Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Regulation of skeletal muscle cell plasticity by the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator 1α

Exercise triggers a pleiotropic response in skeletal muscle, which results in a profound remodeling of this tissue. Physical activity–dependent muscle fiber plasticity is regulated by a number of distinct signaling pathways. Even though most of these pathways are activated by different stimuli and in a temporally and spatially separated manner during exercise, many of the major signal transduction events converge on the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator 1α (PGC-1α) by post-translationally modifying the PGC-1α protein, modulating PGC-1α gene expression or both. In turn, depending on the cellular context, PGC-1α regulates specific gene programs. Ultimately, PGC-1α modulates most of the transcriptional adaptations of skeletal muscle to exercise. In this review, the regulation and function of this pivotal transcriptional coactivator in muscle are discussed.
Poor patient-reported outcome after hip replacement, related to poor perception of perioperative information, commoner in immigrants than in non-immigrants

Background and purpose — In preparing patients for total hip replacement surgery, providing thorough information helps to reduce anxiety, manage postoperative pain, prevent complications, and better engage patients in their rehabilitation. However, patient characteristics may have an influence on the ability to comprehend and assimilate the information given. We investigated differences in patients born in Sweden and those born outside Sweden regarding how they perceived the information given before THR, and if this was associated with different patient-reported outcomes one year after surgery. Patients and methods — From Sahlgrenska University Hospital, we recruited 150 patients born in Sweden and 50 patients born outside Sweden who were to undergo THR. We retrieved routinely collected data from the Swedish Hip Arthroplasty Register including basic demographic variables and patient-reported outcome measures, both preoperatively and at 1-year follow-up. In a separate survey carried out 1–2 weeks after surgery, patients were asked about the information provided in connection with the operation. Results — Patients born outside Sweden more frequently reported that they were poorly informed about possibilities to treat pain and about the operation itself. 1 year after the operation, patients born outside Sweden who, 1–2 weeks after the operation, had reported that they were poorly informed also reported having worse outcomes. Poorer results were found for the questions self-care and anxiety/depression in the EQ-5D questionnaire, pain on a visual analog scale (VAS), EQVAS, and EQ-5D index compared to those patients born in Sweden who had received at least some information of acceptable quality. Interpretation — One quarter of the patients were not satisfied with the information provided before and after THR. These patients more commonly reported perioperative anxiety and they were more often born outside Sweden. Poorly informed patients who had come from countries outside Sweden were more likely to report inferior outcome 1 year after the operation.
The role of software measures and metrics in studies of program comprehension

Many studies have been conducted into how programmers comprehend software. Models based on these studies have pointed to top-down, bottom-up, and mixed models for describing the comprehension process. In most of these studies, however, a key element of the experiment is largely ignored: the underlying nature of the software being examined by the programmers. This paper discusses software measurements and metrics that must be considered as factors when conducting comprehension
Automated webpage evaluation

Webpage evaluation and metrics have historically focused on page-level characteristics or on key words. We introduce an automated technique for graphically measuring specific elements on a webpage. Our technique provides a means to increase the fidelity of webpage analysis and introduces a novel metric focused on the number of pixels that certain elements occupy in a browser window. We implemented the technique as a Firefox extension and successfully tested it on Alexa? s top 25 U.S. websites. The technique is fully automatable and consistently measures a customizable set of elements as they appear to users in the Firefox web browser. Importantly, the application allows for communication with and the incorporation of other browser-based tools or extensions. We discuss design considerations and creative solutions to technical implementation challenges. The application provides for a wide range of research opportunities that may require a new level of fidelity in webpage analysis and comparison.
AidOps: a data-driven provisioning of high-availability services in cloud

The virtualization of services with high-availability requirements calls to revisit traditional operation and provisioning processes. Providers are realizing services in software on virtual machines instead of using dedicated appliances to dynamically adjust service capacity to changing demands. Cloud orchestration systems control the number of service instances deployed to make sure each service has enough capacity to meet incoming workloads. However, determining the suitable build-out of a service is challenging as it takes time to install new instances and excessive re-configurations (i.e. scale in/out) can lead to decreased stability. In this paper we present AidOps, a cloud orchestration system that leverages machine learning and domain-specific knowledge to predict the traffic demand, optimizing service performance and cost. AidOps does not require a conservative provisioning of services to cover for the worst-case demand and significantly reduces operational costs while still fulfilling service quality expectations. We have evaluated our framework with real traffic using an enterprise application and a communication service in a private cloud. Our results show up to 4X improvement in service performance indicators compared to existing orchestration systems. AidOps achieves up to 99.985% availability levels while reducing operational costs at least by 20%.
Dicer-dependent microRNA pathway safeguards regulatory T cell function

Regulatory T (T reg) cells are indispensable for preventing autoimmunity. Incumbent to this role is the ability of T reg cells to exert their suppressor function under inflammatory conditions. We found that T reg cell–mediated tolerance is critically dependent on the Dicer-controlled microRNA (miRNA) pathway. Depletion of miRNA within the T reg cell lineage resulted in fatal autoimmunity indistinguishable from that in T reg cell–deficient mice. In disease-free mice lacking Dicer in all T cells or harboring both Dicer-deficient and -sufficient T reg cells, Dicer-deficient T reg cells were suppressive, albeit to a lesser degree, whereas their homeostatic potential was diminished as compared with their Dicer-sufficient counterparts. However, in diseased mice, Dicer-deficient T reg cells completely lost suppressor capacity. Thus, miRNA preserve the T reg cell functional program under inflammatory conditions.
Robust similarity metrics between audio signals based on asymmetrical spectral envelope matching

In this paper, a new type of metric that defines the similarity between musical audio signals is proposed. Based on the spectral flatness criterion, those metrics achieve low computational cost and low sensitivity to acoustical degradations. Validation is performed by studying the ability of the proposed metric to determine whether two audio signals have been played by the same musical instrument. For this task, proposed metrics are shown to overcome metrics based on the comparison of standard spectral features especially when the request and the records of the database are of different acoustical properties.
Numerical study of initiation, stable crack growth, and maximum load, with a ductile fracture criterion based on the growth of holes

Considering a material at the ductile plateau, fracture tests on small specimens in generalized yielding conditions are common. We need to extract from them adequate information to characterize the fracture resistance properties of the material. We also need to predict initiation, crack growth, and maximum load for a crack found in a ductile structure. But the real problems are three-dimensional; for instance, semi-elliptical surface cracks or through-cracks in "small" thicknesses (tunneling and mixed-mode fracture). Moreover, they are not only in the symmetrical Mode I case (angled crack extension). The common denominator of all these phenomena is the ductile fracture processes in the material at the crack border; these micromechanisms extend over some characteristic length which needs to be introduced at a crack tip because of the very intense strain gradient. We thus need a ductile fracture damage function belonging to the continuum mechanics frame and related to the history of stresses and strains averaged over such a characteristic volume. In this numerical feasibility study, using elastic-plastic finite-element computations and guided by a ductile fracture model in three stages-void nucleation, void growth, and coalescence-we tried such a differential damage history, in a most simplified form. We integrated this during the whole stress and strain history in each finite element along the crack path, and we studied the influence of the mechanical and numerical parameters playing a role in this methodology. We describe herein the evolution, which results from this criterion, of some parameters used in the literature as initiation and crack growth criteria.
A low flicker noise direct conversion receiver for the IEEE 802.11a wireless LAN standard

In this paper, a low flicker noise, 5 GHz Direct Conversion Receiver (DRC) has been designed utilizing Dynamic Current Injection (DCI) and tuning inductor in the mixing stage. This DRC has been designed in a TSMC 0.18 µm 1P6M CMOS process for WLAN 802.11a applications. The proposed DRC achieves 7.4 dB SSB-NF, 28 dB Conversion Gain (CG), −10 dBm IIP3, and 1/f noise corner frequency of 100KHz with 80mW power consumption from 1.8V supply voltage. The active chip area was 1.9mm2. All the simulations has been performed by Cadence Spectre® simulator.
Design of human face detection and recognition system along with speech synthesis subtitle

In this paper, an efficient human face detection, recognition and Text To Speech (TTS) based wishing system is designed. The system design involves face detection using Viola-jones object detection algorithm, train the data base by finding the speeded up robust features (SURF)[9] features of detected faces, match of test features with train database features using Fast library for approximate Nearest Neighbors(FLANN) based matching technique, and finally announcing recognized human name based on training using text to speech based speech synthesis. The main problem in this type of systems design is the test face may have difference in view point or scale or illumination, when compared with trained faces, these factors will affect the recognition accuracy. To improve the recognition accuracy one way is train the database with more number of faces with different viewpoints, different scales and with different illumination levels. This will lead to large database size. To overcome this problem in this paper, a new approach is implemented i.e. in the time database training, first the face in the input image is detected and crop it and trained it with SURF features, because of this, size of the database is reduced 75%. One big advantage in SURF features is those are scale invariant, rotate invariant, and in this paper the surf features are illuminations invariant because when the time of feature description time the extracted numbers are normalized to unity. And finally recognized human name is announced using Letter to Sound (LTS) type speech synthesis technique.
Optimal multi‐stage PMU placement in electric power systems using Boolean algebra

SUMMARY Placement of phasor measurement units (PMUs) in power systems has often been formulated for achieving total network observability. In practice, however, the installation process is not implemented at once, but at several stages, because the number of available PMUs at each time period is restricted due to financial problems. This paper presents a novel integer linear programming framework for optimal multi-stage PMU placement (OMPP) over a preset schedule, in order to improve the network observability during intermediate stages, in addition to its complete observability by the end of the PMU placement process. To precisely evaluate the network observability and fully exploit the potential of circuit rules, the observability function is formulated by Boolean algebra. Next, it will be utilized to formulate the optimal PMU placement problem and then construct a unified optimization model for OMPP. As such, among various strategies for installing PMUs over the scheduled horizon, the one achieving the maximum total observability of the system during intermediate stages is found. Moreover, the unified optimization model allows for considering the network expansion scenarios as well as the diverse importance of critical buses during the installation process so that these buses may be equipped with PMUs at primary stages. Finally, to illustrate the applicability and efficiency of the proposed method, it is applied to several IEEE test systems and two practical large-scale power systems, and the results are studied. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Remodeling the Endoplasmic Reticulum by Poliovirus Infection and by Individual Viral Proteins: an Autophagy-Like Origin for Virus-Induced Vesicles

ABSTRACT All positive-strand RNA viruses of eukaryotes studied assemble RNA replication complexes on the surfaces of cytoplasmic membranes. Infection of mammalian cells with poliovirus and other picornaviruses results in the accumulation of dramatically rearranged and vesiculated membranes. Poliovirus-induced membranes did not cofractionate with endoplasmic reticulum (ER), lysosomes, mitochondria, or the majority of Golgi-derived or endosomal membranes in buoyant density gradients, although changes in ionic strength affected ER and virus-induced vesicles, but not other cellular organelles, similarly. When expressed in isolation, two viral proteins of the poliovirus RNA replication complex, 3A and 2C, cofractionated with ER membranes. However, in cells that expressed 2BC, a proteolytic precursor of the 2B and 2C proteins, membranes identical in buoyant density to those observed during poliovirus infection were formed. When coexpressed with 2BC, viral protein 3A was quantitatively incorporated into these fractions, and the membranes formed were ultrastructurally similar to those in poliovirus-infected cells. These data argue that poliovirus-induced vesicles derive from the ER by the action of viral proteins 2BC and 3A by a mechanism that excludes resident host proteins. The double-membraned morphology, cytosolic content, and apparent ER origin of poliovirus-induced membranes are all consistent with an autophagic origin for these membranes.
p 107 inhibits G 1 to S phase progression by down-regulating expression of the F-box protein Skp 2

ell cycle progression is negatively regulated by the pocket proteins pRb, p107, and p130. However, the mechanisms responsible for this inhibition are not fully understood. Here, we show that overexpression of p107 in fibroblasts inhibits Cdk2 activation and delays S phase entry. The inhibition of Cdk2 activity is correlated with the accumulation of p27, consequent to a decreased degradation of the protein, with no change of Thr187 phosphorylation. Instead, we observed a marked decrease in the abundance of the F-box receptor Skp2 in p107overexpressing cells. Reciprocally, Skp2 accumulates to C higher levels in p107 / embryonic fibroblasts. Ectopic expression of Skp2 restores p27 down-regulation and DNA synthesis to the levels observed in parental cells, whereas inactivation of Skp2 abrogates the inhibitory effect of p107 on S phase entry. We further show that the serum-dependent increase in Skp2 half-life observed during G1 progression is impaired in cells overexpressing p107. We propose that p107, in addition to its interaction with E2F, inhibits cell proliferation through the control of Skp2 expression and the resulting stabilization of p27.
RF energy harvesting with broadband antenna

A broadband RF energy harvesting system over a frequency range of 900MHz-3GHz has been designed and tested. Some detailed issues of RF design have been studied and tested to improve the efficiency of the rectifier. Test results show that as low as -20dBm RF power can be harvested by this system. The series and parallel connections of two RF energy harvesting systems have also been studied, compared with the single system.
Integrating security and usability into the requirements and design process

According to Ross Anderson, 'Many systems fail because their designers protect the wrong things or protect the right things in the wrong way'. Surveys also show that security incidents in industry are rising, which highlights the difficulty of designing good security. Some recent approaches have targeted security from the technological perspective, others from the human computer interaction angle, offering better User Interfaces (UIs) for improved usability of security mechanisms. However, usability issues also extend beyond the user interface and should be considered during system requirements and design. In this paper, we describe Appropriate and Effective Guidance for Information Security (AEGIS), a methodology for the development of secure and usable systems. AEGIS defines a development process and a UML meta-model of the definition and the reasoning over the system's assets. AEGIS has been applied to case studies in the area of Grid computing and we report on one of these.
Voice-mail diary studies for naturalistic data capture under mobile conditions

Mobile technology requires new methods for studying its use under realistic conditions "in the field. " Reflexively, mobile technology also creates new opportunities for data collection while participants are remotely located. We report on our experiences with a variation on the paper-based diary study technique, which we extend by using voice-mail paired with mobile and landline telephony to more easily collect data in natural situations. We discuss lessons learned from experiences with voice-mail diary studies in two investigations of different scope. We also present suggestions for tailoring the technique to different research objectives, garnering high subject participation, and configuring the voice-mail system for data collection.
Altering the distribution of Foxp3+ regulatory T cells results in tissue-specific inflammatory disease

CD4+Foxp3+ regulatory T cells (T reg) are essential for maintaining self-tolerance, but their functional mechanisms and sites of action in vivo are poorly defined. We examined the homing receptor expression and tissue distribution of T reg cells in the steady state and determined whether altering their distribution by removal of a single chemokine receptor impairs their ability to maintain tissue-specific peripheral tolerance. We found that T reg cells are distributed throughout all nonlymphoid tissues tested, and are particularly prevalent in the skin, where they express a unique CCR4+CD103hi phenotype. T reg cell expression of CCR4 and CD103 is induced by antigen-driven activation within subcutaneous lymph nodes, and accumulation of T reg cells in the skin and lung airways is impaired in the absence of CCR4 expression. Mice with a complete loss of CCR4 in the T reg cell compartment develop lymphocytic infiltration and severe inflammatory disease in the skin and lungs, accompanied by peripheral lymphadenopathy and increased differentiation of skin-tropic CD4+Foxp3+ T cells. Thus, selectively altering T reg cell distribution in vivo leads to the development of tissue-specific inflammatory disease.
What Makes Demand Curves for Stocks Slope Down ?

In traditional multi-asset models such as the CAPM, demand curves for stocks are almost perfectly horizontal, because a representative investor who is sufficiently risktolerant to hold the entire market portfolio has to be almost indifferent to idiosyncratic risk. We build a model to demonstrate that when investors channel a large share of their wealth through financial intermediaries, this link between the pricing of market risk and idiosyncratic risk does not have to exist. In equilibrium, the fee charged by active money managers can entirely determine the cross-sectional pricing of stocks, while the risk aversion of the end investors still determines the aggregate market risk premium. Contradicting any representative agent models, this allows demand curves for stocks to be steep enough to have economic significance. Consequently, the market prices stocks only within some bounds of their fundamental values, and prices can fluctuate within these bounds even for noninformational reasons. This could account for several empirically observed puzzles such as the S&P 500 index premium. ∗I wish to thank Steve Ross, Dimitri Vayanos, Tuomo Vuolteenaho, and Jiang Wang for valuable discussions, as well as Randy Cohen, Josh Coval, Jonathan Lewellen, Andrew Lo, Oguzhan Ozbas, Anna Pavlova, Andrei Shleifer, and Finance Seminar and Finance Lunch participants at MIT for comments. I am also grateful to Frank Russell Co. for providing data for this study, and to the Emil Aaltonen Foundation and the Finnish Cultural Foundation for financial support.
The gradient index and spherical aberration of the lens of the human eye

We present equations for analysing the primary spherical aberration of the crystalline lens, both as a whole and of its contributing parts. We apply these equations to two examples of gradient index lenses. The spherical aberration of one lens is well outside that expected for real lenses, but that of the other is within this range. We assess the sensitivity of the aberration to changes in surface shape and gradient index distribution. The process is applicable to other models of the gradient index of the lens.