Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dispersion of gravitational waves in cold spherical interstellar medium

We investigate the propagation of locally plane, small-amplitude, monochromatic gravitational waves through cold compressible interstellar gas in order to provide a more accurate picture of expected waveforms for direct detection. The quasi-isothermal gas is concentrated in a spherical symmetric cloud held together by self-gravitation. Gravitational waves can be treated as linearized perturbations on the background inner Schwarzschild spacetime. The perturbed quantities lead to the field equations governing the gas dynamics and describe the interaction of gravitational waves with matter. The resulted field equations decouple asymptotically for slowly varying short waves to a set of three PDEs of different orders of magnitude. A second-order WKB method provides transport equations for the wave amplitudes. The influence of background curvature already appears in the first-order amplitudes, which gives rise to diffraction. We have shown that the transport equation of these amplitudes provides numerical solutions for the frequency-alteration. The energy dissipating process is responsible for decreasing frequency. The decrease is significantly smaller than the magnitude of the original frequency and exhibits a power-law relationship between original and decreased frequencies. The frequency deviation was examined particularly for the transient signal GW150914. Considering AGNs as larger background structures and high-frequency signals emitted by BNS mergers, the frequency-deviation grows large enough to be relevant in future GW-observations with increased sensitivity.
ISG 15 , a ubiquitin-like interferon-stimulated gene , promotes hepatitis C virus production in vitro : implications for chronic infection and response to treatment

Correspondence Ian D. McGilvray ian.mcgilvray@uhn.on. ca Banting and Best Department of Medical Research, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
A modified impulse-response representation of the global near-surface air temperature and atmospheric concentration response to carbon dioxide emissions

Abstract. Projections of the response to anthropogenic emission scenarios, evaluation of some greenhouse gas metrics, and estimates of the social cost of carbon often require a simple model that links emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) to atmospheric concentrations and global temperature changes. An essential requirement of such a model is to reproduce typical global surface temperature and atmospheric CO2 responses displayed by more complex Earth system models (ESMs) under a range of emission scenarios, as well as an ability to sample the range of ESM response in a transparent, accessible and reproducible form. Here we adapt the simple model of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 5th Assessment Report (IPCC AR5) to explicitly represent the state dependence of the CO2 airborne fraction. Our adapted model (FAIR) reproduces the range of behaviour shown in full and intermediate complexity ESMs under several idealised carbon pulse and exponential concentration increase experiments. We find that the inclusion of a linear increase in 100-year integrated airborne fraction with cumulative carbon uptake and global temperature change substantially improves the representation of the response of the climate system to CO2 on a range of timescales and under a range of experimental designs.
Influence of coolant temperature on the performance of a four stroke spark ignition engine employing a dual circuit cooling system

Diesel engines have attracted attention because of their higher thermal efficiency and lower carbon dioxide emissions than gasoline engines. On the other hand, oxides of nitrogen (NO x ) and particulate matter (PM) in the exhaust from diesel engines are difficult to be reduc ed simultaneously because a decrease in one is likely to result in an increase in the other. In this paper, an attempt has been made to compare the effect of the heat lost to the coolant in the cylinder block, and in the cylinder head with a conventional cooling circuit with corresponding effects in an engine with a dual cooling circuit. A dual cooling circuit employs separate cooling circuits for the cylinder block, and for the cylinder head. A single cylinder, four-stroke, water cooled, naturally aspirated spark ignition engine test rig was developed for the purpose. The influence s of the cylinder block and cylinder head temperatures on brake specific fuel consumption (bsfc) and on exhaust emissions were measured. The results show that raising the temperature of the coolant in the engine block can produce significant improvements in bsfc with a corresponding reduction in the hydrocarbon (HC) emissions. Similarly, lowering the coolant temperature in the cylinder head can increase the knock limit of the engine with a corresponding reduction in the levels of NO x in the exhaust emissions. The objective of this investigation was to access the magnitude of the likely benefits of the dual circuit cooling system. Keywords: d ual circuit cooling system, spark ignition engine, heat transfer, engine cooling Citation: Rehman A. , R. M. Sarviya, S . Dixit , and R . K . Pandey . Influence of coolant temperature on the performance of a four stroke spark ignition engine employing a dual circuit cooling system. Agric Eng Int: CIGR J ournal , 2010, 12(1): 84 - 90 .
Highly accurate computer vision and image comparison

HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés. Highly accurate computer vision and image comparison Pascal Monasse
Adenovirus-expressing miR-153-3p alleviates aortic calcification in a rat model with chronic kidney disease.

BACKGROUND Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have abnormal calcification in vascular tissue that is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. However, the specific molecular mechanisms for vascular calcification remain largely unknown. The present study aimed to determine the differentially expressed miRs and the underlying molecular mechanisms of miR-153-3p in vascular calcification induced by adenine. METHODS Differentially expressed miRs were screened using a microarray chip in the thoracic aorta. miRs and mRNA expression were measured by RT-qPCR. Protein expression was performed by western blotting analysis. Aortic calcification was confirmed by Von Kossa staining. The targeted genes were predicted by a bioinformatics algorithm and confirmed by a dual luciferase reporter assay. RESULTS Our results revealed that the expression of miR-153-3p was significantly down-regulated in the thoracic aorta from adenine-fed rats compared with that of the control group. Transfection of miR-153-3p into the thoracic aorta markedly suppressed adenine-induced aortic calcification and significantly decreased the mRNA expression of ALP, OC, OSX, SOST and Runx2. Further studies indicated that Runx2 was a direct target gene of miR-153-3p, which was verified by dual luciferase reporter assay. CONCLUSION These results suggest that increased vascular miR-153-3p expression attenuates adenine-induced aortic calcification via inhibiting osteogenic trans-differentiation in the thoracic aorta.
Augmenting Tactile 3 D Data Exploration With Pressure Sensing

We present a pressure-augmented tactile interaction technique to improve 3D object/view manipulation tasks on mobile devices. Existing tactile techniques for mobile data exploration either make use of up to four fingers to control all the needed degrees of freedom (DOF) for 3D manipulation or simultaneously adjust multiple DOF together to reduce the number of fingers needed for interaction. Yet the small display size of mobile devices limits the number of fingers that should simultaneously be used. Controlling each DOF for 3D data exploration separately, however, gives users more control. We address this contradiction by combining tactile and pressure input. We thus use pressure to intuitively switch between different tactile interaction modes. In this extended abstract we describe our interaction design as well as our rationale for the input mappings.
A Similar Genetic Architecture Underlies the Convergent Evolution of the Selfing Syndrome in Capsella

Independent evolutionary reductions of petal size in the genus Capsella are associated with convergent evolution of gene expression and underlain by similar genetic architectures. Whether, and to what extent, phenotypic evolution follows predictable genetic paths remains an important question in evolutionary biology. Convergent evolution of similar characters provides a unique opportunity to address this question. The transition to selfing and the associated changes in flower morphology are among the most prominent examples of repeated evolution in plants. In this study, we take advantage of the independent transitions to self-fertilization in the genus Capsella to compare the similarities between parallel modifications of floral traits and test for genetic and developmental constraints imposed on flower evolution in the context of the selfing syndrome. Capsella rubella and Capsella orientalis emerged independently but evolved almost identical flower characters. Not only is the evolutionary outcome identical but the same developmental strategies underlie the convergent reduction of flower size. This has been associated with convergent evolution of gene expression changes. The transcriptomic changes common to both selfing lineages are enriched in genes with low network connectivity and with organ-specific expression patterns. Comparative genetic mapping also suggests that, at least in the case of petal size evolution, these similarities have a similar genetic basis. Based on these results, we hypothesize that the limited availability of low-pleiotropy paths predetermines closely related species to similar evolutionary outcomes.
Enhancement of Scenedesmus sp. LX1 Biomass Production and Lipid Accumulation Using Iron in Artificial Wastewater and Domestic Secondary Effluent

Wen-Yu Zhao, Jun-Yi Yu, Yin-Hu Wu, Yu Hong, and Hong-Ying Hu* Guangxi Scientific Experiment Center of Mining, Metallurgy and Environment, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin 541004, China Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control State Key Joint Laboratory, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Microorganism Application and Risk Control (SMARC), Graduate School at Shenzhen, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen 518055, China
The velvet Regulator VosA Governs Survival and Secondary Metabolism of Sexual Spores in Aspergillus nidulans

The velvet regulator VosA plays a pivotal role in asexual sporulation in the model filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans. In the present study, we characterize the roles of VosA in sexual spores (ascospores) in A. nidulans. During ascospore maturation, the deletion of vosA causes a rapid decrease in spore viability. The absence of vosA also results in a lack of trehalose biogenesis and decreased tolerance of ascospores to thermal and oxidative stresses. RNA-seq-based genome-wide expression analysis demonstrated that the loss of vosA leads to elevated expression of sterigmatocystin (ST) biosynthetic genes and a slight increase in ST production in ascospores. Moreover, the deletion of vosA causes upregulation of additional gene clusters associated with the biosynthesis of other secondary metabolites, including asperthecin, microperfuranone, and monodictyphenone. On the other hand, the lack of vosA results in the downregulation of various genes involved in primary metabolism. In addition, vosA deletion alters mRNA levels of genes associated with the cell wall integrity and trehalose biosynthesis. Overall, these results demonstrate that the velvet regulator VosA plays a key role in the maturation and the cellular and metabolic integrity of sexual spores in A. nidulans.
Rank Optimality for the Burer-Monteiro Factorization

When solving large scale semidefinite programs that admit a low-rank solution, a very efficient heuristic is the Burer-Monteiro factorization: Instead of optimizing over the full matrix, one optimizes over its low-rank factors. This strongly reduces the number of variables to optimize, but destroys the convexity of the problem, thus possibly introducing spurious second-order critical points which can prevent local optimization algorithms from finding the solution. Boumal, Voroninski, and Bandeira [2018] have recently shown that, when the size of the factors is of the order of the square root of the number of linear constraints, this does not happen: For almost any cost matrix, second-order critical points are global solutions. In this article, we show that this result is essentially tight: For smaller values of the size, second-order critical points are not generically optimal, even when considering only semidefinite programs with a rank 1 solution.
The predictive value of anthropometric indices for cardiometabolic risk factors in Chinese children and adolescents: A national multicenter school-based study

Objectives This study aimed to assess the accuracy of body mass index (BMI) percentile, waist circumference (WC) percentile, waist-height ratio, and waist-hip ratio for identifying cardiometabolic risk factors in Chinese children and adolescents stratified by sex and BMI categories. Methods We measured anthropometric indices, fasting plasma glucose, lipid profile and blood pressure for 15698 participants aged 6–17 in a national survey between September and December 2013. The predictive accuracy of anthropometric indices for cardiometabolic risk factors was examined using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses. The DeLong test and Z test were used for the comparisons of areas under ROC curves (AUCs). Results The prevalence of impaired fasting glucose, dyslipidemia, hypertension and cluster of risk factors were 2.9%, 27.3%, 10.5% and 5.7% respectively. The four anthropometric indices showed poor to fair discriminatory ability for cardiometabolic risk factors with the AUCs ranging from 0.53–0.72. Each index performed significantly better AUCs for dyslipidemia (0.59–0.63 vs. 0.56–0.59), hypertension (0.62–0.70 vs. 0.55–0.65) and clustered risk factors (0.70–0.73 vs. 0.60–0.64) in boys than that in girls. BMI percentile performed the best accuracy for hypertension in both sexes; WC percentile had the highest AUC for dyslipidemia and BMI percentile and waist-height ratio performed similarly the best AUCs for clustered risk factors in boys while BMI percentile, WC percentile and waist-height ratio performed similar and better AUCs for dyslipidemia and clustered risk factors in girls; whereas waist-hip ratio was consistently the poorest predictor for them regardless of sex. Though the anthropometric indices were more predictive of dyslipidemia, hypertension and clustered risk factors in overweight/obese group compared to their normal BMI peers, the AUCs in overweight/obese group remained in the poor range below 0.70. Conclusions Anthropometric indices are not effective screening tools for pediatric cardiometabolic risk factors, even in overweight/obese children.
Position paper on International Collaboration for Transfusion Medicine (ICTM) Guideline ‘Red blood cell specifications for patients with hemoglobinopathies: a systematic review and guideline’

The International Collaboration for Transfusion Medicine Guidelines (ICTMG) has published guidance on transfusion for haemoglobinopathies. To give a UK perspective on this guidance, each of the recommendations in the ICTMG guideline were reviewed and the applicability for transfusion practice in the UK considered with reference to relevant published British Society for Haematology (BSH) guidelines and national standards . There was much consensus; however, there was disparity surrounding the recommendations for routinely extended matching in those with alloimmunisation.
The Subtilisin-Like Protease Bcser2 Affects the Sclerotial Formation, Conidiation and Virulence of Botrytis cinerea

Botrytis cinerea, a ubiquitous necrotrophic plant-pathogenic fungus, is responsible for grey mold and rot disease in a very wide range of plant species. Subtilisin-like proteases (or subtilases) are a very diverse family of serine proteases present in many organisms and are reported to have a broad spectrum of biological functions. Here, we identified two genes encoding subtilisin-like proteases (Bcser1 and Bcser2) in the genome of B. cinerea, both of which contain an inhibitor I9 domain and a peptidase S8 domain. The expression levels of Bcser1 and Bcser2 increased during the sclerotial forming stage, as well as during a later stage of hyphal infection on Arabidopsis thaliana leaves, but the up-regulation of Bcser1 was significantly higher than that of Bcser2. Interestingly, deletion of Bcser1 had no effect on the fungal development or virulence of B. cinerea. However, deletion of Bcser2 or double deletion of Bcser1 and Bcser2 severely impaired the hyphal growth, sclerotial formation and conidiation of B. cinerea. We also found that ∆Bcser2 and ∆Bcser1/2 could not form complete infection cushions and then lost the ability to infect intact plant leaves of Arabidopsis and tomato but could infect wounded plant tissues. Taken together, our results indicate that the subtilisin-like protease Bcser2 is crucial for the sclerotial formation, conidiation, and virulence of B. cinerea.
Strategies for Effective Physics Plan and Chart Review in Radiation Therapy: Report of AAPM Task Group 275.

While the review of radiotherapy treatment plans and charts by a medical physicist is a key component of safe, high-quality care, very few specific recommendations currently exist for this task. The goal of TG-275 is to provide practical, evidence-based recommendations on physics plan and chart review for radiation therapy. While this report is aimed mainly at medical physicists, others may benefit including dosimetrists, radiation therapists, physicians and other professionals interested in quality management. The scope of the report includes photon/electron external beam radiotherapy (EBRT), proton radiotherapy, as well as high-dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy for gynecological applications (currently the highest volume brachytherapy service in most practices). The following review time points are considered: initial review prior to treatment, weekly review, and end-of-treatment review. The Task Group takes a risk-informed approach to developing recommendations. A failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) was performed to determine the highest-risk aspects of each process. In the case of photon/electron EBRT, a survey of all American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) members was also conducted to determine current practices. These data were used to inform recommendations. The highest-risk failure modes included 112 failure modes in photon/electron EBRT initial review, 55 in weekly and end-of-treatment review, 24 for initial review specific to proton therapy, and 48 in HDR brachytherapy. Tables of recommended checks are presented and recommendations for best practice are discussed. Suggestions to software vendors are also provided. A draft of this report was provided to the full AAPM membership for comment through a three-week open-comment period, and the report was revised in response to these comments. TG-275 provides specific recommendations for physics plan and chart review which should enhance the safety and quality of care for patients receiving radiation treatments.
Identification and Repurposing of Trisubstituted Harmine Derivatives as Novel Inhibitors of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Phosphoserine Phosphatase

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is still the deadliest bacterial pathogen worldwide and the increasing number of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis cases further complicates this global health issue. M. tuberculosis phosphoserine phosphatase SerB2 is a promising target for drug design. Besides being a key essential metabolic enzyme of the pathogen’s serine pathway, it appears to be involved in immune evasion mechanisms. In this work, a malachite green-based phosphatase assay has been used to screen 122 compounds from an internal chemolibrary. Trisubstituted harmine derivatives were found among the best hits that inhibited SerB2 activity. Synthesis of an original compound helped to discuss a brief structure activity relationship evaluation. Kinetics experiments showed that the most potent derivatives inhibit the phosphatase in a parabolic competitive fashion with apparent inhibition constants (Ki) values in the micromolar range. Their interaction modes with the enzyme were investigated through induced fit docking experiments, leading to results consistent with the experimental data. Cellular assays showed that the selected compounds also inhibited M. tuberculosis growth in vitro. Those promising results may provide a basis for the development of new antimycobacterial agents targeting SerB2.
MAPK mutations and cigarette smoke promote the pathogenesis of pulmonary Langerhans cell histiocytosis.

Pulmonary Langerhans cell histiocytosis (PLCH) is a rare, smoking-related, lung disease characterized by dendritic cell (DC) accumulation, bronchiolocentric nodule formation, and cystic lung remodeling. Approximately 50% of PLCH patients harbor somatic BRAF-V600E mutations in cells of the myeloid/monocyte lineage. However, the rarity of the disease and lack of animal models has impeded the study of PLCH pathogenesis. Here, we established a cigarette smoke (CS)-exposed, BRAF-V600E mutant mouse model that recapitulates many hallmark characteristics of PLCH. We show that CD11c-targeted expression of BRAF-V600E increases DC responsiveness to stimuli, including the chemokine CCL20, and that mutant DC accumulation in the lungs of CS-exposed mice is due to both increased cellular viability and enhanced recruitment. Moreover, we report that the chemokine CCL7 is secreted from DCs and human peripheral blood monocytes in a BRAF-V600E-dependent manner, suggesting a possible mechanism for recruitment of cells known to dominate PLCH lesions. Inflammatory lesions and airspace dilation in BRAF-V600E mice in response to CS are attenuated by transitioning animals to filtered air and treatment with a BRAF-V600E inhibitor, PLX4720. Collectively, this model provides mechanistic insights into the role of DCs, the BRAF-V600E mutation and CS exposure in PLCH pathogenesis, and provides a platform to develop therapeutic targets.
Modelling financial crises of global equity markets

Extreme asset price movements have major consequences for an economy’s financial stability and monetary policies. The recent equity price movements associated with financial crises appear to be more pronounced and policy makers need to make accurate predictions of the frequency and severity of these events. This paper investigates the extreme behaviour of equity market returns and quantifies the possible losses associated with financial crises. Extreme value theory that models tail realisations only is applied to equity indices representing American, Asian and European markets. The paper finds that the tail realisations are adequately modelled with the fat-tailed Frechet distribution. Furthermore tail realisations associated with the downside of a distribution are greater than the upside. JEL classification: G1; G10.