Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Radio Detections During Two State Transitions of the Intermediate-Mass Black Hole HLX-1

Big Black Holes Black holes come in two sizes: stellar-mass black holes, with masses just above that of the Sun, and supermassive black holes, with masses up to a billion times that of the Sun. The hyperluminous x-ray source HLX-1 in the spiral galaxy ESO 243-49 is the best candidate to host a black hole of intermediate mass. Webb et al. (p. 554, published online 5 July) now report the detection of transient radio emission from this source, which may represent a jet ejection event. The radio flares indicate a mass that is consistent with that of an intermediate mass black hole. Jets have been seen to emanate from both supermassive and stellar-mass black holes. Intermediate mass black holes thus seem to behave like other black holes. Observations of a candidate intermediate-mass black hole support the scale invariance of jets in black holes. Relativistic jets are streams of plasma moving at appreciable fractions of the speed of light. They have been observed from stellar-mass black holes (~3 to 20 solar masses, M☉) as well as supermassive black holes (~106 to 109 M☉) found in the centers of most galaxies. Jets should also be produced by intermediate-mass black holes (~102 to 105 M☉), although evidence for this third class of black hole has, until recently, been weak. We report the detection of transient radio emission at the location of the intermediate-mass black hole candidate ESO 243-49 HLX-1, which is consistent with a discrete jet ejection event. These observations also allow us to refine the mass estimate of the black hole to be between ~9 × 103 M☉ and ~9 × 104 M☉.
Scaling up Process Output of Monomer Reactor

A monomer processing reactor is a device to process used cooking oil into new substance that can be used for other applications. In this study, used cooking oil was converted to monomer via simple reactor comprised of stirrer started with laboratory scale of 2L to 5L of monomer production. A scale up process is an important process for approaching industrial scale productions. The scale up process was increased to pilot scale before it reaches to industrial scale. The reactor is designed based on lab scale process for producing monomer from used cooking oil. The most important point of the device design is to produce larger amount of monomer compared to lab scale equipment. The device can produce 15liters of monomer per production. The monomer has the same properties and quality of monomer that were produced using laboratory equipment.
The p53-Reactivating Small Molecule RITA Induces Senescence in Head and Neck Cancer Cells

TP53 is the most commonly mutated gene in head and neck cancer (HNSCC), with mutations being associated with resistance to conventional therapy. Restoring normal p53 function has previously been investigated via the use of RITA (reactivation of p53 and induction of tumor cell apoptosis), a small molecule that induces a conformational change in p53, leading to activation of its downstream targets. In the current study we found that RITA indeed exerts significant effects in HNSCC cells. However, in this model, we found that a significant outcome of RITA treatment was accelerated senescence. RITA-induced senescence in a variety of p53 backgrounds, including p53 null cells. Also, inhibition of p53 expression did not appear to significantly inhibit RITA-induced senescence. Thus, this phenomenon appears to be partially p53-independent. Additionally, RITA-induced senescence appears to be partially mediated by activation of the DNA damage response and SIRT1 (Silent information regulator T1) inhibition, with a synergistic effect seen by combining either ionizing radiation or SIRT1 inhibition with RITA treatment. These data point toward a novel mechanism of RITA function as well as hint to its possible therapeutic benefit in HNSCC.
Hybrid Control Strategy for the Autonomous Transition Flight of a Fixed-Wing Aircraft

This paper develops a hybrid control strategy that provides autonomous transition between hovered and leveled flights to a model-scale fixed-wing aircraft. The aircraft's closed-loop dynamics are described by means of a hybrid automaton with the hover, transition, level, and recovery operating modes, each one corresponding to a different region of the flight envelope. Linear parameter varying control techniques are employed in hover and level, providing robust local stabilization, and a nonlinear locally input-to-state stable controller provides practical reference tracking to the transition operating mode. These controllers, together with an appropriate choice of reference maneuvers, ensure that a transition from hovered flight to level flight, or vice versa, is achieved. Whenever the aircraft state reaches unexpected values, the recovery controller is triggered in order to drive the aircraft toward stable hovered flight, providing a chance to retry the transition maneuver. The controllers' performance and robustness is assessed within a realistic simulation environment in the presence of sensor noise.
sinI- and expR-Dependent Quorum Sensing in Sinorhizobium meliloti

ABSTRACT Quorum sensing (QS) in Sinorhizobium meliloti, the N-fixing bacterial symbiont of Medicago host plants, involves at least half a dozen different N-acyl homoserine lactone (AHL) signals and perhaps an equal number of AHL receptors. The accumulation of 55 proteins was found to be dependent on SinI, the AHL synthase, and/or on ExpR, one of the AHL receptors. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry identified 3-oxo-C14-homoserine lactone (3-oxo-C14-HSL), C16-HSL, 3-oxo-C16-HSL, C16:1-HSL, and 3-oxo-C16:1-HSL as the sinI-dependent AHL QS signals accumulated by the 8530 expR+ strain under the conditions used for proteome analysis. The 8530 expR+ strain secretes additional, unidentified QS-active compounds. Addition of 200 nM C14-HSL or C16:1-HSL, two of the known SinI AHLs, affected the levels of 75% of the proteins, confirming that their accumulation is QS regulated. A number of the QS-regulated proteins have functions plausibly related to symbiotic interactions with the host, including ExpE6, IdhA, MocB, Gor, PckA, LeuC, and AglE. Seven of 10 single-crossover β-glucuronidase (GUS) transcriptional reporters in genes corresponding to QS-regulated proteins showed significantly different activities in the sinI and expR mutant backgrounds and in response to added SinI AHLs. The sinI mutant and several of the single-crossover strains were significantly delayed in the ability to initiate nodules on the primary root of the host plant, Medicago truncatula, indicating that sinI-dependent QS regulation and QS-regulated proteins contribute importantly to the rate or efficiency of nodule initiation. The sinI and expR mutants were also defective in surface swarming motility. The sinI mutant was restored to normal swarming by 5 nM C16:1-HSL.
Image analysis used for aluminium alloy microstructure investigation

Purpose: In this work the metallographic microstructure analysis of the investigated AlSi7Cu3Mg aluminium cast alloy was performed for samples cooled with different cooling rate settings. The preformed investigations are subjected to the analysis of cooling rate influence on the phase morphology. Design/methodology/approach: The solidification process itself is analysed using the UMSA device by appliance of the Derivative Thermo Analysis. The influence of the cooling rate on the alloy microstructure was investigated using computer aided image analysis, in this work also the content of particular phases was analysed, as well the percentage of pinholes compared to the chosen cooling rate. Findings: The treated sample is without holes, cracks and defects as well as has a slightly higher hardness value compared to the as-cast material. Research limitations/implications: The investigated samples were made of the cylindrical shape and were cooled in the range of 0.2°C/s to 1.25°C/s. In this work also the derivative thermoanalysis was performed to determine the correlation between the chosen cooling rate and the microstructure as well changes in the derivative curve shape. For alloy cooling with chosen cooling rate as well for the derivative thermo-analysis the UMSA analysator was applied. Practical implications: The investigated material can find its use in the foundry industry; an improvement of component quality depends mainly on better control over the production parameters. Originality/value: The originality of this work is based on applying of regulated cooling rate of aluminium alloy for structure and mechanical properties changes. As an effect of this study it will be possible to understand and to influence the mechanism of structure forming, refinement and nucleation. Also a better understanding of the thermal characteristics will be provided to achieve a desirable phase morphology required for application of this material under production conditions.
Negative feedback control of the autoimmune response through antigen-induced differentiation of IL-10–secreting Th1 cells

Regulation of the immune response to self- and foreign antigens is vitally important for limiting immune pathology associated with both infections and hypersensitivity conditions. Control of autoimmune conditions can be reinforced by tolerance induction with peptide epitopes, but the mechanism is not currently understood. Repetitive intranasal administration of soluble peptide induces peripheral tolerance in myelin basic protein (MBP)–specific TCR transgenic mice. This is characterized by the presence of anergic, interleukin (IL)-10–secreting CD4+ T cells with regulatory function (IL-10 T reg cells). The differentiation pathway of peptide-induced IL-10 T reg cells was investigated. CD4+ T cells became anergic after their second encounter with a high-affinity MBP peptide analogue. Loss of proliferative capacity correlated with a switch from the Th1-associated cytokines IL-2 and interferon (IFN)-γ to the regulatory cytokine IL-10. Nevertheless, IL-10 T reg cells retained the capacity to produce IFN-γ and concomitantly expressed T-bet, demonstrating their Th1 origin. IL-10 T reg cells suppressed dendritic cell maturation, prevented Th1 cell differentiation, and thereby created a negative feedback loop for Th1-driven immune pathology. These findings demonstrate that Th1 responses can be self-limiting in the context of peripheral tolerance to a self-antigen.
Optimization of Gaussian process hyperparameters using Rprop

Gaussian processes are a powerful tool for non-parametric re- gression. Training can be realized by maximizing the likelihood of the data given the model. We show that Rprop, a fast and accurate gradient-based optimization technique originally designed for neural network learning, can outperform more elaborate unconstrained optimization methods on real world data sets, where it is able to converge more quickly and reliably to the optimal solution.
Analysis of Microtubule-Associated-Proteins during IBA-Mediated Adventitious Root Induction Reveals KATANIN Dependent and Independent Alterations of Expression Patterns

Adventitious roots (AR) are post embryonic lateral organs that differentiate from non-root tissues. The understanding of the molecular mechanism which underlies their differentiation is important because of their central role in vegetative plant propagation. Here it was studied how the expression of different microtubule (MT)-associated proteins (MAPs) is affected during AR induction, and whether expression differences are dependent on MT organization itself. To examine AR formation when MTs are disturbed we used two mutants in the MT severing protein KATANIN. It was found that rate and number of AR primordium formed following IBA induction for three days was reduced in bot1-1 and bot1-7 plants. The reduced capacity to form ARs in bot1-1 was associated with altered expression of MAP-encoding genes along AR induction. While the expression of MAP65-4, MAP65-3, AURORA1, AURORA2 and TANGLED, increased in wild-type but not in bot1-1 plants, the expression of MAP65-8 and MDP25 decreased in wild type plants but not in the bot1-1 plant after two days of IBA-treatment. The expression of MOR1 was increased two days after AR induction in wild type and bot1-1 plants. To examine its expression specifically in AR primordium, MOR1 upstream regulatory sequence was isolated and cloned to regulate GFP. Expression of GFP was induced in the primary root tips and lateral roots, in the pericycle of the hypocotyls and in all stages of AR primordium formation. It is concluded that the expression of MAPs is regulated along AR induction and that reduction in KATANIN expression inhibits AR formation and indirectly influences the specific expression of some MAPs.
Primary myxedema with secondary adrenocortical failure.

DEFICIENCY of thyroid hormone is known to result in generalized alteration in cellular function. Most commonly the clinical manifestations of myxedema are noted in the skin, musculature, and cardiovascular and central nervous systems. Less emphasized is the effect of deficient thyroid hormone on the other endocrine glands, particularly the adrenals. Hypofunction of the adrenal cortex has been shown to occur in patients with myxedema (1). The manifestations of these secondary effects on endocrine function may overshadow the changes resulting from myxedema, and mask the underlying primary disease. The following is considered a case of primary myxedema in which the presenting findings were those of adrenocortical insufficiency: CASE REPORT Case #13343—A 32-year-old white male of Portuguese extraction was admitted in October 1952, to the Neuropsychiatric Service of the Providence Veterans Hospital with a diagnosis of neurasthenia. The patient stated that he was well until two years prior to admission, when pr.
Molecular Analysis of TCR Clonotypes in LGL: A Clonal Model for Polyclonal Responses1

Large granular lymphocytic (LGL) leukemia is a clonal lymphoproliferative disorder of CTL associated with cytopenias resulting from an immune and cytokine attack on hemopoietic progenitor cells. Extreme clonality of CTL expansions seen in LGL leukemia makes it an ideal model to study the role of the T cell repertoire in other less-polarized immune-mediated disorders. Complementarity-determining region 3 (CDR3) of the TCR is a unique Ag-specific region that can serve as a molecular marker, or clonotype, of the disease-specific T cells. We studied the variable portion of the β-chain spectrum in a cohort of LGL leukemia patients. The CDR3 sequences were determined for the immunodominant clones and used to design clonotype-specific primers. By direct and semi-nested amplification, clonotype amplicons were found to be shared by multiple patients and controls. Analysis of the generated sequences demonstrated that the original clonotypes are rarely encountered in normal control samples; however, high levels of homology were found in both controls and patients. Clonotypes derived from individual LGL patients can be used as tumor markers for the malignant clone. More generally, clonotypic analysis and comparison of the variable portion of the β-chain CDR3-specific sequences from a large number of patients may lead to better subclassification of not only LGL but also other immune-mediated disorders.
Reverse transcriptase-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and its usefulness in soil microbial ecological studies - A review

The reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) is a highly specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method that allows one to detect very low transcription levels of functional gene(s) in soil. RT-qPCR helps us to know the active members of the microbial community, and their activities can be linked with other ecological processes in soil. If after the extraction of RNA from soil, the mRNA is converted to cDNA which is then sequenced, one would analyze directly the active members of the microbial community.
Provably efficient algorithms for joint placement and allocation of virtual network functions

Network Function Virtualization (NFV) has the potential to significantly reduce the capital and operating expenses, shorten product release cycle, and improve service agility. In this paper, we focus on minimizing the total number of Virtual Network Function (VNF) instances to provide a specific service (possibly at different locations) to all the flows in a network. Certain network security and analytics applications may allow fractional processing of a flow at different nodes (corresponding to datacenters), giving an opportunity for greater optimization of resources. Through a reduction from the set cover problem, we show that this problem is NP-hard and cannot even be approximated within a factor of (1 − o(1))lnm (where m is the number of flows) unless P=NP. Then, we design two simple greedy algorithms and prove that they achieve an approximation ratio of (1 − o(1))ln m + 2, which is asymptotically optimal. For special cases where each node hosts multiple VNF instances (which is typically true in practice), we also show that our greedy algorithms have a constant approximation ratio. Further, for tree topologies we develop an optimal greedy algorithm by exploiting the inherent topological structure. Finally, we conduct extensive numerical experiments to evaluate the performance of our proposed algorithms in various scenarios.
Marital status and risk factors for coronary heart disease. The United States health examination survey of adults.

Deathratesfromcoronaryheart disease (CHD) forpersonsaged25yearsandoverarehigher for thedivorced, widowed, orthenever-married than forpersonswhoarecurrently married (Table I). Thisistrueregardless ofcolour, andthough there issome variation ofthis excessrisk with age (e.g., whitenever-married women aged55-64and65-74 havealmost thesamerates aswhite married women) itispresent tosome extent atall agesabove25. Isthismortality difference real, or can itbe explained bysystematic errorsandmisclassification intheregistration system? Sucherrorscould occur inthefollowing ways: (1)Selective census under-enumeration, compared withmarried persons,ofthenever-married, widowed, anddivorced: To theextentthatthis occurs,theestimate ofthenon-married population will befalsely low,andthusthecalculated mortality ratefalsely high. Because theytendtobemore transient, non-married persons may indeedbe under-enumerated. Themagnitude ofthiserror, although notknown,isprobably notverylarge. Thevariation inestimated completeness ofenumerationbycolour andsexinthe1960censuswas as follows: white males972 %,whitefemales 98'4%, non-white males89-1%,non-white females 91'9% (Siegel, 1968). Itisunlikely thatthedifference among marital status groupswouldbemore than thelargest colour-sex difference, andthis wouldnot besufficient toaccountformore thana small part oftheexcessrateamong thenon-married. (2)Discrepancies inreports ofmarital status between thecensusandmatching deathcertificate: Compared withthe1960censusrecord ofpersons dyingbetween MayandAugust1960, thecorresponding deathcertificate overstated thenumberof non-married personsby2 1% (National Center forHealthStatistics, 1969). Thistendency will
Perception-action dissociation generalizes to the size-inertia illusion.

Two objects of similar visual aspects and of equal mass, but of different sizes, generally do not elicit the same percept of heaviness in humans. The larger object is consistently felt to be lighter than the smaller, an effect known as the "size-weight illusion. " When asked to repeatedly lift the two objects, the grip forces were observed to adapt rapidly to the true object weight while the size-weight illusion persisted, a phenomenon interpreted as a dissociation between perception and action. We investigated whether the same phenomenon can be observed if the mass of an object is available to participants through inertial rather than gravitational cues and if the number and statistics of the stimuli is such that participants cannot remember each individual stimulus. We compared the responses of 10 participants in 2 experimental conditions, where they manipulated 33 objects having uncorrelated masses and sizes, supported by a frictionless, air-bearing slide that could be oriented vertically or horizontally. We also analyzed the participants' anticipatory motor behavior by measuring the grip force before motion onset. We found that the perceptual illusory effect was quantitatively the same in the two conditions and observed that both visual size and haptic mass had a negligible effect on the anticipatory gripping control of the participants in the gravitational and inertial conditions, despite the enormous differences in the mechanics of the two conditions and the large set of uncorrelated stimuli.
Relationship between human spermatozoa–hyaluronan‐binding assay, conventional semen parameters and fertilisation rates in intracytoplasmic spermatozoa injection

Selecting the best spermatozoa for intracytoplasmic spermatozoa injection (ICSI) has recently been a topic of great interest among embryologists. The study aimed to evaluate the relationship between the spermatozoa‐hyaluronan‐binding assay (HBA), routine semen analysis results and fertilisation rates as recorded during conventional ICSI therapy. Ninety‐one patients undergoing conventional ICSI treatment in the Medfem Fertility Clinic in Johannesburg (South Africa) were included in the study. A total of 797 oocytes were injected of which 457 oocytes fertilised (57.3%, range 0–100%). None of the semen parameters correlated with the fertilisation rates (Table 2). HBA scores, however, revealed a highly significant association (p ≤ 0.0001) with the fertilisation rates. The HBA scores also correlated significantly with the biochemical pregnancy values (Spearman r = 0.24, P = 0.02, 95% CI 0.039–0.43); however, the HBA scores did not correlate with the clinical pregnancy rates (Spearman r = 0.14, P = 0.16, 95% CI −0.06 to 0.34). No correlation was recorded between HBA and the standard semen parameters. The study showed that HBA is significantly associated with fertilisation in conventional ICSI. The HBA scores were also significantly associated with the fertilisation rates and biochemical pregnancies.
Exploring software evolution using spectrographs

Software systems become progressively more complex and difficult to maintain. To facilitate maintenance tasks, project managers and developers often turn to the evolution history of the system to recover various kinds of useful information, such as anomalous phenomena and lost design decisions. An informative visualization of the evolution history can help cope with this complexity by highlighting conspicuous evolution events using strong visual cues. We present a scalable visualization technique called evolution spectrographs (ESG). An evolution spectrograph portrays the evolution of a spectrum of components based on a particular property measurement. We describe several special-purpose spectrographs and discuss their use in understanding and supporting software evolution through the case studies of three large software systems (OpenSSH, KOffice and FreeBSD).