Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dynamics of pharmaceutical amorphous solids: the study of enthalpy relaxation by isothermal microcalorimetry.

The structural relaxation time is a measure of the molecular mobility involved in enthalpy relaxation, and thus, is a measure of the dynamics of amorphous (glassy) pharmaceutical solids that determines physicochemical properties and reactivity of drugs in amorphous formulations. In this article we describe a novel method for characterization of structural relaxation using isothermal microcalorimetry, which directly measures the rate of heat release during the relaxation processes. The structural relaxation time is then obtained from a fit of the power data to the derivative version of the Kohlrausch-Williams-Watts (KWW) equation. The relaxation times of quenched and lyophilized samples of saccharides were studied using an isothermal microcalorimeter, the Thermal Activity Monitor (TAM). In addition to the KWW derivative function, a derivative equation of the modified stretched exponential function (MSE) was employed to evaluate TAM data. The later (MSE) appeared to have numerical advantages over the KWW equation. The data demonstrate, as expected, that structural relaxation times of amorphous solids depend on a number of variables, including nature of material, temperature, moisture content, thermal history, etc. Isothermal microcalorimetry with the TAM provides a very fast and reliable way to characterize the dynamics of glassy materials, which in many respects is superior to the conventional DSC approach. To the extent stability and structural relaxation dynamics in the glass are correlated, structural relaxation parameters derived by isothermal microcalorimetry may provide data useful for rational development of stable peptide and protein formulations and for the control of their processing.
Semi-automatic Hand Annotation Making Human-human Interaction Analysis Fast and Accurate

The detection of human hands is of great importance in a variety of domains including research on humancomputer interaction, human-human interaction, sign language and physiotherapy. Within this field of research one is interested in relevant items in recordings, such as for example faces, human body or hands. However, nowadays this annotation is mainly done manual, which makes this task extremely time consuming. In this paper, we present a semi-automatic alternative for the manual labeling of recordings. Our system automatically searches for hands in images and asks for manual intervention if the confidence of a detection is too low. Most of the existing approaches rely on complex and computationally intensive models to achieve accurate hand detections, while our approach is based on segmentation techniques, smart tracking mechanisms and knowledge of human pose context. This makes our approach substantially faster as compared to existing approaches. In this paper we apply our semi-automatic hand detection to the annotation of mobile eye-tracker recordings on human-human interaction. Our system makes the analysis of such data tremendously faster (244×) while maintaining an average accuracy of 93.68% on the tested datasets.
NMOS drive current enhancement by reducing mechanical stress induced by Shallow Trench Isolation

This paper presents a new solution to reduce the mechanical stress impact of Shallow Trench Isolation (STI) by adding polysilicon in STI and thus, improve MOSFET performances. Indeed, when a polysilicon wall is used, the drive current of NMOS transistors used in analog and digital applications is 5% higher due to the reduction in the STI-induced, compressive stress in the channel. The polysilicon wall could be added automatically in digital standard cells during cad to mask operation without increasing the size of the cells. Finally, the speed frequency of CMOS inverter ring oscillators designed with low-voltage MOSFETs used in digital standard cells is increased by 6% when a polysilicon wall is added around NMOS transistors. Moreover, the static current of ring oscillators remains unchanged.
Scanning rats on the high resolution research tomograph (HRRT): a comparison study with a dedicated micro-PET.

PURPOSE The Siemens ECAT high resolution research tomograph (HRRT) is a dedicated human brain PET camera with a 6% absolute sensitivity and a (2.3 mm)(3) spatial resolution, improving to (1.8 mm)(3) when point spread function (PSF) modeling algorithms are used. These values are very close to those of dedicated small animal PET cameras such as the Siemens microPET FOCUS 120 (F120). The larger axial and transaxial field of view of the HRRT compared to the F120 allows, in principle, for simultaneous imaging of several rodents thus potentially reducing scanning costs and time. This study investigates the feasibility of using the HRRT for quantitative small animal brain studies. METHODS We compare, in terms of magnitude, reproducibility, and asymmetry, the nondisplaceable tissue input binding potentials (BP(ND)) in the striata obtained from [(11)C]methylphenidate scans of the same rats imaged on both the F120 and the HRRT. The animal studies are complemented by a phantom study aimed at investigating noise properties relevant to the size of typical regions of interest used in rat brain image analysis. RESULTS (i) The BP(ND) values obtained from HRRT data are lower than those obtained on the F120 by 38% when PSF modeling is not used, while they are 7% higher with PSF modeling. (ii) The within animal reproducibility on the HRRT is 18% without PSF modeling, worse than the 6% reproducibility on the F120, and is even further degraded to a value of 27% with the use of PSF modeling. (iii) The asymmetry between the left and right striatum in healthy rats worsens from 4.7% in the F120 images to 7.8% in the HRRT images reconstructed without PSF modeling, and is even worse with a value of 14.8% when PSF modeling is used. (iv) Overshooting artifacts and clumpiness in the noise structure of the HRRT images reconstructed with PSF modeling are clearly visible. CONCLUSIONS The spatial resolution achieved on the HRRT without the use of resolution recovery techniques is not sufficient to allow for reliable quantitative small animal brain imaging. While PSF modeling in the reconstruction of the HRRT images in principle improves the resolution close to the level of the F120, it also introduces small scale nonuniformity artifacts and overshooting artifacts which preclude reliable quantitative small animal brain imaging on the HRRT.
STAT3 controls matrix metalloproteinase-1 expression in colon carcinoma cells by both direct and AP-1-mediated interaction with the MMP-1 promoter

Abstract Aberrant activation of STAT3 in colorectal carcinoma (CRC) tissue is correlated with elevated expression of matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1). We analyzed transcriptional regulation of the human MMP-1 promoter in CRC cells by tyrosine phosphorylated (pY-) STAT3. One of six putative STAT binding elements within a 4.3 kb MMP-1 trancriptional promoter fragment showed a particular high affinity for STAT3 in vitro. However, the most profound regulatory influence on MMP-1 promoter activity resides in a proximal region relative to the transcriptional start, bearing a pair of putative binding sites for STAT3 and AP-1. Mutational analysis of the combined STAT3/AP-1 recognition element revealed that the integrity of the STAT3 binding site is necessary, but not sufficient for both DNA interaction and transcriptional regulation by activated STAT3. Instead, the adjacent AP-1 site was essential for pY-STAT3-mediated transcription on the MMP-1 promoter. DNA-protein binding assays provided strong evidence for complex formation of STAT3 and c-Jun governed by protein-protein contacts. We observed striking coincidence for concerted aberrant activation of both STAT3 and AP-1 in human colon cancer specimens. This finding supports the notion that the combination of inappropriate STAT3 and AP-1 activities drives elevated MMP-1 expression and tissue invasion in colorectal cancer and is of clinical relevance.
Stability and Stabilization of Switched Linear Systems With Mode-Dependent Average Dwell Time

In this paper, the stability and stabilization problems for a class of switched linear systems with mode-dependent average dwell time (MDADT) are investigated in both continuous-time and discrete-time contexts. The proposed switching law is more applicable in practice than the average dwell time (ADT) switching in which each mode in the underlying system has its own ADT. The stability criteria for switched systems with MDADT in nonlinear setting are firstly derived, by which the conditions for stability and stabilization for linear systems are also presented. A numerical example is given to show the validity and potential of the developed techniques.
An Algebraic Specification for the MPEG-2 Encoding Algorithm

The MPEG-2 encoding algorithm is a compression tool for moving pictures and associated audio, developed by the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) and is designed to cover a wide range of requirements from “VHS quality” to“HDTV”. The compression methods used by MPEG-2 are considered to be asymmetrical in the meaning that the encoder is more complex than the decoder. This approach is new because MPEG does not specify the whole encoding process. In fact, the most important step of the encoding algorithm (namely the algorithms used to produce the motion vector) is not specified. Only some basic steps and the format of the compatible output are explicit specified, so that each encoder provider can create his own interpretation of the algorithm. This technique has the benefit that the decoders will remain compatible even as the encoders evolve. Due to its high acceptance and wide use, it is important to verify that the algorithm works as expected using formal methods, not only testing. To this end, we have used CafeOBJ, an executable algebraic specification language, to specify the algorithm and prove some desirable safety properties. More precisely, we specified the MPEG-2 encoding algorithm, considering the unspecified by MPEG steps as black boxes, as an Observational Transition System in CafeOBJ, and created a formal proof that for any input the output is as expected, thus proving that the algorithm works correctly.
Power Semiconductor Devices for Hybrid, Electric, and Fuel Cell Vehicles

Power semiconductor devices are key components in all power electronic systems, particularly in hybrid, electric, and fuel cell vehicles. This paper reviews the system requirement and latest development of power semiconductor devices including IGBTs, freewheeling diodes, and advanced power module technology in relating to electric vehicle applications. State-of-the-art silicon device technologies, their future trends, and theoretical limits are discussed. Emerging wide bandgap semiconductor devices such as SiC devices and their potential applications in electric vehicles are also reviewed
Annotation Schema Oriented Validation for Dependency Parsing Evaluation

Recent studies demonstrate the effects of various factors on the scores of parsing evaluation metrics and show the limits of evaluation centered on single test sets or treebank annotation. The main aim of this work is at contributing to the debate about the evaluation of treebanks and parsers, and, in particular, about the influence on scores of the design of the annotation schema applied in the data. Therefore the paper focusses on a dependencybased treebank whose annotation schema includes relations that can be set at different degrees of specificity, and quantitatively describes how the parser performance is affected when processing a selection of hard to parse constructions taken from a recent evaluation campaign for Italian parsing.
Semantic Knowledge Discovery , Organization and Use : Some Ongoing Research at Boeing

Our primary interest in semantic knowledge discovery and use is in the context of natural language understanding. One of the big challenges for language understanding is that much information that text is intended to convey is not explicitly stated. Rather, the reader constructs a mental model of the scene described by the text, including many "obvious" features that were not explicitly mentioned, using large amounts of general knowledge about the world:
Description of two new species of the leafhopper subgenus Pediopsoides (Pediopsoides) (Hemiptera, Cicadellidae, Macropsinae) from Guangxi Province, Southern China

Abstract Two new species of the Macropsinae leafhopper subgenus Pediopsoides (Pediopsoides) Matsumura, 1912, Pediopsoides (Pediopsoides) damingshanensis Li, Dai & Li, sp. n. and Pediopsoides (Pediopsoides) tishetshkini Li, Dai & Li sp. n. , are described and illustrated from Guangxi Province of southern China. A key to males is provided to distinguish the species of the subgenus along with a map showing the distribution of the new species.
Software architecture built from behavior models

sig Event { included_in: set Event, contains: set Event, followed_by: set Event } fact { included_in = ~ contains} one sig trace { IN: Event -> Event, PRECEDES: Event -> Event } fact { trace.IN = ^included_in } fact { trace.PRECEDES = ^ followed_by } -axioms ----------mutual exclusion fact {no trace.PRECEDES & trace.IN} fact {no trace.PRECEDES & ~(trace.IN)} -non-commutativity fact {no trace.IN & ~(trace.IN)} fact {no trace.PRECEDES & ~( trace.PRECEDES)} -transitivity fact {trace.PRECEDES = ^(trace.PRECEDES)} fact {trace.IN = ^(trace.IN)} -distributivity fact {all a, b, c: Event | (a -> b) in trace.IN and (b ->c) in trace.PRECEDES => (a ->c) in trace.PRECEDES } fact {all a, b, c: Event | (a -> b) in trace.PRECEDES and (c ->b) in trace.IN => (a ->c) in trace.PRECEDES } -Simple_transaction schema's model one sig TaskA extends Event{} { one a: Send | a = contains} one sig TaskB extends Event{} { one a: Receive | a = contains} one sig Transaction extends Event{} { one a: Send, b: Receive | contains = (a+b) and 25 ( a -> b) in trace.PRECEDES } sig Send extends Event{} { no contains } sig Receive extends Event{} { no contains } -shared constraints fact {TaskA.contains & Send = Transaction.contains & Send} fact {TaskB.contains & Receive = Transaction.contains & Receive} -no PRECEDES for root events -neded to eliminate redundant traces fact { no trace.PRECEDES[TaskA] no trace.PRECEDES. TaskB } ---------------------run {} for exactly 5 Event
Neutrophil metabolic activity but not neutrophil sequestration reflects the development of pancreatitis-associated lung injury*

Objective Activated neutrophils are presumed to injure pulmonary endothelium by releasing oxygen radicals, proteases, and proinflammatory cytokines. Standard counting methods do not distinguish between leukocytosis, neutrophil sequestration, and activation. We used leukocyte uptake of the glucose analog [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose (18FDG), which indicates postmigrational neutrophil activity, to identify and quantify the relationship between acute respiratory distress syndrome and neutrophil activation in experimental pancreatitis in rats. Design Prospective, experimental study. Setting Research laboratory at a university hospital. Subjects Mild and severe pancreatitis models in the rat. Interventions Pulmonary (with muscle as control) leukocyte accumulation was assessed by uptake of technetium-99m-labeled chemotactic peptide (fMLFK) and confirmed by measurement of myeloperoxidase activity. Neutrophil activity was assessed by 18FDG uptake. Tissue-to-blood ratios for fMLFK, 18FDG, and leukocytes were calculated to control for background. Neutrophils were counted in histologic sections of saline-perfused lungs. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid was assessed for neutrophil migration and autoradiographed for intracellular 18FDG localization. Measurements and Main Results Lung myeloperoxidase activity, 18FDG, and peripheral white blood cells all significantly increased in both mild and severe pancreatitis, but lung fMLFK only increased in severe pancreatitis. After correction for blood background, only 18FDG in lung (but not muscle) was significantly increased in pancreatitis (severe > mild > normal, p < .001). Histologic analysis showed significant increase in extravascular (migrated) neutrophils only in severe pancreatitis. Autoradiography of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid confirmed the 18FDG within intra-alveolar neutrophils. Conclusions In this pancreatitis model of acute respiratory distress syndrome, there was nonspecific and noninjurious increase of neutrophils in the lung, attributable in part to background leukocytosis and to intravascular sequestration. However, 18FDG uptake uniquely showed that interstitial and intra-alveolar neutrophil migration and activation occurred in severe but not in mild pancreatitis, consistent with clinical correlations between acute respiratory distress syndrome and severity of underlying systemic disease. 18FDG uptake, which is also accessible by positron emission tomography scanning, better quantitates the contribution of activated neutrophils to tissue injury than other measurements of neutrophil accumulation or sequestration.
Word Sense Discrimination on tweets: A graph-based approach

In this paper we are going to detail an unsupervised, graph-based approach for word sense discrimination on tweets. We deal with this problem by constructing a word graph of co-occurrences. By defining a distance on this graph, we obtain a word metric space, on which we can apply an aggregative algorithm for word clustering. As a result, we will get word clusters representing contexts that discriminate the possible senses of a term. We present some experimental results both on a data set consisting of tweets we collected and on the data set of task 14 at SemEval-2010.
Body wearable antennas for UHF/VHF

The development of antennas which can be worn on the body is of increasing interest within both the military and civil domain. Body wearable antennas present a considerable design challenge, particularly as most applications require the antenna to be unobtrusive and low-profile. The majority of recent work has concentrated on antennas for WLAN or UWB frequencies. At these frequencies the antennas are relatively small and can be made low-profile to fit on the body. It is also possible to incorporate a ground-plane (such as a PIFA or patch antenna) which significantly reduces the effect of the body on antenna performance. In this paper, antennas which operate across the 100-500 MHz band are considered. At these lower frequencies the antennas are physically larger and cannot incorporate an effective ground-plane so the effect of the body is significant. In this work it was assumed simultaneous coverage of the entire band and omnidirectional radiation patterns were required. This paper discusses the antennas considered, and those selected to meet these challenging requirements. Design of the antennas using computational electromagnetics software is presented. The development of prototype antennas is also presented, along with results of antenna pattern measurements.
Joint system relaxometry (JSR) and Crámer‐Rao lower bound optimization of sequence parameters: A framework for enhanced precision of DESPOT T1 and T2 estimation

This study aims to increase the precision of single‐compartment DESPOT relaxometry by two means: (i) a joint system relaxometry (JSR) approach that estimates parameters in a single step using all available data; and (ii) optimizing acquisition parameters by deploying a robust design tool based on the Crámer‐Rao lower bound (CRLB).
Photoplethysmography pulse rate variability as a surrogate measurement of heart rate variability during non-stationary conditions

In this paper we assessed the possibility of using the pulse rate variability (PRV) extracted from the photoplethysmography signal as an alternative measurement of the HRV signal in non-stationary conditions. The study is based on analysis of the changes observed during a tilt table test in the heart rate modulation of 17 young subjects. First, the classical indices of HRV analysis were compared to the indices from PRV in intervals where stationarity was assumed. Second, the time-varying spectral properties of both signals were compared by time-frequency (TF) and TF coherence analysis. Third, the effect of replacing PRV with HRV in the assessment of the changes of the autonomic modulation of the heart rate was considered. Time-invariant HRV and PRV indices showed no statistically significant differences (p > 0.05) and high correlation (>0.97). Time-frequency analysis revealed that the TF spectra of both signals were highly correlated (0.99 ± 0.01); the difference between the instantaneous power, in the LF and HF bands, obtained from HRV and PRV was small (<10−3 s−2) and their temporal patterns were highly correlated (0.98 ± 0.04 and 0.95 ± 0.06 in the LF and HF bands, respectively) and TF coherence in the LF and HF bands was high (0.97 ± 0.04 and 0.89 ± 0.08, respectively). Finally, the instantaneous power in the LF band was observed to significantly increase during head-up tilt by both HRV and PRV analysis. These results suggest that although some differences in the time-varying spectral indices extracted from HRV and PRV exist, mainly in the HF band associated with respiration, PRV could be used as a surrogate of HRV during non-stationary conditions, at least during the tilt table test.
A novel platform for antibody library selection in mammalian cells based on a growth signalobody

While many antibody‐screening methods in vitro have been developed, these methods need repeated cycles of panning or sorting procedures to isolate antigen‐specific antibodies. Here we developed a new antibody selection system based on antigen‐dependent growth of mammalian cells. In this system, a growth signalobody library, which is a naïve single‐chain Fv (scFv) library/cytokine receptor chimera that can transduce a growth signal in response to a specific antigen, is expressed in murine interleukin‐3‐dependent Ba/F3 cells. Simple culture of the cells in an antigen‐containing medium results in growing cells with a high‐affinity scFv gene, leading to selection of the scFv specific to the target antigen without panning/sorting procedures. To demonstrate this system, we used the SD1D2g signalobody having the signaling domain of gp130 and fluorescein‐conjugated BSA as a target antigen, and investigated whether a fluorescein‐specific scFv could be selected from a naïve scFv library. As a result, we successfully obtained fluorescein‐binding scFv clones, and the scFv clone with the highest affinity was most abundantly selected, having the same sequence as the clone, which had been obtained through phage display. These results demonstrate the utility of our system as an affinity‐based scFv selection method based on growth advantage of mammalian cells. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2014;111: 1170–1179. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.