Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Phase equilibria in the system Au e Cu e Si and structural characterization of the new compound Au 5 x Cu 2 x

The ternary AueCueSi system was investigated by means of powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) for phase identification, scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDX) for microstructures and chemical compositions, light optical microscopy (LOM), and differential thermal analysis (DTA) for the determination of thermal effects. Three isothermal sections were constructed at 250 C, 400 C and 650 C. A new ternary compound s, Au5 xCu2 xSi, was identified and its crystal structure was determined by means of single crystal X-ray diffraction. It adopts a new crystal structure type in space group Pnma, Pearson symbol oP32 and shows a composition range between Au5.6Cu1. 4Si and Au4.4Cu2. 6Si at 250 C. Lattice parameters were found to vary between a 1⁄4 9.64e9. 50 A, b 1⁄4 7.61 e7.64 A and c 1⁄4 6.90e6. 89 A from the Au-rich to the Au-poor composition limit. Three vertical sections, at 10 and 30 at. % Si and at 10 at. % Cu, were constructed based on DTA data and four invariant ternary phase reactions were identified. A partial ternary reaction scheme (Scheil diagram) and a partial liquidus projection are given. 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
www.druid.dk DRUID Working Paper No. 08-20 A Percolation Model of the Product Lifecycle By

The product lifecycle model can be understood as a three-stage model of technological development associated with a particular product technology. In the explorative stage many different designs are developed, in the development stage products become standardized into a dominant design, and in the mature stage only incremental changes occur within the dominant design. Although the product lifecycle model is widely accepted and often applied in empirical research, innovation scholars have failed to develop systematic theoretical models that explain the different stages of technological development along the lifecycle. In this study, an attempt is made to contribute to product lifecycle theory by developing a theoretical model based on percolation dynamics. The model combines the concept of increasing returns to adoption with information diffusion among consumers within social networks. The main contribution of the model is that it replicates the three stages of the product lifecycle as an outcome of a single elementary process. The model also replicates the S-shaped diffusion curve and the occurrence of an industry shakeout.
The evolutionary dynamics of evolvability in a gene network model

Evolvability, the ability of populations to adapt, has recently emerged as a major unifying concept in biology. Although the study of evolvability offers new insights into many important biological questions, the conceptual bases of evolvability, and the mechanisms of its evolution, remain controversial. We used simulated evolution of a model of gene network dynamics to test the contentious hypothesis that natural selection can favour high evolvability, in particular in sexual populations. Our results conclusively demonstrate that fluctuating natural selection can increase the capacity of model gene networks to adapt to new environments. Detailed studies of the evolutionary dynamics of these networks establish a broad range of validity for this result and quantify the evolutionary forces responsible for changes in evolvability. Analysis of the genotype–phenotype map of these networks also reveals mechanisms connecting evolvability, genetic architecture and robustness. Our results suggest that the evolution of evolvability can have a pervasive influence on many aspects of organisms.
Comparison of Clinical Outcomes and Adverse Events Associated With Glucose-Lowering Drugs in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes: A Meta-analysis.

IMPORTANCE Numerous glucose-lowering drugs are used to treat type 2 diabetes. OBJECTIVE To estimate the relative efficacy and safety associated with glucose-lowering drugs including insulin. DATA SOURCES Cochrane Library Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, and EMBASE databases through March 21, 2016. STUDY SELECTION Randomized clinical trials of 24 weeks' or longer duration. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS Random-effects network meta-analysis. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was cardiovascular mortality. Secondary outcomes included all-cause mortality, serious adverse events, myocardial infarction, stroke, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1C) level, treatment failure (rescue treatment or lack of efficacy), hypoglycemia, and body weight. RESULTS A total of 301 clinical trials (1,417,367 patient-months) were included; 177 trials (56,598 patients) of drugs given as monotherapy; 109 trials (53,030 patients) of drugs added to metformin (dual therapy); and 29 trials (10,598 patients) of drugs added to metformin and sulfonylurea (triple therapy). There were no significant differences in associations between any drug class as monotherapy, dual therapy, or triple therapy with odds of cardiovascular or all-cause mortality. Compared with metformin, sulfonylurea (standardized mean difference [SMD], 0.18 [95% CI, 0.01 to 0.34]), thiazolidinedione (SMD, 0.16 [95% CI, 0.00 to 0.31]), DPP-4 inhibitor (SMD, 0.33 [95% CI, 0.13 to 0.52]), and α-glucosidase inhibitor (SMD, 0.35 [95% CI, 0.12 to 0.58]) monotherapy were associated with higher HbA1C levels. Sulfonylurea (odds ratio [OR], 3.13 [95% CI, 2.39 to 4.12]; risk difference [RD], 10% [95% CI, 7% to 13%]) and basal insulin (OR, 17.9 [95% CI, 1.97 to 162]; RD, 10% [95% CI, 0.08% to 20%]) were associated with greatest odds of hypoglycemia. When added to metformin, drugs were associated with similar HbA1C levels, while SGLT-2 inhibitors offered the lowest odds of hypoglycemia (OR, 0.12 [95% CI, 0.08 to 0.18]; RD, -22% [-27% to -18%]). When added to metformin and sulfonylurea, GLP-1 receptor agonists were associated with the lowest odds of hypoglycemia (OR, 0.60 [95% CI, 0.39 to 0.94]; RD, -10% [95% CI, -18% to -2%]). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Among adults with type 2 diabetes, there were no significant differences in the associations between any of 9 available classes of glucose-lowering drugs (alone or in combination) and the risk of cardiovascular or all-cause mortality. Metformin was associated with lower or no significant difference in HbA1C levels compared with any other drug classes. All drugs were estimated to be effective when added to metformin. These findings are consistent with American Diabetes Association recommendations for using metformin monotherapy as initial treatment for patients with type 2 diabetes and selection of additional therapies based on patient-specific considerations.
Enhancing airplane boarding procedure using vision based passenger classification

This paper presents the implementation of a new boarding strategy that exploits passenger and hand-luggage detection and classification to reduce the boarding time onto an airplane. A vision system has the main purpose of providing passengers data, in terms of agility coefficient and hand-luggage size to a seat assignment algorithm. The software is able to dynamically generate the passenger seat that reduces the overall boarding time while taking into account the current airplane boarding state. The motivation behind this work is to speed up of the passenger boarding using the proposed online procedure of seat assignment based on passenger and luggage classification. This method results in an enhancement of the boarding phase, in terms of both time and passenger experience. The main goal of this work is to demonstrate the usability of the proposed system in real conditions proving its performances in terms of reliability. Using a simple hardware and software setup, we performed several experiments recreating a gate entrance mock up and comparing the measurements with ground truth data to assess the reliability of the system.
Classification of the Adenylation and Acyl-Transferase Activity of NRPS and PKS Systems Using Ensembles of Substrate Specific Hidden Markov Models

There is a growing interest in the Non-ribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs) and polyketide synthases (PKSs) of microbes, fungi and plants because they can produce bioactive peptides such as antibiotics. The ability to identify the substrate specificity of the enzyme's adenylation (A) and acyl-transferase (AT) domains is essential to rationally deduce or engineer new products. We here report on a Hidden Markov Model (HMM)-based ensemble method to predict the substrate specificity at high quality. We collected a new reference set of experimentally validated sequences. An initial classification based on alignment and Neighbor Joining was performed in line with most of the previously published prediction methods. We then created and tested single substrate specific HMMs and found that their use improved the correct identification significantly for A as well as for AT domains. A major advantage of the use of HMMs is that it abolishes the dependency on multiple sequence alignment and residue selection that is hampering the alignment-based clustering methods. Using our models we obtained a high prediction quality for the substrate specificity of the A domains similar to two recently published tools that make use of HMMs or Support Vector Machines (NRPSsp and NRPS predictor2, respectively). Moreover, replacement of the single substrate specific HMMs by ensembles of models caused a clear increase in prediction quality. We argue that the superiority of the ensemble over the single model is caused by the way substrate specificity evolves for the studied systems. It is likely that this also holds true for other protein domains. The ensemble predictor has been implemented in a simple web-based tool that is available at http://www.cmbi. ru.nl/NRPS-PKS-substrate-predictor/.
HELIX: automatic parallelization of irregular programs for chip multiprocessing

We describe and evaluate HELIX, a new technique for automatic loop parallelization that assigns successive iterations of a loop to separate threads. We show that the inter-thread communication costs forced by loop-carried data dependences can be mitigated by code optimization, by using an effective heuristic for selecting loops to parallelize, and by using helper threads to prefetch synchronization signals. We have implemented HELIX as part of an optimizing compiler framework that automatically selects and parallelizes loops from general sequential programs. The framework uses an analytical model of loop speedups, combined with profile data, to choose loops to parallelize. On a six-core Intel® Core i7-980X, HELIX achieves speedups averaging 2.25 x, with a maximum of 4.12x, for thirteen C benchmarks from SPEC CPU2000.
Performance indicators that predict success in an English professional League One soccer team

The purpose of the present study was to identify performance indicators that may discriminate between games a soccer team won, drew and lost. A second aim was to identify those variables that best predict success for the team. The sample comprised of 46 matches played by a League One soccer team during the 2012-2013 domestic season. Offensive and defensive game-related statistics were gathered Match location was also considered. A Kruskal Wallis test and binary logistic regression were used to identify those indicators associated with success (wins). The Kruskal Wallis test identified significant differences in the number of passes, percentage of successful passes and passes made in the opposition half Significantly more passes and passes in the opposition half were made when the team lost compared to when they won and drew games (P<0.05). A significantly lower percentage of successful passes were completed when the team drew (P<0.05). The results of the binary logistic regression concluded that the team should perform fewer passes and dribbles but complete more successful passes and shots to be successful. The results indicate that for the team to be successful they should implement a direct style of play.
Gadd45a Expression Induces Bim Dissociation from the Cytoskeleton and Translocation to Mitochondria

ABSTRACT Gadd45a, a p53- and BRCA1-regulated stress protein, has been implicated in the maintenance of genomic fidelity, probably through its roles in the control of cell cycle checkpoint and apoptosis. However, the mechanism(s) by which Gadd45a is involved in the induction of apoptosis remains unclear. We show here that inducible expression of Gadd45a protein causes dissociation of Bim, a Bcl2 family member, from microtubule-associated components and translocation to mitochondria. The Bim accumulation in mitochondria enhances interaction of Bim with Bcl-2, relieves Bax from Bcl-2-bound complexes, and subsequently results in release of cytochrome c into the cytoplasm. Suppression of endogenous Bim greatly inhibits Gadd45a induction of apoptosis. Interestingly, Gadd45a interacts with elongation factor 1α (EF-1α), a microtubule-severing protein that plays an important role in maintaining cytoskeletal stability, and inhibits EF-1α-mediated microtubule bundling, indicating that the interaction of Gadd45a with EF-1α disrupts cytoskeletal stability. A mutant form of Gadd45a harboring a deletion of EF-1α-binding domain fails to inhibit microtubule stability and to induce Bim translocation to mitochondria. Furthermore, coexpression of EF-1α antagonizes Gadd45a's property of suppressing cell growth and inducing apoptosis. These findings identify a novel link that connects stress protein Gadd45a to the apoptotic machinery and address the importance of cytoskeletal stability in apoptotic response to DNA damage.
Clinical characteristics of laryngeal versus nonlaryngeal amyloidosis

Amyloidosis represents a heterogeneous group of disorders marked by abnormal protein formation and deposition. Laryngeal amyloidosis is rare and classically thought to remain isolated with little risk of systemic involvement or associated malignancy. This study sought to further characterize differences in clinical characteristics between patients with laryngeal and nonlaryngeal amyloidosis.
Printed Dipole Array for MIMO Wireless Networks

In this article, we present a linear printed dipole array of two radiating elements for potential use in IEEE 802.1 In wireless local area networks. The dipoles are fed through a microstrip balun and are oriented in a fashion that introduces pattern diversity. Advantages of the proposed design are low cost, ease of fabrication and high impedance bandwidth. Mutual coupling between antenna elements is below 20 dB for the measured frequency range (2-6.6 GHz). The measured impedance bandwidth is 29.3 percent (699 MHz) at the lower band and 26.41 percent (1.483 GHz) at the upper band. The array was constructed on Duroid 5870 and the measured S parameters and radiation pattern were found to be in agreement with theory and simulations. The spatial correlation is computed from the measured S parameters and the theoretical capacity is evaluated based on Monte Carlo realisations of the channel and the signal correlation amongst radiating elements.
Health tourism in a Czech health spa

This paper is about the changing shape of health tourism in a Czech spa town. The research focuses on balneotherapy as a traditional Czech healing technique, which involves complex drinking and bathing therapies, as it is increasingly being incorporated into the development of a Czech health tourism industry. Today, the health tourism industry in Mariánské Lázně is attempting to ‘harmoniously’ combine three elements – balneology, travel and business activities. One detects subtle shifts and consequent incongruities as doctors struggle for control over the medical portion of spa hotels. At the same time, marketing groups are creating new packages for a general clientele, and the implementation of these new packages de-medicalizes balneotherapy. Related to the issue of the doctor's authority in the spa, the changes occurring with the privatization of tourism entails the entrance of ‘tourists’ to Mariánské Lázně who are not necessarily seeking spa treatment but who are still staying at spa hotels. There is a general consensus among spa doctors and employees that balneotherapy has become commodified. Thus, while balneotherapy remains a traditional form of therapy, the commercial context in which it exists has created a new form of health tourism.
Co-Transplantation of Schwann Cells Promotes the Survival and Differentiation of Neural Stem Cells Transplanted into the Injured Spinal Cord

The present study investigates whether Schwann cells (SCs) could promote the survival and differentiation of neural stem cells in the injured spinal cord. Neural stem cells were dissociated and cloned from the hippocampal tissue of newborn rats. SCs were also dissociated and purified simultaneously from the sciatic nerves of 4-day-old rats. The results showed that the number of surviving neural stem cells and differentiated neuron-like cells was significantly increased in the co-grafted (SCs and neural stem cells) group compared with the control group (neural stem cells only). Neuron-like cells that developed axon-like processes were observed more commonly in the co-grafted group. These results demonstrate that SCs can promote the survival and differentiation of transplanted neural stem cells in the injured spinal cord.
Allergen-Dependent Differences in ILC2s Frequencies in Patients With Allergic Rhinitis

Purpose Group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) are a novel population of lineage-negative cells that induce innate type 2 responses by producing the critical Th2-type cytokines IL-5 and IL-13 in response to IL-25 and IL-33 stimulation. ILC2s accumulation in the peripheral blood of patients with allergic rhinitis (AR) is controversial; the precise role of ILC2s in the immunopathogenesis of AR is still not clear. We investigated the role of ILC2s in phenotypic AR sensitized to distinct allergens. Methods Flow cytometric analysis of the peripheral blood of 7 healthy controls (HCs), 9 patients monosensitized to house dust mite (HDM), and 8 patients monosensitized to mugwort was performed to quantify ILC2s frequency. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated from HDM-AR and mugwort-AR patients, and Lineage- and Lineage+ cells were separated using a fluorescence-activated cell sorter (FACS). IL-5 and IL-13 levels in the supernatants of PBMCs, and Lineage- and Lineage+ cells stimulated with IL-25 and/or IL-33 combined with IL-2 in vitro were assessed using the Milliplex magnetic bead kit. Results The percentage of ILC2s was significantly elevated in HDM-AR patients compared to mugwort-AR patients and HCs, while no significant difference was found between mugwort-AR patients and HCs. IL-33±IL-25 plus IL-2 induced a significantly greater release of IL-5 and IL-13 in the PBMCs of HDM-AR patients compared to PBMCs of mugwort-AR patients. IL-25 plus IL-2 also induced a significantly greater release of IL-13 in the PBMCs of HDM-AR patients compared to PBMCs of mugwort-AR patients. Stimulation with IL-33 and/or IL-25 combined with IL-2 also induced a significantly greater IL-5 and IL-13 release from Lineage- cells compared to Lineage+ cells. Conclusions AR patients sensitized to HDM or mugwort allergen have distinct phenotypic and functional profiles in ILC2s frequencies. ILC2s mediate major type 2 immunity in the development of HDM-AR and may be a potential therapeutic target.
Effect of blonanserin on cognitive and social function in acute phase Japanese schizophrenia compared with risperidone

Background This study aims to determine the effectiveness of blonanserin (BNS) on the cognitive and social functions of patients with schizophrenia compared with risperidone (RIS) during acute-phase (8-week) treatment. Methods A total of 39 schizophrenia inpatients were included in this study. The subjects received either BNS (N=20) or RIS (N=19), and the clinical responses were evaluated periodically. The concomitant use of mood stabilizers was not allowed. Efficacy was assessed with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale for schizophrenia. Cognition was assessed using the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia, Japanese-language version. Social function was assessed using the Life Assessment Scale for the Mentally Ill. Results For both groups, each assessment exhibited a decrease in the mean change from baseline on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. The depression subscale was significantly improved in the BNS group compared with the RIS group at 8 weeks after administration. BNS improved verbal fluency and executive function (cognitive function) and daily living and work skills (social function). Compared with the RIS group, BNS was observed to improve daily living. Conclusion BNS may improve psychotic symptoms, cognitive function, and daily living in patients with acute-phase schizophrenia. BNS may be superior to RIS in the improvement of daily living.
A Pilot Study of Students’ Self-Perceptions of Efficacy and Engagement in the Writing Process

LEIGH ANNA HUTCHISON: A Pilot Study of Students’ Self-Perceptions of Efficacy and Engagement, in the Writing Process. (Under the direction of Mary Ruth Coleman) This pilot study used a descriptive case-study method, with multiple cases, to examine changes in students’ self-perceptions and performance in writing. The study focused on the effects of an intervention, intended to impact components of motivational engagement (interest and writing apprehension) as well as self-efficacy beliefs, for students with cognitive strengths and learning deficits, in order to determine how this relates to levels of effort and persistence on writing tasks. The participants were two adolescent students, who exhibited cognitive strengths, coupled with learning disabilities in writing. The study design used Entry Phase and Exit Phase measures to collect data on the students’ levels of self-efficacy, apprehension, and interest in writing, before and after the intervention. Additional measures of effort, persistence, and performance were also taken at Entry and Exit Phases. Findings indicated improvements for both students on levels of effort, persistence, and performance following the intervention.
Exploring Lexical and Syntactic Features for Language Variety Identification

We present a method to discriminate between texts written in either the Netherlandic or the Flemish variant of the Dutch language. The method draws on a feature bundle representing text statistics, syntactic features, and word n-grams. Text statistics include average word length and sentence length, while syntactic features include ratios of function words and part-of-speech n-grams. The effectiveness of the classifier was measured by classifying Dutch subtitles developed for either Dutch or Flemish television. Several machine learning algorithms were compared as well as feature combination methods in order to find the optimal generalization performance. A machine-learning meta classifier based on AdaBoost attained the best F-score of 0.92.