Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
AN UPPER LIMIT ON THE MASS OF THE BLACK HOLE IN URSA MINOR DWARF GALAXY

The well-established correlations between the mass of massive black holes (BHs) in the nuclei of most studied galaxies and various global properties of their hosting galaxy lend support to the idea that dwarf galaxies and globular clusters could also host a BH in their centers. Direct kinematic detection of BHs in dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies is seriously hindered by the small number of stars inside the gravitational influence region of the BH. The aim of this Letter is to establish an upper dynamical limit on the mass of the putative BH in the Ursa Minor (UMi) dSph galaxy. We present direct N-body simulations of the tidal disruption of the dynamical fossil observed in UMi, with and without a massive BH. We find that the observed substructure is incompatible with the presence of a massive BH of (2–3) × 104 M☉ within the core of UMi. These limits are consistent with the extrapolation of the MBH–σ relation to the MBH < 106 M☉ regime. We also show that the BH may be off-center with respect to the center of symmetry of the whole galaxy.
Discrete Cache Insertion Policies for Shared Last Level Cache Management on Large Multicores

Multi-core processors employ shared Last Level Caches (LLC). This trend will continue in the future with large multi-core processors (16 cores and beyond) as well. At the same time, the associativity of LLC tends to remain in the order of sixteen. Consequently, with large multicore processors, the number of cores that share the LLC becomes larger than the associativity of the cache itself. LLC management policies have been extensively studied for small scale multi-cores (4 to 8 cores) and associativity degree in the 16 range. However, the impact of LLC management on large multi-cores is essentially unknown, in particular when the associativity degree is smaller than the number of cores. In this study, we introduce Adaptive Discrete and deprioritized Application PrioriTization(ADAPT), an LLC management policy addressing the large multicores where the LLC associativity degree is smaller than the number of cores. ADAPT builds on the use of the Footprint number metric. We propose a monitoring mechanism that dynamically samples cache sets to estimate the Footprint-number of applications and classifies them into discrete (distinct and more than two) priority buckets. The cache replacement policy leverages this classification and assigns priorities to cache lines of applications during cache replacement operations. We further find that de-prioritizing certain applications during cache replacement is beneficial to the overall performance. We evaluate our proposal on 16, 20 and 24-core multi-programmed workloads and discuss other aspects in detail.
Chinese Hamster Cells Inhibitors in Sensitive ( DC 3 F ) and Resistant ( DC 3 F / 9-OHE ) Cytotoxicity Produced by Antitumor Topoisomerase II Sister Chromatid Exchanges , Chromosomal Aberrations , and Updated Version

4'-(9-Acridinylamino)methanesulfon-m-anisidide, etoposide, and 2methyl-9-hydroxyellipticinium are antitumor topoisomerase II (topo II) inhibitors. The relationship between drug-induced sister chromatid ex changes (SCEs) or chromosomal aberrations and cytotoxicity was inves tigated in Chinese hamster cells sensitive (DC3F) and resistant (DC3F/ 9-OHE) to topo II inhibitors. Thirty-min drug treatments produced SCEs and chromosomal aberrations in sensitive (DC3F) cells, 4'-(9-acridinylamino)methanesulfon-m-anisidide being more potent than etoposide or 2-methyl-9-hydroxyellipticinium at equimolar concentrations. Com parable treatments of resistant (DC3F/9-OHE) cells did not produce chromosomal damage. The cytotoxicity of 4'-(9-Acridinylamino)methanesulfon-m-anisidide was also greater than that of etoposide or 2methyl-9-hydroxyellipticinium in DC3F cells, and no cytotoxicity was observed in DC3F/9-OHE at drug concentrations that produced more than two logs of cell kill in DC3F cells. A plot of cytotoxicity versus SCEs showed a good correlation between the two parameters. Therefore, short treatments of mammalian cells with topo II inhibitors produce reversible topo II-mediated DNA breaks which are associated with chromosomal aberrations and SCEs whose number correlates with cyto toxicity. In addition, topo II mutant DC3F/9-OHE cells were more sensitive than DC3F cells to the chromosomal, DNA cross-linking and cytotoxic effects of mitomycin C and were equally sensitive to the cytotoxic effect of camptothecin.
Pride and Diversity in Social Economies

We study a two-period economy in which agents preferences take into account their relative economic position. The study builds on a decision theoretic analysis of the social emotions that underlie these relative concerns. These emotions, envy and pride, respond to social losses and gains, respectively. Our main result is that envy leads to conformism in consumption behavior and pride to diversity. We thus establish a link between emotions that are object of study in psychology and neuroscience, and important features of economic variables, in the first place the equilibrium distribution of consumption and income.
The Role of the Single Incision Laparoscopic Approach in Liver and Pancreatic Resectional Surgery

Introduction. Single incision laparoscopic surgery (SILS) has gained increasing support over the last few years. The aim of this narrative review is to analyse the published evidence on the use and potential benefits of SILS in hepatic and pancreatic resectional surgery for benign and malignant pathology. Methods. Pubmed and Embase databases were searched using the search terms “single incision laparoscopic”, “single port laparoscopic”, “liver surgery”, and “pancreas surgery”. Results. Twenty relevant manuscripts for liver and 9 for pancreatic SILS resections were identified. With regard to liver surgery, despite the lack of comparative studies with other minimal invasive techniques, outcomes have been acceptable when certain limitations are taken into account. For pancreatic resections, when compared to the conventional laparoscopic approach, SILS produced comparable results with regard to intra- and postoperative parameters, including length of hospitalisation and complications. Similarly, the results were comparable to robotic pancreatectomies, with the exception of the longer operative time reported with the robotic approach. Discussion. Despite the limitations, the published evidence supports that SILS is safe and feasible for liver and pancreatic resections when performed by experienced teams in the tertiary setting. However, no substantial benefit has been identified yet, especially compared to other minimal invasive techniques.
Dynamically Reconfigurable Split Cache Architecture

Dynamically reconfigurable split cache architecture is a reconfigurable architecture that has all advantages of a split cache and also the ability to reconfigure itself allowing computational performance improvement. Several real traces were performed in order to verify and compare the dynamically reconfigurable split cache architecture and the conventional split cache architecture performance, in most tests the reconfigurable architecture was better than the conventional one.
Small Mutations in Bordetella pertussis Are Associated with Selective Sweeps

Bordetella pertussis is the causative agent of pertussis, a highly contagious disease of the human respiratory tract. Despite high vaccination coverage, pertussis has resurged and has become one of the most prevalent vaccine-preventable diseases in developed countries. We have proposed that both waning immunity and pathogen adaptation have contributed to the persistence and resurgence of pertussis. Allelic variation has been found in virulence-associated genes coding for the pertussis toxin A subunit (ptxA), pertactin (prn), serotype 2 fimbriae (fim2), serotype 3 fimbriae (fim3) and the promoter for pertussis toxin (ptxP). In this study, we investigated how more than 60 years of vaccination has affected the Dutch B. pertussis population by combining data from phylogeny, genomics and temporal trends in strain frequencies. Our main focus was on the ptxA, prn, fim3 and ptxP genes. However, we also compared the genomes of 11 Dutch strains belonging to successful lineages. Our results showed that, between 1949 and 2010, the Dutch B. pertussis population has undergone as least four selective sweeps that were associated with small mutations in ptxA, prn, fim3 and ptxP. Phylogenetic analysis revealed a stepwise adaptation in which mutations accumulated clonally. Genomic analysis revealed a number of additional mutations which may have a contributed to the selective sweeps. Five large deletions were identified which were fixed in the pathogen population. However, only one was linked to a selective sweep. No evidence was found for a role of gene acquisition in pathogen adaptation. Our results suggest that the B. pertussis gene repertoire is already well adapted to its current niche and required only fine tuning to persist in the face of vaccination. Further, this work shows that small mutations, even single SNPs, can drive large changes in the populations of bacterial pathogens within a time span of six to 19 years.
ITEM Strategic Planning: Two Approaches

: Best practice in IT for Educational Management (ITEM) promotes the value of robust strategic planning. In schools, however, the experience of the 1980s and early 1990s suggested that school senior management teams were inadequately trained and prepared for managing the development of an ITEM Strategic Plan and driving its implementation. From around 1995 to the present day, school management teams have been becoming more sophisticated in their approach to ITEM Strategic Planning. This paper considers the approaches of two schools to ITEM Strategic Planning – one in Australia and one in England – and compares the advantages and disadvantages of the two approaches. The paper discusses issues surrounding governance, collection of evidence, approaches to professional development and feedback mechanisms. Similarities and differences between the two approaches are highlighted, and recommendations made that are of relevance to schools that are seeking increased effectiveness in their ICT efforts.
Maximum Growth Potential and Periods of Resource Limitation in Apple Tree

Knowledge of seasonal maximum potential growth rates are important for assessing periods of resource limitations in fruit tree species. In this study we assessed the periods of resource limitation for vegetative (current year stems, and woody biomass) and reproductive (fruit) organs of a major agricultural crop: the apple tree. This was done by comparing relative growth rates (RGRs) of individual organs in trees with reduced competition for resources to trees grown under standard field conditions. Special attention was dedicated to disentangling patterns and values of maximum potential growth for each organ type. The period of resource limitation for vegetative growth was much longer than in another fruit tree species (peach): from late May until harvest. Two periods of resource limitation were highlighted for fruit: from the beginning of the season until mid-June, and about 1 month prior to harvest. By investigating the variability in individual organs growth we identified substantial differences in RGRs among different shoot categories (proleptic and epicormic) and within each group of monitored organs. Qualitatively different and more accurate values of growth rates for vegetative organs, compared to the use of the simple compartmental means, were estimated. Detailed, source-sink based tree growth models, commonly in need of fine parameter tuning, are expected to benefit from the results produced by these analyses.
Molecular Evolution of a Pervasive Natural Amino-Acid Substitution in Drosophila cryptochrome

Genetic variations in circadian clock genes may serve as molecular adaptations, allowing populations to adapt to local environments. Here, we carried out a survey of genetic variation in Drosophila cryptochrome (cry), the fly’s dedicated circadian photoreceptor. An initial screen of 10 European cry alleles revealed substantial variation, including seven non-synonymous changes. The SNP frequency spectra and the excessive linkage disequilibrium in this locus suggested that this variation is maintained by natural selection. We focused on a non-conservative SNP involving a leucine - histidine replacement (L232H) and found that this polymorphism is common, with both alleles at intermediate frequencies across 27 populations surveyed in Europe, irrespective of latitude. Remarkably, we were able to reproduce this natural observation in the laboratory using replicate population cages where the minor allele frequency was initially set to 10%. Within 20 generations, the two allelic variants converged to approximately equal frequencies. Further experiments using congenic strains, showed that this SNP has a phenotypic impact, with variants showing significantly different eclosion profiles. At the long term, these phase differences in eclosion may contribute to genetic differentiation among individuals, and shape the evolution of wild populations.
K3 surfaces, Lorentzian Kac--Moody algebras and Mirror Symmetry

We consider the variant of Mirror Symmetry Conjecture for K3 surfaces which relates "geometry" of curves of a general member of a family of K3 with "algebraic functions" on the moduli of the mirror family. Lorentzian Kac--Moody algebras are involved in this construction. We give several examples when this conjecture is valid.
Mitotic entry in the presence of DNA damage is a widespread property of aneuploidy in yeast

Genetic instability is a hallmark of aneuploidy in budding and fission yeast. All aneuploid yeast strains analyzed to date harbor elevated levels of Rad52-GFP foci, a sign of DNA damage. Here we investigate how continuously elevated levels of DNA damage affect aneuploid cells. We show that Rad52-GFP foci form during S phase, consistent with the observation that DNA replication initiation and elongation are impaired in some aneuploid yeast strains. We furthermore find that although DNA damage is low in aneuploid cells, it nevertheless has dramatic consequences. Many aneuploid yeast strains adapt to DNA damage and undergo mitosis despite the presence of unrepaired DNA leading to cell death. Wild-type cells exposed to low levels of DNA damage exhibit a similar phenotype, indicating that adaptation to low levels of unrepaired DNA is a general property of the cell's response to DNA damage. Our results indicate that by causing low levels of DNA damage, whole-chromosome aneuploidies lead to DNA breaks that persist into mitosis. Such breaks provide the substrate for translocations and deletions that are a hallmark of cancer.
Mathematical Biology

This paper shows that canards, which are periodic orbits for which the trajectory follows both the attracting and repelling part of a slow manifold, can exist for a two-dimensional reduction of the Hodgkin-Huxley equations. Such canards are associated with a dramatic change in the properties of the periodic orbit within a very narrow interval of a control parameter. By smoothly connecting stable and unstable manifolds in an asymptotic limit, we predict with great accuracy the parameter value at which the canards exist for this system. This illustrates the power of using singular perturbation theory to understand the dynamical properties of realistic biological systems.
Catechol-O-Methyltransferase Val158Met Polymorphism and Clinical Response to Antipsychotic Treatment in Schizophrenia and Schizo-Affective Disorder Patients: a Meta-Analysis

Background: The catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) enzyme plays a crucial role in dopamine degradation, and the COMT Val158Met polymorphism (rs4680) is associated with significant differences in enzymatic activity and consequently dopamine concentrations in the prefrontal cortex. Multiple studies have analyzed the COMT Val158Met variant in relation to antipsychotic response. Here, we conducted a meta-analysis examining the relationship between COMT Val158Met and antipsychotic response. Methods: Searches using PubMed, Web of Science, and PsycInfo databases (03/01/2015) yielded 23 studies investigating COMT Val158Met variation and antipsychotic response in schizophrenia and schizo-affective disorder. Responders/nonresponders were defined using each study’s original criteria. If no binary response definition was used, authors were asked to define response according to at least 30% Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale score reduction (or equivalent in other scales). Analysis was conducted under a fixed-effects model. Results: Ten studies met inclusion criteria for the meta-analysis. Five additional antipsychotic-treated samples were analyzed for Val158Met and response and included in the meta-analysis (ntotal=1416). Met/Met individuals were significantly more likely to respond than Val-carriers (P=.039, ORMet/Met=1.37, 95% CI: 1.02–1.85). Met/Met patients also experienced significantly greater improvement in positive symptoms relative to Val-carriers (P=.030, SMD=0.24, 95% CI: 0.024–0.46). Posthoc analyses on patients treated with atypical antipsychotics (n=1207) showed that Met/Met patients were significantly more likely to respond relative to Val-carriers (P=.0098, ORMet/Met=1.54, 95% CI: 1.11–2.14), while no difference was observed for typical-antipsychotic-treated patients (n=155) (P=.65). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the COMT Val158Met polymorphism is associated with response to antipsychotics in schizophrenia and schizo-affective disorder patients. This effect may be more pronounced for atypical antipsychotics.
Modelling retinal mosaic development with dendritic outgrowth and lateral cell movement

Retinal cells are regularly spaced across the retina and form mosaic-like patterns. The developmental processes involved in producing such mosaics are unclear, although recent evidence suggests that lateral movement of cells may be involved [1]. In this paper, we extend a model of neurite outgrowth [2] to allow cells to move as well as to change their dendritic extent. Starting from random initial positions, cells reorganise into regular mosaics. The network can also dynamically adapt to either increases or decreases in network size during development. Our results support the hypothesis that local cell movement produced by local dendritic interactions can generate regular mosaics.
Birthdate and Cell Marker Analysis of Scrambler: A Novel Mutation Affecting Cortical Development with a Reeler-Like Phenotype

The reeler mutation in mice produces an especially well characterized disorder, with systematically abnormal migration of cerebral cortical neurons. The reeler gene encodes a large protein, termed Reelin, that in the cortex is synthesized and secreted exclusively in the Cajal-Retzius neurons of the cortical marginal zone (D’Arcangelo et al., 1995). In reeler mutant mice, loss of Reelin protein is associated with a systematic loss of the normal, “inside-out” sequence of neurogenesis in the cortex: neurons are formed in the normal sequence but become localized in the cortex in a somewhat inverted, although relatively disorganized “outside-in” pattern. Here we show that the scrambler mutant mouse exhibits a loss of lamination in the cortex and hippocampus that is indistinguishable from that seen in the reeler mouse. We use BrdU birthdating studies to show that scrambler cortex shows a somewhat inverted “outside-in” sequence of birthdates for cortical neurons that is similar to that previously described in reeler cortex. Finally, we perform staining with the CR-50 monoclonal antibody (Ogawa et al., 1995), which recognizes the Reelin protein (D’Arcangelo et al., 1997). We show that Reelin immunoreactivity is present in the scrambler cortex in a normal pattern, suggesting that Reelin is synthesized and released normally. Our data suggest that scrambler is a mutation in the same gene pathway as the reeler gene (Relnrl ) and is most likely downstream of Relnrl .
Phenology model from surface meteorology does not capture satellite-based greenup estimations

Seasonal temperature change in temperate forests is known to trigger the start of spring growth, and both interannual and spatial variations in spring onset have been tied to climatic variability. Satellite dates are increasingly being used in phenology studies, but to date that has been little effort to link remotely sensed phenology to surface climate records. In this research, we use a two-parameter spring warming phenology model to explore the relationship between climate and satellite-based phenology. We employ daily air temperature records between 2000 and 2005 for 171 National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration weather stations located throughout New England to construct spring warming models predicting the onset of spring, as defined by the date of half-maximum greenness (D50) in deciduous forests as detected from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer. The best spring warming model starts accumulating temperatures after March 20th and when average daily temperatures exceed 5 1C. The accumulated heat sums [heating degree day (HDD)] required to reach D50 range from 150 to 300 degree days over New England, with the highest requirements to the south and in coastal regions. We test the ability of the spring warming model to predict phenology against a null photoperiod model (average date of onset). The spring warming model offers little improvement on the null model when predicting D50. Differences between the efficacies of the two models are expressed as the ‘climate sensitivity ratio’ (CSR), which displays coherent spatial patterns. Our results suggest that northern (beechmaple-birch) and central (oak-hickory) hardwood forests respond to climate differently, particularly with disparate requirements for the minimum temperature necessary to begin spring growth (3 and 6 1C, respectively). We conclude that spatial location and species composition are critical factors for predicting the phenological response to climate change: satellite observations cannot be linked directly to temperature variability if species or community compositions are unknown.
Co-dependence between trypanosome nuclear lamina components in nuclear stability and control of gene expression

The nuclear lamina is a filamentous structure subtending the nuclear envelope and required for chromatin organization, transcriptional regulation and maintaining nuclear structure. The trypanosomatid coiled-coil NUP-1 protein is a lamina component functionally analogous to lamins, the major lamina proteins of metazoa. There is little evidence for shared ancestry, suggesting the presence of a distinct lamina system in trypanosomes. To find additional trypanosomatid lamina components we identified NUP-1 interacting proteins by affinity capture and mass-spectrometry. Multiple components of the nuclear pore complex (NPC) and a second coiled-coil protein, which we termed NUP-2, were found. NUP-2 has a punctate distribution at the nuclear periphery throughout the cell cycle and is in close proximity to NUP-1, the NPCs and telomeric chromosomal regions. RNAi-mediated silencing of NUP-2 leads to severe proliferation defects, gross alterations to nuclear structure, chromosomal organization and nuclear envelope architecture. Further, transcription is altered at telomere-proximal variant surface glycoprotein (VSG) expression sites (ESs), suggesting a role in controlling ES expression, although NUP-2 silencing does not increase VSG switching. Transcriptome analysis suggests specific alterations to Pol I-dependent transcription. NUP-1 is mislocalized in NUP-2 knockdown cells and vice versa, implying that NUP-1 and NUP-2 form a co-dependent network and identifying NUP-2 as a second trypanosomatid nuclear lamina component.