Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Indications of spin-charge separation in the two-dimensional t-J model.

We have calculated high temperature expansions for the momentum distribution function nk and the equal time spin and density correlation functions S(q) and N(q) of the two-dimensional t-J model. On extrapolation to low temperatures we find that nk has a step-like feature at kF and S(q) has 2kF as a characteristic wavevector, whereas N(q) has 2k SF as a characteristic wavevector. Here kF and k SF are the Fermi wavevectors of the nearest-neighbor square lattice tight-binding and spinless fermion models, respectively. By comparison to the known results for one dimension this suggests spin-charge separation in the two-dimensional t-J model.
ON THE ROLE OF INFORMATION AND UNCERTAINTY IN AUDITORY THRESHOLDS

Any theory on the design of auditory displays must be predicated on a proper understanding of the temporal and spatial characteristics of audition. In this paper, we revisit a classic problem of psychoacoustics related to the time-dependent characteristics of auditory thresholds. We offer new insight to this area and suggest how the concept of information and uncertainty can help elucidate the process underlying auditory thresholds. We also compare similar results obtained in vision, results which have played a vital role in the design of visual displays.
Research on improvement of fuzzy clustering analysis

The traditional fuzzy clustering analysis can not effectively resolve the problems of different importance and relevance interfering of the characteristic attributes, aiming at these deficiencies, an improved algorithm which combined with AHP and Mahalanobis distance algorithm is presented. The improved algorithm not only solved the problems of the traditional algorithm, but also reduced the adverse effects of the subjective factors to Clustering Analysis, and the results of the analysis are more objective and accurate.
Characterization of Treatment-Naive HIV/HBV Co-Infected Patients Attending ART Clinic of a Tertiary Healthcare Centre in Eastern India

Objective The study was designed to assess the hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) co-infection scenario among the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected patients attending a tertiary healthcare unit in eastern India. Additionally, clinical and virological characterization of these viruses, prior to antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation was also done for better understanding of the disease profile. Methods Pool of ART-naive HIV/HBV co-infected and HIV mono-infected patients, participating in two different studies, were included in this study. HBV DNA was detected by nested-PCR amplification followed by HBV genotype determination and HBV reverse transcriptase (RT) region amplification and direct sequencing for detecting drug resistance. Results The prevalence of HBsAg (11.3%) was higher compared to anti-HCV (1.9%) among the HIV infected ART-naive patients. Moreover, majority of the HBeAg positive HIV/HBV co-infected patients (87.7%) had HBV DNA ≥20,000 IU/ml with median HBV DNA significantly higher than that of HBeAg negative subjects (5.7 log10 IU/ml vs. 4.2 log10 IU/ml; p<0.0001). Multivariate analysis also showed that HBeAg-positive status was independently associated with higher HBV DNA level (p = <0.001). Notably, 60.9% of the HBeAg negative co-infected subjects had HBV DNA ≥2,000 IU/ml of which 37.0% had HBV DNA ≥20,000 IU/ml. Genotype HBV/D (68.2%) was the predominant genotype followed by HBV/A (24.3%) and HBV/C (7.5%). Anti-HBV drug resistant mutations were detected in two (3.8%) of the ART-naive patients. Conclusion The prevalence of HIV/HBV co-infection was relatively higher in our study subjects. HBeAg testing might provide clue for early treatment initiation. Furthermore, HBeAg negative patients are also associated with high HBV DNA levels and therefore require appropriate medical attention. Pre-treatment screening for anti-HBV drug resistant mutations is not necessary before ART initiation.
Radio Wave Propagation in Arched Cross Section Tunnels - Simulations and Measurements

For several years, wireless communication systems have been developed for train to infrastructure communication needs related to railway or mass transit applications. The systems should be able to operate in specific environments, such as tunnels. In this context, specific radio planning tools have to be developed to optimize system deployment. Realistic tunnels geometries are generally of rectangular cross section or arch-shaped. Furthermore, they are mostly curved. In order to calculate electromagnetic wave propagation in such tunnels, specific models have to be developed. Several works have dealt with retransmission of GSM or UMTS. Few theoretical or experimental works have focused on 2.4 GHz or 5.8 GHz bands. In this paper, we propose an approach to model radio wave propagation in these frequency bands in straight arch-shaped tunnels using tessellation in multi-facets. The model is based on a Ray Tracing tool using the image method. The work reported in this paper shows the propagation loss variations according to the shape of tunnels. A parametric study on the facets size to model the cross section is conducted. The influence of tunnel dimensions and signal frequency is examined. Finally, some measurement results in a straight arch-shaped tunnel are presented and analyzed in terms of slow and fast fading.
Amplification and Overexpression of CACNA1E Correlates with Relapse in Favorable Histology Wilms' Tumors

Purpose: The most well established molecular markers of poor outcome in Wilms' tumor are loss of heterozygosity at chromosomes 1p and/or 16q, although to date no specific genes at these loci have been identified. We have previously shown a link between genomic gain of chromosome 1q and tumor relapse and sought to further elucidate the role of genes on 1q in treatment failure. Experimental Design: Microarray-based comparative genomic hybridization identified a microamplification harboring a single gene (CACNA1E) at 1q25.3 in 6 of 76 (7.9%) Wilms' tumors, correlating with a shorter relapse-free survival (P = 0.0044, log-rank test). Further characterization of this gene was carried out by measuring mRNA and protein expression as well as stable transfection of HEK293 cells. Results: Overexpression of the CACNA1E transcript was associated with DNA copy number (P = 0.0204, ANOVA) and tumor relapse (P = 0.0851, log-rank test). Immunohistochemistry against the protein product CaV2.3 revealed expression localized to the apical membrane in the distal tubules of normal kidney but not to the metanephric blastemal cells of fetal kidney from which Wilms' tumors arise. Nuclear localization in 99 of 160 (61.9%) Wilms' tumor cases correlated with a reduced relapse-free survival, particularly in cases treated with preoperative chemotherapy (P = 0.009, log-rank test). Expression profiling of stably transfected HEK293 cells revealed specific up-regulation of the immediate early response genes EGR1/EGR2/EGR3 and FOS/FOSB, mediated by activation of the MEK/ERK5/Nur77 pathway. Conclusions: These data identify a unique genetic aberration with direct clinical relevance in Wilms' tumor relapse and provide evidence for a potential novel mechanism of treatment resistance in these tumors.
Utility of the Lateral Arm Flap in Head and Neck Reconstruction

Soft-tissue defects of the head and neck are often reconstructed with fasciocutaneous free flaps. The radial forearm flap is used most commonly, however the lateral arm flap may be the flap of choice in certain situations. Advantages include flap elevation with simultaneous tumor ablation, avoidance of intraoperative patient position changes, and primary closure of the donor site. After extirpative procedures of the head and neck region, 4 patients were reconstructed with the lateral arm flap. Flap survival was 100%, a vein graft to supplement the short pedicle length was necessary in 1 patient, all donor sites were closed primarily, and secondary procedures to reduce flap bulk were necessary in 2 patients. The lateral arm flap is an excellent alternative to the radial forearm flap and should be included in the armamentarium of the reconstructive head and neck surgeon.
MVA Modeling of Multi-core Server Distributed Systems

In this paper, we propose an extension to our previous MVA based methodology for estimating performance of transactions executed on multi-server systems for multicoreservers. The extension is based on the characterization of message processing service times for each server core under zeroloadconditions, and building an MVA model that accounts for each available core. Core utilization is characterized, as well as message routing probabilities within the multi-core machine. We illustrate the extended methodology on a prototype multi-server system.
Organizational learning mechanisms and continuous improvement

The firm’s structural inertia seems to be a crucial roadblock in continuous improvement efforts. The management paradigm shift required in the transition towards a continuous improvement culture is from individual‐based learning to system‐based learning. Explores the role of an organizational learning mechanism in overcoming the barriers for continuous improvement. Examines the implications of the creation of a parallel learning structure mechanism and its concomitant impact on continuous improvement in a paper mill firm over an eight‐year period. Concludes with the identification and discussion of some theoretical issues.
Efficient processing of spatial joins using R-trees

Spatial joins are one of the most important operations for combining spatial objects of several relations. The efficient processing of a spatial join is extremely important since its execution time is superlinear in the number of spatial objects of the participating relations, and this number of objects may be very high. In this paper, we present a first detailed study of spatial join processing using R-trees, particularly R*-trees. R-trees are very suitable for supporting spatial queries and the R*-tree is one of the most efficient members of the R-tree family. Starting from a straightforward approach, we present several techniques for improving its execution time with respect to both, CPU- and I/O-time. Eventually, we end up with an algorithm whose total execution time is improved over the first approach by an order of magnitude. Using a buffer of reasonable size, I/O-time is almost optimal, i.e. it almost corresponds to the time for reading each required page of the relations exactly once. The performance of the various approaches is investigated in an experimental performance comparison where several large data sets from real applications are used.
Prospective association between alcohol intake and hormone-dependent cancer risk: modulation by dietary fiber intake.

BACKGROUND Alcohol intake is associated with increased circulating concentrations of sex hormones, which in turn may increase hormone-dependent cancer risk. This association may be modulated by dietary fiber intake, which has been shown to decrease steroid hormone bioavailability (decreased blood concentration and increased sex hormone-binding globulin concentration). However, this potential modulation has not been investigated in any prospective cohort. OBJECTIVES Our objectives were to study the relation between alcohol intake and the risk of hormone-dependent cancers (breast, prostate, ovarian, endometrial, and testicular) and to investigate whether dietary fiber intake modulated these associations. DESIGN This prospective observational analysis included 3771 women and 2771 men who participated in the Supplémentation en Vitamines et Minéraux Antioxydants study (1994-2007) and completed at least 6 valid 24-h dietary records during the first 2 y of follow-up. After a median follow-up of 12.1 y, 297 incident hormone-dependent cancer cases, including 158 breast and 123 prostate cancers, were diagnosed. Associations were tested via multivariate Cox proportional hazards models. RESULTS Overall, alcohol intake was directly associated with the risk of hormone-dependent cancers (tertile 3 vs. tertile 1: HR: 1.36; 95% CI: 1.00, 1.84; P-trend = 0.02) and breast cancer (HR: 1.70; 95% CI: 1.11, 2.61; P-trend = 0.04) but not prostate cancer (P-trend = 0.3). In stratified analyses (by sex-specific median of dietary fiber intake), alcohol intake was directly associated with hormone-dependent cancer (tertile 3 vs. tertile 1: HR: 1.76; 95% CI: 1.10, 2.82; P-trend = 0.002), breast cancer (HR: 2.53; 95% CI: 1.30, 4.95; P-trend = 0.02), and prostate cancer (HR: 1.37; 95% CI: 0.65, 2.89; P-trend = 0.02) risk among individuals with low dietary fiber intake but not among their counterparts with higher dietary fiber intake (P-trend = 0.9, 0.8, and 0.6, respectively). The P-interaction between alcohol and dietary fiber intake was statistically significant for prostate cancer (P = 0.01) but not for overall hormone-dependent (P = 0.2) or breast (P = 0.9) cancer. CONCLUSION In line with mechanistic hypotheses and experimental data, this prospective study suggested that dietary fiber intake might modulate the association between alcohol intake and risk of hormone-dependent cancer. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00272428.
The Aspergillus pH‐responsive transcription factor PacC regulates virulence

The ability of a pathogen to adapt to the host environment is usually required for the initiation of disease. Here we have investigated the importance of the Aspergillus nidulans PacC‐mediated pH response in the pathogenesis of pulmonary aspergillosis. Using mutational analysis, we demonstrate that, in neutropenic mice, elimination of the A. nidulans pH‐responsive transcription factor PacC, blocking the ambient pH signal transduction pathway or prevention of PacC proteolytic processing acutely attenuates virulence. Infections caused by these alkali‐sensitive mutants are characterized by limited growth in vivo and a reduction of inflammatory cell infiltration. In stark contrast, constitutive activation of PacC causes increased mortality marked by extensive fungal invasive growth. PacC action is therefore required for, and able to enhance virulence, demonstrating that the A. nidulans pH‐responsive transcription factor PacC plays a pivotal role in pulmonary pathogenesis.
Density Enhancement-Based Long-Range Pedestrian Detection Using 3-D Range Data

The ability to perform long-range pedestrian detection is essential for autonomous vehicles. However, for 3-D LIDAR, an object's point cloud becomes sparse when it is away, directly affecting its detection as a result. In this paper, a novel density enhancement method is proposed to improve the quality of a sparse point cloud. The input of the method is an object's raw point cloud; first, a high-quality local coordinate system of the point cloud is built using a new evaluation metric, and then radial basis function (RBF)-based interpolation is performed based on the local coordinate system. Finally, a resampling algorithm is used to generate a new point cloud that not only meets a density requirement but also fits the object's geometric shape. Novel features of our method are its evaluation metric of a local coordinate system and method to choose a good shape parameter and kernel in RBF-based interpolation step. The effectiveness of this method is demonstrated using naturalistic data and three experiments.
Spatio‐temporal control of neural activity in vivo using fluorescence microendoscopy

Controlling neural activity with high spatio‐temporal resolution is desired for studying how neural circuit dynamics control animal behavior. Conventional methods for manipulating neural activity, such as electrical microstimulation or pharmacological blockade, have poor spatial and/or temporal resolution. Algal protein channelrhodopsin‐2 (ChR2) enables millisecond‐precision control of neural activity. However, a photostimulation method for high spatial resolution mapping in vivo is yet to be established. Here, we report a novel optical/electrical probe, consisting of optical fiber bundles and metal electrodes. Optical fiber bundles were used as a brain‐insertable endoscope for image transfer and stimulating light delivery. Light‐induced activity from ChR2‐expressing neurons was detected with electrodes bundled to the endoscope, enabling verification of light‐evoked action potentials. Photostimulation through optical fiber bundles of transgenic mice expressing ChR2 in layer 5 cortical neurons resulted in single‐whisker movement, indicating spatially restricted activation of neurons in vivo. The probe system described here and a combination of various photoactive molecules will facilitate studies on the causal link between specific neural activity patterns and behavior.
Proteomic and Biochemical Studies of Lysine Malonylation Suggest Its Malonic Aciduria-associated Regulatory Role in Mitochondrial Function and Fatty Acid Oxidation*

The protein substrates of sirtuin 5-regulated lysine malonylation (Kmal) remain unknown, hindering its functional analysis. In this study, we carried out proteomic screening, which identified 4042 Kmal sites on 1426 proteins in mouse liver and 4943 Kmal sites on 1822 proteins in human fibroblasts. Increased malonyl-CoA levels in malonyl-CoA decarboxylase (MCD)-deficient cells induces Kmal levels in substrate proteins. We identified 461 Kmal sites showing more than a 2-fold increase in response to MCD deficiency as well as 1452 Kmal sites detected only in MCD−/− fibroblast but not MCD+/+ cells, suggesting a pathogenic role of Kmal in MCD deficiency. Cells with increased lysine malonylation displayed impaired mitochondrial function and fatty acid oxidation, suggesting that lysine malonylation plays a role in pathophysiology of malonic aciduria. Our study establishes an association between Kmal and a genetic disease and offers a rich resource for elucidating the contribution of the Kmal pathway and malonyl-CoA to cellular physiology and human diseases.
Rethinking Innateness: A Connectionist Perspective on Development

Rethinking Innateness asks the question, "What does it really mean to say that a behavior is innate? " The authors describe a new framework in which interactions, occurring at all levels, give rise to emergent forms and behaviors. These outcomes often may be highly constrained and universal, yet are not themselves directly contained in the genes in any domain-specific way. One of the key contributions of Rethinking Innateness is a taxonomy of ways in which a behavior can be innate. These include constraints at the level of representation, architecture, and timing; typically, behaviors arise through the interaction of constraints at several of these levels.The ideas are explored through dynamic models inspired by a new kind of "developmental connectionism," a marriage of connectionist models and developmental neurobiology, forming a new theoretical framework for the study of behavioral development. While relying heavily on the conceptual and computational tools provided by connectionism, Rethinking Innateness also identifies ways in which these tools need to be enriched by closer attention to biology.
Simple and Practically Efficient Fault-tolerant 2-hop Cover Labelings

A labeling scheme is a method to retrieve some global property of a graph by exploiting (in a distributed fashion) the information stored, in the form of (short) labels, at its vertices. A classic question in the area is that of labeling the vertices in order to infer the distance between any pair of them, or alternatively to retrieve a corresponding shortest path. On such purpose, among the various solutions, a 2-hop cover distance/path-reporting labeling scheme is based on the idea of representing the shortest paths in a graph as the concatenation at an intermediate so-called hub vertex of the two shortest paths emanating from the corresponding end vertices. The difficult point here is to find a small-size set of hub vertices covering a shortest path for each pair of vertices in the graph, since in this way the corresponding labeling will be compact, but practical efficient solutions are known in the literature. In this paper, we present a simple and efficient way of enriching this successful scheme in order to make it resilient to the failure of a subset of at most k ≥ 1 edges in the graph, by exploiting the notion of so-called edge-independent spanning trees. Depending on k, we provide different strategies and analyze the corresponding performances. In addition, to assess the practical effectiveness of our method, we provide an experimental evaluation, conducted for the case k = 1. Our data confirms the new method to be really competitive when compared with the performance of the benchmark non-fault-tolerant scheme, equipped with a point-of-failure rerouting policy.
Building Appropriate Trust in Human-Robot Teams

Future robotic systems are expected to transition from tools to teammates , characterized by increasingly autonomous, intelligent robots interacting with humans in a more naturalistic manner, approaching a relationship more akin to human–human teamwork. Given the impact of trust observed in other systems, trust in the robot team member will likely be critical to effective and safe performance. Our thesis for this paper is that trust in a robot team member must be appropriately calibrated rather than simply maximized. We describe how the human team member’s understanding of the system contributes to trust in human-robot teaming, by evoking mental model theory. We discuss how mental models are related to physical and behavioral characteristics of the robot, on the one hand, and affective and behavioral outcomes, such as trust and system use/disuse/misuse, on the other. We expand upon our discussion by providing recommendations for best practices in human-robot team research and design and other systems using artificial intelligence.
Comprehensive Evaluation of TFF3 Promoter Hypomethylation and Molecular Biomarker Potential for Prostate Cancer Diagnosis and Prognosis

Overdiagnosis and overtreatment of clinically insignificant tumors remains a major problem in prostate cancer (PC) due to suboptimal diagnostic and prognostic tools. Thus, novel biomarkers are urgently needed. In this study, we investigated the biomarker potential of Trefoil factor 3 (TFF3) promoter methylation and RNA expression levels for PC. Initially, by quantitative methylation specific PCR (qMSP) analysis of a large radical prostatectomy (RP) cohort (n = 292), we found that the TFF3 promoter was significantly hypomethylated in PC compared to non-malignant (NM) prostate tissue samples (p < 0.001) with an AUC (area under the curve) of 0.908 by receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis. Moreover, significant TFF3 promoter hypomethylation (p ≤ 0.010) as well as overexpression (p < 0.001) was found in PC samples from another large independent patient sample set (498 PC vs. 67 NM) analyzed by Illumina 450K DNA methylation arrays and/or RNA sequencing. TFF3 promoter methylation and transcriptional expression levels were inversely correlated, suggesting that epigenetic mechanisms contribute to the regulation of gene activity. Furthermore, low TFF3 expression was significantly associated with high ERG, ETS transcription factor (ERG) expression (p < 0.001), as well as with high Gleason score (p < 0.001), advanced pathological T-stage (p < 0.001), and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) recurrence after RP (p = 0.013; univariate Cox regression analysis). There were no significant associations between TFF3 promoter methylation levels, ERG status, or PSA recurrence in these RP cohorts. In conclusion, our results demonstrated diagnostic biomarker potential of TFF3 promoter hypomethylation for PC as well as prognostic biomarker potential of TFF3 RNA expression. To the best of our knowledge, this is the most comprehensive study of TFF3 promoter methylation and transcriptional expression in PC to date.