Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Negative Aspects of Close Relationships as Risk Factors for Cognitive Aging

The extent to which social relationships influence cognitive aging is unclear. In this study, we investigated the association of midlife quality of close relationships with subsequent cognitive decline. Participants in the Whitehall II Study (n = 5,873; ages 45–69 years at first cognitive assessment) underwent executive function and memory tests 3 times over a period of 10 years (1997–1999 to 2007–2009). Midlife negative and positive aspects of close relationships were assessed twice using the Close Persons Questionnaire during the 8 years preceding cognitive assessment. Negative aspects of close relationships, but not positive aspects, were associated with accelerated cognitive aging. Participants in the top third of reported negative aspects of close relationships experienced a faster 10-year change in executive function (−0.04 standard deviation, 95% confidence interval: −0.08, −0.01) than those in the bottom third, which was comparable with 1 extra year of cognitive decline for participants aged 60 years after adjustment for sociodemographic and health status. Longitudinal analysis found no evidence of reverse causality. This study highlights the importance of differentiating aspects of social relationships to evaluate their unique associations with cognitive aging.
Imaging of bacterial infections with 99mTc-labeled human neutrophil peptide-1.

UNLABELLED This study was undertaken to evaluate whether 99mTc-labeled human neutrophil peptide (HNP)-1 can be used as a tracer for rapid visualization of bacterial infections. METHODS Mice were injected intramuscularly with 1 million Staphylococcus aureus or Klebsiella pneumoniae organisms and 5 min later were injected intravenously with 0.4 microg (0.8 MBq) 99mTc-HNP-1. At various intervals, detailed information about clearance and accumulation of this tracer at sites of infection and in various organs was obtained by scintigraphy. 99mTc-labeled immunoglobulin G (IgG), an established marker of infection and inflammation, was used for comparison. RESULTS After injection into S. aureus- or K. pneumoniae-injected mice, 99mTC-HNP-1 was rapidly removed from the circulation, mainly through the kidneys and bladder, with half-lives of 170 and 55 min, respectively. Similar half-lives were observed for 99mTc-IgG in these animals. Visualization of foci with S. aureus or K. pneumoniae, as indicated by a ratio of 1.3 or higher between the targeted thigh muscle (containing bacteria) and the nontargeted (contralateral) thigh muscle (T/NT), was already achieved 5 min after injection of 99mTc-HNP-1. Similar T/NTs for 99mTc-IgG were obtained 4 h after injection of the tracer, indicating that imaging of foci of bacteria with 99mTc-HNP-1 is much faster than with 99mTc-IgG. To obtain insight into factors that contribute to accumulation of 99mTc-HNP-1 at sites of infection, the binding of this tracer to bacteria and leukocytes was assessed using a peritoneal infection model. Binding of 99mTC-HNP-1 to bacteria was approximately 1000 times higher than binding to leukocytes. Although the number of bacteria in the peritoneum was 1000-fold lower than the number of leukocytes, a significant correlation between binding of 99mTc-HNP-1 to bacteria on the one hand and accumulation of tracer on the other was still found, in contrast to 99mTc-IgG. CONCLUSION 99mTc-HNP-1 allows rapid visualization of bacterial infections. Binding of this tracer to bacteria most likely contributes significantly to the accumulation of 99mTc-HNP-1 at sites of infection.
Automated Model Selection Using Context-Dependent Behaviors

Effective reasoning about complex engineered devices requires device models that are both adequate for the task and computationally efficient. This paper presents a method for constructing simple and adequate device models by selecting appropriate models for each of the device's components. Appropriate component models are determined by the context in which the device operates. We introduce context-dependent behaviors (CDBs), a component behavior model representation for encapsulating contextual modeling constraints. We show how CDBs are used in the model selection process by exploiting constraints from three sources: the structural and behavioral contexts of the components, and the expected behavior of the device. We describe an implemented program for selecting a simplest adequate. model. The inputs are the structure of the device, the expected device behavior, and a library of CDBs. The output is a set of component CDBs forming a structurally and behaviorally consistent device model that achieves the expected behavior.
Indirect rotor field oriented control strategy for single phase induction motor drives

This paper discusses the indirect field oriented control strategy for single-phase induction motor (SPIM) drives. The suggested model is implemented using relatively simple and effective decoupling scheme to compute the control algorithm. Due to the natural asymmetry of the single- phase induction motor some transformations are carried out. Firstly the mutual inductances are employed to define a transformation for the stator variables. Secondly the time dependent resistance terms in the stator equations are neglected.Therefore, the model asymmetries are eliminated and the implementation of the vector control in SPIMs becomes a practical task. The proposed indirect rotor field oriented control system is applied to a 1.1kw SPIM and its performance is evaluated by digital simulation.
Activity of Gallium Meso- and Protoporphyrin IX against Biofilms of Multidrug-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii Isolates

Acinetobacter baumannii is a challenging pathogen due to antimicrobial resistance and biofilm development. The role of iron in bacterial physiology has prompted the evaluation of iron-modulation as an antimicrobial strategy. The non-reducible iron analog gallium(III) nitrate, Ga(NO3)3, has been shown to inhibit A. baumannii planktonic growth; however, utilization of heme-iron by clinical isolates has been associated with development of tolerance. These observations prompted the evaluation of iron-heme sources on planktonic and biofilm growth, as well as antimicrobial activities of gallium meso- and protoporphyrin IX (Ga-MPIX and Ga-PPIX), metal heme derivatives against planktonic and biofilm bacteria of multidrug-resistant (MDR) clinical isolates of A. baumannii in vitro. Ga(NO3)3 was moderately effective at reducing planktonic bacteria (64 to 128 µM) with little activity against biofilms (≥512 µM). In contrast, Ga-MPIX and Ga-PPIX were highly active against planktonic bacteria (0.25 to 8 µM). Cytotoxic effects in human fibroblasts were observed following exposure to concentrations exceeding 128 µM of Ga-MPIX and Ga-PPIX. We observed that the gallium metal heme conjugates were more active against planktonic and biofilm bacteria, possibly due to utilization of heme-iron as demonstrated by the enhanced effects on bacterial growth and biofilm formation.
Exploiting redundancy in color images

The colors in a digital image do not only depend on the scene's reflectances, but also on the lighting conditions and on the characteristics of the imaging device. It is often necessary to separate the influence of these three elements, in particular to separate the contribution of the object's reflection properties from the one of the incident light. Both are usually represented by spectral quantities, i.e., defined over the visible spectrum. The retrieval of illuminant and reflectances from an RGB image, which provides three values per pixel, is an under-determined problem and requires additional information or assumption on the scene's content in order to be solved. In this thesis, we study how redundant information across a set of images can be exploited to recover either illuminant or reflectance knowledge. We demonstrate that accurate object color can be retrieved as tristimulus values from standard RGB images captured with an unknown camera under uncontrolled lighting conditions and no access to raw data, but containing a limited number of reference colors in the form of a specific calibration target. The correction must be constrained to a limited range of colors similar to the one of the object of interest, which are compared to pre-computed references for the derivation of a linear transform. We implement this method for two consumer oriented applications in Makeup and Home Decor, respectively, which provide users with color advice. The correction accuracy is of ΔE*ab ≃ 1 to 2 depending on the design of the target. We show that this accuracy is sufficient for the applications at hand. We also developed a method to retrieve illuminant spectra from a set of images taken with fixed location cameras, such as panoramic or surveillance ones. In pictures captured with such devices, there will be changes in lighting and dynamic content, but there will also be constant objects. We propose to use these elements as reference colors to solve for color constancy. More precisely, we exploit that their reflectances, while unknown, remain constant across images. We invert a series of image formation models in parallel for a set of test illuminants and, by forcing the output reflectances to match, deduce the illuminant under which each image was captured. Simulations on synthetic RGB patches demonstrate that real daylight illuminants can be retrieved with a median angular under 3° from sets containing as little as four images using a limited number of reference surfaces.
Method for electroporation for the early chick embryo

In vitro whole‐embryo culture of chick embryos, originally invented by New, has been widely used for studies of early embryogenesis. Here, a method for electroporation using the New culture and its derivatives is described, to achieve misexpression of exogenous gene in a temporally and spatially controlled manner in gastrulating chick embryos. Detailed information for the devices and procedures, and some experimental examples are presented.
Confinement and Ethnicity: An Overview of World War II Japanese American Relocation Sites

AbstractAcknowledgmentsForeword by Tetsuden KashimaSites of Shame: An IntroductionTo Undo a Mistake is Always harder Than Not to Create One OriginallyA Brief History of Japanese American Relocation During World War IIGila River Relocation Center, ArizonaGranada Relocation Center, ColoradoHeart Mountain Relocation Center, WyomingJerome Relocation Center, ArkansasManzanar Relocation Center, CaliforniaMinidoka Relocation Center, IdahoPoston Relocation Center, ArizonaRohwer Relocation Center, ArkansasTopaz Relocation Center, UtahTule Lake Relocation Center, CaliforniaCitizen Isolation Centers--Moab, Utah--Leupp, ArizonaAdditional War Relocation Authority Facilities--Antelope Springs, Utah--Cow Creek, Death Vally, California--Tulelake, CaliforniaAssembly Centers--Fresno, California--Marysville, California--Mayer, Arizona--Merced, California--Pinedale, California--Pomona, California--Portland, Oregon--Puyallup, Washington--Sacramento, California--Salinas, California--Santa Anita, California--Stockton, California--Tanforan, California--Tulare, California--Turlock, CaliforniaDepartment of Justice and U.S. Army Facilities--Temporary Detention Stations--Department of Justice Internment Camps----Crystal City Internment Cam, Texas----Kenedy Internment Center, Texas----Kooskia Internment Camp, Idaho----Fort Lincoln, North Dakota----Fort Missoula, Montana----Fort Stanton, New Mexico----Sante Fe, New Mexico----Seagoville, Texas--U.S. Army Facilities----Camp Lordsburg, New Mexico----Fort Sill, Oklahoma----Stringtown, Oklahoma----Alaska and Hawaii----Other U.S. Army SitesFederal Bureau of Prisons--Catalina Federal Honor Camp, Arizona--Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary, Kansas--McNeil Island Federal Penitentiary, WashingtonReferences CitedAppendix A: Relocation Center Drawings in Records Group 210, National Archives, Cartographic DivisionAppendix B: Tule Lake Relocation Center Drawings at the Bureau of Reclamation, Klamath Falls OfficeAppendix C: Selected Relocation Center Blueprints
Prostate Cancer Cell Adhesion to Bone Marrow Endothelium

Bone metastasis is the most frequent complication of prostate cancer (PC). Elucidation of the biological basis of this specificity is required for the development of approaches for metastatic inhibition. We investigated the possibility that the preferential attachment of PC cells to bone marrow endothelium (as opposed to endothelium from other organs) affects this specificity. We selected, from peptide phage-displayed libraries, peptide ligands to surfaces of PC cells (C4-2B) attenuated (30–40%) binding of C4-2B cells to bone marrow endothelial cells (BMECs). We then determined the molecules on the surface of C4-2B cells interacted with the selected peptides using column affinity chromatography and a cDNA expression phage-displayed library generated from C4-2B cells in T7 phage. We identified a phage from the cDNA library that specifically bound to one of the selected peptides-L11. This phage displayed the amino acid sequence homologous for the COOH-terminal portion of prostate-specific antigen (PSA). To examine the possible direct involvement of PSA in the interactions between PC and BMECs, we performed a cell–cell adhesion assay. Antibodies to PSA attenuated PC cells adhesion to BMECs. In addition, exogenous proteolytically active PSA modulated this adhesion. Finally, inactivation of mRNA coding PSA by a small interfering RNA (siRNA) diminished C4-2B cell adhesion to BMECs. These results indicate that PSA expressed as secreted and surface-associated molecules in C4-2B cells is involved in cell–cell interactions and/or digests components of bone marrow endothelium for preferential adhesion and penetration of PC cells. The suggested experimental approach is a promising strategy for identification of cell surface molecules involved in intercellular interactions.
Impact of limiting of hop count on lifetime of wireless sensor networks

A wireless sensor network (WSN) comprised of a plurality of sensor nodes powered by their internal batteries and one or more base stations. Efficient utilization of the energy resources leads to prolonged network lifetime. In this study, the effects of limiting the total hop count within the network on network lifetime is investigated by using a mixed integer programming (MIP) framework. Our results show that when the hop count of network is limited by minimum hop count, lifetime of network can decrease by %40 of the lifetime obtained without any constraint on hop count. If hop count limit of network is increased by %10, lifetime of network can reach %98 of maximum lifetime obtained without any restrictions on hop count.
Expression of the Neutral Protease Gene from a Thermophilic Bacillus sp. BT1 Strain in Bacillus subtilis and Its Natural Host: Identification of a Functional Promoter

ABSTRACT The expression of the neutral protease gene (npr) from the thermophilic Bacillus sp. BT1 strain was studied in its natural host and in mesophilic Bacillus subtilis. In the thermophilic BT1 strain, the transcription of the protease gene is initiated from its own promoter, just 5′ to the gene. In contrast, in heterologous B. subtilis this thermophilic nprpromoter does not function, and expression of the npr gene results from transcription originating upstream of an adjacent gene, open reading frame X (ORF X). A functional promoter was identified 5′ to ORF X that is required for efficient expression of thenpr gene in Bacillus subtilis as verified by primer extension, reverse transcription-PCR, and 5′ rapid amplification of cDNA ends experiments. These data suggest that transcriptional signals used in thermophilic Bacillus sp. BT1 strain are different from those used in B. subtilis.
Separation of Synchronous Sources

This thesis studies the Separation of Synchronous Sources (SSS) problem, which deals with the separation of signals resulting from a linear mixing of sources whose phases are synchronous. While this study is made in a form independent of the application, a motivation from a neuroscience perspective is presented. Traditional methods for Blind Source Separation, such as Independent Component Analysis (ICA), cannot address this problem because synchronous sources are highly dependent. We provide sufficient conditions for SSS to be an identifiable problem, and quantify the effect of prewhitening on the difficulty of SSS. We also present two algorithms to solve SSS. Extensive studies on simulated data illustrate that these algorithms yield substantially better results when compared with ICA methods. We conclude that these algorithms can successfully perform SSS in varying configurations (number of sources, number of sensors, level of additive noise, phase lag between sources, among others). Theoretical properties of one of these algorithms are also presented. Future work is discussed extensively, showing that this area of study is far from resolved and still presents interesting challenges.
Loopy belief propagation : Benefits and pitfalls on Ising-like systems

Belief propagation (BeP) is a candidate for the accelerated evaluation of statistical averages if compared to Monte-Carlo approaches. For binary systems on infinite grids or with periodic boundary conditions (regular grids), we investigate the physical fixed points and their stability. Critical slowing down of the method is observed at the 2nd-order phase transition with TC ≈ 2.89. Above TC, convergence is guaranteed. Below the critical temperature TC, BeP convergence depends dramatically on the choice of initial conditions. This leads to convergence patterns typical for fractal basin boundaries.
Subdomain adaptation of a POS tagger with a small corpus

For the domain of biomedical research abstracts, two large corpora, namely GENIA (Kim et al 2003) and Penn BioIE (Kulik et al 2004) are available. Both are basically in human domain and the performance of systems trained on these corpora when they are applied to abstracts dealing with other species is unknown. In machine-learning-based systems, re-training the model with addition of corpora in the target domain has achieved promising results (e.g. Tsuruoka et al 2005, Lease et al 2005). In this paper, we compare two methods for adaptation of POS taggers trained for GENIA and Penn BioIE corpora to Drosophila melanogaster (fruit fly) domain.
Robustness of servo drive system under position control mode based on sliding mode controller

In various control strategies of servo drive system, PI controllers are still used due to their simplicity and ease of design. Unfortunately, PID controllers are not robust and their performance is deteriorated when the operating conditions change due to parameter variations of the motor. A position control method of servo motor based on sliding mode controller (SMC) is proposed in this paper, for improving the robustness, realizing precision positioning, and reducing the steady-state speed error of servo motor. Meanwhile, the SMC relieves low speed crawling phenomenon effectively for servo drive system. The experimental results indicate that robustness of the servo system has been improved significantly, and the dynamic and static performance is better under SMC when motor parameter mismatch. Moreover, low speed crawling phenomenon is also restrained, the method is feasible and effective.
An 8-bit 20-MS/s ZCBC Time-Domain Analog-to-Digital Data Converter

An 8-bit 20-MS/s time-domain analog-to-digital data converter (ADC) using the zero-crossing-based circuit technique is presented. Compared with the conventional ADCs, signal processing is executed in both the voltage and time domains. Since no high-gain operational amplifier is needed, this time-domain ADC works well in a low supply voltage. The proposed ADC has been fabricated in a 0.18-mum CMOS process. Its power dissipation is 4.64 mW from a supply voltage of 1.8 V. This active area occupies 1.2 times 0.7 mm2. The measured signal-to-noise-distortion ratio achieves 44.2 dB at an input frequency of 10 MHz. The integral nonlinearity is less than plusmn1.07 LSB, and the differential nonlinearity is less than plusmn0.72 LSB. This time-domain ADC achieves the effective bits of 7.1 for a Nyquist input frequency at 20 MS/s.
The Uganda Gravimetric Geoid Model 2014 Computed by The KTH Method

Abstract For many developing countries such as Uganda, precise gravimetric geoid determination is hindered by the low quantity and quality of the terrestrial gravity data. With only one gravity data point per 65 km2, gravimetric geoid determination in Uganda appears an impossible task. However, recent advances in geoid modelling techniques coupled with the gravity-field anomalies from the Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) satellite mission have opened new avenues for geoid determination especially for areas with sparse terrestrial gravity. The present study therefore investigates the computation of a gravimetric geoid model overUganda (UGG2014) using the Least Squares Modification of Stokes formula with additive corrections. UGG2014 was derived from sparse terrestrial gravity data from the International Gravimetric Bureau, the 3 arc second SRTM ver4.1 Digital Elevation Model from CGIAR-CSI and the GOCE-only global geopotential model GO_CONS_GCF_2_TIM_R5. To compensate for the missing gravity data in the target area, we used the surface gravity anomalies extracted from the World Gravity Map 2012. Using 10 Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)/levelling data points distributed over Uganda, the RMS fit of the gravimetric geoid model before and after a 4-parameter fit is 11 cm and 7 cm respectively. These results show that UGG2014 agrees considerably better with GNSS/levelling than any other recent regional/ global gravimetric geoid model. The results also emphasize the significant contribution of the GOCE satellite mission to the gravity field recovery, especially for areas with very limited terrestrial gravity data.With an RMS of 7 cm, UGG2014 is a significant step forward in the modelling of a “1-cm geoid” over Uganda despite the poor quality and quantity of the terrestrial gravity data used for its computation.
Wavelet-based, speaker-independent isolated Hindi digit recognition

In this paper, Admissible Wavelet Packet (AWP)-based features are proposed for the recognition of isolated Hindi digit. AWPs are used to design a set of filter banks to follow the Mel scale. Finally, a Hidden Markov Model (HMM) is developed for recognition. The database used was collected from 48 subjects with a repetition of each digit five times. Features based on both Linear Predictive Coefficients (LPCs) as well as Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCCs) were extracted and their performance compared with the AWP-based features. It was found that the recognition performance using AWP-based features was superior when compared with LPC- and MFCC-based features.
The Future of Software and Systems Engineering Processes

In response to the increasing criticality of software within systems and the increasing demands being put onto software-intensive systems, software and systems engineering processes will evolve significantly over the next two decades. This paper identifies eight relatively surprise-free trends - the increasing interaction of software engineering and systems engineering; increased emphasis on users and end value; increased emphasis on systems and software dependability; increasingly rapid change; increasing global connectivity and need for systems to interoperate; increasingly complex systems of systems; increasing needs for COTS, reuse, and leg- acy systems and software integration; and computational plenty. It also identifies two "wild card" trends: in- creasing software autonomy and combinations of biology and computing. It then discusses the likely influences of these trends on software and systems engineering processes between now and 2025, and presents an emerg- ing three-team adaptive process model for coping with the resulting challenges and opportunities of developing 21 st century software-intensive systems and systems of systems.