Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
EXCLUSION OF COSMIC RAYS IN PROTOPLANETARY DISKS: STELLAR AND MAGNETIC EFFECTS

Cosmic rays (CRs) are thought to provide an important source of ionization in the outermost and densest regions of protoplanetary disks; however, it is unknown to what degree they are physically present. As is observed in the solar system, stellar winds can inhibit the propagation of CRs within the circumstellar environment and subsequently into the disk. In this work, we explore the hitherto neglected effects of CR modulation by both stellar winds and magnetic field structures and study how these processes act to reduce disk ionization rates. We construct a two-dimensional protoplanetary disk model of a T-Tauri star system, focusing on ionization from stellar and interstellar FUV, stellar X-ray photons, and CRs. We show that stellar winds can power a heliosphere-like analog, i.e., a “T-Tauriosphere,” diminishing CR ionization rates by several orders of magnitude at low to moderate CR energies (ECR ⩽ 1 GeV). We explore models of both the observed solar wind CR modulation and a highly simplified estimate for “elevated” CR modulation as would be expected from a young T-Tauri star. In the former (solar analog) case, we estimate the ionization rate from galactic CRs to be ζCR ∼ (0.23–1.4) × 10−18 s−1. This range of values, which we consider to be the maximum CR ionization rate for the disk, is more than an order of magnitude lower than what is generally assumed in current models for disk chemistry and physics. In the latter elevated case, i.e., for a “T-Tauriosphere,” the ionization rate by CRs is ζCR ≲ 10−20 s−1, which is 1000 times smaller than the interstellar value. We discuss the implications of a diminished CR ionization rate on the gas physics by estimating the size of the resulting magnetorotational instability dead zones. Indeed, if winds are as efficient at CR modulation as predicted here, short-lived radionuclides (now extinct) would have provided the major source of ionization (ζRN ∼ 7.3 × 10−19 s−1) in the planet-forming zone of the young solar nebula.
Solar system and small-field astrometry

Astrometric issues for solar system studies are discussed. An overview gives references and cover all aspects of the solar system where astrometry is important: orbits of planets, moons, asteroids and NEOs, masses of asteroids, occultations of asteroids and KBOs, and families of asteroids and KBOs. The roles of astrometry from the ground, from Gaia and from a Gaia successor are discussed, but not small-field astrometry from space. It appears from work with CCD cameras at the 1.55 m astrometric reflector in Flagstaff that an accuracy of 1 mas is the best possible from the ground during one night observing when using ordinary telescopes, i.e. without wave-front correctors, and for field sizes larger than 2 arcmin. It has been seen that the same accuracies can be reached with the much larger 4-m class telescope on Hawaii although it is not specifically designed for astrometry. The accuracy of 1 mas from the ground refers mainly to non-moving point sources, but it is expected that 1 mas can be reached from the ground for solar system bodies from many nights of observations when phase effects are taken into account.
A study of performance of Longest Common Subsequence identification with sequence identity of biosequences

Searching for clue to the result with biosequences is an important area of research for computational scientists in bioinformatics. The sequences are longer and demand more and more computational power in order that the result yields benefits to the society. More often the computational results are used in obtaining quick clue to the expected results of lengthy laboratory process. The identity and similarity between sequences provide the basic clue and guidance as to how to progress with work. This paper analyses SRLCS algorithm with the tools like CLUSTAL-W, and MUSCLE in identifying Longest Common Subsequence (LCS) with reference to identity between the bio sequences.
Numerical evaluation of AC losses in an HTS insert coil for high field magnet during its energization

AC losses in a high temperature superconducting (HTS) insert coil for a 25-T cryogen-free superconducting magnet are numerically calculated during its energization, assuming slab approximation. The HTS insert coil consists of 68 single pancakes wound with coated conductors and generating a central magnetic field of 11.5 T, in addition to a contribution of 14.0 T from a set of low temperature superconducting (LTS) outsert coils. Both the HTS and LTS coils are cooled using cryocoolers, and energized simultaneously up to 25.5 T with a constant ramp rate for 60 min. The influences of the magnitudes and orientations of the locally applied magnetic fields, magnetic interactions between turns, and the transport currents flowing in the windings are taken into account in the AC loss calculations. The locally applied fields are separated into axial and radial components, and the individual contributions of these field components to the AC losses are summed simply to obtain the total losses. The contribution of the axial field component to the total AC loss is large at the early stages of the energization, whereas the total losses monotonically increase with time after the contribution of the radial field component becomes sufficiently large.
Interactions between supervised and reinforcement learning processes in a neurorobotic model

Several influential works propose that the acquisition of motor behavior involves different learning mechanisms in the brain, in particular supervised and reinforcement learning, that are respectively associated with cerebellar-thalamocortical and basal ganglia-thalamocortical networks. Despite increasing evidence suggesting anatomical and functional interactions between these circuits, the learning processes operating within them are studied in isolation, neglecting their strong interdependence. This article proposes a bio-inspired neurorobotic model implementing a possible cooperation mechanism between supervised and reinforcement learning. The model, validated with empirical data from healthy participants and patients with cerebellar ataxia, shows how the integration of the two learning processes could lead to benefit both learning performance and movement accuracy.
Imaging crossing fibers in mouse, pig, monkey, and human brain using small-angle X-ray scattering

Myelinated axons (nerve fibers) efficiently transmit signals throughout the brain via action potentials. Multiple methods that are sensitive to axon orientations, from microscopy to magnetic resonance imaging, aim to reconstruct the brain’s structural connectome. As billions of nerve fibers traverse the brain with various possible geometries at each point, resolving fiber crossings is necessary to generate accurate structural connectivity maps. However, doing so with specificity is a challenging task because signals originating from oriented fibers can be influenced by brain (micro)structures unrelated to myelinated axons. X-ray scattering can specifically probe myelinated axons due to the periodicity of the myelin sheath, which yields distinct peaks in the scattering pattern. Here, we show that small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) can be used to detect myelinated, axon-specific fiber crossings. We first demonstrate the capability using strips of human corpus callosum to create artificial double- and triple-crossing fiber geometries, and we then apply the method in mouse, pig, vervet monkey, and human brains. Given its specificity, capability of 3-dimensional sampling and high resolution, SAXS can serve as a ground truth for validating MRI as well as microscopy-based methods. Statement of Significance To study how the nerve fibers in our brain are interconnected, scientists need to visualize their trajectories, which often cross one another. Here, we show the unique capacity of small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) to study these fiber crossings without use of labelling, taking advantage of SAXS’s specificity to myelin - the insulating sheath that is wrapped around nerve fibers. We use SAXS to detect double and triple crossing fibers and unveil intricate crossings in mouse, pig, vervet monkey, and human brains. This non-destructive method can uncover complex fiber trajectories and validate other less specific imaging methods (e.g., MRI or microscopy), towards accurate mapping of neuronal connectivity in the animal and human brain. Graphical Abstract
Forming different planetary systems

With the increasing number of detected exoplanet samples, the statistical properties of planetary systems have become much clearer. In this review, we summarize the major statistical results that have been revealed mainly by radial velocity and transiting observations, and try to interpret them within the scope of the classical core-accretion scenario of planet formation, especially in the formation of different orbital architectures for planetary systems around main sequence stars. Based on the different possible formation routes for different planet systems, we tentatively classify them into three major catalogs: hot Jupiter systems, standard systems and distant giant planet systems. The standard system can be further categorized into three sub-types under different circumstances: solar-like systems, hot Super-Earth systems, and subgiant planet systems. We also review the theory of planet detection and formation in binary systems as well as planets in star clusters.
LATE-TIME OBSERVATIONS OF GRB 080319B: JET BREAK, HOST GALAXY, AND ACCOMPANYING SUPERNOVA

The Swift-discovered GRB 080319B was by far the most distant source ever observed at naked-eye brightness, reaching a peak apparent magnitude of 5.3 at a redshift of z = 0.937. We present our late-time optical (Hubble Space Telescope, Gemini, and Very Large Telescope) and X-ray (Chandra) observations, which confirm that an achromatic break occurred in the power-law afterglow light curve at ∼11 days post-burst. This most likely indicates that the gamma-ray burst (GRB) outflow was collimated, which for a uniform jet would imply a total energy in the jet Ejet ≳ 1052 erg. Our observations also show a late-time excess of red light, which is well explained if the GRB was accompanied by a supernova (SN), similar to those seen in some other long-duration GRBs. The latest observations are dominated by light from the host and show that the GRB took place in a faint dwarf galaxy (r(AB) ≈ 27.0, rest frame MB ≈ −17.2). This galaxy is small even by the standards of other GRB hosts, which is suggestive of a low-metallicity environment. Intriguingly, the properties of this extreme event—a small host and bright SN—are entirely typical of the very low luminosity bursts such as GRB 980425 and GRB 060218.
Biophysical analysis of Gaussia Luciferase bioluminescence mechanisms using a non-oxidizable coelenterazine

Gaussia luciferase (GLuc 18.2kDa; 168 residues) is a marine copepod luciferase that emits a bright blue light when oxidizing coelenterazine (CTZ). It is a helical protein where two homologous sequential repeats form two anti-parallel bundles, each made of four helices. We previously identified a hydrophobic cavity as a prime candidate for the catalytic site, but Gluc’s fast bioluminescence reaction hampered a detailed analysis. Here, we used azacoelenterazine, a non-oxidizable coelenterazine analog, as a probe to investigate its binding mode to GLuc. Interestingly, the biochemical studies of GLuc inhibition by azacoelenterazine also led us to find that salt, and monovalent anions, are required for GLuc’s bioluminescence, which seems reasonable for a sea-dwelling creature. The NMR-based investigation, using chemical shift perturbations monitored by 15NH-HSQC, suggested that CTZ binds to residue in or near the hydrophobic cavity. Of note is that these NMR data are in line with a recent structural prediction of GLuc, hypothesizing that large structural changes occur in regions remote from the hydrophobic cavity upon the addition of CTZ. Interestingly, these results point toward a unique mode of catalysis to achieve CTZ oxidative decarboxylation.
Prior unsupervised experience leads to long lasting effects in sensory gating during discrimination learning

As the animal moves in its environment, the brain detects and learns the structure of the surrounding stimuli, independently of the immediate relevance this has for the animal. This experience influences subsequent learning in a manner quantified using paradigms such as latent inhibition or stimulus preconditioning, which measure the effect that unsupervised (not-reinforced) learning has on subsequent reinforced learning. Despite our understanding of the behavioural consequences of prior neutral experience, there is little understanding about the influence of this previous experience on neuronal plasticity. Using latent inhibition, we have shown in mice that learning a two tone discrimination is slower in mice that have had previous neutral exposure to the same or similar tones (<2/3 octave away). Neutral exposure thus elicits profound changes in the brain that influence subsequent learning. To study how previous experience influences experience-dependent plasticity, and better understand the interactions between experience, learning, and plasticity, we recorded sound evoked responses in the auditory cortex of exposed and trained mice. We studied both changes in response magnitude and changes in sensory dynamics, and related both to the differential behavioral effects of different pre-exposure conditions. Here we describe the neuronal changes that paralleled the behavioral findings. We found that discrimination learning led to stronger initial sound-evoked responses and a long-lasting increase in response adaptation and an increase. The first effect was delayed in animals that showed latent inhibition, paralleling behavioural learning. Overall our data reveal that slow changes in behaviour that accompanied learning, paralleled the slow dynamics of experience-dependent plasticity in auditory cortex.
The black goby Gobius niger Linnaeus, 1758 in the Marchica lagoon (Alboran Sea, Morocco): Spatial-temporal distribution and its environmental drivers, and the site-related footprint

Fishes belonging to Gobiidae are well represented in the Marchica lagoon on the Moroccan Mediterranean coast, both in terms of species richness and abundance, with the black goby, Gobius niger Linnaeus, 1758, being the dominant species. The present study aims to examine (1) the spatial and temporal distribution of Gobius niger and its environmental drivers in the lagoon and (2) the potential lagoon-related footprint using morphometric, genetic and parasitological proxies. Systematic monthly sampling covering the whole lagoon basin performed between October 2015 and September 2016 revealed year-long presence of G. niger throughout the lagoon with significantly low densities in winter. The higher abundances were recorded in the shallow bottoms of the lagoon inner margins on a variety of substrates (mud, muddy-sand, sandy-mud and fine sand) mostly covered by macroalgae and/or seagrass meadows. Depth, that has to be seen as a variable that acts in concert with other factors such as temperature, vegetation cover and sediment as the Mean Grain Size, seems to be the most important predictor, explaining the distribution of G. niger in the lagoon, with a trend of increasing abundance towards shallower stations. Comparison of black goby populations from the Marchica lagoon with their counterparts from the adjacent Mediterranean coast of Morocco revealed that specimens caught at sea are of a bigger size compared to the lagoon population. Of the 180 gobies investigated, not a single one hosted the parasites we targeted in the parasitological approach, monogenean flatworms. The absence of population structuring, low genetic diversity and presence of common haplotypes indicate no apparent restriction in the gene flow between the two populations. Therefore, the observed morphometric differences seem to be due to the external environmental conditions rather than genetic differences. Gobius niger plays a key eco-trophic role by providing a link between benthic invertebrates and large predators. The shallow beds of the lagoon, where the species is abundant, are key habitats in the Marchica lagoon and need to be considered in all management plans aiming at the conservation of biodiversity and ecological processes.
Human HelQ and DNA polymerase δ interact to halt DNA synthesis and stimulate DNA single-strand annealing

DNA strand breaks can be repaired by base-pairing with unbroken homologous DNA, forming a template for new DNA synthesis that patches over the break site. In eukaryotes multiple DNA break repair pathways utilize DNA polymerase δ (Pol δ) to synthesise new DNA from the available 3’OH at the strand break. Here we show that DNA synthesis by human Pol δ is halted by the HelQ DNA repair protein directly targeting isolated Pol δ or Pol δ in complex with PCNA and RPA. The mechanism is independent of DNA binding by HelQ or Pol δ, maps to a region of HelQ that also modulates RPA, and requires multiple Pol δ subunits. Interaction of HelQ with the POLD3 subunit of Pol δ stimulated DNA single-strand annealing activity of HelQ. The data implicates HelQ in preventing genetic instability by restraining DNA synthesis in multiple DNA break repair pathways.
Who Likes Unhealthy Food with a Strong Flavour? Influence of Sex, Age, Body Mass Index, Smoking and Olfactory Efficiency on Junk Food Preferences

Background. Unhealthy food is an important element in the development of diseases of civilisation. The aim of this study was to determine how sex, age, body mass index, smoking and olfactory efficiency influence the consumption of such foods. Methods. A total of 283 people living in the Silesian Voivodeship in Poland took part in the study. They were aged 18–82. An interview and olfactory tests were conducted together with assessments of food preferences from 25 types of food products. The extent to which sex, age, body mass index, tobacco addiction and sense of smell influence unhealthy food consumption was assessed. Results. Using the VARIMAX factor analysis, a coherent group of ‘unhealthy food with a strong flavour’ products was selected: crisps, salty snacks, fast food, sugary carbonated drinks and sour products. Unhealthy food was liked more by people who were younger (B = −0.04; PU = −0.05, −0.03; t = −7.43, eta2 = 0.17; p < 0.001) and who had a higher BMI (B = 0.03; PU ≤ 0.01, 0.06; t = 1.92, eta2 = 0.01; p = 0.056). The efficiency of the sense of smell does not play a significant role in the preference for the ‘unhealthy food’ group as a whole. The analysis of each type of unhealthy food separately showed that young people liked crisps, salty snacks, fast food and sugary carbonated drinks more, men liked fast food and sugary carbonated drinks more than women, and people with a good sense of smell liked sour products. Conclusion. According to the food preferences stated, dietary education should be targeted at young people, especially young men, to prevent the development of overweight and obesity.
The EPR paradox, Bell’s inequality, and the question of locality

Most physicists agree that the Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen–Bell paradox exemplifies much of the strange behavior of quantum mechanics, but argument persists about what assumptions underlie the paradox. To clarify what the debate is about, we employ a simple and well-known thought experiment involving two correlated photons to help us focus on the logical assumptions needed to construct the EPR and Bell arguments. The view presented in this paper is that the minimal assumptions behind Bell’s inequality are locality and counterfactual definiteness but not scientific realism, determinism, or hidden variables as are often suggested. We further examine the resulting constraints on physical theory with an illustration from the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics—an interpretation that we argue is deterministic, local, and realist but that nonetheless violates the Bell inequality.
Analytical Calculation on Critical Magnetic Field in Holographic Superconductors with Backreaction

We investigate the effect of spacetime backreaction on the upper critical magnetic field for s-wave holographic superconductors by using the matching method. The backreaction of the constant external magnetic field and the electric field to the background geometry leads to a dyonic black hole solution. The magnetic fields as well as the electric fields acting as gravitational sources tend to depress the critical temperature of the superconductor. We derive the analytical expression for the upper critical magnetic field up to O(kappa(2)) order and find that backreaction makes the upper critical magnetic field stronger. The result is consistent with the previous numerical and analytical results.
Consonant production control in a computational model of hyper & hypo theory (C2H)

According to speech production theories such as Lind-blom’s Hyper&Hypo theory [1], the goal of human speech com-munication is to transfer information from the talker to the lis-tener minimising the effort and maximising the effectiveness. In order to achieve this, humans adjust their speech production according to the context in which they are speaking, paying par-ticular attention to the listener’s needs [2]. Energy distribution and organisation also play a crucial role in modelling these adjustments, especially to increase intelligibility in noise [3]. The experiment described here represents a natural exten-sion our previous work [4], in which it is hypothesised that there are low-energy attractors in the human speech production sys-tem and, moreover, that an interpolation/extrapolation along the key dimension of hypo/hyper-articulation can be obtained by controlling the distance to such an attractor. Low-energy attractor refers to an acoustic conﬁguration towards which human speech production tends to converge when hypo-articulated. The effort in the articulatory movements needed to pronounce different phones is reduced and a common acoustic realisation might be observed. This hypothesis was tested by reduc-ing/increasing the acoustic distance between the standard vow-els and the mid-central vowel produced by a HMM-based synthesiser with a scalable adaptation of the statistical models. The same framework is used here to control consonant production and an evaluation of intelligibility for the transformed speech is shown. In the consonant domain, a unique low-energy attractor cannot be identiﬁed so easily as in the vowel domain, thus a more sophisticated concept of low-energy attractor is in-troduced. If the low-energy conﬁguration of a