Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Predicting the properties of binary stellar systems: the evolution of accreting protobinary systems

We investigate the formation of binary stellar systems. We consider a model where a ‘seed’ protobinary system forms, via fragmentation, within a collapsing molecular cloud core and evolves to its final mass by accreting material from an infalling gaseous envelope. This accretion alters the mass ratio and orbit of the binary, and is largely responsible for forming the circumstellar and/or circumbinary discs. Given this model for binary formation, we predict the properties of binary systems and how they depend on the initial conditions within the molecular cloud core. We predict that there should be a continuous trend such that closer binaries are more likely to have equal-mass components and are more likely to have circumbinary discs than wider systems. Comparing our results with observations, we find that the observed mass-ratio distributions of binaries and the frequency of circumbinary discs as a function of separation are most easily reproduced if the progenitor molecular cloud cores have radial density profiles between uniform and 1/r (e.g., Gaussian) with near-uniform rotation. This is in good agreement with the observed properties of pre-stellar cores. Conversely, we find that the observed properties of binaries cannot be reproduced if the cloud cores are in solid-body rotation and have initial density profiles which are strongly centrally condensed. Finally, in agreement with the radial-velocity searches for extrasolar planets, we find that it is very difficult to form a brown dwarf companion to a solar-type star with a separation ≲10 au, but that the frequency of brown dwarf companions should increase with larger separations or lower mass primaries.
Parallel Data Sharing in Cache : Theory , Measurement and Analysis

Cache sharing on a multicore processor is usually competitive. In multi-threaded code, however, different threads may access the same data and have a cooperative effect in cache. This retport describes a new metric called shared footprint and a new locality theory to measure and analyze parallel data sharing in cache. Shared footprint is machine independent, i.e. data sharing in all cache sizes, not just one cache size and compositional, i.e. data sharing in all thread sets, not just one set. The report gives a single-pass, parallel algorithm for measurement and evaluates the new metric using 14 PARSEC and SPEC OMP benchmarks, including a use in improving the performance of multi-threaded code. The research is supported by the National Science Foundation (Contract No. CNS-1319617, CCF1116104, CCF-0963759), IBM CAS Faculty Fellowship, the National Science Foundation of China (Contract No. 61328201) and a grant from Huawei. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funding organizations.
Compensating for Cognitive Deficits in Persons Aged 50 and Over with HIV/AIDS

ABSTRACT This pilot study describes a cognitive intervention designed to compensate for cognitive deficits among persons with HIV/AIDS aged 50 and over. Seventeen participants were screened for memory and executive function deficits. Ten participants received the intervention, based on Spaced Retrieval (SR) and use of external memory aids. At two months post-treatment, all participants reported that the intervention helped them meet two self-selected functional goals (e.g., remembering to take medications, remembering clinic appointments) and the majority successfully learned and retained the correct memory strategy. Spaced Retrieval, coupled with external aids, has potential for helping persons with HIV adhere to treatment regimens.
S6K1 Negatively Regulates TAK1 Activity in the Toll-Like Receptor Signaling Pathway

ABSTRACT Transforming growth factor β (TGF-β)-activated kinase 1 (TAK1) is a key regulator in the signals transduced by proinflammatory cytokines and Toll-like receptors (TLRs). The regulatory mechanism of TAK1 in response to various tissue types and stimuli remains incompletely understood. Here, we show that ribosomal S6 kinase 1 (S6K1) negatively regulates TLR-mediated signals by inhibiting TAK1 activity. S6K1 overexpression causes a marked reduction in NF-κB and AP-1 activity induced by stimulation of TLR2 or TLR4. In contrast, S6K1−/− and S6K1 knockdown cells display enhanced production of inflammatory cytokines. Moreover, S6K1−/− mice exhibit decreased survival in response to challenge with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). We found that S6K1 inhibits TAK1 kinase activity by interfering with the interaction between TAK1 and TAB1, which is a key regulator protein for TAK1 catalytic function. Upon stimulation with TLR ligands, S6K1 deficiency causes a marked increase in TAK1 kinase activity that in turn induces a substantial enhancement of NF-κB-dependent gene expression, indicating that S6K1 is negatively involved in the TLR signaling pathway by the inhibition of TAK1 activity. Our findings contribute to understanding the molecular pathogenesis of the impaired immune responses seen in type 2 diabetes, where S6K1 plays a key role both in driving insulin resistance and modulating TLR signaling.
VMD DisRg: New User-Friendly Implement for calculation distance and radius of gyration in VMD program

Molecular dynamic simulation is a practical and powerful technique for analysis of protein structure. Several programs have been developed to facilitate the mentioned investigation, under them the visual molecular dynamic or VMD is the most frequently used programs. One of the beneficial properties of the VMD is its ability to be extendable by designing new plug-in. We introduce here a new facility of the VMD for distance analysis and radius of gyration of biopolymers such as protein and DNA. Availability The database is available for free at http://trc.ajums. ac.ir/HomePage.aspx/? TabID/=12618/&Site/=trc.ajums. ac/&Lang/=fa-IR
Segment-based depth maps extraction from stereo video content

In this paper a content-independent, adaptive and parameter-free estimation chain for depth map generation from still-images stereo content will be described. The state-of-the-art solutions for each step of the classical chain will be analyzed as reference benchmark for our proposed implementation. Finally, comparative results will be presented and evaluated through the Middlebury Stereo Evaluation framework to prove the achieved optimal trade-off between quality and computational complexity.
Automated Enzymatic Methods for Creatinine Measurement with Special Attention to Bilirubin Interference

Four enzymatic methods for creatinine measurement were evaluated on a DuPont Dimension automatic analyzer. Biomed Creatinine-Duo-UV (BIO) and Raichem Creatinine Reagent Enzymatic (RAI) start creatinine breakdown with creatinine iminohydrolase (EC 3.5.4.21) resulting in the formation of NH4+. The Boehringer Mannheim Creatinine PAP (BM1) and SopaChem Creatinine (SOP) start the breakdown of creatinine with creatininase (EC 3.5.2.10) which yields creatine. In order to reduce bilirubin interference, the BM1 method was modified to contain K4Fe(CN)6. This substance was added with reagent 1 (BM2) or with reagent 2 (BM3). All the enzymatic creatinine methods tested displayed good linearity for concentrations up to at least 1000 mumol/l. The BIO, BM3, RAI and SOP methods showed good stability of test outcome for the tested period of a week. The outcome of the BM1 and BM2 method increased continually with time. Only the results of the RAI method were diminished by the presence of lipids. The BM1, BM2, BM3 and SOP methods showed no interference with haemoglobin, whereas this increased the outcome of the BIO method and slightly decreased the results of the RAI method. Using spiked human albumin solutions it was found that the BIO, BM2, BM3 and RAI methods displayed good resistance to interference by bilirubin or ditauro-bilirubin. The outcome of the BM1 and SOP method was strongly decreased by both bilirubin and ditauro-bilirubin. When creatinine was measured in a panel of sera originating from 100 patients with bilirubin concentrations higher than 50 mumol/l, the obtained results were in close agreement with those found for the spiked human albumin solutions. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Making the Familiar Unfamiliar

New meanings can be produced through messages coming from outside a group (e.g. other cultures, experts and active minorities), but can also be created by creatively using social tools one already possesses by belonging to a society. The two pathways of creativity are related and opposing processes: the former ‘makes the unfamiliar familiar ’, whereas the latter ‘makes the familiar unfamiliar ’. Both utilize the existing ‘ﬁeld of representations’ as super-ordinate meanings to (re)situate and therefore understand some object, activity or event. Representations are schematized in and with a context, through discourse, in such a way that both the representation and the context are transformed.
Prime-Time Stereotyping on the New Television Networks

This content analysis examines portrayals of women in prime-time promotional announcements broadcast on five television networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, and UPN) during one week in 1995. Findings supported the hypotheses that (1) women are underrepresented in all television networks' promotional announcements, and that (2) stereotypical portrayals of women in these announcements varied due to the television network's target audience. Specifically, television program promotional announcements on networks that seek a younger male audience contained more stereotypical female characters than other network programming produced for a more general audience.
A Distributable Traffic - based MPLS Dynamic Load Balancing Scheme

A new comprehensive metric based on LSP queuing delay and packet loss probability, which is referred to as DT (distributable traffic), is defined to reflect the load level of LSP. Then based on DT, an dynamic MPLS load balancing scheme is proposed to perform traffic distribution in MPLS networks, which is referred to as DTLB. Only LERs are required to perform special function in DTLB scheme, so the scalability is maintained. Simulation results indicate that the new proposed scheme can perform stable even in dynamic network environment, and it can distribute the traffic onto parallel LSPs more evenly and fairly when compared to other schemes
Cellular Response of Pea Plants to Cadmium Toxicity: Cross Talk between Reactive Oxygen Species, Nitric Oxide, and Calcium1[W][OA]

Cadmium (Cd) toxicity has been widely studied in different plant species; however, the mechanism involved in its toxicity as well as the cell response against the metal have not been well established. In this work, using pea (Pisum sativum) plants, we studied the effect of Cd on antioxidants, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and nitric oxide (NO) metabolism of leaves using different cellular, molecular, and biochemical approaches. The growth of pea plants with 50 μm CdCl2 affected differentially the expression of superoxide dismutase (SOD) isozymes at both transcriptional and posttranscriptional levels, giving rise to a SOD activity reduction. The copper/zinc-SOD down-regulation was apparently due to the calcium (Ca) deficiency induced by the heavy metal. In these circumstances, the overproduction of the ROS hydrogen peroxide and superoxide could be observed in vivo by confocal laser microscopy, mainly associated with vascular tissue, epidermis, and mesophyll cells, and the production of superoxide radicals was prevented by exogenous Ca. On the other hand, the NO synthase-dependent NO production was strongly depressed by Cd, and treatment with Ca prevented this effect. Under these conditions, the pathogen-related proteins PrP4A and chitinase and the heat shock protein 71.2, were up-regulated, probably to protect cells against damages induced by Cd. The regulation of these proteins could be mediated by jasmonic acid and ethylene, whose contents increased by Cd treatment. A model is proposed for the cellular response to long-term Cd exposure consisting of cross talk between Ca, ROS, and NO.
A hierarchical model for real-time monitoring of variation in risk of non-specific gastrointestinal infections

SUMMARY The AEGISS (Ascertainment and Enhancement of Disease Surveillance and Statistics) project uses spatio-temporal statistical methods to identify anomalies in the incidence of gastrointestinal infections in the UK. The focus of this paper is the modelling of temporal variation in incidence using data from the Southampton area in southern England. We identified and fitted a hierarchical stochastic model for the time series of daily incident cases to enable probabilistic prediction of temporal variation in risk, and demonstrated the resulting gains in predictive accuracy by comparison with a conventional analysis based on an over-dispersed Poisson log-linear regression model. We used Bayesian methods of inference in order to incorporate parameter uncertainty in our predictive inference of risk. Incorporation of our model in the overall spatio-temporal model, will contribute to the accurate and timely prediction of unusually high food-poisoning incidence, and thus to the identification and prevention of future outbreaks.
大一學生歷經創傷事件與復原力模式之研究The Resilience Model Among First-Year College Students Who Experienced Traumatic Events

本研究旨在探討大一學生歷經創傷事件與適應結果的關係，以及了解歷經創傷事件大一學生的復原力機制。 本研究以國內六所大學2,806位一年級學生為研究樣本，以結構方程模式的路徑分析檢視復原力模型。 研究結果發現，大一學生歷經創傷事件的盛行率約41%，至少歷經一種創傷事件大一學生整體適應指標低於沒有歷經創傷事件之大一學生。 有歷經創傷事件且高適應的大一學生，比低適應者有更高程度的樂觀、自尊、安全的依附關係、社會支持與積極因應，這些資源變項，加上歷經創傷類別數量，大致可以解釋歷經創傷事件大一學生適應指標55%的變異量，其中效果值最大的是自尊，而路徑模型顯示在樂觀、自尊、安全依附等資源變項與適應結果之間，社會支持和積極因應扮演重要的中介角色。 此外，本研究發現歷經越多種類創傷事件反而對社會支持與積極因應具有正向預測性。 本研究最後針對歷經創傷事件大一學生的復原力模型提出討論，並分別對大學諮商與學生事務及未來的研究提出建議。 關鍵詞 大學生、創傷事件、復原力、適應。 《詳全文》 The Resilience Model Among First-Year College Students Who Experienced Traumatic Events The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between exposure to traumatic events and adaptation outcome among first-year college students, and to examine the effects of psychosocial resources on first-year college students with a history of exposure to traumatic events. Survey data from 2,806 first-year college students of six universities in Taiwan were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The study found approximately 41% of respondents reported at least one traumatic event and the group of students who reported having experienced any trauma in the past scored lower on adaptation index than participants who did not. Results also indicated that well-adjusted students who had experienced any trauma had greater optimism, higher self-esteem, stronger secure attachment, more perceived social support, and greater use of proactive coping, as compared to maladaptive students. These psychosocial resources and the number of different types of traumas explained about 55% of the variance in adaptation index. The effect of self-esteem on adaptation index was the most significant. Moreover, the path model indicated that perceived social support and proactive coping partially mediated the relationship between optimism/self-esteem/attachment and adaptation index. In addition, the study found that the number of different types of traumas was a predictor of perceived social support and proactive coping. Implications for these complex relations are discussed for both counseling interventions and future research. Key Words adaptation, college students, resilience, traumatic events
A phase II monocentric study of oxaliplatin in combination with gemcitabine (GEMOX) in patients with advanced/metastatic transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of the urothelial tract.

BACKGROUND The aim of the study was to evaluate the activity and the safety of the gemcitabine-oxaliplatin (GEMOX) combination as first-line treatment in advanced/metastatic transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of the urothelial tract. MATERIALS AND METHODS Patients with metastatic or unresectable TCC, PS < or =2, creatinine < or =1.5 upper limit of normal range (UNL) and measurable disease according to RECIST criteria were treated with a combination of gemcitabine (1500 mg/m(2)) followed by oxaliplatin (85 mg/m(2)) on day 1 and 15 of a 28-day cycle. RESULTS A total of 123 cycles were administered to 30 patients (median 4, range 1-8). Three complete responses (CR) and 11 partial responses (PR) were observed. Overall response rate (ORR) was 47% (95% CI 28% to 66%). Median overall survival (OS) was 15 months (95% CI 8-31). Grade 3 and 4 neutropenia were reported in three and one patient, respectively; grade 3 anaemia in three patients; grade 3 and 4 thrombocytopenia in two and one patient, respectively; grade 1, 2 and 3 peripheral neuropathy in 14, 11 and two patients, respectively; grade 2 and 3 fatigue in 13 and seven patients respectively. CONCLUSIONS The GEMOX combination is active in advanced/metastatic TCC with minimal toxicity and needs to be evaluated in a selected population of unfit patients and compared with other non-cisplatin-containing regimens.
Leave-One-Out Phrase Model Training for Large-Scale Deployment

Training the phrase table by force-aligning (FA) the training data with the reference translation has been shown to improve the phrasal translation quality while significantly reducing the phrase table size on medium sized tasks. We apply this procedure to several large-scale tasks, with the primary goal of reducing model sizes without sacrificing translation quality. To deal with the noise in the automatically crawled parallel training data, we introduce on-demand word deletions, insertions, and backoffs to achieve over 99% successful alignment rate. We also add heuristics to avoid any increase in OOV rates. We are able to reduce already heavily pruned baseline phrase tables by more than 50% with little to no degradation in quality and occasionally slight improvement, without any increase in OOVs. We further introduce two global scaling factors for re-estimation of the phrase table via posterior phrase alignment probabilities and a modified absolute discounting method that can be applied to fractional counts.
Achieving Acetylcholine Receptor Clustering in Tissue-Engineered Skeletal Muscle Constructs In vitro through a Materials-Directed Agrin Delivery Approach

Volumetric muscle loss (VML) can result from trauma, infection, congenital anomalies, or surgery, and produce permanent functional and cosmetic deficits. There are no effective treatment options for VML injuries, and recent advances toward development of muscle constructs lack the ability to achieve innervation necessary for long-term function. We sought to develop a proof-of-concept biomaterial construct that could achieve acetylcholine receptor (AChR) clustering on muscle-derived cells (MDCs) in vitro. The approach consisted of the presentation of neural (Z+) agrin from the surface of microspheres embedded with a fibrin hydrogel to muscle cells (C2C12 cell line or primary rat MDCs). AChR clustering was spatially restricted to areas of cell (C2C12)-microsphere contact when the microspheres were delivered in suspension or when they were incorporated into a thin (2D) fibrin hydrogel. AChR clusters were observed from 16 to 72 h after treatment when Z+ agrin was adsorbed to the microspheres, and for greater than 120 h when agrin was covalently coupled to the microspheres. Little to no AChR clustering was observed when agrin-coated microspheres were delivered from specially designed 3D fibrin constructs. However, cyclic stretch in combination with agrin-presenting microspheres led to dramatic enhancement of AChR clustering in cells cultured on these 3D fibrin constructs, suggesting a synergistic effect between mechanical strain and agrin stimulation of AChR clustering in vitro. These studies highlight a strategy for maintaining a physiological phenotype characterized by motor endplates of muscle cells used in tissue engineering strategies for muscle regeneration. As such, these observations may provide an important first step toward improving function of tissue-engineered constructs for treatment of VML injuries.
Experience with primary reserve supplied from energy storage system

This paper presents practical experience obtained during the first years of operation of a 1.6MW/0.4MWh Li-ion battery energy storage system used for provision of frequency regulation and participation in the Western Denmark primary reserve market. The paper presents recorded performance during operation, identifies losses in main power conversion and auxiliary power supply, and proposes a battery charging strategy that allows compliance with the technical performance requirements from the TSO.
Characterization of ST 14 A Cells for Studying Modulation of Voltage-Gated Calcium Channels

In medium spiny neurons (MSNs) of the striatum, dopamine D2 receptors (D2Rs) specifically inhibit the Cav1.3 subtype of L-type Ca 2+ channels (LTCs). MSNs are heterogeneous in their expression of dopamine receptors making the study of D2R pathways difficult in primary neurons. Here, we employed the ST14A cell line, derived from embryonic striatum and characterized to have properties of MSNs, to study Cav1.3 current and its modulation by neurotransmitters. Round, undifferentiated ST14A cells exhibited little to no endogenous Ca current while differentiated ST14A cells expressed endogenous Ca current. Transfection with LTC subunits produced functional Cav1.3 current from round cells, providing a homogeneous model system compared to native MSNs for studying D2R pathways. However, neither endogenous nor recombinant Cav1.3 current was modulated by the D2R agonist quinpirole. We confirmed D2R expression in ST14A cells and also detected D1Rs, D4Rs, D5Rs, Gq, calcineurin and phospholipase A2 using RT-PCR and/or Western blot analysis. Phospholipase C β-1 (PLCβ-1) expression was not detected by Western blot analysis which may account for the lack of LTC modulation by D2Rs. These findings raise caution about the assumption that the presence of G-protein coupled receptors in cell lines indicates the presence of complete signaling cascades. However, exogenous arachidonic acid inhibited recombinant Cav1.3 current indicating that channels expressed in ST14A cells are capable of modulation since they respond to a known signaling molecule downstream of D2Rs. Thus, ST14A cells provide a MSN-like cell line for studying channel modulation and signaling pathways that do not involve activation of PLCβ-
Bob: A lexicon and pronunciation dictionary generator

This paper presents Bob, a tool for managing lexicons and generating pronunciation dictionaries for automatic speech recognition systems. It aims to maintain a high level of consistency between lexicons and language modelling corpora by managing the text normalisation and lexicon generation processes in a single dedicated package. It also aims to maintain consistent pronunciation dictionaries by generating pronunciation hypotheses automatically and aiding their verification. The tool's design and functionality are described. Also two case studies highlighting the importance of consistency and illustrating the use of the tool are reported.
Large-signal performance of measurement-based diode models for nonlinear circuit simulation: a comparison

This paper presents a new, extensive investigation of the large-signal behaviour of two measurement based mathematical diode models. A physics-based dynamic nonlinear model of a p+n diode, and the Nonlinear Integral Model [1] derived from the former model's small-signal admittances are compared. Despite the exact agreement in DC and small-signal conditions, the large-signal behaviour of the two models is shown to be different. A varactor frequency multiplier design is developed to assess the impact of this model difference on the analysis and optimization of strongly nonlinear circuits.