Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Surface Roughness and Light Scattering in a Small Effective Area Microstructured Fiber

We report here the combined study of air/silica surface roughness and light scattering in a microstructured optical fiber designed for non-linear operation. Side polishing of the fiber gave access to the surface of the holes, and allowed measurements of their roughness by atomic force microscopy. The observed roughness topography, not reported in such fibers until now, consists of a rather regular arrangement of shallow patterns with lateral size in the micron range and amplitude in the 10 nm range. By comparing measured angle-resolved scattering patterns to coupled-mode calculations, we show that roughness-induced scattering loss can be linked to both the roughness and the overlap of fundamental with radiative modes at the air/silica interfaces. The reduction of surface roughness amplitude down to the thermodynamic limit could permit to strongly decrease the threshold of Raman fiber lasers.
Authoritative Citation KNN Learning with Noisy Training Datasets

In this paper, we investigate the effectiveness of Citation K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN) learning with noisy training datasets. We devise an authority measure associated with each training instance that changes based on the outcome of Citation KNN classification. The authority is increased when a citer’s classification had been right; and vice versa. We show that by modifying only these authority measures, the classification accuracy of Citation KNN improves significantly in a variety of datasets with different noise levels. We also identify the general characteristics of a dataset that affect the improvement percentages. We conclude that the new algorithm is able to regulate the roles of good and noisy training instances using a very simple authority measure to improve classification.
Divergent selection and heterogeneous migration rates across the range of Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis)

Gene flow and effective population size (Ne) should depend on a population's position within its range: those near the edges are expected to have smaller Ne and lower relative emigration rates, whereas those nearer the centre should have larger Ne and higher relative emigration rates. In species with continuous ranges, this phenomenon may limit the ability of peripheral populations to respond to divergent selection. Here, we employ Sitka spruce as a model to test these predictions. We previously genotyped 339 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 410 individuals from 13 populations, and used these data to identify putative targets of divergent selection, as well as to explore the extent to which central–peripheral structure may impede adaptation. Fourteen SNPs had outlier FST estimates suggestive of divergent selection, of which nine were previously associated with phenotypic variation in adaptive traits (timing of autumn budset and cold hardiness). Using coalescent simulations, we show that populations from near the centre of the range have higher effective populations sizes than those from the edges, and that central populations contribute more migrants to marginal populations than the reverse. Our results suggest that while divergent selection appears to have shaped allele frequencies among populations, asymmetrical movement of alleles from the centre to the edges of the species range may affect the adaptive capacity of peripheral populations. In southern peripheral populations, the movement of cold-adapted alleles from the north represents a significant impediment to adaptation under climate change, while in the north, movement of warm-adapted alleles from the south may enhance adaptation.
Aluminum-Silicon Casting Alloys: Atlas of Microfractographs

This atlas provides an in-depth understanding of the metallurgy and fracture behavior of aluminum-silicon casting alloys, which are used in a wide variety of automotive, aerospace, and consumer product applications. The atlas includes over 300 high-definition microfractographs of fracture profiles and fracture surfaces, accompanied with detailed descriptions and analysis of the fracture features and their significance in the selection, processing, properties, and performance of the alloy. The microfractographs are described and classified according to criteria described in detail in the introductory chapters in the book. The factors determining the fracture mechanism in these alloys, on the basis of their physical and mechanical properties and fracture mechanics, are described and analyzed. The set of micrographs in this atlas include several unique features: classification according to the alloy and its processing history, detailed analysis of selected microregions of the fracture surface, reference of the fracture features to the phase constituents of the alloy, and high resolution and high microscopic magnification of the SEM images. This book will be of great value to anyone involved in the selection, processing, application, testing, or evaluation of aluminum-silicon castings. The target audience includes metallurgists, foundry personnel, failure analysts, purchasers of castings, researchers in physical and mechanical metallurgy, students, and educators.
Delayed Central Nervous System Myelination in the Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

This study was designed to assess whether development of the central nervous system (CNS) is delayed in victims of the sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). We selected the parameter of myelination because it is a continuously changing and readily accessible marker of CNS development in the SIDS age-range. We assessed myelination blindly in 61 SIDS and 89 autopsy controls. In 62 sites the degree of myelination was visually graded in myelin-stained histological sections on an ordinal scale of 0-4 using the inferior cerebellar peduncle as an internal standard of degree 3. Cases were stratified by postconceptional age at death and SIDS and controls were compared with respect to myelin degree at each site. Significantly delayed myelination (p < 0.05) occurred in the SIDS group in 25 of the 62 sites examined. Hypomyelination affected fiber systems in which myelination is initiated before or after birth and which myelinate with different tempos and preferentially affect pyramidal and cerebellar (somatomotor) and prefrontal-temporal-limbic (visceromotor) systems. Hypomyelination was not associated with individual clinicopathologic variables in the SIDS group. Somatic growth and brain weight were significantly greater in SIDS than controls. Therefore, we suggest that SIDS is associated with a developmental CNS disorder. Although delayed CNS myelination most likely shares a common antecedent with sudden death and is not its cause, the role of somato- and visceromotor systems in central cardiorespiratory control and arousal warrants further analysis in SIDS.
An Effective Decap Insertion Method Considering Power Supply Noise during Floorplanning

As VLSI technology enters the nanometer era, the supply voltage is continually dropped. This condition helps to reduce the power dissipation, but make the power integrity problem become worse. Employing decoupling capacitances (decap) at floorplan stage has been a common approach to alleviate the supply noise problem. However, the decap budget is often overly estimated in previous researches. Besides the decap budget computation, the available floorplan space does not fully used in previous works. In one floorplan, it usually has many available spaces except the empty space that could be used to insert the decap without increasing the floorplan area. Therefore, our goal in this work is to develop a better model to calculate the required decap to solve the power supply noise problem of area-array based designs and to increase he usage of the available space in the floorplan to reduce the area overhead caused by decap insertion. The experimental results are encouraging. Compared with other approaches, our algorithm can reduce 52.6% decap budget on the MCNC benchmarks but still keep the power supply noise in the given constraint. The final floorplan areas with decap are also less than the numbers reported in previous papers.
A Simulation-Based Experience in Learning Structures of Bayesian Networks to Represent How Students Learn Composite Concepts

Composite concepts result from the integration of multiple basic concepts by students to form highlevel knowledge, so information about how students learn composite concepts can be used by instructors to facilitate students' learning, and the ways in which computational techniques can assist the study of the integration process are therefore intriguing for learning, cognition, and computer scientists. We provide an exploration of this problem using heuristic methods, search methods, and machine-learning techniques, while employing Bayesian networks as the language for representing the student models. Given experts' expectation about students and simulated students' responses to test items that were designed for the concepts, we try to find the Bayesian-network structure that best represents how students learn the composite concept of interest. The experiments were conducted with only simulated students. The accuracy achieved by the proposed classification methods spread over a wide range, depending on the quality of collected input evidence. We discuss the experimental procedures, compare the experimental results observed in certain experiments, provide two ways to analyse the influences of Q-matrices on the experimental results, and we hope that this simulation-based experience may contribute to the endeavours in mapping the human learning process.
An Army of Me: Sockpuppets in Online Discussion Communities

In online discussion communities, users can interact and share information and opinions on a wide variety of topics. However, some users may create multiple identities, or sockpuppets, and engage in undesired behavior by deceiving others or manipulating discussions. In this work, we study sockpuppetry across nine discussion communities, and show that sockpuppets differ from ordinary users in terms of their posting behavior, linguistic traits, as well as social network structure. Sockpuppets tend to start fewer discussions, write shorter posts, use more personal pronouns such as ``I'', and have more clustered ego-networks. Further, pairs of sockpuppets controlled by the same individual are more likely to interact on the same discussion at the same time than pairs of ordinary users. Our analysis suggests a taxonomy of deceptive behavior in discussion communities. Pairs of sockpuppets can vary in their deceptiveness, i.e., whether they pretend to be different users, or their supportiveness, i.e., if they support arguments of other sockpuppets controlled by the same user. We apply these findings to a series of prediction tasks, notably, to identify whether a pair of accounts belongs to the same underlying user or not. Altogether, this work presents a data-driven view of deception in online discussion communities and paves the way towards the automatic detection of sockpuppets.
Finite Element Analysis of Eustachian Tube Function in Cleft Palate Infants Based on Histological Reconstructions

Introduction The prevalence of otitis media with effusion approaches 100% in infants with cleft palate (CP), and disease pathogenesis is believed to be caused by eustachian tube (ET) dysfunction. Objectives Quantify the functional consequences of ET anatomy in infant CP specimens, and identify the relative importance of various tissue biomechanical properties on ET function in infants with CP. Methods Finite element models of ET anatomy and physiology were developed by using image analysis and three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction techniques. Models were developed using histological images of ET structures obtained from five infant CP specimens. The models were parameterized, and the effects of varying model parameters, which included tensor veli palatini and levator veli palatini force, ET cartilage, periluminal mucosal compliance, and hamular position on resistance to airflow through the tubal lumen, were determined. Results Of the evaluated parameters, only applied tensor veli palatini muscle force and compliance of the periluminal mucosa and cartilage tissues were significant predictors of resistance to airflow through the ET during muscle-assisted opening. Conclusions Finite element models of ET function in the CP infant identified tensor veli palatini muscle force as a direct predictor and mucosal/cartilage compliance as an indirect predictor of ET opening during muscle-assisted lumen dilations. Hamular position and levator veli palatini force were not found to have an effect on ET function in CP infants.
Deploying Non-Functional Aspects by Contract

This paper presents an approach to describe, deploy and manage component-based applications having dynamic functional and non-functional requirements, which include different types of QoS. The approach is centered on an ADL that allows functional and non-functional requirements to be described by high-level textual contracts. The meta information extracted from the software architecture description is used to guide configuration adaptations required to enforce the ruling contract. The infrastructure required to automatically manage these contracts follows a standard architectural pattern, which can be directly mapped to specific components included in a supporting middleware. This allows designers to write a contract and to follow a standard recipe to insert the extra code required to its enforcement in the supporting middleware. Also, the component configuration capability provided by the middleware helps to put in practice adaptations defined by a contract. Examples demonstrate how the approach and the associated middleware can be used to configure and to support applications with adaptive QoS requirements.
Genetic susceptibility to Hodgkin's disease and secondary neoplasias: FISH analysis reveals patients at high risk of developing secondary neoplasia.

BACKGROUND Cytotoxic drugs administered before high-dose therapy (HDT) represent a significant factor in the development of leukemic complications in patients with lymphoid malignancies. This retrospective study was used to detect evidence of abnormal therapy-related myelodysplasia/secondary acute myeloid leukaemia (tMDS/sAML) clones before HDT in a subset of patients who subsequently developed secondary neoplasia. PATIENTS AND METHODS 230 patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) underwent HDT comprising cyclophosphamide and total body irradiation (TBI) with autologous hematopoietic progenitor-cell support. Thirty-three patients have developed tMDS/sAML and 20 of these were screened for the presence of emerging therapy-related abnormalities before HDT. A further 24 patients without evidence of secondary neoplasia were screened using fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH). RESULTS Significant levels of abnormal cells were identified in 20/20 patients screened who have developed secondary neoplasia compared with only three of 24 patients in the HDT control group who have not. The latter three patients have since died. CONCLUSIONS The triple FISH assay was developed to detect loss of chromosomal material from 5q31, 7q22 and 13q14. It can potentially identify those patients at risk of alkylating agent-induced leukaemia before they proceed to HDT. Used in a prospective manner, the triple FISH assay could permit more informed clinical management.
Summary of the DREAM8 Parameter Estimation Challenge: Toward Parameter Identification for Whole-Cell Models

Whole-cell models that explicitly represent all cellular components at the molecular level have the potential to predict phenotype from genotype. However, even for simple bacteria, whole-cell models will contain thousands of parameters, many of which are poorly characterized or unknown. New algorithms are needed to estimate these parameters and enable researchers to build increasingly comprehensive models. We organized the Dialogue for Reverse Engineering Assessments and Methods (DREAM) 8 Whole-Cell Parameter Estimation Challenge to develop new parameter estimation algorithms for whole-cell models. We asked participants to identify a subset of parameters of a whole-cell model given the model’s structure and in silico “experimental” data. Here we describe the challenge, the best performing methods, and new insights into the identifiability of whole-cell models. We also describe several valuable lessons we learned toward improving future challenges. Going forward, we believe that collaborative efforts supported by inexpensive cloud computing have the potential to solve whole-cell model parameter estimation.
Signal transduction by bFGF, but not TGFβ1, involves arachidonic acid metabolism in endothelial cells

We investigated the stimulation of early cellular events resulting from the interaction of the growth factor basic FGF (bFGF) and of the growth inhibitor transforming growth factor beta‐type 1 (TGFβ1), with their specific receptors on bovine endothelial cells. At mitogenic concentrations, bFGF stimulated the rapid release of arachidonic acid and its metabolites from (3H)‐arachidonic acid labeled cells. When arachidonic acid metabolism was stimulated by addition of the calcium ionophore A23187, the effect of bFGF was amplified. Nordihydroguaïaretic acid, an inhibitor of the lipoxygenase pathway of arachidonic acid metabolism, decreased the mitogenic effect of bFGF, whereas indomethacin, an inhibitor of the cyclooxygenase pathway, was ineffective. These findings suggest that metabolism of arachidonic acid to lipoxygenase products may be necessary for the mitogenic effect of bFGF. Basic FGF did not stimulate the production of inositol phosphates from cells labelled with myo‐(2‐3H)‐inositol nor did it induce calcium mobilization, as measured by fura‐2 fluorescence, indicating that bFGF does not activate phosphoinositide specific phospholipase C in endothelial cells, but rather, that bFGF‐induced arachidonic acid metabolism is mediated by another phospholipase. TGFβ1, which inhibits basal and bFGF‐induced endothelial cell growth, had no effect on arachidonic acid matabolism and inositol phosphate formation and did not prevent bFGF‐induced arachidonic acid metabolism. These results suggest that the inhibitory action of TGFβ1 on endothelial cell growth occurs through different mechanisms.
A 4.6–5.35GHz transceiver with 38dB on-chip self-interference cancelation at 10kHz offset frequency

A 4.6-5.35GHz transceiver with active self-interference cancelation is reported. The active cancelation circuit cancels up to 38dB of TX leakage at 10kHz offset from the RX signal. It increases the interference P1dB from -25dBm to -8dBm, and RX gain by 15dB. When the transceiver is utilized in a magnetic resonance spectroscopy system, the SNR improves by 15dB. Furthermore, in addition to the traditional method of B0-sweep, for the first time, the method of frequency-sweep is demonstrated.
Making Monolingual Corpora Comparable: a Case Study of Bulgarian and Croatian

This paper describes the first steps towards the creation of a Bulgarian-Croatian comparable corpus. Its base are two newspaper subcorpora from larger reference corpora of Bulgarian and Croatian. In the beginning we rely on more extralinguistically-oriented, but methodologically cleaner parameters of similarity like: specific topics, pre-defined time span and data size. The idea of ‘ light’ and ‘ hard’ comparable corpora is introduced. At this stage we aim at producing a ‘ light’ bilingual comparable corpus. The algorithm for identifying lexical similarity and aligning linguistic units is presented, and the initial experiments are outlined.
Existence of non-spurious solutions to discrete boundary value problems

This paper investigates discrete boundary value problems (BVPs) involving secondorder difference equations and two-point boundary conditions. General theorems guaranteeing the existence and uniqueness of solutions to the discrete BVP are established. The methods involve a sufficient growth condition to yield an a priori bound on solutions to a certain family of discrete BVPs. The a priori bounds on solutions to the discrete BVP do not depend on the step-size and thus there are no “spurious” solutions. It is shown that solutions of the discrete BVP will converge to solutions of ordinary differential equations.
Differentially-Expressed Genes Associated with Faster Growth of the Pacific Abalone, Haliotis discus hannai

The Pacific abalone Haliotis discus hannai is used for commercial aquaculture in Korea. We examined the transcriptome of Pacific abalone Haliotis discus hannai siblings using NGS technology to identify genes associated with high growth rates. Pacific abalones grown for 200 days post-fertilization were divided into small-, medium-, and large-size groups with mean weights of 0.26 ± 0.09 g, 1.43 ± 0.405 g, and 5.24 ± 1.09 g, respectively. RNA isolated from the soft tissues of each group was subjected to RNA sequencing. Approximately 1%–3% of the transcripts were differentially expressed in abalones, depending on the growth rate. RT-PCR was carried out on thirty four genes selected to confirm the relative differences in expression detected by RNA sequencing. Six differentially-expressed genes were identified as associated with faster growth of the Pacific abalone. These include five up-regulated genes (including one specific to females) encoding transcripts homologous to incilarin A, perlucin, transforming growth factor-beta-induced protein immunoglobulin-heavy chain 3 (ig-h3), vitelline envelope zona pellucida domain 4, and defensin, and one down-regulated gene encoding tomoregulin in large abalones. Most of the transcripts were expressed predominantly in the hepatopancreas. The genes identified in this study will lead to development of markers for identification of high-growth-rate abalones and female abalones.
Inhibition of neutrophil elastase-induced goblet cell metaplasia by tiotropium in mice

Airway occlusion by mucus in chronic obstructive disease (COPD) is associated with a poor prognosis. We hypothesised that tiotropium has the ability to inhibit neutrophil elastase (NE)-induced goblet cell metaplasia in mice and mucin production in vitro. On days 1, 4, and 7, tiotropium or vehicle was administered to C57BL/6 mice by inhalation and they were allowed to intranasally aspirate human NE. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and lung sections were analysed on days 8, 11 and 14. The effect of late administration of tiotropium on the goblet cell metaplasia by NE aspiration was also assessed. NE-induced MUC5AC production by NCI-H292 cells was measured with ELISA. Repeated NE aspiration induced marked goblet cell metaplasia. The grading of goblet cell metaplasia, neutrophil count and eosinophil count in BALF, keratinocyte-derived chemokine level and leukotriene B4 level in BALF, and M3 receptor expression by immunohistochemistry, were lower in the tiotropium group than in the vehicle group. Late administration of tiotropium inhibited the established goblet cell metaplasia. Tiotropium inhibited NE-induced MUC5AC production. Tiotropium inhibited NE-induced goblet cell metaplasia and mucin production, probably mediated by suppression of inflammation and a direct action on epithelial cells. This result suggests that tiotropium may be useful for the treatment of mucus overproduction in COPD.