Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Nearby Optical Galaxy Sample: The Local Galaxy Luminosity Function

In this paper we derive the galaxy luminosity function from the nearby optical galaxy (NOG) sample, which is a nearly complete, magnitude-limited (B ≤ 14 mag), all-sky sample of nearby optical galaxies (~6400 galaxies with cz < 5500 km s-1). For this local sample, we use galaxy distance estimates based on different peculiar velocity models. Therefore, the derivation of the luminosity function is carried out using the locations of field and grouped galaxies in real distance space. The local field galaxy luminosity function in the B system is well described by a Schechter function with a slope of α ~ -1.1, a low normalization factor (Φ* ~ 0.006 Mpc-3), and a particularly bright characteristic magnitude (M*B ~ -20.6) (H0 = 75 km-1 Mpc-1). The exact values of the Schechter parameters depend slightly on the adopted peculiar velocity field models. Peculiar motion effects are of the order of statistical errors and cause at most variations of 0.08 in α and 0.2 mag in M*B. Our M*B value is brighter by a few tenths of a magnitude than previous corresponding values, because using total corrected blue magnitudes better represent the galaxy light. In addition, the selection function, evaluated in terms of the luminosity function, appears to be not very sensitive to the adopted peculiar velocity field models, which, however, have a large impact on the local galaxy density on the smallest scales. The shape of the luminosity function of spiral galaxies does not differ significantly from that of E-S0 galaxies. On the other hand, the late-type spirals and irregulars have a very steeply rising luminosity function toward the faint end (α ~ -2.3 to -2.4), whereas the ellipticals appreciably decrease in number toward low luminosities. The presence of galaxy systems in the NOG sample does not significantly affect the field galaxy luminosity function, since environmental effects on the total luminosity function appear to be marginal. The luminosity function of the members of the richest galaxy systems tends to show a slightly brighter M*B value than the norm. In light of constraints imposed by the observed galaxy number counts, the low normalization of the luminosity function suggests that the nearby universe (cz ≲ 5000 km s-1) examined in this paper may be underdense by a factor of ~1.5.
A modification of RC6/sup tm/ block cipher algorithm for data security (MRC6)

In this paper, a modijkation of RC6 block cipher (MRC6) is introduced. MRC6 is a symmetric encryption algorithm designed to meet the requirements of the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). It is an enhanced extension of RC6 with improving performance. It makes essential heavy use of data-dependent rotations. Its features include using of sixteen (I@-working registers instead of four registers in RC6. Using the integer multiplication with sixteen working registers greatly increases the diSfusion achieved per round, and allows for greater security with fewer rounds. It is also capable to handle 512-bit plaintext and ciphertext block sizes with decreasing in encryptioddecryption time and increasing in throughput. Comparative performance evaluation of MRC6 with ERC6, RC6, and RC5 is introduced. Simulation results show that MRC6 achieves minimum encryptioddecryption time and maximum throughput. So, the proposed modijication is expected to satis& market demands and system security developers using advanced processors available.
Biocompatibility and Pharmacokinetic Analysis of an Intracameral Polycaprolactone Drug Delivery Implant for Glaucoma

Purpose We developed polycaprolactone (PCL) implants that achieve zero-order release of a proprietary ocular hypotensive agent (DE-117) over 6 months. Methods The release rates of DE-117–loaded PCL devices were tuned based on an established predictive model and confirmed by in vitro release studies. Devices containing DE-117 and empty devices were implanted intracamerally in normotensive rabbits for up to 8 weeks' duration. Devices were retrieved after rabbits were euthanized and evaluated for tissue adherence. The drug remaining in each device was analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography. Drug distribution in ocular tissues was measured by liquid chromatography coupled with a tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). Results In vitro release of DE-117 showed zero-order release with a release rate of 0.5 μg/day over 6 months. Implantation in rabbit eyes demonstrated that the devices were well tolerated in the intracameral space. Quantification of DE-117 and hDE-117 (the hydrolyzed active form of DE-117) in ocular tissues (cornea, iris-ciliary body, aqueous humor, and vitreous humor) indicated sustained release of DE-117 and its conversion to hDE-117 when released from the device. Analysis of drug remaining in the device found that concentration of hDE-117 was below the limit of detection, indicating the encapsulated drug was protected from hydrolysis in the device. Conclusions Proof-of-concept PCL drug delivery devices containing DE-117 show promise as a long-term glaucoma treatment based on their zero-order drug release profile in vitro, biocompatibility in vivo, and effective distribution of released drug in relevant ocular tissues.
Anisotropy of the texture in the ultra-sonogram of human livers

In the present study, discrimination between Ultra-sonograms USGs of human livers of fatty and normal kind, based on the difference of their image textures, is attempted. Different texture features have been suggested in the literature for this purpose. Most popular of them are GLCM based features. Other features have also been proposed for classification. However, a visual scrutiny of the ultra-sonograms indicates that a dominant characteristic of the textures in liver is the presence of small narrow line segments perpendicular to the motion of the beam line. For the most of the images these lines appear to run in nearly horizontal direction with increasingly higher radius of curvature in subsequent lower portions of the images. The texture of the image is therefore visually anisotropic. In this paper, we have first attempted to establish the anisotropy of the texture by statistical computations and proposed some features which explicitly take this directional asymmetry into account. We have extracted these new features from a data set comprising of human liver USG of normal and fatty class. Effectiveness of these new features is estimated by the p value of Welch's test.
Elevated serum concentrations of HE4 as a novel biomarker of disease severity and renal fibrosis in kidney disease

Background Human epididymis protein 4 (HE4), has recently been reported as a mediator of renal fibrosis. However, serum HE4 levels appear in a large number of patient samples with chronic kidney disease (CKD), and the relationship of these levels to disease severity and renal fibrosis is unknown. Methods In 427 patients at different stages of CKD excluding gynecologic cancer and 173 healthy subjects, serum HE4 concentrations were tested by chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay. Renal biopsy was performed on 259 of 427 subjects. Histological findings were evaluated using standard immunohistochemistry. Results The levels of serum HE4 were higher in CKD patients than in healthy subjects, and higher levels were associated with more severe CKD stages. Patients with more severe renal fibrosis tended to have higher HE4 levels, and correlation analysis showed a significant correlation between HE4 and degree of renal fibrosis (r = 0.938, P < 0.0001). HE4 can be a predictor of renal fibrosis in CKD patients; the area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUC-ROC) was 0.99, higher than the AUC-ROC of serum creatinine (0.89). Conclusion Elevated levels of serum HE4 are associated with decreased kidney function, and also with an advanced stage of renal fibrosis, suggesting that HE4 may serve as a valuable clinical biomarker for renal fibrosis of CKD.
Types of Feedback in Peer Review and the Effect on Student Motivation and Writing Quality.

TYPES OF FEEDBACK IN PEER REVIEW AND THE EFFECT ON STUDENT MOTIVATION WRITING QUALITY By Christopher Colgan Sloan In writing classrooms, peer review has been shown to have numerous practical and cognitive benefits. However, little research has been done that examines how different types of peer feedback motivate adolescent students and the effects that different types of feedback have on writing quality. While the literature has indicated that peers give each other much more positive feedback than their teachers do, the research has yielded conflicting findings on whether comments about strengths or comments about weaknesses are more helpful. For this study high school seniors in an AP English Language and Composition class were randomly assigned to one of three treatments: a group directed only to provide comments about the strengths in the writing of their peers, a second group directed only to provide comments about weaknesses, and a “business as usual” group who were directed to provide helpful feedback (typically a mix of strength and weaknesses comments). There were no treatment group differences in students’ writing quality and motivation (attributions, belongingness, and sociocognitive conflict regulation). However, there were clear indicators that suggest students saw statistically significant differences in how helpful some types of comments were perceived to be. Implications for the theory and practice of peer-based feedback in writing instruction are discussed.
Has Sweden Injected Realism into Public Financial Management Reforms in Partner Countries

In this report Andrews takes a specific look at whether Sweden has contributed to increased realism in poor country reform of 'public finance management' (PFM) over the last decades. What he labels as a 'realistic approach' pertains to efforts at working in more iterative ways, putting local reformers in the forefront and applying a more practical approach to doing reform, rather than merely focus on its technical content.
Mismatch negativity in chronic schizophrenia and first-episode schizophrenia.

BACKGROUND Mismatch negativity (MMN) is an event-related brain potential that is sensitive to stimulus deviation from a repetitive pattern. The MMN is thought primarily to reflect the activity of sensory memory, with, at most, moderate influences of higher-level cognitive processes, such as attention. The MMN is reported to be reduced in patients with chronic schizophrenia. However, it is unknown whether MMN is reduced in patients with first-episode schizophrenia (at first hospitalization). METHODS Subject groups comprised patients with chronic schizophrenia (n = 16) and older control subjects (n = 13), and patients with first-episode schizophrenia (n = 21) and younger control subjects (n = 27). The MMN was visualized by subtracting the averaged event-related brain potential to standard tones (1 kHz [95% of all tones]) from the event-related brain potential to pitch-deviant tones (1.2 kHz [5% of all tones]). The MMN voltage was the mean voltage from 100 to 200 milliseconds. RESULTS Pitch-deviant MMN was reduced by approximately 47% in patients with chronic illness along the sagittal midline relative to controls. The MMN was not reduced in patients with first-episode schizophrenia. All 4 groups showed approximately 64% larger MMN to pitch-deviant tones over the right hemisphere compared with the left hemisphere. CONCLUSIONS The pitch-deviant MMN reductions present in patients with chronic schizophrenia are not present at first hospitalization. The sensory, echoic memory functions indexed by MMN seem unaffected early in the schizophrenia disease process. Reductions in MMN amplitude may develop over time and index the progression of the disorder, although that can only be definitively determined by longitudinal assessments.
The Penicillium echinulatum Secretome on Sugar Cane Bagasse

Plant feedstocks are at the leading front of the biofuel industry based on the potential to promote economical, social and environmental development worldwide through sustainable scenarios related to energy production. Penicillium echinulatum is a promising strain for the bioethanol industry based on its capacity to produce large amounts of cellulases at low cost. The secretome profile of P. echinulatum after grown on integral sugarcane bagasse, microcrystalline cellulose and three types of pretreated sugarcane bagasse was evaluated using shotgun proteomics. The comprehensive chemical characterization of the biomass used as the source of fungal nutrition, as well as biochemical activity assays using a collection of natural polysaccharides, were also performed. Our study revealed that the enzymatic repertoire of P. echinulatum is geared mainly toward producing enzymes from the cellulose complex (endogluganases, cellobiohydrolases and β-glucosidases). Glycoside hydrolase (GH) family members, important to biomass-to-biofuels conversion strategies, were identified, including endoglucanases GH5, 7, 6, 12, 17 and 61, β-glycosidase GH3, xylanases GH10 and GH11, as well as debranching hemicellulases from GH43, GH62 and CE2 and pectinanes from GH28. Collectively, the approach conducted in this study gave new insights on the better comprehension of the composition and degradation capability of an industrial cellulolytic strain, from which a number of applied technologies, such as biofuel production, can be generated.
Localization of non-linguistic events in spontaneous speech by Non-Negative Matrix Factorization and Long Short-Term Memory

Features generated by Non-Negative Matrix Factorization (NMF) have successfully been introduced into robust speech processing, including noise-robust speech recognition and detection of non-linguistic vocalizations. In this study, we introduce a novel tandem approach by integrating likelihood features derived from NMF into Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory Recurrent Neural Networks (BLSTM-RNNs) in order to dynamically localize non-linguistic events, i. e. , laughter, vocal, and non-vocal noise, in highly spontaneous speech. We compare our tandem architecture to a baseline conventional phoneme-HMM-based speech recognizer, and achieve a relative reduction of the frame error rate by 37.5% in the discrimination of speech and different non-speech segments.
Chromoprotein- and pigment-dependent modeling of spectral light absorption in two dinoflagellates, Prorocentrum minimum and Heterocapsa pygmaea

Pigmentand chromoprotein-dependent spectral models, designed to accurately reconstruct whole cell absorption spectra for photosynthetic dinofldgellates, were assessed. Measured spectral absorption properties (400 to 700 nm) included signatures from whole cells, dispersed thylakoid fragments (unpacked absorption), isolated chromoproteins and individual pigments from high (500 pm01 m-2 S-') and low (35 pm01 m-2 S") light-adapted cells of the dinoflagellates Prorocentrum minimum and Heterocapsa pygmaea grown in continuous light at 15 OC. For model verification, we also developed a procedure to measure unpackaged cell absorption, free of solvent and light-scattering effects. Maximum measured chl a-spec~f~c absorption at 675 nm appears to be closer to 0.027 than a predicted value of 0.0203 m2 mg-l chl a based on absorption from chl a in 90% acetone. The percent fractional absorption of 'in vivo' welght-specific absorption coefficients of individual pigments relative to total weighted absorption (all pigments) was estimated to indicate the light-harvesting capabilities of the different pigments as a function of photoadaptive status and water color. Correspondingly, the weighted absorption of each pigment fraction has been estimated in theoretical white light and in 'clearest' green coastal and blue oceanic waters. Independent of water color, peridinin was by far the most important light-harvesting pigment, followed by chl c2 and chl a. The photoprotective diadinoxanthin absorbed most efficiently in the blue part of the visible spectrum. Results indicate that the chromoprotein model (1) overcame spectral distortions inherent in more general pigment-dependent models and, when combined with corrections for pigment packaging effects. (2) provided accurate spectral estimates of in vivo absorption coefficents and (3) worked equally well for dinoflagellate species with or without the major light-harvesting peridinin-chlorophyll-protein complex, PCP. Findings are discussed in the context of modeling of blo-optical characteristics in dinoflagellates, their photoecology and implications for the in situ optical monitoring of red tides.
Crossed product $C^*$-algebras by finite group actions with the tracial Rokhlin property

Let $A$ be a stably finite simple unital $C^*$-algebra and suppose $\alpha $ is an action of a finite group $G$ with the tracial Rokhlin property. Suppose further $A$ has real rank zero and the order on projections over $A$ is determined by traces. Then the crossed product $C^*$-algebra $C^*(G,A, \alpha)$ also has real rank zero and order on projections over $A$ is determined by traces. Moreover, if $A$ also has stable rank one, then $C^*(G,A, \alpha)$ also has stable rank one.
Pentagon Ju-Jitsu – reshaping the field of propaganda

This article presents qualitative research examining adaptation to global asymmetric threats and a modern media environment of US Government propaganda systems by planners following 9-11, which proceeded largely unhindered by public debate. It draws on interviews with US elite sources including foreign policy, defense and intelligence personnel and documentary sources to explore how dissent was contained. A ‘merging’ of Psychological Operations and Public Affairs has been identified as a point of concern elsewhere and is argued to have facilitated the extension of US hegemony. It will present an account of the struggles between 2005 and 2009 when planners sought to alter ‘foreign’ and ‘domestic’ audience targeting norms that emerged in an old-media system of sovereign states with more stable populations. It focuses on a key example of transformation: the pressing through of internet policy changes for military Psychological Operations and Public Affairs, against resistance. Policies were brought in to coordinate and overcome discordance in foreign-domestic messaging by Psychological Operations and Information Operations personnel. Viewed as operational necessity for Psychological Operations, these resulted in a ‘terf war’ with Public Affairs who constructed a defense using discourses of legitimacy and credibility with domestic audiences. This article will show how concerns raised by Public Affairs were met by the reduction of their planning role, until a culture change and new orthodoxy emerged. Challenges raised by evolving media demand a reappraisal of propaganda governance and governments must allow greater transparency for public debate, legal judgement and independent academic enquiry to occur.
Reducing Uncertainty: A Formal Theory of Organizations in Action1

This article presents a formal reconstruction of James D. Thompson's classic contribution to organization theory, Organizations in Action. The reconstruction explicates the underlying argumentation structure for Thompson's propositions‐‐literally, theorems or problems to be demonstrated. This allows Thompson's propositions to be derived as theorems in a deductive theory. As it turns out, the formal theory is based on general assumptions using only few primitive concepts. In addition, this theory explains why Thompson's propositions do not hold for noncomplex or “atomic” organizations (a restriction on the domain of application). Furthermore, this study reveals that organizations attempt to reduce constraints in their en‐vironment‐‐a heretofore unknown implication of the theory.
In Situ Measurement of Pecan Leaf Nitrogen Concentration using a Chlorophyll Meter and Vis-near Infrared Multispectral Camera

Knowledge of foliar nitrogen (N) concentration is important in pecan (Carya illinoinensis (Wang.) K. Koch) management protocols. Lower cost and/or rapid methods to determine foliar N are desirable and may result in improved management strategies as well as enable precision agricultural practices to be deployed in pecan production. This study investigates using a portable chlorophyll meter and Vis-NIR camera to rapidly determine pecan foliar N in situ. Relationships of SPAD values from a chlorophyll meter (Minolta SPAD 502Plus) and vegetative indices calculated from camera image data to foliar N determined by chemical analysis were investigated. SPAD readings were taken monthly from May through October on 'Pawnee', 'Kanza', and 'Maramec' pecan cultivars in Oklahoma in 2010. Images of the same 'Pawnee' and 'Kanza' trees were collected in September and October of 2010 with a truck-mounted multispectral camera using ambient light. Correlation of foliar N to SPAD values was poor in May for all cultivars but distinct significant linear relationships were found for 'Maramec' and 'Pawnee' for each of the other months tested withR 2 ranging from 0.40 to 0.87. Data from 'Kanza' had significant relationships in June and October with R 2 of 0.39 and 0.72, respectively. Normalized difference vegetative index (NDVI) and reflectance data extracted from Vis-NIR camera images were significantly correlated to foliar N in both months of the study on 'Pawnee' but only in September for 'Kanza'. The various relationships had R 2 between 0.21 and 0.51.
Acute hypercapnic respiratory failure in patients with chronic obstructive lung disease: risk factors and use of guidelines for management.

BACKGROUND: On the basis of a retrospective survey by this unit it was suggested that patients with acute ventilatory failure should be given sufficient controlled oxygen treatment to raise the arterial oxygen tension (PaO2) to above 6.6 kPa, with the addition of a respiratory stimulant if the hydrogen ion concentration ([H+]) rose above 55 nmol/l and assisted ventilation if the patient remained acidotic despite these measures. This study was designed to verify the prognostic factors that determine survival in acute ventilatory failure and determine the outcome when our guidelines were implemented. METHODS: One hundred and thirty nine episodes of acute hypercapnic (type II) respiratory failure were studied prospectively in 95 patients admitted with acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive lung disease. Patients had to have a PaO2 below 6.6 kPa and an arterial carbon dioxide tension (PaCO2) above 6.6 kPa while breathing air. RESULTS: The mortality associated with episodes of acute ventilatory failure was 12%. Patients who died tended to be older and were significantly more acidotic, hypotensive, and uraemic on admission than those who survived, but they had similar degrees of hypoxaemia and hypercapnia. Death occurred in 10 of the 39 episodes in which arterial [H+] rose to 55 nmol/l or above, compared with seven of the 100 episodes in which it remained below 55 nmol/l. The respiratory stimulant doxapram was used in 37 episodes and was associated with a reduction in [H+] below 55 nmol/l within 24 hours in 23 episodes. Assisted ventilation was used in only four episodes. CONCLUSION: Arterial [H+] is an important prognostic factor for survival. Most patients treated according to the guidelines outlined above can be managed successfully without assisted ventilation.