Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
CYP4F18-Deficient Neutrophils Exhibit Increased Chemotaxis to Complement Component C5a

CYP4Fs were first identified as enzymes that catalyze hydroxylation of leukotriene B4 (LTB4). CYP4F18 has an unusual expression in neutrophils and was predicted to play a role in regulating LTB4-dependent inflammation. We compared chemotaxis of wild-type and Cyp4f18 knockout neutrophils using an in vitro assay. There was no significant difference in the chemotactic response to LTB4, but the response to complement component C5a increased 1.9–2.25-fold in knockout cells compared to wild-type (P < 0.01). This increase was still observed when neutrophils were treated with inhibitors of eicosanoid synthesis. There were no changes in expression of other CYP4 enzymes in knockout neutrophils that might compensate for loss of CYP4F18 or lead to differences in activity. A mouse model of dextran sodium sulfate colitis was used to investigate the consequences of increased C5a-dependent chemotaxis in vivo, but there was no significant difference in weight loss, disease activity, or colonic tissue myeloperoxidase between wild-type and Cyp4f18 knockout mice. This study demonstrates the limitations of inferring CYP4F function based on an ability to use LTB4 as a substrate, points to expanding roles for CYP4F enzymes in immune regulation, and underscores the in vivo challenges of CYP knockout studies.
Scaling step-wise refinement

Step-wise refinement is a powerful paradigm for developing a complex program from a simple program by adding features incrementally. We present the AHEAD (algebraic hierarchical equations for application design) model that shows how step-wise refinement scales to synthesize multiple programs and multiple noncode representations. AHEAD shows that software can have an elegant, hierarchical mathematical structure that is expressible as nested sets of equations. We review a tool set that supports AHEAD. As a demonstration of its viability, we have bootstrapped AHEAD tools from equational specifications, refining Java and nonJava artifacts automatically; a task that was accomplished only by ad hoc means previously.
Determination of the heat source parameters for the case of simultaneous two-sided laser-arc welding of extended T-joints

Effective application of hybrid laser technologies can help to decide the problem of creating high-performance welding technologies that allow to optimize the process of producing critical structures, as well as to reduce labor intensiveness material consumption. Today the development of industrial technologies for the manufacture of extended body parts under minimum tolerance condition requires the numerical simulation of thermal deformation processes occurring in the material during welding and affecting the final operating characteristics of products. The article is devoted to the search for the optimal solution of the problem of determining the T-joint geometrics, taking into account the possibility varying the positional relationship of the laser and arc heat sources on both sides. The thermal field that is created by two simultaneously operating combined heat sources is one of the key parameters of the process.
Advanced Encryption Standard ( AES ) in Counter Mode

The Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), also known as Rijndael is a block cipher. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has defined five modes of operation for AES. Each of these modes has different characteristics. The five modes are: Electronic Code Book (ECB), Cipher Block Chaining (CBC), Cipher FeedBack (CFB), Output FeedBack (OFB), and Counter (CTR). Only AES Counter mode (AES-CTR) is discussed in this report.
Tone Reservation Using Near-Optimal Peak Reduction Tone Set Selection Algorithm for PAPR Reduction in OFDM Systems

This letter considers selection of the optimal peak reduction tone (PRT) set for the tone reservation (TR) scheme to reduce the peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) of an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) signal. In the TR scheme, PAPR reduction performance achieved by a randomly generated PRT set is superior to that by a consecutive PRT set and that achieved by an interleaved tone set. However, the optimal PRT set requires an exhaustive search of all combinations of possible PRT sets, which is known to be a nondeterministic polynomial-time (NP)-hard and cannot be solved for the practical number of tones. Inspired by the efficiency of the cross-entropy (CE) method for finding near-optimal solutions in huge search spaces, this letter proposes the application of the CE method to search the optimal PRT set. Computer simulation results show that the proposed CE method obtains near-optimal PRT sets and provides better PAPR performance.
Diets enriched with cereal brans or inulin modulate protein kinase C activity and isozyme expression in rat colonic mucosa–Reply by Pajari & Mutanen

The role of dietary fibres in colon carcinogenesis is controversial. To elucidate the mechanisms by which different dietary fibre sources may affect colonic tumour development, we studied the effects of diets enriched with cereal brans or inulin on protein kinase C (PKC) activity and isozyme expression in rat colon. Male Wistar rats (twelve per group) were fed one of the following AIN-93G-based diets (Reeves et al. 1993) for 4 weeks: a non-fibre high-fat diet or one of the four high-fat diets supplemented with either rye, oat or wheat bran or inulin at 100 g/kg diet. The fat concentration (20 g/100 g) and fatty acid composition of the non-fibre high-fat diet was designed to approximate that in a typical Western-type diet. In the proximal colon, rats fed the inulin diet had a significantly higher membrane PKC activity and a higher membrane PKC delta level than rats fed the non-fibre diet In the distal colon, rats fed the inulin and oat bran diets had a higher total PKC activity and a higher membrane PKC beta 2 level than rats fed the wheat-bran diet. Rats in the non-fibre and wheat-bran groups had the lowest concentrations of luminal diacylglycerol. In conclusion, feeding of wheat bran resulted in low distal PKC activity and expression of PKC beta 2, a PKC isozyme related to colonic cell proliferation and increased susceptibility for colon carcinogenesis, which may explain in part the protective effect of wheat bran against tumour development in a number of experimental colon cancer studies. The increase in PKC activity and PKC beta 2 expression by feeding inulin may be a drawback of inulin as a functional food.
Mechanical Properties of PCL/PLA/PEG composite blended with different molecular weight (MW) of PEG for Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) filament wire.

In tnis study, Polycaprolactone/Polylactide (PCL/PLA) was plasticized by Polyethylene Glycols (PEGs) with three different molecular weights (Mw=400, 6000 and 10,000g/mol) with the objective to determine the effect of different molecular weight and percentage of PEG on the mechanical properties of PCL/PLA/PEG composites. The effects of content and molecular weight of PEG on the mechanical properties of PCL/PLA/PEG were studied by tensile and impact tests. The tensile test were carried out using Instron 5567 Universal Testing Machine meanwhile the impact test were carried out using Charpy Impact Testing Machine. The results revealed that, increasing in molecular weight of PEG could signiﬁcantly improve the tensile and impact strenght of PCL/PLA. The results also shows that with increasing molecular weight of PEG, the tensile strength and modulus of elasticity of PCL/PLA/PEG composite were also increased. However, with the increasing of PEG content from 5phr to 15phr on PCL/PLA/PEG composites, it decreases the tensile strength and Young's modulus. Meanwhile from the Charpy impact test, it shows that the impact strength of PCL/PLA/PEG composites increased as the molecular weight of PEG increased from 400 to 10,000. The overall results demonstrated better mechanical properties of PCL/PLA/PEG composites can be achieved by optimizing the content and molecular weight of PEG. The introduction of PEG molecular weight increased the intermolecular force and enhanced the mobility of PCL/PLA chains, thus improving mechanical properties of PCL/PLA.
Integrated tracking with features matching and adaptive model updating

Algorithms for correlation-based IR(infrared) target tracking can be implemented easily and have high precision, so they are used widely. There are some problems to be solved for IR target track, The problems include how to realize steady and fast tracking and how to assure the validity of model updating. In this paper we propose a novel high performance matching algorithm including integrated features selection and accelerating phase, and a model updating scheme based on confidence integration and multiple frame cumulation, the proposed IR target tracking algorithm is real time and accurate. From the experiment results we can conclude the proposed solution is validate and practical, and is very useful.
E-Store: Fine-Grained Elastic Partitioning for Distributed Transaction Processing

On-line transaction processing (OLTP) database management systems (DBMSs) often serve time-varying workloads due to daily, weekly or seasonal fluctuations in demand, or because of rapid growth in demand due to a company's business success. In addition, many OLTP workloads are heavily skewed to "hot" tuples or ranges of tuples. For example, the majority of NYSE volume involves only 40 stocks. To deal with such fluctuations, an OLTP DBMS needs to be elastic; that is, it must be able to expand and contract resources in response to load fluctuations and dynamically balance load as hot tuples vary over time. This paper presents E-Store, an elastic partitioning framework for distributed OLTP DBMSs. It automatically scales resources in response to demand spikes, periodic events, and gradual changes in an application's workload. E-Store addresses localized bottlenecks through a two-tier data placement strategy: cold data is distributed in large chunks, while smaller ranges of hot tuples are assigned explicitly to individual nodes. This is in contrast to traditional single-tier hash and range partitioning strategies. Our experimental evaluation of E-Store shows the viability of our approach and its efficacy under variations in load across a cluster of machines. Compared to single-tier approaches, E-Store improves throughput by up to 130% while reducing latency by 80%.
Accelerating adaptive ultrasound imaging algorithms by means of general-purpose computing on graphics processing units

A rapid development in computer game technology and accompanying programming languages have recently provided researchers with small personal supercomputers, comprised in a single graphics processing unit (GPU). This immense rise in computational capabilities and improved programmability are currently changing how ultrasound imaging systems are designed. When researchers are exploring new algorithms for ultrasound imaging, it is therefore important to keep the architecture of parallel accelerators like the GPU in mind. If a new complex algorithm is supposed to run in real time, it needs to fit the programmable and parallel pipeline of modern ultrasound scanners. The aim of this study has been to investigate the possibility of utilizing GPUs for advanced processing in an ultrasound imaging system. Among the investigated problems are both adaptive beamforming, adaptive visualization of ultrasound volumes, and ultrasound simulations. The presented problems have in common that they require parallel programming in order to reach real-time processing. In the first part of the thesis, the Capon adaptive beamformer is investigated and implemented on a GPU for the application of real-time sonar (Paper I) and medical ultrasound imaging (Paper II). Real-time frame rates are achieved for both modalities. Paper II also presents, for the first time, videos where the Capon beamformer has been applied on loops of simulated and in vivo medical ultrasound images. In Paper III, we show that Capon beamforming does not provide shiftinvariant imaging in a real-time imaging setting. A method is then proposed that improves the shift-invariant property. Shift-invariant imaging is essential if the method is ever to be used in practice. In paper Paper IV we propose an adaptive method for visualization of volumetric cardiac ultrasound images. The method is capable of removing noise that by conventional methods would have occluded cardiac tissue. This work also shows that with modern GPUs it is possible to add advanced visualization methods to an ultrasound imaging system and still have real-time performance. Finally, we investigate how GPUs can be utilized to accelerate ultrasound simulations (PaperV). The result of this work was a simulation program where ultrasound array geometries can be interactively drawn and where the resulting pressure field is simulated and visualized in real time.
Moving In and Out of the What-Ifs: The Experiences of Unaffected Women Living in Families Where a Breast Cancer 1 or 2 Genetic Mutation Was Not Found.

BACKGROUND In families where genetic testing for the breast cancer 1 and 2 genes (BRCA1/2) has not identified a deleterious mutation, the risk for hereditary breast cancer (HBC) can still be high when there is a strong family history. Little is known about how an awareness of risk for HBC impacts the everyday lives of unaffected women (no personal history for breast and/or ovarian cancer) in these families. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study is to explore how unaffected women, living in BRCA1/2-negative families, experience living with risk for HBC. METHODS van Manen's hermeneutic phenomenological approach guided this study. Unaffected at-risk women were recruited from a hereditary breast and ovarian cancer clinic in Western Canada. RESULTS Nine women participated in 20 open-ended conversations. Phenomenological reflection on the 4 life existentials (lived space, body, time, and relations) revealed "Moving In and Out of the What-Ifs" as an overarching description that was communicated through the following themes: "Just Moving Along: Living a Normal Life," "Moving Into Those Dark Spaces," "Is there Something Wrong With Me"? "Markings in Time," "Living in the Moment," "Being Cared For," and "Keeping Me Grounded. " CONCLUSIONS The findings reveal how knowledge from predictive medicine impacts the lives of women and the importance of supportive relations and provides a foundation for future research into how health is perceived. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE The findings inform the practices of healthcare professionals as they engage in discussions with women living with risk for HBC and highlight the importance of a supportive relationship.
MUTYH mediates the toxicity of combined DNA 6-thioguanine and UVA radiation

The therapeutic thiopurines, including the immunosuppressant azathioprine (Aza) cause the accumulation of the UVA photosensitizer 6-thioguanine (6-TG) in the DNA of the patients' cells. DNA 6-TG and UVA are synergistically cytotoxic and their interaction causes oxidative damage. The MUTYH DNA glycosylase participates in the base excision repair of oxidized DNA bases. Using Mutyh-nullmouse fibroblasts (MEFs) we examined whether MUTYH provides protection against the lethal effects of combined DNA 6-TG/UVA. Surprisingly, Mutyh-null MEFs were more resistant than wild-type MEFs, despite accumulating higher levels of DNA 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine (8-oxoG). Their enhanced 6-TG/UVA resistance reflected the absence of the MUTYH protein and MEFs expressing enzymatically-dead human variants were as sensitive as wild-type cells. Consistent with their enhanced resistance, Mutyh-null cells sustained fewer DNA strand breaks and lower levels of chromosomal damage after 6-TG/UVA. Although 6-TG/UVA treatment caused early checkpoint activation irrespective of the MUTYH status, Mutyh-null cells failed to arrest in S-phase at late time points. MUTYH-dependent toxicity was also apparent in vivo. Mutyh−/−mice survived better than wild-type during a 12-month chronicexposure to Aza/UVA treatments that significantly increased levels of skin DNA 8-oxoG. Two squamous cell skin carcinomas arose in Aza/UVA treated Mutyh−/− mice whereas similarly treated wild-type animals remained tumor-free.
The method of lines for the numerical solution of partial differential equations

The numerical solution of time dependent nonlinear partial differential equations is a complicated and nontrivial process. Generally speaking, the solution of slightly different types of partial differential equations has required the development of separate and different computer programs. This situation for partial differential equations is in direct contrast to that for ordinary differential equations. Recently, sophisticated and reliable computer programs for the automatic solution of nonlinear systems of ordinary differential equations have become available. The use of the method of lines approach for solving partial differential equations is an attempt to take advantage of these recent significant developments for ordinary differential equations. In this presentation we will compare the advantages and disadvantages of this approach. We will describe how the method of lines approach for solving PDE's allows one to be able to develop very general purpose computer software for solving broad classes of problems. The structure and use of this software will be described. Finally, numerical results obtained with this general purpose software will be presented and discussed.
Effects of agonist–antagonist complex resistance training on upper body strength and power development

Abstract The objective of this study was to examine the chronic effects on strength and power of performing complex versus traditional set training over eight weeks. Fifteen trained males were assessed for throw height, peak velocity, and peak power in the bench press throw and one-repetition maximum (1-RM) in the bench press and bench pull exercises, before and after the eight-week programme. The traditional set group performed the pulling before the pushing exercise sets, whereas the complex set group alternated pulling and pushing sets. The complex set training sessions were completed in approximately half the time. Electromyographic (EMG) activity was monitored during both test sessions in an attempt to determine if it was affected as a result of the training programme. Although there were no differences in the dependent variables between the two conditions, bench pull and bench press 1-RM increased significantly under the complex set condition and peak power increased significantly under the traditional set condition. Effect size statistics suggested that the complex set was more time-efficient than the traditional set condition with respect to development of 1-RM bench pull and bench press, peak velocity and peak power. The EMG activity was not affected. Complex set training would appear to be an effective method of exercise with respect to efficiency and strength development.
Liquid Crystal Lensacons, Logarithmic and Linear Axicons

Until now, several attempts have been made to obtain axicons by using liquid crystals. Previous results had always a considerable deviation from the linear response and the resulting aperture is square. In addition, classical fabrications methods are expensive and only produce fixed phase profiles. In this study, a novel structure to obtain tunable axicons with a perfect conical shape and a circular aperture is proposed and theoretically studied. The proposed optical device is based on nematic liquid crystal and phase shifted electrical signals. A simulation program consisted of Finite Elements Method to solve the voltage distribution combined with the Frank-Oseen equation to solve the molecular position of the nematic liquid crystal is employed. This device is totally reconfigurable by using low voltage signals. The focus depth and the position of this one can be controlled electrically.
Labor Market Search, Sticky Prices, and Interest Rate Policies

In this paper, a simple search model of the labor market is combined with sticky prices to investigate the dynamic response of the economy to nominal interest rate shocks. The framework allows the respective roles of labor market search, nominal price rigidities, and policy inertia in accounting for the impact of monetary policy shocks to be studied. Labor market rigidities introduced by the process of matching job seekers with job vacancies amplify the real impact and reduce the inflation impact of a monetary policy shock. As a result, significantly less price rigidity is required; for example, the dynamic response of output and inflation in the new Keynesian model with a Walrasian labor market and only 15% of firms optimally adjusting prices each period can be replicated in the labor market search model when a more realistic 50% of firms optimally adjust their price each period.
Multirange wavelength-selectable microarray light sources simultaneously fabricated on a wafer covering the entire C-Band

We developed high-performance distributed feedback array-based wavelength-selectable light sources (WSLs), covering the entire C-band with five simultaneously fabricated devices. We fabricated five different range WSLs on a wafer, each with a unique 8-nm tuning range to cover 40 100-GHz-spaced channels. Uniform characteristics, such as an Ith of 8.3/spl plusmn/1.2 mA, a sidemode suppression ratio of over 45 dB, and a fiber-coupled power greater than 8.5 mW were obtained.
Temporal and spatial variations in the composition of freshwater photosynthetic picoeukaryotes revealed by MiSeq sequencing from flow cytometry sorted samples

Summary The diversity and composition of photosynthetic picoeukaryotes (PPEs) in two large shallow lakes in China (Lake Taihu and Lake Chaohu) were investigated from flow cytometry sorted samples using Miseq high‐throughput sequencing. We collected 65 samples covering different regions of the two lakes over four seasons to unveil spatial and temporal patterns of PPEs community composition. The use of flow cytometry sorting largely improved the efficiency of detecting PPEs sequences and over 70% of the retrieved reads belonged to PPEs. Chlorophyta and Bacillariophyta dominated PPEs in most of the samples. A distinct but complex seasonality of PPEs composition emerged at the OTUs level. NGS‐based Miseq sequencing facilitates an in‐depth view of numerous rare OTUs. Nearly 80% of the PPEs OTUs were rare and lots of them were detected only in one season, whereas most of the abundant OTUs were frequently detected in all seasons but only changed in relative abundances. Besides, a close relative of the marine PPEs species Ostreococcus sp. (OTU_1144, 99% identity) was discovered in freshwater systems for the first time and was abundant especially in winter. The diversity and community composition of PPEs were more dependent on season rather than sampling sites. Temperature, phycocyanin and NO3—N concentrations in Lake Taihu explained the PPE composition variations, whereas in Lake Chaohu TN/TP ratios, temperature, pH and nephelometric turbidity units (NTU) seemed to be the most important factors. In addition, a great number of OTUs belong to nonpigmented picoeukaryotes, especially Chytridiomycota, Perkinsozoa, Ciliophora and Cercozoa, which are known to include algae parasites as well as predators. The results of mantel test also showed that the community of photosynthetic and nonpigmented picoeukaryotes were significantly correlated in both lakes.