Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Molecular characterization of toll‐like receptor 2 of ruminants and comparative expression in nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus) vs. buffalo (Bubalus bubalis)

Toll‐like receptors play role in the innate immune responses and orchestrate the adaptive immunity by induction of proinflammatory cytokines and up‐regulation of costimulatory molecules. The present study has characterized TLR2 cDNA in nilgai, buffalo, sheep and goat that recognizes the peptidoglycan of Gram‐positive bacteria. TLR2 coding sequences were amplified from monocytes cDNA and cloned in pGEMT‐easy vector for nucleotide sequencing. Sequence analysis revealed 2355‐bp‐long TLR2 open reading frame encoding 784 amino acids in all the species studied. Nilgai TLR2 has 97.8% to 95.1% identity at nucleotide level and 96.2% to 92.7% identity at amino acid level with other ruminant species studied. Nonsynonymous substitutions exceeding synonymous substitutions indicated evolution of this receptor through positive selection among ruminants. Furthermore, basal TLR2 messenger RNA expression in different immune cells and tissues quantified by real‐time polymerase chain reaction revealed highest level in in vitro derived dendritic cells followed by peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Skin and testes also expressed significant level in both nilgai and buffalo. Comparatively, nilgai immune cells and tissues expressed more TLR2 transcript than buffalo, thus elucidating stronger armamentarium of antibacterial immunity in nilgai as compared to buffalo.
Non-iterative multiuser MIMO coordinated beamforming with limited feedforward

This paper proposes non-iterative coordinated beamforming algorithms for a multiuser MIMO (multiple input multiple output) system with multiple antennas at the transmitter and multiple users, each with multiple receive antennas. The transmitter uses linear beamforming to convey information to each user, while each receiver uses a quantized combining vector, sent from the transmitter via a low-rate feedforward control channel. Two different algorithms for optimizing transmit beamformers and receive combining vectors are proposed: a joint optimization and a greedy search. Simulations show that the proposed methods using quantized codebooks approach the sum capacity of the MIMO broadcast channel.
Learning Hidden Markov Model Structure for Information Extraction

Statistical machine learning techniques, while well proven in fields such as speech recognition, are just beginning to be applied to the information extraction domain. We explore the use of hidden Markov models for information extraction tasks, specifically focusing on how to learn model structure from data and how to make the best use of labeled and unlabeled data. We show that a manually-constructed model that contains multiple states per extraction field outperforms a model with one state per field, and discuss strategies for learning the model structure automatically from data. We also demonstrate that the use of distantly-labeled data to set model parameters provides a significant improvement in extraction accuracy. Our models are applied to the task of extracting important fields from the headers of computer science research papers, and achieve an extraction accuracy of 92.9%.
Repairable Fountain Codes

We introduce a new family of Fountain codes that are systematic and also have sparse parities. Given an input of k symbols, our codes produce an unbounded number of output symbols, generating each parity independently by linearly combining a logarithmic number of randomly selected input symbols. The construction guarantees that for any ε>0 accessing a random subset of (1+ε)k encoded symbols, asymptotically suffices to recover the k input symbols with high probability. Our codes have the additional benefit of logarithmic locality: a single lost symbol can be repaired by accessing a subset of O(log k) of the remaining encoded symbols. This is a desired property for distributed storage systems where symbols are spread over a network of storage nodes. Beyond recovery upon loss, local reconstruction provides an efficient alternative for reading symbols that cannot be accessed directly. In our code, a logarithmic number of disjoint local groups is associated with each systematic symbol, allowing multiple parallel reads. Our main mathematical contribution involves analyzing the rank of sparse random matrices with specific structure over finite fields. We rely on establishing that a new family of sparse random bipartite graphs have perfect matchings with high probability.
Simultaneous [18F]FDG-PET/MRI: Correlation of Apparent Diffusion Coefficient (ADC) and Standardized Uptake Value (SUV) in Primary and Recurrent Cervical Cancer

Objectives Previous non–simultaneous PET/MR studies have shown heterogeneous results about the correlation between standardized uptake values (SUVs) and apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs). The aim of this study was to investigate correlations in patients with primary and recurrent tumors using a simultaneous PET/MRI system which could lead to a better understanding of tumor biology and might play a role in early response assessment. Methods We included 31 patients with histologically confirmed primary (n = 14) or recurrent cervical cancer (n = 17) who underwent simultaneous whole-body 18F-FDG-PET/MRI comprising DWI. Image analysis was performed by a radiologist and a nuclear physician who identified tumor margins and quantified ADC and SUV. Pearson correlations were calculated to investigate the association between ADC and SUV. Results 92 lesions were detected. We found a significant inverse correlation between SUVmax and ADCmin (r = -0.532, p = 0.05) in primary tumors as well as in primary metastases (r = -0.362, p = 0.05) and between SUVmean and ADCmin (r = -0.403, p = 0.03). In recurrent local tumors we found correlations for SUVmax and ADCmin (r = -0.747, p = 0.002) and SUVmean and ADCmin (r = -0.773, p = 0.001). Associations for recurrent metastases were not significant (p>0.05). Conclusions Our study demonstrates the feasibility of fast and reliable measurement of SUV and ADC with simultaneous PET/MRI. In patients with cervical cancer we found significant inverse correlations for SUV and ADC which could play a major role for further tumor characterization and therapy decisions.
Transcriptional Regulation of the assT-dsbL-dsbI Gene Cluster in Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhi IMSS-1 Depends on LeuO, H-NS, and Specific Growth Conditions

ABSTRACT The assT gene encodes an arylsulfate sulfotransferase, an enzyme that catalyzes sulfuryl transfer from phenolic sulfate to a phenolic acceptor. In Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi IMSS-1, the assT gene is located upstream of the dsbL and dsbI genes, which are involved in a disulfide bond formation required for its activation. The assT-dsbL-dsbI gene cluster forms an operon transcribed by a LeuO-dependent promoter, in rich medium A (MA). Interestingly, in the absence of cloned leuO and in a ΔleuO background, two transcription start sites were detected for assT and two for dsbL-dsbI in minimal medium. The H-NS nucleoid protein repressed the expression of the assT-dsbL-dsbI LeuO-dependent operon, as well as of the assT transcriptional units. Thus, the expression of the assT-dsbL-dsbI gene cluster depends on the global regulatory proteins LeuO and H-NS, as well as on specific growth conditions.
Shock emission in the bipolar post-AGB star IRAS 16594-4656

In this paper we study the near-infrared emission spectrum of IRAS 16594-4656, a bipolar post-AGB star with spectral type B7 and no observed ionization. Using optical and near-infrared photometry we determined the total extinction towards this object to be $A_V=7.5\pm0.4$ mag and derived a distance of $2.2\pm0.4$ kpc, assuming a luminosity of $10^4~L_\odot$. The near-infrared spectrum shows strong H 2 emission lines and some typical metastable shock excited lines such as [Fe ii] 1.257 & 1.644 μ m. We determined the rotational and vibrational excitation temperatures, as well as the ortho-to-para ratio of the molecular hydrogen. Based on these we argue that the H 2 emission is mainly collisionally excited. Line ratios indicate that the H 2 emission originates in a ~25 km s -1 C -type shock. On the other hand, the metastable lines, and especially the [Fe ii] emission lines, indicate the presence of a ~75 km s -1 J -type shock. Hence we postulate that the H 2 emission originates where the stellar wind (with an observed terminal velocity of ~126 km s -1 ) is funneled through an equatorial density enhancement, impinging almost tangentially upon the circumstellar material. The [Fe ii] emission either occurs along the walls of the bipolar lobes where the transverse shock velocity would be higher, or could originate much closer to the central star in shocks in the post-AGB wind itself, or possibly even an accretion disk. Further high resolution near-infrared spectra are currently being obtained to confirm the proposed geometry and kinematics.
Linear time algorithms for visibility and shortest path problems inside simple polygons

We present linear time algorithms for solving the following problems involving a simple planar polygon <italic>P</italic>: (i) Computing the collection of all shortest paths inside <italic>P</italic> from a given source vertex <italic>s</italic> to all the other vertices of <italic>P</italic>; (ii) Computing the subpolygon of <italic>P</italic> consisting of points that are visible from a segment within <italic>P</italic>; (iii) Preprocessing <italic>P</italic> so that for any query ray <italic>r</italic> emerging from some fixed edge <italic>e</italic> of <italic>P</italic>, we can find in logarithmic time the first intersection of <italic>r</italic> with the boundary of <italic>P</italic>; (iv) Preprocessing <italic>P</italic> so that for any query point <italic>x</italic> in <italic>P</italic>, we can find in logarithmic time the portion of the edge <italic>e</italic> that is visible from <italic>x</italic>; (v) Preprocessing <italic>P</italic> so that for any query point <italic>x</italic> inside <italic>P</italic> and direction <italic>u</italic>, we can find in logarithmic time the first point on the boundary of <italic>P</italic> hit by the ray at direction <italic>u</italic> from <italic>x</italic>; (vi) Calculating a hierarchical decomposition of <italic>P</italic> into smaller polygons by recursive polygon cutting, as in [Ch]. (vii) Calculating the (clockwise and counterclockwise) “convex ropes” (in the terminology of [PS]) from a fixed vertex <italic>s</italic> of <italic>P</italic> lying on its convex hull, to all other vertices of <italic>P</italic>. All these algorithms are based on a recent linear time algorithm of Tarjan and Van Wyk for triangulating a simple polygon, but use additional techniques to make all subsequent phases of these algorithms also linear.
Natural Language Assistant: A Dialog System for Online Product Recommendation

With the emergence of electronic-commerce systems, successful information access on electroniccommerce web sites becomes essential. Menu-driven navigation and keyword search currently provided by most commercial sites have considerable limitations because they tend to overwhelm and frustrate users with lengthy, rigid, and ineffective interactions. To provide an efficient solution for information access, we have built the NATURAL language ASSISTANT (NLA), a web-based natural language dialog system to help users find relevant products on electronic-commerce sites. The system brings together technologies in natural language processing and human-computer interaction to create a faster and more intuitive way of interacting with web sites. By combining statistical parsing techniques with traditional AI rule-based technology, we have created a dialog system that accommodates both customer needs and business requirements. The system is currently embedded in an application for recommending laptops and was deployed as a pilot on IBM's web site.
Dynamic spectrum access for cognitive small cell networks: A robust graphical game approach

This paper investigates the problem of distributed spectrum access for cognitive small cell networks. Compared with existing work, two inherent features are considered: i) the transmission of a cognitive small cell base station only interferes with its neighbors due to the low power, i.e., the interference is local, and ii) the channel state is time-varying due to fading. We formulate the problem as a robust graphical game, and prove that it is an ordinal potential game which has at least one pure strategy Nash equilibrium (NE). Also, the lower throughput bound of NE solutions is analytically obtained. To cope with the dynamic and incomplete information constraints, we propose a distribute spectrum access algorithm to converge to some stable results. Simulation results validate the effectiveness of the proposed game-theoretic distributed learning solution in time-varying spectrum environment.
Types with semantics: soundness proof assistant

We present a parametric Hoare-like logic for computer-aided reasoning about typeable properties of functional programs. The logic is based on the concept of a specialised assertion, which is a predicate expressing the semantics of a typing judgment in a logical framework (here higher-order logic). Replacing in a type inference rule the judgments by the appropriate specialised assertions, one obtains a specialised rule. Specialised assertions have a uniform format, and soundness proofs of specialised rules employ uniform sequences of steps for a variety of type systems. This allows to abstract from the type system and define parametric specialised assertion and rules. Moreover, we define a parametric soundness condition for each program construct which ensures soundness of the corresponding rule. To prove soundness of the specialised rule for the concrete type system one checks the condition and instantiates the parametric rule. We consider specialised logics for ``non-pure'' type systems which contain rules with semantical side conditions. A semantical condition makes type-checking for such a system undecidable. However, the condition may be approximated by another type system. We introduce a product-like composition of two inference systems that eliminates semantical side conditions. The soundness condition of the composition follows straightforwardly from the soundness conditions of its components and a statement about the approximation.
Muon collider: Introduction and status

Parameters are given of machines with center of mass (CoM) energies of 3 TeV and 400 GeV but, besides a comment on neutrino radiation, the paper concentrates on progress on the design of a machine to operate at a light Higgs mass, assumed, for this study, to be 100 GeV (CoM).
The Diffusion-KLMS Algorithm

The diffusion least mean squares (LMS) [1] algorithm gives faster convergence than the original LMS in a distributed network. Also, it outperforms other distributed LMS algorithms like spatial LMS and incremental LMS [2]. However, both LMS and diffusion-LMS are not applicable in non-linear environments where data may not be linearly separable [3]. A variant of LMS called kernel-LMS (KLMS) has been proposed in [3] for such non-linearities. We intend to propose the kernelised version of diffusion-LMS in this paper.
Resistance Welding of Graphite-Polyarylsulfone/Polysulfone Dual-Polymer Composites

A statistically designed experimental approach was used to determine the optimum weld processing parameter values for a lap shear coupon prepared from a resis tance welded dual-polymer material system. The adherends used were 16-ply quasi isotropic laminates formed from T-750 graphite and polyarylsulfone prepreg (Radel®) with neat polysulfone comolded to each surface. The heating elements were made from a single layer of the Radel® prepreg with neat polysulfone comolded on each side. Electrical con nections were made through an expanded foil mesh conductor tab that was ultrasonically attached to each end of the heating element. The design-of-experiment approach was used for the experimental set-up and analysis. A series of response surface plots was prepared that allowed the optimum processing parameter values to be identified. Photomicrographs and C-scans were prepared from the welded region and compared to the lap shear strength values obtained. The relationship between the bondline thickness and the lap shear strength was also examined. The experimental results showed that maximum joint strengths were obtained at temperatures exceeding the glass transition temperatures (Tg ) of the polymers.
Energy efficiency comparison among direct, one-way and two-way relay transmission

In this paper, we compare the energy efficiencies (EEs) of direct transmission (DT), one-way relay transmission (OWRT) and two-way relay transmission (TWRT) in a system where two sourcie nodes transmit to each other and may be assisted by an amplify-and-forward relay node. We first find the maximum EEs of DT, OWRT and TWRT by jointly optimizing the transmission time and the transmit powers at each node. Then we compare the maximum EEs of the three strategies, and analyze the impact of circuit powers and bidirectional data amounts. Analytical and simulation results show that relaying is not always more energy efficient than DT. The EE of TWRT is higher than those of DT and OWRT when the bidirectional data amounts are equal. Otherwise, the advantage of TWRT diminishes, while either DT or OWRT may provide higher EE.
Effects of La/Zn ratios on structural and magnetic properties of Sr1 − xLaxFe12 − yZnyO19 hexagonal ferrites

In this research, the hexagonal ferrite Sr1 − xLaxFe12 − yZnyO19 magnetic powder and magnets were prepared by the solid state reaction method. In order to study the formation of hexaferrite phase, the X-ray diffraction analysis was carried out, and it was discovered that a single magnetoplumbite phase was formed in the calcined powders with x/y of 1.2 and 1.4, and for other calcined powders, the secondary phase was observed. A field emission scanning electron microscopy was used to characterise the images of the magnets. The magnets have formed the hexagonal structures, and the grains are distributed homogeneously. Magnetic properties of the magnets were measured by a magnetic properties test instrument. The remanence and maximum energy product of the magnets first increase with x/y from 0.8 to 1.2 and then decrease when x/y continues to increase. However, the intrinsic coercivity and magnetic induction coercivity of the magnets decrease with x/y from 0.8 to 2.2.
Assessment of non-local effect on pressure term in RANS modeling using a DNS database

A DNS database for the channel flow at Reτ = 590 is used to investigate the validity of the hypotheses used to model the pressure term in the Reynolds stress transport equations by elliptic relaxation. It is shown that the correlation function involving the fluctuating velocity and the Laplacian of the pressure gradient, which is modeled by an exponential function, is actually not isotropic. It is not only elongated in the streamwise direction but also asymmetric in the direction normal to the wall. This feature is the main cause for the slight amplification of the redistribution between the Reynolds stress components in the log layer as predicted by the elliptic relaxation operator. The expected reduction in redistribution is predicted by a new formulation of the model, which can be derived by accounting for the asymmetry in the correlation function, without using any wall echo correction terms. The belief that this reduction is due to the wall echo effect is called into question through the present DNS analysis.
Accuracy of quantitative reconstructions in SPECT/CT imaging

The goal of this study was to determine the quantitative accuracy of our OSEM-APDI reconstruction method based on SPECT/CT imaging for Tc-99m, In-111, I-123, and I-131 isotopes. Phantom studies were performed on a SPECT/low-dose multislice CT system (Infinia-Hawkeye-4 slice, GE Healthcare) using clinical acquisition protocols. Two radioactive sources were centrally and peripherally placed inside an anthropometric Thorax phantom filled with non-radioactive water. Corrections for attenuation, scatter, collimator blurring and collimator septal penetration were applied and their contribution to the overall accuracy of the reconstruction was evaluated. Reconstruction with the most comprehensive set of corrections resulted in activity estimation with error levels of 3–5% for all the isotopes.
An ontology-based approach to the optimization of non-binary (2, v)-regular LDPC codes

A non-binary (2,v)-regular LDPC code is defined by a parity-check matrix with column weight 2 and row weight v. In this report, we give an ontology-based approach to the optimization for this class of codes. All possible inter-connected cycle patterns that lead to low symbol-weight codewords are identified to put together the ontology. The optimization goal is to improve the distance property of equivalent binary images. Using the proposed method, the estimation and optimization of bit-distance spectrum becomes easily handleable. Three codes in the CCSDS recommendation are analyzed and several codes with good minimum bit-distance are designed.
Growth of Acidithiobacillus Ferrooxidans ATCC 23270 in Thiosulfate Under Oxygen-Limiting Conditions Generates Extracellular Sulfur Globules by Means of a Secreted Tetrathionate Hydrolase

Production of sulfur globules during sulfide or thiosulfate oxidation is a characteristic feature of some sulfur bacteria. Although their generation has been reported in Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans, its mechanism of formation and deposition, as well as the physiological significance of these globules during sulfur compounds oxidation, are currently unknown. Under oxygen-sufficient conditions (OSC), A. ferrooxidans oxidizes thiosulfate to tetrathionate, which accumulates in the culture medium. Tetrathionate is then oxidized by a tetrathionate hydrolase (TTH) generating thiosulfate, elemental sulfur, and sulfate as final products. We report here a massive production of extracellular conspicuous sulfur globules in thiosulfate-grown A. ferrooxidans cultures shifted to oxygen-limiting conditions (OLC). Concomitantly with sulfur globule deposition, the extracellular concentration of tetrathionate greatly diminished and sulfite accumulated in the culture supernatant. A. ferrooxidans cellular TTH activity was negligible in OLC-incubated cells, indicating that this enzymatic activity was not responsible for tetrathionate disappearance. On the other hand, supernatants from both OSC- and OLC-incubated cells showed extracellular TTH activity, which most likely accounted for tetrathionate consumption in the culture medium. The extracellular TTH activity described here: (i) gives experimental support to the TTH-driven model for hydrophilic sulfur globule generation, (ii) explains the extracellular location of A. ferrooxidans sulfur deposits, and (iii) strongly suggests that the generation of sulfur globules in A. ferrooxidans corresponds to an early step during its adaptation to an anaerobic lifestyle.
Derivational Smoothing for Syntactic Distributional Semantics

Syntax-based vector spaces are used widely in lexical semantics and are more versatile than word-based spaces (Baroni and Lenci, 2010). However, they are also sparse, with resulting reliability and coverage problems. We address this problem by derivational smoothing, which uses knowledge about derivationally related words (oldish! old) to improve semantic similarity estimates. We develop a set of derivational smoothing methods and evaluate them on two lexical semantics tasks in German. Even for models built from very large corpora, simple derivational smoothing can improve coverage considerably.