Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Expression analysis of LILRB3, LAIR1 and LXRA genes in porcine monocytes stimulated with Salmonella LPS

Salmonella sp. is a zoonotic infection that infects the intestinal tract of domestic animals and humans and causes food poisoning. It grows mainly on macrophages that have differentiated from monocytes. In this study, we examined the changes in gene expression of three receptor genes in swine monocytes induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from S. enterica serovar Typhimurium. The relative expression level of the LILRB3 gene in both the LPS-stimulated and control groups increased after 6 h of culture, and after 24 and 48 h the relative expression level decreased to the same extent as that at the start of the culture. The relative expression level of the LAIR1 gene significantly increased 24 and 48 h after culture in the LPS-stimulated group. In the LXR α -1 variant of the LXR α gene, the relative expression level increased with time in the LPS stimulation group. In the LXR α -2 variant, the gene expression level significantly increased in the LPS-stimulated group after 6 and 48 h of culture, whereas in the control group, the expression level increased with time.
Electrically-assisted mechanical clinching of AA6061-T6 aluminum to galvanized DP590 steel: effect of geometrical features on material flow and mechanical strength

The mechanical clinching as an alternative joining process for fabricating lightweight aluminum to steel assemblies may face the challenges when joining low-ductility aluminum alloy to high-strength steel. Several researches have been focused on applying the electrically-assisted processes in various fields due to energy efficiency as well as practical simplicity, in order to improve the formability. This paper concentrates on the electrically-assisted mechanical clinching (EAMC) of AA6061-T6 aluminum to galvanized DP590 steel. To this end, a combination of experimental and numerical clinching tests was performed using extensible die at different penetration depths, in which controlling the material flow was obtained by applying newly defined chamfer ratio RC in order to guarantee the strong mechanical interlock. The joint section parameters, failure loads, and failure modes were measured. The effects of the geometrical features on material flow and mechanical strength of clinched joints were analyzed using a FE model. The results showed that the defined parameter RC greatly increased the strength with the use of the EAMC process, which came with a reduction in forming load.
Competitive Advantage and Performance, The Role of Value and Rareness of Resources and Capabilities: The Case of Lebanese SMEs

This research aims to examine the competitiveness and the strategic behavior of the Lebanese SMEs, through their possession and exploitation of strategic resource-capability combination attributes. A sample of 285 Lebanese SMEs were obtained through the use of a survey questionnaire and the non-probability sampling to collect primary and quantitative data. The results show that for Lebanese SMEs, not all resources-capabilities are of equal importance when creating competitive advantage. They indicate that only organizational resource-capability combinations are considered as strategic assets and related to differentiation advantage, financial resource-capability combinations are only considered as strategic assets and related to cost advantage, and that cost and differentiation advantage are both related to performance.There were some problems concerning the data collection due to the fact that the Lebanese SMEs owners are not familiar with the research. In fact, this study may have positive implications on the Lebanese SMEs managers’ decisions, where this study can be considered as a guideline that will help them revise their strategic choices, behaviors, capabilities and resources, vis-a-vis of competition and to readjust their strategy if it does not work well. Indeed, the value of this research is that it is the first to empirically study the Resource-Based View in Lebanon from the Lebanese SMEs context, which is considered as suitable context, given its crucial contribution to the whole economy. It is one of the rare studies that reflects SMEs challenges and problems that inhibit them from improving their performance. Keywords: Value, Rareness, Competitive advantage, Performance, Lebanese SMEs DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/12-18-14 Publication date: June 30th 2020
Climate Change Effects on Supply and Demand of Rice in India

This study was conducted to clarify how climate change is expected to affect the demand and supply of rice in India, an important rice-producing and rice-consuming nation. The method, a supply-demand model, includes six functions: yield, area, export, stock change, demand, and price linkage. To reflect topographic and climate diversity, these analyses use state data instead of national data. Results for rice supply show the benefits and shortcomings of temperature, precipitation, and solar radiation as determined by location and season. Scenario analyses that combine the three dimensions of Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) and Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP) scenarios elucidate the future supply and demand of rice, revealing that rice production and per-capita consumption can be boosted most if India undergoes conventional development. Alternatively, a fragmented society that faces higher challenges regarding mitigation and adaptation is expected to engender lower rice yields. To maintain sufficient rice production, the government must undertake social development projects and adequately address climate change-related difficulties. Discipline: Agricultural economics Additional key words: temperature, precipitation, solar radiation, socioeconomic scenarios Present addresses: 2 Department of Economics, McGill University (Montreal, Quebec H3A 2T7, Canada) 3 Institute of Food and Nutrition Development, Ministry of Agriculture (Beijing 100081, China) *Corresponding author: e-mail furuya@affrc.go. jp Received 21 December 2016; accepted 25 October 2017
Polyether antibiotics K-41A and K-41Am inhibit 
HIV-1 replication via suppressing the activities of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase and integrase

Introduction: K-41A is a known compound with antibacterial activity against gram-positive bacteria and coccidia. In our screening of anti-HIV compounds, we found polyether antibiotic K-41A and its analogue K-41Am isolated from a marine-derived Streptomyces sp. SCSIO 01680 exhibited anti-HIV activity. Material and methods: In this study, we characterised the anti-HIV activity of K-41A and K-41Am as well as the mechanism(s) involved. The dose-dependent inhibitory effects of K-41A and K-41Am on HIV-1 replication were observed in the TZM-bl-HIV-1IIIB system, MT-2-HIV-1IIIB system, and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs)-HIV-1BaL system. The 50% inhibitory concentrations (IC50) of K-41A on HIV-1 replication in three systems were 0.75 μM, 0.09 μM, and 0.13 μM, respectively, and the selective indexes (SIs) were 5.81, 49.44, and 598.00, respectively. The IC50 of K-41Am in three systems were 5.57 μM, 0.24 μM, and 1.15 μM, respectively, and the SIs were > 1.04, 80.71, and > 5.03, respectively. Results: Mechanism research demonstrates that two compounds inhibited the activities of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT) and integrase (IN) in a dose-dependent manner. Molecular docking shows that the docking scores were relatively high between the compound and HIV-1 RT or IN. Conclusions: K-41A and K-41Am possess anti-HIV-1 activity via a multi-target inhibition mechanism, which provides a novel molecular pattern for anti-HIV drug design and structural modification to improve the anti-HIV activity.
Computational Study of the Different Waverider Configurations Aerodynamics

The current paper contains the elliptic cone waverider and inclined cone waverider aerodynamics calculations results. The comparison between the numerical and experimental data was performed for the wide range of the angles of attack and sleep angles. All results was obtained by the UST3D code using different Riemann solvers within the framework of the splitting method. The acceptable agreement between the present results, the thin-layer Navier − Stokes and also parabolized Navier-Stokes data was demonstrated.
Loss of trans regulation in breast cancer molecular subtypes

Breast cancer is a complex heterogeneous disease. A clear example is given by the four molecular subtypes: Luminal A, Luminal B, HER2-Enriched and Basal-like. These subtypes give way to different therapeutic approaches to deal with different prognosis. Despite these differences, common hallmark features of cancer can be found, which its origin is traced back to the intricate relationships governing regulatory programs. In our recent work, by constructing RNA-Seq normal tissue and breast cancer gene regulatory networks, we have observed the phenomenon of loss of inter-chromosomal regulation. Our results showed that cis- regulation in breast cancer tissue occurs mostly between neighbour genes. On the contrast, in non-cancerous tissue, gene-gene regulation appears along the whole genome. Here, we extend the aforementioned approach, in order to observe into what extent the loss of trans- regulation occurs in the different intrinsic breast cancer subtypes. A collection of 780 RNA-Seq The Cancer Genome Atlas breast cancer samples were classified using PAM50 algorithm. Differential expression analysis was performed between each subtype and additional 101 normal tissue samples. Gene regulatory networks were inferred for each of the four subtypes and the normal tissue. Circos plots visualization was used to contrast the cis/trans regulation proportion. Finally, power-law regression analyses were fitted to explain the statistical relationship between genes and the distance between genes. Inter and intra-chromosome relationships occur approximately in the same proportion in the healthy network. Meanwhile, the four subtypes present a loss of trans- regulation. The decrease of trans- regulations exhibits different patterns among subtypes. Additionally, the strength of cis- regulatory interactions decays exponentially with the distance in the four subtypes. But, in the non-cancerous phenotype, distance does not influence the strength of the interactions. With this kind of approach, we have been able to integrate gene regulation and physical distance to elaborate a more comprehensive landscape in cancer genomics. Here, we opened the possibility to analyse in a complementary fashion the regulatory program of molecular subtypes of breast cancer. This effort may be complemented with copy number alterations, micro-RNAs or Hi-C data with the aim of providing a multi-omics-based framework to elaborate more specific questions in the era of personalized medicine.
Integrated multi-trophic aquaculture systems: energy transfers and food web organization in coastal earthen ponds

Three Ecopath models were built to reproduce 3 experimental treatments carried out in earthen ponds located in Olhão, southern Portugal, to understand the energy transferred and the ecosystem state in integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA). These earthen ponds behave as simplified ecosystems or mesocosms, with well-defined borders, where the relationships between trophic groups can be described through ecosystem modeling. Different combinations of species were produced in these ponds, corresponding to the 3 treatments: (1) fish, oysters and macroalgae (FOM); (2) fish and oysters (FO); and (3) fish and macroalgae (FM). The managed species were meagre Argyrosomus regius, white seabream Diplodus sargus, flathead grey mullet Mugil cephalus, Japanese oyster Crassostrea gigas and sea lettuce Ulva spp. The results showed that the total amount of energy throughput was 15 to 17 times higher when compared with an equivalent naturalized system. The high biomass and low recycling indicated an immature system with low resilience and low stability that demands high rates of water renewal and aeration to maintain good water-quality levels for finfish production. The addition of oysters and macroalgae in the FOM treatment appeared to improve the water quality, since oysters controlled the excess of phytoplankton produced in the ponds by ingesting a fair amount of the phytoplankton, while the macroalgae helped in the absorption of excess nutrients and created a habitat for periphyton and associated macroinvertebrates. Some ecosystem attributes of the FOM ponds approached the values of the naturalized model, suggesting a possible path towards more sustainable aquaculture.
Computer-based music training with hearing impairments : Lessons from an experiment

From experience of teaching students with deafness or hearing impairments, we know that they both like music-related activities and want to listen to music by themselves. The individual preferences for listening among our students are however not directly related to their hearing acuity as measured by audiograms, nor can their enthusiasm for music-related activities be explained from hearing acuity alone. In order to support listening, to help improving hearing abilities, and to better their understanding and enjoyment of music, we have tested a previously developed music game for a set time period of four weeks as a training facility. To evaluate the training, a hearing capability assessment test was employed. In this paper, we describe our preliminary training trial and the current problems of music training for deaf and hard of hearing people.
A performance study of the UWB positioning system for the player tracking in tennis

—Precise tracking of the tennis player’s location gives important information for the tennis game analysis. We designed a prototype system that uses an ultra-wideband (UWB) positioning technology for players tracking on the tennis court and wireless inertial sensors for detecting the ball impacts. We verified the accuracy of the UWB positioning technology in the tennis court by the high-precision optical tracking system. The results of the field tests confirmed that UWB technology is useful for player tracking in tennis coaching applications.
The Students' Attitudes Towards Women'S Childbirth Experience - Development and Validation of a Questionnaire for Health Sciences Students (Cave-St)

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study is to report on the validation process of the Spanish version of a questionnaire that explores health science students’ attitudes towards women’s childbirth experiences. This questionnaire could help inform education programs to enhance the quality of woman-professional interactions, and to improve women’s experiences of childbirth. METHODS: A standardised procedure for the development and validation of the questionnaire included: item development and psychometric pre-validation, Cronbach’s Alpha and split-half coefficients calculation, test–retest and item-total correlation for the reliability analysis. Content validity was undertaken by Delphi method with sixteen panelists over two rounds. We determined the factor structure and refined and validated the questionnaire according to the responses of a cohort of 160 students using principal components factor analysis with varimax rotation. RESULTS: A 52-items questionnaire CAVE-st: (acronym for cuestionario de actitudes sobre vivencias y experiencias en el parto) was developed and validated. The questionnaire had a high construct validity, with a Cronbach´s alpha > 0.92. The intraclass correlations (0.80) indicated adequate test–retest reliability. The results of the exploratory factor analysis revealed fourteen latent components that explained more than the 70% of the observed total variance.CONCLUSIONS: The Spanish version of the questionnaire CAVE-st has been developed and validated. Its psychometrics indicate that it is a valid and reliable tool to assess health sciences students’ attitude towards women´s childbirth experience. Further work to translate and adapt the instrument in other cultures and languages will be undertaken.
Tracking Protocol for Network of Double-Integrator Systems With Heterogeneous Time Delays

This article studies the consensus tracking problem for a group of double-integrator agents in the presence of heterogeneous communication and input delays. We consider a tracking protocol comprising a consensus-based estimator for the desired trajectory with a simple tracking controller for each agent, which ensures bounded tracking under input delays. As a part of the protocol design, we employ the simplest communication topology, wherein each agent either has the desired trajectory information or receives an estimate of the trajectory from only one other agent. We study the stable tracking conditions for two different estimator structures, viz., conventional double-integrator structure and coupled single-integrator structure. We show that our protocol can ensure uniformly ultimately bounded tracking errors for a trajectory with unbounded acceleration but bounded jerk. We find necessary and sufficient conditions on estimator gains such that the double-integrator estimator yields higher delay margin than the coupled single-integrator estimator, and vice versa. Simulation results demonstrate these findings and the performance of this protocol vis-à-vis existing works.
Online Thermal Resistance and Reliability Characteristic Monitoring of Power Modules With Ag Sinter Joining and Pb, Pb-Free Solders During Power Cycling Test by SiC TEG Chip

Despite the rapid progression of silicon carbide (SiC) power devices, the thermal characteristic evaluation during power cycling at high temperature (>200 °C) is an issue. In this article, a fast and miniaturized evaluation system with online thermal characteristic measurement function was introduced by an n-doped 4H SiC thermal engineering group (TEG) chip. Online thermal resistance measurement of a power module structure by Ag sinter joining with micron/submicron Ag particles paste in low temperature, low pressure, and cooling system by a thermal interface material bonding was performed. High-temperature reliability was systemically investigated by power cycling tests by switching on/off the power source which is connected to the SiC-TEG chip by Au wires. The total thermal resistance of the power module from the SiC-TEG chip to the cooling system increased from 0.5 to 0.53 K/W with the enhanced power source, and remained almost same after 20 000 power cycling at a swing temperature ΔTj of 150 °C. Furthermore, the SiC-TEG power module structure with the die attached with Pb and Pb-free solders, alongwith the same power source as sinter Ag paste was also measured. The Ag sinter joint possesses the lowest thermal resistance and highest high temperature reliability during power cycling compared with Pb and Pb-free die-attach materials.
Dynamic Computation Offloading in IoT Fog Systems With Imperfect Channel-State Information: A POMDP Approach

Driven by the growing popularity of mobile applications, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), fog computing has been envisioned as a promising approach to enhance the computation capability of mobile devices and reduce the energy consumption. In this article, we aim to investigate the dynamic computation offloading problem in the IoT fog system under the fast time-varying wireless channel conditions. Our work differs from the existing work, which is based on the assumption that the channel-state information can be perfectly obtained by the offloading agent (e.g., the IoT device). In reality, due to hardware limitation, short sensing time, and network connectivity issues in IoT fog systems, it is difficult for the IoT device to have the perfect knowledge of a dynamic channel environment. Therefore, in this article, we propose a partially observable offloading scheme to enable the IoT device to make the optimal offloading decision with imperfect channel-state information. The optimization problem is formulated as a partially observable Markov decision process (POMDP) formulation, with the objective of minimizing the IoT device’s energy consumption while meeting its requirement on task processing delay. To find the optimal offloading solution, an offline algorithm based on the deep recurrent $Q$ -network (DRQN) is developed. Finally, extensive simulation experiments are performed to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed offloading scheme.
Observer-Based Adaptive Finite-Time Tracking Control for a Class of Switched Nonlinear Systems With Unmodeled Dynamics

This paper investigates the adaptive finite-time tracking control problem for a class of switched nonlinear systems with unmodeled dynamics. In practical applications, switched systems usually possess unfavourable factors, such as unmeasured states and unmodeled dynamics both of which are taken into account in this paper. A dynamic signal defined with a special property is introduced in this paper to improve control performance while garanteeing stability of the controlled system. By designing an observer, a finite-time adaptive output-feedback tracking controller is constructed via the backstepping technique. Then, the finite-time stability problem of the considered systems is studied. It is shown that all the signals in the closed-loop system are semi-globally uniformly finite-time bounded (SGFUB), and the observer errors and tracking errors can be regulated to a small neighborhood of the origin by choosing appropriate parameters. It is noted that, the design process is less complex than some existing results on tackling control problems of nonlinear systems with unmodeled dynamics. In the example, the simulation result testifies the effectiveness of the proposed method.
The Oligomerization Landscape of Histones

In eukaryotes, DNA is packaged within nucleosomes. The DNA of each nucleosome is typically centered around an octameric histone protein core: one central tetramer plus two separate dimers. Studying the assembly mechanisms of histones is essential for understanding the dynamics of entire nucleosomes and higher-order DNA packaging. Here we investigate canonical histone assembly and that of the centromere-specific histone variant CENP-A using molecular dynamics simulations. We quantitatively characterize their thermodynamical and dynamical features, showing that two H3/H4 dimers form a structurally floppy, weakly-bound complex, the latter exhibiting large instability around the central interface manifested via a swiveling motion of two halves. This finding is consistent with the recently observed DNA handedness flipping of the tetrasome. In contrast, the variant CENP-A encodes distinctive stability to its tetramer with a rigid but twisted interface compared to the crystal structure, implying diverse structural possibilities of the histone variant. Interestingly, the observed tetramer dynamics alter significantly and appear to reach a new balance when H2A/H2B dimers are present. Furthermore, we found that the preferred structure for the (CENP-A/H4)2 tetramer is incongruent with the octameric structure, explaining many of the unusual dynamical behaviors of the CENP-A nucleosome. In all, these data reveal key mechanistic insights and structural details for the assembly of canonical and variant histone tetramers and octamers, providing theoretical quantifications and physical interpretations for longstanding and recent experimental observations. Based on these findings, we propose different chaperone-assisted binding and nucleosome assembly mechanisms for the canonical and CENP-A histone oligomers.