Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Synthesis and atomic oxygen erosion testing of space-survivable POSS (polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane) polyimides

Abstract : The harsh environment present in both low-earth and geosynchronous orbit combined with the need for lighter weight and lower cost man-made orbiting bodies necessitates the design of multi-functional, space-survivable materials. Over the last two decades it has been well established that conventional polymers used in the construction of space vehicles undergo severe degradation resulting in reduced spacecraft lifetimes. In particular, the polyimide Kapton has been studied at length since it is widely used as a flexible substrate for lightweight high power solar arrays because of its inherent strength and desirable thermal properties. In addition to Kapton, thin films of fluorinated polymers such as Teflon FEP are used as the outer layer of multi-layer thermal control insulation because of their superior optical properties, including low solar absorptance and high thermal reflectance. These polymeric materials degrade because spacecraft surfaces must endure a high incident fluences of atomic oxygen (AO), bombardment by low and high-energy charged particles, and thermal cycling along with the full spectrum of solar radiation. Hybrid inorganic/organic polymers have the potential to meet the requirements of space-survivable materials by bridging the gap between ceramics and plastics, resulting in the prevention of AO and radiation damage that has hampered the widespread application of organic polymers in space. The Polymer Working Group at the Air Force Research Laboratory at Edwards AFB has incorporated inorganic POSS (Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxane) frameworks into traditional polymer systems resulting in hybrid POSS-polymers with dramatic property enhancements. Addition of these POSS nanostructured frameworks into polymers results in increased use and decomposition temperatures, improved mechanical properties, and oxidation resistance.
Decomposing and pruning primary key violations from large data sets (discussion paper)

The problem of computing the certain answer to a conjunctive query over a relational instance subject to primary key constraints is a classical hard problem in database research. On the theoretical side, we present a decomposition and pruning strategy that reduces, in polynomial time, the original problem to a collection of smaller problems of the same sort that can be solved independently. From a practical perspective, we discuss an experiment on large data sets that shows the effectiveness of the overall technique and its implementation in ASP.
Shadow Detection Using Object Oriented Segmentation , Its Analysis And Removal From High Resolution Remote Sensing Images

Very high resolution satellite images available from satellites such as QuickBird, IKONOS etc are usually affected with shadows. These shadows reduces the information content of the images. In this paper, an object oriented shadow detection method is used to detect the shadows. In this method each object in the input image is extracted through a segmentation process. Suspected shadows are detected by comparing the threshold obtained from the original image and the gray scale average of each object in the segmented image. Dark objects which may be included in the suspected shadows are eliminated by com-paring the gray scale average in different image bands. For the restoration of information, relative radiometric correction is used. For this inner-outer outline lines along the shadow boundary are generated. For shadow removal, relative radiometric correction is applied to the homogeneous points obtained from IOOPL similarity matching. Experimental result shows that the proposed algorithm effectively detected majority of shadows within the high resolution satellite images compared to pixel based methods.
Gold nanorods coated with a thermo-responsive poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(N-vinylcaprolactam) corona as drug delivery systems for remotely near infrared-triggered release

Poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(N-vinylcaprolactam) (PEG-b-PNVCL) copolymers are prepared from a PEG macro-chain transfer agent in DMF at 65 °C via reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization. The well-defined PEG114-b-PNVCL237 copolymer with a cloud point temperature of 39 °C is used for the formation of a thermo-responsive polymer corona on the surface of gold nanorods (GNRs) via a “grafting-to” approach. Thermo-responsiveness and thermo-dependent optical properties of the as-obtained GNR@PEG-b-PNVCL nanoparticles are studied with dynamic light scattering and UV/vis spectroscopy techniques. Near infrared (NIR)-induced heating of GNR@PEG-b-PNVCL is also explored in aqueous suspension under NIR laser irradiation (802 nm, up to 250 mW). The potential of these GNR@PEG-b-PNVCL nanoparticles to be used as smart drug delivery systems (DDS) is then studied. A hydrophilic drug model, Rhodamine® B, is used to assess the guest loading capacity, and triggered release behaviours are then evaluated under conventional external heating or internal heating induced by remote NIR irradiation. Cytotoxicity evaluation of the GNR@PEG-b-PNVCL against the fibroblast-like L929 cell line is carried out via the MTS assay in order to confirm the improved biocompatibility of the GNRs after polymer coating. These thermo-responsive GNR@PEG-b-PNVCL nanoparticles are promising DDS that combine the chemotherapeutic and phototherapeutic functions.
Comparing plasma fluid models of different order for 1D streamer ionization fronts

We evaluate the performance of three plasma fluid models: the first order reaction-drift-diffusion model based on the local field approximation; the second order reaction-drift-diffusion model based on the local energy approximation and a recently developed high order fluid model by Dujko et al (2013 J. Phys. D 46 475202) We first review the fluid models: we briefly discuss their derivation, their underlying assumptions and the type of transport data they require. Then we compare these models to a particle-in-cell/Monte Carlo (PIC/MC) code, using a 1D test problem. The tests are performed in neon and nitrogen at standard temperature and pressure, over a wide range of reduced electric fields. For the fluid models, transport data generated by a multi-term Boltzmann solver are used. We analyze the observed differences in the model predictions and address some of the practical aspects when using these plasma fluid models.
Generalized coherent states, reproducing kernels, and quantum support vector machines

The support vector machine (SVM) is a popular machine learning classification method which produces a nonlinear decision boundary in a feature space by constructing linear boundaries in a transformed Hilbert space. It is well known that these algorithms when executed on a classical computer do not scale well with the size of the feature space both in terms of data points and dimensionality. One of the most significant limitations of classical algorithms using non-linear kernels is that the kernel function has to be evaluated for all pairs of input feature vectors which themselves may be of substantially high dimension. This can lead to computationally excessive times during training and during the prediction process for a new data point. Here, we propose using both canonical and generalized coherent states to rapidly calculate specific nonlinear kernel functions. The key link will be the reproducing kernel Hilbert space (RKHS) property for SVMs that naturally arise from canonical and generalized coherent states. Specifically, we discuss the fast evaluation of radial kernels through a positive operator valued measure (POVM) on a quantum optical system based on canonical coherent states. A similar procedure may also lead to fast calculations of kernels not usually used in classical algorithms such as those arising from generalized coherent states.
Matlab-based filter design program: From lumped elements to microstriplines

A systematic filter design procedure, from lumped (LC) elements to transmission lines (TL) and microstriplines (ML) is introduced. A Matlab based filter tool, MW Filter Designer which automates all the design and analysis steps is developed. It just needs filter specifications; the rest is performed automatically and corresponding lumped and distributed filter schematics are plotted together with filter characteristics. A design file in GDSII stream format is also automatically created for the full wave investigations with commercial packages. Filters designed using this tool, are investigated with full wave EM packages and results are verified.
Mediation of Nerve Growth Factor-driven Cell Cycle Arrest in PC12 Cells by p53

Upon stimulation with nerve growth factor (NGF), PC12 cells extend neurites and cease to proliferate by influencing cell cycle proteins. Previous studies have shown that neuritogenesis and a block at the G1/S checkpoint correlate with the nuclear translocation of and an increase in the p53 tumor suppressor protein. This study was designed to determine if p53 plays a direct role in mediating NGF-driven G1 arrest. A retroviral vector that overexpresses a temperature-sensitive p53 mutant protein (p53ts) was used to extinguish the function of endogenous p53 in PC12 cells in a dominant-negative manner at the nonpermissive temperature. NGF treatment led to transactivation of a p53 response element in a luciferase reporter construct in PC12 cells, whereas this response to NGF was absent in PC12(p53ts) cells at the nonpermissive temperature. With p53 functionally inactivated, NGF failed to activate growth arrest, as measured by bromodeoxyuridine incorporation, and also failed to induce p21/WAF1 expression, as measured by Western blotting. Since neurite outgrowth proceeded unharmed, 50% of the cells simultaneously demonstrated neurite morphology and were in S phase. Both PC12 cells expressing SV40 T antigen and PC12 cells treated with p53 antisense oligonucleotides continued through the cell cycle, confirming the dependence of the NGF growth arrest signal on a p53 pathway. Activation of Ras in a dexamethasone-inducible PC12 cell line (GSRas1) also caused p53 nuclear translocation and growth arrest. Therefore, wild-type p53 is indispensable in mediating the NGF antiproliferative signal through the Ras/MAPK pathway that regulates the cell cycle of PC12 cells.
Characteristics and sources of submicron aerosols above the urban canopy (260 m) in Beijing, China, during the 2014 APEC summit

Abstract. The megacity of Beijing has experienced frequent severe fine particle pollution during the last decade. Although the sources and formation mechanisms of aerosol particles have been extensively investigated on the basis of ground measurements, real-time characterization of aerosol particle composition and sources above the urban canopy in Beijing is rare. In this study, we conducted real-time measurements of non-refractory submicron aerosol (NR-PM1) composition at 260 m at the Beijing 325 m meteorological tower (BMT) from 10 October to 12 November 2014, by using an aerosol chemical speciation monitor (ACSM) along with synchronous measurements of size-resolved NR-PM1 composition near ground level using a high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (HR–ToF–AMS). The NR-PM1 composition above the urban canopy was dominated by organics (46 %), followed by nitrate (27 %) and sulfate (13 %). The high contribution of nitrate and high NO3− / SO42− mass ratios illustrates an important role of nitrate in particulate matter (PM) pollution during the study period. The organic aerosol (OA) was mainly composed of secondary OA (SOA), accounting for 61 % on an average. Different from that measured at the ground site, primary OA (POA) correlated moderately with SOA, likely suggesting a high contribution from regional transport above the urban canopy. The Asia–Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit with strict emission controls provides a unique opportunity to study the impacts of emission controls on aerosol chemistry. All aerosol species were shown to have significant decreases of 40–80 % during APEC from those measured before APEC, suggesting that emission controls over regional scales substantially reduced PM levels. However, the bulk aerosol composition was relatively similar before and during APEC as a result of synergetic controls of aerosol precursors. In addition to emission controls, the routine circulations of mountain–valley breezes were also found to play an important role in alleviating PM levels and achieving the "APEC blue" effect. The evolution of vertical differences between 260 m and the ground level was also investigated. Our results show complex vertical differences during the formation and evolution of severe haze episodes that are closely related to aerosol sources and boundary-layer dynamics.
Analysis of the role of prespore gene expression in the compartmentalization of mother cell-specific gene expression during sporulation of Bacillus subtilis

A hallmark of sporulation of Bacillus subtilis is the formation of two distinct cells by an asymmetric division. The development programs in these two cells involve the compartmentalized activities of sigma E in the larger mother cell and of sigma F in the smaller prespore. Activation of sigma E requires expression of the sigma F-directed gene spoIIR. By immunofluorescence microscopy of a strain containing a spoIIR-lacZ fusion, we have shown that spoIIR is transcribed exclusively in the prespore. By placing spoIIR under the control of PspoIIE, it was possible to express spoIIR before the spore septum was formed. Strains containing the PspoIIE-spoIIR construct activated sigma E only in the mother cell in organisms that underwent the asymmetric sporulation division. Thus, compartmentalization of sigma E activity did not require the compartmentalization of spoIIR expression. Nor did the compartmentalization of sigma E require SpoIIAA, SpoIIAB, sigma F, or sigma F-dependent transcription, all of which are required for prespore-specific gene expression. It is inferred that although sigma F and sigma E direct compartmentalized gene expression, neither of these sigma factors, nor the genes under their control, directs the process of compartmentalization.
Persistent cognitive dysfunction in patients with obsessive‐compulsive disorder: A naturalistic study

Abstract The purpose of the present study was to investigate the changes in the cognitive dysfunctions of patients with obsessive‐compulsive disorder (OCD) over a 1‐year period of pharmacological treatment. Twenty‐one OCD patients and 20 normal subjects underwent neuropsychological tests and clinical evaluations on three separate occasions (baseline, 4 months, and 1 year after the start of medications). OCD patients continued to show significant impairments in the following cognitive measures compared with the normal controls: accuracy of immediate and delayed recall on the Rey‐Osterrieth complex figure tests, the numbers of responses on the category fluency test, the response time on the trail making test – part A, and the number of perseverative response and perseverative errors on the Wisconsin card sorting test. The findings in this study suggested that impaired performance on cognitive domains, such as visuospatial memory and verbal fluency may underline the pathology of OCD.
Do bilingual two-year-olds have separate phonological systems?

The present study was designed to examine whether bilingual two-year-olds have differentiated phonological systems and if so, whether there are crosslinguistic influences between them. Eighteen English-speaking monolingual, 18 Frenchspeaking monolingual and 17 French-English bilingual children (mean age=30 months) participated in a nonsense-word repetition task. The children's syllable omissions/truncations of the four-syllable target words were analyzed for the presence of patterns specific to French and English and for similarities and dissimilarities between the monolinguals and bilinguals in each language. Results indicate that bilingual two-year-olds have separate but nonautonomous phonological systems. Explanations for the form and directionality of crosslinguistic effects are discussed.
The Maurdor Project: Improving Automatic Processing of Digital Documents

This paper presents the achievements of an experimental project called Maurdor (Moyens AUtomatisés deReconnaissance de Documents ecRits - Automatic Processingof Digital Documents) funded by the French DGA that aims at improving processing technologies for handwritten and typewritten documents in French, English and Arabic. The first part describes the context and objectives of the project. The second part deals with the challenge of creating a realistic corpus of 10,000 annotated documents to support the efficient development and evaluation of processing modules. The third part presents the organisation, metric definition and results of the Maurdor International evaluation campaign. The last part presents the Maurdor demonstrator with a functional and technical perspective.
Relationship between Children’s Body Mass Index and Parents’ Obesity and Socioeconomic Status: A Multilevel Analysis Applied with Luxembourg Data

Obesity in children is a health crisis because the problem is increasing in most developed countries. This study measures the relationship between body mass index (BMI) of children aged 7 - 12 years residing in Luxembourg and the weight and socioeconomic status of their parents. The data used are from the 2007 Socio-Economic Panel Liewen zu L? tzebuerg/European Union-Statistics on Income and Living Conditions survey, which covers a population of approximately 10,000 people. The study sample includes 775 children whose weight and height were recorded to calculate their BMI. The descriptive analysis with the socioeconomic distribution of the children’s BMI and the multilevel logistic regression of the probability to be in overweight or obese were performed. The mean BMI of children was 17.4 kg/m2 for boys and girls. The prevalence of overweight was 21.2% (including 3% who were obese). Weight status, educational level, physical activity, and eating habits of parents were associated with BMI in children. Furthermore, children of foreign nationality had 2.9 times more risk to be overweight or obese than other children of Luxembourg nationality (OR = 2.90, 95%CI: 1.38 - 6.10). Children living in household with at least one parent who was obese were 6.51 times more likely to be in overweight or obese compared to those in household with both parents normal (OR = 6.51, 95%CI: 2.48 - 17.08). Overall, nationality and weight status of parents were the main determinants of children’s weight status. Promoting healthy diets and regular physical activity and educating parents on the consequences of overweight and obesity on children’s health in adulthood are effective strategies to control overweight and obesity.
Comparative analysis of the perturb-and-observe and incremental conductance MPPT methods

This paper presents a comparative study between two maximum power point tracking (MPPT) methods in Matlab/Simulink program that are perturb-and-observe method and incremental conductance method. Starting from the implemented model of the photovoltaic (PV) array together with the buck converter and its MPPT control have been simulated the PV systems with both MPPT algorithms at different solar radiation and temperature, and finally are presented the simulations result depending on irradiance and temperature.
Innovative Models to Assess Multiple Myeloma Biology and the Impact of Drugs

Tumor and its embedding microenvironment form a unique, dynamic system, largely orch‐ estrated by cellular players, including fibroblasts and endothelial cells (EC), and surround‐ ing extracellular matrix (ECM) with its distinctive physical, biochemical, and biomechanical properties. There is a general consensus that, beyond genetic mutations and epigenetic mod‐ ifications, the dialogue that occurs between tumor and its microenvironment, through solu‐ ble factors and molecular interactions, may affect tumor cells survival, growth, proliferation, response to chemical/physical factors, and lies the basis for metastatization to distant, specif‐ ic organs. This theory was proposed by Paget in the 1880s [1], who underlined the need, for investigating and targeting tumor, to focus not only on the cancer cell, “the seed”, but also on the “soil” where tumor homes and in which it derives its nutrients, oxygen and signals [2, 3]. Accordingly, tight links between tumor and surrounding microenvironment could de‐ termine the overall sensitivity to anti-cancer drugs and therefore represent an attractive therapeutic target [4].
Strain Measurement in Semiconductor Heterostructures by Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy

Abstract This article deals with the measurement of strain in semiconductor heterostructures from convergent beam electron diffraction patterns. In particular, three different algorithms in the field of (circular) pattern recognition are presented that are able to detect diffracted disc positions accurately, from which the strain in growth direction is calculated. Although the three approaches are very different as one is based on edge detection, one on rotational averages, and one on cross correlation with masks, it is found that identical strain profiles result for an In x Ga1−x N y As1−y /GaAs heterostructure consisting of five compressively and tensile strained layers. We achieve a precision of strain measurements of 7–9·10−4 and a spatial resolution of 0.5–0.7 nm over the whole width of the layer stack which was 350 nm. Being already very applicable to strain measurements in contemporary nanostructures, we additionally suggest future hardware and software designs optimized for fast and direct acquisition of strain distributions, motivated by the present studies.
The use of contact lenses during water-polo play: A 20-year study of Japanese college players

Abstract This study investigated the extent of contact-lens use in Japanese college water-polo male players over 20 years (1991–2011, once every five years). Information about the use of contact lenses during play and the types of contact lens was obtained through a self-report questionnaire. The proportion of contact lens use among the players while playing water polo differed from 1991 to 2011 (χ2(4) = 25.28, P < 0.001, Cohen’s d = 0.63). Fifty-four per cent of the players used contact lenses while playing in 1991 (P < 0.001); more than 74% in 1996; 89% in 2001; 84% in 2006; and 86% in 2011. While 96% of the contact lenses used by the players in 1991 were the soft type, 74%, 92%, 86%, and 88% of the contact lenses used in 1996, 2001, 2006, and 2011, respectively, were the disposable type. These findings indicated a high percentage of players were using contact lenses while playing water polo between 1996 and 2011. This could be because the majority of players used disposable lenses. The results suggest that increasing use of contact lenses by water-polo players is beneficial.