Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Speech Reception Thresholds Obtained in a Symmetrical Four-Loudspeaker Arrangement from Bilateral Users of MED-EL Cochlear Implants

Objective The purpose of the study was to investigate speech reception in noise in subjects who had undergone bilateral implantation with multichannel cochlear implants. Methods Nine adults with bilateral MED-EL implants were included in the study. The subjects were tested using both implants and the better implant only. Tests were performed in a symmetrical setup, which ideally eliminates any head shadow effect. Speech tests included sentences in quiet and at various signal-to-noise ratios. From the results, the gain in signal-to-noise ratios at the speech reception threshold was determined. Results All subjects showed a substantial gain in signal-to-noise ratios of approximately 4 dB on average. In addition, the gain in signal-to-noise ratios was essentially stable for as long as 4.4 years. Conclusions The results indicate that bilateral cochlear implant users are able to binaurally process speech.
Un Curso práctico de programación paralela basado en problemas de Concurso Español de Programación Paralela

En este trabajo se presenta una experiencia de un curso de Introduccion a la Programacion Paralela. El curso esta dedicado a herramientas y entornos de programacion paralela, y principalmente al analisis, desarrollo y optimizacion de algoritmos paralelos. Tiene una orientacion practica, para lo que se utilizan problemas del Concurso Espanol de Programacion Paralela. Los diferentes temas del curso se presentan en clases con la estructura tradicional, y para cada tema se organiza una sesion practica, en la que se trabaja con problemas del concurso con los que se practica con los entornos de paralelismo y los paradigmas algoritmicos tratados en la clase anterior. En las sesiones practicas los alumnos trabajan con problemas y con el entorno compu-tacional del concurso, lo que facilita el seguimiento y la validacion en tiempo real de su trabajo, asi como la atencion personalizada y el tomar acciones correctoras de la organizacion de la docencia y las practicas. De esta forma se realiza una evaluacion continua que ha permitido reducir la tasa de abandono e incrementar la tasa de exito en la asignatura.
Mid-term results of Oxford Phase 3 unicompartmental knee arthroplasty in obese patients.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to evaluate the mid-term outcomes of Oxford Phase 3 unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) in obese patients in terms of prosthesis survival, progression of lateral compartment arthrosis and functional outcomes. METHODS The study included 67 patients, with a body mass index over 30, treated with mobile bearing Oxford Phase 3 UKA for isolated medial osteoarthritis between January 2005 and December 2010. Preoperative and postoperative knee range of motion (ROM) and knee scores (Hospital for Special Surgery, HSS and Oxford knee scores) were compared. Additionally, prostheses were evaluated using Oxford radiographic evaluation criteria at the final follow-up. RESULTS Mean age was 61 years and mean follow-up was 67.5 months. Insert dislocation occurred in 3 patients (4.5%). Postoperative knee ROM, HSS and Oxford knee scores were significantly improved (p<0.05). There was no sign of prosthesis failure or lateral compartment arthrosis in radiographic evaluation at the final follow-up. CONCLUSION Oxford Phase 3 UKA with mobile bearing has good mid-term results in obese patients over 60 years of age.
Antioxidant Interferences in Superoxide Dismutase Activity Methods Using Superoxide Radical as Substrate

Sir, In several methods for the measurement of the superoxide dismutase (SOD; E.C 1.15.1.1) activity, superoxide radical (O2• -) produced from various sources such as the xanthin/xanthine oxidase system, pyrogallol oxidation etc. has been used as the substrate (1–4). In general, SOD activity is measured on the basis of competition between O2• dismutation by this enzyme or by an oxidising substance such as nitroblue tetrazolium salt (NBT), nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) etc. Accordingly, when SOD activity is high, reduction rate of the oxidising substance is low and vice versa. In these methods, there is however interference from non-enzymatic antioxidants, which mainly results from cellular components with antioxidant capacity. Some of these substances, such as hemoglobin, transferrin, albumin, ceruloplasmin and haptoglobin, exert their antioxidant activities by binding metal ions which play a part in free radical production. Others, such as uric acid and vitamins A, C and E, mainly act as chainbreaking antioxidants. Due to this fact, it is not possible to carry out a valid measurement of activity without removing these non-enzymatic antioxidant substances from the medium. Although some researchers use chloroform/ethanol extraction to eliminate these substances, this procedure cannot remove all of them; hydrophilic antioxidants remain in the alcohol/water phase. Therefore, in the present methods, total (enzymatic plus non-enzymatic) superoxide radical scavenger activity (TSSA) instead of SOD activity is measured. We have used human erythrocytes and, rabbit liver and lung to assess this interference. First, we measured SOD activites in erythrocyte hemolyzates and in lung and liver by using the method described previously (5, 6). Second, activity measurements were made in trichloroacetic acid (TCA)-treated fractions, which were prepared by treating part of the sample with 20 % (w/v) TCA solution and centrifuging at 5000 xg for 30 min. We observed that TCA-treatment causes no meaningful changes in the pH of the final assay mixture (pH = 10.5 in untreated assay and 10.2 in TCAtreated assay). Activity assays were performed in the supernatant fraction. One unit of SOD activity was defined as the amount of protein causing 50% inhibition in NBT reduction rate. Results are given in Table 1. As shown in the table, a significant amount of SOD activity still exists in the supernatant fluids after TCAtreatment, which have removed all enzyme. There must therefore be other, non-enzymatic, factors which remove O2• from the reaction medium. Therefore, activity values measured by the present methods should be regarded as TSSA rather than enzyme activity and SOD activity should be calculated from the equation below.
Functional domains of Escherichia coli single-stranded DNA binding protein as assessed by analyses of the deletion mutants.

A series of C- and N-terminal deletion mutants of Escherichia coli single-stranded DNA binding protein (SSB) was constructed, purified, and characterized in terms of ability to self-multimerize and to bind to DNA. High-performance gel filtration chromatography revealed that the amino acids 89-105 play a key role in the maintenance of homotetramer for native SSB of 177 amino acids. Interestingly, all of the N-terminal deletion mutants studied here were eluted as octamers, indicating that the N-terminal 11 residues are involved in the prevention of the formation of octamers. The binding of SSB and its deletion mutant proteins to single-stranded d(T)n was examined by gel mobility shift assay and circular dichroism spectroscopy. C-terminal deletion mutant proteins, SSB1-135 and SSB1-115, maintained high affinity and may be wrapped by single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) in the same way as in the case of native SSB. In contrast, deletion of the C-terminal region (residues 89-115) or N-terminal region (residues 1-11) caused a dramatic decrease in the binding affinity. Furthermore, two different stoichiometries of SSB in the complexes with d(T)64, but not with d(T)32, were observed for native SSB, SSB1-135, SSB1-115, and SSB37-177, suggesting that the (SSB)65 and (SSB)35 binding modes, as previously demonstrated [Lohman, T. M. , & Overman, L. B. (1985) J. Biol. Chem. 260, 3594-3603; Bujalowski, W. , & Lohman, T. M. (1986) Biochemistry 25, 7799-7802], occurred at lower and higher SSB concentrations, respectively. A functional map for SSB molecule was presented and discussed.
The Internet of Things – Emerging Technologies, Challenges and Applications

In this paper, we describe the Internet of Things (IoT) which is a paradigm where things can have identifying, sensing, and processing features that will allow them to communicate with other devices over the Internet to perform the task. There are many challenges with software, hardware, and security in actual implementation of IoT. The traditional networking protocol and security services are not directly applied on IoT because of different communication stacks and various networking standards. So, there is need to find an efficient solution which deals with the all the challenges in an environment of IoT. This paper presents various research challenges with their respective solutions by examining previous literature and identifying current trends. It also discusses future directions in the field of IoT.
Multi-stratum joint strategy based on decomposition implement in SDON

For the current 5G mobile network, current OSNR computing is mainly oriented to the theory, and lack of the combination of the actual OTN network model. Thus, the deviation between theoretical and practical values. Therefore, this paper presents an OSNR-aware multi-stratum joint programming strategy based on decomposition implement in software defined optical network (SDON).
Characterization of Protein Glycosylation in Francisella tularensis subsp. holarctica

FTH_0069 is a previously uncharacterized strongly immunoreactive protein that has been proposed to be a novel virulence factor in Francisella tularensis. Here, the glycan structure modifying two C-terminal peptides of FTH_0069 was identified utilizing high resolution, high mass accuracy mass spectrometry, combined with in-source CID tandem MS experiments. The glycan observed at m/z 1156 was determined to be a hexasaccharide, consisting of two hexoses, three N-acetylhexosamines, and an unknown monosaccharide containing a phosphate group. The monosaccharide sequence of the glycan is tentatively proposed as X-P-HexNAc-HexNAc-Hex-Hex-HexNAc, where X denotes the unknown monosaccharide. The glycan is identical to that of DsbA glycoprotein, as well as to one of the multiple glycan structures modifying the type IV pilin PilA, suggesting a common biosynthetic pathway for the protein modification. Here, we demonstrate that the glycosylation of FTH_0069, DsbA, and PilA was affected in an isogenic mutant with a disrupted wbtDEF gene cluster encoding O-antigen synthesis and in a mutant with a deleted pglA gene encoding pilin oligosaccharyltransferase PglA. Based on our findings, we propose that PglA is involved in both pilin and general F. tularensis protein glycosylation, and we further suggest an inter-relationship between the O-antigen and the glycan synthesis in the early steps in their biosynthetic pathways.
Measurements of stem xylem hydraulic conductivity in the laboratory and field

1. Xylem hydraulic properties play an essential role in supporting growth and photosynthesis and influence sensitivity to environmental conditions such as drought and freezing. Consequently, stem hydraulic conductance can be used as a comparative measure of overall hydraulic adaptation across species and to assess the impact of environmental variation, especially drought, on water transport.
Dual band-notched UWB antenna with folded SIRs

A novel printed UWB monopole antenna with dual notched band characteristics fed by microstrip transmission line is proposed in this article. The gradual changing structure produces a wide band of 2.2-12GHz. By employing a split ring slot on the radiation element, adding two coupled SIRs adjacent to the microstrip line, the two notched bands of 3.2-3.7GHz and 5-6GHz can be adopted, covering the bands of WLAN and WIMAX. The proposed antenna is simulated, manufactured and measured, and the measured results confirm that the proposed antenna is suitable for UWB applications.
Inflammasome-Mediated Autoinflammatory Disorders

Abstract The nucleotide-binding domain leucine-rich repeat containing (NLR) family of receptors are members of the innate immune system, and have a critical role in host defense. These molecules are key to driving inflammatory responses to abnormal cellular conditions. Many NLRs serve this role on activation by forming a multiprotein complex called an inflammasome. The inflammasome drives the processing and release of cytokines, such as the proinflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-18. Recently, the important function of NLR molecules in autoinflammatory disorders has been recognized, in part through the identification of the role of IL-1β in the pathogenesis of several autoinflammatory diseases. Cryopyrin-associated periodic syndromes were the first autoinflammatory disorders found to be directly mediated by dysfunctional inflammasome activation. This finding has subsequently led to studies in both murine models and humans that have revealed several other inflammatory conditions associated with activation of NLR-containing inflammasomes. Understanding the molecular pathophysiology of these autoinflammatory disorders has further guided the successful development of targeted therapy against IL-1. In this review, we provide an overview of the inflammasomes and describe the important role they play in the development and manifestation of autoinflammatory diseases.
Assessment of lipid compounds and phosphorus in mangrove sediments of Santa Catarina Island, SC, Brazil

Lipid compounds from seven sedimentary stations were used to assess sources of organic matter in two mangrove ecosystems located on Santa Catarina Island, southern Brazil. Ratones Mangrove forms part of a national preservation area and has suffered only minimal human influence. Itacorubi Mangrove has been seriously impacted by anthropogenic activities due to its proximity to the city of Florianopolis. Higher levels of total organic carbon (2.13 mmol g-1) and total phosphorus (14.9 µmol g-1) were found in Ratones Mangrove sediments. However, sediments from Itacorubi showed a greater percentage of inorganic phosphorus (84%) than those from Ratones (58%), which can be related to urban contamination. The importance of sewage outfalls into the tidal creeks crossing Itacorubi Mangrove was clearly seen as the concentration of coprostanol averaging 7.7 ng g-1 in Ratones sediments was found to be as high as 1.42 µg g-1 in Itacorubi, which is comparable to other sewage contaminated hydrosystems.
A New Oscillator with Effective Phase-Noise/Power Performance

In this paper, a new wide tuning-range LC-VCO circuit working below 2 GHz is presented. The approach is to present a step-by-step design following the established principles in the literature to obtain the minimum phase noise as well as keeping power in a reasonable level The improvement is achieved by using a novel tail stage for enhancement of VCO start-up as well as a new low energy-consuming structure at the switching stage which both contribute to phase noise reduction but by different mechanisms. Simulation results exhibit good near-carrier and far-from-carrier phase noise performance of nearly 187.2 at 50 kHz and 1 MHz with more than 28% tuning range, while the unloaded tank quality factor of 6.5 (at oscillation frequency) is used. Detailed results with comparisons to novel literature are presented.
Bile Acids Promote the Expression of Hepatitis C Virus in Replicon-Harboring Cells

ABSTRACT Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a cause of chronic liver disease, with more than 170 million persistently infected individuals worldwide. Although the combination therapy of alpha interferon (IFN-α) and ribavirin is effective for chronic HCV infection, around half of all patients infected with HCV genotype 1 fail to show sustained virologic responses and remain chronically infected. Previously, we demonstrated that bile acids were essential for growth of porcine enteric calicivirus in cell culture in association with down-regulation of IFN responses. Because hepatocytes are exposed to high concentrations of bile acids in the liver, we hypothesized that bile acids have similar effects on HCV replication. We incubated HCV replicon-harboring cells (genotype 1b, Con1) in the presence of various bile acids and monitored the expression of HCV RNA and protein (NS5B). The addition of an individual bile acid (deoxycholic acid, chenodeoxycholic acid, ursodeoxycholic acid, or glycochenodeoxycholic acid) in the medium increased the levels of HCV RNA and proteins up to fivefold at 48 h of incubation. An antagonist of bile acid receptor farnesoid X receptor (FXR), Z-guggulsterone, reduced the bile acid-mediated increase of HCV RNA. When IFN (α or γ) and each bile acid were incubated together, we observed that bile acid significantly reduced the anti-HCV effect of IFN. These results indicated that bile acids are factors in the failure of IFN treatment for certain patients infected with HCV genotype 1. Our finding may also contribute to the establishment of better regimens for treatment of chronic HCV infections by including agents altering the bile acid-mediated FXR pathway.
Benchmarking Data Flow Systems for Scalable Machine Learning

Distributed data flow systems such as Apache Spark or Apache Flink are popular choices for scaling machine learning algorithms in production. Industry applications of large scale machine learning such as click-through rate prediction rely on models trained on billions of data points which are both highly sparse and high-dimensional. Existing Benchmarks attempt to assess the performance of data flow systems such as Apache Flink, Spark or Hadoop with non-representative workloads such as WordCount, Grep or Sort. They only evaluate scalability with respect to data set size and fail to address the crucial requirement of handling high dimensional data. We introduce a representative set of distributed machine learning algorithms suitable for large scale distributed settings which have close resemblance to industry-relevant applications and provide generalizable insights into system performance. We implement mathematically equivalent versions of these algorithms in Apache Flink and Apache Spark, tune relevant system parameters and run a comprehensive set of experiments to assess their scalability with respect to both: data set size and dimensionality of the data. We evaluate the systems for data up to four billion data points and 100 million dimensions. Additionally we compare the performance to single-node implementations to put the scalability results into perspective. Our results indicate that while being able to robustly scale with increasing data set sizes, current state of the art data flow systems are surprisingly inefficient at coping with high dimensional data, which is a crucial requirement for large scale machine learning algorithms.
On accurate localization and uncertain sensors

The necessity of accurate localization in mobile robotics is obvious—if a robot does not know where it is, it cannot navigate accurately and reach goal locations. Robots learn about their environment via sensors. Small robots require small, efficient, and, if they are to be deployed in large numbers, inexpensive sensors. The sensors used by robots to perceive the world are inherently inaccurate, providing noisy, erroneous data, or even no data at all. Combined with estimation error due to imperfect modeling of the robot, there are many obstacles to successfully localizing in the world. Sensor fusion is used to overcome these difficulties—combining the available sensor data to derive a more accurate pose estimation for the robot.
New cascaded trisections with resonant cross-couplings (CTR sections) applied to the design of optimal filters

Previous techniques for direct design of cascaded trisection (CT) filters are extended to give designs having the maximum number of finite frequency transmission zeros without "nested" cross couplings, i.e. low sensitivity is obtained with non-interacting cross couplings. In previous realizations the cross couplings of CT sections have been either capacitive or inductive, whereas the new section has both types of couplings in parallel, giving a resonated CT section having two finite frequency transmission zeros for each set of three nodes. The filters have the potential of providing lower insertion loss and/or smaller size compared with existing techniques.
Stat1 Depends on Transcriptional Synergy with Sp1 (*)

STAT (signal transducer and activator of transcription) proteins combine with cytokine receptors and receptor-associated kinases in distinct protein/protein interactions that are critical for STAT-dependent signal transduction events, but the nature of any subsequent STAT interactions with DNA-binding proteins in the nucleus is less certain. Based on assays of DNA/protein binding and activity of transfected reporter plasmids, we determined that occupation of contiguous DNA-binding sites for Stat1 (the first member of the STAT family) and the transcriptional activator Sp1 are both required for full activation of the intercellular adhesion molecule-1 gene by interferon-. Thus, Stat1 binding to DNA cannot by itself be equated with biologic actions of Stat1. In co-immunoprecipitation experiments, we also obtained evidence of direct and selective Stat1/Sp1 interaction (in primary culture cells without overexpression), further indicating that Stat1/Sp1 synergy confers an element of specificity in the pathway leading to cytokine-activated transcription and cytokine-dependent immunity and inflammation.
Loss of RB compromises specific heterochromatin modifications and modulates HP1α dynamics

Heterochromatin domains are important for gene silencing, centromere organization, and genomic stability. These genomic domains are marked with specific histone modifications, heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1) binding and DNA methylation. The retinoblastoma tumor suppressor, RB mediates transcriptional repression and functionally interacts with a number of factors that are involved in heterochromatin biology including HP1, Suv39h1, DNMT1, and components of the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex. To analyze the specific influence of RB loss on chromatin modification, mouse adult fibroblasts (MAFs) derived from RbloxP/loxP mice were utilized to acutely knockout RB. In this setting, target genes of RB are deregulated. Additionally, changes in histone modifications were observed. Specifically, histone H4 lysine 20 trimethylation was absent from heterochromatin domains following loss of RB and there were changes in the relative levels of histone modifications between RB‐proficient and deficient cells. While RB loss significantly altered the modifications associated with heterochromatin domains, these domains were readily identified and efficiently mediated the recruitment of HP1α. Kinetic analyses of HP1α within the heterochromatin domains present in RB‐deficient cells indicated that loss of RB retarded HP1α dynamics, indicating that HP1α is paradoxically more tightly associated with heterochromatin in the absence of RB function. Combined, these analyses demonstrate that loss of RB has global effects on chromatin modifications and dynamics. J. Cell. Physiol. 211: 131–137, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.