Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evidence suggesting a role for hydroxyl radical in gentamicin-induced acute renal failure in rats.

The protective effect of hydroxyl radical scavengers and iron chelators has strongly implicated the hydroxyl radical in several models of tissue injury. Based on in vitro studies showing gentamicin-enhanced generation of reactive oxygen metabolites in renal cortical mitochondria, we examined the effect of hydroxyl radical scavengers and iron chelators in gentamicin-induced acute renal failure. Rats treated with gentamicin (G) alone (100 mg/kg, s.c. x 8 d) developed advanced renal failure (BUN 215 +/- 30 mg/dl) compared to saline-treated controls (BUN 16 +/- 1 mg/dl, P less than 0.001). In contrast, rats treated with gentamicin and either dimethylthiourea (DMTU, an hydroxyl radical scavenger, 125 mg/kg, i.p. twice a day) or deferoxamine (DFO, an iron chelator, 20 mg/day by osmotic pump) had significantly lower BUN (G + DMTU 48.8 +/- 8 mg/dl, P less than 0.001, n = 8; G + DFO 30 +/- 7 mg/dl, P less than 0.001, n = 8). In separate experiments, treatment with two other hydroxyl radical scavengers (dimethyl sulfoxide or sodium benzoate) and a second iron chelator (2,3,dihydroxybenzoic acid) had a similar protective effect on renal function (as measured by both BUN and creatinine). In addition, histological evidence of damage was markedly reduced by the interventional agents. Finally, concurrent treatment with DMTU prevented the gentamicin induced increase in renal cortical malondialdehyde content (G: 4.4 +/- 0.2 nmol/mg; G + DMTU: 3.1 +/- 0.2 nmol/mg, P less than 0.0001, n = 8) suggesting that the protective effect of DMTU was related to free radical mechanisms rather than to some other effect. Taken together, these data strongly support a role for hydroxyl radical or a similar oxidant in gentamicin-induced acute renal failure.
Identification of Polynesian mtDNA haplogroups in remains of Botocudo Amerindians from Brazil

There is a consensus that modern humans arrived in the Americas 15,000–20,000 y ago during the Late Pleistocene, most probably from northeast Asia through Beringia. However, there is still debate about the time of entry and number of migratory waves, including apparent inconsistencies between genetic and morphological data on Paleoamericans. Here we report the identification of mitochondrial sequences belonging to haplogroups characteristic of Polynesians in DNA extracted from ancient skulls of the now extinct Botocudo Indians from Brazil. The identification of these two Polynesian haplogroups was confirmed in independent replications in Brazil and Denmark, ensuring reliability of the data. Parallel analysis of 12 other Botocudo individuals yielded only the well-known Amerindian mtDNA haplogroup C1. Potential scenarios to try to help understand these results are presented and discussed. The findings of this study may be relevant for the understanding of the pre-Columbian and/or post-Columbian peopling of the Americas.
Promoting Innovation While Preventing Discrimination: Policy Goals for the Scored Society

Professor Zarsky’s response 1 is an erudite and thoughtful analysis of the discrimination concerns raised by our article, The Scored Society. 2 We particularly appreciate his connection of themes in our article with literature on discrimination law. This historical awareness and theoretical sophistication demonstrates the deep continuity between our concerns and those of other legal scholars. Professor Zarsky has led us to realize that there are in fact several normative theories of jurisprudence supporting our critique of the scored society, which complement the social theory and political economy presented in our article. In this response, we clarify our antidiscrimination argument while showing that is only one of many bases for the critique of scoring practices. The concerns raised by Big Data may exceed the capacity of extant legal doctrines. Addressing the potential injustice may require the hard work of legal reform. Before responding, though, we should acknowledge Professor Zarsky’s contributions to the field, and explain how we believe our work advances inquiry along some of the trails he has blazed with his insightful analyses of data mining, privacy, and information law generally.
Combined LMS / F algorithm

A new adaptive lter algorithm has been developed that combines the beneets of the Least Mean Square (LMS) and Least Mean Fourth (LMF) methods. This algorithm , called LMS/F, outperforms the standard LMS algorithm judging either constant convergence rate or constant misadjustment. While LMF outperforms LMS for certain noise prooles, its stability cannot be guaranteed for known input signals even for very small step sizes. However, both LMS and LMS/F have good stability properties and LMS/F only adds a few more computations per iteration compared to LMS. Simulations of a nonstationary system identiication problem demonstrate the performance beneets of the LMS/F algorithm.
Pedestrian and part position detection using a regression-based multiple task deep convolutional neural network

In driving support systems, it is not only necessary to detect the position of pedestrians, but also to estimate the distance between a pedestrian and the vehicle. In general approaches using monocular cameras, the upper and lower positions of each pedestrian are detected using a bounding box obtained from a pedestrian detection technique. The distance between the pedestrian and the vehicle is then estimated using these positions and the camera parameters. This conventional framework uses independent pedestrian detection and position detection processes to estimate the distance. In this paper, we propose a method to detect both the pedestrian and their position simultaneously using a regression-based deep convolutional neural network (DCNN). This simultaneous detection method is possible to train efficient features for both tasks, because it is attention to head and leg regions from given labels. In the experiments, our method improves the performance of pedestrian detection compared with the DCNN which detects only pedestrian. The proposed approach also improves the detection accuracy of the head and leg positions compared with the methods that detect only these positions. Using the results of position detection and the camera parameters, our method achieves distance estimation to within 5% error.
Calculation of Temperature Field in Power Capacitor

The operating temperature of a power capacitor has an effect on its service life directly. A 500-kvar power capacitor is taken as the research object. The capacitor fever produced by internal dielectric loss is considered under the running condition of 55 °C. The 3-D finite volume method calculation model of capacitor temperature is established, and the temperature distribution characteristics and the internal temperature at the hottest spot of the capacitor are obtained. With the research on a corresponding prototype, the numerical simulation results are consistent with the test values. The accuracy of temperature calculation model is testified, which provides a reliable basis for the design and operation of power capacitor.
Enhancing Social Capital in Children via School-Based Community Cultural Development Projects: A Pilot Study.

This exploratory pilot study investigates the extent to which participating in a community cultural development (CCD) initiative builds social capital among children. An independent youth arts organisation implemented two cultural activities, developing a compact disc of original music and designing mosaic artworks for a library courtyard, in two schools located in a socio-economically disadvantaged area of South-East Queensland, Australia. After participation in the project, 39 primary school children aged 9 to 13 years completed a generic Social Capital in Children Questionnaire designed specifically for evaluating arts projects. Findings support the role of CCD within schools for enhancing social capital in young people, identifying a range of positive impacts regarding self-concept, reciprocity, feelings of obligation, extended networks and trust. The results suggest that program components, such as facilitating ‘friendship’ connections between children and designing activities that incorporate the sharing of materials, equipment and tools to facilitate reciprocity, should be an important focus for developing arts programs within a social capital framework.
Multiplex PCR for Detection and Typing of Porcine Circoviruses

ABSTRACT Sets of oligonucleotide primers were designed according to the sequences of the open reading frames (ORFs) ORF1 and ORF2 of the prototype nonpathogenic PK-15 strain of porcine circovirus (PCV) type 1 (PCV-1). By the PCR performed with the various primer sets, genomic DNA or RNA from other bacterial or viral pathogens of the respiratory tracts of pigs could not be amplified. A positive amplification reaction could be visualized with DNA extracted from a viral suspension containing as few as 10 viral particles per ml. No DNA fragment could be amplified from lysates of continuous porcine cell lines (PT, ST, and PFT cells) known to be negative for PCV. When tested with clinical samples from pigs, the results of the single PCR method showed nearly 93% (13 of 14 samples) correlation with histopathological and immunohistochemical findings. Interestingly, subclinical PCV infections could be detected by single PCR with clinical samples that have been submitted from animals with irrelevant cases of respiratory and/or enteric problems. On the basis of the nucleotide sequences of PCV strains (PCV-2) recently associated with outbreaks of postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PWMS) in Quebec, Canada, pig farms, other primers were designed from the PCV-1 genome, and these primers failed to amplify genomic fragments specific to the ORF1 or ORF2 genes of clinical isolates associated with PWMS but amplified DNA from the PCV-1 strain. Two rapid multiplex PCR (mPCR) methods have been developed to distinguish between both genotypes of PCV. By those two mPCR methods, (i) species-specific primer pairs were used to amplify a DNA fragment of 488 bp specific for the ORF2 genes of both genotypes, whereas a 375-bp fragment was amplified from the ORF1 gene of the PCV-1 strain only, or (ii) species-specific primer pairs were used to amplify a DNA fragment of 646 bp specific for the ORF1 genes of both genotypes, whereas a 425-bp fragment was amplified from the ORF2 gene of the PCV-1 strain only. By both mPCR methods, a PCV-2 infection was demonstrated in tissues of 94.2% (33 of 35) of the sick pigs tested, in agreement with previous findings showing the close association of this new genotype of PCV with outbreaks of PMWS in Europe and North America. On the other hand, a PCV-1 infection was confirmed in only 5.7% (2 of 35) of the pigs, and confirmation of a mixed infection with PCV-2 was obtained by a single PCR with PCV-2-specific primers.
β-Cell–Specific Gene Repression: A Mechanism to Protect Against Inappropriate or Maladjusted Insulin Secretion?

What makes β-cells unique is their continuous responsibility to produce, store and release the required amount of insulin to keep blood glucose normal. This is no trivial task because daily insulin demands fluctuate acutely (as happens during meals) or chronically (e.g., the adaptation to obesity or pregnancy). Moreover, normal blood glucose has two borders that need continuous protection. Insufficient insulin secretion should be avoided as this leads to hyperglycemia. Moreover, insulin excess causes hypoglycemia, a situation that jeopardizes brain function. Therefore, the optimal amount of β-cell activity is needed for normal health and this depends on an adequate plasticity of the functional β-cell mass (1). This Perspective examines the idea that protection of the two borders of blood glucose requires a genetically programmed β-cell phenotype with two unique faces (Fig. 1). The first depends on transcription factors that activate expression of specific proteins that mediate β-cell function. The second face depends on β-cell–specific repression of a small set of genes. We start to understand how expression of the latter genes may impair normal β-cell function. The best examples of expression of such “disallowed” genes in β-cells lead to inappropriate insulin release (2). FIG. 1. A balance between two faces of the mature β-cell. The general working hypothesis in this Perspective is that the mature β-cell needs to defend both the upper and lower normal limits of circulating glucose levels, thereby preventing the occurrence of episodes of hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia. A genetically determined β-cell program is responsible for the appropriate expression level of proteins in β-cells that allow a physiological response in terms of sufficient release of insulin when the organism needs the hormone. In parallel, some genes are specifically repressed in β-cells in order to avoid situations where β-cells respond inappropriately (induction by the wrong stimuli) or in a maladjusted manner …
Transition states and thermal collapse of dipolar Bose-Einstein condensates

We investigate thermally excited, dipolar Bose-Einstein condensates. Quasi-particle excitations of the atomic cloud cause density fluctuations which can induce the collapse of the condensate if the inter-particle interaction is attractive. Within a variational approach, we identify the collectively excited stationary states of the gas which form transition states on the way to the BEC's collapse. We analyze transition states with different $m$-fold rotational symmetry and identify the one which mediates the collapse. The latter's symmetry depends on the trap aspect ratio of the external trapping potential which determines the shape of the BEC. Moreover, we present the collapse dynamics of the BEC and calculate the corresponding decay rate using transition state theory. We observe that the thermally induced collapse mechanism is important near the critical scattering length, where the lifetime of the condensate can be significantly reduced. Our results are valid for an arbitrary strength of the dipole-dipole interaction. Specific applications are discussed for the elements $^{52}$Cr, $^{164}$Dy and $^{168}$Er with which dipolar BECs have been experimentally realized.
Novel finite-element approach applied to borehole quadrupole dispersion analysis in stress-sensitive formations

Near a borehole, stress concentration effects may cause a complex spatial variation of elastic anisotropy. Stress-induced sonic anisotropy results when moduli and velocities are stress dependent and the state of stress is nonhydrostatic. For such cases, the appropriate material model is that of an elastic orthorhombic medium with material axes aligned with the principal axes of stress. We simulate the dispersion characteristics of quadrupole waves propagating along a borehole in a stress-sensitive formation. To include sensitivity to stress in the analysis, we derive a finite-element modeling approach which includes the stress-velocity relationship, the perturbed stress and velocity field near the borehole, and solutions to the full coupled anisotropic and 3D wave equation. We characterized the anisotropy around the borehole for different in situ stress conditions, and we derived the effects on quadrupole dispersion characteristics. Of particular interest was the phase velocity of the quadrupole wave, which at low frequencies provides an estimate of formation shear-wave velocity. Results indicated that the quadrupole mode dispersion was relatively insensitive to the hoop stress effects around a borehole giving greater confidence to shear-wave estimates made from these modes. The proposed ring-element formulation, which includes Fourier expansions of the field variables in the direction of the circumference, is well suited to this analysis and can be adapted to include other effects, such as a finite-length borehole.
Progress report.

Period from to ____________________ to ______________________ Project Number ______________ Percent of work complete _______ Local Agency _________________________________ Working days in contract _____________ Working days charged this period _____________ Working days previously charged _____________ Working days charged to date _____________ Working days remaining _____________ Narrative of work completed this period and project status:
User-space APIs for dynamic power management in many-core ARMv8 computing nodes

The push for energy-efficient and energy-proportional computing nodes, together with the increasing number of cores integrated in the same silicon die has lead to computing nodes with fine grained power management capabilities. To unleash the potential of this HW design a novel user-space power management APIs is needed to bring fine-grain power management in the hands of the programmer. In this work we present a novel programming mechanism for energy efficiency which is build around novel user-space power management APIs suitable to be embedded in user-space applications. We evaluated its timing and power saving performance on a novel computing node based on Cavium ThunderX ARMv8-based many-cores SoC.
The Stochastic Economic Lot Sizing Problem for Continuous Multi-Grade Production

We study a variant of the Stochastic Economic Lot Scheduling Problem (SELSP) in which a single production facility must produce several grades to meet random stationary demand for each grade from a common flnished-goods (FG) inventory bufier with limited storage capacity. Demand that can not be satisfled directly from inventory is lost. Raw material is always available, and the production facility produces at a constant rate. When the facility is set up to produce a particular grade, the only allowable changeovers are from that grade to next lower or higher grade. All changeover times are deterministic and equal to each other. There is a changeover cost per changeover occasion, a spill-over cost per unit of product in excess, whenever there is not enough space in the FG bufier to store the produced grade, and a lost-sales cost per unit short, whenever there is not enough FG inventory to satisfy demand. We model the SELSP as a discrete-time Markov Decision Process (MDP), where in each time period we must decide whether to initiate a changeover to a neighboring grade or keep the setup of the production facility unchanged, based on the current state of the system, which is determined by the current setup of the facility and the FG inventory levels of all the grades. The goal is to minimize the inflnite-horizon expected average cost. For 2-grade and 3-grade problems we can numerically solve the exact MDP problem using successive approximation. For problems with more than 3 grades, we develop a heuristic solution which is based on approximating the original multi-grade problem into many 3-grade sub-problems and numerically solving each sub-problem using successive approximation. We present and discuss numerical results for problem incidences with 2, 4 and 5 grades, using both the exact and the heuristic procedure.
Interpretable Asset Markets?

In this paper we show that measures of economic uncertainty (conditional volatility of consumption) predict and are predicted by valuation ratios at long horizons. Further we document that asset valuations drop as economic uncertainty rises that is, financial markets dislike economic uncertainty. Moreover, future earnings growth rates are sharply predicted by current price-earnings ratios. It seems that much of the variation in asset prices can be attributed to fluctuations in economic uncertainty and expected cash-flow growth. This empirical evidence is consistent with the implications of existing parametric general equilibrium models. Hence, the channels of fluctuating economic uncertainty and expected growth seem important for interpreting asset markets.
Dynamic Friction Models for Road/Tire Longitudinal Interaction

Summary In this paper we derive a new dynamic friction force model for the longitudinal road/tire interaction for wheeled ground vehicles. The model is based on a dynamic friction model developed previously for contact-point friction problems, called the LuGre model. By assuming a contact patch between the tire and the ground we develop a partial differential equation for the distribution of the friction force along the patch. An ordinary differential equation (the lumped model) for the friction force is developed, based on the patch boundary conditions and the normal force distribution along the contact patch. This lumped model is derived to approximate closely the distributed friction model. Contrary to common static friction/slip maps, it is shown that this new dynamic friction model is able to capture accurately the transient behaviour of the friction force observed during transitions between braking and acceleration. A velocity-dependent, steady-state expression of the friction force versus the slip coefficient is also developed that allows easy tuning of the model parameters by comparison with steady-state experimental data. Experimental results validate the accuracy of the new tire friction model in predicting the friction force during transient vehicle motion. It is expected that this new model will be very helpful for tire friction modeling as well as for anti-lock braking (ABS) and traction control design.
Automatic object model acquisition and object recognition by integrating linguistic and visual information

In order to make the best use of multimedia contents effectively, the crucial point is the structural analysis of the contents, in which several media processing techniques, including image, audio and text analyses, should be integrated. To understand utterances in videos in accordance with the scene, it is essential to recognize what object appears in the videos. In this paper, we focus on Japanese cooking TV videos, and propose a method for acquiring object models of foods in an unsupervised manner and performing object recognition based on the acquired object models. First, a topic of each video segment is identified based on HMMs to obtain good examples for the object model acquisition. After that, close-up images are extracted from image sequences, and an attention region on the close-up image is determined. Then, an important word is extracted as a keyword from utterances around the close-up image, and is made correspond to the close-up image. By collecting a set of close-up image and keyword from a large amount of videos, object models are acquired. After acquiring the object models, object recognition is performed based on the acquired object models and linguistic information. We conducted experiments on two kinds of cooking TV programs. We acquired the object models of around 100 foods with an accuracy 77.8%. The F measure of object recognition was 0.727.
The Shanghai-Hongkong Team at MediaEval2012: Violent Scene Detection Using Trajectory-based Features

The Violent Scene Detection task oers a very practical challenge in detecting complex and diverse violent video clips in movies. In this working note paper, we will briey describe our system and discuss the results, which achieved top performance in mAP@20 1 and runner-up in mAP@100, among all 35 submissions worldwide. The central component of our system is a set of features derived from the appearance and motion of local patch trajectories [2]. We use these features and SVM classier as the baseline approach and add in a few other components to further improve the performance. Our ndings indicate that the trajectory-based visual features already oer very competitive results. Other audio-visual features like SpatialTemporal Interest Points and MFCC do not signicantly enhance the performance. In addition, smoothing detection scores of nearby shots leads to signicant improvement. We conclude that|while audio feature may help marginally| good visual features are still the key factor in violent scene detection, and temporal information is very useful.