Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
University of Huddersfield Repository Mixing and internal dynamics of droplets impacting and coalescing on a solid surface

The coalescence and mixing of a sessile and an impacting liquid droplet on a solid surface are studied experimentally and numerically in terms of lateral separation and droplet speed. Two droplet generators are used to produce diﬀerently coloured droplets. Two high speed imaging systems are used to investigate the impact and coalescence of the droplets in colour from a side view with a simultaneous grey-scale view from below. Millimetre-sized droplets were used with dynamical conditions, based on the Reynolds and Weber numbers, relevant to microﬂuidics and commercial inkjet printing. Experimental measurements of advancing and receding static contact angles are used to calibrate a contact angle hysteresis model within a lattice Boltzmann framework, which is shown to capture the observed dynamics qualitatively and the ﬁnal droplet conﬁguration quantitatively. Our results show that no detectable mixing occurs during impact and coalescence of similar-sized droplets, but when the sessile droplet is suﬃciently larger than the impacting droplet vortex ring generation can be observed. Finally we show how a gradient of wettability on the substrate can potentially enhance mixing.
Parametric Regression on the Grassmannian

We address the problem of fitting parametric curves on the Grassmann manifold for the purpose of intrinsic parametric regression. We start from the energy minimization formulation of linear least-squares in Euclidean space and generalize this concept to general nonflat Riemannian manifolds, following an optimal-control point of view. We then specialize this idea to the Grassmann manifold and demonstrate that it yields a simple, extensible and easy-to-implement solution to the parametric regression problem. In fact, it allows us to extend the basic geodesic model to (1) a “time-warped” variant and (2) cubic splines. We demonstrate the utility of the proposed solution on different vision problems, such as shape regression as a function of age, traffic-speed estimation and crowd-counting from surveillance video clips. Most notably, these problems can be conveniently solved within the same framework without any specifically-tailored steps along the processing pipeline.
Structural basis of autoinhibition and activation of the DNA-targeting ADP-ribosyltransferase pierisin-1

ADP-ribosyltransferases transfer the ADP-ribose moiety of βNAD+ to an acceptor molecule, usually a protein that modulates the function of the acceptor. Pierisin-1 is an ADP-ribosyltransferase from the cabbage butterfly Pieris rapae and is composed of N-terminal catalytic and C-terminal ricin B–like domains. Curiously, it ADP-ribosylates the DNA duplex, resulting in apoptosis of various cancer cells, which has raised interest in pierisin-1 as an anti-cancer agent. However, both the structure and the mechanism of DNA ADP-ribosylation are unclear. Here, we report the crystal structures of the N-terminal catalytic domain of pierisin-1, its complex with βNAD+, and the catalytic domain with the linker connecting it to the ricin B–like domains. We found that the catalytic domain possesses a defined, positively charged region on the molecular surface but that its overall structure is otherwise similar to those of protein-targeting ADP-ribosyltransferases. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays and site-directed mutagenesis indicated that pierisin-1 binds double-stranded but not single-stranded DNA and that Lys122, Lys123, and Lys124, which are found in a loop, and Arg181 and Arg187, located in a basic cleft near the loop, are required for DNA binding. Furthermore, the structure of the catalytic domain with the linker revealed an autoinhibitory mechanism in which the linker occupies and blocks both the βNAD+- and DNA-binding sites, suggesting that proteolytic cleavage to remove the linker is necessary for enzyme catalysis. Our study provides a structural basis for the DNA-acceptor specificity of pierisin-1 and reveals that a self-regulatory mechanism is required for its activity.
Overlay QoS Framework: An Approach for Incremental Deployment of QoS Provision on the Internet

Most proposals related to QoS provision on the Internet share a common requirement to be deployed: every router within every autonomous system of the Internet needs to be upgraded to support specific procedures for QoS provision. The main aim of the proposal presented in this paper is to allow QoS provision over IP networks without the need for upgrades at every router. In this paper, an overlay topology is built up from all routers which support QoS provision features and it is managed by an agent called network broker. Upgrading some routers within the network is still needed, but there are no constraints as to which routers should be upgraded. As a result, providers could incrementally deploy QoS services over their networks. Results confirm that the more routers they upgrade, the better the capacity of the network to provide QoS services.
Immediate transformation of full lower dentures into fixed implant-supported superstructures by intraoral welding

Aim Intraoral welding has been introduced as a means to fabricate a rigid implant-splinting metal framework supporting immediate implant prostheses. Methods This method can also be applied for the immediate transformation of a removable lower full prosthesis, with inadequate retention and stability, into a fixed implant supported rehabilitation. In this way it was possible to preserve the correct esthetic and occlusal parameters that had been previously established and to which the patient has been accustomed. The prosthesis is modified by removing the denture flanges. The remaining part of the denture teeth, are joined together with the acrylic resin representing the gingiva and forming a bare dental arch composition. After implant placement, the Ti framework is fabricated by initial intraoral welding, followed by extra-oral completion. The denture is then stabilized with acrylic resin onto the framework intraorally. The prosthesis is completed with additional acrylic resin in the laboratory, as hybrid prosthesis to be delivered to the patient. Conclusion The procedure improves the quality of life of patients, is cost effective and is not time-consuming.
A Modified Wire Hanging Apparatus for Small Animal Muscle Function Testing

Wire hang tests are simple and cheap methods to assess muscle performance in small rodents, but do not always yield consistent results. We describe a simple wire hang apparatus that comprises a continuous rolling loop. Wire hang times measured using the rolling wire provide consistent and reliable data that more accurately reflect the output of a continuous physical effort. As such data obtained in mice using a rolling wire are more representative of the physical changes in the mouse muscle and less susceptible to individual mouse behaviour and differences in animal handling.
Randomized Component and Its Application to (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$t$ </tex-math></inline-formula>,<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$m$ </tex-math></inline-formula>,<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$n$ </tex-math></inline-formula>)-Group Oriented Secret S

A basic (t,n)-secret sharing (SS) scheme allows a secret s to be divided into n shares and shared among n shareholders. In the scheme, any t or more than t shareholders can recover the secret while fewer than t shareholders cannot obtain the secret s. But an adversary without any valid share may obtain the secret if there are over t participants in the secret reconstruction. To address this type of attack, we first introduce the notion of randomized component (RC), which binds a share with all participants and protects the share from being exposed to outside without any computational assumption; at the same time, RCs can be used to reconstruct the secret. As one of the applications of RCs, a (t,m,n)-group oriented SS scheme is proposed to cope with the attack in basic (t,n)-SSs, in which once m (m ≥ t) participants form a tightly couple group by generating RCs, the secret can be recovered only if all m RCs are correct, which requires each participant to have a valid share in advance. Moreover, the scheme can secure the secret without any user authentication or share verification. Analyses show the proposed (t,m,n)-group oriented SS is asymptotically perfect and unconditionally secure. RCs can also be applied to build other schemes in a simple way, such as multi-SS, group authentication, and so on.
MR Studies of Glioblastoma Models Treated with Dual PI3K/mTOR Inhibitor and Temozolomide:Metabolic Changes Are Associated with Enhanced Survival

The current standard of care for glioblastoma (GBM) is surgical resection, radiotherapy, and treatment with temozolomide (TMZ). However, resistance to current therapies and recurrence are common. To improve survival, agents that target the PI3K signaling pathway, which is activated in approximately 88% of GBM, are currently in clinical trials. A challenge with such therapies is that tumor shrinkage is not always observed. New imaging methods are therefore needed to monitor response to therapy and predict survival. The goal of this study was to determine whether hyperpolarized 13C magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) and 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) can be used to monitor response to the second-generation dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor voxtalisib (XL765, SAR245409), alone or in combination with TMZ. We investigated GS-2 and U87-MG GBM orthotopic tumors in mice, and used MRI, hyperpolarized 13C MRSI, and 1H MRS to monitor the effects of treatment. In our study, 1H MRS could not predict tumor response to therapy. However, in both our models, we observed a significantly lower hyperpolarized lactate-to-pyruvate ratio in animals treated with voxtalisib, TMZ, or combination therapy, when compared with controls. This metabolic alteration was observed prior to MRI-detectable changes in tumor size, was consistent with drug action, and was associated with enhanced animal survival. Our findings confirm the potential translational value of the hyperpolarized lactate-to-pyruvate ratio as a biomarker for noninvasively assessing the effects of emerging therapies for patients with GBM. Mol Cancer Ther; 15(5); 1113–22. ©2016 AACR.
Deadline scheduling in the Linux kernel

During the last decade, there has been a considerable interest in using Linux in real‐time systems, especially for industrial control. The simple and elegant design of Linux guarantees reliability and very good performance, while its open‐source license allows to modify and change the source code according to the user needs. However, Linux has been designed to be a general‐purpose operating system. Therefore, it presents some issues like unpredictable latencies and limited support for real‐time scheduling. In this paper, we present our experience in the design and implementation of the real‐time scheduler that has been recently included in the Linux kernel. The scheduler is based on the Resource Reservation paradigm, which allows to enforce temporal isolation between the running tasks. We describe the genesis of the project, the challenges we have encountered, the implementation details and the API offered to the programmers. Then, we show the experimental results measured on a real hardware. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Estradiol modulates Na+‐dependent HCO3− transporters altering intracellular pH and ion transport in human Sertoli cells: A role on male fertility?

Infertile men often present deregulation of serum estrogen levels. Notably, high levels of estradiol (E2) are associated with low sperm production and quality. Sertoli cells (SCs) are responsible for spermatogenesis maintenance and are major targets for the hormonal signalling that regulates this complex process.
The Cost of Data Flow Testing: An Empirical Study

A family of test data adequacy criteria employing data-flow information was previously proposed, and a theoretical complexity analysis was performed. The author describes an empirical study to determine the actual cost of using these criteria. The aim is to establish the practical usefulness of these criteria in testing software and provide a basis for predicting the amount of testing needed for a given program. The first goal of the study is to confirm the belief that the family of software testing criteria considered is practical to use. An attempt is made to show that even as the program size increases, the amount of testing, expressed in terms of the number of test cases sufficient to satisfy a given criterion, remains modest. Several ways of evaluating this hypothesis are explored. The second goal is to provide the prospective user of these criteria with a way of predicting the number of test cases that will be needed to satisfy a given criterion for a given program. This provides testers with a basis for selecting the most comprehensive criterion that they can expect to satisfy. Several plausible bases for such a prediction are considered. >
Storage class memory and databases: Opportunities and challenges

Abstract Storage Class Memory (SCM) is emerging as a viable solution to lift DRAM's scalability limits, both in capacity and energy consumption. Indeed, SCM combines the economic characteristics, non-volatility, and density of traditional storage media with the low latency and byte-addressability of DRAM. In this paper we survey research works on how SCM can be leveraged in databases and explore different solutions ranging from using SCM as disk replacement, to single-level storage architectures, where SCM is used as universal memory (i.e., as memory and storage at the same time), together with the challenges that stem from these opportunities. Finally, we synthesize our findings into recommendations on how to exploit the full potential of SCM in next-generation database architectures.
MLT1 links cytoskeletal asymmetry to organelle placement in chlamydomonas

Asymmetric placement of the photosensory eyespot organelle in Chlamydomonas is patterned by mother‐daughter differences between the two basal bodies, which template the anterior flagella. Each basal body is associated with two bundled microtubule rootlets, one with two microtubules and one with four, forming a cruciate pattern. In wild‐type cells, the single eyespot is positioned at the equator in close proximity to the plus end of the daughter rootlet comprising four microtubules, the D4. Here we identify mutations in two linked loci, MLT1 and MLT2, which cause multiple eyespots. Antiserum raised against MLT1 localized the protein along the D4 rootlet microtubules, from the basal bodies to the eyespot. MLT1 associates immediately with the new D4 as it extends during cell division, before microtubule acetylation. MLT1 is a low‐complexity protein of over 300,000 Daltons. The expression or stability of MLT1 is dependent on MLT2, predicted to encode a second large, low‐complexity protein. MLT1 was not restricted to the D4 rootlet in cells with the vfl2‐220 mutation in the gene encoding the basal body‐associated protein centrin. The cumulative data highlight the role of mother‐daughter basal body differences in establishing asymmetry in associated rootlets, and suggest that eyespot components are directed to the correct location by MLT1 on the D4 microtubules. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Spatio-temporal quality assessment for home videos

Compared with the video programs taken by professionals, home videos are always with low-quality content resulted from lack of professional capture skills. In this paper, we present a novel spatio-temporal quality assessment scheme in terms of low-level content features for home videos. In contrast to existing frame-level-based quality assessment approaches, a type of temporal segment of video, sub-shot, is selected as the basic unit for quality assessment. A set of spatio-temporal artifacts, regarded as the key factors affecting the overall perceived quality (i.e. unstableness, jerkiness, infidelity, blurring, brightness and orientation), are mined from each sub-shot based on the particular characteristics of home videos. The relationship between the overall quality metric and these factors are exploited by three different methods, including user study, factor fusion, and a learning-based scheme. To validate the proposed scheme, we present a scalable quality-based home video summarization system, aiming at achieving the best quality while simultaneously preserving the most informative content. A comparison user study between this system and the attention model based video skimming approach demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed quality assessment scheme.
Educating leaders in hospital management: a new model in Sub-Saharan Africa

Quality issue The vast majority of health system capacity-building efforts have focused on enhancing medical and public health skills; less attention has been directed at developing hospital managers despite their central role in improving the functioning and quality of health-care systems. Initial assessment and choice of intervention Initial assessment of hospital management systems demonstrated weak functioning in several management areas. In response, we developed with the Ethiopian Ministry of Health (MoH) a novel Master of Hospital Administration (MHA) program, reflecting a collaborative effort of the MoH, the Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative, Jimma University and Yale University. The MHA is a 2-year executive style educational program to develop a new cadre of hospital leaders, comprising 5% classroom learning and 85% executive practice. Implementation The MHA has been implemented with 55 hospital leaders in the position of chief executive officer within the MoH, with courses taught in collaboration by faculty of the North and the South universities. Evaluation and lessons learned The program has enrolled two cohorts of hospital leaders and is working in more than half of the government hospitals in Ethiopia. Lessons learned include the need to: (i) balance education in applied, technical skills with more abstract thinking and problem solving, (ii) recognize the interplay between management education and policy reform, (iii) remain flexible as policy changes have direct impact on the project, (iv) be realistic about resource constraints in low-income settings, particularly information technology limitations, and (v) manage the transfer of knowledge for longer term sustainability.
E138K and M184I mutations in HIV-1 reverse transcriptase coemerge as a result of APOBEC3 editing in the absence of drug exposure

Background:Recent clinical trials with rilpivirine combined with emtricitabine and tenofovir revealed that patients failing treatment, frequently, harbored viruses encoding resistance-associated mutations in the HIV-1 reverse transcriptase at position E138K and M184I. We show here that APOBEC3 proteins play a role in the emergence of these drug resistance mutations. Methods:We used a Vif mutant that has suboptimal activity against APOBEC3 to assess the in-vitro frequency of APOBEC3-induced resistance mutations in reverse transcriptase. To assess the degree of in-vivo G-to-A viral hypermutation, a large amount of data of HIV-1 RT proviral sequences from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) recovered from infected patients under HAART was analyzed. Results:In-vitro replication experiments in cell lines with and without APOBEC3 expression suggest that APOBEC3-driven mutagenesis contributes to the generation of both M184I and E138K within HIV proviral repository in the absence of drug exposure. Additionally, analysis of 601 patients PBMCs sequences revealed that the copresence of mutations E138K and M184I were never detected in nonhypermutated sequences, whereas these mutations were found at a high frequency (24%) in the context of APOBEC3 editing and in the absence of exposure to etravirine–rilpivirine. Conclusion:We demonstrate using in-vitro experiments and analyzing patients PBMCs sequences that M184I and E138K resistance-associated mutations may pre-exist in proviral reservoir at a high frequency prior to drug exposure, as a result of APOBEC3 editing. Thus, incomplete neutralization of one or more APOBEC3 proteins may favor viral escape to rilpivirine-emtricitabine.
Real-time task scheduling anomaly: observations and prevention

This research is motivated by the practical needs in the porting of embedded software over platforms and the well-known multiprocessor anomaly [2, 3]. In particular, we consider the task scheduling problem when the system configuration changes. We show that new violations of the timing constraints of tasks might occur even when a more powerful processor or device is adopted. The concept of scheduler stability and rules are then proposed to prevent scheduling anomaly from happening for task executions that might be involved with task synchronization or I/O access. Finally, we explore policies in bounding the the duration time of scheduling anomaly.
Preparation and properties of PLA/PHBV/PBAT blends 3D printing filament

The PLA/PHBV/PBAT blends with varied ratio were extruded into filaments by a 3D consumables extruder and the dumbbell-shaped specimens were prepared by a desktop 3D printer. The properties of composites and printed samples were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), melt flow index (MFI), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and tensile strength test. The process parameters of 3D printing were also surveyed. Compared with injection molded specimens with identical composition, the PLA crystallinity of printed specimens was greatly improved; SEM micrographs of the 3D printed specimens fracture surface showed a more uniform microstructure distribution with smaller oval cavities structure; and the 3D printed specimens exhibited superior tensile strength and elongation at break. This study may expand the application fields of PLA based 3D printing filaments.