Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fundamentals of auditory masking.

The definition of masking is extended to include both complete and partial masking. The masking of one sound by another is the increase in the SPL of the masked sound needed to reach a given loudness level or to reach threshold. Plotting old and new data in accordance with this definition shows that complete and partial masking obey the same basic rules. There is no discontinuity in the masking functions when the criterion level is raised from threshold to suprathreshold levels. Three fundamental aspects of masking are dealt with. (1) The asymmetry of masking whereby low frequencies mask high frequencies better than high frequencies mask low. This asymmetry holds mainly at threshold and at low criterion loudness levels against strong maskers. At higher loudness levels or against weak maskers, the masking is nearly symmetrical, and may be reversed at the highest loudness levels. (2) Masking increases in nearly direct proportion to the masker level provided the amount of masking exceeds about 15 dB and prov.
A survey on DyScale: Hadoop Job Scheduler for Different Multicore Processors

Multi-core processing is a growing industry trend as single-core processors rapidly reach the physical limits of possible complexity and speed. The functionality of modern processors are often driven by a given power budget that forces designers to estimate different trade-offs, e.g. to select between power efficient cores or many slow or fewer faster, power hungry cores, or a combination of them. DyScale is a new scheduling framework that exploits new opportunities and performance benefits of using servers with heterogeneous multi-core processor for MapReduce processing. These heterogeneous cores are used for forming dissimilar virtual resource pools; each resource pool is based on a unique core type. These virtual pools consist of resources of distinct virtual Hadoop clusters that operate over the same datasets and that can share their resources if needed. Resource pools can be exploited for multiclass job scheduling. Since the same data can be accessed with the slots either “slow” or “fast”, spare resources slot can be shared between different resource pools. It evaluates Performance benefits of DyScale versus First in First out (FIFO) and capacity job schedulers that are broadly used in the Hadoop community.
Maximum load determination of nonholonomic mobile manipulator using hierarchical optimal control

SUMMARY This paper presents a new method using hierarchical optimal control for path planning and calculating maximum allowable dynamic load (MADL) of wheeled mobile manipulator (WMM). This method is useful for high degrees of freedom WMMs. First, the overall system is decoupled to a set of subsystems, and then, hierarchical optimal control is applied on them. The presented algorithm is a two-level hierarchical algorithm. In the first level, interaction terms between subsystems are fixed, and in the second level, the optimization problem for subsystems is solved. The results of second level are used for calculating new estimations of interaction variables in the first level. For calculating MADL, the load on the end effector is increased until actuators get into saturation. Given a large-scale robot, we show how the presenting in distributed hierarchy in optimal control helps to find MADL fast. Also, it enables us to treat with complicated cost functions that are generated by obstacle avoidance terms. The effectiveness of this approach on simulation case studies for different types of WMMs as well as an experiment for a mobile manipulator called Scout is shown.
Sensitive and Selective Photoacoustic Gas Sensor Suitable for High-Volume Manufacturing

Sensitive and selective gas measurements are crucial for a large variety of applications. This paper describes the manufacturing and characterization of a photoacoustic gas sensor system. The system is based on a pressure sensor element with a sensitivity of 10 muV/V/Pa. To demonstrate and evaluate the concept, 12 prototypes for measuring CO2 have been manufactured and characterized. Detection limits ranging from 92 ppm to below 6 ppm CO2 were obtained with a path length of 10 cm, depending on the measurement time and photoacoustic cell design. Measurements showed no cross-sensitivity towards CO, CH4, or humidity in any of the sensors. The temperature drift of the uncompensated raw signal of two sensor designs was below 117 ppm CO2 in the range from 25degC to 50degC.
Local investigation of monocrystalline silicon solar cells defects

We present results of microscale localization and characterization of defects in monocrystalline silicon solar cells using LBIC and Scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM). Although etched silicon is still most effective material for solar cells, some problems with their use in solar plant installation persist due to the defects. The basic characterization methods of silicon solar cells are electrical measurements. They represent integral measurements on the whole cell and only inform us about the presence of defects in the structure. Local defects in the p-n junction may be associated with structural imperfections (such as grain boundaries, dislocations, and scratches), chemical impurities, higher concentrations of donors and acceptors. Therefore, to develop investigation methods, a number of existing apparent and hidden imperfections in the bulk, surface or edges of the cell have to be examined, detected, localized with higher spatial resolution, characterized and classified. Moreover, it is important not only to find most harmful defects, but also to understand their nature and identify the factors which adversely affect recombination properties and consequently an overall efficiency of the cells. The suggested method combines an electric noise measurement with local topography and near-field optical beam induced current. To prove the feasibility of this method, we have chosen one bulk and one edge defect within the sample, which emitted light under low reverse-biased voltage. Light emission from edge spot exhibits strong positive I-U relation with temperature, while for a bulk spot this dependence is slightly negative. Moreover, it was found that one emitting macroscopic spot can consist of several small light emission spots which diameters are bellow 3 μm.
Signal processing using Fourier & wavelet transform for pulse oximetry

Current pulse oximeters use a weighted moving average technique to compute oxygen saturation (SpO/sub 2/) values. This method has many limitations including susceptibility to motion artifact, background light, and low perfusion errors. The goal for developing an alternate method for pulse oximetry was to overcome these limitations. The hypothesis was that frequency domain analysis could more easily extract the cardiac rate and amplitude of interest from time domain signal. The focus was on the digital signal processing algorithms that had potential to improve pulse oximetry readings, and then test those algorithms. This was accomplished using the fast Fourier transform (FFT) to analysis in spectral domain, and the discrete wavelet transform (DWT) to estimate oxygen saturation. The result indicate that the FFT and DWT computation of oxygen saturation were accurate and erroneous without weighted moving average (WMA) algorithms currently being used.
Derivative analysis for in situ high dynamic range hemispherical photography and its application in forest stands

A new methodology is presented to threshold high dynamic range hemispherical color photographs of forest canopies. It is based on the second derivative of brightness profiles along circular transects over the whole azimuthal range of angles at narrow annulus zenith rings. A fast, reliable, and objective way of extracting canopy forest parameters is described and illustrated for calculation of the monodirectional gap fraction around the zenith angle of 57.3/spl deg/, which is independent on average leaf angle distribution.
The Genetics of Papilio Dardanus, Brown. II. Races Dardanus, Polytrophus, Meseres, and Tibullus.

Dominance relationships of f . niobe: In brood 3017 a female niobe 2779 mated a male known to be homozygous for hippocoon(ides) produced six males, two hippocoon(ides) and four niobe females. (A hippocoon or hippocoonides of hybrid origin is written as hippocoon(ides) in this paper if race dardanus or antinorii is involved. ) brood 3029 a hippocoon female 2862 (in which no niobe 2802 niobe sibs), males, ten hippocoon(ides) and eight niobe females. Broods 3017 that f. niobe is to f. hippocoon(ides) and pure hippocoon.
Pharmacokinetics of Treprostinil Sodium Administered by 28‐Day Chronic Continuous Subcutaneous Infusion

The objective of this study was to assess the pharmacokinetics and safety of treprostinil sodium administered as a 28‐day continuous subcutaneous infusion at escalating infusion rates of 2.5 to 15 ng/kg/min in normal subjects. Fourteen healthy adult volunteers received a 28‐day continuous subcutaneous infusion of treprostinil at escalating infusion rates of 2.5, 5, 10, and 15 ng/kg/min. Doses were escalated every 7 days with no washouts between escalations. Serial plasma samples were collected predosing, during dosing, and postdosing. Samples were also collected every 3 hours on Day 7 of each dosing period to evaluate diurnal variation over a 24‐hour steady‐state interval. Plasma treprostinil concentration was measured by a validated liquid chromatography atmospheric pressure ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) method with a lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ) of 25 pg/mL. Distinct steady states were achieved for each of the four treprostinil doses. Linear regression analysis of mean steady‐state treprostinil concentration versus targeted dose yielded a fitted line with an r2 of 0.92. Variation in apparent plasma clearance for the four doses was small (i.e., 9.77–10.4 mL/kg/min). Consistent diurnal cycles of two peak and two trough treprostinil concentrations were observed over a 24‐hour steady‐state interval for each dose with peak levels 20% to 30% higher than trough levels. The terminal half‐life of treprostinil was 2.93 hours. Intersubject variability for mean pharmacokinetic parameters was small (coefficients of variation ranging from 13.6%–25.5%). At clinically relevant doses, the pharmacokinetics of treprostinil were linear and dose independent with modest, consistent diurnal cycles consisting of two daily peaks and two daily troughs observed for all four doses. In addition, the elimination half‐life was about 3 hours.
Intensive lipid-lowering therapy in coronary artery disease: implications of the REVERSAL and PROVE-IT trials

Current international guidelines recommend that the goal of treatment with lipid-lowering therapy in patients with established coronary artery disease (CAD) should be a low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level of < 100 mg/dl. The question that remains to be answered is whether more aggressive lowering of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels below this target offers additional benefit and whether it can be tolerated. Two recently published related studies addressed this question by comparing intensive lipid lowering with atorvastatin (Lipitor®, Pfizer) 80 mg/day with a moderate lipid-lowering regimen of pravastatin (Pravachol®, Bristol-Myers Squibb) 40 mg/day. The first study, the Reversing Atherosclerosis with Aggressive Lipid Lowering (REVERSAL) compared the effect of the two regimens on coronary artery atheroma burden and progression using intravascular ultrasound in patients with symptomatic CAD. The second study, the Pravastatin or Atorvastatin Evaluation and Infection Therapy (PROVE-IT) was a clinical outcome trial in patients recently hospitalised with acute coronary syndromes. This article reviews the implications of these two studies in the management of patients with CAD. In addition, other ongoing trials and future directions are explored.
The effect of Gm(23) on the concentration of IgG2 and IgG4 in normal human serum.

The IgG2 and IgG4 levels in 55 serum samples from family members with known Gm (23) genotype were studied. No correlation between IgG2 or IgG4 concentration and age or between these subclasses and sex was observed. Gm (23) shows no marked effect on the concentration of IgG2, but the concentration of IgG4 in serum is in the sequence Gm (23) homozygotes τ; Gm (23) heterozygotes τ; Gm (-23), and the differences are significant. Since the IgG4 allotype 4b appears, on the basis of limited data, to be transmitted with Gm (23), the observed relation between the Gm (23) genotype and IgG4 concentration may be due to an effect of 4b and not to Gm (23). More data are needed.
Machine Learning Based Botnet Identification Traffic

The continued growth of the Internet has resulted in the increasing sophistication of toolkit and methods to conduct computer attacks and intrusions that are easy to use and publicly available to download, such as Zeus botnet toolkit. Botnets are responsible for many cyber-attacks, such as spam, distributed denial-of-service (DDoS), identity theft, and phishing. Most of existence botnet toolkits release updates for new features, development and support. This presents challenges in the detection and prevention of bots. Current botnet detection approaches mostly ineffective as botnets change their Command and Control (C&C) server structures, centralized (e.g., IRC, HTTP), distributed (e.g., P2P), and encryption deterrent. In this paper, based on real world data sets we present our preliminary research on predicting the new bots before they launch their attack. We propose a rich set of features of network traffic using Classification of Network Information Flow Analysis (CONIFA) framework to capture regularities in C&C communication channels and malicious traffic. We present a case study of applying the approach to a popular botnet toolkit, Zeus. The experimental evaluation suggest that it is possible to detect effectively botnets during the botnet C&C communication generated from new updated Zeus botnet toolkit by building the classifier using machine learning from an earlier version and before they launch their attacks using traffic behaviors. Also, show that there is similarity in C&C structures various Botnet toolkit versions and that the network characteristics of botnet C&C traffic is different from legitimate network traffic. Such methods could reduce many different resources needed to identify C&C communication channels and malicious traffic.
Estimating multipoint recombination fractions

The likelihood in linkage investigations can be expressed as a polynomial in the relevant recombination fractions. With polymorphic characters, this can be reduced to a product of separate factors for female and male recombinations, with only mild loss of information. With three generation data the polynomials take a specially simple form. Algorithms are given for finding maximum likelihood estimates and their standard errors.
Brainstem control of saccadic eye movements.

Saccades are rapid shifts in the direction of gaze. They include the fast (reset) phases of nystagmus generated by vestibular or optokinetic stimuli, the catch­ up movements required in the pursuit of a small moving target, and the scan­ ning movements used to explore a stationary visual scene . All these rapid eye movements have a similar trajectory composed of a rapid acceleration to peak velocity followed by a deceleration that brings the eye to its final position. Primate saccades usually last between 15 and 100 msec and can reach peak velocities in excess of 500 deglsec. Because they have such similar time courses, all rapid eye movements are thought to share a common neural saccade generator. If a saccade is made to a visual target, several steps are presumed to precede the activation of the saccade generator. After the target and its visual sur­ roundings fall on the retina and are detected by the visual system, the target is selected from its surroundings , its location is calculated, and a decision is made as to whether the target is worthy of a saccade. The saccade is triggered and appropriate commands are passed first to brains tern centers , then to ocular motoneurons, and finally to the extraocular muscles. Although we know rel­ atively little about the early stages of the process that leads to a saccade, experiments in the last 15 years have provided an understanding of the brain­ stem circuitry involved in saccade production. The relative simplicity of the oculomotor periphery and the easy access to premotor elements in the brain­ stem have provided a unique opportunity to probe into the more central struc­ tures that generate movement . In this review we summarize what is known about the brainstem saccade generator by starting at the motor periphery and moving centrally. We empha­ size new data, particularly from primates, and structure our discussion in terms
Analysis of the role of the bel and bet open reading frames of human foamy virus by using a new quantitative assay

We have constructed a BHK-21-derived indicator cell line containing a single integrated copy of the beta-galactosidase (beta-Gal) gene under control of the human foamy virus (HFV) long terminal repeat promoter (from -533 to +20). These foamy virus-activated beta-Gal expression (FAB) cells can be used in a quantitative assay to measure the infectious titer of HFV. Our results show that the FAB assay is 50 times more sensitive than determination of the virus titer by the end-point dilution method. Using the FAB assay, we have found that HFV can productively replicate in several erythroblastoid cell lines as well as in the Jurkat T-cell line. We have also examined the roles of bel2, bet, and bel3 in viral replication by constructing proviral HFV clones in which the reading frame of Bel2, Bet, or Bel3 is disrupted by placement of translation stop codons. Analysis of these mutants reveals that while the bel3 gene is not required for viral replication in vitro, mutations in the bel2 or bet gene decrease cell-free viral transmission approximately 10-fold.
Pineal oscillator functioning in the chicken – Effect of photoperiod and melatonin

The avian pineal gland, apart from the hypothalamic master clock (suprachiasmatic nuclei, SCN) and retina, functions as an independent circadian oscillator, receiving external photic cues that it translates into the rhythmical synthesis of melatonin, a biochemical signal of darkness. Functional similarity to the mammalian SCN makes the avian pineal gland a convenient model for studies on biological clock mechanisms in general. Pineal melatonin is produced not only in a light-dependent manner but also remains under the control of the endogenous oscillator, while the possible involvement of melatonin in maintaining cyclic expression of the avian clock genes remains to be elucidated. The aim of the present study was to characterize the diurnal profiles of main clock genes transcription in the pineal glands of chickens exposed to continuous light (LL) and supplemented with exogenous melatonin. We hypothesized that rearing chickens from the day of hatch under LL conditions would evoke a functional pinealectomy, influencing, in turn, pineal clock function. To verify this hypothesis, we examined the diurnal transcriptional profiles of selected clock genes as well as the essential parameters of pineal gland function: transcription of the genes encoding arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase (Aanat), a key enzyme in melatonin biosynthesis, and the melatonin receptor (Mel1c), along with the blood melatonin level. Chickens hatched in summer or winter were maintained under LD 16:8 and 8:16, corresponding to the respective photoperiods, as the seasonal control groups. Another set of chickens was kept in parallel under LL conditions and some were supplemented with melatonin to check the ability of exogenous hormone to antagonize the effects evoked by continuous light. Twelve-day-old chickens were sacrificed every 3 h over a 24-h period and the mRNAs of selected clock genes, Bmal1, Cry1, Per3, E4bp4, together with those of Aanat and Mel1c, were quantified in the isolated pineal glands. Our results indicate that the profiles of clock gene transcription are not dependent on the duration of the light phase, while LL conditions decrease the amplitude of diurnal changes, but do not abolish them entirely. Melatonin supplied in drinking water to the birds kept in LL seems to desynchronize transcription of the majority of clock genes in the summer, while in the winter, it restores the pattern, but not the diurnal rhythmicity. Rhythmic expression of Bmal1 appears to provide a direct link between the circadian clock and the melatonin output pathway, while the availability of cyclic melatonin is clearly involved in the canonical transcription pattern of Per3 in the chicken pineal gland. Regardless of the experimental conditions, a negative correlation was identified between the transcription of genes involved in melatonin biosynthesis (Aanat) and melatonin signal perception (Mel1c receptor).
Gα 16/z Chimeras Efficiently Link a Wide Range of G Protein— Coupled Receptors to Calcium Mobilization

G protein—coupled receptors (GPCRs) represent a class of important therapeutic targets for drug discovery. The integration of GPCRs into contemporary high-throughput functional assays is critically dependent on the presence of appropriate G proteins. Given that different GPCRs can discriminate against distinct G proteins, a universal G protein adapter is extremely desirable. In this report, the authors evaluated two highly promiscuous Gα16/z chimeras, 16z25 and 16z44, for their ability to translate GPCR activation into Ca2+ mobilization using the fluorescence imaging plate reader (FLIPR) and aequorin. A panel of 24 Gs- or Gi-coupled receptors was examined for their functional association with the Gα16/z chimeras. Although most of the GPCRs tested were incapable of inducing Ca2+ mobilization upon their activation by specific agonists, the introduction of 16z25 or 16z44 allowed all of these GPCRs to mediate agonist-induced Ca 2+ mobilization. In contrast, only 16 of the GPCRs tested were capable of using Gα16 to mobilize intracellular Ca2+. Analysis of dose-response curves obtained with the δ-opioid, dopamine D1 , and Xenopus melatonin Mel1c receptors revealed that the Gα 16/z chimeras possess better sensitivity than Gα16 in both the FLIPR and aequorin assays. Collectively, these studies help to validate the promiscuity of the Gα16/z chimeras as well as their application in contemporary drug-screening assays that are based on ligand-induced Ca 2+ mobilization. (Journal of Biomolecular Screening 2003:39-49)
Structural studies on Laz, a promiscuous anticancer Neisserial protein

Azurin and Laz (lipidated azurin) are 2 bacterial proteins with anticancer, anti-viral and anti-parasitic activities. Azurin, isolated from the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa, termed Paz, demonstrates anticancer activity against a range of cancers but not against brain tumors. In contrast, Laz is produced by members of Gonococci/Meningococci, including Neisseria meningitides which can cross the blood-brain barrier to infect brain meninges. It has been previously reported that Laz has an additional 39 amino acid moiety, called an H.8 epitope, in the N-terminal part of the azurin moiety that allows Laz to cross the entry barrier to brain tumors such as glioblastomas. Exactly, how the H.8 epitope helps the azurin moiety of Laz to cross the entry barriers to attack glioblastoma cells is unknown. In this paper, we describe the structural features of the H.8 moiety in Laz using X-ray crystallography and demonstrate that while the azurin moiety of Laz adopts a β-sandwich fold with 2 β-sheets arranged in the Greek key motif, the H.8 epitope was present as a disordered structure outside the Greek key motif. Structures of Paz and H.8 epitope-deficient Laz are well superimposed. The structural flexibility of the H.8 motif in Laz explains the extracellular location of Laz in Neisseria where it can bind the key components of brain tumor cells to disrupt their tight junctions and allow entry of Laz inside the tumors to exert cytotoxicity.