Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
ASCA spectroscopy of the luminous infrared galaxy NGC 6240: X-ray emission from a starburst and a buried active nucleus

We present an X-ray spectroscopic study of the prototype far-infrared galaxy NGC 6240 from ASCA. The soft X-ray spectrum (below 2 keV) shows clear signatures of thermal emission well described by a multitemperature optically thin plasma, which probably originates in a powerful starburst. Strong hard X-ray emission is also detected with ASCA and its spectrum above 3 keV is extremely flat with a prominent iron K line complex, very similar to that seen in the Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 1068 but about an order of magnitude more luminous (L3−10keV ≈ 1.4 × 1042 erg s−1). The hard X-ray spectrum indicates that only reflected X-rays of an active galactic nucleus (AGN) buried in a heavy obscuration (NH > 2 × 1024 cm−2) are visible. This is evidence for an AGN in NGC 6240, emitting possibly at a quasar luminosity (∼ 1045 erg s−1), and suggests its significant contribution to the far-infrared luminosity.
Integrating Planning, Execution and Monitoring

IPEM, for Integrated Planning, Execution and Monitoring, provides a simple, clear and well defined framework to integrate these processes. Representation integration is achieved by naturally incorporating execution and monitoring information into [Chapman, 1987] tweak's partial plan representation. Control integration is obtained by using a production system architecture where IF-THEN rules, referred to as flaws and fixes, specify partial plan transformations. Conflict resolution is done using a scheduler that embodies the current problem solving strategy. Since execution and plan elaboration operations have been designed to be independently applicable, and execution of an action is a scheduling decision like any other, the framework effectively supports interleaving of planning and execution (IPE). This renders a local ability to replan after both unexpected events and execution failure. The framework has served as the basis for an implemented hierarchical, nonlinear planning and execution system that has been tested on numerous examples, on various domains, and has shown to be reliable and robust.
Angiogenesis and Inflammation Crosstalk in Diabetic Retinopathy

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is one of the most prevalent microvascular complications of diabetes and one of the most frequent causes of blindness in active age. Etiopathogenesis behind this important complication is related to several biochemical, hemodynamic and endocrine mechanisms with a preponderant initial role assumed by polyol pathways, increment of growth factors, accumulation of advanced glycation end products (AGE), activation of protein kinase C (PKC), activation of the renin‐angiotensin‐aldosterone system (RAAS), and leukostasis. Chronic and sustained hyperglycemia works as a trigger to the early alterations that culminate in vascular dysfunction. Hypoxia also plays an essential role in disease progression with promotion of neovascularization and vascular dystrophies with vitreous hemorrhages induction. Thus, the accumulation of fluids and protein exudates in ocular cavities leads to an opacity augmentation of the cornea that associated to neurodegeneration results in vision loss, being this a devastating characteristic of the disease final stage. During disease progression, inflammatory molecules are produced and angiogenesis occur. Furthermore, VEGF is overexpressed by the maintained hyperglycemic environment and up‐regulated by tissue hypoxia. Also pro‐inflammatory mediators regulated by cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF‐α) and interleukin‐1 beta (IL‐1β), and growth factors leads to the progression of these processes, culminating in vasopermeability (diabetes macular edema) and/or pathological angiogenesis (proliferative diabetic retinopathy). It was found a mutual contribution between inflammation and angiogenesis along the process. J. Cell. Biochem. 117: 2443–2453, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Population differentiation of temperate amphibians in unpredictable environments

Amphibians are a globally distributed and diverse lineage, but much of our current understanding of their population genetic structure comes from studies in mesic temperate habitats. We characterize the population genetic structure of two sympatric explosive breeding amphibians in the southwestern deserts of the United States: the Great Plains toad (Anaxyrus cognatus) and Couch’s spadefoot toad (Scaphiopus couchii). For both species, we find limited genetic differentiation even between populations in adjacent valleys separated by dispersal barriers such as mountainous habitats. To understand how population genetic patterns in these two arid‐adapted species compare to taxa in more mesic environments, we computed a standardized measure of population differentiation for A. cognatus, S. couchii, and for pond‐breeding amphibians that inhabit mesic temperate environments. Our results indicate that the arid‐adapted species have lower population genetic structure at fine and moderate scales than most other amphibian species we surveyed. We hypothesize that stochasticity in the availability of appropriate breeding sites as well as landscape homogeneity may result in increased population connectivity in desert‐adapted frogs. Future work examining fine‐scale population structure in amphibians from a diversity of habitats will test the generality of our findings. Intraspecific comparisons among localities with varied seasonality and habitats will be particularly useful for investigating the interaction between species‐typical population dynamics and environmental characteristics as determinants of population connectivity in pond‐breeding amphibians.
Are Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors a Secondary Cause of Low Bone Density?

Background. Osteoporosis is a chronic disease that can significantly impact numerous aspects of health and wellness. The individual consequences of osteoporosis can be devastating, often resulting in substantial loss of independence and sometimes death. One of the few illnesses with greater disease burden than low bone mineral density (BMD) is major depressive disorder (MDD). Both depression and antidepressant use have been identified as secondary causes of osteoporosis. The objective of this paper is to review and summarize the current findings on the relationship between antidepressant use and BMD. Methods. Relevant sources were identified from the Pubmed and MEDLINE databases, citing articles from the first relevant publication to September 1st, 2010. Results. 2001 articles initially met the search criteria, and 35 studies were thoroughly reviewed for evidence of an association between SSRI use and BMD, and 8 clinical studies were detailed and summarized in this paper. Conclusions. Current findings suggest a link between mental illness and osteoporosis that is of clinical relevance. Additional longitudinal studies and further research on possible mechanisms surrounding the association between SSRI use on bone metabolism need to be conducted. Treatment algorithms need to recognize this association to ensure that vulnerable populations are screened.
The Social Component of Information Systems - How Sociability Contributes to Technology Acceptance

Research Article Iris Junglas Florida State University iris.junglas@gmail.com Lakshmi Goel University of North Florida l.goel@unf.edu Chon Abraham College of William and Mary chon.abraham@mason.wm. edu Blake Ives University of Houston bives@mac.com The adoption of information systems is often explained in terms of usefulness and ease of use. Lately, researchers have begun to recognize that a hedonic streak in human beings provides a further contributing factor in the adoption and acceptance of information systems. Embedded in this streak is a broader social aspect that incorporates not only the solitary, individual pleasure one gets from using the system, but also a pleasure that one gets from interacting and socializing with others through the system. This becomes particularly evident in virtual environments that support high levels of interaction with others and with artifacts embedded in an immersive context. By drawing on IS theories of technology acceptance and IS success, and on theories of social interaction from evolutionary psychology, activity theory, situated action, and distributed cognition, we test the construct of sociability and its antecedents in Second Life—a popular virtual environment. Our results support that, in addition to an information and system component, a social component contributes to IS usage.
Demethylation of Specific Wnt/β‐Catenin Pathway Genes and its Upregulation in Rat Brain Induced by Prenatal Valproate Exposure

Valproate (VPA) has been used for decades in the treatment of epilepsy and migraine. However, maternal administration of VPA during pregnancy increases susceptibility to autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) in the offspring. The aim of this study was to investigate the methylation modification and its effects on the activity of Wnt/β‐catenin pathway in the rat brain prenatally exposed to VPA. We exposed the rats in early pregnancy to VPA and found that the prenatal VPA exposure, in comparison with the prenatal vehicle exposure, induced demethylation in the promoter regions of wnt1 and wnt2, but not in those of Wnt inhibitory factor‐1 and Dickkopf 1, in the prefrontal cortexes and hippocampi of the offspring. Consequently, both mRNA and protein expression of wnt1 and wnt2 were increased. Furthermore, the activity of Wnt/β‐catenin pathway was upregulated, as indicated by the increased levels of β‐catenin, hence the growing expression of its target genes. This work suggested an epigenetic action via which VPA, when administered in early pregnancy, induced dysregulation of signaling pathway, further facilitating susceptibility to ASDs. Anat Rec, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Fairness Beyond Disparate Treatment & Disparate Impact: Learning Classification without Disparate Mistreatment

Automated data-driven decision making systems are increasingly being used to assist, or even replace humans in many settings. These systems function by learning from historical decisions, often taken by humans. In order to maximize the utility of these systems (or, classifiers), their training involves minimizing the errors (or, misclassifications) over the given historical data. However, it is quite possible that the optimally trained classifier makes decisions for people belonging to different social groups with different misclassification rates (e.g., misclassification rates for females are higher than for males), thereby placing these groups at an unfair disadvantage. To account for and avoid such unfairness, in this paper, we introduce a new notion of unfairness, disparate mistreatment, which is defined in terms of misclassification rates. We then propose intuitive measures of disparate mistreatment for decision boundary-based classifiers, which can be easily incorporated into their formulation as convex-concave constraints. Experiments on synthetic as well as real world datasets show that our methodology is effective at avoiding disparate mistreatment, often at a small cost in terms of accuracy.
Neuronal Mechanisms of Learning and Memory Revealed by Spatial and Temporal Suppression of Neurotransmission Using Shibirets1, a Temperature-Sensitive Dynamin Mutant Gene in Drosophila Melanogaster

The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster is an excellent model organism to identify genes and genetic pathways important for learning and memory. However, its small size makes surgical treatment and electrophysiological manipulation technically difficult, hampering the functional analysis of neuronal circuits that play critical roles in memory processing. To circumvent this problem, we developed a unique experimental strategy that uses the temperature-sensitive allele of the Drosophila dynamin gene, shibirets1 (shits1), in combination with the GAL4/UAS expression system. This strategy allows for rapid and reversible perturbation of synaptic neurotransmission in identifiable neurons, and analysis of the behavioral consequences of such manipulation in free-moving animals. Since its introduction in 2001, this GAL4/UAS-shits1 strategy has been widely used to study the neuronal basis of learning and memory. This review focuses on how this strategy has revitalized Drosophila memory research, and contributed to our understanding of dynamic neuronal processes that control various aspects of memory.
Synaptic and morphological characteristics of temperature‐sensitive and ‐insensitive rat hypothalamic neurones

1 Intracellular recordings were made from neurones in rat hypothalamic tissue slices, primarily in the preoptic area and anterior hypothalamus, a thermoregulatory region that integrates central and peripheral thermal information. The present study compared morphologies and local synaptic inputs of warm‐sensitive and temperature‐insensitive neurones. 2 Warm‐sensitive neurones oriented their dendrites perpendicular to the third ventricle, with medial dendrites directed toward the periventricular region and lateral dendrites directed toward the medial forebrain bundle. In contrast, temperature‐insensitive neurones generally oriented their dendrites parallel to the third ventricle. 3 Both warm‐sensitive and temperature‐insensitive neurones displayed excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) and inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSPs). In most cases, EPSP and IPSP frequencies were not affected by temperature changes, suggesting that temperature‐insensitive neurones are responsible for most local synapses within this hypothalamic network. 4 Two additional neuronal groups were identified: silent neurones having no spontaneous firing rates and EPSP‐driven neurones having action potentials that are primarily dependent on excitatory synaptic input from nearby neurones. Silent neurones had the most extensive dendritic trees, and these branched in all directions. In contrast, EPSP‐driven neurones had the fewest dendrites, and usually the dendrites were oriented in only one direction (either medially or laterally), suggesting that these neurones receive more selective synaptic input.
Superfolding of the Partially Unfolded Core-glycosylated Intermediate of Human P-glycoprotein into the Mature Enzyme Is Promoted by Substrate-induced Transmembrane Domain Interactions*

Misprocessed mutants of human P-glycoprotein accumulate as core-glycosylated intermediates in the endoplasmic reticulum and are rapidly degraded. Trypsin digestion was used to test for structural differences between mature and core-glycosylated forms of P-glycoprotein. We found that the core-glycosylated wild-type and mutant P-glycoproteins were both 100-fold more sensitive to trypsin compared with the mature form of the wild-type enzyme. This result suggested that the core-glycosylated forms of both wild-type and mutant P-glycoproteins have similar unfolded structures, whereas the mature enzyme is folded into a more compact structure. The core-glycosylated mutant P-glycoproteins could be converted to the mature trypsin-resistant form by synthesis in the presence of drug substrate. Addition of proteasome inhibitor MG-132 to stabilize the core-glycosylated intermediate resulted in the accumulation but not maturation of the mutant protein. Further analysis showed that the second transmembrane domain TMD2 also became more resistant to trypsin digestion only after coexpression with TMD1 in the presence of substrate. Taken together, these results suggest that simply stabilizing the core-glycosylated intermediate is not sufficient to promote maturation of the processing mutants and that drug substrates induce maturation by promoting superfolding of the transmembrane domains.
Bmc Medical Informatics and Decision Making Preparation of Name and Address Data for Record Linkage Using Hidden Markov Models

Background: Record linkage refers to the process of joining records that relate to the same entity or event in one or more data collections. In the absence of a shared, unique key, record linkage involves the comparison of ensembles of partially-identifying, non-unique data items between pairs of records. Data items with variable formats, such as names and addresses, need to be transformed and normalised in order to validly carry out these comparisons. Traditionally, deterministic rule-based data processing systems have been used to carry out this pre-processing, which is commonly referred to as "standardisation". This paper describes an alternative approach to standardisation, using a combination of lexicon-based tokenisation and probabilistic hidden Markov models (HMMs).
THE X-RAY ZURICH ENVIRONMENTAL STUDY (X-ZENS). II. X-RAY OBSERVATIONS OF THE DIFFUSE INTRAGROUP MEDIUM IN GALAXY GROUPS

We present the results of a pilot XMM-Newton and Chandra program aimed at studying the diffuse intragroup medium (IGM) of optically selected nearby groups from the Zurich ENvironmental Study (ZENS) catalog. The groups are in a narrow mass range about 10 13 M ⊙ ? > , a mass scale at which the interplay between the IGM and the group member galaxies is still largely unprobed. X-ray emission from the IGM is detected in the energy band 0.5–2 keV with flux ≤ 10 − 13 ? > erg s−1 cm−2, which is one order of magnitude fainter than for typical ROSAT groups (RASS). For many groups, we set upper limits on the X-ray luminosity, indicating that the detections are likely probing the upper envelope of the X-ray emitting groups. We find that weighting the group halo mass by the fraction of the total stellar mass locked in the bulge galaxy components might reduce the bias of mass estimates based on the total optical luminosity with respect to the X-ray mass estimates, (consistent with Andreon, at larger mass scales). We measure a stellar mass fraction with a median value of about 1%, with a contribution from the most massive galaxies between 30% and 50%. Optical and X-ray data often give complementary answers concerning the dynamical state of the groups, and are essential for a complete picture of the group system. Extending this pilot program to a larger sample of groups is necessary to unveil any imprint of interaction between member galaxies and IGM in halo potentials of key importance for environmentally driven galactic evolution.
Prosodic Exercises for Children with ASD via Virtual Therapy

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), is a spectrum disorder, which means that there is a wide degree of variation in the way it affects people. It is known that, even though it has a huge spectrum, the characterization of the speech of autistic children has been consensual in the literature as devoid of wealth prosodic parameters manifested by healthy children, such as the emotional aspects that are reflected in communicative interaction. The use of technology as a teaching tool has been growing and the presentation of educational exercises through electronic devices reveals itself as more attractive and captivating for children when compared with traditional methods. In this project, we developed prosodic exercises for intonation assessment in an imitation task, where the main focus is the development and enrichment of prosodic abilities of children with autism spectrum disorders, as a complement to therapy sessions. We evaluated the intonation assessment method, achieving accuracy values between 70% and 83.3%, depending on the feature set adapted, and also by making a fusion of all features. Although the original intention was to integrate these exercises in an existing platform for children diagnosed with ASD, the current implementation is a stand-alone mobile application.
Thoracic interlaminar epidural injections in managing chronic thoracic pain: a randomized, double-blind, controlled trial with a 2-year follow-up.

BACKGROUND Reports of prevalence of spinal pain indicate the prevalence of thoracic pain in approximately 13% of the general population compared to 32% of the population with neck pain and 43% of the population with low back pain during the past year. Even though, thoracic pain is less common than neck or low back pain, the degree of disability resulting from thoracic pain disorders seems to be similar to other painful conditions. Interventions in managing chronic thoracic pain are also less frequent, leading to the paucity of literature about various interventions in managing chronic thoracic pain. Thoracic intervertebral discs and thoracic facet joints have been shown to be pain generators, even though thoracic radicular pain is very infrequent. Thoracic epidural injections are one of the commonly performed procedures in managing thoracic pain. The efficacy of thoracic epidural injections has not been well studied. STUDY DESIGN A randomized, double-blind, active controlled trial. SETTING Private interventional pain management practice and specialty referral center in the United States. OBJECTIVE The primary objective was to assess the effectiveness of thoracic interlaminar epidural injections in providing effective pain relief and improving function in patients with chronic mid and/or upper back pain. METHODS One hundred and ten patients were randomly assigned into 2 groups with 55 patients in each group receiving either local anesthetic alone (Group I) or local anesthetic with steroids (Group II). Randomization was performed by computer-generated random allocation sequence by simple randomization. OUTCOMES ASSESSMENT Outcomes were assessed utilizing Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) 2.0, employment status, and opioid intake. The patients experiencing greater than 3 weeks of significant improvement with the first 2 procedures were considered as successful. Others were considered as failed participants. Significant improvement was defined as a decrease of greater than 50% NRS scores and ODI scores with measurements performed at baseline, 3, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months post treatment. RESULTS Significant improvement was seen in 71% in Group I and 80% in Group II at the end of 2 years with all participants; however, improvement was seen in 80% and 86% when only successful patients were considered. Therapeutic procedural characteristics showed 5 to 6 procedures per 2 years with total average relief of 80 weeks in Group I and 78 weeks in Group II in the successful patient category; whereas, it was 71 and 72 weeks when all patients were considered. LIMITATIONS Limitations of this assessment include lack of a placebo group. CONCLUSIONS Based on the results of this trial, it is concluded that chronic thoracic pain of non-facet joint origin may be managed conservatively with thoracic interlaminar epidural injections with or without steroids.
ANALYSIS OF THE EXPERIMENTAL LESION OF CONNECTIVE TISSUE PRODUCED BY A COMPLEX OF C POLYSACCHARIDE FROM GROUP A STREPTOCOCCI

Specific antibody and a glucosaminidase enzyme react with the serologically active sites on C polysaccharide, and local injection of these reagents will neutralize the toxic effect of C polysaccharide complexes even after an interval of 24 to 72 hours. The cell wall lysins in S. albus filtrate and from phage-lysed Group C streptococci, break down the cell wall structure of Group A streptococci but leave the serological reactive sites of the C polysaccharide intact. These reagents lose much of their ability to neutralize the C polysaccharide toxin when superinjected after an interval of 4 hours following toxin injections. Toxic C polysaccharide cannot be recovered from an injection site by intercellular perfusion of the excised skin area after an interval of 1 to 4 hours following toxin injection. It is concluded that toxic particles of C polysaccharide complexes combine firmly with the dermal tissue of rabbits within 1 to 4 hours following intracutaneous injection. The cell wall lysins neutralize the toxin by reducing the particle size of C polysaccharide complexes. This minimum particle size is required for the initial reaction with tissue and when this has occurred these reagents are no longer able to influence the development of the lesion.