Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Energy Consumption Optimization in Data Transmission from Correlated Sensor Nodes

In this paper, we focus on the energy consumption issues of data transmission from correlated sensor nodes, and an optimization algorithm is proposed for minimizing the total energy consumption of the hardware and the physical link. We perform a detailed trade-off analysis of the circuit energy consumption, the transmission energy consumption, the transmission time, the QAM constellation size, and the channel coding rate over transmission distance and correlation values, thus a new optimized transmission schedule with much lower energy consumption is obtained. Compared to the optimized uncorrelated uncoded transmission scheme, the total energy consumption may be reduced by more than 83.5% for a correlation value of 0.6 and a transmission distance of 100 meters when using the results from the proposed optimization, which is significant with respect to increasing the lifetime of a wireless sensor network.
Knowledge Based and Intelligent Information and Engineering Systems An Iterative Projective Clustering Method

In this article we offer an algorithm recurrently divides a dataset by search of partitions via one dimensional subspace discovered by means of optimizing of a projected pursuit function. Aiming to assess the model order a resampling technique is employed. For each number of clusters, bounded by a predefined limit, samples from the projected data are drawn and clustered through the EM algorithm. Further, the basis cumulative histogram of the projected data is approximated by means of the GMM histograms constructed using the samples’ partitions. The saturation order of this approximation process, at what time the components’ amount increases, is recognized as the “true” components’ number. Afterward the whole data is clustered and the densest cluster is omitted. The process is repeated while waiting for the true number of clusters equals one. Numerical experiments demonstrate the high ability of the proposed method. © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. Peer-review under responsibility of KES International.
Clinical use of the magnetic stimulator in the investigation of peripheral conduction time

The application of rapidly changing magnetic fields (magnetic stimulation) over the neck or lower back elicits EMG responses in the muscles of the arm or leg respectively. Such responses have stable onset latencies but their amplitudes vary depending on the position of the coil over the neck or lower back. Supramaximal responses could not be obtained. Comparison of onset latencies with estimates of peripheral conduction time using a conventional F‐wave technique suggest that the site of excitation of the motor axons is about 1.3 msec conduction time distal to the cervical motoneurons and 3 msec distal to the lumbosacral motoneurons. Response configuration after paravertebral magnetic stimulation was similar to that of the standard electrically evoked M‐wave in the small hand muscles but not in lower limb muscles. Responses in lower limb muscles after paravertebral magnetic stimulation may consist of additional F‐wave and H‐reflex components. The possible clinical role of paravertebral magnetic stimulation in the investigation of peripheral and central motor pathways is discussed in the light of these findings.
A Recommender System for Personalized Exploration of Majors, Minors, and Concentrations

Many students change their majors during college. Choosing the right academic majors, minors, and concentrations within a major in higher education is challenging but crucial in assuring students’ overall academic and career success. Personalized prediction of student success in majors, minors, and concentrations will help students better find the right majors, minors, and concentrations for them, so as to timely achieve their academic goals. In this paper, we present a new recommender application for the academic major/minor/concentration selection problem in the educational domain. The proposed major/minor/concentration recommender system is a collaborative filtering-based recommender based on student grade prediction, and provides a variety of personalized predictions and recommendations on majors, minors, and concentrations. It is a useful tool to guide students, advisors, and administrators during the personalized major/minor/concentration exploration (declare/change) process.
Experimental particle formation rates spanning tropospheric sulfuric acid and ammonia abundances, ion production rates, and temperatures

Binary nucleation of sulfuric acid and water as well as ternary nucleation involving ammonia are thought to be the dominant processes responsible for new particle formation (NPF) in the cold temperatures of the middle and upper troposphere. Ions are also thought to be important for particle nucleation in these regions. However, global models presently lack experimentally measured NPF rates under controlled laboratory conditions and so at present must rely on theoretical or empirical parameterizations. Here with data obtained in the European Organization for Nuclear Research CLOUD (Cosmics Leaving OUtdoor Droplets) chamber, we present the first experimental survey of NPF rates spanning free tropospheric conditions. The conditions during nucleation cover a temperature range from 208 to 298 K, sulfuric acid concentrations between 5 × 105 and 1 × 109 cm−3, and ammonia mixing ratios from zero added ammonia, i.e., nominally pure binary, to a maximum of ~1400 parts per trillion by volume (pptv). We performed nucleation studies under pure neutral conditions with zero ions being present in the chamber and at ionization rates of up to 75 ion pairs cm−3 s−1 to study neutral and ion‐induced nucleation. We found that the contribution from ion‐induced nucleation is small at temperatures between 208 and 248 K when ammonia is present at several pptv or higher. However, the presence of charges significantly enhances the nucleation rates, especially at 248 K with zero added ammonia, and for higher temperatures independent of NH3 levels. We compare these experimental data with calculated cluster formation rates from the Atmospheric Cluster Dynamics Code with cluster evaporation rates obtained from quantum chemistry.
Polyphyly of Lichen-cryptic Dagger Moths: synonymy of Agriopodes Hampson and description of a new basal acronictine genus, Chloronycta, gen. n. (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae)

Abstract The taxonomic composition and systematic position of Agriopodes Hampson is examined through an integrated approach using adult and larval morphology, biology, and molecular sequence data. The type-species of Agriopodes, Moma fallax Herrich-Schäffer is shown to be derived within the Acronicta grisea Walker species-group; accordingly, Agriopodes is relegated to synonymy under Acronicta Ochsenheimer, syn. n. (Acronictinae). Additionally, molecular markers and morphology show that Agriopodes is not monophyletic: Agriopodes tybo (Barnes) is not closely related to A. fallax nor to Acronicta, and is transferred to a new genus, Chloronycta Schmidt & Anweiler, gen. n. The immature stages of Chloronycta tybo comb. n. are described and illustrated for the first time. Although previously treated as a valid species, we show that Agriopodes geminata (Smith) represents the northern terminus of clinal variation in wing pattern of A. fallax and synonymize A. geminata under A. fallax (syn. n.). The history and identity of Agriopodes corticosa (Boisduval), a nomen dubium, is discussed.
Expression, purification, and bioassay of human stanniocalcin from baculovirus-infected insect cells and recombinant CHO cells.

Stanniocalcin is a calcium- and phosphate-regulating glycoprotein hormone that was first described in fish where it functions in preventing hypercalcemia. Human cDNA clones encoding the homolog of stanniocalcin have been recently isolated. In this study, the full-length cDNA coding for human stanniocalcin (hSTC) was cloned into both baculovirus and CHO expression vectors. Recombinant hSTC was then produced efficiently from both baculovirus-infected insect cells and CHO cells in large-scale bioreactors. Purification protocols were developed and used to purify recombinant hSTC from both sources in four chromatography steps. The hSTCs from both expression systems were secreted as glycosylated proteins and as disulfide-linked homodimers. The results from glycosylation studies indicated that stanniocalcin from both sources contained N-linked oligosaccharides but no O-linked sugars. In an in vivo bioassay based on the inhibition of gill calcium transport in fishes, the baculovirus and CHO-expressed protein showed biological activity which is dose dependent. The inhibitory effects of hSTC produced from both systems were essentially equipotent in fishes, despite the differences in glycosylation. Consequently, the precise role of the carbohydrate moiety in recombinant hSTC remains to be determined.
Analysis and visualization of functional relationships between RNA expression and clinical annotation using PathlinX

We have analyzed a publicly available dataset consisting of gene-expression measurements from 105 lung carcinomas joined with clinical parameters describing the age, smoking history, and survival statistics for the patients that the tumors originated in. Our aim was to demonstrate how the unsupervised analysis technique embodied in PathlinX allows researchers to quickly gain an intuition for the most significant relationships between heterogeneous data elements. A variety of metrics were evaluated empirically by their ability to distinguish biological signal in the data from random noise; this was accomplished by random permutation of the data rows followed by comprehensive pair-wise comparison of all experimental elements. Thresholds of significance were established based on the metric scores for the permuted data. Sub-threshold associations were then removed. The remaining associations were then grouped by a transitive closure process to generate undirected graphs of associations called PathlinX networks. We discuss the various features of each generated PathlinX network and demonstrate the ability of the technique to highlight biological features in large heterogeneous datasets.
Site-specific Interactions of JBP with Base and Sugar Moieties in Duplex J-DNA

β-d-Glucosyl-hydroxymethyluracil, also called base J, is an unusually modified DNA base conserved among Kinetoplastida. Base J is found predominantly in repetitive DNA and correlates with epigenetic silencing of telomeric variant surface glycoprotein genes. We have previously identified a J-binding protein (JBP) in Trypanosoma, Leishmania, andCrithidia, and we have shown that it is a structure-specific binding protein. Here we examine the molecular interactions that contribute to recognition of the glycosylated base in synthetic DNA substrates using modification interference, modification protection, DNA footprinting, and photocross-linking techniques. We find that the two primary requirements for J-DNA recognition include contacts at base J and a base immediately 5′ of J (J-1). Methylation interference analysis indicates that the requirement of the base at position J-1 is due to a major groove contact independent of the sequence. DNA footprinting of the JBP·J-DNA complex with 1,10-phenanthroline-copper demonstrates that JBP contacts the minor groove at base J. Substitution of the thymine moiety of J with cytosine reduces the affinity for JBP ∼15-fold. These data indicate that the sole sequence dependence for JBP binding may lie in the thymine moiety of base J and that recognition requires only two specific base contacts, base J and J-1, within both the major and minor groove of the J-DNA duplex.
A mesh-free mechanical model of the upper gastrointestinal system

Realistic behavior in Computer Simulation of biological system (e.g. humans organs) is essential to 3D modeling in medicine. In order to improve realistic responses of 3D organ model it is essential to use mechanical models that can deal with multiple objects internal and external interactions in a reasonable time frame. We will apply the Smooth Particles Hydrodynamics (SPH) to model the esophagus and the stomach, thus constructing a physical background for interaction. We used a multilayer model of particles related to a single triangle mesh. Each particle layers represent distinct biological tissues of the esophagus and the stomach.
Geographic Patterns of Craniofacial Variation in Pre-Hispanic Populations from the Southern Cone of South America

Abstract In this study we analyzed the relationships and patterns of spatial variation from morphological cranial variability of 17 population samples representing the ancient inhabitants of the central territory of Argentina (archaeologically known as “Sierras Centrales”) and other pre-Hispanic populations from different ecological and geographic regions of the Southern Cone of South America (Argentina and Uruguay), based on the analysis of 10 craniofacial measurements. Results obtained from D2 distances can be interpreted as evidence of a similar biological history for the populations that inhabited the Sierras Centrales and the population of Santiago del Estero. Matrix correlation analysis demonstrated that craniometric variation is significantly influenced by geography, suggesting that populations that lived at lower geographical distance share more biological similarity. Global spatial autocorrelation analysis suggests a clinal pattern for the biological variation, although Moran's I estimates calculated for each variable demonstrate that only nasal height and breadth show this spatial pattern of variation. Results from spatial regression techniques show a significant effect of altitude modeling nasal shape, in agreement with previous studies suggesting that nasal morphology is strongly influenced by environment variables.
Pulmonary disease caused by Mycobacterium simiae in Iran's national referral center for tuberculosis.

INTRODUCTION Several species of non-tuberculosis mycobacteria (NTM) can affect humans and can cause either symptomatic or asymptomatic infection. This study aimed to determine the clinical and radiological manifestation, as well as the treatment, of M. simiae in patients in Masih Daneshvari Hospital, a TB referral hospital in Iran. METHODOLOGY This retrospective study involved all patients presenting to our referral center from 2002 to 2009, with confirmation of M. simiae pulmonary infection. For all patients, sputum smear and culture for identification was performed, as was drug susceptibility testing. Additionally, PCR identification methods for NTM, and high-resolution CT scan were conducted. All patients were treated according to American Thoracic Society recommendations. RESULTS In total, 26 cases of M. simiae were identified in our center. The mean age of the patients was 58.23 ± 16.9years. Only one patient was HIV positive, and all but one were Iranian. The most frequent symptom was coughing (92.3%), and 100% of the patients had nodular lesions. In addition, bronchiectasis and cavitation were present in 84.6% and 88.5% respectively. All the patients were resistant to every first-line drug. Two patients failed the treatment, and twenty-four were cured, after which no recurrence of the disease was observed. CONCLUSION M. simiae may present with clinical and radiological manifestations consistent with tuberculosis, and be resistant to anti-TB agents. A more efficient treatment for NTMs such as M. simiae is needed, to shorten the period of treatment and proved fewer adverse effects than current therapies.
Epicardial Fat Thickness and its Association withCardiovascular Risk in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Previous studies have clearly shown that epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) mass is associated with increased incidence of coronary artery disease. In the present study, the relationship between the EAT volume measured by cardiac multislice computerized tomography (MSCT) and cardiovascular risk was investigated in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Ninety type 2 diabetic patients and 62 healthy controls were included in the study. We examined metabolic and anthropometric parameters including body mass index (BMI), fasting glucose and serum lipids and EAT volume of patients in comparison to those of control subjects. EAT volume was higher in Type 2 diabetic patients compared to control group (172.75 ± 64.85 cm3 and 68.94 ± 37.74 cm3, respectively) (p<0.001). Type 2 diabetic patients had significantly higher levels of fasting glucose (p=0.014), total cholesterol (p<0.001), triglycerides (p=0,017) and LDL-cholesterol (p=0,022) versus control group. EAT volume was correlated with BMI, glucose, HbA1c, LDL-cholesterol, total cholesterol. In a stepwise regression analysis, Hba1c emerged as a significant predictor of EAT volume (s= 0.610, p0.001), accounting for 18% of its variability. These results provide additional evidence for the presence of subclinical cardiovascular disease (CVD) in type 2 diabetic patients. It is also important to note that our findings reveal significant relationships between HBA1c and cardiovascular changes and underline the importance of glucose control in predicting CVD.
Psychometric Properties of the Chinese Version of the Revised Posttraumatic Growth Inventory for Children (PTGI-C-R)

We investigated the psychometric properties of the modified 8-item Chinese version of the Revised Posttraumatic Growth Inventory for Children (PTGI-C-R) among 3256 adolescents in Chengdu, China, after the Sichuan Earthquake in 2008. The PTGI-C-R showed good reliability (Cronbach’s α = .86; composite reliability = 0.87). A single factor was extracted by exploratory factor analysis and confirmed by confirmatory factor analysis in 2 randomly split half subsamples. Multigroup analyses showed that the single-factor structure was stable across gender groups and age groups (age <15 years and ≥15 years). The PTGI-C-R was negatively correlated with depression (r = −0.21) and positively correlated with resilience, social support, and perceived importance of health, family, and friendship (r ranged from 0.34 to 0.40). Our findings support the idea that the PTGI-C-R is a reliable and valid measure of posttraumatic growth among Chinese adolescents having experienced a natural disaster. Validation of the scale in the context of other traumatic events is warranted.
Benefits of lifestyle modification on the metabolic syndrome

Introduction: The main risk factors for hypertensive and ischemic cardiovascular disease of the metabolic syndrome (MS) can be favorably change by the life style (LS). Objective: Evaluate the effect of a lifestyle modification program (LMP) on cardiovascular risk factors of the Metabolic Syndrome (MS). Materials and methods: In this clinical trial, 08 volunteers (05 women) with MS underwent a biweekly nutritional intervention and a physical exercise program, using a treadmill, at 65-75 % of maximum heart rate, during 30 minutes, three times a week. After tree mouths on LPM the data were compared using Student’s t-test. Results: There was a dramatic reduction in systolic blood pressure (7.5%), triglycerides (6.7%) and high density lipoprotein (8%). Moreover, there was a reduction in resting double product (11%) and an increase in physical conditioning expressed by the workload in watts (29%), as well as in the oxygen consumption (24%). Conclusion: Until this moment, these results indicate that food habits change, associated to frequently physical exercise can reduce the triglycerides concentration as well as SBD and DP. Besides, since the relevance of the results
Identification of the Outer Membrane Porin of Thermus thermophilus HB8: the Channel-Forming Complex Has an Unusually High Molecular Mass and an Extremely Large Single-Channel Conductance

ABSTRACT The outer membrane of the thermophilic bacterium Thermus thermophilus was isolated using sucrose step gradient centrifugation. Its detergent extracts contained an ion-permeable channel with an extremely high single-channel conductance of 20 nS in 1 M KCl. The channel protein was purified by preparative sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacylamide gel electrophoresis. It has a high molecular mass of 185 kDa, and its channel-forming ability resists boiling in SDS for 10 min.
Poly(Lactic-co-Glycolic Acid): Applications and Future Prospects for Periodontal Tissue Regeneration

Periodontal tissue regeneration is the ultimate goal of the treatment for periodontitis-affected teeth. The success of regenerative modalities relies heavily on the utilization of appropriate biomaterials with specific properties. Poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA), a synthetic aliphatic polyester, has been actively investigated for periodontal therapy due to its favorable mechanical properties, tunable degradation rates, and high biocompatibility. Despite the attractive characteristics, certain constraints associated with PLGA, in terms of its hydrophobicity and limited bioactivity, have led to the introduction of modification strategies that aimed to improve the biological performance of the polymer. Here, we summarize the features of the polymer and update views on progress of its applications as barrier membranes, bone grafts, and drug delivery carriers, which indicate that PLGA can be a good candidate material in the field of periodontal regenerative medicine.
Diversity of Acetyl-Coenzyme A Carboxylase Mutations in Resistant Lolium Populations: Evaluation Using Clethodim1[OA]

The acetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase (ACCase)-inhibiting cyclohexanedione herbicide clethodim is used to control grass weeds infesting dicot crops. In Australia clethodim is widely used to control the weed Lolium rigidum. However, clethodim-resistant Lolium populations have appeared over the last 5 years and now are present in many populations across the western Australian wheat (Triticum aestivum) belt. An aspartate-2078-glycine (Gly) mutation in the plastidic ACCase enzyme has been identified as the only known mutation endowing clethodim resistance. Here, with 14 clethodim-resistant Lolium populations we revealed diversity and complexity in the molecular basis of resistance to ACCase-inhibiting herbicides (clethodim in particular). Several known ACCase mutations (isoleucine-1781-leucine [Leu], tryptophan-2027-cysteine [Cys], isoleucine-2041-asparagine, and aspartate-2078-Gly) and in particular, a new mutation of Cys to arginine at position 2088, were identified in plants surviving the Australian clethodim field rate (60 g ha−1). Twelve combination patterns of mutant alleles were revealed in relation to clethodim resistance. Through a molecular, biochemical, and biological approach, we established that the mutation 2078-Gly or 2088-arginine endows sufficient level of resistance to clethodim at the field rate, and in addition, combinations of two mutant 1781-Leu alleles, or two different mutant alleles (i.e. 1781-Leu/2027-Cys, 1781-Leu/2041-asparagine), also confer clethodim resistance. Plants homozygous for the mutant 1781, 2078, or 2088 alleles were found to be clethodim resistant and cross resistant to a number of other ACCase inhibitor herbicides including clodinafop, diclofop, fluazifop, haloxyfop, butroxydim, sethoxydim, tralkoxydim, and pinoxaden. We established that the specific mutation, the homo/heterozygous status of a plant for a specific mutation, and combinations of different resistant alleles plus herbicide rates all are important in contributing to the overall level of herbicide resistance in genetically diverse, cross-pollinated Lolium species.