Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The galaxy stellar mass function and its evolution with time show no dependence on global environment

We present the analysis of the galaxy stellar mass function in different environments at intermediate redshift (0.3 10^(10.5) M_sun, to study cluster, group, and field galaxies at z=0.3-0.45, and the ESO Distant Cluster Survey (EDisCS), at masses M_ast > 10^(10.2) M_sun, to investigate cluster and group galaxies at z=0.4-0.8. Therefore, in our analysis we include galaxies that are slightly less massive than the Milky Way. Having excluded the brightest cluster galaxies, we show thatthe shape of the mass distribution does not seem to depend on global environment. Our two main results are: (1) Galaxies in the virialized regions of clusters, in groups, and in the field follow a similar mass distribution. (2) Comparing both ICBS and EDisCS mass functions to mass functions in the local Universe, we find evolution from z~0.4-0.6 to z~0.07. The population of low-mass galaxies has proportionally grown with time with respect to that of massive galaxies. This evolution is independent of environment -- the same for clusters and the field. Furthermore, considering only clusters, we find that no differences can be detected neither within the virialized regions, nor when we compare galaxies within and outside the virial radius. Subdividing galaxies in terms of color, in clusters, groups, and field red and blue galaxies are regulated by different mass functions, but comparing separately the blue and red mass functions in different environments, no differences are detected in their shape.
N-body models of globular clusters: metallicities, half-light radii and mass-to-light ratios

Size differences of ≈20 per cent between red (metal-rich) and blue (metal-poor) subpopulations of globular clusters have been observed, generating an ongoing debate as to whether these originate from projection effects or the difference in metallicity. We present direct N-body simulations of metal-rich and metal-poor stellar populations evolved to study the effects of metallicity on cluster evolution. The models start with N = 100 000 stars and include primordial binaries. We also take metallicity-dependent stellar evolution and an external tidal field into account. We find no significant difference for the half-mass radii of those models, indicating that the clusters are structurally similar. However, utilizing observational tools to fit half-light (or effective) radii confirms that metallicity effects related to stellar evolution combined with dynamical effects such as mass segregation produce an apparent size difference of 17 per cent on average. The metallicity effect on the overall cluster luminosity also leads to higher mass-to-light ratios for metal-rich clusters.
The Fermi-LAT gamma-ray excess at the Galactic Center in the singlet-doublet fermion dark matter model

The singlet-doublet fermion dark matter model (SDFDM) provides a good DM candidate as well as the possibility of generating neutrino masses radiatively. The search and identification of DM requires the combined effort of both indirect and direct DM detection experiments in addition to the LHC. Remarkably, an excess of GeV gamma rays from the Galactic Center (GCE) has been measured with the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) which appears to be robust with respect to changes in the diffuse galactic background modeling. Although several astrophysical explanations have been proposed, DM remains a simple and well motivated alternative. In this work, we examine the sensitivities of dark matter searches in the SDFDM scenario using Fermi-LAT, CTA, IceCube/DeepCore, LUX, PICO and LHC with an emphasis on exploring the regions of the parameter space that can account for the GCE. We find that DM particles present in this model with masses close to ∼ 99 GeV and ∼ (173–190) GeV annihilating predominantly into the W+W− channel and tt̄ channel respectively, provide an acceptable fit to the GCE while being consistent with different current experimental bounds. We also find that much of the obtained parameter space can be ruled out by future direct search experiments like LZ and XENON-1T, in case of null results by these detectors. Interestingly, we show that the most recent data by LUX is starting to probe the best fit region in the SDFDM model.
Association of fruits, vegetables, and fiber intake with COVID-19 severity and symptoms in hospitalized patients: A cross-sectional study

Background and aims Fruits and vegetables are rich in fiber and a good source of anti-inflammatory and immune-boosting vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. We investigated the association between fruits, vegetables, and fiber intake and severity of COVID-19 and related symptoms in hospitalized patients. Methods A total of 250 COVID-19 hospitalized patients aged 18 to 65 years were recruited for this cross-sectional study in Kashan, Iran, between June and September of 2021. Dietary intakes were assessed using an online validated 168-item food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). COVID-19 severity and symptoms were evaluated using the National Institutes of Health (NIH) COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines. Moreover, we examined COVID-19 symptoms, inflammatory biomarkers, and additional factors. Results The mean age of participants was 44.2 ± 12.1 years, and 46% had severe COVID-19. Patients with higher consumption of fruits (OR: 0.28; 95% CI: 0.14-0.58, P-trend <0.001), vegetables (OR: 0.33; 95% CI: 0.16-0.69, P-trend <0.001), and dietary fiber (OR: 0.25; 95% CI: 0.12-0.53, P-trend <0.001) had lower odds of having severe COVID-19. In addition, they had shorter hospitalization and convalescence periods, lower serum C-reactive protein (CRP), and a reduced risk of developing COVID-19 symptoms such as sore throat, nausea and vomiting, dyspnea, myalgia, cough, weakness, fever, and chills. Conclusion Higher consumption of fruits, vegetables, and fiber was inversely linked with COVID-19 severity, clinical symptoms, hospitalization and convalescence duration, and CRP concentrations. The results should be interpreted with caution in light of the limitations, and prospective cohort studies are required to further evaluate these findings.
Novel compound heterozygous CCDC40 mutations in a familial case of primary ciliary dyskinesia

Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is a rare genetic disorder characterized by motile ciliary dysfunction and impaired ultrastructure. Despite numerous studies, the genetic basis for about 30% of PCD cases remains to be elucidated. Here, we present the identification and functional analysis of two novel mutations in the gene encoding coiled-coil domain-containing protein 40 (CCDC40), which are found in a familial case of PCD. These novel CCDC40 mutations, NM_017950. 4: c.2236-2delA and c. 2042_2046delTCACA, NP_060420. 2: p.(Ile681fs), were identified by whole-exome sequencing (WES). Sanger sequencing was then performed to confirm the WES results and determine the CCDC40 gene sequences of the proband’s parents. The c. 2042_2046delTCACA mutation disrupts the reading frame of the protein and is therefore predicted to produce a non-functional protein. Using a minigene assay with the pcDNA3.1(+) plasmid, we further investigated the potential pathogenic effects of the c.2236-2delA mutation and found that this mutation leads to formation of a truncated protein via splicing disruption. Thus, in summary, we identified two mutations of the CCDC40 gene that can be considered pathogenic compound heterozygous mutations in a case of familial PCD, thereby expanding the known mutational spectrum of the CCDC40 gene in this disease.
Comments on the "Monoceros" affair

This is a brief note to comment on some recent papers addressing the Monoceros ring. In our view, nothing new was delivered on the matter: No new evidence or arguments are presented which lead to think that the over-densities in Monoceros must not be due to the flared thick disc of the Milky Way. Again, we restate that extrapolations are easily misleading and that a model of the Galaxy is not the Galaxy. Raising and discussing exciting possibilities is healthy. However, enthusiasm should not overtake and produce strong claims before thoroughly checking simpler and more sensible possibilities within their uncertainties. In particular, claiming that a reported structure, such as the Monoceros Ring, is not Galactic (an exciting scenario) should not be done without rejecting the possibility of being due to the well established warped and flared disc of the Milky Way (simpler).
Exposure to silica and systemic sclerosis: A retrospective cohort study based on the Canadian Scleroderma Research Group

Introduction Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is thought to be induced by an environmental trigger in genetically predisposed individuals. This study assessed the demographic and clinical characteristics and disease severity of silica exposed SSc patients. Methods Data was obtained from the Canadian Scleroderma Research Group (CSRG) cohort, containing 1,439 patients (2004–2019). Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed, to determine the phenotype and severity of silica-exposed SSc patients. Mortality was assessed using Cox Survival Regression and Kaplan-Meier analyses. Results Among 1,439 patients (86.7% females), 95 patients reported exposure to silica. Those exposed were younger, of male sex and with more severe disease. Sex differences were observed where male patients exposed to silica were more likely to be Caucasian and smokers whereas female patients were younger at SSc diagnosis compared to unexposed. Multivariate regression, controlled for multiple confounders, showed that silica exposure was associated with a younger age at diagnosis and worse disease severity and mortality. Conclusion Exposure to silica was reported in ∼7% of CSRG cohort and ∼20% of male patients and was associated with a worse prognosis in terms of age of diagnosis, organ involvement and mortality. Hence, screening for silica exposure among higher risk individuals may be beneficial and these patients may require closer monitoring for systemic disease.
Testing the TEBOTS model in self-threatening situations: The role of narratives in the face of ostracism and mortality

The TEBOTS model predicts that narratives are sought after more often in times of depletion. The present study aimed at expanding this idea by testing whether engagement with narratives is also intensified under self-threatening conditions. Further, we examined whether narratives can serve coping functions. In a 3(Threat: mortality salience vs. ostracism vs. control condition) × 2(Review of the narrative: positive vs. negative) online experiment (N = 228), we tested whether self-threats and the expectation towards the narrative increase entertainment experiences and facilitate self-serving attributions. The results demonstrated that self-threats and a positive review indeed increased the entertainment experience. Narratives could support coping with an existential threat through enhancing self-serving attributions. The findings are discussed in light of the TEBOTS model and its application in the context of self-threats.
Social Q&A communities: A multi-factor study of the influence of users’ knowledge sharing behaviors

Recently, social Q&A communities have grown increasingly popular, serving as a primary platform for people to learn and share information. Nonetheless, fewer knowledge producers in these communities are significant than knowledge consumers. Thus, promoting users’ participation in knowledge sharing is a challenge for managers of social Q&A communities. Even though many scholars have studied factors influencing willingness to share knowledge, they tend to start with one theory and ignore the impact of several factors on behaviors. Thus, this manuscript presents a multi-factor model based on three dimensions of technology, cognition, and security to explore the effects of the six factors of perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness, perceived behavioral control and subjective norms, perceived security, and perceived privacy in terms of the three knowledge sharing methods of browsing including like and favorite, publishing and replying, and to compare users’ willingness to use the three knowledge sharing methods. A total of 482 questionnaires were collected online, and the hypotheses were tested and analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). According to the results, the factors affecting different sharing methods are not the same. Perceived behavioral control and perceived security can have a significant influence on their willingness to browse, users’ willingness to publish and reply to posts is significantly influenced by their perception of behavioral control and subjective norms, while perceived usefulness also affects their willingness to respond, it can be seen that cognition is the most important factor affecting users’ knowledge sharing among the three dimensions. In addition, users’ willingness to browse is significantly greater than their willingness to reply, and their willingness to post is the lowest.
Causal associations of obesity related anthropometric indicators and body compositions with knee and hip arthritis: A large-scale genetic correlation study

Backgrounds Epidemiological studies have repeatedly investigated the association between obesity related anthropometric indicators and body compositions and osteoarthritis (OA). However, the results have remained inconsistent. This work aimed to investigate the genetic correlation and causal associations of obesity related anthropometric indicators and body compositions with knee and hip OA. Methods Single-nucleotide polymorphisms associated with the exposures were searched from the recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to obtain full statistics. Summary-level results of knee and hip OA were from the UK Biobank and arcOGEN. First, linkage disequilibrium score regression (LD score regression) was applied to detect the genetic correlation (rg). We further performed a series of sensitivity analyses as validation of primary mendelian randomization (MR) results and the specific evidence of potential causal effects was defined. Results We found that genetic components in OA had significant correlation with obesity related traits, except waist-to-hip ratio. In the univariable MR analysis, with the exception of waist-to-hip ratio, obesity related anthropometric indicators were causally associated with increased risks of knee and hip OA. For obesity related body compositions, higher fat-free mass in arm, leg, and whole body increased the risk of knee OA but only fat-free mass in leg showed a significant association with hip OA. Meanwhile trunk fat mass and trunk fat percentage, were associated with knee but not with hip OA. Higher fat mass, and fat percentage in arm, leg, and whole body increased the risk of both knee and hip OA. After adjusting for BMI, the multivariable MR showed maintained results in knee OA. However, in hip OA, only fat mass and fat-free mass in arm, leg, trunk and whole body were significantly associated with the risk of hip OA. Conclusion The present study suggests genetic evidence for certain causal associations of obesity related anthropometric indicators and body compositions with knee and hip OA, which may provide important insights for the prevention and treatment on OA.
Co-creation of a massive open online course: An exploration of the motives and motive fulfillment of a faculty member and student co-instructors

We present a case study of a “by learners, for learners” approach to the co-design of a massive open online course (MOOC), on climate change. To learn about the motivations of a faculty member and students who participated in this process, we collected data through focus groups, interviews, and questionnaires. Three main motivations emerged: (1) The faculty member and student co-instructors sought to create accessible and practical resources to help individuals take action on climate change and (2) believed creating a MOOC was critical to career advancement. (3) The faculty member also hoped to involve students to improve their knowledge and skills, while creating a learner-centered MOOC on an ambitious timeline. Participants reported that the majority of their motivations were fulfilled and were generally satisfied with the resulting MOOC and overall co-design experience. This study offers new insights into the motivations that drive instructors to create MOOCs as well as into adopting the “student as partners” model for MOOC co-design.
Air-water CO2 and water-sediment O2 exchanges over a tidal flat in Tokyo Bay

Despite the potential for carbon storage in tidal flats, little is known about the details of relevant processes because of the complexity of intertidal physical and chemical environments and the uniqueness of the biota. We measured air-water carbon dioxide (CO2) fluxes and water-sediment oxygen (O2) fluxes over a tidal flat in Tokyo Bay by the eddy covariance method, which has the potential to facilitate long-term, broad-scale, continuous monitoring of carbon flows in tidal flats. The results indicated that throughout the tidal flat in Tokyo Bay, CO2 was taken up from the atmosphere at a rate of 6.05 ± 7.14 (mean ± SD) mmol m−2 hour−1, and O2 was taken up from the water into the sediment at a rate of 0.62 ± 1.14 (mean ± SD) mmol m−2 hour−1. The fact that the CO2 uptake rate was about 18 times faster than the previously reported average uptake rate in the whole area of Tokyo Bay was attributable to physical turbulence in the water column caused by bottom friction. Statistical analysis suggested that light intensity and water temperature were the major factors responsible for variations of CO2 and O2 exchange, respectively. Other factors such as freshwater inputs, atmospheric stability, and wind speed also affected CO2 and O2 exchange. High rates of O2 uptake from the water into the sediment surface and high rates of atmospheric CO2 uptake into the water column occurred simultaneously (R 2 = 0.44 and 0.47 during day and night, respectively). The explanation could be that photosynthetic consumption of CO2 and production of O2 in the water column increased the downward CO2 (air to water) and O2 (water to sediment) fluxes by increasing the concentration gradients of those gases. Resuspension of sediment in the low-O2 layer by physical disturbance would also increase the O2 concentration gradient and the O2 flux in the water.
The application of in situ TEM on the grain boundary brittleness of precipitation-strengthened Ni-based superalloys: Recent progress and perspective

Due to their superior strength and oxidation resistance at high temperatures, precipitation-strengthened Ni-based superalloys are widely used in load-bearing hot components in energy generation systems, such as gas/steam engines in aircraft or power plants. However, brittleness originating from a grain boundary (GB) in a certain temperature range is one of the greatest deadlocks, which desperately restricts their thermal-mechanical processing capabilities and also industrial applications. Experimental and theoretical investigations of the origin of GB brittleness with aims to overcome it still attract many research efforts in the high-temperature material field. It is desirable to understand the GB embrittlement mechanism by dynamically investigating the entire GB cracking process in real time under stress/temperature combination, which might be hardly revealed by a traditional experiment on precipitation strength/theoretical technologies. Current advances in high-temperature mechanical testing systems, which can be operated in a transmission electron microscope (TEM), provide unique opportunities for in situ exploration of the mechanistic origins of GB brittleness of superalloys with the resolution up to an atomic scale. Here, we first briefly give an overview of the phenomenon and current understanding on GB brittleness, followed by introducing the state-of-art techniques in an in situ TEM/mechanical testing system (MTS). In the end, we will also discuss the potential application of the in situ TEM/MTS on GB brittleness and a perspective overlook.
Interactions between glutathione S-transferase genes and household air pollution on asthma and lung function

Oxidative stress is one of the main pathophysiological mechanisms for chronic respiratory disease. Glutathione S-transferase (GST) genes play important roles in antioxidant defences and may influence respiratory health. Although there is not consistent evidence that the three commonly studied genes of GSTM1, GSTT1 and GSTP1 are associated directly with respiratory outcomes, they seem to be related to disease susceptibility if exposure interactions are taken into account. Exposure to household air pollution may be particularly important in increasing lung oxidative stress. This review summarizes the relationships between GST genes, household air pollution and asthma and impaired lung function. Our findings support a role for GST polymorphisms in susceptibility to asthma and impaired lung function via oxidative stress pathways. Future research should additionally consider the role of gene-gene interactions, multiple environmental exposures, and gender in these complex associations, that are involved in maintaining antioxidant defences and lung health.
Dissemination and prevalence of plasmid-mediated high-level tigecycline resistance gene tet (X4)

With the large-scale use of antibiotics, antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) continue to rise, and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) are regarded as emerging environmental pollutants. The new tetracycline-class antibiotic, tigecycline is the last resort for treating multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria. Plasmid-mediated horizontal transfer enables the sharing of genetic information among different bacteria. The tigecycline resistance gene tet(X) threatens the efficacy of tigecycline, and the adjacent ISCR2 or IS26 are often detected upstream and downstream of the tet(X) gene, which may play a crucial driving role in the transmission of the tet(X) gene. Since the first discovery of the plasmid-mediated high-level tigecycline resistance gene tet(X4) in China in 2019, the tet(X) genes, especially tet(X4), have been reported within various reservoirs worldwide, such as ducks, geese, migratory birds, chickens, pigs, cattle, aquatic animals, agricultural field, meat, and humans. Further, our current researches also mentioned viruses as novel environmental reservoirs of antibiotic resistance, which will probably become a focus of studying the transmission of ARGs. Overall, this article mainly aims to discuss the current status of plasmid-mediated transmission of different tet(X) genes, in particular tet(X4), as environmental pollutants, which will risk to public health for the “One Health” concept.
A critical evaluation of the principal component analysis detection of polarized signatures using real stellar data

The general context of this study is the post-processing of multiline spectropolarimetric observations of stars, and in particular the numerical analysis techniques aiming at detecting and characterizing polarized signatures. Using real observational data, we compare and clarify several points concerning various methods of analysis. We applied and compared the results of simple line addition, least-squares deconvolution, and denoising by principal component analysis to polarized stellar spectra available from the TBLegacy database of the Narval spectropolarimeter. This comparison of various approaches of distinct sophistication levels allows us to make a safe choice for the next implementation of on-line post-processing of our unique database for the stellar physics community.