Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The influence of chemical prehistory on the structure, photoluminescent properties, surface and biological characteristics of Zr0.98Eu0.02O1.99 nanophosphors

A. N. Bugrov, R. Yu. Smyslov, A. Yu. Zavialova, G. P. Kopitsa Institute of Macromolecular Compounds of RAS, Bolshoy pr. 31, 199004 St. Petersburg, Russia St. Petersburg Electrotechnical University “LETI”, ul. Professora Popova 5, 197376 St. Petersburg, Russia Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, Polytechnicheskaya 29, 195251 St. Petersburg, Russia St. Petersburg State Institute of Technology (Technical University), Moskovsky prospect 26, St. Petersburg, 190013, Russia St. Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute, NRC KI, Orlova roscha mcr. 1, Gatchina, Leningrad region, 188300, Russia Grebenshchikov Institute of Silicate Chemistry RAS, Makarova nab. 2. , letter B, 199034 St. Petersburg, Russia
An analysis of definition and placement of virtual machines for high performance applications on Clouds

The efficient deployment of high performance computing applications on Clouds offers many challenges, in particular, for communication‐intensive applications. One strategy to mitigate performance overheads caused by high‐communication latency is to schedule requested virtual machines (VMs) effectively onto physical resources by optimizing VM placement. In current approaches based on Infrastructure as a Service resource provisioning, the task of selecting VM profiles is either left to the user or resolved with policies independent from usage patterns, with potential for performance degradation caused by virtualization overhead. Also, most VM placement heuristics disregard the topology of virtual clusters, resource usage patterns of each application, and competing workloads. In this paper, we study the case of scientific applications in virtual clusters by analyzing how different VM profiles and placements can affect observed performance of a parallel application that uses distributed memory. We propose a description for the characteristics of a virtual cluster through the placement of virtual cores, analyze different configurations with a software for systematic execution of virtual clusters, and explain the observed performance in terms of virtual cluster features and resource usage patterns of the application. Our analysis shows that other factors besides the number of cores can have significant effect on performance, such as virtual core mappings and VM spreading. We discuss how our methodology can be extended toward developing performance models, which are aware of resource contention and virtual cluster topology. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
An Optimization Network for Matrix Inversion

Inverse matrix calculation can be considered as an optimization. We have demonstrated that this problem can be rapidly solved by highly interconnected simple neuron-like analog processors. A network for matrix inversion based on the concept of Hopfield's neural network was designed, and implemented with electronic hardware. With slight modifications, the network is readily applicable to solving a linear simultaneous equation efficiently. Notable features of this circuit are potential speed due to parallel processing, and robustness against variations of device parameters.
Plasticity in the development and dedifferentiation of Dictyostelium discoideum

Dictyostelium discoideum has served as a model for development and differentiation for over 70 years. Also regulated in Dictyostelium is the process of dedifferentiation, which consists of multiple cellular events that are separately regulated, providing an excellent model system for studying the return of partially differentiated cells to a more pluripotent state. An interesting aspect of Dictyostelium development is the plasticity between growth and development. Reversibility of the processes of differentiation and dedifferentiation exist, allowing Dictyostelium to adjust to changing conditions by reverting to the growth phase during differentiation or reinitiating development during dedifferentiation. This ability of cells to respond to environmental cues is mediated by the checkpoint‐like events “commitment” and “erasure,” which occur during differentiation and dedifferentiation, respectively. Our review will discuss the current state of knowledge regarding dedifferentiation and the plasticity of the developmental process in both the forward and reverse directions.
Improved modelling and assessment of pneumatic muscle actuators

Traditional robotic/mechatronic design has successfully exploited the attributes of heavy mechanical systems engineering, but future scientific trends suggest a need for technology that will emulate natural systems. Among the most pressing of the requirements are actuation systems that can interact in a safer and more natural way. Pneumatic technology has many of the compliance forms needed for this softer interaction and a number of new systems based on McKibben muscles have been developed in recent years. In this paper a new model of operation of pneumatic muscle systems is developed. In particular, the model considers the distortion effects at the termination nodes and the radial pressure loss due to rubber elasticity. The new model is compared experimentation on a very large actuator and shows how this new model improves the assessment of forces and displacement that can be achieved by the actuator. The new model is compared against previous systems models.
Tactile–‘visual’ acuity of the tongue in early blind individuals

This study compares the ‘tactile–visual’ acuity of the tongue for 15 early blind participants with that of 24 age-matched and sex-matched sighted controls. Snellen's tumbling E test was used to assess ‘visual’ acuity using the tongue display unit. The tongue display unit is a sensory substitution device that converts a visual stimulus grabbed by a camera into electro-tactile pulses delivered to the tongue via a grid made out of electrodes. No overall significant difference was found in thresholds between early blind (1/206) and sighted control (1/237) participants. We found, however, a larger proportion of early blind in the two highest visual acuity categories (1/150 and 1/90). These results extend earlier findings that it is possible to measure visual acuity in the blind individuals using the tongue. Moreover, our data demonstrate that a subgroup of early blind participants is more efficient than controls in conveying visual information through the tongue.
STUDIES ON MATURITY IN NEWBORN INFANTS

Estimation of maturity, and thereby gestational age, in newborn infants is of value from several aspects. I t is of practical importance for the correct management of the individual infant, since clinical problems depend both on the gestational age of an infant and on the birth weight, and reliable information as to the gestational age is not always available. Secondly, materials on which neonatal physiological studies are to be carried out must be controlled with respect to gestational age (7). Thirdly, knowledge of the true gestational age is important in developmental testing of preterm infants (25). Since birth weight is now known to be an unreliable index of maturity and gestational age, there has been increasing interest during recent years in finding and testing new methods for estimating gestational age in newborn infants. These methods have recently been extensively reviewed (7). For various reasons to b2 discussed below, it is difficult to evaluate the results of most of these studies. Certainly, there has been a tendency in much of this work to overestimate the precision of estimating gestational age. There is a need for studies in which different methods for estimating maturity are applied to the same material of newborn infants, making it easier to compare different methods. Such a comparison is made in the present study,
Study on the Korean adult cranial capacity.

Cranial capacity was measured in Korean adult skulls. The cavity was filled with rice seeds and the volume of the seeds were measured in a graduated cylinder. The results were 1470 +/- 107 (mean +/- standard deviation) in male and 1317 +/- 117 cc in female skulls. These values were in good accordance with those previously reported. In addition, regression formulae were obtained with the product of the length, breadth, and height of the skull as an independent parameter and the measured capacity as a dependent one. With known external measurements, the expected cranial capacity was as follows: when using baso-bregmatic height, male: capacity = 307.5 + 333 x 10(-6) x (length.breadth.baso-bregmatic height) female: capacity = -12.0 + 435 x 10(-6) x (length.breadth.baso-bregmatic height) and, when using auriculo-bregmatic height, male: capacity = 214.6 + 429 x 10(-6) x (length.breadth.auriculo-bregmatic height) female: capacity = 131.6 + 461 x 10(-6) x (length.breadth.auriculo-bregmatic height).
Localization of Social Work Knowledge through Practitioner Adaptations in Northern Ontario and the Northwest Territories, Canada

Social work is only just beginning to adapt knowledge and practice to the realities of a geographically diverse world. Within the social services, one of the most exciting diversity-related initiatives is a localization movement that calls for a social work knowledge base that is fundamentally different from one geographic milieu to the next. Few, if any, studies to date have considered the Canadian North (an area populated by diverse aboriginal cultural and linguistic groups) as a basis for localizing social work knowledge. This study reports on interviews conducted with social work practitioners in northern Ontario and the Northwest Territories to gain insight into how changes in the current social work knowledge base could be the locus for meaningful and contextually sensitive social work knowledge and intervention. This initial exploratory study presents a number of key findings that aid in developing an understanding of social work practice and knowledge specific to the Canadian North. These findings identify geographical areas where social work knowledge requires adaptation, changes in the personal and professional behaviour of practitioners, or modification of mainstream knowledge; use of appropriate and inappropriate social work theory and practice; specific challenges faced by agencies; ways agencies can modify programs to meet community needs; ways for clients to access service; and the relationships between practitioners and the surrounding communities. We conclude with implications for the Canadian North related to social work, allied disciplines, and social welfare structures.
Emergence of a novel highly pathogenic porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus in China

From 2014 to 2015, four novel highly pathogenic PRRS virus (HP-PRRSV) strains named 14LY01-FJ, 14LY02-FJ 15LY01-FJ, and 15LY02-FJ were isolated from high morbidity (100%) and mortality (40%-80%) in piglets and sows in Fujian Province. To further our knowledge about these novel virus strains, we characterized their complete genomes and determined their pathogenicity in piglets. Full-length genome sequencing analysis showed that these four isolates were closely related to type 2 (North American type, NA-type) isolates, with 88.1%-96.3% nucleotide similarity, but only 60.6%-60.8% homology to the Lelystad virus (LV) (European type, EU-type). The full length of the four isolates was determined to be 15017 or 15018 nucleotides (nt), excluding the poly(A) tail. Furthermore, the four isolates had three discontinuous deletions (aa 322-432, aa 483, and aa 504-522) within hypervariable region II (HV-II) of Nsp2, as compared to the reference strain VR-2332. This deletion pattern in the four isolates is consistent with strain MN184 and strain NADC30 isolated from America. Phylogenetic and molecular evolutionary analyses indicated that these virulent strains originated from a natural recombination event between the JXA1-like HP-PRRSV (JXA-1 is one of the earliest Chinese HP-PRRSV strains; sublineage 8.7) and the NADC30-like (lineage 1) PRRSV. Animal experiments demonstrated that these four strains caused significant weight loss and severe histopathological lung lesions as compared to the negative control group. High mortality rate (40% or 80%) was found in piglets infected with any one of the four strains, similar to that found with other Chinese HP-PRRSV strains. This study showed that the novel variant PRRSV was HP-PRRSV, and it is therefore critical to monitor PRRSV evolution in China and develop a method for controlling PRRS.
Support of development of non-profit organisations through special training programs for their managers

Purpose – the paper is concerned with the issue of further education in non-profit organisations (NPOs) using training programs for their managers (TPM) and their impact on organisation development. The study aim was to find out whether and how the existence of TPM in the organisation depends on the founder, sector and duration of its economic activity. It also investigates which competencies the NPO managers perceive as the key ones. Research methodology – the study, based on the research questionnaire, included 69 NPOs. The dependence of TPM on defined characteristics has been assessed using Pearson’s chi-squared test or logistic regression. Conclusions (findings) – the results indicate that the usage of TPM is related to the size and founder of NPO. The other examined characteristics do not have a statistically significant effect. Furthermore, competencies considered by NPO managers as the most important were specified. Research limitations – follow from the size of the research sample. Practical implications – also, NPOs should focus on developing competencies mentioned in the study and evaluate them using impacts on the results of work activities. Originality/Value – the influence of training of managers on the development of NPOs is not sufficiently addressed in the literature
Hybrid scheduling scheme for a cooperative relay system in heterogeneous traffic environments

We propose a hybrid scheduling scheme which can efficiently support various types of traffic in a cooperative relay system of downlink cellular networks. The hybrid scheduling scheme harmonizes the shared-channel resource allocation scheme and dedicated-channel resource allocation scheme to accommodate various traffic in heterogeneous traffic environments. We show that the proposed scheme significantly improves the system performance in terms of system throughput in heterogeneous traffic environments through the analysis of the system capacity and throughput.
Amino acid sequence and biological activity of a calcitonin-like diuretic hormone (DH31) from Rhodnius prolixus

SUMMARY Diuresis in the blood-gorging hemipteran Rhodnius prolixus is under neurohormonal control and involves a variety of processes and tissues. These include ion and water movement across the epithelium of the crop and the Malpighian tubules, and muscle contractions of the crop, hindgut and dorsal vessel, which facilitate mixing of the blood-meal, mixing of the haemolymph, as well as the expulsion of waste. One of the neurohormones that might play a role in this rapid diuresis belongs to the calcitonin-like diuretic hormone (DH31) family of insect peptides. Previously we have demonstrated the presence of DH31-like peptides in the central nervous system (CNS) and gut of R. prolixus 5th instars. In the present work, a DH31 from the CNS of 5th instar R. prolixus was isolated using reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC), monitored with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) combined with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry, and sequenced using tandem mass spectrometry and Edman degradation. This neuropeptide is the first to be sequenced in R. prolixus and has a sequence identical to that found previously for Dippu-DH31 from the cockroach Diploptera punctata. In previous studies testing Rhopr/Dippu-DH31 in Malpighian tubule secretion assays, we demonstrated increases in the rate of secretion that were small, relative to that induced by serotonin, but nevertheless 14-fold over baseline. In the present study, we investigated second messenger pathways in response to Rhopr/Dippu-DH31 and found no increase or decrease in cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cyclic AMP) content of the Malpighian tubules. DH31-like immunoreactivity is present over the dorsal hindgut, anterior dorsal vessel and dorsal diaphragm, and bioassays of the R. prolixus dorsal vessel and hindgut indicate that Rhopr/Dippu-DH31 increases the frequency of muscle contractions of both tissues. Second messenger pathways were also investigated for the dorsal vessel and hindgut.
Metabolomic‐guided discovery of Alzheimer's disease biomarkers from body fluid

The rapid increase in the older population has made age‐related diseases like Alzheimer's disease (AD) a global concern. Given that there is still no cure for this neurodegenerative disease, the drastic growth in the number of susceptible individuals represents a major emerging threat to public health. The poor understanding of the mechanisms underlying AD is deemed the greatest stumbling block against progress in definitive diagnosis and management of this disease. There is a dire need for biomarkers that can facilitate early diagnosis, classification, prognosis, and treatment response. Efforts have been directed toward discovery of reliable and distinctive AD biomarkers but with very little success. With the recent emergence of high‐throughput technology that is able to collect and catalogue vast datasets of small metabolites, metabolomics offers hope for a better understanding of AD and subsequent identification of biomarkers. This review article highlights the potential of using multiple metabolomics platforms as useful means in uncovering AD biomarkers from body fluids. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The Phenomenology of the Psychotic Break and Huxley’s Trip: Substance Use and the Onset of Psychosis

Background: While considerable research attention has been devoted to the causal relationship between substance use and psychosis, the phenomenology of the association between the two has largely been ignored. This is a significant shortcoming, because it blinds researchers to the possibility that there may be elements of the subjective experience of substance use and psychosis that contribute to their apparent relationship in empirical studies. Sampling and Methods: The current paper examines the phenomenology of the onset of psychosis and the phenomenology of substance intoxication through consideration of two texts: Sass’s account of the phenomenology of psychosis onset and Huxley’s account of the experience of hallucinogenic intoxication. Sass’s account of psychosis onset includes four components: Unreality, Fragmentation, Mere Being, and Apophany. Results: The analysis reveals significant parallels – and also some differences – between this account and the phenomenology of substance intoxication. Conclusions: We discuss the implications of this for the causal relationship between psychosis and substance use and suggest several ways of understanding the overlapping phenomenologies. This includes the suggestion of a shared factor, perhaps best described as psychotic-like experience, which seems to involve a breakdown of the sign-referent relationship and relationship with the common-sense, practical world. However, in the onset of psychosis, this breakdown is primarily experienced as a sense of alienation from self and world, whereas in the hallucinogenic state a sense of mystical union and revelation seems predominant. Further research may extend this analysis by looking at experiences with other drugs, particularly cannabis, and by examining the phenomenology of psychotic disorder beyond the first episode.
EFFECT OF THE MORPHOLOGICAL TRAITS ON SEED YIELD OF LUCERNE BREEDING POPULATIONS IN LITHUANIA

Phenotypic correlation coefficients between seed yield and morphological traits of lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) breeding populations were determined. Ranking of populations by seed yield and subsequent calculating of correlations showed that as higher differences in seed yield among populations was as higher correlations were obtained. Among the characters examined seed yield was positively correlated with the length of raceme, number of flowers, pods and seeds per raceme, number of seeds per pod (r=0.31*, 0.61*, 0.42*, 0.57*, 0.53*, respectively). Negative relationships were determined between spring regrowth height, alfalfa mosaic, flowering period, plant regrowth height after harvest, 1000 seed weight and seed yield (r= -0.42*, -0.81**, -0.64*, -0.71*, -0.41*, respectively).
Comparative Analysis of Cell Killing and Autosomal Mutation in Mouse Kidney Epithelium Exposed to 1 GeV Protons In Vitro or In Vivo

Human exposure to high-energy protons occurs in space flight scenarios or, where necessary, during radiotherapy for cancer or benign conditions. However, few studies have assessed the mutagenic effectiveness of high-energy protons, which may contribute to cancer risk. Mutations cause cancer and most cancer-associated mutations occur at autosomal loci. This study addresses the cytotoxic and mutagenic effects of 1 GeV protons in mouse kidney epithelium. Mutant fractions were measured for an endogenous autosomal locus (Aprt) that detects all types of mutagenic events. Results for kidneys irradiated in vivo are compared with the results for kidney cells from the same strain exposed in vitro. The results demonstrate dose-dependent cell killing in vitro and for cells explanted 3–4 months postirradiation in vivo. Incubation in vivo for longer periods (8–9 months) further attenuates proton-induced cell killing. Protons are mutagenic to cells in vitro and for in vivo irradiated kidneys. The dose-response for Aprt mutation is curvilinear after in vitro or in vivo exposure, bending upward at the higher doses. While the absolute mutant fractions are higher in vivo, the fold-increase over background is similar for both in vitro and in situ exposures. Results are also presented for a limited study on the effect of dose fractionation on the induction of Aprt mutations in kidney epithelial cells. Dose-fractionation reduces the fraction of proton-induced Aprt mutants in vitro and in vivo and also results in less cell killing. Taken together, the mutation burden in the epithelium is slightly reduced by dose-fractionation. Autosomal mutations accumulated during clinical exposure to high-energy protons may contribute to the risk of treatment-associated neoplasms, thereby highlighting the need for rigorous treatment planning to reduce the dose to normal tissues. For low dose exposures that occur during most space flight scenarios, the mutagenic effects of protons appear to be modest.