Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Thermal Inertia: Towards an energy conservation room management system

We are in an age where people are paying increasing attention to energy conservation around the world. The heating and air-conditioning systems of buildings introduce one of the largest chunk of energy expenses. In this paper, we make a key observation that after a meeting or a class ends in a room, the indoor temperature will not immediately increase to the outdoor temperature. We call this phenomenon Thermal Inertia. Thus, if we arrange subsequent meetings in the same room; than a room that has not been used for some time, we can take advantage of such un-dissipated cool or heated air and conserve energy. We develop a green room management system with three main components. First, it has a wireless sensor network to collect indoor, outdoor temperature and electricity expenses of the air-conditioning devices. Second, we build an energy-temperature correlation model for the energy expenses and the corresponding room temperature. Third, we develop room scheduling algorithms. Our system is validated with real deployment of a sensor network for data collection and thermodynamics model calibration. We conduct a comprehensive evaluation with synthetic room and meeting configurations. We observe a 30% energy saving as compared with the current schedules.
A generic framework for defining security environments of Wireless Sensor Networks

At the beginning of its journey, wireless sensor networks (WSNs) were not built keeping security in mind. Along with the proliferation of sensor applications, the need for security in sensor networks has been increased. However, due to the resource constrained sensor nodes as well as its unique nature of communication, it is very difficult to use traditional security solutions for sensor networks. Some initiatives have been taken to introduce security protocols for sensor networks but they are not enough and are based on different assumptions. To be more precise, it is very difficult to identify which security protocol is suitable for which kind of sensor applications. At the moment, there is an urgency to formally define all the security environments (or security classes) for sensor a network so that a sensor application can identify all the security protocols belongs to its security class. In addition, defined security classes will certainly help in building good security protocols for each security class. In this paper, we provide a generic framework to find out all the security classes for sensor networks. According to our best of knowledge, this work is the first attempt to fulfill this urgency of sensor networks.
Flexible lid to the p53-binding domain of human Mdm2: Implications for p53 regulation

The stabilization of p53 against Mdm2-mediated degradation is an important event in DNA damage response. Initial models of p53 stabilization focused on posttranslational modification of p53 that would disrupt the p53–Mdm2 interaction. The N-terminal regions of both p53 and Mdm2 are modified in vivo in response to cellular stress, suggesting that modifications to Mdm2 also may affect the p53–Mdm2 interaction. Our NMR studies of apo-Mdm2 have found that, in addition to Mdm2 residues 25–109 that form the well ordered p53-binding domain that was observed in the p52–Mdm2 complex, Mdm2 residues 16–24 form a lid that closes over the p53-binding site. The Mdm2 lid, which is strictly conserved in mammals, may help to stabilize apo-Mdm2. It also competes weakly with peptidic and nonpeptidic antagonists. Modifications to the Mdm2 lid may disrupt p53–Mdm2 binding leading to p53 stabilization. Mdm2 and Mdm4 possess nearly identical p53-binding domains but different lids suggesting that lid modifications may select for p53 binding.
Physical activity ameliorates cardiovascular health in elderly subjects: the functional role of the β adrenergic system

Aging is a complex process characterized by a gradual decline in organ functional reserves, which eventually reduces the ability to maintain homeostasis. An exquisite feature of elderly subjects, which constitute a growing proportion of the world population, is the high prevalence of cardiovascular disorders, which negatively affect both the quality of life and the life expectancy. It is widely acknowledged that physical activity represents one of the foremost interventions capable in reducing the health burden of cardiovascular disease. Interestingly, the benefits of moderate-intensity physical activity have been established both in young and elderly subjects. Herein we provide a systematic and updated appraisal of the literature exploring the pathophysiological mechanisms evoked by physical activity in the elderly, focusing on the functional role of the β adrenergic system.
DEVS-based Building Information Modeling and simulation for emergency evacuation

Nowadays, numerous Computer-aided Design (CAD) software packages support Building Information Modeling (BIM). BIM software can benefit of advanced simulation in the pre-design phase of construction projects. In this case, we show focus on models of the emergency evacuation regarding the security and safety. We analyze the evacuation simulation of a model based on DEVS (Discrete Event systems Specification) for BIM authoring tools. The idea is to automate to extraction of building information that can be subsequently used in a simulation. Our case study uses a Cell-DEVS model of the evacuation of a multi-floor building. We also show how to obtain a 3D visualization by transforming the simulation results, facilitating the work of architects, contractors and fabricators. This kind of application could be used to analyze bottlenecks and the maximum occupation for determining an optical evacuation plan.
Application of Doppler wind lidar observations to hurricane analysis and prediction

One of the most important applications of a space-based Doppler Wind Lidar (DWL) would be to improve atmospheric analyses and weather forecasting. Since the mid-1980s, Observing System Simulation Experiments (OSSEs) have been conducted to evaluate the potential impact of space-based DWL data on numerical weather prediction (NWP). All of these OSSEs have shown significant beneficial impact on global analyses and forecasts. In more recent years, a limited number of experiments have been conducted to evaluate the potential impact of DWL data on hurricane forecasting and also to begin to evaluate the impact of real airborne DWL observations. These latest studies suggest that DWL can complement existing hurricane observations effectively and have the potential to contribute to improved hurricane track and intensity forecasting.
Toward a New Protocol to Evaluate Recommender Systems

In this paper, we propose an approach to analyze the performance and the added value of automatic recommender systems in an industrial context. We show that recommender systems are multifaceted and can be organized around 4 structuring functions: help users to decide, help users to compare, help users to discover, help users to explore. A global off line protocol is then proposed to evaluate recommender systems. This protocol is based on the definition of appropriate evaluation measures for each aforementioned function. The evaluation protocol is discussed from the perspective of the usefulness and trust of the recommendation. A new measure called Average Measure of Impact is introduced. This measure evaluates the impact of the personalized recommendation. We experiment with two classical methods, K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN) and Matrix Factorization (MF), using the well known dataset: Netflix. A segmentation of both users and items is proposed to finely analyze where the algorithms perform well or badly. We show that the performance is strongly dependent on the segments and that there is no clear correlation between the RMSE and the quality of the recommendation.
Enzymatic Properties and Mutational Studies of Chalcone Synthase from Physcomitrella patens

PpCHS is a member of the type III polyketide synthase family and catalyses the synthesis of the flavonoid precursor naringenin chalcone from p-coumaroyl-CoA. Recent research reports the production of pyrone derivatives using either hexanoyl-CoA or butyryl-CoA as starter molecule. The Cys-His-Asn catalytic triad found in other plant chalcone synthase predicted polypeptides is conserved in PpCHS. Site directed mutagenesis involving these amino acids residing in the active-site cavity revealed that the cavity volume of the active-site plays a significant role in the selection of starter molecules as well as product formation. Substitutions of Cys 170 with Arg and Ser amino acids decreased the ability of the PpCHS to utilize hexanoyl-CoA as a starter molecule, which directly effected the production of pyrone derivatives (products). These substitutions are believed to have a restricted number of elongations of the growing polypeptide chain due to the smaller cavity volume of the mutant’s active site.
Study of the effect of sodium sulphate on shear strength properties of bentonite clay

Sulphate minerals are broadly present in soils, and the sulphate anion (SO4) is a typical constituent of unpolluted water. Sulphte salts can dissociate into their ions when they dissolve in water, and exchange their cations with clay particles. In Geotechnical engineering field, the research on the influence of sulphates on some geotechnical properties of soil such as swelling has been investigated considerably on the soils treated with some calcium-based stabilisers. However, more studies are required on the effect of these salts individually on the strength properties of soils particularly clays. The main reason for this lack can be expressed as the complexity of chemical reactions that occur between clay materials, and chemicals present in pore fluid in clays. Hence, the current examines the influence of Sodium Sulphate (Na2SO4) on the strength characteristics of a commercial bentonite (Trubond MW). A series of direct shear tests were implemented on the specimens prepared with various contents of this salt (3%, 6% and 9% by the dry weight of soil). Also, for investigating the effect of curing time all samples were cured for different periods of curing for seven days to 90 days. Some samples were cured for up to 365 days. The numerical simulations were also employed to predict the behaviour of pure bentonite and bentonite mixed with sulphate in two typical geotechnical problems. For this purpose, the results from direct shear tests were used in the finite element software, Plaxis.
Effective Delay-Controlled Load Distribution over Multipath Networks

Owing to the heterogeneity and high degree of connectivity of various networks, there likely exist multiple available paths between a source and a destination. An effective model of delay-controlled load distribution becomes essential to efficiently utilize such parallel paths for multimedia data transmission and real-time applications, which are commonly known to be sensitive to packet delay, packet delay variation, and packet reordering. Recent research on load distribution has focused on load balancing efficiency, bandwidth utilization, and packet order preservation; however, a majority of the solutions do not address delay-related issues. This paper proposes a new load distribution model aiming to minimize the difference among end-to-end delays, thereby reducing packet delay variation and risk of packet reordering without additional network overhead. In general, the lower the risk of packet reordering, the smaller the delay induced by the packet reordering recovery process, i.e., extra delay induced by the packet reordering recovery process is expected to decrease. Therefore, our model can reduce not only the end-to-end delay but also the packet reordering recovery time. Finally, our proposed model is shown to outperform other existing models, via analysis and simulations.
Nudging Farmers to Use Fertilizer: Theory and Experimental Evidence from Kenya

While many developing-country policymakers see heavy fertilizer subsidies as critical to raising agricultural productivity, most economists see them as distortionary, regressive, environmentally unsound, and argue that they result in politicized, inefficient distribution of fertilizer supply. We model farmers as facing small fixed costs of purchasing fertilizer, and assume some are stochastically present-biased and not fully sophisticated about this bias. Even when relatively patient, such farmers may procrastinate, postponing fertilizer purchases until later periods, when they may be too impatient to purchase fertilizer. Consistent with the model, many farmers in Western Kenya fail to take advantage of apparently profitable fertilizer investments, but they do invest in response to small, time-limited discounts on the cost of acquiring fertilizer (free delivery) just after harvest. Later discounts have a smaller impact, and when given a choice of price schedules, many farmers choose schedules that induce advance purchase. Calibration suggests such small, time-limited discounts yield higher welfare than either laissez faire or heavy subsidies by helping present-biased farmers commit to fertilizer use without inducing those with standard preferences to substantially overuse fertilizer.
ASSESSING THE ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS: A COMPUTABLE EQUILIBRIUM MODEL APPROACH

AbstractThe following sections are included:The Theoretical Framework and the Simulation Model AdoptedSurveys on the impacts of an FTAWelfare decomposition of efficiency improvementLocation effects and regional disparityOther dynamic effects of an FTA on economic growth and welfareFramework of the adopted simulation modelComputable equilibrium models and their advantageAccumulation effect measured by a CGE modelThe global trade analysis project modelThe plan for simulations in this paperThe Simulations of Japan's Existing and Future Bilateral FTAsTrade and tariff structures of the three countries of Japan's existing FTAsDetails of simulations and technical assumptionsMacroeconomic impactsImpacts on sectorsSimulations of the Future Scenarios of Japan's FTAsStatic simulationResults of static simulationDynamic simulations: Model structures and assumptionsResults of dynamic simulation: Baseline scenarioAlternative scenarios: Expediting formation of Japan's FTAsAlternative scenarios: An FTA with the United States and liberalising agricultureImplications of the Study and Remaining Research IssuesImplications of the studyRemaining research issuesAppendix 1: Simplified Framework for Welfare AnalysisAppendix 2: Baldwin Dynamic SpecificationAppendix 3: Sector and Region AggregationReferences
Fast and slow myosins as markers of muscle injury

Objective: The diagnosis of muscular lesions suffered by athletes is usually made by clinical criteria combined with imaging of the lesion (ultrasonography and/or magnetic resonance) and blood tests to detect the presence of non-specific muscle markers. This study was undertaken to evaluate injury to fast and slow-twitch fibres using specific muscle markers for these fibres. Methods: Blood samples were obtained from 51 non-sports people and 38 sportsmen with skeletal muscle injury. Western blood analysis was performed to determine fast and slow myosin and creatine kinase (CK) levels. Skeletal muscle damage was diagnosed by physical examination, ultrasonography and magnetic resonance and biochemical markers. Results: The imaging tests were found to be excellent for detecting and confirming grade II and III lesions. However, grade I lesions were often unconfirmed by these techniques. Grade I lesions have higher levels of fast myosin than slow myosin with a very small increase in CK levels. Grade II and III lesions have high values of both fast and slow myosin. Conclusions: The evaluation of fast and slow myosin in the blood 48 h after the lesion occurs is a useful aid for the detection of type I lesions in particular, since fast myosin is an exclusive skeletal muscle marker. The correct diagnosis of grade I lesions can prevent progression of the injury in athletes undergoing continual training sessions and competitions, thus aiding sports physicians in their decision making.
Single- and Multi-Date Crop Identification Using PROBA-V 100 and 300 m S1 Products on Zlatia Test Site, Bulgaria

The monitoring of crops is of vital importance for food and environmental security in a global and European context. The main goal of this study was to assess the crop mapping performance provided by the 100 m spatial resolution of PROBA-V compared to coarser resolution data (e.g., PROBA-V at 300 m) for a 2250 km2 test site in Bulgaria. The focus was on winter and summer crop mapping with three to five classes. For classification, single- and multi-date spectral data were used as well as NDVI time series. Our results demonstrate that crop identification using 100 m PROBA-V data performed significantly better in all experiments compared to the PROBA-V 300 m data. PROBA-V multispectral imagery, acquired in spring (March) was the most appropriate for winter crop identification, while satellite data acquired in summer (July) was superior for summer crop identification. The classification accuracy from PROBA-V 100 m compared to PROBA-V 300 m was improved by 5.8% to 14.8% depending on crop type. Stacked multi-date satellite images with three to four images gave overall classification accuracies of 74%–77% (PROBA-V 100 m data) and 66%–70% (PROBA-V 300 m data) with four classes (wheat, rapeseed, maize, and sunflower). This demonstrates that three to four image acquisitions, well distributed over the growing season, capture most of the spectral and temporal variability in our test site. Regarding the PROBA-V NDVI time series, useful results were only obtained if crops were grouped into two broader crop type classes (summer and winter crops). Mapping accuracies decreased significantly when mapping more classes. Again, a positive impact of the increased spatial resolution was noted. Together, the findings demonstrate the positive effect of the 100 m resolution PROBA-V data compared to the 300 m for crop mapping. This has important implications for future data provision and strengthens the arguments for a second generation of this mission originally designed solely as a “gap-filler mission”.
Isolation of active mitochondria from tomato fruit.

An improved method for isolating mitochondria from tomato fruit (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) is described. The fruit is chilled, and the tissue of the fruit wall cut by hand into very thin slices with a razor blade while immersed in a buffer containing 0.4 m sucrose, 2 mm MgCl(2), 8 mm EDTA, 4 mm cysteine, 10 mm KCl, 0.5 mg per ml bovine serum albumin 50 mm tris-HCl, pH 7.6. The pH is monitored and kept within the range of 7.0 to 7.2 by dropwise addition of 1 n KOH during cutting. The tissue is strained through 8 layers of cheesecloth and centrifuged at 2000 x g for 15 minutes. The supernatant is then centrifuged at 11,000 x g for 20 minutes, and the sediment is washed once with a medium containing 0.4 m sucrose, 10 mm KCl, 1 mm MgCl(2), 10 mm tris-HCl, 10 mm KH(2)PO(4) and bovine serum albumin (0.5 mg per ml), pH 7.2. Electron microscope studies show that this method gives homogeneous, relatively intact mitochondria; they have a higher respiratory control ratio than those reported by other workers. The method was also tested successfully on fruits of cantaloupe and ;Honey Dew' melon.
Contrast Staining on CT after DSA in Ischemic Stroke Patients Progresses to Infarction and Rarely Hemorrhages

Contrast staining of brain parenchyma identified on non-contrast CT performed after DSA in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is an incompletely understood imaging finding. We hypothesize contrast staining to be an indicator of brain injury and suspect the fate of involved parenchyma to be cerebral infarction. Seventeen years of AIS data were retrospectively analyzed for contrast staining. Charts were reviewed and outcomes of the stained parenchyma were identified on subsequent CT and MRI. Thirty-six of 67 patients meeting inclusion criteria (53.7%) had contrast staining on CT obtained within 72 hours after DSA. Brain parenchyma with contrast staining in patients with AIS most often evolved into cerebral infarction (81%). Hemorrhagic transformation was less likely in cases with staining compared with hemorrhagic transformation in the cohort that did not have contrast staining of the parenchyma on post DSA CT (6% versus 25%, respectively, OR 0.17, 95% CI 0.017–0.98, p = 0.02). Brain parenchyma with contrast staining on CT after DSA in AIS patients was likely to infarct and unlikely to hemorrhage.
On the Submodularity of Influence in Social Networks

We prove and extend a conjecture of Kempe, Kleinberg, and Tardos (KKT) on the spread of influence in social networks. A social network can be represented by a directed graph where the nodes are individuals and the edges indicate a form of social relationship. A simple way to model the diffusion of ideas, innovative behavior, or ``word-of-mouth'' effects on such a graph is to consider an increasing process of ``infected'' (or active) nodes: each node becomes infected once an activation function of the set of its infected neighbors crosses a certain threshold value. Such a model was introduced by KKT in \cite{KeKlTa:03,KeKlTa:05} where the authors also impose several natural assumptions: the threshold values are (uniformly) random; and the activation functions are monotone and submodular. For an initial set of active nodes $S$, let $\sigma(S)$ denote the expected number of active nodes at termination. Here we prove a conjecture of KKT: we show that the function $\sigma(S)$ is submodular under the assumptions above. We prove the same result for the expected value of any monotone, submodular function of the set of active nodes at termination.
Temporal Alterations in the Secretome of the Selective Ligninolytic Fungus Ceriporiopsis subvermispora during Growth on Aspen Wood Reveal This Organism's Strategy for Degrading Lignocellulose

ABSTRACT The white-rot basidiomycetes efficiently degrade all wood cell wall polymers. Generally, these fungi simultaneously degrade cellulose and lignin, but certain organisms, such as Ceriporiopsis subvermispora, selectively remove lignin in advance of cellulose degradation. However, relatively little is known about the mechanism of selective ligninolysis. To address this issue, C. subvermispora was grown in liquid medium containing ball-milled aspen, and nano-liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was used to identify and estimate extracellular protein abundance over time. Several manganese peroxidases and an aryl alcohol oxidase, both associated with lignin degradation, were identified after 3 days of incubation. A glycoside hydrolase (GH) family 51 arabinofuranosidase was also identified after 3 days but then successively decreased in later samples. Several enzymes related to cellulose and xylan degradation, such as GH10 endoxylanase, GH5_5 endoglucanase, and GH7 cellobiohydrolase, were detected after 5 days. Peptides corresponding to potential cellulose-degrading enzymes GH12, GH45, lytic polysaccharide monooxygenase, and cellobiose dehydrogenase were most abundant after 7 days. This sequential production of enzymes provides a mechanism consistent with selective ligninolysis by C. subvermispora.