Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
First Record of Cryptolestes pusillus and Cryptolestes pusilloides (Coleoptera: Laemophloeidae) in Colombia

Cryptolestes (Coleoptera: Laemophloeidae) includes at least 15 economically important pest species (Chen et al. 2020). These are considered secondary pests because the larvae can penetrate the grain only if the pericarp is damaged (Trematerra & Throne 2012). Cryptolestes ferrugineus (Stephens) (the rusty grain beetle), C. pusillus (Schönherr) (the flat grain beetle) and C. pusilloides (Steel & Howe) are the most frequently reported species worldwide (Thomas 2002). Adults are reddish brown and about 2 mm in length (Mason 2003). Each female lays 100 to 400 eggs and may develop into adults in approximately 23 d (Trematerra & Throne 2012). In adverse conditions, such during a food shortage, population survives the mainly by consuming their own eggs, pupae and prepupae (Lefkovitch 1962,Mason 2019). Adults are strong fliers, allowing their dispersal in and around grain storage facilities (Holloway et al. 2018). Distribution of Cryptolestes spp. has been expanding worldwide. Halstead (1993) reported that C. ferrugineus is a cosmopolitan specie, whereas C. pusillus and C. pusilloides have more restricted geographic ranges. Today, all of these species have a cosmopolitan distribution (Figure 1) and have been reported in stored grains of peanut, coffee, barley, rice, sorghum, cocoa beans, wheat, corn and stored dry processed products (Hagstrum et al. 2013, CABI 2022). Tróchez (1987) reported the presence of a number of specimens of Cryptolestes spp. in stored grains in Colombia but did not identify any particular species. The Colombian Institute of Agriculture (ICA) also reported interceptions of C. pusilloides in six shipments of green coffee beans from Peru between 7 February 2018 and 14 May 2019 and one from Ecuador on 19 January 2018 (Analdex 2019). Today, the presence and species diversity of Cryptolestes in Colombia are still largely unknown. The objective of this study was to determine the actual presence of economically important species of Cryptolestes spp. in stored grains in Colombia. We report C. pusillus and C. pusilloides for the first time in Colombia. Specimens were manually collected between July and December 2021 in different grain storage facilities around the country. The size and external morphological characteristics are similar among Cryptolestes spp. To properly identify the species,
A Global Rain-Driven Soil Erosion Investigation Based on Simulated Breakpoint Precipitation

HighlightsAn international dataset of simulated breakpoint precipitation climate stations was used to overcome the limitations of fixed-interval precipitation in global soil erosion applications.The international simulated breakpoint dataset was validated against collocated high-quality, high-resolution precipitation data from a ground network and other data sources.The process-based Rangeland Hydrology and Erosion Model (RHEM) was used to predict erosion based on global climate classifications and soil properties.Critical precipitation factors in RHEM scenarios were identified based on their ability to predict erosion rates.Abstract. Recent research has highlighted problems with erosion modeling applications that use coarser fixed-interval precipitation data as opposed to breakpoint precipitation data, which better preserves precipitation characteristics such as intensity and duration. Due to their wider availability, erosion modeling applications and risk assessments are typically based on fixed-interval data. However, these applications could be subject to substantial erosion underestimation bias related to time-averaged precipitation. Alternatively, this manuscript presents a novel approach to global-scale erosion assessment based on simulated breakpoint precipitation data. A point-scale stochastic weather generator, CLIGEN, was used to generate precipitation events with characteristics more similar to breakpoint precipitation data than fixed-interval alternatives. An international CLIGEN dataset of climate parameters from more than 10,000 long-term climate stations in numerous countries was evaluated for use in parameterizing CLIGEN simulations. CLIGEN-simulated event characteristics and derived statistics such as annual rainfall erosivity were compared to high-quality, high-resolution NOAA-ASOS precipitation data where available. The Rangeland Hydrology and Erosion Model (RHEM) was used to predict runoff and soil loss based on the same CLIGEN inputs for simple bare soil scenarios with site-specific soil textures taken from the global 250m SoilGrids product. Erosion results were analyzed according to climate type, revealing that predicted distributions of sediment yield and runoff were statistically unique for most global climate types. A multivariate regression model was developed to explore and understand the importance of various precipitation input factors. Peak precipitation intensity was the most critical climate factor for determining sediment yield, and combined CLIGEN precipitation factors had approximately as much predictive power as soil texture. Average annual rainfall erosivity values were calculated for each location and were 25% and 20% greater than values from RUSLE2 and Panagos et al. (2017) estimates, respectively. This finding is in agreement with the latest research on the topic. Keywords: ASOS, CLIGEN, Erosivity, Global soil erosion, Machine learning, RHEM, Simulated breakpoint precipitation.
Graphene Q-switched, tunable fiber laser

We demonstrate a wideband-tunable Q-switched fiber laser exploiting a graphene saturable absorber. We get ∼2 μs pulses, tunable between 1522 and 1555 nm with up to ∼40 nJ energy. This is a simple and low-cost light source for metrology, environmental sensing, and biomedical diagnostics.
In situ and satellite-based estimates of cloud properties and aerosol–cloud interactions over the southeast Atlantic Ocean

Abstract. In situ cloud probe data from the NASA ObseRvations of Aerosols above CLouds and their intEractionS (ORACLES) field campaign were used to estimate the effective radius (Re), cloud optical thickness (τ), and cloud droplet concentration (Nc) for marine stratocumulus over the southeast Atlantic Ocean. The in situ Re, τ, and Nc were compared with co-located Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) retrievals of Re and τ and MODIS-derived Nc. For 145 cloud profiles, a MODIS retrieval was co-located with in situ data with a time gap of less than 1 h. On average, the MODIS Re and τ (11.3 µm and 11.7) were 1.6 µm and 2.3 higher than the in situ Re and τ with Pearson's correlation coefficients (R) of 0.77 and 0.73, respectively. The average MODIS Nc (151.5 cm−3) was within 1 cm−3 of the average in situ Nc with an R of 0.90. The 145 cloud profiles were classified into 67 contact profiles where an aerosol concentration (Na) greater than 500 cm−3 was sampled within 100 m above cloud tops and 78 separated profiles where Na less than 500 cm−3 was sampled up to 100 m above cloud tops. Contact profiles had a higher in situ Nc (by 88 cm−3), higher τ (by 2.5), and lower in situ Re (by 2.2 µm) compared to separated profiles. These differences were associated with aerosol–cloud interactions (ACI), and MODIS estimates of the differences were within 5 cm−3, 0.5, and 0.2 µm of the in situ estimates when profiles with MODIS Re>15 µm or MODIS τ>25 were removed. The agreement between MODIS and in situ estimates of changes in Re, τ, and Nc associated with ACI was driven by small biases in MODIS retrievals of cloud properties relative to in situ measurements across different aerosol regimes. Thus, when combined with estimates of aerosol location and concentration, MODIS retrievals of marine stratocumulus cloud properties over the southeast Atlantic can be used to study ACI over larger domains and longer timescales than possible using in situ data.
Ionization structure of hot components in symbiotic binaries during active phases

Context. During active phases of symbiotic binaries, an optically thick medium in the form of a flared disk develops around their hot stars. During quiescent phases, this structure is not evident. Aims. We propose the formation of a flared neutral disk-like structure around the rotating white dwarf (WD) in symbiotic binaries. Methods. We applied the wind compression model and calculated the ionization boundaries in the compressed wind from the WD using the equation of photoionization equilibrium. Results. During active phases, the compression of the enhanced wind from the rotating WD can form a neutral disk-like zone at the equatorial plane, while the remainder of the sphere above/below the disk is ionized. The hydrogen column density throughout the neutral zone and the emission measure of the ionized fraction of the wind, calculated for the mass loss rate from the WD, u M
A NEW SAMPLE OF CANDIDATE INTERMEDIATE-MASS BLACK HOLES SELECTED BY X-RAY VARIABILITY

We present the results of X-ray variability and spectral analysis of a sample of 15 new candidates for active galactic nuclei with relatively low-mass black holes (BHs). They are selected from the Second XMM-Newton Serendipitous Source Catalogue based on strong variability quantified by normalized excess variances. Their BH masses are estimated to be (1.1–6.6) × 106 M☉ by using a correlation between excess variance and BH mass. Seven sources have estimated BH masses smaller than 2 × 106 M☉, which are in the range for intermediate-mass black holes. Eddington ratios of sources with known redshifts range from 0.07 to 0.46 and the mean Eddington ratio is 0.24. These results imply that some of our sources are growing supermassive black holes, which are expected to have relatively low masses with high Eddington ratios. X-ray photon indices of the 15 sources are in the range of ≈0.57–2.57 and 5 among them have steep (>2) photon indices, which are the range for narrow-line Seyfert 1s. Soft X-ray excess is seen in 12 sources and is expressed by a blackbody model with kT ≈ 83–294 eV. We derive a correlation between X-ray photon indices and Eddington ratios, and find that the X-ray photon indices of about a half of our sources are flatter than the positive correlation suggested previously.
THE SPECTRAL ENERGY DISTRIBUTIONS OF z ∼ 8 GALAXIES FROM THE IRAC ULTRA DEEP FIELDS: EMISSION LINES, STELLAR MASSES, AND SPECIFIC STAR FORMATION RATES AT 650 MYR

Using new ultradeep Spitzer/InfraRed Array Camera (IRAC) photometry from the IRAC Ultra Deep Field program, we investigate the stellar populations of a sample of 63 Y-dropout galaxy candidates at z ∼ 8, only 650 Myr after the big bang. The sources are selected from HST/ACS+WFC3/IR data over the Hubble Ultra Deep Field (HUDF), two HUDF parallel fields, and wide area data over the CANDELS/GOODS-South. The new Spitzer/IRAC data increase the coverage in [3.6] and [4.5] to ∼120h over the HUDF reaching depths of ∼28 (AB,1σ). The improved depth and inclusion of brighter candidates result in direct ⩾3σ InfraRed Array Camera (IRAC) detections of 20/63 sources, of which 11/63 are detected at ⩾5σ. The average [3.6]–[4.5] colors of IRAC detected galaxies at z ∼ 8 are markedly redder than those at z ∼ 7, observed only 130 Myr later. The simplest explanation is that we witness strong rest-frame optical emission lines (in particular [O iii] λλ4959, 5007 + Hβ) moving through the IRAC bandpasses with redshift. Assuming that the average rest-frame spectrum is the same at both z ∼ 7 and z ∼ 8 we estimate a rest-frame equivalent width of Å contributing mag to the [4.5] filter at z ∼ 8. The corresponding Å implies an average specific star formation rate of Gyr−1 and a stellar population age of Myr. Correcting the spectral energy distribution for the contribution of emission lines lowers the average best-fit stellar masses and mass-to-light ratios by ∼3 ×, decreasing the integrated stellar mass density to Mpc−3.
A CO SURVEY IN PLANET-FORMING DISKS: CHARACTERIZING THE GAS CONTENT IN THE EPOCH OF PLANET FORMATION

We carried out a 12CO(3–2) survey of 52 southern stars with a wide range of IR excesses (LIR/L*) using the single-dish telescopes APEX and ASTE. The main aims were (1) to characterize the evolution of molecular gas in circumstellar disks using LIR/L* values as a proxy of disk dust evolution, and (2) to identify new gas-rich disk systems suitable for detailed study with ALMA. About 60% of the sample (31 systems) have LIR/L* > 0.01, typical of T Tauri or Herbig AeBe stars, and the rest (21 systems) have LIR/L* < 0.01, typical of debris disks. We detect CO(3–2) emission from 20 systems, and 18 (90%) of these have LIR/L* > 0.01. However, the spectra of only four of the newly detected systems appear free of contamination from background or foreground emission from molecular clouds. These include the early-type stars HD 104237 (A4/5V, 116 pc) and HD 98922 (A2 III, 507 pc, as determined in this work), where our observations reveal the presence of CO-rich circumstellar disks for the first time. Of the other detected sources, many could harbor gaseous circumstellar disks, but our data are inconclusive. For these two newly discovered gas-rich disks, we present radiative transfer models that simultaneously reproduce their spectral energy distributions and the 12CO(3–2) line profiles. For both of these systems, the data are fit well by geometrically flat disks, placing them in the small class of non-flaring disks with significant molecular gas reservoirs.
Comparison of first-principles methods to extract magnetic parameters in ultrathin films: Co/Pt(111)

We compare three distinct computational approaches based on first-principles calculations within density functional theory to explore the magnetic exchange and the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions (DMI) of a Co monolayer on Pt(111), namely (i) the method of infinitesimal rotations of magnetic moments based on the Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker (KKR) Green function method, (ii) the generalized Bloch theorem applied to spiraling magnetic structures and (iii) supercell calculations with non-collinear magnetic moments, the latter two being based on the full-potential linearized augmented plane wave (FLAPW) method. In particular, we show that the magnetic interaction parameters entering micromagnetic models describing the long-wavelength deviations from the ferromagnetic state might be different from those calculated for fast rotating magnetic structures, as they are obtained by using (necessarily rather small) supercell or large spin-spiral wave-vectors. In the micromagnetic limit, which we motivate to use by an analysis of the Fourier components of the domain-wall profile, we obtain consistent results for the spin stiffness and DMI spiralization using methods (i) and (ii). The calculated spin stiffness and Curie temperature determined by subsequent Monte Carlo simulations are considerably higher than estimated from the bulk properties of Co, a consequence of a significantly increased nearest-neighbor exchange interaction in the Co-monolayer (+50%). The calculated results are carefully compared with the literature.
An Explicit Rate-Optimal Streaming Code for Channels with Burst and Arbitrary Erasures

In this paper, we consider transmitting a sequence of messages (a streaming source) over a packet erasure channel, where every source message must be recovered perfectly at the destination subject to a fixed decoding delay. Recently, the capacity of such a channel was established. However, the codes shown to achieve the capacity are either non-explicit constructions (proven to exist) or explicit constructions requiring large field size that scales exponentially with the delay. This work presents an explicit rate-optimal construction for all channel and delay parameters over a field size that scales only quadratically with the delay.
Properties of (Bi0.5Na0.5)TiO3–BaTiO3–(Bi0.5Na0.5)(Mn1/3Nb2/3)O3 Lead-Free Piezoelectric Ceramics and Its Application to Ultrasonic Cleaner

The lead-free piezoelectric ceramics 0.82(Bi0.5Na0.5)TiO3–0.15BaTiO3–0.03(Bi0.5Na0.5)(Mn1/3Nb2/3)O3 (abbreviated as BNT–BT–BNMN) was prepared by a conventional process of ceramic engineering. The X-ray diffractometer (XRD) analysis showed that all compositions could form a single perovskite phase. The ceramics showed excellent piezoelectric properties with a coupling factor kt=41%, a mechanical quality factor Qm=500, a piezoelectric constant d33=110 pC/N, a relative permittivity ε33T/ε0=520, a dissipation factor tan δ=0.66%, a Curie point Tc=260 °C, and a density ρ=5.5 g/cm3. The physical properties of the ceramics were superior to those of hard Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PZT). The high-power characteristics of the ceramics were superior to those of hard PZT. A cylinder sample of lead-free ceramics was used to fabricate a bolt-clamped Langevin transducer (BLT) for application in the ultrasonic cleaner. The vibration velocity of BLT using the ceramics was higher than that of hard PZT under the same input power. The cleaning effect of an ultrasonic cleaner using the BLTs was very high and sufficiently good for commercial application.
Impact of External Debt on Economic Growth in Nigeria: 1986-2019

The study examined the impact of external debts on economic growth in Nigeria between 1986 and 2019. The specific objectives of this study were to: examine the impact of external debt stock on economic growth in Nigeria; assess the impact of external debt servicing on economic growth in Nigeria and investigate the extent to which external debt interest has impacted on economic growth in Nigeria. It was discovered that debt is synonymous to underdevelopment, poverty, unemployment which has led to low living standard of the people and Nigeria’s huge debt stock has prevented it from embarking on higher domestic investment which would lead to higher growth and development which is a major problem to Nigeria. The findings shows that Nigeria’s economic growth has been adversely but significantly affected by rising external debt servicing and the study recommended that external debt should be effectively utilize for sustainable development and diversification of Nigeria’s economy will reduce the rate of external debt. The study adopted the ex-post facto research design being of secondary nature and was used to test the hypotheses. Descriptive Statistics, Unit Root Test, Co-integration, Auto-regressive Distributive Lag and Error Correction Mechanism estimates, were used to estimate and to test the impact of external debt on economic growth in Nigeria were demonstrated.
Improvisation through Physical Understanding: Using Novel Objects as Tools with Visual Foresight

Machine learning techniques have enabled robots to learn narrow, yet complex tasks and also perform broad, yet simple skills with a wide variety of objects. However, learning a model that can both perform complex tasks and generalize to previously unseen objects and goals remains a significant challenge. We study this challenge in the context of "improvisational" tool use: a robot is presented with novel objects and a user-specified goal (e.g., sweep some clutter into the dustpan), and must figure out, using only raw image observations, how to accomplish the goal using the available objects as tools. We approach this problem by training a model with both a visual and physical understanding of multi-object interactions, and develop a sampling-based optimizer that can leverage these interactions to accomplish tasks. We do so by combining diverse demonstration data with self-supervised interaction data, aiming to leverage the interaction data to build generalizable models and the demonstration data to guide the model-based RL planner to solve complex tasks. Our experiments show that our approach can solve a variety of complex tool use tasks from raw pixel inputs, outperforming both imitation learning and self-supervised learning individually. Furthermore, we show that the robot can perceive and use novel objects as tools, including objects that are not conventional tools, while also choosing dynamically to use or not use tools depending on whether or not they are required.
Gravitational waves from the phase transition of a nonlinearly realized electroweak gauge symmetry

Within the Standard Model with nonlinearly realized electroweak symmetry, the LHC Higgs boson may reside in a singlet representation of the gauge group. Several new interactions are then allowed, including anomalous Higgs self-couplings, which may drive the electroweak phase transition to be strongly first-order. In this paper, we investigate the cosmological electroweak phase transition in a simplified model with an anomalous Higgs cubic self-coupling. We look at the feasibility of detecting gravitational waves produced during such a transition in the early universe by future space-based experiments. We demonstrate an intriguing interplay between collider measurements of the Higgs self-coupling and these potential gravitational wave measurements. We find that for the range of relatively large cubic couplings, 111GeV ≲|κ|≲ 118GeV, ∼mHz frequency gravitational waves can be observed by eLISA, while BBO will potentially be able to detect waves in a wider frequency range, 0.1−10mHz.
Dark states of atomic ensembles

Ensemble of identical two level atoms in dark state neither adsorbs nor emits photons due to destructive interference. It can be used for the source of energy for nano-devices. In Tavis-Cummings cavity the change of light-atom coupling cannot destroy the dark state. We propose the method of dark states preparation based on photon pumping and drain from the optical cavity with two atoms, one from which has Stark or Zeeman splitting of energy levels. This splitting is removed before photon drain from the cavity. The dark state yield after one such cycle has the order of energy level splitting. We show the scheme of the experiment, in which such cycles repeat until the dark state is produced with high probability and the results of computer simulation.
Constraints on decaying early modified gravity from cosmological observations

Most of the information on our cosmos stems from either late-time observations or the imprint of early-time inhomogeneities on the cosmic microwave background. We explore to what extent early modifications of gravity, which become significant after recombination but then decay towards the present, can be constrained by current cosmological observations. For the evolution of the gravitational modification, we adopt the decaying mode of a hybrid-metric Palatini $f(\mathcal{R})$ gravity model which is designed to reproduce the standard cosmological background expansion history and due to the decay of the modification is naturally compatible with Solar-System tests. We embed the model in the effective field theory description of Horndeski scalar-tensor gravity with an early-time decoupling of the gravitational modification. Since the quasistatic approximation for the perturbations in the model breaks down at high redshifts, where modifications remain relevant, we introduce a computationally efficient correction to describe the evolution of the scalar field fluctuation in this regime. We compare the decaying early-time modification against geometric probes and recent Planck measurements and find no evidence for such effects in the observations. Current data constrains the scalar field value at $|f_{\mathcal{R}}(z=z_{\rm on})| \lesssim 10^{-2}$ for modifications introduced at redshifts $z_{\rm on}\sim(500-1000)$ with present-day value $|f_{\mathcal{R}0}|\lesssim10^{-8}$. Finally, we comment on constraints that will be achievable with future 21~cm surveys and gravitational wave experiments.