Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Further deep imaging of HR 7329 A (η Tel A) and its brown dwarf companion B

About 4 arcsec south of the young A0-type star HR 7329, a faint companion candidate was found by Lowrance et al. Its spectral type of M7-8 is consistent with a young brown dwarf companion. Here we report 10 new astrometric imaging observations of the pair HR 7329 A and B, obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope and the Very Large Telescope, aimed at showing a common proper motion with high significance and possible orbital motion of B around A. With 11 yr of epoch difference between the first and our last image, we can reject the possibility by more than 21σ that B would be a non-moving background object unrelated to A. We detect no change in position angle and small or no change in separation (2.91 ± 2.41 mas yr−1), so that the orbit of HR 7329 B around A is inclined and/or eccentric and/or the orbital motion is currently only in the radial direction. If HR 7329 B is responsible for the outer radius of the debris disc around HR 7329 A being 24 au, and if HR 7329 B currently is at its apastron at 200 au (4.2 arcsec at 47.7 pc), we determine its pericentre distance to be 71 au, its semimajor axis to be 136 au, and its eccentricity to be e = 0.47. From the magnitude differences between HR 7329 A and B and the 2MASS magnitudes for the HR 7329 A+B system, we can estimate the magnitudes of HR 7329 B (J = 12.06 ± 0.19, H = 11.75 ± 0.10, Ks = 11.6 ± 0.1, L = 11.1 ± 0.2 mag) and then, with a few otherwise known parameters, its luminosity and mass (20–50 Jupiter masses). In the deepest images available, we did not detect any additional companion candidates up to ≤9 arcsec, but we determined the upper limits in the planetary mass regime.
Polymicrobial Infections in the Immunocompromised Host: The COVID-19 Realm and Beyond

Immunosuppression changes both susceptibility to and presentation of infection. Infection with one pathogen can also alter host response to a different, unrelated pathogen. These interactions have been seen across multiple infection domains where bacteria, viruses or fungi act synergistically with a deleterious impact on the host. This phenomenon has been well described with bacterial and fungal infections complicating influenza and is of particular interest in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Modulation of the immune system is a crucial part of successful solid organ and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Herein, we present three cases of polymicrobial infection in transplant recipients. These case examples highlight complex host–pathogen interactions and the resultant clinical syndromes.
Effect of Lactobacteria on Bioactive Peptides and Their Sequence Identification in Mature Cheese

An in silico study that featured the effect of starter cultures on the bioactivity and other health benefits of peptides in semi-hard cheese is presented in this contribution. Model Caciotta-type cheese samples were obtained in laboratory conditions in two variations. Sample A included starter cultures of Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis and Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris. Sample B included starter cultures of Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis, Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris, and a culture of lactobacilli Lacticaseibacillus casei. The in silico method showed that the peptides inhibited angiotensin-converting enzymes (ACE) and ipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-4), as well as possessed antioxidant properties. Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis and Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris had a greater effect on the formation of bioactive peptides.
Interstellar Extinction from Large Surveys

Abstract Under some assumptions, information on interstellar extinction may be obtained from modern large photometric survey data. Virtual Observatory facilities allow users to make a fast and correct cross-identification of objects from various surveys. This process yields multicolor photometry data for registered objects and makes it possible to estimate color excesses and, with a few exceptions for some areas with high total-to-selective extinction ratio, calculate interstellar extinction. A 3D extinction map then can be constructed for almost the whole sky. The method is applied to an area with the low Galactic latitude, and the results are discussed in the present paper.
A Case Report of Persistent Postural-Perceptual Dizziness Treated with Korean Medicine

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to report the effectiveness of Korean medicine in the treatment of persistent postural-perceptual dizziness.Methods: A patient with dizziness was treated with Banhabackchulchunma-tang and Gongjin-dan herbal medicines. The severity of symptoms was assessed with a daily visual analog scale (VAS) for dizziness and the frequency of subjective trembling feelings (over 30 minutes). Results: After the treatment, the severity of dizziness was reduced from VAS 5 to VAS 2, and fatigue was improved from VAS 5 to VAS 1. The frequency of subjective trembling feelings was reduced from once every 3-4 days to once every 10 days. Other symptoms, such as dyspepsia, sleep disturbance, and hot flashes, also showed improvement.Conclusion: Treatment with Korean medicine may be an effective option for the treatment of persistent postural-perceptual dizziness.
Chemical Abundances in Giant Stars of the Tidally Disrupted Globular Cluster NGC 6712 from High-Resolution Infrared Spectroscopy

We present abundances of C, N, O, F, Na, and Fe in six giant stars of the tidally disrupted globular cluster NGC 6712. The abundances were derived by comparing synthetic spectra with high-resolution infrared spectra obtained with the Phoenix spectrograph on the Gemini South telescope. We find large star-to-star abundance variations of the elements C, N, O, F, and Na. NGC 6712 and M4 are the only globular clusters in which F has been measured in more than two stars, and both clusters reveal F abundance variations whose amplitude is comparable to or exceeds that of O, a pattern which may be produced in M≳ 5 M☉ AGB stars. Within the limited samples, the F abundance in globular clusters is lower than in field and bulge stars at the same metallicity. NGC 6712 and Pal 5 are tidally disrupted globular clusters whose red giant members exhibit O and Na abundance variations not seen in comparable metallicity field stars. Therefore, globular clusters such as NGC 6712 and Pal 5 cannot contribute many field stars and/or field stars do not form in environments with chemical enrichment histories like those of NGC 6712 and Pal 5. Although our sample size is small, from the amplitude of the O and Na abundance variations we infer a large initial cluster mass and tentatively confirm that NGC 6712 was once one of the most massive globular clusters in our Galaxy.
Electric field-induced magnetization switching in interface-coupled multiferroic heterostructures: a highly-dense, non-volatile, and ultra-low-energy computing paradigm

Electric field-induced magnetization switching in multiferroic magnetoelectric devices is promising for computing purposes in beyond Moore's law era. We show here that interface-coupled multiferroic heterostructures, i.e., a ferroelectric layer coupled with a ferromagnetic layer, are particularly suitable for highly-dense, non-volatile, and ultra-low-energy computing. By solving the stochastic Landau–Lifshitz–Gilbert equation of magnetization dynamics in the presence of room-temperature thermal fluctuations, we demonstrate that error-resilient switching of magnetization is possible with a sub-nanosecond delay while expending only a minuscule amount of energy, of ∼1 attojoule. Such devices can be operated by drawing energy from the environment without the need for an external battery.
Feedback-regulated supermassive black hole seed formation

The nature of the seeds of high-redshift supermassive black holes (SMBHs) is a key question in cosmology. Direct collapse black holes (DCBH) that form in pristine, atomic-line cooling halos, illuminated by a Lyman-Werner (LW) UV flux exceeding a critical threshold J_crit, represent an attractive possibility. We investigate when and where these conditions are met during cosmic evolution. For the LW intensity, J_LW, we account for departures from the background value in close proximity to star forming galaxies. For the pristine halo fraction, we account for both (i) supernova driven outflows, and (ii) the inherent pollution from progenitor halos. We estimate the abundance of DCBH formation sites, n_DCBH(z), and find that it increases with cosmic time from n_DCBH(z=20) ~ 1e-12 -1e-7 cMpc^-3 to n_DCBH(z=10) ~ 1e-10 - 1e-5 cMpc^-3. Our analysis shows the possible importance of galactic winds, which can suppress the predicted n_DCBH by several orders of magnitude, and cause DCBH formation to preferentially occur around the UV-brightest (M_UV ~ -22 to -20) star forming galaxies. Our analysis further highlights the dependence of these predictions on (i) the escape fraction of LW photons, (ii) J_crit, and (iii) the galactic outflow prescription.
Speed Tracking Control of High-Speed Train Based on Particle Swarm Optimization and Adaptive Linear Active Disturbance Rejection Control

This paper proposes a control scheme combining improved particle swarm optimization (IPSO) and adaptive linear active disturbance rejection control (ALADRC) to solve the high-speed train (HST) speed tracking control problem. Firstly, in order to meet the actual operation of a HST, a multi-mass point dynamic model with time-varying coefficients was established. Secondly, linear active disturbance rejection control (LADRC) was proposed to control the speed of the HST, and the anti-disturbance ability of the system was improved by estimating and compensating for the total disturbance suffered by the carriage during the operation of the HST. Meanwhile, to solve the problem of difficult parameter tuning of the LADRC, IPSO was introduced to optimize the parameters. Thirdly, the adaptive control (APC) was introduced to compensate for the observation error caused by the bandwidth limitation of the linear state expansion observer in LADRC and the tracking error caused by an unknown disturbance during the train’s operation. Additionally, the Lyapunov theory was used to prove the stability of the system. Finally, the simulation results showed that the designed control scheme is more effective in solving the problem of HST speed tracking.
The Reliability of Teacher Decision-Making in Recommending Accommodations for Large-Scale Tests. Technical Report # 08-01.

In this paper we review different methods for teachers to recommend accommodations in largescale tests. Then we present data on the stability of their judgments on variables relevant to this decision-making process. The outcomes from the judgments support the need for a more explicit model. Four general categories are presented: student proficiency, ease of completing various (test relevant) activities, benefit from the use of various accommodations, and provision of accommodations in the classroom. Both mean level of ratings and stability of ratings argue against continued use of informal systems. Reliability of Accommodations Decisions – Page
WATCHDOG: A COMPREHENSIVE ALL-SKY DATABASE OF GALACTIC BLACK HOLE X-RAY BINARIES

With the advent of more sensitive all-sky instruments, the transient universe is being probed in greater depth than ever before. Taking advantage of available resources, we have established a comprehensive database of black hole (and black hole candidate) X-ray binary (BHXB) activity between 1996 and 2015 as revealed by all-sky instruments, scanning surveys, and select narrow-field X-ray instruments on board the INTErnational Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory, Monitor of All-Sky X-ray Image, Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer, and Swift telescopes; the Whole-sky Alberta Time-resolved Comprehensive black-Hole Database Of the Galaxy or WATCHDOG. Over the past two decades, we have detected 132 transient outbursts, tracked and classified behavior occurring in 47 transient and 10 persistently accreting BHs, and performed a statistical study on a number of outburst properties across the Galactic population. We find that outbursts undergone by BHXBs that do not reach the thermally dominant accretion state make up a substantial fraction (∼40%) of the Galactic transient BHXB outburst sample over the past ∼20 years. Our findings suggest that this “hard-only” behavior, observed in transient and persistently accreting BHXBs, is neither a rare nor recent phenomenon and may be indicative of an underlying physical process, relatively common among binary BHs, involving the mass-transfer rate onto the BH remaining at a low level rather than increasing as the outburst evolves. We discuss how the larger number of these “hard-only” outbursts and detected outbursts in general have significant implications for both the luminosity function and mass-transfer history of the Galactic BHXB population.
zCOSMOS 20k: satellite galaxies are the main drivers of environmental effects in the galaxy population at least to z ∼ 0.7

We explore the role of environment in the evolution of galaxies over 0.1 <z <0.7 using the final zCOSMOS-bright data set. Using the red fraction of galaxies as a proxy for the quenched population, we find that the fraction of red galaxies increases with the environmental overdensity δ and with the stellar mass M*, consistent with previous works. As at lower redshift, the red fraction appears to be separable in mass and environment, suggesting the action of two processes: mass ɛm(M*) and environmental ɛρ(δ) quenching. The parameters describing these appear to be essentially the same at z ˜ 0.7 as locally. We explore the relation between red fraction, mass and environment also for the central and satellite galaxies separately, paying close attention to the effects of impurities in the central-satellite classification and using carefully constructed samples well matched in stellar mass. There is little evidence for a dependence of the red fraction of centrals on overdensity. Satellites are consistently redder at all overdensities, and the satellite quenching efficiency, ɛsat(δ, M*), increases with overdensity at 0.1 <z <0.4. This is less marked at higher redshift, but both are nevertheless consistent with the equivalent local measurements. At a given stellar mass, the fraction of galaxies that are satellites, fsat(δ, M*), also increases with overdensity. The obtained ɛρ(δ)/fsat(δ, M*) agrees well with ɛsat(δ, M*), demonstrating that the environmental quenching in the overall population is consistent with being entirely produced by a satellite quenching process at least up to z = 0.7. However, despite the unprecedented size of our high-redshift samples, the associated statistical uncertainties are still significant and our statements should be understood as approximations to physical reality, rather than physically exact formulae.
Polymer induced phase coexistence in systems of lamellar phases

The effect of adding nonadsorbing polymer to a lamellar phase of surfactant bilayers is studied theoretically. We find that the polymer produces coexistence between two lamellar phases of different layer spacings. The coexistence region is a closed loop, as in the experiments of Ficheux et al. [J. de Physique II 5 823 (1995)]. Within our model the coexistence is driven by depletion.
Green Extraction of Forsythoside A, Phillyrin and Phillygenol from Forsythia suspensa Leaves Using a β-Cyclodextrin-Assisted Method

In this study, a green process of β-cyclodextrin (β-CD)-assisted extraction of active ingredients from Forsythia suspensa leaves was developed. Firstly, the optimal process of extraction was as follows: the ratio between Forsythia suspensa leaves and β-CD was 3.61:5, the solid–liquid ratio was 1:36.3, the temperature was 75.25 °C and the pH was 3.94. The yields of forsythoside A, phillyrin and phillygenol were 11.80 ± 0.141%, 5.49 ± 0.078% and 0.319 ± 0.004%, respectively. Then, the structure characteristics of the β-CD-assisted extract of Forsythia suspensa leaves (FSE-β-CD) were analyzed using powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and molecular docking to demonstrate that the natural active products from Forsythia suspensa leaves had significant interactions with the β-CD. Additionally, the loss of forsythoside A from aqueous FSE-CD at 80 °C was only 12%, compared with Forsythia suspensa leaf extract (FSE) which decreased by 13%. In addition, the aqueous solubility of FSE-CD was significantly increased to 70.2 g/L. The EC50 for scavenging DPPH and ABTS radicals decreased to 28.98 ug/mL and 25.54 ug/mL, respectively. The results showed that the β-CD-assisted extraction process would be a promising technology for bioactive compounds extracted from plants.
Lyso-DGTS Lipid Derivatives Enhance PON1 Activities and Prevent Oxidation of LDL: A Structure–Activity Relationship Study

Paraoxonase 1 (PON1) plays a role in regulating reverse cholesterol transport and has antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, antiapoptotic, vasodilative, and antithrombotic activities. Scientists are currently focused on the modulation of PON1 expression using different pharmacological, nutritional, and lifestyle approaches. We previously isolated a novel active compound from Nannochloropsis microalgae—lyso-diacylglyceryltrimethylhomoserine (lyso-DGTS)—which increased PON1 activity, HDL-cholesterol efflux, and endothelial nitric oxide release. Here, to explore this important lipid moiety’s effect on PON1 activities, we examined the effect of synthesized lipid derivatives and endogenous analogs of lyso-DGTS on PON1 lactonase and arylesterase activities and LDL oxidation using structure–activity relationship (SAR) methods. Six lipids significantly elevated recombinant PON1 (rePON1) lactonase activity in a dose-dependent manner, and four lipids significantly increased rePON1 arylesterase activity. Using tryptophan fluorescence-quenching assay and a molecular docking method, lipid–PON1 interactions were characterized. An inverse correlation was obtained between the lactonase activity of PON1 and the docking energy of the lipid–PON1 complex. Furthermore, five of the lipids increased the LDL oxidation lag time and inhibited its propagation. Our findings suggest a beneficial effect of lyso-DGTS or lyso-DGTS derivatives through increased PON1 activity and prevention of LDL oxidation.
Mass-Loss Timescale of Star Clusters in an External Tidal Field. II. Effect of Mass Profile of Parent Galaxy

We investigate the long-term dynamical evolution of star clusters in a steady tidal field produced by its parent galaxy. In this paper, we focus on the influence of mass profile of the parent galaxy. The previous studies were done with the simplification where the parent galaxy was expressed by point mass. We express different mass profiles of the parent galaxy by the tidal fields in which the ratios of the epicyclic frequency to the angular velocity are different. We compare the mass-loss timescale of star clusters whose tidal radii are identical but in parent galaxies with different mass profile, by means of orbits calculations in fixed cluster potential and N-body simulations. In this situation, a cluster rotates around the parent galaxy more rapidly as the parent galaxy has shallower mass profile. We found that the mass-loss timescale increase 20% and 50% for the cases that the mass density profile of the parent galaxies are proportional to R^-2 and R^-1.5 where R is the distance from the galaxy center, compared to the point-mass case, in moderately strong tidal field. Counterintuitively, a cluster which rotates around the parent galaxy more rapidly has a longer lifetime. The increase of lifetime is due to the fact that the fraction occupied by regular-like orbit increases in shallower profile. Finally, we derive an evaluation formula for the mass-loss timescale of clusters. Our formula can explain a property of the population of the observed galactic globular clusters that their half-mass radii become smaller as their distances from the galactic center become smaller.
Dialogical identities in students from cultural minorities or students categorised as presenting SEN: How do they shape learning, namely in mathematics?

Assuming an historically-culturally situated approach of the learning process in which the curriculum and collaborative work can be used as mediational tools, we aimed at discussing the (re)construction of dialogical identities in students from minority cultures and to understand how they shape learning, namely in mathematics. From a 12 years research project Interaction and Knowledge we chose a paradigmatic case, from level 2 (action-research). The analysis of this case illuminates the role of the didactic contract, collaborative work and the relational interplay in the (re)construction of dialogical identities. The analysis of some episodes of peer interactions, taped within mathematics classes, and of some of the accounts collected in students' interviews, namely during the follow up, illuminates the appropriation of mathematical knowledge and how this process is connected with changes in the diverse I-positioning of the dialogical identities.
Expression of Mutant Glycine Receptors in Xenopus Oocytes Using Canonical and Non-Canonical Amino Acids Reveals Distinct Roles of Conserved Proline Residues

Pentameric ligand-gated ion channels (pLGIC) play important roles in fast neuronal signal transmission. Functional receptors are pentamers, with each subunit having an extracellular domain (ECD), a transmembrane domain (TMD) and an intracellular domain. The binding of the agonist to the ECD induces a structural change that is transduced to the TMD to open the channel. Molecular details of this process are emerging, but a comprehensive understanding is still lacking. Proline (Pro) is one amino acid that has attracted much interest; its unusual features generate bends in loops and kinks and bulges in helices, which can be essential for function in some pLGICs. Here, we explore the roles of four conserved Pros in the glycine receptor (GlyR), creating substitutions with canonical and noncanonical amino acids, characterizing them using two electrode voltage clamp electrophysiology in Xenopus oocytes, and interpreting changes in receptor parameters using structural data from the open and closed states of the receptor. The data reveal that for efficient function, the Pro in the α1β1 loop is needed to create a turn and to be the correct size and shape to interact with nearby residues; the peptide bond of the Pro in the Cys-loop requires the cis conformation; and the Pros in loop A and M1 allow efficient function because of their reduced hydrogen bonding capacity. These data are broadly consistent with data from other pLGICs, and therefore likely represent the important features of these Pros in all members of the family.
Observables for Brownian motion on manifolds

We study the geometrical influence on the Brownian motion over curved manifolds. We focus on the following intriguing question: what observables are appropriated to measure Brownian motion in curved manifolds? In particular, for those d-dimensional manifolds embedded in $\mathbb{R}^{d+1}$ we define three quantities for the displacement's notion, namely, the geodesic displacement, $s$, the Euclidean displacement, $\deltaR$, and the projected Euclidean displacement $\deltaR_{\perp}$. In addition, we exploit the Weingarten-Gauss equations in order to calculate the mean-square Euclidean displacement's in the short-time regime. Besides, it is possible to prove exact formulas for these expectation values, at all times, in spheres and minimal hypersurfaces. In the latter case, Brownian motion corresponds to the typical diffusion in flat geometries, albeit minimal hypersurfaces are not intrinsically flat. Finally, the two-dimensional case is emphasized since its relation to the lateral diffusion in biological membranes.