Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Front-end ASIC for a GEM based time projection chamber

A time projection chamber for experiments with the laser electron gamma source is being developed. It is composed of a can and a single-ended, dual-stage gas electron multiplier, with associated anode plane pixellated into about 8000 pads. The front-end electronics must provide energy, timing, and address information from those pads involved in measuring each track. For center of gravity determination this information must be sampled from the above-threshold pad and from the two adjacent ones. An efficient scheme for readout of the /spl ap/8000 front-end channels between each measurement cycle is also required. A 32-channel front-end application-specific integrated circuit has been developed to serve this detector. Fabricated in 0.25 /spl mu/m CMOS technology, it dissipates 41 mW. Each channel implements a low noise charge preamplifier with continuous reset of new concept, shaping amplifier with bandgap referenced baseline stabilizer, single threshold discriminator, dual-phase peak detector, timing detector, and logic for neighbor enabling. The readout process is based on token passing and flag.
Social laughter is correlated with an elevated pain threshold

Although laughter forms an important part of human non-verbal communication, it has received rather less attention than it deserves in both the experimental and the observational literatures. Relaxed social (Duchenne) laughter is associated with feelings of wellbeing and heightened affect, a proximate explanation for which might be the release of endorphins. We tested this hypothesis in a series of six experimental studies in both the laboratory (watching videos) and naturalistic contexts (watching stage performances), using change in pain threshold as an assay for endorphin release. The results show that pain thresholds are significantly higher after laughter than in the control condition. This pain-tolerance effect is due to laughter itself and not simply due to a change in positive affect. We suggest that laughter, through an endorphin-mediated opiate effect, may play a crucial role in social bonding.
Security Compliance Auditing of Identity and Access Management in the Cloud: Application to OpenStack

Cloud computing has seen a lot of interests and adoption lately. Nonetheless, the widespread adoption of cloud is still being hindered by the lack of transparency and accountability, which has traditionally been ensured through security compliance auditing techniques. Auditing in cloud, however, presents many new challenges in data collection and processing (e.g., data format inconsistency and lack of correlation due to the heterogeneity of cloud infrastructures) and in verification (e.g., prohibitive performance overhead due to the sheer scale of cloud infrastructures and their self-provisioning, elastic, and dynamic nature). In this paper, we propose a security compliance auditing framework for cloud, with special focus on identity and access management, and we implement and evaluate the framework based on OpenStack, one of the most popular cloud management systems. Our experimental results show that auditing with formal methods in large cloud environment is realistic (e.g., our auditing solution can handle 60 thousand users in less than one minute).
Meniscal Repair Using the Inside-Out Suture Technique

Operations to treat meniscal injuries rank among the most frequent procedures performed by orthopedic surgeons. Ongoing research into the natural history, basic science, and biomechanics of meniscal injury has highlighted the importance of preserving the meniscus to maintain normal knee biomechanics and function. The arthroscopic inside-out suture repair is currently the gold standard by which other meniscal repair techniques are judged. Although it is difficult to identify meniscal tears amenable to repair preoperatively, an assessment of patient factors and tear characteristics on the basis of magnetic resonance imaging and intraoperative findings will aid the decision to excise or repair. For successful repair the meniscal tear must have appropriate location and characteristics, without evidence of fraying or degeneration. Repair with the arthroscopic inside-out method affords anatomic reduction of the meniscus tear and allows stimulation of circulation, factors which contribute to healing of the repair. Coupled with careful dissection and needle placement, this method minimizes complications associated with meniscus repair.
Prevalence and Risk Factors of Early-Stage Age-Related Macular Degeneration in Patients Examined at a Health Promotion Center in Korea

We evaluated the prevalence and risk factors for early age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in Koreans 50 yr of age or older who were examined at a single health promotion center. We retrospectively reviewed the records of 10,449 subjects who visited the center over a 6-month period. Fundus photography was performed on all subjects, and systematic risk factor analysis was conducted using a structured questionnaire. All patients (n = 322) were initially diagnosed with drusen or early AMD using fundoscopy; the control group (n = 10,127) were those yielding normal fundoscopy findings. The age- and gender-adjusted prevalence of early AMD was 3.08%. Advanced age, male gender, smoking status, hyperlipidemia, working outdoors, and residence in rural areas were all significantly associated with an increased risk for development of early AMD. Higher-level ingestion of fruit or herbal medication and an increased amount of exercise were associated with a lower risk of early AMD development. In our Korean cohort, consisting principally of relatively healthy, middle-class urban adults, the prevalence of early AMD was 3.08% that is similar to that reported in earlier epidemiological studies. Several modifiable risk factors such as smoking and hyperlipidemia are associated with the prevalence of early AMD in our cohort.
Adaptive, distributed control of constrained multi-agent systems

Product Distribution (PD) theory was recently developed as a framework for analyzing and optimizing distributed systems. In this paper we demonstrate its use for adaptive distributed control of Multi-Agent Systems (MASýs), i.e., for distributed stochastic optimization using MASýs. One common way to perform the optimization is to have each agent run a Reinforcement Learning (RL) algorithm. PD theory provides an alternative based upon using a variant of Newtonýs method operating on the agentýs probability distributions. We compare this alternative to RL-based search in three sets of computer experiments. The PD-theory-based approach outperforms the RL-based scheme in all three domains.
Bond Strength of Veneering Ceramics to a Graded Zirconia Core

To evaluate bond strength of veneering ceramics to a graded zirconia core. Two zirconia core ceramics (Y-TZP and graded zirconia) were fabricated and veneered with IPS e.max Ceram. A metal ceramic system (IPS d.SIGN, Ivoclar Vivadent, Liechtenstein) was used as a control group for the two all-ceramic test groups (n=20). Shear bond strength test and microtensile bond strength test were conducted by a universal testing machine. Fracture surfaces were also evaluated to determine the failure modes. Additionally, one-way ANOVA and Tukey's HSD tests were used to analyze the data. The shear bond strength test and microtensile bond strength test showed the familiar results. Graded zirconia exhibited the highest bond strength value (SBS: 31.01±2.01 MPa, MTBS: 40.95±1.95 MPa), significantly higher than that of Y-TZP (SBS: 28.14±2.28 MPa, 37.99±2.83 MPa). No significant differences were found between the metal core group and the two zirconia core groups. All test groups demonstrated cohesive failure within the veneer, as well as adhesive failure between the core and the veneer. Glass infiltration to zirconia may affect bond strength between zirconia core and veneering ceramics. A graded zirconia glass structure exhibits a benign bond to a veneering ceramics which could be similar to that of a metal ceramic system.
Walk Score, Transportation Mode Choice, and Walking Among French Adults: A GPS, Accelerometer, and Mobility Survey Study

Background: Few studies have used GPS data to analyze the relationship between Walk Score, transportation choice and walking. Additionally, the influence of Walk Score is understudied using trips rather than individuals as statistical units. The purpose of this study is to examine associations at the trip level between Walk Score, transportation mode choice, and walking among Paris adults who were tracked with GPS receivers and accelerometers in the RECORD GPS Study. Methods: In the RECORD GPS Study, 227 participants were tracked during seven days with GPS receivers and accelerometers. Participants were also surveyed with a GPS-based web mapping application on their activities and transportation modes for all trips (6969 trips). Walk Score, which calculates neighborhood walkability, was assessed for each origin and destination of every trip. Multilevel logistic and linear regression analyses were conducted to estimate associations between Walk Score and walking in the trip or accelerometry-assessed number of steps for each trip, after adjustment for individual/neighborhood characteristics. Results: The mean overall Walk Scores for trip origins were 87.1 (SD = 14.4) and for trip destinations 87.1 (SD = 14.5). In adjusted trip-level associations between Walk Score and walking only in the trip, we found that a walkable neighborhood in the trip origin and trip destination was associated with increased odds of walking in the trip assessed in the survey. The odds of only walking in the trip were 3.48 (95% CI: 2.73 to 4.44) times higher when the Walk Score for the trip origin was “Walker’s Paradise” compared to less walkable neighborhoods (Very/Car-Dependent or Somewhat Walkable), with an identical independent effect of trip destination Walk Score on walking. The number of steps per 10 min (as assessed with accelerometry) was cumulatively higher for trips both originating and ending in walkable neighborhoods (i.e., “Very Walkable”). Conclusions: Walkable neighborhoods were associated with increases in walking among adults in Paris, as documented at the trip level. Creating walkable neighborhoods (through neighborhood design increased commercial activity) may increase walking trips and, therefore, could be a relevant health promotion strategy to increase physical activity.
English temporal expression recognition based on Conditional Random Fields

Temporal expressions play a very important role in a lot of natural language processing areas, such as topic detection and tracking. This paper carries out extensive studies on English temporal expression recognition based on the Conditional Random Fields model. We mainly explore the usages of the features in the recognition, which are consisted of four kinds of features, i.e. Word Feature, Dictionary Feature, Number Feature and Character Feature. By the analysis of feature selection, we find that the choice and the implementation of features are the key components to the recognition system and their results are very important to the performance of the recognition system. We also analyze the reasons of the recognition errors, and provide the possible solutions to these errors.
Steric stabilization of poly(2‐(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate)‐based polyplexes mediates prolonged circulation and tumor targeting in mice

Efficient tumor targeting of polymeric gene transfer systems (polyplexes) represents a major challenge. To establish tumor targeting after intravenous (IV) administration, the circulation lifetime of these systems should be sufficiently long. Since naked polyplexes are rapidly eliminated from the circulation after IV adminstration, strategies have to be developed to improve their pharmacokinetics.
Calcium‐binding protein (calbindin‐D28k) and parvalbumin immunocytochemistry: Localization in the rat hippocampus with specific reference to the selective vulnerability of hippocampal neurons to seizure activity

Two neuronal calcium‐binding proteins, calbindin‐D28k (CaBP) and parvalbumin (PV), were localized in the normal rat hippocampus by using immunocytochemical methods to determine (1) their location and (2) whether a correlation exists between the presence of these two calcium‐binding proteins and the selective vulnerability of different hippocampal neuronal populations to experimental seizure activity.
The Modern Primitives: Applying New Technological Approaches to Explore the Biology of the Earliest Red Blood Cells

One of the most critical stages in mammalian embryogenesis is the independent production of the embryo's own circulating, functional red blood cells. Correspondingly, erythrocytes are the first cell type to become functionally mature during embryogenesis. Failure to achieve this invariably leads to in utero lethality. The recent application of technologies such as transcriptome analysis, flow cytometry, mutant embryo analysis, and transgenic fluorescent gene expression reporter systems has shed new light on the distinct erythroid lineages that arise early in development. Here, I will describe the similarities and differences between the distinct erythroid populations that must form for the embryo to survive. While much of the focus of this review will be the poorly understood primitive erythroid lineage, a discussion of other erythroid and hematopoietic lineages, as well as the cell types making up the different niches that give rise to these lineages, is essential for presenting an appropriate developmental context of these cells.
Brain Volume Differences Associated With Hearing Impairment in Adults

Speech comprehension depends on the successful operation of a network of brain regions. Processing of degraded speech is associated with different patterns of brain activity in comparison with that of high-quality speech. In this exploratory study, we studied whether processing degraded auditory input in daily life because of hearing impairment is associated with differences in brain volume. We compared T1-weighted structural magnetic resonance images of 17 hearing-impaired (HI) adults with those of 17 normal-hearing (NH) controls using a voxel-based morphometry analysis. HI adults were individually matched with NH adults based on age and educational level. Gray and white matter brain volumes were compared between the groups by region-of-interest analyses in structures associated with speech processing, and by whole-brain analyses. The results suggest increased gray matter volume in the right angular gyrus and decreased white matter volume in the left fusiform gyrus in HI listeners as compared with NH ones. In the HI group, there was a significant correlation between hearing acuity and cluster volume of the gray matter cluster in the right angular gyrus. This correlation supports the link between partial hearing loss and altered brain volume. The alterations in volume may reflect the operation of compensatory mechanisms that are related to decoding meaning from degraded auditory input.
Thyroid hormone deficiency and postmenopausal status independently increase serum osteoprotegerin concentrations in women.

OBJECTIVE To study the impact of thyroxine (T4) withdrawal on serum osteoprotegerin concentrations in women, using a healthy euthyroid control group matched for age and postmenopausal status as reference. SUBJECTS AND DESIGN Nineteen women with differentiated thyroid carcinoma were studied the last day on T4 suppressive treatment, 4-7 days after withdrawal and the day before whole body scanning. Eighteen women matched for age and postmenopausal status served as controls. Serum thyroid hormones, urinary bone markers and serum osteoprotegerin concentrations were measured. Statistical methods included repeated measures analysis of variance and one-way analysis of variance. RESULTS Patients progressed from subclinical or mild hyperthyroidism at baseline to normal free T4 and triiodothyronine levels 4-7 days later, ending in overt hypothyroidism before scanning. Serum osteoprotegerin increased, and urinary deoxypyridolines/creatinine and pyridolines/creatinine ratios decreased, with acute hypothyroidism (P = 0.026, P = 0.003, and P < 0.001 respectively). Urinary deoxypyridolines/creatinine ratio, pyridolines/creatinine ratio, and serum osteocalcin during hypothyroidism were lower compared with those of healthy controls (P = 0.023, P = 0.019, and P = 0.011 respectively). Serum osteoprotegerin concentrations were higher in postmenopausal patients when compared with premenopausal ones, irrespective of the changes in thyroid function (P = 0.001). CONCLUSION Serum osteoprotegerin concentrations increase following acute hypothyroidism after T4 withdrawal in women with differentiated thyroid carcinoma, and also with postmenopausal status.
A family of starch-active polysaccharide monooxygenases

Significance Polysaccharide monooxygenases (PMOs) are recently discovered extracellular fungal and bacterial enzymes that are able to cleave the recalcitrant polysaccharides cellulose and chitin. We describe the discovery of a new family of fungal PMOs that act on starch based on bioinformatic, biochemical, and spectroscopic studies on NCU8746, a representative starch-active PMO from Neurospora crassa. The data support a proposed enzymatic mechanism and show that NCU08746 shares evolutionarily conserved features with previously reported PMOs. This discovery extends the currently known PMO family, suggesting the existence of a PMO superfamily with a much broader range of substrates. Starch-active PMOs provide an expanded perspective on studies of starch metabolism and may have potential in the food and starch-based biofuel industries. The recently discovered fungal and bacterial polysaccharide monooxygenases (PMOs) are capable of oxidatively cleaving chitin, cellulose, and hemicelluloses that contain β(1→4) linkages between glucose or substituted glucose units. They are also known collectively as lytic PMOs, or LPMOs, and individually as AA9 (formerly GH61), AA10 (formerly CBM33), and AA11 enzymes. PMOs share several conserved features, including a monocopper center coordinated by a bidentate N-terminal histidine residue and another histidine ligand. A bioinformatic analysis using these conserved features suggested several potential new PMO families in the fungus Neurospora crassa that are likely to be active on novel substrates. Herein, we report on NCU08746 that contains a C-terminal starch-binding domain and an N-terminal domain of previously unknown function. Biochemical studies showed that NCU08746 requires copper, oxygen, and a source of electrons to oxidize the C1 position of glycosidic bonds in starch substrates, but not in cellulose or chitin. Starch contains α(1→4) and α(1→6) linkages and exhibits higher order structures compared with chitin and cellulose. Cellobiose dehydrogenase, the biological redox partner of cellulose-active PMOs, can serve as the electron donor for NCU08746. NCU08746 contains one copper atom per protein molecule, which is likely coordinated by two histidine ligands as shown by X-ray absorption spectroscopy and sequence analysis. Results indicate that NCU08746 and homologs are starch-active PMOs, supporting the existence of a PMO superfamily with a much broader range of substrates. Starch-active PMOs provide an expanded perspective on studies of starch metabolism and may have potential in the food and starch-based biofuel industries.
Activation of 5‐hydroxytryptamine type 3 receptor‐expressing C‐fiber vagal afferents inhibits retrotrapezoid nucleus chemoreceptors in rats

Retrotrapezoid nucleus (RTN) chemoreceptors are regulated by inputs from the carotid bodies (CB) and from pulmonary mechanoreceptors. Here we tested whether RTN neurons are influenced by 5‐hydroxytryptamine type 3 receptor‐expressing C‐fiber vagal afferents. In urethane‐anesthetized rats, selective activation of vagal C‐fiber afferents by phenylbiguanide (PBG) eliminated the phrenic nerve discharge (PND) and inhibited RTN neurons (n = 24). PBG had no inhibitory effect in vagotomized rats. Muscimol injection into the solitary tract nucleus, commissural part, reduced inhibition of PND and RTN by PBG (73%), blocked activation of PND and RTN by CB stimulation (cyanide) but had no effect on inhibition of PND and RTN by lung inflation. Bilateral injections of muscimol into interstitial NTS reduced the inhibition of PND and RTN by PBG (53%), blocked the inhibitory effects of lung inflation but did not change the activation of PND and RTN neurons by CB stimulation. PBG and lung inflation activated post‐inspiratory neurons located within the rostral ventral respiratory group (rVRG) and inhibited inspiratory and expiratory neurons. Bilateral injections of muscimol into rVRG eliminated PND and partially decreased RTN neuron inhibition by PBG (32%). In conclusion, activation of cardiopulmonary C‐fiber afferents inhibits the activity of RTN chemoreceptors. The pathway relays within a broad medial region of the NTS and involves the rVRG to a limited degree. The apnea triggered by activation of cardiopulmonary C‐fiber afferents may be due in part to a reduction of the activity of RTN chemoreceptors.
Outage thresholds of LDPC codes over nonergodic block-fading channels

This paper1 derives approximations allowing the estimation of outage probability for standard irregular LDPC codes and full-diversity Root-LDPC codes used over nonergodic block-fading channels. Two separate approaches are discussed: a numerical approximation, obtained by curve fitting, for both code ensembles, and an analytical approximation for Root-LDPC codes, obtained under the assumption that the slope of the iterative threshold curve of a given code ensemble matches the slope of the outage capacity curve in the high-SNR regime.
Physical modelling of breaking tidal bores: comparison with prototype data

ABSTRACT A tidal bore is a hydraulic jump in translation, propagating upstream as the tide turns to rising and the flood flow advances in a funnel-shaped river mouth under spring tide conditions. This study focused on the unsteady turbulence induced by a breaking tidal bore. Detailed free-surface and velocity measurements were conducted with a high temporal resolution using non-intrusive free-surface measurement probes and acoustic Doppler velocimetry sampled at 200 Hz. The laboratory data were systematically compared with an earlier series of field measurements conducted in the breaking bore of the Sélune River (France). Key findings include the agreement, in terms of dimensionless instantaneous free-surface and velocity data, between laboratory and field observations as well as the existence of a transient recirculation region near the bed.