Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Natural selection. IV. The Price equation *

The Price equation partitions total evolutionary change into two components. The first component provides an abstract expression of natural selection. The second component subsumes all other evolutionary processes, including changes during transmission. The natural selection component is often used in applications. Those applications attract widespread interest for their simplicity of expression and ease of interpretation. Those same applications attract widespread criticism by dropping the second component of evolutionary change and by leaving unspecified the detailed assumptions needed for a complete study of dynamics. Controversies over approximation and dynamics have nothing to do with the Price equation itself, which is simply a mathematical equivalence relation for total evolutionary change expressed in an alternative form. Disagreements about approach have to do with the tension between the relative valuation of abstract versus concrete analyses. The Price equation's greatest value has been on the abstract side, particularly the invariance relations that illuminate the understanding of natural selection. Those abstract insights lay the foundation for applications in terms of kin selection, information theory interpretations of natural selection and partitions of causes by path analysis. I discuss recent critiques of the Price equation by Nowak and van Veelen.
α to β Phase Transformation and Microestructural Changes of PVDF Films Induced by Uniaxial Stretch

The phase transformation from α to β poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) through a stretching process at different temperatures was investigated. Samples of originally α-PVDF were stretched uniaxially at different temperatures at draw ratios from 1 to 5. The stretched samples were studied and characterized by infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry. The maximum β-phase content was achieved at 80°C and a stretch ratio of 5, but the samples still showed 20% of the original α-phase. Accompanying the phase transformation, an orientation of the polymer chains was observed. The stretching process also influenced the degree of crystallinity of the polymer. Poling of the samples also improves the α- to β-phase transformation.
Lentiviral‐Mediated HoxB4 Expression in Human Embryonic Stem Cells Initiates Early Hematopoiesis in a Dose‐Dependent Manner but Does Not Promote Myeloid Differentiation

The variation of HoxB4 expression levels might be a key regulatory mechanism in the differentiation of human embryonic stem cell (hESC)‐derived hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). In this study, hESCs ectopically expressing high and low levels of HoxB4 were obtained using lentiviral gene transfer. Quantification throughout differentiation revealed a steady increase in transcription levels from our constructs. The effects of the two expression levels of HoxB4 were compared regarding the differentiation potential into HSCs. High levels of HoxB4 expression correlated to an improved yield of cells expressing CD34, CD38, the stem cell leukemia gene, and vascular epithelium‐cadherin. However, no improvement in myeloid cell maturation was observed, as determined by colony formation assays. In contrast, hESCs with low HoxB4 levels did not show any elevated hematopoietic development. In addition, we found that the total population of HoxB4‐expressing cells, on both levels, decreased in developing embryoid bodies. Notably, a high HoxB4 expression in hESCs also seemed to interfere with the formation of germ layers after xenografting into immunodeficient mice. These data suggest that HoxB4‐induced effects on hESC‐derived HSCs are concentration‐dependent during in vitro development and reduce proliferation of other cell types in vitro and in vivo. The application of the transcription factor HoxB4 during early hematopoiesis from hESCs might provide new means for regenerative medicine, allowing efficient differentiation and engraftment of genetically modified hESC clones. Our study highlights the importance of HoxB4 dosage and points to the need for experimental systems allowing controlled gene expression.
CALIB: a Bioconductor package for estimating absolute expression levels from two-color microarray data

UNLABELLED In this article we describe a new Bioconductor package 'CALIB' for normalization of two-color microarray data. This approach is based on the measurements of external controls and estimates an absolute target level for each gene and condition pair, as opposed to working with log-ratios as a relative measure of expression. Moreover, this method makes no assumptions regarding the distribution of gene expression divergence. AVAILABILITY http://bioconductor.org/packages/2.0/bioc Open Source.
Assessing climate impact on reinforced concrete durability with a multi-physics model

A framework for performance-based durability engineering can incorporate climate impacts in its assessment of the lifetime sustainability of built infrastructure. Most performance-based durability and climate impact assessments have used simplified deterioration models, which are insensitive to shorter-term fluctuations in boundary conditions and therefore may underestimate climate change impacts. A highly sensitive fully-coupled, validated, multi-physics model for heat, moisture and ion transport and corrosion was used to assess a reinforced concrete structure located in coastal Norfolk, Virginia. Deterioration was predicted using tidal exposure conditions obtained from statistically downscaled global climate model output under two emissions scenarios. Deterioration, repair, and decision metrics under the emissions scenarios were compared using the performance-based framework to assess the influence of climate change.
RDMAvisor: Toward Deploying Scalable and Simple RDMA as a Service in Datacenters

RDMA is increasingly adopted by cloud computing platforms to provide low CPU overhead, low latency, high throughput network services. On the other hand, however, it is still challenging for developers to realize fast deployment of RDMA-aware applications in the datacenter, since the performance is highly related to many lowlevel details of RDMA operations. To address this problem, we present a simple and scalable RDMA as Service (RaaS) to mitigate the impact of RDMA operational details. RaaS provides careful message buffer management to improve CPU/memory utilization and improve the scalability of RDMA operations. These optimized designs lead to simple and flexible programming model for common and knowledgeable users. We have implemented a prototype of RaaS, named RDMAvisor, and evaluated its performance on a cluster with a large number of connections. Our experiment results demonstrate that RDMAvisor achieves high throughput for thousand of connections and maintains low CPU and memory overhead through adaptive RDMA transport selection.
IT Capability and Digital Transformation: A Firm Performance Perspective

As emerging digital technologies and capabilities continue to dominate our economic landscape, organizations are facing increased scrutiny on how digital transformation can provide the mechanism for innovation and firm performance. Using resource-based view (RBV) framework, this research examines the mediating effects of digital transformation in the relationship between IT capability and firm performance. Empirical data collected from CIOs from US firms reveal that although IT capability positively influences firm performance, it is mediated by digital transformation. Furthermore, our findings show that digital transformation positively influences innovation and firm performance while innovation is reaffirmed as having a positive implication on firm performance.
Finite element studies on field-dependent rigidities of sandwich beams with magnetorheological elastomer cores

Sandwich beams with magnetorheological elastomer (MRE) cores exhibit field-dependent dynamic rigidities due to the field-dependent shear modulus of the MRE cores. Such structures have great potential as regards developing stiffness-controllable devices which respond to control signals within milliseconds. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of structural parameters on the field-dependent rigidities of single-layer sandwich beams with MRE cores through finite element analysis. Furthermore, a multilayer sandwich configuration is introduced to provide structures with higher bulk field-dependent rigidities. The structural design rules for multilayer sandwich beams for achieving the desired zero-field rigidities and desired relative change ranges of the field-dependent rigidities are presented. The results will provide basic guidelines for designing stiffness-controllable devices utilizing such MRE based sandwich structures.
An overview of failure mechanisms in embedded flash memories

Non-volatile flash memories are becoming more and more popular for system-on-chip design (SoC). Embedded flash (eFlash) memories are based on the floating-gate transistor concept and can be subject to complex hard defects creating functional faults. Studies of realistic failure mechanisms and their associated fault models are the first mandatory step before providing efficient and practical new test methods. In this paper, we present an analysis made on actual failures occurring in 2T FLOTOX cells of 0.15mum NOR-based embedded flash structure
Active guidance of a handheld micromanipulator using visual servoing

In microsurgery, a surgeon often deals with anatomical structures of sizes that are close to the limit of the human hand accuracy. Robotic assistants can help to push beyond the current state of practice by integrating imaging and robot-assisted tools. This paper demonstrates control of a handheld tremor reduction micromanipulator with visual servo techniques, aiding the operator by providing three behaviors: snap-to, motion-scaling, and standoff-regulation. A stereo camera setup viewing the workspace under high magnification tracks the tip of the micromanipulator and the desired target object being manipulated. Individual behaviors activate in task-specific situations when the micromanipulator tip is in the vicinity of the target. We show that the snap-to behavior can reach and maintain a position at a target with an accuracy of 17.5 ± 0. 4µm Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) distance between the tip and target. Scaling the operator's motions and preventing unwanted contact with non-target objects also provides a larger margin of safety.
A Surveillance System Regulates Selective Entry of RNA into the Shoot Apex Article, publication date, and citation information can be found at www.plantcell.org/cgi/doi/10.1105/tpc.001685.

Phloem-mobile endogenous RNA is trafficked selectively into the shoot apex. In contrast, most viruses and long-distance post-transcriptional gene silencing (PTGS) signals are excluded from the shoot apex. These observations suggest the operation of an underlying regulatory mechanism. To examine this possibility, a potexvirus movement protein, known to modify cell-to-cell trafficking and PTGS, was expressed ectopically in transgenic plants. These plants were found to be compromised in their capacity to exclude both viral RNA and silencing signals from the shoot apex. The transgenic plants also displayed various degrees of abnormal leaf polarity depending on transgene expression level. Normal patterns of organ development were restored by either virus- or Agrobacterium tumefaciens–mediated induction of PTGS. This revealed the presence of an RNA signal surveillance system that acts to allow the selective entry of RNA into the shoot apex. We propose that this surveillance system regulates signaling and protects the shoot apex, in particular the cells that give rise to reproductive structures, from viral invasion.
Effectively Improved Field Emission Properties of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes/Graphenes Composite Field Emitter by Covering on the Si Pyramidal Structure

The composite nanostructure emitter of multiwalled carbon nanotubes and graphenes was deposited on pyramidal silicon substrate by the simple larger scale electrophoretic deposition process. The field emission (FE) properties of the composite/pyramidal Si device were greatly improved compared with that of the composite/plain Si. The low turn-ON electric field, the low threshold electric field, and the larger enhancement factor were obtained using the pyramidal structure. The better FE performances of the composite/pyramidal Si were a combined effect of the field enhancement from the composite emitter and the pyramidal Si structure. The numerical simulation of the electric field distribution on composite/pyramidal cathode was used to illuminate the improved FE properties by using the pyramidal substrate. These studies indicate that constructing composite/pyramidal structure is one of the efficient ways to improve the FE properties.
Modeling the interface effect of shape memory alloy composite materials

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the stress distribution in shape memory alloy (SMA) composite due to phase transformations in the fiber in view of the applied boundary conditions on the matrix.Design/methodology/approach – A consistent homogenization of a SMA wire‐reinforced polymer composite volume element undergoing quasi‐static deformation was performed and SMA wire‐matrix interface behaviour was presented. For the SMA wire, a one‐dimensional phenomenological constitutive model was used. Eshelby's inclusion theory was employed for homogenization. A strain averaging approach was reviewed in which the average strain was substituted back to obtain the expressions for the effective stiffness, the inelastic strain, and the average stresses in the constituent phases. In order to study the stress distribution in SMA composite and constituent phases (fiber and matrix) as a consequence of the SMA wire‐matrix interface effect, interfacial stress model was derived. Interfacial axial and shea.
Rapid Engineering of Bacterial Reporter Gene Fusions by Using Red Recombination

ABSTRACT Reporter gene fusions are essential tools for the investigation of gene regulation. Such fusions are traditionally generated by transposon mutagenesis and identified by a suitable selection procedure. Alternatively, specific reporter fusions can be generated by cloning of DNA fragments containing promoters or other regulatory elements in reporter plasmids. Here, we describe a novel approach for the rapid generation of reporter gene fusions in single copies at defined positions in bacterial genomes. This technique utilizes the Red recombinase for the homologous recombination of PCR-generated cassettes containing various currently used reporter genes, such as those for β-galactosidase, luciferase, and green fluorescent protein. The approach allows the generation of transcriptional or translational reporter fusions in a single step without the requirement for recombinant DNA constructs and is applicable to various enterobacterial species. Generation of reporter fusions by Red recombination is rapid, overcomes the current limitations of transposon mutagenesis or reporter plasmids, and offers new options for the study of bacterial gene regulation.
Inter-class def-use analysis with partial class representations

Object-oriented program design promotes the reuse of code not only through inheritance and polymorphism, but also through building server classes which can be used by many different client classes. Research on static analysis of object-oriented software has focused on addressing the new features of classes, inheritance, polymorphism, and dynamic binding. This paper demonstrates how exploiting the nature of object-oriented design principles can enable development of scalable static analyses. We present an algorithm for computing def-use information for a single class's manipulation of objects of other classes, which requires that only partial representations of server classes be constructed. This information is useful for data flow testing and debugging.
The SCID-hu mouse: a small animal model for HIV infection and pathogenesis.

The SCID-hu mouse is a heterochimeric small animal model designed to support hematopoietic differentiation and function in vivo. Multiple organs of the human hematolymphoid system have been successfully engrafted into the immunodeficient C.B-17 scid scid mouse, including fetal liver, thymus, lymph node, and skin. Co-implantation of human fetal liver and human fetal thymus results in long-term, multilineage human hematopoiesis in vivo. Mature human lymphocytes within the SCID-hu mouse are phenotypically and functionally normal. HIV infection of the SCID-hu mouse reflects a tropism similar to that found in humans: only human organs with CD4+ cells are infected. Viral replication can thereafter be monitored with assays that are safe, reproducible, and quantitative. Given this small animal model, it is now possible to study systematically the infective process of HIV and to address questions about the efficacy of novel antiviral compounds or vaccines in vivo.
Semi-Markov decision problems and performance sensitivity analysis

Recent research indicates that Markov decision processes (MDPs) can be viewed from a sensitivity point of view; and the perturbation analysis (PA), MDPs, and reinforcement learning (RL) are three closely related areas in optimization of discrete-event dynamic systems that can be modeled as Markov processes. The goal of this paper is two-fold. First, we develop the PA theory for semi-Markov processes (SMPs); and then we extend the aforementioned results about the relation among PA, MDP, and RL to SMPs. In particular, we show that performance sensitivity formulas and policy iteration algorithms of semi-Markov decision processes can be derived based on the performance potential and realization matrix. Both the long-run average and discounted-cost problems are considered. This approach provides a unified framework for both problems, and the long-run average problem corresponds to the discounted factor being zero. The results indicate that performance sensitivities and optimization depend only on first-order statistics. Single sample path-based implementations are discussed.
Expressed emotion measure adaptation into a foreign language.

Expressed emotion (EE) measures have been created in English; adaptation into a foreign language is difficult. The aim of this study was to adapt the five minutes speech sample (FMSS), with a designed procedure ensuring optimum quality of the adaptation, and thus better trans-cultural validity. A strategy for improving inter-rater agreement comprised three phases: (1) phase of initial ratings (70 French samples), (2) experimental phase in two steps: ratings of 40 other samples in French, followed by analysis of differences between the French-language ratings and English-language ratings and (3) final rating phase of the initial 70 samples. For each phase, the κ coefficients measuring inter-rater agreement were calculated and compared using a bootstrap procedure. The improvements between these scorings were significant at p < 0.05 (phase 2 initial versus phase 2 final and phases 1 versus 3). The French inter-rater agreement significantly improved after this procedure.
Incidence, Characterization, and Predictors of Sleep Apnea in Consecutive Brain Injury Rehabilitation Admissions

Objective:To prospectively examine the incidence and risk factors for sleep apnea in consecutive brain injury rehabilitation admissions. Setting:Inpatient neurorehabilitation hospital. Participants:Participants (n = 86) were consecutive neurorehabilitation admissions. Design:Retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data. Main Measures:Polysomnography. Results:Half (49%) of the sample was diagnosed with sleep apnea. For the full sample, univariate logistic regression revealed age (odds ratio: 1.08; 95% confidence interval: 1.04-1.11) and hypertension (odds ratio: 7.77; 95% confidence interval: 2.81-21.47) as significant predictors of sleep apnea diagnosis. Results of logistic regression conducted within the traumatic brain injury group revealed age (odds ratio: 1.07; 95% confidence interval: 1.02-1.13) as the only significant predictor of apnea diagnosis after adjustment for other variables. Hierarchical generalized linear regression models for the prediction of apnea severity (ie, apnea-hypopnea index found that Functional Independence Measure Cognition Score (P = .01) and age (P < .01) were significant predictors. Following adjustment for all other terms, only age (P < .01) remained significant. Conclusion:Sleep apnea is prevalent in acute neurorehabilitation admissions and traditional risk profiles for sleep apnea may not effectively screen for the disorder. Given the progressive nature of obstructive sleep apnea and morbidity associated with even mild obstructive sleep apnea, early identification and intervention may address comorbidities influencing acute and long-term outcome.
Existential Well-Being and Meaning Making in the Context of Primary Brain Tumor: Conceptualization and Implications for Intervention

When faced with a significant threat to life, people tend to reflect more intensely upon existential issues, such as the meaning and purpose of one’s life. Brain tumor poses a serious threat to a person’s life, functioning, and personhood. Although recognized as an important dimension of quality of life, existential well-being is not well understood and reflects an overlooked area of support for people with brain tumor. This perspective article reviews the historical underpinnings of the concept of existential well-being and integrates this discussion with theoretical perspectives and research on meaning making and psychological adjustment to primary brain tumor. We then provide an overview of psychosocial support interventions for people with brain tumor and describe the findings of a recently published psychotherapy trial targeting existential well-being. Overall, this article highlights the importance of assessing the existential support needs of people with primary brain tumor and their family members, and providing different avenues of support to facilitate the meaning-making process across the illness trajectory.
Progress in friction stir welding of Ni alloys

In recent years, interest has been increasing in application of Nickel alloys in the oil industry. For subsea engineering, the possibility to weld high-strength materials in an effective manner is essential. Friction Stir Welding (FSW) is alternative to join several materials retaining their properties or even improving them. This fact is relevant for Corrosion-Resistant Alloys (CRA) used in deep-water exploitation of hydrocarbons. Publications up to now have focused on FSW of Inconel® series as alloy 600, 625, and 718. To provide a solid basis for development, this review discusses the crucial points for FSW. The tool materials are described, as well as the joint microstructure and properties achieved. Furthermore, the basics of the corrosion resistance and the early corrosion studies of FSW joints are presented. It is concluded that FSW is a promising process for Ni alloys, but depends on upcoming research regarding tool technology and corrosion investigations.