Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Overwintering of Infectious Buggy Creek Virus (Togaviridae: Alphavirus) in Oeciacus vicarius (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) in North Dakota

ABSTRACT Arboviruses have seldom been found overwintering in adult vectors at northern latitudes in North America. Buggy Creek virus (BCRV; Togaviridae, Alphavirus) is an ecologically unusual arbovirus vectored principally by the cimicid swallow bug (Oeciacus vicarius Horvath). The ectoparasitic bugs reside year-round in the mud nests of their host, the cliff swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota Vieillot). We report successful overwintering of infectious BCRV in bugs at a field site in western North Dakota, where mid-winter temperatures routinely reach -11 to -15°C. Approximately 21% of bug pools were positive for virus in early spring just before the cliff swallows' return to their nesting colonies; this proportion did not differ significantly from that in summer at active cliff swallow nesting colonies in the same study area. Fewer of the isolates in early spring were cytopathic on Vero cells, and those that were infectious showed less plaque formation than did summer samples. The results show that infectious BCRV commonly overwinters in the adult stages of its vector at northern latitudes in North America.
R&D investment and firms' financial performance: The moderating role of chairman-CEO duality

Though technological innovation by R&D is at the core of business strategy for firms to compete in the competitive market, but the previous studies did not lead to a consensus about the R&D impacts on financial performance. The study suggests that the separation of Board's chairman and CEO may play an important moderating role in firm's R&D investment decision-making. After testing the correlation between firms R&D investment intensity and the one-year lagged financial performance, the moderating effect of chairman-CEO duality is studied, and the results suggest that duality does mediate the effect of R&D investment on firm's financial performance. But further analyses of subsample suggest that it is the fact only in the low-tech firms.
A criticality criterion to decrease the computational burden in multistage distribution system optimal power flow

As the penetration of distributed generation and storage means in the distribution system is expected to increase, new tools for its planning and operation will be needed and optimal power flow calculations will certainly play a prominent role. However, obstacles have to be overcome before these can be deployed, among which their computational burden is of particular concern. Consequently, we introduce here the use of a criticality criterion aimed at detecting for which time steps the voltage constraints need to be evaluated. We apply the methodology to a distribution system extracted from the literature and discuss the influence of various parameters on the validity of the methodology and the computational gains expected.
Microwave Data Inversions Using the Source-Receiver Compression Scheme

We apply a source-receiver compression approach to reduce the computational time and memory usage of the nonlinear inversion approaches for interpreting three-dimensional microwave data. By detecting and quantifying the extent of redundancy in the data, we assemble a reduced set of simultaneous sources and receivers that are weighted sums of the physical sources and receivers employed in the measurement setup. Because the number of these simultaneous sources and receivers can be significantly less than those of the physical sources and receivers, the computational time and memory usage of any inversion method such as steepest-descent, nonlinear conjugate-gradient, contrast-source inversion, and quasi-Newton can be tremendously reduced. The scheme is based on decomposing the data into their principal components using a singular-value decomposition approach and the data compression is done through the elimination of eigenvectors corresponding to small eigenvalues. Consequently, this will also suppress the effect of noise in the data. As a concept demonstration we show that this approach has the potential of significantly reducing both computational time and memory usage of the Gauss-Newton inversion method by few orders of magnitude.
Joint Base Station Clustering and Beamforming for Non-Orthogonal Multicast and Unicast Transmission With Backhaul Constraints

The demand for providing multicast services in cellular networks is continuously and fastly increasing. In this paper, we propose a non-orthogonal transmission framework based on layered-division multiplexing (LDM) to support multicast and unicast services concurrently in cooperative multi-cell cellular networks with a limited backhaul capacity. We adopt a two-layer LDM structure where the first layer is intended for multicast services, the second layer is for unicast services, and the two layers are superposed with different beamformers. Each user decodes the multicast message first, subtracts it, and then decodes its dedicated unicast message. We formulate a joint multicast and unicast beamforming problem with adaptive base station clustering that aims to maximize the weighted sum of the multicast rate and the unicast rate under per-BS power and backhaul constraints. To solve the problem, we first develop a branch-and-bound algorithm to find its global optimum. We then reformulate the problem as a sparse beamforming problem and propose a low-complexity algorithm based on convex-concave procedure. Simulation results demonstrate the significant superiority of the proposed LDM-based non-orthogonal scheme over orthogonal schemes in terms of the achievable multicast-unicast rate region.
Probing the Role of Divalent Metal Ions in a Bacterial Psychrophilic Metalloprotease: Binding Studies of an Enzyme in the Crystalline State by X-Ray Crystallography

ABSTRACT The psychrophilic alkaline metalloprotease (PAP) produced by a Pseudomonas bacterium isolated in Antarctica belongs to the clan of metzincins, for which a zinc ion is essential for catalytic activity. Binding studies in the crystalline state have been performed by X-ray crystallography in order to improve the understanding of the role of the zinc and calcium ions bound to this protease. Cocrystallization and soaking experiments with EDTA in a concentration range from 1 to 85 mM have resulted in five three-dimensional structures with a distinct number of metal ions occupying the ion-binding sites. Evolution of the structural changes observed in the vicinity of each cation-binding site has been studied as a function of the concentration of EDTA, as well as of time, in the presence of the chelator. Among others, we have found that the catalytic zinc ion was the first ion to be chelated, ahead of a weakly bound calcium ion (Ca 700) exclusive to the psychrophilic enzyme. Upon removal of the catalytic zinc ion, the side chains of the active-site residues His-173, His-179 and Tyr-209 shifted ∼4, 1.0, and 1.6 Å, respectively. Our studies confirm and also explain the sensitivity of PAP toward moderate EDTA concentrations and propose distinct roles for the calcium ions. A new crystal form of native PAP validates our previous predictions regarding the adaptation of this enzyme to cold environments as well as the proteolytic domain calcium ion being exclusive for PAP independent of crystallization conditions.
A Novel Function for P2Y2 in Myeloid Recipient–Derived Cells during Graft-versus-Host Disease

Acute graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) is a life-threatening complication of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation. During the initiation phase of acute GvHD, endogenous danger signals such as ATP are released and inform the innate immune system via activation of the purinergic receptor P2X7 that a noninfectious damage has occurred. A second ATP-activated purinergic receptor involved in inflammatory diseases is P2Y2. In this study, we used P2y2−/− mice to test the role of this receptor in GvHD. P2y2−/− recipients experienced reduced GvHD-related mortality, IL-6 levels, enterocyte apoptosis, and histopathology scores. Chimeric mice with P2y2 deficiency restricted to hematopoietic tissues survived longer after GvHD induction than did wild-type mice. P2y2 deficiency of the recipient was connected to lower levels of myeloperoxidase in the intestinal tract of mice developing GvHD and a reduced myeloid cell signature. Selective deficiency of P2Y2 in inflammatory monocytes decreased GvHD severity. Mechanistically, P2y2−/− inflammatory monocytes displayed defective ERK activation and reactive oxygen species production. Compatible with a role of P2Y2 in human GvHD, the frequency of P2Y2+ cells in inflamed GvHD lesions correlated with histopathological GvHD severity. Our findings indicate a novel function for P2Y2 in ATP-activated recipient myeloid cells during GvHD, which could be exploited when targeting danger signals to prevent GvHD.
Who Can Have Parenteral Antibiotics at Home?: A Prospective Observational Study in Children with Moderate/Severe Cellulitis

Background: The benefits of treating children at home or in an ambulatory setting have been well documented. We aimed to describe the characteristics and evaluate the outcomes of children with moderate/severe cellulitis treated at home with intravenous (IV) ceftriaxone via direct referral from the Emergency Department to a hospital-in-the-home (HITH) program. Methods: Patients aged 3 months to 18 years with moderate/severe cellulitis referred from a tertiary pediatric Emergency Department to HITH from September 2012 to January 2014 were prospectively identified. Data collection included demographics, clinical features, microbiological characteristics and outcomes. To ensure home treatment did not result in inferior outcomes, these patients were retrospectively compared with patients who were hospitalized for IV flucloxacillin, the standard-of-care over the same period. The primary outcome was home treatment failure necessitating hospital admission. Secondary outcomes included antibiotic changes, complications, length of stay and cost. Results: Forty-one (28%) patients were treated on HITH and 103 (72%) were hospitalized. Compared with hospitalized patients, HITH patients were older (P < 0.01) and less likely to have periorbital cellulitis (P = 0.01) or fever (P = 0.04). There were no treatment failures under HITH care. The rate of antibiotic changes was similar in both groups (5% vs. 7%, P = 0.67), as was IV antibiotic duration (2.3 vs. 2.5 days, P = 0.23). Conclusion: Older children with moderate/severe limb cellulitis without systemic symptoms can be treated at home. To ascertain if this practice can be applied more widely, a comparative prospective, ideally randomized, study is needed.
EVOLUTION AND tRNA RECOGNITION OF THREONYL-tRNA SYNTHETASE FROM AN EXTREME THERMOPHILIC ARCHAEON, Aeropyrum pernix K1

An extreme thermophilic archaeon, Aeropyrum pernix K1 possesses two possible threonyl-tRNA synthetase genes. Sequence homology analysis of these genes with other species threonyl-tRNA synthetase showed that the shorter gene did not possess motif-2 and motif-3 of catalytic core that were conserved in class II aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases. On the other hand, the longer gene had almost all amino acids that were expected to be involved in substrate binding and catalytic activity. As a striking feature, it was found that the sequence of the longer threonyl-tRNA synthetase was unique in its quite compact N-terminal domain. This peculiar structure of A. pernix threonyl-tRNA synthetase may suggest one of the hints that can decipher not only the evolutionary position of this archaeon but also the evolutionary process for threonyl-tRNA synthetase. Cross-species aminoacylation experiments showed that threonyl-tRNA synthetase from A. pernix threonylated not only Escherichia coli threonine tRNA having A73 as a discriminator base, but also an extreme halophilic archaeon Haloferax volcanii threonine tRNA possessing U73. These results indicate that A. pernix threonyl-tRNA synthetase does not recognize the discriminator base like E. coli system.
Defining and describing airways obstruction in children.

The two most common diseases with airway obstruction from pre-school age are asthma and cystic fibrosis (CF). Airway diseases in infancy will not be discussed. For reasons of simplicity, asthma is defined as the complex coexistance of one or more of the symptoms wheeze, breathlessness, cough, mucus hypersecretion, which are either chronically or intermittently present and which are generally triggered by viral infections, allergens, pollutants (cigarette smoke), exercise, sudden changes in temperature of the inspired air etc.
Spectrum Analysis with Monte Cralo Simulation, BEAMnrc, for Low Energy X-RAY

BEAMnrc was used to calculate the spectrum and HVL for X-ray Beam during low energy X-ray radiation using tube model: SRO 33/100 /ROT 350 Philips. The results of BEAMnrc simulation and measurements were compared to the IPEM report number 78 and SpekCalc software. Three energies 127, 103 and 84 Kv were used. In these simulation a tungsten anode with 1.2 mm for Be window were used as source. HVLs were calculated from BEAMnrc spectrum with air Kerma method for four different filters. For BEAMnrc one billion particles were used as original particles for all simulations. The results show that for 127 kV, there was maximum 5.2 % difference between BEAMnrc and Measurements and minimum was 0.7% . the maximum 9.1% difference between BEAMnrc and IPEM and minimum was 2.3% . The maximum difference was 3.2% between BEAMnrc and SpekCal and minimum was 2.8%. The result show BEAMnrc was able to satisfactory predict the quantities of Low energy Beam as well as high energy X-ray radiation. Keywords—BEAMnr , Monte Carlo , HVL
Study on the output controllability of BUCK-BOOST Converter

In this paper, hybrid systems (HS) was introduced and the model of BUCK-BOOST Converter was built based on switched linear systems (SLS), which belong to HS. Then the output controllability of BUCK-BOOST converter was studied and its sufficient and necessary criterion was given by the researching achievements of SLS. Lastly, the simulation analysis and verification were provided. The results of study indicated that the output could be stabilized at the enactment value when the sufficient and necessary criterion of output controllability was satisfied, on the contrary, the output could not be controlled stably.
Robust heading control and its application to Ciscrea Underwater Vehicle

Deep inside the ocean, the earth magnetic signal is one of the merely existing information that tells the heading of robots with very good cost efficiency. Therefore, this paper focuses on the AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle) heading control problem using only one magnetic compass as feedback sensor. In this application, we address AUV modeling and control issues simultaneously. Because of quadratic damping factor, underwater vehicle hydrodynamic model is nonlinear. In addition, unmodeled dynamics, parameter variations and environmental disturbances create significant uncertainties between the nominal AUV model and the reality. Finally, sensor noise, signal delay as well as unmeasured states also affect the stability and control performance of AUV motions. In order to handle these issues with improved AUV observation quality and navigation ability, we propose a CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) model based H∞ robust control scheme. Without loss of generality, the robust heading controller was implemented and validated in the sea on low-mass and complex-shaped Ciscrea AUV. Simulation and sea experimental results of both PID (Proportional Integral Derivative) and robust heading controller are analysed.
An Approach to Control the PC with Hand Gesture Recognition using Computer Vision Technique

Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) is the interface between humans and computers. Traditionally, mouse and keyboards are used to interact with computers. An approach recently introduced to interact with computers is hand gestures. In this research paper, an approach to recognize hand gestures is introduced, and a virtual mouse and keyboard with hand gesture recognition using Computer Vision techniques are implemented. Full keyboard features and mouse cursor movement and click events are implemented to control the computer virtually. The recognition rate and response rate of all the considered inputs are calculated and presented in the results. The accuracy of the presented approach is compared with the other state-of-the-art algorithms that show the method presented here performs better with the accuracy of 95%.
α(2)-agonists to restore adrenergic vasoconstrictor responsiveness in septic shock: thinking outside of the box or fishing in the wrong pond?

2838 www.ccmjournal. org December 2013 • Volume 41 • Number 12 atelectrauma from overdistension injury. Bronchiolar damage may well be a histological marker of atelectrauma. What does the study by Park et al (5) teach us? First, it suggests that even transient losses of airway pressure may frustrate valiant attempts at lung recruitment. Whether complete avoidance of transient derecruitment is a valuable or even feasible, clinical goal remains to be seen. The confusing but very interesting issue of injury location highlights the fact that until the day we really understand the fine detail of what does—or does not— happen at the level of the most distal airspaces, lung recruitment should not be globally declared a lung protective strategy.
An optimization approach to design of cellular neural networks

In this paper, we consider the problem of realizing associative memories via cellular neural networks (CNNs). After introducing qualitative properties of the CNN model, we formulate the synthesis of CNNs that can store given binary vectors with improved performance as a constrained optimization problem. Next, we observe that this problem's constraints can be transformed into simple inequalities involving linear matrix inequalities. Finally, we reformulate the synthesis problem as a generalized eigenvalue problem, which can be efficiently solved by recently developed interior point methods. The validity of the proposed approach is illustrated by a design example.
Decomposition approach for a problem of lot-sizing and sequencing under uncertainties

The paper addresses a problem of optimal lot-sizing and sequencing of manufacturing items for production lines. The following factors are taken into account: processing times, set-up times, random machine breakdowns and rejects. The goal is to maximize the probability of a desired output for a given period. A mathematical model of the problem and an optimization approach are discussed. This approach is based on the decomposition of the initial problem in three sub-problems: an enumeration, a travelling salesman problem and a knapsack problem. An iterative optimization procedure is proposed, based on this decomposition.
Toward a software-based network: integrating software defined networking and network function virtualization

Communication networks are changing. They are becoming more and more “software- based. ” Two trends reflect this: the use of software defined networking and the use of virtualization to exploit common off-the-shelf hardware to provide a wide array of network-resident functions. To truly achieve the vision shared by many service providers of a high-performance software-based network that is flexible, lowercost, and agile, a fast and carefully designed network function virtualization platform along with a comprehensive SDN control plane is needed. The shift toward software-based network services broadens the type of networking capabilities offered in provider networks and cloud platforms by allowing network services to be dynamically deployed across shared hosts. Combining this with an SDN control plane that recognizes the power of a dynamically changing network infrastructure allows network functions to be placed when they are needed and where they are most appropriate in the network. Our system, SDNFV harmoniously combines the two fast moving technological directions of SDN and virtualization to further the goal of achieving a true software-based network.
A PET Brain Reporter Gene System Based on Type 2 Cannabinoid Receptors

PET of gene expression in the brain may greatly facilitate neuroscience research and potential clinical implementation of gene or cell therapy of central nervous system diseases. To date, no adequate PET reporter system is available for the central nervous system because available tracers either do not cross the intact blood–brain barrier or have high background signals. Here we report the first, to our knowledge, PET reporter system for imaging gene expression in the intact brain. Methods: We selected the human type 2 cannabinoid receptor (hCB2) as a reporter because of its low basal expression in the brain. An inactive mutant (D80N) was chosen so as not to interfere with signal transduction. As a reporter probe we used the 11C-labeled CB2 ligand, 11C-GW405833, which readily crosses the blood–brain barrier. Dual-modality imaging lentiviral and adeno-associated viral vectors encoding both hCB2(D80N) and firefly luciferase or enhanced green fluorescent protein were engineered and validated in cell culture. Next, hCB2(D80N) was locoregionally overexpressed in rat striatum by stereotactic injection of lentiviral and adeno-associated viral vectors. Results: Kinetic PET revealed specific and reversible CB2 binding of 11C-GW405833 in the transduced rat striatum. hCB2 and firefly luciferase expression was followed until 9 mo and showed similar kinetics. Both hCB2 expression and enhanced green fluorescent protein expression were confirmed by immunohistochemistry. Conclusion: Dual-modality imaging viral vectors encoding hCB2(D80N) were engineered, and the reporter system was validated in different animal species. The results support the potential future clinical use of CB2 as a PET reporter in the intact brain.
An Automatic Question Generation Tool for Supporting Sourcing and Integration in Students ’ Essays

This paper presents a domain independent Automatic Question Generation (AQG) tool that generates questions which can be used as a form of support for students to revise their essay. The focus here is on generating questions based on semantic and syntactic information acquired from citations. The semantic information includes the author’s name, the citation type (describing the aim of the cited study, its results or an opinion), the author’s expressed sentiment, and the syntactic information of the citation. Pedagogically, the question templates are designed using Bloom’s learning taxonomy where the questions reach the Analysis Level. We used 40 undergraduate students essays for our experiment and the Name Entity Recognition component is trained on 20 essays. The result of our experiment shows that the question coverage is 96% and accuracy of generated questions can reach 78%. This AQG tool will be integrated into our peer review system to scaffold feedback from peers.