Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
NSCs from groups to clusters: A catalogue of dwarf galaxies in the Shapley Supercluster and the role of environment in galaxy nucleation

Nuclear star clusters (NSCs) are dense star clusters located at the centre of galaxies spanning a wide range of masses and morphologies. Analysing NSC occupation statistics in different environments provides an invaluable window into investigating early conditions of high-density star formation and mass assembly in clusters and group galaxies. We use HST/ACS deep imaging to obtain a catalogue of dwarf galaxies in two galaxy clusters in the Shapley Supercluster: the central cluster Abell 3558 and the northern Abell 1736a. The Shapley region is an ideal laboratory to study nucleation as it stands as the highest mass concentration in the nearby Universe. We investigate the NSC occurrence in quiescent dwarf galaxies as faint as $M_{I} = -10$ mag and compare it with all other environments where nucleation data is available. We use galaxy cluster/group halo mass as a proxy for the environment and employ a Bayesian logistic regression framework to model the nucleation fraction ($f_{n}$) as a function of galaxy luminosity and environment. We find a notably high $f_n$ in Abell 3558: at $M_{I} \approx -13.1$ mag, half the galaxies in the cluster host NSCs. This is higher than in the Virgo and Fornax clusters but comparable to the Coma Cluster. On the other hand, the $f_n$ in Abell 1736a is relatively lower, comparable to groups in the Local Volume. We find that the probability of nucleation varies with galaxy luminosity remarkably similarly in galaxy clusters. These results reinforce previous findings of the important role of the environment in NSC formation/growth.
Enabling Physical Localization of Uncooperative Cellular Devices

In cellular networks, it can become necessary for authorities to physically locate user devices for tracking criminals or illegal devices. While cellular operators can provide authorities with cell information the device is camping on, fine-grained localization is still required. Therefore, the authorized agents trace the device by monitoring its uplink signals. However, tracking the uplink signal source without its cooperation is challenging even for operators and authorities. Particularly, three challenges remain for fine-grained localization: i) localization works only if devices generate enough uplink traffic reliably over time, ii) the target device might generate its uplink traffic with significantly low power, and iii) cellular repeater may add too much noise to true uplink signals. While these challenges present practical hurdles for localization, they have been overlooked in prior works. In this work, we investigate the impact of these real-world challenges on cellular localization and propose an Uncooperative Multiangulation Attack (UMA) that addresses these challenges. UMA can 1) force a target device to transmit traffic continuously, 2) boost the target's signal strength to the maximum, and 3) uniquely distinguish traffic from the target and the repeaters. Notably, the UMA technique works without privilege on cellular operators or user devices, which makes it operate on any LTE network. Our evaluations show that UMA effectively resolves the challenges in real-world environments when devices are not cooperative for localization. Our approach exploits the current cellular design vulnerabilities, which we have responsibly disclosed to GSMA.
MUSCULAR IMBALANCE AND ACUTE LOWER EXTREMITY MUSCLE INJURIES IN SPORT

Investigating factors associated with muscle strains highlight the multifactorial origin of the injury and the difficulty of identifying isolated or combined factors that caused the injury. Among the numerous causes reported in the literature, only a few have been scientifically associated with injury occurrence, while others have been empirically suggested. Contradictions in articles dealing with muscle strength and imbalance are frequent, and are probably the result of differences in methodology and criteria for patient inclusion. Imbalance in muscle strength commonly refers to abnormal bilateral asymmetry (between homologous groups) and a disruption of the agonist-antagonist ratio. Some authors who focus on a history of hamstring or adductor strains have demonstrated the frequent abnormality of muscle strength and balance by means of isokinetic assessment. Mixed ratios, combining the eccentric performance of "decelerating" muscles (such as the hamstrings) and the concentric performance of "mobiliser" muscles (such as the quadriceps) are suggested and seem relevant. An increased emphasis on eccentric strengthening exercises, particularly for the hamstrings, and ratio correction on the basis of statistically selected cut-offs, significantly reduces the recurrence rate of the injury and lingering complaints upon return-to-sport. Similarly, isokinetic interventions, as a preseason screening tool in sports where there is a high rate of muscle strain injuries, could detect imbalances early and thus promote a preventive strategy.
Modeling virtual object behavior within virtual environment

Development of virtual reality systems requires iterations of specification, implementation and evaluation. Since correct evaluations of immersive VR systems require the tedious process of wearing many devices, there exist both temporal and spatial gaps between the implementation and evaluation stage, and this usually causes delay and inefficiency in the development process. In order to overcome this gap, there have been several approaches to constructing or modeling the physical aspects of the virtual world (or objects) within the virtual environment. However, modeling their behaviors is still carried out in conventional (2D) programming environments.This paper proposes an interaction model, and interfaces for specifying (and modifying) object behavior, within the virtual environment, based on an underlying virtual object model. The interaction model follows the concept of programming by demonstration, and based on it, we have built a system called the PiP (Programming virtual object behavior in virtual reality Program) "in" which a user can create, modify, test, and save object behaviors. We illustrate examples of interactive virtual worlds constructed using the PiP, and discuss its merits and shortcomings as a content development platform.
The effects of ontology-based and password-protected blog access control on perceived privacy benefit and perceived ease of use

Purpose – This work empirically evaluates the effectiveness of the novel ontology-based access-control mechanism and the common password-protected access-control mechanism for social blogs. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – The ontology-based access-control scheme is designed to fit two characteristics of blog activities: social relationships and tags. A laboratory experiment is conducted to assess the perceived privacy benefit and perceived ease of use of the two mechanisms. Findings – Analytical results indicate that, with the ontology-based access-control scheme, users perceive more privacy benefit than with the password-protected access-control scheme. The perceived ease of use with the ontology-based and password-protected access-control systems did not differ significantly. Research limitations/implications – Cross-boundary collaborations need an appropriate approach to control communication access. Further study is required to evaluate the ontology-based access-c.
Transmission Benefits and Cost Allocation under Ambiguity

Disputes over cost allocation can present a significant barrier to investment in shared infrastructure. While it may be desirable to allocate cost in a way that corresponds to expected benefits, investments in long-lived projects are made under conditions of substantial uncertainty. In the context of electricity transmission, uncertainty combined with the inherent complexity of power systems analysis prevents the calculation of an estimated distribution of benefits that is agreeable to all participants. To analyze aspects of the cost allocation problem, we construct a model for transmission and generation expansion planning under uncertainty, enabling the identification of transmission investments as well as the calculation of benefits for users of the network. Numerical tests confirm the potential for realized benefits at the participant level to differ significantly from ex ante estimates. Based on the model and numerical tests we discuss several issues, including 1) establishing a valid counterfactual against which to measure benefits, 2) allocating cost to new and incumbent generators vs. solely allocating to loads, 3) calculating benefits at the portfolio vs. the individual project level, 4) identifying losers in a surplus-enhancing transmission expansion, and 5) quantifying the divergence between cost allocation decisions made ex ante and benefits realized ex post.
Hardware architecture for optical flow estimation in real time

Optical flow estimation from image sequences has been for several years a mathematical process carried out by general purpose processors in no real time. A specific architecture for this task has been developed and tested with simulators of hardware description languages. This architecture can estimate the optical flow in real time and can be constructed with FPGA or ASIC devices. This hardware may have many applications in fields like object recognition, image segmentation, autonomous navigation and security systems. To simulate image processing models described in VHDL an application specific test bench has been designed.
Integrated support for systems design

This paper describes a design support system which goes beyond the support facilities offered by the current genreation of CASE tools. we have examined the entire design process, and dwe propose that the early stages of conceptual design need a more flexible system than is currently offered by existing design methods. Our tool (the Designer's Notepad (DNP)) allows rough designs to be created and design options explored. The design can be assessed, evaluated and automatically converted to the less flexible notation used in design methods for detailed development. The system is not restricted to any particular method; it allows methods to be defined and, where appropriate, to be used in parallel. Although originally built to support software design, the DNP is also suited to supportin the systems design process where functionality is split between hardware and software components.
Characterization of a monoclonal antibody directed against mouse macrophage and lymphocyte Fc receptors

To investigate the antigenic relationship between the macrophage and lymphocyte Fc receptors (FcR), a monoclonal antibody capable of blocking mouse macrophage Fc receptors was selected. Hybrids were formed by fusing the P3U1 mouse myeloma and spleen cells from a rat immunized with the mouse macrophage-like cell lines J774 and P388D1. The Fab fragment of the monoclonal IgG secreted by clone 2.4G2, inhibited the trypsin-resistant Fc receptor II (FcRII), which is specific for immune aggregates of mouse IgG1 and IgG2b, but had no inhibitory effect on the trypsin-sensitive Fc receptor I (FcRI), which binds monomeric IgG2a and erythrocytes coated with IgG2a. Thus, the monoclonal 2.4G2 IgG appeared to be specific for macrophage FcRII. Further evidence that the 2.4G2 IgG was directed against FcRII came from binding studies of the monoclonal antibody to J774 cells and a series of independently isolated variants which do not express FcRII. These variants of J774 bound 5% as much of the monoclonal antibody as the parent line, which bound 600,000 molecules of 2.4G2 IgG per cell. The antigenic relatedness of mouse lymphocyte FcR to mouse macrophage FcRII was demonstrated by the binding of 2.4G2 IgG to FcR-bearing lymphoid cell lines and the inhibition of the lymphocyte FcR by the monoclonal antibody. Preincubation of spleen cells and peritioneal cells with 2.3G2 IgG likewise inhibited rosette formation with ox erythrocytes coated with rabbit IgG. The ability of the hybridoma IgG to inhibit mouse FcRII was independent of the major histocompatibility complex. The 2.4G2 IgG antigenic determinant was not present on rat, guinea pig, rabbit, or human FcR-bearing cells.
Neurocognitive Effects of Nicotine and Tobacco in Individuals with Schizophrenia

ABSTRACT Schizophrenic patients have deficits in neurocognitive functioning, including attention, verbal learning and memory, executive function, spatial working memory, and pre-attentional measures. Nicotine may enhance these domains of cognitive dysfunction in smokers with schizophrenia, which may be related to the high rates of smoking initiation and maintenance in this population. However, differential effects associated with varying modes of nicotine administration and the accompanying magnitude of these effects of distinct nicotine delivery systems are poorly understood. This article examines the effects of nicotine administration on various aspects of neurocognitive performance in schizophrenia.
Nitrogen recycling and nutritional provisioning by Blattabacterium, the cockroach endosymbiont

Nitrogen acquisition and assimilation is a primary concern of insects feeding on diets largely composed of plant material. Reclaiming nitrogen from waste products provides a rich reserve for this limited resource, provided that recycling mechanisms are in place. Cockroaches, unlike most terrestrial insects, excrete waste nitrogen within their fat bodies as uric acids, postulated to be a supplement when dietary nitrogen is limited. The fat bodies of most cockroaches are inhabited by Blattabacterium, which are vertically transmitted, Gram-negative bacteria that have been hypothesized to participate in uric acid degradation, nitrogen assimilation, and nutrient provisioning. We have sequenced completely the Blattabacterium genome from Periplaneta americana. Genomic analysis confirms that Blattabacterium is a member of the Flavobacteriales (Bacteroidetes), with its closest known relative being the endosymbiont Sulcia muelleri, which is found in many sap-feeding insects. Metabolic reconstruction indicates that it lacks recognizable uricolytic enzymes, but it can recycle nitrogen from urea and ammonia, which are uric acid degradation products, into glutamate, using urease and glutamate dehydrogenase. Subsequently, Blattabacterium can produce all of the essential amino acids, various vitamins, and other required compounds from a limited palette of metabolic substrates. The ancient association with Blattabacterium has allowed cockroaches to subsist successfully on nitrogen-poor diets and to exploit nitrogenous wastes, capabilities that are critical to the ecological range and global distribution of cockroach species.
Multihop virtual full-duplex relay channels

We introduce a multihop “virtual” full-duplex relay channel as a special case of a general multiple multicast relay network. For such network, quantize-map-and-forward (QMF) (or noisy network coding (NNC)) can achieve the cut-set upper bound within a constant gap where the gap grows linearly with the number of relay stages K. However, this gap may not be negligible for the systems with multihop transmissions (e.g., a power-limited wireless backhaul system operating at high frequencies). In this paper, we obtain an improved result to the capacity scaling where the gap grows logarithmically as log (K). This is achieved by using an optimal quantization at relays and by exploiting relays' messages (decoded in the previous time slot) as side-information at the destination. We further improve the performance of this network by presenting a mixed strategy where each relay can perform either decode-and-forward (DF) or QMF with possibly rate-splitting.
SLO3 K+ Channels Control Calcium Entry through CATSPER Channels in Sperm*

Background: SLO3 and CATSPER are two sperm-specific ion channels. Results: SLO3 K+ channels control Ca2+ entry through CATSPER channels. Conclusion: SLO3 control of CATSPER channel activity involves an intermediary step in which SLO3-dependent hyperpolarization may elicit internal alkalization via a voltage-dependent mechanism. Significance: Understanding the control of Ca2+ entry in sperm is crucial to understanding fertility; this study also reveals an unusual role for a K+ channel. Here we show how a sperm-specific potassium channel (SLO3) controls Ca2+ entry into sperm through a sperm-specific Ca2+ channel, CATSPER, in a totally unanticipated manner. The genetic deletion of either of those channels confers male infertility in mice. During sperm capacitation SLO3 hyperpolarizes the sperm, whereas CATSPER allows Ca2+ entry. These two channels may be functionally connected, but it had not been demonstrated that SLO3-dependent hyperpolarization is required for Ca2+ entry through CATSPER channels, nor has a functional mechanism linking the two channels been shown. In this study we show that Ca2+ entry through CATSPER channels is deficient in Slo3 mutant sperm lacking hyperpolarization; we also present evidence supporting the hypothesis that SLO3 channels activate CATSPER channels indirectly by promoting a rise in intracellular pH through a voltage-dependent mechanism. This mechanism may work through a Na+/H+ exchanger (sNHE) and/or a bicarbonate transporter, which utilizes the inward driving force of the Na+ gradient, rendering it intrinsically voltage-dependent. In addition, the sperm-specific Na+/H+ exchanger (sNHE) possess a putative voltage sensor that might be activated by membrane hyperpolarization, thus increasing the voltage sensitivity of internal alkalization.
Wireless sensor network operating systems: a survey

The design of operating system for Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) deviates from the traditional operating system design due to their specific characteristics like constrained resources, high dynamics and inaccessible deployment environments. We provide a classification framework that surveys the state of the art in WSN Operating Systems (OS). The purpose of this survey is two-fold, one is to classify the existing operating systems according to important OS features, and the other is to suggest appropriate OSs for different categories of WSN applications, mapping the application requirements and OS features. This classification helps in understanding the contrasting differences among existing operating systems, and lays a foundation to design an ideal WSN OS. We also classified existing WSN applications, to help the application developer in choosing the appropriate OS, based on the application requirements. Summary and analysis, and discussion of future research directions in this area have been presented.
Entamoeba histolytica Cell Surface Calreticulin Binds Human C1q and Functions in Amebic Phagocytosis of Host Cells

ABSTRACT Phagocytosis of host cells is characteristic of tissue invasion by the intestinal ameba Entamoeba histolytica, which causes amebic dysentery and liver abscesses. Entamoeba histolytica induces host cell apoptosis and uses ligands, including C1q, on apoptotic cells to engulf them. Two mass spectrometry analyses identified calreticulin in amebic phagosome preparations, and, in addition to its function as an endoplasmic reticulum chaperone, calreticulin is believed to be the macrophage receptor for C1q. The purpose of this study was to determine if calreticulin functions as an E. histolytica C1q receptor during phagocytosis of host cells. Calreticulin was localized to the surface of E. histolytica during interaction with both Jurkat lymphocytes and erythrocytes and was present in over 75% of phagocytic cups during amebic erythrophagocytosis. Presence of calreticulin on the cell surface was further demonstrated using a method that selectively biotinylated cell surface proteins and by flow cytometry using trophozoites overexpressing epitope-tagged calreticulin. Regulated overexpression of calreticulin increased E. histolytica's ability to phagocytose apoptotic lymphocytes and calcium ionophore-treated erythrocytes but had no effect on amebic adherence to or destruction of cell monolayers or surface expression of the GalNAc lectin and serine-rich E. histolytica protein (SREHP) receptors. Finally, E. histolytica calreticulin bound specifically to apoptotic lymphocytes and to human C1q. Collectively, these data implicate cell surface calreticulin as a receptor for C1q during E. histolytica phagocytosis of host cells.
Regulation of Plant Developmental Processes by a Novel Splicing Factor

Serine/arginine-rich (SR) proteins play important roles in constitutive and alternative splicing and other aspects of mRNA metabolism. We have previously isolated a unique plant SR protein (SR45) with atypical domain organization. However, the biological and molecular functions of this novel SR protein are not known. Here, we report biological and molecular functions of this protein. Using an in vitro splicing complementation assay, we showed that SR45 functions as an essential splicing factor. Furthermore, the alternative splicing pattern of transcripts of several other SR genes was altered in a mutant, sr45-1, suggesting that the observed phenotypic abnormalities in sr45-1 are likely due to altered levels of SR protein isoforms, which in turn modulate splicing of other pre-mRNAs. sr45-1 exhibited developmental abnormalities, including delayed flowering, narrow leaves and altered number of petals and stamens. The late flowering phenotype was observed under both long days and short days and was rescued by vernalization. FLC, a key flowering repressor, is up-regulated in sr45-1 demonstrating that SR45 influences the autonomous flowering pathway. Changes in the alternative splicing of SR genes and the phenotypic defects in the mutant were rescued by SR45 cDNA, further confirming that the observed defects in the mutant are due to the lack of SR45. These results indicate that SR45 is a novel plant-specific splicing factor that plays a crucial role in regulating developmental processes.
Introducing medical students to psycho‐oncology

A weekly three‐hour interactive small group seminar held for four weeks exposes first‐year medical students to contemporary issues relative to the psychosocial care of the oncology patient. Learning objectives include identifying the psychosocial trajectory of patients, a review of ethical considerations, identification of rehabilitation goals and exploration of coping mechanisms to deal with burn‐out. Learning activities include group discussion, video, in vivo discussions with cancer patients and oncologists as well as clinical shadowing experiences with the interdisciplinary team. Student evaluations of this format indicate they appreciate the multi‐modal approaches which engage them emotionally and keep their learning experiential. The mini‐module encourages students to explore the possibility of considering oncology as a field of speciality as well as identifying skills translatable to other life‐threatened populations.
Changing Predictors of Map Use in Wayfinding.

Map use to guide travel may require skill in encoding information from a terrain and a map, finding a match between the two, and maintaning the match despite directional shifts from turns on a route. To test this analysis194 4-to 6-yr. -olds used maps to locate the route to a goal through a network of paths with blind alleys. Two tasks were used as predictors of skill in map use. Laurendeau and Pinard's test of the localization of topological positions (LOTOP) supplied measures of memory encoding, correspondence and rotation. The child had to copy an examiner's placements on a board when the boards were aligned or one was rotated 180 degrees. Placements were near landmarks or in the open field. The landmarks were then removed and the child had to recall their location (encoding). On the mental rotation test (MR),the child chose a rotated letter-like form to match a standard. Younger children's map errors were predicted by mental rotation skill (MR and LOTOP rotated board scores) and landmark placements. Older children's map errors were predicted by recall of landmark positions (memory encoding).