Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Long slit spectroscopy of a sample of isolated spirals with and without an AGN.

We present the kinematical data obtained for a sample of active (Seyfert) and non active isolated spiral galaxies, based on long slit spectra along several position angles in the Hα line region and, in some cases, in the Ca triplet region as well. Gas velocity distributions are presented, together with a simple circular rotation model that allows us to determine the kinematical major axes. Stellar velocity distributions are also shown. The main result is that active and control galaxies seem to be equivalent in all kinematical aspects. For both subsamples, the departure from pure circular rotation in some galaxies can be explained by the presence of a bar and/or of a spiral arm. They also present the same kind of peculiarities, in particular, S-shape structures are quite common near the nuclear regions. They define very similar Tully-Fisher relations. Emission line ratios are given for all the detected HII regions; the analysis of the (NII)/Hα metallicity indicator shows that active and non-active galaxies have indistinguishable disk metallicities. These results argue in favour of active and non-active isolated spiral galaxies having essentially the same properties, in agreement with our previous results based on the analysis of near infrared images. It appears now necessary to confirm these results on a larger sample.
Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) status and K-Ras mutations in colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND In advanced colorectal cancer, K-Ras somatic mutations predict resistance to mAbs targeting epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Relationships between K-Ras mutations and EGFR status have not been examined so far. We analyzed relationships between K-Ras mutations and EGFR tumoral status based on EGFR germinal polymorphisms, gene copy number and expression. METHODS Eighty colorectal tumors (stage 0-IV) and 39 normal mucosas were analyzed. K-Ras mutations at codons 12 and 13 were detected by a sensitive enrichment double PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) assay. EGFR gene polymorphisms at positions -216G>T, -191C>A and 497Arg>Lys were analyzed (PCR-RFLP), along with CA repeat polymorphism in intron 1 (fluorescent genotyping) and EGFR gene copy number (PCR amplification). EGFR expression was quantified by Scatchard binding assay. RESULTS The number of EGFR high-affinity sites, dissociation constant (Kd), gene copy number, intron 1, -216G>T, -191C>A or 497Lys>Arg genotypes was not different between K-Ras-mutated or K-Ras-non-mutated tumors. No relationship was observed between any of the analyzed EGFR genotypes and EGFR expression. EGFR expression was not related to gene copy number. EGFR gene copy number in tumor and normal tissue was not correlated. The mean value of the tumor/normal mucosa gene copy number ratio was 1.16. CONCLUSIONS Present data clearly show that EGFR status is independent of K-Ras mutations in colorectal tumors.
Ten year neurocognitive trajectories in first-episode psychosis

Objective: Neurocognitive impairment is commonly reported at onset of psychotic disorders. However, the long-term neurocognitive course remains largely uninvestigated in first episode psychosis (FEP) and the relationship to clinically significant subgroups even more so. We report 10 year longitudinal neurocognitive development in a sample of FEP patients, and explore whether the trajectories of cognitive course are related to presence of relapse to psychosis, especially within the first year, with a focus on the course of verbal memory. Method: Forty-three FEP subjects (51% male, 28 ± 9 years) were followed-up neurocognitively over five assessments spanning 10 years. The test battery was divided into four neurocognitive indices; Executive Function, Verbal Learning, Motor Speed, and Verbal Fluency. The sample was grouped into those relapsing or not within the first, second and fifth year. Results: The four neurocognitive indices showed overall stability over the 10 year period. Significant relapse by index interactions were found for all indices except Executive Function. Follow-up analyses identified a larger significant decrease over time for the encoding measure within Verbal Memory for patients with psychotic relapse in the first year [F(4, 38) = 5.8, p = 0.001, η2 = 0.40]. Conclusions: Main findings are long-term stability in neurocognitive functioning in FEP patients, with the exception of verbal memory in patients with psychotic relapse or non-remission early in the course of illness. We conclude that worsening of specific parts of cognitive function may be expected for patients with on-going psychosis, but that the majority of patients do not show significant change in cognitive performance during the first 10 years after being diagnosed.
In Vitro Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Activities of Ethanolic Extract of Lyophilized Mycelium of Pleurotus ostreatus PQMZ91109

The antioxidant and antimicrobial potential of the ethanolic extract of Pleurotus ostreatus PQMZ91109 mycelium was determined based on inorganic and organic nitrogen sources in the culture medium. The presence of ammonium sulfate resulted in a greater accumulation of bioactive compounds compared with the organic ones. This finding was also confirmed by the low values of the ascertained EC50 and minimum inhibitory concentration (MICs). Among the organic sources, peptone followed by corn extract, led to a more important radical-scavenging activity. The extracts selectively inhibited the tested strains, mainly the two of the genus Candida, at an MIC value of 1.25 mg/mL. The antioxidant potential was evaluated by the inhibition capacity of the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical, β-carotene-linoleic acid, which is the reducing power. In addition, the quantity of the compounds with antioxidant effects confirmed the data obtained, they being present in the extracts.
A High-level Petri Net Ontology Compatible with PNML

In this paper, a High-level Petri Nets (HLPN) ontology is presented. This ontology is based on the International Standard ISO/IEC 15909-1 and describes semantically and declaratively both the static and dynamic behaviour of a HLPN. The ontology is composed by: (i) a concept taxonomy that describes the main components of a HLPN, following the vocabulary and semantics specified in the standard; and (ii) a set of axioms that constraint how the instances of the taxonomy are created, restricting the range and domain of the concept relations, and the values of the concept attributes. These axioms guarantee that the HLPN is correctly constructed, and define how the HLPN should be executed. The ontology is compatible with the PNML specification through a number of transformations that enable the translation from the PNML elements into the ontology concept taxonomy. The ontology has been implemented in the Frame Logic and OWL languages, and it can be downloaded from http://www-gsi.dec.usc.es/ontologies/hlpn.
H.264 Fast Inter-Mode Selection Based on Coded Block Patterns

Summary A new H.264 fast inter-mode decision algorithm based on coded block patterns is presented. Compared to the exhaustive mode search, the proposed method achieves an average 57% reduction in computation time with negligible degradation in visual quality. The speed and rate-distortion performance is comparable to known fast algorithms that involve more elaborate mechanisms.
Unequal-mass galaxy merger remnants: spiral-like morphology but elliptical-like kinematics

It is generally believed that major galaxy mergers with mass ratios in the range 1:1-3:1 result in remnants that have properties similar to elliptical galaxies, and minor mergers below 10:1 result in disturbed spiral galaxies. The intermediate range of mass ratios 4:1-10:1 has not been studied so far. Using N-body simulations, we show that such mergers can result in very peculiar systems, that have the morphology of a disk galaxy with an exponential profile, but whose kinematics is closer to that of elliptical systems. These objects are similar to those recently observed by Jog & Chitre (2002). We present two cases with mass ratios 4.5:1 and 7:1, and show that the merging causes major heating and results in the appearance of elliptical-type kinematics, while surprisingly the initial spiral-like mass profile is conserved.
Simulation Analysis of the IEEE 802.11e EDCA Protocol for an Industrially-Relevant Real-Time Communication Scenario

The IEEE 802.11e standard was published as an amendment to the original IEEE 802.11 standard. This amendment is intended to provide differentiated levels of QoS to the supported applications. The 802.11e amendment incorporates an additional coordination function called hybrid coordination function (HCF) that uses both a contention-based channel access method, called the enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) and a controlled channel access, referred to as the HCF controlled channel access (HCCA). Under the EDCA mechanism, it is a common assumption to consider the highest access category (voice) adequate to support real-time communication. In this paper, we analyze the timing behavior of the EDCA function, when it is used to support real-time traffic. Basically, we assess the behavior of the voice category in open communication environments (i.e., a communication environment subject to external disturbances) when this access category is used to transfer small sized packets, generated in periodic intervals. We show that the transmission opportunity (TXOP) mechanism included in the IEEE 802.11e amendment improves the system throughput, for the case of message streams with small packet sizes. However, the impact of external disturbances upon the transfer of real-time messages is highly relevant. For instance, the average access delay for the real-time messages is more than one order of magnitude larger when the external disturbance increases the network load from just 10% to 30%. Furthermore, both the number of packet losses and the average size of the MAC queues forecast an unacceptable number of deadline losses for the real-time message streams, even for intermediate load cases.
Physical conditions in potential sources of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays. II. Nearby active galaxies correlated with Auger events

We analyze the active-galaxy correlation reported in 2007 by the Pierre Auger Collaboration. The signal diminishes if the correlation-function approach (counting all “source–event” pairs and not only “nearest neighbours”) is used, suggesting that the correlation may reveal individual sources and not their population. We analyze available data on physical conditions in these individual correlated sources and conclude that acceleration of protons to the observed energies is hardly possible in any of these galaxies, while heavier nuclei would be deflected by the Galactic magnetic field thus spoiling the correlation. Our results question the Auger interpretation of the reported anisotropy signal but do not contradict to its explanation with intermediatemass nuclei accelerated in Cen A. PACS number: 98.70. Sa Physical conditions in potential UHECR sources II 2
On the generalised Chaplygin gas: worse than a big rip or quieter than a sudden singularity?

Although it has been believed that the models with generalised Chaplygin gas do not contain singularities, in a previous work we have studied how a big freeze could take place in some kinds of phantom generalised Chaplygin gas. In the present work, we study some types of generalised Chaplygin gas in order to show how different sorts of singularities could appears in such models, in the future or in the past. We point out that: (i) singularities may not be originated from the phantom nature of the fluid, and (ii) if initially the tension of the brane in a brane-world Chaplygin model is large enough then an infrared cut off appears in the past.
Stock options and managers’ incentives to cheat

This paper develops a continuous-time real options’ pricing model to study managers’ incentives to cheat in the presence of equity-based compensation plans. It shows that managers’ incentives to cheat are strongly influenced by the efficiency of the justice. The model’s main result is that managers have greater incentives to commit fraudulent actions under stock options than under common stocks based compensation plans.
A study of the relationship of teachers' self-efficacy and the impact of professional learning community as an organizational structure

xi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION.1 Overview of the Literature. 2 Professional Learning Community (PLC). 4 Teachers’ Self-Efficacy.6 Purpose of the Study.8 Louisiana High School 9 th Grade Redesign Initiative.9 Background.9 Program Overview.10 Purpose.11 Goals. 11 Conceptual Framework of the Study.12 Importance of the Study. 15 Definition of Terms. 16 Professional Learning Community.16 Teachers’ Self-Efficacy. 17 Research Questions. 17 Research Question 1. 18 Research Question 2.18 Limitations and Delimitations.18 Assumptions.19 Locating the Researcher in the Study.19 Design of the Study.20 Summary and Organization of the Study. 20 CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND RESEARCH . 22 Introduction. 22 Early Models of Organizational Structures of Schools. 22 School Reform and the Professional Learning Community. 24 Benefits of Professional Learning Community. 26 Factors Leading to Improved Student Outcomes.28 Evolution of the Professional Learning Community. 29 The Learning Organization. 31 Characteristics of Professional Learning Communities. 33 DuFour’s Characteristics of PLC.33 Hord’s Dimensions of a PLC. 34 Self-Efficacy a Preface. 35 vi Self-Efficacy. 35 Triadic Reciprocal Causation Model. 36 Sources of Self-Efficacy. 37 Teachers’ Self-Efficacy. 39 Relationships Interacting with Teachers’ Self-Efficacy.40 Summary. 43 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY. 44 Overview.44 Sampling Procedures. 45 Study Measures. 45 Schools as Professional Staff Learning Communities Questionnaire (SPSLCQ). 46 Teachers’ Self-Efficacy Belief System – Self (TEBS-S). 47 Data Collection Procedures.48 Data Analysis Procedures and Research Questions.49 Research Questions. 49 Statistical Analysis Procedures.50 Design Issues. 50 Summary. 51 CHAPTER 4: PRESENTATION OF THE RESULTS.52 Overview.52 Response Rate to Survey.52 Summary of Descriptive Statistics for the Sample. 53 Descriptive Statistics for Demographic Characteristics of the Sample Respondents.55 Summary of Results Addressing Research Questions. 57 Instrument Reliability Analysis. 58 Teachers’ Self-Efficacy Belief System – Self (TEBS-S). 58 Schools as Professional Staff Learning Community Questionaire (SPSLCQ). 59 Research Question 1. 62 Research Question 2.66 Factor Analysis of Study Measures.67 Summary.72 CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION, CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS. 73 Overview of the Study. 73 Theoretical and Contextual Background.74 Organizational Structure of Schools.74 Psychometric Properties of the Instruments Used in the Study.75 Correlational Analyses.77 Factor Analyses.77 Conclusions for Research Question 1.78 Major Findings and Conclusions for Research Question 2. 79
Protection of rat intestinal epithelial cells from ischemia/reperfusion injury by (D-Ala2, D-Leu5)-enkephalin through inhibition of the MKK7-JNK signaling pathway

Previous studies have demonstrated that (D-Ala2, D-Leu5)-enkephalin (DADLE) protects rats from hepatic ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. In the present study, DADLE was also observed to alleviate IR-induced intestinal epithelial cell injury in rats by inhibiting mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 7 (MKK7)-c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) pathway signaling. To investigate the protective effect of DADLE on hypoxia/reoxygenation injury in rat intestinal epithelial cells, rat intestinal epithelial cells were treated with different concentrations of DADLE, following which the cell survival rate was determined using a tetrazolium (MTT) colorimetric assay, and apoptosis was determined using flow cytometry. To confirm whether the protective effect of DADLE was due to its effect on MKK7-JNK signaling, the phosphorylation levels of MKK7 and JNK were analyzed using western blot analysis following treatment with different concentrations of DADLE. The results demonstrated that, following treatment with DADLE, the survival rate of the rat intestinal cells subjected to I/R-induced injury increased significantly and the apoptotic rate decreased in a concentration-dependent manner. In addition, the levels of phosphorylated MKK7 and JNK decreased in a concentration-dependent manner following treatment with DADLE. Silencing the gene expression of MKK7 using small interfering RNA prior to DADLE treatment resulted in a reduction in the protective effects of DADLE on the rat intestinal epithelial cells subjected to I/R injury. Collectively, the results of the present study demonstrated that the protective effects of DADLE in I/R injury in rat intestinal cells occurred through inhibition of the MKK7-JNK pathway.
The effect of repeated sessions of galvanic vestibular stimulation on target cancellation in visuo-spatial neglect: Preliminary evidence from two cases

Objective: In recent years it has emerged that the attentional disorder of visuo-spatial neglect can be overcome via artificial stimulation of the balance system. One means of achieving this is via galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS), a simple procedure in which tiny, electrical currents are discharged to the part of the scalp overlying the vestibular nerves. Attempts to remediate neglect with GVS have utilized only a single session of stimulation and, although this can induce spontaneous recovery, symptoms resurface soon after stimulation. This study assessed whether repeated sessions induce longer carry-over. Methods: Two individuals diagnosed with neglect post-stroke received 5 days of sub-sensory, left anodal GVS. Performance was assessed via the letter and star cancellation tasks of the Behavioural Inattention Test on four occasions; 3 days before the start of stimulation, on the first and last day of stimulation and 3-days after stimulation. Results: Analyses of variance indicated that both participants missed significantly fewer targets in both tasks on the fifth day of stimulation compared to baseline. More so, this improvement was still evident at follow-up 3 days later. Conclusion: The results strengthen the need for a larger, sham-controlled trial to establish whether repeated GVS provides lasting relief from neglect.
Running Head : Neural Basis of Guilt Aversion Triangulating the neural , psychological & economic bases of guilt aversion ( May 12 , 2011 : publication day , Neuron )

Why do people often choose to cooperate when they can better serve their interests by acting selfishly? One potential mechanism is that the anticipation of guilt can motivate cooperative behavior. We utilize a formal model of this process in conjunction with fMRI to identify brain regions that mediate cooperative behavior while participants decided whether or not to honor a partner’s trust. We observed increased activation in the insula, supplementary motor area, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (PFC), and temporal parietal junction when participants were behaving consistent with our model, and found increased activity in the ventromedial PFC, dorsomedial PFC, and nucleus accumbens when they chose to abuse trust and maximize their financial reward. This study demonstrates that a neural system previously implicated in expectation processing plays a critical role in assessing moral sentiments that in turn can sustain human cooperation in the face of temptation. Running Head: Neural Basis of Guilt Aversion
TRAP transporters: a new family of periplasmic solute transport systems encoded by the dctPQM genes of Rhodobacter capsulatus and by homologs in diverse gram-negative bacteria

The dct locus of Rhodobacter capsulatus encodes a high-affinity transport system for the C4-dicarboxylates malate, succinate, and fumarate. The nucleotide sequence of the region downstream of the previously sequenced dctP gene (encoding a periplasmic C4-dicarboxylate-binding protein) was determined. Two open reading frames (ORFs) of 681 bp (dctQ) and 1,320 bp (dctM) were identified as additional dct genes by insertional mutagenesis and complementation studies. DctQ (24,763 Da) and DctM (46,827 Da) had hydropathic profiles consistent with the presence of 4 and 12 potential transmembrane segments, respectively, and were localized in the cytoplasmic membrane fraction after heterologous expression of the dctQM ORFs in Escherichia coli. DctP, DctQ, and DctM were found to be unrelated to known transport proteins in the ABC (ATP-binding cassette) superfamily but were shown to be homologous with the products of previously unidentified ORFs in a number of gram-negative bacteria, including Bordetella pertussis, E. coli, Salmonella typhimurium, Haemophilus influenzae, and Synechocystis sp. strain PCC6803. An additional ORF (rypA) downstream of dctM encodes a protein with sequence similarity to eukaryotic protein-tyrosine phosphatases, but interposon mutagenesis of this ORF did not result in a Dct- phenotype. Complementation of a Rhizobium meliloti dctABD deletion mutant by heterologous expression of the dctPQM genes from R. capsulatus demonstrated that no additional structural genes were required to form a functional transport system. Transport via the Dct system was vanadate insensitive, and in uncoupler titrations with intact cells, the decrease in the rate of succinate transport correlated closely with the fall in membrane potential but not with the cellular ATP concentration, implying that the proton motive force, rather than ATP hydrolysis, drives uptake. It is concluded that the R. capsulatus Dct system is a new type of periplasmic secondary transporter and that similar, hitherto-unrecognized systems are widespread in gram-negative bacteria. The name TRAP (for tripartite ATP-independent periplasmic) transporters is proposed for this new group.
Evolutionary dynamics of abundant stop codon readthrough in Anopheles and Drosophila

Translational stop codon readthrough was virtually unknown in eukaryotic genomes until recent developments in comparative genomics and new experimental techniques revealed evidence of readthrough in hundreds of fly genes and several human, worm, and yeast genes. Here, we use the genomes of 21 species of Anopheles mosquitoes and improved comparative techniques to identify evolutionary signatures of conserved, functional readthrough of 353 stop codons in the malaria vector, Anopheles gambiae, and 51 additional Drosophila melanogaster stop codons, with several cases of double and triple readthrough including readthrough of two adjacent stop codons, supporting our earlier prediction of abundant readthrough in pancrustacea genomes. Comparisons between Anopheles and Drosophila allow us to transcend the static picture provided by single-clade analysis to explore the evolutionary dynamics of abundant readthrough. We find that most differences between the readthrough repertoires of the two species are due to readthrough gain or loss in existing genes, rather than to birth of new genes or to gene death; that RNA structures are sometimes gained or lost while readthrough persists; and that readthrough is more likely to be lost at TAA and TAG stop codons. We also determine which characteristic properties of readthrough predate readthrough and which are clade-specific. We estimate that there are more than 600 functional readthrough stop codons in A. gambiae and 900 in D. melanogaster. We find evidence that readthrough is used to regulate peroxisomal targeting in two genes. Finally, we use the sequenced centipede genome to refine the phylogenetic extent of abundant readthrough.