Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Simulation of delamination in composites under quasi-static and fatigue loading using cohesive zone models

Es desenvolupa una eina de disseny per lanalisi de la tolerancia al dany en composites. Leina pot predir el inici i la propagacio de fisures interlaminars. Tambe pot ser utilitzada per avaluar i planificar la necessitat de reparar o reemplacar components durant la seva vida util. El model desenvolupat pot ser utilitzat tan per simular carregues estatiques com de fatiga. El model proposat es un model de dany termodinamicament consistent que permet simular la delaminacio en composites sota carregues variables. El model es formula dins el context de la Mecanica del Dany, fent us dels models de zona cohesiva. Es presenta un metodologia per determinar els parametres del model constitutiu que permet utilitzar malles delements finits mes bastes de les que es poden usar tipicament. Finalment, el model es tambe capac de simular la delaminacio produida per carregues de fatiga.
Implicit Proactive Interference, Age, and Automatic Versus Controlled Retrieval Strategies

We assessed the extent to which implicit proactive interference results from automatic versus controlled retrieval among younger and older adults. During a study phase, targets (e.g., “ALLERGY”) either were or were not preceded by nontarget competitors (e.g., “ANALOGY”). After a filled interval, the participants were asked to complete word fragments, some of which cued studied words (e.g., “A_L__GY”). Retrieval strategies were identified by the difference in response speed between a phase containing fragments that cued only new words and a phase that included a mix of fragments cuing old and new words. Previous results were replicated: Proactive interference was found in implicit memory, and the negative effects were greater for older than for younger adults. Novel findings demonstrate two retrieval processes that contribute to interference: an automatic one that is age invariant and a controlled process that can reduce the magnitude of the automatic interference effects. The controlled process, however, is used effectively only by younger adults. This pattern of findings potentially explains age differences in susceptibility to proactive interference.
Open-Ended Coaxial Dielectric Probe Effective Penetration Depth Determination

We have performed a series of experiments, which demonstrate the effect of open-ended coaxial diameter on the depth of penetration. We used a two-layer configuration of a liquid and movable cylindrical piece of either Teflon or acrylic. The technique accurately demonstrates the depth in a sample for which a given probe diameter provides a reasonable measure of the bulk dielectric properties for a heterogeneous volume. In addition, we have developed a technique for determining the effective depth for a given probe diameter size. Using a set of simulations mimicking four 50- Ω coaxial cable diameters, we demonstrate that the penetration depth in both water and saline has a clear dependence on the probe diameter, but is remarkably uniform over frequency and with respect to the intervening liquid permittivity. Two different 50- Ω commercial probes were similarly tested and confirm these observations. This result has significant implications to a range of dielectric measurements, most notably in the area of tissue property studies.
The lncRNA H19 promotes epithelial to mesenchymal transition by functioning as miRNA sponges in colorectal cancer

Recently, the long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) H19 has been identified as an oncogenic gene in multiple cancer types and elevated expression of H19 was tightly linked to tumorigenesis and cancer progression. However, the molecular basis for this observation has not been characterized in colorectal cancer (CRC) especially during epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) progression. In our studies, H19 was characterized as a novel regulator of EMT in CRC. We found that H19 was highly expressed in mesenchymal-like cancer cells and primary CRC tissues. Stable expression of H19 significantly promotes EMT progression and accelerates in vivo and in vitro tumor growth. Furthermore, by using bioinformatics study and RNA immunoprecipitation combined with luciferase reporter assays, we demonstrated that H19 functioned as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) for miR-138 and miR-200a, antagonized their functions and led to the de-repression of their endogenous targets Vimentin, ZEB1, and ZEB2, all of which were core marker genes for mesenchymal cells. Taken together, these observations imply that the lncRNA H19 modulated the expression of multiple genes involved in EMT by acting as a competing endogenous RNA, which may build up the missing link between the regulatory miRNA network and EMT progression.
Dietary energy restriction, in part through glucocorticoid hormones, mediates the impact of 12‐O‐tetradecanoylphorbol‐13‐acetate on jun D and fra‐1 in sencar mouse epidermis

Dietary energy restriction (DER, 40% calorie reduction from fat and carbohydrate) inhibited mouse skin carcinogenesis and decreased 12‐O‐tetradecanoyl‐13‐phorbol acetate (TPA)‐induced activator protein‐1 (AP‐1):DNA binding previously. This study measured protein levels of c‐jun, jun B, jun D, c‐fos, fra‐1, and fra‐2 and examined their contribution to AP‐1:DNA binding by electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) with supershift analysis in the epidermis of control and DER Sencar mice exposed to TPA. TPA significantly increased c‐jun, jun B, c‐fos, fra‐1, and fra‐2 and decreased jun D within 3–6 h after treatment. AP‐1:DNA binding reached a maximum 2.5‐fold induction over controls 4 h after TPA treatment and antibodies to jun B, jun D, and fra‐2 in the EMSA binding reaction resulted in supershifts in both acetone‐ and TPA‐treated mice 1–6 h after treatment. The effect of corticosterone (CCS) and DER on the AP‐1 proteins and on the composition of the AP‐1:DNA complex was measured in adrenalectomized (adx) mice. DER reduced the TPA impact on jun D and enhanced the induction of fra‐1. In addition, CCS‐supplemented groups had significantly lower jun D and higher fra‐2 than adx groups and sham groups. While sham animals treated with either acetone or TPA contained jun B, jun D, and fra‐2 proteins in the AP‐1:DNA complex by supershift analysis, fra‐2 was no longer seen in adx DER animals. In summary, our study supports potential roles for jun D, jun B, and fra‐1 in the DER regulation of AP‐1 function in the Sencar mouse skin carcinogenesis model. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The timetable of evolution

An increasingly well-resolved timetable of evolution provides new challenges and opportunities for evolutionary theory. The integration of fossils, phylogeny, and geochronology has resulted in an increasingly well-resolved timetable of evolution. Life appears to have taken root before the earliest known minimally metamorphosed sedimentary rocks were deposited, but for a billion years or more, evolution played out beneath an essentially anoxic atmosphere. Oxygen concentrations in the atmosphere and surface oceans first rose in the Great Oxygenation Event (GOE) 2.4 billion years ago, and a second increase beginning in the later Neoproterozoic Era [Neoproterozoic Oxygenation Event (NOE)] established the redox profile of modern oceans. The GOE facilitated the emergence of eukaryotes, whereas the NOE is associated with large and complex multicellular organisms. Thus, the GOE and NOE are fundamental pacemakers for evolution. On the time scale of Earth’s entire 4 billion–year history, the evolutionary dynamics of the planet’s biosphere appears to be fast, and the pace of evolution is largely determined by physical changes of the planet. However, in Phanerozoic ecosystems, interactions between new functions enabled by the accumulation of characters in a complex regulatory environment and changing biological components of effective environments appear to have an important influence on the timing of evolutionary innovations. On the much shorter time scale of transient environmental perturbations, such as those associated with mass extinctions, rates of genetic accommodation may have been limiting for life.
ERK1c regulates Golgi fragmentation during mitosis

Extracellular signal‐regulated kinases (ERK) are signaling molecules that regulate a wide array of cellular processes. Recently we cloned an alternatively spliced isoform of ERK1, named ERK1c, and demonstrated that it is regulated differently from other ERKs upon various stimulations. In addition, we showed that this isoform can be found in the Golgi apparatus under distinct conditions. This led to our working hypothesis stating that ERK1c participates in the regulation of mitotic Golgi fragmentation, which is known to be mediated by MEK1 without the involvement of ERK1/2. Therefore, the Objective of the work was to study the function of ERK1c in the Golgi during mitosis. Using FACS analysis, SiRNA, and immunofluorescence technique, our results show that during late G2 phase and mitosis, ERK1c expression and activation, were increased and ERK1c translocated to the Golgi complex. ERK1c knockdown with specific SiRNA resulted in a significant attenuation of Golgi fragmentation and consequently also of mitotic progression, whereas overexpressed ERK1c facilitated these processes. Modulation of MEK1 activity during mitosis affected ERK1c activity as well as Golgi fragmentation, while changes in ERK1/2 levels did not affect these processes, suggesting that MEK1 facilitates the Golgi fragmentation specifically by ERK1c. We concluded that ERK1c is a unique MEK effector that extends the specificity of the ERK signaling cascade to regulate Golgi fragmentation. Therefore, alternatively spliced isoforms can serve as a mean for determining the specificity of the ERK cascade that is known to regulate different and even opposing cellular processes.
Substrate specificity of the deazaflavin‐dependent nitroreductase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis responsible for the bioreductive activation of bicyclic nitroimidazoles

The bicyclic 4‐nitroimidazoles PA‐824 and OPC‐67683 represent a promising novel class of therapeutics for tuberculosis and are currently in phase II clinical development. Both compounds are pro‐drugs that are reductively activated by a deazaflavin (F420) dependent nitroreductase (Ddn). Herein we describe the biochemical properties of Ddn including the optimal enzymatic turnover conditions and substrate specificity. The preference of the enzyme for the (S) isomer of PA‐824 over the (R) isomer is directed by the presence of a long hydrophobic tail. Nitroimidazo‐oxazoles bearing only short alkyl substituents at the C‐7 position of the oxazole were reduced by Ddn without any stereochemical preference. However, with bulkier substitutions on the tail of the oxazole, Ddn displayed stereospecificity. Ddn mediated metabolism of PA‐824 results in the release of reactive nitrogen species. We have employed a direct chemiluminescence based nitric oxide (NO) detection assay to measure the kinetics of NO production by Ddn. Binding affinity of PA‐824 to Ddn was monitored through intrinsic fluorescence quenching of the protein facilitating a turnover‐independent assessment of affinity. Our results indicate that (R)‐PA‐824, despite not being turned over by Ddn, binds to the enzyme with the same affinity as the active (S) isomer. This result, in combination with docking studies in the active site, suggests that the (R) isomer probably has a different binding mode than the (S) with the C‐3 of the imidazole ring orienting in a non‐productive position with respect to the incoming hydride from F420. The results presented provide insight into the biochemical mechanism of reduction and elucidate structural features important for understanding substrate binding.
Observational prospective cohort study of patients with newly-diagnosed ocular sebaceous carcinoma

Purpose To investigate the epidemiology and clinicopathological management for ocular sebaceous carcinoma (OSC) in the UK. Methods Observational prospective cohort study of patients with newly-diagnosed OSC. The British Ophthalmological Surveillance Unit captured incident cases of OSC between 2008 and 2010. Incident and 6-month follow-up questionnaires from reporting ophthalmologists captured OSC demographic and clinical data. Results Data were available on 51 patients with unilateral OSC (response rate 85%). The UK estimated annual incidence was 0.41 cases per million population (95% CI 0.31 to 0.54). Median age was 70 years (SD 14, range 28–98) with 57% women. OSC location was upper lid (54%), lower lid (20%), multicentric (14%) and caruncle (12%). Most common misdiagnoses included chalazion (42%), basal cell carcinoma (30%) and blepharoconjunctivitis (16%), with median delay in diagnosis of 10 months (SD 9, range 0.5–36). Specialist ophthalmic pathologists performed diagnostics in 62%, with pagetoid/intraepithelial spread present in 39%. Misdiagnosis of chalazion (p=0.019) and pagetoid tumour spread (p=0.016) was associated with a significant diagnostic delay (one-way ANOVA/R2). Primary surgical management involved excision with reconstruction (49%), primary exenteration (10%) and Mohs surgery (8%). There were three deaths (out of 51) during the study period; one patient died of OSC-related disease and the other two due to other causes. Conclusions This population-based prospective study confirms OSC as a rare cancer in the UK. Masquerade syndromes result in significant diagnostic delays and increase the risk of pagetoid tumour spread. There is considerable UK variation in pathological and surgical management, and ocular reconstruction and radical surgery is often required for OSC due to delayed presentation.
Microbial Biogeography of Six Salt Lakes in Inner Mongolia, China, and a Salt Lake in Argentina

ABSTRACT We used cultivation-independent methods to investigate the prokaryotic biogeography of the water column in six salt lakes in Inner Mongolia, China, and a salt lake in Argentina. These lakes had different salt compositions and pH values and were at variable geographic distances, on both local and intercontinental scales, which allowed us to explore the microbial community composition within the context of both contemporary environmental conditions and geographic distance. Fourteen 16S rRNA gene clone libraries were constructed, and over 200 16S rRNA gene sequences were obtained. These sequences were used to construct biotic similarity matrices, which were used in combination with environmental similarity matrices and a distance matrix in the Mantel test to discover which factors significantly influenced biotic similarity. We showed that archaeal biogeography was influenced by contemporary environmental factors alone (Na+, CO32−, and HCO3− ion concentrations; pH; and temperature). Bacterial biogeography was influenced both by contemporary environmental factors (Na+, Mg2+, and HCO3− ion concentrations and pH) and by geographic distance.
Students' Engagement with the Visualization Tool VIP in Light of Activity Theory

This article takes the first steps towards building a theory to explain how students interact with program visualizations when learning programming. First, we present the findings of a previous study we conducted to investigate how students voluntarily and regularly engaged with the program visualization tool VIP in a three-month programming course. Then, we interpret the empirical results of the study using Activity Theory. Finally, based on the interpretation, we propose two research hypotheses about students' long-term engagement with VIP. These hypotheses also set guidelines for future research on visualizations and teaching with visualizations, but most importantly, they offer a sustainable basis for further work on the theorization of students' interactions with visualizations.
High-Sensitivity Sensor Using C60-Single Molecule Transistor

In this paper, we use the Extended Huckel Theory coupled with a non-equilibrium green function to calculate the transport proprieties of molecular single electron transistor (MSET). We present the effect of electrode materials on the transport properties in an MSET using a Fullerene (C60) molecule. The operation and performance of this MSET as a gas sensor are studied for the first time using a Fullerene as sensing material. The MSET sensors exhibited a change in the electric characteristic when the sensors were exposed to different gases. The favorable NH3 response characteristics of the MSET sensors were observed from the change in the drain-source current as a function of voltage, when the sensors were exposed to various NH3 concentrations ranging from 40 to 200 ppb. A satisfactory selectivity and remarkable high sensitivity have been found. The present results make our MSET as a very powerful candidate for use in gas sensing/measuring instrument, which allows the detection of toxic gas at low concentration.
Root canal preparation with FlexMaster: asessment of torque and force in relation to canal anatomy.

AIM To investigate physical parameters of FlexMaster nickel-titanium instruments while preparing curved canals in maxillary molars in vitro. METHODOLOGY A torque-testing platform was used to prepare root canals in 11 extracted human maxillary molars with FlexMaster rotary instruments. Peak torque and force was registered along with numbers of rotations required to shape the canals. Canals were divided into 'wide' and 'constricted' groups depending on canal volumes assessed by microcomputed tomography. Resistance to cyclic fatigue was also tested. Mean scores for each instrument type were calculated and statistically compared using anova and Scheffé post hoc tests. RESULTS Mean torque varied between 0.1 +/- 0.1 and 0.8 +/- 0.5 N cm while mean force ranged from 4.2 +/- 2.0 to 7.3 +/- 3.5 N. Mean numbers of rotations totalled up to 18. All three variables registered showed weak correlations to preoperative canal volumes (P < 0.01) and differed significantly between 'wide' and 'constricted' canals (P < 0.001). Numbers of rotations to fracture in a cyclic fatigue test were between 348 and 1362. CONCLUSION FlexMaster instruments generated low torque scores and were highly resistant to cyclic fatigue, whilst three instruments fractured in extremely narrow canals. Consequently, more research is required to limit fracture incidence and to optimize instrumentation guidelines.
DeepBlue epigenomic data server: programmatic data retrieval and analysis of epigenome region sets

Large amounts of epigenomic data are generated under the umbrella of the International Human Epigenome Consortium, which aims to establish 1000 reference epigenomes within the next few years. These data have the potential to unravel the complexity of epigenomic regulation. However, their effective use is hindered by the lack of flexible and easy-to-use methods for data retrieval. Extracting region sets of interest is a cumbersome task that involves several manual steps: identifying the relevant experiments, downloading the corresponding data files and filtering the region sets of interest. Here we present the DeepBlue Epigenomic Data Server, which streamlines epigenomic data analysis as well as software development. DeepBlue provides a comprehensive programmatic interface for finding, selecting, filtering, summarizing and downloading region sets. It contains data from four major epigenome projects, namely ENCODE, ROADMAP, BLUEPRINT and DEEP. DeepBlue comes with a user manual, examples and a well-documented application programming interface (API). The latter is accessed via the XML-RPC protocol supported by many programming languages. To demonstrate usage of the API and to enable convenient data retrieval for non-programmers, we offer an optional web interface. DeepBlue can be openly accessed at http://deepblue.mpi-inf.mpg. de.
Performance analysis of Alamouti transmit diversity with a sub-optimum joint transmit-receive antenna selection scheme

We consider a sub-optimum joint transmitreceive antenna selection (JTRAS) scheme in multiple input multiple output (MIMO) systems equipped with N transmit and two receive antennas. At the transmitter, we keep one antenna as fixed and select the best among the remaining N − 1 antennas. After selecting two transmit antennas for each of the receive antennas, we select the receive antenna for which the signal to noise ratio (SNR) is maximum. We assume spatially independent flat fading channels with perfect channel state information (CSI) at receiver and an ideal feedback link. We use Alamouti transmit diversity and derive the exact closed-form expression for the pdf of received SNR, using which we obtain bit error rate (BER) for BPSK constellation. We have presented simulation results and compared them with the derived analytical expressions. We have discussed some special cases of the considered antenna selection scheme. We have compared performance of the considered scheme with the other available schemes in terms of number of feedback bits and BER. We conclude that the considered JTRAS scheme reduces number of feedback bits.
Exploiting ConvNet Diversity for Flooding Identification

Flooding is the world’s most costly type of natural disaster in terms of both economic losses and human causalities. A first and essential procedure toward flood monitoring is based on identifying the area most vulnerable to flooding, which gives authorities relevant regions to focus. In this letter, we propose several methods to perform flooding identification in high-resolution remote sensing images using deep learning. Specifically, some proposed techniques are based upon unique networks, such as dilated and deconvolutional ones, whereas others were conceived to exploit diversity of distinct networks in order to extract the maximum performance of each classifier. The evaluation of the proposed methods was conducted in a high-resolution remote sensing data set. Results show that the proposed algorithms outperformed the state-of-the-art baselines, providing improvements ranging from 1% to 4% in terms of the Jaccard Index.
Is CD10 Antibody Useful in the Diagnosis of Angioimmunoblastic T-Cell Lymphoma?

Angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AITL) is a rare lymphoma accounting for less than 1% of non Hodgkin lymphomas. The lack of specific clinical and histologic features in addition to the multiplicity of morphologic mimickers makes the diagnosis challenging. Some authors reported the utility of CD10 antibody as a diagnostic marker. Our aim is to explore the value of this marker through a presentation of a study about four cases diagnosed over a six-year-period and a mini-review of the literature. We present a study of 4 cases of AITL diagnosed in lymph node biopsies. Microscopic findings showed in all cases early AITL characterized by a pattern I. The diagnosis of AITL was made in all cases based on the morphologic and immunohistochemical features. The CD3 antibody was expressed in all cases but CD10 antibody was negative in all cases. All the patients died and the initiation of a conventional chemotherapy wasn’t possible in all cases because of the rapid course of the disease. Because of the small number of our cases, we can’t rule out a possible diagnostic value of CD10 but its negativity in all our cases makes us doubt its sensitivity.