Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Phonon Entropy of Transition Metals and Alloys: Effects of Impurities and of a Martensitic Phase Transition

For a fixed configuration of ions on a given crystalline lattice, low energy excitations around the static average configuration can be thermally activated and will contribute to the entropy of the system. As such, phonons, spin-waves or electronic excitations have their own entropic contribution. This thesis investigates the entropic effects of lattice vibrations in transition metal alloys, both from experimental and computational points of view. Using inelastic neutron scattering, it is shown that a few percent of substitutional impurities from the transition metal series strongly affect the phonon density of states (DOS) of pure vanadium. Alloying with 6% Pt solutes produces a strong stiffening of the phonon DOS, inducing a large and negative vibrational entropy of mixing, which overcomes the increase in configurational entropy. A systematic study of chemical trends for different transition metal impurities was conducted. A previously unknown correlation is established between the vibrational entropy of alloying and the difference in electronegativity of the solute and the host. Density-functional theory calculations were conducted and confirmed the occurrence of systematic charge-transfers correlating with the electronegativity, which affect the interatomic force-constants and the phonons. The effect of impurities on the anomalous temperature-dependence of phonons in vanadium is investigated. It is found that the solutes which affect the phonon density of states most strongly at room temperature also suppress the anomalous temperature behavior. Electron-phonon and phonon-phonon couplings are examined as potential sources of this effect, through a careful accounting of their contributions to the heat capacity, based on inelastic neutron scattering experiments, calorimetry measurements and electronic structure calculations. Finally, the changes in the phonon DOS and the vibrational entropy across the low-temperature martensitic phase transformation in Fe71Ni29 are investigated. The respective contributions of the phonons and magnetism to the entropy of the direct and reverse transformation are evaluated from neutron scattering and differential scanning calorimetry measurements. A significant magnetic entropy is found in the reverse transformation, which is not present in the direct transformation. This result stresses the necessity to account for the respective contributions of all microscopic degrees of freedom in evaluating entropy changes in solid-solid phase transitions.
Binaural Localization of Multiple Sound Sources by Non-Negative Tensor Factorization

This paper presents non-negative factorization of audio signals for the binaural localization of multiple sound sources within realistic and unknown sound environments. Non-negative tensor factorization (NTF) provides a sparse representation of multichannel audio signals in time, frequency, and space that can be exploited in computational audio scene analysis and robot audition for the separation and localization of sound sources. In the proposed formulation, each sound source is represented by means of spectral dictionaries, temporal activation, and its distribution within each channel (here, left and right ears). This distribution, being dependent on the frequency, can be interpreted as an explicit estimation of the Head-Related Transfer Function (HRTF) of a binaural head which can then be converted into the estimated sound source position. Moreover, the semisupervised formulation of the non-negative factorization allows us to integrate prior knowledge about some sound sources of interest whose dictionaries can be learned in advance, whereas the remaining sources are considered as background sound, which remains unknown and is estimated on the fly. The proposed NTF-based sound source localization is applied here to binaural sound source localization of multiple speakers within realistic sound environments.
Tonal stabilization of video

This paper presents a method for reducing undesirable tonal fluctuations in video: minute changes in tonal characteristics, such as exposure, color temperature, brightness and contrast in a sequence of frames, which are easily noticeable when the sequence is viewed. These fluctuations are typically caused by the camera's automatic adjustment of its tonal settings while shooting. Our approach operates on a continuous video shot by first designating one or more frames as anchors. We then tonally align a sequence of frames with each anchor: for each frame, we compute an adjustment map that indicates how each of its pixels should be modified in order to appear as if it was captured with the tonal settings of the anchor. The adjustment map is efficiently updated between successive frames by taking advantage of temporal video coherence and the global nature of the tonal fluctuations. Once a sequence has been aligned, it is possible to generate smooth tonal transitions between anchors, and also further control its tonal characteristics in a consistent and principled manner, which is difficult to do without incurring strong artifacts when operating on unstable sequences. We demonstrate the utility of our method using a number of clips captured with a variety of video cameras, and believe that it is well-suited for integration into today's non-linear video editing tools.
AT1 receptor-mediated augmentation of angiotensinogen, oxidative stress, and inflammation in ANG II-salt hypertension.

Augmentation of intrarenal angiotensinogen (AGT) synthesis, secretion, and excretion is associated with the development of hypertension, renal oxidative stress, and tissue injury during ANG II-dependent hypertension. High salt (HS) exacerbates hypertension and kidney injury, but the mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we determined the consequences of HS intake alone compared with chronic ANG II infusion and combined HS plus ANG II on the stimulation of urinary AGT (uAGT), renal oxidative stress, and renal injury markers. Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to 1) a normal-salt diet [NS, n = 5]; 2) HS diet [8% NaCl, n = 5]; 3) ANG II infusion in NS rats [ANG II 80 ng/min, n = 5]; 4) ANG II infusion in HS rats [ANG II+HS, n = 5]; and 5) ANG II infusion in HS rats treated with ANG II type 1 receptor blocker (ARB) [ANG II+HS+ARB, n = 5] for 14 days. Rats fed a HS diet alone did not show changes in systolic blood pressure (SBP), proteinuria, cell proliferation, or uAGT excretion although they did exhibit mesangial expansion, collagen deposition, and had increased NADPH oxidase activity accompanied by increased peroxynitrite formation in the kidneys. Compared with ANG II rats, the combination of ANG II infusion and a HS diet led to exacerbation in SBP (175 ± 10 vs. 221 ± 8 mmHg; P < 0.05), proteinuria (46 ± 7 vs. 127 ± 7 mg/day; P < 0.05), and uAGT (1,109 ± 70 vs. 7,200 ± 614 ng/day; P < 0.05) associated with greater collagen deposition, mesangial expansion, interstitial cell proliferation, and macrophage infiltration. In both ANG II groups, the O(2)(-) levels were increased due to increased NADPH oxidase activity without concomitant increases in peroxynitrite formation. The responses in ANG II rats were prevented or ameliorated by ARB treatment. The results indicate that HS independently stimulates ROS formation, which may synergize with the effect of ANG II to limit peroxynitrite formation, leading to exacerbation of uAGT and greater injury during ANG II salt hypertension.
Spruce glucomannan: Preparation, structural characteristics and basic film forming ability

In this study one representative hemicellulose in spruce wood, low galactosyl substituted glucomannan (GM), has been prepared and purified from holocellulose by NaOH/H3BO4 extraction, Fehling reagent precipitation and HCl regeneration. The GM structure obtained was comprehensively characterized by FTIR, hydrolysis-IC, SEC, and various solution- and solid state NMR spectroscopies. In addition, two pretreatment methods have been evaluated to form films from the GM. It was found that the spruce GM is composed of galactose, glucose and mannose in a ratio of 0.03:1:3.4. The molecular masses are around 255 kDa (Mw) against pullulan standards. The GM was almost free from other polysaccharides such as xylan (0.61%) and free from metal ions (<0.2% ash content). After blending with glycerol or pre-acetylation, two yellowish transparent films have been obtained after solution casting. For the former, water affinity was observed while for the latter water resistance was noticed. Potential high value applications of this GM include packaging and coatings in food and pharmaceutical industry.
Surface modification of semiconducting silicon nanowires for biosensing applications

Abstract: Silicon nanowires (SiNW) are one of the most important 1-D semiconductors, partly because of their ready implementation in modern technology. As sensing applications using SiNW increase, it is necessary to have well-defined chemical attachment schemes to provide the desired biomolecular recognition properties, chemical stability and interfacial electrical properties. Such surface functionalization allows controlled immobilization of biomolecules on SiNW, important in designing selective and sensitive biosensors. Moreover, such SiNW modification is not only dedicated to sensing, but also is useful for many other applications (not described in this chapter) such as device integration, controlled cell micro-patterning, SiNW internalization and analyte confinement.
Calculation of the total ionization cross section and spin asymmetry in electron-hydrogen scattering from threshold to 500 eV.

We present the total ionization cross section and spin asymmetry at projectile energies ranging from threshold to 500 eV for electron-impact excitation of atomic hydrogen. They are calculated using the convergent close-coupling formalism of Bray and Stelbovics [Phys. Rev. A 46, 6995 (1992)]. Both observables are found to be in complete quantitative agreement with measurements over almost the entire energy range. This is the only electron-atom scattering theory that is able to achieve this result to date.
Bone tissue engineering: A review in bone biomimetics and drug delivery strategies

Critical‐sized defects in bone, whether induced by primary tumor resection, trauma, or selective surgery have in many cases presented insurmountable challenges to the current gold standard treatment for bone repair. The primary purpose of a tissue‐engineered scaffold is to use engineering principles to incite and promote the natural healing process of bone which does not occur in critical‐sized defects. A synthetic bone scaffold must be biocompatible, biodegradable to allow native tissue integration, and mimic the multidimensional hierarchical structure of native bone. In addition to being physically and chemically biomimetic, an ideal scaffold is capable of eluting bioactive molecules (e.g., BMPs, TGF‐βs, etc., to accelerate extracellular matrix production and tissue integration) or drugs (e.g., antibiotics, cisplatin, etc., to prevent undesired biological response such as sepsis or cancer recurrence) in a temporally and spatially controlled manner. Various biomaterials including ceramics, metals, polymers, and composites have been investigated for their potential as bone scaffold materials. However, due to their tunable physiochemical properties, biocompatibility, and controllable biodegradability, polymers have emerged as the principal material in bone tissue engineering. This article briefly reviews the physiological and anatomical characteristics of native bone, describes key technologies in mimicking the physical and chemical environment of bone using synthetic materials, and provides an overview of local drug delivery as it pertains to bone tissue engineering is included. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog. , 2009
GLA: Gate-level abstraction revisited

Verification benefits from removing logic that is not relevant for a proof. Techniques for doing this are known as localization abstraction. Abstraction is often performed by selecting a subset of gates to be included in the abstracted model; the signals feeding into this subset become unconstrained cut-points. In this paper, we propose several improvements to substantially increase the scalability of automated abstraction. In particular, we show how a better integration between the BMC engine and the SAT solver is achieved, resulting in a new hybrid abstraction engine, that is faster and uses less memory. This engine speeds up computation by constant propagation and circuit-based structural hashing while collecting UNSAT cores for the intermediate proofs in terms of a subset of the original variables. Experimental results show improvements in the abstraction depth and size.
A tightly regulated and reversibly inducible siRNA expression system for conditional RNAi‐mediated gene silencing in mammalian cells

RNA interference (RNAi) is a powerful and widely used gene silencing strategy for studying gene function in mammalian cells. Transient or constitutive expression of either small interfering RNA (siRNA) or short hairpin RNA (shRNA) results in temporal or persistent inhibition of gene expression, respectively. A tightly regulated and reversibly inducible RNAi‐mediated gene silencing approach could conditionally control gene expression in a temporal or spatial manner that provides an extremely useful tool for studying gene function involved in cell growth, survival and development.
Study on Extraction Technology of Polysaccharide from Pleurotus ostreatus

To study the extraction technology of polysaccharide from Pleurotus ostreatus. In order to explore the influence of temperature, time, and solid-liquid ratio on polysaccharide yield, single factor test had been done. The optimum extraction conditions was obtained though orthogonal test and interactive analysis: extraction temperature 50°C, extraction time 2h, and solid-liquid ratio 1:30. Under those conditions, the extraction rate of Pleurotus ostreatus polysaccharides was 28.79%.
Speech-to-text technology to transcribe and disclose 100, 000+ hours of bilingual documents from historical Czech and Czechoslovak radio archive

In this paper, we present the outcome of a 4-year project whose ultimate goal is to develop a complex platform that can transcribe, index and make searchable the historical archive of Czech and Czechoslovak Radio. The archive covers 90 years of public broadcasting and contains hundreds of thousands audio documents. The developed modular platform employs our LVCSR system that has to cope with 2 related languages: Czech and Slovak. Furthermore, it must deal with audio files of varying quality (e.g. recordings originally stored on matrices or tapes, data passed through analog and digital telephone lines, speech recorded during parliament or court sessions, etc.) The system includes speaker and language identification modules, a narrow-band signal detector, a music/song detector, and several other components to enhance transcription accuracy and provide support for multi-optional search. We evaluate the performance on broadcast news test sets grouped according to decades. We show that after acoustic and language model adaptation WER values are in range 8-14% and do not differ much since 1960s to present. We report also results achieved on other types of documents (e.g. talk shows, political debates, public speeches, etc), where the WER is higher but still acceptable for most search tasks.
Physical Activity in Overweight and Obese Pregnant Women Is Associated With Higher Levels of Proinflammatory Cytokines and With Reduced Insulin Response Through Interleukin-6

OBJECTIVE Previously, we reported the positive association of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) with insulin sensitivity in overweight and obese pregnant women. We sought to assess whether these MVPA-induced changes in insulin sensitivity are mediated by changes in interleukin (IL)-6, IL-10, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and IL-1β. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A prospective longitudinal study was conducted in 46 overweight and obese women at risk for gestational diabetes mellitus. Objective physical activity measurements and fasting blood samples were taken at 15, 24, and 32 weeks of pregnancy. At 24 and 32 weeks, a 100-g oral glucose test was performed in addition. Cytokines, C-reactive protein, and glucose and insulin levels were measured, and insulin sensitivity and first-phase insulin response were calculated. Relationships between the different parameters were assessed using linear regression models, adjusting for maternal age and BMI. RESULTS All cytokines were elevated in women with higher levels of MVPA at 15 weeks of gestation. Higher IL-6 was related to a lower first-phase insulin response (β −810.5 [95% CI –1,524.5 to –96.5]; P = 0.03). TNF-α and IL-1β had different effects in women with low MVPA (with low IL-6 levels) compared with more active women. CRP was not related to MVPA. CONCLUSIONS The association of MVPA with insulin sensitivity and first-phase insulin response may be (partly) mediated by IL-6, since this cytokine was related to reduced first-phase insulin response. The possible positive effects of the elevated cytokine profile in active obese pregnant women warrant further study.
Cranialization of the Frontal Sinus for Secondary Mucocele Prevention following Open Surgery for Benign Frontal Lesions

Objective To compare frontal sinus cranialization to obliteration for future prevention of secondary mucocele formation following open surgery for benign lesions of the frontal sinus. Study Design Retrospective case series. Setting Tertiary academic medical center. Patients Sixty-nine patients operated for benign frontal sinus pathology between 1994 and 2011. Interventions Open excision of benign frontal sinus pathology followed by either frontal obliteration (n = 41, 59%) or frontal cranialization (n = 28, 41%). Main Outcome Measures The prevalence of post-surgical complications and secondary mucocele formation were compiled. Results Pathologies included osteoma (n = 34, 49%), mucocele (n = 27, 39%), fibrous dysplasia (n = 6, 9%), and encephalocele (n = 2, 3%). Complications included skin infections (n = 6), postoperative cutaneous fistula (n = 1), telecanthus (n = 4), diplopia (n = 3), nasal deformity (n = 2) and epiphora (n = 1). None of the patients suffered from postoperative CSF leak, meningitis or pneumocephalus. Six patients, all of whom had previously undergone frontal sinus obliteration, required revision surgery due to secondary mucocele formation. Statistical analysis using non-inferiority test reveal that cranialization of the frontal sinus is non-inferior to obliteration for preventing secondary mucocele formation (P<0.0001). Conclusion Cranialization of the frontal sinus appears to be a good option for prevention of secondary mucocele development after open excision of benign frontal sinus lesions.
A Load Balancing Behavior for Underwater Robot Swarms to Increase Mission Time and Fault Tolerance

The studies of the underwater world such as discovering, analysing and monitoring are still a complex challenge for marine scientists. Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) are considered an appropriate solution for these objectives. The usage of AUVs in a swarm formation will increase the number of possible applications in research of the underwater world. Particularly in the field of environmental monitoring a swarm based approach could increase the efficiency of a task by parallelization, inherent redundancy and fault-tolerance. Our approach prolongs the overall mission time by a load-balancing behavior for a swarm of AUVs with consideration of energy and fault-tolerance. In general, the load-balancing behavior divides the swarm into two layers. The first one stays at the surface and saves its energy by limiting it motions and measurements. The other one submerges and performs the monitoring task. After that, an exchange between layers will be performed when one submerged AUV has a low energy level or becomes faulty, e.g. by damaged hardware parts like erroneous pressure sensors. Furthermore, this paper will be supported with a simulation of the proposed behavior.
Finding phonemes: improving machine lip-reading

In machine lip-reading there is continued debate and research around the correct classes to be used for recognition. In this paper we use a structured approach for devising speaker-dependent viseme classes, which enables the creation of a set of phoneme-to-viseme maps where each has a different quantity of visemes ranging from two to 45. Viseme classes are based upon the mapping of articulated phonemes, which have been confused during phoneme recognition, into viseme groups. Using these maps, with the LiLIR dataset, we show the effect of changing the viseme map size in speaker-dependent machine lip-reading, measured by word recognition correctness and so demonstrate that word recognition with phoneme classifiers is not just possible, but often better than word recognition with viseme classifiers. Furthermore, there are intermediate units between visemes and phonemes which are better still.
The potential of DNA modifications as biomarkers and therapeutic targets in oncology

Knowledge of epigenetic alterations in cancer is rapidly increasing due to the development of genome-wide techniques for their identification. DNA methylation is the best understood epigenetic adaptation and disease-specific aberrant DNA methylation is a well-recognized hallmark of cancer. Recently, novel modifications, including 5-hydroxymethylation have been described, adding a new layer of complexity to understanding the epigenetic machinery and their role in cancer. There have been significant advances in techniques for the discovery and validation of DNA methylation- and hydroxymethylation-based biomarkers, each with its own advantages and limitations. With the advent of new profiling technologies, the ever-growing list of genes that show epigenetic alterations, particularly DNA methylation, emphasizes the role of these changes for early detection, diagnosis, prognosis, and prediction of response to therapies. While there are yet many challenges to the effective implementation of DNA-methylation/hydroxymethylation-based biomarkers and epigenetic therapeutics, the field is moving closer to the goal of defining personalized medicine.
Experimental Studies and Mathematical Modeling of Melt-Pulsed Conveying in Screw Extruders

This article reports on a theoretical and experimental study of melt-pulsed conveying in an extruder. Based on a modified Tanner model, in terms of a simplistic viscosity equation proposed for a pulsating flow, a theory of melt-pulsed conveying under the effects of screw vibration was formulated. An experimental study was also conducted. Special attention was paid to head pressure and screw characteristics. It was found that melt vibration leads to a reduction of head pressure, with further vibration producing further reductions; vibrations also weakened the screw characteristic. Compared with the experimental results, the mathematical equations showed a reasonable qualitative-predictive ability
Power Plant Walkthrough: An Integrated System for Massive Model Rendering

Computer Aided Design (CAD) and architectural models typically contain hundreds of thousands to millions of 3D primitives. In order to display these models at interactive rates, the number of primitives to be rendered must be reduced. This paper presents an experimental system which combines multiple simplification algorithms into a single framework for the rapid display of massive geometric models. We combine textured-box culling, levels-of-detail and occlusion culling into a single run-time system. We tested our framework on a 13 million triangles CAD model of a power plant and achieved highly interactive frame rates (speedups ranging from 50 to 100x) at the expense of some loss of image quality.