Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An accurate model for chromatic dispersion in optical fibers under radiation and thermal effects

Radiation and temperature influence the optical fiber characteristics. These influences such as increasing the chromatic dispersion were studied and shown to result from the refractive index changes occurring within the fibers induced by radiation and thermal effects. In this paper we present a model and a simulation results to reveals the effect of radiation and temperature on the optical fiber chromatic dispersion by using Vissim environment. We demonstrate the importance of waveguide dispersion in the reduction of the total chromatic dispersion. This formulated treatment provides a mean to control the optical characteristics of fibers in radiation environments. The results are validated against published experimental work and showed good agreement.
Challenging heuristics: evolving binary constraint satisfaction problems

In computer science it is a common practice to evaluate the performance of algorithms using a set of benchmark or randomly generated instances. However, following that approach, the weaknesses of the algorithms may not be exposed. This work is the first phase of research project on coevolution of solutions methods versus problem instances. The goal of study is to generate a method to find difficult to solve problem instances capable of challenging the solution methods or algorithms under analysis, helping to discover opportunities for improvement. An evolutionary model is proposed to find hard binary constraint satisfaction problem instances for different variable ordering heuristics. We characterize the search space by generating random instances with different values for the constraint density and tightness. For all the heuristics, the most difficult problems are located in the same region of the space near to the phase transition. However, there are certain regions of the search space where a heuristic dominates the others, especially where the problems are solvable. Finally, we compare the hardest instances found during the search space exploration with the outcome instances of the evolutionary model. The results show that evolved instances are harder to solve than the ones randomly generated.
Epigenome-Wide Meta-Analysis of Methylation in Children Related to Prenatal NO2 Air Pollution Exposure

Background: Prenatal exposure to air pollution is considered to be associated with adverse effects on child health. This may partly be mediated by mechanisms related to DNA methylation. Objectives: We investigated associations between exposure to air pollution, using nitrogen dioxide (NO2) as marker, and epigenome-wide cord blood DNA methylation. Methods: We meta-analyzed the associations between NO2 exposure at residential addresses during pregnancy and cord blood DNA methylation (Illumina 450K) in four European and North American studies (n = 1,508) with subsequent look-up analyses in children ages 4 (n = 733) and 8 (n = 786) years. Additionally, we applied a literature-based candidate approach for antioxidant and anti-inflammatory genes. To assess influence of exposure at the transcriptomics level, we related mRNA expression in blood cells to NO2 exposure in 4- (n = 111) and 16-year-olds (n = 239). Results: We found epigenome-wide significant associations [false discovery rate (FDR) p < 0.05] between maternal NO2 exposure during pregnancy and DNA methylation in newborns for 3 CpG sites in mitochondria-related genes: cg12283362 (LONP1), cg24172570 (3.8 kbp upstream of HIBADH), and cg08973675 (SLC25A28). The associations with cg08973675 methylation were also significant in the older children. Further analysis of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory genes revealed differentially methylated CpGs in CAT and TPO in newborns (FDR p < 0.05). NO2 exposure at the time of biosampling in childhood had a significant impact on CAT and TPO expression. Conclusions: NO2 exposure during pregnancy was associated with differential offspring DNA methylation in mitochondria-related genes. Exposure to NO2 was also linked to differential methylation as well as expression of genes involved in antioxidant defense pathways. Citation: Gruzieva O, Xu CJ, Breton CV, Annesi-Maesano I, Antó JM, Auffray C, Ballereau S, Bellander T, Bousquet J, Bustamante M, Charles MA, de Kluizenaar Y, den Dekker HT, Duijts L, Felix JF, Gehring U, Guxens M, Jaddoe VV, Jankipersadsing SA, Merid SK, Kere J, Kumar A, Lemonnier N, Lepeule J, Nystad W, Page CM, Panasevich S, Postma D, Slama R, Sunyer J, Söderhäll C, Yao J, London SJ, Pershagen G, Koppelman GH, Melén E. 2017. Epigenome-wide meta-analysis of methylation in children related to prenatal NO2 air pollution exposure. Environ Health Perspect 125:104–110; http://dx.doi. org/10.1289/EHP36
Formulation Optimization of Erythromycin Solid Lipid Nanocarrier Using Response Surface Methodology

In present work response surface methodology (RSM) using the miscellaneous design model was used to optimize formulations of erythromycin solid lipid nanocarriers (ERY-SLN). Two-factor three level factorial design was considered for optimization. There were three parameters, drug entrapment efficiency (EE), drug loading (DL) percentage, and mean particle size of ERY-SLN, considered for investigating the optimal formulation with respect to two independent variables, including lipid concentration (X 1) and surfactant : cosurfactant ratio (X 2). The result showed that the optimal ERY-SLN was composed of lipid concentration (X 1) 15 mg/mL and surfactant : cosurfactant ratio (X 2) 1 : 1 with %EE of 88.40 ± 2.09%, DL of 29.46 ± 0.69%, mean particle size of 153.21 ± 2.31 nm, polydispersity index (PDI) of 0.026 ± 0.008, and zeta potential value of −15.18 ± (−5.53) mV. DSC and TEM study showed that there was no chemical interaction between ERY and lipid (GMS) and the ERY-SLN particles are nonspherical, respectively. The drug release experiments exhibited a sustained release over during 24 h, up to 66.26 ± 2.83%. Accelerated stability studies showed that there was no significant change occurring in the responses after storage condition for a total period of 3 months.
Entropy-Relevant Dimensions in the Kernel Feature Space: Cluster-Capturing Dimensionality Reduction

The nonlinear mapping to the feature space is a very important concept in kernel-based machine learning for signal processing, within the framework of positive semidefinite (psd) kernels. Given labeled data, algorithms such as support vector machines (SVMs) or projection methods such as Fisher discriminant analysis may be executed in the feature space. For unsupervised dimensionality reduction in the feature space, the most common approach is to perform principal component analysis (PCA) in that space, thus maximally capturing the variability of the feature space data, however, doing so without necessarily capturing any cluster structure in the data. In this tutorial, we review the theory behind feature space mapping and review recent advances that broaden the understanding and interpretability of the mapping in terms of a key input space quantity, particularly the quadratic Renyi entropy of the data via the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of a psd convolution operator. Focusing on the unsupervised case, we describe the identification of entropy-relevant dimensions in the feature space. We review recent results showing that these dimensions capture structure in the data in the form of clusters, and that they are, in general, different from the kernel PCA (KPCA) dimensions. Differences between these approaches to dimensionality reduction for visualization and clustering are illustrated.
Microarray analysis of gene expression in human donor sclera.

PURPOSE To develop gene expression profiles of human sclera to allow for the identification of novel, uncharacterized genes in this tissue-type, and to identify candidate genes for scleral disorders. METHODS Total RNA was isolated from 6 donor sources of human sclerae, and reverse transcribed into cDNA using a T7-(dT) 24 primer. The resulting cDNA was in vitro transcribed to produce biotin-labeled cRNA, fragmented, and mixed with hybridization controls before a 16 h hybridization step with oligonucleotide probes on 6 Affymetrix U95A chips. The chips were scanned twice at 570 nM and the data collected using GeneChip software. Array analyses were carried out with Microarray Suite, version 5.0 (Affymetrix), using the expression analysis algorithm to run an absolute analysis after cell intensities were computed. All arrays were scaled to the same target intensity using all probe sets. Reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was performed to validate the microarray results. RESULTS There were 3,751 genes with "present" calls assigned independently to all six human scleral samples. These genes could be clustered into 4 major categories; transcription (10%), metabolism (8.8%), cell growth and proliferation (5.4%), and extracellular matrix (2%). Many extracellular matrix proteins, such as collagens 6A3 and 10A1, thrombospondins 2 and 4, and dystroglycan have not previously been shown to be expressed in sclera. RT-PCR results confirmed scleral expression in 7 extracellular matrix genes examined. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrated the utility of gene microarray technology in identifying global patterns of scleral gene expression, and provides an extended list of genes expressed in human sclera. Identification of genes expressed in sclera contributes to our understanding of scleral biology, and potentially provides positional candidate genes for scleral disorders such as high myopia.
PENGARUH AKTIVITAS PEMBELAJARAN APRESIASI SENI TERHADAP PEMAHAMAN SISWA MENGENAI SENI KARAWITAN DITINJAU DARI KEMAMPUAN ARTISTIK SISWA DI SMA NEGERI 1 SEMARAPURA

Tujuan penelitian ini adalah menganalisis perbedaan pemahaman seni karawitan antara siswa yang menggunakan aktivitas pembelajaran apresiasi seni dengan siswa yang menggunakan aktivitan pembelajaran langsung ditinjau dari kemampuan artistik siswa kelas XI IPA SMA N 1 Semarapura. Penelitian ini menggunakan rancangan posttest onnly control group design dengan mengambil sampel 80 siswa kelas XI IPA di SMAN 1 Semarapura. Data dianalisis secara deskriptif dan analisis varian (ANAVA) dua jalan. Uji komparasi pasangan nilai rata-rata menggunakan Uji Tukey. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa: 1) terdapat perbedaan pemahaman seni karawitan antara siswa yang menggunakan aktivitas pembelajaran apresiasi seni dengan siswa yang menggunakan aktivitas pembelajaran langsung, 2) terdapat pengaruh interaksi antara aktivitas pembelajaran dan kemampuan artistik terhadap pemahaman seni karawitan siswa, 3) pada siswa yang memiliki kemampuan artistik tinggi memiliki pemahaman seni karawitan yang lebih baik jika belajar dengan aktivitas pembelajaran apresiasi seni jika dibandingkan dengan aktivitas pembelajaran langsung; dan 4) pada siswa yang memiliki kemampuan artistik rendah tidak terdapat perbedaan pemahaman seni karawitan baik jika belajar dengan aktivitas pembelajaran apresiasi seni maupun dengan aktivitas pembelajaran langsung. Kata Kunci : aktivitas pembelajaran apresiasi seni, kemampuan artistik, pemahaman seni karawitan This study aimed at knowing the difference of Art Appreciation Learning towards the students understanding of Karawitan Art. The experimental design used in this study was posttest only control group design by taking 80 students of XI science class of SMAN 1 Semarapura. The data were analyzed descriptively and using two ways analysis of variant (ANAVA). The comparison pair average score test used Tukey test. The result of the study showed that : 1) there was the difference understanding of Karawitan art between the students using appreciation method based aesthetics attitude and the students using direct learning method, 2) there was the effect of interaction between the learning method and artistics attitude towards the students understanding of Karawitan art, 3) the students who had higher artistics talent had better understanding of karawitan art if they learnt by using art appreciation model than if they learnt by using direct learning model, and 4) the students who had lower artistics talent did not have difference understanding of Karawitan art if they learnt by using art appreciation model or direct learning model. keyword : Appreciation Learning Activity, Artistic Talent, Karawitan Art
Sex differences in aggression : the role of inhibitory control

Women engage in far less direct aggression and crime than men. Given the potential rewards of aggression, women’s desistance requires explanation. This thesis examined Campbell’s (2006) proposal that sex differences in aggression are mediated by women’s greater fear and inhibitory control. Campbell (1999) argued that women are more fearful of activities associated with risk of physical harm due to high fitness costs incurred by offspring as a result of maternal death or injury in the ancestral environment. In a large adolescent sample (Chapter 3), harm avoidance emerged as the primary mediator of sex differences, though inhibitory control was a significant partial mediator. Campbell’s theory has been extended to explaining sex differences in experiences of aggression (‘social representations’). Women’s more expressive experience (as a loss of control) may represent an accurate ‘readout’ of their experience, whereby superior inhibitory control of anger results in behavioural expression at a higher level of arousal. Chapter 2 reports the results of a confirmatory factor analysis, which confirmed the superior psychometric status of the Revised Short Expagg (which measures the experience of aggression); This measure was incorporated into the study reported in Chapter 3. Women’s lesser aggression was also explained by their relatively more expressive representation, providing support for the ‘readout’ theory. Research which has established sex symmetry in partner-directed aggression (Chapter 4) presented a critical test of Campbell’s theory. It was proposed that women experience a reduction in fear and inhibitory control in intimate relationships. To test this, a context-specific measure of inhibition was developed (Chapter 5). Women from community samples reported significantly less inhibition than men on this measure (Chapters 5 & 6). In the study reported in Chapter 6, women’s perpetration of partner aggression was associated with lower inhibition on one measured domain (the tendency to express honest appraisals rather than engage in tactful dishonesty). Women’s aggression was associated with an instrumental experience, indicative of control motives. However, fear was positively associated with aggression perpetration, though it was unclear whether fear was a precursor to, or a consequence of aggression. Implications for avoidant and appetitive theories of sex differences are discussed in Chapter 7.
Effects of increased lipid concentration and hyperemic blood flow on the intrinsic myocardial washout kinetics of (99m)TcN-NOET.

UNLABELLED Bis(N-ethoxy,N-ethyldithiocarbamato)nitrido technetium (V) ((99m)Tc) ((99m)TcN-NOET) is a myocardial perfusion imaging agent demonstrating significant redistribution and currently in phase III clinical trials. Previous studies have suggested that (99m)TcN-NOET is bound intravascularly. Therefore, we sought to determine whether modifications in the vascular compartment would provide further insights into the mechanisms of (99m)TcN-NOET myocardial washout and redistribution. METHODS (99m)TcN-NOET cardiac washout was studied ex vivo in 15 isolated perfused rat hearts after bolus injection (1.5 MBq) in the absence (n = 6) or presence of bovine serum albumin ([BSA] 0.03%) with (n = 5) or without (n = 4) bound lipids. The intrinsic myocardial washout of the tracer was also studied in vivo in 6 dogs after intracoronary bolus injection of the tracer (0.75 MBq) before and after hyperlipidemia induced by intravenous administration of 300 mL of 20% intralipids (n = 3) or hyperemia induced by intravenous infusion of the adenosine A(2A) receptor agonist ATL-146e (0.3 micro g/kg/min; n = 6). RESULTS On isolated hearts, there was no significant myocardial washout of (99m)TcN-NOET with Krebs-Henseleit buffer. Addition of BSA without bound lipids resulted in a significant cardiac washout of the tracer (P < 0.001 by repeated measures ANOVA). The presence of lipids bound to BSA further accelerated the washout rate of (99m)TcN-NOET (half-life [t(1/2)], 431.5 +/- 23.2 min vs. 242.9 +/- 63.2 min; P < 0.05). In vivo in dogs, intralipid administration significantly increased the intrinsic washout rate of (99m)TcN-NOET (t(1/2), 108.0 +/- 23.9 min vs. 51.8 +/- 11.8 min; P < 0.05). In addition, vasodilatation with ATL-146e resulted in a 4.9-fold increase in coronary flow (P < 0.05 vs. baseline) and a significantly faster intrinsic (99m)TcN-NOET myocardial washout (t(1/2), 81.1 +/- 12.1 min vs. 40.7 +/- 7.3 min; P < 0.05). CONCLUSION The myocardial washout kinetics of (99m)TcN-NOET are affected by a variety of intravascular factors, supporting the hypothesis that the tracer is most likely localized on the vascular endothelium. The potential impact of variations in circulating lipid levels among patients on clinical imaging with (99m)TcN-NOET requires further investigation.
Functional three‐dimensional HepG2 aggregate cultures generated from an ultrasound trap: Comparison with HepG2 spheroids

Three‐dimensional culture systems are an ideal in vitro model being capable of sustaining cell functionalities in a manner that resembles the in vivo conditions. In the present study, we developed an ultrasound trap‐based technique to rapidly produce HepG2 hepatocarcinoma cell aggregates within 30 min. Enhanced junctional F‐actin was observed at the points of cell–cell contact throughout the aggregates. HepG2 aggregates prepared by the ultrasound trap can be maintained in culture on a P‐HEMA‐coated surface for up to 3 weeks. The cells in these aggregates proliferated during the initial 3 days and cell number was consistent during the following maintenance period. Albumin secretion from these HepG2 aggregates recovered after 3 days of aggregate formation and remained relatively stable for the following 12 days. Cytochrome P450‐1A1 activity was significantly enhanced after 6 days with maximal enzyme activity observed between 9 and 18 days. In addition, comparison experiments demonstrated that HepG2 aggregates generated by the ultrasound trap had comparable functional characterizations with HepG2 spheroids formed by a traditional gyrotatory‐mediated method. Our results suggest that HepG2 aggregate cultures prepared through the ultrasound trap‐based technique may provide a novel approach to produce in vitro models for hepatocyte functional studies. J. Cell. Biochem. 102: 1180–1189, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A neural model approach for regularization in the mean estimation case

Neural Networks are powerful tools for function approximation problems. A possible peculiar application of neural networks is that proposed here: estimating the univariate mean of a distribution from a finite sample. This problem characterizes a huge number of applicative and scientific problems. The Gaussian distribution case is analyzed, however the proposed analysis is of general validity and can be easily extended to other distributions. In particular the estimation problem is approached as a regularization problem and a solution to the selection of the regularization parameter is obtained via the employment of neural models. The paper, after introducing some theoretical results, presents two neural models, namely a MLP and a Circular Back Propagation Network, for the mean prediction. Experimental results show that neural networks can estimate the mean, in expectation, better than the usual sample mean formula.
Effects of Repetitive Motor Training on Movement Representations in Adult Squirrel Monkeys: Role of Use versus Learning

Current evidence indicates that repetitive motor behavior during motor learning paradigms can produce changes in representational organization in motor cortex. In a previous study, we trained adult squirrel monkeys on a repetitive motor task that required the retrieval of food pellets from a small-diameter well. It was found that training produced consistent task-related changes in movement representations in primary motor cortex (M1) in conjunction with the acquisition of a new motor skill. In the present study, we trained adult squirrel monkeys on a similar motor task that required pellet retrievals from a much larger diameter well. This large-well retrieval task was designed to produce repetitive use of a limited set of distal forelimb movements in the absence of motor skill acquisition. Motor activity levels, estimated by the total number of finger flexions performed during training, were matched between the two training groups. This experiment was intended to evaluate whether simple, repetitive motor activity alone is sufficient to produce representational plasticity in cortical motor maps. Detailed analysis of the motor behavior of the monkeys indicates that their retrieval behavior was highly successful and stereotypical throughout the training period, suggesting that no new motor skills were learned during the performance of the large-well retrieval task. Comparisons between pretraining and posttraining maps of M1 movement representations revealed no task-related changes in the cortical area devoted to individual distal forelimb movement representations. We conclude that repetitive motor activity alone does not produce functional reorganization of cortical maps. Instead, we propose that motor skill acquisition, or motor learning, is a prerequisite factor in driving representational plasticity in M1.
Effects of different types of oxidative stress in RPE cells

Oxidative damage to retinal pigmented epithelial (RPE) cells and photoreceptors has been implicated in the pathogenesis of age‐related macular degeneration (AMD). In order to develop new treatments, it is necessary to characterize the antioxidant defense system in RPE cells to better define their vulnerabilities and how they can be remedied. In this study, we sought to investigate the effects of three different types of oxidative stress on cultured RPE cells. Carbonyl content in RPE cells increased with increasing concentrations of oxidants or increasing duration of exposure with high reproducibility, validating ELISA for carbonyl content as a valuable quantitative measure of oxidative damage. Compared to other cell types, RPE cells were able to survive exposure to H2O2 quite well and exposure to paraquat extremely well. Comparison of the total amount of oxidative damage at the IC50 for each type of stress showed a rank order of hyperoxia > paraquat > H2O2, and since these stressors primarily target different cellular compartments, it suggests that the endogenous defense system against oxidative damage in RPE cells protects well against damage to mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum, and is less able to handle oxidative damage at the cell surface. Supplementation of media with ascorbic acid provided significant protection from H2O2‐induced oxidative damage, but not that induced by paraquat or hyperoxia. Supplementation with docosahexaenoic acid or α‐tocopherol significantly reduced oxidative damage from H2O2 or hyperoxia, but not that induced by paraquat. We conclude that exposure to different types of oxidative stress results in different patterns of accrual of oxidative damage to proteins in RPE cells, different patterns of loss of viability, and is differentially countered by antioxidants. This study suggests that multiple types of oxidant stress should be used to probe the vulnerabilities of the retina and RPE in vivo, and that ELISA for carbonyl content provides a valuable tool for quantitative assessment of oxidative damage for such studies. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.