Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of SnO 2 Addition on Electrical Degradation Characteristics of ZnO Varistors

The effects of SnO 2 additon on the electrical degradation characteristics of Bi 2 O 3 -MnO 2 -Co 3 O 4 -added ZnO varistors were investigated by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy dispersion X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), voltage-current ( V-I ) characteristics, and capacitance-voltage ( C-V ) characteristics. The microstructure containing both twins of ZnO and Zn 2 SnO 4 -type spinel particles was observed at the grain boundary similar to Bi-Mn-Co-Sb 2 O 3 -added ZnO varistors. Spinel particles began to appear by the addition of SnO 2 over approximately 0.5mol%. Before electrical degradation, value of nonlinearity index α of V-I characteristic for Bi-Mn-Co-SnO 2 -added samples was approximately 50 and varistor voltage was 120~140V/mm. Varistor voltage increased with increasing the amount of SnO 2 . Value of α after the electrical degradation showed local maximum at approximately 0.1mol% with the increase of the amount of SnO 2 and then showed local minimum at approximately 0.5mol% similar to the relative integral intensity of XRD diffraction peak for (004) plane at small amount of SnO 2 . It is suggested that the diffusion of oxygen ions through the grain boundary is affected by the change of crystal orientation of ZnO grains at the grain boundary by addition of small amount of SnO 2 . It is found that the increase of the varistor voltage by addition of SnO 2 is due to the increase of the barrier height of Schottky barriers.
Critical Review of High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein and Coronary Artery Calcium for the Guidance of Statin Allocation: Head-to-Head Comparison of the JUPITER and St. Francis Heart Trials

Statins have been shown to be effective in primary prevention even among patients at low cardiovascular risk.1 However, statins are associated with moderate medical costs and have potential side effects.2 As a result, various biomarkers have been proposed for use in a tailored treatment strategy aimed at decreasing the number needed to treat (NNT), increasing the number needed to harm, and maximizing the cost-effectiveness of statin therapy. High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and coronary artery calcium (CAC) are the leading novel markers of cardiovascular risk and are most commonly suggested for use in a tailored treatment approach. Despite the theoretical benefits of these 2 biomarkers, there has been a dearth of definitive randomized trials specifically designed to test the efficacy of these, or any, novel biomarker for statin allocation. To date, only 2 randomized control trials have explored the potential use of these tests in improving outcomes with statin therapy: hsCRP in the Justification for the Use of Statins in Prevention: an Intervention Trial Evaluating Rosuvastatin (JUPITER) trial2a and CAC in the St. Francis Heart trial (Table). 2b View this table: Table. Systematic Comparison of the JUPITER and the St. Francis Heart Trials In this article, we perform a comprehensive review of these trials from several different viewpoints: study rationale, study design, funding source, study population, pharmacological intervention, overall trial result, and overall trial interpretation. Our goal is to critically assess the level of evidence that these 2 randomized control trials provide, to suggest additional secondary analyses of the existing trial data, and to lay out a framework for performing true biomarker randomized control trials in the future. ### JUPITER Trial hsCRP is an acute phase inflammatory protein shown to predict the likelihood of future cardiovascular events regardless of baseline Framingham risk score, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) level, or presence of metabolic syndrome.5, …
Cigarette Litter: Smokers’ Attitudes and Behaviors

Cigarette butts are consistently the most collected items in litter clean-up efforts, which are a costly burden to local economies. In addition, tobacco waste may be detrimental to our natural environment. The tobacco industry has conducted or funded numerous studies on smokers’ littering knowledge and behavior, however, non-industry sponsored research is rare. We sought to examine whether demographics and smokers’ knowledge and beliefs toward cigarette waste as litter predicts littering behavior. Smokers aged 18 and older (n = 1,000) were interviewed about their knowledge and beliefs towards cigarette waste as litter. Respondents were members of the Research Now panel, an online panel of over three million respondents in the United States. Multivariate logistic regressions were conducted to determine factors significantly predictive of ever having littered cigarette butts or having littered cigarette butts within the past month (p-value < 0.05). The majority (74.1%) of smokers reported having littered cigarette butts at least once in their life, by disposing of them on the ground or throwing them out of a car window. Over half (55.7%) reported disposing of cigarette butts on the ground, in a sewer/gutter, or down a drain in the past month. Those who did not consider cigarette butts to be litter were over three and half times as likely to report having ever littered cigarette butts (OR = 3.68, 95%CI = 2.04, 6.66) and four times as likely to have littered cigarette butts in the past month (OR = 4.00, 95%CI = 2.53, 6.32). Males were significantly more likely to have littered cigarette butts in the past month compared to females (OR = 1.49, 95%CI = 1.14, 1.94). Holding the belief that cigarette butts are not litter was the only belief in this study that predicted ever or past-month littering of cigarette waste. Messages in anti-cigarette-litter campaigns should emphasize that cigarette butts are not just litter but are toxic waste and are harmful when disposed of improperly.
The Morse lemma for Banach spaces

REMARK. The above theorem is a classical result of Marston Morse in the case that V is finite dimensional and was generalized by the author to the case that F is a Hubert space [ l ] , [3]. The latter proof makes use of operator theory in Hubert space and does not extend in any obvious way to more general Banach spaces. The proof we give below is completely elementary and works for arbitrary V of course. Recent developments in the calculus of variations from a Banach manifold point of view (see for example [4]) make it desirable to have the theorem in this degree of generality. The technique behind our proof was pioneered by J. Moser in a somewhat different and finite dimensional setting [2]. The present paper was inspired by a recent result of A. Weinstein [5] where Moser's method is adapted to the Banach manifold setting. Put ƒ = / i and define f°: 0->2? by f°(x)=%(Df)0(x, x). Define f: 6-+R 0 ^ / ^ l by / l = / ° + / ( f 1 / 0 ) and note that (f, x)*-+f'(x) is a C map of IX0-+R. Note also that if we define/ ' : 6-+R by f(x) = d/dt\ t-t9f*(x) then clearly ƒ * = ƒ * ƒ °. Moser's trick, suitably adapted, is to look for a smooth oneparameter family <j>t of C k local diffeomorphisms, defined in a neighborhood U of 0, with <f>o the identity, such that ƒ ' o <t>t =f° in U. This, of course, gives the theorem by taking 0 = # i , since f=f. On its face we seem to have replaced our problem by a harder one; however, the nonlinear equation ƒ' o <j>t =f° for (f>t is equivalent to d/dt(f l o <f>t) = 0 which, as we shall see, is in turn equivalent to DpiX*) — —f*, where X is the time dependent vector field generating 4>t. The latter is a linear equation for X which can be solved explicitly. Suppose then that X, O ^ / ^ l is a C time dependent vector field on 0 (i.e. (t, x)*->Xx is a C k map of IXQ->V) with X'0 = 0 and (DX*)0 = 0. Let fr-*<l>t(x) be the maximum integral curve of X starting at
Sketching shiny surfaces: 3D shape extraction and depiction of specular surfaces

Many materials including water, plastic, and metal have specular surface characteristics. Specular reflections have commonly been considered a nuisance for the recovery of object shape. However, the way that reflections are distorted across the surface depends crucially on 3D curvature, suggesting that they could, in fact, be a useful source of information. Indeed, observers can have a vivid impression of, 3D shape when an object is perfectly mirrored (i.e., the image contains nothing but specular reflections). This leads to the question what are the underlying mechanisms of our visual system to extract this 3D shape information from a perfectly mirrored object. In this paper we propose a biologically motivated recurrent model for the extraction of visual features relevant for the perception of 3D shape information from images of mirrored objects. We qualitatively and quantitatively analyze the results of computational model simulations and show that bidirectional recurrent information processing leads to better results than pure feedforward processing. Furthermore, we utilize the model output to create a rough nonphotorealistic sketch representation of a mirrored object, which emphasizes image features that are mandatory for 3D shape perception (e.g., occluding contour and regions of high curvature). Moreover, this sketch illustrates that the model generates a representation of object features independent of the surrounding scene reflected in the mirrored object.
Structure/Function Analysis of a Type III Polyketide Synthase in the Brown Alga Ectocarpus siliculosus Reveals a Biochemical Pathway in Phlorotannin Monomer Biosynthesis[W]

This study advances our understanding of the contribution of type III polyketide synthase (PKS) in phlorotannin biosynthesis of the marine brown algae Ectocarpus. It provides structural insights into the specificity of PKS1 for phloroglucinol formation. The evolution of the type III PKS gene family in Stramenopiles also suggests a lateral gene transfer event from an actinobacterium. Brown algal phlorotannins are structural analogs of condensed tannins in terrestrial plants and, like plant phenols, they have numerous biological functions. Despite their importance in brown algae, phlorotannin biosynthetic pathways have been poorly characterized at the molecular level. We found that a predicted type III polyketide synthase in the genome of the brown alga Ectocarpus siliculosus, PKS1, catalyzes a major step in the biosynthetic pathway of phlorotannins (i.e., the synthesis of phloroglucinol monomers from malonyl-CoA). The crystal structure of PKS1 at 2.85-Å resolution provided a good quality electron density map showing a modified Cys residue, likely connected to a long chain acyl group. An additional pocket not found in other known type III PKSs contains a reaction product that might correspond to a phloroglucinol precursor. In vivo, we also found a positive correlation between the phloroglucinol content and the PKS III gene expression level in cells of a strain of Ectocarpus adapted to freshwater during its reacclimation to seawater. The evolution of the type III PKS gene family in Stramenopiles suggests a lateral gene transfer event from an actinobacterium.
Enhancement of the intensity, persistence, and passive transfer of delayed-type hypersensitivity lesions by pertussigen in mice

Pertussigen, a purified protein from Bordetella pertussis, was shown to increase delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) to protein antigens in mice. First, it caused an approximately twofold enhancement of the magnitude of 24-h DTH reactions. Second, the peak magnitude of DTH was delayed to 4-7 d after challenge, at which time it was five times more intense than in mice not receiving pertussigen. This reaction was antigen specific, and histologically was characterized by a dense mononuclear infiltrate. Third, pertussigen prolonged DTH so that it was still detectable 3-6 wk after challenge. The effect of pertussigen was seen only in antigen-driven reactions and was time and dose dependent, with 400 ng given 3 d after immunization resulting in the most prolonged reaction. The administration of pertussigen to the recipients of sensitized lymph node cells resulted in DTH that was more intense and prolonged than the reactions in control mice. Administration of pertussigen provides a model of prolonged and enhanced T cell-dependent inflammatory responses.
Drawing graphs nicely using simulated annealing

The paradigm of simulated annealing is applied to the problem of drawing graphs “nicely. ” Our algorithm deals with general undirected graphs with straight-line edges, and employs several simple criteria for the aesthetic quality of the result. The algorithm is flexible, in that the relative weights of the criteria can be changed. For graphs of modest size it produces good results, competitive with those produced by other methods, notably, the “spring method” and its variants.
The Hamiltonian cycle and Hamiltonian paths passing through prescribed edges in a star graph with faulty edges ∗

Let Fe be the set of faulty edges of Sn and E0 be the edge set of some pairwise vertex-disjoint paths of Sn. All edges of E0 lie on a Hamiltonian cycle of Sn−Fe, if |Fe| ≤ n−3, |E0| ≤ 2n−5−2|Fe| and lie on a Hamiltonian path P (u, v) where d(u, v) is odd, |Fe| ≤ n− 3, |E0| ≤ 2n− 7− 2|Fe| .
The ecological limits of hydrologic alteration (ELOHA): a new framework for developing regional environmental flow standards

SUMMARY 1. The flow regime is a primary determinant of the structure and function of aquatic and riparian ecosystems for streams and rivers. Hydrologic alteration has impaired riverine ecosystems on a global scale, and the pace and intensity of human development greatly exceeds the ability of scientists to assess the effects on a river-by-river basis. Current scientific understanding of hydrologic controls on riverine ecosystems and experience gained from individual river studies support development of environmental flow standards at the regional scale. 2. This paper presents a consensus view from a group of international scientists on a new framework for assessing environmental flow needs for many streams and rivers simultaneously to foster development and implementation of environmental flow standards at the regional scale. This framework, the ecological limits of hydrologic alteration (ELOHA), is a synthesis of a number of existing hydrologic techniques and environmental flow methods that are currently being used to various degrees and that can support comprehensive regional flow management. The flexible approach allows
Regression-Based Human Motion Capture From Voxel Data

A regression based method is proposed to recover human body pose from 3D voxel data. In order to do this we need to convert the voxel data into a feature vector. This is done using a Bayesian approach based on Mixture of Probabilistic PCA that transforms a collection of 3D shape context descriptors, extracted from the voxels, to a compact feature vector. For the regression, the newly-proposed Multi-Variate Relevance Vector Machine is explored to learn a single mapping from this feature vector to a low-dimensional representation of full body pose. We demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of our method with experiments on both synthetic data and real sequences.
Semi-automatic tracking for mitral annulus dynamic analysis using real-time 3D echocardiography

Tissue Doppler is used to evaluate mitral annulus (MA) dynamics. This technique has two major limitations: it is two-dimensional and angle-dependent. To solve these limitations, our aim was to develop and test a tool for automated 3D tracking and quantification of the MA motion throughout the cardiac cycle by using real-time 3D echocardiography (RT3DE). The tracking algorithm was developed using a combination of two optical flow techniques in the 3D space. Transthoracic RT3DE imaging was performed in 45 subjects, including 15 normal subjects (NL) and 30 patients with mitral regurgitation (MR) due to dilated (n=15, DCM- MR) or ischemic (n=15, ISC-MR) cardiomyopathy. Our technique allowed the evaluation of MA geometry and the quantification of MA function parameters from RT3DE images, which were able to discriminate between NL, DCM-MR and ISC-MR subjects.
Mesquite Gum as a Novel Reducing and Stabilizing Agent for Modified Tollens Synthesis of Highly Concentrated Ag Nanoparticles

The synthesis that is described in this study is for the preparation of silver nanoparticles of sizes ranging from 10 nm to 30 nm with a defined shape (globular), confirmed by UV-vis, SEM, STEM and DLS analysis. This simple and favorable one-step modified Tollens reaction does not require any special equipment or other stabilizing or reducing agent except for a solution of purified mesquite gum, and it produces aqueous colloidal dispersions of silver nanoparticles with a stability that exceeds three months, a relatively narrow size distribution, a low tendency to aggregate and a yield of at least 95% for all cases. Reaction times are between 15 min and 60 min to obtain silver nanoparticles in concentrations ranging from 0.1 g to 3 g of Ag per 100 g of reaction mixture. The proposed synthetic method presents a high potential for scale-up, since its production capacity is rather high and the methodology is simple.
Two-Phase Decision Fusion Based On User Preference ∗

In order to prevent information overload on the Web, people sometimes rely on critics’ evaluations to narrow down their search for favorite objects. However, due to the subjectivity of humans’ perception, the set of favorite objects varies from one person to the other. This is because each object can be reviewed using different criteria, and different people have different reliance on the same set of criteria and/or critics. Therefore, the task of fusing the decisions of different critics considering the users’ preferences is challenging. To address this challenge, we introduce a new concept, termed two-phase decision fusion, where both critics and criteria evaluations are considered in order to personalize a search. In each phase, we utilize various decision fusion operators and investigate their interplay. We conducted several empirical experiments within the context of two real-world application domains. Our experimental results indicate that the behaviors of the various decision fusion methods stay consistent across the two different application domains.
Undergraduate Science Research: A Comparison of Influences and Experiences between Premed and Non–Premed Students

Most students participating in science undergraduate research (UR) plan to attend either medical school or graduate school. This study examines possible differences between premed and non–premed students in their influences to do research and expectations of research. Questionnaire responses from 55 premed students and 80 non–premed students were analyzed. No differences existed in the expectations of research between the two groups, but attitudes toward science and intrinsic motivation to learn more about science were significantly higher for non–premed students. Follow-up interviews with 11 of the students, including a case study with one premed student, provided explanation for the observed differences. Premed students, while not motivated to learn more about science, were motivated to help people, which is why most of them are pursuing medicine. They viewed research as a way to help them become doctors and to rule out the possibility of research as a career. Non–premed students participated in research to learn more about a specific science topic and gain experience that may be helpful in graduate school research. The difference in the reasons students want to do UR may be used to tailor UR experiences for students planning to go to graduate school or medical school.
An operational semantics for C/C++11 concurrency

The C/C++11 concurrency model balances two goals: it is relaxed enough to be efficiently implementable and (leaving aside the ``thin-air'' problem) it is strong enough to give useful guarantees to programmers. It is mathematically precise and has been used in verification research and compiler testing. However, the model is expressed in an axiomatic style, as predicates on complete candidate executions. This suffices for computing the set of allowed executions of a small litmus test, but it does not directly support the incremental construction of executions of larger programs. It is also at odds with conventional operational semantics, as used implicitly in the rest of the C/C++ standards. Our main contribution is the development of an operational model for C/C++11 concurrency. This covers all the features of the previous formalised axiomatic model, and we have a mechanised proof that the two are equivalent, in Isabelle/HOL. We also integrate this semantics with an operational semantics for sequential C (described elsewhere); the combined semantics can incrementally execute programs in a small fragment of C. Doing this uncovered several new aspects of the C/C++11 model: we show that one cannot build an equivalent operational model that simply follows program order, sequential consistent order, or the synchronises-with order. The first negative result is forced by hardware-observable behaviour, but the latter two are not, and so might be ameliorated by changing C/C++11. More generally, we hope that this work, with its focus on incremental construction of executions, will inform the future design of new concurrency models.
A new polyinstantiation integrity constraint for multilevel relations

A new polyinstantiation integrity constraint for multilevel relations based on the intuitive idea that every entity in a relation can have at most one tuple for every access class is proposed. The consequences of this property and some of its variations are discussed. A core set of properties which should apply to all relations is identified. These are entity integrity, interinstance integrity, subsumption integrity, and polyinstantiation integrity in the sense of PI-FD. Specific models impose additional polyinstantiation constraints. Oakland requires PI-null, Sea View requires PI-MVD, and the new Franconia model requires PI-Tuple-class. Each of these properties appears likely to arise often enough in practice to justify DBMS (database management system) support for its enforcement on a relation-by-relation basis. <<ETX>>
TP 53 Mutations in Human Cancers : Origins , Consequences , and Clinical Use

Somatic mutations in the TP53 gene are one of the most frequent alterations in human cancers, and germline mutations are the underlying cause of Li-Fraumeni syndrome, which predisposes to a wide spectrum of early-onset cancers. Most mutations are single-base substitutions distributed throughout the coding sequence. Their diverse types and positions may inform on the nature of mutagenic mechanisms involved in cancer etiology. TP53 mutations are also potential prognostic and predictive markers, as well as targets for pharmacological intervention. All mutations found in human cancers are compiled in the IARC TP53 Database (http://www-p53.iarc.fr/). A human TP53 knockin mouse model (Hupki mouse) provides an experimental model to study mutagenesis in the context of a human TP53 sequence. Here, we summarize current knowledge on TP53 gene variations observed in human cancers and populations, and current clinical applications derived from this knowledge.