Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The arrangement and function of octopus arm musculature and connective tissue

The morphology of the musculature and connective tissues of the arms of Octopus bimaculoides was analyzed with light microscopy. We also studied O. briareus and O. digueti, which possess relatively more elongate and less elongate arms, respectively. The morphology of the arms was found to be remarkably uniform among species. The arms consist of a densely packed three‐dimensional arrangement of muscle fibers and connective tissue fibers surrounding a central axial nerve cord. Three primary muscle fiber orientations were observed: 1) transverse muscle fibers oriented in planes perpendicular to the long axis of the arm; 2) longitudinal muscle fibers oriented parallel to the long axis; and 3) oblique muscle fibers arranged in helixes around the arm. The proportion of the arm cross section occupied by each of these muscle fiber groups (relative to the total cross sectional area of the musculature) remains constant along the length of the arm, even though the arm tapers from base to tip. A thin circular muscle layer wraps the arm musculature on the aboral side only. Much of this musculature has its origin and insertion on several robust connective tissue sheets including a layer surrounding the axial nerve cord and crossed‐fiber connective tissue sheets located on the oral and the aboral sides of the arm. An additional thin layer of connective tissue wraps the arm musculature laterally and also serves as a site of origin and insertion of some of the muscle fibers. The fibers of the oral and aboral crossed‐fiber connective tissue sheets are arranged oblique to the long axis of the arm with the same fiber angle as the oblique muscle layers that originate and insert on the sheets. The oblique muscle layers and the crossed‐fiber connective tissue sheets thus form composite right‐ and left‐handed helical fiber arrays. Analysis of arm morphology from the standpoint of biomechanics suggests that the transverse musculature is responsible for elongation of the arms, the longitudinal musculature is responsible for shortening, and the oblique muscle layers and associated connective tissues create torsion. Arm bending may involve unilateral contraction of longitudinal muscle bundles in combination with resistance to arm diameter increase due to contraction of the transverse musculature or passive stiffness of the arm tissues. The arms may also be bent by a combination of decrease in diameter due to contraction of the transverse musculature and maintenance of constant length on one side of the arm by unilateral activity of longitudinal muscle bundles. An increase in flexural stiffness of the arm may be achieved by cocontraction of the transverse and longitudinal muscle. Torsional stiffness may be increased by simultaneous contraction of both the right‐ and left‐handed oblique muscle layers. J. Morphol. , 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A Layout-Level Approach to Evaluate and Mitigate the Sensitive Areas of Multiple SETs in Combinational Circuits

Multiple single-event transients (MSETs) are evaluated from the perspective of sensitive area. First, a simple model is proposed to analyze the sensitive area of simple logic cells. Based on this simple model, the vulnerabilities of MSETs sensitive areas are then calculated. At last, a layout-level approach is designed to reduce the vulnerabilities of the MSETs sensitive areas. Our simulation results present that this layout-level approach could efficiently reduce the occurrence chance of MSETs.
Energy-Aware Scheduling Framework for resource allocation in a virtualized cloud data centre

-Cloud paradigm is an embryonic computing model that in its vicinity stresses on proficient utilization of computing resources. Data centers that host and service cloud applications ingest enormous amount of energy, leading to massive emission of carbon footprints to the atmosphere and high operational expenditures. Consequently, there is a need to establish synergy between data centre resources for optimum resource utilization and strategies needs to be devised that can considerably reduce energy consumption in cloud data center. This paper elucidates an architectural framework for computation of energy spent in scheduling resources on hosts. The framework has been implemented for bin-packing techniques and explicates minutiae about broker components involved in scheduling process.
The flux weakening up speed operation study for the direct torque control of induction motor

For the direct torque control of induction motor, the flux weakening operation is required when the motor speed beyond the rated speed. The determining of flux weakening operation point is the key of up speed control. In this paper, the definition of stator flux maximum average synchronous speed is introduced to the direct control algorithm and the estimation formula is given as well. On this basis, the torque-slip model of stator field-orientated control is established. The flux weakening operation region can be determined by two necessary conditions which are the maximum average synchronous speed and its torque must be more than the rated speed and the damping torque (damping torque and load torque when loaded) respectively, and the flux weakening operation point is determined according to the stator core utilization. The power and current formulas at flux weakening operation point are given respectively in order to check the security areas of operation. The experiment results demonstrate the correctness and effectiveness of the determined flux weakening operation point in this paper.
Effects of Melatonin in Age‐Related Macular Degeneration

Age‐related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of severe visual loss in aged people. Melatonin has been shown to have the capacity to control eye pigmentation and thereby regulate the amount of light reaching the photoreceptors, to scavenge hydroxyradicals and to protect retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells from oxidative damage. Therefore, it is reasonable to think that the physiological decrease of melatonin in aged people may be an important factor in RPE dysfunction, which is a well known cause for initiation of AMD. Our purpose is to explore a new approach to prevent or treat AMD. We began case control study with a follow‐up of 6 to 24 months. One hundred patients with AMD were diagnosed and 3 mg melatonin was given orally each night at bedtime for at least 3 months. Both dry and wet forms of AMD were included. Fifty‐five patients were followed for more than 6 months. At 6 months of treatment, the visual acuity had been kept stable in general. Though the follow up time is not long, this result is already better than the otherwise estimated natural course. 1,2 The change of the fundus picture was remarkable. Only 8 eyes showed more retinal bleeding and 6 eyes more retinal exudates. The majority had reduced pathologic macular changes. We conclude that the daily use of 3 mg melatonin seems to protect the retina and to delay macular degeneration. No significant side effects were observed.
Density profile sensitivity study of ASDEX Upgrade ICRF Antennas with the TOPICA code

During operation of the ASDEX Upgrade (AUG) ion cyclotron radio frequency (ICRF) system, Tungsten (W)‐coated poloidal limiters and structures connected along magnetic field lines to the antenna can be sources of W, which is attributed to sputtering by ions accelerated in radio frequency (RF) sheaths. In order to analyze and optimize the ICRF antenna performance, accurate and efficient simulation tools are necessary. TOPICA code was developed for analysis of ICRF antenna systems with plasma loading conditions modeled with ID FELICE code. This paper presents an initial comparative analysis of two AUG ICRF antennas for a set of model plasma density profiles (with varying density gradient and antenna cut‐off distance). The antennas are presently installed in AUG and differ in that one was partially optimized using HFSS code to reduce E∥ near fields. Power transferred to plasma and sheath driving RF potentials are computed.
How factors secreted from astrocytes impact myelin repair

Over a century ago, hypertrophy of astrocytes was noted as a pathology of multiple sclerosis (MS) and was hypothesized to play an important role in this disease, yet the contribution of astrocytes has been largely underemphasized in the pathophysiology of CNS demyelination. Astrocytes perform many homeostatic functions within the developing and adult CNS, including enhancing formation and maintenance of the blood–brain barrier, moderating neuronal connections through the tripartite synapse, and perhaps evenoffering intercellular communication independently of neurons. Although there is a significant body of literature characterizing different types of MS lesions, the inflammatory demyelination in an active MS lesion is accompanied by the presence of macrophages, lymphocytes, and large reactive astrocytes. The astrocyte has long been viewed as a cell that promotes inflammation and demyelination, while also forming the glial scar, thus hindering remyelination and axon growth. Renewed interest in the astrocyte has been brought about by recent studies demonstrating that astrocytes can also function as cellular mediators of CNS myelination by promoting oligodendrocyte progenitor migration, proliferation, and differentiation. Thus, refining our knowledge of astrocytic functions in the regulation of CNS myelination may help us to better understand why remyelination fails in MS. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Algorithmes exponentiels pour l'étiquetage, la domination et l'ordonnancement

Ce manuscrit d’Habilitation a Diriger des Recherches met en lumiere quelques resultats obtenus depuis ma these de doctorat soutenue en 2007. Ces resultats ont ete, pour l’essentiel, publies dans des conferences et des journaux internationaux. Des algorithmes exponentiels sont donnes pour resoudre des problemes de decision, d’optimisation et d’enumeration. On s’interesse tout d’abord au probleme d’etiquetage L(2,1) d’un graphe, pour lequel differents algorithmes sont decrits (bases sur du branchement, le paradigme diviser-pour-regner, ou la programmation dynamique). Des bornes combinatoires, necessaires a l’analyse de ces algorithmes, sont egalement etablies. Dans un second temps, nous resolvons des problemes autour de la domination. Nous developpons des algorithmes pour resoudre une generalisation de la domination et nous donnons des algorithmes pour enumerer les ensembles dominants minimaux dans des classes de graphes. L’analyse de ces algorithmes implique des bornes combinatoires. Finalement, nous etendons notre champ d’applications de l’algorithmique moderement exponentielle a des problemes d’ordonnancement. Par le developpement d’approches de type programmation dynamique et la generalisation de la methode trier-et-chercher, nous proposons la resolution de toute une famille de problemes d’ordonnancement.
A fundamental consideration for identification of objects in images without use of text tags

Recently, several image retrieval systems have been developed, which regard the web as a large scale image database. In this study, we use the image itself as index keys. From the web, a set of similar images is retrieved based on numerical characteristics of images and simultaneously text information accompanying with the images is presented to a user. The user evaluates the relationship between the images and the presented text information and it is fed back to the system for improvement. This paper presents a basic scheme of the proposed system and a prototype system for the selection of the car's shape.
Efficient path planning for searching a 2-D grid-based environment map

In this paper, the aim is to find the shortest path from which a mobile robot can view the whole environment. Available solutions are based on polygonal representations of the environment. This has limited a detailed modeling of the obstacles due to the representation complexity and modeling limitations forced by the proposed solutions. Such inaccuracy can be critical in search related tasks. This work presents a solution based on a grid-based representation of the environment which provides a detailed modeling for complex obstacle strewn environments. The presented approach provides a close to optimal short search path which the robot can traverse to incrementally view all free spaces. The approach has been implemented and tested on a simulated environment. A number of test cases are presented.
VLSI DESIGN OF A FLEXIBLE-STRUCTURE SEQUENTIAL MIXED-SIGNAL NEURAL PROCESSOR contact author: madrenas@eel.upc.es Proceedings of the 6th International Conference Mixed-Signal Design of Integrated Circuits and Systems

A mixed-signal circuit that can emulate multi-layer perceptron neural networks is presented. The sequential processing provides a tradeoff between speed, power consumption and circuit area, allowing a flexible accommodation of different network structures. The design of the three most critical analog basic blocks of the processor is presented. a) Dynamic analog memories: A technique of switching error cancellation is proposed. b) Semialgorithmic DAC multipliers. They perform an analog-digital product. , so the network parameters are stored in digital form. c) Sigmoid circuit. A winner-take-all based sigmoid circuit is used to fulfill the system requirements. The common-mode currents are cancelled by means of a common-mode feedback. Concerning the digital part, a general-purpose programmable digital control circuit with a high degree of circuit control flexibility is presented. Finally, the results and ongoing work are discussed.
The conglutination phenomenon. VIII. A. quantitative study of the components in six different complements essential for conglutination

1. A quantitative study has been made of the activity of C′1, C′2 and C′4 in the complements of the horse, cat, pig, man, guinea-pig and rabbit. 2. Evidence is presented which suggests that either there may be two types of C′4, the one haemolytic and the other conglutinating, or else that the manifestation of this complement component varies under conditions not yet understood. 3. In certain complements it appears that the serum proteins functioning as C′1 with the bovine anti-sheep red cell antibody are distinct from those functioning as C′1 with an antibody of similar specificity from an immune rabbit serum.
Impact of linear regression on time synchronization accuracy and energy consumption for Wireless Sensor Networks

Linear regression is used in a number of time synchronization protocols to establish a linear relationship between clocks at different sensor nodes to achieve energy-efficient time synchronization. These protocols are predictive in the sense that a node predicts a target clock based on collected time stamp data. However, the use of linear regression for sensor network time synchronization has not been thoroughly studied in the literature. This paper attempts to close the gap by analyzing the impacts of two parameters on the precision of linear regression based time synchronization protocols: (1) the frequency at which the time stamp data are collected; (2) the window size, i.e., the number of time stamps used for linear regression. Through theoretical analysis, experiments and simulations, we show a counter-intuitive result: given the prediction interval, if the clock relationship varies slowly over time, more frequent synchronization results in worse synchronization precision. This result suggests that a linear regression based time synchronization protocol can achieve both high precision and good energy efficiency when operating at a low synchronization frequency. We also show that increasing the window size improves the synchronization performance but the synchronization uncertainty is bounded away from zero.
Personal and community benefits and harms of research: views from Rakai, Uganda

Objectives:To assess what individuals in low-income countries perceive as benefits and harms of population-based HIV/STD research. Design:A total of 811 research participants, research decliners, and community opinion leaders in the Rakai District, Uganda were surveyed. Types of personal and community benefits and harms, as well as rates of reporting great personal and community benefit were assessed. Methods:Using logistic regression, demographic characteristics, participant and opinion leader status, use of Rakai Health Sciences Program (RHSP) services, and perceived research effects were entered as predictors of reported great personal and great community benefit. Results:Most respondents thought that RHSP research was of great personal (85%) and community (88%) benefit. The perception that the RHSP was a great personal benefit was correlated with female sex, post-secondary education, frequent use of RHSP-sponsored medical services, health knowledge gains, and increased hope for future health improvements. Persons of non-Baganda ethnicity and 30–39 year-olds were less likely to believe research was personally beneficial. Regarding research as a great community benefit was associated with reported health knowledge gains, greater hope for Rakai residents' future health, and local economic benefit. Decliners were the most likely to report a personal harm, while community opinion leaders identified community harms at the highest rates. Conclusions:The majority of Rakai residents report that HIV/STD research has enhanced their own and their communities' welfare. Different factors were associated with the belief that research is a personal versus community benefit. Variations in participant, decliner, and community opinion leader perceptions highlight inadequacies of current community consultation mechanisms.
Tracheal Autotransplantation as a New and Reliable Technique for the Functional Treatment of Advanced Laryngeal Cancer

Objectives/Hypothesis Tracheal autotransplantation allows for reconstruction of extended hemilaryngectomy defects (including half of the cricoid cartilage) after resection of laryngeal or hypopharyngeal cancer. A series of 38 patients underwent the operation. The technique involved a two‐stage procedure (stage 1, tracheal revascularization; stage 2, hemilaryngectomy and tracheal autotransplantation) because the trachea requires at least 2 weeks for revascularization. The objective was to improve the oncological reliability of the procedure by performing a one‐stage tumor resection.
Replacement of Register with Delay Element for Reducing the Area of Pipelined Circuits

A new algorithm is proposed to reduce the area of a pipelined circuit using a combination of multi-clock cycle paths, clock scheduling and delay balancing. The algorithm analyzes the circuit and replaces intermediate registers with delay elements under the condition that the circuit works correctly at given target clock-period range with the smaller area. Experiments with a pipelined multiplier verify that the proposed algorithm can reduce the area of a pipelined circuit without degrading performance
Flow velocity measurement in microchannels using magnetoresistive chips

On-chip spin valve sensors were used to measure the flow velocity within fabricated poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) microchannels. Superparamagnetic particles with dimensions of 250 nm in diameter were introduced into a 100 /spl mu/m wide microchannel, bonded to the chip surface. The flow velocity was determined by measuring the changes in resistance of a pair of spin-valve sensors, 1.65 mm apart from each other, caused by the passage of ensembles of superparamagnetic particles. Flow velocities ranging from 50 to 300 /spl mu/m/s were estimated, depending on the pressure used to drive the flow. The application of this system provides a means to measure and control flow velocities on microfluidic devices.
An explicit window adaptation algorithm over TCP networks using supervisory control

This paper describes a feedback-based congestion control algorithm to guarantee the fair sharing among the TCP connections based on the supervisory control framework. Specifically, a supervisory control scheme is proposed to implement an explicit window adaptation algorithm. In particular, the feedback value is determined by the supervisor and conveyed to the source by modifying the receiver's advertised window in TCP acknowledgments returning to the source. The performance of the proposed algorithm is compared with the conventional one through a simulation study.
ANALYSIS OF DIGITAL LOUDSPEAKER ARRAYS

Digital loudspeaker arrays currently are based on small moving-coil speakers to reconstruct acoustic signals out of binary audio streams. An overview of significant performance issues for such systems is given here to explain frequency response and speaker discrete transition rates due to the digital data. Detailed simulations provided comparisons for a 32-speaker DLA with similar arrangements of speakers driven by analogue signals. These tests produce novel results for electrical power requirements and array sensitivity, concluding that these two systems achieve comparable performance.
Altered Levels Of Fibrinogen In Relation To The Pathophysiology Of Recurrent Spontaneous Abortions

Introduction: Recurrent Spontaneous Abortion (RSA) is one of the most common complications of pregnancy and is a major healthcare concern for the medical fraternity. Women experiencing recurrent pregnancy loss are a heterogenous population, therefore specific markers are necessary to identify those who will respond to various treatments. During normal healthy pregnancy there are substantial changes in the haemostatic system. This results in variations in the plasma levels of many clotting factors in the blood coagulation cascade. Any change in these factors reflects hypercoagulability and therefore, represents an imbalance in the haemostatic system which leads to thrombotic haemostasis defects. In humans, fibrinogen is required to support pregnancies by maintaining haemostatic balance. Data sources: Some studies have shown that women with thrombophilias have 66-83% recurrence rate of fetal loss in subsequent pregnancies and also that fibrinogen deficiencies result in abortions in the early gestational period. Objective: However none of the studies have confirmed the role of fibrinogen levels in the context of RSA. Measuring the altered levels of fibrinogen to predict occurrence of RSA, could be a major direction to be followed to gain insight into the thrombogenic potential of this protein. Results and conclusion: The information about the thrombogenic potential of this protein could inspire new strategies against the thrombotic complications of RSA.
Effect of Weighted Exercises on Bone Mineral Density in Post Menopausal Women A Systematic Review

Purpose: Osteoporosis is both preventable and treatable with exercise playing an important role in osteogenesis. The purpose of this systematic review was to determine which specific exercise programs utilizing weights were effective in maintaining or increasing bone mineral density (BMD) in postmenopausal women. Methods: A computerized search of the MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, PEDro, and Science Citation databases was conducted for the period 1990 through February 2005. The search was performed using English language‐only keyword searches using MESH terms osteoporosis, postmenopausal, exercise, weight training, and bone mineral density. A total of 20 articles was critically evaluated for the quality of an intervention study using the criteria developed by MacDermid. An expert on the topic was asked to review the list of articles for omissions. Results: The review revealed evidence to support the effectiveness of weight training exercises to increase BMD in postmenopausal women. The increases in BMD were site‐specific and required high loading with a training intensity of 70% to 90% of 1 RM for 8 to 12 repetitions of 2 to 3 sets performed over one year duration. Conclusion: Weighted exercises can help in maintaining BMD in postmenopausal women and increasing BMD of the spine and hip in women with osteopenia and osteoporosis. The exercise program must be incorporated into a lifestyle change and be lifelong due to the chronic nature of bone loss in older women.