Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
ON THE SPIN OF THE BLACK HOLE IN IC 10 X–1

The compact X-ray source in the eclipsing X-ray binary IC 10 X–1 has reigned for years as ostensibly the most massive stellar-mass black hole, with a mass estimated to be about twice that of its closest rival. However, striking results presented recently by Laycock et al. reveal that the mass estimate, based on emission-line velocities, is unreliable and that the mass of the X-ray source is essentially unconstrained. Using Chandra and NuSTAR data, we rule against a neutron-star model and conclude that IC 10 X–1 contains a black hole. The eclipse duration of IC 10 X–1 is shorter and its depth shallower at higher energies, an effect consistent with the X-ray emission being obscured during eclipse by a Compton-thick core of a dense wind. The spectrum is strongly disk-dominated, which allows us to constrain the spin of the black hole via X-ray continuum fitting. Three other wind-fed black hole systems are known; the masses and spins of their black holes are high: M ∼ 10 – 15 M ⊙ ? > and a * > 0.8 ? > . If the mass of IC 10 X–1's black hole is comparable, then its spin is likewise high.
Thermodynamics of decaying vacuum cosmologies.

The thermodynamic behavior of decaying vacuum cosmologies is investigated within a manifestly covariant formulation. Such a process corresponds to a continuous, irreversible energy flow from the vacuum component to the created matter constituents. It is shown that if the specific entropy per particle remains constant during the process, the equilibrium relations are preserved. In particular, if the vacuum decays into photons, the energy density {rho} and average number density of photons {ital n} scale with the temperature as {rho}{approximately}{ital T}{sup 4} and {ital n}{approximately}{ital T}{sup 3}. The temperature law is determined and a generalized Planckian-type form of the spectrum, which is preserved in the course of the evolution, is also proposed. Some consequences of these results for decaying vacuum FRW-type cosmologies as well as for models with {open_quote}{open_quote}adiabatic{close_quote}{close_quote} photon creation are discussed. {copyright} {ital 1996 The American Physical Society. }
Reduction of Current Harmonic Distortion in Three-Phase Grid-Connected Photovoltaic Inverters via Resonant Current Control

The resonant current control has been extensively employed to reduce the current harmonic distortion in a wide range of grid-connected distributed generation applications, including photovoltaic (PV) inverters, wind and water turbines, and fuel-cell inverters. However, the performance of these systems is deteriorated when the utility grid voltage experiences abnormal conditions such as voltage harmonics and imbalances. Several advanced control solutions have been recently introduced to cope with this problem but at the cost of a significant increase in the control computational load. This paper first analyzes the limitations of the standard resonant current control operating under abnormal grid conditions and then introduces a control scheme that improves the current harmonic distortion in such adverse conditions without increasing the computational load of the standard current control. This theoretical contribution is validated by means of selected experimental results from a three-phase PV inverter.
[Migration and differentiation of exogenous rat mesenchymal stem cells engrafted into normal and injured hearts of rats].

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effects of different microcircumstances on the migration and differentiation of grafted rat mesenchymal stem cells (rMSC) in host myocardium and the feasibility of treatment of myocardial infarction by exogenous adult stem cells. METHODS rMSC were isolated from the femurs and tibiae of a male Wistar rat and then purified, made into cell suspension, and labeled with DAPI. 35 female Wistar rat were divided randomly into four groups: acute myocardial infarction control group (AMI group, n = 10, the descending anterior branch of left coronary artery was ligated), acute myocardial infarction + rMSC transplantation group (AMI + rMSC group, n = 10, 1 - 3 hours after the ligation DAPI-labeled rMSC were injected into the peri-infarct tissues), normal heart + rMSC transplantation group (normal heart + MSC group, n = 10, DAPI-labeled rMSC were injected into the corresponding myocardium), and mono-nuclear cells transplantation group (AMI + MNCS, n = 5 DAPI-labeled mononuclear cells were injected into he periinfarct tissues). Ten weeks after the implantation, the rats were killed and their hearts were harvested. Immunohistochemistry was used to examine the troponin, GATA-4 and connexin-43. RESULTS No lymphocyte proliferation and immonologic rejection were seen in the cardiac tissues of the rats implanted with rMSC. DAPI-labeled rMSC with blue nuclei were distributed extensively in the myocardium of the AMI + rMSC group, ovoid in shape and arranged in parallel with the cardiac muscle fibers, and were distributed sporadically like islands in the myocardium of the normal heart + rMSC group, irregular in shape and not arranged in parallel with the cardiac muscle fibers. No blue nucleus was seen in the cardiac tissues of the hearts implanted with DAPI-labeled mononuclear cells. Troponin and GATA4 were positive immunohistochemically in the implanted rMSC with blue nuclei and the host cardiac muscle cells of the AMI group and AMI + rMSC group, however, were negative in the implanted rMSC with blue nuclei and normal cardiac muscle cells of the normal heart + rMSC group. CONCLUSION Purified rMSC are immunologically tolerable and can be used as donor cells for exogenous cells therapy. Capable of surviving and homing in both in normal and injured hearts, exogenous rMSC migrate and differentiate into cardiac muscle cell-like cells in myocardium with infarction, however, not in normal heart.
A novel channelopathy in pulmonary arterial hypertension.

n engl j med 369;22 nejm.org november 28, 2013 2161 mas. This combination is suggestive of chromothripsis, a single genetic event that results in focal losses and rearrangements in multiple genomic regions. Chromothripsis was previously described as being associated with aggressive forms of some types of cancer. The phenomenon of chromothripsis is typically not detected by means of conventional cytogenetic methods, and it was first described in the context of next-generation sequencing.1 We also showed that two sequential chromothripsis-like events can occur in a single tumor-cell lineage, and we described data supporting a clonal relationship between separate leiomyomas occurring in the same patient. We shed light on target genes with deletions on 7q and showed up-regulation of the key leiomyoma gene RAD51B in MED12-mutated leiomyomas. Although these findings cannot be interpreted from the data described by Markowski et al., their study is nonetheless a substantive contribution to a better understanding of the pathogenesis of leiomyomas.
Motor Neuron Gene Therapy: Lessons from Spinal Muscular Atrophy for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are severe nervous system diseases characterized by the degeneration of lower motor neurons. They share a number of additional pathological, cellular, and genetic parallels suggesting that mechanistic and clinical insights into one disorder may have value for the other. While there are currently no clinical ALS gene therapies, the splice-switching antisense oligonucleotide, nusinersen, was recently approved for SMA. This milestone was achieved through extensive pre-clinical research and patient trials, which together have spawned fundamental insights into motor neuron gene therapy. We have thus tried to distil key information garnered from SMA research, in the hope that it may stimulate a more directed approach to ALS gene therapy. Not only must the type of therapeutic (e.g., antisense oligonucleotide vs. viral vector) be sensibly selected, but considerable thought must be applied to the where, which, what, and when in order to enhance treatment benefit: to where (cell types and tissues) must the drug be delivered and how can this be best achieved? Which perturbed pathways must be corrected and can they be concurrently targeted? What dosing regime and concentration should be used? When should medication be administered? These questions are intuitive, but central to identifying and optimizing a successful gene therapy. Providing definitive solutions to these quandaries will be difficult, but clear thinking about therapeutic testing is necessary if we are to have the best chance of developing viable ALS gene therapies and improving upon early generation SMA treatments.
An Improved FastSLAM System Based on Distributed Structure for Autonomous Robot Navigation

Fast simultaneous localization and mapping (FastSLAM) is an efficient algorithm for autonomous navigation of mobile vehicle. However, FastSLAM must reconfigure the entire vehicle state equation when the feature points change, which causes an exponential growth in quantities of computation and difficulties in isolating potential faults. In order to overcome these limitations, an improved FastSLAM, based on the distributed structure, is developed in this paper. There are two state estimation parts designed in this improved FastSLAM. Firstly, a distributed unscented particle filter is used to avoid reconfiguring the entire system equation in the vehicle state estimation part. Secondly, in the landmarks estimation part, the observation model is designed as a linear one to update the landmarks states by using the linear observation errors. Then, the convergence of the proposed and improved FastSLAM algorithm is given in the sense of mean square. Finally, the simulation results show that the proposed distributed algorithm could reduce the computational complexity with high accuracy and high fault-tolerance performance.
Role for the Bacterial Signal Indole in Promoting Epithelial Cell Barrier Function

Interkingdom (IK) signaling, in which pathogenic bacteria recognize human hormones in the gastrointestinal tract to initiate infection, has recently emerged as an important contributor to gastrointestinal tract infections. While a majority of studies have primarily focused on the effect of host molecules on pathogens, recent work from our lab has demonstrated that human intestinal epithelial cells can also recognize bacterial signaling molecules. We demonstrated that indole, secreted to ~ 500 � M by commensal Escherichia coli, increased expression of tight junction proteins and genes involved in mucin production in HCT-8 intestinal epithelial cells, thus enhancing their barrier properties. These results were consistent with an observed increased in trans-epithelial resistance on exposure to indole over 24 h. Since indole is structurally similar to melatonin, and melatonin is a hormone that regulates the dark-cycle in the eye, we also investigated role of indole on human retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells. Our data show that indole increases trans-epithelial resistance of RPE cells, and attenuated their proliferation and migration. Our results suggest a beneficial role for indole in the treatment of eye diseases, and are discussed in detail in this article.
NEUROD2 Regulates Stim1 Expression and Store-Operated Calcium Entry in Cortical Neurons

Abstract Calcium signaling controls many key processes in neurons, including gene expression, axon guidance, and synaptic plasticity. In contrast to calcium influx through voltage- or neurotransmitter-gated channels, regulatory pathways that control store-operated calcium entry (SOCE) in neurons are poorly understood. Here, we report a transcriptional control of Stim1 (stromal interaction molecule 1) gene, which is a major sensor of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) calcium levels and a regulator of SOCE. By using a genome-wide chromatin immunoprecipitation and sequencing approach in mice, we find that NEUROD2, a neurogenic transcription factor, binds to an intronic element within the Stim1 gene. We show that NEUROD2 limits Stim1 expression in cortical neurons and consequently fine-tunes the SOCE response upon depletion of ER calcium. Our findings reveal a novel mechanism that regulates neuronal calcium homeostasis during cortical development.
Ethical research with children

'This book is an interesting read and one that covers a range of concerns and issues that researchers might encounter when designing research, interviewing or working with children' - "Educational Review". This book focuses on doing ethical research with children in today's climate of increased globalization, surveillance and awareness of children as competent research participants. It covers a range of conceptual, methodological and procedural issues, and provides a framework for doing ethical research with children. Written by international experts in the fields of early childhood research and ethics, this book supports students, practitioner-researchers and research gatekeepers with resources on how to conduct and evaluate ethical research with children. The contributors: use key examples of cutting-edge research from a range of countries to examine research ethics with children and those around them; provide strategies for planning, conducting and evaluating research in an ethical way; and, explore theoretical approaches to children and childhood that are relevant to ethical research. "Ethical Research with Children" is key reading for students in childhood studies, teacher education, public health, nursing, human services, legal studies, psychology and social sciences, as well as practitioner-researchers in these fields.
Sociodemographic determinants of attitudinal barriers in the use of mental health services in Japan: Findings from the World Mental Health Japan Survey 2002–2006

Sociodemographic correlates of Japanese attitudinal barriers to mental health services might be different from previous studies in Western countries, reflecting a different culture. We investigated sociodemographic correlates of attitudinal barriers to mental health services in a community population in Japan, based on data collected in the World Mental Health Survey Japan surveys.
A New Route for Fabricating On‐Chip Chalcogenide Microcavity Resonator Arrays

index waveguide highly ineffi cient. Alternatively, chalcogenides have recently been considered as a material for active and passive resonant media because of their high refractive index ( n = 2.2–3.4), wide mid-IR transparency window, extraordinary high nonlinearity, photosensitivity, low two-photon absorption, low phonon energy, and ability to be doped by most of the rare earth elements. [ 12,13 ] Even though their Q -factors (<7 × 10 7 ) are not as high as that of silica WGM resonators, thresholds for some nonlinear optical interactions are on the same order of magnitude, due to their high nonlinearity. [ 14 ] Nevertheless, similar obstacles exist before the full utilization of the chalcogenide microresonators, emerging from the exclusive nature of their production and integration phases. Methods compatible to mass production can produce hundreds of polydisperse spheres. [ 15,16 ] However, spheres with a desired shape and optical quality need to be separated from the debris by very elaborate and laborious techniques, and manipulated by their attachment on a fi ber tip [ 17 ] or using optical tweezers. [ 18 ] Other methods, similar to production of silica spheres, rely on melting the tip of a chalcogenide fi ber by laser heating. [ 19 ] Although these spheres are attached to a fi ber stem, allowing them to be easily manipulated, high yield production is not possible due to the very nature of the process and the eccentricity caused by the stem. [ 20 ] Besides spheres on a fi ber tip, an additional example for the in-situ formation of WGM resonators is photoinduced microcavity resonators in chalcogenide microfi bers. [ 21,22 ] The integration of a single chalcogenide sphere coupled to a tapered fi ber has been demonstrated by packaging the system using a UV-curable polymer. [ 23 ] Another route towards the production of chalcogenide microspheres is to induce the Plateau-Rayleigh (PR) capillary instability [ 24,25 ] in a chalcogenide fi ber, which was fi rst shown by optical fusing the bare core in the midair [ 16 ] and recently in a polymer cladding for small fi ber lengths (<1 mm) by using a tapering process [ 26 ] and a local heat treatment. [ 27 ]
Neurobehavioral aspects of affective disorders.

A PSYCHOLOGICAL PERS PECTIVE ON THE NEUROBIOLOGY OF AFFECTIVE DISORDERS . 457 DOPAMINE FUNCTIONING, BEHAVIORAL FACILITATION, AND B I POLAR AFFECTIVE DISORDERS . 458 The Behavioral Facilitation System . 458 Neurobiology of the Behavioral Facilitation System . 462 Implications for Bipolar Affective Disorders . 471 BRAIN IMAGING AND THE MAJOR AFFECTIVE DISORDERS. 476 Overview of Imaging Techniques . 477 CT Scan Studies. 481 PET and MRI Studies . 484 Conclusion . 486 FINAL REMARKS . 487
Disability and Mental Disorders in the Canadian Armed Forces

Objectives: The initial goal was to validate the use of a self-report measure of disability in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). The main goal was to document the extent of disability in personnel with and without mental disorders. Methods: Data were obtained from the 2013 Canadian Forces Mental Health Survey; the sample included 6700 Regular Forces personnel. Disability was measured with the 12-item version of the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS-2); established cut points were used to demarcate severe, moderate, minimal, and no disability. The following recent (past-year) and remote (lifetime but not past-year) disorders were assessed with diagnostic interviews: posttraumatic stress disorder, major depressive episode, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and alcohol use disorder. Results: The WHODAS-2 showed good internal consistency (α = 0.89) and a 1-factor structure. Most personnel had no disability (59.2%) or minimal disability (30.8%). However, an important minority had moderate or severe disability (8.4% and 1.6%, respectively). Individuals with recent disorders reported greater disability than those without lifetime disorders, although many had minimal or no disability (41.2% and 24.7%, respectively). Disability increased with the number of recent disorders. Relative to those without lifetime disorders, individuals with remote disorders showed slightly greater disability, but most had no disabilty (57.1%) or minimal disability (35.0%). Conclusions: The 12-item WHODAS-2 is a valid measure of disability in the CAF. Mental disorders may be important drivers of disability in this population, although limited residual disability is seen in individuals with remote disorders.
Motivation for Achievement: Possibilities for Teaching and Learning

Part I Setting the Stage for Motivational Possibilities: Motivation - Problems, Possibilities, and Perspectives. Part II Social Cognitive Processes That Influence Motivation: Attributional Beliefs and Motivation Concepts of Ability and Motivation Goals and Goal Setting Developing Student Self-Regulatory Capabilities. Part III The Classroom Climate for Optional Engagement and Motivation: Teacher Motivation - Expectations and Efficacy Promoting Optimal Motivation and Engagement - The Social Context Tasks, Recognition, and Evaluation For Optimal Engagement Implementing Motivation Strategies in the Classroom.
Evolutionary ensembles with negative correlation learning

Based on negative correlation learning and evolutionary learning, this paper presents evolutionary ensembles with negative correlation learning (EENCL) to address the issues of automatic determination of the number of individual neural networks (NNs) in an ensemble and the exploitation of the interaction between individual NN design and combination. The idea of EENCL is to encourage different individual NNs in the ensemble to learn different parts or aspects of the training data so that the ensemble can learn better the entire training data. The cooperation and specialization among different individual NNs are considered during the individual NN design. This provides an opportunity for different NNs to interact with each other and to specialize. Experiments on two real-world problems demonstrate that EENCL can produce NN ensembles with good generalization ability.
Dynamic Vehicle Redistribution and Online Price Incentives in Shared Mobility Systems

This paper considers the efficient operation of shared mobility systems via the combination of intelligent routing decisions for staff-based vehicle redistribution and real-time price incentives for customers. The approach is applied to London's Barclays Cycle Hire scheme, which the authors have simulated based on historical data. Using model-based predictive control principles, dynamically varying rewards are computed and offered to customers carrying out journeys, based on the current and predicted state of the system. The aim is to encourage them to park bicycles at nearby underused stations, thereby reducing the expected cost of redistributing them using dedicated staff. In parallel, routing directions for redistribution staff are periodically recomputed using a model-based heuristic. It is shown that it is possible to trade off reward payouts to customers against the cost of hiring staff to redistribute bicycles, in order to minimize operating costs for a given desired service level.
A Multi-disciplinary Approach to Understanding Hippocampal Function in Foodhoarding Birds

Spatial memory and the hippocampal formation (HF) of food-hoarding birds have been put forward as a prime example of how natural selection has shaped a cognitive system and its neural underpinnings. Here, I review what we know about the HF of hoarding birds and lay out the work that is currently underway to use this system to obtain a better understanding of hippocampal function in general. This interdisciplinary programme includes evolutionary, ecological, psychological, ethological, and neuroscientific approaches to the study of behaviour and cognition. Firstly, we need to understand the behaviour of the birds in their natural environment, and identify the aspects of cognition and behaviour that may be especially valuable for the species under study. Secondly, these cognitive and behavioural traits are compared to closely-related non-hoarding species. Thirdly, we also compare HF anatomy between closely-related hoarding and non-hoarding species, identifying possible neural mechanisms underlying behavioural differences. Finally, behavioural and neuroscientific approaches are combined in experiments directly investigating the involvement of the HF or any of its anatomical and physiological aspects in the behaviours under study. This process loops back upon itself in many different ways, with all the different approaches informing each other. In this way we are making progress in understanding the functioning of the HF, not only in food-hoarding birds, but in all vertebrates.