Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Analysis of Tubular Membrane Networks in Cardiac Myocytes from Atria and Ventricles

In cardiac myocytes a complex network of membrane tubules - the transverse-axial tubule system (TATS) - controls deep intracellular signaling functions. While the outer surface membrane and associated TATS membrane components appear to be continuous, there are substantial differences in lipid and protein content. In ventricular myocytes (VMs), certain TATS components are highly abundant contributing to rectilinear tubule networks and regular branching 3D architectures. It is thought that peripheral TATS components propagate action potentials from the cell surface to thousands of remote intracellular sarcoendoplasmic reticulum (SER) membrane contact domains, thereby activating intracellular Ca2+ release units (CRUs). In contrast to VMs, the organization and functional role of TATS membranes in atrial myocytes (AMs) is significantly different and much less understood. Taken together, quantitative structural characterization of TATS membrane networks in healthy and diseased myocytes is an essential prerequisite towards better understanding of functional plasticity and pathophysiological reorganization. Here, we present a strategic combination of protocols for direct quantitative analysis of TATS membrane networks in living VMs and AMs. For this, we accompany primary cell isolations of mouse VMs and/or AMs with critical quality control steps and direct membrane staining protocols for fluorescence imaging of TATS membranes. Using an optimized workflow for confocal or superresolution TATS image processing, binarized and skeletonized data are generated for quantitative analysis of the TATS network and its components. Unlike previously published indirect regional aggregate image analysis strategies, our protocols enable direct characterization of specific components and derive complex physiological properties of TATS membrane networks in living myocytes with high throughput and open access software tools. In summary, the combined protocol strategy can be readily applied for quantitative TATS network studies during physiological myocyte adaptation or disease changes, comparison of different cardiac or skeletal muscle cell types, phenotyping of transgenic models, and pharmacological or therapeutic interventions.
Approximation algorithm for A bicriteria multicommodity flow problem

In the present work, one of bicriteria multicommodity flow problem, called as maximum flow problem with minimized maximum of met rates, is proposed to find a certain kind of weak solutions for the operational decisions of many practical situations with multicommodity flow, for instance, the emergency logistics distribution decision stemming from the action of China's reliving the areas suffering the tremendous snow disaster in the beginning of 2008. For the problem, the existence of solutions is proved, a pseudopolynomial time approximation algorithm to solve it is designed, finally an approximation measure on the algorithm we design is proposed and proved.
Oscillation threshold of woodwind instruments

We give a theoretical study of the nature of the bifurcations occurring at the oscillation threshold of woodwind instruments, or of physical systems obeying similar non-linear equations of motion. We start from the simplest description of the acoustical behavior these instruments, a mathematical model containing two equations only, one of which is linear but includes delays, while the other is non-linear but has no delay, and discuss its predictions concerning the characteristics of the small oscillations. In particular we study the nature of the bifurcation occurring at threshold; if the bifurcation is direct, the amplitude of the oscillations increases progressively when the control parameter exceeds a threshold value; but, if the bifurcation is inverse, very small oscillations are not necessarily stable and the oscillation may jump discontinuously to a finite amplitude. While direct bifurcations correspond better to what naive intuition would expect, the surprising result of our calculations is their occurrence is by no means the general rule. We also discuss the shape (spectral content) of the small oscillations, and show that they do not always become quasisinusoidal in the limit of infinitely small solutions, in contrast with what is often assumed in the literature (Worman rule). Frequency shifts are investigated as well near threshold. More generally, we show how, despite of the simplicity of the equations of motion themselves, the characteristics of the non linearities of the excitator and of those of the resonator combine to produce a variety of possible behaviors which are not necessarily intuitive.
Optimization of micro-grid operation by dynamic grid mapping and token ring control

In residential micro-grids, the distributed energy resources are interfaced with the grid by electronic power processors. If these processors perform cooperatively, full exploitation of energy sources can be achieved together with distribution loss reduction and voltage stabilization. The paper shows that this is possible without central controllers, by taking advantage of the local measurement, communication and control capability. In particular, it is shown that micro-grid operation can be optimized by applying token ring control and grid mapping techniques, which only require communication capability between neighbor nodes via power line.
RN-Cluster: Discovering Coherent Biclusters Which is Robust to Noise

A bicluster is a subset of genes that show similar behavior within a subset of conditions. Biclustering algorithm is a useful tool to uncover groups of genes involved in the same cellular process and groups of conditions which take place in this process. We are proposing a polynomial time algorithm to identify functionally highly correlated biclusters. Our algorithm identifies (1) the gene set that follows additive, multiplicative, and combined patterns simultaneously that allow high level of noise, (2) the multiple, possibly overlapped, and diverse gene sets, (3) biclusters with negatively correlated as well as positively correlated gene set simultaneously, and (4) gene sets whose functional association is strongly high. We validated the level of functional association of our method, and compared with current methods using GO.
Politics and Empire in Victorian Britain: A Reader

Part I: Shaping the Imperial Body Politic, 1829-1857 Cultures of Service, Anti-Slavery and Reform Imperial Britons at Mid-Century Part II: Liberalizing Imperial Democracy: Mid-Century and After Imagining an Imperial Polity Women, Politics and Empire Varieties of National and Imperial Patriotism Part III: At Home with Imperial Culture: Toward the 20th Century Empire's Civilizing Missions Work, Race and Politics: Centers and Peripheries The Boer War and the New Century
Phase conjugation in the ocean: Experimental demonstration of an acoustic time-reversal mirror

An experiment conducted in the Mediterranean Sea in April 1996 demonstrated that a time-reversal mirror (or phase conjugate array) can be implemented to spatially and temporally refocus an incident acoustic field back to its origin. The experiment utilized a vertical source–receiver array (SRA) spanning 77 m of a 125-m water column with 20 sources and receivers and a single source/receiver transponder (SRT) colocated in range with another vertical receive array (VRA) of 46 elements spanning 90 m of a 145-m water column located 6.3 km from the SRA. Phase conjugation was implemented by transmitting a 50-ms pulse from the SRT to the SRA, digitizing the received signal and retransmitting the time reversed signals from all the sources of the SRA. The retransmitted signal then was received at the VRA. An assortment of runs was made to examine the structure of the focal point region and the temporal stability of the process. The phase conjugation process was extremely robust and stable, and the experimental resu.
Maximum Margin Clustering Method Based on Immune Evolution for Electrocardiogram Arrhythmias Diagnosis

This paper presents a novel maximum margin clustering method based on immune evolution (IEMMC) to diagnose electrocardiogram (ECG) arrhythmias. This method extends maximum margin principle from SVM to clustering and formulates the clustering model in terms of optimization problem. Then we use immune evolutionary algorithm to find out the optimal solution which has the maximum margin over all possible solutions. Five types of ECG arrhythmias obtained from MIT-BIH database are analyzed in the experiment, including normal sinus rhythm (N), premature ventricular contraction (PVC), atrial premature contraction (APC), right bundle branch block (R), and left bundle branch block (L). To assess the effect of the IEMMC method for ECG arrhythmias, attempts are then made to use three types of performance evaluation indicators, such as sensitivity, specificity and accuracy. Compared with both unsupervised and supervised leaning methods, the IEMMC algorithm reflects comprehensively superior performance in ECG arrhythmias diagnosis.
Endopathogenic lifestyle of Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. savastanoi in olive knots

The endophytic phase of Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. savastanoi in olive stems and the structural and ultrastructural histogenesis of olive knots have been studied. Construction of a stable plasmid vector expressing the green fluorescent protein, in combination with the use of in vitro olive plants, allowed real‐time monitoring of P. savastanoi pv. savastanoi infection. The infection process was also examined by bright field and epifluorescence microscopy as well as by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Hypertrophy of the stem tissue was concomitant with the formation of bacterial aggregates, microcolonies and multilayer biofilms, over the cell surfaces and the interior of plasmolysed cells facing the air‐tissue interface of internal opened fissures, and was followed by invasion of the outer layers of the hypertrophied tissue. Pathogenic invasion of the internal lumen of newly formed xylem vessels, which were connected with the stem vascular system, was also observed in late stages of infection. Ultrastructural analysis of knot sections showed the release of outer membrane vesicles from the pathogen surface, a phenomenon not described before for bacterial phytopathogens during host infection. This is the first real‐time monitoring of P. savastanoi disease development and the first illustrated description of the ultrastructure of P. savastanoi‐induced knots.
Static Analysis of Software Executables

In recent years, there has been a growing need for tools that an analyst can use to understand the workings of COTS software as well as malicious code. Static analysis provides techniques that can help with such problems; however, there are several obstacles that must be overcome, including the absence of source code and the difficulty of analyzing machine code. We have created CodeSurfer/x86, a prototype tool for browsing, inspecting, and analyzing x86 executables. From an x86 executable, CodeSurfer/x86 recovers intermediate representations that are similar to what would be created by a compiler for a program written in a high-level language. These facilities provide a platform for the development of additional tools for analyzing the security properties of executables. CodeSurfer/x86 analyses are automatically generated from a formal specification of the x86 instruction semantics. This makes the analyses more accurate and robust, and makes it easier to retarget the tool to analyze executables for other platforms besides x86.
Dedicated graphical user interface system for the visually impaired users in learning Al-Quran

This study presents a method to enable the Muslim's blind user to read the Al-Quran using Braille Display with software help. The software reads the database which contains all verses of Al-Quran and user will need to select the verse and ayah to read. The data will be transmited to the Braille Display for blind people to touch and read the display. A user friendly Graphical User Interface (GUI) will be used to fulfill the ergonomics for the visually impaired user's physical capabilities. Several approaches are used to design and implement interface for blind users like speech or sound output and Braille display. The Braille codes can be displayed using the Braille panel. The design interface system for the visually impaired users in learning Al_Quran is presented.
WAVEGUIDE PROPAGATION ALLOWS RANGE ESTIMATES FOR NORTH PACIFIC RIGHT WHALES IN THE BERING SEA

The shallow and uniform water depth of the eastern Bering Sea shelf results in an acoustic waveguide. Propagation within this waveguide produces waveform dispersion which is dependent upon range. We present a means for using dispersed waveforms to determine range to calling whales from a single autonomous acoustic recording instrument. The predominant North Pacific right whale (Eubalaena japonica) call is frequency upswept from about 90 Hz to around 160 Hz and lasts approximately 1 s. The regional bathymetry of the eastern Bering Sea middle shelf is relatively uniform and shallow (∼70 meters deep). This geometry provides a plane-layered waveguide in which right whale upswept calls can be detected at ranges over 50 km and have multiple modal arrivals that become dispersed, displaying different propagation velocities for different frequencies. Dispersion characteristics of modal arrivals are dependent on the calling whale's depth, the receiver's depth, the water depth, the range from caller to receiver, and various environmental parameters including water and sediment density and sound velocity. A model of sound propagation for the eastern Bering Sea middle shelf is developed from right whale call dispersion recorded on sonobuoys and seafloor acoustic recording packages, using individual calls recorded at multiple instruments. After development of the model, waveform dispersion allows estimation of caller range based on single instrument recordings. Estimating range between instrument and calling whales provides a means to estimate minimum abundance for the endangered North Pacific right whale.
The Cell Cycle-Specific Growth-Inhibitory Factor Produced by Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitansIs a Cytolethal Distending Toxin

ABSTRACT Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans has been shown to produce a soluble cytotoxic factor(s) distinct from leukotoxin. We have identified in A. actinomycetemcomitansY4 a cluster of genes encoding a cytolethal distending toxin (CDT). This new member of the CDT family is similar to the CDT produced byHaemophilus ducreyi. The CDT from A. actinomycetemcomitans was produced in Escherichia coli and was able to induce cell distension, growth arrest in G2/M phase, nucleus swelling, and chromatin fragmentation in HeLa cells. The three proteins, CDTA, -B and -C, encoded by thecdt locus were all required for toxin activity. Antiserum raised against recombinant CDTC completely inhibited the cytotoxic activity of culture supernatant and cell homogenate fractions ofA. actinomycetemcomitans Y4. These results strongly suggest that the CDT is responsible for the cytotoxic activity present in the culture supernatant and cell homogenate fractions of A. actinomycetemcomitans Y4. This CDT is a new putative virulence factor of A. actinomycetemcomitans and may play a role in the pathogenesis of periodontal diseases.
Are Plasma Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone Levels Associated with Degree of Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome in Euthyroid Obese Patients? A Turkish Cohort Study

We aimed to observe the association between degree of obesity and metabolic syndrome and plasma thyrotropin levels in obese, euthyroid Turkish patients. 947 obese and overweight patients who admitted to our outpatient clinic were assessed retrospectively. 150 healthy euthyroid cases were also recruited as the control group. Cases with metabolic syndrome were determined. Patients were divided into various subgroups as overweight, obese, morbid obese, men, and women. No statistical significance was determined when all the patients' and subgroups' plasma thyrotropin levels were compared to normal weight control group. No association was shown between the presence of metabolic syndrome and plasma thyrotropin levels for both all patients and subgroups. Also there was not any association between each component of metabolic syndrome and plasma thyrotropin levels. In conclusion, we did not found any significant association between plasma thyrotropin levels and obesity and metabolic syndrome in our euthyroid subjects.
Psychoacoustic filtering for noisy speech enhancement

A new denoising approach is introduced in this paper. It is based on the fact that denoising may be performed by mimicking the human ear function in order to improve the psychoacoustics appearance of speech signal. In the proposed method, the speech signal is decomposed by using a gammatone filterbank in accordance with ERB scale. Spectral attenuation filtering is then applied in each sub-band which is based on continuous noise estimation. In the output of the spectral attenuation filter, masking threshold is calculated by using the Johnston model and then inserted in the Psychoacoustics gain filter. Evaluation tests are realized using objective and subjective criterion such as Perceptual Evaluation of Speech Quality (PESQ) for the objectives scores and mean the quality rating of signal distortion (SIG), noise distortion (BAK) and overal l quality (OVRL) for the subjective scores. The results show that our method gives best global quality of the enhanced speech signal while maximizing noise elimination and minimizing distortion.
Finite-Volume Fractional-Moment Criteria forAnderson

A technically convenient signature of localization, exhibited by discrete operators with random potentials, is exponential decay of the fractional moments of the Green function within the appropriate energy ranges. Known implications include: spectral localization, absence of level repulsion, strong form of dynamical localization, and a related condition which plays a signiicant role in the quantiza-tion of the Hall conductance in two-dimensional Fermi gases. We present a family of nite-volume criteria which, under some mild restrictions on the distribution of the potential, cover the regime where the fractional moment decay condition holds. The constructive criteria permit to establish this condition at spectral band edges, provided there are suucient`Lifshitz tail estimates' on the density of states. They are also used here to conclude that the fractional moment condition, and thus the other manifestations of localization, are valid throughout the regime covered by the \multiscale analysis". In the converse direction, the analysis rules out fast power-law decay of the Green functions at mobility edges.
Simultaneous Schur decomposition of several nonsymmetric matrices to achieve automatic pairing in multidimensional harmonic retrieval problems

This paper presents a new Jacobi-type method to calculate a simultaneous Schur decomposition (SSD) of several real-valued, nonsymmetric matrices by minimizing an appropriate cost function. Thereby, the SSD reveals the "average eigenstructure" of these nonsymmetric matrices. This enables an R-dimensional extension of Unitary ESPRIT to estimate several undamped R-dimensional modes or frequencies along with their correct pairing in multidimensional harmonic retrieval problems. Unitary ESPRIT is an ESPRIT-type high-resolution frequency estimation technique that is formulated in terms of real-valued computations throughout. For each of the R dimensions, the corresponding frequency estimates are obtained from the real eigenvalues of a real-valued matrix. The SSD jointly estimates the eigenvalues of all R matrices and, thereby, achieves automatic pairing of the estimated R-dimensional modes via a closed-form procedure that neither requires any search nor any other heuristic pairing strategy. Moreover, we describe how R-dimensional harmonic retrieval problems (with R/spl ges/3) occur in array signal processing and model-based object recognition applications.
A hybrid optimization method for acceleration of building linear classification models

Linear classification is an important technique in machine learning and data mining, and development of fast optimization methods for training linear classification models is a hot research topic. Stochastic gradient descent (SGD) can achieve relatively good results quickly, but unstable to converge. Limited-memory BFGS (L-BFGS) method converges, but takes a long time to train the model, as it needs to compute the gradient from the entire data set to make an update. In this paper, we investigate a hybrid method that integrates SGD and L-BFGS into a new optimization process SGD-LBFGS to take advantages of both optimization methods. In SGD-LBFGS, SGD is used to run initial iterations to obtain a suboptimal result, and then L-BFGS takes over to continue the optimization process until the process converges and a better model is built. We present a theoretical result to prove that SGD-LBFGS converges faster than SGD and L-BFGS. Experiment analysis on 6 real world data sets have shown that SGD-LBFGS converged 77% faster than L-BFGS on average and demonstrated more stable results than SGD.
Security Concern on Cloud Based on Attributes: an Survey

The Cloud computing is the way of using a network of remote servers hosted on the Internet to store, process and manage data, rather than on to the local server. Security is the most important concern in the cloud computing because the user data is transferring through the insecure medium i.e. Internet. In this paper, we present an overview of existing issues related to the cloud security and algorithms for finegrained access control and data security in the cloud environment. All these algorithms are described more or less on their own. Cloud security is a very popular task. We also explain the fundamentals of sequential rule mining. We describe today’s approaches for cloud security. From the broad variety of efficient algorithms that have been developed we will compare the most important ones. We will systematize the algorithms and analyze their performance based on both their run time performance and theoretical considerations. Their strengths and weaknesses are also investigated. It turns out that the behavior of the algorithms is much more similar as to be expected.
Fine registration of 3D point clouds with iterative closest point using an RGB-D camera

We address the problem of accurate and efficient alignment of 3D point clouds captured by an RGB-D (Kinect-style) camera from different viewpoints. Our approach introduces a new cost function for the iterative closest point (ICP) algorithm that balances the significance of structural and photometric features with dynamically adjusted weights to improve the error minimization process. We also enhance the algorithm with a novel outlier rejection method, which relies on adaptive thresholding at each ICP iteration, using both the structural information of the object and the spatial distances of sparse SIFT feature pairs. The effectiveness of our proposed approach is demonstrated in challenging scenarios, involving objects lacking structural features, and significant camera view and lighting changes. We obtained superior registration accuracy than existing related methods while requiring low computational processing.