Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Inheritance of Barley yellow dwarf virus resistance in maize

With increasing winter temperatures due to climate change, Barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) is expected to become a prominent problem also in maize cultivation. Breeding for resistance is the best alternative to control the disease and break the transmission cycle of the virus. The objectives of our study were to (I) determine phenotypic and genotypic variation in five segregating populations of maize with respect to BYDV tolerance or resistance as well as (II) quantify the influence of BYDV infection on plant performance traits. In 2011, five segregating populations with a total of 445 genotypes were grown at two locations in Germany. Plants were inoculated with BYDV-PAV transmitted by aphids of the species Rhopalosiphum padi. We observed considerable genotypic variance for the traits virus concentration as measured by double antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (DAS-ELISA) as well as expression of symptoms. Furthermore, heritabilities were high for the plant performance traits ear height and plant height. Correlation coefficients between all pairs of traits were significantly different from 0 (P <0.05). Genotypes of the inoculated variant were reduced in plant height by 3 cm, ear height by 6 cm, and flowered 3 days earlier compared to genotypes of the non-inoculated variant. The results of our study suggested a high potential for breeding of BVDY resistant / tolerant maize. 1 Horn et al. 2013. Maydica. 58:174–181 10
Prediction of Damage Behaviors in Asphalt Materials Using a Micromechanical Finite-Element Model and Image Analysis

A study of the micromechanical damage behavior of asphalt concrete is presented. Asphalt concrete is composed of aggregates, mastic cement, and air voids, and its load carrying behavior is strongly related to the local microstructural load transfer between aggregate particles. Numerical simulation of this micromechanical behavior was accomplished by using a finite-element model that incorporated the mechanical load-carrying response between aggregates. The finite-element scheme used a network of special frame elements each with a stiffness matrix developed from an approximate elasticity solution of the stress and displacement field in a cementation layer between particle pairs. Continuum damage mechanics was then incorporated within this solution, leading to the construction of a microdamage model capable of predicting typical global inelastic behavior found in asphalt materials. Using image processing and aggregate fitting techniques, simulation models of indirect tension, and compression samples were generated from surface photographic data of actual laboratory specimens. Model simulation results of the overall sample behavior and evolving microfailure/fracture patterns compared favorably with experimental data collected on these samples.
The Importance of Trust for Investment: Evidence from Venture Capital

We examine the effect of trust on financial investment and contracting decisions in a micro-economic environment where trust is exogenous. Using hand-collected data on European venture capital, we show that the Eurobarometer measure of trust among nations significantly affects investment decisions. This holds even after controlling for investor and company fixed effects, geographic distance, information and transaction costs. The national identity of venture capital firms’ individual partners further contributes to the effect of trust. Education and work experience reduce the effect of trust but do not eliminate it. We also examine the relationship between trust and sophisticated contracts involving contingent control rights and find that, even after controlling for endogeneity, they are complements, not substitutes.
Assessment of retention of plasma components in tungsten under high flux plasma exposure : multi-scale modelling approach

La fusion nuclear puede ser considerada como potencialmente limpia, segura y virtualmente una fuente ilimitada de energia para el futuro. Actualmente, el concepto mas prometedor ? el llamado ? tokamak? utiliza el confinamiento magnetico del plasma de fusion. Uno de los proyectos mas ambiciosos relacionados con la energia es hoy en dia la construccion del tokamak mas grande del mundo, tambien conocido como ITER, El Camino en Latin. La campana experimental planeada en ITER tiene como objetivo probar las tecnologias, los materiales y los regimenes fisicos necesarios para la produccion comercial de electricidad basada en la fusion nuclear. En otras palabras, el objetivo de ITER es de tender un puente entre el dispositivo de fusion mas pequeno que existe hoy y la planta de fusion nuclear del futuro, el reactor DEMO. Uno de los principales objetivos para el funcionamiento de ITER es de demostrar el control del plasma de fusion con consecuencias insignificantes para el medioambiente. Por lo tanto, una atencion especial ha sido puesta sobre el tritio (T) respeto a su toxicidad y radiactividad intrinsecas. El limite de 700 g de T acumulado en la camara de ITER fue determinada por las autoridades de seguridad para limitar posibles danos medioambientales en el caso improbable de una fuga de T. Por lo tanto, un conocimiento de los mecanismos que gobernan la penetracion, acumulacion y rentencion de T en materiales que estan en contacto con el plasma es crucial. En el diseno actual de ITER, el tungsteno (W) fue retenido como material blindaje para el divertor ? el sistema de escape de ITER ? y estara sujeto to condiciones extremas en terminos de fluoj de calor y de bombardeo por particulas. La eleccion del W es principalmente motivada por sus increibles propiedades, como un punto de fusion muy alto, una conductividad termica alta y una buena resistencia a la erosion. Esta tesis doctoral se centra en el estudio de los mecanismos de retencion y desorcion del T en W.
BMN Correlators by Loop Equations

In the BMN approach to = 4 SYM a large class of correlators of interest are expressible in terms of expectation values of traces of words in a zero-dimensional gaussian complex matrix model. We develop a loop-equation based, analytic strategy for evaluating such expectation values to any order in the genus expansion. We reproduce the expectation values which were needed for the calculation of the one-loop, genus one correction to the anomalous dimension of BMN-operators and which were earlier obtained by combinatorial means. Furthermore, we present the expectation values needed for the calculation of the one-loop, genus two correction.
Homography based distributed video coding for a network of cameras

Networks of multiple video cameras are being deployed in several scenarios like surveillance, traffic enforcement, human motion analysis and sports telecast. The unmanageable size of the raw video sequences necessitates the use of compression schemes to efficiently encode these videos. Traditional video compression schemes account for spatial and temporal redundancy in a video sequence. In this paper, we present a compression technique that also leverages the information redundancy between video sequences across different cameras with overlapping fields of view. An algorithm based on homography for efficient compression of multiple video sequences is presented that performs significantly better than current schemes. We also derive an efficient distributed version of the algorithm that can be implemented on a large scale network of cameras. This distributed algorithm minimizes both the communication costs and the compression costs simultaneously.
A graph based algorithm for optimal buffer insertion under accurate delay models

Buffer insertion is an efficient technique in interconnect optimization. This paper presents a graph based algorithm for optimal buffer insertion under accurate delay models. In our algorithm, a signal is accurately represented by a finite ramp which is characterized by two parameters, shift time and transition time. Any accurate delay model, such as delay models based on the transmission line model and SPICE simulations, can be incorporated into our algorithm. The algorithm determines the optimal number of buffers and their locations on a wire such that some optimization objective is satisfied. Two typical examples of such optimization objectives are minimizing the 50% threshold delay and minimizing the transition time. Both can be easily determined in our algorithm. We show that the buffer insertion problem can be reduced to a shortest path problem. The algorithm can be easily extended for simultaneous buffer insertion and wire-sizing, and complexity is still polynomial. The algorithm can also be extended to deal with problems such as buffer insertion subject to transition time constraints at any position along the wire.
Extension of RPI-adult male and female computational phantoms to obese patients and a Monte Carlo study of the effect on CT imaging dose

Although it is known that obesity has a profound effect on x-ray computed tomography (CT) image quality and patient organ dose, quantitative data describing this relationship are not currently available. This study examines the effect of obesity on the calculated radiation dose to organs and tissues from CT using newly developed phantoms representing overweight and obese patients. These phantoms were derived from the previously developed RPI-adult male and female computational phantoms. The result was a set of ten phantoms (five males, five females) with body mass indexes ranging from 23.5 (normal body weight) to 46.4 kg m−2 (morbidly obese). The phantoms were modeled using triangular mesh geometry and include specified amounts of the subcutaneous adipose tissue and visceral adipose tissue. The mesh-based phantoms were then voxelized and defined in the Monte Carlo N-Particle Extended code to calculate organ doses from CT imaging. Chest–abdomen–pelvis scanning protocols for a GE LightSpeed 16 scanner operating at 120 and 140 kVp were considered. It was found that for the same scanner operating parameters, radiation doses to organs deep in the abdomen (e.g., colon) can be up to 59% smaller for obese individuals compared to those of normal body weight. This effect was found to be less significant for shallow organs. On the other hand, increasing the tube potential from 120 to 140 kVp for the same obese individual resulted in increased organ doses by as much as 56% for organs within the scan field (e.g., stomach) and 62% for those out of the scan field (e.g., thyroid), respectively. As higher tube currents are often used for larger patients to maintain image quality, it was of interest to quantify the associated effective dose. It was found from this study that when the mAs was doubled for the obese level-I, obese level-II and morbidly-obese phantoms, the effective dose relative to that of the normal weight phantom increased by 57%, 42% and 23%, respectively. This set of new obese phantoms can be used in the future to study the optimization of image quality and radiation dose for patients of different weight classifications. Our ultimate goal is to compile all the data derived from these phantoms into a comprehensive dosimetry database defined in the VirtualDose software.
Body mass, fat percentage, and fat free mass as reference variables for lung function: effects on terms for age and sex

BACKGROUND Sex specific cross sectional reference values for lung function indices usually employ a linear model with terms for age and stature. The effects of also matching for body mass index (BMI = mass/stature2) or its components, fat percentage of body mass (fat%) and fat free mass index (FFMI = fat free mass/stature2) were studied. METHODS The subjects were 458 asymptomatic male and female non-smokers (383 men) and 22 female ex-smokers. Measurements were made of ventilatory capacity, lung volumes, transfer factor (diffusing capacity, single breath CO method), and body composition (skinfold method). Linear and proportional regression models were used. RESULTS Terms for fat% and FFMI significantly improved the accuracy of reference values for all the primary lung function indices. The improvements in subjects with atypical physiques (fat% and FFMI at the ends of the distributions for the subjects) were in the range 0.3–2.3 SD compared with conventional regression equations. The new partial regression coefficients on age were independent of age related changes in body fat. The coefficient for total lung capacity (TLC) on age in men was now positive. Most differences between the sexes were eliminated. A term for BMI improved the descriptions of subdivisions of TLC but lacked the other advantages. CONCLUSION Allowance for fat% and FFMI increases the accuracy of reference equations for lung function, particularly for subjects with a lot of fat and little muscle or vice versa. Allowance for BMI is less informative.
GUESS-ing Polygenic Associations with Multiple Phenotypes Using a GPU-Based Evolutionary Stochastic Search Algorithm

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) yielded significant advances in defining the genetic architecture of complex traits and disease. Still, a major hurdle of GWAS is narrowing down multiple genetic associations to a few causal variants for functional studies. This becomes critical in multi-phenotype GWAS where detection and interpretability of complex SNP(s)-trait(s) associations are complicated by complex Linkage Disequilibrium patterns between SNPs and correlation between traits. Here we propose a computationally efficient algorithm (GUESS) to explore complex genetic-association models and maximize genetic variant detection. We integrated our algorithm with a new Bayesian strategy for multi-phenotype analysis to identify the specific contribution of each SNP to different trait combinations and study genetic regulation of lipid metabolism in the Gutenberg Health Study (GHS). Despite the relatively small size of GHS (n = 3,175), when compared with the largest published meta-GWAS (n>100,000), GUESS recovered most of the major associations and was better at refining multi-trait associations than alternative methods. Amongst the new findings provided by GUESS, we revealed a strong association of SORT1 with TG-APOB and LIPC with TG-HDL phenotypic groups, which were overlooked in the larger meta-GWAS and not revealed by competing approaches, associations that we replicated in two independent cohorts. Moreover, we demonstrated the increased power of GUESS over alternative multi-phenotype approaches, both Bayesian and non-Bayesian, in a simulation study that mimics real-case scenarios. We showed that our parallel implementation based on Graphics Processing Units outperforms alternative multi-phenotype methods. Beyond multivariate modelling of multi-phenotypes, our Bayesian model employs a flexible hierarchical prior structure for genetic effects that adapts to any correlation structure of the predictors and increases the power to identify associated variants. This provides a powerful tool for the analysis of diverse genomic features, for instance including gene expression and exome sequencing data, where complex dependencies are present in the predictor space.
Matching Q-ary Reed-Solomon codes with M-ary modulation

Reed-Solomon (RS) error-correcting codes are often proposed for communication systems requiring burst and/or erasure correction capabilities. In most cases, the modulation symbol size is fixed a priori. Therefore, the effective application of RS coding implies proper matching of the code symbol size with the modulation symbol size. Previous results have assumed that the RS codeword symbol size is an integer multiple of the modulation symbol size or have been based on simple approximations. In this paper, the exact symbol error probability with K-bit M-ary modulation symbols and q-bit RS codeword symbols is presented.
Serum antibody titres to canine parvovirus, adenovirus and distemper virus in dogs in the UK which had not been vaccinated for at least three years

Antibody titres to canine distemper (CDV), canine parvovirus (cpv) and canine adenovirus (cAV) were measured in 144 adult dogs that had not been vaccinated for between three and 15 years. Protective antibodies to cpv were present in 95 per cent of the population, to CDV in 71.5 per cent and to CAV in 82 per cent. The prevalence of protective titres did not decrease with increasing time interval from the last vaccination for any of the three diseases studied. Booster vaccination increased the dogs CAV titres. For comparative purposes, 199 puppies were sampled at the time of their first and second vaccination. In the case of cpv and cAv a significantly higher proportion of the adult dogs were protected than of the puppies immediately after they were vaccinated. Natural cpv boosting was strongly suspected because the dogs had significantly higher titres three years after their primary vaccination than two weeks after it and three unvaccinated dogs had acquired protective antibody levels uneventfully. There was no evidence of natural exposure to CDV.
The role of 5-fluorouracil dose in the adjuvant therapy of colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND In many centres, the use of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) combined with levamisole has become standard therapy for the treatment of patients with Dukes' C colon cancer. However, the role of levamisole remains unclear. MATERIALS AND METHODS All of the published adjuvant studies for colorectal cancer in which 5-FU (either as a single agent or in combination with other cytotoxics or levamisole) was compared to a no-treatment control group were ranked according to the total planned dose of 5-FU (assuming a body weight of 70 kg or a body surface area of 1.7 m2) over a three-month time frame. The effect of planned total dose of adjuvant therapy on the reduction of mortality was analysed using indirect comparisons of dose on the log odds ratio of death in a linear regression analysis. RESULTS Overall, this analysis demonstrated a significant reduction in the odds of death for those receiving 5-FU regimens compared to untreated controls (estimate 0.82, 95% CI 0.74 to 0.91, p < 0.001). This effect was larger in those receiving a larger planned dose; for a total dose of 5-FU in the first three months of greater than 10 grams, 8 to 10 grams, less than 8 grams or oral 5-FU, estimates were 0.71, 0.79, 0.93 and 1.04, respectively (p = 0.02 for trend). Similar results were observed when the planned total dose of 5-FU received over 12 months was analysed. The analysis was then repeated by separating those studies in which 5-FU and levamisole were compared to a no-treatment control. A larger effect was seen in the 5-FU/levamisole trials (odds ratio, 0.64) compared to the other 5-FU regimens (odds ratio 0.86, p = 0.04). However, when adjusted for dose, the effect of levamisole was no longer significant (p = 0.09). CONCLUSION These data suggest two separate hypotheses. The first is that the benefit associated with the use of 5-FU and levamisole given as adjuvant therapy in Dukes' C colon cancer is directly related to the planned total dose of 5-FU administered. Alternatively, in view of the fact that levamisole was part of the treatment regimens in two of the three studies in which the total planned dose of 5-FU exceeded 10 grams in three months (or 40 grams in 12 months), levamisole may be critical to outcome and the 5-FU total dose or dose intensity less relevant.
Cloning and Characterization of the Ferulic Acid Catabolic Genes of Sphingomonas paucimobilis SYK-6

ABSTRACT Sphingomonas paucimobilis SYK-6 degrades ferulic acid to vanillin, and it is further metabolized through the protocatechuate 4,5-cleavage pathway. We obtained a Tn5 mutant of SYK-6, FA2, which was able to grow on vanillic acid but not on ferulic acid. A cosmid which complemented the growth deficiency of FA2 on ferulic acid was isolated. The 5.2-kb BamHI-EcoRI fragment in this cosmid conferred the transformation activity of ferulic acid to vanillin on Escherichia coli host cells. A sequencing analysis revealed the genes ferB and ferA in this fragment; these genes consist of 852- and 2,127-bp open reading frames, respectively. The deduced amino acid sequence of ferB showed 40 to 48% identity with that of the feruloyl-coenzyme A (CoA) hydratase/lyase genes of Pseudomonas and Amycolatopsis ferulic acid degraders. On the other hand, the deduced amino acid sequence of ferA showed no significant similarity to the feruloyl-CoA synthetase genes of other ferulic acid degraders. However, the deduced amino acid sequence of ferA did show 31% identity with pimeloyl-CoA synthetase of Pseudomonas mendocina 35, which has been classified as a new superfamily of acyl-CoA synthetase (ADP forming) with succinyl-CoA synthetase (L. B. Sánchez, M. Y. Galperin, and M. Müller, J. Biol. Chem. 275:5794-5803, 2000). On the basis of the enzyme activity of E. coli carrying each of these genes, ferA and ferB were shown to encode a feruloyl-CoA synthetase and feruloyl-CoA hydratase/lyase, respectively. p-coumaric acid, caffeic acid, and sinapinic acid were converted to their corresponding benzaldehyde derivatives by the cell extract containing FerA and FerB, thereby indicating their broad substrate specificities. We found a ferB homolog, ferB2, upstream of a 5-carboxyvanillic acid decarboxylase gene (ligW) involved in the degradation of 5,5′-dehydrodivanillic acid. The deduced amino acid sequence of ferB2 showed 49% identity with ferB, and its gene product showed feruloyl-CoA hydratase/lyase activity with a substrate specificity similar to that of FerB. Insertional inactivation of each fer gene in S. paucimobilis SYK-6 suggested that the ferA gene is essential and that ferB and ferB2 genes are involved in ferulic acid degradation.
IL-3 Induces Expression of Lymphatic Markers Prox-1 and Podoplanin in Human Endothelial Cells1

Factors determining lymphatic differentiation in the adult organism are not yet well characterized. We have made the observation that mixed primary cultures of dermal blood endothelial cells (BEC) and lymphatic endothelial cells (LEC) grown under standard conditions change expression of markers during subculture: After passage 6, they uniformly express LEC-specific markers Prox-1 and podoplanin. Using sorted cells, we show that LEC but not BEC constitutively express IL-3, which regulates Prox-1 and podoplanin expression in LEC. The addition of IL-3 to the medium of BEC cultures induces Prox-1 and podoplanin. Blocking IL-3 activity in LEC cultures results in a loss of Prox-1 and podoplanin expression. In conclusion, endogenous IL-3 is required to maintain the LEC phenotype in culture, and the addition of IL-3 to BEC appears to induce transdifferentiation of BEC into LEC.
A handover optimization algorithm with mobility robustness for LTE systems

A large number of cells will be deployed to provide high speed services in any places using the Long-Term Evolution (LTE) system. The management of such a large number of cells increases the operating expenditure (OPEX). Self-organizing network (SON) attracts attention as an effective way to reduce OPEX. This paper proposes a self-optimization algorithm for handover (HO) parameters. In conventional studies, the HO optimization techniques are discussed in models with stationary mobility of user equipment (UE). On the other hand, the key feature of the proposed algorithm is the mobility robustness, which means that the HO performance is robust against the change in UE mobility. In order to realize the mobility robustness, the proposed algorithm adaptively adjusts the HO parameters considering cause of HO failures, which changes in UE mobility. We examine the performance of the proposed algorithm through the computer simulations and confirm the mobility robustness. The simulation study demonstrates the following; The HO parameters are initially set to the optimum values for UEs with 3 km/h based on the random walk. Then, when the mobility changes from 3 km/h random walk to 300 km/h linear motion, the HO failure rates increases to 19%. The proposed algorithm reduces such increasing HO failure rates less than 0.2%.