Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
PicoRadio Supports Ad Hoc Ultra-Low Power Wireless Networking

Technology advances have made it conceivable to build and deploy dense wireless networks of heterogeneous nodes collecting and disseminating wide ranges of environmental data. Applications of such sensor and monitoring networks include smart homes equipped with security, identification, and personalization systems; intelligent assembly systems; warehouse inventory control; interactive learning toys; and disaster mitigation. The opportunities emerging from this technology give rise to new definitions of distributed computing and the user interface. Crucial to the success of these ubiquitous networks is the availability of small, lightweight, low-cost network elements, which the authors call PicoNodes. The authors present a configurable architecture that enables these opportunities to be efficiently realized in silicon. They believe that this energy-conscious system design and implementation methodology will lead to radio nodes that are two orders of magnitude more efficient than existing solutions.
Utilizing Domain Knowledge in Neuroevolution

We propose a method called Rule-based ESP (RESP) for utilizing prior knowledge evolving Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs). First, KBANN-likete chniques are used to transform a set of rules into an ANN, then the ANN is trained using the Enforced Subpopulations (ESP) neuroevolution method. Empirical results in the Prey Capture domain show that RESP can reach higher level of performance than ESP. The results also suggest that incremental learning is not necessary with RESP, and it is often easier to design a set of rules than an incremental evolution scheme. In addition, an experiment with some of the rules deleted suggests that RESP is robust even with an incomplete knowledge base. RESP therefore provides a robust methodology for scaling up neuroevolution to harder tasks by utilizing existing knowledge about the domain.
Physiological Effects of Yogic Practices and Transcendental Meditation in Health and Disease

Yoga is an ancient Indian way of life, which includes changes in mental attitude, diet, and the practice of specific techniques such as yoga asanas (postures), breathing practices (pranayamas), and meditation to attain the highest level of consciousness. Since a decade, there has been a surge in the research on yoga, but we do find very few reviews regarding yogic practices and transcendental meditation (TM) in health and disease. Keeping this in view, a Medline search was done to review relevant articles in English literature on evaluation of physiological effects of yogic practices and TM. Data were constructed; issues were reviewed and found that there were considerable health benefits, including improved cognition, respiration, reduced cardiovascular risk, body mass index, blood pressure, and diabetes. Yoga also influenced immunity and ameliorated joint disorders.
Dynamics and Control of Cell Populations in Continuous Bioreactors

Continuous bioreactors are critical unit operations in a wide variety of biotechnological processes. While they can be viewed as chemical reactors, bioreactors offer unique modeling and control challenges due to the complexity of the underlying biochemical reactions and the distributed properties of the cell population. The dynamic behavior of continuous bioreactors can be strongly affected by variations between individual cells that are captured only with cell population models. The objective of this paper is to outline recent progress in dynamic analysis and feedback control of continuous bioreactors described by cell population models. The industrially important process of continuous yeast production is used to illustrate various concepts. Future research problems in cell population modeling, dynamics and control are outlined to provide insights on the key challenges and opportunities in this emerging area.
Behavior analyses of two-phase Stefan problems with anisotropy modeled by the stochastic phase field model

The purpose of this paper is to study a Stefan problem with anisotropy under a random disturbance. The Stefan problem is a typical example of a free boundary problem. Some mathematical models of the Stefan problem have been proposed in the past, which are generally classified into a Stefan type and a phase field one. The classical Stefan model ignores some of basic physical phenomena such as supercooling, superheating and surface tension, so we adopt the phase field model, which can include such basic physical phenomena and anisotropy in the model. In this paper, taking consideration of the influence of the random fluctuation of the temperature on the crystal growth, we propose the stochastic phase field model. And the crystal growth processes in the Stefan problem are numerically analyzed using the proposed stochastic phase field model.
Alignment-tolerant interfacing of a photonic integrated circuit using back side etched silicon microlenses

Directly interfacing a photonic integrated circuit allows at best an alignment tolerance of a few micrometer due to the small dimensions of optical (coupling) features on chip, but when using microlenses integrated on the substrate-side, alignment tolerances for interfacing the chips can greatly be relaxed. This is demonstrated on a 750 μm thick chip with standard grating couplers (operation wavelength around 1550 nm). Low roughness silicon microlenses were realized by transferring reflowed photoresist into the silicon substrate using reactive ion etching. The microlens allows interfacing the chip from the backside with an expanded beam, drastically increasing lateral alignment tolerances. A 1 dB alignment tolerance of ±8 μm and ±11 μm (along and perpendicular to the grating coupler direction, respectively) was experimentally found when a 40 μm mode field diameter beam was used at the input.
Phase II study of flavopiridol in patients with advanced colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND Flavopiridol, a synthetic flavone that inhibits cell cycle progression, has demonstrated activity in colon cancer in xenografts and in a phase I trial. We evaluated flavopiridol in a phase II trial in patients with previously untreated advanced colorectal cancer (ACRC). PATIENTS AND METHODS Twenty chemotherapy-naïve patients with ACRC received flavopiridol at a dose of 50 mg/m(2)/day via a 72-h continuous infusion every 14 days. Response was assessed by computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging every 8 weeks. RESULTS Twenty patients were enrolled; 19 were evaluable for toxicity and 18 for response. There were no objective responses. Five patients had stable disease lasting a median of 7 weeks. The median time to progression was 8 weeks. Median survival was 65 weeks. The principal grade 3/4 toxicities were diarrhea, fatigue and hyperglycemia, occurring in 21%, 11% and 11% of patients, respectively. Other common toxicities included anemia, anorexia and nausea/vomiting. CONCLUSIONS Flavopiridol in this dose and schedule does not have single-agent activity in patients with ACRC. Recent preclinical data suggest that flavopiridol enhances apoptosis when combined with chemotherapy. Trials that evaluate flavopiridol in combination with active cytotoxic drugs should help to define the role of this novel agent in ACRC.
Emerging Roles for Ubiquitin and Protein Degradation in Neuronal Function

Alterations in cellular structure and synapse composition are central to proper nervous system function. Recent work has identified the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) as a key regulator of neuronal biology. The UPS is essential for the growth and development of immature neurons and is a criticalmediator of synaptic adaptability in mature neurons. Furthermore, proteinaceous deposits that accumulate in diverse neurodegenerative disorders are enriched in components of the UPS, suggesting that UPS dysfunction may be pivotal for pathogenesis. Here, we summarize existing knowledge about the role of the UPS in brain function, highlighting recent work delineating its importance in neuronal development, plasticity, and degeneration.
Environmental exposures and the development of systemic lupus erythematosus

Purpose of reviewThis review examines evidence relating environmental factors to the development of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Recent findingsThe strongest epidemiologic evidence exists for the associations of silica, cigarette smoking, oral contraceptives, postmenopausal hormone therapy and endometriosis, with SLE incidence. Recent studies have also provided robust evidence of the association between alcohol consumption and decreased SLE risk. There are preliminary, conflicting or unsubstantiated data that other factors, including air pollution, ultraviolet light, infections, vaccinations, solvents, pesticides and heavy metals such as mercury, are related to SLE risk. Biologic mechanisms linking environmental exposures and SLE risk include increased oxidative stress, systemic inflammation and inflammatory cytokine upregulation, and hormonal triggers, as well as epigenetic modifications resulting from exposure that could lead to SLE. SummaryIdentifying the environmental risk factors related to risk of SLE is essential as it will lead to increased understanding of pathogenesis of this complex disease and will also make risk factor modification possible for those at increased risk.
Size and Asymmetry of the Planum Temporale

The planum temporale of the supratemporal plane is important for language function and shows left—right asymmetry in most brains. To estimate the size and allow side comparison of the planum temporale, we developed a new technique for 3-D MR analysis of the supratemporal plane using a personal computer and computer-aided graphics. The temporal lobes of 5 human cadavers were imaged by MR in the sagittal plane, at a slice thickness of 2 mm. The images of the supratemporal plane were entered into a personal computer using the original software to determine the positions of anatomic landmarks and the size of the planum temporale. The data were then transferred to a supercomputer to reconstruct the 3-D surface image of the supratemporal plane. Computer images of the supratemporal plane agreed with macroscopic observations. The positions of anatomic landmarks and the size of the planum temporale also agreed with macroscopic measurements. Thus, the present technique provides valuable anatomic data on the supratemporal plane which should be useful for further clarification of the anatomic basis of language function.
Cognitive dysfunction in naturally occurring canine idiopathic epilepsy

Globally, epilepsy is a common serious brain disorder. In addition to seizure activity, epilepsy is associated with cognitive impairments including static cognitive impairments present at onset, progressive seizure-induced impairments and co-morbid dementia. Epilepsy occurs naturally in domestic dogs but its impact on canine cognition has yet to be studied, despite canine cognitive dysfunction (CCD) recognised as a spontaneous model of dementia. Here we use data from a psychometrically validated tool, the canine cognitive dysfunction rating (CCDR) scale, to compare cognitive dysfunction in dogs diagnosed with idiopathic epilepsy (IE) with controls while accounting for age. An online cross-sectional study resulted in a sample of 4051 dogs, of which n = 286 had been diagnosed with IE. Four factors were significantly associated with a diagnosis of CCD (above the diagnostic cut-off of CCDR ≥50): (i) epilepsy diagnosis: dogs with epilepsy were at higher risk; (ii) age: older dogs were at higher risk; (iii) weight: lighter dogs (kg) were at higher risk; (iv) training history: dogs with more exposure to training activities were at lower risk. Impairments in memory were most common in dogs with IE, but progression of impairments was not observed compared to controls. A significant interaction between epilepsy and age was identified, with IE dogs exhibiting a higher risk of CCD at a young age, while control dogs followed the expected pattern of low-risk throughout middle age, with risk increasing exponentially in geriatric years. Within the IE sub-population, dogs with a history of cluster seizures and high seizure frequency had higher CCDR scores. The age of onset, nature and progression of cognitive impairment in the current IE dogs appear divergent from those classically seen in CCD. Longitudinal monitoring of cognitive function from seizure onset is required to further characterise these impairments.
Terrain Mapping and Obstacle Detection Using Gaussian Processes

In this paper we consider a probabilistic method for extracting terrain maps from a scene and use the information to detect potential navigation obstacles within it. The method uses Gaussian process regression (GPR) to predict an estimate function and its relative uncertainty. To test the new methods, we have arranged two setups: an artificial flat surface with an object in front of the sensors and an outdoor unstructured terrain. Two sensor types have been used to determine the point cloud fed to the system: a 3D laser scanner and a stereo camera pair. The results from both sensor systems show that the estimated maps follow the terrain shape, while protrusions are identified and may be isolated as potential obstacles. Representing the data with a covariance function allows a dramatic reduction of the amount of data to process, while maintaining the statistical properties of the measured and interpolated features.
Modeling the switching behaviour of SuperJunction MOSFETs in cascode configuration with a low voltage silicon MOSFET

This work presents a piecewise model to predict electrical waveforms of SuperJunction Cascode Configurations (SJ-CCs) during hard-switching operation. This ultra-fast high-voltage switch is composed of a SuperJunction MOSFET (SJ-FET) in Cascode Configuration (CC) with a Low-Voltage silicon MOSFET (LV-FET). SJ-CCs have been recently proposed as the first solution fully-based on silicon technologies that outperforms standalone SJ-FETs in high-frequency power converters. The model deeply explains its switching behaviour and it takes into account the most relevant parasitic elements and the strong nonlinearity of the SJ-FET capacitances. Moreover, the model is validated with experimental measurements in a 240W boost converter using a SJ-CC composed of discrete devices.
Racing to block tumorigenesis after pRb loss: An innocuous point mutation wins with synthetic lethality

A major goal of tumor suppressor research is to neutralize the tumorigenic effects of their loss. Since loss of pRb does not induce tumorigenesis in many types of cells, natural mechanisms may neutralize the tumorigenic effects of pRb loss in these cells. For susceptible cells, neutralizing the tumorigenic effects of pRb loss could logically be achieved by correcting the deregulated activities of pRb targets to render pRb-deficient cells less abnormal. This line of research has unexpectedly revealed that knocking out the pRb target Skp2 did not render Rb1 deficient cells less abnormal but, rather, induced apoptosis in them, thereby completely blocking tumorigenesis in Rb1+/- mice and after targeted deletion of Rb1 in pituitary intermediate lobe (IL). Skp2 is a substrate-recruiting component of the SCFSkp2 E3 biquitin ligase; one of its substrates is Thr187-phosphorylated p27Kip1. A p27T187A knockin (KI) mutation phenocopied Skp2 knockout (KO) in inducing apoptosis following Rb1 loss. Thus, Skp2 KO or p27T187A KI are synthetic lethal with pRb inactivation. Since homozygous p27T187A KI mutations show no adverse effects in mice, inhibiting p27T187 phosphorylation or p27T187p ubiquitination could be a highly therapeutic and minimally toxic intervention strategy for pRb deficiency-induced tumorigenesis.
Latency exploitation in circuit simulation by sparse matrix techniques

The most important operations for a circuit simulator are component model linearization, updating the network matrix, performing large unsymmetric decomposition on this matrix, and solving the network variables by forward and backward substitution. Methods are presented to keep all these operations localized to the part of the network that is active at the current time point, thus obtaining a considerable reduction in computational effort. The methods depend upon the sparse matrix structure itself, yielding a very effective fine-grained latency use, contrary to methods based on the large blocks specified by the circuit hierarchy. Results obtained from an implementation of the algorithms in a piecewise linear circuit simulator with an implicit multirate integration scheme are presented. >
The evolution and star formation of dwarf galaxies in the Fornax Cluster

We present the results of a spectroscopic survey of 675 bright (16.5 < b(J) < 18) galaxies in a 6 degrees field centred on the Fornax cluster with the FLAIR-II spectrograph on the UK Schmidt Telescope. Three galaxy samples were observed: compact galaxies to search for new blue compact dwarfs, candidate M 32-like compact dwarf ellipticals, and a subset of the brightest known cluster members in order to study the cluster dynamics. We measured redshifts for 516 galaxies, of which 108 were members of the Fornax Cluster. Defining dwarf galaxies to be those with b(J) greater than or equal to 15 (M-B greater than or equal to - 16.5), there are a total of 62 dwarf cluster galaxies in our sample. Nine of these are new cluster members previously misidentified as background galaxies. The cluster dynamics show that the dwarf galaxies are still falling into the cluster whereas the giants are virialized. We classified the observed galaxies as late-type if we detected H alpha emission at an equivalent width greater than 1 Angstrom. The spectra were obtained through fixed apertures, so they reflect activity in the galaxy cores, but this does not significantly bias the classifications of the compact dwarfs in our sample. The new classifications reveal a higher rate of star formation among the dwarf galaxies than suggested by morphological classification: 35 per cent have significant H alpha emission indicative of star formations but only 19 per cent were morphologically classified as late-types. The star-forming dwarf galaxies span the full range of physical sizes and we find no evidence in our data for a distinct class of star-forming blue compact dwarf (BCD) galaxy. The distribution of scale sizes is consistent with evolutionary processes which transform late-type dwarfs to early-type dwarfs. The fraction of dwarfs with active star formation drops rapidly towards the cluster centre: this is the usual density-morphology relation confirmed here for dwarf galaxies. The star-forming dwarfs are concentrated in the outer regions of the cluster, the most extreme in an infalling subcluster. We estimate gas depletion time-scales for five dwarfs with detected Hi emission: these are long (of order 10(10) yr), indicating that an active gas removal process must be involved if they are transformed into gas-poor dwarfs as they fall further into the cluster. Finally, in agreement with our previous results, we find no compact dwarf elliptical (M 32-like) galaxies in the Fornax Cluster.
Beneficial Effect of the Soluble Guanylyl Cyclase Stimulator BAY 41-2272 on Impaired Penile Erection in db/db−/− Type II Diabetic and Obese Mice

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) and obesity are major risk factors for erectile dysfunction (ED). In diabetes, increased oxidative stress leads to decreased nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability, and diabetic patients appear to be less responsive to conventional therapy with phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors. We investigated whether the soluble guanylyl cyclase stimulator BAY 41-2272 (5-cyclopropyl-2-[1-(2-fluoro-benzyl)-1H-pyrazolo[3,4-b]pyridine-3-yl]pyrimidin-4ylamine) is effective in improving impaired corpus cavernosum (CC) relaxation in obese DM2 mice by reducing oxidative stress. Adult db/db−/− mice or their lean db/+ littermates were used to assess vascular function, cGMP levels, antioxidant status, NADPH oxidase expression, and superoxide formation in the absence or presence of BAY 41-2272. Results showed that BAY 41-2272 (10−8 to 10−5 M) potently relaxed CC from db/+ or db/db−/− mice in a similar manner. BAY 41-2272 significantly enhanced both endothelium-dependent and nitrergic relaxation induced by electrical field stimulation (EFS), and improved the impaired relaxation to acetylcholine and EFS in the diabetic animals in a concentration-dependent manner (10−8 to 10−7 M). BAY 41-2272 increased cGMP levels and potentiated relaxation responses to exogenous NO in CC. Total antioxidant status was reduced in plasma and urine whereas expression of vascular NADPH oxidase subunits (gp91phox, p22phox, and p47phox) was increased in the CC of db/db−/− mice, suggesting a state of oxidative stress. These effects were prevented by BAY 41-2272 in a concentration-dependent manner. These results suggest that BAY 41-2272 improves CC relaxation in db/db−/− mice by increasing cGMP and augmenting antioxidant status, making this drug is a potential novel candidate to treat ED.
TiO2 memristor devices

This paper presents the fabrication technique and results obtained for a titanium oxide based memristor design. A memristor wafer was developed that contains isolated devices as well as small memristor crossbar arrays (36 devices). The current-voltage relationship of the devices shows a memristive switching effect that is more apparent when the devices are negatively biased.
Associations Between Self-Reported Sleep Disturbance and Environmental Noise Based on Reanalyses of Pooled Data From 24 Studies

Abstract This study establishes functions that specify self-reported sleep disturbance in relation to the exposure to nighttime transportation noise, by reanalyzing pooled data from previous studies. Results are based on data from 28 original datasets obtained from 24 field studies (4 studies collected data regarding 2 sources) including almost 23,000 participants exposed to nighttime levels ranging from 45 to 65 dB. Functions are presented that give the percentage highly sleep disturbed, sleep disturbed, and (at least) a little sleep disturbed people due to aircraft, road traffic, and railway noise in relation to the average nighttime outdoor exposure level at the facade most exposed to the source concerned. These functions show that at the same average nighttime noise-exposure level, aircraft noise is associated with more self-reported sleep disturbance than road traffic, and road traffic noise is associated with more sleep disturbance than railways. The association of noise-induced sleep disturbance with age has an inverse U-shape, with the strongest reaction found between 50 and 56 years of age.
Building updateable XML views on top of relational databases

In this paper we address the problem of adding XML interface to existing relational database solutions by providing mechanisms for storing, retrieving and querying information which resides in relational database by XML means. These mechanisms should be transparent enough to allow a database to act as a simple set of XML documents with the advantage of much more efficient querying. We describe the implementation of such a system based on object views and instead-of triggers and discuss advantages and disadvantages of suggested approaches.
Cloud computing and its key techniques

With the development of parallel computing, distributed computing, grid computing, a new computing model appeared, called cloud computing. It aims to share data, calculations, and services transparently among users of a massive grid. It became a hot issue for its advantages such as “reduce costs”, “increase business flexibility” and/or “provide business continuity”. In this paper, we described what is cloud computing and took Google's cloud computing techniques as an example, summed up key techniques, such as data storage technology (Google File System), data management technology (BigTable), as well as programming model and task scheduling model (Map-Reduce), used in cloud computing, and then some example of cloud computing vendors were illustrated and compared.