Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
ALMA Detection of Extended Millimeter Halos in the HD 32297 and HD 61005 Debris Disks

We present Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) 1.3 mm (230 GHz) observations of the HD 32297 and HD 61005 debris disks, two of the most iconic debris disks because of their dramatic swept-back wings seen in scattered light images. These observations achieve sensitivities of 14 and 13 μJy beam−1 for HD 32297 and HD 61005, respectively, and provide the highest resolution images of these two systems at millimeter wavelengths to date. By adopting a Markov Chain Monte Carlo modeling approach, we determine that both disks are best described by a two-component model consisting of a broad (ΔR/R > 0.4) planetesimal belt with a rising surface density gradient and a steeply falling outer halo aligned with the scattered light disk. The inner and outer edges of the planetesimal belt are located at 78.5 ± 8.1 au and 122 ± 3 au for HD 32297, and 41.9 ± 0.9 au and 67.0 ± 0.5 au for HD 61005. The halos extend to 440 ± 32 au and 188 ± 8 au, respectively. We also detect 12CO J = 2–1 gas emission from HD 32297 co-located with the dust continuum. These new ALMA images provide observational evidence that larger, millimeter-sized grains may also populate the extended halos of these two disks previously thought to only be composed of small, micron-sized grains. We discuss the implications of these results for potential shaping and sculpting mechanisms of asymmetric debris disks.
Multi-omics studies reveal ameliorating effects of physical exercise on neurodegenerative diseases

Introduction Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and Huntington’s disease, are heavy burdens to global health and economic development worldwide. Mounting evidence suggests that exercise, a type of non-invasive intervention, has a positive impact on the life quality of elderly with neurodegenerative diseases. X-omics are powerful tools for mapping global biochemical changes in disease and treatment. Method Three major databases were searched related to current studies in exercise intervention on neurodegenerative diseases using omics tools, including metabolomics, metagenomics, genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics. Result We summarized the omics features and potential mechanisms associated with exercise and neurodegenerative diseases in the current studies. Three main mechanisms by which exercise affects neurodegenerative diseases were summed up, including adult neurogenesis, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) signaling, and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) metabolism. Conclusion Overall, there is compelling evidence that exercise intervention is a feasible way of preventing the onset and alleviating the severity of neurodegenerative diseases. These studies highlight the importance of exercise as a complementary approach to the treatment and intervention of neurodegenerative diseases in addition to traditional treatments. More mechanisms on exercise interventions for neurodegenerative diseases, the specification of exercise prescriptions, and differentiated exercise programs should be explored so that they can actually be applied to the clinic.
Toward Space-like Photometric Precision from the Ground with Beam-shaping Diffusers

We demonstrate a path to hitherto unachievable differential photometric precisions from the ground, both in the optical and near-infrared (NIR), using custom-fabricated beam-shaping diffusers produced using specialized nanofabrication techniques. Such diffusers mold the focal plane image of a star into a broad and stable top-hat shape, minimizing photometric errors due to non-uniform pixel response, atmospheric seeing effects, imperfect guiding, and telescope-induced variable aberrations seen in defocusing. This PSF reshaping significantly increases the achievable dynamic range of our observations, increasing our observing efficiency and thus better averages over scintillation. Diffusers work in both collimated and converging beams. We present diffuser-assisted optical observations demonstrating ppm precision in 30 minute bins on a nearby bright star 16 Cygni A (V = 5.95) using the ARC 3.5 m telescope—within a factor of ∼2 of Kepler's photometric precision on the same star. We also show a transit of WASP-85-Ab (V = 11.2) and TRES-3b (V = 12.4), where the residuals bin down to ppm in 30 minute bins for WASP-85-Ab—a factor of ∼4 of the precision achieved by the K2 mission on this target—and to 101 ppm for TRES-3b. In the NIR, where diffusers may provide even more significant improvements over the current state of the art, our preliminary tests demonstrated ppm precision for a KS = 10.8 star on the 200 inch Hale Telescope. These photometric precisions match or surpass the expected photometric precisions of TESS for the same magnitude range. This technology is inexpensive, scalable, easily adaptable, and can have an important and immediate impact on the observations of transits and secondary eclipses of exoplanets.
Lepton masses and mixing in a two-Higgs-doublet model

Within the framework of the two-Higgs Doublet Model (2HDM), we attempt to find some discrete, non-abelian flavour symmetry which could provide an explanation for the masses and mixing matrix elements of leptons. Unlike the Standard Model, currently there is no need for the flavour symmetry to be broken. With the GAP program we investigate all finite subgroups of the U3 group up to the order of 1025. Up to such an order there is no group for which it is possible to select free model parameters in order to match the masses of charged leptons, masses of neutrinos, and the Pontecorvo-Maki-Nakagawa-Sakata mixing matrix elements in a satisfactory manner.
INTERACTING ELECTRONS IN POLYGONAL QUANTUM DOTS

The low-lying eigenstates of a system of two electrons confined within a two-dimensional quantum dot with a hard polygonal boundary are obtained by means of exact diagonalization. The transition from a weakly correlated charge distribution for small dots to a strongly correlated ‘‘Wigner molecule’’ for large dots is studied, and the behavior at the crossover is determined. In sufficiently large dots, a recently proposed mapping to an effective charge-spin model is investigated, and is found to produce the correct ordering of the energy levels and to give a good first approximation to the size of the level spacings. We conclude that this approach is a valuable method to obtain the low-energy spectrum of few-electron quantum dots.
Selection of Cotton Fabrics for Optimal Comfort Properties Using Multi-Criteria Decision Making

This paper presents a multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) approach to evaluate the thermal comfort index of fabrics by considering four decision criteria of fabric parameters such as cover, thickness, areal density (GSM) and porosity. The weight or relative importance of each criterion is decided by Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). The technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) method of MCDM has been used to rank different types of cotton fabrics in terms of their thermal comfort level. The ranking of fabrics by this method yields a reasonable degree of agreement with the ranking based on thermal resistance value.
Factors influencing the development of Capital markets in Rwanda: A case study of the Rwanda Stock Exchange

This study investigates the factors influencing the development of capital markets in Rwanda. Its main objective is to study how macroeconomic variables affect the growth and development of the Rwanda Stock Exchange (RSE). It also analyzes RSE’s contribution to the increasing economic growth in Rwanda. The study uses quarterly secondary data from 2011 to 2016 and estimates two models using the GLM method. It measures RSE’s performance by market capitalization. The macroeconomic variables that it uses are the key repo rate, inflation rate and money supply; consumption is used as a conditioning variable. It uses GDP as the dependent variable, market capitalization as the independent variable and capital formation and consumption as the conditioning variables to analyze the second model. It uses a 2SLS regression method to overcome the endogeneity problem. Our results show that among the four macroeconomic variables only money supply had a statistically significant relationship with market capitalization as we found that an increase in money supply by one Frw led to an increase in the market capitalization ratio by 0.003. The results also show that there was a positive relationship between market capitalization and GDP where an increase in market capitalization by one unit increased GDP by 0.19.
Predicting internalizing and externalizing problems in pediatric cancer patients: Role of Anxiety and parental depression

This study aimed to investigate the roles of caregivers’ anxiety, depression and SES in predicting internalizing and externalizing problems of children with cancer. The sample was comprised of 49 children and adolescents (20 girls; 29 boys) with cancer and their caregivers (39 female; 10 male). All 49 caregivers completed a questionnaire packet containing sociodemographic questions, questions about the child's illness, the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). As expected, after having accounted for child and family sociodemographic variables, more depressed and anxious caregivers reported that their children had more of every aspect of narrow-band and broad-band problem considered. Conversely, there were no robust associations between family socioeconomic status (SES) and children’s adjustment.
Major mergers between dark matter haloes – II. Profile and concentration changes

Several lines of evidence suggest that as dark matter haloes grow their scale radius increases, and that the density in their central region drops. Major mergers seem an obvious mechanism to explain both these phenomena, and the resulting patterns in the concentration--mass--redshift relation. To test this possibility, we have simulated equal-mass mergers between haloes with a variety of cosmological density profiles, placed on various different orbits. The remnants typically have higher densities than the initial conditions, but differ only slightly from self-similar scaling predictions. They are reasonably well fit by Einasto profiles, but have parameters distinct from those of the initial conditions. The net internal energy available to the merger remnant, relative to the internal energy of the initial conditions, $\kappa$, has the greatest influence on the properties of the final mass distribution. As expected, energetic encounters produce more extended remnants while mergers of strongly bound systems produce compact remnants. Surprisingly, however, the scale radius of the density profile shows the opposite trend, {\it increasing} in the remnants of low-energy encounters relative to energetic ones. Also even in the most energetic encounters, the density within the scale radius decreases only slightly (by 10--20\%), while for very low-energy systems it increases significantly after the merger. We conclude that while major mergers can produce remnants that are more diffuse at large radii, they are relatively ineffective at changing the central densities of haloes, and seem unlikely to explain the mean trends in the concentration--mass--redshift relation.
L EARNING - DEPENDENT ENHANCEMENT OF PERSIS TENT ACTIVITY IN THE NEOCORTEX

Persistent activity in cortical networks has long been of interest to neuroscientists, as it may provide a substrate for working memory. In addition, sustained activity may provide a solution to the credit-assignment problem, whereby delayed reinforcement information can interact with stimulus-driven ﬁring to facilitate long-lasting changes in synaptic weights during learning. Although some cell-autonomous mechanisms can facilitate persistent activity, it is increasingly clear that understanding this phenomenon requires a detailed understanding of cortical circuitry, both in reduced experimental preparation as well as in vivo , that can be referenced to and inform each other. We use state-of-the-art methods for cell-type speciﬁc identiﬁcation and activity modulation in acute brain slices of mice to show how persistent activity in neocortical circuits can be initiated by higher-order thalamic inputs and sustained by translaminar activation across the cortical column, and discuss how this may be critical for reinforcement learning. Thus, the mechanisms that initiate and sustain persistent activity may be useful in the design of engineered networks for learning.
Diet of the land vegetable Lactuca sativa as an alternative to macroalgae for the growth of juvenile the sea urchin Loxechinus albus in northern Chile

The sea urchin Loxechinus albus is of great commercial value due to its nutritional content. The main diet of the urchin in the north of Chile in its natural habitat is the macroalgae Ulva lactuca . This work evaluated the growth of L. albus juvenile fed diets based on vegetable lettuce Lactuca sativa and macroalgae Ulva sp . Ingestion, growth, survival, and proximal analysis of the diets were registered for 13 weeks. At the end of the experience (90 days), no mortality and greater consumption of L. sativa were observed. In the proximal analysis, L. sativa presented the highest percentage (lipids, proteins, ashes, carotenoids, chlorophyll). The greatest growth and weight gain were observed with the Ulva sp . diet. Finally, the incorporation of L. sativa in the diets of urchins would imply a supplement of minerals and carotenoids, so we propose the addition of this lettuce as a nutritional supplement during the first stage of the cultivation of the L. albus .
Complete Convergence for M-Pairwise Negatively Dependent Random Variables

Hsu and Robbins (1947) introduce the concept complete convergence as follows. A sequence {𝑈 𝑛 , 𝑛 ≥ 1} of random variables is said to converge completely to a constant 𝐶 if ∑ ∞𝑛=1 𝑃(|𝑈 𝑛 − 𝐶| > 𝜀) < ∞ for all 𝜀 > 0. The converse is true if the {𝑈 𝑛 , 𝑛 ≥ 1} are independent. They also show that the sequence of arithmetic means of independent and identically distributed random variables converges completely to the expected value if the variance of the summands is finite. Erdös (1949) proved the converse. The result of Hsu-Robbins-Erdös is a fundamental theorem in probability theory and has been generalized and extended in several directions by many authors. In this paper, let {𝑎 𝑛 , 𝑛 ≥ 1} be a sequence of positive constants with 𝑎 𝑛 /𝑛 ↑ and {𝑋, 𝑋 𝑛 , 𝑛 ≥ 1} be a sequence of m-pairwise negatively dependent random variables. We study the complete convergence for m-pairwise negatively dependent random variables under mild condition ∑ ∞𝑛=1 𝑃(|𝑋| > 𝑎 𝑛 ) < ∞ . Our results obtained in the paper generalize the corresponding ones for pairwise independent and identically distributed random variables and also pairwise negatively dependent random variables.
EFFECTS OF BLUE AND RED LED LIGHTS ON RUBISCO ACTIVASE GENE EXPRESSION, CO 2 FIXATION EFFICIENCY AND PLANT MORPHOLOGY OF

Light quality is known to affects numerous plants’ physiological and metabolic processes during development period, including photosynthesis and morphogenesis. Light properties such as light wavelength has been optimized for several cultivated crops. In this study, the effects of LED light wavelengths blue and red on both photosynthetic performance and morphology of Gerbera jamesonii plantlets was investigated. The results showed the photosynthesis efficiency via the photo-pigment system and mediated regulation of rubisco activase encoding gene (RCA) mechanism was significantly enhanced by blue light. The expression of RCA was approximatly 2.7 times higher than those under red light. In contrast, chlorophyll contents, CO 2 assimilation, total carbohydrate and RCA expression was reduced under red wavelength. However, both single-wavelengths caused a dramatically negative impact on G. jamesonii . Total chlorophyll/carotenoid value or higher carotenoid contents was lower under blue light; fragile petioles and drawrfism morphology was occurred under red and blue LED, respectively. The combination of blue and red light in the lighting spectrum significantly improved the limitations of single-wavelength. The supplement of blue light under red light background (at blue LED and red LED ratio = 1:4) improved plant photosynthesis while maintained the normal morphology of plants, although the expression of RCA and net photosynthesis of plants in BR LED was lower than in the control. Our results obviously provide the scientific evidences for requirement of LED light in micropropagation or canopy culture of G. jamesonii .
Impact of phase state and non-ideal mixing on equilibration timescales of secondary organic aerosol partitioning

Abstract. Evidence has accumulated that secondary organic aerosols (SOAs) exhibit complex morphologies with multiple phases that can adopt amorphous semisolid or glassy phase states. However, experimental analysis and numerical modeling on the formation and evolution of SOA still often employ equilibrium partitioning with an ideal mixing assumption in the particle phase. Here we apply the kinetic multilayer model of gas–particle partitioning (KM-GAP) to simulate condensation of semi-volatile species into a core–shell phase-separated particle to evaluate equilibration timescales of SOA partitioning. By varying bulk diffusivity and the activity coefficient of the condensing species in the shell, we probe the complex interplay of mass transfer kinetics and the thermodynamics of partitioning. We found that the interplay of non-ideality and phase state can impact SOA partitioning kinetics significantly. The effect of non-ideality on SOA partitioning is slight for liquid particles but becomes prominent in semisolid or solid particles. If the condensing species is miscible with a low activity coefficient in the viscous shell phase, the particle can reach equilibrium with the gas phase long before the dissolution of concentration gradients in the particle bulk. For the condensation of immiscible species with a high activity coefficient in the semisolid shell, the mass concentration in the shell may become higher or overshoot its equilibrium concentration due to slow bulk diffusion through the viscous shell for excess mass to be transferred to the core phase. Equilibration timescales are shorter for the condensation of lower-volatility species into semisolid shell; as the volatility increases, re-evaporation becomes significant as desorption is faster for volatile species than bulk diffusion in a semisolid matrix, leading to an increase in equilibration timescale. We also show that the equilibration timescale is longer in an open system relative to a closed system especially for partitioning of miscible species; hence, caution should be exercised when interpreting and extrapolating closed-system chamber experimental results to atmosphere conditions. Our results provide a possible explanation for discrepancies between experimental observations of fast particle–particle mixing and predictions of long mixing timescales in viscous particles and provide useful insights into description and treatment of SOA in aerosol models.
Gonadal development, sex ratio, and length at sexual maturity of white mullet Mugil curema (Actinopterygii: Mugilidae) inhabiting southeastern Gulf of California

Research on populations of the family Mugilidae is necessary for the framework of their good use and conservation, given the documented spatial-temporal variation in their attributes and biological processes. Mugil curema has also shown particularities in the southeastern Gulf of California, which should be considered. In total, 626 individuals were collected from February 2015 to August 2016. The gonad development pattern was asynchronous and divided into six ovarian and five testicular phases. The sex succession as size increases, the presence of only males in smaller sizes, some aspects of the ovarian structure, and the eosinophilic cells in the ovarian stroma suggest that M. curema could be a protandrous hermaphroditic species. Thus, the size at sexual maturity was smaller in males (18.26 cm in total length) than in females (22.08 cm). This information is greatly relevant for fishery management measures and the sustainable use approach and, at the same time, arouses interest in future research.
The ghost in the atom : a discussion of the mysteries of quantum physics

Foreword 1. The strange world of the quantum 2. Alain Aspect 3. John Bell 4. John Wheeler 5. Rudolf Peierls 6. David Deutsch 7. John Taylor 8. David Bohm 9. Basil Hiley Glossary Further reading Index.
The explosion problem for branching Markov process

of explosion (i.e., the first time when the number of particles is infinite). The purpose of this paper is to investigate the explosion problem for a more general class of branching processes: branching Markov process (see Ikeda, Nagasawa and Watanabe [5]). For a large class of bmp. we are able to show that a sufficient condition for explosion (non-explosion) is the convergence (divergence) of a particular integral. In many cases of interest, this condition is also necessary and sufficient. In § 1 we introduce the necessary terminology and notation in § 2 we generalize the methods of Ikeda and thus treat the problem from a probabilistic viewpoint; in §3, we consider the explosion problem from the analytical viewpoint. These results are of a more local character than those of §2 and hence give stronger results in some sense. Section 4 is devoted to applications. In particular, we consider branching diffusion processes with absorbing boundary. Another interesting application is that of branching Brownian motion whose splits occur only on a "fat" Cantor set. It should be remarked that the explosion problem is intimately related to the uniqueness (or non-uniqueness) of solution of certain semi-linear parabolic equations. Such questions have been considered by Fujita and Watanabe [2],
Cavity-QED interactions of two correlated atoms

We consider the resonant van der Waals (vdW) interaction between two correlated identical two-level atoms (at least one of which being excited) within the framework of macroscopic cavity quantum electrodynamics in linear, dispersing and absorbing media. The interaction of both atoms with the body-assisted electromagnetic field of the cavity is assumed to be strong. Our time-independent evaluation is based on an extended Jaynes–Cummings model. For a system prepared in a superposition of its dressed states, we derive the general form of the vdW forces, using a Lorentzian single-mode approximation. We demonstrate the applicability of this approach by considering the case of a planar cavity and showing the position dependence of Rabi oscillations. We also show that in the limiting case of weak coupling, our results reproduce the perturbative ones for the case where the field is initially in vacuum state while the atomic state is in a superposition of two correlated states sharing one excitation.
TESS Discovery of an Ultra-short-period Planet around the Nearby M Dwarf LHS 3844

Data from the newly commissioned Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite has revealed a “hot Earth” around LHS 3844, an M dwarf located 15 pc away. The planet has a radius of R⊕ and orbits the star every 11 hr. Although the existence of an atmosphere around such a strongly irradiated planet is questionable, the star is bright enough (I = 11.9, K = 9.1) for this possibility to be investigated with transit and occultation spectroscopy. The star’s brightness and the planet’s short period will also facilitate the measurement of the planet’s mass through Doppler spectroscopy.
Acute Rheumatic Fever: Recent Advances

Cristiana Nascimento-Carvalho (Bahia, Brazil) Ville Peltola (Turku, Finland) Ira Shah (Mumbai, India) George Syrogiannopoulos (Larissa, Greece) David Burgner (Melbourne, Australia) Kow-Tong Chen (Tainan,Taiwan) Luisa Galli (Florence, Italy) Steve Graham (Melbourne, Australia) Tobias Tenenbaum (Mannhein, Germany) Marc Tebruegge (Southampton, UK) Helen Groves (Junior ESPID Board Member, UK) Fani Ladomenou (Junior ESPID Board Member, Greece)