Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Novel design method for all-optical ultrafast gate switches using cascaded second-order nonlinear effect in quasi-phase matched LiNbO3 devices

The authors propose a novel method of designing all-optical ultrafast gate switches that employ the cascade of the second harmonic generation and difference frequency mixing in quasi-phase matched LiNbO/sub 3/ devices. In this design method, the device length is maximized under the condition that crosstalk of the switch is maintained below a certain allowable value at a given bit rate. Following the design method, the authors find that the switching efficiency can significantly be enhanced by compensation for the walkoff between the fundamental and second harmonic pulses.
A multivariate fuzzy system applied for outliers detection

The paper presents an application of fuzzy logic to the problem of outliers detection. The overall purpose of the work is to point out anomalous data due different causes through a combination of several traditional methods for outliers detection in multivariate datasets and such combination is achieved through a fuzzy inference system. Moreover, the proposed solutions aims to be automatic and self-adaptive, as some parameters which are required for the combination of the different approaches are automatically evaluated by exploiting the available data, without the need of a-priori assumptions or information on a subset of the available data. The proposed method therefore belongs to the class of the unsupervised outliers detection methods. In order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed method, extensive tests have been performed on both a simple case study and a database coming from a real industrial context, where the data have to be filtered before their exploitation for process control purposes. The achieved numerical results are presented and discussed.
Expression of a feedback‐resistant anthranilate synthase in Catharanthus roseus hairy roots provides evidence for tight regulation of terpenoid indole alkaloid levels

Different plant species produce a variety of terpenoid indole alkaloids, which are of interest as plant defensive secondary metabolites and as valuable pharmaceuticals. Although significant progress has been made, the mechanisms regulating the levels of this important class of compounds require continued elucidation. Previous precursor feeding studies have indicated that alkaloid accumulation can be improved during the exponential growth phase of hairy root cultures through enhanced tryptophan availability. To test this relationship, transgenic hairy root cultures of Catharanthus roseus were established with a glucocorticoid‐inducible promoter controlling the expression of an Arabidopsis feedback‐resistant anthranilate synthase alpha subunit. Enzyme assays demonstrated that the Arabidopsis alpha subunit is compatible with the native beta subunit and that anthranilate synthase activity is more resistant to tryptophan inhibition in induced than in uninduced extracts. The metabolic effects of expressing the feedback‐resistant anthranilate synthase alpha subunit were also dramatic. Over a 6‐day induction period during the late exponential growth phase, tryptophan and tryptamine specific yields increased from almost undetectable levels to 2.5 mg/g dry weight and from 25 μg/g to 267 μg/g dry weight, respectively. The greater than 300‐fold increase in tryptophan levels observed in these studies under certain induction conditions compares favorably with the fold increases obtained in previous constitutive expression studies. Despite the large increases in tryptophan and tryptamine, the levels of most terpenoid indole alkaloids were not significantly altered, with the exception of lochnericine, which increased 81% after a 3‐day induction period. These results suggest that terpenoid indole alkaloid levels are tightly controlled. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
High-mobility group box 2 (HMGB2) modulates radioresponse and is downregulated by p53 in colorectal cancer cell

Overexpression of high-mobility group box 2 (HMGB2) is recently reported in several malignant cancers and was correlated with poor response to preoperative chemoradiotherapy of colorectal cancer patients. To enhance the chemoradiotherapy efficacy, the biological function of HMGB2 was investigated with respect to radiation response. HMGB2 gene knockdown cells were constructed by infecting shRNA expressing lentivirus and clonogenic assay was performed to count the radiosensitivity. HMGB2 knockdown sensitized HCT-116 and HT-29 colorectal cancer cells to ionizing radiation. This could be due to an increased DNA damage and an inefficient DNA damage repair in HMGB2 knockdown cells. In addition, an exposure to radiation downregulated HMGB2 expression in colorectal cancer cells with an intact TP53 gene. HMGB2 gene expression of TP53-mutant cell was not affected by irradiation. p53-mediated downregulation of HMGB2 was confirmed by direct activation of p53 using Nutlin-3 or by inducing p53 expression using Tet-On system. Luciferase reporter assay showed that HMGB2 promoter activity was inversely correlated with the amount p53 cotransfected. Our study revealed that HMGB2 is necessary to protect colorectal cancer cells from DNA damage and efficient DNA repair and p53-mediated downregulation is a critical mechanism of modulating HMGB2 expression.
A Transceiver Front-End for Ultra-Wide-Band Applications

An integrated pulse based ultra-wide-band (UWB) transceiver front-end is presented in this paper. The pulse generator produces Gaussian modulated pulses satisfying Federal Communication Commission spectral mask with possibility for binary-phase shift keying modulation. The generated pulses have a bandwidth of 2 GHz from 3.1 to 5.1 GHz. The receiver front-end consists of an UWB low-noise amplifier (LNA). The transmit and receive paths are chosen by a transmit/receive (T/R) switch. The pulse generator, T/R switch and the LNA are integrated on a single chip and fabricated using 0.25-mum SiGe:C BiCMOS technology. The integrated circuit components are designed fully differential. The off-chip antenna and bandpass filter are single ended and connected to the T/R switch through a hybrid coupler
Adaptive fuzzy sliding-mode control for a mini-UAV with propellers

This approach presents an adaptive fuzzy sliding-mode controller, mainly focusing on the sliding-mode controller and the fuzzy inference mechanism as well as the adaptive algorithm, for a mini unmanned aerial vehicle (mini-UAV) with propellers to follow the predetermined trajectory. First a sliding-mode controller with a switching variable is designed. Next a fuzzy sliding-mode controller is investigated in which a simple fuzzy inference mechanism is employed to estimate the upper bound of lumped uncertainty. Then the adaptive fuzzy sliding-mode controller is proposed in which the fuzzy inference mechanism with centre adaptation of membership functions is investigated to estimate the optimal bound of uncertainties. Accordingly, trajectory tracking control of a mini-UAV using the proposed control strategies is illustrated while flight. Finally, we employ the Lyapunov stability theory to fulfill the stability analysis of the proposed controller for the overall nonlinear control system. Extensive simulation results are gained to validate the effectiveness of the adaptive fuzzy sliding-mode controller.
Inhibitory Effect of a Surfactant on Pure Cultures of a Filamentous and a Floc Forming Micro-Organism

Activated sludge is the most widely used biological process for wastewater treatment. Inorganic and organic compounds are removed by a biotic community in the aeration basin. Problems of these systems are loss of settleability and poor sludge compaction due to excessive growth of filamentous micro-organisms. The filamentous bulking can be controlled by the addition of chemical agents. Strong oxidants, such as chlorine, are utilized to eliminate filamentous bacteria; however, these substances also tend to attack floc-forming bacteria and to cause process breakdown. Besides, chlorine may become hazardous owing to the formation of chemical products as chloramines. Surfactant addition constitutes an interesting alternative for the control of filamentous bulking. In this work the effect of a surfactant Triton X-100 (octylphenol ethoxylate), on the respiratory activity (RA) of pure cultures of a filamentous (Sphaerotilus natans) and a floc-former micro-organism (Acinetobacter anitratus) was evaluated. In the concentration range tested (60-220 mg l−1), the surfactant was observed to exhibit high RA specific inhibition of the filamentous micro-organism with no significant effect on the floc-forming bacteria. Light microscopy observations showed that the surfactant induced cell lysis, leaving only empty sheaths in the case of filamentous micro-organisms. A kinetic equation to predict the microbial RA fraction of a S. natans pure culture as a function of surfactant concentration and contact time was proposed. The effect of Triton X-100 on the inactivation of pure cultures of both micro-organisms was compared to that of chlorine. Triton X-100 results were adequate to eliminate filamentous bacteria emerging as an alternative for filamentous bulking treatment.
T2 hyperintensity of medial lemniscus is an indicator of small-vessel disease.

OBJECTIVE Small-vessel disease is a common MRI finding that can be difficult to differentiate from other white matter (WM) diseases because of the lack of a specific pattern of brain involvement. The purpose of our study was to evaluate medial lemniscus hyperintensity seen on FLAIR images as an imaging marker for small-vessel disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS Two blinded neuroradiologists retrospectively reviewed 103 consecutive outpatient brain MRI studies. Medial lemniscus signal in the dorsal pons was evaluated visually on FLAIR images and after placing regions of interest (ROIs) on T2-weighted images. On the basis of the original interpretations, scans were divided into three categories: small-vessel disease, multiple sclerosis (MS), and normal or nonspecific WM changes. Cardiovascular risk factors were recorded. Analysis of variance and Fisher exact tests were used to determine group differences, and kappa statistics was used to determine interrater agreement. RESULTS Thirty-seven patients had small-vessel disease, 14 patients had MS, and 52 had nonspecific WM changes. Medial lemniscus hyperintensity was seen in about 20% of patients with small-vessel disease and was generally bilateral. Although ROI analyses identified a slightly higher number of patients with medial lemniscus signal > 20% of adjacent to normal-appearing brainstem, interrater reliability was moderate, and there were false-positive and false-negative cases in comparison with visual data. When small-vessel disease patients were further subdivided into mild or advanced subgroups, medial lemniscus hyperintensity was selectively seen in advanced small-vessel disease. Patients with medial lemniscus hyperintensity were older (p < 0.001) and had higher prevalence of diabetes (p = 0.03), hypertension (p = 0.009), and hypercholesterolemia (p = 0.03). CONCLUSION Medial lemniscus hyperintensity seen on FLAIR images is a reliable radiologic marker of advanced small-vessel disease.
Targeted Delivery of Small Interfering RNA to Human Dendritic Cells To Suppress Dengue Virus Infection and Associated Proinflammatory Cytokine Production

ABSTRACT Dengue is a common arthropod-borne flaviviral infection in the tropics, for which there is no vaccine or specific antiviral drug. The infection is often associated with serious complications such as dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) or dengue shock syndrome (DSS), in which both viral and host factors have been implicated. RNA interference (RNAi) is a potent antiviral strategy and a potential therapeutic option for dengue if a feasible strategy can be developed for delivery of small interfering RNA (siRNA) to dendritic cells (DCs) and macrophages, the major in vivo targets of the virus and also the source of proinflammatory cytokines. Here we show that a dendritic cell-targeting 12-mer peptide (DC3) fused to nona-d-arginine (9dR) residues (DC3-9dR) delivers siRNA and knocks down endogenous gene expression in heterogenous DC subsets, (monocyte-derived DCs [MDDCs], CD34+ hematopoietic stem cell [HSC])-derived Langerhans DCs, and peripheral blood DCs). Moreover, DC3-9dR-mediated delivery of siRNA targeting a highly conserved sequence in the dengue virus envelope gene (siFvED) effectively suppressed dengue virus replication in MDDCs and macrophages. In addition, DC-specific delivery of siRNA targeting the acute-phase cytokine tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), which plays a major role in dengue pathogenesis, either alone or in combination with an antiviral siRNA, significantly reduced virus-induced production of the cytokine in MDDCs. Finally to validate the strategy in vivo, we tested the ability of the peptide to target human DCs in the NOD/SCID/IL-2Rγ−/− mouse model engrafted with human CD34+ hematopoietic stem cells (HuHSC mice). Treatment of mice by intravenous (i.v.) injection of DC3-9dR-complexed siRNA targeting TNF-α effectively suppressed poly(I:C)-induced TNF-α production by DCs. Thus, DC3-9dR can deliver siRNA to DCs both in vitro and in vivo, and this delivery approach holds promise as a therapeutic strategy to simultaneously suppress virus replication and curb virus-induced detrimental host immune responses in dengue infection.
Application of Boolean algebra to switching circuit design and to error detection

A solution is sought to the general problem of simplifying switching circuits that have more than one output. The mathematical treatment of the problem applies only to circuits that may be represented by “polynomials” in Boolean algebra. It is shown that certain parts of the multiple output problem for such circuits may be reduced to a single output problem whose inputs are equal in number to the sum of the numbers of inputs and outputs in the original problem. A particularly simple reduction may be effected in the case of two outputs. Various techniques are described for simplifying Boolean expressions, called “+ polynomials,” in which the operation “exclusive or” appears between terms. The methods described are particularly suitable for use with an automatic computer, and have been tested on the Illiac. An unexpected metric relationship is shown to exist between the members of certain classes of “+ polynomials” called “nets. ” This relationship may be used for constructing error-detecting codes, provided the number of bits in the code is a power of two.
Experimental evidence for the sensitivity of the air-shower radio signal to the longitudinal shower development

We observe a correlation between the slope of radio lateral distributions, and the mean muon pseudorapidity of 59 individual cosmic-ray-air-shower events. The radio lateral distributions are measured with LOPES, a digital radio interferometer co-located with the multi-detector-air-shower array KASCADE-Grande, which includes a muon-tracking detector. The result proves experimentally that radio measurements are sensitive to the longitudinal development of cosmic-ray air-showers. This is one of the main prerequisites for using radio arrays for ultra-high-energy particle physics and astrophysics.
Reduction of behavioral disturbances and caregiver distress by galantamine in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

OBJECTIVE Alzheimer's disease pathology includes both histologic changes and neurotransmitter deficits. The cholinergic deficit contributes to both cognitive and behavioral disturbances, and cholinesterase inhibitors may improve behavior in Alzheimer's disease patients. This analysis was conducted to assess the impact of galantamine, a cholinesterase inhibitor with nicotinic-receptor-modulating properties, on the pattern and evolution of behavioral disturbances in patients with Alzheimer's disease and on caregiver distress related to patients' behavior. METHOD Data from 978 patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease who were randomly assigned to placebo or galantamine (8, 16, or 24 mg/day) were analyzed. Behavioral changes were assessed with the Neuropsychiatric Inventory, and alterations in caregiver distress were measured by the Neuropsychiatric Inventory distress scale. Data collected at baseline and 12 and 21 weeks postbaseline were analyzed. RESULTS Neuropsychiatric Inventory scores worsened with placebo, whereas patients treated with 16 or 24 mg/day of galantamine had no change in total Neuropsychiatric Inventory scores. Treated patients, asymptomatic or symptomatic at baseline, had better Neuropsychiatric Inventory subscale scores than did patients receiving placebo. Behavioral improvement in patients symptomatic at baseline ranged from 29% to 48%. Changes were evident in patients receiving 16 or 24 mg/day of galantamine. High-dose galantamine was associated with a significant reduction in caregiver distress. CONCLUSIONS Galantamine therapy was associated with reduced emergence of behavioral disturbances and improvement in existing behavioral problems in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease, with a concomitant reduction in reported caregiver distress.
Segmentation of Arabic Handwritten Documents into Text Lines using Watershed Transform

A crucial task in character recognition systems is the segmentation of the document into text lines and especially if it is handwritten. When dealing with non-Latin document such as Arabic, the challenge becomes greater since in addition to the variability of writing, the presence of diacritical points and the high number of ascender and descender characters complicates more the process of the segmentation. To remedy with this complexity and even to make this difficulty an advantage since the focus is on the Arabic language which is semi-cursive in nature, a method based on the Watershed Transform technique is proposed. Tested on «Handwritten Arabic Proximity Datasets» a segmentation rate of 93% for a 95% of matching score is achieved.
Uropathogenic Escherichia coli from pregnant women in different countries 1 2 Running title : Uropathogenic E . coli from pregnant women 3 4

2 Running title: Uropathogenic E. coli from pregnant women 3 4 Nubia L. Ramos*, Musa Sekikubo*, Dang Thi Ngoc Dzung, Corinna Kosnopfel, Fred 5 Kironde, Florence Mirembe, Annelie Brauner# 6 7 Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Division of Clinical Microbiology, 8 Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital, 17176 Stockholm, Sweden 9 Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Makerere University, Uganda 10 Department of Biochemistry, Hanoi Medical University, Hanoi, Vietnam 11 Department of Biochemistry, Makerere University, Uganda 12 13 14 *Equal contributors, in alphabetical order. 15 #Corresponding author: Mailing address: Division of Clinical Microbiology, Karolinska 16 University Hospital Solna, 17176 Stockholm, Sweden. Phone: +46 8 5177 0000 or +46 8 17 5177 3914. Fax: +46 8 308099. E-mail: Annelie.Brauner@ki.se 18 Copyright © 2012, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved. J. Clin. Microbiol. doi:10.1128/JCM.01647-12 JCM Accepts, published online ahead of print on 22 August 2012
Growth of the lens in howler monkeys (Alouatta caraya).

The dry weight of the lens was determined from 17 fetuses and 245 free-ranging howler monkeys ( Alouatta caraya Humboldt, 1812). Lens mass increased with age in animals of both sexes; however, the correlation between lens and body weight showed a lack of linearity, especially after puberty. A close relationship was observed between dry weight of the lens and wear of permanent dentition in postpuberal monkeys.
Folding and self-assembly of herpes simplex virus type 1 thymidine kinase.

Thymidine kinase from herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV1 TK) has been postulated to be a homodimer throughout the X-ray crystallography literature. Our study shows that HSV1 TK exists as a monomer-dimer equilibrium mixture in dilute aqueous solutions. In the presence of 150 mM NaCl, the equilibrium is characterized by a dissociation constant of 2.4 microm; this constant was determined by analytical ultracentrifugation and gel filtration experiments. Dimerization seems to be unfavorable for enzymatic activity: dimers show inferior catalytic efficiency compared to the monomers. Moreover, soluble oligomers formed by self-assembly of TK in the absence of physiological salt concentrations are even enzymatically inactive. This study investigates enzymatic and structural relevance of the TK dimer in vitro. Dissociation of the dimers into monomers is not accompanied by large overall changes in secondary or tertiary structure as shown by thermal and urea-induced unfolding studies monitored by circular dichroism and fluorescence spectroscopy. A disulfide-bridge mutant TK (V119C) was designed bearing two cysteine residues at the dimer interface in order to crosslink the two subunits covalently. Under reducing conditions, the properties of V119C and wild-type HSV1 TK (wt HSV1 TK) were identical in terms of expression yield, denaturing SDS PAGE gel electrophoresis, enzyme kinetics, CD spectra and thermal stability. Crosslinked V119C (V119Cox) was found to have an increased thermal stability with a t(m) value of 59.1(+/-0.5) degrees C which is 16 deg. C higher than for the wild type protein. This is thought to be a consequence of the conformational restriction of the dimer interface. Furthermore, enzyme kinetic studies on V119Cox revealed a K(m) for thymidine of 0.2 microm corresponding to wt HSV1 TK, but a significantly higher K(m) for ATP. The present findings raise the question whether the monomer, not the dimer, might be the active species in vivo.
Regions of microsynteny in Magnaporthe grisea and Neurospora crassa.

A bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) clone containing 110,467 bp of genomic DNA from Magnaporthe grisea was sequenced, annotated, and compared to the genomes of Neurospora crassa, Candida albicans, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Twenty-six open reading frames (ORFs), involved in multiple biochemical pathways, were identified in the BAC sequence. A region of 53 kb, containing 18 of the 26 ORFs, was found to be syntenic to a portion of the N. crassa genome. Subregions of complete colinearity as well as interrupted colinearity were present. No synteny was evident with either C. albicans or S. cerevisiae. The identification of syntenic regions containing highly conserved genes across two genera that have been evolutionarily separated for approximately 200 million years elicits many biological questions as to the function and identity of these genes.
Improved passivity criterion in haptic rendering: influence of Coulomb and viscous friction

In this paper, a new criterion for passivity of haptic devices is obtained. This criterion creates a relationship between Coulomb friction coefficient, viscous friction coefficient, sampling rate, and the maximum simulated stiffness. The process of derivation of the passivity criterion is described in detail. This criterion is improved compared with other existing criteria and predicts passivity in haptic rendering more accurately. In particular, for speeds of less than 5 cm/s, the new passivity criterion should replace the previous criteria to avoid unwanted vibrations of stiff virtual walls. Analytical and numerical investigations are presented to validate the new criterion. A specific trajectory is designed and the movement of the haptic robot is investigated on this trajectory to validate and compare this passivity criterion with the previous criteria. Graphical Abstract