Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
XMM-Newton high-resolution spectroscopy reveals the chemical evolution of M 87

We present a study of chemical abundances in the giant elliptical galaxy M 87 using high-resolution spectra obtained with the Reflection Grating Spectrometers during two deep XMM-Newton observations. While we confirm the two-temperature structure of the inter-stellar medium (ISM) in M 87, we also show that a continuous temperature distribution describes the data equally well. The high statistics allow us, for the first time, to also determine relatively accurate abundance values for carbon and nitrogen. The comparison of the abundance ratios of C, N, O, and Fe in the ISM of M 87 with those in the stellar population of our Galaxy shows that the relative contribution of core-collapse supernovae to the enrichment of the ISM in M 87 is significantly less than in the Milky Way and indicates that the enrichment of the ISM by iron through Type Ia supernovae and by carbon and nitrogen is occurring in parallel. This suggests that the main sources of carbon and nitrogen in M 87 are the low- and intermediate-mass asymptotic giant branch stars. From the oxygen to iron abundance ratio in the hot gas, we estimate that the relative number of core collapse and type Ia supernovae contributing to the enrichment of the ISM in the core of M 87 is ~60% and ~40% respectively. The spatial distributions of iron and oxygen are different. Although the oxygen abundance distribution is flat, the iron abundance peaks in the core and has a gradient throughout the $4^{\prime}$ wide field of view of the instrument, suggesting early enrichment by core-collapse supernovae and a continuous contribution of type Ia supernovae.
A hierarchical wavelet decomposition for continuous-time SLAM

This paper proposes using hierarchical wavelets as a basis in parametric continuous-time batch estimation. The need for a continuous-time robot pose in the simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) problem has arisen as state-of-the-art batch SLAM algorithms attempt to handle more challenging hardware; specifically, the continuous-time framework is particularly beneficial when using high-rate sensors, multiple unsynchronized sensors, or scanning sensors, such as lidar and rolling-shutter cameras, during motion. Although the traditional discrete-time SLAM formulation can be adapted by using temporal pose interpolation, approaches using the continuous-time framework are able to generate smooth robot trajectories with less state variables. In this paper, we focus on the parametric approach using temporal basis functions to develop a finite-element representation of the continuous-time robot trajectory. While the majority of current implementations have utilized a uniformly spaced B-spline basis, we note that trajectory richness is often quite variable; in this paper, we show how a hierarchical system of wavelet basis functions can be used to increase the resolution of the solution only in the temporally local regions of the trajectory that require additional detail. We validate our approach by contrasting uniform B-splines and wavelets in a six-dimensional pose-graph SLAM experiment, using both simulated and real data.
O Papel da oferta de trabalho no comportamento dos retornos à educação no Brasil

The proportion of workers with elementary and high school degree has grown very fast during the last two decades. Meanwhile, the proportion of workers with a college degree has stabilized since the early 80's. The college wage premium is growing for workers of all ages, while the elementary and high school wage premium are declining for workers of all ages. The present study estimates a causal relationship from the relative supply of labor into the evolution of the wage gaps. The theoretical model consists of a production function that depends on three labor aggregates: unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled. The estimation follows a two-stage process. In the first one, the elasticities of substitution between age groups are obtained and the second one obtains the elasticities of substitution between skill groups. The paper concludes that the relative demand for semi-skilled work is increasing, but it is being compensating to the increase of the relative supply. The demand for skilled work seems to be constant during the period of the study, which indicates the relative supply totally explains the wage premium.
Employee Representation in Non-Union Firms

Non-union representation revisited State of Play Research methods and strategy Faces of non-union representation Management strategies,processes and practice Union responses and approaches towards non-union employee representation The interplay between non-union and union representation arrangements An employee response Influences and effectiveness of non-union representation Conclusion Future challenges and opportunities
Determinants of airflow obstruction in severe alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency

Background: Severe α1-antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency is an autosomal recessive genetic condition associated with an increased but variable risk for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). A study was undertaken to assess the impact of chronic bronchitis, pneumonia, asthma and sex on the development of COPD in individuals with severe AAT deficiency. Methods: The AAT Genetic Modifier Study is a multicentre family-based cohort study designed to study the genetic and epidemiological determinants of COPD in AAT deficiency. 378 individuals (age range 33–80 years), confirmed to be homozygous for the SERPINA1 Z mutation, were included in the analyses. The primary outcomes of interest were a quantitative outcome, forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) percentage predicted, and a qualitative outcome, severe airflow obstruction (FEV1 <50% predicted). Results: In multivariate analysis of the overall cohort, cigarette smoking, sex, asthma, chronic bronchitis and pneumonia were risk factors for reduced FEV1 percentage predicted and severe airflow obstruction (p<0.01). Index cases had lower FEV1 values, higher smoking histories and more reports of adult asthma, pneumonia and asthma before age 16 than non-index cases (p<0.01). Men had lower pre- and post-bronchodilator FEV1 percentage predicted than women (p<0.0001); the lowest FEV1 values were observed in men reporting a history of childhood asthma (26.9%). This trend for more severe obstruction in men remained when index and non-index groups were examined separately, with men representing the majority of non-index individuals with airflow obstruction (71%). Chronic bronchitis (OR 3.8, CI 1.8 to 12.0) and a physician’s report of asthma (OR 4.2, CI 1.4 to 13.1) were predictors of severe airflow obstruction in multivariate analysis of non-index men but not women. Conclusion: In individuals with severe AAT deficiency, sex, asthma, chronic bronchitis and pneumonia are risk factors for severe COPD, in addition to cigarette smoking. These results suggest that, in subjects severely deficient in AAT, men, individuals with symptoms of chronic bronchitis and/or a past diagnosis of asthma or pneumonia may benefit from closer monitoring and potentially earlier treatment.
Should the Fed take deliberate steps to deflate asset price bubbles

On several occasions over the last few years, various economists and policymakers have expressed the opinion that the stock market was overvalued. They often compared the situation with the 1920s and warned that the U.S. economy was headed for a similar collapse. Some analysts also suggested that the Fed raise interest rates to slow the rate of "asset inflation," on the grounds that it would be better to burst a speculative bubble in its early stages than to let it develop and suffer the inevitable crash. This paper takes up the other side of the debate and argues that deliberate attempts to puncture asset price bubbles may well turn out to be destabilizing. ; Identification of asset price bubbles requires more knowledge about asset price fundamentals than central banks possess, and the inability to identify speculative bubbles makes it difficult to take timely and well-measured countervailing actions.
By their words ye shall know them: Evidence of genetic selection against general intelligence and concurrent environmental enrichment in vocabulary usage since the mid 19th century

It has been theorized that declines in general intelligence (g) due to genetic selection stemming from the inverse association between completed fertility and IQ and the Flynn effect co-occur, with the effects of the latter being concentrated on less heritable non-g sources of intelligence variance. Evidence for this comes from the observation that 19th century populations were more intellectually productive, and also exhibited faster simple reaction times than modern ones, suggesting greater information-processing ability and therefore higher g. This co-occurrence model is tested via examination of historical changes in the utilization frequencies of words from the highly g-loaded WORDSUM test across 5.9 million texts spanning the period 1850–2005. Consistent with predictions, words with higher difficulties (δ parameters from Item Response Theory) and stronger negative correlations between pass rates and completed fertility declined in use over time whereas less difficult and less strongly selected words, increased in use over time, consistent with a Flynn effect stemming in part from the vocabulary enriching effects of increases in population literacy. These findings persisted when explicitly controlled for word age, changing literacy rates and temporal autocorrelation. These trends constitute compelling evidence for the co-occurrence model.
Variability and relationships of important alfalfa germplasm agronomic traits

Background and Purpose: The objective of this paper was to establish variability as well as to estimate stability of the most important alfalfa agronomic traits, with respect to germplasms of different origin. Correlations between the investigated traits were also analysed, since data on relationships are of great importance in selection, especially in traits with low genetic variability. Material and Methods: Experimental material consisted of 12 alfalfa germplasms. Investigation was carried out during a two-year period on two locations, at two different soil types. The field trial was arranged according to the randomised block design with four replications. Results and Conclusions: There was a statistically significant difference of green mass yield from 59.43 t ha –1 (Astra) to 69.04 t ha –1 (PCP), of dry matter from 12.26 t ha –1 (Astra) to 14.10 t ha –1 (PCP), of proteins from 2.49 t ha –1 (Panonija) to 3.03 t ha –1 (PCP), of plant height from 54.67 cm (OS – 90) to 60.82 (Elena), of leaf ratio to green mass from 51.03% (Elena) to 53.56% (Panonija) and of protein content in dry matter from 19.86% (Posavina) to 20.96% (PCP). There were positive correlations between green mass yield, dry matter, protein level and plant height, leaf ratio in green mass was in a negative correlation to yields and plant height. High and stable green mass yields were provided by germplasm OS-88, Du Puits, Elena, Posavina, Vuka and the breeding population PCP in various environmental conditions of plant growth.
Chaos and dynamical trends in barred galaxies: bridging the gap between N-body simulations and time-dependent analytical models

Self-consistent N-body simulations are efficient tools to study galactic dynamics. However, using them to study individual trajectories (or ensembles) in detail can be challenging. Such orbital studies are important to shed light on global phase space properties, which are the underlying cause of observed structures. The potentials needed to describe self-consistent models are time-dependent. Here, we aim to investigate dynamical properties (regular/chaotic motion) of a non-autonomous galactic system, whose time-dependent potential adequately mimics certain realistic trends arising from N-body barred galaxy simulations. We construct a fully time-dependent analytical potential, modeling the gravitational potentials of disc, bar and dark matter halo, whose time-dependent parameters are derived from a simulation. We study the dynamical stability of its reduced time-independent 2-degrees of freedom model, charting the different islands of stability associated with certain orbital morphologies and detecting the chaotic and regular regions. In the full 3-degrees of freedom time-dependent case, we show representative trajectories experiencing typical dynamical behaviours, i.e., interplay between regular and chaotic motion for different epochs. Finally, we study its underlying global dynamical transitions, estimating fractions of (un)stable motion of an ensemble of initial conditions taken from the simulation. For such an ensemble, the fraction of regular motion increases with time.
Pigmented poroma with unusual location and dermatoscopic features

Poroma is a benign adnexal neoplasm with atn “poroid”/ductal differentiation that mimics benign and malignant skin tumors. Histopathology shows circumscribed proliferation of poroid cells intermingled with a variable number of cuticular cells. We report a case of pigmented poroma located on the face that simulated clinically and dermatoscopically a pigmented basal cell carcinoma. The features of pigmented and non-pigmented poromas were revisited in order to assist in the diagnosis.
Helicobacter Pylori Promote B7-H1 Expression by Suppressing miR-152 and miR-200b in Gastric Cancer Cells

The most common cause of gastric cancer is infection with helicobacter pylori (HP), but the associated molecular mechanism is not well understood. In the present study, we found a marked increase in the expression of B7-H1, a member of the B7 co-stimulatory family of molecules that bind to programmed death-1 (PD-1) and play a critical immunoregulatory role in the cell-mediated immune response, in HP-positive gastric cancer tissue. Infection of cultured gastric cancer cells with HP promoted B7-H1 expression and inhibited miR-152 and miR-200b expression. We further demonstrated that these two miRNAs targeted B7-H1 mRNA and suppressed B7-H1 expression in gastric cancer cells. Finally, B7-H1 expression was found to correlate with miR-152 and miR-200b levels in gastric tumor tissues from human patients. Our findings suggest a novel mechanism by which HP infection promotes gastric cancer and also suggest potential targets, i.e., miR-152 and miR-200b, for the prevention and treatment of gastric cancer.
Increased BMP6 Levels in the Brains of Alzheimer's Disease Patients and APP Transgenic Mice Are Accompanied by Impaired Neurogenesis

During aging and in the progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD), synaptic plasticity and neuronal integrity are disturbed. In addition to the alterations in plasticity in mature neurons, the neurodegenerative process in AD has been shown to be accompanied by alterations in neurogenesis. Members of the bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) family of growth factors have been implicated as important regulators of neurogenesis and neuronal cell fate determination during development; however, their role in adult neurogenesis and in AD is less clear. We show here by qRT-PCR analysis that BMP6 mRNA levels were significantly increased in the hippocampus of human patients with AD and in APP transgenic mice compared to controls. Immunoblot and immunohistochemical analyses confirmed that BMP6 protein levels were increased in human AD brains and APP transgenic mouse brains compared to controls and accumulated around hippocampal plaques. The increased levels of BMP6 were accompanied by defects in hippocampal neurogenesis in AD patients and APP transgenic mice. In support of a role for BMP6 in defective neurogenesis in AD, we show in an in vitro model of adult neurogenesis that treatment with amyloid-β1-42 protein (Aβ) resulted in increased expression of BMP6, and that exposure to recombinant BMP6 resulted in reduced proliferation with no toxic effects. Together, these results suggest that Aβ-associated increases in BMP6 expression in AD may have deleterious effects on neurogenesis in the hippocampus, and therapeutic approaches could focus on normalization of BMP6 levels to protect against AD-related neurogenic deficits.
Effects of transgenic Bt corn litter on the earthworm Lumbricus terrestris

A 200‐day study was carried out to investigate the impact of transgenic Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) corn on immature and adult Lumbricus terrestris in the field and in the laboratory. Another objective of this study was to develop test methods that could be used for standard testing of the impact of transgenic plants on different earthworm species in the field and in the laboratory. For this purpose two different experiments were involved, a laboratory experiment with adult L. terrestris and a field experiment with immature L. terrestris. No lethal effects of transgenic Bt corn on immature and adult earthworms were observed. Immature L. terrestris in the field had a very similar growth pattern when fed either (Bt+) or (Bt−) corn litter. No significant differences in relative weights of (Bt+) and (Bt−) corn‐fed adult L. terrestris were observed during the first 160 days of the laboratory trial, but after 200 days adult L. terrestris had a significant weight loss of 18% of their initial weight when fed (Bt+) corn litter compared to a weight gain of 4% of the initial weight of (Bt−) corn‐fed earthworms. Further studies are necessary to see whether or not this difference in relative weight was due to the Bt toxin or other factors discussed in the study. Degradation of Cry1Ab toxin in corn residues was significantly slower in the field than at 10 °C in the laboratory. Enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay results indicated that earthworms in both experiments were exposed to the Bt toxin throughout the whole experimental time.
RACK1 IS UP‐REGULATED IN ANGIOGENESIS AND HUMAN CARCINOMAS

Angiogenesis is crucial for many biological and pathological processes including the ovarian cycle and tumor growth. To identify molecules relevant for angiogenesis, we performed mRNA fingerprinting and subsequent Northern blot analysis using bovine cord‐forming vs. monolayer‐forming endothelial cells (EC) in vitro and staged bovine corpora lutea in vivo. We detected the receptor for activated C kinase 1 (RACK1), the specific receptor for activated protein kinase C β (PKCβ), to be up‐regulated in bovine cord‐forming EC in vitro and in angiogenically active stages of bovine corpora lutea in vivo. Thereafter we established and determined the complete bovine RACK1 cDNA sequence. RACK1 was massively induced in subconfluent vs. contact‐inhibited bovine EC, during angiogenesis in vitro, active phases of the murine ovarian cycle, human tumor angiogenesis, and in cancer cells in vivo as assessed by quantitative PCR and in situ hybridization. RACK1 transcripts were localized to proliferating EC in vitro and the endothelium of tumor neovascularizations in vivo by in situ hybridization. PKCβ plays an important role in angiogenesis and cancer growth. Our data suggest that downstream signaling of PKCβ in angiogenically active vs. inactive tissues and endothelium is affected by the availability of RACK1. —Berns, H. , Humar, R. , Hengerer, B. , Kiefer, F. N. , Battegay, E. J. RACK1 is up‐regulated in angiogenesis and human carcinomas. The FASEB J. 14, 2549–2558 (2000)
Developments and Challenges for mAb-Based Therapeutics

The continuous increase in the number of approved monoclonal antibody (mAb)-based therapy suggests that mAbs, and their derivatives, will continue to be the focus of the biotherapeutics industry for years to come. Although vast improvements in our capability to manufacture, characterize, and stabilize mAbs have been achieved, there are still challenges to be overcome. These include analytical and stabilization approaches associated with the development of high concentration mAb formulations. In addition, several mAb-based modalities are under development, including antibody drug conjugates (ADCs), fusion proteins, and bispecific antibodies (bsAbs), all designed to overcome the limitations encountered with mAb therapy. The current status of their development, with emphasis on manufacturing challenges as well as preliminary clinical results, will be reviewed.
Custom-designed motion-based games for older adults: A review of literature in human-computer interaction

Many older adults, particularly persons living in senior residences and care homes, lead sedentary lifestyles, which reduces their life expectancy. Motion-based video games encourage physical activity and might be an opportunity for these adults to remain active and engaged; however, research efforts in the field have frequently focused on younger audiences and little is known about the requirements and benefits of motion-based games for elderly players. In this paper, we present an overview of motion-based video games and other interactive technologies for older adults. First, we summarize existing approaches towards the definition of motion-based video games – often referred to as exergames – and suggest a categorization of motion-based applications into active video games, exergames, and augmented sports. Second, we use this scheme to classify case studies addressing design efforts particularly directed towards older adults. Third, we analyze these case studies with a focus on potential target audiences, benefits, challenges in their deployment, and future design opportunities to investigate whether motion-based video games can be applied to encourage physical activity among older adults. In this context, special attention is paid to evaluation routines and their implications regarding the deployment of such games in the daily lives of older adults. The results show that many case studies examine isolated aspects of motion-based game design for older adults, and despite the broad range of issues in motion-based interaction for older adults covered by the sum of all research projects, there appears to be a disconnect between laboratory-based research and the deployment of motion-based video games in the daily lives of senior citizens. Our literature review suggests that despite research results suggesting various benefits of motion-based play for older adults, most work in the field of game design for senior citizens has focused on the implementation of accessible user interfaces, and that little is known about the long-term deployment of video games for this audience, which is a crucial step if these games are to be implemented in activity programs of senior residences, care homes, or in therapy.