Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Formation and Fate of Fermentation Products in Hot Spring Cyanobacterial Mats

The fate of representative fermentation products (acetate, propionate, butyrate, lactate, and ethanol) in hot spring cyanobacterial mats was investigated. The major fate during incubations in the light was photoassimilation by filamentous bacteria resembling Chloroflexus aurantiacus. Some metabolism of all compounds occurred under dark aerobic conditions. Under dark anaerobic conditions, only lactate was oxidized extensively to carbon dioxide. Extended preincubation under dark anaerobic conditions did not enhance anaerobic catabolism of acetate, propionate, or ethanol. Acetogenesis of butyrate was suggested by the hydrogen sensitivity of butyrate conversion to acetate and by the enrichment of butyrate-degrading acetogenic bacteria. Accumulation of fermentation products which were not catabolized under dark anaerobic conditions revealed their importance. Acetate and propionate were the major fermentation products which accumulated in samples collected at temperatures ranging from 50 to 70�C. Other organic acids and alcohols accumulated to a much lesser extent. Fermentation occurred mainly in the top 4 mm of the mat. Exposure to light decreased the accumulation of acetate and presumably of other fermentation products. The importance of interspecies hydrogen transfer was investigated by comparing fermentation product accumulation at a 65�C site, with naturally high hydrogen levels, and a 55�C site, where active methanogenesis prevented significant hydrogen accumulation. There was a greater relative accumulation of reduced products, notably ethanol, in the 65�C mat.
Fiber Tractography Based on Diffusion Tensor Imaging Compared with High-angular-resolution Diffusion Imaging with Compressed Sensing: Initial Experience

BACKGROUND: The most frequently used method for fiber tractography based on diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is associated with restrictions in the resolution of crossing or kissing fibers and in the vicinity of tumor or edema. Tractography based on high-angular-resolution diffusion imaging (HARDI) is capable of overcoming this restriction. With compressed sensing (CS) techniques, HARDI acquisitions with a smaller number of directional measurements can be used, thus enabling the use of HARDI-based fiber tractography in clinical practice. OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether HARDI1CS-based fiber tractography improves the display of neuroanatomically complex pathways and in areas of disturbed diffusion properties. METHODS: Six patients with gliomas in the vicinity of language-related areas underwent 3-T magnetic resonance imaging including a diffusion-weighted data set with 30 gradient directions. Additionally, functional magnetic resonance imaging for cortical language sites was obtained. Fiber tractography was performed with deterministic streamline algorithms based on DTI using 3 different software platforms. Additionally, tractography based on reconstructed diffusion signals using HARDI1CS was performed. RESULTS: HARDI1CS-based tractography displayed more compact fiber bundles compared with the DTI-based results in all cases. In 3 cases, neuroanatomically plausible fiber bundles were displayed in the vicinity of tumor and peritumoral edema, which could not be traced on the basis of DTI. The curvature around the sylvian fissure was displayed properly in 6 cases and in only 2 cases with DTI-based tractography. CONCLUSION: HARDI1CS seems to be a promising approach for fiber tractography in clinical practice for neuroanatomically complex fiber pathways and in areas of disturbed diffusion, overcoming the problem of long acquisition times.
Comparative in vitro activity of telithromycin against macrolide-resistant and -susceptible Streptococcus pneumoniae, Moraxella catarrhalis and Haemophilus influenzae.

OBJECTIVES The first objective was to investigate the in vitro activity of telithromycin against respiratory tract pathogens in comparison with other antimicrobial agents. The second objective was to identify the influence of the erm(B) and mef(A) genes on the susceptibility of Streptococcus pneumoniae to telithromycin. METHODS The in vitro activity of telithromycin against S. pneumoniae, Moraxella catarrhalis and Haemophilus influenzae, isolated from the UK and 40 macrolide-resistant S. pneumoniae from four different countries was compared with a variety of antimicrobial agents. The 140 isolates were examined for the presence of the erm(B) and mef(A) genes. The impact of 5% CO(2) on susceptibility testing was also investigated. RESULTS Telithromycin showed greatest activity against S. pneumoniae, but also had good activity against M. catarrhalis and H. influenzae, which was independent of their resistance profiles to other antibiotics. The MIC(90) of telithromycin for S. pneumoniae was 0.12 mg/L, which was 64-fold lower than the lowest macrolide MIC; 21% of the S. pneumoniae were macrolide resistant. Thirty-eight per cent of the macrolide-resistant strains were erm(B)-positive and 62% were mef(A)-positive, but no strain contained both genes. The activity of telithromycin was similar to that of azithromycin against both M. catarrhalis and H. influenzae, Erythromycin was slightly less active: 1% and 8% of M. catarrhalis and H. influenzae, respectively, were resistant to erythromycin, but none were resistant to telithromycin. Five per cent of the S. pneumoniae strains and 4% of the H. influenzae strains changed from telithromycin susceptible to non-susceptible entirely because of the incubation conditions. The MIC(50)s and MIC(90)s of S. pneumoniae, M. catarrhalis and H. influenzae increased by one dilution when incubated in CO(2). CONCLUSIONS Telithromycin has shown high in vitro activity against S. pneumoniae, including those strains that are macrolide susceptible and resistant as well as M. catarrhalis and H. influenzae. This study has also demonstrated that there is no cross-resistance between erythromycin and telithromycin. The impact of 5% CO(2) on susceptibility testing should be investigated further before providing definite guidelines on telithromycin susceptibility testing.
Computation of optimal current references for flux-weakening of multi-phase synchronous machines

Multi-phase synchronous machines are more and more used in specific applications where high power density, low bus voltage, wide speed range and fault-tolerant capabilities are required. Due to the high number of degrees of freedom, multi-phase machines are difficult to optimally operate in flux-weakening zones. This paper proposes a technique to numerically compute optimal current references that can be used for feed-forward flux-weakening techniques in order to exploit the maximum machine performances for given DC bus voltage and current limits. The proposed technique is applied to a five-phase permanent magnet synchronous machine specifically developed for an automotive application.
A minimum spanning tree algorithm with inverse-Ackermann type complexity

A deterministic algorithm for computing a minimum spanning tree of a connected graph is presented. Its running time is <italic>0</italic>(<italic>m</italic> α(<italic>m, n</italic>)), where α is the classical functional inverse of Ackermann's function and <italic>n</italic> (respectively, <italic>m</italic>) is the number of vertices (respectively, edges). The algorithm is comparison-based : it uses pointers, not arrays, and it makes no numeric assumptions on the edge costs.
Sugar Ester Surfactants: Enzymatic Synthesis and Applications in Food Industry

Sugar esters are non-ionic surfactants that can be synthesized in a single enzymatic reaction step using lipases. The stability and efficiency of lipases under unusual conditions and using non-conventional media can be significantly improved through immobilization and protein engineering. Also, the development of de novo enzymes has seen a significant increase lately under the scope of the new field of synthetic biology. Depending on the esterification degree and the nature of fatty acid and/or sugar, a range of sugar esters can be synthesized. Due to their surface activity and emulsifying capacity, sugar esters are promising for applications in food industry.
Learning Domain-Independent Dialogue Policies via Ontology Parameterisation

This paper introduces a novel approach to eliminate the domain dependence of dialogue state and action representations, such that dialogue policies trained based on the proposed representation can be transferred across different domains. The experimental results show that the policy optimised in a restaurant search domain using our domain-independent representations can be deployed to a laptop sale domain, achieving a task success rate very close (96.4% relative) to that of the policy optimised on in-domain dialogues.
Spousal loss predicts alterations in diurnal cortisol activity through prospective changes in positive emotion.

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to examine the role of spousal bereavement and positive emotion in naturally occurring levels of daily cortisol. METHODS Analyses were conducted using data from the Midlife in the United States survey and the National Study of Daily Experiences. Baseline assessments of extraversion, neuroticism, trait positive emotion, and trait negative emotion were obtained, as were reports of demographic and health behavior covariates. Salivary cortisol levels were measured at wakeup, 30 min after awakening, before lunch, and at bedtime on each of 4 successive days. RESULTS Multilevel growth curve analyses indicated that independent of age, gender, education, extraversion, neuroticism, negative emotion, medication use, and smoking, spousal bereavement was associated with lower levels of cortisol at wakeup and a flattening of the diurnal cortisol rhythm. Mediation analyses revealed that prospective changes in positive emotion accounted for the impact of bereavement on diurnal cortisol slopes. CONCLUSION The current prospective study is among the first to provide evidence for a role for positive emotion as a mechanism by which bereavement influences hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis dysregulation in older adults.
Cosmological parameter estimation in the quintessence paradigm

We present cosmological parameter constraints on flat cosmologies dominated by dark energy using various cosmo- logical data including the recent Archeops angular power spectrum measurements. A likelihood analysis of the existing Cosmic Microwave Background data shows that in the absence of further prior, dark energy is not required. This comes from the fact that degeneracies exist among the various cosmological parameters constrained by the Cosmic Microwave Background. We found that there is a degeneracy in a combination of the Hubble parameter H0 and of the dark energy equation of state parame- terwQ ,b ut thatwQ is not correlated with the primordial index n of scalar fluctuations and the baryon content bh 2 . The preferred primordial index is n= 0:95 0:05 (68%) and baryon contentbh 2 = 0:021 0:003. Adding constraints on the amplitude of matter fluctuations on small scales, 8, obtained from clusters abundance or weak lensing data may allow degenaracies to be broken, although present-day systematic uncertainties do not allow for firm conclusions as yet. Further addition of the Hubble Space Telescope measurements of the local distance scale and of the high redshift supernovae data allow one to obtain tight constraints. When these constraints are combined we find that the amount of dark energy is 0:7 +0:10 0:07 (95% C.L.) and that its equation of state is very close to those of the vacuum:wQ 95% C.L. ). In no case do we find that quintessence is prefered over the classical cosmological constant, although robust data on8 might rapidly shed light on this important issue.
Constraints on the Stellar/Substellar Mass Function in the Inner Orion Nebula Cluster

We present the results of a 0. ″5-0. ″9 FWHM imaging survey at K (2.2 μm) and H (1.6 μm) covering ~5. ′1 × 5. ′1 centered on θ1C Ori, the most massive star in the Orion Nebula Cluster (ONC). At the age and distance of this cluster, and in the absence of extinction, the hydrogen-burning limit (0.08 M☉) occurs at K ≈ 13.5 mag, while an object of mass 0.02 M☉ has K ≈ 16.2 mag. Our photometry is complete for source detection at the 7 σ level to K ≈ 17.5 mag and thus is sensitive to objects as low-mass as 0.02 M☉ seen through visual extinction values as high as 10 mag. We use the observed magnitudes, colors, and star counts to constrain the shape of the inner ONC stellar mass function across the hydrogen-burning limit. After determining the stellar age and near-infrared excess properties of the optically visible stars in this same inner ONC region, we present a new technique that incorporates these distributions when extracting the mass function from the observed density of stars in the K-(H-K) diagram. We find that our data are inconsistent with a mass function that rises across the stellar/substellar boundary. Instead, we find that the most likely form of the inner ONC mass function is one that rises to a peak around 0.15 M☉, and then declines across the hydrogen-burning limit with slope N(log M) ∝ M0.57. We emphasize that our conclusions apply to the inner 0.71 pc × 0.71 pc of the ONC only; they may not apply to the ONC as a whole where some evidence for general mass segregation has been found.
A mathematical model for predicting the maximum potential spotting distance from a crown fire

A mathematical model is presented for predicting the maximum potential spot fire distance from an active crown fire. This distance can be estimated from the height of the flame above the canopy top, wind speed at canopy-top height and final firebrand size (i.e. its residual size on alighting), represented by the diameter of a cylinder of woody char. Thecompletemodelsystemcomprisesseveralsubmodelsorcomponents:amodelfortheheightandtiltangleofthewind- blown line-fire flame front, a simplified two-dimensional model of the wind-blown buoyant plume from the fire, an assumed logarithmic wind speed variation with height, and an empirically based model for the burning rate of a wooden cylinder incross flow,which represents the firebrand. The trajectory of the burning particle is expressed analytically from where it leaves the lower boundary of the plume until it enters the canopy top. Adding the horizontal distance of this flight to that of the point where the particle can no longer be held aloft by the plume flow gives a spotting range that depends on the final diameter of the burning particle. Comparisons of model output with existing information on crown fire spotting distances has initially proved encouraging but further evaluation is warranted. Additional keywords: canopy-top height, crowning, ember, extreme fire behaviour, fire plume, firebrand, flame height, ignition, spot fire, wind speed.
The paradoxes of a liberal democratic education: An essay review.

For decades, schools have been ground zero in the culture wars. The stakes are high because both sides recognize it is in schools children are initiated into full membership in a liberal democratic society. To oversimplify, the basic divide over how this should be done has been between the view that schools should teach children right from wrong as it is currently understood by their elders and the view that children, like everyone else, should be free to choose, among other things, their own version of the Good. Another way of understanding this divide is that it runs between those committed to a secular state accommodating equally all forms of religious beliefs and no belief at all, and those who insist that morality must be based in religion, usually a particular form of Christianity. The conflict has become increasingly heated since the 1962 Supreme Court decision in Engel v Vitale that school-sanctioned prayer violated the First Amendment's prohibition against government establishment of religion, followed one year later by the decision in Abington Township School District v Schempp that
A secure anonymous proxy signcryption scheme

Abstract We introduce a new cryptographic primitive identity-based anonymous proxy signcryption which provides anonymity to the proxy sender while also providing a mechanism to the original sender to expose the identity of the proxy sender in case of misuse. We introduce a formal definition of an identity-based anonymous proxy signcryption (IBAPS) scheme and give a security model for it. We also construct an IBAPS scheme and prove its security under the discrete logarithm assumption and computational Diffie–Hellman assumption. Moreover, we do an efficiency comparison with the existing identity-based signcryption schemes and anonymous signcryption schemes and show that our scheme is much more efficient than those schemes, we also compare the efficiency of our scheme with the available proxy signcryption schemes and show that our scheme provides anonymity to the proxy sender at cost less than those of existing proxy signcryption schemes.
PROTOPLANETARY DISK MASSES IN THE YOUNG NGC 2024 CLUSTER

We present the results from a Submillimeter Array survey of the 887 μm continuum emission from the protoplanetary disks around 95 young stars in the young cluster NGC 2024. Emission was detected from 22 infrared sources, with flux densities from ∼5 to 330 mJy; upper limits (at 3σ) for the other 73 sources range from 3 to 24 mJy. For standard assumptions, the corresponding disk masses range from ∼0.003 to 0.2 M ⊙ ? > , with upper limits at 0.002–0.01 M ⊙ ? > . The NGC 2024 sample has a slightly more populated tail at the high end of its disk mass distribution compared to other clusters, but without more information on the nature of the sample hosts it remains unclear if this difference is statistically significant or a superficial selection effect. Unlike in the Orion Trapezium, there is no evidence for a disk mass dependence on the (projected) separation from the massive star IRS 2b in the NGC 2024 cluster. We suggest that this is due to either the cluster youth or a comparatively weaker photoionizing radiation field.
Theoretical Considerations and a Mathematical Model for the Analysis of the Biomechanical Response of Human Keratinized Oral Mucosa

Removable complete and partial dentures are supported by the residual alveolar ridges consisting of mucosa, submucosa, periosteum, and bone. An understanding of the biomechanical behavior of the oral mucosa is essential in order to improve the denture-bearing foundations for complete and partially edentulous patients. The purpose of this paper was to examine the biomechanical behavior of the soft tissues supporting a removable denture and develop a model for that reason. Keratinized oral mucosa blocks with their underlying bone were harvested from the maxillary palatal area adjacent to the edentulous ridges of a cadaver. The compressive response of the oral mucosa was tested by using atomic force microscopy. The specimens were first scanned in order their topography to be obtained. The mechanical properties of the specimens were tested using a single crystal silicon pyramidal tip, which traversed toward the keratinized oral mucosa specimens. Loading-unloading cycles were registered and four mathematical models were tested using MATLAB to note which one approximates the force-displacement curve as close as possible: a. spherical, b. conical, c. third order polynomial, d. Murphy (fourth order polynomial, non-linear Hertzian based). The third order polynomial model showed the best accuracy in representing the force-displacement data of the tested specimens. A model was developed in order to analyze the biomechanical behavior of the human oral keratinized mucosa and obtain information about its mechanical properties.
Balance of cellular and humoral immunity determines the level of protection by HIV vaccines in rhesus macaque models of HIV infection

Significance Our candidate HIV vaccine, a single-chain gp120-CD4 chimera, elicits protection against acquisition of simian-human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV)/simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) in rhesus macaques. Antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity was an inverse correlate of infection risk. However, it is attenuated when antigen-specific T-cell responses exceed a threshold, presumably due to the generation of CD4+ CCR5+ T cells, the preferred cellular targets of SHIV/SIV. Multiple studies strongly suggest that HIV/SIV-specific T-cell responses are a double-edged sword. On one hand, they are required for T-cell help in the protective antibody response. On the other hand, they appear to mitigate protection by creating new targets for viral replication. Determining the balance between protective antibody responses and attenuating T-cell responses is a key challenge confronting HIV vaccine development. A guiding principle for HIV vaccine design has been that cellular and humoral immunity work together to provide the strongest degree of efficacy. However, three efficacy trials of Ad5-vectored HIV vaccines showed no protection. Transmission was increased in two of the trials, suggesting that this vaccine strategy elicited CD4+ T-cell responses that provide more targets for infection, attenuating protection or increasing transmission. The degree to which this problem extends to other HIV vaccine candidates is not known. Here, we show that a gp120-CD4 chimeric subunit protein vaccine (full-length single chain) elicits heterologous protection against simian-human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV) or simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) acquisition in three independent rhesus macaque repeated low-dose rectal challenge studies with SHIV162P3 or SIVmac251. Protection against acquisition was observed with multiple formulations and challenges. In each study, protection correlated with antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity specific for CD4-induced epitopes, provided that the concurrent antivaccine T-cell responses were minimal. Protection was lost in instances when T-cell responses were high or when the requisite antibody titers had declined. Our studies suggest that balance between a protective antibody response and antigen-specific T-cell activation is the critical element to vaccine-mediated protection against HIV. Achieving and sustaining such a balance, while enhancing antibody durability, is the major challenge for HIV vaccine development, regardless of the immunogen or vaccine formulation.
Permeability Parameters Measured with Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced MRI: Correlation with the Extravasation of Evans Blue in a Rat Model of Transient Cerebral Ischemia

Objective The purpose of this study was to correlate permeability parameters measured with dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) using a clinical 3-tesla scanner with extravasation of Evans blue in a rat model with transient cerebral ischemia. Materials and Methods Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 13) with transient middle cerebral artery occlusion were imaged using a 3-tesla MRI with an 8-channel wrist coil. DCE-MRI was performed 12 hours, 18 hours, and 36 hours after reperfusion. Permeability parameters (Ktrans, ve, and vp) from DCE-MRI were calculated. Evans blue was injected after DCE-MRI and extravasation of Evans blue was correlated as a reference with the integrity of the blood-brain barrier. Correlation analysis was performed between permeability parameters and the extravasation of Evans blue. Results All permeability parameters (Ktrans, ve, and vp) showed a linear correlation with extravasation of Evans blue. Among them, Ktrans showed highest values of both the correlation coefficient and the coefficient of determination (0.687 and 0.473 respectively, p < 0.001). Conclusion Permeability parameters obtained by DCE-MRI at 3-T are well-correlated with Evans blue extravasation, and Ktrans shows the strongest correlation among the tested parameters.