Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
X-Ray-Luminous Galaxies. I. Chandra Observations of IRAS 00317–2142

We present Chandra observations of the enigmatic galaxy IRAS 00317-2142, which is classified as a star-forming galaxy on the basis of the ionization level of its emission lines. However, a weak broad Hα wing and a high X-ray luminosity give away the presence of an active nucleus. The Chandra image reveals a nuclear point source (L(2-10 keV) ~ 6 × 1041ergs s-1), contributing over 80% of the galaxy X-ray counts in the 0.3-8 keV band. This is surrounded by some fainter nebulosity extending up to 6 kpc. The nucleus does not show evidence for short-term variability. However, we detect long-term variations between the ROSAT, ASCA, and Chandra epochs. Indeed, the source has decreased its flux by over a factor of 25 in a period of about 10 yr. The nuclear X-ray spectrum is well represented by a power law with a photon index of Γ = 1.91, while the extended emission is represented by a Raymond-Smith component with a temperature of ~0.6 keV. We find no evidence for the presence of an Fe line. The nucleus is absorbed by an intrinsic column density of NH ~ 8 × 1020 cm-2. Thus, the Chandra observations suggest that at least the X-ray emission is dominated by a type 1 active galactic nucleus (AGN). Then the observed optical spectrum can be explained by the masking of the nucleus by the powerful star-forming component. These, together with previous X-ray observations of galaxies with no clear signs of AGN activity in the optical (e.g., NGC 6240), cast doubt on the optical classification scheme and have implications for the nature of the "normal" galaxies detected in deep Chandra X-ray surveys.
Multimodal teaching analytics: Automated extraction of orchestration graphs from wearable sensor data

The pedagogical modelling of everyday classroom practice is an interesting kind of evidence, both for educational research and teachers' own professional development. This paper explores the usage of wearable sensors and machine learning techniques to automatically extract orchestration graphs (teaching activities and their social plane over time), on a dataset of 12 classroom sessions enacted by two different teachers in different classroom settings. The dataset included mobile eye-tracking as well as audiovisual and accelerometry data from sensors worn by the teacher. We evaluated both time-independent and time-aware models, achieving median F1 scores of about 0.7-0.8 on leave-one-session-out k-fold cross-validation. Although these results show the feasibility of this approach, they also highlight the need for larger datasets, recorded in a wider variety of classroom settings, to provide automated tagging of classroom practice that can be used in everyday practice across multiple teachers.
Brain Actin-associated Protein Phosphatase 1 Holoenzymes Containing Spinophilin, Neurabin, and Selected Catalytic Subunit Isoforms*

We previously characterized PP1bp134 and PP1bp175, two neuronal proteins that bind the protein phosphatase 1 catalytic subunit (PP1). Here we purify from rat brain actin-cytoskeletal extracts PP1A holoenzymes selectively enriched in PP1γ1 over PP1β isoforms and also containing PP1bp134 and PP1bp175. PP1bp134 and PP1bp175 were identified as the synapse-localized F-actin-binding proteins spinophilin (Allen, P. B., Ouimet, C. C., and Greengard, P. (1997) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 94, 9956–9561; Satoh, A. , Nakanishi, H. , Obaishi, H. , Wada, M. , Takahashi, K. , Satoh, K. , Hirao, K. , Nishioka, H. , Hata, Y. , Mizoguchi, A. , and Takai, Y. (1998) J. Biol. Chem. 273, 3470–3475) and neurabin (Nakanishi, H., Obaishi, H., Satoh, A., Wada, M., Mandai, K., Satoh, K., Nishioka, H., Matsuura, Y., Mizoguchi, A., and Takai, Y. (1997)J. Cell Biol. 139, 951–961), respectively. Recombinant spinophilin and neurabin interacted with endogenous PP1 and also with each other when co-expressed in HEK293 cells. Spinophilin residues 427–470, or homologous neurabin residues 436–479, were sufficient to bind PP1 in gel overlay assays, and selectively bound PP1γ1 from a mixture of brain protein phosphatase catalytic subunits; additional N- and C-terminal sequences were required for potent inhibition of PP1. Immunoprecipitation of spinophilin or neurabin from crude brain extracts selectively coprecipitated PP1γ1 over PP1β. Moreover, immunoprecipitation of PP1γ1 from brain extracts efficiently coprecipitated spinophilin and neurabin, whereas PP1β immunoprecipitation did not. Thus, PP1A holoenzymes containing spinophilin and/or neurabin target specific neuronal PP1 isoforms, facilitating efficient regulation of synaptic phosphoproteins.
Periodontal Disease and Coronary Heart Disease: A Reappraisal of the Exposure

Background—Results from studies relating periodontal disease to cardiovascular disease have been mixed. Residual confounding by smoking and use of clinical measures of periodontal disease rather than measures of infection have been 2 major criticisms. The aims of this study were to investigate relationships between prevalent coronary heart disease (CHD) and 2 exposures, (1) clinical periodontal disease and (2) IgG antibodies to 17 oral organisms, and to evaluate the role of smoking in these relationships. Methods and Results—Our study is based on a subset of participants in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study, who received a complete periodontal examination during visit 4 (1996–1998). The exposures were periodontal status and serum IgG antibody levels against 17 periodontal organisms, and the outcome was prevalent CHD at visit 4. Multivariable analyses indicate that periodontal status is not significantly associated with CHD in either ever smokers or never smokers. Similar analyses evaluating antibodies indicate that high antibodies (above the median) to Treponema denticola (odds ratio [OR]=1.7; 95% CI, 1.2 to 2.3), Prevotella intermedia (OR=1.5; 95% CI, 1.1 to 2.0), Capnocytophaga ochracea (OR=1.5; 95% CI, 1.1 to 2.1), and Veillonella parvula (OR=1.7; 95% CI, 1.2 to 2.3) are significantly associated with CHD among ever smokers, whereas Prevotella nigrescens (OR=1.7; 95% CI, 1.1 to 2.6), Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans (OR=1.7; 95% CI, 1.2 to 2.7), and Capnocytophaga ochracea (OR=2.0; 95% CI, 1.3 to 3.0) were associated with CHD among never smokers. Conclusions—Clinical signs of periodontal disease were not associated with CHD, whereas systemic antibody response was associated with CHD in ever smokers and never smokers. These findings indicate that the quality and quantity of the host response to oral bacteria may be an exposure more relevant to systemic atherothrombotic coronary events than clinical measures.
Ovarian Cancer Prevention in High-risk Women

Ovarian carcinoma is the most lethal malignancy of the female genital tract. Population-based trials in the general population have not demonstrated that screening improves early detection or survival. Therefore, application of prevention strategies is vital to improving outcomes from this disease. Surgical prevention reduces risk and prophylactic risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy is the most effective means to prevent ovarian carcinoma in the high-risk patient although the risks do not outweigh the benefits in average risk patients. Other surgical and medical options have unknown or limited efficacy in the high-risk patient. In this review, we define the patient at high risk for ovarian cancer, discuss how to identify these women and weigh their available ovarian cancer prevention strategies.
Spectral variability of ultraluminous X-ray sources

We study spectral variability of 11 ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULX) using archived XMM-Newton and Chandra observations. We use three models to describe the observed spectra: a power law, a multicolour disc (MCD) and a combination of these two models. We find that seven ULXs show a correlation between the luminosity L x and the photon index Γ. Furthermore, four out of these seven ULXs also show spectral pivoting in the observed energy band. We also find that two ULXs show an L x -Γ anticorrelation. The spectra of four ULXs in the sample can be adequately fitted with a MCD model. We compare these sources to known black hole binaries (BHB) and find that they follow similar paths in their luminosity-temperature diagrams. Finally, we show that the 'soft excess' reported for many of these ULXs at ~0.2 keV seems to roughly follow a trend L soft ∝ T -3.5 when modelled with a power law plus a 'cool' MCD model. This is contrary to the L ∝ T 4 relation that is expected from theory and what is seen for many accreting BHBs. The observed trend could instead arise from disc emission beamed by an outflowing wind around a ~10 M ⊙ black hole.
Persistent wheezing in infants with an atopic tendency responds to inhaled fluticasone

BACKGROUND The role of inhaled corticosteroids for the treatment of wheeze in infancy remains unclear. AIM To investigate the effect of inhaled fluticasone on symptoms in a group of wheezy infants who had a high risk of progressing to childhood asthma. METHODS A total of 52 infants, under 1 year of age, with a history of wheeze or cough and a history (personal or first degree relative) of atopy were prescribed either 150 μg fluticasone twice daily (group F) or placebo (group P), via metered dose inhaler, for 12 weeks following a two week run in period. Symptoms were scored in a parent held diary and the mean daily symptom score (MDS) and symptom free days (SFD) calculated for each two week period. RESULTS Thirty seven infants completed the study. Both MDS and SFD improved significantly between the run in and final two week period in group F, but not group P, with a mean difference in change (95% CI) between groups of 1.12 (0.05 to 2.18) for MDS and median difference of 3.0 (0.002 to 8.0) for SFD. CONCLUSION Improvement of clinical symptoms in response to fluticasone can be shown in this high risk group of infants. In the absence of effective alternatives inhaled corticosteroids should be considered in this patient group.
Audio onset detection: A wavelet packet based approach with recurrent neural networks

This paper concerns the exploitation of multi-resolution time-frequency features via Wavelet Packet Transform to improve audio onset detection. In our approach, Wavelet Packet Energy Coefficients (WPEC) and Auditory Spectral Features (ASF) are processed by Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory (BLSTM) recurrent neural network that yields the onsets location. The combination of the two feature sets, together with the BLSTM based detector, form an advanced energy-based approach that takes advantage from the multi-resolution analysis given by the wavelet decomposition of the audio input signal. The neural network is trained with a large database of onset data covering various genres and onset types. Due to its data-driven nature, our approach does not require the onset detection method and its parameters to be tuned to a particular type of music. We show a comparison with other types and sizes of recurrent neural networks and we compare results with state-of-the-art methods on the whole onset dataset. We conclude that our approach significantly increase performance in terms of F-measure without any music genres or onset type constraints.
Latency-Optimized Checkpoint Recovery Algorithms for Massively Multiplayer Online Games

Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOs) are long-lived, interactive virtual worlds in which tens of thousands of people play together. In order to provide highly immersive experiences, MMO servers must support extremely high update rates – often hundreds of thousands of updates per second. A major concern for MMOs is to provide durability for the virtual world while limiting the overhead and perceived latency spikes introduced in the game. Recent work has shown that existing checkpoint-recovery algorithms developed for main memory DBMSs can be applied to MMO workloads but there is no single algorithm which outperforms all others over a wide range of update rates. In this paper we propose two novel checkpointing algorithms that trade additional space in main memory for significantly lower latency. Compared to previous work, our new algorithms do not require any locking nor do they require bulk copies of the game state. Our experimental evaluation shows that our new algorithms attain nearly constant latency and achieve more than an order-of-magnitude lower overhead than the best previous methods.
ConText: Contactless Sensors For Body Monitoring Incorporated In Textiles

The aim of the ConText project is to develop a vest with integrated sensors and electronics for constant monitoring of muscle activity. The vest measures muscle activity in order to derive the psychological stress level of a person. The ConText project proposes to develop a sensor technology, which requires no direct contact with the body, and to achieve a high level of integration of the sensors and electronics into textile. The realisation of contactless EMG sensors, textile integration of the sensors and the creation of a textile substrate with conductive wiring for data transmission and power supply will be the important parts of the project. The prototype will be used for dissemination and application development.
High Environmental Relative Moldiness Index during Infancy as a Predictor of Asthma at 7 Years of Age

Genomic phenotypic predictive modeling significantly predicted asthma cases, but demonstrated poor discriminative ability. Finally, associations between asthma and other immune diseases were noted. CONCLUSIONS. Two novel loci (1q21.3 and 11q13.5) significantly associate with asthma risk with the use of large genome-wide discovery and replication cohorts. REVIEWER COMMENTS. In a " big data " world, sifting reality from statistical chaff presents a significant challenge. By the use of genome-wide association study on several independent cohorts, the researchers give weight to their novel candidate loci. Although not previously associated with asthma risk, IL6R's feasible mechanistic connection to asthma encourages further investigation. Without a known function and with only loose atopy and Crohn associations, the proposed 11q13.5 locus carries much less biological heft. Despite the inclusion of known, novel, and marginally statistically significant genetic variances, the study's phenotypic predictive models lack discrimination value, likely because of data imprecision, missing environmental covariates, and other unappreciated asthma risk variables. Even so, more refined phenotypic pre-dictive modeling holds great promise in translating ever-expanding data into improved patient care. PURPOSE OF THE STUDY. Pathogen-associated molecular patterns decisively influence antiviral immune responses, whereas there is less known about how endogenous signals of tissue damage (known as alarmins) are involved in antiviral defenses. METHODS. Mice were infected with lymphocytic chorio-meningitis virus (LCMV), a single-stranded RNA virus, and a genome-wide cDNA expression analysis of total spleen tissue was performed and compared with the uninfected mouse. From a large panel of interleukins and inflammatory cytokines, interferon-g and interleukin (IL)-33 (along with its receptor ST2) were the most highly upregulated. Infection with LCMV, as well as a murine herpesvirus (MHV-68), was performed in wild-type mice, mice deficient in IL-33 (in IL-33 2/2), and mice in which IL-33 effects were blocked with a soluble decoy receptor (Il1-rl1-Fc). Proliferative responses of cytotoxic lymphocytes (CTLs) specific for LCMV were measured. RESULTS. Levels of IL-33 peaked at 3 to 5 days after infection , mirroring levels of LCMV mRNA. After infection with LCMV, proliferative responses of virus-specific CD8 1 T cells were 90% lower in IL-33 2/2 mice and in mice with IL-33 decoy receptors, and CTL responses were absent. Productive viral replication was necessary for IL-33–mediated CTL proliferation. Additionally, recombinant IL-33 significantly augmented CTL responses to other viruses (vaccinia-based vectors), and CTLs appeared to respond to IL-33 directly. Last, the authors provided evidence that IL-33 expression was produced by fibroblastic reticular cells, a stromal cell …
Nurse practitioner integration: Qualitative experiences of the change management process

AIM The aim of this qualitative research was to explore perceptions of organisational change related to the integration of nurse practitioners from key nursing stakeholders. BACKGROUND The ongoing delivery of effective and efficient patient services is reliant upon the development and sustainability of nurse practitioner roles. Examination of the factors contributing to the underutilization of nurse practitioner roles is crucial to inform future management policies. A change management theory is used to reveal the complexity involved. METHOD Qualitative interviews were undertaken using a purposive sampling strategy of key stakeholders. Thematic analysis was undertaken and key themes were correlated to the theoretical framework. RESULTS The results confirm the benefits of nurse practitioner roles, but suggest organisational structures and embedded professional cultures present barriers to full role optimization. Complicated policy processes are creating barriers to the integration of nurse practitioner roles. CONCLUSION The findings increase understanding of the links between strategic planning, human resource management, professional and organisational cultures, governance and politics in change management. Effective leadership drives the change process through the ability to align key components necessary for success. Sustainability of nurse practitioners relies on recognition of their full potential in the health care team. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT The results of this study highlight the importance of management and leadership in the promotion of advanced nursing skills and experience to better meet patient outcomes. The findings reinforce the potential of nurse practitioners to deliver patient centred, timely and efficient health care.
Low swing signaling using a dynamic diode-connected driver

In this paper, we propose a novel low swing driver using a Dynamic Diode-Connected Driver (DDCD) architecture. The receiver can be a simple inverter since the line swing is around Vdd/2 (from Vtn to Vdd- |Vtp|). The simulation results shows a reduction of the energy-delay product between 27% and 54% when compared with the full swing CMOS buffer for a 0. 5µm and 0.18 µm process. Unlike most alternatives, no extra power supplies, nor a multi-threshold process, are required.
Using the Cowichan problems to investigate the programmability of X10 programming system

In today's era of multicores and clustered architectures, high performance and high productivity are central concerns in the design of parallel programming languages that aim to solve large computational problems. X10 is a language based on state-of-the-art object-oriented programming ideas and claims to take advantage of their proven flexibility and ease-of-use to solve a wide spectrum of programming problems. The Cowichan problems are a set of computational problems that were designed to stress parallel programming environments and to assess their programmability. This paper uses Cowichan problems to assess the flexibility of X10.
An adaptive gradient sampling algorithm for non-smooth optimization

We present an algorithm for the minimization of f:ℝ n →ℝ, assumed to be locally Lipschitz and continuously differentiable in an open dense subset 𝒟 of ℝ n . The objective f may be non-smooth and/or non-convex. The method is based on the gradient sampling (GS) algorithm of Burke et al. [A robust gradient sampling algorithm for nonsmooth, nonconvex optimization, SIAM J. Optim. 15 (2005), pp. 751–779]. It differs, however, from previously proposed versions of GS in that it is variable-metric and only O(1) (not O(n)) gradient evaluations are required per iteration. Numerical experiments illustrate that the algorithm is more efficient than GS in that it consistently makes more progress towards a solution within a given number of gradient evaluations. In addition, the adaptive sampling procedure allows for warm-starting of the quadratic subproblem solver so that the average number of subproblem iterations per nonlinear iteration is also consistently reduced. Global convergence of the algorithm is proved assuming that the Hessian approximations are positive definite and bounded, an assumption shown to be true for the proposed Hessian approximation updating strategies.
Chronic type 2 diabetes reduces the integrity of the blood-brain barrier by reducing tight junction proteins in the hippocampus

In the present study, we investigated the effects of type 2 diabetes-induced hyperglycemia on the integrity of the blood–brain barrier and tight junction markers in the rat hippocampus. Forty-week-old diabetic (Zucker diabetic fatty, ZDF) rats and littermate control (Zucker lean control, ZLC) rats were used in this study. We evaluated the integrity of the blood–brain barrier by measuring sodium fluorescein extravasation and blood vessel ultrastructure. In addition, tight junction markers, such as zona occludens-1, occludin and claudin-5, were quantified by western blot analysis. ZDF rats showed significantly increased sodium fluorescein leakage in the hippocampus. Tight junction markers, such as occludin and claudin-5, were significantly decreased in the hippocampi of ZDF rats compared to those of ZLC rats. In addition, ZDF rats showed ultrastructural changes with phagocytic findings in the blood vessels. These results suggest that chronic untreated diabetes impairs the permeability of the hippocampal blood–brain barrier by down-regulating occludin and claudin-5, indicating that chronic untreated diabetes may cause hippocampus-dependent dysfunction.
High power density DC-DC converter for home energy management systems

Environmental issues related to global warming and resources dryness, increase the global concern for reducing the energy consumption using high efficiency and high power density systems. Therefore, home energy management systems (HEMS) deal with these problems by monitoring and controlling the power consumption of home electronics. However, expanding of human living space increases intense requirements to downsize electronic systems. In order to enhance HEMS and optimize the household living space, this paper shows the design and power loss analysis of a high power density DC-DC converter capable to achieve high efficiency with low weight and low volume components. This converter, developed for home electronics and electric vehicles, uses a novel magnetic coupling technique capable to reduce the size of magnetic components and of the converter itself. As a result, a 1 kW interleaved boost converter with integrated winding coupled inductors (IWCI) was designed and experimentally validated obtaining a volumetric power density of 145 cc/kW.
Pristomyrmex tsujii sp. n. and P. mandibularis Mann (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from Fiji

Abstract Pristomyrmex tsujii sp. n. , an endemic species of the Fiji islands, is described from the worker, ergatoid queen, alate queen and male castes. The alate queen and male castes of Pristomyrmex mandibularis Mann are also described for the first time. The ergatoid queens for both species appear to be morphologically intermediate between the worker and alate queen castes. Pristomyrmex tsujii is readily distinguished from Pristomyrmex mandibularis by the lack of well-developed propodeal spines. Although both species occur across the Fijian archipelago, they are rarely encountered and workers are most often collected from sifted litter. The descriptions are illustrated with specimen photographs, line drawings and a distribution map.
Research of construction SMEs banks — Enterprises symbiosis driving factors

Solving the problem of Construction SMEs financing, the key is to reduce risk and increase bank credit bank returns. Based on symbiosis theory, studied the symbiosis between banks construction SMEs drivers, analysis the mechanism of front drive and rear drive factors; Based on this, through research of the Bank-Enterprises symbiotic driving forces, trying to provide financing for small and medium construction companies a new way.