Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Small-Scale Systems of Galaxies. I. Photometric and Spectroscopic Properties of Members

This paper is the first of a series addressed to the investigation of galaxy formation/evolution in small-scale systems of galaxies (SSSGs), which are located in low-density cosmic environments. Our algorithm for SSSG selection includes galaxy systems of two or more galaxies lying within Δcz ≤ 1000 km s-1 and a 200 h kpc radius volume. We present the analysis of the photometric and spectroscopic properties of 19 member galaxies belonging to a sample of 11 SSSGs. In the μe-re plane early-type members may be considered "ordinary," rather than "bright," galaxies, with a significant fraction of galaxies having a disk or disky isophotes. We do not detect fine structure or signatures of recent interaction events in the early-type galaxy population, a picture also confirmed by the spectroscopy. At odds with these findings are several spiral members with open arm configurations, as expected in interacting systems. At the same time, emission lines in the spectra of spiral members fall in the H II regions regime. None of the objects displays unambiguous indications of nuclear activity, although four spiral nuclei could be ascribed to the class of Seyferts. The star formation rate seems enhanced over the average expected in spiral galaxies only for poorer SSSGs in particular pairs (≤50 M⊙ yr-1) but without being in the range of starburst systems.
Rock on! An elementary model of customer satisfaction with musical performances

Local and regional entertainers typically perform without a star performer or national recognition. These performers are often an incidental backdrop for the festivities. Is audience satisfaction with the group more than a summation of the satisfaction with individual performers; do factors surrounding the performance aid in determining audience satisfaction? Answers to these questions may allow event planners to engage performers likely to increase event success. This paper develops a model of audience satisfaction with live performances, which began using a theory developed by Grove et al. in 1992. This theory was modified as a result of further conceptualization, qualitative data analysis, and survey results. Results suggest consumers judge performances as the sum of several components, including both elements of the performance and the setting.
Potential Hot / Massive Star Areas of Interest for Stellar Imager

(These notes are copyright Steven R. Cranmer, 2004. The author grants the right to copy and distribute this document, provided it remains unmodified, original authorship is retained, and it is not be used in any widely-distributed or commercial publication without my permission. Note that the images with a cited “Image Credit” are copyrighted by others, and permission should be sought from them if they are to be re-published anywhere.)
An adaptive InCon MPPT algorithm considering irradiance slope tracking for PV application

In this paper, a new adaptive InCon MPPT algorithm, considering irradiance slope tracking and zero oscillation (ZA-InCon) for PV application is presented. The convectional InCon algorithms are used to extract maximum available power from photovoltaic panels, but these algorithms oscillate around maximum power point and, since they have no conception of PV panel I-V characteristic they may confuse under rapidly changing environmental conditions. The artificial perturbation and deviation from maximum power point result in high power losses and lower implementation efficiency. The proposed ZA-InCon algorithm identifies steady state operation mode and sets operating point near the maximum power point. The environmental condition changes can be estimated from current natural perturbation and the step size is adjusted accurately for irradiance slope tracking. To validate the proposed algorithm, it is compared with conventional InCon algorithm under different environmental conditions by simulation. A boost converter is used to realize the proposed ZA-InCon algorithm.
Mating Patterns in a Savanna Population of Valley Oak (Quercus lobata Neé) 1

California valley oak is threatened by landscape alteration and failing recruitment in remnant stands. Its reproductive ecology is a key element of the seedling recruitment process. We first examine the mating system, to determine the extent of inbreeding in a population at Sedgwick Reserve, in Santa Barbara County. We then quantify variation in germination success and acorn size, evaluating their spatial patterns across the site. We collected acorns from 21 mapped focal trees in fall 1999, measured their average seed weight and germination success, and identified their multilocus genotypes. Using a mixed mating model, we observed significant, but modest selfing (outcrossing rate: tm = 0.96) and no mating among relatives (tm – t s) = 0.0. The effective pollen donor number was estimated to be between 5 and 7 individuals, depending on the inbreeding coefficient of the adults. These mating results indicate relatively little inbreeding but low numbers of pollen donors. Mothers differed significantly in seed weight (range: ~ 4 - 10 g) and germination percentage (range: 0 – 90 percent), and a bivariate analysis showed a gradient across the study site. Such a pattern suggests that environment conditions influence acorn size and germination success. Future work will address whether isolated individuals are at risk of selfing, for the expression of inbreeding depression on seed traits, or a reduction in the effective pollen donor number.
The Impact of Off-Label Psychostimulant Use on Sleep Physiology and Sleep-Related Cognitive Function

Author(s): Whitehurst, Lauren | Advisor(s): Mednick, Sara M; Reynolds, Chandra | Abstract: The off-label use of prescription psychostimulants in healthy individuals is becoming more prevalent, particularly in college populations, prompting the new label “Generation Adderall”. Although these drugs have been shown to improve cognition in children with attention-deficit disorder (ADHD), the efficacy of stimulant medications for cognitive enhancement in healthy adults has not been definitively shown, with some research indicating positive effects on cognition, others indicating negative effects, and still others showing no effects of stimulant interventions. Further, discrepant results have been reported between, but also within cognitive domains, suggesting more research is needed to carefully illuminate and replicate these effects. I propose that one of the primary outcomes of psychostimulants, namely decreased sleep, may play an important, and as of yet, unacknowledged role in the effect of these drugs on cognition. Sleep, a basic biological need, has been shown to be important for cognitive processing, including learning, memory and attention. Remarkably, however, the interaction between stimulants, sleep and cognition in healthy adults has received little scientific attention. Here, I first present experimental evidence from two different within-subjects, crossover, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies where I examine the immediate and long-term impact of psychostimulants on two different cognitive domains; sustained attention, which has previously shown stimulant-related performance enhancement, and emotional memory, which has reliably been shown to benefit from sleep. Next, in light of these two studies’ novel contributions, I review the existing literature on stimulant cognitive enhancement and propose a theoretical model that includes sleep as the missing link in the story of psychostimulant cognitive enhancement.
Seasonal and Physiological Variations of Phlebotomus papatasi Salivary Gland Antigens in Central Iran

Background: Sand fly saliva helps parasite establishment and induce immune responses in vertebrate hosts. In the current study, we investigated the modulation of Phlebotomus papatasi salivary gland antigen expression by seasonal and biological factors. Methods: Sand flies were grouped according to physiological stages such as unfed, fed, semi-gravid, gravid, parous, nulliparous, infected or non-infected with Leishmania major and based on the season in which they were collected. Salivary gland antigens (SGAs) were analyzed using SDS-PAGE and the antibody response against SGAs in Rhombomys opimus was determined by ELISA and Western blot. Results: The highest protein content was found in the salivary glands of unfed sand flies. The saliva content was higher in parous compared to nulliparous, in summer compared to spring, and in Leishmania-infected compared to non-infected flies. The salivary gland lysate (SGL) electrophoretic pattern variations were observed among sand flies with various physiological stages particularly from 4–9 protein bands of 14–70 kDa. The SGL of unfed and gravid flies had extra protein bands compared to fed and semi-gravid sand flies. There was missing protein bands in SGL of parous compared to nulliparous; and in summer compared to spring collected flies. Rhombomys opimus serum reacted strongly with an antigenic band of around 28 kDa in the SGL of all sand fly groups. Conclusion: Certain biological and environmental characteristics of wild populations of vector sand flies affect the protein content and antigenicity of saliva. This might have an important implication in the design of vector-based vaccines.
Repeated Short-term (2h×14d) Emotional Stress Induces Lasting Depression-like Behavior in Mice

Chronic behavioral stress is a risk factor for depression. To understand chronic stress effects and the mechanism underlying stress-induced emotional changes, various animals model have been developed. We recently reported that mice treated with restraints for 2 h daily for 14 consecutive days (2h-14d or 2h×14d) show lasting depression-like behavior. Restraint provokes emotional stress in the body, but the nature of stress induced by restraints is presumably more complex than emotional stress. So a question remains unsolved whether a similar procedure with "emotional" stress is sufficient to cause depression-like behavior. To address this, we examined whether "emotional" constraints in mice treated for 2h×14d by enforcing them to individually stand on a small stepping platform placed in a water bucket with a quarter full of water, and the stress evoked by this procedure was termed "water-bucket stress". The water-bucket stress activated the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal gland (HPA) system in a manner similar to restraint as evidenced by elevation of serum glucocorticoids. After the 2h×14d water-bucket stress, mice showed behavioral changes that were attributed to depression-like behavior, which was stably detected >3 weeks after last water-bucket stress endorsement. Administration of the anti-depressant, imipramine, for 20 days from time after the last emotional constraint completely reversed the stress-induced depression-like behavior. These results suggest that emotional stress evokes for 2h×14d in mice stably induces depression-like behavior in mice, as does the 2h×14d restraint.
Cooperative Relaying Under Spatially and Temporally Correlated Interference

We analyze the performance of an interference-limited decode-and-forward cooperative relaying system that comprises a source, a destination, and N relays, arbitrarily placed on the plane and suffering from interference by a set of interferers placed according to a spatial Poisson process. In each transmission attempt, first, the transmitter sends a packet; subsequently, a single one of the relays that received the packet correctly, if such a relay exists, retransmits it. We consider both selection combining and maximal ratio combining at the destination, Rayleigh fading, and interferer mobility. We derive expressions for the probability that a single transmission attempt is successful, as well as for the distribution of the transmission attempts until a packet is successfully transmitted. Results provide design guidelines applicable to a wide range of systems. Overall, the temporal and spatial characteristics of the interference play a significant role in shaping the system performance. Maximal ratio combining is only helpful when relays are close to the destination; in harsh environments, having many relays is particularly helpful, and relay placement is critical; the performance improves when interferer mobility increases; and a tradeoff exists between energy efficiency and throughput.
Evaluating the implicit acquisition of second language vocabulary using a live wallpaper

An essential aspect of learning a second language is the acquisition of vocabulary. However, acquiring vocabulary is often a protracted process that requires repeated and spaced exposure; which can be difficult to accommodate given the busyness of daily living. In this paper, we explore if a learner can implicitly acquire second language vocabulary through her explicit interactions with her mobile phone (e.g., navigating multiple home screens) using an interface we developed called Vocabulary Wallpaper. In addition, we examine if the type of vocabulary this technique exposes to the learner, whether it is contextually relevant or contextually-independent will influence the learner's rate of vocabulary acquisition. The results of our study show participants were able to use Vocabulary Wallpaper to increase the number of second language vocabulary that they can recognize and recall and their rate of vocabulary acquisition was significantly greater when presented with a contextually relevant vocabulary than a contextually-independent vocabulary.
Common Variants of FTO Are Associated with Childhood Obesity in a Cross-Sectional Study of 3,126 Urban Indian Children

Background FTO variants are robustly associated with obesity and related traits in many population and shown to have variable impact during life course. Although studies have shown association of FTO variants with adiposity in adult Indian, its association in Indian children is yet to be confirmed. Methods Here we examined association of FTO variants (rs9939609 and rs8050136) with obesity and related anthropometric and biochemical traits in 3,126 Indian children (aged 11–17 years) including 2,230 normal-weight and 896 over-weight/obese children. We also compared effects observed in the present study with that observed in previous studies on South Asian adults and children of other ethnic groups. Results The variant rs9939609 showed significant association with risk of obesity [OR = 1.21, P = 2.5×10−3] and its measures BMI, weight, waist circumference and hip circumference [β range = 0.11 to 0.14 Z-score units; P range = 1.3×10−4 to 1.6×10−7] in children. The observed effect sizes in Indian children were similar to those reported for European children. Variant rs9939609 explained 0.88% of BMI variance in Indian children. The effect sizes of rs9939609 on BMI and WC were ∼2 fold higher in children than adults. Interestingly rs9939609 was also associated with serum levels of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) [β = 0.10 Z-score, P = 5.8×10−3]. The other variant rs8050136 was in strong linkage disequilibrium with rs9939609 (r2 = 0.97) and provided similar association results. Conclusion The study provides first report of association of FTO variants with obesity and related anthropometric traits in Indian children with higher impact in children compared to adults. We also demonstrated association of FTO variant with serum levels of TSH, indicating putative influence of FTO in hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis.
A DFT-Based QSAR and Molecular Docking Studies on Potent Anti-Colon Cancer Activity of Pyrazole Derivatives

Pyrazole derivatives have been described as a group of compounds with various biological activities including anticancer effect. Therefore, a set of twenty Pyrazole based compounds which had been previously shown to be active against human colon cancer cell (HT29) are use in the study. These compounds were optimized using Density Functional Theory (DFT) for the calculations of molecular descriptors that related the bioactivity of these compounds to their structures. The developed quantitative structure activity relation (QSAR) was validated, and it showed the reliability and acceptability of the model. The in silico simulations were carried out on the twenty Pyrazole based compounds with colon cancer cell line, HT29 (PDB ID: 2N8A) using Autodock vina software. The docked complexes were validated and enumerated based on the AutoDock Scoring function to pick out the best inhibitors based on docked Energy. The analysis of the ligand-receptor complexes showed that H-bonds played a prominent role in the binding and posed stability of the ligand in the ligandreceptor complexes. The binding free energy, ΔG calculated ranged from 6.10 kcal/mol – 8.20 Kcal/mol.
The impact of moisture absorption on the electrical characteristics of organic dielectric materials

Organic dielectric materials will absorb moisture when in direct contact with a liquid or a humid environment. The dielectric then becomes a two-phase dielectric composite with new dielectric characteristics. Using the Lichtenecker Equation, the composite dielectric permittivity and loss characteristics are modeled. The loss modeling includes the polymer dielectric loss characteristics, as well as the conductive loss of the moisture. The model is also used to predict the frequency dispersion of the relative permittivity at lower frequencies caused by the conductivity of the moisture. The modeling is validated using high frequency measurements of interdigital capacitors, which correspond to the modeling within 5% across the entire examined frequency range.
Effects of Fluoranthene, a Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon, on cAMP-Dependent Anion Secretion in Human Airway Epithelia

The human respiratory tract is constantly exposed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) through inhalation of atmospheric pollutants. We examined the effects of three PAHs (benzo[a]pyrene, anthracene, and fluoranthene) on the airway ion transport, which is essential for lung defense and normal airway function, using human airway epithelia (Calu-3). These three PAHs had no significant effect on the basal short-circuit current (Isc). However, fluoranthene (1–100 μM) applied in the apical compartment potentiated Isc in response to cAMP-related agents (isoproterenol, forskolin, and 8-bromo-cAMP). The effects of fluoranthene were unaffected by ellipticine, a PAH receptor antagonist. Estimation of the anionic composition of Isc revealed that isoproterenol increased both \batchmode \documentclass[fleqn,10pt,legalpaper]{article} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amsmath} \pagestyle{empty} \begin{document} \(\mathrm{HCO}_{3}^{-}\) \end{document} and Cl– transport in the control, whereas it potentiated only Cl– transport in the presence of fluoranthene. The fluoranthene-induced modulations of these anion transporters were counteracted by charybdotoxin (ChTx, a hIK-1 channel blocker). Fluoranthene gradually augmented the ChTx-sensitive K+ current (IK) across the basolateral membrane, accompanied by a sustained increase in the cytosolic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i). In the presence of fluoranthene, however, a much larger hIK-1-dependent IK was identified by the application of 8-bromo-cAMP without concomitant elevation of [Ca2+]i. These results suggest that fluoranthene switches from cAMP-dependent \batchmode \documentclass[fleqn,10pt,legalpaper]{article} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amsmath} \pagestyle{empty} \begin{document} \(\mathrm{HCO}_{3}^{-}\) \end{document} secretion to Cl– secretion through the hIK-1 channel, whose sensitivity to protein kinase A may be up-regulated by the sustained [Ca2+]i elevation produced by this chemical.
Effect of Realistic Vehicular Traces on the Performance of Broadcasting Techniques in Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks

In this study, performance analysis of different broadcasting methods i.e., flooding and probabilistic broadcasting inside the geocast region has been done. We have considered an urban scenario where radio transmission is obstructed due to presence of high rise buildings, trees and other objects. Our objective is to provide a comparative analysis between flooding and probabilistic methods with varying traffic density and nodes speed in VANET. Different values of probability for probabilistic broadcast method have been considered to investigate an appropriate value that may give best results. To generate real traces of vehicles movement VanetMobiSim is used. The mobility model considered is Intelligent Driver Model with Intersection Management. We have considered different types of traffic conditions based on number of vehicles present in the network in a particular time period are Sparse, Intermediate and Dense. The results obtained shows that in dense traffic scenario probabilistic broadcasting method achieves maximum packet delivery ratio is 83.9412% when p = 0.1. In sparsely populated network the PDR are low as compared to other traffic conditions. The minimum value of PDR obtained is 21.0455% when number of node is 50 and p = 0.8. Simulations have been conducted using the NS-2 simulator and for result analysis used awk programming, Matlab is used.
On Randomized Network Coding

We consider a randomized network coding approach for multicasting from several sources over a network, in which nodes independently and randomly select linear mappings from inputs onto output links over some field. This approach was first described in [3], which gave, for acyclic delay-free networks, a bound on error probability, in terms of the number of receivers and random coding output links, that decreases exponentially with code length. The proof was based on a result in [2] relating algebraic network coding to network flows. In this paper, we generalize these results to networks with cycles and delay. We also show, for any given acyclic network, a tighter bound in terms of the probability of connection feasibility in a related network problem with unreliable links. From this we obtain a success probability bound for randomized network coding in link-redundant networks with unreliable links, in terms of link failure probability and amount of redundancy.
Expression profile and prognostic value of NNMT in patients with pancreatic cancer

The elevation of Nicotinamide N-methyltransferase (NNMT) has been reported in pancreatic cancer tissues and cell lines, but its clinical and prognostic implications remain controversial. This study aimed at investigating the expression of NNMT in pancreatic benign and malignant tissues and the prognostic value of NNMT in pancreatic cancer. The expression of NNMT in tissue specimens of 28 chronic pancreatitis patients and 178 pancreatic cancer patients were assayed with immunohistochemistry on tissue microarray. The NNMT expression levels of pancreatic patients were correlated with their clinicopathological characteristics. The influences of NNMT expression and patients' clinicopathological characteristics on overall survival (OS) were analyzed. The percentage of NNMT high expression (NNMTh) in pancreatic cancer (55.6%) was significantly higher than those in chronic pancreatitis (21.4%) and paracancerous tissues (14.8%) (p < 0.001). NNMTh tends to significantly correlate with unfavorable clinicopathological features such as age > 60 years old (p = 0.014), tumor diameter > 4 cm (p < 0.001), TNM stage III or IV (p < 0.001) and poor tumor differentiation (p = 0.004). The median OS of patients with NNMTh and NNMTl were 7.0 months (95% CI: 5.275–8.725) and 11.5 months (95% CI: 9.759–13.241) respectively (p = 0.005). On multivariate analysis, NNMTl (hazards ratio [HR]: 0.399; 95% CI: 0.284–0.560; p < 0.001), absence of neurological involvement (HR: 0.651; 95% CI: 0.421–0.947; p = 0.041), TNM stage I or II (HR: 0.506; 95% CI: 0.299–0.719; p = 0.015) and well tumor differentiation (HR: 0.592; 95% CI: 0.319–0.894; p = 0.044) were significant favorable prognostic factors of OS. In conclusion, NNMT is upregulated in pancreatic cancer, correlates with unfavorable clinicopathological features and may serve as an independent prognosticator of patients' survival.