Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of surfactants on spinning carbon nanotube fibers by an electrophoretic method

Abstract Thin fibers were spun from a colloidal solution of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) using an electrophoretic method. Sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (NaDDBS) was chosen as a surfactant and showed good performance owing to its special chemical structure. The highest spinning velocity reached 0.5 mm s−1. The resulting SWNT fibers had a tensile strength of 400 MPa and a conductivity of 355 S cm−1. Their mechanical and electrical properties were markedly improved after adding NaDDBS as the dispersant in water.
Accurate cyber-physical system simulation for distributed visual search applications

A Cyber-Physical System (CPS) is defined as a, usually distributed, system that links the digital (cyber) and physical world. They feature different computational cores and heterogeneous sensors linked through networks of different types allowing a deeper interaction with the physical world, collecting, storing and exchanging information intelligently. In this work, an open source CPS simulator called COSSIM is described and a smart mechanism is proposed in order to turn it into a co-simulator. In addition to this, a CPS based on a Computer Vision application, called Mobile Visual Search (MVS), is described and ported to COSSIM in order to test the correctness of the simulation and to prove the benefit of the proposed acceleration. Quantitative and qualitative precision results in both real and simulated scenarios are also presented.
Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer and the Risk of Second Primary Cancers: a Systematic Review

Background: Based on empirical evidence, a personal history of nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) has been hypothesized to be a risk factor for other cancers. Others hypothesize that NMSC may be a marker of high cutaneous vitamin D synthesis and therefore inversely associated with risk of other malignancies. To reconcile these divergent views, we carried out a systematic review to determine the association between NMSC and subsequent risk of other cancers. Methods: Bibliographic databases were searched through March 2009. Studies were included if sufficient information was presented to estimate the risk of developing other cancers following NMSC. Studies were reviewed and data were abstracted independently in duplicate with disagreements resolved by consensus. Results: Of the 21 included studies, 15 reported the association between NMSC and risk of all other cancers combined. NMSC was significantly associated with increased risk of another malignancy among cohort studies based on cancer registries [summary random-effects relative risk (SRR), 1.12; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.07-1.17; n = 12 studies) and those with individual-level data (SRR, 1.49; 95% CI, 1.12-1.98; n = 3). In stratified analyses of registry studies, this association held true for both squamous (SRR, 1.17; 95% CI, 1.12-1.23; n = 7) and basal cell carcinoma (SRR, 1.09; 95% CI, 1.01-1.17; n = 7), and both men (SRR, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.09-1.20; n = 12) and women (SRR, 1.10; 95% CI, 1.04-1.15; n = 12). Conclusions: Strong, consistent evidence indicates that a personal history of NMSC is associated with increased risk of developing other malignancies. Impact: For unknown reasons, NMSC may be a risk factor for other cancers. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 19(7); 1686–95. ©2010 AACR.
An Autofocus Technique for High-Resolution Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar Imagery

For inverse synthetic aperture radar imagery, the inherent sparsity of the scatterers in the range-Doppler domain has been exploited to achieve a high-resolution range profile or Doppler spectrum. Prior to applying the sparse recovery technique, preprocessing procedures are performed for the minimization of the translational-motion-induced Doppler effects. Due to the imperfection of coarse motion compensation, the autofocus technique is further required to eliminate the residual phase errors. This paper considers the phase error correction problem in the context of the sparse signal recovery technique. In order to encode sparsity, a multitask Bayesian model is utilized to probabilistically formulate this problem in a hierarchical manner. In this novel method, a focused high-resolution radar image is obtained by estimating the sparse scattering coefficients and phase errors in individual and global stages, respectively, to statistically make use of the sparsity. The superiority of this algorithm is that the uncertainty information of the estimation can be properly incorporated to obtain enhanced estimation accuracy. Moreover, the proposed algorithm achieves guaranteed convergence and avoids a tedious parameter-tuning procedure. Experimental results based on synthetic and practical data have demonstrated that our method has a desirable denoising capability and can produce a relatively well-focused image of the target, particularly in low signal-to-noise ratio and high undersampling ratio scenarios, compared with other recently reported methods.
A computational model for the automatic recognition of affect in speech

Spoken language, in addition to serving as a primary vehicle for externalizing linguistic structures and meaning, acts as a carrier of various sources of information, including background, age, gender, membership in social structures, as well as physiological, pathological and emotional states. These sources of information are more than just ancillary to the main purpose of linguistic communication: Humans react to the various non-linguistic factors encoded in the speech signal, shaping and adjusting their interactions to satisfy interpersonal and social protocols. Computer science, artificial intelligence and computational linguistics have devoted much active research to systems that aim to model the production and recovery of linguistic lexico-semantic structures from speech. However, less attention has been devoted to systems that model and understand the paralinguistic and extralinguistic information in the signal. As the breadth and nature of human-computer interaction escalates to levels previously reserved for human-to-human communication, there is a growing need to endow computational systems with human-like abilities which facilitate the interaction and make it more natural. Of paramount importance amongst these is the human ability to make inferences regarding the affective content of our exchanges. This thesis proposes a framework for the recognition of affective qualifiers from prosodic-acoustic parameters extracted from spoken language. It is argued that modeling the affective prosodic variation of speech can be approached by integrating acoustic parameters from various prosodic time scales, summarizing information from more localized (e.g., syllable level) to more global prosodic phenomena (e.g., utterance level). In this framework speech is structurally modeled as a dynamically evolving hierarchical model in which levels of the hierarchy are determined by prosodic constituency and contain parameters that evolve according to dynamical systems. The acoustic parameters have been chosen to reflect four main components of speech thought to reflect paralinguistic and affect-specific information: intonation, loudness, rhythm and voice quality. The thesis addresses the contribution of each of these components separately, and evaluates the full model by testing it on datasets of acted and of spontaneous speech perceptually annotated with affective labels, and by comparing it against human performance benchmarks. (Copies available exclusively from MIT Libraries, Rm. 14-0551, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307. Ph. 617-253-5668; Fax 617-253-1690.)
Comparing the radiological anatomy, electrophysiology, and behavioral roles of the pedunculopontine and subthalamic nuclei in the normal and parkinsonian brain

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) and DBS of the pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN) have been shown to be effective surgical therapies for Parkinson’s disease (PD). To better understand the PPN and STN as DBS targets for PD, this research compares the anatomy, electrophysiology, and motor control roles of these nuclei. PPN and STN connections were examined in vivo in human subjects and in the non-human primate using probabilistic diffusion tractography. Both the PPN and STN were connected with each other and with the motor cortex (M1) and basal ganglia. After studying these anatomical connections in primates, their functional significance was further explored in an anesthetized rat model of PD. Examination of the electrophysiological relationship between the PPN and basal ganglia in the presence of slow cortical oscillatory activity suggested that excitatory input from the STN may normally modulate PPN spike timing but that inhibitory oscillatory input from the basal ganglia output nuclei has a greater effect on PPN spike timing in the parkinsonian brain. To examine transmission and modulation of oscillatory activity between these structures at higher frequencies, LFP activity was recorded from the PPN and STN in PD patients performing simple voluntary movements. Movement-related modulation of oscillatory activity predominantly occurred in the α (8-12 Hz) and low β (12-20 Hz) frequencies in the STN but in the high β (20-35 Hz) frequencies in the PPN, supporting observations from rodent studies suggesting that oscillatory activity is not directly transmitted from the STN to the PPN in PD. Finally, to better understand the roles of the STN and PPN in large-scale movement, the effects of STN and PPN DBS on gait abnormalities in PD patients were studied. DBS of the STN appeared to improve gait by optimising executive gait control while DBS of the PPN appeared to restore autonomic gait control. These results have several implications for DBS patient selection, surgical targeting, and for understanding the mechanisms underlying DBS efficacy.
A new approach to incremental topological ordering

Let G = (V, E) be a directed acyclic graph (dag) with n = |V| and m = |E|. We say that a total ordering p on vertices V is a topological ordering if for every edge (u, v) ∈ E, we have u ∈ v. In this paper, we consider the problem of maintaining a topological ordering subject to dynamic changes to the underlying graph. That is, we begin with an empty graph G = (V, o) consisting of n nodes. The adversary adds m edges to the graph G, one edge at a time. Throughout this process, we maintain an online topological ordering of the graph G. In this paper, we present a new algorithm that has a total cost of O(n2logn) for maintaining the topological ordering throughout all the edge additions. At the heart of our algorithm is a new approach for maintaining the ordering. Instead of attempting to place the nodes in an ordered list, we assign each node a label that is consistent with the ordering, and yet can be updated efficiently as edges are inserted. When the graph is dense, our algorithm is more efficient than existing algorithms. By way of contrast, the best known prior algorithms achieve only O(min(m1.5, n2.5)) cost.
Talkin black talk : language, education, and social change

This is a major new book on "Black Talk," featuring the nation's leading authorities. "Talkin Black Talk" captures an important moment in the history of language and literacy education and the continuing struggle for equal language rights. Published 50 years after the Brown decision, this volume revisits the difficult and enduring problem of public schools' failure to educate Black children and revises our approaches to language and literacy learning in today's culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms. Bringing together some of the leading scholars in the study of Black language, culture, and education, this book presents creative, classroom-based, hands-on pedagogical approaches (from Hip Hop Culture to the art of teaching narrative reading comprehension) within the context of the broader, global concerns that impact schooling (from linguistic emancipation to the case of Mother Tongue Education in South Africa). This landmark work: presents an interdisciplinary approach on language education, with contributions from leading experts in education, literacy, sociolinguistics, anthropology, and literary studies; contextualizes the education of marginalized youth within the continuing struggle for equal language rights, and promotes an action agenda for social change; and, includes a powerful epilogue by Geneva Smitherman - the leading scholar on issues of Black Language and Education.
Evolutionary and plastic rescue in multitrophic model communities

Under changing environmental conditions, intraspecific variation can potentially rescue populations from extinction. There are two principal sources of variation that may ultimately lead to population rescue: genetic diversity and phenotypic plasticity. We compared the potential for evolutionary rescue (through genetic diversity) and plastic rescue (through phenotypic plasticity) by analysing their differential ability to produce dynamical stability and persistence in model food webs. We also evaluated how rescue is affected by the trophic location of variation. We tested the following hypotheses: (i) plastic communities are more likely to exhibit stability and persistence than communities in which genetic diversity provides the same range of traits. (ii) Variation at the lowest trophic level promotes stability and persistence more than variation at higher levels. (iii) Communities with variation at two levels have greater probabilities of stability and persistence than communities with variation at only one level. We found that (i) plasticity promotes stability and persistence more than genetic diversity; (ii) variation at the second highest trophic level promotes stability and persistence more than variation at the autotroph level; and (iii) more than variation at two trophic levels. Our study shows that proper evaluation of the rescue potential of intraspecific variation critically depends on its origin and trophic location.
Plerixafor on demand in ten healthy family donors as a rescue strategy to achieve an adequate graft for stem cell transplantation

In allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplantation, the collection of an appropriate number of HSCs while maintaining a high level of safety for healthy donors is fundamental. Inadequate HSC mobilization can be seen with the standard use of granulocyte–colony‐stimulating (G‐CSF). Plerixafor (PL) is a chemokine receptor CXC Type 4–stromal‐derived factor 1 inhibitor; its HSC‐mobilizing properties are synergistic with G‐CSF in poor mobilizing patients. The use of PL as adjuvant or alternative to G‐CSF in healthy donors has shown a good safety profile but is so far off‐label.
Electrical Tuning of Optical Delay in Graphene-Based Photonic Crystal Waveguide

An electrically controlled graphene-based line-defect photonic crystal waveguide (PCW) is proposed for tuning the group delay. We found that the introduction of few-layer graphene into the PCW can slow down the guided light. Two designs are proposed: one with the graphene on the core region (line defect) and the other with the graphene on the cladding region. A group delay tuning of 29 ps is reported with both the designs on varying the applied voltage (on graphene) from 1 to 4 V. The presence of graphene not only provides the way to electrically tune the delay (with low power) but also enhances the group delay to some extent. The proposed PCW with graphene can have potential in realizing low-power electrically controllable on-chip delay lines.
Genomics of invasion: diversity and selection in introduced populations of monkeyflowers (Mimulus guttatus)

Global trade and travel is irreversibly changing the distribution of species around the world. Because introduced species experience drastic demographic events during colonization and often face novel environmental challenges from their native range, introduced populations may undergo rapid evolutionary change. Genomic studies provide the opportunity to investigate the extent to which demographic, historical and selective processes shape the genomic structure of introduced populations by analysing the signature that these processes leave on genomic variation. Here, we use next‐generation sequencing to compare genome‐wide relationships and patterns of diversity in native and introduced populations of the yellow monkeyflower (Mimulus guttatus). Genome resequencing data from 10 introduced populations from the United Kingdom (UK) and 12 native M. guttatus populations in North America (NA) demonstrated reduced neutral genetic diversity in the introduced range and showed that UK populations are derived from a geographic region around the North Pacific. A selective‐sweep analysis revealed site frequency changes consistent with selection on five of 14 chromosomes, with genes in these regions showing reduced silent site diversity. While the target of selection is unknown, genes associated with flowering time and biotic and abiotic stresses were located within the swept regions. The future identification of the specific source of origin of introduced UK populations will help determining whether the observed selective sweeps can be traced to unsampled native populations or occurred since dispersal across the Atlantic. Our study demonstrates the general potential of genome‐wide analyses to uncover a range of evolutionary processes affecting invasive populations.
My Baby's Father: Unmarried Parents and Paternal Responsibility

My Baby's Father: Unmarried Parents and Paternal Responsibility. Maureen R. Waller. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. 2002. 232 pp. ISBN 0-8014-3988-4. $39.95 (cloth). ISBN 0-8014-8806-0. $17.95 (paper). Maureen Waller pens a veritable documentary on low-income unmarried parents in My Baby's Father, using a variety of storylines: ethnographic interviews about fathering, an informative chapter on legislation governing the child support system in the United States and how views of parents receiving support diverge from the intent of these laws, and a detailed Notes section that explicates research and social policy on this topic. Waller's chronicle begins with an introduction to the current congressional focus on unmarried, low-income parents and acquaints the reader with her study. Subsequent chapters reveal research participants' thinking about marriage, parenting, paternal responsibility, acceptable and unacceptable reasons for failing to father, and the difference between biological and social paternity. She includes material on models of fatherhood and concepts that explain deviation from these norms. The conclusions section specifies recommendations for policy revision that are more in line with program participants' economic reality and frames of reference. The aforementioned chapter on the history and content of child support legislation is superb and should be required reading for family scholars and policymakers alike; it is, in effect, a short course on child support policy relatively unaddressed in other literature. Waller collected the data for her investigation in 1994 and 1995. In many ways, her research resembles the Fragile Families and Child Well-being (FFCW) study headed by Sara McLanahan and Irwin Garfinkel. Because Waller was a collaborator on the FFCW project, her study incorporates a similar research design except that it focuses on a smaller city (Trenton, New Jersey) and has a smaller sample. The men and women in the study were not involved with each another. Waller's focus on low-income unmarried fathers and mothers offers a fascinating glimpse into their inner (i.e., perceptual) world. These individuals inhabit lives governed by expressive values. They are largely devoid of instrumental competencies and social and human capital. Here, socioemotional concerns determine perceptions, attitudes, and behavior; instrumental values, particularly when divorced from feelings or interpersonal interaction, are frequently deprecated. Both fathers and mothers view economic support alone as insufficient evidence of "good" fathering; it is his feelings for the child, emotional involvement, participation in childrearing, and effort to provide support that defines the good father. A box of Pampers or an outfit purchased by the father seemed almost preferable to a regular but impersonal child support check from the government. …
Multi-packet symbolic execution testing for network protocol binary software

Current network protocol binary software testing methods cannot discover serious vulnerabilities in deep states. This article introduces a novel method based on multi-packet symbolic execution, which can drive the software to deep states, to test the whole network protocol binary software stacks. This article also presents a prototype system, S2EProtocol-multi, upon Selective Symbolic Execution (S2E) platform and evaluates it on real-world network protocol binary software. The results validate that the proposed method can explore deep states and detect vulnerabilities efficiently and effectively.
rin antibody that blocks integrin func a human melanoma in nude mice

New strategies for cancer treatment demand an understanding of the biology of the malignant phenotype. One crucial factor is an aberrant regulation of cell adhesion during tumour progression. The last decade has shown that integrins are major receptors involved in cell adhesion (Hynes, 1992; Sonnenberg, 1993) and so may be suitable targets for therapeutic intervention. In this study we have characterized antibody blockers of αv-series integrins and reassessed the role of these integrins in melanoma progression. With the exception of erythrocytes, all human cells express one or more integrin heterodimers. Their functions are regulated at many levels, but primarily their ligand specificity depends on which α-chain associates with which β-chain in the heterodimer and on their activation state (Hynes, 1992; Diamond and Springer, 1994). The cellular background in which the integrins operate (Chan and Hemler, 1993) and the splice-variant form of the integrin which is used (Delwel et al., 1993) may also affect specificity. Given these complexities, one of the few reliable indications of integrin specificity is to directly perturb integrin function and analyse resulting cellular behaviour. Thus, reagents that can specifically block integrin function have proved crucial, from the CSAT-antibody, which first defined an integrin β1-chain (Neff et al., 1982), onward. The αv-series integrins are now seen to be a major subfamily, with both classical and novel functions. As well as classically mediating cell attachment and spreading (Pytela et al., 1985; Cheresh, 1991), αv integrins are implicated in cell locomotion (Seftor et al., 1992), in ligand-receptor internalisation (Panetti and McKeown Longo, 1993a,b), as virus coreceptors (Wickham et al., 1993), in management of the extracellular protease cascades (de Boer et al., 1993), and as regulators of tumour progression (Felding-Habermann et al., 1992), angiogenesis (Brooks et al., 1994a) and apoptosis (Brooks et al., 1994b). The specificities of the five known αvseries integrins, αvβ1 (Zhang et al., 1993; Marshall et al., 1995), αvβ3 (Pytela et al., 1985; Cheresh et al., 1987), αvβ5 (Cheresh et al., 1989), αvβ6 (Busk et al., 1992) and αvβ8 (Moyle et al., 1991), have been defined and they exclusively recognise ligands via the tripeptide sequence RGD(NH2arginine-glycine-aspartic acid-COOH), including vitronectin A series of murine m against purified human human melanoma cell identified by ELISA on antibodies bound the α 20A9, 23G5, 14D9.F8 an lar domains of the integ in FACS, immunoprec fixed cells with M21, M the αv-deficient M21-L with GpIIb integrin). One antibody, 17E6, mediated by αv integrin and αvβ1, and strongly ligands vitronectin and ml−1. Furthermore, 17E cell retraction from the substrate, while LM609 (anti-αvβ3) and control antibody 14E2 (anti-200 kDa melanoma surface ld olo to ith ou t a y, t, s ted AD tro im the