Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Origin of disc lopsidedness in the Eridanus group of galaxies

The H-I surface density maps for a sample of 18 galaxies in the Eridanus group are Fourier analysed. This analysis gives the radial variation of the lopsidedness in the H-I spatial distribution. The lopsidedness is quantified by the Fourier amplitude A(1) of the m = 1 component normalized to the average value. It is also shown that in the radial region where the stellar disc and H-I overlap, their A(1) coefficients are comparable. All the galaxies studied show significant lopsidedness in H-I. The mean value of A(1) in the inner regions of the galaxies (1.5-2.5 scalelengths) is >= 0.2. This value of A(1) is twice the average value seen in the field galaxies. Also, the lopsidedness is found to be smaller for late-type galaxies; this is opposite to the trend seen in the field galaxies. These two results indicate a different physical origin for disc lopsidedness in galaxies in a group environment compared to the field galaxies. Further, a large fraction (similar to 30 per cent) shows a higher degree of lopsidedness (A(1) >= 0.3). It is also seen that the disc lopsidedness increases with the radius as demonstrated in earlier studies, but over a radial range that is two times larger than done in the previous studies. The average lopsidedness of the halo potential is estimated to be similar to 10 per cent, assuming that the lopsidedness in H-I disc is due to its response to the halo asymmetry.
A DNA structural atlas for Escherichia coli.

We have performed a computational analysis of DNA structural features in 18 fully sequenced prokaryotic genomes using models for DNA curvature, DNA flexibility, and DNA stability. The structural values that are computed for the Escherichia coli chromosome are significantly different from (and generally more extreme than) that expected from the nucleotide composition. To aid this analysis, we have constructed tools that plot structural measures for all positions in a long DNA sequence (e.g. an entire chromosome) in the form of color-coded wheels (http://www.cbs.dtu. dk/services/GenomeAtlas/). We find that these "structural atlases" are useful for the discovery of interesting features that may then be investigated in more depth using statistical methods. From investigation of the E. coli structural atlas, we discovered a genome-wide trend, where an extended region encompassing the terminus displays a high of level curvature, a low level of flexibility, and a low degree of helix stability. The same situation is found in the distantly related Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis, suggesting that the phenomenon is biologically relevant. Based on a search for long DNA segments where all the independent structural measures agree, we have found a set of 20 regions with identical and very extreme structural properties. Due to their strong inherent curvature, we suggest that these may function as topological domain boundaries by efficiently organizing plectonemically supercoiled DNA. Interestingly, we find that in practically all the investigated eubacterial and archaeal genomes, there is a trend for promoter DNA being more curved, less flexible, and less stable than DNA in coding regions and in intergenic DNA without promoters. This trend is present regardless of the absolute levels of the structural parameters, and we suggest that this may be related to the requirement for helix unwinding during initiation of transcription, or perhaps to the previously observed location of promoters at the apex of plectonemically supercoiled DNA. We have also analyzed the structural similarities between groups of genes by clustering all RNA and protein-encoding genes in E. coli, based on the average structural parameters. We find that most ribosomal genes (protein-encoding as well as rRNA genes) cluster together, and we suggest that DNA structure may play a role in the transcription of these highly expressed genes.
Do Teachers, Students and Parents Agree about the Top Five Good Teacher's Characteristics?.

As the most influential figure in the classroom, a good teacher has long been the object of research. His/her most important characteristics can be analysed from more than one point of view. The objective of this study was to apply Korthagen’s model of levels of change in exploring the most important characteristics of a good teacher from the perspective of students, teachers and parents, and possible differences depending on elementary and high school and teachers’ experience. There were 384 participants: 158 students, 78 teachers, and 148 parents. The most desirable characteristics from all three perspectives were fairness, patience and teaching skills. Some differences were found between elementary and high school students and teachers. The listed characteristics fit Korthagen’s model mostly in the levels of mission and competencies.
Dyslexia: A New Synergy Between Education and Cognitive Neuroscience

Dissecting Dyslexia and Learning Difficulties in learning to read, despite reasonable effort and instruction, form the basis of dyslexia. Gabrieli (p. 280; see the cover) now reviews the latest research into the causes of dyslexia. Neuroimaging studies may give early notice of impending dyslexia, and it is hoped that early interventions may lessen the impact of dyslexia. Learning occurs in many settings. Humans uniquely use the formalized settings of schools and curriculum. Infants and children also do plenty of learning outside these settings, often intermingling social interactions. Meltzoff et al. (p. 284) survey the variety of learning contexts that people experience and discuss how recent advances in neuroscience and robotics are driving a new synthesis of learning. Reading is essential in modern societies, but many children have dyslexia, a difficulty in learning to read. Dyslexia often arises from impaired phonological awareness, the auditory analysis of spoken language that relates the sounds of language to print. Behavioral remediation, especially at a young age, is effective for many, but not all, children. Neuroimaging in children with dyslexia has revealed reduced engagement of the left temporo-parietal cortex for phonological processing of print, altered white-matter connectivity, and functional plasticity associated with effective intervention. Behavioral and brain measures identify infants and young children at risk for dyslexia, and preventive intervention is often effective. A combination of evidence-based teaching practices and cognitive neuroscience measures could prevent dyslexia from occurring in the majority of children who would otherwise develop dyslexia.
Aerosol Optical and Microphysical Properties of Four Typical Sites of SONET in China Based on Remote Sensing Measurements

The current understanding of columnar aerosol optical and microphysical properties of different regions and seasons in China is insufficient due to the lack of measurements. Aiming to improve descriptions of aerosol models over China, this paper presents a systematic aerosol characterization of different sites based on a newly developed remote sensing network for aerosol observation, the Sun-sky radiometer Observation NETwork (SONET). One year of ground-based solar and sky radiation measurements of four typical sites of SONET (Beijing–urban-industrial site, Zhangye—rural site, Minqin—desert site, Zhoushan–oceanic site) are used to retrieve aerosol properties using similar inversion algorithms with AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET), including aerosol optical depth, Angstrom exponent, volume size distribution, complex refractive index, single scattering albedo, and percentage of spherical particles. The retrieved properties among sites and seasons are found to be different in terms of magnitude, spectral dependence, and partition of fine and coarse mode, which can be primarily explained by different aerosol composition and mixing states that closely relate to the local climate, the natural environment, and most importantly, the ubiquitous anthropogenic impacts. For example, large dust particles greatly contribute to the low fine mode fraction in both volume concentration and optical depth for the Minqin site through the entire year, while abundant small particles that mainly come from emission sources dominate the size distribution and light extinction of aerosol in the summer at the Beijing site. The results also show general agreements with other studies on the aerosol properties at each site, however, some unique features are still noticeable, especially at the desert site and oceanic site (e.g., the unusually strong aerosol absorptivity indicated by the large imaginary refractive index and low single scattering albedo at the Minqin and Zhoushan sites), which can be partly attributed to the existence of absorbing particles coming from anthropogenic sources.
Risk factors for coronary heart disease and acute-phase proteins. A population-based study.

AIMS Circulating levels of C-reactive protein and serum amyloid A protein increase markedly, and albumin levels fall, during the acute-phase response to tissue injury, infection and inflammation. Some acute-phase proteins have been associated with increased risks of coronary heart disease in long-term prospective studies. The aim of the present study was to determine whether circulating concentrations of C-reactive protein, albumin and serum amyloid A protein are correlated with one another, standard vascular risk factors, markers of persistent infection, or indicators of socio-economic status. METHODS AND RESULTS We report a cross-sectional study of 704 individuals without a history of coronary heart disease from five general practices in Bedfordshire, U.K. Plasma levels of C-reactive protein and serum amyloid A protein were strongly associated with each other (2 P<0.00001) and inversely related to levels of serum albumin (2 P<0.00001). There were highly significant associations of plasma C-reactive protein concentrations with cigarette smoking and obesity (2 P<0.00001 for each). Serum albumin levels were strongly associated with blood pressure (2 P<0.0001) and plasma lipids (2 P<0.001), and concentrations of serum amyloid A protein were strongly correlated with obesity (2 P<0.0001). CONCLUSION Previously reported long-term prospective studies have found an increased risk of coronary heart disease of about 50% in people with raised baseline levels of plasma C-reactive protein or low albumin. The strong cross-sectional associations we have found between levels of these proteins with each other and with concentrations of serum amyloid A protein suggest that some underlying process related to inflammation is likely to be of relevance to the causation of disease. Further studies are needed to determine if the strong associations of plasma levels of C-reactive protein with cigarette smoking and obesity indicate that this particular protein can mediate some of the effects of those risk factors on coronary heart disease.
İlköğretim Okulu Öğretmenlerinin İş Tatmini İle Örgütsel Bağlılığı Arasındaki İlişki

Bu arastirma ilkogretim okullarinda gorev yapan ogretmenlerin is tatminleri ile orgutsel bagliliklari arasindaki iliskiyi belirlemek amaciyla yapilmistir. Calisma grubu, Istanbul ili Avrupa yakasindaki uc ilcede oransiz kume ornekleme yontemiyle belirlenen on iki ilkogretim okulundan, yansiz olarak secilen 204 sinif ve brans ogretmeninden olusmaktadir. Verilerin toplanmasinda Minnesota Is Tatmini Olcegi ve Orgutsel Baglilik Olcegi kullanilmistir. Verilerin analizinde ise betimsel istatistikler hesaplanmis, t-testi, Kruskal Wallis-H, Mann Whitney-U ve Pearson Momentler Carpimi Korelasyon analizi uygulanmistir. Arastirma bulgularina gore ogretmenlerin is tatmini ile orgutsel bagliligi arasinda pozitif yonlu yuksek duzeyde anlamli bir iliski vardir. Bunun yaninda ogretmenlerin is tatmin ve orgutsel baglilik duzeyleri yuksek olup; is tatmininde ve orgutsel baglilikta duygusal faktorler daha etkilidir.
The link between covert attention and saccade programming

In the present study, we investigated the distribution of attention before antisaccades. We used a dual task paradigm, in which participants made prosaccades or antisaccades and discriminated the orientation of a visual probe shown at the saccade goal, the visual cue location (antisaccade condition), or a neutral location. Moreover, participants indicated whether they had made a correct antisaccade or an erroneous prosaccade. We observed that, while spatial attention in the prosaccade task was allocated only to the saccade goal, attention in the antisaccade task was allocated both to the cued location and to the antisaccade goal. This suggests parallel attentional selection of the cued and anti-saccade locations. We further observed that in error trials – in which participants made an incorrect prosaccade instead of an antisaccade, spatial attention was biased towards the prosaccade goal. These erroneous prosaccades were mostly unnoticed and were often followed by corrective antisaccades with very short latencies (< 100 ms). Data from error trials therefore provide further evidence for the parallel programming of the reflexive prosaccade to the cue and the antisaccade to the intended location. Taken together, our results suggest that attention allocation and saccade goal selection in the antisaccade task are mediated by a common competitive process.
Hardware-Assisted On-Demand Hypervisor Activation for Efficient Security Critical Code Execution on Mobile Devices

As more and more mobile applications need to run security critical codes (SCCs) for secure transactions and critical information handling, the demand for a Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) to ensure safe execution of SCCs is rapidly escalating. Although a number of studies have implemented TEEs using TrustZone or hypervisors and have evinced the effectiveness in terms of security, they face major challenges when considering deployment in mobile devices. TrustZone-based approaches bloat the TCB of the system as they must increase the code base size of the most privileged software. Hypervisor-based approaches incur performance overhead on mobile devices that are already suffering from resource restrictions. To alleviate these problems, in this paper, we propose a hybrid approach that utilizes both TrustZone and a hypervisor. Our approach basically implements a TEE using a hypervisor, while mitigating performance overhead by activating the hypervisor only when the TEE is demanded by SCCs. This scheme, called on-demand hypervisor activation, has been efficiently and securely implemented by leveraging the memory protection capability of TrustZone. We have implemented and experimented our system with real world applications. The results show that our system can successfully protect SCCs without any noticeable delay (< 100 µs), while limiting the overhead increase due to our hypervisor during its hibernation near 0 %.
Benzyladenine arrests cell cycle progression in G1 phase in tobacco BY-2 cells preceding induction of cell death

Micromolar concentrations of exogenously applied cytokinins can inhibit the growth of tobacco BY-2 (Nicotiana tabacum L. cv. Bright Yellow 2) cells and induce cell death. To determine whether the antiproliferative and cell death-inducing mechanisms of cytokinins are linked, we investigated the inhibition of cell cycle transition by the cytokinin benzyladenine using BY-2 cells. Mitotic index and flow cytometric analyses revealed that benzyladenine decreased the rate of cells entering the G2 and M phases a few hours after treatment of unsynchronized cells. Additionally, for cells synchronized in M phase, benzyladenine delayed (at 10 mM) or arrested (at 50 mM) cell cycle progression at G1. Expression patterns of cell cycle-related genes (PCNA and A3-, A1- and B1-type cyclins) also indicated G1 arrest by a 50 mM benzyladenine treatment at the M or G1 phase. Cell cycle arrest was detected prior to the induction of cell death by the treatment. Increase in number of dead cells was observed 16 h after each treatment at M or G1, suggesting that cell death may not be induced when cells reach a specific time point in G1 phase but, rather, in a time-dependent manner following benzyladenine treatment.
Modeling software architectures in the Unified Modeling Language

The Unified Modeling Language (UML) is a family of design notations that is rapidly becoming a de facto standard software design language. UML provides a variety of useful capabilities to the software designer, including multiple, interrelated design views, a semiformal semantics expressed as a UML meta model, and an associated language for expressing formal logic constraints on design elements. The primary goal of this work is an assessment of UML's expressive power for modeling software architectures in the manner in which a number of existing software architecture description languages (ADLs) model architectures. This paper presents two strategies for supporting architectural concerns within UML. One strategy involves using UML "as is," while the other incorporates useful features of existing ADLs as UML extensions. We discuss the applicability, strengths, and weaknesses of the two strategies. The strategies are applied on three ADLs that, as a whole, represent a broad cross-section of present-day ADL capabilities. One conclusion of our work is that UML currently lacks support for capturing and exploiting certain architectural concerns whose importance has been demonstrated through the research and practice of software architectures. In particular, UML lacks direct support for modeling and exploiting architectural styles, explicit software connectors, and local and global architectural constraints.
Predictors of changes in glucose tolerance status in obese youth.

OBJECTIVE Type 2 diabetes in obese youth is an emerging problem. The metabolic and anthropometric predictors of change in glucose tolerance status in obese youth are unknown. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A total of 117 obese children and adolescents were studied by performing an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) at baseline and after approximately 2 years. Data from both OGTTs and changes in weight were examined to identify youth at highest risk for developing diabetes and the factors that have the strongest impact on glucose tolerance. RESULTS Eighty-four subjects had normal glucose tolerance (NGT) and 33 impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) at baseline. Eight subjects (all of whom had IGT at baseline) developed type 2 diabetes, whereas 15 subjects with IGT reverted to NGT. In this cohort, severe obesity, impaired glucose tolerance, and African-American background emerged as the best predictors of developing type 2 diabetes, whereas fasting glucose, insulin, and C-peptide were nonpredictive. Changes in insulin sensitivity, strongly related to weight change, had a significant impact on the 2-h glucose level on the follow-up study. CONCLUSIONS Severely obese children and adolescents with IGT, particularly of African-American descent, are at very high risk for developing type 2 diabetes over a short period of time. Parameters derived from an OGTT and not fasting samples can serve as predictors of changes in glucose tolerance.
A Wideband and Compact GaN MMIC Doherty Amplifier for Microwave Link Applications

This paper addresses the limitations and difficulties, in terms of DC-current density restrictions, and process limitations, associated with implementing impedance inverters with high characteristic impedance for monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) Doherty power amplifiers (DPAs). It is theoretically shown that impedance inverters with high characteristic impedance can be realized by utilizing the output capacitance of the active devices, together with a compact Tee-network of transmission lines with feasible linewidths. The utility of the impedance inverter is proven by design and fabrication of a GaN MMIC-DPA for microwave link applications. Continuous wave (CW) measurements demonstrate a maximum output power of 35±0.5dBm over a frequency range of 6.6-8.5 GHz. The power added efficiency (PAE) in 9 dB output power back-off (OPBO) is better than 30% in a frequency range of 6.7-7.8 GHz. Moreover, linearized modulated measurements, employing a 10 MHz 256-QAM signal with 7.8 dB peak to average power ratio (PAPR), demonstrate higher than 35% average PAE, with 27.5 ± 0.2 dBm average output power, and an adjacent channel power ratio (ACPR) less than -45 dBc, across a 6.8-8.5 GHz frequency range. The fabricated chip-size measures 2.1 mm × 1.5mm.
Impact of Caesarean section on subsequent fertility: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

STUDY QUESTION Is there an association between a Caesarean section and subsequent fertility? SUMMARY ANSWER Most studies report that fertility is reduced after Caesarean section compared with vaginal delivery. However, studies with a more robust design show smaller effects and it is uncertain whether the association is causal. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY A previous systematic review published in 1996 summarizing six studies including 85 728 women suggested that Caesarean section reduces subsequent fertility. The included studies suffer from severe methodological limitations. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION Systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies comparing subsequent reproductive outcomes of women who had a Caesarean section with those who delivered vaginally. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS Searches of Cochrane Library, Medline, Embase, CINAHL Plus and Maternity and Infant Care databases were conducted in December 2011 to identify randomized and non-randomized studies that compared the subsequent fertility outcomes after a Caesarean section and after a vaginal delivery. Eighteen cohort studies including 591 850 women matched the inclusion criteria. Risk of bias was assessed by the Newcastle-Ottawa scale (NOS). Data extraction was done independently by two reviewers. The meta-analysis was based on a random-effects model. Subgroup analyses were performed to assess whether the estimated effect was influenced by parity, risk adjustment, maternal choice, cohort period, and study quality and size. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE The impact of Caesarean section on subsequent pregnancies could be analysed in 10 studies and on subsequent births in 16 studies. A meta-analysis suggests that patients who had undergone a Caesarean section had a 9% lower subsequent pregnancy rate [risk ratio (RR) 0.91, 95% confidence interval (CI) (0.87, 0.95)] and 11% lower birth rate [RR 0.89, 95% CI (0.87, 0.92)], compared with patients who had delivered vaginally. Studies that controlled for maternal age or specifically analysed primary elective Caesarean section for breech delivery, and those that were least prone to bias according to the NOS reported smaller effects. LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION There is significant variation in the design and methods of included studies. Residual bias in the adjusted results is likely as no study was able to control for a number of important maternal characteristics, such as a history of infertility or maternal obesity. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS Further research is needed to reduce the impact of selection bias by indication through creating more comparable patient groups and applying risk adjustment.
Similar facial electromyographic responses to faces, voices, and body expressions

Observing facial expressions automatically prompts imitation, as can be seen with facial electromyography. To investigate whether this reaction is driven by automatic mimicry or by recognition of the emotion displayed we recorded electromyograph responses to presentations of facial expressions, face–voice combinations and bodily expressions, which resulted from happy and fearful stimuli. We observed emotion-specific facial muscle activity (zygomaticus for happiness, corrugator for fear) for all three stimulus categories. This indicates that spontaneous facial expression is more akin to an emotional reaction than to facial mimicry and imitation of the seen face stimulus. We suggest that seeing a facial expression, an emotional body expression or hearing an emotional tone of voice all activate the affect program corresponding to the emotion displayed.