Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modulation of the Voltage-gated Potassium Channel (Kv4.3) and the Auxiliary Protein (KChIP3) Interactions by the Current Activator NS5806*

Background: KChIP3 association with Kv4 channels regulate the K+ current gating. Results: NS5806 binds to KChIP3 and stabilizes the KChIP3-Kv4 complex. Conclusion: Ca2+ or NS5806 binding on KChIP3 decreases the dissociation rate of Kv4.3. Significance: The role of the hydrophobic cavity on KChIP3 in drug and protein association could lead to a better drug design for treatment of heart conditions. KChIP3 (potassium channel interacting protein 3) is a calcium-binding protein that binds at the N terminus of the Kv4 voltage-gated potassium channel through interactions at two contact sites and has been shown to regulate potassium current gating kinetics as well as channel trafficking in cardiac and neuronal cells. Using fluorescence spectroscopy, isothermal calorimetry, and docking simulations we show that the novel potassium current activator, NS5806, binds at a hydrophobic site on the C terminus of KChIP3 in a calcium-dependent manner, with an equilibrium dissociation constant of 2–5 μm in the calcium-bound form. We further determined that the association between KChIP3 and the hydrophobic N terminus of Kv4.3 is calcium-dependent, with an equilibrium dissociation constant in the apo-state of 70 ± 3 μm and 2.7 ± 0.1 μm in the calcium-bound form. NS5806 increases the affinity between KChIP3 and the N terminus of Kv4.3 (Kd = 1.9 ± 0.1 μm) in the presence and absence of calcium. Mutation of Tyr-174 or Phe-218 on KChIP3 abolished the enhancement of Kv4.3 site 1 binding in the apo-state, highlighting the role of these residues in drug and K4.3 binding. Kinetic studies show that NS5806 decreases the rate of dissociation between KChIP3 and the N terminus of KV4.3. Overall, these studies support the idea that NS5806 directly interacts with KChIP3 and modulates the interactions between this calcium-binding protein and the T1 domain of the Kv4.3 channels through reorientation of helix 10 on KChIP3.
Influence of the Addition of Nano-porous Graphite/Parafffin Additive on the Wear Properties of Phenol-Formaldehyde Resin Composites

Abstract Phenol-formaldehyde resin (PF) composites with a nano-porous graphite additive (NPGA) in various contents were fabricated and the wear behaviors under low and high sliding speeds were studied. The addition of NPGA significantly improved the wear resistance of the PF. The specific wear rates of PF composites under low sliding speed first decreased with increasing NPGA and then slightly increased when the NPGA content surpassed 15 wt%; the specific wear rate of the composite with 15 wt% NPGA was reduced by 77% compared with the neat PF. Under high sliding speed the specific wear rates of the composite material decreased continuously with increasing NPGA content and the maximum wear resistance of the composite with 20 wt% NPGA was more than 12 times that of the neat phenolic resin. The results are attributed to the combined effects of load-capacity and the lubrication role of the included NPGA. The surface morphology of the worn surface was characterized, and the wear mechanism for the composites is discussed.
"Fossils, Phylogeny, and Form": An Analytical Approach

1. Paleobiology: An Empirical Historical Science J.M. Adrain, et al. 2. Phylogenetic Systematics: Five Steps to Enlightenment D.A. McLennan, D.R. Brooks. 3. Morphometry and Phylogeny in the Resolution of Paleobiological Problems - Unlocking the Evolutionary Significance of an Assemblage of Silurian Trilobites N.C. Hughes, R.E. Chapman. 4. Morphological Disparity: A Primer M.A. Wills. 5. Homology, Characters, and Morphometric Data M.L. Zelditch, et al. 6. Landmarks, Localization, and the Use of Morphometrics in Phylogenetic Analysis N. MacLeod. 7. Cladistic Biogeography: Component-Based Methods and Paleontological Application M.C. Ebach, G.D. Edgecombe. 8. Stratigraphy, Phylogeny, and Species Sampling in Time and Space J.M. Adrain, S.R. Westrop. 9. Analyzing Speciation Rates in Macroevolutionary Studies B.S. Lieberman. 10. The Nature and Origin of Supraspecific Taxa Revisited - With Special Reference to Trilobita N. Eldredge. 11. The Role and Design of Databases in Paleontology R.L. Kaesler, et al. Index.
Magnetic resonance electrical properties tomography for small anomalies using boundary conditions: A simulation study

Purpose Magnetic resonance electrical property tomography (MREPT) is an emerging imaging modality using measured B1 maps from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to measure a distribution of electric conductivity and permittivity of the subject at the Larmor frequency. Conventional MREPT approaches at single transmit channel system using the Helmholtz equation rely on an assumption that conductivity and permittivity of the subject are locally homogeneous. For small tissue structures and tissue boundaries, in which the assumption of locally homogeneous conductivity and permittivity does not hold, the reconstructed conductivity values deviated from the actual values, so called “Boundary Artifacts. ” The aim of this study is to propose new reconstruction processes based on time‐harmonic Maxwell's equations to reconstruct conductivity for small tissue structures and tissue boundaries. Methods Instead of removing the electric fields from the equations as done in the Helmholtz equation, three key identities of circularly polarized and longitudinal components of electric fields, circularly polarized component of magnetic fields, and electric properties from time‐harmonic Maxwell's equations are derived. Based on the three key identities, the proposed reconstruction methods determine conductivity, permittivity, and circularly polarized component and longitudinal component of electric fields using the measured H1+. In each iterative step, estimated conductivity, permittivity, electric fields, and artifact‐free mask region, Ω where the contribution of the boundary artifacts is small, were updated. Using the estimated values in the artifact‐free mask region as boundary conditions, the estimates beyond the mask region were updated. EM simulations were performed on three types of numerical phantoms with very small regions of homogeneous conductivity and permittivity. The performance of the proposed methods was evaluated using the simulated electric and magnetic fields. Results For the numerical simulation model, the proposed methods significantly reduced the boundary artifacts compared to conventional methods using Helmholtz equations. In addition, previous methods using the Helmholtz equation could measure conductivity of only large anomalies, but the proposed method can measure the conductivity of the small compartments whose size is 2–3 voxels. The proposed approaches are compatible with spatial filtering which can be used to reduce noise. If a good image segmentation is available as a prior information, better initial boundary conditions can be estimated, and thus the proposed approach can be more accurate for small tissue structures. Conclusions The proposed reconstruction method not only determines electrical properties, but also circularly polarized component and longitudinal component of electric fields using an iterative process. The proposed method can quantitatively detect the conductivity of the small anomalies better than conventional methods.
Supporting Computing and Technology distance learning students with developing argumentation skills

The development of students' critical thinking skills is an important part of a university education. This paper focuses on helping Computing and Technology (C&T) students improve their argument analysis and construction skills. At the heart of the current approach sits the use of a diagram-based technique for scaffolding argument analysis and construction. The technique, known as argument mapping, has been pioneered in Philosophy degrees. We discuss the specific challenges posed by using this technique in the context of distance learning for C&T students of a large (>1000 students) entry-level gateway module. Our approach includes innovative interactive computer-based formative assessment of argument mapping. After describing the approach, we evaluate it in terms of data from formative and summative assessment, detailed analysis of student work, and feedback from both students and module tutors.
Electronic Resonant Frequency Tuning of a Marine Energy Harvester

Recently we have reported a new technique for electronic tuning of inertial energy harvesters. An Hbridge power electronic interface is used to apply a variable complex load impedance to the transducer, allowing control over both the transfer of real power to a battery and the mechanical resonant frequency of the system. In this paper we demonstrate the application of this method to two types of resonant inertial harvester designed for marine applications. The first is a pendulum-based device in which the restoring force is provided by gravity, and the second is a rotational device with a torsion spring. Electronic tuning is demonstrated for both devices on a shaker table, and preliminary data is presented from a field trial of the pendulum harvester in a small unmanned surface vehicle (USV).
Using the Levenshtein Edit Distance for Automatic Lemmatization: A Case Study for Modern Greek and English

In the present work we have implemented the Edit Distance (also known as Levenshtein Distance) on a dictionary-based algorithm in order to achieve the automatic induction of the normalized form (lemma) of regular and mildly irregular words with no direct supervision. The algorithm combines two alignment models based on the string similarity and the most frequent inflexional suffixes. In our experiments, we have also examined the language-independency (i.e. independency of the specific grammar and inflexional rules of the language) of the presented algorithm by evaluating its performance on the Modern Greek and English languages. The results were very promising as we achieved more than 95 % of accuracy for the Greek language and more than 96 % for the English language. This algorithm may be useful to various text mining and linguistic applications such as spell-checkers, electronic dictionaries, morphological analyzers, search engines etc.
The vocal repertoire of adult male blue monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis stulmanni): A quantitative analysis of acoustic structure

Vocal signals are key elements in understanding species' behavior, sociality, and evolution. Quantified repertoires serve as foundations for investigating usage and function of particular signals, and also provide a basis for comparative analyses among individuals, populations, and taxa to explore how entire signal systems evolve. This study presents a descriptive catalogue of all vocal signals used by adult male blue monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis stuhlmanni). During 12 months in the Kakamega Forest, Kenya, I observed and digitally recorded vocal behavior of 32 adult males across a variety of socioecological contexts. From recordings, I measured 18 temporal‐frequency parameters. Undirected ordination and hierarchical cluster analysis identified six distinct call types regularly used by males: ant, boom, ka, katrain, nasal scream, and pyow. Cross‐validated discriminant function analysis supported the classifications. The repertoire is best described as discrete, though some gradation occurs between pyows and ants. Summary of acoustic structure and exemplar spectrograms are provided for each call type, along with preliminary examination of socioecological contexts in which they were produced. Discussion addresses repertoire structure, similarity to other taxa, and potential for functional inferences. Am. J. Primatol. 9999:1–14, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
A Variational Model for Infinite Perimeter Segmentations Based on Lipschitz Level Set Functions: Denoising while Keeping Finely Oscillatory Boundaries

We propose a new model for segmenting piecewise constant images with irregular object boundaries: a variant of the Chan–Vese model [T. F. Chan and L. A. Vese, IEEE Trans. Image Process. , 10 (2000), pp. 266–277], where the length penalization of the boundaries is replaced by the area of their neighborhood of thickness $\varepsilon$. Our aim is to keep fine details and irregularities of the boundaries while denoising additive Gaussian noise. For the numerical computation we revisit the classical $BV$ level set formulation [S. Osher and J. A. Sethian, J. Comput. Phys., 79 (1988), pp. 12–49] considering suitable Lipschitz level set functions instead of $BV$ ones.
Characterizing and comparing prevailing simulation techniques

Due to the simulation time of the reference input set, architects often use alternative simulation techniques. Although these alternatives reduce the simulation time, what has not been evaluated is their accuracy relative to the reference input set, and with respect to each other. To rectify this deficiency, this paper uses three methods to characterize the reduced input set, truncated execution, and sampling simulation techniques while also examining their speed versus accuracy trade-off and configuration dependence. Finally, to illustrate the effect that a technique could have on the apparent speedup results, we quantify the speedups obtained with two processor enhancements. The results show that: 1) the accuracy of the truncated execution techniques was poor for all three characterization methods and for both enhancements, 2) the characteristics of the reduced input sets are not reference-like, and 3) SimPoint and SMARTS, the two sampling techniques, are extremely accurate and have the best speed versus accuracy trade-offs. Finally, this paper presents a decision tree which can help architects choose the most appropriate technique for their simulations.
How Efficient is the U.K. Housing Market?

Extending the controversial findings from the relevant literature, the results from the quarterly transaction-based Nationwide indices from 1974 to 2009 provide further empirical evidence on the rejection of the weak-form version of efficiency in the U.K. housing market. In addition to conducting parametric and non-parametric tests, we apply technical trading strategies to test whether or not the inefficiencies can be exploited by investors earning excess returns. The empirical findings from the technical trading strategies support the results from the statistical tests and suggest that investors might be able to obtain excess returns from both autocorrelation- and moving average-based strategies compared to a buy-and-hold strategy for 10 out of 14 markets.
Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Risk of Malignant Melanoma: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Cohort Studies

Abstract Background Epidemiology studies have demonstrated inconsistent associations between type 2 diabetes mellitus and the risk of malignant melanoma. To this end, the aim was to perform a meta-analysis of cohort studies. Method Medline, PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane Library were searched up to February 2014. Cohort studies addressing the relative risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus on malignant melanoma were included in this meta-analysis. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was applied for quality evaluation. The pooled relative risks with the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated by using random-effects or random-effects model. Heterogeneity and publication bias were evaluated by I2 and funnel plot analysis, respectively. Data was analyzed using STATA 11.0. Results A total of 9 independent cohorts from 8 manuscripts were entered this meta-analysis. Type 2 diabetes mellitus was slightly associated with an increased risk of malignant melanoma, and the pooled relative risk was 1.15 (95% CI, 1.00-1.32) in diabetes compared with non-diabetes with significant evidence of heterogeneity among these studies (P=0.016, I2 =57.6%). For the studies adjusted for age, gender and obesity, the relative risks were 1.21 (95% CI, 1.03-1.42), 1.17 (95% CI, 1.01-1.35) and 1.11 (95% CI, 1.00-1.24), respectively. For the population-based studies in which case cohort established, the relative risk was 1.85 (95% CI, 1.31-2.62). Conclusion Type 2 diabetes might be an independent risk factor for malignant melanoma. Further studies are needed to specifically test the effect, and fully elucidate the underlying pathophysiologic mechanisms.
Evidence for Pyronaridine as a Highly Effective Partner Drug for Treatment of Artemisinin-Resistant Malaria in a Rodent Model

ABSTRACT The increasing prevalence in Southeast Asia of Plasmodium falciparum infections with delayed parasite clearance rates, following treatment of malaria patients with the artemisinin derivative artesunate, highlights an urgent need to identify which of the currently available artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) are most suitable to treat populations with emerging artemisinin resistance. Here, we demonstrate that the rodent Plasmodium berghei SANA strain has acquired artemisinin resistance following drug pressure, as defined by reduced parasite clearance and early recrudescence following daily exposure to high doses of artesunate or the active metabolite dihydroartemisinin. Using the SANA strain and the parental drug-sensitive N strain, we have interrogated the antimalarial activity of five ACTs, namely, artemether-lumefantrine, artesunate-amodiaquine, artesunate-mefloquine, dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine, and the newest combination artesunate-pyronaridine. By monitoring parasitemia and outcome for 30 days following initiation of treatment, we found that infections with artemisinin-resistant P. berghei SANA parasites can be successfully treated with artesunate-pyronaridine used at doses that are curative for the parental drug-sensitive N strain. No other partner drug combination was as effective in resolving SANA infections. Of the five partner drugs tested, pyronaridine was also the most effective at suppressing the recrudescence of SANA parasites. These data support the potential benefit of implementing ACTs with pyronaridine in regions affected by artemisinin-resistant malaria.
Quality of Service in Public Transport Based on Customer Satisfaction Surveys: A Review and Assessment of Methodological Approaches

The growth of literature in the field of quality of service in the public transport PT sector shows increasing concern for a better understanding of the factors affecting service quality SQ in PT organizations and companies. A large variety of approaches to SQ have been developed in recent years owing to the complexity of the concept; the broad range of attributes required to evaluate SQ; and the imprecision, subjectivity, and heterogeneous nature of the data used to analyze it. Most of these approaches are based on customer satisfaction surveys. This paper seeks to summarize the evolution of research and current thinking as it relates to the different methodological approaches for SQ evaluation in the PT sector over the years and to provide a discussion of future directions.
Simplified Tandem Polymer Solar Cells with an Ideal Self‐Organized Recombination Layer

A new tandem architecture for printable photovoltaics using a versatile organic nanocomposite containing photoactive and interfacial materials is demonstrated. The nanocomposite forms an ideal self-organized recombination layer via a spontaneous vertical phase separation, which yields a simplified tandem structure fabricated with only four component layers and a high tandem efficiency of 10.8%.
Drivable road region detection using a single laser range finder for outdoor patrol robots

For outdoor navigation, it is necessary to find the relevant features of outdoor road environments and detect drivable region for robot's motion. This paper presents a methodology for extracting the drivable road region by detecting the prominent road features and obstacles through a single laser range finder. The prominent features of roads are curbs and the road surface. The laser range finder is mounted on the mobile robot, looks down the road with a small tilt angle, and obtains two-dimensional range data. The proposed method is computationally more efficient in comparison with vision-based techniques and applicable for various road conditions in target environment. Experimental results confirm the reliability of the algorithm.
Three-Dimensional Compatible Sacrificial Nanoimprint Lithography for Tuning the Wettability of Thermoplastic Materials

We report the tuning of surface wetting through sacrificial nanoimprint lithography (SNIL). In this process, grown ZnO nanomaterials are transferred by imprint into a metallic glass (MG) and an elastomeric material, and then etched to impart controlled surface roughness. This process increases the hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity of both surfaces, the Pt57.5Cu14. 7Ni5.3P22. 5 MG and thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), respectively. The growth conditions of the ZnO change the characteristic length scale of the roughness, which in turn alters the properties of the patterned surface. The novelty of this approach includes reusability of templates and that it is able to create superhydrophilic and superhydrophobic surfaces in a manner compatible with the fabrication of macroscopic three-dimensional (3D) parts. Because the wettability is achieved by only modifying topography, without using any chemical surface modifiers, the prepared surfaces are relatively more durable.
New nanocomposite surfaces and thermal interface materials based on mesoscopic microspheres, polymers and graphene flakes

In recent years, there has been a great interest in the development and creation of new functional energy mate-rials, including for improving the energy efficiency of power equipment and for effectively removing heat from energy devices, microelectronics and optoelectronics (power micro electronics, supercapacitors, cooling of processors, servers and data centers). In this paper, the technology of obtaining new nanocomposites based on mesoscopic microspheres, polymers and graphene flakes is considered. The methods of sequential production of functional materials from graphene flakes of different volumetric concentration using epoxy polymers, as well as the addition of monodisperse microspheres are described. Data are given on the measurement of the contact angle and thermal conductivity of these nanocomposites with respect to the creation of thermal interface materials for cooling devices of electronics, optoelectronics and power engineering.In recent years, there has been a great interest in the development and creation of new functional energy mate-rials, including for improving the energy efficiency of power equipment and for effectively removing heat from energy devices, microelectronics and optoelectronics (power micro electronics, supercapacitors, cooling of processors, servers and data centers). In this paper, the technology of obtaining new nanocomposites based on mesoscopic microspheres, polymers and graphene flakes is considered. The methods of sequential production of functional materials from graphene flakes of different volumetric concentration using epoxy polymers, as well as the addition of monodisperse microspheres are described. Data are given on the measurement of the contact angle and thermal conductivity of these nanocomposites with respect to the creation of thermal interface materials for cooling devices of electronics, optoelectronics and power engineering.