Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Localisation of colour constancy; Investigation of the contribution of retinal and cortical processes in obtaining colour constancy

There is still debate whether colour constancy is merely a result of retinal or cortical processes. In the current study, the contribution of both processes was investigated by comparing the performance of a group of colour-blind participants and controls on a colour constancy task in which object-colour associations from memory were taken along. Results show that cortical processes are most likely to be involved in obtaining colour constancy. The performance on colour constancy is comparable for both groups for natural physically coloured objects. When the colour of an object is removed, colour-blind participants, in contrast with normal observers, appear to make use of their memory (i.e. object-colour knowledge) to obtain colour constancy. Retinal input seems to be important for colour constancy to occur when there are no other visual cues available to make use of object-colour knowledge in the cortex. Furthermore, both groups showed more colour constancy for white objects with a diagnostic colour compared to non-diagnostic white objects. Apparently, those diagnostic objects are associated with a typical colour stored in memory which makes it easier to obtain colour constancy.
Overlooked wide companions of nearby F stars

AIMS: We checked a sample of 545 F stars within 50 pc for wide companions using existing near-infrared and optical sky surveys. METHODS: Applying the common proper motion (CPM) criterion, we detected wide companion candidates with 6-120 arcsec angular separations by visual inspection of multi-epoch finder charts and by searching in proper motion catalogues. Final proper motions were measured by involving positional measurements from up to eleven surveys. Spectral types of red CPM companions were estimated from their absolute $J$-band magnitudes based on the Hipparcos distances of the primaries. RESULTS: In addition to about 100 known CPM objects, we found 19 new CPM companions and confirmed 31 previously known candidates. A few CPM objects are still considered as candidates according to their level of proper motion agreement. Among the new objects there are nine M0-M4, eight M5-M6, one $\approx$L3.5 dwarf (HD 3861B), and one white dwarf (WD) (HD 2726B), whereas we confirmed two K, 19 M0-M4, six M5-M6, two early-L dwarfs, and two DA WDs as CPM companions. In a few cases, previous spectral types were available that all agree well with our estimates. Two companions (HD 22879B and HD 49933B) are associated with moderately metal-poor Gaia benchmark stars. One doubtful CPM companion, spectroscopically classified as WD but found to be very bright ($J$$=$11.1) by others, should either be a very nearby foreground WD or a different kind of object associated with HD 165670.
Intermediate inflation from a non-canonical scalar field

We study the intermediate inflation in a non-canonical scalar field framework with a power-like Lagrangian. We show that in contrast with the standard canonical intermediate inflation, our non-canonical model is compatible with the observational results of Planck 2015. Also, we estimate the equilateral non-Gaussianity parameter which is in well agreement with the prediction of Planck 2015. Then, we obtain an approximation for the energy scale at the initial time of inflation and show that it can be of order of the Planck energy scale, i.e. MP ∼ 1018GeV. We will see that after a short period of time, inflation enters in the slow-roll regime that its energy scale is of order MP/100 ∼ 1016GeV and the horizon exit takes place in this energy scale. We also examine an idea in our non-canonical model to overcome the central drawback of intermediate inflation which is the fact that inflation never ends. We solve this problem without disturbing significantly the nature of the intermediate inflation until the time of horizon exit.
Da Vinci's yeast: Blastobotrys davincii f.a., sp. nov

A new species of the yeast genus Blastobotrys was discovered during a worldwide survey of culturable xerophilic fungi in house dust. Several culture‐dependent and independent studies from around the world detected the same species from a wide range of substrates including indoor air, cave wall paintings, bats, mummies, and the iconic self‐portrait of Leonardo da Vinci from ca 1512. However, none of these studies identified their strains, clones, or OTUs as Blastobotrys. We introduce the new species as Blastobotrys davincii f.a. , sp. nov. (holotype CBS H‐24879) and delineate it from other species using morphological, phylogenetic, and physiological characters. The new species of asexually (anamorphic) budding yeast is classified in Trichomonascaceae and forms a clade along with its associated sexual state genus Trichomonascus. Despite the decade‐old requirement to use a single generic name for fungi, both names are still used. Selection of the preferred name awaits a formal nomenclatural proposal. We present arguments for adopting Blastobotrys over Trichomonascus and introduce four new combinations as Blastobotrys allociferrii (≡ Candida allociferrii), B. fungorum (≡ Sporothrix fungorum), B. mucifer (≡ Candida mucifera), and Blastobotrys vanleenenianus (≡ Trichomonascus vanleenenianus). We provide a nomenclatural review and an accepted species list for the 37 accepted species in the Blastobotrys/Trichomonascus clade. Finally, we discuss the identity of the DNA clones detected on the da Vinci portrait, and the importance of using appropriate media to isolate xerophilic or halophilic fungi.
Valvular heart disease: shifting the focus to the myocardium

Abstract Adverse cardiac remodelling is the main determinant of patient prognosis in degenerative valvular heart disease (VHD). However, to give an indication for valvular intervention, current guidelines include parameters of cardiac chamber dilatation or function which are subject to variability, do not directly reflect myocardial structural changes, and, more importantly, seem to be not sensitive enough in depicting early signs of myocardial dysfunction before irreversible myocardial damage has occurred. To avoid irreversible myocardial dysfunction, novel biomarkers are advocated to help refining indications for intervention and risk stratification. Advanced echocardiographic modalities, including strain analysis, and magnetic resonance imaging have shown to be promising in providing new tools to depict the important switch from adaptive to maladaptive myocardial changes in response to severe VHD. This review, therefore, summarizes the current available evidence on the role of these new imaging biomarkers in degenerative VHD, aiming at shifting the clinical perspective from a valve-centred to a myocardium-focused approach for patient management and therapeutic decision-making.
Gap interpolation by inpainting methods : Application to Ground and Space-based Asteroseismic data

In asteroseismology, the observed time series often suers from incomplete time coverage due to gaps. The presence of periodic gaps may generate spurious peaks in the power spectrum that limit the analysis of the data. Various methods have been developed to deal with gaps in time series data. However, it is still important to improve these methods to be able to extract all the possible information contained in the data. In this paper, we propose a new approach to handle the problem, the so-called inpainting method. This technique, based on a sparsity prior, enables to judiciously ll-in the gaps in the data, preserving the asteroseismic signal, as far as possible. The impact of the observational window function is reduced and the interpretation of the power spectrum is simplied. This method is applied both on ground and space-based data. It appears that the inpainting technique improves the oscillation modes detection and estimation. Additionally, it can be used to study very long time series of many stars because its computation is very fast. For a time series of 50 days of CoRoT-like data, it allows a speed-up factor of 1000, if compared to methods of the same accuracy.
Molecular identification of diarrheagenic Escherichia coli pathotypes and their antibiotic resistance patterns among diarrheic children and in contact calves in Bahir Dar city, Northwest Ethiopia

Diarrheagenic Escherichia coli strains are an essential cause of diarrheal infection in younger children and animals. The study was focused on understanding the associated characteristics of various DEC strains among children and calves, establishing the possible zoonotic transmission, and determining their antibiotic resistance patterns. Samples from 144 acute diarrheic children and 50 diarrheic calves were collected and processed using traditional culture methods. The molecular identification of pathotypes was completed using primer-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting ten virulence genes (stx1, stx2, eae, aatA, lt, st, ial, hlyA bfpA, and daaE) related to six DEC pathotypes (EPEC, ETEC, EHEC, EAEC EIEC, and DAEC). The antimicrobial susceptibility testing was carried out using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. Colonies from 74 study subjects (54 diarrheic children and 20 diarrheic calves) were positive for E. coli isolates. Subsequent PCR detection discovered that 77% of children and 85% of calves’ isolates were positive for one or more virulence genes typical of particular strains. Among those ETEC [(18%), (26%)] is being the maximum predominant, and [(15%), (15%)] were positive for STEC, [(13%), (8%)] for atypical EPEC, [(6%), (7%)] for EHEC, [(6%), (5%)] for EAEC, and [(6%), (4%)] for EIEC strains in children’s and calves, respectively. Of the identified E. coli isolates, about 29% were found to be hybrid isolates. ETEC (66.7%) and STEC (58.9%) strains showed a better detection rate in contact children with diarrheic calves than children with no contacts. Most antibiotic resistances were obtained towards amoxicillin (64.9%), gentamycin (56.8%), and ampicillin (54.1%). Up to sixty-five percent of isolates were resistant to a minimum of three categories of antibiotics. This is the primary report on the wide occurrence of the six-diarrheagenic Escherichia coli strains, and ETEC was found to be the predominant pathotype among children and contact calves in Ethiopia.
Evolution of long-lived globular cluster stars I. Grid of stellar models with helium enhancement at [Fe/H] = -1.75

Our understanding of the formation and early evolution of globular clusters (GCs) has been totally overthrown with the discovery of the peculiar chemical properties of their long-lived host stars. As a consequence, the interpretation of the observed color-magnitude diagrams and of the properties of the GC stellar populations requires the use of stellar models computed with relevant chemical compositions. We present a grid of 224 stellar evolution for low-mass stars with initial masses between 0.3 and 1.0 Msun and initial helium mass fraction between 0.248 and 0.8 computed for [Fe/H]=-1.75 with the stellar evolution code STAREVOL. This grid is made available to the community. We explore the implications of the assumed initial chemical distribution for the main properties of the stellar models: evolution paths in the Hertzsprung-Russel diagram (HRD), duration and characteristics of the main evolutionary phases, and the chemical nature of the white dwarf remnants. We also provide the ranges in initial stellar mass and helium content of the stars that populate the different regions of the HRD at the ages of 10 and 13.4 Gyr, which are typical for Galactic GCs.
G11.2−0.3: THE YOUNG REMNANT OF A STRIPPED-ENVELOPE SUPERNOVA

We present results of a 400 ks Chandra observation of the young shell supernova remnant (SNR) G11.2−0.3, containing a pulsar and pulsar-wind nebula (PWN). We measure a mean expansion rate for the shell since 2000 of 0.0277 ± 0.0018% yr−1, implying an age between 1400 and 2400 yr, and making G11.2−0.3 one of the youngest core-collapse SNRs in the Galaxy. However, we find very high absorption (AV ∼ 16m ± 2m), confirming near-IR determinations and ruling out a claimed association with the possible historical SN of 386 CE. The PWN shows strong jets and a faint torus within a larger, more diffuse region of radio emission and nonthermal X-rays. Central soft thermal X-ray emission is anticorrelated with the PWN; that, and more detailed morphological evidence, indicates that the reverse shock has already reheated all ejecta and compressed the PWN. The pulsar characteristic energy-loss timescale is well in excess of the remnant age, and we suggest that the bright jets have been produced since the recompression. The relatively pronounced shell and diffuse hard X-ray emission in the interior, enhanced at the inner edge of the shell, indicate that the immediate circumstellar medium into which G11.2−0.3 is expanding was quite anisotropic. We propose a possible origin for G11.2−0.3 in a stripped-envelope progenitor that had lost almost all its envelope mass, in an anisotropic wind or due to binary interaction, leaving a compact core whose fast winds swept previously lost mass into a dense irregular shell, and which exploded as a SN cIIb or Ibc.
Solo dwarfs I: survey introduction and first results for the Sagittarius dwarf irregular galaxy

We introduce the Solitary Local Dwarfs Survey (Solo), a wide field photometric study targeting every isolated dwarf galaxy within 3 Mpc of the Milky Way. Solo is based on (u)gi multi-band imaging from CFHT/MegaCam for northern targets, and Magellan/Megacam for southern targets. All galaxies fainter than Mv = -18 situated beyond the nominal virial radius of the Milky Way and M31 (>300 kpc) are included in this volume-limited sample, for a total of 42 targets. In addition to reviewing the survey goals and strategy, we present results for the Sagittarius Dwarf Irregular Galaxy (Sag DIG), one of the most isolated, low mass galaxies, located at the edge of the Local Group. We analyze its resolved stellar populations and their spatial distributions. We provide updated estimates of its central surface brightness and integrated luminosity, and trace its surface brightness profile to a level fainter than 30 mag. /sq.arcsec. Sag DIG is well described by a highly elliptical (disk-like) system following a single component Sersic model. However, a low-level distortion is present at the outer edges of the galaxy that, were Sag DIG not so isolated, would likely be attributed to some kind of previous tidal interaction. Further, we find evidence of an extremely low level, extended distribution of stars beyond 5 arcmins (>1.5 kpc) that suggests Sag DIG may be embedded in a very low density stellar halo. We compare the stellar and HI structures of Sag DIG, and discuss results for this galaxy in relation to other isolated, dwarf irregular galaxies in the Local Group.
Evaluation of atherosclerosis‐related biomarkers during perimenopause: A prospective cohort study in women with endometriosis

Endometriosis is linked to asymptomatic atherosclerosis and increases the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Vascular function tests are used to assess atherosclerosis, an important indicator of CVD development. In this study, we aimed to evaluate atherosclerosis‐related biomarkers, such as vascular function tests and laboratory data, in perimenopausal women with endometriosis.
The association between the tumor immune microenvironments and clinical outcome in low‐grade, early‐stage endometrial cancer patients

Endometrial tumors show substantial heterogeneity in their immune microenvironment. This heterogeneity could be used to improve the accuracy of current outcome prediction tools. We assessed the immune microenvironment of 235 patients diagnosed with low‐grade, early‐stage endometrial cancer. Multiplex quantitative immunofluorescence was carried out to measure CD8, CD68, FOXP3, PD‐1, and PD‐L1 markers, as well as cytokeratin (CK), on tissue microarrays. Clustering results revealed five robust immune response patterns, each associated with specific immune populations, cell phenotypes, and cell spatial clustering. Most samples (69%) belonged to the immune‐desert subtype, characterized by low immune cell densities. Tumor‐infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL)‐rich samples (4%) displayed high CD8+ T‐cell infiltration, as well as a high percentage of CD8/PD‐1+ cells. Immune‐exclusion samples (19%) displayed the lowest CD8+ infiltration combined with high PD‐L1 expression levels in CK+ tumor cells. In addition, they demonstrated high tumor cell spatial clustering as well as increased spatial proximity of CD8+/PD‐1+ and CK/PD‐L1+ cells. FOXP3 and macrophage‐rich phenotypes (3% and 4% of total samples) displayed relatively high levels of FOXP3+ regulatory T‐cells and CD68+ macrophages, respectively. These phenotypes correlated with clinical outcomes, with immune‐exclusion tumors showing an association with tumor relapse. When compared with prediction models built using routine pathological variables, models optimized with immune variables showed increased outcome prediction capacity (AUC = 0.89 versus 0.78) and stratification potential. The improved prediction capacity was independent of mismatch repair protein status and adjuvant radiotherapy treatment. Further, immunofluorescence results could be partially recapitulated using single‐marker immunohistochemistry (IHC) performed on whole tissue sections. TIL‐rich tumors demonstrated increased CD8+ T‐cells by IHC, while immune‐exclusion tumors displayed a lack of CD8+ T‐cells and frequent expression of PD‐L1 in tumor cells. Our results demonstrate the capability of the immune microenvironment to improve standard prediction tools in low‐grade, early‐stage endometrial carcinomas. © 2022 The Authors. The Journal of Pathology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland.
An outlier detection-based method for artifact removal of few-channel EEGs

Objective. The electroencephalogram (EEG) is one of the most important brain-imaging tools. The few-channel EEG is more suitable and affordable for practical use as a wearable device. Removing artifacts from collected EEGs is a prerequisite for accurately interpreting brain function and state. Previous studies proposed methods combining signal decomposition with the blind source separation (BSS) algorithms, but most of them used threshold-based criteria for artifact rejection, resulting in a lack of effectiveness in removing specific artifacts and the excessive suppression of brain activities. In this study, we proposed an outlier detection-based method for artifact removal under the few-channel condition. Approach. The underlying components (sources) were extracted using the decomposition-BSS schema. Based on our assumptions that in the feature space, the artifact-related components are dispersed, while the components related to brain activities are closely distributed, the artifact-related components were identified and rejected using one-class support vector machine. The assumptions were validated by visualizing the distribution of clusters of components. Main results. In quantitative analyses with semisimulated data, the proposed method outperformed the threshold-based methods for various artifacts, including muscle artifact, ocular artifact, and power line noise. With a real dataset and an event-related potential dataset, the proposed method demonstrated good performance in real-life situations. Significance. This study provided a fully data-driven and adaptive method for removing various artifacts in a single process without excessive suppression of brain activities.
Alterations to the duodenal microbiota are linked to gastric emptying and symptoms in functional dyspepsia

Objective Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a complex disorder, with debilitating epigastric symptoms. Evidence suggests alterations in gastrointestinal (GI) motility, visceral hypersensitivity, permeability and low-level immune activation in the duodenum may play a role. However, we still have a relatively poor understanding of how these factors interact to precipitate the onset of FD symptoms which are frequently meal related. The duodenal microbiota, in combination with specific dietary substrates, may be important mediators in disease pathophysiology; however, these interlinked factors have not been thoroughly investigated in FD. Design Eighty-six individuals (56 FD, 30 controls) undergoing endoscopy were consecutively recruited and underwent detailed clinical assessment, including upper GI symptoms, gastric emptying and dietary assessment. Duodenal biopsies were obtained aseptically, and the mucosa-associated microbiota (MAM) analysed via 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Results The relative abundances of predominant members of the Firmicutes, Bacteroidota and Fusobacteriota phyla were linked to symptom burden in FD. Inverse relationships between the relative abundances of Streptococcus and Prevotella, and the relative abundance of Veillonella spp with gastric emptying time, were also observed. No significant differences in long-term nutrient intake or diet quality were found between FD and controls, and there appeared to be limited association between habitual diet and duodenal MAM profiles. Conclusion This study suggests a link between the duodenal MAM, gastric emptying and FD symptoms, and this is largely independent of long-term dietary intake.
Gas rotation in galaxy clusters: signatures and detectability in X-rays

We study simple models of massive galaxy clusters in which the intracluster medium (ICM) rotates differentially in equilibrium in the cluster gravitational potential. We obtain the X-ray surface brightness maps, evaluating the isophote flattening due to the gas rotation. Using a set of different rotation laws, we put constraint on the amplitude of the rotation velocity, finding that rotation curves with peak velocity up to \sim 600 km s^-1 are consistent with the ellipticity profiles of observed clusters. We convolve each of our models with the instrument response of the X-ray Calorimeter Spectrometer on board the ASTRO-H to calculate the simulated X-ray spectra at different distance from the X-ray centre. We demonstrate that such an instrument will allow us to measure rotation of the ICM in massive clusters, even with rotation velocities as low as \sim 100 km s^-1