Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
High quality ultrathin NbN layers on sapphire for superconducting single photon detectors

Ultra-thin epitaxial NbN layers are a key component of Superconducting Single Photon infrared Detectors. Efforts devoted to the layer growth aim at improving their critical temperature and critical current density, while keeping their thickness close to 5 nm and Tc above 10 K, which insure a large bandwidth, large SNR detection at 4K. Choice of substrate is critical: for both applications, MgO wafers and R-plane sapphire are usually considered as best substrates to grown onto. However, growing NbN on M-plane orientation of sapphire wafer, 3 inch in diameter, can help improving the film quality and fabrication yield. NbN thin films were grown by reactive DC magnetron sputtering at about 600°C and passivated by an AlN layer 1.5nm thick deposited in-situ at room temperature. Growth on M-plane is shown to be better than on other sapphire orientations, including R-plane: NbN layer critical temperature reaches 13.3 K, uniform on the wafer, for a film thickness of 4.4nm measured by X-ray reflectivity. Transport properties of NbN grown on those various substrates have been correlated to their crystallographic microstructure, examined by both symmetric and asymmetric X ray diffraction. Observation of diffraction peaks has given insight on the disorientation of the NbN film.
Making open data work for plant scientists

Despite the clear demand for open data sharing, its implementation within plant science is still limited. This is, at least in part, because open data-sharing raises several unanswered questions and challenges to current research practices. In this commentary, some of the challenges encountered by plant researchers at the bench when generating, interpreting, and attempting to disseminate their data have been highlighted. The difficulties involved in sharing sequencing, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics data are reviewed. The benefits and drawbacks of three data-sharing venues currently available to plant scientists are identified and assessed: (i) journal publication; (ii) university repositories; and (iii) community and project-specific databases. It is concluded that community and project-specific databases are the most useful to researchers interested in effective data sharing, since these databases are explicitly created to meet the researchers’ needs, support extensive curation, and embody a heightened awareness of what it takes to make data reuseable by others. Such bottom-up and community-driven approaches need to be valued by the research community, supported by publishers, and provided with long-term sustainable support by funding bodies and government. At the same time, these databases need to be linked to generic databases where possible, in order to be discoverable to the majority of researchers and thus promote effective and efficient data sharing. As we look forward to a future that embraces open access to data and publications, it is essential that data policies, data curation, data integration, data infrastructure, and data funding are linked together so as to foster data access and research productivity.
Development of PVD—TiAlN/a‐C Nanocomposite Coating for Pressure Die Casting Applications

In die casting, soldering of the core pin surface is mainly responsible for dimensional tolerance failure of products. A newly designed protective coating for die casting, consisting of TiAlN and amorphous carbon (a-C) with low soldering of magnesium, has been developed by the deposition of reactive cosputtering of TiAl and graphite targets using a UBM sputtering system. Structure analysis by GAXRD, HRTEM, laser Raman spectroscopy, and XPS revealed that the TiAlN/a-C coating has a nanocomposite structure consisting of a complicated mixture of nanocrystalline Ti-Al-N phase and a-C phase. Application of this coating to core pin for magnesium die casting demonstrated the lower tendency to adherence of magnesium alloy than TiAlN coatings and longer lifetime with a total number of ∼276 000 injections.
A Ring-shaped Embedded Young Stellar (Proto)Cluster

We present subarcsecond (FWHM ~ 0.″5) J, H, K, and L' images of a young stellar cluster associated with a candidate massive protostar IRAS 22134+5834. The observations reveal a centrally symmetric, flattened cluster enclosing a central dark region. The central dark region is possibly a cavity within the flattened cluster. It is surrounded by a ring composed of five bright stars and the candidate massive protostar IRAS 22134+5834. We construct JHKL' color-color and HK color-magnitude diagrams to identify the young stellar objects and estimate their spectral types. All the bright stars in the ring are found to have intrinsic infrared excess emission and are likely to be early- to late-B type stars. We estimate an average foreground extinction to the cluster of A v ~ 5 mag and individual extinctions to the bright stars in the range A v ~ 20-40 mag, indicating possible cocoons surrounding each massive star. This ring of bright stars is devoid of any H II region. It is surrounded by an embedded cluster, making this an example of a (proto)cluster that is in one of the dynamically least relaxed states. These observations are consistent with the recent nonaxisymmetric calculations of Li & Nakamura, who present a star formation scenario in which a magnetically subcritical cloud fragments into multiple magnetically supercritical cores, leading to the formation of small stellar groups.
FOLD-EM: Fully Automated Fold Recognition in Low Resolution Electron Density Maps

Scale-invariant feature transform (SIFT) algorithms are used in the field of computer vision to detect and describe local features in images. They implement an approach that has many characteristics in common with neuronal responses in primate vision. Although SIFT-based approaches have been primarily implemented for analysis of two-dimensional images, they also have great potential in structural biology to facilitate the interpretation of noisy, cluttered, three-dimensional electron density maps of cells, organelles, and other large macromolecular assemblies. Here, we have adapted the SIFT algorithm to develop a new computational tool FOLD-EM that identifies folds, motifs, and other features of biological macromolecules in electron density maps and returns a model of the backbone of the constituent polypeptides. We further demonstrate the inherent ability of our algorithm to detect and characterize conformational changes in different biological states of a particular macromolecular complex. FOLD-EM is available to the structural biology community as a free open source software at:
Activation of protease-constitutive recA proteins of Escherichia coli by rRNA and tRNA

The RecA proteins of the unusually strong protease-constitutive mutants recA1202 and recA1211 can use RNA in addition to single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) as a cofactor in the cleavage of the LexA repressor in vitro. In the presence of rRNA or tRNA, the effectiveness of these proteins decreased in the order RecA1202 greater than RecA1211 much greater than RecA+, which is also the order of their in vivo constitutive protease activities. The effectiveness of rRNA was comparable to that of ssDNA in the cleavage of the LexA repressor by either mutant protease. Although all the common nucleoside triphosphates can act as positive effectors for LexA cleavage by the two mutant proteins in the presence of ssDNA (W. B. Wang, M. Sassanfar, I. Tessman, J. W. Roberts, and E. S. Tessman, J. Bacteriol. 170:4816-4822, 1988), only dATP, ATP, and ATP-gamma-S were effective in the presence of RNA. Our results explain more fully why certain recA mutants have high constitutive protease activities in vivo.
TElehealth in CHronic disease: mixed-methods study to develop the TECH conceptual model for intervention design and evaluation

Objective To develop a conceptual model for effective use of telehealth in the management of chronic health conditions, and to use this to develop and evaluate an intervention for people with two exemplar conditions: raised cardiovascular disease risk and depression. Design The model was based on several strands of evidence: a metareview and realist synthesis of quantitative and qualitative evidence on telehealth for chronic conditions; a qualitative study of patients’ and health professionals’ experience of telehealth; a quantitative survey of patients’ interest in using telehealth; and review of existing models of chronic condition management and evidence-based treatment guidelines. Based on these evidence strands, a model was developed and then refined at a stakeholder workshop. Then a telehealth intervention (‘Healthlines’) was designed by incorporating strategies to address each of the model components. The model also provided a framework for evaluation of this intervention within parallel randomised controlled trials in the two exemplar conditions, and the accompanying process evaluations and economic evaluations. Setting Primary care. Results The TElehealth in CHronic Disease (TECH) model proposes that attention to four components will offer interventions the best chance of success: (1) engagement of patients and health professionals, (2) effective chronic disease management (including subcomponents of self-management, optimisation of treatment, care coordination), (3) partnership between providers and (4) patient, social and health system context. Key intended outcomes are improved health, access to care, patient experience and cost-effective care. Conclusions A conceptual model has been developed based on multiple sources of evidence which articulates how telehealth may best provide benefits for patients with chronic health conditions. It can be used to structure the design and evaluation of telehealth programmes which aim to be acceptable to patients and providers, and cost-effective.
Solution structure of Desulfovibrio vulgaris (Hildenborough) ferrocytochrome c3: structural basis for functional cooperativity.

Desulfovibrio vulgaris cytochrome c3 is a 14 kDa tetrahaem cytochrome that plays a central role in energy transduction. The three-dimensional structure of the ferrocytochrome at pH 8.5 was solved through two-dimensional 1H-NMR. The structures were calculated using a large amount of experimental information, which includes upper and lower distance limits as well as dihedral angle restraints. The analysis allows for fast-flipping aromatic residues and flexibility in the haem plane. The structure was determined using 2289 upper and 2390 lower distance limits, 63 restricted ranges for the phi torsion angle, 88 stereospecific assignments out of the 118 stereopairs with non-degenerate chemical shifts (74.6%), and 115 out of the 184 nuclear Overhauser effects to fast-flipping aromatic residues (62.5%), which were pseudo-stereospecifically assigned to one or the other side of the ring. The calculated NMR structures are very well defined, with an average root-mean-square deviation value relative to the mean coordinates of 0.35 A for the backbone atoms and 0.70 A for all heavy-atoms. Comparison of the NMR structures of the ferrocytochrome at pH 8.5 with the available X-ray structure of the ferricytochrome at pH 5.5 reveals that the general fold of the molecule is very similar, but that there are some distinct differences. Calculation of ring current shifts for the residues with significantly different conformations confirms that the NMR structures represent better its solution structure in the reduced form. Some of the localised differences, such as a reorientation of Thr24, are thought to be state-dependent changes that involve alterations in hydrogen bond networks. An important rearrangement in the vicinity of the propionate groups of haem I and involving the covalent linkage of haem II suggests that this is the critical region for the functional cooperativities of this protein.
Tube‐based robust nonlinear model predictive control

This paper extends tube‐based model predictive control of linear systems to achieve robust control of nonlinear systems subject to additive disturbances. A central or reference trajectory is determined by solving a nominal optimal control problem. The local linear controller, employed in tube‐based robust control of linear systems, is replaced by an ancillary model predictive controller that forces the trajectories of the disturbed system to lie in a tube whose center is the reference trajectory thereby enabling robust control of uncertain nonlinear systems to be achieved. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Adhesion improvement of thermoplastic conductive adhesives under humid environment

The adhesion properties of poly (arylene ether) (PAE2 , thermoplastic) based isotropic conductive adhesive (ICA) material were investigated. PAEZ based ICAs as well as epoxy- based ICAs (thermoset) showed a dramatic reduction in adhesion onto a NiAu surface during 85 "C/85% RH aging tests. It was found that a NiAu surface is more hydrophilic than a SnPb surface, which allows easier introduction into the interface between polymer and metal pads, as such hydrogen bonds between polymer and metal pads could be disrupted. To improve the adhesion strength of the PAE2 on a Ni/Au surface during aging tests, coupling agents and epoxy blends have been incorporated into the PAEZ formulations. Additionally, a self-assembled mono-layer (SAM) molecule is introduced to the interface between the polymer and the metal bond pad to increase the adhesion of PAEZ based ICA during aging. The combined usage of epoxy blending and coupling agents is considerably effective at increasing the adhesion strength of PAEZ before aging. With these additives, 50% of the adhesion strength is maintained after 85 "C/85% RH aging. By depositing a self-assembled monolayer molecule on the top of the NiAu substrate, the adhesion strength after aging of epoxy blending/couplmg agent incorporated PAEZ as well as the pure PAE2 after aging is significantly improved.
Sequential circuit test generation using dynamic state traversal

A new method for state justification is proposed for sequential circuit test generation. The linear list of states dynamically obtained during the derivation of test vectors is used to guide the search during state justification. State-transfer sequences may already be known that drive the circuit from the current state to the target state. Otherwise, genetic engineering of existing state-transfer sequences is required. In both cases, genetic-algorithm-based techniques are used to generate valid state justification sequences for the circuit in the presence of the target fault. This approach achieves extremely high fault coverages and thus outperforms previous deterministic and simulation-based techniques.
A novel topology-blind fair medium access control for wireless LAN and ad hoc networks

This paper introduces a new backoff mechanism for IEEE802.11, which aims to achieve fair channel access without knowledge of the network topology. By adjusting a time interval and the contention window dramatically, the algorithm aims to approach the optimal equilibrium where the time interval is the minimum possible such that every node that faces the same contention successfully sends only one packet per such interval. We show how this algorithm can be modeled as a game and use game theoretic arguments to prove the existence and uniqueness of the equilibrium as well as convergence of the algorithm to this equilibrium.
Antenna design challenges and solutions for compact MIMO terminals

The design of antennas for compact multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) terminals is a challenging feat, due to the space constraint and the physical structure of the terminal. The space constraint forces the antennas to be closely spaced, which degrades MIMO performance due to high signal correlation and low antenna efficiency. Moreover, the terminals are equipped with ground planes which further complicate the implementation of antennas for good MIMO performance. This paper elaborates on the two aforementioned challenges in MIMO antenna design and surveys recent techniques that are developed to address these challenges.
Type 1 Brugada pattern electrocardiogram induced by hypokalemia

Coved-type ST-segment elevation in the right precordial leads are the characteristics of Brugada syndrome, an inherited arrhythmogenic ion channel disease, which could lead to ventricular arrhythmia and sudden death. Hypokalemia alone may induce Type 1 Brugada pattern electrocardiogram (EKG), and the association has rarely been reported. We describe a patient with hypokalemia 2.9 mmol/L and the appearance of new right bundle branch block pattern with coved ST-segment elevations with inverted T wave in leads V1-V2. Serum potassium was corrected and repeated EKG 6 h later revealed disappearance of Type 1 Brugada pattern. Although there is no definite value of serum potassium level that can induce Brugada pattern EKG, hypokalemia may unmask Type 1 Brugada EKG pattern. Awareness of its appearance should be made by all physicians since patients with a family history of arrhythmia or sudden cardiac death (SCD) are at the high risk of developing SCD.
Elimination of false targets and passive-range estimation using dual focused MUSIC algorithm and fuzzy algorithm

In this paper, we proposed a new method to estimate the range of a closed multi-source using dual focused MUSIC algorithm and fuzzy algorithm. The proposed method is able to cancel virtual signal sources, which are made of intersection direction of estimated signal sources by array antenna. However if the received signals is coherent, the rank of covariance matrix signal will be reduce and the MUSIC algorithm do not offer the correct answer to solve this problem, thus A Spatial Smoothing method is used. Results show that the DOA and passive range is estimated with good accuracy.
Assembly of centrosomal proteins and microtubule organization depends on PCM-1

The protein PCM-1 localizes to cytoplasmic granules known as “centriolar satellites” that are partly enriched around the centrosome. We inhibited PCM-1 function using a variety of approaches: microinjection of antibodies into cultured cells, overexpression of a PCM-1 deletion mutant, and specific depletion of PCM-1 by siRNA. All approaches led to reduced targeting of centrin, pericentrin, and ninein to the centrosome. Similar effects were seen upon inhibition of dynactin by dynamitin, and after prolonged treatment of cells with the microtubule inhibitor nocodazole. Inhibition or depletion of PCM-1 function further disrupted the radial organization of microtubules without affecting microtubule nucleation. Loss of microtubule organization was also observed after centrin or ninein depletion. Our data suggest that PCM-1–containing centriolar satellites are involved in the microtubule- and dynactin-dependent recruitment of proteins to the centrosome, of which centrin and ninein are required for interphase microtubule organization.
BIOTECHNOLOGICALLY RELEVANT ENZYMES AND PROTEINS Identification and characterization of new Δ-17 fatty acid desaturases

ω-3 fatty acid desaturase is a key enzyme for the biosynthesis of ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids via the oxidative desaturase/elongase pathways. Here we report the identification of three ω-3 desaturases from oomycetes, Pythium aphanidermatum, Phytophthora sojae, and Phytophthora ramorum. These newω-3 desaturases share 55 % identity at the amino acid level with the knownΔ-17 desaturase of Saprolegnia diclina, and about 31 % identity with the bifunctional Δ-12/Δ-15 desaturase of Fusarium monoliforme. The three enzymes were expressed in either wild-type or codon optimized form in an engineered arachidonic acid producing strain of Yarrowia lipolytica to study their activity and substrate specificity. All three were able to convert the ω-6 arachidonic acid to the ω-3 eicosapentanoic acid, with a substrate conversion efficiency of 54–65 %. These enzymes have a broadω-6 fatty acid substrate spectrum, including both C18 and C20 ω-6 fatty acids although they prefer the C20 substrates, and have strong Δ-17 desaturase activity but weaker Δ-15 desaturase activity. Thus, they belong to the Δ-17 desaturase class. Unlike the previously identified bifunctional Δ-12/Δ-15 desaturase from F. monoliforme, they lack Δ-12 desaturase activity. The newly identified Δ-17 desaturases could use fatty acids in both acyl-CoA and phospholipid fraction as substrates. The identification of these Δ-17 desaturases provides a set of powerful new tools for genetic engineering of microbes and plants to produceω-3 fatty acids, such as eicosapentanoic acid and docosahexanoic acid, at high levels.
Torque based stabilization control for torque sensorless humanoid robots

This paper proposes a stabilization control for joint torque controlled humanoid robots without joint torque sensors. The proposed controller's role is to compute all joint torques from the desired positions/postures of floating end effectors, the desired Center Of Gravity (COG), the desired root link posture and the reference Zero Moment Point (ZMP). The controller uses a very simple strategy based on the Single Degree Of Freedom (SDOF) model and statics. First, it calculates the wrenches at the COG or end effectors to keep their positions/postures. Second, it calculates the contact end effector wrenches by solving a constrained optimization problem. Finally, it computes joint torques from all end effector wrenches. Furthermore, we propose a method by which we control joint torques without joint torque sensors by compensating inertia torques and frictions. We implement the stabilization controller and the joint torque controller in a high-power biped robot. We confirm the effectiveness of the proposed controller through balancing and walking experiments on rough terrain.
Code Generation for Expressions with Common Subexpressions

This paper shows the problem of generating optimal code for expressions containing common subexpressions is computationally difficult, even for simple expressions and simple machines. Some heuristics for code generation are given and their worst-case behavior is analyzed. For one register machines, an optimal code generation algorithm is given whose time complexity is linear in the size of an expression and exponential only in the amount of sharing.
Proposed approach for improving Bluetooth networks security through SVD audio watermarking

Some of applications need multi-level security. The paper proposes a novel approach IEEE 802.15. 1 Bluetooth network to provide better secure link for essential applications. It proposes a new approach for audio watermarking using the singular value decomposition (SVD) mathematical technique. This approach is based on embedding the encrypted image in the singular values of the audio signal after transforming it into a 2D format. After watermark embedding, the audio signal is transformed again into a 1-D format. The 1-D audio signal is segmented to Bluetooth packet payload length. That leads to the needs of fragmentation of the image to small segments. In the proposed technique the chaotic encryption is used for encrypt the image. It improves the quality of extracted images as proved experimentally, where it resists the noise and different attacks. The paper uses two type of Bluetooth packets (2DH1 and 2DM1), uncoded Enhanced Data Rate (EDR) and encoded EDR packets respectively. At the receiver the segments are recollected to construct watermark signal. The final step is extracting the image. Experiments of the simulation are carried over fading channel. Experimental results show that the proposed audio watermarking approach maintains the high quality of the audio signal and that the watermark extraction and decryption are possible.