microscopy. In particular, we propose a novel nonlinear forward model and a corresponding algorithm for the quantitative estimation of the refractive index distribution of an object.
Truncation of a Two-Dimensional Fermi Surface due to Quasiparticle Gap Formation at the Saddle Points

We study a two-dimensional Fermi liquid with a Fermi surface containing the saddle points $(\pi,0)$ and $(0,\pi)$. Including Cooper and Peierls channel contributions leads to a one-loop renormalization group flow to strong coupling for short range repulsive interactions. In a certain parameter range the characteristics of the fixed point, opening of a spin and charge gap and dominant pairing correlations are similar to those of a 2-leg ladder at half-filling. An increase of the electron density we argue leads to a truncation of the Fermi surface with only 4 disconnected arcs remaining.
Long Gamma-Ray Burst Rate in the Binary Merger Progenitor Model

The long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) may arise from the core collapse of massive stars. However, the long GRB rate does not follow the star formation rate at high redshifts. In this Letter, we focus on the binary merger model and consider the high spin helium stars after the merger as the progenitor of long GRBs. With this scenario, we estimate the GRB rate by the population synthesis method with the metallicity evolution. It is easier for low metallicity binaries to become long GRB progenitors than those of solar metallicity due to the weak wind mass loss and the difference in the stellar evolution. In our results, the long GRB rate roughly agrees with the observed rate, and shows a similar behavior to the observed redshift evolution.