Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Preface to Models@run.time 2016

The complexity of adapting software during runtime has spawned interest in how models can be used to validate, monitor and adapt runtime behaviour. The use of models during runtime extends the use of modeling techniques beyond the design and implementation phases. The goal of this workshop is to look at issues related to developing appropriate modeldriven approaches to managing and monitoring the execution of systems and, also, to allow the system to reason about itself. We aim to continue the discussion of research ideas and proposals from researchers who work in relevant areas such as MDE, software architectures, reflection, and autonomic and self-adaptive systems, and provide a 'state-of-the-art' research assessment expressed in terms of challenges and achievements.
The Direction of Innovation over the Product Life Cycle

Papers such as Gort and Klepper (1982) and Utterback and Abernathy (1975) describe the evolution of products from their birth through maturity, termed the product life cycle. Both the number of rms and the number of patents grows as the product reaches its peak. There is also a clear shift in the composition of innovation. Utterback and Abernathy (1975) have pointed out the change from product innovations to process innovation. Gort and Klepper (1982) document a shift from what they call major to minor innovations. In this paper we introduce a model of directed technological change that can account for these changes. Innovative e¤ort can be used either for process or product innovation. We argue that, in the model, product innovations are the ones more likely to be classi ed as major. Our model predicts a slowdown in these innovations in absolute terms, along with a rise in process innovations. We investigate the product cycle data and show other important features that are consistent with the model. We thank Philippe Aghion, Paul Romer, and participants at seminars at the Minnesota Fed, Duke, Iowa State and the 4th Duke/Texas/Northwestern IO theory conference for suggestions. yUniversity of Iowa. zStanford GSB.
Selection of resistance of telithromycin against Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis and streptococci in comparison with macrolides.

OBJECTIVE The in vitro abilities of telithromycin, azithromycin and clarithromycin to select for resistance were compared by testing isolates of Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis, Streptococcus pneumoniae and beta-haemolytic streptococci. METHODS Five strains each of beta-lactamase-positive and beta-lactamase-negative H. influenzae, beta-lactamase-positive and beta-lactamase-negative M. catarrhalis, S. pneumoniae, beta-haemolytic group A, group C and group G streptococci and three strains of beta-lactamase-negative ampicillin-resistant H. influenzae were evaluated. Development of resistance was determined by multi-step and single-step methodologies. For multi-step studies, MIC values were determined after five serial passages on antibiotic-gradient plates and after 10 serial passages on antibiotic-free plates. Acquisition of resistance was defined as an increase of >/=4-fold from the starting MIC. In single-step studies, the rate of spontaneous mutations was calculated after a passage on plates containing antibiotics at concentrations equal to the highest NCCLS breakpoints. RESULTS Azithromycin, clarithromycin and telithromycin gave a >/=4-fold increase in 20, 20 and 10 streptococcus strains, in 4, 5 and 0 H. influenzae strains and in 2, 7 and 4 M. catarrhalis strains, respectively. After 10 passages on antibiotic-free plates, 21/26 strains for azithromycin, 22/32 for clarithromycin and 1/14 for telithromycin maintained high MIC values. In single-step studies, the frequency of mutations was <10(-10) for H. influenzae and M. catarrhalis for telithromycin, azithromycin and clarithromycin. Telithromycin induced mutations at a lower rate than azithromycin and clarithromycin in streptococcal strains. CONCLUSION Telithromycin showed a very limited ability to select for resistance in respiratory pathogens compared with azithromycin and clarithromycin.
A second harmonic tuned power amplifier in LDMOS technology

In this contribution, the design and the experimental results of a power amplifier in LDMOS technology are reported. The amplifier has been designed to operate at 2.14 GHz and exploiting the output second harmonic to boost the obtainable performances. The measurement results shown an output power of 39 dBm and a drain efficiency greater than 50% at 2.1 GHz.
A non-intrusive built-in sensor for transient current testing of digital VLSI circuits

We propose and evaluate a non-intrusive built-in monitor oriented to transient current based testing of digital CMOS VLSI circuits. The monitor measures the transient current idd(t) by sensing the voltage drop at an inductance coupled to the magnetic field produced by the power supply transient current. Designed in 120nm CMOS technology, the sensor proposed has two blocks. The transducer circuit senses the transient current and provides a voltage waveform while a second module amplifies the voltage waveform and computes the transient current waveform Idd(t) to produce the charge waveform. Simulation results, using an elaborated CUT model, demonstrate the performance of the transceiver element.
The esperanza window trap reduces the human biting rate of Simulium ochraceum s.l. in formerly onchocerciasis endemic foci in Southern Mexico

Background The Esperanza Window Trap (EWT) baited with CO2 and human sweat compounds is attractive to Simulium ochraceum s.l. , the primary vector of Onchocerca volvulus in the historically largest endemic foci in México and Guatemala. Methodology/Principal findings The ability of the EWT to locally reduce numbers of questing S. ochraceum s.l. was evaluated in two formerly onchocerciasis endemic communities in Southern México. At each community, two EWTs were placed in or near a school or household and flies were collected sequentially for a total of 10 days. Black fly collections were then carried out for an additional 10 days in the absence of the EWTs. Flies were also collected outside the dwellings to control for variations in the local fly populations. When the EWTs were present, there was a significant reduction in the human biting rate at both the household and school locations at collection sites, with a greater effect observed in the schools. Conclusions/Significance These results indicate that the EWTs not only have potential as a black fly monitoring tool but may be used for reducing personal exposure to fly bites in Mesoamerica.
Hardware-in-the-loop simulative platform for wind turbine based on real-time simulation

As wind power becomes a high penetration in power system, wind turbine integration performance plays a significant role in power grid operation. Wind turbine controller strategy and its coordination with pitch system, generator, convertor, etc., are key of wind turbine performance. This paper presents the work of hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) wind turbine simulative platform which is dedicated for wind turbine control strategy testing at the present stage, and provides a software framework for further expansion such as the integration of generator and convertor at full power in real-time simulations. The HIL platform consist of software part and hardware part. The software part provides real-time simulation environment and wind turbine model simulation, while hardware is the real component, which is the PLC controller specific in this HIL platform, and these two parts are connected via hardwired communication methods, including Modbus, Canopen, RS485, etc. A 3MW wind turbine main controller is tested on the HIL simulative platform to validate the platform, and test result is analyzed which could provide a suggestion of improvements to wind turbine main controller.
Antimonotonicity, Crisis and Multiple Attractors in a Simple Memristive Circuit

In this work a memristive circuit consisting of a first-order memristive diode bridge is presented. The proposed circuit is the simplest memristive circuit containing the specific circuitry realization of the memristor to be so far presented in the literature. Characterization of the proposed circuit confirms its complex dynamic behavior, which is studied by using well-known numerical tools of nonlinear theory, such as bifurcation diagram, Lyapunov exponents and phase portraits. Various dynamical phenomena concerning chaos theory, such as antimonotonicity, which is observed for the first time in this type of memristive circuits, crisis phenomenon and multiple attractors, have been observed. An electronic circuit to reproduce the proposed memristive circuit was designed, and experiments were conducted to verify the results obtained from the numerical simulations.
Diversity and Distribution of Sulfate-Reducing Bacteria in Permanently Frozen Lake Fryxell, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica

ABSTRACT The permanently frozen freshwater Lake Fryxell, located in the Dry Valleys of Antarctica, exhibits an ideal geochemistry for microbial sulfate reduction. To investigate the population of sulfate-reducing bacteria in Lake Fryxell, both 16S rRNA gene and metabolic primer sets targeting the dsrA gene for the dissimilatory sulfite reductase alpha subunit were employed to analyze environmental DNA obtained from the water column and sediments of Lake Fryxell. In addition, enrichment cultures of sulfate-reducing bacteria established at 4°C from Lake Fryxell water were also screened using the dsrA primer set. The sequence information obtained showed that a diverse group of sulfate-reducing prokaryotes of the domain Bacteria inhabit Lake Fryxell. With one exception, the enrichment culture sequences were not represented within the environmental sequences. Sequence data were compared with the geochemical profile of Lake Fryxell to identify possible connections between the diversity of sulfate-reducing bacteria and limnological conditions. Several clone groups were highly localized with respect to lake depth and, therefore, experienced specific physiochemical conditions. However, all sulfate-reducing bacteria inhabiting Lake Fryxell must function under the constantly cold conditions characteristic of this extreme environment.
Exploiting top-down source models to improve binaural localisation of multiple sources in reverberant environments

Relatively few systems for machine hearing exploit top-down information in source localisation, despite there being clear evidence for top-down (e.g., attentional) effects in biological spatial hearing. This paper addresses this issue by proposing a framework for binaural sound localisation that exploits top- down knowledge about the source spectral characteristics in the acoustic scene. Information from source models is used to im- prove the localisation process by selectively weighting binaural cues. The system therefore combines top-down and bottom- up information flow within a single computational framework. Our experiments show that by exploiting source models in this way, sound localisation performance can be improved substan- tially under challenging conditions in which multiple sources and room reverberation are present.
UEP Constructions of Quasi-Cyclic Low-Density Parity-Check Codes via Masking

In this paper, the algebraic constructions of quasi-cyclic low-density parity-check (QC-LDPC) codes with the unequal error protection (UEP) property are considered. A criterion for constructing such codes via the masking technique is proposed, based on which explicit conditions on the base parity-check matrices and masking matrices to achieve UEP are provided. We also give three specific constructions of UEP QC-LDPC codes. Furthermore, a sufficient condition to ensure strict UEP is presented. Simulation results demonstrate the superiority of our constructed codes over time-sharing schemes. The constructed codes also have competitive error performance against randomly constructed equal-error-protection LDPC codes and irregular UEP LDPC codes designed based on the degree distribution.
Ablösung vom zählenden Rechnen. Fördereinheiten für heterogene Lerngruppen

Fur Kinder mit Rechenschwierigkeiten stellt die Ablosung vom zahlenden Rechnen einen entscheidenden Schritt fur ein erfolgreiches Mathematiklernen dar. Doch wie kann dies wirkungsvoll im regularen Unterricht gelingen? Wie konnen tagliche Gelegenheiten und Anregungen geschaffen werden, damit Ihre Kinder anstelle des isolierten Zahlens eigene Ideen des flexiblen Rechnens auf der Basis fundierter Zahl- und Operationsvorstellungen entwickeln?
Fleeing the Body: A Terror Management Perspective on the Problem of Human Corporeality

From the perspective of terror management theory, the human body is problematic because it serves as a perpetual reminder of the inevitability of death. Human beings confront this problem through the development of cultural worldviews that imbue reality-and the body as part of that reality-with abstract symbolic meaning. This fanciful flight from death is in turn the psychological impetus for distancing from other animals and the need to regulate behaviors that remind us of our physical nature. This analysis is applied to questions concerning why people are embarrassed and disgusted by their bodies' functions; why sex is such a common source of problems, difficulties, regulations, and ritualizations; why sex tends to be associated with romantic love; and why cultures value physical attractiveness and objectify women. This article then briefly considers implications of this analysis for understanding psychological problems related to the physical body and cultural variations in the need to separate oneself from the natural world.
Myotonic dystrophy with no trinucleotide repeat expansion

We report 3 patients from 2 families with myotonic dystrophy who do not show an abnormal expansion of CTG trinucleotide repeats within the myotonic dystrophy gene. Characteristic features of myotonic dystrophy in these patients were frontal balding, cataracts, cardiac conduction abnormalities, and testicular atrophy with myotonia and muscle weakness. Results of muscle histopathology were consistent with myotonic dystrophy. Genetic analysis of leukocyte and muscle DNA showed a normal number of CTG repeats. The demonstration of normal CTG repeat number for the myotonic dystrophy gene does not exclude the diagnosis of myotonic dystrophy.
Activation of adenosine A2A receptor protects sympathetic neurons against nerve growth factor withdrawal

Adenosine mediates a range of effects in the central nervous system (CNS), including the promotion of neuronal survival, but its actions on sympathetic neurons are less well characterized. We therefore sought to understand the role of endogenous adenosine in contributing to the survival of neurotrophin‐dependent sympathetic neurons. Rat superior cervical ganglion (SCG) cultures were maintained in the continuous presence of nerve growth factor (NGF) and then exposed to adenosine deaminase (ADA), to deplete endogenous adenosine. This resulted in a marked increase in cellular apoptosis, to a level that approximated the effect of NGF withdrawal. Furthermore, the addition of exogenous adenosine to NGF‐deprived SCG neurons resulted in enhanced cell survival. Analysis of adenosine receptor (AR) subtypes on these neurons, using real‐time RT‐PCR and receptor binding analyses, revealed that the A2A receptor was the major subtype present. Accordingly, the A2A receptor agonist CGS21680 significantly reduced both ADA‐induced and NGF‐withdrawal‐induced neuronal apoptosis, whereas the A1 receptor agonist R‐PIA had no such effect. The survival‐promoting effect of CGS21680 was eliminated when cells were coincubated with a molar excess of an A2A receptor antagonist. Finally, follow‐up experiments revealed that CGS21680 prevented the induction of early apoptotic events, such as changes in mitochondrial integrity and caspase activation, and that it also triggered an increase in ERK activation, which was essential for neurotrophin‐independent cell survival. Taken together, these findings provide evidence that endogenous adenosine may be important in mediating protection of sympathetic neurons and that it may act via the A2A receptor subtype. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Using Visual Data Mining to Enhance the Simple Tools in Statistical Process Control: A Case Study

Statistical process control (SPC) is a collection of problem‐solving tools used to achieve process stability and improve process capability through variation reduction. Because of its sound statistical basis and intuitive use of visual displays, SPC has been extensively used in manufacturing and health care and service industries. Deploying SPC involves both a technical aspect and a proper environment for continuous improvement activities based on management support and worker empowerment. Many of the commonly used SPC tools, including histograms, fishbone diagrams, scatter plots, and defect concentration diagrams, were proposed prior to the advent of microcomputers as efficient methods to record and visualize data for single (or few) variable(s) processes. As the volume, variety, and velocity of data continues to evolve, there are opportunities to supplement and improve these methods for understanding and visualizing process variation. In this paper, we propose enhancements to some of the basic quality tools that can be easily applied with a desktop computer. We demonstrate how these updated tools can be used to better characterize, understand, and/or diagnose variation in a case study involving a US manufacturer of structural tubular metal products. Finally, we create the quality visualization toolkit to allow practitioners to implement some of these visualization tools without the need for training, extensive statistical background, and/or specialized statistical software. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) genetic variation and major depressive disorder prognosis: A five‐year prospective cohort study of primary care attendees

Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) genetic variation has been associated with the diagnosis of major depressive disorder (MDD) but no study to date has examined the effect MTHFR variation has on MDD prognosis. We sought to examine the prospective effects of two common MTHFR variants (C677T and A1298C) as well as seven haplotype‐tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (htSNPs) on MDD prognosis over a 5‐year (60‐month) period. Participants were 147 depressed primary care attendees enrolled in the Diagnosis, Management and Outcomes of Depression in Primary Care (diamond) prospective cohort study. Prognosis of MDD was measured using three methods: (1) DSM‐IV criteria, (2) Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders Patient Health Questionnaire‐9 (PHQ‐9), and (3) Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD). DSM‐IV criteria for MDD was assessed using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview at baseline and 24, 36, 48, and 60 months post‐baseline; whereas, PHQ‐9 and CESD measures were employed at baseline and 12, 24, 36, 48, and 60 months post‐baseline. Repeated measures analysis of variance showed that PHQ‐9 symptom severity trajectories differed by C677T genotype (F = 3.34, df = 2,144, P = 0.038), with 677CC genotype showing the most severe symptom severity course over the 60 months of observation. Neither the A1298C polymorphism nor any of the htSNPs were associated with MDD prognosis regardless of measure used. Our results suggest that the MTHFR C677T polymorphism may serve as a marker for MDD prognosis pending independent replication. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Three Novel Virophage Genomes Discovered from Yellowstone Lake Metagenomes

ABSTRACT Virophages are a unique group of circular double-stranded DNA viruses that are considered parasites of giant DNA viruses, which in turn are known to infect eukaryotic hosts. In this study, the genomes of three novel Yellowstone Lake virophages (YSLVs)—YSLV5, YSLV6, and YSLV7—were identified from Yellowstone Lake through metagenomic analyses. The relative abundance of these three novel virophages and previously identified Yellowstone Lake virophages YSLV1 to -4 were determined in different locations of the lake, revealing that most of the sampled locations in the lake, including both mesophilic and thermophilic habitats, had multiple virophage genotypes. This likely reflects the diverse habitats or diversity of the eukaryotic hosts and their associated giant viruses that serve as putative hosts for these virophages. YSLV5 has a 29,767-bp genome with 32 predicted open reading frames (ORFs), YSLV6 has a 24,837-bp genome with 29 predicted ORFs, and YSLV7 has a 23,193-bp genome with 26 predicted ORFs. Based on multilocus phylogenetic analysis, YSLV6 shows a close evolutionary relationship with YSLV1 to -4, whereas YSLV5 and YSLV7 are distantly related to the others, and YSLV7 represents the fourth novel virophage lineage. In addition, the genome of YSLV5 has a G+C content of 51.1% that is much higher than all other known virophages, indicating a unique host range for YSLV5. These results suggest that virophages are abundant and have diverse genotypes that likely mirror diverse giant viral and eukaryotic hosts within the Yellowstone Lake ecosystem. IMPORTANCE This study discovered novel virophages present within the Yellowstone Lake ecosystem using a conserved major capsid protein as a phylogenetic anchor for assembly of sequence reads from Yellowstone Lake metagenomic samples. The three novel virophage genomes (YSLV5 to -7) were completed by identifying specific environmental samples containing these respective virophages, and closing gaps by targeted PCR and sequencing. Most of the YSLV genotypes were associated primarily with photic-zone and nonhydrothermal samples; however, YSLV5 had a unique distribution with an occurrence in vent samples similar to that in photic-zone samples and with a higher GC content that suggests a distinct host and habitat compared to other YSLVs. In addition, genome content and phylogenetic analyses indicate that YSLV5 and YSLV7 are distinct from known virophages and that additional as-yet-uncharacterized virophages are likely present within the Yellowstone Lake ecosystem.
Neural Stem Cells Directly Differentiated from Partially Reprogrammed Fibroblasts Rapidly Acquire Gliogenic Competency

Neural stem cells (NSCs) were directly induced from mouse fibroblasts using four reprogramming factors (Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, and cMyc) without the clonal isolation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). These NSCs gave rise to both neurons and glial cells even at early passages, while early NSCs derived from clonal embryonic stem cells (ESCs)/iPSCs differentiated mainly into neurons. Epidermal growth factor‐dependent neurosphere cultivation efficiently propagated these gliogenic NSCs and eliminated residual pluripotent cells that could form teratomas in vivo. We concluded that these directly induced NSCs were derived from partially reprogrammed cells, because dissociated ESCs/iPSCs did not form neurospheres in this culture condition. These NSCs differentiated into both neurons and glial cells in vivo after being transplanted intracranially into mouse striatum. NSCs could also be directly induced from adult human fibroblasts. The direct differentiation of partially reprogrammed cells may be useful for rapidly preparing NSCs with a strongly reduced propensity for tumorigenesis. STEM CELLS2012;30:1109–1119
Determination of chronological age in Culex pipiens s.l.

Daily survival rate is a major determinant of the vectorial capacity of mosquitoes, but current methods are difficult or lack the accuracy needed for epidemiologic models. We used daily growth bands on the thoracic apodemes to estimate age and survival of Culex pipiens s.l. from Memphis, Tennessee. Coded specimens of known age were used to evaluate the procedure's accuracy. Field-collected specimens of unknown age were also examined. We were unable to consistently determine the age of the coded, cage-reared specimens. Growth bands in cage-reared specimens were less well-defined than those in field-collected material. In its present form, the method is impractical for ecological or epidemiologic studies.