Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Biosynthesis of isoprenoids in plants: Structure of the 2C‐methyl‐d‐erithrytol 2,4‐cyclodiphosphate synthase from Arabidopsis thaliana. Comparison with the bacterial enzymes

The X‐ray crystal structure of the 2C‐methyl‐d‐erythritol 2,4‐cyclodiphosphate synthase (MCS) from Arabidopsis thaliana has been solved at 2.3 Å resolution in complex with a cytidine‐5‐monophosphate (CMP) molecule. This is the first structure determined of an MCS enzyme from a plant. Major differences between the A. thaliana and bacterial MCS structures are found in the large molecular cavity that forms between subunits and involve residues that are highly conserved among plants. In some bacterial enzymes, the corresponding cavity has been shown to be an isoprenoid diphosphate‐like binding pocket, with a proposed feedback‐regulatory role. Instead, in the structure from A. thaliana the cavity is unsuited for binding a diphosphate moiety, which suggests a different regulatory mechanism of MCS enzymes between bacteria and plants.
A preliminary study on anisotropic characteristics of propagation channels for Tx-Rx polarizations

In this contribution, both theoretical studies and measurement results are reported for investigating the anisotropic property of propagation channels with respect to (w.r.t.) the (linear) polarizations of the transmitter (Tx) and receiver (Rx) antennas. Under the assumption that the channel impulse response (CIR) is polarization isotropic, analytical expressions are derived for the K-factor and delay spread as functions of Tx-Rx polarizations, and furthermore, our deduction also shows that the rank of the signal subspace spanned by a multi-polarized narrowband channel is upper-bounded. Based on the measurements conducted in indoor scenarios, empirical CIRs measured with 12 Tx- and 2 Rx-polarization directions are applied to investigating the channel polarization anisotropy. It can be observed that the measured channels exhibit properties inconsistent with the theoretical results deduced under the polarization-isotropy assumption, implying that the realistic indoor propagation channels can be anisotropic w.r. t. the Tx-Rx polarizations.
2D+t autoregressive framework for video texture completion

In this paper, an improved 2D+t texture completion framework is proposed, providing high visual quality of completed dynamic textures. A Spatiotemporal Autoregressive model (STAR) is used to propagate the signal of several available frames onto frames containing missing textures. A Gaussian white noise classically drives the model to enable texture innovation. To improve this method, an innovation process is proposed, that uses texture information from available training frames. The proposed method is deterministic, which solves a key problem for applications such as synthesis-based video coding. Compression simulations show potential bitrate savings up to 49% on texture sequences at comparable visual quality. Video results are provided online to allow assessing the visual quality of completed textures.
Fingertip force estimation from forearm muscle electrical activity

Existing commercial hand prostheses can be controlled from the electrical activity (electromyogram or EMG) of remnant muscle tissue within the forearm, but are limited in function to one degree of freedom of proportional control. In a pilot study (N=3 subjects), we used least squares estimation to identify a model between forearm electrical activity recorded by high-resolution (64 channel) electrode arrays (applied over the flexor and, separately, extensor muscles of the forearm) to force in the four fingertips. Average errors ranged from 4.21 to 10.20 %MVCF (flexion maximum voluntary contraction), depending on the muscle contraction task performed, number of EMG electrodes in the model and the electrode montage selected. Results suggest that, at least for intact subjects, 2-4 degrees of freedom of proportional control are available from the EMG signals of the forearm.
Coordinated beamforming in downlink CoMP transmission system

Coordinated multi-point transmission/reception (CoMP) technique for 3GPP LTE-Advanced is to reduce the inter-cell interference (ICI) effectively, so as to enhance data rate/coverage and throughput for cell-edge users significantly. For downlink CoMP, most research work mainly focuses on joint processing/transmission (CoMP-JP) mode. However this mode needs the access points (AP) to share the UEs' data and channel state information (CSI) simultaneously, resulting in a high overhead on the network. Coordinated beamforming (CoMP-CBF), which can avoid the data information exchange is a better solution to reduce the overhead. In this paper, we propose a coordinated beamforming scheme in downlink CoMP transmission system. The proposed scheme exploits the signal leakage information to other cells to design the precoding vector to reduce the ICI. The simulation results indicate that the proposed scheme offers much higher performance gain compared with the CoMP-JP mode.
Turkish Sign Language recognition using spatio-temporal features on Kinect RGB video sequences and depth maps

This paper presents a Turkish Sign Language recognition system that uses spatio-temporal features on Kinect sensor RGB video sequences and depth maps. Proposed system uses cumulative motion images which based on motion differences and represent the temporal characteristics of dynamic signs in motion sequences. Cumulative motion images represent the whole motions of signers. 2-D Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) is applied to cumulative sign images in order to obtain spatial features of signs and transformed images that represent the energy density of signs are obtained. Two transform images are obtained by applying referred methods to both of RGB video sequences and depth maps seperately. Feature vectors of dynamic signs are produced by combining a certain amount of DCT coefficients that contain higher energy via zig-zag scanning on transform images. K-Nearist Neighbor classifier with Manhattan distance used for recognition process. System performance is evaluated on a sign database that contains 1002 signs belongs to 111 words in three different categories of Turkish Sign Language (TID). Proposed sign language recognition system has a recognition rate about %90.
Analysis of the effect of design parameters on the power transfer efficiency of resonant inductive coupling based wireless EV charging system

Both simulation and experimental investigations have been conducted to obtain an appropriate elucidation for improving the power transfer efficiency of a resonant inductive coupling based wireless system for electric vehicle charging. It is seen that the optimum power transfer efficiency of the wireless system depends on the driving frequency, charging coil structure, configuration, vertical spacing and misalignment between the charging coils. Under the strong magnetic coupled condition, the efficiency is found to be maximum. In order to make the charging system more viable, the effects of the operating parameters on the performance of wireless power transfer system are analyzed using electromagnetic simulation and experiments. The analysis may provide the design guidelines for efficient charging of EVs even under non-ideal scenarios.
Microfixtured assembly for lensed optoelectronic receivers

A new approach for passively aligning, fixing and lens-coupling a photodetector array to an array of optical fibers is described. A two-part assembly is constructed from two pieces of silicon that have different crystallographic cuts. One piece, the base, is fabricated from (100) silicon and contains features for po- sitioning the photodetector chip, the optical fibers and a mating second piece. That second piece, the lens insert, is fabricated from (110) silicon and contains the lenses plus features for mating with the first piece and establishing the input/output focal distances. Index Terms—Optical receivers, optoelectronics, silicon wafer board.
Targeting the voltage sensor of Kv7.2 voltage-gated K+ channels with a new gating-modifier

The pore and gate regions of voltage-gated cation channels have been often targeted with drugs acting as channel modulators. In contrast, the voltage-sensing domain (VSD) was practically not exploited for therapeutic purposes, although it is the target of various toxins. We recently designed unique diphenylamine carboxylates that are powerful Kv7.2 voltage-gated K+ channel openers or blockers. Here we show that a unique Kv7.2 channel opener, NH29, acts as a nontoxin gating modifier. NH29 increases Kv7.2 currents, thereby producing a hyperpolarizing shift of the activation curve and slowing both activation and deactivation kinetics. In neurons, the opener depresses evoked spike discharges. NH29 dampens hippocampal glutamate and GABA release, thereby inhibiting excitatory and inhibitory postsynaptic currents. Mutagenesis and modeling data suggest that in Kv7.2, NH29 docks to the external groove formed by the interface of helices S1, S2, and S4 in a way that stabilizes the interaction between two conserved charged residues in S2 and S4, known to interact electrostatically, in the open state of Kv channels. Results indicate that NH29 may operate via a voltage-sensor trapping mechanism similar to that suggested for scorpion and sea-anemone toxins. Reflecting the promiscuous nature of the VSD, NH29 is also a potent blocker of TRPV1 channels, a feature similar to that of tarantula toxins. Our data provide a structural framework for designing unique gating-modifiers targeted to the VSD of voltage-gated cation channels and used for the treatment of hyperexcitability disorders.
On Wings of Courage: Public "Air-Mindedness" and National Identity in Late Imperial Russia

Saturday, 24 September 1910 As the rays of the setting sun reluctantly surrendered their hold on the day to the electric lights of the Komendantskoe airfield, naval Captain Lev Makarovich Matsievich climbed aboard his single-engine Farman biplane. Already exhausted from a long day's journeys above the St. Petersburg landscape, Matsievich was determined to best the Russian altitude record established only four days earlier by his friend and competitor B. V. Matyevich. Such records, as all those who gathered in attendance would testify, were never intended to last for long, yet the young pilot was resolved to secure his name (if only briefly) in the nation's record books. After hastily inspecting his craft for signs of wear, a habit to which he had accustomed himself in the course of the three-week competition, Matsievich slowly taxied his Farman onto the open grass plain of Komendantskoe field. Signaling to the judges' grandstand that he was ready to begin his ascent, Matsievich cautiously opened the throttle of his fifty-horsepower engine. Working to maintain control of the craft as it skipped and bounced along the uneven surface of the converted field, Matsievich carefully guided the nose of his plane skyward. At 5:53 P.M. he was airborne. For the thousands of spectators who gathered on the outskirts of the Russian capital to take part in the activities of the First All-Russian Festival of Aviation, the efforts of Matsievich and his fellow pilots were a cause for national celebration. For weeks aviation dominated the conversations of St. Petersburg's taverns, reading rooms and social clubs, while detailed reports of aeronautical events became a daily staple of the nation's press. As Russians looked skyward for a glimpse of the future, popular newspapers such as Russkoe slovo and Gazeta kopeika impressed upon their readers the vital significance of each new flight. Echoing the sentiments of their West European counterparts, contemporary Russians extolled their fliers as the pioneers of a new age of man. Hailing the advent of flight as a spiritual and cultural (as well
Evolution and alignment of the hypervariable arm 1 of Aeschynanthus (Gesneriaceae) ITS2 nuclear ribosomal DNA.

Comparative ITS2 sequencing in the plant genus Aeschynanthus(Gesneriaceae) reveals an insertion/deletion (indel) hot spot in the ITS2 sequences that is difficult to align. Examination of other Gesneriaceae sequences shows that this is a widespread phenomenon in this plant family. Minimum free-energy secondary structure analyses localize the hot spot to the terminal part of arm 1. Arm 1 is twice as long in Gesneriaceae than in other asterids. In addition, the pattern of indels is consistent with this secondary structure model. The high variability of the extended terminal part of arm 1 in Gesneriaceae and the fact that it can be deleted altogether imply that it is functionally superfluous. In contrast, the base of arm 1 is relatively conserved and may function as an exonuclease recognition site. This study illustrates how comparative secondary structure analyses can be helpful in fine-scale alignment. Alignment based on secondary structure conflicts with our initial manual alignment and, to a lesser extent, with a CLUSTAL X alignment with default parameters.
Capacity Bounds on MIMO Relay Channel With Covariance Feedback at the Transmitters

In this paper, the source and relay transmit covariance matrices are jointly optimized for a fading multiple-antenna relay channel when the transmitters only have partial channel state information (CSI) in the form of covariance feedback. For both full-duplex and half-duplex transmissions, we evaluate lower and upper bounds on the ergodic channel capacity. These bounds require a joint optimization over the source and relay transmit covariance matrices. The methods utilized in the previous literature cannot handle this joint optimization over the transmit covariance matrices for the system model considered in this paper. Therefore, we utilize matrix differential calculus and propose iterative algorithms that find the transmit covariance matrices to solve the joint optimization problem. In this method, there is no need to specify first the eigenvectors of the transmit covariance matrices. The algorithm updates both the eigenvectors and the eigenvalues at each iteration. Through simulations, we observe that lower and upper bounds are close to each other. However, the distance between the lower and upper bounds depends on the channel conditions. If the mutual information on the source-to-relay channel and the broadcast channel get closer to each other, the bounds on capacity also get closer.
Multi-Objective Artificial Bee Colony for scheduling in Grid environments

This paper presents a multi-objective swarm optimization algorithm for scheduling experiments across the Grid. In a sense, MOABC (Multi-Objective Artificial Bee Colony) is implemented to optimize the scheduling of an experiment with dependent jobs respect to the minimization of its execution time and cost. The main advantage in this approach is that it provides decision support for the final user. The user chooses among a range of alternatives with the best execution time and cost, considering these values with the same importance. The obtained results show, not just that the MOABC algorithm is reliable taking into account the standard deviation, but also that its results dominate the results obtained by other grid schedulers. In this research, the well-known DBC (Deadline Budget Constraint) algorithm from Nimrod-G and the WMS (Workload Management System) scheduler from the middleware gLite (Lightweight Middleware for Grid Computing) are compared with the proposed algorithm.
The great divergence in European wages and prices

This paper traces the history of prices and wages in European cities from the fourteenth century to the First World War. It is shown that the divergence in real incomes observed in the mid-nineteenth century was produced between 1500 and 1750 as incomes fell in most European cities but were maintained (not increased) in the economic leaders.
Temperament and social behavior in pediatric brain tumor survivors and comparison peers.

OBJECTIVE To examine the role of temperament (i.e., surgency/positive affect, negative affect, and effortful control) in the social behavior of pediatric brain tumor survivors and comparison classmates. METHODS Parent-, peer-, and self-report data were collected for 75 children after treatment for a brain tumor, and 67 comparison classmates. Tests of mediation and moderated mediation were run to examine whether effortful control accounted for group differences in social behavior and whether this indirect effect was moderated by surgency/positive or negative affectivity. RESULTS Peers described survivors as lower in Leadership-popularity and higher in Sensitivity-isolation and victimization than comparison classmates. Parent and self-report of surgency/positive affect revealed survivors were lower on this dimension. Survivors were rated by parents as demonstrating less effortful control. Effortful control did not consistently account for group differences in social behavior. There was limited evidence of moderated mediation. CONCLUSIONS Research on the implications of potential changes in temperament following treatment is warranted.
Test Case Design by Means of the CTE XL

An electric shutter having an armature operable to an unattracted position for allowing closing of the shutter blades. The armature is biased by a pressure-applying spring toward the attracted position by a greater force than a force applied biasing it away from the attracted position. The pressure-applying spring force is rendered ineffective after the shutter blades have been opened thereby avoiding premature closing of the shutter in the event that the energized electromagnet cannot hold the armature in an attracted position.
RETRIEVAL APPROACH TO CONTENT-BASED AUDIO RETRIEVAL

This paper presents a novel approach to robust, contentbased retrieval of digital music. We formulate the hashing and retrieval problems analogously to that of text retrieval and leverage established results for this unique application. Accordingly, songs are represented as a ”Bagof-Audio-Words” and similarity calculations follow directly from the well-known Vector Space model [12]. We evaluate our system on a 4000 song data set to demonstrate its practical applicability, and evaluation shows our technique to be robust to a variety of signal distortions. Most interestingly, the system is capable of matching studio recordings to live recordings of the same song with high accuracy.
Individual Adopter Differences Among Jordanian Technology Users

This paper draws upon innovation diffusion theory and more recent conceptualizations of IT adoption behavior to examine differences among Jordanian Internet across Rogers’ adopter categories. We extend Rogers’ theory by characterizing adopter categories based on personality, attitudinal and situational variables recently found to be salient in IT adoption behaviors, and determine that young, educated and upwardly-mobile members of developing economies in the Middle East and North Africa region are the best target for increasing the effectiveness of diffusion of information and communication technology initiatives.
Chronic Kidney Disease: Effects on the Cardiovascular System

Accelerated cardiovascular disease is a frequent complication of renal disease. Chronic kidney disease promotes hypertension and dyslipidemia, which in turn can contribute to the progression of renal failure. Furthermore, diabetic nephropathy is the leading cause of renal failure in developed countries. Together, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and diabetes are major risk factors for the development of endothelial dysfunction and progression of atherosclerosis. Inflammatory mediators are often elevated and the renin-angiotensin system is frequently activated in chronic kidney disease, which likely contributes through enhanced production of reactive oxygen species to the accelerated atherosclerosis observed in chronic kidney disease. Promoters of calcification are increased and inhibitors of calcification are reduced, which favors metastatic vascular calcification, an important participant in vascular injury associated with end-stage renal disease. Accelerated atherosclerosis will then lead to increased prevalence of coronary artery disease, heart failure, stroke, and peripheral arterial disease. Consequently, subjects with chronic renal failure are exposed to increased morbidity and mortality as a result of cardiovascular events. Prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease are major considerations in the management of individuals with chronic kidney disease.
Role of Active Contraction and Tropomodulins in Regulating Actin Filament Length and Sarcomere Structure in Developing Zebrafish Skeletal Muscle

Whilst it is recognized that contraction plays an important part in maintaining the structure and function of mature skeletal muscle, its role during development remains undefined. In this study the role of movement in skeletal muscle maturation was investigated in intact zebrafish embryos using a combination of genetic and pharmacological approaches. An immotile mutant line (cacnb1ts25) which lacks functional voltage-gated calcium channels (dihydropyridine receptors) in the muscle and pharmacological immobilization of embryos with a reversible anesthetic (Tricaine), allowed the study of paralysis (in mutants and anesthetized fish) and recovery of movement (reversal of anesthetic treatment). The effect of paralysis in early embryos (aged between 17 and 24 hours post-fertilization, hpf) on skeletal muscle structure at both myofibrillar and myofilament level was determined using both immunostaining with confocal microscopy and small angle X-ray diffraction. The consequences of paralysis and subsequent recovery on the localization of the actin capping proteins Tropomodulin 1 & 4 (Tmod) in fish aged from 17 hpf until 42 hpf was also assessed. The functional consequences of early paralysis were investigated by examining the mechanical properties of the larval muscle. The length-force relationship, active and passive tension, was measured in immotile, recovered and control skeletal muscle at 5 and 7 day post-fertilization (dpf). Recovery of muscle function was also assessed by examining swimming patterns in recovered and control fish. Inhibition of the initial embryonic movements (up to 24 hpf) resulted in an increase in myofibril length and a decrease in width followed by almost complete recovery in both moving and paralyzed fish by 42 hpf. In conclusion, myofibril organization is regulated by a dual mechanism involving movement-dependent and movement-independent processes. The initial contractile event itself drives the localization of Tmod1 to its sarcomeric position, capping the actin pointed ends and ultimately regulating actin length. This study demonstrates that both contraction and contractile-independent mechanisms are important for the regulation of myofibril organization, which in turn is necessary for establishing proper skeletal muscle structure and function during development in vivo in zebrafish.
Scientific Workflow Model for Provenance Analysis Based on Many-sorted High-Level Nets

Scientific workflow is becoming an important paradigm for scientific computations and collaborations. Provenance information plays an important role to reproduce data and prove the soundness of result for scientific workflow. The provenance information can be collected by keeping a complete trace of the workflow execution. In this paper, we give a high level Workflow Net model based on many-sorted signature algebraic nets. The model combines data type and Petri Net, and it is easy to depict the relation between provenance and workflow execution. Based on the model, it is convenient to capture provenance information and make further query.