Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Simultaneous Iterative Boltzmann Inversion for Coarse-Graining of Polyurea

Polyurea is an alternating copolymer with excellent viscoelastic properties for dissipating shock and impact loads; however, a molecular-level understanding of how its chemistry relates to its performance remains elusive. While molecular dynamics simulations can in theory draw connections between molecular structure and viscoelastic properties, in practice the long relaxation times associated with polymer dynamics make such calculations prohibitively expensive. To address this issue, we have developed a coarse-grained (CG) model of polyurea in which each of the phenylmethane-aminobenzoate and tetramethylene-oxide units making up the polyurea chains are treated using individual CG beads. The parameters for the intra- and intermolecular force field of the CG model have been obtained in a rigorous manner by using the iterative Boltzmann inversion approach. We have validated the CG model against densities, heat capacities, and chain conformations obtained from fully atomistic MD simulations for oligomeric pol.
Extreme Convection of the Near-Equatorial Americas, Africa, and Adjoining Oceans as seen by TRMM

AbstractThis study documents the preferred location and diurnal cycle of extreme convective storms that occur in the tropical band containing the east Pacific Ocean, Central and South America, the Atlantic Ocean, and northern Africa. Data from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Precipitation Radar show three types of convective-stratiform structures that constitute extreme convective events: deep convective cores (DCCs), wide convective cores (WCCs), and broad stratiform regions (BSRs). Interim ECMWF Re-Analysis (ERA-Interim) data show the associated synoptic environmental factors associated with the occurrence of extreme convective features. The DCC, WCC, and BSR echoes are associated with early, middle, and late stages of convective system development, respectively, and the statistics and timing of their occurrence are related to topography and life cycle behavior of the convection. Storms containing DCC occur primarily over the Sudanian savannas of Africa and near the mountains in northern .
Human Effector CD8+ T Lymphocytes Express TLR3 as a Functional Coreceptor1

TLR are evolutionarily conserved molecules that play a key role in the initiation of innate antimicrobial immune responses. Through their influence on dendritic cell maturation, these receptors are also thought to indirectly shape the adaptive immune response. However, no data are currently available regarding both TLR expression and function in human CD8+ T cell subsets. We report that a subpopulation of CD8+ T cells, i.e., effector, but neither naive nor central memory cells, constitutively expresses TLR3. Moreover, the ligation of the receptor by a specific agonist in TLR3-expressing CD8+ T cells increased IFN-γ secretion induced by TCR-dependent and -independent stimulation, without affecting proliferation or specific cytolytic activity. These results thereby suggest that TLR3 ligands can not only indirectly influence the adaptive immune response through modulation of dendritic cell activation, but also directly increase IFN-γ production by Ag-specific CD8+ T cells. Altogether, the present work might open new perspectives for the use of TLR ligands as adjuvants for immunotherapy.
Relationship between verbal command volume and magnitude of muscle contraction.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the hypothesized correlation between volume of a verbal command and magnitude of a resulting voluntary isometric muscular contraction, using a withdrawal-reinstatement (ABAB) research design. Nineteen volunteer male subjects between the ages of 18 and 30 years performed isometric contractions of the triceps brachii muscles in response to prerecorded verbal commands. With a volume increase of 22 decibels A scale, subjects averaged an 8 percent increase in muscle contraction strength, a difference that was significant at the . 05 level. Through an awareness and use of the effects of voice volume on muscular contraction, the therapist may be able to improve the accuracy and consistency of examination methods, and increase the efficacy and efficiency of therapeutic procedures.
Multi-frequency sub-1 GHz radio tomographic imaging in a complex indoor environment

Unlike most currently available localization systems, tagless localization technologies do not require a target to wear a passive or active hardware device. Radio Tomographic Imaging (RTI) is one such technique, which operates based on the use of a tomographic radio frequency (RF) sensor network. The majority of RTI-systems communicate using a single frequency band: 2.4 GHz. The use of sub-1 GHz frequencies within RTI could potentially provide important benefits regarding energy efficiency, accuracy in complex indoor environments and size of the environments in which a system can be installed. We deployed a combined 433 MHz and 868 MHz RF sensor network in a complex indoor environment and performed localization when a human individual was present in the environment. Two different RTI-algorithms were investigated: a Bayesian-based method we developed earlier and an adaptation of an existing 2.4 GHz technique based on fade level. Both methods turned out to be capable of accurately locating individuals with a median error lower than 1 meter. This proves the feasibility of using a combination of sub-1 GHz frequencies in RTI for indoor localization in complex environments.
VHDL-AMS model of an injection locked VCO

A VHDL-AMS model of an injection locked voltage controlled oscillator is presented in this paper. The model is valid for any harmonic of the synchronization signal. Properties such as locking-range, bandwidth and settling time are taken into account. The model is used in mixed simulations to reduce the computation time. A comparison with a schematic LC oscillator shows very good correlation.
Well-posedness of two-dimensional hydroelastic waves

A well-posedness theory for the initial-value problem for hydroelastic waves in two spatial dimensions is presented. This problem, which arises in numerous applications, describes the evolution of a thin elastic membrane in a two-dimensional (2D) potential flow. We use a model for the elastic sheet that accounts for bending stresses and membrane tension, but which neglects the mass of the membrane. The analysis is based on a vortex sheet formulation and, following earlier analyses and numerical computations in 2D interfacial flow with surface tension, we use an angle–arclength representation of the problem. We prove short-time well-posedness in Sobolev spaces. The proof is based on energy estimates, and the main challenge is to find a definition of the energy and estimates on high-order non-local terms so that an a priori bound can be obtained.
Calculation of energy expenditure in women using the MET system.

PURPOSE Interpretation of physical activity as energy expenditure requires adjustment for body size. This is usually accomplished by means of the MET system, which assumes a basal metabolic rate (BMR) of 4.184 kJ.kg(-1). h(-1) and, when the standard calculation is used, that the energy costs of different activities are proportional to BMR. These relationships may be altered by increases in percent total body fat (% TBF), and this paper examines relationships between % TBF and total energy expenditure (TEE) obtained using the standard and a proposed calculation. METHODS Published data regarding body composition, physical activity (heart rate recording), and BMR in 11 American women (before and after weight gain) and in 15 Swedish women (before and during pregnancy) were used to calculate TEE. Reference estimates of TEE were obtained using doubly labeled water. RESULTS In Swedish women, reference TEE minus standard TEE (MJ.24 h(-1)) was 1.37 +/- 1.29 (P < 0.01) before and 1.03 +/- 1.13 (P < 0.05) during pregnancy. For proposed TEE these differences were 0.43 +/- 1.63 (P > 0.05) and 0.31 +/- 1.28 (P > 0.05) (MJ.24 h(-1)), respectively. In American women before and after weight gain, reference TEE minus standard TEE (MJ.24 h(-1)) were 0.38 +/- 1.79 (P > 0.05) and 1.39 +/- 2.36 (P > 0.05), respectively, whereas the corresponding differences for proposed TEE (MJ.24 h(-1)) were -0.52 +/- 2.20 (P > 0.05) and 0.21 +/- 2.36 (P > 0.05), respectively. In Swedish women before pregnancy and American women after weight gain (N = 26, BMI = 18-39), significant (P < 0.001) relationships were found for standard TEE/proposed TEE (y) versus % TBF, (x, r = -0.65) and versus BMI (x, r = -0.70). CONCLUSIONS : In individuals with a TBF content typical for contemporary Western women, standard TEE is lower than proposed TEE. This bias increases as the TBF content of subjects increases. The results indicate that proposed TEE is more accurate than standard TEE, but this requires confirmation.
KDD Cup and Workshop 2007

INTRODUCTION The KDD Cup is the oldest of the many data mining competitions that are now popular [1]. It is an integral part of the annual ACM SIGKDD International Conference on Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining (KDD). In 2007, the traditional KDD Cup competition was augmented with a workshop with a focus on the concurrently active Netflix Prize competition [2]. The KDD Cup itself in 2007 consisted of a prediction competition using Netflix movie rating data, with tasks that were different and separate from those being used in the Netflix Prize itself. At the workshop, participants in both the KDD Cup and the Netflix Prize competition presented their results and analyses, and exchanged ideas.
Toward Optimal Parameter Selection for the Multi-layer Perceptron Artificial Neural Network

In this paper we address the problem of optimal parameter selection for a Multilayer Perceptron by means of a neural network with only one hidden layer that uses the "back propagation" algorithm over relatively simple classification problems in two dimensions (input patterns with only two variables). We will show graphically the direct relation existing between the increasing complexity regions (classes) and the necessity to add more neurons in the hidden layer. At the end, we summarize our findings by means of parameter selection recommendations in order to avoid the tedious and blind "trial and error" method.
Tissue Factor (TF) Expression and Angiogenesis in Tumor Progression and Inhibition of Tumor Growth by Anti-TF Antibodies in Human TissueFactor Knock-In Mice

Background: Tissue factor (TF) serves as the primary initiator of the extrinsic pathway of blood coagulation and mediates signaling via the protease activated receptor-2 (PAR2). TF is over-expressed in several tumor types and may facilitate tumor progression and angiogenesis. To test the hypothesis that inhibition of TF may have an anti-tumor effect, we induced pulmonary adenomas (PA) in human TF knock in (huTF-KI) mice with urethane and studied the relationship between expression of TF and mutations in K-ras with tumor progression and the effect of a monoclonal anti-TF antibody on growth of a transplantable lymphoma. Methods: huTF-KI mice received 10 weekly intraperitoneal (i.p.) injections of urethane and samples of lung were collected at six week intervals between weeks 10 and 28. Expression of TF and von Willibrand factor (vWF) in PA were studied by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and mutations in K-ras were studied by laser capture microdissection and polymerase chain reaction (LCM-PCR). Results: IHC showed that expression of TF and vWF increased as pulmonary epithelial hyperplasias and PA progressed. Dual staining TF and vWF showed that areas of high expression of TF correlated with the tumor vasculature and LCM-PCR showed that mutation of K-ras correlated with expression of TF and the angiogenic switch in PA. Finally, an anti-huTF monoclonal antibody slowed the growth of transplantable urethane-induced lymphomas. Conclusion: Taken together, these data suggest that expression of TF plays an important role in tumor progression and the angiogenic switch. These data also suggest that anti-TF antibodies may be a viable tumor immunotherapy
A Study of Different Coding Styles Affecting Code Readability

During software programming, code readability is very important because it affects the understanding of the code context, facilitates communication and collaboration between team members, and it avoids problematic software maintenance. In this study, our research hypothesis was that the coding style affects the code readability. Developers who do not comply with coding conventions and guidelines may be more likely to produce code with a low level of readability. To test this hypothesis, we investigated coding rule violations in the source code files of five open source projects and correlated the observed violations with the scores rated by a readability estimation function. We tested whether significant violations of coding conventions affected the readability of developed codes and identified the violations that were related specifically to low readability quality. We consider that our findings will improve the understanding of programmers so they can take appropriate action to generate better quality code.
Times to extinction for small populations of large birds.

A major practical problem in conservation biology is to predict the survival times-"lifetimes"-for small populations under alternative proposed management regimes. Examples in the United States include the 'Alala (Hawaiian Crow; Corvus hawaiiensis) and Northern Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis caurina). To guide such decisions, we analyze counts of all crow, owl, and hawk species in the most complete available data set: counts of bird breeding pairs on 14 European islands censused for 29-66 consecutive years. The data set yielded 129 records for analysis. We define the population ceiling as the highest number of breeding pairs observed from colonization to extinction, within a consecutive series of counts for a given species on a given island. The resulting distributions of population lifetimes as a function of population size prove to be highly skewed: most small populations disappear quickly, but a few last for a long time. Median (i.e., 50th percentile) lifetimes are calculated as only 1-5 yr for hawk, owl, and crow populations with ceilings of one or two breeding pairs. As expected if demographic accidents are the main cause of extinction for small populations, lifetimes rise by a factor of 3-4 for each additional pair up to three pairs. They rise more slowly thereafter. These observations suggest that lifetimes of the 'Alala (now reduced to about three pairs in the wild), and of populations of Northern Spotted Owl in the smallest forest fragments, will be short unless active management is implemented.
Augmenting forearm crutches with wireless sensors for lower limb rehabilitation

Forearm crutches are frequently used in the rehabilitation of an injury to the lower limb. The recovery rate is improved if the patient correctly applies a certain fraction of their body weight (specified by a clinician) through the axis of the crutch, referred to as partial weight bearing (PWB). Incorrect weight bearing has been shown to result in an extended recovery period or even cause further damage to the limb. There is currently no minimally invasive tool for long-term monitoring of a patient's PWB in a home environment. This paper describes the research and development of an instrumented forearm crutch that has been developed to wirelessly and autonomously monitor a patient's weight bearing over the full period of their recovery, including its potential use in a home environment. A pair of standard forearm crutches are augmented with low-cost off-the-shelf wireless sensor nodes and electronic components to provide indicative measurements of the applied weight, crutch tilt and hand position on the grip. Data are wirelessly transmitted between crutches and to a remote computer (where they are processed and visualized in LabVIEW), and the patient receives biofeedback by means of an audible signal when they put too much or too little weight through the crutch. The initial results obtained highlight the capability of the instrumented crutch to support physiotherapists and patients in monitoring usage.
Postpartum recuperation in primiparous rhesus macaques and development of their infants

Female primates endure great costs during pregnancy and lactation. Some studies have been conducted on exploring these; however, information on how maternal condition before conception influences maternal postpartum recuperation and infant development are not well known, especially in primipares. This 2‐year investigation explored how maternal condition, maternal foraging time and alert time, and infants' time on nipple influenced postpartum recovery of primiparous rhesus macaques, as well as their infant's development during the first 3 months postpartum. The study was conducted on 11 female rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) living at the Caribbean Primate Research Center, Sabana Seca Field Station, Puerto Rico. Infant survivorship and development were not influenced by maternal age at first parturition or by the infants' time on the nipple. Infant development and maternal recovery were influenced by maternal condition before conception. Older primipares demonstrated greater postpartum recuperation. Maternal postpartum recuperation was not influenced by maternal feeding time or time the infant spent on the nipple. Maternal recuperation was negatively correlated with increased vigilance (alert time). Am. J. Primatol. 70:1047–1054, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Levels of error processing in Huntington's disease: A combined study using event‐related potentials and voxel‐based morphometry

Huntington's Disease (HD) is a neurogenetic disorder accompanied by an atrophy of the striatum and hence of the dopaminergic (DA) system. Neural processes subserving error processing presumably depend on the DA system. We assessed error processing in manifest HD and in presymptomatic HD‐gene‐mutation‐carriers (pHD) with event‐related potentials reflecting error processing (the error negativity or error‐related negativity and the error positivity derived from a flanker‐task. We found a reduction of the Ne in the case of HD compared to pHD reflecting dopamine system pathology. Despite the Ne being reduced in HD, behavioral adaptation was possible. In addition, the error‐rates did not differ between the groups. Optimized voxel‐based morphometry revealed that grey matter volume in the medial frontal gyrus is correlated with the Ne amplitude in symptomatic patients. In addition, the effect of a Ne‐reduction was related to the grey matter underneath the medial frontal gyrus, which is in line with two theories of the Ne. In contrast, the Pe did not differ between the groups, suggesting that the Pe is decoupled from the DA system. Interestingly we found a reduction of a late slow negativity on correct responses, which possibly reflects decreased preparatory processes in HD compared to pHD as induced by the DA alterations in HD. In conclusion a deterioration in error processing in HD compared to pHD is mainly reflected by the Ne. The deterioration might rely on two factors: a neurofunctional and a neuroanatomical. Hum Brain Mapp 2008. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
What Seniors Value About Online Community

Seniors are involved in online communities around the world. Human-computer interaction researchers have investigated how understanding the values of users can improve technology design, but until now few such investigations have involved systems for seniors. Similarly, although various aspects of networked communities have been researched, few studies have explored ones involving seniors. This interpretivist/constructivist study reveals what a particular community run by and expressly for seniors, value about their community. Of the six key social values identified, their single most important value was ‘belonging to a community of peers’. These values have implications for the design of online communities involving seniors.
BM25 With Exponential IDF for Instance Search

This paper deals with a novel concept of an exponential IDF in the BM25 formulation and compares the search accuracy with that of the BM25 with the original IDF in a content-based video retrieval (CBVR) task. Our video retrieval method is based on a bag of keypoints (local visual features) and the exponential IDF estimates the keypoint importance weights more accurately than the original IDF. The exponential IDF is capable of suppressing the keypoints from frequently occurring background objects in videos, and we found that this effect is essential for achieving improved search accuracy in CBVR. Our proposed method is especially designed to tackle instance video search, one of the CBVR tasks, and we demonstrate its effectiveness in significantly enhancing the instance search accuracy using the TRECVID2012 video retrieval dataset.
Magnetic fields in star-forming galaxies at high and low redshift

As part of an ongoing series of deep GMRT surveys we have observed the Spitzer extragalactic First Look Survey field, producing the deepest wide-field 610-MHz survey published to date. We reach an rms noise of 30 microJy/beam before primary beam correction, with a resolution of ~6 arcsec over an area of ~4 square degrees. By combining these observations with the existing 1.4-GHz VLA survey produced by Condon et al. (2003), along with infrared data in up to seven wavebands from the Spitzer Space Telescope, optical photometry from SDSS and a range of spectroscopic redshift surveys, we are able to study the relationship between radio luminosity and star formation rate in star-forming galaxies up to z ~ 1. The large amount of multi-wavelength data available allows accurate k-corrections to be performed in the radio due to the knowledge of the radio spectral index, and in the infrared through the use of a semi-empirical radiative transfer model which models star-forming regions, warm dust surrounding these regions, and diffuse interstellar dust, taking into account the star formation rate, star formation history and hydrogen column density within each galaxy. A strong correlation is seen between radio luminosity and infrared-derived star formation rates, which is best fit by a slightly non-linear power-law. We look for cosmic evolution in the comparative radio brightness of star-forming galaxies by searching for deviations away from the global relationship. Any such deviation would indicate a systematic variation in one or more of the properties controlling synchrotron radiation, in particular an increase in the magnetic field strengths of star-forming galaxies. The data shows no evidence for such an effect, suggesting that there has been little evolution in the magnetic fields of galaxies since z ~ 1.
Success Factors for the Management of Global Virtual Teams for Software Development

The management of globally distributed software teams is complex because of problems of linguistic differences, geographical dispersion, different time zones, and the cultural diversity of the team members; what is particularly common in software development environments. These problems are amplified when a single software development team is composed of highly skilled individuals working in dispersed geographical locations, and they have to work as a team across distances. This paper describes several of the most important factors that contribute to the correct and effective management of global virtual teams for software development and underlying solutions are addressed to reduce cultural and time barriers. These factors are obtained from an industrial case study, which lasted 36 months, corresponding to a huge software development project that involved several global virtual teams. These success factors consider different perspectives as technology, human factors and process.