Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Role of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes as Shear Reinforcing Nanopins in Quasi-Brittle Matrices

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) have been widely used to enhance nanocomposites under tension, whereas their influences on shear resistance have been largely overlooked. To verify the feasibility of MWCNTs as a shear reinforcement material, here we report the experimentally observed shear reinforcing effect of MWCNTs on quasi-brittle cementitious material. The enhancing mechanism is identified based on the investigations of the atomic and nanomechanical interactions between MWCNTs and porous-silica-based matrices by nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulation. The experiment reveals that the addition of 0.036 wt % MWCNTs in cementitious material causes up to 32% increment in the shear resistance. The atomic simulation shows that MWCNTs can work as nanopins under shear, enhancing the nanofriction that accounts for up to 95% of the increase in fracture energy. The findings also suggest that nanomechanical properties and phase composition of matrices and the distribution of MWCNTs play critical roles .
The Complex Role of STAT3 in Viral Infections

Signal transducer and activators of transcription-3 (STAT3) regulates diverse biological functions including cell growth, differentiation, and apoptosis. In addition, STAT3 plays a key role in regulating host immune and inflammatory responses and in the pathogenesis of many cancers. Several studies reported differential regulation of STAT3 in a range of viral infections. Interestingly, STAT3 appears to direct seemingly contradictory responses and both pro- and antiviral roles of STAT3 have been described. This review summarized the currently known functions of STAT3 in the regulation of viral replication and pathogenesis of viral infections. Some of the key unanswered questions and the gap in our current understanding of the role of STAT3 in viral pathogenesis are discussed.
Evaluation of Professional Practices in Transfusion Medicine: Design and Implementation of a Web-Based and Tutored ePortfolio

In order to manage a nationwide assessment program for certifying professional competence in blood transfusion throughout France, the National Institute of Blood Transfusion and the University of Nice-Sophia Antipolis developed a Web-based and tutored portfolio. The structure of this e-portfolio is based on a matrix of actions defined according to standards of practice. For each action, elements of proof are uploaded by the physician and peer reviewed by an expert before being validated. The electronic portfolio stores all the history of the actions done by users. This tracking feature generates alerts emailed to users according to a list of monitored events. After one year of design and development, the application is used in routine. Based on open-source components, we forecast integration with the CME system in blood transfusion handled by INTS.
The exp-log normal form of types: decomposing extensional equality and representing terms compactly

Lambda calculi with algebraic data types lie at the core of functional programming languages and proof assistants, but conceal at least two fundamental theoretical problems already in the presence of the simplest non-trivial data type, the sum type. First, we do not know of an explicit and implemented algorithm for deciding the beta-eta-equality of terms---and this in spite of the first decidability results proven two decades ago. Second, it is not clear how to decide when two types are essentially the same, i.e. isomorphic, in spite of the meta-theoretic results on decidability of the isomorphism. In this paper, we present the exp-log normal form of types---derived from the representation of exponential polynomials via the unary exponential and logarithmic functions---that any type built from arrows, products, and sums, can be isomorphically mapped to. The type normal form can be used as a simple heuristic for deciding type isomorphism, thanks to the fact that it is a systematic application of the high-school identities. We then show that the type normal form allows to reduce the standard beta-eta equational theory of the lambda calculus to a specialized version of itself, while preserving completeness of the equality on terms. We end by describing an alternative representation of normal terms of the lambda calculus with sums, together with a Coq-implemented converter into/from our new term calculus. The difference with the only other previously implemented heuristic for deciding interesting instances of eta-equality by Balat, Di Cosmo, and Fiore, is that we exploits the type information of terms substantially and this often allows us to obtain a canonical representation of terms without performing a sophisticated term analyses.
A Semi-Supervised Key Phrase Extraction Approach: Learning from Title Phrases through a Document Semantic Network

It is a fundamental and important task to extract key phrases from documents. Generally, phrases in a document are not independent in delivering the content of the document. In order to capture and make better use of their relationships in key phrase extraction, we suggest exploring the Wikipedia knowledge to model a document as a semantic network, where both n-ary and binary relationships among phrases are formulated. Based on a commonly accepted assumption that the title of a document is always elaborated to reflect the content of a document and consequently key phrases tend to have close semantics to the title, we propose a novel semi-supervised key phrase extraction approach in this paper by computing the phrase importance in the semantic network, through which the influence of title phrases is propagated to the other phrases iteratively. Experimental results demonstrate the remarkable performance of this approach.
Outcome of limb reconstruction system in open tibial diaphyseal fractures

Background: Management of open tibial diaphyseal fractures with bone loss is a matter of debate. The treatment options range from external fixators, nailing, ring fixators or grafting with or without plastic reconstruction. All the procedures have their own set of complications, like acute docking problems, shortening, difficulty in soft tissue management, chronic infection, increased morbidity, multiple surgeries, longer hospital stay, mal union, nonunion and higher patient dissatisfaction. We evaluated the outcome of the limb reconstruction system (LRS) in the treatment of open fractures of tibial diaphysis with bone loss as a definative mode of treatment to achieve union, as well as limb lengthening, simultaneously. Materials and Methods: Thirty open fractures of tibial diaphysis with bone loss of at least 4 cm or more with a mean age 32.5 years were treated by using the LRS after debridement. Distraction osteogenesis at rate of 1 mm/day was done away from the fracture site to maintain the limb length. On the approximation of fracture ends, the dynamized LRS was left for further 15-20 weeks and patient was mobilized with weight bearing to achieve union. Functional assessment was done by Association for the Study and Application of the Methods of Illizarov (ASAMI) criteria. Results: Mean followup period was 15 months. The mean bone loss was 5.5 cm (range 4–9 cm). The mean duration of bone transport was 13 weeks (range 8–30 weeks) with a mean time for LRS in place was 44 weeks (range 24–51 weeks). The mean implant index was 56.4 days/cm. Mean union time was 52 weeks (range 31–60 weeks) with mean union index of 74.5 days/cm. Bony results as per the ASAMI scoring were excellent in 76% (19/25), good in 12% (3/25) and fair in 4% (1/25) with union in all except 2 patients, which showed poor results (8%) with only 2 patients having leg length discrepancy more than 2.5 cm. Functional results were excellent in 84% (21/25), good in 8% (2/25), fair in 8% (2/25). Pin tract infection was seen in 5 cases, out of which 4 being superficial, which healed to dressings and antibiotics. One patient had a deep infection which required frame removal. Conclusion: Limb reconstruction system proved to be an effective modality of treatment in cases of open fractures of the tibia with bone loss as definite modality of treatment for damage control as well as for achieving union and lengthening, simultaneously, with the advantage of early union with attainment of limb length, simple surgical technique, minimal invasive, high patient compliance, easy wound management, lesser hospitalization and the lower rate of complications like infection, deformity or shortening.
Genetic polymorphisms of the matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3) and tissue inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases-1 (TIMP-1) modulate the development of ankylosing spondylitis

Background: The aetiology of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) remains unclear. Inflammation progresses to fibrosis and calcification of the spine and sacroiliac joints in AS development. Fibrosis results from excessive accumulations of the extracellular matrix (ECM). ECM turnover depends on the balance between matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their tissue inhibitors (TIMPs). Objective: To evaluate the effects of the MMP-3 -1171 and TIMP-1 372 T>C polymorphisms on the modified risk of AS. Methods: Genotypes of 241 patients with AS and 241 controls were identified by PCR. Disease activity and functional status were assessed by the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Activity Index (BASDAI), the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI) and the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Global (BAS-G) Score. Results: MMP-3 6A/6A carriers had a 2.41-fold (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.55 to 3.74) increased risk of AS compared with 6A/5A and 5A/5A carriers. TIMP-1 C alleles had a greater risk of AS, but this was not significant (odds ratio (OR) = 1.28, 95% CI 0.92 to 1.77). Pairwise analysis of the MMP-3/TIMP-1 alleles showed that 6A/C (OR = 3.23, 95% CI 1.50 to 6.95) and 6A/T (OR = 2.55, 95% CI 1.17 to 5.54) had a significantly greater risk of AS than the 5A/T alleles. After adjustment for the effects of age, gender and disease duration, the MMP-3/TIMP-1 5A/T alleles had the lowest BASDAI (p = 0.02), BASFI (p = 0.05) and BAS-G (p = 0.02) among all MMP-3/TIMP-1 alleles. Conclusion: The findings highlight the importance of the MMP-3 and TIMP-1 genes as crucial elements in AS development.
A Markov Chain Analysis of Genetic Algorithms with a State Dependent Fitness Function

Abstract. We analyze the behavior of a Simple Genetic Algorithm (GA) in systems where the fitness of a string is determined by a function depending on the state of the whole population. The GA is modeled by a Markov chain and we conclude that for small mutation probabiliti esthelimit distribution will put almost all the weight to the homogeneous states. We derive conditions under which a homogeneous state will be stable for the dynamics representing the expected behavior of the GA. Interpreting the state dependent fitness function as an economic system we prove that any strict economic equilibrium will be a symptotic all y stable with respect to the expected behavior of the GA.
A Recombinant Fusion Toxin Based on Enzymatic Inactive C3bot1 Selectively Targets Macrophages

Background The C3bot1 protein (∼23 kDa) from Clostridium botulinum ADP-ribosylates and thereby inactivates Rho. C3bot1 is selectively taken up into the cytosol of monocytes/macrophages but not of other cell types such as epithelial cells or fibroblasts. Most likely, the internalization occurs by a specific endocytotic pathway via acidified endosomes. Methodology/Principal Findings Here, we tested whether enzymatic inactive C3bot1E174Q serves as a macrophage-selective transport system for delivery of enzymatic active proteins into the cytosol of such cells. Having confirmed that C3bot1E174Q does not induce macrophage activation, we used the actin ADP-ribosylating C2I (∼50 kDa) from Clostridium botulinum as a reporter enzyme for C3bot1E174Q-mediated delivery into macrophages. The recombinant C3bot1E174Q-C2I fusion toxin was cloned and expressed as GST-protein in Escherichia coli. Purified C3bot1E174Q-C2I was recognized by antibodies against C2I and C3bot and showed C2I-specific enzyme activity in vitro. When applied to cultured cells C3bot1E174Q-C2I ADP-ribosylated actin in the cytosol of macrophages including J774A.1 and RAW264.7 cell lines as well as primary cultured human macrophages but not of epithelial cells. Together with confocal fluorescence microscopy experiments, the biochemical data indicate the selective uptake of a recombinant C3-fusion toxin into the cytosol of macrophages. Conclusions/Significance In summary, we demonstrated that C3bot1E174Q can be used as a delivery system for fast, selective and specific transport of enzymes into the cytosol of living macrophages. Therefore, C3-based fusion toxins can represent valuable molecular tools in experimental macrophage pharmacology and cell biology as well as attractive candidates to develop new therapeutic approaches against macrophage-associated diseases.
Secure Multiple Access Based on Multicarrier CDMA With Induced Random Flipping

In this paper, we study secure multiple access based on multicarrier (MC) code division multiple access (CDMA) systems with induced random (chip) flipping of spreading sequence, which is suitable for machine-type communications (MTC). In MTC, devices may use low-cost hardware-based random number generators for pseudo-random noise (PN) sequences in secure communications. Since PN sequences can be estimated by correlation attacks at an eavesdropper, induced random (chip) flipping of spreading sequences is proposed to make correlation attacks infeasible. However, induced random flipping can also degrade the performance of detection and decoding at a legitimate receiver that only knows original spreading sequences. To avoid the performance degradation, we derive low-complexity iterative receiver algorithms for multiuser signal detection and decoding based on the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm.
Transcriptional responses in male Japanese medaka exposed to antiandrogens and antiandrogen/androgen mixtures

The occurrence of androgenic endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in water is thought to be linked to deviation from normal male developmental and reproductive functions in exposed aquatic organisms. Because aquatic environments represent a chemically complex medium, the combined effects of androgenic EDCs require urgent attention. In the present study, the effects of two model androgen receptor (AR) antagonists, flutamide (FLU), and vinclozolin (VIN), were first determined individually in male Japanese medaka using the transcriptional response for genes associated with the hypothalamic‐pituitary‐gonadal axis. The fish were further exposed to binary mixtures of VIN and 17β‐trenbolone (TRE, AR agonist) to confirm the theoretical opposing effects of the AR antagonist and agonist. The results showed that exposure to FLU or VIN alone induced very similar transcriptional responses, demonstrating that gene transcription analysis could be successfully employed in identifying the action of single chemicals. For example, both exposures increased the transcription of cyp17b but decreased that of cyp19b in the gonad, demonstrating the compensatory response for AR blockage. However, in the case of exposure to mixtures, although the joint antagonistic action of TRE and VIN affected the most genes, the transcription profiles after exposure to mixtures were not consistent with expectations based on the results for individual chemicals, such as hepatic vtg, and star or cyp19a in gonads. Therefore, the limitation of gene transcription analyses in exposures to mixtures, as well as the potential for the extrapolation of single chemicals, should be considered in future studies. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 31: 1591–1599, 2016.
Knowledge of individual histories and optimal payment arrangements

This article reviews recent work that generalizes a random matching model of money to permit there to be a mix of transactions: some accomplished through the use of tangible media of exchange and the rest through some form of credit. The generalizations are accomplished by specifying assumptions about common knowledge of individual histories that are intermediate between no common knowledge and complete common knowledge. One of the specifications permits a simple representation of the sense in which more common knowledge is beneficial. The other permits a comparison between using outside money and using inside money as a medium of exchange.
Breath analysis based on micropreconcentrator for early cancer diagnosis

We are developing micropreconcentrators based on micro/nanotechnology to detect trace levels of volatile organic compound (VOC) gases contained in human and canine exhaled breath. The possibility of using exhaled VOC gases as biomarkers for various cancer diagnoses has been previously discussed. For early cancer diagnosis, detection of trace levels of VOC gas is indispensable. Using micropreconcentrators based on MEMS technology or nanotechnology is very promising for detection of VOC gas. A micropreconcentrator based breath analysis technique also has advantages from the viewpoints of cost performance and availability for various cancers diagnosis. In this paper, we introduce design, fabrication and evaluation results of our MEMS and nanotechnology based micropreconcentrators. In the MEMS based device, we propose a flower leaf type Si microstructure, and its shape and configuration are optimized quantitatively by finite element method simulation. The nanotechnology based micropreconcentrator consists of carbon nanotube (CNT) structures. As a result, we achieve ppb level VOC gas detection with our micropreconcentrators and usual gas chromatography system that can detect on the order of ppm VOC in gas samples. In performance evaluation, we also confirm that the CNT based micropreconcentrator shows 115 times better concentration ratio than that of the Si based micropreconcentrator. Moreover, we discuss a commercialization idea for new cancer diagnosis using breath analysis. Future work and preliminary clinical testing in dogs is also discussed.
Synthesis of Composite Nanosheets of Graphene and Boron Nitride and Their Lubrication Application in Oil

Composite nanosheets of graphene and boron nitride have been produced in large quantities for the first time using high‐energy ball milling in ammonia gas as an exfoliation agent. The anti‐wear properties of the composite nanosheets as a lubricant additive are investigated via a four‐ball method. The results show that the composite nanosheets are exfoliated from the commercial graphite and h‐BN powders and combined into graphene/BN composite nanosheets during the ball milling process. The composite nanosheets formed have diameters larger than 200 nm and consist of heterostructures of approximately 10 monolayers of graphene and BN. The composite nanosheets exhibit better wear resistance and friction reduction properties than the homogeneous nanosheets because of the stronger interaction between graphene and BN nanosheets, which can effectively improve the anti‐wear properties of mineral base oil as a lubricant additive.
Bright-field cell image segmentation by principal component pursuit with an Ncut penalization

Segmentation of cells in time-lapse bright-field microscopic images is crucial in understanding cell behaviours for oncological research. However, the complex nature of the cells makes it difficult to segment cells accurately. Furthermore, poor contrast, broken cell boundaries and the halo artifact pose additional challenges to this problem. Standard segmentation techniques such as edged-based methods, watershed, or active contours result in poor segmentation. Other existing methods for bright-field images cannot provide good results without localized segmentation steps. In this paper, we present two robust mathematical models to segment bright-field cells automatically for the entire image. These models treat cell image segmentation as a background subtraction problem, which can be formulated as a Principal Component Pursuit (PCP) problem. Our first segmentation model is formulated as a PCP with nonnegative constraints. We exploit the sparse component of the PCP solution for identifying the cell pixels. However, there is no control on the quality of the sparse component and the nonzero entries can scatter all over the image, resulting in a noisy segmentation. The second model is an improvement of the first model by combining PCP with spectral clustering. Seemingly unrelated approaches, we combine the two techniques by incorporating normalized-cut in the PCP as a measure for the quality of the segmentation. These two models have been applied to a set of C2C12 cells obtained from bright-field microscopy. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed models are effective in segmenting cells from bright-field images.
Minimizing Communication in the Bitonic Sort

This paper presents bitonic sorting schemes for special-purpose parallel architectures such as sorting networks and for general-purpose parallel architectures such as SIMD and/or MIMD computers. First, bitonic sorting algorithms for shared-memory SIMD and/or MIMD computers are developed. Shared-memory accesses through the interconnection network of shared memory SIMD and/or MIMD computers can be very time consuming. A scheme is introduced which reduces the number of such accesses. This scheme is based on the parity strategy which is the main idea of the paper. By reducing the communication through the network, a performance improvement is achieved. Second, a recirculating bitonic sorting network is presented, which is composed of one level of N/2 comparators plus an /spl Omega/-network of (log N-1) switch levels. This network reduces the cost complexity to O(N log N) compared with the O(N log/sup 2/ N) of the original bitonic sorting network, while preserving the same time complexity. Finally, a simplified multistage bitonic sorting network, is presented. For simplifying the interlevel wiring, the parity strategy is used, so N/2 keys are wired straight through the network.