Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dopamine Sensor Based on a Boron-Doped Diamond Electrode Modified with a Polyaniline/Au Nanocomposites in the Presence of Ascorbic Acid

A selective dopamine (DA) sensor was developed using gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs) dispersed overoxidized-polyaniline (PANI_ox) based on a boron-doped diamond (BDD) thin-film electrode. The concentration of the DA was determined using voltammetry as a non-enzymatic sensor. BDD thin film has a high signal-to-noise ratio, a long-term stability, a high sensitivity, and a good reproducibility. PANI nanocomposites were directly synthesized on the BDD electrode and overoxidized using 0.5 M H_2SO_4 solution. The overoxidized PANI film enhances selectivity and sensitivity toward DA. The Au-NPs were dispersed on the PANI nanocomposite by electrochemical deposition. The nanometer-sized Au-NPs favor the sensing of DA in the presence of ascorbic acid (AA). The combination of the PANI with the Au-NPs and the BDD electrode can create synergetic effects for the performance of the biosensor, such as a fast response time, a lower detection limit, a wider linear range, enhanced selectivity, and higher sensitivity for the determination of DA.
Fast Cooling of Neutron Stars: Superfluidity versus Heating and Accreted Envelope

It is generally considered that the neutron star cooling scenarios involving fast neutrino emission, from a kaon or pion condensate, quark matter, or the direct Urca process, require the presence of baryon pairing in the central core of the star to control the strong neutrino emission and to produce surface temperatures compatible with observations. I show here that within the kaon condensate scenario, pairing is not necessary if (1) the equation of state is stiff enough for the star to have a thick crust in which sufficient friction can occur to heat the star and (2) a thin layer, of mass ΔM larger than ~10-12 M☉, of light elements (H and He) is present at the stellar surface. Both the occurrence of heating and the presence of H and/or He at the surface (deposited during the late postsupernova accretion) can possibly be confirmed or refuted by future observations.
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Envelope Protein Regulates Cell Stress Response and Apoptosis

Severe acute respiratory syndrome virus (SARS-CoV) that lacks the envelope (E) gene (rSARS-CoV-ΔE) is attenuated in vivo. To identify factors that contribute to rSARS-CoV-ΔE attenuation, gene expression in cells infected by SARS-CoV with or without E gene was compared. Twenty-five stress response genes were preferentially upregulated during infection in the absence of the E gene. In addition, genes involved in signal transduction, transcription, cell metabolism, immunoregulation, inflammation, apoptosis and cell cycle and differentiation were differentially regulated in cells infected with rSARS-CoV with or without the E gene. Administration of E protein in trans reduced the stress response in cells infected with rSARS-CoV-ΔE or with respiratory syncytial virus, or treated with drugs, such as tunicamycin and thapsigargin that elicit cell stress by different mechanisms. In addition, SARS-CoV E protein down-regulated the signaling pathway inositol-requiring enzyme 1 (IRE-1) of the unfolded protein response, but not the PKR-like ER kinase (PERK) or activating transcription factor 6 (ATF-6) pathways, and reduced cell apoptosis. Overall, the activation of the IRE-1 pathway was not able to restore cell homeostasis, and apoptosis was induced probably as a measure to protect the host by limiting virus production and dissemination. The expression of proinflammatory cytokines was reduced in rSARS-CoV-ΔE-infected cells compared to rSARS-CoV-infected cells, suggesting that the increase in stress responses and the reduction of inflammation in the absence of the E gene contributed to the attenuation of rSARS-CoV-ΔE.
Bifurcations in modified BVP neurons connected by inhibitory and electrical coupling

Electrical coupling among inhibitory interneurons has been discovered in various regions of the brain. Since these local networks indicate a sophisticated activity by the interplay between electrical and inhibitory synapses, the emergence of synchronous phenomena have been investigated by many researchers. We propose coupled neuronal models connected by both inhibitory and electrical synapses and investigate the emergence of various synchronous phenomena and its bifurcational structures by bifurcation analysis. Although it is generally known that a strong gap junction synchronizes coupled neurons, we show in-phase and anti-phase phenomena in coupled neurons connected by both inhibitory and electrical synapses. They change to chaotic solutions via period-doubling and pitchfork bifurcations.
Assessing Modular Structure of Legacy Code Based on Mathematical Concept Analysis

Christian Lindig, Gregor Snelting Technische Universitat Braunschweig Abteilung Softwaretechnologie Bultenweg 88 D-38104 Braunschweig, Germany +49 531 391 7577 lindig@ips.cs. tu-bs.de to appear in Proc. International Conference on Software Engineering, Boston 1997 ABSTRACT We apply mathematical concept analysis in order to modularize legacy code. By analysing the relation between procedures and global variables, a so-called concept lattice is constructed. The paper explains how module structures show up in the lattice, and how the lattice can be used to assess cohesion and coupling between module candidates. Certain algebraic decompositions of the lattice can lead to automatic generation of modularization proposals. The method is applied to several examples written in Modula-2, Fortran, and Cobol; among them a >100kloc aerodynamics program.
Stabilization and Localization of Xist RNA are Controlled by Separate Mechanisms and are Not Sufficient for X Inactivation

These studies address whether XIST RNA is properly localized to the X chromosome in somatic cells where human XIST expression is reactivated, but fails to result in X inactivation (Tinker, A.V., and C.J. Brown. 1998. Nucl. Acids Res. 26:2935–2940). Despite a nuclear RNA accumulation of normal abundance and stability, XIST RNA does not localize in reactivants or in naturally inactive human X chromosomes in mouse/ human hybrid cells. The XIST transcripts are fully stabilized despite their inability to localize, and hence XIST RNA localization can be uncoupled from stabilization, indicating that these are separate steps controlled by distinct mechanisms. Mouse Xist RNA tightly localized to an active X chromosome, demonstrating for the first time that the active X chromosome in somatic cells is competent to associate with Xist RNA. These results imply that species-specific factors, present even in mature, somatic cells that do not normally express Xist, are necessary for localization. When Xist RNA is properly localized to an active mouse X chromosome, X inactivation does not result. Therefore, there is not a strict correlation between Xist localization and chromatin inactivation. Moreover, expression, stabilization, and localization of Xist RNA are not sufficient for X inactivation. We hypothesize that chromosomal association of XIST RNA may initiate subsequent developmental events required to enact transcriptional silencing.
Economic Development and Female Labor Force Participation in the Middle East and North Africa: A Test of the U-Shape Hypothesis

This paper investigates the relationship between economic development and female labor force participation in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Using a panel data set of 20 countries in the region for the period of 1990-2012, I develop an econometric model that tests the U-shape hypothesis. This study builds upon previous literature examining the U-shape hypothesis in time series studies for developing countries, and cross-country studies. The results of this paper suggest that there is a U-shaped relationship between economic growth and female labor force participation rates. The MENA region’s low female labor force participation rates can be explained in part by their transition towards the bottom of the U-shaped curve.
The inner nuclear membrane protein p58 associates in vivo with a p58 kinase and the nuclear lamins.

p58, also referred to as the lamin B receptor, is an intrinsic protein of the inner nuclear membrane that binds in vitro to lamin B. Previous studies have demonstrated that p58 is phosphorylated in vivo and removal of its phosphate moieties affects lamin B binding. Using affinity‐purified antipeptide antibodies, we have now immunoisolated p58 from bird erythrocyte lysates under isotonic, non‐denaturing conditions. Analysis of the immunopurified material shows that five distinct proteins are tightly and specifically associated with p58. Two of these polypeptides can be identified as nuclear lamins A and B. The immunoisolate also contains a kinase activity that phosphorylates p58 in vivo and in vitro, exclusively at serine residues, as indicated by phosphoamino acid analysis and two‐dimensional phosphopeptide mapping. Cell fractionation experiments and in vitro phosphorylation assays demonstrate that the p58 kinase resides in the nuclear envelope and is distinct from protein kinase A and cdc2 kinase, for both of which p58 is an in vitro substrate. These data suggest that p58 is interacting in vivo with a p58 kinase and the nuclear lamins.
Is TAM for wireless mobile data services applicable in China? A survey report from Zhejiang, China

This paper summarises the development of the Wireless Mobile Data Services (WMDS) in Zhejiang, a province typical of more economically developed southeast region of China. We surveyed 599 university students and business executives in Zhejiang in the fall of 2004 to examine whether Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) for WMDS are applicable in China, particularly in Zhejiang. The data were analysed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). This study revealed some interesting findings on adoption intention, perceptual beliefs and a few antecedent determinants. While the empirical results provide some support for the research model, they also reveal some findings opposite to our hypotheses. Some discussions are offered.
Storage services in private clouds: Analysis, performance and availability modeling

Cloud computing brings new technologies and concepts that favor communication services and data storage. Services like OneDrive, Google Drive and DropBox increase data availability and provide new features as synchronization and collaboration. This article aims to assess the availability and performance of private cloud storage service. A set of models that use a hierarchical strategy is proposed to evaluate both availability and performance through the composition of reliability block diagrams (RBD) and stochastic Petri net (SPN) models. A case study is presented to illustrate the applicability of the proposed models through a cloud storage service hosted on the Eucalyptus platform.
Fabrication of LIGA mold insert using Ni-PTFE composite micro-electroforming

The LIGA process, which combines deep X-ray lithography with electroforming and polymer molding, is a main fabrication method for producing MEMS. And hot embossing is one of the main processing techniques for polymer microfabrication, which helps the LIGA (UV-LIGA) technology to achieve low cost mass production. And electroforming of LIGA mold insert with lower surface energy and friction coefficient is required for demolding process during hot embossing to obtain better polymer replicas. In this paper, the Ni-PTFE compound material mold inserts is fabricated by special treated galvanic bath and operation conditions. And the results show that it is a robust Ni-PTFE composite micro-electroforming and basically changes the interaction property when demolding for producing high quality polymer replicas.
Quality Control in Crowdsourcing

Crowdsourcing enables one to leverage on the intelligence and wisdom of potentially large groups of individuals toward solving problems. Common problems approached with crowdsourcing are labeling images, translating or transcribing text, providing opinions or ideas, and similar—all tasks that computers are not good at or where they may even fail altogether. The introduction of humans into computations and/or everyday work, however, also poses critical, novel challenges in terms of quality control, as the crowd is typically composed of people with unknown and very diverse abilities, skills, interests, personal objectives, and technological resources. This survey studies quality in the context of crowdsourcing along several dimensions, so as to define and characterize it and to understand the current state of the art. Specifically, this survey derives a quality model for crowdsourcing tasks, identifies the methods and techniques that can be used to assess the attributes of the model, and the actions and strategies that help prevent and mitigate quality problems. An analysis of how these features are supported by the state of the art further identifies open issues and informs an outlook on hot future research directions.
Supporting the Validation of Structured Analysis Specifications in the Engineering of Information Systems by Test Path Exploration

Requirements validation should be carried out early in the development process to assure that the requirements specification correctly reflects stakeholderâ? s intentions, and to avoid the propagation of defects to subsequent phases. In addition to reviews, early test case creation is a commonly used requirements validation technique. However, manual test case derivation from specifications without formal semantics is costly, and requires experience in testing. This paper focuses on Structured Analysis as a semi-formal technique for specifying information systems requirements, which is part of latest requirements engineering curricula and widely accepted practices in business analysis. However, there is insufficient guidance and tool support for creating test cases without the need for using formal extensions in early development stages. Functional decomposition as a core concept of Structured Analysis, and the resulting distribution of control flow information complicates the identification of dependencies between system inputs and outputs. We propose a technique for automatically identifying test paths in Structured Analysis specifications. These test paths constitute the basis for defining test cases, and support requirements validation by guiding and structuring the review process.
Vesicular glutamate transporter‐3 in the rodent brain: Vesicular colocalization with vesicular γ‐aminobutyric acid transporter

Vesicular glutamate transporters (VGLUT1–3) carry glutamate into synaptic vesicles. VGLUT3 has been reported to be localized in nonglutamatergic neuronal populations in the brain. However, detailed subcellular localization of VGLUT3 has not been shown. In particular, the identity of synaptic vesicles expressing VGLUT3 remains to be revealed. Here we present novel electron microscopic postembedding immunogold data from mouse and rat brains showing that small, clear, and round synaptic vesicles in γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA)‐ergic nerve terminals contain labeling for both VGLUT3 and the vesicular GABA transporter (VGAT). Immunoisolation of synaptic vesicles confirmed the immunogold data and showed vesicular colocalization of VGLUT3 and VGAT. Moreover, we show that gold particles signaling VGLUT3 are present in synaptic vesicles in acetylcholinergic nerve terminals in the striatum. Quantitative immunogold analyses reveal that the density of VGLUT3 gold particles is similar in GABAergic terminals in the hippocampus and the neocortex to that in cholinergic terminals in the striatum. In contrast to in the hippocampus and the neocortex, VGLUT3 was absent from VGAT‐positive terminals in the striatum. The labeling pattern produced by the VGLUT3 antibodies was found to be specific; there was no labeling in VGLUT3 knockout tissue, and the observed labeling throughout the rat brain corresponds to the known light‐microscopic distribution of VGLUT3. From the present results, we infer that glutamate is released with GABA from inhibitory terminals and acetylcholine from cholinergic terminals. J. Comp. Neurol. 521: 3042–3056, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Structural Polymer-Based Carbon Nanotube Composite Fibers: Understanding the Processing–Structure–Performance Relationship

Among the many potential applications of carbon nanotubes (CNT), its usage to strengthen polymers has been paid considerable attention due to the exceptional stiffness, excellent strength, and the low density of CNT. This has provided numerous opportunities for the invention of new material systems for applications requiring high strength and high modulus. Precise control over processing factors, including preserving intact CNT structure, uniform dispersion of CNT within the polymer matrix, effective filler–matrix interfacial interactions, and alignment/orientation of polymer chains/CNT, contribute to the composite fibers’ superior properties. For this reason, fabrication methods play an important role in determining the composite fibers’ microstructure and ultimate mechanical behavior. The current state-of-the-art polymer/CNT high-performance composite fibers, especially in regards to processing–structure–performance, are reviewed in this contribution. Future needs for material by design approaches for processing these nano-composite systems are also discussed.
Predict Your Child: a System to Suggest the Facial Appearance of Children

We have developed a novel software program called 'Predict Your Child' that, given photographs of potential parent faces, generates plausible looking children. The parent photographs are imported into a PCA-based model of facial appearance to give a set of face parameters that can be mixed together to produce offspring faces. The program is intended for entertainment and has been used commercially, with customers emailing photographs of parents to be bred. In this paper, we describe the system, developed from an evolutionary facial composite system called EvoFIT, outline some of the problems encountered and present some performance data.
Factors associated with decisions to undergo surgery among patients with newly diagnosed early-stage lung cancer.

CONTEXT Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Surgical resection for stage I or II non-small cell cancer remains the only reliable treatment for cure. Patients who do not undergo surgery have a median survival of less than 1 year. Despite the survival disadvantage, many patients with early-stage disease do not receive surgical care and rates are even lower for black patients. OBJECTIVES To identify potentially modifiable factors regarding surgery in patients newly diagnosed with early-stage lung cancer and to explore why blacks undergo surgery less often than whites. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS Prospective cohort study with patients identified by pulmonary, oncology, thoracic surgery, and generalist practices in 5 communities through study referral or computerized tomography review protocol. A total of 437 patients with biopsy-proven or probable early-stage lung cancer were enrolled between December 2005 and December 2008. Before establishment of treatment plans, patients were administered a survey including questions about trust, patient-physician communication, attitudes toward cancer, and functional status. Information about comorbid illnesses was obtained through chart audits. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Lung cancer surgery within 4 months of diagnosis. RESULTS A total of 386 patients met full eligibility criteria for lung resection surgery. The median age was 66 years (range, 26-90 years) and 29% of patients were black. The surgical rate was 66% for white patients (n = 179/273) compared with 55% for black patients (n = 62/113; P = .05). Negative perceptions of patient-physician communication manifested by a 5-point decrement on a 25-point communication scale (odds ratio [OR], 0.42; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.32-0.74) and negative perception of 1-year prognosis postsurgery (OR, 0.27; 95% CI, 0.14-0.50; absolute risk, 34%) were associated with decisions against surgery. Surgical rates for blacks were particularly low when they had 2 or more comorbid illnesses (13% vs 62% for <2 comorbidities; OR, 0.04 [95% CI, 0.01-0.25]; absolute risk, 49%) and when blacks lacked a regular source of care (42% with no regular care vs 57% with regular care; OR, 0.20 [95% CI, 0.10-0.43]; absolute risk, 15%). CONCLUSIONS A decision not to undergo surgery by patients with newly diagnosed lung cancer was independently associated with perceptions of communication and prognosis, older age, multiple comorbidities, and black race. Interventions to optimize surgery should consider these factors.
MECHANICAL DRILLING PROCESSES FOR TITANIUM ALLOYS: A LITERATURE REVIEW

Titanium and its alloys (Ti) are attractive for many applications due to their superior properties. However, they are regarded as hard-to-machine materials. Drilling is an important machining process since it is involved in nearly all Ti applications. It is desirable to develop cost-effective drilling processes for Ti and/or improve the cost-effectiveness of currently-available processes. Such development and improvement will be benefited by a comprehensive literature review of drilling processes for Ti. This paper presents a literature review on mechanical drilling processes for Ti, namely, twist drilling, vibration assisted twist drilling, ultrasonic machining, and rotary ultrasonic machining. It discusses cutting force, cutting temperature, tool wear and tool life, hole quality (diameter and cylindricity, surface roughness, and burr), and chip type when drilling of Ti using these processes.
Female Behaviour Drives Expression and Evolution of Gustatory Receptors in Butterflies

Secondary plant compounds are strong deterrents of insect oviposition and feeding, but may also be attractants for specialist herbivores. These insect-plant interactions are mediated by insect gustatory receptors (Grs) and olfactory receptors (Ors). An analysis of the reference genome of the butterfly Heliconius melpomene, which feeds on passion-flower vines (Passiflora spp.), together with whole-genome sequencing within the species and across the Heliconius phylogeny has permitted an unprecedented opportunity to study the patterns of gene duplication and copy-number variation (CNV) among these key sensory genes. We report in silico gene predictions of 73 Gr genes in the H. melpomene reference genome, including putative CO2, sugar, sugar alcohol, fructose, and bitter receptors. The majority of these Grs are the result of gene duplications since Heliconius shared a common ancestor with the monarch butterfly or the silkmoth. Among Grs but not Ors, CNVs are more common within species in those gene lineages that have also duplicated over this evolutionary time-scale, suggesting ongoing rapid gene family evolution. Deep sequencing (∼1 billion reads) of transcriptomes from proboscis and labial palps, antennae, and legs of adult H. melpomene males and females indicates that 67 of the predicted 73 Gr genes and 67 of the 70 predicted Or genes are expressed in these three tissues. Intriguingly, we find that one-third of all Grs show female-biased gene expression (n = 26) and nearly all of these (n = 21) are Heliconius-specific Grs. In fact, a significant excess of Grs that are expressed in female legs but not male legs are the result of recent gene duplication. This difference in Gr gene expression diversity between the sexes is accompanied by a striking sexual dimorphism in the abundance of gustatory sensilla on the forelegs of H. melpomene, suggesting that female oviposition behaviour drives the evolution of new gustatory receptors in butterfly genomes.