The GRANDMA network in preparation for the fourth gravitational-wave observing run

GRANDMA is a world-wide collaboration with the primary scientific goal ofstudying gravitational-wave sources, discovering their electromagneticcounterparts and characterizing their emission. GRANDMA involves astronomers,astrophysicists, gravitational-wave physicists, and theorists. GRANDMA is now atruly global network of telescopes, with (so far) 30 telescopes in bothhemispheres. It incorporates a citizen science programme (Kilonova-Catcher)which constitutes an opportunity to spread the interest in time-domainastronomy. The telescope network is an heterogeneous set of already-existingobserving facilities that operate coordinated as a single observatory. Withinthe network there are wide-field imagers that can observe large areas of thesky to search for optical counterparts, narrow-field instruments that dotargeted searches within a predefined list of host-galaxy candidates, andlarger telescopes that are devoted to characterization and follow-up of theidentified counterparts. Here we present an overview of GRANDMA after the thirdobserving run of the LIGO/VIRGO gravitational-wave observatories in $2019-2020$and its ongoing preparation for the forthcoming fourth observational campaign(O4). Additionally, we review the potential of GRANDMA for the discovery andfollow-up of other types of astronomical transients.<br

Multi-band analyses of the bright GRB~230812B and the associated SN2023pel

GRB~230812B is a bright and relatively nearby ($z =0.36$) long gamma-ray burst that has generated significant interest in the community and therefore has been subsequently observed over the entire electromagnetic spectrum. We report over 80 observations in X-ray, ultraviolet, optical, infrared, and sub-millimeter bands from the GRANDMA (Global Rapid Advanced Network for Multi-messenger Addicts) network of observatories and from observational partners. Adding complementary data from the literature, we then derive essential physical parameters associated with the ejecta and external properties (i.e. the geometry and environment) and compare with other analyses of this event (e.g. Srinivasaragavan et al. 2023). We spectroscopically confirm the presence of an associated supernova, SN2023pel, and we derive a photospheric expansion velocity of v $\sim$ 17$\times10^3$ km $s^{-1}$. We analyze the photometric data first using empirical fits of the flux and then with full Bayesian Inference. We again strongly establish the presence of a supernova in the data, with an absolute peak r-band magnitude $M_r = - 19.41 \pm 0.10$. We find a flux-stretching factor or relative brightness $k_{\rm SN}=1.04 \pm 0.09$ and a time-stretching factor $s_{\rm SN}=0.68 \pm 0.05$, both compared to SN1998bw. Therefore, GRB 230812B appears to have a clear long GRB-supernova association, as expected in the standard collapsar model. However, as sometimes found in the afterglow modelling of such long GRBs, our best fit model favours a very low density environment ($\log_{10}({n_{\rm ISM}/{\rm cm}^{-3}}) = -2.16^{+1.21}_{-1.30}$). We also find small values for the jet's core angle $\theta_{\rm core}={1.70^{+1.00}_{-0.71}} \ \rm{deg}$ and viewing angle. GRB 230812B/SN2023pel is one of the best characterized afterglows with a distinctive supernova bump

Encoding of amplitude modulations by auditory neurons of the locust: influence of modulation frequency, rise time, and modulation depth

Using modulation transfer functions (MTF), we investigated how sound patterns are processed within the auditory pathway of grasshoppers. Spike rates of auditory receptors and primary-like local neurons did not depend on modulation frequencies while other local and ascending neurons had lowpass, bandpass or bandstop properties. Local neurons exhibited broader dynamic ranges of their rate MTF that extended to higher modulation frequencies than those of most ascending neurons. We found no indication that a filter bank for modulation frequencies may exist in grasshoppers as has been proposed for the auditory system of mammals. The filter properties of half of the neurons changed to an allpass type with a 50% reduction of modulation depths. Contrasting to reports for mammals, the sensitivity to small modulation depths was not enhanced at higher processing stages. In ascending neurons, a focus on the range of low modulation frequencies was visible in the temporal MTFs, which describe the temporal locking of spikes to the signal envelope. To investigate the influence of stimulus rise time, we used rectangularly modulated stimuli instead of sinusoidally modulated ones. Unexpectedly, steep stimulus onsets had only small influence on the shape of MTF curves of 70% of neurons in our sample

Ready for O4 II: GRANDMA Observations of Swift GRBs during eight-weeks of Spring 2022

We present a campaign designed to train the GRANDMA network and its infrastructure to follow up on transient alerts and detect their early afterglows. In preparation for O4 II campaign, we focused on GRB alerts as they are expected to be an electromagnetic counterpart of gravitational-wave events. Our goal was to improve our response to the alerts and start prompt observations as soon as possible to better prepare the GRANDMA network for the fourth observational run of LIGO-Virgo-Kagra (which started at the end of May 2023), and future missions such as SM. To receive, manage and send out observational plans to our partner telescopes we set up dedicated infrastructure and a rota of follow-up adcates were organized to guarantee round-the-clock assistance to our telescope teams. To ensure a great number of observations, we focused on Swift GRBs whose localization errors were generally smaller than the GRANDMA telescopes' field of view. This allowed us to bypass the transient identification process and focus on the reaction time and efficiency of the network. During 'Ready for O4 II', 11 Swift/INTEGRAL GRB triggers were selected, nine fields had been observed, and three afterglows were detected (GRB 220403B, GRB 220427A, GRB 220514A), with 17 GRANDMA telescopes and 17 amateur astronomers from the citizen science project Kilonova-Catcher. Here we highlight the GRB 220427A analysis where our long-term follow-up of the host galaxy allowed us to obtain a photometric redshift of $z=0.82\pm0.09$, its lightcurve elution, fit the decay slope of the afterglows, and study the properties of the host galaxy

GRANDMA and HXMT Observations of GRB 221009A -- the Standard-Luminosity Afterglow of a Hyper-Luminous Gamma-Ray Burst

GRB 221009A is the brightest Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) detected in more than 50 years of study. In this paper, we present observations in the X-ray and optical domains after the GRB obtained by the GRANDMA Collaboration (which includes observations from more than 30 professional and amateur telescopes) and the Insight-HXMT Collaboration. We study the optical afterglow with empirical fitting from GRANDMA+HXMT data, augmented with data from the literature up to 60 days. We then model numerically, using a Bayesian approach, the GRANDMA and HXMT-LE afterglow observations, that we augment with Swift-XRT and additional optical/NIR observations reported in the literature. We find that the GRB afterglow, extinguished by a large dust column, is most likely behind a combination of a large Milky-Way dust column combined with moderate low-metallicity dust in the host galaxy. Using the GRANDMA+HXMT-LE+XRT dataset, we find that the simplest model, where the observed afterglow is produced by synchrotron radiation at the forward external shock during the deceleration of a top-hat relativistic jet by a uniform medium, fits the multi-wavelength observations only moderately well, with a tension between the observed temporal and spectral evolution. This tension is confirmed when using the extended dataset. We find that the consideration of a jet structure (Gaussian or power-law), the inclusion of synchrotron self-Compton emission, or the presence of an underlying supernova do not improve the predictions, showing that the modelling of GRB22109A will require going beyond the most standard GRB afterglow model. Placed in the global context of GRB optical afterglows, we find the afterglow of GRB 221009A is luminous but not extraordinarily so, highlighting that some aspects of this GRB do not deviate from the global known sample despite its extreme energetics and the peculiar afterglow evolution.Comment: Accepted to ApJL for the special issue, 37 pages, 23 pages main text, 6 tables, 13 figure

Вплив технологічних чинників на показники якості молока

The article presents a study of the organization of milk production technology on the farm with tethered and tethered-boxing of cows. It has been established that one of the departments uses Dairy Plan C21 herd management software. This makes it possible to obtain comprehensive data on milk productivity, health, and behavior of each cow, group of animals, and the herd. Pre- and post-milking treatment of cows' teats with means based on a probiotic culture of Bacillus subtilis, Forticept® Udder Wash, and Zooprotect. According to the research results, data on production and sales were obtained, and indicators of quality and safety of whole raw milk from two departments were analyzed. Gross milk production for the year at section 1 with free-range boxing of cows was 1875.4 tons, the average annual yield per cow – 7381 kg, milk marketability – 96.3 %. The production figures for section № 2 with tethered animals were – 1324.2 tons, 7333 kg, and 96.5 %, respectively. The study found that the average annual amount of MAFANM in milk from cows at tethered housing was 37 ± 3.6 × 104 thousand CFU/cm3; loose-box – 35 ± 4.1 × 104 thousand CFU/m3; the number of somatic cells is 327.8 ± 28.73 and 332.1 ± 29.91 thousand cm3, respectively. In the milk of cows from section № 2 the protein content was 3.19 ± 0.067 %, fat – 3.78 ± 0.106 %, fat/protein ratio – 1.18 : 1. Slightly higher values were obtained when studying cows' milk from the sections № 1 – 3.22 ± 0.033; 3.88 ± 0.093 %, and 1.21&nbsp;:&nbsp;1, respectively. According to normative indicators, the fat/protein ratio is 1.2–1.4&nbsp;:&nbsp;1. It should be noted that deviations from these indicators indicate a violation of metabolic processes in cows. Indicators of acidity and density in cow's milk were within the normative values. According to research, no heavy metals, pesticides, radionuclides, or inhibitors have been detected in whole raw milk. Therefore, analyzing the data obtained, it should be noted that the milk produced on the farm and sold to processing enterprises meets the requirements for quality milk. According to the national standard, it is suitable for producing quality and safe products.У статті наведено дослідження організації технології виробництва молока в господарстві за прив’язного і безприв'язно-боксового утримання корів. Встановлено, що на одному з відділків використовують програмне забезпечення управління стадом Dairy Plan C21. Це дає можливість отримувати комплексні дані щодо молочної продуктивності, стану здоров’я і поведінки, як кожної окремої корови, групи тварин так і стада в цілому. Вивчено, що перед-і після доїльну обробку шкіри дійок корів проводять засобами на основі пробіотичної культури Bacillus subtilis, препаратами Forticept® Udder Wash і Зоопротект. За результатами досліджень отримано дані щодо виробництва і реалізації, проаналізовано показники якості і безпечності сирого збірного молока з двох відділків. Валове виробництво молока за рік на відділку № 1 з безприв’язно-боксовим утриманням корів становило 1875,4 тонн, середньорічний надій на одну корову – 7381 кг, товарність молока – 96,3 %. Виробничі показники на відділку № 2 з прив’язним утриманням тварин були – 1324,2 тонн, 7333 кг і 96,5 % відповідно. Дослідженням встановлено, що середньорічні показники кількості МАФАнМ у молоці корів за прив’язного утримання становили 37 ± 3,6 × 104 тис. КУО/см3; безприв’язно-боксового – 35 ± 4,1 × 104 тис.КУО/см3; кількість соматичних клітин 327,8 ± 28,73 і 332,1 ± 29,91 тис.⁄см3 відповідно. У молоці корів відділення № 2 вміст білку становив 3,19 ± 0,067 %, жиру – 3,78 ± 0,106 %, співвідношення жир/білок – 1,18&nbsp;:&nbsp;1. Дещо вищі показники були отримані за дослідження молока корів відділення № 1, які становили – 3,22 ± 0,033, 3,88 ± 0,093 % та 1,21&nbsp;:&nbsp;1 відповідно. Відповідно, за нормативного показника, відношення жир/білок 1,2–1,4&nbsp;:&nbsp;1. Слід відзначити, що відхилення від цих показників свідчить про порушення метаболічних процесів в організмі корів. Показники кислотності та густини молока корів знаходилися в межах нормативних значень. За результатами досліджень у сирому збірному молоці не виявлено важких металів, пестицидів, радіонуклідів та інгібувальних речовин. Отже, аналізуючи отримані дані слід відмітити, що молоко, яке виробляється в господарстві і реалізується на переробні підприємства відповідає вимогам до якісного молока. Згідно національного стандарту воно є придатним для виготовлення якісної і безпечної продукції

Addressing challenges of high spatial resolution UHF fMRI for group analysis of higher-order cognitive tasks:An inter-sensory task directing attention between visual and somatosensory domains

Functional MRI at ultra-high field (UHF, ≥7T) provides significant increases in BOLD contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) compared with conventional field strength (3T), and has been exploited for reduced field-of-view, high spatial resolution mapping of primary sensory areas. Applying these high spatial resolution methods to investigate whole brain functional responses to higher-order cognitive tasks leads to a number of challenges, in particular how to perform robust group-level statistical analyses. This study addresses these challenges using an inter-sensory cognitive task which modulates top-down attention at graded levels between the visual and somatosensory domains. At the individual level, highly focal functional activation to the task and task difficulty (modulated by attention levels) were detectable due to the high CNR at UHF. However, to assess group level effects, both anatomical and functional variability must be considered during analysis. We demonstrate the importance of surface over volume normalization and the requirement of no spatial smoothing when assessing highly focal activity. Using novel group analysis on anatomically parcellated brain regions, we show that in higher cognitive areas (parietal and dorsal-lateral-prefrontal cortex) fMRI responses to graded attention levels were modulated quadratically, whilst in visual cortex and VIP, responses were modulated linearly. These group fMRI responses were not seen clearly using conventional second-level GLM analyses, illustrating the limitations of a conventional approach when investigating such focal responses in higher cognitive regions which are more anatomically variable. The approaches demonstrated here complement other advanced analysis methods such as multi-variate pattern analysis, allowing UHF to be fully exploited in cognitive neuroscience