Measurements of the Hubble constant from combinations of supernovae and radio quasars

In this letter, we propose an improved cosmological model independent method of determining the value of the Hubble constant $H_0$. The method uses unanchored luminosity distances $H_0d_L(z)$ from SN Ia Pantheon data combined with angular diameter distances $d_A(z)$ from a sample of intermediate luminosity radio quasars calibrated as standard rulers. The distance duality relation between $d_L(z)$ and $d_A(z)$, which is robust and independent of any cosmological model, allows to disentangle $H_0$ from such combination. However, the number of redshift matched quasars and SN Ia pairs is small (37 data-points). Hence, we take an advantage from the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) method to recover the $d_A(z)$ relation from a network trained on full 120 radio quasar sample. In this case, the result is unambiguously consistent with values of $H_0$ obtained from local probes by SH0ES and H0LiCOW collaborations. Three statistical summary measures: weighted mean $\widetilde{H}_0=73.51(\pm0.67) {~km~s^{-1}~Mpc^{-1}}$, median $Med(H_0)=74.71(\pm4.08) {~km~s^{-1}~Mpc^{-1}}$ and MCMC simulated posterior distribution $H_0=73.52^{+0.66}_{-0.68} {~km~s^{-1}~Mpc^{-1}}$ are fully consistent with each other and the precision reached $1\%$ level. This is encouraging for the future applications of our method. Because individual measurements of $H_0$ are related to different redshifts spanning the range $z=0.5 - 2.0$, we take advantage of this fact to check if there is any noticeable trend in $H_0$ measurements with redshift of objects used for this purpose. However, our result is that the data we used strongly support the lack of such systematic effects.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in Physics Letters

Trend of myopia through different interventions from 2010 to 2050: Findings from Eastern Chinese student surveillance study

PurposeFirst, to investigate the utilization rate and effect of proven myopic interventions. Second, to predict the prevalence of myopia and high myopia, as well as Years Lived with Disability (YLD) caused by an uncorrected refractive error in children and teens in Eastern China from 2010 to 2050 under different interventions.Methods(1) The surveillance of common diseases among children and adolescents in Jiangsu Province from 2010 to 2021 provides the database for myopia screening and intervention utilization surveys. (2) The National Bureau of Statistics and the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016 (GBD2016) are the foundation for the estimated myopes and YLD. (3) A systematic review provides the strong or weak impact of intervention in the prediction model. (4) The trend of screening myopia from 2010 to 2050 under various treatments is predicted using a GM (1,1) model.ResultsBy the year 2050, myopia is expected to affect 8,568,305 (7–12 years old) and 15,766,863 (13–18 years old) children and adolescents, respectively (95% CI: 8,398,977–8,737,633). The utilization prevalence of myopia-proven interventions for myopic children included outdoor activities, orthokeratology lenses, atropine treatment, contact lenses, frame glasses, and eye exercises, with respective rates of 31.9–33.1, 2.1–2.3, 6.0–7.5, 2.2–2.7, 60.4–62.2, and 64.7–72.5%. All interventions have substantial effects on myopia after parental myopia and behavior pattern adjustment, including physical activity, near work, dietary pattern, and sleep. Under strong intervention, the estimated reduced myopia prevalence by the year 2050 is 1,259,086 (95% CI: 1,089,758–1,428,414) for children aged 7–12, and 584,785 (95% CI: 562,748–606,823) for children aged 13–18, respectively.ConclusionAmong myopic Chinese children and adolescents, the use rates and effects of proven myopia interventions vary. Under the present intervention strategy, the prevalence of myopia and high myopia will increase from 2010 to 2050. The overall number of myopic people can be greatly decreased by implementing timely, steady, comprehensive interventions

Penerapan Pendekatan Pengajaran Terbalik (Reciprocal Teaching) Untuk Meningkatkan Kemandirian Belajar Biologi Siswa Kelas Vii-g SMP N 5 Karanganyar Tahun Pelajaran 2010/ 2011

– The objective of this study is to improve student independence in learning biology by implementing Inverted Teaching Approach (Reciprocal Teaching) on Environmental Management material. This research is a classroom action research. This research was conducted in two cycles. Each cycle consisted of planning, implementation of the action,observation, and reflection. The subjects of the study were VII-G class students of SMP Negeri 5 Karanganyar in the academic year of 2010/2011. The number of the students was 32. The technique and instrumen of collectiing data were questionnaire, observation, and interviews. The technique of analyzing data was descriptive analysis techniques. Triangulation technique was used in data validation. The results proved that by implementing Inverted Teaching Approach (Reciprocal Teaching) students\u27 independence in learning biology enhanced. It is based on the results of questionnaires, observations and interviews. The questionnaire of students\u27 learning independence showed that the mean percentage of students\u27 achievement in each indicator in pre-cycle, cycle I, and cycle II was 67.97%, 72.55%, and 77.58% respectively. The observation of students\u27 learning independence showed that the mean percentage of students\u27 achievement in each indicator in pre-cycle, cycle I, and cycle II was 39.68%, 67.5%, and 80.62% respectively. It can be concluded that the implementation of Inverted Teaching Approach (Reciprocal Teaching) can enhance students learning independence

Phloretin Attenuates Listeria monocytogenes Virulence Both In vitro and In vivo by Simultaneously Targeting Listeriolysin O and Sortase A

The critical roles of sortase A (SrtA) and listeriolysin O (LLO) in Listeria monocytogenes pathogenicity render these two virulence factors as ideal targets for the development of anti-virulence agents against L. monocytogenes infection. Additionally, the structures of SrtA and LLO are highly conserved among the members of sortase enzyme family and cholesterol dependent toxin family. Here, phloretin, a natural polyphenolic compound derived from apples and pears that has little anti-L. monocytogenes activity, was identified to simultaneously inhibit LLO expression and neutralize SrtA catalytic activity. Phloretin neutralized SrtA activity by causing a conformational change in the protein's active pocket, which prevented engagement with its substrate. Treatment with phloretin simultaneously reduced L. monocytogenes invasion into host cells and blocked the escape of vacuole-entrapped L. monocytogenes into cytoplasm. Further, L. monocytogenes-infected mice that received phloretin showed lower mortality, decreased bacterial burden and reduced pathological injury. Our results demonstrate that phloretin is a promising anti-infective therapeutic for infections caused by L. monocytogenes due to its simultaneous targeting of SrtA and LLO, which may result in fewer side effects than those caused by other antibiotics

Photometric Variability in the CSTAR Field: Results From the 2008 Data Set

The Chinese Small Telescope ARray (CSTAR) is the first telescope facility built at Dome A, Antarctica. During the 2008 observing season, the installation provided long-baseline and high-cadence photometric observations in the i-band for 18,145 targets within 20 deg2 CSTAR field around the South Celestial Pole for the purpose of monitoring the astronomical observing quality of Dome A and detecting various types of photometric variability. Using sensitive and robust detection methods, we discover 274 potential variables from this data set, 83 of which are new discoveries. We characterize most of them, providing the periods, amplitudes and classes of variability. The catalog of all these variables is presented along with the discussion of their statistical properties.Comment: 38 pages, 11 figures, 4 tables; Accepted for publication in ApJ

Mitochondrial Genome of an 8,400-Year-Old Individual from Northern China Reveals a Novel Sub-Clade under C5d

Ancient DNA studies have always refreshed our understanding of the human past that can’t be tracked by modern DNA alone. Until recently, ancient mitochondrial genomic studies in East Asia are still very limited. Here, we retrieved the whole mitochondrial genome of an 8,400-year- old individual from Inner Mongolia, China. Phylogenetic analyses show that the individual belongs to a previously undescribed clade under haplogroup C5d that was most probably originated in northern Asia and may have a very low frequency in extant populations that is not yet sampled. We further characterized the demographic history of mitochondrial haplogroups C5 and C5d, and found that C5 experienced a sharp increase in population size starting from around 4,000 years before present (BP). The time when intensive millet farming was built by populations who are associated with the lower Xiajiadian culture and was widely adopted in northern China. We caution that people related to haplogroup C5 may added this farming technology to their original way of life and that the various subsistence may provide abundant food sources and may further contribute to the increase of the population size

Genome-Wide Identification of Papain-Like Cysteine Proteases in Gossypium hirsutum and Functional Characterization in Response to Verticillium dahliae

Cotton, a natural fiber producing crop of huge importance, is often prone to attack of Verticillium dahliae. Papain-like cysteine proteases (PLCPs) constitute a large family in plants and were proposed to involve in plant defense against pathogen attack in a number of studies. However, there is no detailed characterization of PLCP genes in cotton against infection of V. dahliae. In this study, we carried out a genome-wide analysis in cotton and identified seventy-eight PLCPs, which were divided into nine subfamilies based on their evolution phylogeny: RD21 (responsive to desiccation 21), CEP (cysteine endopeptidase), XCP (xylem cysteine peptidase), XBCP3 (xylem bark cysteine peptidase 3), THI, SAG12 (senescence-associated gene 12), RD19 (responsive to desiccation 19), ALP (aleurain-like protease) and CTB (cathepsin B-like). Genes in each subfamily exhibit a similar structure and motif composition. The expression patterns of these genes in different organs were examined, and subfamily RD21 was the most abundant in these families. Expression profiles under abiotic stress showed that thirty-five PLCP genes were induced by multiple stresses. Further transcriptome analysis showed that sixteen PLCP genes were up-regulated in response to V. dahliae in cotton. Among those, GhRD21-7 showed a higher transcription level than most other PLCP genes. Additionally, over-expression of GhRD21-7 led to enhanced resistance and RNAi lines were more susceptible to V. dahliae in cotton. Our results provide valuable information for future functional genomic studies of PLCP gene family in cotton

STCA-SNN: self-attention-based temporal-channel joint attention for spiking neural networks

Spiking Neural Networks (SNNs) have shown great promise in processing spatio-temporal information compared to Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs). However, there remains a performance gap between SNNs and ANNs, which impedes the practical application of SNNs. With intrinsic event-triggered property and temporal dynamics, SNNs have the potential to effectively extract spatio-temporal features from event streams. To leverage the temporal potential of SNNs, we propose a self-attention-based temporal-channel joint attention SNN (STCA-SNN) with end-to-end training, which infers attention weights along both temporal and channel dimensions concurrently. It models global temporal and channel information correlations with self-attention, enabling the network to learn ‘what’ and ‘when’ to attend simultaneously. Our experimental results show that STCA-SNNs achieve better performance on N-MNIST (99.67%), CIFAR10-DVS (81.6%), and N-Caltech 101 (80.88%) compared with the state-of-the-art SNNs. Meanwhile, our ablation study demonstrates that STCA-SNNs improve the accuracy of event stream classification tasks