Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Glutathione Peroxidase-1 Deficiency Potentiates Dysregulatory Modifications of Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase and Vascular Dysfunction in Aging

Recently, we demonstrated that gene ablation of mitochondrial manganese superoxide dismutase and aldehyde dehydrogenase-2 markedly contributed to age-related vascular dysfunction and mitochondrial oxidative stress. The present study has sought to investigate the extent of vascular dysfunction and oxidant formation in glutathione peroxidase-1–deficient (GPx-1−/−) mice during the aging process with special emphasis on dysregulation (uncoupling) of the endothelial NO synthase. GPx-1−/− mice on a C57 black 6 (C57BL/6) background at 2, 6, and 12 months of age were used. Vascular function was significantly impaired in 12-month-old GPx-1−/− -mice as compared with age-matched controls. Oxidant formation, detected by 3-nitrotyrosine staining and dihydroethidine-based fluorescence microtopography, was increased in the aged GPx-1−/− mice. Aging per se caused a substantial protein kinase C– and protein tyrosine kinase–dependent phosphorylation as well as S-glutathionylation of endothelial NO synthase associated with uncoupling, a phenomenon that was more pronounced in aged GPx-1−/− mice. GPx-1 ablation increased adhesion of leukocytes to cultured endothelial cells and CD68 and F4/80 staining in cardiac tissue. Aged GPx-1−/− mice displayed increased oxidant formation as compared with their wild-type littermates, triggering redox-signaling pathways associated with endothelial NO synthase dysfunction and uncoupling. Thus, our data demonstrate that aging leads to decreased NO bioavailability because of endothelial NO synthase dysfunction and uncoupling of the enzyme leading to endothelial dysfunction, vascular remodeling, and promotion of adhesion and infiltration of leukocytes into cardiovascular tissue, all of which was more prominent in aged GPx-1−/− mice.
Shallow seismic reflection surveys: CDP or “Optimum offset?”

The last decade has seen the development and general acceptance of shallow seismic reflection methods as a viable geophysical tool for groundwater, engineering, urban, environmental, and surficial geological studies. During this period there have been two approaches to collecting and processing shallow seismic reflection data; one being the modification of traditional conunon-depthpoint (CDP) methods for shallow applications, and the other being the collection of single channel data using the “optimum” source-receiver offset. The last decade has also brought a revolution in engineering seismographs and in personal computing and data storage capabilities. This paper examines the CDP and “optimum offset” approaches to shallow seismic surveys in the light of these developments, and attempts to clarify the potential, limitations, and general usefulness of each technique.
Polynomial Fuzzy-Model-Based Control Systems: Stability Analysis Via Piecewise-Linear Membership Functions

This paper presents the stability analysis of polynomial fuzzy-model-based (PFMB) control systems using the sum-of-squares (SOS) approach. The PFMB control system under consideration requires that the polynomial fuzzy model and polynomial fuzzy controller share neither the same premise membership functions nor the same number of fuzzy rules. This class of PFMB control systems offers a greater design flexibility to the polynomial fuzzy controller. However, due to the imperfectly matched membership functions, it usually produces more conservative stability conditions by following the traditional stability-analysis approach for the FMB control systems. To facilitate the stability analysis, piecewise-linear membership functions (PLMFs) are proposed, which offer a nice property that the grades of membership are governed by a finite number of sample points. Thus, it allows the PLMFs to be brought to the SOS-based stability conditions, which are applied to the PFMB control systems with the specified PLMFs rather than any shapes. The system stability can be examined by checking only the PFMB control system at the sample points. It is worth mentioning that the PLMFs, which are not necessarily implemented physically, are a mathematical tool to carry out the stability analysis. To verify the stability-analysis result, a simulation example is given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
A Stretchable Radio-Frequency Strain Sensor Using Screen Printing Technology

In this paper, we propose a stretchable radio-frequency (RF) strain sensor fabricated with screen printing technology. The RF sensor is designed using a half-wavelength patch that resonates at 3.7 GHz. The resonant frequency is determined by the length of the patch, and it therefore changes when the patch is stretched. Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is used to create the substrate, because of its stretchable and screen-printable surface. In addition, Dupont PE872 (Dupont, NC, American) silver conductive ink is used to create the stretchable conductive patterns. The sensor performance is demonstrated both with full-wave simulations and with measurements carried out on a fabricated sample. When the length of the patch sensor is increased by a 7.8% stretch, the resonant frequency decreases from 3.7 GHz to 3.43 GHz, evidencing a sensitivity of 3.43 × 107 Hz/%. Stretching the patch along its width does not change the resonant frequency.
A micro-economic approach to conflict resolution in mobile computing

Mobile devices, such as mobile phones and personal digital assistants, have gained wide-spread popularity. These devices will increasingly be networked, thus enabling the construction of distributed mobile applications. These have to adapt to changes in context, such as variations in network bandwidth, exhaustion of battery power or reachability of services on other devices. We show how the construction of adaptive and context-aware mobile applications can be supported using a reflective middleware. The middleware provides software engineers with primitives to describe how context changes are handled using policies. These policies may conflict. In this paper, we classify the different types of conflicts that may arise in mobile computing. We argue that conflicts cannot be resolved statically at the time applications are designed, but, rather, need to be resolved at execution time. We demonstrate a method by which these policy conflicts can be treated. This method uses a micro-economic approach that relies on a particular type of sealed-bid auction.
Is your cloud elastic enough?: performance modelling the elasticity of infrastructure as a service (IaaS) cloud applications

Elasticity, the ability to rapidly scale resources up and down on demand, is an essential feature of public cloud platforms. However, it is difficult to understand the elasticity requirements of a given application and workload, and if the elasticity provided by a cloud provider will meet those requirements. We introduce the elasticity mechanisms of a typical Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) cloud platform (inspired by Amazon EC2). We have enhanced our Service Oriented Performance Modelling method and tool to model and predict the elasticity characteristics of three realistic applications and workloads on this cloud platform. We compare the pay-as-you-go instance costs and end-user response time service level agreements for different elasticity scenarios. The model is also able to predict the elasticity requirements (in terms of the maximum instance spin-up time) for the three applications. We conclude with an analysis of the results.
Activity of Saponins from Medicago species Against HeLa and MCF-7 Cell Lines and their Capacity to Potentiate Cisplatin Effect.

BACKGROUND Saponins from Medicago species display several biological activities, among them apoptotic effects against plant cells have been evidenced. In contrast, their cytotoxic and antitumor activity against animal cells have not been studied in great details. OBJECTIVE To explore the cytotoxic properties of saponin from Medicago species against animal cells and their effect in combination with the antitumoral drug cisplatin. METHOD Cytotoxic activity of saponin mixtures from M. arabica (tops and roots), M. arborea (tops) and M. sativa (tops, roots and seeds) and related prosapogenins from M. arborea and M. sativa (tops) against HeLa and MCF-7 cell lines is described. In addition, cytotoxicity of soyasaponin I and purified saponins (1-8) of hederagenin, medicagenic and zanhic acid is also presented. Combination experiments with cisplatin have been also conducted. RESULTS Saponins from M. arabica tops and roots (mainly monodesmosides of hederagenin and bayogenin) were the most effective to reduce proliferation of HeLa and MCF-7 cell lines. Among the purified saponins, the most cytotoxic was saponin 1, 3-O-ß-D-glucopyranosyl(1→2)-α-L-arabinopyranosyl hederagenin. When saponins, derived prosapogenins and pure saponins were used in combination with cisplatin, they all, to different extent, were able to potentiate cisplatin activity against HeLa cells but not against MCF-7 cell lines. Moreover uptake of cisplatin in these cell lines was significantly reduced. CONCLUSION Overall results showed that specific molecular types of saponins (hederagenin glycosides) have potential as anti-cancer agents or as leads for anti-cancer agents. Moreover saponins from Medicago species have evidenced interesting properties to mediate cisplatin effects in tumor cell lines.
Correlation between functional imaging markers derived from diffusion-weighted MRI and 18F-FDG PET/CT in esophageal cancer

Objective Both the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) acquired by diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI) and the standardized uptake value (SUV), acquired by 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT), are well-established functional parameters in cancer imaging. Currently, it is unclear whether these two markers provide complementary prognostic and predictive information in esophageal cancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation between ADC and SUV in patients with esophageal cancer. Materials and methods This prospective study included 76 patients with histologically proven esophageal cancer who underwent both DW-MRI and 18F-FDG PET/CT examinations before treatment. The minimum and mean ADC values (ADCmin and ADCmean) of the primary tumor were assessed on MRI. Similarly, the glucose metabolism was evaluated by the maximum and mean SUV (SUVmax and SUVmean) in the same lesions on 18F-FDG PET/CT images. Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients were used to assess the correlation between tumor ADC and SUV values. Results The tumor ADC and SUV values as measures of cell density and glucose metabolism, respectively, showed negligible nonsignificant correlations (ADCmin vs. SUVmax: r=−0.087, P=0.457; ADCmin vs. SUVmean: r=−0.105, P=0.369; ADCmean vs. SUVmax: r=−0.099, P=0.349; ADCmean vs. SUVmean: r=−0.111, P=0.340). No differences in tumor ADC and SUV values were observed between the different histologic tumor types, stages, and differentiation grades. Conclusion This study indicates that tumor cellularity derived from DW-MRI and tumor metabolism measured by 18F-FDG PET/CT are independent cellular phenomena in newly diagnosed esophageal cancer. Therefore, tumor ADC and SUV values may play complementary roles as imaging markers in the prediction of survival and evaluation of response to treatment in esophageal cancer.
Gene transfer in bacteria: speciation without species?

Although Bacteria and Archaea reproduce by binary fission, exchange of genes among lineages has shaped the diversity of their populations and the diversification of their lineages. Gene exchange can occur by two distinct routes, each differentially impacting the recipient genome. First, homologous recombination mediates the exchange of DNA between closely related individuals (those whose sequences are sufficient similarly to allow efficient integration). As a result, homologous recombination mediates the dispersal of advantageous alleles that may rise to high frequency among genetically related individuals via periodic selection events. Second, lateral gene transfer can introduce novel DNA into a genome from completely unrelated lineages via illegitimate recombination. Gene exchange by this route serves to distribute genes throughout distantly related clades and therefore may confer complex abilities--not otherwise found among closely related lineages--onto the recipient organisms. These two mechanisms of gene exchange play complementary roles in the diversification of microbial populations into independent, ecologically distinct lineages. Although the delineation of microbial "species" then becomes difficult--if not impossible--to achieve, a cogent process of speciation can be predicted.
Motivational Profiles from a Self-Determination Perspective: The Quality of Motivation Matters.

The present research complements extant variable-centered research that focused on the dimensions of autonomous and controlled motivation through adoption of a person-centered approach for identifying motivational profiles. Both in high school students (Study 1) and college students (Study 2), a cluster analysis revealed 4 motivational profiles: a good quality motivation group (i.e., high autonomous, low controlled); a poor quality motivation group (i.e., low autonomous, high controlled); a low quantity motivation group (i.e., low autonomous, low controlled); and a high quantity motivation group (i.e., high autonomous, high controlled). To compare the 4 groups, the authors derived predictions from qualitative and quantitative perspectives on motivation. Findings generally favored the qualitative perspective; compared with the other groups, the good quality motivation group displayed the most optimal learning pattern and scored highest on perceived need-supportive teaching. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.
Hurricane Relocation in Global Ensemble Forecast System

A hurricane relocation system was implemented in Global Forecast System (GFS) at the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) in 2000 (Liu, et al., 2000). The hurricane relocation system moves the hurricane vortex in the model guess to the observed location before the 3D-VAR updates the analysis. It contains the following major steps: a) locate the hurricane vortex center in the guess field, b) separate the hurricane model’s vortex from its environment field (Kurihara et al., 1995), c) move the hurricane vortex to the observed position, and d) if the vortex is too weak in the guess field, add a bogus vortex to the 3D-VAR data analysis (Lord, 1991). After the successful implementation of the hurricane relocation system in the GFS model, we tried to use it in the Global Ensemble Forecast System (GEFS). However, due to large differences in the hurricane structure among individual ensemble members, the relocation system does not have much effect on the statistics of the forecast tracks. In 2004 we modified the hurricane relocation system and added it to the GEFS. Test results show that the track spread from individual members was significantly reduced. The modified system was implemented in GEFS in July 2005 (Zhu et al., 2005). This paper explains the hurricane relocation system in the GEFS and shows some of our test results with and without hurricane relocation.
Evaluating Soil Resistance Formulations in Thermal‐Based Two‐Source Energy Balance (TSEB) Model: Implications for Heterogeneous Semiarid and Arid Regions

Relatively small fluctuations in the surface energy balance and evapotranspiration in semiarid and arid regions can be indicative of significant changes to ecosystem health. Therefore, it is imperative to have approaches for monitoring surface fluxes in these regions. The remote sensing‐based two‐source energy balance (TSEB) model is a suitable method for flux estimation over sparsely vegetated semiarid and arid landscapes since it explicitly considers surface energy flux contributions from soil and vegetation. However, previous studies indicate that TSEB generally underestimates sensible heat flux (H) and hence overestimates latent heat flux (LE) or evapotranspiration for these regions unless soil resistance coefficients are modified based on additional ground information. In this study, TSEB is applied over semiarid and arid regions on three continents using the original soil resistance formulation with modified coefficients and a recently developed physically based soil resistance formulation. Model sensitivity analysis demonstrates the high sensitivity of TSEB with original soil resistance formulation to soil resistance coefficients, while TSEB with the new soil resistance formulation has relatively low sensitivity to uncertainties in all coefficients. The performance of TSEB using different soil resistance formulations is evaluated by comparing modeled H against eddy covariance measurements in six semiarid and arid study sites and ranking the error statistics. Our results indicate that incorporating the new soil resistance formulation into TSEB would enhance its utility in flux estimation over heterogeneous landscapes by obviating its reliance on semiempirical coefficients and thus provide more robust fluxes over sparsely vegetated regions without model calibration and/or parameter tuning.
Un modèle probabiliste pour la détection de l'incertitude dans le langage naturel

Parce qu’elle conditionne la confiance que l’on peut avoir dans certaines affirmations, la detection de l’incertitude dans le langage naturel constitue l’un des enjeux majeurs du developpement de systemes exploitant l’analyse de textes e.g. questions-reponses, raisonnement approche, enrichissement de bases de connaissances. Apres une synthese des differentes classifications de l’incertitude et des methodes de detection correspondantes, cet article introduit une approche supervisee et generique de detection de l’incertitude. Celle-ci se base sur une analyse statistique de differentes caracteristiques lexicales et syntaxiques afin de construire une representation vectorielle d’une phrase utilisee ensuite dans un processus de classification. L’evaluation que nous proposons tient compte des differentes dimensions de l’incertitude et de la nature des textes. Les resultats obtenus sur differents jeux de validation soulignent la performance globale de la methode proposee et permettent d’envisager l’utilisation de cette methode dans un contexte plus global d’extraction et d’inference de connaissances.
APPLICATION OF BUSINGER-DYEAR AND BRUTSAERT'S STABILITY FUNCTIONS FOR ESTIMATION OF THE SENSIBLE HEAT FLUX ON SOME MEASURED DATA IN THE HADA AL-SHAM AREA, MAKKAH, SAUDI ARABIA

Micrometeorological measurements on the Hada Al-Sham region near Makkah were used for determination of the fluxes of sensible heat and momentum by applying profile method derived from Monin-Obukhov similarity theory. Samples of data were selected in a very unstable conditions (summer seasons) in the Hada Al-Sham area, Makkah. Two code programs written according to both Brutsaert (1992) and Businger-Dyear were used. Sensible heat values using the stability correction functions used by Businger-Dyer (B-D-F) were found to be higher (10-14%) than the stability correction functions used by Brutsaert (B-F) between 1100 and 1700 hours (noon and afternoon) on days of September 2002 and June 2003. The roughness lengths Z0 show higher values (0.3-0.5m) using (B-F) on most days for the easterly and SE winds due to the effect of very high rough area (medium height buildings, hills). The roughness length Z0 was found to be related with wind direction. It was noticed from the experiment that the roughness length using the stability correction functions by (BF) and was more sensitive to any change in wind direction than that used by (B-D-F). The more the sudden change of the wind direction by (B-F) version the more the fluctuations in the roughness length values occure. Finally, the stability correction functions used by (B-D-F) for calculating sensible heat fluxes and stability parameters are more preferable than using the stability correction functions by (B-F) one.
Meta-analytical approaches to the study of fish population dynamics.

The aim of this thesis is to reduce uncertainties in our understanding of fish population dynamics by: (a) developing statistical methods that allow information to be shared or combined; and (b) applying these methods to real fisheries problems. Meta-analysis is a statistical framework for making inferences by combining results across studies or experiments. In this thesis I demonstrated that meta-analysis is particularly useful for studies of fisheries population dynamics because: (1) there is often considerable observation error in fisheries data that creates difficulties in making useful inferences; and (2) there are potentially relevant data for many fish populations or years. I showed, using data for many populations, that catch-per-unit-effort abundance indices generally underestimate the declines in the population being fished---a finding critical to fisheries stock assessment. I developed a generalized framework to test hypotheses relating to the regulation of fish abundance during the larval and juvenile stages---thus allowing for future meta-analyses of this problem. I extended the traditional meta-analytical methods to combine estimates of the relationship between the size of a fish and its catchability to trawl surveys---this allowed for predictions to be made for species where no data were available. Using a method from the field of econometrics, I developed an approach to integrate random effects into a complex nonlinear model---this allowed for improved modelling and interpretation of million dollar acoustic surveys of a New Zealand fish population. I demonstrated how inferences from meta-analysis can be used in the assessment of stocks with little information (e.g., developing fisheries) and to obtain reliable estimates required for management decisions. To conclude, I provided a discussion of how the further extension of methods and fisheries databases would be critical to the future of meta-analysis, and highlighted important directions for future research.
Molecular phylogenetic relationships of Eastern Asian Cyprinidae (Pisces: Cypriniformes) inferred from cytochrome b sequences

Complete mitochondrial cytochrome b sequences of 54 species, including 18 newly sequenced, were analyzed to infer the phylogenetic relationships within the family Cyprinidae in East Asia. Phylogenetic trees were generated using various tree-building methods, including Neighbor-joining (NJ), Maximum Parsimony (MP) and Maximum Likelihood (ML) methods, with Myxocyprinus asiaticus (family Catostomidae) as the designated outgroup. The results from NJ and ML methods were mostly similar, supporting some existing subfamilies within Cyprinidae as monophyletic, such as Cultrinae, Xenocyprinae and Gobioninae (including Gobiobotinae). However, genera within the subfamily “Danioninae” did not form a monophyletic group. The subfamily Leuciscinae was divided into two unrelated groups: the “Leuciscinae” in East Asia forming as a monophyletic group together with Cultrinae and Xenocyprinae, while the Leuciscinae in Europe, Siberia, and North America as another monophyletic group. The monophyly of subfamily Cyprininae sensu Howes was supported by NJ and ML trees and is basal in the tree. The position of Acheilognathinae, a widely accepted monophyletic group represented by Rhodeus sericeus, was not resolved.