Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Novel Behavioral and Neural Evidences for Age-Related changes in Force complexity

This study investigated age-related changes in behavioral and neural complexity for a polyrhythmic movement, which appeared to be an exception to the loss of complexity hypothesis. Young (n = 15; age = 24.2 years) and older (15; 68.1 years) adults performed low-level force-tracking with isometric index abduction to couple a compound sinusoidal target. Multiscale entropy (MSE) of tracking force and inter-spike interval (ISI) of motor unit (MU) in the first dorsal interosseus muscle were assessed. The MSE area of tracking force at shorter time scales of older adults was greater (more complex) than that of young adults, whereas an opposite trend (less complex for the elders) was noted at longer time scales. The MSE area of force fluctuations (the stochastic component of the tracking force) were generally smaller (less complex) for older adults. Along with greater mean and coefficient of ISI, the MSE area of the cumulative discharge rate of elders tended to be lower (less complex) than that of young adults. In conclusion, age-related complexity changes in polyrhythmic force-tracking depended on the time scale. The adaptive behavioral consequences could be multifactorial origins of the age-related impairment in rate coding, increased discharge noises, and lower discharge complexity of pooled MUs.
Predictive value of the new renal response criteria in AL amyloidosis treated with high dose melphalan and stem cell transplantation

ences in their corresponding clinical phenotypes. One of the major determinants of protein secondary structure is helical content. Accordingly, we used a statistical approximation algorithm (AGADIR) to calculate helix propensity for 31 unique amino acid sequences that were altered by CALR mutations, in order to sub-classify CALR mutations that were neither type 1 nor type 2, into type 1-like and type 2-like variants. We were subsequently able to show similarities in survival between type 1 and type 1-like and between type 2 and type 2-like CALR variants. A number of other studies have since validated our methods and the prognostic distinction between type 1/type 1-like and type 2/type 2-like CALR variants in PMF; this distinction is now formally incorporated in the recently unveiled mutation-enhanced international prognostic scoring systems for transplant-age patients with PMF (MIPSS70 and MIPSS70-plus). In the current communication, we provide a list of CALR variants, seen at our institution (n5363) or cited in major published studies (n562) and their corresponding AGADIR-predicted helical content, in order to facilitate accurate classification by the practicing physician and clinical pathologist (Figure 1; Supporting Information Figure 1). The AGADIR-derived predicted helix propensity score, using the most recently updated online tool (agadir.crg.es), was 33.62 for wild-type CALR (which is close to what is expected for a-helix content for an average globular protein), 17.5 for type 1, and 40.02 for type 2 CALR variants. Accordingly, and consistent with our previously employed methodology, non-type 1 or 2 CALR variants with helix propensity scale close to or above that of wild-type CALR were classified as type 2-like (range 30.95-44.89) and those with values close to or below the value for type 1 were classified as type 1-like (range 4.97-25.12) (Figure 1; Supporting Information Figure 1). If the mutation of interest is missing from the list, we recommend consultation with the molecular pathologist submitting the report in order to determine the amino acid sequence resulting from the specific mutation. This information can then be entered into the online available AGADIR protocol, in order to determine the helix propensity score. In this regard, the cutoffs we used to clinically demonstrate survival impact were an AGADIR scale of 26% or less for type 1-like and 30% or more for type 2-like CALR variants (Figure 1). Occasionally, one encounters CALR variants with an AGADIR scale in the range of 27%29%; we prefer the term “indeterminate” in such circumstances and recommend, instead, reliance on other prognostic markers, such as karyotype and other mutations, instead of forcing assignment to a specific category.
Visual Acuity Improvement in Continuous vs Divided Occlusion in Anisometropic Amblyopia

Purpose: To compare visual acuity improvement between continuous and split part-time occlusion for the treatment of moderate and severe anisometropic amblyopia. Methods: Randomised clinical trials in 6 – 13 y.o children with moderate and severe anisometropic amblyopia. Each patient was consecutively selected with continuous or split part-time occlusion. Best corrected visual acuity’s improvement was followed up to six weeks and statistical data were analyzed using chi square and unpaired t-test. Results: Best corrected visual acuity’s improvement was comparable between continuous and split part-time occlusion (0.20±0.27 vs 0.21±0.25; p = 0.79). Conclusion: Split part-time occlusion may be considered as an alternative treatment for moderate and severe anisometropic amblyopia treatment.
Military-Based Vehicle-to-Grid and Vehicle-to-Vehicle Microgrid—System Architecture and Implementation

A real-life military application of vehicle-to-grid/vehicle-to-vehicle (V2G–V2V)-based microgrid system is described in this paper. The system provides a plug-and-play, very fast forming, smart, aggregated, and efficient power solution for a contingency military base that can be setup in less than 20 min and is ready to generate up to 240 kW of 208-Y/120-VAC three-phase (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$3~\Phi )$ </tex-math></inline-formula> power. The system uses vehicle transmission-integrated generators (TIGs) to produce 600-VDC power for use by vehicle hotel loads (i.e., electrification of nonpropulsion and auxiliary loads) and off-board loads (tents/shelters, communications centers, or other electrical loads). This effort involves four tactical military vehicles—two M1152 high-mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicles equipped with 30 kW of on-board vehicle power and two MaxxPro dash mine resistant ambush protected vehicles equipped with 120-kW 3000 TIGs with V2G and V2V capabilities, four 60-kW dc-to-3 <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\Phi $ </tex-math></inline-formula> ac power converters with 600-VDC bus distribution systems and four 22.8-kWh energy storage units. Discussion of the methodology for power management for maximizing fuel economy is included at the end. This paper also includes some test results of subsystems and some results from modeling and simulation of the system. Our study demonstrates significant fuel economy benefits of using V2V-based system.
Parameters of the two-stage synchronization algorithm for the quantum key distribution system

The parameters of the two-stage synchronization algorithm for the auto-compensation quantum key distribution (QKD) systems are investigated. The synchronization algorithm does not provide for splitting a frame equal to the period of the optical clock to the time windows. The equipment operates in the search mode for receiving a photon. The equipment goes into test mode when receiving a photon. The reception of a photon in the test mode is possible only during the action of the strobe pulse. The rest of the time the channel does not react to photons and dark current impulses (DCI). The algorithm provides for sequential testing of frames with a stop at registration of the first photon. The algorithm makes a decision about the absence of a signal after a specified number of tests. The proposed algorithm makes it possible to use single-photon avalanche photodiodes (APDs) with a significant time delay between the moments of photon reception and the restoration of APD. Formulas for calculating the time characteristics of the synchronization algorithm in the search and test modes are obtained. A lower bound of the average time of synchronization is obtained. A method for calculating the design parameters of the two-stage single-photon synchronization for a QKD system is proposed.
Combined measurements of fractional exhaled nitric oxide and nasal nitric oxide levels for assessing upper airway diseases in asthmatic patients

ABSTRACT Background: Despite the close linkage between rhinitis, chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) and asthma, relevant biomarkers of both upper and lower airway inflammation are rare. Methods: Patients with asthma (without upper airway disease [UAD; n = 24], with rhinitis [n = 25], CRS [n = 24], and nasal polyps [n = 2]), isolated rhinitis (n = 13), isolated CRS (n = 13), and 10 healthy controls were prospectively recruited. Fractional exhaled nitric oxide (NO) levels at 50 mL/s (FeNO50), nasal NO levels, Lund–Macay-scores of sinus computed tomography and an asthma control questionnaire (ACQ) were evaluated. Results: Asthma was associated with higher FeNO50 levels irrespective of the UAD category. FeNO50 levels were higher in asthmatics with CRS (median: 54.0 ppb) than those with rhinitis (35.2 ppb, p = 0.02) and those without UAD (34.3 ppb, p = 0.002). Nasal NO levels were higher in rhinitis patients than other UAD categories, irrespective of the asthma concomitance. Nasal NO levels were higher in asthmatics with rhinitis (112.8 ppb) than those without UAD (67.2 ppb, p = 0.001) and those with CRS (57.6 ppb, p < 0.0001). A receiver-operating-characteristic curve analysis for detecting comorbid allergic rhinitis (AR) in asthmatics showed a high area under the curve (0.87). Nasal NO levels were positively correlated with FeNO50 levels (ρ = 0.56, p = 0.003) in asthmatics with rhinitis. In contrast, they were negatively correlated with the Lund–Macay (ρ = −0.46, p = 0.03) and ACQ scores (ρ = −0.52, p = 0.009) in asthmatics with CRS. Conclusions: Higher nasal NO levels reflect the presence of AR, irrespective of asthma concomitance. Higher FeNO50 levels reflect the presence of CRS and asthma. These NO measurements are useful for assessing comorbid UAD in asthmatics.
On an Integral Equation for the Free Boundary of Stochastic, Irreversible Investment Problems

In this paper, we derive a new handy integral equation for the free-boundary of infinite time horizon, continuous time, stochastic, irreversible investment problems with uncertainty modeled as a one-dimensional, regular diffusion $X$. The new integral equation allows to explicitly find the free-boundary $b(\cdot)$ in some so far unsolved cases, as when the operating profit function is not multiplicatively separable and $X$ is a three-dimensional Bessel process or a CEV process. Our result follows from purely probabilistic arguments. Indeed, we first show that $b(X(t))=l^*(t)$, with $l^*$ the unique optional solution of a representation problem in the spirit of Bank-El Karoui [Ann. Probab. 32 (2004) 1030-1067]; then, thanks to such an identification and the fact that $l^*$ uniquely solves a backward stochastic equation, we find the integral problem for the free-boundary.
Competition and the Real Effects of Uncertainty

This paper investigates the impact of uncertainty on firm-level capital investment and examines whether this effect depends on the degree of competition that firms face. I exploit a unique empirical setting to construct a time-varying uncertainty measure that is exogenous to economic conditions and firm behavior. I show that higher uncertainty results in a decrease in investment for firms in more concentrated industries. The effect is stronger for firms that face higher costs associated with reversing investments. This finding is in line with irreversible investment models that predict a negative relationship between uncertainty and investment. In contrast, firms in highly competitive industries increase investment in response to higher uncertainty, supporting the argument that competition can erode the option value of deferring investment. In that case, other industry and firm characteristics such as operational flexibility can result in increased investment in response to heightened uncertainty. I also find economically significant effects of uncertainty on other types of investment such as R&D spending, advertising and investment in human capital. Collectively, my results illustrate that the degree of competition plays an important role in the link between uncertainty and investment.
Antibody Response to Lyme Disease Spirochetes in the Context of VlsE-Mediated Immune Evasion

ABSTRACT Lyme disease (LD), the most prevalent tick-borne illness in North America, is caused by Borrelia burgdorferi. The long-term survival of B. burgdorferi spirochetes in the mammalian host is achieved though VlsE-mediated antigenic variation. It is mathematically predicted that a highly variable surface antigen prolongs bacterial infection sufficiently to exhaust the immune response directed toward invariant surface antigens. If the prediction is correct, it is expected that the antibody response to B. burgdorferi invariant antigens will become nonprotective as B. burgdorferi infection progresses. To test this assumption, changes in the protective efficacy of the immune response to B. burgdorferi surface antigens were monitored via a superinfection model over the course of 70 days. B. burgdorferi-infected mice were subjected to secondary challenge by heterologous B. burgdorferi at different time points postinfection (p.i.). When the infected mice were superinfected with a VlsE-deficient clone (ΔVlsE) at day 28 p.i. , the active anti-B. burgdorferi immune response did not prevent ΔVlsE-induced spirochetemia. In contrast, most mice blocked culture-detectable spirochetemia induced by wild-type B. burgdorferi (WT), indicating that VlsE was likely the primary target of the antibody response. As the B. burgdorferi infection further progressed, however, reversed outcomes were observed. At day 70 p.i. the host immune response to non-VlsE antigens became sufficiently potent to clear spirochetemia induced by ΔVlsE and yet failed to prevent WT-induced spirochetemia. To test if any significant changes in the anti-B. burgdorferi antibody repertoire accounted for the observed outcomes, global profiles of antibody specificities were determined. However, comparison of mimotopes revealed no major difference between day 28 and day 70 antibody repertoires.
“I've Been a Long Time Leaving”: The Role of Limited Skill Transferability in Increasing Suicide‐Related Cognitions and Behavior in Veterinarians

Barriers to occupational mobility were investigated to determine whether they increased reported suicide-related cognitions and behavior over 12 months. This was explored in a two-wave longitudinal study. Intention to leave, depression, perceived skill transferability, and suicide-related cognitions and behavior was measured at both time points approximately 12 months apart. Results indicated that when there was a high intention to leave at T1, reported suicide-related cognitions and behavior increased over 12 months only when skill transferability to other professions was perceived to be limited. Findings support the role of limited occupational mobility in suicide-related cognitions and behavior.
Multiple-defect coupling effect of nanosecond-pulsed laser-induced damage in fused silica

The laser induced damage threshold (LIDT) of fused silica samples was investigated with laser damage testing setup (355 nm, 6 ns). A new model, which improved the theory of defect-induced damage, was proposed to describe the multiple-defect coupling effect of the nanosecond-pulsed laser induced damage. The correlation between the damage probability and the damage threshold of this model was also reported.
In-Orbit Performance Evaluation of a Spaceborne High Precision Fiber Optic Gyroscope

An in-orbit experiment was launched to evaluate the performance of the spaceborne high precision fiber optic gyroscopes (FOG). The three-axis in-orbit data of the FOG were analyzed using wavelet analysis method. Features of low frequency period terms and glitch noise were demonstrated. In addition, a method to extract the random noise from the in-orbit data is proposed based on the first-order difference method and the Pauta criterion. In addition, the random walk coefficient (RWC) of the FOG was calculated with the Allan variance method. Compared the ground test results, the in-orbit performance evaluation of Spaceborne High Precision Fiber Optic Gyroscope was verified.
Characteristics and Prognosis of Stage I Ovarian Mucinous Tumors According to Expansile or Infiltrative Type

Background The present study retrospectively determined the outcomes and prognoses in stage I mucinous ovarian carcinoma according to histological type (ie, expansile or infiltrative). Methods A centralized pathologic review of tumors in patients treated from 1976 to 2016 for ovarian mucinous carcinoma was performed by 2 expert pathologists according to the 2014 World Health Organization classification. Only patients with stage I disease were analyzed. Tumors were typed as expansile or infiltrative and oncological issues analyzed. Results A total of 114 cases were reviewed. Fifty were excluded (stage > I in 30 cases and no accessibility to a pathological review for 20 cases). Thus, 64 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria: 29 had expansile-type and 35 infiltrative-type disease. The characteristics of both groups of patients were comparable, except the use of nodal staging surgery, which was more frequent in patients with infiltrative type. The International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stages in expansile and infiltrative types were as follows: IA in 13 (45%) and 20 (57%), and IC in 16 (55%) and 15 (43%), respectively. Recurrence occurred in 3 patients with expansile type and 6 patients with infiltrative type. Two cases of expansile recurrence had pelvic recurrence and were salvaged after secondary surgery and chemotherapy, whereas 5 cases of infiltrative recurrence had extrapelvic spread and died from disease or were alive with progressive disease. Conclusions Recurrence occurred in both types of stage I mucinous ovarian cancer. However, lethal recurrences were observed mainly in infiltrative type.
Fast and memory-efficient regular expression matching for deep packet inspection

Packet content scanning at high speed has become extremely important due to its applications in network security, network monitoring, HTTP load balancing, etc. In content scanning, the packet payload is compared against a set of patterns specified as regular expressions. In this paper, we first show that memory requirements using traditional methods are prohibitively high for many patterns used in packet scanning applications. We then propose regular expression rewrite techniques that can effectively reduce memory usage. Further, we develop a grouping scheme that can strategically compile a set of regular expressions into several engines, resulting in remarkable improvement of regular expression matching speed without much increase in memory usage. We implement a new DFA-based packet scanner using the above techniques. Our experimental results using real-world traffic and patterns show that our implementation achieves a factor of 12 to 42 performance improvement over a commonly used DFA- based scanner. Compared to the state-of-art NFA-based implementation, our DFA-based packet scanner achieves 50 to 700 times speedup.
Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Gene Polymorphism in Children with Idiopathic Nephrotic Syndrome, Effect on Biopsy Findings

ABSTRACT Objective: Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) converts angiotensin I into angiotensin II. The ACE gene shows an I/D polymorphism, which correlates with ACE concentrations. The aim of this study is to evaluate the distribution of the ACE I/D genotype in children with idiopathic nephrotic syndrome (INS) and healthy controls and study the effect of this polymorphism on clinical and pathologic findings. Methods: ACE gene I/D polymorphism of 104 patients with INS and 119 controls were determined. Results: The DD, ID, and II genotypes were found in 58.7%, 22.1%, and 19.2% of the patients, and in 79.8%, 2.5%, and 17.6% of controls, respectively (p > 0.05). The ID genotype was seen more frequently in patients resistant to treatment. Conclusion: The observed differences with previous reports suggest the influence of the genetic background on disease course. The ACE I/D gene polymorphism's role seems to be more important in renal disease progression than susceptibility.
Utility-based forwarding: a comparison in different mobility scenarios

Several proposals are available in the literature that deal with the problem of message forwarding in Opportunistic Networks (ONs). These proposals attempt to derive the path from source to destination that minimizes delivery latency and traveled hops, and maximizes the probability of successful delivery, while saving the overall system resources through a limitation of the number of message copies. Utilitybased forwarding achieves these goals through the use of functions that discriminate among nodes in terms of their utility to reach a destination. Although the approach is very promising, so far, there is no understanding about the tight relationship between utility functions and the mobility scenario in which they operate and, as a consequence, we are unable to design efficient solutions for practical ONs. In this work, we focus on this point by analysing five well known utility functions in five different scenarios. We establish relationships between the mechanisms adopted by the utility functions to discriminate among candidate relays, and the characteristics of the environment in terms of people mobility and the structure of their communities. The results can be useful to select an appropriate forwarding mechanism when deploying an experimental Opportunistic Network, and to design a novel utility function able to adapt to variable mobility patterns.
Dielectric and mechanical behavior of cross-linked polyethylene under thermal aging

This paper deals with the influence of continuous thermal aging on the dielectric and mechanical properties of Cross-Linked Polyethylene (XLPE) used as electrical insulation in high voltage cables manufactured by ENICAB (Algeria). In order to characterize the degree of the material degradation under thermal aging and to prevent its failure, continuous accelerated thermal aging tests during 5000 hours on dumb-bells and circular shaped probes of Cross-Linked Polyethylene XLPE UNION CARBIDE 4201 were performed at four levels of temperature ranging from 80/spl deg/C to 140/spl deg/C. Some results showing the changes in dielectric losses factor, dielectric constant, resistivity, elongation at fracture and tensile strength with respect to the aging time at the different used aging temperatures are presented. The obtained results show that the thermal aging affects considerably the properties of the material.
Wandering Neuronal Migration in the Postnatal Vertebrate Forebrain

Most non-mammalian vertebrate species add new neurons to existing brain circuits throughout life, a process thought to be essential for tissue maintenance, repair, and learning. How these new neurons migrate through the mature brain and which cues trigger their integration within a functioning circuit is not known. To address these questions, we used two-photon microscopy to image the addition of genetically labeled newly generated neurons into the brain of juvenile zebra finches. Time-lapse in vivo imaging revealed that the majority of migratory new neurons exhibited a multipolar morphology and moved in a nonlinear manner for hundreds of micrometers. Young neurons did not use radial glia or blood vessels as a migratory scaffold; instead, cells extended several motile processes in different directions and moved by somal translocation along an existing process. Neurons were observed migrating for ∼2 weeks after labeling injection. New neurons were observed to integrate in close proximity to the soma of mature neurons, a behavior that may explain the emergence of clusters of neuronal cell bodies in the adult songbird brain. These results provide direct, in vivo evidence for a wandering form of neuronal migration involved in the addition of new neurons in the postnatal brain.