Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Immunobiology of cytotoxic T-cell escape mutants of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus

Infection with virus variants exhibiting changes in the peptide sequences defining immunodominant determinants that abolish recognition by antiviral cytotoxic T cells (CTL) presents a considerable challenge to the antiviral T-cell immune system and may enable some viruses to persist in hosts. The potential importance of such variants with respect to mechanisms of viral persistence and disease pathogenesis was assessed by infecting adult mice with variants of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) strain WE. These variants were selected in vivo or in vitro for resistance to lysis by CD8+ H-2b-restricted antiviral CTL. The majority of anti-LCMV CTL in infected H-2b mice recognize epitopes defined by residues 32 to 42 and 275 to 289 (epitopes 32-42 and 275-289) of the LCMV glycoprotein or 397 to 407 of the viral nucleoprotein. The 8.7 variant exhibits a change in the epitope 32-42 (Val-35-->Leu), and variant CL1.2 exhibits a change in the epitope 275-289 (Asn-280-->Asp) of the wild-type LCMV-WE. The double-mutated 8.7-B23 variant had the variation of 8.7 and an additional change located in the epitope 275-289 (Asn-280-->Ser). The 8.7 variant peptide with unchanged anchor positions bound efficiently to H-2Db and H-2Kb molecules but induced only a very weak CTL response. CTL epitope 275-289 of CL1.2 and 8.7-B23 altered at predicted anchor residues were unable to bind Db molecules and were also not recognized by antiviral CTL. Infection of C57BL/6 mice (H-2b) with the variants exhibiting mutations of one of the CTL epitopes, i.e., 8.7 or CL1.2, induced CTL responses specific for the unmutated epitopes comparable with those induced by infection with WE, and these responses were sufficient to eliminate virus from the host. In contrast, infection with the double-mutated variant 8.7-B23 induced CTL activity that was reduced by a factor of about 50-fold compared with wild-type LCMV. Consequently, high doses (10(7) PFU intravenously) of this virus were eliminated slowly and only by about day 100 after infection. 8.7-B23 failed to cause lethal lymphocytic choriomeningitis after intracerebral infection with a dose of > 10(4) PFU in C57BL/6 mice (but not in mice of nonselecting H-2d haplotype); with the other variants or wild-type LCMV, doses greater than 10(6) to 10(7) PFU were necessary to avoid lethal choriomeningitis. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Modeling and Control of a Doubly-Fed Induction Generator (DFIG) Wind Power Generation System for Real-time Simulations

This paper presents a study of a DFIG wind power generation system for real-time simula- tions. For real-time simulations, the Real-Time Digital Simulator (RTDS) and its user friendly interface simulation software RSCAD are used. A 2.2MW grid-connected variable speed DFIG wind power generation system is modeled and analyzed in this study. The stator-flux oriented vector control scheme is applied to the stator/rotor side converter control, and the back-to-back PWM converters are implemented for the decoupled control. The real-wind speed signal extracted by an anemometer is used for a realistic, reliable and accurate simulation analysis. Block diagrams, a mathematical presenta- tion of the DFIG and a control scheme of the stator/rotor-side are introduced. Real-time simulation cases are carried out and analyzed for the validity of this work.
MTTF Estimation using importance sampling on Markov models

Very complex systems occur nowadays quite frequently in many technological areas and they are often required to comply with high dependability standards. To study their availability and reliability characteristics, Markovian models are commonly used. Due to the size and complexity of the systems, and due to the rarity of system failures, both analytical solutions and "crude" simulation can be inefficient or even non-relevant. A number of variance reduction Monte Carlo techniques have been proposed to overcome this difficulty; importance sampling methods are among the most efficient. The objective of this paper is to survey existing importance sampling schemes, to propose some improvements and to discuss on their different properties.
Unequal error protection for real-time video streaming using expanding window reed-solomon code

Expanding Window FEC is an emerging scheme for robust real-time video streaming over wireless networks, with low latency and reduction of error propagation. In this work, we focus on the problem of Expanding Window FEC redundancy allocation which has not been adequately addressed in current works. We first analyse the error probability of the adopted Expanding Window Reed-Solomon code (EW-RS), and introduce an equivalent error probability to simplify them. Then we are able to formulate the optimal redundancy allocation into a constrained nonlinear optimization problem, where by allocating the redundancy unequally considering the unequal importance of different frames and their dependency based on the expanding window, unequal error protection (UEP) is achieved and the overall distortion is minimized. Moreover, to reduce the computation complexity, a high-efficiency hill-climbing algorithm is developed to obtain the suboptimal allocation. At last, the experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of both the proposed allocation scheme and solution algorithm.
Coping, Goal Adjustment, and Positive and Negative Affect in Definitive Infertility

The relationships between coping strategies, goal adjustment and positive and negative affect were studied in 83 definitive involuntary childless people. Self-report questionnaires were filled out. The findings suggested that positive ways to handle the childlessness were related to positive affect, while negative ways to deal with the childlessness were related to negative affect. Cognitive coping strategies seemed to have a stronger influence on affect than the behavioral coping strategies. Adjusting the goal to have children seemed to be a fruitful way to cope. These findings suggested that intervention programs should pay attention to both cognitive coping strategies and goal adjustment.
The Development of Imaging Spectrometry of the Coastal Ocean

The Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS) on NASA's Nimbus-7 satellite (1978-1986) demonstrated the utility of ocean color measurements for studying the dynamics of the ocean. The CZCS worked well for the continental shelf and open ocean regions. However, it did not have the spectral and spatial resolution needed to deal with the complexity of the coastal ocean. With the goal of developing tools suitable for the coastal ocean we initiated studies using the Airborne Visible-InfraRed Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) in 1989. This paper reviews the progress from those initial studies to the current state of imaging spectrometry for the coastal ocean.
1 AIR QUALITY AND ETHANOL IN GASOLINE

Ethanol in gasoline can favorably impact mobile source emissions in five main air quality areas: these areas are fine particulate matter (e.g., PM2.5), carbon monoxide, toxics, ozone, and global warming. In this era of credit trading and with new data there is always a lot to do to integrate these air quality areas with respect to ethanol. For example, ethanol currently is the only compound that can be blended with gasoline to help reduce global warming; yet there is no program in place to offer any credit in this area. Below a brief overview the current situation in the other four air quality areas impacted by ethanol.
What are we doing here? Egocentric activity recognition on the move for contextual mapping

Aimed at contextual mapping of environments by exploration, this paper proposes a method that recognises human activity observed from a moving camera and references this information to a previously mapped environment. We first introduce a novel method that uses sparse features and dense optical flow, to perform dense background subtraction for an agile camera. With the ego-motion disambiguated, we present a method capable of recognising both external and egocentric human activity. When combined with visual simultaneous localisation and mapping (SLAM), this enables augmentation of visual maps with activity tags, highlighting areas of interest within large environments. Association of activity with location introduces the contextual element of purpose to each area of interest.
Identity Signaling with Social Capital: A Model of Symbolic Consumption

People consume not only physical goods but also social interaction, and consumer choices depend on both intrinsic motivations (preferences for consumption) and extrinsic motivations (how choices impact social interactions). In this paper, we study how social identity, preference, and utility from social interaction shape consumer behavior and choice in the marketplace. Our contribution is two-fold: first, we present a novel modeling framework that captures heterogeneity in the distribution of intrinsic preferences and social capital in a social network, and demonstrate how rational consumer choice driven by social utility influences the demand for goods. Second, we show how this framework can help explain why trends may emerge out of insular market segments, why some inconspicuous behaviors may become effective signals of identity, and why some very highly popular products may suddenly experience a loss in market interest. We discuss implications of such behaviors for product demand generation, innovation, and advertising.
The TRPM6/EGF Pathway Is Downregulated in a Rat Model of Cisplatin Nephrotoxicity

Cisplatin-induced hypomagnesemia is described in humans and rats, but the underlying mechanisms are still unclear. Recent studies have shown that epidermal growth factor (EGF) stimulates Mg2+ re-absorption in the distal convoluted tubule via the Mg2+ channel TRPM6. This study investigates the role of TRPM Mg2+ channels, claudines, and EGF in the Mg2+ homeostasis in a rat model of cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity. Wistar rats were given 2.5 mg/kg cisplatin per week for 3 weeks and were euthanized 4 or 9 weeks after the first administration. The cisplatin treatment significantly increased the fractional excretion of Mg2+. Real-time RT-PCR and/or Western blots were performed to assess the renal expression TRPM6, TRPM7, claudin-16, claudin-19, EGF, EGF receptor (EGFR) and EGFR-pathway components. The renal mRNA expression of TRPM6 and EGF showed a significant decrease after cisplatin treatment, while the TRPM7, claudin-16 and EGFR expressions remained stable. The claudin-19 mRNA expression was significantly upregulated after cisplatin treatment. Western blotting confirmed the mRNA expression data for the claudins, but an showed upregulation of EGFR only at week 9. The role of the EGFR pathway, involving Pi3-AKT-Rac1, in cisplatin-induced nephropathy, could not be substantiated in further detail. This study shows that cisplatin treatment results in EGF and TRPM6 downregulation in the rat kidney, causing renal Mg2+ loss. Our results are in line with the hypothesis that EGF influences the renal expression or activation of TRPM6 and plays a significant role in Mg2+ loss in medication-induced nephropathy.
A direct-capacitive feedback ISFET interface for pH reaction monitoring

In this paper we propose a low-power, compact ISFET interface capable of overcoming problems of DC offset due to trapped charge and transcoductance reduction due to capacitive division, which commonly exist with implementation in CMOS. Through direct feedback to the floating gate and a low-leakage switching scheme, all the unwanted factors are eliminated while the output is capable of tracking a pH reaction which occurs at the sensing surface. The circuit has been designed to be an inherently constant-voltage-constant-current structure, avoiding any loss of sensitivity due to capacitive division. Additionally, a tradeoff between noise and stability is presented for optimum choice of capacitors. The proposed ISFET and interface has been designed in a typical 0.35 μm process, has an area 60 ×70um2 and consumes 231nW of power, which facilitates it's implementation for large chemical sensing arrays.
Joint spatial channel and coupling impedance matrices estimation in compact MIMO systems: The use of adaptive loads

In this paper we present a novel way of jointly estimating the coupling matrix of closely spaced receive antennas as well as the spatial channel of compact MIMO systems. Unlike conventional approaches, we do not assume any knowledge of the types and geometries of the antennas, or their separations, or having line of sight spatial channels. Our algorithm is based only on changing the load impedances of the antennas and measuring the voltages across such loads. We use the nonlinear relation between the load impedances and the compound channel estimates in order to estimate both the spatial channel and the coupling matrix. Our algorithm is of relevance to future communication systems incorporating heterogeneous networks in dense environments. In such networks different users/nodes may occasionally be closely spaced and hence, mutually coupled. Using our algorithm, they can estimate both the coupling matrix and the spatial channel matrix in real-time and thereby optimize their matching networks and signal processing in order to enhance their performance.
Multicomponent Peak Modeling of Protein Secondary Structures: Comparison of Gaussian with Lorentzian Analytical Methods for Plant Feed and Seed Molecular Biology and Chemistry Research

The objective of this study was to compare Gaussian and Lorentzian multicomponent peak modeling methods in quantification of protein secondary structures of various plant seed and feed tissues within intact tissue at a cellular and subcellular level using the advanced synchrotron light sourced Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) microspectroscopy (S-FTIR). This experiment was performed at the beamline U10B at the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) in Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), U.S. Dept of Energy (NSLS-BNL, NY). The results show that in the comparison of the Gaussian and Lorentzian multi-peak modeling methods, the Gaussian method is more accurate for fitting multi-peak curves of protein secondary structures than the Lorentzian method, with higher modeling R2 values (0.92 versus 0.89, P < 0.05). There were no large differences (P > 0.05) in the quantification of the relative percentage of α-helices, β-sheets, and others in protein secondary structures of the plant seed tissues, with averages of 30.2%, 40.4%, and 29.4%, respectively. However, there are significant differences (P < 0.05) in the quantification of the ratios of β-sheet to α-helix (1.42 versus 1.60; SEM = 0.058) in protein secondary structures of the plant seed tissues. With synchrotron FT-IR microspectroscopy, the ultrastructural–chemical makeup and nutritive characteristics could be revealed at a high spatial resolution. Synchrotron-based FT-IR microspectroscopy revealed that the secondary structure of protein differed between the plant seed tissues in terms of relative percentage and ratio of protein secondary structures (α-helix and β-sheet) within cellular dimensions. The results also show that the flaxseed tissues contained higher (P < 0.05) percentage of α-helix (38.6 versus 24.0%) and β-sheet (45.3 versus 36.9%), lower (P < 0.05) percentage of other secondary structures (16.1% versus 39.0%), and higher (P < 0.05) ratios of α-helix to β-sheet (0.90 versus 0.69) than the winterfat seed tissues. It must be mentioned that the relative percentages of protein secondary structure may not reflect the true secondary structure. However, the purpose of modeling the relative percentage of secondary structure was to detect the variety of differences among seed/feed/plant tissues and their relation to nutritive value and digestive behavior. The results demonstrate the potential of highly spatially resolved synchrotron-based FT-IR microspectroscopy to reveal protein secondary structures of the plant seed/feed tissues. Further study is needed to quantify the relationship between protein secondary structures and nutrient availability and digestive behavior of various varieties of plant seed tissues. Information from the infrared probing of protein secondary structures can be valuable as a guide to maintaining protein nutritive value and quality for animal and human use.
The Complete Phylogeny of Pangolins: Scaling Up Resources for the Molecular Tracing of the Most Trafficked Mammals on Earth

Pangolins, considered the most-trafficked mammals on Earth, are rapidly heading to extinction. Eight extant species of these African and Asian scale-bodied anteaters are commonly recognized, but their evolutionary relationships remain largely unexplored. Here, we present the most comprehensive phylogenetic assessment of pangolins, based on genetic variation of complete mitogenomes and 9 nuclear genes. We confirm deep divergence among Asian and African pangolins occurring not later than the Oligocene-Miocene boundary ca. 23 million years ago (Ma) (95% HPD = 18.7-27.2), limited fossil evidence suggesting dispersals from Europe. We recognize 3 genera including Manis (Asian pangolins), Smutsia (large African pangolins), and Phataginus (small African pangolins), which first diversified in the Middle-Upper Miocene (9.8-13.3 Ma) through a period of gradual cooling coinciding with a worldwide taxonomic diversification among mammals. Based on large mitogenomic distances among the 3 genera (18.3-22.8%) and numerous (18) morphological traits unique to Phataginus, we propose the subfamily Phatagininae subfam. nov. to designate small African pangolins. In contrast with the morphological-based literature, our results establish that the thick-tailed pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) is sister-species of the Sunda (Manis javanica) and Palawan (Manis culionensis) pangolins. Mitogenomic phylogenetic delineations supported additional pangolin species subdivisions (n = 13), including 6 African common pangolin (Phataginus tricuspis) lineages, but these patterns were not fully supported by our multi-locus approach. Finally, we identified more than 5000 informative mitogenomic sites and diagnostic variation from 5 nuclear genes among all species and lineages of pangolins, providing an important resource for further research and for effectively tracing the worldwide pangolin trade.
Positive streamers in air and nitrogen of varying density: experiments on similarity laws

Positive streamers in ambient air at pressures from 0.013 to 1 bar are investigated experimentally. The voltage applied to the anode needle ranges from 5 to 45 kV, the discharge gap from 1 to 16 cm. Using a ‘slow’ voltage rise time of 100–180 ns, the streamers are intentionally kept thin. For each pressure p, we find a minimal diameter dmin. To test whether streamers at different pressures are similar, the minimal streamer diameter dmin is multiplied by its pressure p; we find this product to be well approximated by p · dmin = 0.20 ± 0.02 mm bar over two decades of air pressure at room temperature. The value also fits diameters of sprite discharges above thunderclouds at an altitude of 80 km when extrapolated to room temperature (as air density rather than pressure determines the physical behaviour). The minimal velocity of streamers in our measurements is approximately 0.1 mm ns−1 = 105 m s−1. The same minimal velocity has been reported for tendrils in sprites. We also investigate the size of the initial ionization cloud at the electrode tip from which the streamers emerge, and the streamer length between branching events. The same quantities are also measured in nitrogen with a purity of approximately 99.9%. We characterize the essential differences with streamers in air and find a minimal diameter of p · dmin = 0.12 ± 0.02 mm bar in our nitrogen.
Inactivation and dephosphorylation of protein kinase Bα (PKBα) promoted by hyperosmotic stress

To study the role of protein kinase B (PKB) in response to cellular stress, we examined PKBα activity following different stress treatments. Hyperosmotic but not chemical stress resulted in inactivation of PKBα and prevented activation by pervanadate and mitogens. Hyperosmotic shock did not affect the MAP kinase pathway, suggesting that this inhibitory effect was specific for PKB. Our data further indicate that downregulation occurs via dephosphorylation of Thr308 and Ser473, the major regulatory phosphorylation sites of PKBα. Indeed, calyculin A, which inhibits protein phosphatases 1 and 2A, effectively blocked hyperosmotic stress‐mediated inactivation (dephosphorylation) of PKBα. High osmolarity did not affect phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase activity but led to a marked increase in PI(3,4,5)P3 and a decrease in PI(3,4)P2 formation after pervanadate stimulation, suggesting that hyperosmotic stress has an inhibitory effect on a phosphatidylinositol 5‐phosphatase which converts PI(3,4,5)P3 into PI(3,4)P2. Immunofluorescence studies revealed that membrane translocation, a prerequisite for PKB activation, was not affected by hyperosmotic stress. Our results indicate that hyperosmotic stress can act at two levels: (i) inhibition of phosphorylation of Thr308 and Ser473 by upstream kinases and (ii) by promoting rapid dephosphorylation of these regulatory sites.
Sensing Microblog for Effective Information Extractions

The SMERP 2017 data challenge track given a set of tweets posted during Italy earthquake. For retrieving more relevance information respect to user interest profile in this paper provide BM25 and word2vec techniques for retrieving relevance information from twitter stream. This techniques aim is to find real-world and most relevance information respect to the query. For retrieving most relevant information used query expansion techniques. Information rank retrieval techniques BM25 find important data and give the final score to that information with respect to user interest profile. The result of our method in this task shows this is an effective method.
Empirical Mode Decomposition of Throat Microphone Recordings for Intake Classification

Wearable sensor systems can deliver promising solutions to automatic monitoring of ingestive behavior. This study presents an on-body sensor system and related signal processing techniques to classify different types of food intake sounds. A piezoelectric throat microphone is used to capture food consumption sounds from the neck. The recorded signals are firstly segmented and decomposed using the empirical mode decomposition (EMD) analysis. EMD has been a widely implemented tool to analyze non-stationary and non-linear signals by decomposing data into a series of sub-band oscillations known as intrinsic mode functions (IMFs). For each decomposed IMF signal, time and frequency domain features are then computed to provide a multi-resolution representation of the signal. The minimum redundancy maximum relevance (mRMR) principle is utilized to investigate the most representative features for the food intake classification task, which is carried out using the support vector machines. Experimental evaluations over selected groups of features and EMD achieve significant performance improvements compared to the baseline classification system without EMD.