Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Photoelectric observations of Magellanic Cloud cepheids

This is a brief account of some photoelectric observations of Magellanic Cloud cepheids, begun in 1951 with Dr. G. E. Kron on the 30-inch reflector, and since continued there and on the 50and 74-inch reflectors. The initial emphasis was on colour, the Cloud cepheids, as measured, being considerably bluer than those in the Galaxy. It is now known that this discrepancy is due mostly to reddening of the galactic cepheids, and interest has shifted rather to the differences in the period-luminosity relations in the two Clouds, as revealed by measurements made in the SMC by Arp (1960), and in the LMC by Woolley et al. (1962). The work of these two groups was primarily photographic. They measured all the cepheids down to a limit of 7 ^ 1 7 -5, within the areas defined by their plates, about a degree square in each case, the plates being calibrated photoelectrically.
P-SAR: an advanced miniature synthetic aperture radar for forestry applications. Preliminary design

A preliminary study of the design of a small, low cost, P-band airborne, polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is presented. The design was requested by the Wageningen University and the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOS) to carry out forest biomass monitoring in Indonesia. The requirements of the application are established and the main radar parameters are derived from them. A preliminary design of the system, based on commercial off-the-shelf components is also presented. Some novelties of the system are the use of direct digital synthesis (DDS) to perform the modulation, the use of dual-polarized microstrip square patch antennas and the reduced size and power consumption of the system.
Tele‐manufactured affordable smartphone anterior segment microscope

The recent advances in mobile technology have made the smartphone a powerful and accessible tool. This article describe the development of a novel smartphone‐based anterior segment microscope that is compatible with tele‐manufacturing. The anterior segment microscope is equipped with both cobalt‐blue and red‐free filters that can be used for clinical photo‐documentation. The digital files of the microscope are transferrable and compatible with additive‐manufacturing. Therefore, the entire device can be locally manufactured with rapid prototyping techniques such as 3D printing.
Type II Topoisomerase Quinolone Resistance-Determining Regions of Aeromonas caviae, A. hydrophila, and A. sobria Complexes and Mutations Associated with Quinolone Resistance

ABSTRACT Most Aeromonas strains isolated from two European rivers were previously found to be resistant to nalidixic acid. In order to elucidate the mechanism of this resistance, 20 strains of Aeromonas caviae (n = 10), A. hydrophila (n = 5), and A. sobria (n = 5) complexes, including 3 reference strains and 17 environmental isolates, were investigated. Fragments of the gyrA, gyrB, parC, and parE genes encompassing the quinolone resistance-determining regions (QRDRs) were amplified by PCR and sequenced. Results obtained for the six sensitive strains showed that the GyrA, GyrB, ParC, and ParE QRDR fragments of Aeromonas spp. were highly conserved (≥96.1% identity), despite some genetic polymorphism; they were most closely related to those of Vibrio spp. , Pseudomonas spp. , and members of the family Enterobacteriaceae (72.4 to 97.1% homology). All 14 environmental resistant strains carried a point mutation in the GyrA QRDR at codon 83, leading to the substitution Ser-83→Ile (10 strains) or Ser-83→Arg. In addition, seven strains harbored a mutation in the ParC QRDR either at position 80 (five strains), generating a Ser-80→Ile (three strains) or Ser-80→Arg change, or at position 84, yielding a Glu-84→Lys modification. No amino acid alterations were discovered in the GyrB and ParE QRDRs. Double gyrA-parC missense mutations were associated with higher levels of quinolone resistance compared with the levels associated with single gyrA mutations. The most resistant strains probably had an additional mechanism(s) of resistance, such as decreased accumulation of the drugs. Our data suggest that, in mesophilic Aeromonas spp. , as in other gram-negative bacteria, gyrase and topoisomerase IV are the primary and secondary targets for quinolones, respectively.
Genetic and environmental contributions to cardiovascular risk factors in Mexican Americans. The San Antonio Family Heart Study.

BACKGROUND The familial aggregation of coronary heart disease can be in large part accounted for by a clustering of cardiovascular disease risk factors. To elucidate the determinants of cardiovascular disease, many epidemiological studies have focused on the behavioral and lifestyle determinants of these risk factors, whereas others have examined whether specific candidate genes influence quantitative variation in these phenotypes. METHODS AND RESULTS Among Mexican Americans from San Antonio (Tex), we quantified the relative contributions of both genetic and environmental influences to a large panel of cardiovascular risk factors, including serum levels of lipids, lipoproteins, glucose, hormones, adiposity, and blood pressure. Members of 42 extended families were studied, including 1236 first-, second-, and third-degree relatives of randomly ascertained probands and their spouses. In addition to the phenotypic assessments, information was obtained regarding usual dietary and physical activity patterns, medication use, smoking habits, alcohol consumption, and other lifestyle behaviors and medical factors. Maximum likelihood methods were used to partition the variance of each phenotype into components attributable to the measured covariates, additive genetic effects (heritability), household effects, and an unmeasured environmental residual. For the lipid and lipoprotein phenotypes, age, gender, and other environmental covariates accounted in general for < 15% of the total phenotypic variance, whereas genes accounted for 30% to 45% of the phenotypic variation. Similarly, genes accounted for 15% to 30% of the phenotypic variation in measures of glucose, hormones, adiposity, and blood pressure. CONCLUSIONS These results highlight the importance of considering genetic factors in studies of risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
Expressed Sequence Tag Analysis of the Dinoflagellate Lingulodinium polyedrum During Dark Phase¶

Abstract To collect information on gene expression during the dark period in the luminous dinoflagellate Lingulodinium polyedrum, normalized complementary DNA (cDNA) libraries were constructed from cells collected during the first hour of night phase in a 12:12 h light–dark cycle. A total of 4324 5′-end sequence tags were isolated. The sequences were grouped into 2111 independent expressed sequence tags (EST) from which 433 groups were established by similarity searches of the public nonredundant protein database. Homology analysis of the total sequences indicated that the luminous dinoflagellate is more similar to land plants and animals (vertebrates and invertebrates) than to prokaryotes or algae. We also isolated three bioluminescence-related (luciferase and two luciferin-binding proteins [LBP]) and 37 photosynthesis-related genes. Interestingly, two kinds of LBP genes occur in multiple copies in the genome, in contrast to the single luciferase gene. These cDNA clones and EST sequence data should provide a powerful resource for future genome-wide functional analyses for uncharacterized genes.
Agent Based Efficient Data Gathering Scheme for Wireless Sensor Networks with a Mobile Sink

10 Abstract— Configuring a WSN with multiple transmitters and receivers consumes very less amount of power du ring long term data transmission, but, it increases the numbe r of sensor nodes for in-built circuitry power. Thus, the energy optimization models are required to be considered. The energy-efficient data gathering problem in sensor n etworks has been extensively investigated using the traditional communication scheme. For many monitoring applicati ons with a periodic reporting pattern, a tree-based topology was adopted due to its simplicity and energy efficiency, which were two important factors to consider in resource-constrained networks. In this paper, we intend to study about the novel d ata gathering techniques for energy constrained sensor networks. We introduce multiple mobile units to gather the neighboring node’s details under different scenarios. The variants mobi le units contain two phases, namely, Path –length based data g thering module and Agent –based routing selection. The main objective of first phase is to improve life time of the WSN network by finding the most efficient Mobile Units (MU) path. Similarly, the second phase is to select the best routes from the specified Mobile Units. These two schemes are evaluated in ter ms of Packet delay, Packet Delivery Ratio and Packet Drop ping Ratio. The outcomes from the two modules will encourage on how to maintain the energy without compromising the networ k model i.e. static or dynamic Wireless Sensor Networks.
Protective effect of icariin on DNA against radical‐induced oxidative damage

Icariin (2‐(4′‐methoxylphenyl)‐3‐rhamnosido‐5‐hydroxyl‐7‐glucosido‐8‐(3′‐methyl‐2‐butylenyl)‐4‐chromanone) is a flavonoid with a rhamnose as ligand. It is the major component in Herba epimedii, widely used for the treatment of atherosclerosis and neuropathy in Chinese traditional medicine, and its antioxidative property has attracted much scientific interest. The major objective of this work is to determine the antioxidative effect of icariin against oxidative DNA damage induced by 2,2′‐azobis(2‐amidinopropane) dihydrochloride (AAPH). The oxidative damage of DNA was followed by measuring the formation of carbonyl compounds that can react with thiobarbituric acid (TBA) to form thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS). We found that icariin protects DNA against AAPH‐induced oxidative damage in a concentration‐dependent manner, although it does not affect the rate of AAPH‐induced DNA damage. This result indicates that icariin is a concentration‐dependent chemopreventor in protecting DNA against radical‐induced damage.
Arabidopsis Synaptotagmin SYT1, a Type I Signal-anchor Protein, Requires Tandem C2 Domains for Delivery to the Plasma Membrane*

The correct localization of integral membrane proteins to subcellular compartments is important for their functions. Synaptotagmin contains a single transmembrane domain that functions as a type I signal-anchor sequence in its N terminus and two calcium-binding domains (C2A and C2B) in its C terminus. Here, we demonstrate that the localization of an Arabidopsis synaptotagmin homolog, SYT1, to the plasma membrane (PM) is modulated by tandem C2 domains. An analysis of the roots of a transformant-expressing green fluorescent protein-tagged SYT1 driven by native SYT1 promoter suggested that SYT1 is synthesized in the endoplasmic reticulum, and then delivered to the PM via the exocytotic pathway. We transiently expressed a series of truncated proteins in protoplasts, and determined that tandem C2A-C2B domains were necessary for the localization of SYT1 to the PM. The PM localization of SYT1 was greatly reduced following mutation of the calcium-binding motifs of the C2B domain, based on sequence comparisons with other homologs, such as endomembrane-localized SYT5. The localization of SYT1 to the PM may have been required for the functional divergence that occurred in the molecular evolution of plant synaptotagmins.
A Unifying Statistical Model for Atmospheric Optical Scintillation

In this paper we develop a new statistical model for the irradiance fluctuations of an unbounded optical wavefront (plane and spherical waves) propagating through a turbulent medium under all irradiance fluctuation conditions in homogeneous, isotropic turbulence. The major advantage of the model is that leads to closed-form and mathematically-tractable expressions for the fundamental channel statistics of an unbounded optical wavefront under all turbulent regimes. Furthermore, it unifies most of the proposed statistical models for the irradiance fluctuations derived in the bibliography providing, in addition, an excellent agreement with the experimental data.
Reconstruction of the Nasal Valve

The authors present their experience with reconstructive nasal valve surgery, evaluating the effects related to the use of a composite graft, which is a graft made of skin and cartilage, or mucosa and cartilage, and to the transposition of mucocartilaginous flaps. A sample of 15 patients (12 women and three men) selected among 452 cases treated with functional and aesthetic rhinoplasty at the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery of the "Tor Vergata" University of Rome was analyzed. Patients were between 25 and 50 years of age, with a mean age of 40 years, and were treated with secondary rhinoplasty for valvular stenosis. Of these patients, 12 had functional problems of the internal and external nasal valve, and three had internal valve stenosis. In our sample of 15 patients, respiratory symptoms improved at short- and long-term follow up. In all cases, a good aesthetic result was obtained. The patients were not satisfied with the aesthetic result in only three cases as a result of enlargement or asymmetry of the external valvular area. In 11 cases, an "open tip" rhinoplasty was performed with a retroauricular skin-cartilage composite graft to correct internal-external valvular stenosis. In all the cases of internal valvular stenosis (three patients) and in one case of internal-external valvular stenosis, a transposition of mucocartilaginous flaps with a section of the mucosa of the upper lateral cartilage was performed.
Comparative study of velocity and computed torque control schemes for a differentially driven automated vehicle

This paper presents the development and performance of a computed torque control scheme for velocity control of automated vehicles. The required torque is pre-computed using a dynamic model of the vehicular system taking into account the effect of various factors that contribute to poor tracking performance of automated vehicles. Some of the factors that need to be considered are changes in the normal forces due to payload variations and changes in load distribution, forces due to lane change manoeuvres, forces and moments as a result of road curvature and gravitational effects while travelling uphill/downhill. Forward and inverse dynamic models are presented to compute the motor current required to drive a differentially driven vehicle at the desired linear and angular acceleration. Simulation and experimental results illustrate that the dynamic model based computed torque control scheme performs well compared to the conventional velocity control schemes based on vehicle kinematics.
Solar PV powered mobile cellular base station: Models and use cases in South Africa

The huge costs of operating a mobile cellular base station, and the negative impact of greenhouse gasses on the environment have made the solar PV renewable energy source a sought after. In addition to cost and environmental factor, abundant supply of solar radiation in Southern part of Africa, and the drive to reduce the emission of carbon dioxide by the year 2020 and to improve the quantity of power supply are also part of many incentives to power communication base station systems with solar PV cells. To this end, solar PV powered base stations have become important integration into a mobile cellular network. Thus, this article exploits the use of solar PV powered mobile cellular base station systems in South Africa. It was also found through this feasibility study that the country has a solar radiation between 4.5 kWh/m2 and 6.5 kWh/m2. Also found was that the use of solar PV cellular base station will lead to about 49 % reduction in operation cost compared to using the diesel generating sets. Therefore, this article, as a feasibility study, explore the use of solar energy capacity of South Africa towards powering the mobile cellular base station. This article will also contribute to research base, as there are few number of literature found on this topic in South Africa.
SIMA: Simultaneous Multislice Acquisition of MR Images by Hadamard‐Encoded Excitation

We present a method of multislice magnetic resonance imaging that utilizes simultaneous binary-encoded excitation. Signals are acquired from all slices at once, and the images are separated in the reconstruction process. This simultaneous multislice acquisition method has been implemented for multislice spin-echo imaging, and the results are compared with those for a standard interleaved multislice method. Advantages include improved signal to-noise ratios and flexible slice placement. Phantom and volunteer studies are presented and evaluated in comparison with competing methods.
Neuronal Nicotinic Receptor Subtypes

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (AChRs) are members of a gcne superfamily of ligand-gated ion channels that includes GABA, rcccptors, glycine receptors, and SHT-3 serotonin receptors,'. 2 but does not appear to include glutamate receptors3 AChRs arc the predominant excitatory receptors in the mammalian peripheral ncrvous system, whereas glutamate receptors arc the predominant excitatory receptors in the central nervous systcm. In the peripheral nervous system AChRs are critical for controlling skeletal muscles and consequently are the target of toxins such as snakc vcnom toxins like a-bungarotoxin (aBgt), and muscle AChRs arc the target of an antibody-mediated autoimmune response in myasthenia g r a v i ~ . ~ Although outnumbered by glutamate receptors in the vertebrate central nervous systcm, ncuronal AChRs are widespread. Their functional roles are not yct well known. They have been implicated in learning and memory. and their numbcr is decreased in Parkinson's syndrome and Alzheimer's disease.s Onc measure of their significance is that through nicotine they mediate the addiction to tobacco, which is prcdicted to cause a quarter of a billion premature deaths by thc turn of thc ccntury. " The three branches of the AChR gene family' are (1) muscle AChRs, (2) neuronal AChRs that, unlikc those of muscle, do not bind aBgt, and (3) neuronal AChRs that do bind orBgt. All are ACh-gated cation channels formed probably from five subunits of usually two to four homologous types8. ' These subunits arc thought to be organized like barrel staves around a central cation channel. The synthesis, structure, and function of muscle-type AChRs are known in relatively great detail, whereas thc more diverse structures, functional properties, and functional roles of neuronal AChRs are much less well cl~aracterized. ~-~ The functional propcrties of various combinations of neuronal AChR subunits expressed in Xenopzis oocytes havc been better characterized than have the functional propcrtics of diverse ncuronal AChR subtypes in vivu, and the actual functional rolcs in the nervous system of many of the real and potential subtypes of neuronal AChRs remain to bc determined. I t is bccoming apparent that many neuronal AChRs are likely to havc functional roles that differ from the straightforward postsynaptic type of critical link in ncurotransmission exemplified by muscle AChRs. Wc attcmpt to review briefly the diversity of neuronal AChRs primarily from the pcrspective of what has been done in our laboratory. Muscle AChRs, which serve as an archetype for the genc family, are considered only briefly as a model for comparison with neuronal AChRs. Most emphasis is given to neuronal AChRs that bind aBgt, because they havc bccn the most recent focus of research attention in this field. Data are presented that comparc and contrast some of the properties of representatives of cach of the three branches of the AChR gene family as rcvcaled by expressing their cRNAs in Xenopu.7 oocytes.
A Low Cost System for Autonomous Surface Vehicle based Hydrographic Survey

Use of autonomous vehicles for hydrographic surveying has been primarily limited to underwater systems with autonomous surface vehicles only recently entering routine use. Operation on the ocean surface simplifies position measurement, relaxes power limitations and reduces hull sealing, which reduces design costs for vehicles. However, the existing systems for autonomous command and control are often proprietary, expensive and designed for a single platform. The system developed at the Joint Hydrographic Center minimizes cost while maximizing functionality and flexibility by leveraging mass produced, open source hardware and software. Long range Wi-Fi is utilized for monitoring the autonomous operation vessel and provides the ability to natively interface onboard sonar systems with acquisition software. A hobby radio control system is used for remote human override. Onboard processing uses an embedded Linux platform running the open source MOOS-IvP autonomy framework. Sensor input and control output as well as fail-safes are handled by an independent microcontroller. Position and orientation input can be accepted from an existing source on the vessel or use a MEMS INS for simple deployments. The total autonomy system cost is under $1000.
Nanofiltration, a New Specific Virus Elimination Method Applied to High‐Purity Factor IX and Factor XI Concentrates

We have validated the use of two new regenerated multilayered structured cellulose membranes (BMM), Planova 15 N and Planova 35 N, with respective mean pore sizes of 15 and 35 nm, as a new filtration system to eliminate viruses in highly purified factor IX and factor XI concentrates. Virus spiking experiments indicated that single dead‐end filtration on the membranes could remove more than 5.7–7.8 log10 of human immunodeficiency virus, bovine viral diarrhoea virus, porcine pseudorabies virus, reovirus type 3, and simian virus 40, as well as the small non‐enveloped viruses, poliovirus Sabin type 1 and bovine parvovirus. In vitro control tests and animal studies (Wessler stasis model, rat hypotension model) of the two concentrates did not reveal any significant differences with the non‐nanofiltered material. Viral filtration of plasma derivatives on porous polymeric membranes might be an essential step in the improvement of their viral safety.
A study of recrystallization in single‐phase aluminium using in‐situ annealing in the scanning electron microscope

In‐situ annealing experiments were performed in the scanning electron microscope on a single‐phase Al−0.13Mg alloy cold rolled to different strain levels. Once the validity of the technique had been verified by comparison of the recrystallization kinetics and final grain size with bulk annealed samples, the method was used in combination with electron back‐scattered diffraction (EBSD) to study the potential mechanisms for recrystallization in this alloy. During annealing of material rolled to moderate strains (ɛt < 0.7), the primary mechanism was strain‐induced boundary migration (SIBM). In material rolled to higher true strains (ɛt > 1.4), recrystallization occurred extensively along pre‐existing cube bands and EBSD measurements showed that the mean size of cells within the cube bands was larger than for all other orientations measured, suggesting a size advantage was responsible for the strengthening of cube texture during recrystallization. SIBM was shown to occur concurrently with the nucleation along cube bands but this contributed a lower proportion of nucleation sites during recrystallization.
Partial likelihood ratio tests for the Cox model under complex sampling

We develop an analog of the likelihood ratio test for Cox proportional hazards models fitted to sample survey data. We look at methods for computing the asymptotic distribution and at ways of improving the small‐sample performance. The methods are illustrated with examples using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and from a stratified case–cohort study. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.