Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
THE OPTICAL LUMINOSITY FUNCTION OF VOID GALAXIES IN THE SDSS AND ALFALFA SURVEYS

We measure the r-band galaxy luminosity function (LF) across environments over the redshift range 0 < z < 0.107 using the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). We divide our sample into galaxies residing in large-scale voids (void galaxies) and those residing in denser regions (wall galaxies). The best-fitting Schechter parameters for void galaxies are log Φ * = − 3.40 ± 0.03 ? > log(Mpc−3), M * ? > = −19.88 ± 0.05, and α = −1.20 ± 0.02. For wall galaxies, the best-fitting parameters are log Φ * = − 2.86 ± 0.02 ? > log(Mpc−3), M * ? > = −20.80 ± 0.03, and α = −1.16 ± 0.01. We find a shift in the characteristic magnitude, M * ? > , toward fainter magnitudes for void galaxies and find no significant difference between the faint-end slopes of the void and wall galaxy LFs. We investigate how low-surface-brightness selection effects can affect the galaxy LF. To attempt to examine a sample of galaxies that is relatively free of surface-brightness selection effects, we compute the optical galaxy LF of galaxies detected by the blind H i survey Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA (ALFALFA). We find that the global LF of the ALFALFA sample is not well fit by a Schechter function because of the presence of a wide dip in the LF around Mr = −18 and an upturn at fainter magnitudes (α ∼ −1.47). We compare the H i selected r-band LF to various LFs of optically selected populations to determine where the H i selected optical LF obtains its shape. We find that sample selection plays a large role in determining the shape of the LF.
Optomechanical entanglement in the presence of laser phase noise

We study the simplest optomechanical system in the presence of laser phase noise (LPN) using the covariance matrix formalism. We show that for any LPN model with a finite correlation time, the destructive effect of the phase noise is especially strong in the bistable regime. This explains why ground-state cooling is still possible in the presence of phase noise, as it happens far away from the bistable regime. We also show that the optomechanical entanglement is strongly affected by phase noise.
Thermal hyperconductivity: Radiative energy transport in hyperbolic media

We develop a theoretical description of radiative thermal conductivity in hyperbolic metamaterials. We demonstrate a dramatic enhancement of the radiative thermal transport due to the super-singularity of the photonic density of states in hyperbolic media, leading to the radiative heat conductivity which can be comparable to the non-radiative contribution.
The Diversity of Fungi Involved in Damage to Japanese Quince

In recent years, Japanese quince (Chaenomeles japonica) plantations in Latvia have increased. Interest in breeding Japanese quince is also known in other European countries and Russia. The occurrence and harmfulness of fungal diseases have become increasingly significant. However, there is a lack of overall information in the literature about the diversity of fungi afflicting C. japonica. In our study, we aimed to determine the diversity of fungi associated with C. japonica in Latvia, with the possibility of identifying the fungi that are most characteristically associated with certain parts of the plant. Our research was conducted from 2017 to 2019 in eight Japanese quince plantations in Latvia. Samples of plant parts with disease symptoms were collected. Pure cultures of fungi were obtained and identified using ITS region sequencing. We determined the relative density of identified genera of fungi, which were grouped using hierarchical cluster analysis depending on the plant part from which they were found. Various disease-like symptoms were observed and described. A total of 538 isolates of fungi were obtained that belong to 36 genera and represent different ecological niches. Fusarium, Alternaria, Botrytis, and Sarocladium were the genera most frequently found during our study. The number of identified cases of fungal genera differed depending on the part of the plant from which the fungi were obtained. However, it is not possible to relate a specific genus of fungus to only one certain part of a plant. Further research is needed to clarify the pathogenicity of detected fungi and the composition of species in the detected genera of fungi.
Many-body localization and thermalization in disordered Hubbard chains

We study the many-body localization transition in one-dimensional Hubbard chains using exact diagonalization and quantum chaos indicators. We also study dynamics in the delocalized (ergodic) and localized phases and discuss thermalization and eigenstate thermalization, or the lack thereof, in such systems. Consistently within the indicators and observables studied, we find that ergodicity is very robust against disorder, namely, even in the presence of weak Hubbard interactions the disorder strength needed for the system to localize is large. We show that this robustness might be hidden by finite size effects in experiments with ultracold fermions.
High-order dispersion effects in two-photon interference

Two-photon interference and Hong-Ou-Mandel (HOM) effect are relevant tools for quantum metrology and quantum information processing. In optical coherence tomography, HOM effect is exploited to achieve high-resolution measurements with the width of the HOM dip being the main parameter. On the other hand, applications like dense coding require high-visibility performances. Here we address high-order dispersion effects in two-photon interference and study, theoretically and experimentally, the dependence of the visibility and the width of the HOM dip on both the pump spectrum and the downconverted photon spectrum. In particular, a spatial light modulator is exploited to experimentally introduce and manipulate a custom phase function to simulate the high-order dispersion effects.
Decoherence in quantum walks and quantum computers

Decoherence is the major stumbling block in the realization of a large-scale quantum computer. Ingenious methods have been devised to overcome decoherence, but their success has been proven only for over-simplified models of system-environment interaction. Whether such methods will be reliable in the face of more realistic models is a fundamental open question. In this partly pedagogical article, we study two toy models of quantum information processing, using the language of quantum walks. Decoherence is incorporated in three ways — by coupling to a noisy “projective measurement” system, and by coupling to oscillator and spin baths.PACS Nos.: 03.65. Yz, 03.67. Lx
The Influence of Trustworthiness and Technology Acceptance Factors on the Usage of e-Government Services during COVID-19: A Case Study of Post COVID-19 Greece

The COVID-19 pandemic imposed challenges and offered opportunities, which were recognized and assessed in developed countries. In many cases though, the lack of systematic preparation for the required digital transformation resulted in confusion and discomfort in citizens’ lives, where the imposition of nonphysical contact excluded a large part of the population from basic needs and rights. This article investigates the influence of trustworthiness and technology acceptance factors on the usage of e-government services during the pandemic, and proposes a model that integrates factors adapted from the TAM model (social influence, performance expectancy and effort expectancy) with trust in e-government, a factor influenced by trust in government, trust in the internet, security and privacy, to predict e-government usage. To test the model, a survey was conducted using a 38-question questionnaire we designed, with a total sample size of 301 Greek citizens. The model was confirmed using the structural equation modeling (SEM) approach with maximum-likelihood estimates. Results indicate that all aspects in this study related to trustworthiness and user acceptance can be predictive factors of citizens’ usage of e-government services during periods of uncertainty and high risk, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
User Perception of the Ease and Suitability of Damarjati Application

Damarjati is a Java-language web application developed for the growth of local content learning based on Higher-Order Thinking Skills. This study analyzes the user’s perception of the ease of operating this application. The respondents of this study were high school students in Central Java Province. The Borg and Gall development model was used in this research. The research data were the perceptions of high school students in Central Java Province, collected using a questionnaire via a google form. Classification of data and numerical analysis were done using the percentage technique. The results showed that 406 (90%) students found the application very easy to use, 412 (91%) found it easy to learn the materials, 434 (96%) stated that it contains appropriate material, 419 (93%) found it suitable for measuring competence, and 397 (88%) found that the application usage guide was clear. Based on the results, it was concluded that the percentage of user perceptions of the ease of Damarjati application as well as the suitability of the material was very high (89.7% and 94.5%, respectively). Keywords: user perception, convenience, suitability, Damarjati applicationIntroduction
Tag and correct: high precision post-editing approach to correction of speech recognition errors

This paper presents a new approach to the problem of correcting speech recognition errors by means of post-editing. It consists of using a neural sequence tagger that learns how to correct an ASR (Automatic Speech Recognition) hypothesis word by word and a corrector module that applies corrections returned by the tagger. The proposed solution is applicable to any ASR system, regardless of its architecture, and provides high-precision control over errors being corrected. This is especially crucial in production environments, where avoiding the introduction of new mistakes by the error correction model may be more important than the net gain in overall results. The results show that the performance of the proposed error correction models is comparable with previous approaches, while requiring much smaller resources to train, which makes it suitable for industrial applications, where both inference latency and training times are critical factors that limit the use of other techniques.
Application of Bacterial Endophytes to Control Bacterial Leaf Blight Disease and Promote Rice Growth

Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) causes bacterial leaf blight (BLB) disease in rice (Oryza sativa L.) and it is among the most destructive pathogen responsible for severe yield losses. Potential bacterial biocontrol agents (BCAs) with plant growth promotion (PGP) abilities can be applied to better manage the BLB disease and increase crop yield, compared to current conventional practices. Thus, this study aimed to isolate, screen, and identify potential BCAs with PGP abilities. Isolation of the BCAs was performed from internal plant tissues and rhizosphere soil of healthy and Xoo-infected rice. A total of 18 bacterial strains were successfully screened for in vitro antagonistic ability against Xoo, siderophore production and PGP potentials. Among the bacterial strains, 3 endophytes, Bacillus sp. strain USML8, Bacillus sp. strain USML9, and Bacillus sp. strain USMR1 which were isolated from diseased plants harbored the BCA traits and significantly reduced leaf blight severity of rice. Simultaneously, the endophytic BCAs also possessed plant growth promoting traits and were able to enhance rice growth. Application of the selected endophytes (BCAs-PGP) at the early growth stage of rice exhibited potential in suppressing BLB disease and promoting rice growth.
Linking Entrepreneurial Satisfaction with elements of entrepreneurial ecosystem

The entrepreneurial ecosystem in developing countries is not as vibrant as in the developed countries, this is because of the inherent institutional, organizational, and framework conditions that exist in these countries, bureaucracy is one of the reasons that affects entrepreneurship in these countries and especially startups, this study aims to investigate these hypotheses, for this study 214 owners and founders of companies and startups were selected randomly from different areas of Sindh, Pakistan. Using PLS-SEM we investigated how different domains affect entrepreneurial satisfaction including bureaucracy. Our findings suggest that bureaucracy significantly affects the entrepreneurial satisfaction region as this study suggests in the case of Pakistan. These results indicate the need for changing the model of the entrepreneurial ecosystem where bureaucracy should be incorporated to make this model work in the context of developing countries.
Topological Hall and spin Hall effects in disordered skyrmionic textures

This work was supported by the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology through Award No. OSR-CRG URF/1/1693-01 from the Office of Sponsored Research. P.B. N. acknowledges inspiring discussions with A. Abbout, S. Ghosh, and Z. T. Ndiaye.
Black holes in Einstein-aether and Hořava-Lifshitz gravity

We study spherical black hole solutions in Einstein-aether theory, a Lorentz-violating gravitational theory consisting of general relativity with a dynamical unit timelike vector (the ``aether'') that defines a preferred timelike direction. These are also solutions to the infrared limit of Ho\ifmmode \check{r}\else \v{r}\fi{}ava-Lifshitz gravity. We explore parameter values of the two theories where all presently known experimental constraints are satisfied, and find that spherical black hole solutions of the type expected to form by gravitational collapse exist for all those parameters. Outside the metric horizon, the deviations away from the Schwarzschild metric are typically no more than a few percent for most of the explored parameter regions, which makes them difficult to observe with electromagnetic probes, but in principle within reach of future gravitational-wave detectors. Remarkably, we find that the solutions possess a universal horizon, not far inside the metric horizon, that traps waves of any speed relative to the aether. A notion of a black hole thus persists in these theories, even in the presence of arbitrarily high propagation speeds.
Comparison of ML algorithms to distinguish between human or human-like targets using the HOG features of range-time and range-Doppler images in through-the-wall applications

: When detecting the human targets behind walls, false detections occur for many systematic and environmental reasons. Identifying and eliminating these false detections is of great importance for many applications. This study investigates the potential of machine learning (ML) algorithms to distinguish between the human and human-like targets behind walls. For this purpose, a stepped-frequency continuous-wave (SFCW) radar has been set up. Experiments have been carried out with real human targets and moving plates imitating a regular breath of a healthy human. Unlike conventional methods, human and human-like returns are classified using range-Doppler images containing range and Doppler information. Then, the histogram of oriented gradients (HOG) features of the range-Doppler images are extracted, and the number of these features is reduced by principal component analysis (PCA). Finally, popular ML algorithms are executed to distinguish the human and human-like returns. The performances of the ML algorithms are compared for both range-time and range-Doppler images with or without HOG features. Experiments have indicated that the HOG features of the range-Doppler profiles provide the best results with the support vector machine (SVM) classifier with an accuracy of 93.57%.
A 5 μm IMAGE OF β PICTORIS b AT A SUB-JUPITER PROJECTED SEPARATION: EVIDENCE FOR A MISALIGNMENT BETWEEN THE PLANET AND THE INNER, WARPED DISK

We present and analyze a new M′ detection of the young exoplanet β Pictoris b from 2008 VLT/NaCo data at a separation of ≈4 AU and a high signal-to-noise rereduction of L′ data taken in 2009 December. Based on our orbital analysis, the planet's orbit is viewed almost perfectly edge-on (i ∼ 89 deg) and has a Saturn-like semimajor axis of 9.50 AU+3.93 AU− 1.7 AU. Intriguingly, the planet's orbit is aligned with the major axis of the outer disk (Ω ∼ 31 deg) but is probably misaligned with the warp/inclined disk at 80 AU, often cited as a signpost for the planet's existence. Our results motivate new studies to clarify how β Pic b sculpts debris disk structures and whether a second planet is required to explain the warp/inclined disk.
COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND NIGERIA’S INTERNATIONAL LIQUIDITY: IMPACT ANALYSIS

Covid-19 pandemic woes have caught across almost every international activity in the world today, which makes many economies to be in a cross-road whether the COVID-19 pandemic is the cause of these woes or not. In this regard, this study investigated the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on international liquidity in Nigeria. COVID-19 pandemic was proxied by COVID-19 new cases and new deaths of the pandemic in Nigeria and a dummy which represented the period of the pandemic, and as such, stood in as the explanatory variables in the study, while international liquidity was put as the dependent variable. Daily data sets were sourced from National Centre for Disease Control in Nigeria and the Central Bank of Nigeria statistical bulletin between February and October 2020, employing Auto-Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) technique. Findings of the study revealed that, in the short run, the COVID-19 pandemic period had a significant impact on Nigeria's international liquidity. However, the COVID-19 new cases and new deaths could not have any significant impact on the international liquidity. Moreover, none of the COVID-19 pandemic variables could have any long-run impact on the international liquidity in Nigeria. The study, therefore, suggests that Nigerians should know that the depletion of its foreign reserve is not due to policy deficiency but to the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, the government should try to improve quality exports that will be demanded by foreign countries irrespective of any pandemic.
Sobre el control por moldeo de energía más inyección de amortiguamiento de sistemas mecánicos

En este trabajo se presenta un tutorial sobre un método de diseño de controladores basado en el moldeo de energía más inyección de amortiguamiento para el control de una clase de sistemas mecánicos completamente actuados y subactuados. Se proporciona un marco teórico unificado que permite resolver diferentes objetivos de control como son: regulación de posición y regulación de velocidad para ambas clases de sistemas y, seguimiento de trayectorias para el caso de sistemas mecánicos completamente actuados. Además, la regulación de energía es formulada como un nuevo objetivo de control para generar oscilaciones controladas en ambas clases de sistemas mecánicos. En adición, se abordan algunos criterios de diseño como compensación de fricción dinámica, exclusión de medición de velocidad e inclusión de la dinámica de actuadores. Finalmente, como ejemplos de aplicación, se presentan recientes resultados publicados en la literatura sobre el diseño de controladores para robots manipuladores accionados por par, un péndulo con rueda inercial y un sistema carro-péndulo.
Millimeter-Wave Dual-Band Dual-Polarized SIW Cavity-Fed Filtenna for 5G Applications

This article presents a millimeter-wave (mmWave) dual-band dual-polarized filtenna, which can achieve desirable out-of-band rejection for 5G applications. The dual-band dual-polarized antenna element consists of two fully-shielded quarter-mode substrate integrated waveguide (FSD-QMSIW) cavities and a dual-band stacked ring antenna. Two parts are coupled through the slot on the ground. The cavities are completely enclosed by the metal holes and copper cover to eliminate radiation loss. The loaded slots can tune the frequencies of the first two modes in the FSD-QMSIW cavity for dual-band operation. The inherent transmission null between the dual modes is generated to improve the stopband attenuation. To verify the proposed method, a dual-band dual-polarized filtenna with a three-order filtering function and four radiation nulls is designed and fabricated. The −10 dB impedance bandwidth can effectively cover 5G n258 (24.25–27.5 GHz) and n260 (37–40 GHz) bands in the measurement. The gains of two polarizations drop over 20 dB between the two bands. A four-element filtenna array is constructed to test its beam-scanning ability and further integrated with active beamformer integrated circuits (ICs). The measured results show that the fabricated filtenna array maintains satisfactory out-of-band rejection performance and can be one of the most promising 5G communication candidates.
Stellar wind in state transitions of high-mass X-ray binaries

Aims: We have developed a new code for the three-dimensional time-dependent raditation hydrodynamic simulation of the stellar wind in interacting binaries to improve models of accretion in high-mass X-ray binaries and to quantitatively clarify the observed variability of these objects. We used the code to test the influence of various parameters on the structure and properties of circumstellar matter. Methods: Our code takes into account acceleration of the wind due to the Roche effective potential, Coriolis force, gas pressure, and (CAK-) radiative pressure in the lines and continuum of the supergiant radiation field that is modulated by its gravity darkening and by the photo-ionization caused by X-ray radiation from the compact companion. The parameters of Cygnus X-1 were used to test the properties of our model. Results: Both two- and three-dimensional numerical simulations show that the Coriolis force substantially influences the mass loss and consequently the accretion rate onto the compact companion. The gravitational field of the compact companion focuses the stellar wind, which leads to the formation of a curved cone-like gaseous tail behind the companion. The changes of X-ray photo-ionization of the wind material during X-ray spectral-state transitions significantly influence the wind structure and offer an explanation of the variability of Cygnus X-1 in optical observations (the H$\alpha$ emission).