Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Superhydrophobic Surface: Design, Fabrication, and Applications

Superhydrophobic surfaces are often found on plant leaves and insect wings in nature. Water on these surfaces forms small beads with a high contact angle of greater than 150ia and drips off rapidly when the surfaces are slightly inclined. This interesting phenomenon has stimulated extensive research to make artificial superhydrophobic surfaces and to employ them for a variety of applications. A key challenge in making superhydrophobic surfaces is to tailor the morphology of the surfaces in nanometer scales, which typically involves synthesis and fabrication of materials at nanometer dimensions. In this dissertation, I will first explain general design principles for fabricating superhydrophobic surfaces, with a specific focus on how to fabricate superhydrophobic surfaces on intrinsically hydrophilic materials. I will then present several fabrication methods developed during my Ph.D. program for making artificial superhydrophobic surfaces following such design principles. Finally, I will discuss initial results of our investigation on two promising applications of superhydrophobic surfaces, namely, for anti-icing and hydrodynamic drag reduction purposes, respectively.
Elementary school students' conceptions of engineers: A preliminary study

The purpose of the study was to investigate elementary school students' conceptions of engineers and to examine how students' cognitive conceptions vary by gender. A Chinese-version of Draw-an-Engineer Test was developed to observe students' conceptions of engineers. 150 fifth graders at an elementary school in Taiwan participated in the study. The results showed that more that 90 percent of students perceived that engineers were male. In the category of engineer type, almost 90 percent of students considered that engineers were architecture-engineering-related jobs. The chi-square analysis also revealed that a significant difference on engineer stereotype and engineer type existed between male and female students' drawings.
Evaluating Machine Translations Using mNCD

This paper introduces mNCD, a method for automatic evaluation of machine translations. The measure is based on normalized compression distance (NCD), a general information theoretic measure of string similarity, and flexible word matching provided by stemming and synonyms. The mNCD measure outperforms NCD in system-level correlation to human judgments in English.
Semi-Automatic Composition of Web Services for the Bioinformatics Domain

Web service technology is becoming an increasingly popular way to provide data and computational resources in the biological domain, in part because of the advanced features it provides such as language independence, platform independence, ability to discover services and ease of Web-based programmatic access. As the number of Web services provided by the bioinformatics community continues to grow, the need to use these services in combination is becoming more apparent. Typically, Web services are composed to form a process or workflow using a graphical design tool, such as a BPEL designer. However, for the scientific community, use of these BPEL tools requires a high-level of expertise. In the biological domain, there are some research efforts geared towards providing easier ways to compose biological Web services, most notably the interrelated BioMoby/Taverna projects. So far, the tools developed by such projects are still too difficult to be widely used by the average biologist. Furthermore, they tend to not fully follow Web services standards. Therefore, providing tools that lower the learning curve for Web service composition, while still complying with Web service standards could greatly benefit biologists and bioinformaticians. In this paper, we describe WS-BioZard, a comprehensive framework for addressing this need by using wizards and semantics to provide a suite of tools that support practical semi-automatic composition of Web services in the biological domain.
STABILITY OF THE FUZZY SPHERE SOLUTION FROM MATRIX MODEL

We consider a matrix model depending on the parameter λ which permits the fuzzy sphere as a classical background. By expanding the bosonic matrices around this background one recovers a U(1) (U(n)) noncommutative gauge theory on the fuzzy sphere. To check the classical stability of this background, we look for new classical solutions of this model and find them for λ < 1, that make the fuzzy sphere solution unstable for and stable otherwise.
Specification of chondrocytes and cartilage tissues from embryonic stem cells

Osteoarthritis primarily affects the articular cartilage of synovial joints. Cell and/or cartilage replacement is a promising therapy, provided there is access to appropriate tissue and sufficient numbers of articular chondrocytes. Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) represent a potentially unlimited source of chondrocytes and tissues as they can generate a broad spectrum of cell types under appropriate conditions in vitro. Here, we demonstrate that mouse ESC-derived chondrogenic mesoderm arises from a Flk-1−/Pdgfrα+ (F−P+) population that emerges in a defined temporal pattern following the development of an early cardiogenic F−P+ population. Specification of the late-arising F−P+ population with BMP4 generated a highly enriched population of chondrocytes expressing genes associated with growth plate hypertrophic chondrocytes. By contrast, specification with Gdf5, together with inhibition of hedgehog and BMP signaling pathways, generated a population of non-hypertrophic chondrocytes that displayed properties of articular chondrocytes. The two chondrocyte populations retained their hypertrophic and non-hypertrophic properties when induced to generate spatially organized proteoglycan-rich cartilage-like tissue in vitro. Transplantation of either type of chondrocyte, or tissue generated from them, into immunodeficient recipients resulted in the development of cartilage tissue and bone within an 8-week period. Significant ossification was not observed when the tissue was transplanted into osteoblast-depleted mice or into diffusion chambers that prevent vascularization. Thus, through stage-specific manipulation of appropriate signaling pathways it is possible to efficiently and reproducibly derive hypertrophic and non-hypertrophic chondrocyte populations from mouse ESCs that are able to generate distinct cartilage-like tissue in vitro and maintain a cartilage tissue phenotype within an avascular and/or osteoblast-free niche in vivo.
Learning Taxonomy for Text Segmentation by Formal Concept Analysis

In this paper the problems of deriving a taxonomy from a text and concept-oriented text segmentation are approached. Formal Concept Analysis (FCA) method is applied to solve both of these linguistic problems. The proposed segmentation method offers a conceptual view for text segmentation, using a context-driven clustering of sentences. The Concept-oriented Clustering Segmentation algorithm (COCS) is based on k-means linear clustering of the sentences. Experimental results obtained using COCS algorithm are presented.
A Visualization and Human–Computer Interaction Proposal in the Context of Pronunciation Information

The process of learning correct pronunciation can greatly benefit from the twin disciplines of information visualization (InfoVis) and human-computer interaction (HCI). HCI concerns with design, evaluation, and implementation for the ease of use of users, while InfoVis is responsible for representing multidimensional data in a specific information context. The two disciplines can, therefore, complement each other with the purpose of providing a visualization model in the information context of pronunciation. Such a model could provide an aid to pronunciation learning for different types of users. The proposed model integrates graphic aspects to be able to represent information in such a way that the user can visually capture a greater quantity of diverse voice characteristics and instantly recognize the pronunciation quality.
Ethyl 4-anilino-2,6-bis(4-chlorophenyl)-1-phenyl-1,2,5,6-tetrahydropyridine-3-carboxylate

The title compound, C32H28Cl2N2O2, was synthesized by a multicomponent reaction of 4-chlorobenzaldehyde, aniline and ethyl acetoacetate. The central 1,2,5,6-tetrahydropyridine ring exhibits a distorted boat conformation and the two chlorophenyl rings attached to the central ring at positions 2 and 6 are oriented in opposite directions. The two O atoms of the ethoxycarbonyl group are involved in intramolecular N—H⋯O and C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds. In the crystal, weak C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds link molecules related by translation along the b axis into chains.
Androgen regulation of the human pseudoautosomal gene MIC2, a potential marker for prostate cancer

Using the differential display–polymerase chain reaction technique to identify androgen‐responsive genes in the human prostatic tumor cell line LNCaP, we cloned an expression tag homologous to the human pseudoautosomal gene MIC2. The role of MIC2 in the prostate had not previously been studied. We used a series of cell lines derived from LNCaP that varied in their degree of differentiation and metastatic potential to assess the relationship between MIC2 expression and androgen responsiveness in prostate cancer. The expression of MIC2 mRNA and its product E2 was upregulated by androgen in a dose‐ and time‐dependent manner in the parental LNCaP line and correlated with the expression of prostate‐specific antigen. In the LNCaP sublines and an androgen‐repressed invasive human prostate cancer cell line (ARCaP), MIC2 gene expression was not regulated by androgen and was associated with poorer differentiation, decreased androgen sensitivity, and higher metastatic potential. Immunohistochemical analyses indicated that E2 was expressed in tissues from patients with primary prostate cancer (16 of 20), in fetal prostatic tissues (low levels in all 10 fetal tissues assessed), and sporadically in benign prostatic hyperplasia tissues (one of four). The normal prostate tissues did not show positive E2 staining, with the exception of one central‐zone section from one of the eight normal prostate samples assessed. These findings suggest that deregulation of expression of the human pseudoautosomal gene MIC2 occurred in the prostate. Mol. Carcinog. 23:13–19, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Real-Time Minmax Dynamic Optimization of Nonlinear Systems over a Finite-time Horizon

In this paper, we present a real-time dynamic minmax optimization technique for a class of nonlinear systems operating over finite-time horizon. The technique is suitable for peak minimization and other types of minmax problems that arise in robust control problems. As in MPC, the optimization algorithm is based on the minimization of a cost function whose minimization provides stability to the closed-loop system. An interior point method with penalty function is used to incorporate constraints into a modified cost functional, and a Lyapunov based extremum seeking approach is used to compute the trajectory parameters. A precise statement of the numerical implementation of the optimization routine is provided. It is shown how one can take into account the effect of sampling and discretization of the parameter update law.
The role of global and feature based information in gender classification of faces: a comparison of human performance and computational models

Most computational models for gender classification use global information (the full face image) giving equal weight to the whole face area irrespective of the importance of the internal features. Here, we use a global and feature based representation of face images that includes both global and featural information. We use dimensionality reduction techniques and a support vector machine classifier and show that this method performs better than either global or feature based representations alone. We also present results of human subjects performance on gender classification task and evaluate how the different dimensionality reduction techniques compare with human subjects performance. The results support the psychological plausibility of the global and feature based representation.
PyNCS: a microkernel for high-level definition and configuration of neuromorphic electronic systems

Neuromorphic hardware offers an electronic substrate for the realization of asynchronous event-based sensory-motor systems and large-scale spiking neural network architectures. In order to characterize these systems, configure them, and carry out modeling experiments, it is often necessary to interface them to workstations. The software used for this purpose typically consists of a large monolithic block of code which is highly specific to the hardware setup used. While this approach can lead to highly integrated hardware/software systems, it hampers the development of modular and reconfigurable infrastructures thus preventing a rapid evolution of such systems. To alleviate this problem, we propose PyNCS, an open-source front-end for the definition of neural network models that is interfaced to the hardware through a set of Python Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). The design of PyNCS promotes modularity, portability and expandability and separates implementation from hardware description. The high-level front-end that comes with PyNCS includes tools to define neural network models as well as to create, monitor and analyze spiking data. Here we report the design philosophy behind the PyNCS framework and describe its implementation. We demonstrate its functionality with two representative case studies, one using an event-based neuromorphic vision sensor, and one using a set of multi-neuron devices for carrying out a cognitive decision-making task involving state-dependent computation. PyNCS, already applicable to a wide range of existing spike-based neuromorphic setups, will accelerate the development of hybrid software/hardware neuromorphic systems, thanks to its code flexibility. The code is open-source and available online at https://github.com/inincs/pyNCS.
From myth to science in urban and transport planning: From uncontrolled to controlled and responsible urban development in transport planning

Fossil energy use for mechanical transport modes enhanced travel speed far above human evolutionary experience, which is walking speed. Transport became faster and more convenient for people and industry. But planning had to be done without knowing the effects of these new modes. Individual experiences were extrapolated to the system and myths were created, like ‘growth of mobility’, ‘time saving by speed’ and ‘freedom of modal choice’. Scientific based analysis show that these are real myths. These effects do not exist in the system. The number of trips is constant, travel time can not be saved in the system; speed lengthens distances and freedom of choice is limited by human evolution. Benefits from time saving can not be calculated any more and car traffic flow is only the effect of mistakes in parking organisation.
Screening and evaluation tools of dysphagia in children with neuromuscular diseases: a systematic review

Dysphagia is frequent in paediatric patients with neuromuscular diseases (pNMD). Its detection is important for initiating early diagnosis and treatment as well as for minimizing related complications. The aim of this study was to review the literature on dysphagia screening and evaluation tools in pNMD.
A Stochastic Parts Program and Noun Phrase Parser for Unrestricted Text

A program that tags each word in an input sentence with the most likely part of speech has been written. The program uses a linear-time dynamic programming algorithm to find an assignment of parts of speech to words that optimizes the product of (a) lexical probabilities (probability of observing part of speech i given word i) and (b) contextual probabilities (probability of observing part of speech i given n following parts of speech). Program performance is encouraging; a 400-word sample is presented and is judged to be 99.5% correct. <<ETX>>
Performing security analysis of large scale power systems with a broker-based computational grid

A solution to the online power system security analysis is presented. For complex networks this analysis requires large computational efforts whereas computation times should be less than few minutes for the information to be useful. Even though many architectures based on conventional parallel and distributed systems have been proposed in literature, none of them is able to furnish useful results for large electrical networks. To address this problem, a distributed Web-based architecture integrating a hierarchical grid system is proposed to implement a computational engine able to execute the power system state equations for large electrical networks. The grid system adopts a resource broker to satisfy the quality of service constraints specified by the user. The resulting framework, deployed on a network of heterogeneous clusters and PCs, is used to compute the contingencies analysis of a realistic electrical grid. The experimental results demonstrate that online security analysis can be executed in few minutes even for large network complexity.
A max-margin model for efficient simultaneous alignment and folding of RNA sequences

Motivation: The need for accurate and efficient tools for computational RNA structure analysis has become increasingly apparent over the last several years: RNA folding algorithms underlie numerous applications in bioinformatics, ranging from microarray probe selection to de novo non-coding RNA gene prediction. In this work, we present RAF (RNA Alignment and Folding), an efficient algorithm for simultaneous alignment and consensus folding of unaligned RNA sequences. Algorithmically, RAF exploits sparsity in the set of likely pairing and alignment candidates for each nucleotide (as identified by the CONTRAfold or CONTRAlign programs) to achieve an effectively quadratic running time for simultaneous pairwise alignment and folding. RAF's fast sparse dynamic programming, in turn, serves as the inference engine within a discriminative machine learning algorithm for parameter estimation. Results: In cross-validated benchmark tests, RAF achieves accuracies equaling or surpassing the current best approaches for RNA multiple sequence secondary structure prediction. However, RAF requires nearly an order of magnitude less time than other simultaneous folding and alignment methods, thus making it especially appropriate for high-throughput studies. Availability: Source code for RAF is available at:http://contra.stanford. edu/contrafold/ Contact: chuongdo@cs.stanford. edu
Gene and Economic Interaction In The Formation of Human Capital The Case of Obesity

I develop a model of health and human capital formation that takes into account the dynamic interaction between genetic inheritance and parental choices of investment in children. Differences in the genetic makeup of children can induce variations in the implicit cost of inputs and in the production function of human capital. In equilibrium this is mirrored by changes in the incentives to invest. I take the model to the data using the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children and I focus on a particular facet of health: obesity. Different forms of investment are considered as inputs, notably physical exercise and dietary intake, and I evaluate their interaction with specific genes which have been associated to increases in Body Mass Index in Genome-Wide Association Studies. I find that Gene-Environment interaction (GxE) plays a fundamental role in human capital formation: investments have a different effect on the accumulation of BMI depending on the genotype of the child. Children who are endowed with a particular genetic makeup are at higher risk of obesity when overeating, and yet they tend to display a higher caloric intake. These results are consistent with the findings in genetics and molecular biology showing that the FTO gene is associated with the hypothalamic regulation of food intake, and shed light on the interdependence between genes and economic choices regarding parental investment and human capital formation. ∗Department of Economics, University of Chicago, 1126 East 59th Street, Chicago, IL 60637; email, biroli@uchicago.edu.
Correlation of Id- and Ig-random telegraph noise to positive bias temperature instability in scaled high-κ/metal gate n-type MOSFETs

Random telegraph noise (RTN) in high-κ nMOSFETs is directly linked to Positive Bias Temperature Instability (PBTI). For the first time, the correlation between I<inf>d</inf>- and I<inf>g</inf>-RTN is clearly observed in high-κ MOSFET. I<inf>g</inf>-RTN is directly related to physical trapping or de-trapping and the I<inf>d</inf>-RTN reflects sensitivity to charge trapping as determined by gm, which is confirmed by both experiments and TCAD simulations.
articleMaged 1 , a new regulator of skeletal myogenic differentiation and muscle regeneration

Background: In normal adult skeletal muscle, cell turnover is very slow. However, after an acute lesion or in chronic pathological conditions, such as primary myopathies, muscle stem cells, called satellite cells, are induced to proliferate, then withdraw definitively from the cell cycle and fuse to reconstitute functional myofibers. Results: We show that Maged1 is expressed at very low levels in normal adult muscle but is strongly induced after injury, during the early phase of myoblast differentiation. By comparing in vitro differentiation of myoblasts derived from wild-type or Maged1 knockout mice, we observed that Maged1 deficiency results in reduced levels of p21CIP1/ WAF1, defective cell cycle exit and impaired myotube maturation. In vivo, this defect results in delayed regeneration of
Emery–Dreifuss muscular dystrophy mutations impair TRC40-mediated targeting of emerin to the inner nuclear membrane

ABSTRACT Emerin is a tail-anchored protein that is found predominantly at the inner nuclear membrane (INM), where it associates with components of the nuclear lamina. Mutations in the emerin gene cause Emery–Dreifuss muscular dystrophy (EDMD), an X-linked recessive disease. Here, we report that the TRC40/GET pathway for post-translational insertion of tail-anchored proteins into membranes is involved in emerin-trafficking. Using proximity ligation assays, we show that emerin interacts with TRC40 in situ. Emerin expressed in bacteria or in a cell-free lysate was inserted into microsomal membranes in an ATP- and TRC40-dependent manner. Dominant-negative fragments of the TRC40-receptor proteins WRB and CAML (also known as CAMLG) inhibited membrane insertion. A rapamycin-based dimerization assay revealed correct transport of wild-type emerin to the INM, whereas TRC40-binding, membrane integration and INM-targeting of emerin mutant proteins that occur in EDMD was disturbed. Our results suggest that the mode of membrane integration contributes to correct targeting of emerin to the INM. Highlighted Article: Emerin is a tail-anchored protein of the inner nuclear membrane. Here, post-translational membrane insertion of emerin is analyzed, revealing a prominent role for the TRC40 pathway.
Effect of the Heat-Affected Zones on Hydrogen Permeation and Embrittlement of Low-Carbon Steels

Steels with yield strengths below about 900 MPa are essentially immune to hydrogen embrittlement, and almost all pipeline steels have a yield strength below that value. However, same catastrophic failures of pipelines have been reported. Under mechanical stress these failures are due to the local formation of high-hardness martensite (hard spot) during cooling and from the presence of absorbed hydrogen developed under cathodic over-protection. This paper describes a photoelectrochemical, micrographic and fractographic study of the effect of an heat-affected zone (hard spot) on hydrogen permeation and the embrittlement of an API 5L STD X60 steel.