Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Unusual Phase Relationships Between The Forewings And Hindwings In Flying Dragonflies

Flying insects can generally be divided into two groups: 'primitive' orders with forewings and hindwings that move independently (for example, Odonata, Orthoptera, Isoptera) and more 'advanced' orders with wings that are functionally one pair, with the foreand hindwings in contact so as to function as one wing (for example, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Homoptera), or with only one pair of wings that functions primarily as a lifting surface (for example, Diptera, Strepsiptera). Some insects in more primitive orders, such as locusts, maintain a fixed phase relationship between their forewings and hindwings with the hindwings leading slightly (Chadwick, 1953; Weis-Fogh, 1956; Wilson, 1968). Dragonflies normally beat their forewings and hindwings out of phase, with the hindwings about a half stroke ahead of the forewings, i.e. in antiphase (Chadwick, 1940; Neville, 1960; Alexander, 1982). Many textbooks state that the antiphase relationship is more efficient (Chadwick, 1953, p. 582; Wigglesworth, 1972, p. 161; Romoser, 1973, p. 162). Wilson (1968), however, suggested that individual dragonflies may exhibit large variations in this phase relationship. In this study, I have made high-speed cine films of dragonflies flying in a wind tunnel; the dragonflies were free to turn about their vertical and longitudinal axes. From these films, I assessed the forewing-hindwing phase relationship in straight flight, turning flight, and flight requiring larger than normal aerodynamic forces. The techniques were as previously described (Alexander, 1982, and in preparation) and may be summarized as follows. Field-caught dragonflies were flown in an opensection wind tunnel. Most were flown on a tethering system that allowed them to yaw (turn about their dorsal-ventral axis) or roll (turn about their anterior-posterior axis), but a few were flown without a tether. The tether was attached to the posterio-ventral surface of the thorax so as to minimize interference with the wing articulations. Several dragonfly species were used, primarily Libellula luctuosa and Celithemis elisa. The animals were filmed in flight with a LOCAM II (Redlake Corporation) 16mm, high-speed cine camera at film speeds of 400 to SSOframess". Each film sequence consisted of the dragonfly performing a turn or a continuous series of turns, and a sequence ended with the dragonfly leaving the field of view of the camera or stopping its flapping. The films were analysed by projecting them at a low frame rate with an L-W International Mark V film analyser. For each sequence, I recorded the
Adaptive Simulator of Power Amplifier Nonlinearity Based on Piecewise Polynomial

In the wireless communication system, power amplifier nonlinearity has bad effects on transmitting signals and changes channel characteristics. In order to exactly estimate communication system performance, a channel simulator needs to simulate power amplifier nonlinearity. This paper proposes a novel adaptive simulator based on piecewise polynomial. Learning from the digital predistortion technique of power amplifier, the proposed method uses adaptive study structure. It adds a nonlinear preprocessing module before the radio power amplifier of channel simulator, and uses adaptive algorithm to make their cascading characteristics gradually approach to the simulated power amplifier nonlinearity. In order to solve the disadvantages in traditional polynomial and look-up table techniques, the proposed method uses multiple lower-odd-order polynomials to piecewise fit nonlinearity for improving simulation precision. And the look-up table is used to store polynomial coefficients for reducing the computational load. The simulation results indicate that the proposed method provides high simulation precision and fast convergence speed.
THE VASCULAR PATTERN OF THE PLACENTA AND ITS DEVELOPMENT IN THE RAT

IN his detailed investigation of the devclopment of the rabbit’s placenta, Mossman (1926) studied in particular the arrangement uf both foetal and maternal bloodvessels in relation to each other, and pointed out the significance of the vascular dispositions. He had been preceded in this study by the work of Tafani (188.7) who recorded the same arrangement of vessels in the placentae of the cat, dog, guinea-pig, and rabbit. Tafani, however, presented his observations without significant comment or illustration. Recently, Barcroft and Barron (1946) studied the cotyledonary placenta of the sheep, and showed that, as in the rabbit, the blood-flow in the maternal capillary bed is parallel with, but opposite in direction to, that in the foetal capillaries; they correlated their anatomical observations with the changes which occur during gestation in the oxygen-saturation of the blood passing along thc umbilical vein. At the same time, dircct experimental evidence was produccd by V I ocr (1936) in support of Mossman’s hypothesis on the physiological effects of this anatomical arrangement, so that this theory may be considered as definitely established. In his survey of placentation Mossman (1937) indicated that the arrangement of the foetal and maternal vessels was
Direct Numerical Simulation of Liquid-Gas-Solid Flows Based on the Lattice Boltzmann Method

Liquid-gas-solid three-phase flows play an important role in nature and industrial applications. However, multiphase problems rarely permit analytic solutions and experimental studies are often cumbersome and expensive. Numerical models are hence an important alternative for the investigation of such phenomena. In this thesis, a direct numerical simulation technique for liquid-gassolid flows is presented. The model is based on the lattice Boltzmann method for hydrodynamics, a free surface volume-of-fluid approach for liquid-gas interface tracking, and a Lagrangian rigid body representation of solid particles. The main focus of this thesis is the development of the numerical model. The theory of the free surface lattice Boltzmann method is developed in detail, including an analysis of lattice Boltzmann boundary conditions for free surfaces, a comparison of different volume-of-fluid surface tension models, and an analysis of the overall method accuracy. It is shown that errors stemming from the advection scheme directly influence the surface tension modelling. A leastsquares based surface tension model is extended for the simulation of wetting boundaries. Finally, the coupling to the Lagrangian rigid body simulation is discussed. Several validation experiments are presented, including the vertical and rotational floating stability of wall-sided structures in free surface flows. The drag law within fluidized particle beds is studied in simulations. A new drag correlation expression as a function of bed density and particle Reynolds number is derived from the numerical data. The expression can be used to model the fluid-solid phase interaction in liquid-solid or liquid-gas-solid flows. Furthermore, the method is applied to simulate bubble-particle interaction in a containing liquid. The model captures the full hydrodynamic interaction between particles, such that suspension dynamic effects are recovered. Thus, simulations of gas bubbles within particle suspensions become possible. As a test case, a bubble-induced mixing process of up to 178 486 fully resolved particles is simulated. Thanks to the scalability of the method on parallel computers, arbitrarily complex setups are possible, if sufficient resources are provided. The thesis is completed with a self-contained introduction to the lattice Boltzmann method for hydrodynamics. Instead of the usual gas-kinetic point of view, the method is presented from a mathematical perspective. A concluding chapter discusses the possibility of a higher-order free surface model, and contains an outlook on future applications of the three-phase method.
The Carboxy Terminus of the Small Subunit of TFIIE Regulates the Transition from Transcription Initiation to Elongation by RNA Polymerase II

ABSTRACT The general transcription factor TFIIE plays essential roles in both transcription initiation and the transition from initiation to elongation. Previously, we systematically deleted the structural motifs and characteristic sequences of the small subunit of human TFIIE (hTFIIEβ) to map its functional regions. Here we introduced point mutations into two regions located near the carboxy terminus of hTFIIEβ and identified the functionally essential amino acid residues that bind to RNA polymerase II (Pol II), the general transcription factors, and single-stranded DNA. Although most residues identified were essential for transcription initiation, use of an in vitro transcription assay with a linearized template revealed that several residues in the carboxy-terminal helix-loop region are crucially involved in the transition stage. Mutations in these residues also affected the ability of hTFIIEβ to stimulate TFIIH-mediated phosphorylation of the carboxy-terminal heptapeptide repeats of the largest subunit of Pol II. Furthermore, these mutations conspicuously augmented the binding of hTFIIEβ to the p44 subunit of TFIIH. The antibody study indicated that they thus altered the conformation of one side of TFIIH, consisting of p44, XPD, and Cdk-activating kinase subunits, that is essential for the transition stage. This is an important clue for elucidating the molecular mechanisms involved in the transition stage.
Processing of Feature Selectivity in Cortical Networks with Specific Connectivity

Although non-specific at the onset of eye opening, networks in rodent visual cortex attain a non-random structure after eye opening, with a specific bias for connections between neurons of similar preferred orientations. As orientation selectivity is already present at eye opening, it remains unclear how this specificity in network wiring contributes to feature selectivity. Using large-scale inhibition-dominated spiking networks as a model, we show that feature-specific connectivity leads to a linear amplification of feedforward tuning, consistent with recent electrophysiological single-neuron recordings in rodent neocortex. Our results show that optimal amplification is achieved at an intermediate regime of specific connectivity. In this configuration a moderate increase of pairwise correlations is observed, consistent with recent experimental findings. Furthermore, we observed that feature-specific connectivity leads to the emergence of orientation-selective reverberating activity, and entails pattern completion in network responses. Our theoretical analysis provides a mechanistic understanding of subnetworks’ responses to visual stimuli, and casts light on the regime of operation of sensory cortices in the presence of specific connectivity.
Transformation of optimized prototypes for handwritten digit recognition

Proposes a method for handwritten digit recognition using optimized prototypes generated through learning and transformation. In this method a set of prototypes are obtained from training samples and mapped to a multi-layer neural network for optimization to improve their classification power. The new prototypes are then transformed geometrically to produce a larger set of prototypes for recognition of testing samples. The method has been verified to work well in experimental studies. <<ETX>>
Sabbatai Sevi: The mystical Messiah, 1626-1676

A richly detailed account of the only messianic movement ever to engulf the entire Jewish world. The twentieth century produced a galaxy of extraordinary Jewish historians. Gershom Scholem stands out among them for the richness and power of his historical imagination. Born in Berlin in 1897, Scholem became a Zionist as a young student in a revolt against his family's bourgeois and assimilated life. He learned Hebrew and studied Kabbalah, the world of mystical teachings that had become marginalized--indeed stigmatized--within the mainstream rationalist Jewish tradition. In 1923, Scholem emigrated to Palestine and eventually joined the faculty of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, publishing groundbreaking studies in the field of Jewish mysticism. In the 1930s, Scholem's scholarship turned to an obscure kabbalist rabbi of seventeenth-century Turkey, Sabbatai Sevi, who aroused a fervent following that spread over the Jewish world after he declared himself to be the Messiah. The movement suffered a severe blow when Sevi was forced to convert to Islam, but a clandestine sect survived. A Bollingen Foundation grant enabled Scholem to complete the original Hebrew edition of his biography in 1957. Bollingen also supported R. J. Zwi Werblowsky's masterful English translation. A monumental and revisionary work of Jewish historiography, Sabbatai Sevi stands out for its combination of philological and empirical authority and for its passion. It is widely esteemed as one of Scholem's masterworks. The author himself always regarded the Princeton/Bollingen edition as a highlight of his scholarship.
Salivary pH: A diagnostic biomarker

Objectives: Saliva contains a variety of host defense factors. It influences calculus formation and periodontal disease. Different studies have been done to find exact correlation of salivary biomarkers with periodontal disease. With a multitude of biomarkers and complexities in their determination, the salivary pH may be tried to be used as a quick chairside test. The aim of this study was to analyze the pH of saliva and determine its relevance to the severity of periodontal disease. Study Design: The study population consisted of 300 patients. They were divided into three groups of 100 patients each: Group A had clinically healthy gingiva, Group B who had generalized chronic gingivitis and Group C who had generalized chronic periodontitis. The randomized unstimulated saliva from each patient was collected and pH was tested. Data was analyzed statistically using analysis of variance technique. Results: The salivary pH was more alkaline for patients with generalized chronic gingivitis as compared with the control group (P = 0.001) whereas patients with generalized chronic periodontitis had more acidic pH as compared with the control group (P = 0.001). Conclusion: These results indicate a significant change in the pH depending on the severity of the periodontal condition. The salivary pH shows significant changes and thus relevance to the severity of periodontal disease. Salivary pH may thus be used as a quick chairside diagnostic biomarker.
Delamination of neural crest cells requires transient and reversible Wnt inhibition mediated by Dact1/2

Delamination of neural crest (NC) cells is a bona fide physiological model of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), a process that is influenced by Wnt/β-catenin signalling. Using two in vivo models, we show that Wnt/β-catenin signalling is transiently inhibited at the time of NC delamination. In attempting to define the mechanism underlying this inhibition, we found that the scaffold proteins Dact1 and Dact2, which are expressed in pre-migratory NC cells, are required for NC delamination in Xenopus and chick embryos, whereas they do not affect the motile properties of migratory NC cells. Dact1/2 inhibit Wnt/β-catenin signalling upstream of the transcriptional activity of T cell factor (TCF), which is required for EMT to proceed. Dact1/2 regulate the subcellular distribution of β-catenin, preventing β-catenin from acting as a transcriptional co-activator to TCF, yet without affecting its stability. Together, these data identify a novel yet important regulatory element that inhibits β-catenin signalling, which then affects NC delamination. Summary: In Xenopus and chick embryos, the scaffolding activity of DACT1/2 is required for the local and transient inhibition of Wnt/β-catenin activity, a prerequisite for neural crest delamination.
Multiple Access Networks Over Finite Fields-Optimality of Separation, Randomness and Linearity

We consider a time-slotted multiple access noisy as well as noise-free channel in which the received, transmit and noise alphabets belong to a finite field. We show that source-channel separation holds when the additive noise is independent of inputs. However, for input-dependent noise, separation may not hold. For channels over the binary field, we derive the expression for the probability of source-channel separation failing. We compute this probability to be 1/4 when the noise parameters are picked independently and uniformly. For binary channels, we derive an upper bound of 0.0776 bit for the maximum loss in sum rate due to separate source-channel coding when separation fails. We prove that the bound is very tight by showing that it is accurate to the second decimal place. We derive the capacity region and the maximum code rate for the noisy as well as noise-free channel where, code rate is defined as the ratio of the information symbols recovered at the receiver to the symbols sent by the transmitters in a slot duration. Code rate measures the overhead in transmitting in a slot under multiple access interference. We show for both noisy and noise-free channels that capacity grows logarithmically with the size of the field but the code rate is invariant with field size. For the noise-free channel, codes achieve maximum code rate if and only if they achieve capacity and add no redundancy to the shorter of the two information codewords. For the noise-free multiple access channel, we consider the cases when both transmitters always transmit in a slot, as well as when each transmitter transmits in a bursty fashion according to a Bernoulli process. For the case when both transmitters always transmit, we propose a systematic code construction and show that it achieves the maximum code rate and capacity. We also propose a systematic random code construction and show that it achieves the maximum code rate and capacity with probability tending to 1 exponentially with codeword length and field size. This is a strong coding theorem for this channel. For the case when transmitters transmit according to a Bernoulli process, we propose a coding scheme to maximize the expected code rate. We show that maximum code rate is achieved by adding redundancy at the less bursty transmitter and not adding any redundancy at the more bursty trans3 mitter. For the noisy channel, we obtain the error exponents and hence, the expression for average probability of error when a random code is used for communicating over the channel. Thesis Supervisor: Muriel Médard Title: Esther and Harold E. Edgerton Associate Professor Thesis Supervisor: Jinane Abounadi Title: Post Doctoral Lecturer
Recursive computation of steady-state probabilities of nonproduct form queueing networks associated with computer network models

Consideration is given to the exact computation of the equilibrium state probabilities of a class of non-product-form queueing networks that is of interest for communication systems. It is shown that a specific structure in the state transition lattice leads to a sequential method of solution. The method is sequential either in terms of individual states or in terms of subsets of states. In the former case, algebraic recursions for the state probabilities can be developed. In both cases, substantial computational savings are possible. >
Muramyl Dipeptide Induces Th17 Polarization through Activation of Endothelial Cells

Endothelial cells (ECs) express the nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain (Nod) receptor 2, which recognizes the bacterial derivate muramyl dipeptide (MDP). MDP stimulation of these cells enhances their IL-6 production and may thus contribute to the immune and inflammatory activities in the skin. However, whether ECs are capable of influencing the development of T cell priming and its polarization remains unknown. We report that in vitro the murine bEnd.3 EC line induces, following MDP stimulation, a Th17 polarization at the expense of Th1 and Th2 polarization in the setting of Langerhans cell (LC) Ag presentation to responsive T cells as assessed by IL-17, IL-6, IFN-γ, and IL-4 production. Interestingly, IL-22 production, which has been associated with Th17 priming, was not influenced by MDP-treated bEnd.3 cells, illustrating differential regulation of this cytokine from IL-17. Additional analysis confirmed a significantly increased percentage of IL-17+CD4+ T cells by flow cytometry and an increased mRNA level of the specific Th17 transcription factor retinoic acid-related orphan receptor γt in cocultures of LCs and responsive T cells in the presence of activated bEnd.3 cells. Experiments using the RNA interference technique to knockdown IL-6 in bEnd.3 cells confirmed that IL-6 produced by bEnd.3 cells stimulated by MDP is at least partially involved in Th17 polarization. Our data suggest that activated ECs are capable of influencing LC Ag processing and presentation to T cells and induce a Th17 polarization. These results are important for the understanding of Th17-related disorders of the skin such as psoriasis.
Treatment Guidelines for Hepatic Encephalopathy

Practice guidelines for hepatic encephalopathy were developed and published in 2001 for overall management in adults. Hepatic encephalopathy is caused by nitrogenous substances from the gastrointestinal tract that adversely affect brain function. Hepatic encephalopathy is a diagnosis of exclusion. The West Haven criteria are recommended for staging the disease. Treatment goals are providing supportive care, identifying and removing precipitating factors, reducing nitrogenous load, and assessing long‐term therapy needs. Data from some trials published before 2001 are not included in the guidelines. In addition, since the publication of the guidelines, new data have become available regarding treatment interventions and outcomes. Newer, nonabsorbed agents, such as rifaximin, alone or in conjunction with lactulose, may enhance compliance and adherence with therapy, and provide better treatment outcomes. New updated practice guidelines need to be developed for hepatic encephalopathy, along with treatment algorithms for patients with both minimal hepatic encephalopathy and overt hepatic encephalopathy. Key Words: hepatic encephalopathy, practice guidelines, lactulose, rifaximin.
Development of actual ship experiment system for developing automatic pier docking system

The needs to develop an automatic pier docking system has arisen due to a shortage of seafarers. An automatic pier docking system was proposed in a previous study; however, the system was highly limited in its applicability. In order to develop a practical system, applicable to a wide range of conditions and environments, it was necessary to evaluate the mental workload of captains while using this new system. This study proposed a system that could be safely used to test an automatic pier docking system using a real ship. With the proposed system, an experiment involving the automatic pier docking system was safely executed and the captain's mental workload was effectively measured.
Simulation of Walking Support System Using Humanoid Robot

The humanoid bipedal robot WABIAN-2R was developed to be used as human motion simulator. It is able to perform similar human-like walking motion. Moreover, the robot is able to perform walking motions with a walking support device. This walking device was moving passively helping the robot to move easily. However, to go further with this development, we have to test the robot using the walking device with different conditions such as activating its wheel motors. Conducting this experiment is expected to be highly risky and costly. Therefore, we had developed a dynamic simulator in order to test the performance of the robot using the walking support device before conducting it in real simulation.