Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Overexpression of VEGF‐A induces neovascularization and increased vascular leakage in rabbit eye after intravitreal adenoviral gene transfer

Aims: The aim of this study was to determine dose–response effects of vascular endothelial growth factor A as delivered using an adenoviral vector on vascular growth and pathological changes in the rabbit eye. Moreover, we wanted to develop a large animal model for angioproliferative diseases in the eye.
Sur les solutions analytiques de quelques équations aux dérivées partielles en mécanique des fluides

On determine les faisceaux des germes des solutions analytiques pour l'equation d'euler et celle de l'equation landau-lifschitz ce qui permet d'ecrire explicitement le developpement de taylor de toute solution analytique de ces deux systemes equations. On a montre que ces deux systemes equation ne possedent pas des conditions bien posees sur l'hyperplan defini pour le temps egal a un constant, donc contrairement a l'exigence d'un phenomene physique. Enfin, on a montre que l'equation de navier-stokes est non stable
A high suppression frequency tripler for 60-GHz transceivers

A compact frequency tripler designed for 60 GHz transceivers is implemented in 0. 13μm SiGe technology. The common emitter class-A frequency tripler uses a transformer based output filter combined with transmission lines to achieve high harmonic suppression. The frequency tripler followed by an amplifier covers a 3dB frequency range between 48 GHz to 58 GHz with a peak output power of 9.5 dBm. Fundamental frequency is suppressed by more than 28 dBc and the 4th harmonic is suppressed by more than 35 dBc between -40°C to 85°C degrees across the frequency band. The tripler design occupies only 390 μm × 495 μm and consumes 62 mW from a 2.7 V supply, the design followed by an amplifier occupies 960 μm × 980 μm raising the DC consumption to 220 mW.
Age- and substrain-dependent sperm abnormalities in BALB/c mice and functional assessment of abnormal sperm by ICSI.

BACKGROUND Male BALB/c mice produce a high proportion of morphologically abnormal sperm. Although the BALB/c male may be a useful model of human male infertility, it remains unclear whether the sperm abnormality rate (SAR) is affected by age or the BALB/c substrain. METHODS SARs (head shape) were assessed in three BALB/c substrains (A, AnN, ByJ) at 7 and 9 weeks and 6-10 months of age (c.100 sperm/male). The functional ability of abnormal sperm produced from 7-week-old and 6-10-month-old males was determined in BALB/c AnN mice by ICSI. RESULTS The SAR (quasi-normal plus abnormal sperm) was lower in BALB/c A than in the other two strains (P < 0.05). Further, the SARs of BALB/c AnN and ByJ strains at 7 weeks old were high and decreased rapidly by 9 weeks, suggesting that early spermatogenesis (i.e. the first wave of spermatogenesis) produced low-quality sperm. ICSI experiments indicated that 2-cell stage embryos which developed from morphologically abnormal sperm from both the first wave of spermatogenesis and the older mice (6-10 months) were similar to those from morphologically normal sperm in terms of producing progeny, although the number of 2-cell embryos was slightly lower (P < 0.05, chi(2) test) than with normal sperm. CONCLUSIONS Although the SARs of BALB/c mice are affected by both age and substrain, the embryos that developed from morphologically abnormal sperm have normal genetic potential in terms of production of progeny.
Newton-Raphson iteration speed-up algorithm for the solution of nonlinear circuit equations in general-purpose CAD programs

The Newton-Raphson method is usually adopted for the solution of nonlinear circuit equations. However, it is well known that convergence of Newton's scheme is highly dependent on the initial guess, and often fails when convenient modifications are lacking. Typical Newton convergence problems in electronic circuits analysis are identified. An algorithm speeding up the convergence of the Newton scheme and making it less dependent on the initial guess is presented. The method is simple and a general-purpose one, applicable to all kinds of circuit equations. Numerical results are presented, and a comparison with previous work is done.
Density-functional method for nonequilibrium electron transport

We describe an ab initio method for calculating the electronic structure, electronic transport, and forces acting on the atoms, for atomic scale systems connected to semi-infinite electrodes and with an applied voltage bias. Our method is based on the density-functional theory (DFT) as implemented in the well tested SIESTA approach (which uses nonlocal norm-conserving pseudopotentials to describe the effect of the core electrons, and linear combination of finite-range numerical atomic orbitals to describe the valence states). We fully deal with the atomistic structure of the whole system, treating both the contact and the electrodes on the same footing. The effect of the finite bias (including self-consistency and the solution of the electrostatic problem) is taken into account using nonequilibrium Green's functions. We relate the nonequilibrium Green's function expressions to the more transparent scheme involving the scattering states. As an illustration, the method is applied to three systems where we are able to compare our results to earlier ab initio DFT calculations or experiments, and we point out differences between this method and existing schemes. The systems considered are: (i) single atom carbon wires connected to aluminum electrodes with extended or finite cross section, (ii) single atom gold wires, and finally (iii) large carbon nanotube systems with point defects.
Methods for Improving Fault Tolerance of Simplified Multicast Forwarding with CDS in MANETs

Simplified multicast forwarding (SMF) through minimum connected dominating set (CDS) seems to be an appropriate solution for robust delivering of multicast data in MANETs. However, in real tactical conditions minimum CDS may not be enough for providing satisfactory quality of the delivered data therefore the redundancy of CDS should be provided. In this paper we consider Unified CDS (UCDS) and Essential CDS (E-CDS) algorithms which distributively construct CDS set using two-hop neighborhood information. Our study is focused on different techniques for improving fault tolerance of multicasting through CDS elected by these algorithms. We evaluate the performance of UCDS and E-CDS with different adjustments in terms of stability to mobility and network capacity using the simulation in ns-3.
1.4Tb real-time alien superchannel transport demonstration over 410km installed fiber link using software reconfigurable DP-16QAM/QPSK

We successfully demonstrated, for the first time, 1.4Tb/s real-time Alien Superchannel over a 410km EDFA-only field fiber link using software reconfigurable DP-16QAM/QPSK production hardware, achieving spectral efficiency up to 5.7bit/s/Hz and long term error-free performance.
What is the Best Way to Optimize Thoracic Kyphosis Correction? A Micro-CT and Biomechanical Analysis of Pedicle Morphology and Screw Failure

Study Design. A human cadaveric biomechanical analysis. Objective. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the bone density/trabecular width of the thoracic pedicle and correlate that with its resistance against compressive loading used during correction maneuvers in the thoracic spine (i.e., cantilever bending). Summary of Background Data. As surgeons perform cantilever correction maneuvers in the spine, it is common to have pedicle screws pullout or displace while placing corrective forces on the construct. Currently, surgeons either compress against the cephalad aspect of the pedicle or vice versa. We set out to establish which aspect of the pedicle was the most dense and to determine the optimal direction for screw compression during kyphosis/deformity correction. Methods. Fifteen fresh-frozen cadaveric vertebrae (n = 15) were examined by micro–computed tomography to determine percent bone volume/total volume (%BV/TV) within the cephalad and caudad aspects of the pedicle. Specimens were sectioned in the sagittal plane. Pedicles were instrumented according to the straightforward trajectory on both sides. Specimens were then mounted and loading to failure was performed perpendicular to the screw axis (either the cephalad or the caudad aspect of the pedicle). Results. Mean failure when loading against the caudad aspect of the pedicle was statistically, significantly greater (454.5 ± 241.3 N vs. 334.79 1 ± 158.435 N) than for the cephalad pedicle (P < 0.001). In concordance with failure data, more trabecular and cortical bones were observed within the caudad half of the pedicle compared with the cephalad half (P < 0.001). Conclusion. Our results suggest that the caudad half of the pedicle is denser and withstands higher forces compared with the cephalad aspect. In turn, the incidence of intraoperative screw loosening and/or pedicle fracture may be reduced if the compressive forces (cantilever bending during deformity correction) placed upon the construct are applied against the caudad portion of the pedicle.
A Survey of Physically Based Simulation of Cuts in Deformable Bodies

Virtual cutting of deformable bodies has been an important and active research topic in physically based modelling and simulation for more than a decade. A particular challenge in virtual cutting is the robust and efficient incorporation of cuts into an accurate computational model that is used for the simulation of the deformable body. This report presents a coherent summary of the state of the art in virtual cutting of deformable bodies, focusing on the distinct geometrical and topological representations of the deformable body, as well as the specific numerical discretizations of the governing equations of motion. In particular, we discuss virtual cutting based on tetrahedral, hexahedral and polyhedral meshes, in combination with standard, polyhedral, composite and extended finite element discretizations. A separate section is devoted to meshfree methods. Furthermore, we discuss cutting‐related research problems such as collision detection and haptic rendering in the context of interactive cutting scenarios. The report is complemented with an application study to assess the performance of virtual cutting simulators.
Recent colonization of the Galápagos by the tree Geoffroea spinosa Jacq. (Leguminosae)

This study puts together genetic data and an approximate bayesian computation (ABC) approach to infer the time at which the tree Geoffroea spinosa colonized the Galápagos Islands. The genetic diversity and differentiation between Peru and Galápagos population samples, estimated using three chloroplast spacers and six microsatellite loci, reveal significant differences between two mainland regions separated by the Andes mountains (Inter Andean vs. Pacific Coast) as well as a significant genetic differentiation of island populations. Microsatellites identify two distinct geographical clusters, the Galápagos and the mainland, and chloroplast markers show a private haplotype in the Galápagos. The nuclear distinctiveness of the Inter Andean populations suggests current restricted pollen flow, but chloroplast points to cross‐Andean dispersals via seeds, indicating that the Andes might not be an effective biogeographical barrier. The ABC analyses clearly point to the colonization of the Galápagos within the last 160 000 years and possibly as recently as 4750 years ago (475 generations). Founder events associated with colonization of the two islands where the species occurs are detected, with Española having been colonized after Floreana. We discuss two nonmutually exclusive possibilities for the colonization of the Galápagos, recent natural dispersal vs. human introduction.
Investigation of the viability of osmophile bacteria of great geological age.

The literature on the viability of ancient bacteria is negligible. Lipmann cultured some bacteria from Pennsylvanian coal, and ZoBell cultured bacteria from oil-brines. In a letter to Tasch dated March 29, 1951, ZoBell wrote in response to a question about viability of ancient bacteria: "Bacteria as individuals might have infinite longevity. They might be capable of resting in suspended animation for unlimited periods of time and some might have survived in this state since the PreCambrian. The evidence is highly suggestive but not conclusive . The most recent work by Strong (1956) describes iron bacteria and associated microorganisms from Permian ferruginous crystalline rock salt released from a deep boring in northeast Yorkshire, England. This is the only report of bacteria in Permian salt on record, although such bacteria have been reported from beds ranging from Devonian to Cretaceous in age. Thread-like bacteria as well as species of genera Gallionella and Leptothrix have been reported. It should be emphasized that Strong's bacteria were dead organisms. Our investigation was designed to answer three main questions: (1) Are bacteria present in Permian salt? (2) If present, are such bacteria Permian in age? (3) Can any of such bacterias in a resting state for 200 million years be made to grow in broths and solid media?
A Cognitive-IoE Approach to Ambient-intelligent Smart Home

In today’s world, we are living in busy metropolitan cities and want our homes to be ambient intelligent enough towards our cognitive requirements for assisted living in smart space environment and an excellent smart home control system should not rely on the users' instructions. Cognitive IoE is a new state-of-art computing paradigm for interconnecting and controlling network objects in context-aware perception-action cycle for our cognitive needs. The interconnected objects (sensors, RFID, network objects etc.) behave as agents to learn, think and adapt situations according to dynamic contextual environment with no or minimum human intervention. One most important recent research problem is “how to recognize inhabitant activity patterns from the observed sensors data”. In this paper, we proposed a two level classification model named as ACM (Ambient Cognition Model) for inhabitant’s activities pattern recognition, using Hidden Markov Model based probabilistic model and subtractive clustering classification method. While subtractive clustering separates similar activity states from non-similar activity state, a HMM works as the top layer to train systems for temporal-sequential activities to learn and predict inhabitant activity pattern proactively. The proposed ACM framework play, a significant role to identify user activity intention in more proactive manner such as routine, location, social activity intentions in smart home scenario. The experimental results have been performed on Matlab simulation to evaluate the efficiency and accuracy of proposed ACM model.
Simulation analysis of a low-voltage distribution system with small capacity energy storages

Energy storage systems (ESSs) provide a variety of solutions to manage the power supply in order to create a more resilient energy infrastructure and bring cost saving to electric utilities and consumers. To help understand the electrical characteristic of the ESSs operate in electric grid, the process of modeling and simulation is thus required. This paper presents the simulations analysis for a low-voltage distribution system with small capacity ESSs. Meanwhile, the issue of modeling each critical component in the system is included. Then, the different test scenarios are used for simulations, and the results for the studied system are analysis and reported.
AMGIE-A synthesis environment for CMOS analog integrated circuits

A synthesis environment for analog integrated circuits is presented that is able to drastically increase design and layout productivity for analog blocks. The system covers the complete design flow from specification over topology selection and optimal circuit sizing down to automatic layout generation and performance characterization. It follows a hierarchical refinement strategy for more complex cells and is process independent. The sizing is based on an improved equation-based optimization approach, where the circuit behavior is characterized by declarative models that are then converted in a sequential design plan. Supporting tools have been developed to reduce the total effort to set up a new circuit topology in the system's database. The performance-driven layout generation tool guarantees layouts that satisfy all performance constraints. Redesign support is included in the design flow management to perform backtracking in case of design problems. The experimental results illustrate the productiveness and efficiency of the environment for the synthesis and process tuning of frequently used analog cells.
Direct Electrochemistry of Hemoglobin on Graphene Nanosheet-based Modified Electrode and Its Electrocatalysis to Nitrite

A novel amperometric nitrite (NO2 − ) sensor was developed based on immobilization of hemoglobin (Hb) on a graphene nanosheet modified electrode by chitosan-N, N-Dimethylformamide (CS-DMF) hydrogel. The surface morphologies of the modified electrode were characterized by SEM, and direct electrochemistry of Hb on the graphene nanosheet-based electrode were investigated by cyclic voltammetry. The results indicated that Hb immobilized on the surface of the graphene modified electrode could keep its bioactivity, exhibited a surface-controlled electrochemical process and had a fast heterogeneous electron transfer rate with the rate constant (ks) of 58.77 s −1 . Moreover, the resulting biosensor showed excellent electrocatalytic activities toward nitrite reduction with a low detection limit of 1.8×10 −7 M and a small apparent Michaelis-Menten constant (km) up to 12 µM. The good performance of the proposed sensor is attributed to excellent conductivity and electron mobility of graphene, and good biocompatibility of chitosan, which enhances the Hb content and promotes direct electron transfer between redox Hb and the surface of electrodes.
Neural modeling of bromelain extraction by reversed micelles

A pulsed-cap microcolumn was used for bromelain extraction from pineapple juice by reversed micelles. The cationic micellar solution used BDBAC as the surfactant, isooctane as the solvent and hexanol as the co-solvent. In order to capture the dynamic behavior and the nonlinearities of the column, the operating conditions were modified in accordance with the central composite design for the experiment, using the ratio between the light phase flow rate and the total flow rate, and the time interval between pulses. The effects on the purification factor and on total protein yield were modeled via neural networks. The best topology was defined as 16-9-2, and the input layer was a moving window of the independent variables. The neural model successfully predicted both the purification factor and the total protein yield from historical data. At the optimal operating point, a purification factor of 4.96 and a productivity of 1.29 mL/min were obtained.
Use of phylogenetically based hybridization probes for studies of ruminal microbial ecology

To address the long-standing need for more precise descriptions of natural microbial ecosystems, 16S rRNAs were used to track certain species and phylogenetically coherent groups of microorganisms in their natural setting without culturing. Species- and group-specific 16S rRNA-targeted oligonucleotide hybridization probes were developed to enumerate various strains of Bacteroides succinogenes and Lachnospira multiparus-like organisms in the bovine rumen before, during, and after perturbation of that ecosystem by the addition of the ionophore antibiotic monensin. Based on probe hybridization, relative numbers of L. multiparus-like organisms were depressed about 2-fold during monensin addition and demonstrated a transient 5- to 10-fold increase immediately after removal of the antibiotic from the diet. The most pronounced population changes were observed among different strains of B. succinogenes, as evaluated by three hybridization probes. One probe hybridized to all strains, whereas the other two identified genetically distinct groups represented by strains isolated from the rumen and from the ceca of nonruminants. The rumen-type strains predominated on most days (ca. 0.2 to 0.8% of total ribosome numbers). Their proportion transiently increased about fivefold immediately after the addition of monensin to the feed and then transiently fell below the average premonensin level. During this time (ca. 2 weeks after monensin addition) the cecal type predominated (ca. 0.1 to 0.2%). Cultural enumeration of B. succinogenes on nonselective agar and by observing clearings in cellulose agar media were largely unsuccessful due to the low number of organisms present and the predominance of other cellulolytic species. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Prudential Choice ∗

A new choice model is presented. An agent is endowed with two sets preferences: pro-preferences and con-preferences. For each choice set, if an alternative is the best (worst) for a pro-preference (con-preference), then this is a pro (con) for choosing that alternative. The alternative that has more pros than cons is chosen from each choice set. Each preference may have a weight reflecting its salience. In this case, each alternative is chosen with a probability proportional to the difference between the weights of its pros and cons. We show that this model accommodates every choice behavior. JEL Classification Numbers: D01
Pneu und Schale : Betonschalen und pneumatisch vorgespannte Membranen

Es gibt nur wenige Tragwerkstypen, mit denen so materialsparend und effizient gebaut werden kann wie mit den Schalen. Und es gibt auser Beton keinen Werkstoff, der sich auf einer Baustelle in beliebige Formen giesen last, dazu noch schnell erhartend, preiswert und bestandig ist. Schalen aus Beton also als die ideale Kombination von Konstruktionsform und Konstruktionswerkstoff, als reinste Form materialgerechten Bauens?
Cytosolic Delivery of Doxorubicin from Liposomes to Multidrug-Resistant Cancer Cells via Vaporization of Perfluorocarbon Droplets

A common mechanism of multidrug resistance is the upregulation of efflux pumps in the cancer cells that can more rapidly export unwanted materials (e.g. cancer drugs) out of the cell, compared to sensitive cancer cells. This research seeks to overcome this mechanism by vaporizing a perfluoropentane emulsion droplet inside of a drug-containing liposome (eLiposome) that was endocytosed into a cancer cell. Folate attached to the eLiposome facilitates uptake into the cell as observed by confocal microscopy. Ultrasound was examined as a trigger to initiate the vaporization of the perfluoropentane droplet and release doxorubicin from folated eLiposomes (feLD). Two seconds of ultrasound released 78% of encapsulated doxorubicin from feLD. Doxorubicin-sensitive KB-3-1 cells and doxorubicin-resistant KB-V1 cells treated with feLD (without ultrasound) had cell viabilities of 33% and 60%, respectively. Ultrasound had negligible additional effect on the cell viability of KB-3-1 and KB-V1 cells treated with feLD (33% and 53%, respectively). We hypothesized that the doxorubicin sulfate fibers that were formed during the loading of doxorubicin into the eLiposome present a site for heterogeneous nucleation once the feLD is endocytosed by the cell, and thus droplet vaporization occurs with or without ultrasound.