Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Influence of modifying organoclay on the properties of natural rubber/organoclay nanocomposites

Montmorillonite nanoclay was modified with octadecylamine and compounded with natural rubber by the melt mixing method. Influence of the modification on the properties of natural rubber/organoclay nanocomposites was investigated. Furthermore, structures of the natural rubber/clay nanocomposites were characterized by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. It was found that organoclay was well dispersed in the natural rubber matrix. Curing characteristics of the rubber compound indicated that octadecylamine modification accelerated the vulcanization reaction of natural rubber and caused a higher degree of crosslinking. The storage modulus (E′) of the natural rubber vulcanizates was higher with the modified clay than with unmodified montmorillonite (Na-MMT). The effects on the storage modulus are more pronounced at temperatures above the melting temperature of octadecylamine. The low thermal stability of this modifying agent does not affect the thermal stability of the natural rubber/organoclay nanocomposite.
Bringing the Text to Life Automatically

Animated text is an appealing field of creative graphical design. Manually designed text animation is largely employed in advertisement, movie titles and web pages. In this paper we propose to link, through state of the art NLP techniques, the affective content detection of a piece of text to the animation of the words in the text itself. This methodology allows us to automatically generate affective text animation and opens some new perspectives for advertisements, internet applications and intelligent interfaces.
Flow-induced on-line crystallization of rodlike molecules in fiber spinning

The micromechanical description of nonisothermal flow-induced crystallization of a polymeric liquid with rodlike molecules is the main part of the fiber spinning model described here. Solutions of the governing equations show that an increase in winding velocity leads to the appearance of an on-line flow-induced crystallization zone in a fiber. This zone manifests itself in accelerated formation (necking) due to the release of heat of crystallization which results in the decrease of viscosity. Liquid crystallinity grows very rapidly in the necking region, which, in turn, leads to the growth of viscosity after some minimal value, which finally arrests fiber deformation.
Evaluation of radiative transfer simulations over bright desert calibration sites

The Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI), the Meteosat Second Generation main radiometer, measures the reflected solar radiation within three spectral bands centered at 0.6, 0.8, and 1.6 /spl mu/m, and within a broadband. This broadband is similar to the solar channel of the radiometer onboard the first generation of METEOSAT satellites. The operational absolute calibration of these channels relies on modeled radiances over bright desert sites, as no in-flight calibration device is available. These simulated radiances represent, therefore, the "reference" against which SEVIRI is calibrated. The present study describes the radiative properties of these targets and evaluates the uncertainties associated with the characterization of this "reference", i.e. the modeled radiances. To this end, top-of-atmosphere simulated radiances are compared with several thousands of calibrated observations acquired by the European Remote Sensing 2/Along-Track Scanning Radiometer 2 (ERS2/ATSR-2), SeaStar/Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS), Syste/spl grave/me Pour l'Observation de la Terre 4 (SPOT-4/VEGETATION), and the Environmental Research Satellite/Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (ENVISAT/MERIS) instruments over the SEVIRI desert calibration sites. Results show that the mean relative bias between observation and simulation does not exceed 3% in the red and near-infrared spectral bands with respect to the first two instruments.
Robust Fuzzy Sliding Mode Control for Antilock Braking System

This paper focuses on the development of a robust f uzzy sliding-mode scheme for controlling a vehicle motion system by cadjusting the brake torque, Fuzzy logic known for its properties o f universal approximator and sliding mode control for its robustness in the presence of parameter variations and the disturbances are employed to con trol the wheel slip rate in emergency braking maneuver. Simulations under vario us road conditions are performed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the p roposed robust fuzzy sliding mode control.
Clinical validation of the PCR-reverse dot blot human papillomavirus genotyping test in cervical lesions from Chinese women in the Fujian province: a hospital-based population study

Objective To determine the clinical significance of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-reverse dot blot (RDB) human papillomavirus (HPV) genotyping assay in cervical cancer screening. Methods A total of 10,442 women attending the Fujian Provincial Maternity and Children's Health Hospital were evaluated using the liquid-based cytology (thinprep cytologic test [TCT]) and the PCR-RDB HPV test. Women with HPV infection and/or abnormal cytology were referred for colposcopy and biopsy. For HPV DNA sequencing, 120 specimens were randomly selected. Pathological diagnosis was used as the gold standard. Results Using the PCR-RDB HPV test, overall HPV prevalence was 20.57% (2,148/10,442) and that of high-risk (HR)-HPV infection was 18.68% (1,951/10,442). There was 99.2% concordance between HPV PCR-RDB testing and sequencing. In this studied population, the most common HR-HPV types were HPV-16, -52, -58, -18, -53, -33, and -51, rank from high to low. HPV-16, -18, -58, -59, and -33 were the top 5 prevalent genotypes in cervical cancer but HPV-16, -18, -59, -45, and -33 were the top 5 highest risk factors for cancer (odds ratio [OR]=34.964, 7.278, 6.728, 6.101, and 3.658; all p<0.05, respectively). Among 10,442 cases, 1,278 had abnormal cytology results, of which, the HR-HPV positivity rate was 83.02% (1,061/1,278). To screen for cervical cancer by PCR-RDB HPV testing, when using CIN2+, CIN3+, and cancer as observed endpoints, the sensitivity was 90.43%, 92.61%, and 94.78% and the negative predictive value (NPV) was 99.06%, 99.42%, and 99.78%, respectively. PCR-RDB HPV and TCT co-testing achieved the highest sensitivity and NPV. Conclusion For cervical cancer screening, the PCR-RDB HPV test can provide a reliable and sensitive clinical reference.
Self-Paced Boost Learning for Classification

Effectiveness and robustness are two essential aspects of supervised learning studies. For effective learning, ensemble methods are developed to build a strong effective model from ensemble of weak models. For robust learning, self-paced learning (SPL) is proposed to learn in a self-controlled pace from easy samples to complex ones. Motivated by simultaneously enhancing the learning effectiveness and robustness, we propose a unified framework, Self-Paced Boost Learning (SPBL). With an adaptive from-easy-to-hard pace in boosting process, SPBL asymptotically guides the model to focus more on the insufficiently learned samples with higher reliability. Via a max-margin boosting optimization with self-paced sample selection, SPBL is capable of capturing the intrinsic inter-class discriminative patterns while ensuring the reliability of the samples involved in learning. We formulate SPBL as a fully-corrective optimization for classification. The experiments on several real-world datasets show the superiority of SPBL in terms of both effectiveness and robustness.
Set-valued approachability and online learning with partial monitoring

Approachability has become a standard tool in analyzing learning algorithms in the adversarial online learning setup. We develop a variant of approachability for games where there is ambiguity in the obtained reward: it belongs to a set rather than being a single vector. Using this variant we tackle the problem of approachability in games with partial monitoring and develop a simple and generally efficient strategy (i.e., with constant per-step complexity) for this setup. As an important example, we instantiate our general strategy to the case when external regret or internal regret is to be minimized under partial monitoring.
An Electrostatic Spinning Technology with Improved Functionality for the Manufacture of Nanomaterials from Solutions

The last decade has seen an extensive development of the field of nanomaterials which are currently being used in their first commercial applications. This rapid development is necessarily connected with certain technological demands. This paper describes a technology for the manufacture of nanomaterials from solutions by electrostatic spinning or spraying. Although this method has been well known since the last century, there are still only a few high-quality devices that can be used for the research of new nanomaterials. The main reason for this is that the process of nanomaterials manufacturing is influenced by numerous processing parameters which need to be properly regulated, and furthermore all device components must be resistant to interference from high voltage. The technological requirements are thus stringent. Moreover, such a device must be multifunctional, compact and affordable. This paper describes the technical aspects of a unique laboratory device, i.e., device modules and central control, measured processing parameters, and their effect on the produced materials. The developed laboratory device meets the most demanding criteria for a nanotechnological laboratory device and helps facilitate and speed up the research and development of new nanomaterials produced in high electrostatic field.
Removing Eye Movement and Power Line Artifacts from the EEG based on ICA

The presence of different artifacts has long been a problem for the analysis and interpretation of electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings. Independent component analysis (ICA) is a technique for blind source separation (BSS) and has been used to remove biomedical artifacts. In order to subtract the power line noise effectively and robustly, we use two additional channels of artificial power line signals and the EEG recordings to form a new data set as the input of ICA, and the data were separated into independent components based on the extended ICA method, and the EEG signal was reconstructed by excluding those components related to eye movement and line artifacts. Experiment results indicated the method is effective and satisfying
Nanoclay dispersion into a thermosetting binder using sonication and intensive mixing methods

Suspensions of epoxy with 10% by weight of organomodified montmorillonite clay [Cloisite 30B], prepared by two different methods, viz. intensive batch mixing and sonication, were investigated. The characterization of linear viscoelastic material functions of the suspension using small-amplitude oscillatory shear during processing enabled the assessments of the dispersion capabilities of the two mixing methods. Thermal imaging was used to monitor the temperature distributions generated during mixing. Sonication was determined to be more effective in the dispersion of the clay into the epoxy resin than the intensive batch mixing process, as revealed by the significant increase of the dynamic properties upon sonication, which suggested that some degree of intercalation and exfoliation had taken place during sonication. The use of the linear viscoelastic material functions thus provided a relatively easy to implement method for the analysis of the dispersion effectiveness of the different processing methods and operating conditions. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013
Ferrets and the challenges of H5N1 vaccine formulation.

discovery that influenza viruses can infect ferrets and that they can be readily cultivated in the allantois of embryonated chicken eggs. Remarkably, since that time, no better animal model of influenza infection in humans has been found, and the embryonated chicken egg has yet to be successfully replaced as a medium for cultivating vaccine virus. As demonstrated by Govorkova et al. in this issue of the Journal of Infectious Diseases [1], ferrets and embryonated eggs may still provide the basis for developing influenza vaccines that will be effective in the face of a con-
VALIDATE AND MOTIVATE: COLLABORATIVE R&D TO SPEED UP THE LAUNCH OF DIGITAL TERRESTRIAL TV

The VALIDATE project has verified the performance of the DVB-T specification in the laboratory and in field trials. Its successful collaboration has advanced DVB-T technology to the point where services are ready to start. Recent achievements include a multidimensional interworking demonstration, a transmitter specification, single-frequency network synchronisation and gap-filler transmitters (on-channel repeaters). Trials have shown that mobile reception of DVB-T is possible with bitrates up to 15 Mbit/s, offering a range of attractive new services. A new project, MOTIVATE, will develop mobile reception of DVB-T.
Patient Posture Monitoring System Based on Flexible Sensors

Monitoring patients using vision cameras can cause privacy intrusion problems. In this paper, we propose a patient position monitoring system based on a patient cloth with unobtrusive sensors. We use flexible sensors based on polyvinylidene fluoride, which is a flexible piezoelectric material. The flexible sensors are inserted into parts close to the knee and hip of the loose patient cloth. We measure electrical signals from the sensors caused by the piezoelectric effect when the knee and hip in the cloth are bent. The measured sensor outputs are transferred to a computer via Bluetooth. We use a custom-made program to detect the position of the patient through a rule-based algorithm and the sensor outputs. The detectable postures are based on six human motions in and around a bed. The proposed system can detect the patient positions with a success rate over 88 percent for three patients.
Nanorod-Superconductor Composites: A Pathway to Materials with High Critical Current Densities

Most large-scale applications of the high-temperature copper oxide superconductors (HTSCs) require high critical current densities (Jc's) at temperatures near the boiling point of liquid nitrogen to be technologically useful, although thermally activated flux flow reduces Jc dramatically at these temperatures. This intrinsic limitation can be overcome by introducing nanometer-sized columnar defects into an HTSC. Nanorods of magnesium oxide were grown and incorporated into HTSCs to form nanorod-HTSC composites. In this way, a high density of nanorod columnar defects can be created with orientations perpendicular and parallel to the copper oxide planes. The Jc's of the nanorod-HTSC composites are enhanced dramatically at high temperatures and magnetic fields as compared with reference samples; these composites may thus represent a technologically viable strategy for overcoming thermally activated flux flow in large-scale applications.
Introduction on IMT-2020 5G Trials in China

Ultrahigh data rate, massive connectivity, ultralow latency, and high reliability, as well as ultraflexible air interface design to support diversified usage scenarios, are the major targets of 5G radio access network design. To meet these targets, advanced new radio transmission technologies, including new waveform, new channel coding, non-orthogonal multiple access, as well as massive antenna techniques, have been proposed and studied worldwide in both academic and industries. Most of the gains claimed in the literature are from simulations or by small scale lab testing. Instead, this paper elaborates on the first hand results and analysis of the large-scale field trials carried out in China for a selection of key 5G technology components as well as some of their combinations, including filtered-orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) (f-OFDM), polar code, sparse code multiple access, and massive multi-input multi-output (MIMO) for both uplink and downlink cellular networks. Testing results verify the feasibility and benefit of each technology contributing toward the diversified 5G targets, as well as the feasibility for these technologies to work jointly for higher spectrum efficiency, larger connectivity, and lower latency.
Bragg gratings inscription at 1550 nm in photosensitive step-index polymer optical fiber

In this paper, we report photo-inscription of uniform Bragg gratings in Trans-4-stilbenemethanol-doped photosensitive step-index polymer optical fiber characterized by a core diameter of 8.2 μm. Single-mode gratings were produced at ~1550 nm by the phase mask technique with a Helium-Cadmium emitting at 325 nm with an average power of 30 mW. The grating growth was monitored during the manufacturing process, showing that the reflected band is blue shifted by a few hundreds of picometers. Finally, the gratings were characterized in temperature in the range 25 − 50 °C. Their sensitivity has been computed equal to − 47 pm/°C.
Interaction of the NG2 chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan with type VI collagen

The NG2 chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan is a membrane-associated molecule of approximately 500 kD with a core glycoprotein of 300 kD. Both the complete proteoglycan and a smaller quantity of the 300-kD core are immunoprecipitable with polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies against purified NG2. From some cell lines, the antibodies coprecipitate NG2 and type VI collagen, the latter appearing on SDS- PAGE as components of 140 and 250 kD under reducing conditions. The immunoprecipitation of type VI collagen does not seem to be due to recognition of the collagen by the antibodies, but rather to binding of the collagen to NG2. Studies on the NG2-type VI collagen complex suggest that binding between the two molecules is mediated by protein- protein interactions rather than by ionic interactions involving the glycosaminoglycans. Immunofluorescence double labeling in frozen sections of embryonic rat shows that NG2 and type VI collagen are colocalized in structures such as the intervertebral discs and arteries of the spinal column. In vitro the two molecules are highly colocalized on the surface of several cell lines. Treatment of these cells resulting in a change in the distribution of NG2 on the cell surface also causes a parallel change in type VI collagen distribution. Our results suggest that cell surface NG2 may mediate cellular interactions with the extracellular matrix by binding to type VI collagen.
HADI : Fast Diameter Estimation and Mining in Massive Graphs with Hadoop

How can we quickly find the diameter of a petabyte-sized graph? Large graphs are ubiquitous: social networks (Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.), the World Wide Web, biological networks, computer networks and many more. The size of graphs of interest has been increasing rapidly in recent years and with it also the need for algorithms that can handle teraand peta-byte graphs. A promising direction for coping with such sizes is the emerging map/reduce architecture and its open-source implementation, ’HADOOP’. Estimating the diameter of a graph, as well as the radius of each node, is a valuable operation that can help us spot outliers and anomalies. We propose HADI (HAdoop based DIameter estimator), a carefully designed algorithm to compute the diameters of petabyte-scale graphs. We run the algorithm to analyze the largest public web graph ever analyzed, with billions of nodes and edges. Additional contributions include the following: (a) We propose several performance optimizations (b) we achieve excellent scale-up, and (c) we report interesting observations including outliers and related patterns, on this real graph (116Gb), as well as several other real, smaller graphs. One of the observations is that the Albert et al. conjecture about the diameter of the web is over-pessimistic.
MYC cis-Elements in PsMPT Promoter Is Involved in Chilling Response of Paeonia suffruticosa

The MPT transports Pi to synthesize ATP. PsMPT, a chilling-induced gene, was previously reported to promote energy metabolism during bud dormancy release in tree peony. In this study, the regulatory elements of PsMPT promoter involved in chilling response were further analyzed. The PsMPT transcript was detected in different tree peony tissues and was highly expressed in the flower organs, including petal, stigma and stamen. An 1174 bp of the PsMPT promoter was isolated by TAIL-PCR, and the PsMPT promoter::GUS transgenic Arabidopsis was generated and analyzed. GUS staining and qPCR showed that the promoter was active in mainly the flower stigma and stamen. Moreover, it was found that the promoter activity was enhanced by chilling, NaCl, GA, ACC and NAA, but inhibited by ABA, mannitol and PEG. In transgenic plants harboring 421 bp of the PsMPT promoter, the GUS gene expression and the activity were significantly increased by chilling treatment. When the fragment from -421 to -408 containing a MYC cis-element was deleted, the chilling response could not be observed. Further mutation analysis confirmed that the MYC element was one of the key motifs responding to chilling in the PsMPT promoter. The present study provides useful information for further investigation of the regulatory mechanism of PsMPT during the endo-dormancy release.
Apoptosis inhibitory activity of cytoplasmic p21Cip1/WAF1 in monocytic differentiation

p21Cip1/WAF1 inhibits cell‐cycle progression by binding to G1 cyclin/CDK complexes and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) through its N‐ and C‐terminal domains, respectively. The cell‐cycle inhibitory activity of p21Cip1/WAF1 is correlated with its nuclear localization. Here, we report a novel cytoplasmic localization of p21Cip1/WAF1 in peripheral blood monocytes (PBMs) and in U937 cells undergoing monocytic differentiation by in vitro treatment with vitamin D3 or ectopic expression of p21Cip1/WAF1, and analyze the biological consequences of this cytoplasmic expression. U937 cells which exhibit nuclear p21Cip1/WAF1 demonstrated G1 cell‐cycle arrest and subsequently differentiated into monocytes. The latter event was associated with a cytoplasmic expression of nuclear p21Cip1/WAF1, concomitantly with a resistance to various apoptogenic stimuli. Biochemical analysis showed that cytoplasmic p21Cip1/WAF1 forms a complex with the apoptosis signal‐regulating kinase 1 (ASK1) and inhibits stress‐activated MAP kinase cascade. Expression of a deletion mutant of p21Cip1/WAF1 lacking the nuclear localization signal (ΔNLS‐p21) did not induce cell cycle arrest nor monocytic differentiation, but led to an apoptosis‐resistant phenotype, mediated by binding to and inhibition of the stress‐activated ASK1 activity. Thus, cytoplasmic p21Cip1/WAF1 itself acted as an inhibitor of apoptosis. Our findings highlight the different functional roles of p21Cip1/WAF1, which are determined by its intracellular distribution and are dependent on the stage of differentiation.