Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Facile O-atom insertion into CC and CH bonds by a trinuclear copper complex designed to harness a singlet oxene

Two trinuclear copper [CuICuICuI(L)]1+ complexes have been prepared with the multidentate ligands (L) 3,3′-(1,4-diazepane-1,4-diyl)bis(1-((2-(dimethylamino)ethyl)(methyl)amino)propan-2-ol) (7-Me) and (3,3′-(1,4-diazepane-1,4-diyl)bis(1-((2-(diethylamino) ethyl)(ethyl) amino)propan-2-ol) (7-Et) as models for the active site of the particulate methane monooxygenase (pMMO). The ligands were designed to form the proper spatial and electronic geometry to harness a “singlet oxene,” according to the mechanism previously suggested by our laboratory. Consistent with the design strategy, both [CuICuICuI(L)]1+ reacted with dioxygen to form a putative bis(μ3-oxo)CuIICuIICuIII species, capable of facile O-atom insertion across the central CC bond of benzil and 2,3-butanedione at ambient temperature and pressure. These complexes also catalyze facile O-atom transfer to the CH bond of CH3CN to form glycolonitrile. These results, together with our recent biochemical studies on pMMO, provide support for our hypothesis that the hydroxylation site of pMMO contains a trinuclear copper cluster that mediates CH bond activation by a singlet oxene mechanism.
Two-dimensional avalanches as stochastic Markov processes.

A theory is proposed to describe two-dimensional avalanches in granular materials. The theoretical framework is based on a set of experiments in which avalanches are generated intermittently by means of a rotating drum. From measurements of the instantaneous average angle of the free surface, \ensuremath{\alpha}(t), the relevant quantities that characterize avalanches, such as critical angles and times, are found to be given by distributions. It is then shown that \ensuremath{\alpha}(t) is a stochastic Markov process. Consequently, a master equation is constructed for P(\ensuremath{\alpha},t), the conditional probability that the slope is \ensuremath{\alpha}, at time t, given an initial state. Finally, a consistency test is carried out, finding full agreement with the experimental data.
Rho-kinase-dependent actin turnover and actomyosin disassembly are necessary for mouse spinal neural tube closure

ABSTRACT The cytoskeleton is widely considered essential for neurulation, yet the mouse spinal neural tube can close despite genetic and non-genetic disruption of the cytoskeleton. To investigate this apparent contradiction, we applied cytoskeletal inhibitors to mouse embryos in culture. Preventing actomyosin cross-linking, F-actin assembly or myosin II contractile activity did not disrupt spinal closure. In contrast, inhibiting Rho kinase (ROCK, for which there are two isoforms ROCK1 and ROCK2) or blocking F-actin disassembly prevented closure, with apical F-actin accumulation and adherens junction disturbance in the neuroepithelium. Cofilin-1-null embryos yielded a similar phenotype, supporting the hypothesis that there is a key role for actin turnover. Co-exposure to Blebbistatin rescued the neurulation defects caused by RhoA inhibition, whereas an inhibitor of myosin light chain kinase, ML-7, had no such effect. We conclude that regulation of RhoA, Rho kinase, LIM kinase and cofilin signalling is necessary for spinal neural tube closure through precise control of neuroepithelial actin turnover and actomyosin disassembly. In contrast, actomyosin assembly and myosin ATPase activity are not limiting for closure. Summary: Actomyosin assembly and myosin ATPase activity are not essential for mouse spinal neurulation. However, the ROCK–LIMK–cofilin pathway, which controls actin turnover and actomyosin disassembly, is necessary.
Factors Associated with Effectiveness of Treatment and Reproductive Outcomes in Patients with Thin Endometrium Undergoing Estrogen Treatment

Background:Thin endometrium is associated with poor reproductive outcomes; estrogen treatment can increase endometrial thickness (EMT). The aim of this retrospective cohort study was to investigate the factors influencing the effectiveness of estrogen treatment and reproductive outcomes after the treatment in patients with thin endometrium. Methods:Relevant clinical data of 101 patients with thin endometrium who had undergone estrogen treatment were collected. Possible factors influencing the effectiveness of treatment were analyzed retrospectively by logistic regression analysis. Eighty-seven infertile women without thin endometrium who had undergone assisted reproduction served as controls. The cases and controls were matched for age, assisted reproduction method, and number of embryos transferred. Reproductive outcomes of study and control groups were compared using Student's t-test and the Chi-square test. Results:At the end of estrogen treatment, EMT was ≥8 mm in 93/101 patients (92.1%). Effectiveness of treatment was significantly associated with maximal pretreatment EMT (P = 0.017) and treatment duration (P = 0.004). The outcomes of assisted reproduction were similar in patients whose treatment was successful in increasing EMT to ≥8 mm and the control group. The rate of clinical pregnancy in patients was associated with the number of good-quality embryos transferred in both fresh (P = 0.005) and frozen-thawed (P = 0.000) embryo transfer cycles. Conclusions:Thinner EMT before estrogen treatment requires longer treatment duration and predicts poorer treatment outcomes. The effectiveness of treatment depends on the duration of estrogen administration. Assisted reproductive outcomes of patients whose treatment is successful (i.e., achieves an EMT ≥8 mm) are similar to those of controls. The quality of embryos transferred is an important predictor of assisted reproductive outcomes in patients treated successfully with exogenous estrogen.
A Bio-Inspired Robust Adaptive Random Search Algorithm for Distributed Beamforming

A bio-inspired robust adaptive random search algorithm (BioRARSA), designed for distributed beamforming for sensor and relay networks, is proposed in this work. It has been shown via a systematic framework that BioRARSA converges in probability and its convergence time scales linearly with the number of distributed transmitters. More importantly, extensive simulation results demonstrate that the proposed BioRARSA outperforms existing adaptive distributed beamforming schemes by as large as 29.8% on average. This increase in performance results from the fact that BioRARSA can adaptively adjust its sampling stepsize via the ``swim'' behavior inspired by the bacterial foraging mechanism. Hence, the convergence time of BioRARSA is insensitive to the initial sampling stepsize of the algorithm, which makes it robust against the dynamic nature of distributed wireless networks.
Effectiveness of a tailored behavioral intervention to improve hypertension control: primary outcomes of a randomized controlled trial.

UNLABELLED Blood pressure (BP) control rates are suboptimal. We evaluated the effectiveness of 2 behavioral interventions to improve BP control via a 3-arm, randomized controlled trial of 533 adults with repeated uncontrolled BP, despite antihypertensive drug treatment for ≥6 months. The interventions were a tailored stage-matched intervention (SMI) or a nontailored health education intervention (HEI) of 6 monthly calls targeting diet, exercise, and medication. Control was usual care (UC). There were no baseline group differences. Baseline BP control was 42.6%, 40.6%, and 44.6% in SMI, HEI, and UC (P=0.74), respectively; systolic BP (with SEs) was 136 (0.89), 137 (1.33), and 137 (0.96) mm Hg. Six-month control was 64.6% (SMI), 54.3% (HEI), and 45.8% (UC) (P values for pairwise comparisons versus UC, 0.001 [SMI] and 0.108 [HEI]). At 6 months, systolic BP (SE) was 131.2 (1.05), 131.8 (0.99), and 134.7 (1.02) for SMI, HEI, and UC, respectively (P values for pairwise comparisons versus UC, 0.009 for SMI and 0.047 for HEI). SMI led to lower systolic BP and better BP control than UC. SMI constitutes a new, potent approach to assist patients with uncontrolled hypertension to reach BP goals. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION URL http://www.clinicaltrials. gov. Unique identifier: NCT00286754.
Dynamic flight stability in the desert locust Schistocerca gregaria

SUMMARY Here we provide the first formal quantitative analysis of dynamic stability in a flying animal. By measuring the longitudinal static stability derivatives and mass distribution of desert locusts Schistocerca gregaria, we find that their static stability and static control responses are insufficient to provide asymptotic longitudinal dynamic stability unless they are sensitive to pitch attitude (measured with respect to an inertial or earth-fixed frame) as well as aerodynamic incidence (measured relative to the direction of flight). We find no evidence for a `constant-lift reaction', previously supposed to keep lift production constant over a range of body angles, and show that such a reaction would be inconsequential because locusts can potentially correct for pitch disturbances within a single wingbeat. The static stability derivatives identify three natural longitudinal modes of motion: one stable subsidence mode, one unstable divergence mode, and one stable oscillatory mode (which is present with or without pitch attitude control). The latter is identified with the short period mode of aircraft, and shown to consist of rapid pitch oscillations with negligible changes in forward speed. The frequency of the short period mode (approx. 10 Hz) is only half the wingbeat frequency (approx. 22 Hz), so the mode would become coupled with the flapping cycle without adequate damping. Pitch rate damping is shown to be highly effective for this purpose — especially at the small scales associated with insect flight — and may be essential in stabilising locust flight. Although having a short period mode frequency close to the wingbeat frequency risks coupling, it is essential for control inputs made at the level of a single wingbeat to be effective. This is identified as a general constraint on flight control in flying animals.
Anti-spoofing system: an investigation of measures to detect synthetic and human speech

Automatic Speaker Veriﬁcation (ASV) systems are prone to spooﬁng attacks of various kinds. In this study, we explore the effects of different features and spooﬁng algorithms on a state-of-the-art i-vector speaker veriﬁcation system. Our study is based on the standard dataset and evaluation protocols released as part of the ASVspoof 2015 challenge. We compare how different features perform while detecting both genuine and spoofed speech. We observe that features that contain phase information (Modiﬁed Group Delay based features) are better in detecting synthetic speech, and give comparable performance when compared to standard MFCCs. We report an anti-spooﬁng system that performs well both on known as well as unknown spooﬁng attacks.
Efficiently matching sets of features with random histograms

As the commonly used representation of a feature-rich data object has evolved from a single feature vector to a set of feature vectors, a key challenge in building a content-based search engine for feature-rich data is to match feature-sets efficiently. Although substantial progress has been made during the past few years, existing approaches are still inefficient and inflexible for building a search engine for massive datasets. This paper presents a randomized algorithm to embed a set of features into a single high-dimensional vector to simplify the feature-set matching problem. The main idea is to project feature vectors into an auxiliary space using locality sensitive hashing and to represent a set of features as a histogram in the auxiliary space. A histogram is simply a high dimensional vector, and efficient similarity measures like L1 and L2 distances can be employed to approximate feature-set distance measures. We evaluated the proposed approach under three different task settings, i.e. content-based image search, image object recognition and near-duplicate video clip detection. The experimental results show that the proposed approach is indeed effective and flexible. It can achieve accuracy comparable to the feature-set matching methods, while requiring significantly less space and time. For object recognition with Caltech 101 dataset, our method runs 25 times faster to achieve the same precision as Pyramid Matching Kernel, the state-of-the-art feature-set matching method.
Color binarization for complex camera-based images

This paper describes a new automatic color thresholding based on wavelet denoising and color clustering with K-means in order to segment text information in a camera-based image. Several parameters bring different information and this paper tries to explain how to use this complementarity. It is mainly based on the discrimination between two kinds of backgrounds: clean or complex. On one hand, this separation is useful to apply a particular algorithm on each of these cases and on the other hand to decrease the computation time for clean cases for which a faster method could be considered. Finally, several experiments were done to discuss results and to conclude that the use of a discrimination between kinds of backgrounds gives better results in terms of Precision and Recall.
Stepping out: collaborative research across disciplines

Abstract This paper offers the experiences and insights of two faculty members, located in two separate disciplines, as they engaged in collaborative research. While knowledge created by stepping out and reaching across disciplines reflects the reality of an increasingly complex world, their experiences highlight both the benefits of a supportive collaborative partnership as well as the risks and discomfort experienced without tangible discipline support, when researchers stray too far from their home discipline. While transparency and attention to process is critical to all researchers engaged in collaborative partnership, its necessity is heightened when venturing beyond the territory of familiar disciplines.
Nanoparticle-Modified Magnetic Vortex Dynamics

With a view toward ferromagnetic-resonance-mediated detection of magnetic nanoparticles, we use micromagnetic simulations to study how the stray magnetic field produced by a uniformly magnetized spherical magnetic nanoparticle can modify the vortex gyrotropic resonance. We also show how these modifications depend on the particle's position and size. For small particle sizes, a core confinement effect induced by interaction between the particle's highly localized out-of-plane stray field and the vortex core magnetization can induce large frequency shifts. However, the generation of large shifts via this mechanism relies on the core's trajectory being localized directly below the particle. For larger particles (which generate stronger but less localized stray fields), changes in the gyrotropic frequency result from a combination of wide-scale out-of-plane spin canting and in-plane-field-induced shifting of the vortex core within its anharmonic confining potential. Compared to confinement-driven frequency shifting, the generation of large frequency shifts ( ${\gtrsim }$10 MHz) via these latter mechanisms is less dependent on particle positioning and the core orbit radius. The use of large particles, thus, represents a more reliable sensing modality if the particles cannot be guaranteed to align centrally over the disk.
Aging Lips - Esthetic Analysis and Correction

Attractive lips have a diamond shape. As shown in Figure 1, the upper lip vermilion border roughly forms an "M," whose two peaks (B B') correspond to both philtral ridges. The central portion of the upper lip protrudes downward forming the tubercle. The lower lip has two subtle bottom peaks (D D'), corresponding to the upper lip peaks (B B'). The junction line of both lips forms an "M" which is parallel but softer than that of the upper vermilion. The tubercle of the upper lip impinges on the central depressed segment of that junction line. The lower lip is always bulkier than the upper one. The typical height of the upper lip measures about 8 mm in the midline, while that of the lower lip measures about 10 mm. The peaks of the upper lip (B B') are 3 mm to 5 mm higher than the central vermilion border point A. The vermilion lines of the upper lip between the peaks (B B') and the commissures (C C) are either straight or form a lazy "S. " The lower lip peaks (D D') are connected by either a straight line or an arch (DFD') of 1 mm or 2 mm in height. The remaining lower vermilion lines (D' C , D C) are either straight or slightly convex.
MPM: a modular package manager

Software distributions in the FOSS world rely on so-called package managers for the installation and removal of packages on target machines. State-of-the-art package managers are monolithic in architecture, and each of them is hard-wired to an ad-hoc dependency solver implementing a customized heuristics. In this paper we propose a modular architecture allowing for pluggable dependency solvers and backends. We argue that this is the path that leads to the next generation of package managers that will deliver better results, accept more expressive input languages, and can be easily adaptable to new platforms. We present a working prototype---called MPM---which has been implemented following the design advocated in this paper.
Playing large games using simple strategies

We prove the existence of ε-Nash equilibrium strategies with support logarithmic in the number of pure strategies. We also show that the payoffs to all players in any (exact) Nash equilibrium can be ε-approximated by the payoffs to the players in some such logarithmic support ε-Nash equilibrium. These strategies are also uniform on a multiset of logarithmic size and therefore this leads to a quasi-polynomial algorithm for computing an ε-Nash equilibrium. To our knowledge this is the first subexponential algorithm for finding an ε-Nash equilibrium. Our results hold for any multiple-player game as long as the number of players is a constant (i.e., it is independent of the number of pure strategies). A similar argument also proves that for a fixed number of players m, the payoffs to all players in any m-tuple of mixed strategies can be ε-approximated by the payoffs in some m-tuple of constant support strategies.We also prove that if the payoff matrices of a two person game have low rank then the game has an exact Nash equilibrium with small support. This implies that if the payoff matrices can be well approximated by low rank matrices, the game has an ε-equilibrium with small support. It also implies that if the payoff matrices have constant rank we can compute an exact Nash equilibrium in polynomial time.
Cytotoxicity of 2‐chlorodeoxyadenosine and arabinosylcytosine in leukaemic lymphoblasts from paediatric patients: significance of cellular nucleoside transporter content

Summary. 2‐chlorodeoxyadenosine (2‐CdA) and arabinosylcytosine (araC) are nucleoside drugs that are used to treat various leukaemias, although 2‐CdA has not been tested extensively in children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). Nucleoside cytotoxicity depends on the conversion of these agents to 5′‐phosphate derivatives, following drug entry into cells via nucleoside transport (NT) processes. This study compared es nucleoside transporter content, determined using a flow cytometric assay with SAENTA [5′‐S‐(2‐aminoethyl)‐N6‐(4‐nitrobenzyl)‐5′‐thioadenosine] fluorescein, and cytotoxicities of 2‐CdA and araC in fresh lymphoblasts from previously untreated paediatric ALL patients and the human T‐lymphoblast cell line, CCRF‐CEM. Lymphoblast samples from individual patients ranged widely in sensitivity to both 2‐CdA (IC50, 6 nmol/l to > 5 μmol/l; mean = 418 nmol/l; n = 8) and araC (IC50, 59 nmol/l to > 5 μmol/l; mean = 1050 nmol/l; n = 7), although IC50 values for the two drugs were correlated (r = 0·78, P = 0·032, n = 7). Cellular es nucleoside transporter content varied more than 35‐fold among samples from 10 patients. The correlation between es nucleoside transporter content and drug sensitivity was statistically significant for araC (r = −0·93, P = 0·023, n = 5), but not for 2‐CdA (r = −0·57, P = 0·23, n = 6). Exposure of CCRF‐CEM cells to araC resulted in a substantial araC concentration‐dependent increase in the relative survival of es transporter‐deficient cells, whereas the increase was slight following exposure to 2‐CdA. We conclude that, in ALL lymphoblasts, es nucleoside transporter content is a determinant of araC sensitivity and that a deficiency in NT may impart resistance to araC.
Two Herbivore-Induced Cytochrome P450 Enzymes CYP79D6 and CYP79D7 Catalyze the Formation of Volatile Aldoximes Involved in Poplar Defense[C][W]

Aldoximes are precursors of several classes of direct plant defense compounds. This study characterizes two cytochrome P450 monooxygenase enzymes, CYP79D6/7, which are involved in gypsy moth–induced aldoxime formation in western balsam poplar. Volatile formation mediated by CYP79s may be a general phenomenon in the plant kingdom. Aldoximes are known as floral and vegetative plant volatiles but also as biosynthetic intermediates for other plant defense compounds. While the cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (CYP) from the CYP79 family forming aldoximes as biosynthetic intermediates have been intensively studied, little is known about the enzymology of volatile aldoxime formation. We characterized two P450 enzymes, CYP79D6v3 and CYP79D7v2, which are involved in herbivore-induced aldoxime formation in western balsam poplar (Populus trichocarpa). Heterologous expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae revealed that both enzymes produce a mixture of different aldoximes. Knockdown lines of CYP79D6/7 in gray poplar (Populus × canescens) exhibited a decreased emission of aldoximes, nitriles, and alcohols, emphasizing that the CYP79s catalyze the first step in the formation of a complex volatile blend. Aldoxime emission was found to be restricted to herbivore-damaged leaves and is closely correlated with CYP79D6 and CYP79D7 gene expression. The semi-volatile phenylacetaldoxime decreased survival and weight gain of gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) caterpillars, suggesting that aldoximes may be involved in direct defense. The wide distribution of volatile aldoximes throughout the plant kingdom and the presence of CYP79 genes in all sequenced genomes of angiosperms suggest that volatile formation mediated by CYP79s is a general phenomenon in the plant kingdom.
Does Highlighting Concrete Language in Disclosures Mitigate Home Bias?

In this study we use an experiment to examine whether home bias is caused, at least in part, by a psychological bias that can be reduced by highlighting concrete language in disclosures. Our results show that, when abstract language is highlighted in a prospectus, prospective investors are significantly more willing to invest in the stock of a domestic firm than a foreign firm, but that highlighting concrete language mitigates this bias. Drawing on psychology theory, we predict and find that the debiasing effect of highlighting concrete language operates via investors’ subjective feelings of comfort with evaluating a prospective investment. Further, using a controlled experiment allows us to manipulate highlighted language without changing differences in investors’ access to or ability to interpret information about the foreign and domestic firm, thus ruling out differences in information as a sufficient explanation for our findings. Our results demonstrate a simple, yet potentially powerful reporting tool of highlighting concrete language in disclosures for reducing sub-optimal decisions among investors, which may provide benefits at the individual, firm and societal level.