Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Experimental spectrum sensing measurements using USRP Software Radio platform and GNU-radio

In cognitive radio, the secondary users are able to sense the spectral environment and use this information to opportunistically access the licensed spectrum in the absence of the primary users. In this paper, we present an experimental study that evaluates the performance of two different spectrum sensing techniques to detect primary user signals in real environment. The considered spectrum sensing techniques are: sequential energy and cyclosationary feature based detectors. An Universal Software Radio Peripheral platform with GNU-Radio is employed for implementation purpose. We analyzed the performances of both spectrum sensing methods by measuring the detection probabilities as a function of SNR for a given false alarm probability. As predicted theoretically, experimental measurements show that the cyclostationnary feature detector performs better than the sequential energy detector. However sequential energy detector can be used for reduction of sensing time in the presence of strong signals.
Ginkgo Biloba Extract EGB761 Protects against Aging-Associated Diastolic Dysfunction in Cardiomyocytes of D-Galactose-Induced Aging Rat

The aim of the present study was to make use of the artificially induced aging model cardiomyocytes to further investigate potential anti-aging-associated cellular diastolic dysfunction effects of EGB761 and explore underlying molecular mechanisms. Cultured rat primary cardiomyocytes were treated with either D-galactose or D-galactose combined with EGB761 for 48 h. After treatment, the percentage of cells positive for SA-β-gal, AGEs production, cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium pump (SERCA) activity, the myocardial sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium uptake, and relative protein levels were measured. Our results demonstrated that in vitro stimulation with D-galactose induced AGEs production. The addition of EGB761 significantly decreased the number of cells positive for SA-β-gal. Furthermore, decreased diastolic [Ca2+]i, curtailment of the time from the maximum concentration of Ca2+ to the baseline level and increased reuptake of Ca2+ stores in the SR were also observed. In addition, the level of p-Ser16-PLN protein as well as SERCA was markedly increased. The study indicated that EGb761 alleviates formation of AGEs products on SERCA2a in order to mitigate myocardial stiffness on one hand; on other hand, improve SERCA2a function through increase the amount of Ser16 sites PLN phosphorylation, which two hands finally led to ameliorate diastolic dysfunction of aging cardiomyocytes.
Impact of Inhibitors and L2 Antibodies upon the Infectivity of Diverse Alpha and Beta Human Papillomavirus Types

The licensed human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines elicit type-restricted immunity but do not target cutaneous HPV types of the beta genus that are associated with non-melanoma skin cancer in immune-compromised patients, and it is unclear if these diverse types share a common mechanism of infection. Residues 11-88 of minor capsid protein L2 contain cross-protective epitopes, and vaccination with concatamers of this region derived from as many as eight alpha HPV (L2 α11-88x8) is being developed as an alternative prophylactic vaccine with potentially broader efficacy. There is also interest in developing broadly protective topical microbicides, such as carrageenan or heparin that block HPV receptor interactions, or small molecule inhibitors of infection. Here we have examined several inhibitors of HPV infection and antisera to L2 α11-88x8 for their breadth of activity against infection by 34 HPV types from within both the alpha and beta families using pseudovirions (PsV) carrying a luciferase reporter as surrogates for native virus. We observed that both heparin and carrageenan prevented infection by mucosatropic HPV types, but surprisingly PsV of several epidermotropic alpha4 and beta HPV types exhibited increased infectivity especially at low inhibitor concentrations. Furin and γ-secretase inhibitors and L2 α11-88x8 antiserum blocked infection by all HPV PsV types tested. These findings suggest that the distinct tropism of mucosal and cutaneous HPV may reflect distinct cell surface receptor interactions, but a common uptake mechanism dependent upon furin and γ-secretase proteolytic activities. Carrageenan, which is being tested as a vaginal microbicide, broadly inhibited infection by the high-risk mucosatropic HPV PsV, but not most skin tropic alpha and beta HPV. Vaccination with an L2 multimer derived exclusively from alpha papillomavirus sequences induced antibodies that broadly neutralized PsV of all 34 HPVs from within both the alpha and beta families, suggesting each displays conserved L2 neutralizing epitopes.
TEMPERATURE DEPENDENT THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY OF PURE SILICA MEL AND MFI ZEOLITE THIN FILMS

This paper reports the temperature dependent cross-plane thermal conductivity of pure silica zeolite (PSZ) MFI and MEL thin films measured using the 3w method between 30 and 315 K. PSZ MFI thin films were b-oriented, fully crystalline, and had a 33% microporosity. PSZ MEL thin films consisted of MEL nanoparticles embedded in a non-uniform and porous silica ma- trix. They featured porosity, relative crystallinity, and particle size ranging from 40% to 59%, 23% to 47%, and 55 to 80 nm, respectively. Despite their crystallinity, MFI films were found to have thermal conductivity smaller than that of amorphous sil- ica due to strong phonon scattering by micropores. In addition, the effects of increased relative crystallinity and particle size on thermal conductivity of MEL thin films were compensated by the simultaneous increase in porosity. Finally, thermal conductivity of MFI zeolite was predicted and discussed using the Callaway model based on the Debye approximation.
Controlling the temperature of a batch reactor through a NMPC scheme based on the Laguerre-Volterra model

Often small and middle-size systems usually lack of a dynamical model which is not known in all. Moreover most of them are based on those classical PID controllers featured in not having a controlling system through a setpoint variable during the whole time where the process is in evolution. In this paper, a strategy of control based on a Nonlinear Model Predictive Control (NMPC) for nonlinear systems together to its respective technique of system identification, is proposed. In concrete, the approach taken for system identification is based on the approximate model of Volterra series where its respective kernels are projected onto Orthogonal Basis Functions (OBF). By using the previous model we shall test a NMPC technique which uses a similar technique to that of the Dynamic Matrix Control (DMC). The curve of control of temperature is compared to the case when a PID is used by showing the advantages of the scheme proposed. The usage of this scheme would be interesting to those facilities where the temperature trajectory tracking turns out to be crucial to obtain a high quality final product.
Economic implications of the Doha round

In this study the key elements of the WTO Doha round are simulated and the main implications for international trade and national income are analysed. Based on negotiation positions at the recent Hong Kong ministerial conference, a number of Doha scenarios are carefully designed and implemented. All scenarios encompass goods, services and agricultural liberalisation as well as trade facilitation. For goods liberalisation, a so-called Swiss formula with two coefficients is used to cut bound tariff rates. Agricultural tariffs are cut according to a tiered linear formula with four bands. Considerable attention has been given to the modelling of trade facilitation. Indirect as well as direct trade transaction costs are modelled, using detailed cross-country data. For simulation of the services liberalisation we use quantitative estimates of the indirect trade barriers for each region and sector. The simulation results show that all regions in the aggregation gain in the simulated Doha scenarios, with a particularly strong result for developing countries. In this respect, the Doha round can be called a development round. A conservative estimate is that global income increases with 0.2-0.7 percent of initial GDP per year, depending on the level of liberalisation. Trade facilitation contributes the most to these results, with increased market access for non-agricultural goods coming in second place. However, services reforms contribute the least, as small real market openings are expected. Overall, simulations indicate the importance of countries’ own liberalisation for their national income gains. Therefore, a “round for free” does not seem to be a valid concept. Furthermore, the importance of a broad-based round is underlined. Excluding some elements of liberalisation from the round may turn potential gains into losses, for some countries.
Relative Astrometry of the J = 1→0, v = 1 and v = 2 SiO masers toward R leonis minoris using VERA

Oxygen-rich Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars are intense emitters of SiO and H2O maser lines at 43 (J = 1! 0, v = 1 and 2) and 22 GHz, respectively. VLBI observations of the maser emission provide a unique tool to sample the innermost layers of the circumstellar envelopes in AGB stars. Nevertheless, the difficulties in achieving astrometrically aligned v = 1a ndv = 2 SiO maser maps have traditionally prevented a unique interpretation of the observations in terms of the physical underlying conditions, which depend on the nature of the SiO pumping mechanism. We have carried out observations of the SiO and H2O maser emission towards R LMi, using the astrometric capabilities of VERA. Due to the too weak emission of the reference calibrator, we had to develop a special method to accurately relate the coordinates for both transitions. We present relative astrometrically aligned v = 1 and v = 2 J = 1! 0 SiO maser maps, at multiple epochs, and discuss the astrophysical results. The incorporation of astrometric information into the maps of SiO masers challenges the weak points in the current theoretical models, which will need further refinements to address the observation results.
Maternal HIV disclosure to young HIV-uninfected children: an evaluation of a family-centred intervention in South Africa

Objectives:Sub-Saharan Africa has large populations of HIV-infected parents who need support to raise their HIV-uninfected children. This research evaluates the ‘Amagugu Intervention’ aimed at supporting mothers to disclose their own HIV diagnosis to their HIV-uninfected children. Design:Uncontrolled pre and post-intervention evaluation. Setting:Africa Centre for Health and Population Studies, South Africa. Participants:Two hundred and eighty-one HIV-infected women and their HIV-uninfected children aged 6–10 years. Intervention:This lay counsellor-led intervention included six sessions conducted with mothers at home, providing printed materials and child-friendly activities to support disclosure of their diagnosis. Main outcome measure:The primary outcome was disclosure to the child (full, partial, none). The secondary outcomes included maternal mental health (General Health Questionnaire) and child mental health (Child Behaviour Checklist). Results:One hundred and seventy-one (60%) women ‘fully’ disclosed and 110 (40%) women ‘partially’ disclosed their HIV status to their child. Women who perceived their health to be excellent were less likely to ‘fully’ disclose compared to those considering their health to be poorer [adjusted odds ratio 0.48 (0.28–0.95), P = 0.11]. Compared to those not in a current partnership, those with a current partner were almost three times more likely to ‘fully’ disclose [adjusted odds ratio 2.92 (1.33–6.40), P = 0.008]. Mothers reported that most children reacted calmly to ‘full’ (79%) or ‘partial’ disclosure (83%). Compared to ‘partial’ disclosure, ‘full’ disclosure was associated with more children asking questions about maternal death (18 versus 8%). Conclusions:This intervention is acceptable in resource-limited settings and shows promise. Further research using a controlled design is needed to test this intervention.
An Experimental Study on the Transient Ice Accretion Process over the Blade Surfaces of a Rotating UAS Propeller

In the present study, a comprehensive experimental study was conducted to investigate the transient ice accretion process over the blade surfaces of a rotating UAS propeller. The experiments were performed in the Iowa State University Icing Research Tunnel (i.e., ISUIRT) with a scaled UAS propeller model operated under a variety of icing conditions (i.e., ranged from rime to glaze ice accretion). A “phase-locked” high-speed imaging technique was developed to resolve the transient details of the unsteady icing processes. Simultaneously, the dynamic aerodynamic forces acting on the propeller was also measured quantitatively along with the input power measurements in driving a constant propeller rotation during the ice accretion processes. Based on such temporally-synchronized-and-resolved measurements, the detailed ice accretion phases were correlated with the dynamic aerodynamic force data. The dynamics of the leading-edge ice accretion was also quantified as a function of time and space. The ice accretion features as well as their effects on the propeller performance were evaluated in moderate to severe icing conditions. Such quantitative measurements of the transient ice accretion provided further insight into the underlying physics for the icing processes on the rotating UAS propeller.
Multi-scale Moisture Transport in Paper: Impact of Pore and Fibre Tortuosity & Anisotropy

The diffusion of moisture in paper is a complex phenomenon with pore diffusion dominating at low moisture contents and diffusion through ﬁbres dominating at high moisture contents. Vapor diffusion through the pore space depends on the topology of the pore connections. Recently available three dimensional digital reconstructions of the pore space using X Ray Micro computed tomography (XμCT) enable us to determine the impact of the pore and ﬁbre tortuosities and connectivity to moisture diffusion in an explicit manner. In this study, moisture diffusion was simulated through XμCT reconstructions of paper structures using a hybrid random walk algorithm that was developed to allow simultaneous diffusion in both the pore and ﬁbre spaces with differential ‘intrinsic diffusivities’. The algorithm is speciﬁcally applied to simulate simultaneous diffusion under low and high relative humidity conditions where diffusion occurs predominantly through one medium i.e. pore space and high humidity conditions where both media (i.e. ﬁbre and pore spaces) are highly conductive. The ‘intrinsic diffusivity’ of moisture through ﬁbres was determined by using numerical simulation and experimental results. This intrinsic diffusivity a fundamental ﬁbre characteristics is found to be independent of reﬁning level but depends only the ﬁbre moisture content under the conditions studied. The algorithm also allowed the determination of the anisotropy in diffusivity. One interesting result is that the anisotropy in diffusion is most signiﬁcant at low moisture contents when diffusion through the pore space dominates. At high relative humidities (i.e. at high moisture contents), ﬁbre conduction provides an alternative diffusion path, homogenizing diffusion to a large extent. As a result, diffusion becomes more isotropic with increased moisture contents in paper.
Atkinson, G. (2014) 'shear Rate Normalization Is Not Essential for Removing the Dependency of Flow-mediated Dilation on Baseline Artery Diameter: past Research Revisited.' Physiological Measurement; 35 (9):1825-35 Shear Rate Normalisation and Fmd% Scaling Shear Rate Normalisation Is Not Essential fo

Shear rate normalisation and FMD% scaling 2 Abstract Normalisation of percentage flow-mediated dilation (FMD%) by shear rate (SR) was originally proposed to account for variability in the FMD% stimulus and in resting artery diameter (Dbase). It was not known at that time that FMD%-Dbase dependency is caused by the poor allometric properties of FMD% itself. Therefore, data from a seminal study on FMD%/SR normalisation were extracted and re-analysed. The absolute change in arterial diameter was found to be strongly inversely proportional to Dbase (r=-0.7, P<0.0005) and the allometric exponent was 0.82 (95%CI: 0.78-0.86), rendering use of FMD% inappropriate. Allometric scaling eliminated the originally-reported Dbase-dependency without any need for SR normalisation (r=0.0, P=0.96). The SR-FMD% correlation reduced from 0.69 to 0.37, following Dbase-adjustment. This reanalysis indicates that allometric scaling (i) renders FMD%/SR normalisation redundant for removing Dbase-dependency, and (ii) allows the influence of SR on the flow-mediated response to be quantified without the confounding influence of Dbase.
Epidemiological Surveillance of HIV-1 Transmitted Drug Resistance in Spain in 2004-2012: Relevance of Transmission Clusters in the Propagation of Resistance Mutations

Our objectives were to carry out an epidemiological surveillance study on transmitted drug resistance (TDR) among individuals newly diagnosed of HIV-1 infection during a nine year period in Spain and to assess the role of transmission clusters (TC) in the propagation of resistant strains. An overall of 1614 newly diagnosed individuals were included in the study from January 2004 through December 2012. Individuals come from two different Spanish regions: Galicia and the Basque Country. Resistance mutations to reverse transcriptase inhibitors (RTI) and protease inhibitors (PI) were analyzed according to mutations included in the surveillance drug-resistance mutations list updated in 2009. TC were defined as those comprising viruses from five or more individuals whose sequences clustered in maximum likelihood phylogenetic trees with a bootstrap value ≥90%. The overall prevalence of TDR to any drug was 9.9%: 4.9% to nucleoside RTIs (NRTIs), 3.6% to non-nucleoside RTIs (NNRTIs), and 2.7% to PIs. A significant decrease of TDR to NRTIs over time was observed [from 10% in 2004 to 2% in 2012 (p=0.01)]. Sixty eight (42.2%) of 161 sequences with TDR were included in 25 TC composed of 5 or more individuals. Of them, 9 clusters harbored TDR associated with high level resistance to antiretroviral drugs. T215D revertant mutation was transmitted in a large cluster comprising 25 individuals. The impact of epidemiological networks on TDR frequency may explain its persistence in newly diagnosed individuals. The knowledge of the populations involved in TC would facilitate the design of prevention programs and public health interventions.
Structural basis of nSH2 regulation and lipid binding in PI3Kα

We report two crystal structures of the wild-type phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase α (PI3Kα) heterodimer refined to 2.9 Å and 3.4 Å resolution: the first as the free enzyme, the second in complex with the lipid substrate, diC4-PIP2, respectively. The first structure shows key interactions of the N-terminal SH2 domain (nSH2) and iSH2 with the activation loop that suggest a mechanism by which the enzyme is inhibited in its basal state. In the second structure, the lipid substrate binds in a positively charged pocket adjacent to the ATP-binding site, bordered by the P-loop, the activation loop and the iSH2 domain. An additional lipid-binding site was identified at the interface of the ABD, iSH2 and kinase domains. The ability of PI3Kα to bind an additional PIP2 molecule was confirmed in vitro by fluorescence quenching experiments. The crystal structures reveal key differences in the way the nSH2 domain interacts with wild-type p110α and with the oncogenic mutant p110αH1047R. Increased buried surface area and two unique salt-bridges observed only in the wild-type structure suggest tighter inhibition in the wild-type PI3Kα than in the oncogenic mutant. These differences may be partially responsible for the increased basal lipid kinase activity and increased membrane binding of the oncogenic mutant.
Comparative study on the use of specific and heterologous microsatellite primers in the stingless bees Melipona rufiventris and M. mondury (Hymenoptera, Apidae)

Due to their high degree of polymorphism, microsatellites are considered useful tools for studying population genetics. Nevertheless, studies of genetic diversity in stingless bees by means of these primers have revealed a low level of polymorphism, possibly the consequence of the heterologous primers used, since in most cases these were not specifically designed for the species under consideration. Herein we compared the number of polymorphic loci and alleles per locus, as well as observed heterozygosity in Melipona rufiventris and M. mondury populations, using specific and heterologous primers. The use of specific primers placed in evidence the greater frequency of polymorphic loci and alleles per locus, besides an expressive increase in observed heterozygosity in M. rufiventris and M. mondury, thereby reinforcing the idea that populational studies should be undertaken by preferably using species-specific microsatellite primers.
Formation of Dwarf Galaxies during the Cosmic Reionization

We reanalyze the photoevaporation problem of subgalactic objects irradiated by ultraviolet background (UVB) radiation in a reionized universe. For the purpose, we perform three-dimensional radiation smoothed particle hydrodynamics (RSPH) calculations, in which the radiative transfer is solved by a direct method and the nonequilibrium chemistry of primordial gas including H2 molecules is also incorporated. Attention is concentrated on radiative transfer effects on the UVB for the formation of subgalactic objects with Tvir ≲ 104 K. We consider a reionization model with zreion ≈ 7 and also the earlier reionization model (zreion ≈ 17) inferred by the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP). We find that star formation is suppressed appreciably by UVB, but baryons at high-density peaks are self-shielded even during the reionization, forming some amount of stars eventually. In that sense, the photoevaporation for subgalactic systems is not as perfect as argued by one-dimensional spherical calculations. The final stellar fraction depends on the collapse epoch and the mass of the system, almost regardless of the reionization epoch. For instance, a few tenths of the formed stars are born after the cosmic reionization in the zreion ≈ 7 model, while more than 90% of the stars are born after the reionization in the WMAP reionization model. Thus, the effects of UVB feedback on the substructure problem with a cold dark matter (CDM) scenario should be evaluated with careful treatment of the radiative transfer. The star clusters formed at high-density peaks coalesce with each other in a dissipationless fashion in a dark matter potential, as a resultant forming a spheroidal system. As a result, these low-mass galaxies have large mass-to-light ratios, such as observed in dwarf spheroidal galaxies in the Local Group.