Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Measurement of the complex dielectric permittivity of stratified media with dipole antenna sensors

A technique with dipole antenna sensors is described for estimating the dielectric permittivity of soil with a homogeneous or quasi-homogeneous permittivity profie distribution with depth. A numerical simulation of the impedance of a half-wave dipole located above soil with an approximated and averaged profile distribution has been performed over the frequency range 350 MHz - 2 GHz. Main goal of the research is to examine whether antenna sensors could be used to provide reliable data on the complex dielectric permittivity of soil under field conditions.
Diffusion-Based Multiple Access by Nano-Transmitters to a Micro-Receiver

Interaction with a biological system can be enhanced by embedding nano-scale devices into the biological system and externally gathering data from and/or controlling the nano-scale devices. One potential approach to interact with such nano-scale devices is through intermediate micro-scale devices which communicate by molecular communication with the nano-scale devices. Multiple nano-scale devices transmit a type of molecule to represent bits of information and a micro-scale device decodes information from the concentration characteristics of the type of molecule. Since diffusion is a slow process, transmissions interfere and statistical methods can be applied to the detected concentration to more successfully receive bits. We model information transmission from nano-scale devices to the micro-scale receiver. We then numerically examine the impact of varying transmitter scheduling and signal strength on the bit error rate.
On the Deformation Control of Ship's Thin Plate Block by Applying the Tensioning Method

It has been well appreciated that reducing weld-induced deformation as law as possible is important during fabrication for a more efficient production of blocks. The weld-induced deformation is more serious in thin plates than in thick plates because heat affect zone of thin plates is wider than that of thick plates and in addition internal and external constraints much more influence upon weld-induced deformation of thin plates. This paper deals with the application of the mechanical tensioning method to butt weld of thin plates to reduce the weld-induced deformation. In order to investigate the quantitative effect of tensioning method upon the reduction of angular deformation and shrinkage in longitudinal and transverse direction of weld line, butt welding test have been carried out for several thin plate specimens with varying plate thickness and magnitude of tensile load. From the present experimental study, it has been found that the tensioning method is very effective on reduction of weld-induced residual stress as well as weld-induced deformation.
Advances on the Understanding of the Origins of Synaptic Pathology in AD

Although Alzheimer’s disease (AD) was first discovered a century ago, we are still facing a lack of definitive diagnosis during the patient’s lifetime and are unable to prescribe a curative treatment. However, the past 10 years have seen a “revamping” of the main hypothesis about AD pathogenesis and the hope to foresee possible treatment. AD is no longer considered an irreversible disease. A major refinement of the classic β-amyloid cascade describing amyloid fibrils as neurotoxins has been made to integrate the key scientific evidences demonstrating that the first pathological event occurring in AD early stages affects synaptic function and maintenance. A concept fully compatible with synapse loss being the best pathological correlate of AD rather than other described neuropathological hallmarks (amyloid plaques, neurofibrillary tangles or neuronal death). The notion that synaptic alterations might be reverted, thus offering a potential curability, was confirmed by immunotherapy experiments targeting β-amyloid protein in transgenic AD mice in which cognitive functions were improved despite no reduction in the amyloid plaques burden. The updated amyloid cascade now integrates the synapse failure triggered by soluble Aβ-oligomers. Still no consensus has been reached on the most toxic Aβ conformations, neither on their site of production nor on their extra- versus intra-cellular actions. Evidence shows that soluble Aβ oligomers or ADDLs bind selectively to neurons at their synaptic loci, and trigger major changes in synapse composition and morphology, which ultimately leads to dendritic spine loss. However, the exact mechanism is not yet fully understood but is suspected to involve some membrane receptor(s).
Anti-idiotypes to monoclonal anti-H-2 antibodies. II. Expression of anti-H-2Kk idiotypes on antibodies induced by anti-idiotype or H-2Kk antigen

Anti-idiotypic antibodies were prepared against two monoclonal anti-H- 2Kk antibodies, 11-4.1 and 3-83P. These reagents were used to examine idiotype (Id) expression on anti-H-2Kk antibodies induced by the in vivo administration of the anti-idiotypic antibodies and/or H-2Kk antigen. Treatment of BALB/c mice with anti-Id induced both antigen- binding and nonantigen-binding Id-positive molecules in the absence of antigen. The level of production of anti-Id-induced Id (Id') has been shown to be linked to VH genes using allotype congenic mice and backcross analyses. The idiotypes expressed on the Id' induced in anti- Id-treated mice were closely related or identical to those of the original monoclonal anti-H-2Kk antibody. However, the idiotopes were present on immunoglobulins of different subclasses and in some cases were not all expressed on the same molecules, as reflected by differences in their antigen specificities and isoelectric focusing patterns. In vivo administration of anti-Id had a marked influence on the subsequent humoral response to immunization with H-2 antigen.
Twinning by merohedry in bis(4-methoxyphenyl)tellurium(IV) diiodide dimethyl sulfoxide hemisolvate.

Green crystals of the title compound, C(14)H(14)I(2)O(2)Te x 0.5 C(2)H(6)OS, space group P3(2), show twinning by merohedry (class II). The asymmetric unit contains two organotellurium molecules and one dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) molecule. The crystal structure displays secondary Te.I and Te.O(DMSO) bonds that lead to [(4-MeOC(6)H(4))(2)TeI(2)](2) x DMSO supramolecular units in which the two independent organotellurium molecules are bridged by the DMSO O atom. In addition to these secondary bonds, I.I interactions link translationally equivalent organotellurium molecules to form nearly linear . I-Te-I.I-Te-I. chains. These chains are crosslinked, forming two-dimensional arrays parallel to (001). The crystal packing consists of a stacking of these sheets, which are related by the 3(2) axis. This study describes an unusual dimeric arrangement of X-Te-X groups.
Iterative sum-rate optimization for multiple access relay channels with a compute-and-forward relay

We consider a multiple access relay channel (MARC), in which a relay, based on the recently proposed compute-and-forward protocol, helps two transmitters to communicate with a common destination. The relay decodes a linear combination of the received symbols instead of the individual symbols then forwards the new symbol to the destination. The destination recovers two linear equations from the decoded signals. The two equations relate the transmitted symbols with integer coefficients at different computational rates. We propose an iterative algorithm to optimize the integer coefficients and the power allocation at the transmitters alternatively, so that the sum-rate is maximized. In each iteration, the integer coefficients are updated by solving a mixed-integer quadratic programming (MIQP) problem with quadratic constraints, while the power allocation is updated by solving a series of geometric programs using a successive convex approximation method. The simulation results show that the compute-and-forward strategy and the proposed optimization method can offer substantial gain over the standard amplify-and-forward and decode-and-forward protocols for this model.
EDUTELLA: a P2P networking infrastructure based on RDF

Metadata for the World Wide Web is important, but metadata for Peer-to-Peer (P2P) networks is absolutely crucial. In this paper we discuss the open source project Edutella which builds upon metadata standards defined for the WWW and aims to provide an RDF-based metadata infrastructure for P2P applications, building on the recently announced JXTA Framework. We describe the goals and main services this infrastructure will provide and the architecture to connect Edutella Peers based on exchange of RDF metadata. As the query service is one of the core services of Edutella, upon which other services are built, we specify in detail the Edutella Common Data Model (ECDM) as basis for the Edutella query exchange language (RDF-QEL-i) and format implementing distributed queries over the Edutella network. Finally, we shortly discuss registration and mediation services, and introduce the prototype and application scenario for our current Edutella aware peers.
An Integrated Data Driven Approach to Drug Repositioning Using Gene-Disease Associations

Drug development is both increasing in cost whilst decreasing in productivity. There is a general acceptance that the current paradigm of R&D needs to change. One alternative approach is drug repositioning. With target-based approaches utilised heavily in the field of drug discovery, it becomes increasingly necessary to have a systematic method to rank gene-disease associations. Although methods already exist to collect, integrate and score these associations, they are often not a reliable reflection of expert knowledge. Furthermore, the amount of data available in all areas covered by bioinformatics is increasing dramatically year on year. It thus makes sense to move away from more generalised hypothesis driven approaches to research to one that allows data to generate their own hypothesis. We introduce an integrated, data driven approach to drug repositioning. We first apply a Bayesian statistics approach to rank 309,885 gene-disease associations using existing knowledge. Ranked associations are then integrated with other biological data to produce a semantically-rich drug discovery network. Using this network, we show how our approach identifies diseases of the central nervous system (CNS) to be an area of interest. CNS disorders are identified due to the low numbers of such disorders that currently have marketed treatments, in comparison to other therapeutic areas. We then systematically mine our network for semantic subgraphs that allow us to infer drug-disease relations that are not captured in the network. We identify and rank 275,934 drug-disease has_indication associations after filtering those that are more likely to be side effects, whilst commenting on the top ranked associations in more detail. The dataset has been created in Neo4j and is available for download at https://bitbucket.org/ncl-intbio/genediseaserepositioning along with a Java implementation of the searching algorithm.
Effects of perceptual similarity but not semantic association on false recognition in aging

This study investigated semantic and perceptual influences on false recognition in older and young adults in a variant on the Deese-Roediger-McDermott paradigm. In two experiments, participants encoded intermixed sets of semantically associated words, and sets of unrelated words. Each set was presented in a shared distinctive font. Older adults were no more likely to falsely recognize semantically associated lure words compared to unrelated lures also presented in studied fonts. However, they showed an increase in false recognition of lures which were related to studied items only by a shared font. This increased false recognition was associated with recollective experience. The data show that older adults do not always rely more on prior knowledge in episodic memory tasks. They converge with other findings suggesting that older adults may also be more prone to perceptually-driven errors.
Nitrate Concentrations of Ground Water Benton County, Arkansas

Because 'ground water in fractured c;3.rbonate aquifers is particularly susceptible to contamination from surface sources, there is concern about nitrate contamination of ground water supplies in northwest Arkansas. Surface application IDf animal wastes, commercia:l fertilizers, animal impoundments, septic systems, and munic:ipal sewage collection and treatmen"t systems represent potential sources of contaminants, especially nitrate. A suJrvey of ground water nitrate conc4entrations was conducted in Benton County, Arkansas during 1990. Sixty-eight randomly selected ground water sample:s were collected from sprin~1s and wells during successive w4et (5-19 to 6-5-90) and dry (7-19 to 8-3-90) seasons. Fi:Ety-two samples were collec1:ed from the shallow, unconfined Boone-St. Joe limestone formations of the Springfield JPlateau aquifer. Sixteen wE~lls were completed in the more productive Ozark aquifer. OwnE~r reported well depths and M(~/Ca ratios were used to de1:ermine the source aquifer for 4~ach sample. Nitrate 4::oncentrations for wells and springs of the Springfield JPlateau aquifer were higher than those of the Ozark aquifeJr during both seasons. Mean concentrations for the shallow aquifer are 2.63 mg/L NO3-N in the wet season, and 1.80 mg/]~ in the dry. The nitrate (~oncentrations are higher during the wet season: a period of maximum recharge. Wells produc:ing from the Ozark aquifer had significantly lower mean vcilues as a population. Mean values for this confined aqu:lfer were 0.11 and 0.15 mg/I:' for the wet and dry seasons, resl~ecti vely.
A qualitative evaluation of the use of Problem Management Plus (PM+) among Arabic-speaking migrants with psychological distress in France – The APEX study

ABSTRACT Background: Feasibility studies with non-French speaking migrants in France are needed to inform appropriate adaptation of psychosocial intervention procedures. Objective: To test the WHO Problem Management Plus (PM+) intervention protocol for Arabic-speaking migrants in the Paris metropolitan region. Methods: Between 2019 and 2021 we recruited participants from three accommodation centres receiving asylum seekers or migrants experiencing social and economic difficulties. Participants experiencing psychological distress underwent five PM + sessions with trained helpers. Feasibility was evaluated through 15 interviews with 8 participants, 4 helpers, and 3 study supervisors. Interview topics covered PM + implementation in general and for each component. We also sought to understand problems with delivery and gathered suggestions for improvement. Data were analysed thematically using a deductive approach. Results: We found implementation of PM + to be feasible, with predominantly positive reactions from participants, helpers and study staff. All intervention components were considered beneficial, with breathing exercises considered easy to implement and often sustained. Selection of problems and strategies to address them were described as challenging to execute. Psychosocial support from and rapport with helpers and the use of the native language were considered key strengths of the programme. However, we observed the need for complementary or higher intensity psychological support in some cases. Findings also highlighted the importance of addressing distress among non-specialist helpers delivering PM + . Finally, local guidance to social resources were suggested to be added in the protocol. Conclusion: PM + was well-liked and feasible, with cultural adjustments and increased access to community resources for migrants needed.
Application of Web-business with ontology constructed from database contextualization

The decision support systems are applied where the problem is complex and the necessary information for the best decision is difficult of being gotten and being used. Amongst the used elements to assist the decision maker can detach the databases as a collection of facts and information and the interface with the users who assist the decision makers to interact with the systems. We consider the construction of contextualized ontology using a methodology that tries to not only facilitate the understanding of questions elaborated in natural language through context and for search of terms, as well as elaborating a reply in the same context of the question. It allows, of this form that a user elaborates research and refines or directs questions to the measure that goes receiving the answers to the questions.
$L_{p}$ Consonant Approximations of Belief Functions

In this paper, we solve the problem of approximating a belief measure with a necessity measure or “consonant belief function” in a geometric framework. Consonant belief functions form a simplicial complex in both the space of all belief functions and the space of all mass vectors: Partial approximations are first sought in each component of the complex, while global solutions are selected among them. As a first step in this line of study, we seek here approximations that minimize Lp norms. Approximations in the mass space can be interpreted in terms of mass redistribution, while approximations in the belief space generalize the maximal outer consonant approximation. We compare them with each other and with other classical approximations and illustrate them with the help of a running example.
A non‐ancestral RPGR missense mutation in families with either recessive or semi‐dominant X‐linked retinitis pigmentosa

Most X‐linked diseases show a recessive pattern of inheritance in which female carriers are unaffected. In X‐linked retinitis pigmentosa (XLRP), however, both recessive and semi‐dominant inheritance patterns have been reported. We identified an Israeli family with semi‐dominant XLRP due to a missense mutation (p.G275S) in the RPGR gene. The mutation was previously reported in two Danish families with recessive XLRP. Obligate carriers from the two Danish families had no visual complaints and normal to slightly reduced retinal function, while those from the Israeli family suffered from high myopia, low visual acuity, constricted visual fields, and severely reduced electroretinogram (ERG) amplitudes. The disease‐related RPGR haplotype of the Israeli family was found to be different from the one found in the two Danish families, indicating that the mutation arose twice independently on different X‐chromosome backgrounds. A series of genetic analyses excluded skewed X‐inactivation pattern, chromosomal abnormalities, distorted RPGR expression level, and mutations in candidate genes as the cause for the differences in disease severity of female carriers. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first detailed analysis of an identical mutation causing either a recessive or a semi‐dominant X‐linked pattern of disease in different families. Our results indicate that an additional gene (or genes), linked to RPGR, modulate disease expression in severely affected carriers. These may be related to the high myopia concomitantly found in affected carriers from the Israeli family. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
WP-DYNA: PLANNING AND REINFORCEMENT LEARNING IN WELL-PLANNABLE ENVIRONMENTS

Reinforcement learning (RL) involves sequential decision making in uncertain environments. The aim of the decision-making agent is to maximize the benefit of acting in its environment over an extended period of time. Finding an optimal policy in RL may be very slow. To speed up learning, one often used solution is the integration of planning, for example, Sutton’s Dyna algorithm, or various other methods using macro-actions. Here we suggest to separate plannable, i.e., close to deterministic parts of the world, and focus planning efforts in this domain. A novel reinforcement learning method called WP-Dyna is proposed here. WP-Dyna builds a simple model, which is used to search for macro actions. The simplicity of the model makes planning computationally inexpensive. It is shown that WP-Dyna finds an optimal policy, and that plannable macro actions found by WP-Dyna are near-optimal. In turn, it is unnecessary to try large numbers of macro actions, which enables fast learning. The utility of WP-Dyna is demonstrated by computer simulations.
Sodium butyrate activates the KATP channels to regulate the mechanism of Parkinson's disease microglia model inflammation

Abstract Background Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder. Microglia‐mediated neuroinflammation has emerged as an involving mechanism at the initiation and development of PD. Activation of adenosine triphosphate (ATP)‐sensitive potassium (KATP) channels can protect dopaminergic neurons from damage. Sodium butyrate (NaB) shows anti‐inflammatory and neuroprotective effects in some animal models of brain injury and regulates the KATP channels in islet β cells. In this study, we aimed to verify the anti‐inflammatory effect of NaB on PD and further explored potential molecular mechanisms. Methods We established an in vitro PD model in BV2 cells using 1‐methyl‐4‐phenylpyridinium (MPP+). The effects of MPP+ and NaB on BV2 cell viability were detected by cell counting kit‐8 assays. The morphology of BV2 cells with or without MPP+ treatment was imaged via an optical microscope. The expression of Iba‐1 was examined by the immunofluorescence staining. The intracellular ATP content was estimated through the colorimetric method, and Griess assay was conducted to measure the nitric oxide production. The expression levels of pro‐inflammatory cytokines and KATP channel subunits were evaluated by reverse transcription–quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blot analysis. Results NaB (5 mM) activated the KATP channels through elevating Kir6.1 and Kir6.1 expression in MPP+‐challenged BV2 cells. Both NaB and pinacidil (a KATP opener) suppressed the MPP+‐induced activation of BV2 cells and reduced the production of nitrite and pro‐inflammatory cytokines in MPP+‐challenged BV2 cells. Conclusion NaB treatment alleviates the MPP+‐induced inflammatory responses in microglia via activation of KATP channels.
Investment-Specific Technological Change and Asset Prices

This paper provides evidence that investment-specific technological change is a source of systematic risk. In contrast to neutral productivity shocks, the economy needs to invest to realize the benefits of innovations in investment technology. A positive shock to investment technology is followed by a reallocation of resources from consumption to investment, leading to a negative price of risk. A portfolio of stocks that produce investment goods minus stocks that produce consumption goods (IMC) proxies for the shock and is a priced risk factor. The value of assets in place minus growth opportunities falls after positive shocks to investment technology, which suggests an explanation for the value puzzle. I formalize these insights in a dynamic general equilibrium model with two sectors of production. The model’s implications are supported by the data. The IMC portfolio earns a negative premium, predicts investment and consumption in a manner consistent with the theory, and helps price the value cross section.
Development of a rapid biological assessment protocol for water quality in the upper sub-watershed of the ping river as applied to tropical lotic ecosystems = การพัฒนาเกณฑ์วิธีการประเมินทางชีวภาพอย่างรวดเร็วสำหรับคุณภาพน้ำในลุ่มน้ำย่อยตอนบนของแม่น้ำปิงเพื่อประยุกต์ในระบบนิเวศแหล่งน้ำไหลเขตร้อน / Som

This study focused on the assignment of tolerance values (TVs) for macroinvertebrates collected from 56 lotic sites located in the Upper Ping River watershed, and macroinvertebrate samples were collected on three occasions in 2005: April, August and December. Macroinvertebrate samples were collected by kick sampling using a kick net. Tolerance values were estimated using a weighted averages approach based on the abundance of macroinvertebrates identified to the family and genus levels and six chemical constituents that include conductivity, dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand, ammonia nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen and orthophosphate.