Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Free-electron superfluorescence: collective optical dynamics at deep-subwavelength resolution

Long-range coherence and correlations between electrons in solids are the cornerstones for developing future quantum materials and devices. In 1954, Dicke described correlated spontaneous emission from closely packed quantum emitters, forming the theoretical basis of superradiance and superfluorescence. Since then, it has remained an open challenge to observe such phenomena with nanometer spatial resolution, precisely the important scale at which the collective correlations occur. Here, we report the first instance of free-electron-driven superfluorescence - superfluorescent cathodoluminescence - enabling us to excite and observe correlations at nanometer spatial scales. To exemplify this concept in our experiments, superlattices of lead halide perovskite quantum dots are excited by focused pulses of multiple free electrons. The electrons trigger superfluorescence: collective ultrafast emission observed at rates faster than both the lifetime and decoherence time. By controlling the area illuminated by the electron beam, we create a transition from a non-correlated spontaneous emission to a correlated superfluorescent emission. The observed signatures of superfluorescence are a reduction of the intrinsic emitter lifetime, a narrower linewidth, and a distinct redshift. We develop the theory of superfluorescent cathodoluminescence, which matches the results and highlights the unique features of electron-driven versus light-driven superfluorescence. Our observation and theory introduce a novel way to characterize coherence and correlations in quantum materials with nanometer spatial resolution, a key for future engineering of quantum devices.
Equalization of a 10 Gbps IMDD signal by a small silicon photonics time delayed neural network

A small 4-channels time-delayed complex perceptron is used as a silicon photonics neural network (NN) device to compensate for chromatic dispersion in optical fiber links. The NN device is experimentally tested with non-return-to-zero optical signals at 10 Gbps after propagation through up to 125 km optical fiber link. During the learning phase, a separation-loss function is optimized in order to maximally separate the transmitted levels of 0s from the 1s, which implies an optimization of the bit-error-rate. Testing of the NN device shows that the excess losses introduced by the NN device are compensated by the gain in transmitted signal equalization for a link longer than 100 km. The measured data are reproduced by a model which accounts for the optical link and the neural network device. This allows simulating the network performances for higher data rates, where the device shows improvement with respect to the benchmark both in terms of performance as well as ease of use.
Rényi-Ulam Games and Online Computation with Imperfect Advice

We study the nascent setting of online computation with imperfect advice, in which the online algorithm is enhanced by some prediction encoded in the form of a possibly erroneous binary string. The algorithm is oblivious to the advice error, but defines a desired tolerance, namely an upper bound on the number of erroneous advice bits it can tolerate. This is a model that generalizes the untrusted advice model [Angelopoulos et al. ITCS 2020], in which the performance of the algorithm is only evaluated at the extreme values of error (namely, if the advice has either no errors, or if it is generated adversarially). In this work, we establish connections between games with a lying responder, also known as R\'enyi-Ulam games, and the design and analysis of online algorithms with imperfect advice. Specifically, we demonstrate how to obtain upper and lower bounds on the competitive ratio for well-studied online problems such as time-series search, online bidding, and fractional knapsack. Our techniques provide the first lower bounds for online problems in this model. We also highlight and exploit connections between competitive analysis with imperfect advice and fault-tolerance in multiprocessor systems. Last, we show how to waive the dependence on the tolerance parameter, by means of resource augmentation and robustification.
Friction Laws and Numerical Modeling of the Seismic Cycle

Friction is resistance to motion that appears when two surfaces in contact slide against one another. Generally speaking, the concept of ‘friction’ describes the dissipation of energy that occurs. Most phenomena associated with sliding friction can be understood from observations made by Leonardo da Vinci. He was the first to note that, based on his experiments, friction is proportional to 1/4th of the applied pressure and that it is independent of the area of contact between two active surfaces. This latter observation was inspired by the fact that the resistance to sliding of a coil of rope is the same as for a stretched piece of rope. Almost two centuries later, in the 18 century, Guillaume Amontons and CharlesAugustin de Coulomb, carried out rigorous experiments on friction, with the aim of obtaining quantitative results. The collective work by L. da Vinci, G. Amontons and C. -A. de Coulomb led to the two fundamental ’laws’ of friction. These statements, simple and still valid, are widely applicable:
Optimal Liquidation with High Risk Aversion in the Almgren--Chriss Model: A Case Study

We consider the Bachelier model with linear price impact. Exponential utility indifference prices are studied for vanilla European options in the case where the investor is required to liquidate her position at the maturity date. Our main result is establishing a non-trivial scaling limit for a vanishing price impact which is inversely proportional to the risk aversion. We compute the limit of the corresponding utility indifference prices and find explicitly a family of portfolios which are asymptotically optimal.
The Fermi-LAT Lightcurve Repository

The Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) lightcurve repository (LCR) is a publicly available, continually updated library of gamma-ray lightcurves of variable Fermi-LAT sources generated over multiple timescales. The Fermi-LAT LCR aims to provide publication-quality lightcurves binned on timescales of 3, 7, and 30 days for 1525 sources deemed variable in the source catalog of the first 10 yr of Fermi-LAT observations. The repository consists of lightcurves generated through full likelihood analyses that model the sources and the surrounding region, providing fluxes and photon indices for each time bin. The LCR is intended as a resource for the time-domain and multimessenger communities by allowing users to search LAT data quickly to identify correlated variability and flaring emission episodes from gamma-ray sources. We describe the sample selection and analysis employed by the LCR and provide an overview of the associated data access portal.
Towards a Pipeline for Real-Time Visualization of Faces for VR-based Telepresence and Live Broadcasting Utilizing Neural Rendering

While head-mounted displays (HMDs) for Virtual Reality (VR) have become widely available in the consumer market, they pose a considerable obstacle for a realistic face-to-face conversation in VR since HMDs hide a significant portion of the participants faces. Even with image streams from cameras directly attached to an HMD, stitching together a convincing image of an entire face remains a challenging task because of extreme capture angles and strong lens distortions due to a wide field of view. Compared to the long line of research in VR, reconstruction of faces hidden beneath an HMD is a very recent topic of research. While the current state-of-the-art solutions demonstrate photo-realistic 3D reconstruction results, they require high-cost laboratory equipment and large computational costs. We present an approach that focuses on low-cost hardware and can be used on a commodity gaming computer with a single GPU. We leverage the benefits of an end-to-end pipeline by means of Generative Adversarial Networks (GAN). Our GAN produces a frontal-facing 2.5D point cloud based on a training dataset captured with an RGBD camera. In our approach, the training process is offline, while the reconstruction runs in real-time. Our results show adequate reconstruction quality within the 'learned' expressions. Expressions not learned by the network produce artifacts and can trigger the Uncanny Valley effect.
Quantitative Planning with Action Deception in Concurrent Stochastic Games

We study a class of two-player competitive concurrent stochastic games on graphs with reachability objectives. Specifically, player 1 aims to reach a subset $F_1$ of game states, and player 2 aims to reach a subset $F_2$ of game states where $F_2\cap F_1=\emptyset$. Both players aim to satisfy their reachability objectives before their opponent does. Yet, the information players have about the game dynamics is asymmetric: P1 has a (set of) hidden actions unknown to P2 at the beginning of their interaction. In this setup, we investigate P1's strategic planning of action deception that decides when to deviate from the Nash equilibrium in P2's game model and employ a hidden action, so that P1 can maximize the value of action deception, which is the additional payoff compared to P1's payoff in the game where P2 has complete information. Anticipating that P2 may detect his misperception about the game and adapt his strategy during interaction in unpredictable ways, we construct a planning problem for P1 to augment the game model with an incomplete model about the theory of mind of the opponent P2. While planning in the augmented game, P1 can effectively influence P2's perception so as to entice P2 to take actions that benefit P1. We prove that the proposed deceptive planning algorithm maximizes a lower bound on the value of action deception and demonstrate the effectiveness of our deceptive planning algorithm using a robot motion planning problem inspired by soccer games.
Temperature-induced valence and structural instability in DMTTF-CA : Single-crystal Raman and infrared measurements

We report a detailed spectroscopic investigation of temperature-induced valence and structural instability of the mixed-stack organic charge-transfer (CT) crystal $4,{4}^{\ensuremath{'}}$-dimethyltetrathiafulvalene-chloranil (DMTTF-CA). DMTTF-CA is a derivative of tetrathiafulvalene-chloranil (TTF-CA), the first CT crystal exhibiting the neutral-ionic transition by lowering temperature. We confirm that DMTTF-CA undergoes a continuous variation of the ionicity on going from room temperature down to $\ensuremath{\sim}20\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{K}$, but remains on the neutral side throughout. The stack dimerization and cell doubling, occurring at $65\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{K}$, appear to be the driving forces of the transition and of the valence instability. In a small temperature interval just below the phase transition, we detect the coexistence of molecular species with slightly different ionicities. The Peierls mode(s) precursors of the stack dimerization are identified.
Bifunctional cancer cell–based vaccine concomitantly drives direct tumor killing and antitumor immunity

The administration of inactivated tumor cells is known to induce a potent antitumor immune response; however, the efficacy of such an approach is limited by its inability to kill tumor cells before inducing the immune responses. Unlike inactivated tumor cells, living tumor cells have the ability to track and target tumors. Here, we developed a bifunctional whole cancer cell–based therapeutic with direct tumor killing and immunostimulatory roles. We repurposed the tumor cells from interferon-β (IFN-β) sensitive to resistant using CRISPR-Cas9 by knocking out the IFN-β–specific receptor and subsequently engineered them to release immunomodulatory agents IFN-β and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor. These engineered therapeutic tumor cells (ThTCs) eliminated established glioblastoma tumors in mice by inducing caspase-mediated cancer cell apoptosis, down-regulating cancer-associated fibroblast-expressed platelet-derived growth factor receptor β, and activating antitumor immune cell trafficking and antigen-specific T cell activation signaling. This mechanism-based efficacy of ThTCs translated into a survival benefit and long-term immunity in primary, recurrent, and metastatic cancer models in immunocompetent and humanized mice. The incorporation of a double kill-switch comprising herpes simplex virus–1 thymidine kinase and rapamycin-activated caspase 9 in ThTCs ensured the safety of our approach. Arming naturally neoantigen-rich tumor cells with bifunctional therapeutics represents a promising cell-based immunotherapy for solid tumors and establishes a road map toward clinical translation. Description A bifunctional gene edited and engineered tumor cell–based vaccine eliminates established tumors and induces long-term immunity in mouse models. Turning tumors into turncoats Inactivated tumor cells have been previously investigated for their anti-cancer ability and have only shown limited clinical benefit. To overcome this, Chen et al. have engineered living tumor cells to secrete interferon beta (IFNB) and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) to both target tumors and alter the tumor microenvironments. These engineered therapeutic tumor cells (ThTCs) induced improved survival and long-term immunity in glioblastoma humanized mice. In addition, Chen et al. incorporated a double kill-switch to prevent secondary tumor initiation to provide an effective and safe therapy that warrants further investigation. —DH
Aprotinin does not Impair Vascular Function in Patients Undergoing Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery

Abstract Bleeding is a major complication in coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Antifibrinolytic agents like serine protease inhibitor aprotinin can decrease postoperative bleeding and complications of cardiac surgery. However, the effects of aprotinin on vascular function are not completely elucidated. We compared the ex vivo vascular function of left internal mammary arteries from patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery with and without intraoperative application of aprotinin using a Mulvany Myograph. Human internal mammary arteries were treated with aprotinin ex vivo and tested for changes in vascular function. We analyzed the impact of aprotinin on vascular function in rat aortic rings. Finally, impact of aprotinin on expression and activity of endothelial nitric oxide synthase was tested in human endothelial cells. Intraoperative application of aprotinin did not impair ex vivo vascular function of internal mammary arteries of patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Endothelium-dependent and -independent relaxations were not different in patients with or without aprotinin after nitric oxide synthase blockade. A maximum vasorelaxation of 94.5%±11.4vs. 96.1%±5.5% indicated a similar vascular smooth muscle function in both patient groups (n=13 each). Long-term application of aprotinin under physiological condition preserved vascular function of the rat aorta. In vitro application of increasing concentrations of aprotinin on human endothelial cells resulted in a similar expression and activity of endothelial nitric oxide synthase. In conclusion, intraoperative and ex vivo application of aprotinin does not impair the endothelial function in human internal mammary arteries and experimental models.
Going Back in Time: Increasing Penicillin Susceptibility among Methicillin-Susceptible Staphylococcus aureus Osteoarticular Infections in Children

In the late 1940s to 1950s, Staphylococcus aureus isolates first-gained resistance to penicillin. Recently, some centers have described an increase in the proportion of methicillin susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) which are also susceptible to penicillin (PSSA). ABSTRACT In the late 1940s to 1950s, Staphylococcus aureus isolates first-gained resistance to penicillin. Recently, some centers have described an increase in the proportion of methicillin susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) which are also susceptible to penicillin (PSSA). There are little data on the frequency of PSSA infections in children. We investigated the prevalence of penicillin susceptibility among pediatric MSSA acute hematogenous osteoarticular infection (OAI) isolates. MSSA OAI isolates were obtained through surveillance studies at Texas Children’s and St. Louis Children’s Hospitals from January 2011 to December 2019. All isolates underwent PCR for blaZ β-lactamase, PVL genes and agr group. All blaZ negative isolates then underwent penicillin MIC determination. blaZ negative isolates with penicillin MIC ≤ 0.125 μg/mL were considered PSSA. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) was conducted on a subset of isolates. A total of 329 unique isolates were included in the study. The median patient age was 9.2 years (IQR:5.1 to 12.2). Overall, 6.7% of isolates were penicillin susceptible. No PSSA were detected prior to 2015 but increased yearly thereafter. By the final study year, 20.4% of isolates were PSSA (P = 0.001). PSSA were similar to penicillin-resistant MSSA (PR-MSSA) isolates in terms agr group and PVL carriage as well as clinical presentation and outcomes. PSSA were of distinct sequence types compared to PR-MSSA. PSSA appears to be increasing among OAI in U.S. children. Overall, PSSA isolates are associated with a similar clinical presentation as penicillin-resistant isolates. The potential for use of penicillin treatment in PSSA OAI warrants further study.
Metagenome-Assembled Genome Sequence of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia Strain UJ_SKK_5.5, Obtained from the Gut Microbiome of a Macrotermes bellicosus Termite Collected from Hot, Arid Nigeria

The metagenome-assembled genome (MAG) sequence of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia strain UJ_SKK_5. 5 was obtained from the gut microbiome of Macrotermes bellicosus (termite) from hot, arid Nigeria. The assembled genome (4,313,335 bp) contains 157 contigs, the N50 is 41,072 bp, the GC content is 66.57%, and there are 3,925 protein coding sequences, 3,886 proteins with functional assignments, 39 pseudogenes, and 67 RNA genes. ABSTRACT The metagenome-assembled genome (MAG) sequence of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia strain UJ_SKK_5. 5 was obtained from the gut microbiome of Macrotermes bellicosus (termite) from hot, arid Nigeria. The assembled genome (4,313,335 bp) contains 157 contigs, the N50 is 41,072 bp, the GC content is 66.57%, and there are 3,925 protein coding sequences, 3,886 proteins with functional assignments, 39 pseudogenes, and 67 RNA genes.
Draft Metagenome-Assembled Genome Sequence of a Novel Citricoccus Species from Agricultural Soil in Western Colorado

Members of the genus Citricoccus are recognized as salt-tolerant soil microorganisms. Here, we report the metagenome-assembled genome sequence of a novel Citricoccus species recovered from untilled, surface agricultural soils in western Colorado. ABSTRACT Members of the genus Citricoccus are recognized as salt-tolerant soil microorganisms. Here, we report the metagenome-assembled genome sequence of a novel Citricoccus species recovered from untilled, surface agricultural soils in western Colorado.
Draft Whole-Genome Sequences of Microbacterium oxydans and Microbacterium maritypicum Strains

Microbacterium spp. are a group of microbes that have been recovered from a wide variety of environments in nature. Here, I report the complete genomic data for Microbacterium oxydans and Microbacterium maritypicum type strains that are already present in public culture repositories. ABSTRACT Microbacterium spp. are a group of microbes that have been recovered from a wide variety of environments in nature. Here, I report the complete genomic data for Microbacterium oxydans and Microbacterium maritypicum type strains that are already present in public culture repositories. The genome of the M. oxydans strain was 3,894,869 bp long, with a G+C content of 68.26%. The genome of the M. maritypicum strain was 3,668,377 bp long, with a G+C content of 68.44%.
Fatty Acyl Coenzyme A Synthetase Fat1p Regulates Vacuolar Structure and Stationary-Phase Lipophagy in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The ability to sense environmental changes and adjust the levels of cellular metabolism is critical for cell viability. Autophagy is a recycling process that makes the most of already-existing energy resources, and the vacuole/lysosome is the ultimate autophagic processing site in cells. ABSTRACT During yeast stationary phase, a single spherical vacuole (lysosome) is created by the fusion of several small ones. Moreover, the vacuolar membrane is reconstructed into two distinct microdomains. Little is known, however, about how cells maintain vacuolar shape or regulate their microdomains. Here, we show that Fat1p, a fatty acyl coenzyme A (acyl-CoA) synthetase and fatty acid transporter, and not the synthetases Faa1p and Faa4p, is essential for vacuolar shape preservation, the development of vacuolar microdomains, and cell survival in stationary phase of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Furthermore, Fat1p negatively regulates general autophagy in both log- and stationary-phase cells. In contrast, Fat1p promotes lipophagy, as the absence of FAT1 limits the entry of lipid droplets into the vacuole and reduces the degradation of liquid droplet (LD) surface proteins. Notably, supplementing with unsaturated fatty acids or overexpressing the desaturase Ole1p can reverse all aberrant phenotypes caused by FAT1 deficiency. We propose that Fat1p regulates stationary phase vacuolar morphology, microdomain differentiation, general autophagy, and lipophagy by controlling the degree of fatty acid saturation in membrane lipids. IMPORTANCE The ability to sense environmental changes and adjust the levels of cellular metabolism is critical for cell viability. Autophagy is a recycling process that makes the most of already-existing energy resources, and the vacuole/lysosome is the ultimate autophagic processing site in cells. Lipophagy is an autophagic process to select degrading lipid droplets. In yeast cells in stationary phase, vacuoles fuse and remodel their membranes to create a single spherical vacuole with two distinct membrane microdomains, which are required for yeast lipophagy. In this study, we discovered that Fat1p was capable of rapidly responding to changes in nutritional status and preserving cell survival by regulating membrane lipid saturation to maintain proper vacuolar morphology and the level of lipophagy in the yeast S. cerevisiae. Our findings shed light on how cells maintain vacuolar structure and promote the differentiation of vacuole surface microdomains for stationary-phase lipophagy.
Friend or Foe: Whole-Genome Sequence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa TG523, Isolated from the Gut of a Healthy Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)

Here, we present the genomic features of Pseudomonas aeruginosa TG523, which was isolated from the gut of a healthy Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). With a genome size of 6,381,902 bp with 5,931 open reading frames, the genome harbored genes predicted to have antibacterial activity and those which are implicated in virulence. ABSTRACT Here, we present the genomic features of Pseudomonas aeruginosa TG523, which was isolated from the gut of a healthy Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). With a genome size of 6,381,902 bp with 5,931 open reading frames, the genome harbored genes predicted to have antibacterial activity and those which are implicated in virulence.