Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Electromagnetic investigation about composite right/left handed transmission lines

This paper investigates about the main properties of metamaterials and proposes an application of these structures as high band pass filter in the frequency range 0 – 10 Ghz. The equivalent circuit is extracted: some electrical parameters are carried out by the finite element method, other by the analytical solution and other by the finite difference method. The ohmic losses are neglected and the inductances are estimated as functions of the frequency. A circuit simulator is used to evaluate the scattering parameters of the electrical network. The frequency behaviors of the inductances are very important in this application because they don't allow to reach the broad band matching, theoretical reaching by the balanced condition. A prototype is built at the Laboratory of the Faculty. Experimental results, in terms of scattering parameters are carried out and compared to numerical ones. A good agreement between them has been observed.
Measuring Users’ Privacy Concerns in Social Networking Sites

Social networking sites (SNSs) have become increasingly popular in recent years. These websites allow millions of individuals to create online profiles and disclose information with others. The disclosure of personal information has been considered as a major issue which can lead to negative consequences; therefore, privacy is a major concern of SNSs users. It is important to understand and measure the complexity of privacy concerns in SNSs. In this study, we investigate the nature of users’ privacy concerns in SNSs and its differences with information privacy concerns which previously studied in the setting of Internet and e-commerce. We then propose a new scale for measuring users’ privacy concerns in SNSs (UPCSNS) which will be useful for future SNSs privacy studies.
Single and multistate integral friction models

In this note, a single state integral friction model is first proposed, defining separately the Dahl, Stribeck, and microviscous effects. The model is based on an integral closed form solution of the Dahl model. A multistate integral friction model, accounting for the hysteresis behavior with non local memory, has been then derived, combining the Dahl and the Maxwell slip model. The accuracy of the model has been experimentally assessed in friction compensation, both in open and in closed velocity loop.
Molecular-dynamics study of the binding energy and melting of transition-metal clusters.

Using constant-energy molecular-dynamics simulations, we have studied the binding energies and melting behavior of Ni N , Pd N , Au N , and Ag N clusters (N=2-23) on the basis of the embedded-atom model and the second-moment approximation to the tight-binding method. The results show that the applicability of these two models, which have proved to be very useful for interpreting surface and bulk properties of transition metals, is questionable for systems with few particles. It is also shown that the kind of empirical data used in computing the parameters of the model potentials can crucially influence the cluster results
Coupling of PAK-Interacting Exchange Factor PIX to GIT1 Promotes Focal Complex Disassembly

ABSTRACT The p21-activated kinase PAK is targeted to focal complexes (FCs) through interactions with the SH3 domains of the PAK-interacting exchange factor PIX and Nck. PIX is a Rac GTP exchange factor that also binds the G-protein-coupled receptor kinase-interacting protein known as GIT1. Overexpression of GIT1 in fibroblasts or epithelial cells causes a loss of paxillin from FCs and stimulates cell motility. This is due to the direct interaction of a C-terminal 125-residue domain of GIT1 with paxillin, under the regulation of PIX. In its activated state, GIT1 can promote FC disassembly independent of actin-myosin contractile events. Additionally, GIT directly couples to a key component of FCs, focal adhesion kinase (FAK), via a conserved Spa2 homology domain. We propose that GIT1 and FAK cooperate to promote motility both by directly regulating focal complex dynamics and by the activation of Rac.
Application of join points management mechanism in spring in AOP

More and more system started using AOP(Aspect Oriented Programming), Aspect Oriented Programming is more and more important, but the problem of loss of join points has not a good solution. This paper for the use of spring framework system log generation business design a joint point detector, to traverse all join points, and in the database maintenance join point's state.
Pentachlorophenol, polychlorodibenzodioxin and polychlorodibenzofuran in eggs from hens exposed to contaminated wood shavings

Laying hens may be exposed to pentachlorophenol (PCP) present in bedding materials derived from treated timber. As a result, this chemical and its contaminants or degradation products, such as polychlorodibenzodioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorodibenzofurans (PCDFs), may be present in eggs. The litter-to-eggs transfer and depletion of these compounds were studied in a flock of laying hens reared on contaminated wood shavings. PCP determination was carried out via high resolution gas chromatography coupled to low resolution mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry (HRGC–LRMS/MS); PCDDs and PCDFs were quantified by HRGC–HRMS (SIM). After substitution of the litter contaminated with PCDDs and PCDFs at an average of 50 pg WHO-TE g−1 and with PCP at 15 µg g−1, pooled eggs from six selected hens were sampled twice a month for the depletion study. At steady state, PCDDs and PCDFs showed a transfer ratio of 0.9; for PCP it was 0.03. PCP concentration in eggs (500 ng g−1 whole weight) fell sharply the second week after exposure withdrawal; for PCDDs and PCDFs (47 pg WHO-TE g−1 fat, at day 0), the overall TEQ half-life was estimated at an average of 3.8 weeks. Due to differences in toxicokinetics (a faster depletion), PCP does not appear to be a suitable marker of PCDD and PCDF violative levels. However, the prominent analytical contribution of H7CCD and O8CCD in the contamination profile may help to trace the source of contamination. Among congeners, 2,3,7,8 T4CDF exhibited a different depletion pattern, indicating a possible mechanism of active transport.
High-Gain InAs Planar Avalanche Photodiodes

We report the fabrication of InAs planar avalanche photodiodes (APDs) using Be ion implantation. The planar APDs have a low background doping of 2 × 1014 cm-3 and large depletion widths approaching 8 μm. The thick depletion width enabled a gain of 330 to be achieved at -26 V at 200 K without inducing a significant tunneling current. No edge breakdown was observed within the APDs. The surface leakage current was found to be low with a gain normalized dark current density of 400 μAcm-2 at -20 V at 200 K.
Le colliculus supérieur dans la maladie de Parkinson : un biomarqueur possible ?

Certains troubles visuo-moteurs observes des le stade precoce de la maladie de Parkinson (MP) pourraient etre lies a une alteration du fonctionnement d’une structure sous-corticale reliee aux ganglions de la base, le colliculus superieur (CS). L’objectif de cette these a ete d’explorer l’etat fonctionnel du CS chez le patient parkinsonien nouvellement diagnostique (de novo) avant et apres instauration du traitement dopaminergique, afin d’evaluer son potentiel de biomarqueur. Pour cela, un paradigme experimental d’Imagerie par Resonance Magnetique fonctionnelle (IRMf) a ete developpe, permettant d’imager avec succes l’activite fonctionnelle du CS et egalement du corps genouille lateral (CGL) et de l’aire visuelle primaire V1 et de moduler leur activite via l’emploi de stimulation visuelle jouant sur de tres faibles niveaux de contraste (<10%). Un test de psychophysique a egalement ete developpe, permettant d’estimer la reponse perceptuelle au contraste. Nous avons dans un premier temps teste notre protocole experimental aupres de sujets sains d’âge variable afin d’evaluer le fonctionnement de ces trois regions d’interet (ROIs) au cours du vieillissement normal et de differencier les effets lies a l’âge de ceux potentiellement lies a la pathologie (Etude 1). Une diminution statistiquement significative de la reponse BOLD au sein du CGL et de V1 avec l’âge a ete observee, ces reponses correlant de plus parfaitement avec les reponses perceptuelles estimees en psychophysique. Les voies magnocellulaire et parvocellulaire semblent jouer un role dans cette perte de sensibilite au contraste de luminance liee a l’âge. Nous avons dans un second temps teste notre protocole aupres de patients parkinsoniens de novo avant et apres instauration du premier traitement dopaminergique afin d’evaluer les effets de la MP et du traitement sur le fonctionnement de nos ROIs (Etude 2). Une alteration precoce du traitement du contraste a ete observee au sein du CS et du CGL chez les patients parkinsoniens, non normalisee par l’instauration du traitement dopaminergique. Ces travaux de these ont ainsi mis en evidence un deficit fonctionnel du CS et du CGL survenant precocement durant l’evolution de la MP, confirme par nos analyses de connectivite effective. Ces resultats pourraient favoriser l’identification de deficits lies a un dysfonctionnement sensoriel de ces structures tout comme le developpement de tests paraclinique et clinique impliquant ce systeme pour un diagnostic plus precoce de la maladie.
Measles virus receptor SLAM (CD150).

Measles virus (MV), a member of the Morbillivirus genus in the Paramyxoviridae family, is an enveloped virus with a nonsegmented negative-strand RNA genome and infects humans and nonhuman primates (Griffin, 2001). Despite the availability of vaccines, MV remains a major cause of childhood mortality, claiming roughly one million lives a year worldwide. The transient immunosuppression that accompanies and follows measles renders the patients susceptible to secondary infections accounting for most of measles-related complications and deaths. MV also causes postinfectious encephalitis, and in rare instances, subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, a persistent infection in the central nervous system. This review is concerned with the identification of a new MV receptor and its implication for understanding the pathology and pathogenesis of MV infection. MV was first isolated in primary human kidney cells inoculated with the blood and throat washings of a child with measles (Enders and Peebles, 1954). This first isolate, the Edmonston strain, was subsequently adapted to chicken embryo fibroblasts and became the progenitor for currently used attenuated vaccines. The Edmonston strain also grows well in continuous cell lines and has become the most extensively studied MV strain in laboratories. Vero cells, an African green monkey kidney cell line, had been commonly used for MV isolation until a decade ago, but several blind passages were usually required before virus propagation and development of cytopathic effect (CPE). Kobune et al. (1990) reported that an Epstein–Barr virus (EBV)-transformed marmoset B cell line B95-8 and its adherent subline B95a were highly sensitive to MV. Furthermore, they showed that MV strains isolated in B95a cells, but not Vero cell-isolated
Virtue of Bad Times and Financial Market Frictions

Schumpeter (1939) proposes that recessions have virtue in promoting growth-enhancing activities. However, this view is often at odds with data, as many innovative activities appear pro-cyclical. We revisit the "virtue of bad times" theoretically and empirically. Our theory suggests that recessions have such virtue only when the cyclicality of innovation's marginal opportunity cost dominates that of its marginal expected return; but binding financial constraints can hinder such virtue, preventing innovation from rising during recessions. Our theory is carried to an industry panel of production and innovation. Our evidence suggests that recessions indeed have potential virtue, but such virtue is hindered by financial-market frictions.
Water Productivity Mapping (WPM) Using Landsat ETM+ Data for the Irrigated Croplands of the Syrdarya River Basin in Central Asia

The overarching goal of this paper was to espouse methods and protocols for water productivity mapping (WPM) using high spatial resolution Landsat remote sensing data. In a world where land and water for agriculture are becoming increasingly scarce, growing “more crop per drop” (increasing water productivity) becomes crucial for food security of future generations. The study used time-series Landsat ETM+ data to produce WPMs of irrigated crops, with emphasis on cotton in the Galaba study area in the Syrdarya river basin of Central Asia. The WPM methods and protocols using remote sensing data consisted of: (1) crop productivity (ton/ha) maps (CPMs) involving crop type classification, crop yield and biophysical modeling, and extrapolating yield models to larger areas using remotely sensed data; (2) crop water use (m3/ha) maps (WUMs) (or actual seasonal evapotranspiration or actual ET) developed through Simplified Surface Energy Balance (SSEB) model; and (3) water productivity (kg/m3) maps (WPMs) produced by dividing raster layers of CPMs by WUMs. The SSEB model calculated WUMs (actual ET) by multiplying the ET fraction by reference ET. The ET fraction was determined using Landsat thermal imagery by selecting the “hot” pixels (zero ET) and “cold” pixels (maximum ET). The grass reference ET was calculated by FAO Penman-Monteith method using meteorological data. The WPMs for the Galaba study area demonstrated a wide variations (0-0.54 kg/m3) in water productivity of cotton fields with overwhelming proportion (87%) of the area having WP less than 0.30 kg/m3, 11% of the area having WP in range of 0.30-0.36 kg/m3, and only 2% of the area with WP greater than 0.36 kg/m3. These results clearly imply that there are opportunities for significant WP increases in overwhelming proportion of the existing croplands. The areas of low WP are spatially pin-pointed and can be used as focus for WP improvements through better land and water management practices.
Transcriptional regulation of acetyl coenzyme A carboxylase gene expression by tumor necrosis factor in 30A-5 preadipocytes

Acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA) carboxylase activity, amount, and mRNA levels increase during the differentiation of 30A-5 preadipocytes to adipocytes. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) completely prevents this differentiation, with concomitant inhibition of acetyl-CoA carboxylase mRNA accumulation. To investigate the mechanisms by which TNF prevents acetyl-CoA carboxylase mRNA accumulation, we determined the effect of TNF on the transcription rate of the carboxylase gene and the half-life of carboxylase mRNA. Nuclear runoff transcription assays revealed no differences in the number of RNA polymerase molecules actively engaged in transcription of the acetyl-CoA carboxylase gene in preadipocytes, adipocytes, TNF-treated preadipocytes, or at any time during the course of differentiation. However, changes in adipsin, glycerophosphate dehydrogenase, and actin mRNAs, whose levels are also differentiation dependent, can be accounted for in part by changes in the number of polymerase complexes on their respective genes. To determine whether TNF caused a decrease in the stability of carboxylase RNA transcripts, we measured the rate of decay of prelabeled acetyl-CoA carboxylase mRNA. Control and TNF-treated cells showed no difference between the apparent half-lives of acetyl-CoA carboxylase mRNAs (9 h). However, the rate of acetyl-CoA carboxylase mRNA synthesis in vivo was decreased three- to fourfold in the presence of TNF. These data demonstrate that TNF prevents accumulation of acetyl-CoA carboxylase mRNA during preadipocyte differentiation by decreasing the rate of acetyl-CoA carboxylase gene transcription. However, transcriptional control is not due to a change in the number of RNA polymerase complexes actively engaged in carboxylase transcript elongation which could be measured by a number runoff assay. Instead, transcriptional control may be related to the rate at which RNA polymerase traverses the acetyl-CoA carboxylase gene.
The Disk-Driven Jet of Cygnus A

Recently published results from VLBI observations at 3 and 7 millimeters of the radio galaxy Cygnus A are reviewed in this article, and discussed within the model of a prominently stratified jet outflow. At the source redshift ( z = 0.056), mm-VLBI allows a spatial resolution down to 200 Schwarzschild radii to be achieved, providing an extremely detailed view of the two-sided jet base. Through a study of the kinematic properties of the flow and of its transverse structure, it is shown that the radio emission is produced by an accelerating, mildly relativistic, parabolically expanding disk-wind. The observed transverse stratification, both of the flux density and of the bulk speed, supports the presence of an invisible faster spine close to the jet axis, powered either by the inner regions of the accretion disk or by the spinning black hole.
Rapid Turnover of FlhD and FlhC, the Flagellar Regulon Transcriptional Activator Proteins, duringProteus Swarming

ABSTRACT The enterobacterial flhDC master operon activates expression of the flagellar biogenesis gene hierarchy and also represses cell division. During Proteus mirabilisdifferentiation into elongated hyperflagellated swarm cells,flhDC transcription is strongly but transiently increased. We show that concentration of the FlhD and FlhC proteins is also tightly controlled at the posttranslational level. This is achieved by protein degradation, which is most severe after differentiation when the half-life of both proteins is ca. 2 min. Degradation is energy dependent and putatively involves the Lon protease.
Theory of ultrafast nonlinear refraction in semiconductor superlattices

A theoretical study is undertaken into the Kerr nonlinear refraction observable in the transparency window in semiconductor heterostructures. Symmetry considerations indicate that the number of nonzero, independent tensor components increases from three to eight for single wavelength third-order nonlinear processes with the usual growth orientation. These are related to the observable phenomena of self-phase-modulation, cross-phase-modulation, and four-wave-mixing of the orthogonal polarization components in the usual waveguide geometry. For a 14:14 GaAs-AlAs superlattice, all eight independent elements are calculated. It is shown that the nonlinear response is highly anisotropic. The modification of the nonlinear coefficients with quantum well intermixing is investigated, with a several-fold reduction in value predicted. This modification could be exploited in some long-standing and novel nonlinear optical experiments.
Modeling sepsis progression using hidden Markov models

Characterizing a patient's progression through stages of sepsis is critical for enabling risk stratification and adaptive, personalized treatment. However, commonly used sepsis diagnostic criteria fail to account for significant underlying heterogeneity, both between patients as well as over time in a single patient. We introduce a hidden Markov model of sepsis progression that explicitly accounts for patient heterogeneity. Benchmarked against two sepsis diagnostic criteria, the model provides a useful tool to uncover a patient's latent sepsis trajectory and to identify high-risk patients in whom more aggressive therapy may be indicated.
La industria de los cafés de especialidad. Relación entre certificaciones de calidad o especialidad, y los ingresos de los caficultores en Colombia. 1989 - 2015

Los cafes certificados con calidad o especialidad pretenden construir una nueva forma del comercio del grano. Las implicaciones de sus certificaciones en el ingreso y el desarrollo del caficultor no son aun claras y eso se debe a la falta transmision de la informacion sobre las propias certificaciones. Se debe entonces enfocar los esfuerzos de la industria, en construir la sostenibilidad y sustentabilidad mediante la implementacion de certificaciones de calidad y especialidad que le permitan un acceso suficiente tanto al productor primario, como a todos los eslabones de la cadena productiva y de comercio, y a los consumidores. Generando una relacion mas estrecha entre el productor inicial y el consumidor. El siguiente trabajo muestra evidencia de como se encuentra el mercado de la calidad y la especialidad en el cafe en Colombia y otros paises productores, y en que casos las certificaciones tienen o no una correlacion positiva con los ingresos de los caficultores y su desarrollo.
Quantitative Modulation of Polycomb Silencing Underlies Natural Variation in Vernalization

Is Winter Past? Some plants are adapted to wait through the winter before their genetic programs for flowering are initiated. But the duration of winter varies with location, and thus, to avoid flowering too late into the summer or exposing blossoms to frost, the adaptation needs to hold the flowers off for just the right amount of time. Working with Arabidopsis thaliana, Coustham et al. (p. 584, published online 12 July) identified a quantitative mechanism that “counts” off the duration of winter. FLC, a repressor of flowering, carries sequence polymorphisms that direct epigenetic events. Plants with fewer of these polymorphisms are adapted to short winters, and plants with all four polymorphisms are adapted to long winters. Arabidopsis adjusts the onset of flowering to the length of winters via an epigenetic mechanism. Arabidopsis thaliana accessions have adapted to growth in a wide range of climates. Variation in flowering and alignment of vernalization response with winter length are central to this adaptation. Vernalization involves the epigenetic silencing of the floral repressor FLC via a conserved Polycomb (PRC2) mechanism involving trimethylation of Lys27 on histone H3 (H3K27me3). We found that variation for response to winter length maps to cis polymorphism within FLC. A rare combination of four polymorphisms localized around the nucleation region of a PHD-Polycomb complex determines a need for longer cold. Chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments indicate that these polymorphisms influence the accumulation of H3K27me3 in Arabidopsis accession Lov-1, both at the nucleation site and over the gene body. Quantitative modulation of chromatin silencing through cis variation may be a general mechanism contributing to evolutionary change.
Prognostic value of diametrically polarized tumor-associated macrophages in multiple myeloma

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are correlated with the prognosis of different types of solid tumors and lymphoma, according to many clinical studies. In vitro experiments have demonstrated the roles of these cells in myeloma cell survival, angiogenesis, immunomodulation, drug resistance, and the interaction between malignant myeloma cells and the microenvironment. Here, we investigated the prognostic significance of TAMs in patients with multiple myeloma (MM). We evaluated the polarized functional status of bone marrow infiltrated by TAMs by immunohistochemical staining of CD68, iNOS, and CD163 in 240 patients with MM from January 2009 to December 2014. The overall response rates to chemotherapy were lower in patients with high CD68+ or CD163+ TAM densities than in those with low densities. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that the progression-free survival (PFS, p = 0.001) and overall survival (OS, p < 0.001) of patients with low CD163+ TAM density were significantly higher than those of patients with high CD163+ TAM density. Furthermore, combined analysis of iNOS+ and CD163+ TAMs (iNOS/CD163 signature) exhibited greater power in predicting patient outcomes for both PFS (p < 0.001) and OS (p < 0.001). Moreover, Cox regression analysis identified iNOS+ and CD163+ TAMs as independent prognostic factors (p = 0.007, p < 0.001, respectively). These factors could be combined with the international staging system (ISS) to generate a predictive nomogram for patient outcomes. Our findings suggest that the mosaic of diametrically polarized TAMs is a novel independent prognostic factor that could be integrated into the evaluation of and therapy for MM.