Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Coordinated NIR/mm observations of flare emission from Sagittarius A*

Context. We report on a successful, simultaneous observation and modelling of the millimeter (mm) to near-infrared (NIR) flare emission of the Sgr A* counterpart associated with the supermassive (4 × 10^6 M_☉) black hole at the Galactic centre (GC). We present a mm/sub-mm light curve of Sgr A* with one of the highest quality continuous time coverages. Aims. We study and model the physical processes giving rise to the variable emission of Sgr A*. Methods. Our non-relativistic modelling is based on simultaneous observations carried out in May 2007 and 2008, using the NACO adaptive optics (AO) instrument at the ESO's VLT and the mm telescope arrays CARMA in California, ATCA in Australia, and the 30 m IRAM telescope in Spain. We emphasize the importance of multi-wavelength simultaneous fitting as a tool for imposing adequate constraints on the flare modelling. We present a new method for obtaining concatenated light curves of the compact mm-source Sgr A* from single dish telescopes and interferometers in the presence of significant flux density contributions from an extended and only partially resolved source. Results. The observations detect flaring activity in both the mm domain and the NIR. Inspection and modelling of the light curves show that in the case of the flare event on 17 May 2007, the mm emission follows the NIR flare emission with a delay of 1.5±0.5 h. On 15 May 2007, the NIR flare emission is also followed by elevated mm-emission. We explain the flare emission delay by an adiabatic expansion of source components. For two other NIR flares, we can only provide an upper limit to any accompanying mm-emission of about 0.2 Jy. The derived physical quantities that describe the flare emission give a source component expansion speed of ν_(exp) ~ 0.005c–0.017c, source sizes of about one Schwarzschild radius, flux densities of a few Janskys, and spectral indices of α = 0.6 to 1.3. These source components peak in the THz regime. Conclusions. These parameters suggest that either the adiabatically expanding source components have a bulk motion greater than ν_(exp) or the expanding material contributes to a corona or disk, confined to the immediate surroundings of Sgr A*. Applying the flux density values or limits in the mm- and X-ray domain to the observed flare events constrains the turnover frequency of the synchrotron components that are on average not lower than about 1 THz, such that the optically thick peak flux densities at or below these turnover frequencies do not exceed, on average, about ~1 Jy.
Nutritional interventions to augment resistance training-induced skeletal muscle hypertrophy

Skeletal muscle mass is regulated by a balance between muscle protein synthesis (MPS) and muscle protein breakdown (MPB). In healthy humans, MPS is more sensitive (varying 4–5 times more than MPB) to changes in protein feeding and loading rendering it the primary locus determining gains in muscle mass. Performing resistance exercise (RE) followed by the consumption of protein results in an augmentation of MPS and, over time, can lead to muscle hypertrophy. The magnitude of the RE-induced increase in MPS is dictated by a variety of factors including: the dose of protein, source of protein, and possibly the distribution and timing of post-exercise protein ingestion. In addition, RE variables such as frequency of sessions, time under tension, volume, and training status play roles in regulating MPS. This review provides a brief overview of our current understanding of how RE and protein ingestion can influence gains in skeletal muscle mass in young, healthy individuals. It is the goal of this review to provide nutritional recommendations for optimal skeletal muscle adaptation. Specifically, we will focus on how the manipulation of protein intake during the recovery period following RE augments the adaptive response.
On the validity of mean-field amplitude equations for counterpropagating wavetrains

We rigorously establish the validity of the equations describing the evolution of one-dimensional long wavelength modulations of counterpropagating wavetrains for a hyperbolic model equation, namely the sine-Gordon equation. We consider both periodic amplitude functions and localized wavepackets. For the localized case, the wavetrains are completely decoupled at leading order, while in the periodic case the amplitude equations take the form of mean-field (nonlocal) Schrodinger equations rather than locally coupled partial differential equations. The origin of this weakened coupling is traced to a hidden translation symmetry in the linear problem, which is related to the existence of a characteristic frame traveling at the group velocity of each wavetrain. It is proved that solutions to the amplitude equations dominate the dynamics of the governing equations on asymptotically long time scales. While the details of the discussion are restricted to the class of model equations having a leading cubic nonlinearity, the results strongly indicate that mean-field evolution equations are generic for bimodal disturbances in dispersive systems with O(1) group velocity.
GeoRep: A Flexible Tool for Spatial Representation of Line Drawings

A key problem in diagrammatic reasoning is understanding how people reason about qualitative relationships in diagrams. We claim that progress in diagrammatic reasoning is slowed by two problems: (1) researchers tend to start from scratch, creating new spatial reasoners for each new problem area, and (2) constraints from human visual processing are rarely considered. To address these problems, we created GeoRep, a spatial reasoning engine that generates qualitative spatial descriptions from line drawings. GeoRep has been successfully used in several research projects, including cognitive simulation studies of human vision. In this paper, we outline GeoRep’s architecture, explain the domainindependent and domain-specific aspects of its processing, and motivate the representations it produces. We then survey how GeoRep has been used in three different projects ‐a model of symmetry, a model of understanding juxtaposition diagrams of physical situations, and a system for reasoning about military courses of action.
The CN/C15 N isotopic ratio towards dark clouds

Understanding the origin of the composition of solar system cosmomaterials is a central question, not only in the cosmochemistry and astrochemistry fields, and requires various approaches to be combined. Measurements of isotopic ratios in cometary materials provide strong constraints on the content of the protosolar nebula. Their relation with the composition of the parental dark clouds is, however, still very elusive. In this paper, we bring new constraints based on the isotopic composition of nitrogen in dark clouds, with the aim of understanding the chemical processes that are responsible for the observed isotopic ratios. We have observed and detected the fundamental rotational transition of C$^{15}$N towards two starless dark clouds, L1544 and L1498. We were able to derive the column density ratio of C$^{15}$N over $^{13}$CN towards the same clouds, and obtain the CN/C$^{15}$N isotopic ratios, which were found to be $500\pm75$ for both L1544 and L1498. These values are therefore marginally consistent with the protosolar value of 441. Moreover, this ratio is larger than the isotopic ratio of nitrogen measured in HCN. In addition, we present model calculations of the chemical fractionation of nitrogen in dark clouds, which make it possible to understand how CN can be deprived of $^{15}$N and HCN can simultaneously be enriched in heavy nitrogen. The non-fractionation of N2H+, however, remains an open issue and we propose some chemical way of alleviating the discrepancy between model predictions and the observed ratios.
A Unified Regularization Framework for Virtual Frontal Face Image Synthesis

Taking advantage of the statistical learning-based point of view, several approaches of frontal face image synthesis have received remarkable achievement. However, the existing methods mainly utilize either ordinary least squares (OLS) or fixed l1-norm penalized sparse regression to estimate the solution. For the former, the solution is unstable when the linear equations system is ill-conditioned. For the latter, sparsity is only considered, while the significance of local similarity between input image and each training sample is ignored. Thus the synthesized result fails to faithfully approximate the ground truth. Moreover, these traditional methods cannot ensure the consistency between corresponding patches in frontal and profile faces. To address these problems, we present a unified regularization framework (URF) by imposing two regularization terms onto the solution. Firstly, we introduce an l2-norm constraint and impose a diagonal weights matrix onto it, in which each diagonal entry is defined by the spatial distance between input image patch and individual patch in training set. Secondly, to mitigate the aforementioned inconsistency problem, we present a neighborhood consistency regularization term, motivated by manifold learning. Finally, we generalize our framework to the lq-norm penalized case. By adjusting the shrinkage parameter q, the framework gets more flexibility to choose a reasonable sparse domain. Extensive experiments on CMU Multi-PIE database and CAS-PEAL-R1 database verify the efficacy of our method.
Reproductive biology of Hepatus pudibundus (Crustacea: Brachyura), the most abundant crab on the southeastern Brazilian coast

This study analyzed the size at sexual maturity and reproductive period of populations of Hepatus pudibundus in three bays on the northern coast of São Paulo, Brazil. Crabs were collected monthly and the bottom-water temperature was measured at each collection point. The animals were sexed, measured for carapace width (CW), and their gonadal stages were determined. A total of 8,674 specimens were collected (2,435 males and 6,239 females). Adult males showed the highest mean CW; the size at maturity for both sexes was 32.5 mm CW. Reproduction was continuous and peaked in spring and summer, because of the greater availability of plankton food for the larvae. This pattern is typical in tropical and subtropical regions, unlike the seasonal reproduction found in temperate regions. Reproductive activity of females was not significantly correlated with bottom-water temperatures. Immatures and individuals in all stages of gonadal development were found throughout the sampling period and at all depths, probably because the species completes its entire reproductive cycle in that area.
Contrasting the form and use of reformulation markers

This article deals with the form and use of reformulation markers in research papers written in English, Spanish and Catalan. Considering the form and frequency of the markers, English papers tend to prefer simple fixed markers and include fewer reformulators than Spanish and Catalan. On the contrary, formal Catalan and Spanish papers include more markers, some of which are complex and allow for some structural variability. As for use, reformulation markers establish dynamic relationships between portions of discourse which can be identified in our corpus with expansion, reduction and permutation. The analysis of the corpus shows that English authors usually reformulate to add more information to the concept (expansion), whereas Catalan and Spanish authors reduce the contents or the implicatures of the previous formulation more frequently than English.
Which circulant preconditioner is better?

The eigenvalue clustering of matrices S n −1 A n and C n −1 A n is experimentally studied, where A n , S n and C n respectively are Toeplitz matrices, Strang, and optimal circulant preconditioners generated by the Fourier expansion of a function f(x). Some illustrations are given to show how the clustering depends on the smoothness of f(x) and which preconditioner is preferable. An original technique for experimental exploration of the clustering rate is presented. This technique is based on the bisection idea and on the Toeplitz decomposition of a three-matrix product CAC, where A is a Toeplitz matrix and C is a circulant. In particular, it is proved that the Toeplitz (displacement) rank of CAC is not greater than 4, provided that C and A are symmetric.
A Mouse Model Uncovers LKB1 as an UVB-Induced DNA Damage Sensor Mediating CDKN1A (p21WAF1/CIP1) Degradation

Exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from sunlight accounts for 90% of the symptoms of premature skin aging and skin cancer. The tumor suppressor serine-threonine kinase LKB1 is mutated in Peutz-Jeghers syndrome and in a spectrum of epithelial cancers whose etiology suggests a cooperation with environmental insults. Here we analyzed the role of LKB1 in a UV-dependent mouse skin cancer model and show that LKB1 haploinsufficiency is enough to impede UVB-induced DNA damage repair, contributing to tumor development driven by aberrant growth factor signaling. We demonstrate that LKB1 and its downstream kinase NUAK1 bind to CDKN1A. In response to UVB irradiation, LKB1 together with NUAK1 phosphorylates CDKN1A regulating the DNA damage response. Upon UVB treatment, LKB1 or NUAK1 deficiency results in CDKN1A accumulation, impaired DNA repair and resistance to apoptosis. Importantly, analysis of human tumor samples suggests that LKB1 mutational status could be a prognostic risk factor for UV-induced skin cancer. Altogether, our results identify LKB1 as a DNA damage sensor protein regulating skin UV-induced DNA damage response.
Proteomic identification of nitrated brain proteins in early Alzheimer’s disease inferior parietal lobule

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive decline in multiple cognitive domains. Its pathological hallmarks include senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is the earliest detectable stage of AD with limited symptomology and no dementia. The yearly conversion rate of patients from MCI to AD is 10–15%, although conversion back to normal is possible in a small percentage. Early diagnosis of AD is important in an attempt to intervene or slow the advancement of the disease. Early AD (EAD) is a stage following MCI and characterized by full‐blown dementia; however, information involving EAD is limited. Oxidative stress is well‐established in MCI and AD, including protein oxidation. Protein nitration also is an important oxidative modification observed in MCI and AD, and proteomic analysis from our laboratory identified nitrated proteins in both MCI and AD. Therefore, in the current study, a proteomics approach was used to identify nitrated brain proteins in the inferior parietal lobule from four subjects with EAD. Eight proteins were found to be significantly nitrated in EAD: peroxiredoxin 2, triose phosphate isomerase, glutamate dehydrogenase, neuropolypeptide h3, phosphoglycerate mutase1, H+– transporting ATPase, α‐enolase and fructose‐1,6‐bisphosphate aldolase. Many of these proteins are also nitrated in MCI and late‐stage AD, making this study the first to our knowledge to link nitrated proteins in all stages of AD. These results are discussed in terms of potential involvement in the progression of this dementing disorder.
A Mereological Approach to Representing Spatial Vagueness

Spatialreasoningiscrucialin many AI applicationdomains, suchasrobotics,qualitativeand naive physics,and some types of planning. Qual- itativereasoningisoftenrequired; and in many of thesecases,uncertaintyorimprecisionabout thespa- tialextentofparticularentitieshas tobe represented and coped with.This paper developsan axiomatisa- tion ofa relationofcrisping'(reducingimprecision or vagueness)between pairsofvague'spatialregions: thosewith indeterminateboundaries.This axiomati- sationisthenrelatedtothepreviouslydeveloped'egg- yolk'representationofvagueness,originallydesigned by (Lehmann and Cohn 1994) fordatabase applica- tions,then appliedtoexpressingspatialvaguenessby (Cohn and Gotts 1994).
Religiosity and political conservatism: The role of political engagement

Some argue that there is an organic connection between being religious and being politically conservative. We evaluate an alternative thesis that the relation between religiosity and political conservatism largely results from engagement with political discourse that indicates that these characteristics go together. In a combined sample of national survey respondents from 1996 to 2008, religiosity was associated with conservative positions on a wide range of attitudes and values among the highly politically engaged, but this association was generally weaker or nonexistent among those less engaged with politics. The specific political characteristics for which this pattern existed varied across ethno-religious groups. These results suggest that whether religiosity translates into political conservatism depends to an important degree on level of engagement with political discourse.
Neonatal septicemia isolates and resistance patterns in a tertiary care hospital of North India.

BACKGROUND Septicemia continues to be a major cause of neonatal mortality and morbidity worldwide. METHODOLOGY To know the rate of neonatal septicemia in our tertiary care centre, a retrospective analysis of 2,247 blood samples was done over a period of four years and three months (July 2003 to October 2007). RESULTS During that period, a total of 296 (13.17%) blood samples were found to be positive for bacterial isolates. Gram-negative septicemia (80.40%) was identified in more cases than Gram-positive septicemia (20.60%) with Klebsiella species 84 (28.3%) being the most common isolate. Maximum resistance among Gram-negative organisms was seen in amoxycillin/ampicillin and third-generation cephalosporins. Amikacin, cefoperazone/sulbactam and imipenem were found to be good alternative drugs. Among Gram-positive organisms, all strains were sensitive to Vancomycin. CONCLUSION Continued surveillance for various pathogens and their susceptibility profile should be done to effectively and timely treat the patients of neonatal septicaemia.
Corporate growth and industrial dynamics: evidence from French manufacturing

This work explores basic properties of the size and growth rates distributions of firms at the aggregate and disaggregate levels. Using an extensive dataset on French manufacturing firms, we investigate which properties of firm size distributions and growth dynamics characterize the aggregate dynamics and are, at the same time, robust under disaggregation. Our analysis is based on nonlinear robust regression methods which have never been applied before to this kind of data. The growth rates distributions we observe are well described by a Subbotin distribution with a shape parameter significantly lower than 1, suggesting a noticeable departure from the Laplace behaviour reported in previous works on Italian and the US data. At the same time, the variance of growth rates depends negatively on size and the relationship does not seem to be linear, with larger firms possibly displaying lower variability in their growth dynamics. At the disaggregate level, we observe significant heterogeneity in the firm size distributions across sectors, while the shape of the sectoral growth rates density displays a surprising degree of homogeneity.
Attachment to Technology: The Missing Link

ABSTRACT Technology has transformed the way in which we conduct our interactions and communications in our relationships. As smartphones and the Internet have become embedded within managing our romantic relationships, they adopt a role much like another member of the couple. The purpose of this report is to present a perspective that, much like our attachment to our partners in romantic relationships, we are developing attachments to the technologies themselves. We will briefly summarize the state of the research on technology and anxiety and the work to date on technology use based on attachment style and present characteristics and examples elucidating attachment styles to technology.
Erythrocyte membrane-camouflaged polymeric nanoparticles as a biomimetic delivery platform

Efforts to extend nanoparticle residence time in vivo have inspired many strategies in particle surface modifications to bypass macrophage uptake and systemic clearance. Here we report a top-down biomimetic approach in particle functionalization by coating biodegradable polymeric nanoparticles with natural erythrocyte membranes, including both membrane lipids and associated membrane proteins for long-circulating cargo delivery. The structure, size and surface zeta potential, and protein contents of the erythrocyte membrane-coated nanoparticles were verified using transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, and gel electrophoresis, respectively. Mice injections with fluorophore-loaded nanoparticles revealed superior circulation half-life by the erythrocyte-mimicking nanoparticles as compared to control particles coated with the state-of-the-art synthetic stealth materials. Biodistribution study revealed significant particle retention in the blood 72 h following the particle injection. The translocation of natural cellular membranes, their associated proteins, and the corresponding functionalities to the surface of synthetic particles represents a unique approach in nanoparticle functionalization.
Recent work connected with the Kakeya problem

where Sn−1 is the unit sphere in R. This paper will be mainly concerned with the following issue, which is still poorly understood: what metric restrictions does the property (1) put on the set E? The original Kakeya problem was essentially whether a Kakeya set as defined above must have positive measure, and as is well-known, a counterexample was given by Besicovitch in 1920. A current form of the problem is as follows:
Cadmium telluride: a silicon-compatible optical material as an alternative technology for building all-optical photonic devices

In this work, we report theoretical and experimental results on the use of Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) doped with Zinc (Zn) as core material for the development of all-optical photonic devices. We include the design of optical waveguides for strong field confinement, technological processes to grow CdTe on 6" or 8" wafers (suitable for high-volume manufacturing) as well as the fabrication and optical characterization of optical waveguides with a CdTe core.
BIT EFFICIENT RESIDUE NUMBER SYSTEM BASED LOW POWER RECONFIGURABLE DSP PROCESSOR

In modern era of advanced computing and high end multimedia there is a need for low power reliable and portable electronic systems. Even though many techniques have been proposed to reduce power over the years, out of all, the best possible solution, so far has been to over scale the power supply. When a system is over scaled the power reduces drastically but this also increases the complexity of the design. The other alternate is to replace the conventional binary number systems with Residue Number System. The residue number system is a non-weighted number system which speeds up arithmetic operations by dividing them into smaller parallel operations and provides carry-free addition, multiplication and borrow-free substraction operations. In this paper we propose a technique to reduce power based on bit efficient Residue Number System with a proper choice of prime moduli . Here we consider a Digital Signal Processor that can be reconfigured as a case study. The technique proposed can reduce power upto 34 percent thn a conventional binary number system based DSP Processor