Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
DARK AND LUMINOUS MATTER IN THINGS DWARF GALAXIES

We present mass models for the dark matter component of seven dwarf galaxies taken from “The H i Nearby Galaxy Survey” (THINGS) and compare these with those taken from numerical Λ cold dark matter (ΛCDM) simulations. The THINGS high-resolution data significantly reduce observational uncertainties and thus allow us to derive accurate dark matter distributions in these systems. We here use the bulk velocity fields when deriving the rotation curves of the galaxies. Compared to other types of velocity fields, the bulk velocity field minimizes the effect of small-scale random motions more effectively and traces the underlying kinematics of a galaxy more properly. The “Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxies Survey” 3.6 μm and ancillary optical data are used for separating the baryons from their total matter content in the galaxies. The sample dwarf galaxies are found to be dark matter dominated over most radii. The relation between total baryonic (stars + gas) mass and maximum rotation velocity of the galaxies is roughly consistent with the baryonic Tully–Fisher relation calibrated from a larger sample of gas-dominated low-mass galaxies. We find discrepancies between the derived dark matter distributions of the galaxies and those of ΛCDM simulations, even after corrections for non-circular motions have been applied. The observed solid body-like rotation curves of the galaxies rise too slowly to reflect the cusp-like dark matter distribution in cold dark matter halos. Instead, they are better described by core-like models such as pseudo-isothermal halo models dominated by a central constant-density core. The mean value of the logarithmic inner slopes of the mass density profiles is α = −0.29 ± 0.07. They are significantly different from the steep slope of ∼ − 1.0 inferred from previous dark-matter-only simulations, and are more consistent with shallower slopes found in recent ΛCDM simulations of dwarf galaxies in which the effects of baryonic feedback processes are included.
Regulation of AQP0 water permeability is enhanced by cooperativity

Aquaporin 0 (AQP0), essential for lens clarity, is a tetrameric protein composed of four identical monomers, each of which has its own water pore. The water permeability of AQP0 expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes can be approximately doubled by changes in calcium concentration or pH. Although each monomer pore functions as a water channel, under certain conditions the pores act cooperatively. In other words, the tetramer is the functional unit. In this paper, we show that changes in external pH and calcium can induce an increase in water permeability that exhibits either a positive cooperativity switch-like increase in water permeability or an increase in water permeability in which each monomer acts independently and additively. Because the concentrations of calcium and hydrogen ions increase toward the center of the lens, a concentration signal could trigger a regulatory change in AQP0 water permeability. It thus seems plausible that the cooperative modes of water permeability regulation by AQP0 tetramers mediated by decreased pH and elevated calcium are the physiologically important ones in the living lens.
The Power of Specialization : how Interest Groups Influence EU Legislation

This article lends strong support to Mancur Olson´s assertion that large power asymmetries between competing interest groups typify public policy making. We examine one particular phase in the decision making process within the European Union, namely the domestic prenegotiations on legislative proposals of the Commission. Our regression analysis demonstrates that “privileged” or specialized producer and consumer groups are able to stir the outcome into their preferred direction during this crucial bargaining process. While general consumer interests remain most often powerless, general producer interests exert influence in two of the four EU member states under examination
Characterization of human NLZ1/ZNF703 identifies conserved domains essential for proper subcellular localization and transcriptional repression

NET family members have recently emerged as important players in the development of multiple structures, from the trachea of fly larvae to the vertebrate eye and human breast cancers. However, their mechanisms of action are still poorly understood, and we lack a detailed characterization of their functional domains, as well as gene expression patterns—particularly in adult mammals. Here, we present a characterization of human NLZ1/ZNF703 (NocA‐like zinc finger 1/Zinc finger 703), one of the two human NET family member genes. We show that the gene is ubiquitously expressed in adult human and mouse tissues, that three mRNA species with the same coding sequence are generated by alternative polyadenylation, and that the encoded protein contains six evolutionarily conserved domains, three of which are specific to NET proteins. Finally, we present functional evidence that these domains are necessary for proper subcellular distribution of and transcription repression by the NLZ1 protein, but not for its interaction with Groucho family co‐repressors. J. Cell. Biochem. 114: 120–133, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
RHEINISCH-WESTFÄLISCHE TECHNISCHE HOCHSCHULE AACHEN

A-priori bounds for positive, very weak solutions of semilinear elliptic boundary value problems −∆u = f(x, u) on a bounded domain Ω ⊂ R with u = 0 on ∂Ω are studied, where the nonlinearity 0 ≤ f(x, s) grows at most like s. If Ω is a Lipschitz domain we exhibit two exponents p∗ and p∗, which depend on the boundary behaviour of the Green-function and on the smallest interior opening angle of ∂Ω. We prove that for 1 < p < p∗ all positive very weak solutions are a-priori bounded in L∞. For p > p∗ we construct a nonlinearity f(x, s) = a(x)s together with a positive very weak solution which does not belong to L∞. Finally we exhibit a class of domains for which p∗ = p∗. For such domains we have found a true critical exponent for very weak solutions. In the case of smooth domains p∗ = p∗ = n+1 n−1 is an exponent which is well known from classical work of Brezis-Turner [3] and from recent work of Quittner-Souplet [12].
Conversation analysis of the two-chair self-soothing task in emotion-focused therapy

Abstract Objective: Despite an increasing recognition of the relevance and significance of self-compassion processes, little research has explored interventions that seek to enhance these in therapy. In this study, we examined the compassionate self-soothing task of emotion-focused therapy involving two-chair work, with seven clients. Method: Conversation analysis was used to examine client-therapst interaction. Results: The analysis yielded a detailed description of interactional practices and processes involved in the accomplishment of self-soothing, drawing on Goffman's concept of the participation frame. We show how therapists and clients collaborate to move from the ordinary frame of therapeutic conversation to a self-soothing frame and back again by using various interactional practices: Therapists' instructions to clients, specific ways of sequencing actions in interaction, explanations and justification of the importance of the self-soothing task, pronouns as a way to distinguish among addressees (e.g., clients versus soothing agents), corrections of clients' talk, and response tokens (hm mm, yeah, good). These practices are used to help clients accomplish self-soothing in the form of self-praise, disclosing caring, and offering of helpful advice. Conclusions: This study offers therapists a specific account of how to respond to clients at specific junctures in self-soothing dialogues and how to structure and accomplish the self-soothing task.
Incidence and risk of fatal myocardial infarction and stroke events in rheumatoid arthritis patients. A systematic review of the literature.

BACKGROUND There is substantial evidence of excess cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, but the related studies showed important variations in the estimation of the risk. We conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate more accurately the incidence of cardiovascular events, and the excess of cardiovascular risk in a population of RA patients. METHODS The authors searched for observational studies accounting for the number of myocardial infarction or stroke events, using Medline, and congress abstracts published until February 2006. The populations studied were adults and RA diagnosis was based on the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria. We calculated the incidence of myocardial infarction and cerebrovascular fatal events in RA patients and estimated the cardiovascular risk increase for RA patients compared with the control group. RESULTS 17 publications and abstracts were identified, 15 were selected for the meta-analysis (two publications were excluded because of the lack of person-years information). The incidence of fatal myocardial infarction was 13.3 for 1000 RA patients-year (IC95%=[13-13.6]). The incidence of fatal cerebrovascular accident was 4.5 for 1000 RA patients-year (IC95%=[4.3-4.7]). Risk of myocardial ischemia in RA patients was about 1.63 compared to the general population (OR=1.63, IC95%=[1.34-2]). No excess was found for the risk of stroke event in RA patients. CONCLUSION RA patients were reported to present an excess risk of fatal myocardial infarction compared to the general population. The prevention of cardiovascular complications, including management of cardiovascular risk factors and control of systemic inflammation, should be taken into account by the rheumatologist.
Clearance of an Influenza A Virus by CD4+ T Cells Is Inefficient in the Absence of B Cells

ABSTRACT The primary CD8+ T-cell response protected most B-cell-deficient μMT mice against intranasal infection with the HKx31 influenza A virus. Prior exposure did not prevent reinfection upon homologous challenge, and the recall CD8+ T-cell response cleared the virus from the lung within 7 days. Depleting the CD8+ T cells substantially reduced the capacity of these primed mice to deal with the infection, in spite of evidence for established CD4+ T-cell memory. Thus, the control of this relatively mild influenza virus by both primary and secondary CD4+ T-cell responses is relatively inefficient in the absence of B cells and CD8+ T cells.
Sonochemistry and sonoluminescence in microfluidics

One way to focus the diffuse energy of a sound field in a liquid is by acoustically driving bubbles into nonlinear oscillation. A rapid and nearly adiabatic bubble collapse heats up the bubble interior and produces intense concentration of energy that is able to emit light (sonoluminescence) and to trigger chemical reactions (sonochemistry). Such phenomena have been extensively studied in bulk liquid. We present here a realization of sonoluminescence and sonochemistry created from bubbles confined within a narrow channel of polydimethylsiloxane-based microfluidic devices. In the microfluidics channels, the bubbles form a planar/pancake shape. During bubble collapse we find the formation of OH radicals and the emission of light. The chemical reactions are closely confined to gas–liquid interfaces that allow for spatial control of sonochemical reactions in lab-on-a-chip devices. The decay time of the light emitted from the sonochemical reaction is several orders faster than that in the bulk liquid. Multibubble sonoluminescence emission in contrast vanishes immediately as the sound field is stopped.
Brugada syndrome and p.E61X_RANGRF.

BACKGROUND Brugada syndrome is an inherited cardiac condition transmitted with an autosomal dominant pattern which can lead to sudden cardiac death from malignant ventricular arrhythmias. The RANGRF gene has recently been proposed to be associated with Brugada syndrome. This gene encodes the MOG1 protein, a co-factor required for the full functioning of the cardiac sodium channel Nav1.5. The nonsense p.E61X genetic variation in the RANGRF gene has been postulated as responsible for Brugada syndrome although no clear association has been established. METHODS We clinically and genetically evaluated a Spanish family diagnosed with Brugada syndrome. A comprehensive genetic analysis of all genes to date responsible for Brugada syndrome was performed in the index case. RESULTS The index case was clinically diagnosed with Brugada syndrome after flecainide test. We identified a nonsense variation (p.E61X) in the index case and in other five family members. All of them showed a normal electrocardiogram in basal conditions. Flecainide test unmasked a type 1 Brugada syndrome electrocardiogram only in two of the relatives. CONCLUSIONS We suggest that p.E61X_RANGRF is a rare genetic variation with an uncertain role in Brugada Syndrome. Further studies must be performed to elucidate the potential pathogenic role of p.E61X_RANGRF in Brugada Syndrome.
Trichothecene Mycotoxins Inhibit Mitochondrial Translation—Implication for the Mechanism of Toxicity

Fusarium head blight (FHB) reduces crop yield and results in contamination of grains with trichothecene mycotoxins. We previously showed that mitochondria play a critical role in the toxicity of a type B trichothecene. Here, we investigated the direct effects of type A and type B trichothecenes on mitochondrial translation and membrane integrity in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Sensitivity to trichothecenes increased when functional mitochondria were required for growth, and trichothecenes inhibited mitochondrial translation at concentrations, which did not inhibit total translation. In organello translation in isolated mitochondria was inhibited by type A and B trichothecenes, demonstrating that these toxins have a direct effect on mitochondrial translation. In intact yeast cells trichothecenes showed dose-dependent inhibition of mitochondrial membrane potential and reactive oxygen species, but only at doses higher than those affecting mitochondrial translation. These results demonstrate that inhibition of mitochondrial translation is a primary target of trichothecenes and is not secondary to the disruption of mitochondrial membranes.
On Theoretical Properties of Sum-Product Networks

Sum-product networks (SPNs) are a promising avenue for probabilistic modeling and have been successfully applied to various tasks. However, some theoretic properties about SPNs are not yet well understood. In this paper we fill some gaps in the theoretic foundation of SPNs. First, we show that the weights of any complete and consistent SPN can be transformed into locally normalized weights without changing the SPN distribution. Second, we show that consistent SPNs cannot model distributions significantly (exponentially) more compactly than decomposable SPNs. As a third contribution, we extend the inference mechanisms known for SPNs with finite states to generalized SPNs with arbitrary input distributions.
Design of Stable and Broadband Remote Vibration Controllers for Systems With Local Nonminimum Phase Dynamics

A geometric-based methodology that was recently proposed provides a systematic controller design approach for controlling remote vibration at multiple points using only a restricted number of sensors and actuators. Valuable physical insight into the existence of control solutions for vibration attenuation at multiple locations is retained with this approach in contrast to alternatives, such as H2 and H∞ methods. A drawback of the existing geometric design approach is that the controller implementation for the broadband case incorporates an inverted local control path transfer function. When the sensor and actuator are noncollocated or when there is significant latency or phase lag in the system, the local control path model will have nonminimum phase characteristics. Therefore, the resulting controller for this situation will itself be unstable due to the inclusion of an inverted nonminimum phase transfer function. In this brief paper, a systematic procedure is presented, which extends the previous work and which yields both a stable and stabilizing controller without requiring a minimum phase control path assumption. Furthermore, robustness against control spillover at out-of-band frequencies is incorporated within this modified design procedure without deteriorating controller performance within the design bandwidth. The detailed control design procedure is illustrated using a simulated beam vibration problem. Finally, the design approach is experimentally validated using a test rig that replicates the problem of vibration transmission in rotary propulsion systems.
Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) (cid:1) Increases Collagen Accumulation and Proliferation in Intestinal Myofibroblasts via TNF Receptor 2 *

Intestinal fibrosis is an incurable complication of Crohn’s disease involving increased numbers of collagen-producing myofibro-blasts.Tumornecrosisfactor(TNF) (cid:1) hasdefinedproinflammatory roles in Crohn’s disease but its role in fibrosis is unclear. We tested thehypothesisthatTNF (cid:1) increasescollagenaccumulationandpro-liferation in intestinal myofibroblasts and has additive effects in combination with insulin-like growth factor (IGF) I. The mechanisms, TNF receptor isoform, and downstream signaling pathways were examined. Intestinal myofibroblasts from wild-type (WT) mice or mice homozygous for disruption of genes encoding TNFR1 (TNFR1 (cid:2) / (cid:2) ), TNFR2 (TNFR2 (cid:2) / (cid:2) ), or both (TNFR1/2 (cid:2) / (cid:2) ), were treated with TNF (cid:1) , IGF-I, or both. In WT cells, TNF (cid:1) and IGF-I stimulated type I collagen accumulation and DNA synthesis in an additive manner. IGF-I, but not TNF (cid:1) , stimulated type I collagen gene activation. TNF (cid:1) , but not IGF-I, induced tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1
Bacteria associated with granular activated carbon particles in drinking water

A sampling protocol was developed to examine particles released from granular activated carbon filter beds. A gauze filter/Swinnex procedure was used to collect carbon fines from 201 granular activated carbon-treated drinking water samples over 12 months. Application of a homogenization procedure (developed previously) indicated that 41.4% of the water samples had heterotrophic plate count bacteria attached to carbon particles. With the enumeration procedures described, heterotrophic plate count bacteria were recovered at an average rate of 8.6 times higher than by conventional analyses. Over 17% of the samples contained carbon particles colonized with coliform bacteria as enumerated with modified most-probable-number and membrane filter techniques. In some instances coliform recoveries were 122 to 1,194 times higher than by standard procedures. Nearly 28% of the coliforms attached to these particles in drinking water exhibited the fecal biotype. Scanning electron micrographs of carbon fines from treated drinking water showed microcolonies of bacteria on particle surfaces. These data indicate that bacteria attached to carbon fines may be an important mechanism by which microorganisms penetrate treatment barriers and enter potable water supplies.
Finite-Volume and Shock-Capturing Shallow Water Equation Model to Simulate Boussinesq-Type Lock-Exchange Flows

AbstractAmong the various applications of the shallow water equations (SWEs) is the simulation of gravity currents (GCs). The SWEs are used as an alternative to track GC motion without explicitly dealing with turbulent processes, and constitute an intermediate solution between simpler integral models and more comprehensive models based on the Navier-Stokes equations. While the SWE equations have been successfully applied to a number of problems involving the release of dense fluids into deep ambient conditions, a more complex application is the simulation of the lock-exchange problem. In this particular problem, the ambient velocity influences the velocity as well as the shape of the GC, especially in the initial slumping stage. Features resembling discontinuities between the two layers are generated, and one numerical solution strategy has been to explicitly track such discontinuities. This work presents a shock-capturing, two-layer SWE model to simulate lock-exchange flows and its discontinuities. The m.
Dissipated energy-based fatigue lifetime calculation under multiaxial plastic thermo-mechanical loading

The paper concerns the metallic material lifetime calculation under arbitrary multiaxial thermo-mechanical fatigue loading. An energy-based damage operator approach ( eDOA ) is introduced. In such an approach, fatigue lifetime is continuously computed by the Prandtl type damage operator. The dissipated energy of plastic deformation is applied as a damage parameter that is obtained at any moment by the recently developed multiaxial energy operator approach. Strain-life curves are transformed into energy-cycle damage curves in order to associate the damage parameter with the fatigue lifetime. The present approach is validated on turbocharger housing. A satisfactory evaluation of the fatigue lifetime is obtained even though visco-plasticity and mean stress correction are not addressed yet.
Electroencephalogram approximate entropy influenced by both age and sleep

The use of information-based measures to assess changes in conscious state is an increasingly popular topic. Though recent results have seemed to justify the merits of such methods, little has been done to investigate the applicability of such measures to children. For our work, we used the approximate entropy (ApEn), a measure previously shown to correlate with changes in conscious state when applied to the electroencephalogram (EEG), and sought to confirm whether previously reported trends in adult ApEn values across wake and sleep were present in children. Besides validating the prior findings that ApEn decreases from wake to sleep (including wake, rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, and non-REM sleep) in adults, we found that previously reported ApEn decreases across vigilance states in adults were also present in children (ApEn trends for both age groups: wake > REM sleep > non-REM sleep). When comparing ApEn values between age groups, adults had significantly larger ApEn values than children during wakefulness. After the application of an 8 Hz high-pass filter to the EEG signal, ApEn values were recalculated. The number of electrodes with significant vigilance state effects dropped from all 109 electrodes with the original 1 Hz filter to 1 electrode with the 8 Hz filter. The number of electrodes with significant age effects dropped from 10 to 4. Our results support the notion that ApEn can reliably distinguish between vigilance states, with low-frequency sleep-related oscillations implicated as the driver of changes between vigilance states. We suggest that the observed differences between adult and child ApEn values during wake may reflect differences in connectivity between age groups, a factor which may be important in the use of EEG to measure consciousness.