Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Primary and secondary eclipse spectroscopy with JWST exploring the exoplanet parameter space

Eclipse exoplanet spectroscopy has yielded detection of H_2O, CH_4, CO_2 and CO in the atmosphere of hot jupiters and neptunes. About 40 large terrestrial planets are announced or confirmed, two of which are transiting, and another deemed habitable. Hence the potential for eclipse spectroscopy of terrestrial planets with James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has become an active field of study. We explore the parameter space (type of stars, planet orbital periods and types, and instruments/wavelengths) in terms of the signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) achievable on the detection of spectroscopic features. We use analytic formula and model data for both the astrophysical scene and the instrument, to plot S/N contour maps, while indicating how the S/N scales with the fixed parameters. We systematically compare stellar photon noise-only figures with ones including detailed instrumental and zodiacal noises. Likelihood of occurring targets is based both on model and catalog star population of the solar neighborhood. The 9.6 micron ozone band is detectable (S/N = 3) with JWST, for a warm super-earth 6.7 pc away, using ~2% of the 5-year nominal mission time (summing observations, M4V and lighter host star for primary eclipses, M5V for secondary). If every star up to this mass limit and distance were to host a habitable planet, there should be statistically ~1 eclipsing case. Investigation of systematic noises in the co-addition of 5 years worth-, tens of days separated-, hours-long observations is critical, complemented by dedicated characterisation of the instruments, currently in integration phase. The census of nearby transiting habitable planets must be complete before the beginning of science operations.
Molecular basis of mechanotransduction in living cells.

The simplest cell-like structure, the lipid bilayer vesicle, can respond to mechanical deformation by elastic membrane dilation/thinning and curvature changes. When a protein is inserted in the lipid bilayer, an energetic cost may arise because of hydrophobic mismatch between the protein and bilayer. Localized changes in bilayer thickness and curvature may compensate for this mismatch. The peptides alamethicin and gramicidin and the bacterial membrane protein MscL form mechanically gated (MG) channels when inserted in lipid bilayers. Their mechanosensitivity may arise because channel opening is associated with a change in the protein's membrane-occupied area, its hydrophobic mismatch with the bilayer, excluded water volume, or a combination of these effects. As a consequence, bilayer dilation/thinning or changes in local membrane curvature may shift the equilibrium between channel conformations. Recent evidence indicates that MG channels in specific animal cell types (e.g., Xenopus oocytes) are also gated directly by bilayer tension. However, animal cells lack the rigid cell wall that protects bacteria and plants cells from excessive expansion of their bilayer. Instead, a cortical cytoskeleton (CSK) provides a structural framework that allows the animal cell to maintain a stable excess membrane area (i.e., for its volume occupied by a sphere) in the form of membrane folds, ruffles, and microvilli. This excess membrane provides an immediate membrane reserve that may protect the bilayer from sudden changes in bilayer tension. Contractile elements within the CSK may locally slacken or tighten bilayer tension to regulate mechanosensitivity, whereas membrane blebbing and tight seal patch formation, by using up membrane reserves, may increase membrane mechanosensitivity. In specific cases, extracellular and/or CSK proteins (i.e., tethers) may transmit mechanical forces to the process (e.g., hair cell MG channels, MS intracellular Ca(2+) release, and transmitter release) without increasing tension in the lipid bilayer.
The impact of trust and perceived risk on internet banking adoption in India : An extension of technology acceptance model

Purpose – The main purpose of this paper is to extend the technology acceptance model (TAM) in the context of internet banking adoption in India under security and privacy threat. Design/methodology/approach – Keeping the TAM proposed by Davis as a theoretical basis, an extended TAM incorporating securityand privacy-related issues for internet banking adoption is conceptualized. The authors have incorporated various inhibitors of internet banking which restrict the use of internet banking adoption under “perceived risk”, and also consider the role of the bank web site as a key determinant of perceived risk and of perceived ease of use in the context of internet banking services. Findings – The paper reveals that perceived risk has a negative impact on behavioral intention of internet banking adoption and trust has a negative impact on perceived risk. A well-designed web site was also found to be helpful in facilitating easier use and also minimizing perceived risk concerns regarding internet banking usage. Practical implications – Financial bank institutions should give attention to the inhibitors or perceived risk factors of internet banking adoption in order to retain existing customers as well as attract new consumers. The study also suggests that banks should build a web site with features to facilitate users’ assessment of internet banking services and thus minimize the perceived risk and maximize the perceived ease of internet banking services. Web-based retailers depending on online payments would also be benefit by incorporating the elements of perceived risk and trust in their own web design and online services. Originality/value – In addition to the traditional construct of TAM, a new construct of perceived risk has been added. The impact of web site design and trust on internet banking adoption has also been examined and shown to be significant in India in the context of internet banking adoption.
Theory of dual probes on graphene structures

This thesis concerns the development of theoretical and computational methods for multiprobe systems and their application to nanostructured graphene. Recent experimental advances emphasize the usefulness of multi-probe techniques when analyzing the electrical properties of nanoscale samples. The multi-probe setup, however, is conceptually different from the standard calculation setups which either disregard the effects of the probes altogether or use probes connected at the edge of a finite device region. In the multi-probe setup, on the other hand, the device region is infinite and extends all around the local probes. This necessitates a reformulation of the conventional calculation methods allowing for the description of non-periodic structures embedded within infinite samples. The two-dimensional material graphene, is a highly interesting system for multi-probe characterization as graphene is purely surface and exhibits a wide range of highly intriguing electronic properties. Using a dual probe setup, we demonstrate the application of the developed formalism to a number of different graphene-based systems. The conductance between the two probes in either scanning or spectroscopy mode, shows quantum interference patterns around impurities or crystalline edges. These interferences can be used to reveal important information about the scattering processes taking place. The thesis furthermore discusses nanostructuring such as perforations or local gating. We show how single states or modes and their interplay gives rise to resonances in the dual probe conductance and can be associated with vortex-like current patterns either guiding or suppressing the current. We further address the effect of strain in graphene when subjected to mechanical deformations giving rise to so-called pseudomagnetic fields. Here we investigate strained graphene bubbles (“pseudomagnetic dots”) directly from tight binding, effectively going beyond the Dirac approximation. In this way, we study the local density of states of different pseudomagnetic dots in real space and show Friedel-type oscillations caused by the finite size of the dots, sublattice polarization and Landau quantization. Additionally, we use the dual probe conductance to demonstrate the current guiding ability of the pseudomagnetic fields leading to preferential scattering directions responsible for the observed pseudomagnetic focusing and anti-focusing effects.
Diversity and Evolution of Coral Fluorescent Proteins

GFP-like fluorescent proteins (FPs) are the key color determinants in reef-building corals (class Anthozoa, order Scleractinia) and are of considerable interest as potential genetically encoded fluorescent labels. Here we report 40 additional members of the GFP family from corals. There are three major paralogous lineages of coral FPs. One of them is retained in all sampled coral families and is responsible for the non-fluorescent purple-blue color, while each of the other two evolved a full complement of typical coral fluorescent colors (cyan, green, and red) and underwent sorting between coral groups. Among the newly cloned proteins are a “chromo-red” color type from Echinopora forskaliana (family Faviidae) and pink chromoprotein from Stylophora pistillata (Pocilloporidae), both evolving independently from the rest of coral chromoproteins. There are several cyan FPs that possess a novel kind of excitation spectrum indicating a neutral chromophore ground state, for which the residue E167 is responsible (numeration according to GFP from A. victoria). The chromoprotein from Acropora millepora is an unusual blue instead of purple, which is due to two mutations: S64C and S183T. We applied a novel probabilistic sampling approach to recreate the common ancestor of all coral FPs as well as the more derived common ancestor of three main fluorescent colors of the Faviina suborder. Both proteins were green such as found elsewhere outside class Anthozoa. Interestingly, a substantial fraction of the all-coral ancestral protein had a chromohore apparently locked in a non-fluorescent neutral state, which may reflect the transitional stage that enabled rapid color diversification early in the history of coral FPs. Our results highlight the extent of convergent or parallel evolution of the color diversity in corals, provide the foundation for experimental studies of evolutionary processes that led to color diversification, and enable a comparative analysis of structural determinants of different colors.
Adipocyte Modulation of High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol

Background— Adipose harbors a large depot of free cholesterol. However, a role for adipose in cholesterol lipidation of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) in vivo is not established. We present the first evidence that adipocytes support transfer of cholesterol to HDL in vivo as well as in vitro and implicate ATP-binding cassette subfamily A member 1 (ABCA1) and scavenger receptor class B type I (SR-BI), but not ATP-binding cassette subfamily G member 1 (ABCG1), cholesterol transporters in this process. Methods and Results— Cholesterol efflux from wild-type, ABCA1−/−, SR-BI−/−, and ABCG1−/− adipocytes to apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) and HDL3 were measured in vitro. 3T3L1 adipocytes, labeled with 3H-cholesterol, were injected intraperitoneally into wild-type, apoA-I transgenic, and apoA-I−/− mice, and tracer movement onto plasma HDL was monitored. Identical studies were performed with labeled wild-type, ABCA1−/−, or SR-BI−/− mouse embryonic fibroblast adipocytes. The effect of tumor necrosis factor-&agr; on transporter expression and cholesterol efflux was monitored during adipocyte differentiation. Cholesterol efflux to apoA-I and HDL3 was impaired in ABCA1−/− and SR-BI−/− adipocytes, respectively, with no effect observed in ABCG1−/− adipocytes. Intraperitoneal injection of labeled 3T3L1 adipocytes resulted in increased HDL-associated 3H-cholesterol in apoA-I transgenic mice but reduced levels in apoA-I−/− animals. Intraperitoneal injection of labeled ABCA1−/− or SR-BI−/− adipocytes reduced plasma counts relative to their respective controls. Tumor necrosis factor-&agr; reduced both ABCA1 and SR-BI expression and impaired cholesterol efflux from partially differentiated adipocytes. Conclusions— These data suggest a novel metabolic function of adipocytes in promoting cholesterol transfer to HDL in vivo and implicate adipocyte SR-BI and ABCA1, but not ABCG1, in this process. Furthermore, adipocyte modulation of HDL may be impaired in adipose inflammatory disease states such as type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Incremental Validity of the Rorschach Prognostic Rating Scale Over the MMPI Ego Strength Scale and IQ

A recent meta-analysis found that the Rorschach Prognostic Rating Scale (RPRS) had a strong ability to predict subsequent outcome (r = .44, N = 783; Meyer & Handler, 1997, this issue). However, that review did not directly address questions of incremental validity. This article focuses on the ability of the RPRS to predict outcome after taking into account other sources of data. Across studies that examined both the RPRS and the MMPI Ego Strength scale, the RPRS had a strong ability to predict outcome (r = .40, N = 187), whereas the MMPI scale did not (r = .02, N = 280). Nine studies examined the RPRS along with an intelligence test and allowed direct numerical estimates of incremental validity to be calculated. Across studies, the RPRS demonstrated strong incremental validity after controlling for intelligence (incremental r = .36, N = 358). It is clear that the Rorschach can make unique contributions to understanding clinically relevant processes in ways that self-reports or measured intelligence cannot. Contemporary Rorschach scales should continue to be evaluated for their distinctive and incremental contribution to clinical practice.
Asymptotic behaviour of a finite-volume scheme for the transient drift-diffusion model

In this paper, we propose a finite-volume discretization for multidimensional nonlinear drift-diffusion system. Such a system arises in semiconductors modelling and is composed of two parabolic equations and an elliptic one. We prove that the numerical solution converges to a steady state when time goes to infinity. Several numerical tests show the efficiency of the method.
Fractal dimension applied to speaker identification

Reports the results obtained in a speaker identification system based on Bhattacharrya distance, which combines LP-derived cepstral coefficients, with a nonlinear dynamic feature namely fractal dimension. The nonlinear dynamic analysis starts with the phase space reconstruction, and the fractal dimension of the correspondent attractor trajectory is estimated. This analysis is performed in every speech window, providing a measure of a time-dependent fractal dimension. The corpus used in the tests is composed by 37 different speakers, and the best results are obtained when the fractal dimension is included, suggesting that the information added with this feature was not present so far.
Piano Transcription in the Studio Using an Extensible Alternating Directions Framework

Given a musical audio recording, the goal of automatic music transcription is to determine a score-like representation of the piece underlying the recording. Despite significant interest within the research community, several studies have reported on a “glass ceiling” effect, an apparent limit on the transcription accuracy that current methods seem incapable of overcoming. In this paper, we explore how much this effect can be mitigated by focusing on a specific instrument class and making use of additional information on the recording conditions available in studio or home recording scenarios. In particular, exploiting the availability of single note recordings for the instrument in use, we develop a novel signal model employing variable-length spectro-temporal patterns as its central building blocks-tailored for pitched percussive instruments such as the piano. Temporal dependencies between spectral templates are modeled, resembling characteristics of factorial scaled hidden Markov models (FS-HMM) and other methods combining nonnegative matrix factorization with Markov processes. In contrast to FS-HMMs, our parameter estimation is developed in a global, relaxed form within the extensible alternating direction method of multipliers framework, which enables the systematic combination of basic regularizers propagating sparsity and local stationarity in note activity with more complex regularizers imposing temporal semantics. The proposed method achieves an f -measure of 93-95% for note onsets on pieces recorded on a Yamaha Disklavier (MAPS DB).
Central resetting of baroreflex in the spontaneously hypertensive rat.

The role of central nervous system in the resetting of baroreflex was investigated in 5-month-old spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) of Okamoto strain. Age-matched Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats were used as normotensive controls. The aortic nerves, which in the rat, contain few or no chemoreceptor fibers, were stimulated electrically using a wide range of stimulus frequencies. The depressor responses (expressed as percent decrease in blood pressure as compared to its blood pressure value prior to aortic nerve stimulation) produced by these stimulations were significantly smaller in SHR than those in WKY. In another series of experiments, changes in the efferent limb of the baroreflex arc (i.e., greater splanchnic nerve activity) in response to stimulation of the baroreceptor afferents in the aortic nerve were recorded. Inhibition of the greater splanchnic nerve activity due to aortic nerve stimulation was found to be significantly smaller in SHR than in the WKY. Control sympathetic nerve activity was greater in SHR than in WKY. These results suggest that the central bulbospinal nervous system may be another site for resetting of baroreflex in hypertension.
Cone Beam Computed Tomography Assessment of the Maxillary Incisive Canal and Foramen: Considerations of Anatomical Variations When Placing Immediate Implants

Introduction The maxillary incisive canal connects the roof of the oral cavity with the floor of nasal cavity and has the incisive and nasal foramina respectively at its two opposite ends. Its close proximity with the anterior incisors affects one’s ability to place immediate implants in ideal position. Objective To avoid causing complication, variations in their dimensions were studied. Material and Methods Images of ninety Mongoloids patients examined with i-CAT Cone Beam Computed Tomography were included. The sizes of the nasopalatine foramen, the incisive canal and foramen, and anterior maxillary bone thickness were measured. The direction and course of the canals were assessed. Results The mean labiopalatal and mesiodistal measurements of the incisive foramen were 2.80mm and 3.49 mm respectively, while the labiopalatal width of the nasal foramen was 6.06mm. The incisive canal was 16.33mm long and 3.85 mm wide. The anterior maxillary bone has an average thickness of 7.63 mm. The dimensions of the incisive foramen and incisive canal, and anterior maxillary bone thickness demonstrated gender differences with males showing greater values. The anterior maxillary bone thickness was affected by age but this difference was not observed in canal dimensions. The majority of subjects have a funnel shape-like incisive canal with the broader opening located at its superior. They seem to have a longer slanted-curve canal with one channel at its middle portion and a narrower incisive foramen opening than those reported elsewhere. Conclusions This study found that gender is an important factor that affected the characteristics of the IC and the amount of bone anterior to it. Male generally had bigger IC and thicker anterior bone. In addition, the anterior maxillary bone thickness was affected by aging, where it becomes thinner with increased age even though the subjects were fully dentate.
Does learning style influence academic performance in different forms of assessment?

Educational research on learning styles has been conducted for some time, initially within the field of psychology. Recent research has widened to include more diverse disciplines, with greater emphasis on application. Although there are numerous instruments available to measure several different dimensions of learning style, it is generally accepted that styles differ, although the qualities of more than one style may be inherent in any one learner. But do these learning styles have a direct effect on student performance in examinations, specifically in different forms of assessment? For this study, hypotheses were formulated suggesting that academic performance is influenced by learning style. Using the Honey and Mumford Learning Style Questionnaire, learning styles of a cohort of first year medical and dental students at Queen's University Belfast were assessed. Pearson correlation was performed between the score for each of the four learning styles and the student examination results in a variety of subject areas (including anatomy) and in different types of assessments – single best answer, short answer questions and Objective Structured Clinical Examinations. In most of the analyses, there was no correlation between learning style and result and in the few cases where the correlations were statistically significant, they generally appeared to be weak. It seems therefore from this study that although the learning styles of students vary, they have little effect on academic performance, including in specific forms of assessment.
Combination of low-dose aspirin and thienopyridine exacerbates small bowel injury

Abstract Objective. Antithrombotics is increasingly being used for cardiovascular prevention. In more recent studies, small bowel injury and enteropathy associated with low-dose aspirin are increasingly being recognized. Aim of this study was to evaluate small bowel injury using video capsule endoscopy (VCE) in obscure gastrointestinal bleeding (OGIB) patients taking low-dose aspirin including other antithrombotics. Material and methods. This is a retrospective review of chronic users of antithrombotics who underwent VCE for suspected small bowel bleeding. Small bowel mucosal injury was evaluated using VCE findings. Results. Fifty-four OGIB patients (36 men and 18 women, mean age 72.4 years) underwent VCE from January 2007 to May 2009. Twenty-two patients were taking 100 mg of enteric-coated aspirin (aspirin group), 8 taking thienopyridine, (ticlopidine or clopidogrel, thienopyridine group), 13 taking aspirin combined with thienopyridine (combined group), and 11 taking warfarin (warfarin group). The mucosal injury, especially ulcers were most frequently detected in the combined group (46.2%, p = 0.01) among the four groups. The median number of redness lesions in the combined group was the highest among the four groups and was significantly higher than that in the warfarin group. The lesions of redness or small erosions in the aspirin and the combined groups tended to exist in the proximal part of small bowel. Conclusions. Combination of low-dose aspirin therapy and thienopyridine may exacerbate small bowel injury, and the preventive strategies should be established.