Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A novel sliding mode control algorithm for a servo gantry with guaranteed transient performance

This paper investigates the tracking control problems of a voice coil motor (VCM) actuated servo gantry system. A novel sliding mode disturbance observer based control algorithm is proposed to accommodate both model uncertainties and various disturbances. In the proposed control architecture, the sliding mode observer is introduced to estimate the total disturbances such that the observer error can converge to zero in a finite time, and the fast terminal sliding mode (TSM) control technique is adopted to solve the tracking problem such that the tracking error can converge to zero in a finite time. Particularly, the singularity problem in the conventional TSM systems is avoided by switching the sliding mode function between two different terminal sliding structures. The finite-time stability of the whole closed-loop system is also proved. Finally, numerical simulations and real time experiments demonstrate excellent tracking performance of the proposed criteria.
Symmetry of nerve conduction studies in different stages of diabetic polyneuropathy

Nerve conduction studies (NCS) in diabetic sensorimotor polyneuropathy (DSP) are sensitive, noninvasive, and associated with small coefficients of variation, and correlate well with underlying peripheral nerve morphological change. For these reasons, the current reference standard for DSP involves multivariate instruments that emphasize NCS results. However, the interside symmetry of NCS findings in different stages of DSP are unknown, although requirement for symmetry has been suggested in clinical trials of DSP. We therefore aimed to determine the degree of symmetry of NCS findings in DSP of differing severity stages. A cohort of diabetic patients, including patients without neuropathy and those with mild to severe DSP, was studied. We also studied a series of nondiabetic, healthy subjects. A variation of stratified sampling by means of a clinical neuropathy score ensured that a broad spectrum of neuropathy was studied. A total of 478 subjects was ascertained; patient accrual was discontinued when the smallest clinical group consisted of 50 subjects. Nerve conduction studies were conducted prospectively and in a blinded fashion using surface recordings, averaging for sensory action potentials, control of limb temperature, and standardized techniques. Median and ulnar motor and sensory, peroneal and tibial motor, and sural NCS were performed. Interside symmetry, independent of neuropathy severity, was observed for all investigated nerves, except for the median sensory nerve action potential amplitude, which was lower on the right side. These results confirm that abnormal NCS findings consistent with DSP are reliably symmetrical with the exception of the amplitude of the median sensory nerve action potential. Thus, unilateral evaluation of NCS in DSP is sufficient as a reference standard in clinical trials. We also conclude that great degrees of asymmetry in NCS results are reason to question inclusion of DSP patients in clinical trials. © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Muscle Nerve 25: 212–217, 2002 DOI 10.1002/mus.10044
Estimation of polarization crosstalk at a micro-bend in Si-photonic wire waveguide

The singlemode Si-photonic wire waveguide allows sharp bends, which significantly expands the design flexibility of optical devices and circuits. Here, the suppression of the polarization crosstalk at a sharp bend will be an important issue, since a large crosstalk affects the performance of devices and circuits. In this study, the three-dimensional (3-D) finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulation showed that the crosstalk at a 90/spl deg/-bend with a radius of 0.35-1.75 /spl mu/m is less than -25 dB at a wavelength of 1.55 /spl mu/m. In the experiment, the crosstalk from TE-like to TM-like polarization was evaluated to be -13 dB to -10 dB. This large value was explained by a small tilt of waveguide sidewalls, which seriously increased the crosstalk. In addition, it was found in the calculation that some combinations of bends increase or decrease the crosstalk, and that a U-shape bend is the most effective for the suppression of the crosstalk.
UWB Moves up to mmWaves: A channel modeling perspective

UWB has been on the scene for about two decades. Results of extensive tests and measurements, and experience acquired from the design and operation of commercial products, all concurred to depict UWB as a very promising technology in many context and applications, thanks to its intrinsic characteristics. Now, wireless communications are colonizing higher frequencies and the UWB paradigm is a valid candidate for a transmission technology even there. Since many attractive features of UWB are related to its propagation characteristics, this paper provides a synopsis of the behavior of UWB signals on channels at different frequencies, from very low frequencies, below 1 GHz, through the 3.1–10.6 GHz band, and up to the 60 GHz. Finally, a generalized expression is proposed for the channel impulse response over this huge frequency span, accounting for all phenomena and behaviors observed through a variety of channel measurement campaigns at different frequencies and in different environments.
Characterization of penicillin-binding protein 2 of Staphylococcus aureus: deacylation reaction and identification of two penicillin-binding peptides

Penicillin-binding protein (PBP) 2 is the major PBP of five that have been identified in susceptible strains of Staphylococcus aureus. Beta-lactam antibiotic binding to PBP 2 is important for the antibacterial effect. Antibiotic binding to PBP 2 in strain 209P was examined with sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in competition assays using [3H]penicillin as the radiolabel. Clavulanic acid, which is specifically bound by PBP 2, and cefaclor, which is specific for PBP 3, were studied. Cefaclor, which alone appeared not to bind PBP 2, in combination inhibited PBP 2 binding of clavulanic acid. By varying the temperature during radiolabeling with [3H]penicillin in cefaclor competition assays and in direct radiolabeling assays with [3H]cefaclor, it was shown that cefaclor was bound by PBP 2 with high affinity (50% inhibitory concentration, less than or equal to 0.1 microgram/ml) and that the apparent low-affinity binding (50% inhibitory concentration, greater than 10 micrograms/ml) in competition assays performed at 37 degrees C was due to rapid deacylation. Two penicillin-binding peptides of PBP 2 also were identified in fluorographs of PBPs separated by nonequilibrium pH gradient gel and two-dimensional electrophoresis. Rapid deacylation for some antibiotics and the presence of two penicillin-binding peptides are two properties of PBP 2 that should be considered when correlating results of binding assays with effects of beta-lactam antibiotics on S. aureus.
The Pain Self‐Efficacy Questionnaire: Cross‐Cultural Adaptation into Italian and Assessment of Its Measurement Properties

The Pain Self‐Efficacy Questionnaire (PSEQ) is a patient self‐reported measurement instrument that evaluates pain self‐efficacy beliefs in patients with chronic pain. The measurement properties of the PSEQ have been tested in its original and translated versions, showing satisfactory results for validity and reliability. The aims of this study were 2 fold as follows: (1) to translate the PSEQ into Italian through a process of cross‐cultural adaptation, (2) to test the measurement properties of the Italian PSEQ (PSEQ‐I). The cross‐cultural adaptation was completed in 5 months without omitting any item of the original PSEQ. Measurement properties were tested in 165 patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP) (65% women, mean age 49.9 years). Factor analysis confirmed the one‐factor structure of the questionnaire. Internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.94) and test–retest reliability (ICCagreement = 0.82) of the PSEQ‐I showed good results. The smallest detectable change was equal to 15.69 scale points. The PSEQ‐I displayed a high construct validity by meeting more than 75% of a priori hypotheses on correlations with measurement instruments assessing pain intensity, disability, anxiety, depression, pain catastrophizing, fear of movement, and coping strategies. Additionally, the PSEQ‐I differentiated patients taking pain medication or not. The results of this study suggest that the PSEQ‐I can be used as a valid and reliable tool in Italian patients with CLBP.
IgD and B Cell Differentiation

The early biochemical studies of cell surface immunoglobulin (Ig) on murine lymphocytes revealed that IgM in its monomeric form was the major cell surface Ig (Vitetta et al. 1971, Marchalonis et al. 1972). Thus, after enzymatic radioiodination of intact splenocytes, cell lysis, precipitation with anti-^, reduction of the dissolved precipitate, and electrophoresis on sodium dodecyl suifate (SDS-PAGE), peaks with the mobility of fi and L chains were obtained. If the supernatant was precipitated on the following day with anti-Ig, no further immunoglobulin was demonstrated by SDS-PAGE examination of this second precipitation. In later experiments, anti-Ig precipitates were electrophoresed on acrylamide gels of increasing acrylamide concentration in an effort to detect subpopulations of /a chains containing different amounts of carbohydrate. When higher concentrations of gels were used, it appeared that the H chain peak obtained after precipitation with anti-Ig could be separated into two peaks, one of which had a faster electrophoretic mobility and appeared more heterogeneous than the
Population Projections

The standard used in projecting populations is the cohort-component method. This method projects a population in a way that duplicates the manner by which populations actually grow or decline. Much simpler methods, such as applying an assumed growth rate to a total population figure are much less satisfactory. Each “cohort,” or age group, is carried forward in time subject to the mortality experience to which it has been exposed. Thus, the age group 10-14 is carried forward for a period of time subject to relatively low level of mortality while the 70-74 age group is naturally subject to much higher mortality rates. These calculations are performed by sex since sex-specific mortality can have significant variation. Mortality is one component of change. The second component is fertility, or the number of births that women of childbearing age will have at an assumed birth rate. Projected births fill in the youngest age group in each time period and are, in turn, subject to rates of infant and child mortality. The third and final component is migration by age and sex in each time period. Migration may be positive, net immigration, or negative, net emigration. Migration is nearly always the most difficult component to estimate and to project.
A COMPREHENSIVE MATHEMATICAL MODEL OF STEM CELL PROLIFERATION WHICH REPRODUCES MOST OF THE PUBLISHED EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS

On the basis of experimental knowledge about haemopoietic stem cells a catalogue of fundamental statements is formulated. From this a simple mathematical model of haemopoietic regulation mechanisms is developed. The functional net effects of regulatory processes which are still unknown or unmeasurable are estimated using evolution arguments. The model is developed in three steps. It allows description of the self‐replication of stem cells after direct destruction as well as their reaction to increased or reduced needs in the erythropoietic system. The most important experimental data about changes in CFUe, BFUe and CFUe after acute or chronic irradiation, anaemia, hypoxia, hypertransfusion or direct erythropoietic stimulation can be reproduced within the model. The model allows us to understand most of the results of experimental stem cell research. Furthermore, it can be applied for a more precise analysis of the existing data. Predictions about the results of certain experiments can be made.
Origami folding: A Structural Engineering Approach

In this paper we present a novel engineering application of Origami, using it for both the exibility and the rigidity the folding patterns provide. The proposed Folded Textured Sheets have several inter- esting mechanical properties. The folding patterns are modelled as a pin-jointed framework, which allows the use of established structural engineering methods to gain insight into the kinematics of the folded sheet. The kinematic analysis can be naturally developed into a sti - ness matrix approach; by studying its softest eigenmodes, important deformations of a partially folded sheet can be found, which aids in the understanding of Origami sheets for engineering applications.
Amylase : Its application in the extraction of phytochemicals

Plants are a rich source of drugs used in traditional systems of medicine, modern medicines, nutraceuticals, food supplements, folk medicines and pharmaceutical intermediates. They are also used as chemical entities for synthetic drugs. Efficient methods for maximum extraction of important phytochemicals are the need of the day. The traditional methods of physical and chemical extraction are effective but may affect the structure, quality and yield of the phytochemicals extracted. Amylase is an important enzyme that is generally used in the food and laundry industry. The paper aims at studying the effect of partially purified amylase obtained from Aspergillus niger in the extraction of phytochemicals from Terminalia chebula and Syzygium aromaticum. Amylase assisted extraction of Terminalia chebula showed a 13.3% increased release of phenolics in Tannic acid equivalents (TAE) and a two fold increase in Gallic acid equivalents (GAE). In the case of Syzygium aromaticum, amylase assisted extraction showed a two fold increase in volume of clove oils extracted and 40% increase in the weight of the oil extracted. The amylase assisted extracts of both the plant sources showed a greater antibacterial activity against E. coli and S. aureus.
Homo-Oligomerization of Marburgvirus VP35 Is Essential for Its Function in Replication and Transcription

ABSTRACT The nucleocapsid protein VP35 of Marburgvirus, a filovirus, acts as the cofactor of the viral polymerase and plays an essential role in transcription and replication of the viral RNA. VP35 forms complexes with the genome encapsidating protein NP and with the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase L. In addition, a trimeric complex had been detected in which VP35 bridges L and the nucleoprotein NP. It has been presumed that the trimeric complex represents the active polymerase bound to the nucleocapsid. Here we present evidence that a predicted coiled-coil domain between amino acids 70 and 120 of VP35 is essential and sufficient to mediate homo-oligomerization of the protein. Substitution of leucine residues 90 and 104 abolished (i) the probability to form coiled coils, (ii) homo-oligomerization, and (iii) the function of VP35 in viral RNA synthesis. Further, it was found that homo-oligomerization-negative mutants of VP35 could not bind to L. Thus, it is presumed that homo-oligomerization-negative mutants of VP35 are unable to recruit the polymerase to the NP/RNA template. In contrast, inability to homo-oligomerize did not abolish the recruitment of VP35 into inclusion bodies, which contain nucleocapsid-like structures formed by NP. Finally, transcriptionally inactive mutants of VP35 containing the functional homo-oligomerization domain displayed a dominant-negative phenotype. Inhibition of VP35 oligomerization might therefore represent a suitable target for antiviral intervention.
Purification of a protein binding to the CDEI subregion of Saccharomyces cerevisiae centromere DNA

The DNA subregions CDEI and CDEIII of Saccharomyces cerevisiae centromeres are highly conserved, and both are binding sites for proteins. We describe here the purfication of a CDEI-specific binding protein using biotin-labeled synthetic CDEI DNA coupled to streptavidin agarose. The binding properties of this 64-kilodalton (kDa) protein were characterized by competition assays and by methylation interference assays. DNA fragments with single base-pair changes at positions 7 and 8 of CDEI were less efficient competitors than fragments with nonmutated CDEI. Mutations at these positions have previously been shown to decrease centromere activity in vivo. Methylation of guanosines at either side of the 8-base-pair CDEI sequence did not interfere with binding, whereas methylation of any of the four guanosines within CDEI prevented binding. A smaller CDEI-specific binding protein of 37 kDa was also purified and characterized. It is most likely a degradation product of the 64-kDa protein.
On the Contribution of Saliency in Visual Tracking

Visual target tracking is a long-standing problem in the domain of computer vision. There are numerous methods proposed over several years. A recent trend in visual tracking has been target representation and tracking using saliency models inspired by the attentive mechanism of the human. Motivated to investigate the usefulness of such target representation scheme, we study several target representation techniques for meanshift tracking framework, where the feature space can include color, texture, saliency, and gradient orientation information. In particular, we study the usefulness of the joint distribution of color-texture, color-saliency, and color-orientation in comparison with the color distribution. The performance is evaluated using the visual object tracking(VOT) 2013 which provides a systematic mechanism and a database for the assessment of tracking algorithms. We summarize the results in terms of accuracy & robustness; and discuss the usefulness of saliency-based target tracking.
Nematode repetitive DNA with ARS and segregation function in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Several members of a repetitive DNA family in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans have been shown to express ARS and centromeric function in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The repetitive family, denoted CeRep3, consists of dispersed repeated elements about 1 kilobase in length, present 50 to 100 times in the nematode genome. Three elements were sequenced and found to contain DNA sequences homologous to yeast ARS and CEN consensus sequences. Nematode DNA segments containing these repeats were tested for ARS and CEN (or SEG) function after ligation to shuttle vectors and introduction into yeast cells. Such nematode segments conferred ARS function to the plasmid, as judged by an increased frequency of transformation compared with control plasmids without ARS function. Some, but not all, also conferred to the plasmid increased mitotic stability, increased frequency of 2+:2- segregation in meiosis, and decreased plasmid copy number. These effects are similar to those of yeast centromeric DNA. In view of these results, we suggest that the CeRep3 repetitive family may have replication and centromeric functions in C. elegans.
Adolescents’ Reports of Physical Violence by Peers in Residential Care Settings

Physical victimization by peers was examined among 1,324 Jewish and Arab adolescents, aged 11 to 19, residing in 32 residential care settings (RCS) for children at-risk in Israel. Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) was used to examine the relationships between physical victimization and adolescents’ characteristics (age, gender, self-efficacy, adjustment difficulties, maltreatment by staff, and perceived social climate) as well as institution-level characteristics (care setting type, size, structure, and ethnic affiliation). For this study, we define physical violence as being grabbed, shoved, kicked, punched, hit with a hand, or hit with an object. Over 50% (56%) of the adolescents surveyed reported having experienced at least one form of physical violence by peers. Boys and younger adolescents were more likely to be victimized than girls and older adolescents. The results show that adolescents with adjustment difficulties or low social self-efficacy, and adolescents who perceive an institution’s staff as strict and/or had experienced maltreatment by staff, are vulnerable groups for peer victimization. Lower levels of victimization were found in RCS with a familial element than in traditional group settings. Institutions with high concentrations of young people with adjustment difficulties and violent staff behaviors had higher levels of violence among residents. Applying an ecological perspective to an investigation of peer victimization in RCS enables the identification of risk factors at adolescent and institution levels. This type of examination has implications for child welfare practice and policy that can help in the development of prevention and intervention methods designed to tackle the involvement in violence of youth in care.
Antiepileptic Drug Development Program.

The modern era of antiepileptic drug therapy began with the use of phénobarbital in 1912. In the years thereafter, many new drugs were introduced, including other barbiturates, hydantoins, succinimides, and oxazolidinediones. Then, for various reasons, the marketing of new antiepileptic drugs was dramatically cur- tailed. To help reverse this trend, the Epilepsy Branch of the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke sponsored clinical trials of drugs which had already been marketed abroad, resulting in the distribution of clonazepam, carbamazepine, and valproic acid in the U.S. These trials were followed by the establishment of the Antiepileptic Drug Develop- ment Program, which encompasses both the preclinical and clinical elements of drug development, including the Anticonvulsant Screening Project, the Toxicology Project, and support for controlled clinical trials.
Posttranslational Modification of Bcl-2 Facilitates Its Proteasome-Dependent Degradation: Molecular Characterization of the Involved Signaling Pathway

ABSTRACT The ratio of proapoptotic versus antiapoptotic Bcl-2 members is a critical determinant that plays a significant role in altering susceptibility to apoptosis. Therefore, a reduction of antiapoptotic protein levels in response to proximal signal transduction events may switch on the apoptotic pathway. In endothelial cells, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) induces dephosphorylation and subsequent ubiquitin-dependent degradation of the antiapoptotic protein Bcl-2. Here, we investigate the role of different putative phosphorylation sites to facilitate Bcl-2 degradation. Mutation of the consensus protein kinase B/Akt site or of potential protein kinase C or cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase sites does not affect Bcl-2 stability. In contrast, inactivation of the three consensus mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase sites leads to a Bcl-2 protein that is ubiquitinated and subsequently degraded by the 26S proteasome. Inactivation of these sites within Bcl-2 revealed that dephosphorylation of Ser87 appears to play a major role. A Ser-to-Ala substitution at this position results in 50% degradation, whereas replacement of Thr74 with Ala leads to 25% degradation, as assessed by pulse-chase studies. We further demonstrated that incubation with TNF-α induces dephosphorylation of Ser87 of Bcl-2 in intact cells. Furthermore, MAP kinase triggers phosphorylation of Bcl-2, whereas a reduction in Bcl-2 phosphorylation was observed in the presence of MAP kinase-specific phosphatases or the MAP kinase-specific inhibitor PD98059. Moreover, we show that oxidative stress mediates TNF-α-stimulated proteolytic degradation of Bcl-2 by reducing MAP kinase activity. Taken together, these results demonstrate a direct protective role for Bcl-2 phosphorylation by MAP kinase against apoptotic challenges to endothelial cells and other cells.