Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessment of microcirculatory effects of glycine by intravital microscopy in rats

Experimental studies using laboratory animal models have shown a potential vasoactive effect of natural metabolites such as glycine. The present study used intravital microscopy in laboratory rat models to study the microcirculation in the brain pial and mesentery vessels. To investigate the pial microvasculature, a stereotaxis-like animal fixing device was used. The intravital microscopy unit consisted of a binocular microscope equipped with a digital photo-video camera, processor, monitor and printer. Using reflected light, a special contact lens with an amplified focus depth provided high-resolution images of nontransparent tissue objects that typically have insufficient light exposure. Glycine had a vasodilatory effect on microvessels in the rat brain and mesenterium. The diameter of pial arterioles increased after glycine application especially markedly (up to 250% of initial size). These changes were not observed when physiological saline was used. Even a very small amount of glycine (a drop on the needle) was sufficient to stop the early stages of histamine-induced blood stasis development in 3-5 s in mesenterial microvessels. The vasodilatory effect of glycine on the pial microcirculation correlates with its reported positive therapeutic effect in cerebral ischemic stroke. The ability of glycine to avoid or prevent histamine-induced microcirculatory alterations in mesenterial microvessels may have potential clinical applications.
Circulatory therapeutics: use of antihypertensive agents and their effects on the vasculature

• Antihypertensive agents ‐ Diuretics ‐ β‐blockers ‐ Calcium channel blockers ‐ Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors ‐ Angiotensin receptor blockers ‐ ACEIs versus ARBs versus CCBs versus diuretics ‐ Direct renin inhibitors ‐ a‐adrenergic blockers ‐ Centrally acting agents ‐ Direct vasodilators ‐ Mineralocorticoid receptor blockers ‐ Endothelin receptor antagonists • Effects of antihypertensive treatment on blood vessels ‐ Antihypertensive therapy and large artery stiffness ‐ Antihypertensive therapy and small artery structure ‐ Antihypertensive therapy and small artery function ‐ Effect of antihypertensive treatment on arterioles • Conclusions and future perspectives
Efficient architecture and hardware implementation of the Whirlpool hash function

The latest cryptographical applications demand both high speed and high security. In this paper, an architecture and VLSI implementation of the newest powerful standard in the hash families, Whirlpool, is presented. It reduces the required hardware resources and achieves high-speed performance. The architecture permits a wide variety of implementation tradeoffs. The implementation is examined and compared in the security level and in the performance by using hardware terms. This is the first Whirlpool implementation allowing fast execution, and effective substitution of any previous hash families' implementations such as MD5, RIPEMD-160, SHA-1. SHA-2 etc, in any cryptography application.
Model Driven Prediction and Control

Self-adaptive systems are capable of changing their behaviour at runtime to meet target constraints. An important research question is how quality of service models can inform runtime adaptation. We sketch one solution to this question by application of control theory to improve performance of queued systems by means of architectural adaptation. Previous research by our group has shown how Auto-Regressive Integrated Moving Average techniques can be utilized to forecast how Quality of Service (QoS) characteristics are likely to evolve in the near future. This is particularly important in cases where systems can be adapted to counter QoS constraint violations. In this paper, we show how, given a similar type of QoS characteristic forecasts, strategies of architectural adaptation can be implemented that pre-emptively avoid QoS violations. The novelty of our approach is that we use classical control theory to ensure that our adaptation strategies are stable, in the sense that they do not oscillate between choices. We provide a description of how our control theoretic model can be implemented using context-based interception in . NET via model driven engineering.
Kaposi ’ s Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus Open Reading Frame 50 / Rta Protein Activates the Entire Viral Lytic Cycle in the HHB 2 Primary Effusion Lymphoma Cell Line †

Rta, the gene product of Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) encoded mainly in open reading frame 50 (ORF50), is capable of activating expression of viral lytic cycle genes. What was not demonstrated in previous studies was whether KSHV Rta was competent to initiate the entire viral lytic life cycle including lytic viral DNA replication, late-gene expression with appropriate kinetics, and virus release. In HH-B2, a newly established primary effusion lymphoma (PEL) cell line, KSHV ORF50 behaved as an immediate-early gene and autostimulated its own expression. Expression of late genes, ORF65, and K8.1 induced by KSHV Rta was eliminated by phosphonoacetic acid, an inhibitor of viral DNA polymerase. Transfection of KSHV Rta increased the production of encapsidated DNase-resistant viral DNA from HH-B2 cells. Thus, introduction of an ORF50 expression plasmid is sufficient to drive the lytic cycle to completion in cultured PEL cells.
Human seizures self-terminate across spatial scales via a critical transition

Why seizures spontaneously terminate remains an unanswered fundamental question of epileptology. Here we present evidence that seizures self-terminate via a discontinuous critical transition or bifurcation. We show that human brain electrical activity at various spatial scales exhibits common dynamical signatures of an impending critical transition—slowing, increased correlation, and flickering—in the approach to seizure termination. In contrast, prolonged seizures (status epilepticus) repeatedly approach, but do not cross, the critical transition. To support these results, we implement a computational model that demonstrates that alternative stable attractors, representing the ictal and postictal states, emulate the observed dynamics. These results suggest that self-terminating seizures end through a common dynamical mechanism. This description constrains the specific biophysical mechanisms underlying seizure termination, suggests a dynamical understanding of status epilepticus, and demonstrates an accessible system for studying critical transitions in nature.
Performance analysis of accelerated biophysically-meaningful neuron simulations

In-vivo and in-vitro experiments are routinely used in neuroscience to unravel brain functionality. Although they are a powerful experimentation tool, they are also time-consuming and, often, restrictive. Computational neuroscience attempts to solve this by using biologically-plausible and biophysically-meaningful neuron models, most prominent among which are the conductance-based models. Their computational complexity calls for accelerator-based computing to mount large-scale or real-time neuroscientific experiments. In this paper, we analyze and draw conclusions on the class of conductance models by using a representative modeling application of the inferior olive (InfOli), an important part of the olivocerebellar brain circuit. We conduct an extensive profiling session to identify the computational and data-transfer requirements of the application under various realistic use cases. The application is, then, ported onto two acceleration nodes, an Intel Xeon Phi and a Maxeler Vectis Data Flow Engine (DFE). We evaluate the performance scalability and resource requirements of the InfOli application on the two target platforms. The analysis of InfOli, which is a real-life neuroscientific application, can serve as a useful guide for porting a wide range of similar workloads on platforms like the Xeon Phi or the Maxeler DFEs. As accelerators are increasingly populating High-Performance Computing (HPC) infrastructure, the current paper provides useful insight on how to optimally use such nodes to run complex and relevant neuron modeling workloads.
Learning control strategies for chemical processes: a distributed approach

The design of a distributed learning system (DLS) which combines the features of instance-space and hypothesis-space methods is described. This algorithm decomposes a data set of training examples into subsets. After applying an inductive learning program on each subset, it synthesizes the results using a genetic algorithm. It is shown that this parallel distributed approach is more efficient, since each inductive learning program works on only a subset of data. Since the genetic algorithm searches globally in the hypothesis space, this approach gives a more accurate concept description. The implementation of DLS in Common LISP is discussed, and its distributed approach is compared to C4.5 and PLS1 algorithms. <<ETX>>
A new approach to maximum power point tracking for photovoltaic panels

Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) algorithms are essential to optimize the conversion efficiency of photovoltaic (PV) panels in every working condition. Many techniques have been presented in literature, and the most common are the perturb and observe (P&O) and the incremental conductance (INC) methods. Their parameters result from a trade-off between steady state accuracy and dynamic performance. When the power electronics converter is connected to a single PV panel (module integrated converter, MIC) model-based (MB) MPPT techniques appear to be attractive because of their fast response to rapidly changing conditions. In a recent paper the authors have presented a novel MB MPPT algorithm which requires a pyranometer just during a preliminary training process. In this work it will be shown how the direct measurement of the solar radiation can be avoided at all, without scarifying the performance. The method has been validated through an extensive experimental activity.
Evolutions in the human technology relationship: rejection, acceptance and technosymbiosis

Research on technology adoption has distinguished several models of the human relationship with technology as refusal or rejection, acceptance (Davis, 1985, 1989, etc) and symbiosis (Licklider, 1960 ; Brangier and Hammes-Adele, 2011 ; etc). These models refer to the way that humans shape their cognitions and their interactions with technology ; define their attitudes of rejection, acceptance or fusion ; and whether they are in accordance with or in opposition to technology. This article seeks to show (1) that there are several models related to technology ; (2) that these models are rejection, acceptance and symbiosis; (3) that these models are not stable but change over time; and (4) that individuals change their model from the contingent elements of their context of use and the characteristics of the technology they use. As an experiment, we investigated how the relationship of human to technology evolves over time. The methodology is based on both scenarios of the use of four technologies (internet, computer, digital camera, mobile phone) completed by verbalizations (verbal explanations of the chosen scenario) and a questionnaire. It was administered to a sample of 60 people (30 women, 30 men). The experiment was able to highlight types of technology use course. The results indicate (1) that individuals have three models of relationship to technology (rejection, acceptance, technosymbiosis) ; (2) that these models are not stable but change over time: the most common change is the transition from the acceptance to the symbiosis, which accounts for 38 % of observations ; (3) that certain technologies are more conducive to the development of symbiosis (the mobile phone has particularly important symbiotic properties compared to other technologies studied) and (4) that in 42.8 % of cases it is a change in human activity which explains the transition from a model of one relationship of technology to another one. Finally, a general discussion provides a link between the three models: rejection, acceptance and technosymbiosis.
UIC at TREC 2006 Blog Track

We developed a two-step approach that finds relevant blog documents containing opinioned content for a given query topic. The first step, retrieval step, is to find documents relevant to the query. The second step, opinion identification step, is to find the documents containing opinions within the scope of the document set from the retrieval step. In the retrieval step, we try to improve the retrieval effectiveness by retrieving based on concepts, and doing query expansion using pseudo feedback, Wikipedia feedback and web feedback. In the opinion identification step, we train a sentence classifier using subjective sentences (opinioned) and objective sentences (non-opinioned), which are relevant to a query topic. This classifier labels each sentence in a given document as either subjective or objective. A document containing subjective sentences relating to the query is finally labeled as an opinioned relevant document (ORD). We tried two strategies to rank the ORDs that became two submitted runs.
Ieee Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters 1 Fast Backprojection Algorithm for Bistatic Sar Imaging

—In this letter, a fast backprojection algorithm (FBPA) is proposed for bistatic synthetic aperture radar imaging. For range compression, the signal recorded by the synchronization channel of the receiver on the ground is used as a matched filter to compress the echo signal. This method can reduce the requirements of satellite-orbit measurement and synchronization precision. For azimuth compression, a secondary phase correction is implemented to reduce the effect caused by the approximation involved in the FBPA. The computational complexity of the proposed algorithm is O(N 2.5). The proposed algorithm is applied in a graphics processing unit and verified by simulation and real raw data.
Determinants of Job Satisfaction Across the EU-15: A Comparison of Self-Employed and Paid Employees

See also the publication in Small Business Economics (2013), 40(3), 651-670. Job satisfaction of self-employed and paid-employed workers is analyzed using the European Community Household Panel for the EU-15 covering the years 1994-2001. We distinguish between two types of job satisfaction, i.e. job satisfaction in terms of type of work and job satisfaction in terms of job security. Findings from our generalized ordered logit regressions indicate that self-employed individuals as compared to paid employees are more likely to be satisfied with their present jobs in terms of type of work and less likely to be satisfied in terms of job security. The findings also provide many insights into the determinants of the two types of job satisfaction for both the self-employed and paid employees.
Magnetic emulsions in shear flow under external magnetic fields

This work has analyzed the response of a planar ferrofluid droplet immersed in a non-magnetic Newtonian liquid to the combined action of an external magnetic field and a simple shear flow. A numerical methodology based on the Projection Method and the Level-Set Method has been developed to solve the magnetic field, the full Navier-Stokes equations with additional capillary and magnetic forces, and capture the liquid-liquid interface. The results show that the magnetic force has a strong influence on the droplet inclination and emulsion viscosity. The drop alignment with the magnetic field direction increases with the field intensity. When the external field is parallel to the flow direction, the drop strongly aligns with the streamlines of the flow, which reduces its contribution to emulsion viscosity. In turn, when the external field is perpendicular to the flow direction, the droplet inclination becomes higher, leading to a dramatic increase in the two-phase liquid viscosity. We also show that external magnetic fields can be used to control the drop rupture process in terms of time to breakup and size of the daughter drops. External fields applied in the flow direction delay the breakup process and reduce the size of the satellite drop. Remarkably, there is a critical magnetic capillary number above which the drop becomes so aligned with the flow that breakup does not happen. Alternatively, when the external field is applied perpendicularly to the flow direction, two opposite mechanisms dictate the breakup process. One the one hand, the drop inclination grows, which increases the shear forces that might lead to the rupture. On the other hand, the amount of liquid in the neck region of the deformed droplet also grows, which makes the breakup process more difficult. Thus, if the drop breaks, the magnetic field leads to a larger satellite drop. Finally, we also verified that external magnetic fields applied perpendicularly to the flow direction can be used to induce the breakup of drops that would not break under the shear action only. In summary, the results we present here highlight that external magnetic fields can be potentially used to control topological transformations of ferrofluid droplets and design magnetorheological emulsions with specific macroscopic material functions. Key-words: magnetic emulsion; rheology; droplet rupture; Leve-Set.
Token management schemes and random walks yield self-stabilizing mutual exclusion

A self-stabilizing system is a system which reaches a legal configuration by itself, without any kind of an outside intervention; when started from any arbitrary configuration. Hence a self-stabilizing system accommodates any possible initial configuration and tolerates transient bugs. This fact contributes most of the extra difficulty of devising selfstabilizing systems. On the other hand, the same fact makes self-stabilizing systems so appealing as no initialization of the system is required. In this paper a novel modular method for constructing uniform self stabilizing mutual exclusion (or in short USSA4E) protocols is presented. The viability of the method is demonstrated by constructing for the first time a randomized USSME protocol for any arbitrary dynamic graph and another one for dyna.mic rings. The correctness of both protocols is proved and their complexity is analyzed. The analysis of the new protocols in*Partially supported by VPR Funds Japan TS Research Fund and B. Sr. G. Greenberg Research Fund (Ottawa). tpartially supported by a Gutwirth fellowship. Permission to copy without fee all or part of this material is granted provided that the copies are not made or distributed for direct commercial advantage, the ACM copyright notice and the title of the publication and its date appear, and notice is given that copying is by permission of the Association for Computing Machinery. To copy otherwise, or to republish, requires a fee and /or specific permission.
A comparison of hybrid excitation solutions for single-axis and bi-axial synchronous machines

Hybrid excitation synchronous machines are a class of machines that allow to reduce PM costs while keeping high torque density and that guarantee very high constant power speed range. They come in a wide variety of topologies and not all possible solutions have been explored yet. Aim of this paper is to provide a systematic analysis of all the possible configurations that can be obtained by changing the axis along which the hybrid excitation is placed. Both single-axis and bi-axial excitations are considered. A comparative analysis is carried out with respect to performance indices like torque capability, constant power speed range, power factor and losses.
Discursive affordances : police, transfer, and the performance of identity.

This study examines the approaches to writing academic papers used by five mid-level police officers enrolled in the Southern Police Institute in order to understand how the performance of identities affects the ways in which students select and reject opportunities for the transfer of knowledge from previous writing situations. I draw from James Paul Gee’s methods of discourse analysis and the approaches of ethnographic writing studies, with the goal of identifying moments in which both the performance of identities and the anticipation of performance of identities lead to conflicting moments that sometimes prevent the transfer of knowledge and the recognition of that transfer. University of Louisville, Louisville KY. M.A. English. May 2008. Culminating Project: “Unmuting Urania: Literary Theory in the Creative Writing Classroom. ” Director: Paul Griner University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, TX. B.A. Literary Studies. Summa Cum Laude. December 2005. Honors Project: “Minimal Evolution: The Line of Lish, from Carver to Palahniuk. ” Academic Positions Assistant Professor Armstrong Atlantic State University, Department of Languages, Literature, and Philosophy. 2013-current. Graduate Teaching Assistant. University of Louisville, English Department. 2006 – 2013. Assistant Director of Composition, Business Writing. University of Louisville, English Department. College of Business. 2011-2012.
Mutational Analysis of Aspartate Residues in the Transmembrane Regions and Cytoplasmic Loops of Rat Vesicular Acetylcholine Transporter*

The vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT) is responsible for the transport of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh) into synaptic vesicles using an electrochemical gradient to drive transport. Rat VAChT has a number of aspartate residues within its predicted transmembrane domains (TM) and cytoplasmic loops, which may play important structural or functional roles in acetylcholine transport. In order to identify functional charged residues, site-directed mutagenesis of rVAChT was undertaken. No effect on ACh transport was observed when any of the five aspartate residues in the cytoplasmic loop were converted to asparagine. Similarly, changing Asp-46 (D46N) in TM1 or Asp-255 (D255N) in TM6 had no effect on ACh transport or vesamicol binding. However, replacement of Asp-398 in TM10 with Asn completely eliminated both ACh transport and vesamicol binding. The conservative mutant D398E retained transport activity, but not vesamicol binding, suggesting this residue is critical for transport. Mutation of Asp-193 in TM4 did not affect ACh transport activity; however, vesamicol binding was dramatically reduced. With mutant D425N of TM11 transport activity for ACh was completely blocked, without an effect on vesamicol binding. Activity was not restored in the conservative mutant D425E, suggesting the side chain as well as the negative charge of Asp-425 is important for substrate binding. These mutants, as well as mutant D193N, clearly dissociated ACh binding and transport from vesamicol binding. These data suggest that Asp-398 in TM10 and Asp-425 in TM11 are important for ACh binding and transport, while Asp-193 and Asp-398 in TM4 and TM10, respectively, are involved in vesamicol binding.
Finding advertising keywords on video scripts

A key to success to contextual in-video advertising is finding advertising keywords on video contents effectively, but there has been little literature in the area so far. This paper presents some preliminary results of our learning-based system that finds relevant advertising keywords on particular scene of video contents using their scripts. The system is trained with not only features proven useful in earlier studies but novel features that reflect the situation of a targeted scene. Experimental results show that the new features are potentially helpful for enhancing the accuracy of keyword extraction for contextual in-video advertising.