Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of prestretch at the onset of stimulation on mechanical work output of rat medial gastrocnemius muscle-tendon complex.

Work output of rat gastrocnemius medialis (GM) muscle (N = 5) was measured for stretch-shortening contractions, in which initiation of stretch occurred prior to the onset of activation, and for contractions with an isometric prephase. Duration of the active prephase (prestretch and pre-isometric) varied from 20 to 200 ms. Subsequent shortening (from optimum length + 4 mm to optimum length -2mm) lasted 150 ms. Stretch velocities of 5, 10 and 20 mm s-1 were used, and the shortening velocity was 40 mm s-1. The effects of several combinations of active stretch duration and active stretch amplitude were compared. Using force-compliance characteristics, the work of the contractile element (CE), elastic energy storage and release of the undamped series elastic component (SEC) were distinguished. During shortening, an extra amount of work output was produced, induced by active stretch, of which the largest contribution (70-80%) was due to higher elastic energy release. Enhancement of the storage and utilization of elastic energy during the stretch-shortening cycle, caused by higher transition-point forces (i.e. force at onset of shortening), increased with active stretch amplitude and was associated with a net loss of work, probably due to cross-bridge detachment during active stretch. Net work over the stretch-shortening cycle remained positive for all prestretch contractions, indicating that when a muscle performs this type of contraction, it is able to contribute to work performance on body segments. It is concluded that, in stretch-shortening movements of rat GM muscle, maximal positive work output is incompatible with maximal net work output. Consequences for complex movements in vivo are discussed.
Finding Maximum Volume Sub-matrices of a Matrix

Given a matrix A ∈ Rm×n (n vectors in m dimensions), we consider the problem of selecting a submatrix (subset of the columns) with maximum volume. The motivation to study such a problem is that if A can be approximately reconstructed from a small number k of its columns (A has “numerical” rank k), then any set of k independent columns of A should suffice to reconstruct A. However, numerical stability results only if the chosen k have large volume. We thus define an appropriate algorithmic problem Max-Vol(k), which asks for the k columns with maximum volume. We show that Max-Vol is NP-hard, and in fact does not admit any PTAS. In particular, it is NP-hard to approximate Max-Vol within 2 √ 2 3 + ǫ. We study a natural greedy heuristic for Max-Vol and show that it has approximation ratio 2−O(k log . We show that our analysis of the greedy heuristic is tight to within a logarithmic factor in the exponent by giving an instance of Max-Vol for which the greedy heuristic is 2−Ω(k) from optimal. When A has unit norm columns, a related problem is to select the maximum number of vectors with a given volume (this pre-specified volume could be the volume required on grounds of numerical stability for the reconstruction). We show that if the optimal solution selects k columns, then greedy will select Ω( k log k ) columns, providing a log k-approximation.
Translating CIM XML power system data to a proprietary format for system simulation

The problem of exchanging data between two or more organizations in a format that is accessible and understandable by each is a universal problem. Furthermore, the problem of translating or accessing data in the correct format for applications using proprietary data formats is challenging. Legacy software applications may endure, for some time given, regulatory expenditure pressures on electricity system operators and these require data translators (importer/exporter) and access facilities. The basis of this paper is that the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) common information model (CIM) in eXtensible Markup Language (XML) represents the first stage in a revolution of data exchange and manipulation for power systems. This paper explores the problem of translating data in the CIM XML format to the required format for such legacy power system analysis applications. This paper discusses solutions to some of the challenges in data translation, and illustrates how these solutions can be implemented.
The effect of cold-air inhalation on ventilation in normal subjects and in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

It is a well known clinical fact that weather change may precipitate the onset of symptoms in patients with bronchial asthma, chronic bronchitis, or pulmonary emphysema. They may complain of cough, chest discomfort, wheezing, or dyspnea during a seasonal change in the weather or when they experience an environmeptal temperature change. Previous investigators (1-2) have shown that either inhalation of cold air alone or whole body exposure to cold increases resistance to air flow. Recently, other studies based on daily and weekly measurements of pulmonary function in normal subjects and patients with chronic obstructive lung disease at ambient conditions showed that airway resistance increased as temperature decreased (3-6). Wells and associates (1) also indicated that normal subjects and patients with chronic lung disease who gave no history of symptoms in cold were not affected by breathing cold air. pulmonary disease, with and without history of symptoms during exposure to cold air, were studied.
Altered Electrical Properties in DrosophilaNeurons Developing without Synaptic Transmission

We examine the role of synaptic activity in the development of identified Drosophila embryonic motorneurons. Synaptic activity was blocked by both pan-neuronal expression of tetanus toxin light chain (TeTxLC) and by reduction of acetylcholine (ACh) using a temperature-sensitive allele of choline acetyltransferase (Chats2). In the absence of synaptic activity, aCC and RP2 motorneurons develop with an apparently normal morphology and retain their capacity to form synapses. However, blockade of synaptic transmission results in significant changes in the electrical phenotype of these neurons. Specifically, increases are seen in both voltage-gated inward Na+ and voltage-gated outward K+ currents. Voltage-gated Ca2+currents do not change. The changes in conductances appear to promote neuron excitability. In the absence of synaptic activity, the number of action potentials fired by a depolarizing ramp (−60 to +60 mV) is increased and, in addition, the amplitude of the initial action potential fired is also significantly larger. Silencing synaptic input to just aCC, without affecting inputs to other neurons, demonstrates that the capability to respond to changing levels of synaptic excitation is intrinsic to these neurons. The alteration to electrical properties are not permanent, being reversed by restoration of normal synaptic function. Whereas our data suggest that synaptic activity makes little or no contribution to the initial formation of embryonic neural circuits, the electrical development of neurons that constitute these circuits seems to depend on a process that requires synaptic activity.
Reductions of Γ‐Aminobutyric Acid and Glutamate Uptake and (Na++ K+)‐ATPase Activity in Brain Slices and Synaptosomes by Arachidonic Acid

Abstract: Arachidonic acid, a major polyunsaturated fatty acid of membrane phospholipids in the CNS, reduced the high‐affinity uptake of glutamate and γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) in both rat brain cortical slices and synaptosomes. α‐Aminoisobutyric acid uptake was not affected. Intrasynaptosomal sodium was increased concomitant with decreased (Na++ K+)‐ATPase activity in synaptosomal membranes. The reduction of GABA uptake in synaptosomes could be partially reversed by α‐tocopherol. The inhibition of membrane‐bound (Na++K+)‐ATPase by arachidonic acid was not due to a simple detergent‐like action on membranes, since sodium dodecyl sulfate stimulated the sodium pump activity in synaptosomes. These data indicate that arachidonic acid selectively modifies membrane stability and integrity associated with reductions of GABA and glutamate uptake and of (Na++ K+)‐ATPase activity.
Paths with No Small Angles

Giving a (partial) solution to a problem of Fekete [Geometry and the Traveling Salesman Problem, Ph.D. thesis, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada, 1992] and Fekete and Woeginger [Comput. Geom. , 8 (1997), pp. 195-218], we show that given a finite set $X$ of points in the plane, it is possible to find a polygonal path with $|X|-1$ segments and with vertex set $X$ so that every angle on the polygonal path is at least $\pi/9$. According to a conjecture of Fekete and Woeginger, $\pi/9$ can be replaced by $\pi/6$. Previously, the result has not been known with any positive constant. We show further that the same result holds, with an angle smaller than $\pi/9$, in higher dimensions.
Design of fully integrated resonance switched capacitor converters in FDSOI technology

The integration of power supplies has the potential to reduce the form factor and cost of electronic systems. The resonance switched capacitor (ReSC) converters show a promising performance as it overcomes the charge-sharing losses in switched capacitor (SC) converters. However, the used inductors need an additional manufacture process. This paper investigates the design of ReSC using an integrated air-core inductors in 28nm FDSOI technology. Different interleaved topologies are discussed using inductance around 1 nH. The flying and bypass capacitors are implemented using MOM capacitors on-chip. With an inductor quality factor around 6–8 and about 1mm2 silicon, the ReSC converter shows 30% lower losses with respect to the SC converter at power density of 0.1 W/mm2. Although the integrated inductor has a relatively poor quality factor, the fully integrated ReSC converters improve the efficiency of the SC converters. It can be seamlessly implemented in the pre-existing technologies.
An adaptive backstepping observer for modular multilevel converter

This paper deals with the estimation problem in three-phase, three-level Modular Multilevel Converter (MMC) using nonlinear observer to realize an accurate estimation of unmeasured variables. It is shown that the desired states to be exponentially convergent if all system signals are bounded. An observer based on adaptive backstepping approach is used for capacitor voltages estimation from the arm currents measurement. The observer can track the capacitance value of module capacitor which is unknown as a parameter uncertainty with acceptable precision. In practical, it results attracting to evaluate the possibility of reducing the number of sensors, or even using these soft sensors as redundant for fault detection purposes. The nonlinear observer stability study by means of a Lyapunov theory guarantees the stability and convergence of the estimated quantities. The feasibility of the proposed solution is demonstrated by simulation results.
Prospective Teachers' Perceptions of a Teaching Episode.

There are differences in how preservice, novice, and expert teachers view effective teaching. This study traced conceptual changes among preservice teachers at different points in their preparation; investigated whether there were differences in perceptions of students in the elementary and secondary programs; and examined how second and fourth year preservice teachers (N=33) viewed teaching by asking them to observe and critique a videotaped lesson taught by former Secretary of Education William Bennett. Students took observation notes while viewing the lesson, and wrote short critiques identifying instances of effective teaching and instances of less effective teaching. Content analysis of their critiques revealed no discernible differences between elementary and secondary education majors. However, comments differed both in quality and frequency for second-year compared to fourth-year students; second-year students noted surface characteristics of the lesson and appeared more subjective in their judgments of the observed teaching process; fourth-year students demonstrated more objectivity, linking their perceptions to the teaching process rather than the teacher. Studies such as this one may suggest ways of imparting expert traits to preservice teachers at an earlier phase of their development. (LL) ***********************,%A. ********************************* z.eprociaLLLoris suppilea oy tuRb are ine best tnat can be mace from the original document. ***********************************************************************
Complex lattice reduction aided detection for multiuser MIMO systems in dual basis

Different detection technique approach in wireless communication for multi input multi output (MIMO) systems at last ten decades. Lattice reduction aided detectors are also use extensively in MIMO systems. These detectors are introduce and work on the traditional algorithm which was originally base on reducing real lattice bases. In this paper, we use complex lattice reduction processing in dual basis to reduce channel matrix and compare the parameters that affect the complexity of the LLL algorithm for MIMO detection. Through use of the complex lattice reduction in Dual basis, the performances of bit error rate are much improved at 8×8MIMO system.
Analytical Design of Permanent Magnet Radial Couplings

This paper presents a three-dimensional analytical approach for computing the torque transmitted by synchronous radial couplings with radially polarized tile permanent magnets. An expression is given as a finite sum of elliptic functions, which has no underlying simplificating assumptions. Such an expression allows parametric studies and optimizations of coupling structures. It is applied first to the study of conventional radial couplings. Then, structures with “short pitch” magnets are considered and compared with conventional ones. Eventually, special designs are presented, as the ones dedicated to screwing applications, for instance, which require creating an asymmetrical torque.
Glucose Transport in Human Red Blood Cells

The penetration of D-( 14 C) glucose into human red blood cells (RBCs) features kinetic parameters which are readily distinguishable from passive permeation. It would be expected to require activation energy above 80 kJ/mol for permeation of glucose with five hydroxyls capable of forming hydrogen bonds, but the measured activation energy is approximately 16 kJ/mol. As a consequence, glucose permeates RBC membrane about five orders of magnitude faster than would be expected for passive permeation. Glucose transporter protein 1, or GLUT1 and SGLT1, present in all human tissues, but especially in RBCs. It is also anchored in the protective sheet of flat cells that line up the blood vessels of the brain. GLUT1 has a strong affinity for glucose and it ensures that both RBCs and the brain receive appropriate levels of glucose that they need to be able to function. The brain consumes ~120g of glucose per day; the blood glucose level in a typical person 80mg/100ml. The binding site of glucose faces intracellular and extracellular of the membrane alternately when it is loaded by a glucose. The transport is accomplished by conformational changes within GLUT1 , and not by rotation of the whole single long polypeptide chain (55kD, ~500 residues) with the presence of 12 trans membrane α- helices segments. The super family of related GLUT sugar transporters comprises 14 identified isoforms in the human genome, all adopting a 12-membrane-spanning domain structure that delineate 6 extracellular loops . The erythrocyte glucose transporter GLUT1 has an ~10-fold-lower affinity for D-glucose, Km ≈ 10-15 mM, at the inside face for net export than on the outside ( Km = 1-2 mM) for net import of glucose (zero-trans net flux) at 24°C , pertaining a liganded consequential asymmetric transporter.
A receptor-mediated pathway for cholesterol homeostasis.

In 1901 a physician, Archibald Garrod, observed a patient with black urine. He used this simple observation to demonstrate that a single mutant gene can produce a discrete block in a biochemical pathway, which he called an “inborn error of metabolism”. Garrod’s brilliant insight anticipated by 40 years the one gene-one enzyme concept of Beadle and Tatum. In similar fashion the chemist Linus Pauling and the biochemist Vernon Ingram, through study of patients with sickle cell anemia, showed that mutant genes alter the amino acid sequences of proteins. Clearly, many fundamental advances in biology were spawned by perceptive studies of human genetic diseases (1). We began our work in 1972 in an attempt to understand a human genetic disease, familial hypercholesterolemia or FH. In these patients the concentration of cholesterol in blood is elevated many fold above normal and heart attacks occur early in life. We postulated that this dominantly inherited disease results from a failure of end-product repression of cholesterol synthesis. The possibility fascinated us because genetic defects in feedback regulation had not been observed previously in humans or animals, and we hoped that study of this disease might throw light on fundamental regulatory mechanisms. Our approach was to apply the techniques of cell culture to unravel the postulated regulatory defect in FH. These studies led to the discovery of a cell surface receptor for a plasma cholesterol transport protein called low density lipoprotein (LDL) and to the elucidation of the mechanism by which this receptor mediates feedback control of cholesterol synthesis (2,3). FH was shown to be caused by inherited defects in the gene encoding the LDL receptor, which disrupt the normal control of cholesterol metabolism. Study of the LDL receptor in turn led to the understanding of receptor-mediated endocytosis, a genera! process by which cells communicate with each other through internalization of regulatory and nutritional molecules (4). Receptor-mediated endocytosis differs from previously described biochemical pathways because it depends upon the continuous and highly controlled movement of membraneembedded proteins from one cell organelle to another in a process termed
Low Porosity Metallic Periodic Structures with Negative Poisson's Ratio

Auxetic behavior in low porosity metallic structures is demonstrated via a simple system of orthogonal elliptical voids. In this minimal 2D system, the Poisson's ratio can be effectively controlled by changing the aspect ratio of the voids. In this way, large negative values of Poisson's ratio can be achieved, indicating an effective strategy for designing auxetic structures with desired porosity.
An Adaptive Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm for Distributed Search and Collective Cleanup in Complex Environment

Distributed coordination is critical for a multirobot system in collective cleanup task under a dynamic environment. In traditional methods, robots easily drop into premature convergence. In this paper, we propose a Swarm Intelligence based algorithm to reduce the expectation time for searching targets and removing. We modify the traditional PSO algorithm with a random factor to tackle premature convergence problem, and it can achieve a significant improvement in multi-robot system. It performs well even in a obstacle environment. The proposed method has been implemented on self-developed simulator for searching task. The simulation results demonstrate the feasibility, robustness, and scalability of our proposed method compared to previous methods.
Middleware for Mobile Social Networks: A Survey

In recent years there have been two major but independent trends: the popularity of social networking applications and the adoption of smart phones. As a result, a new trend of networks labeled Mobile Social Networks (MSN) has emerged and attracted considerable attention from the academic and industrial communities. Middleware for MSN facilitates the design and development of new applications on top of the middleware. But due to the resource constraints of smart phones, middleware for MSN presents a number of new challenges. The middleware for MSN should address the constraints of mobile devices, i.e., limited power sources, low memory capabilities, limited processing power, and heterogeneity. In this paper, we provide a detailed review of the existing middleware projects for MSN and identify the major approaches and challenges for designing them. Furthermore, we present an exhaustive comparative study of different middleware projects for MSN. We also discuss some open research issues in this important area of research.
A genome-wide analysis of the auxin/indole-3-acetic acid gene family in hexaploid bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

The Auxin/indole-3-acetic acid (Aux/IAA) gene family plays key roles in the primary auxin-response process and controls a number of important traits in plants. However, the characteristics of the Aux/IAA gene family in hexaploid bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) have long been unknown. In this study, a comprehensive identification of the Aux/IAA gene family was performed using the latest draft genome sequence of the bread wheat “Chinese Spring. ” Thirty-four Aux/IAA genes were identified, 30 of which have duplicated genes on the A, B or D sub-genome, with a total of 84 Aux/IAA sequences. These predicted Aux/IAA genes were non-randomly distributed in all the wheat chromosomes except for chromosome 2D. The information of wheat Aux/IAA proteins is also described. Based on an analysis of phylogeny, expression and adaptive evolution, we prove that the Aux/IAA family in wheat has been replicated twice in the two allopolyploidization events of bread wheat, when the tandem duplication also occurred. The duplicated genes have undergone an evolutionary process of purifying selection, resulting in the high conservation of copy genes among sub-genomes and functional redundancy among several members of the TaIAA family. However, functional divergence probably existed in most TaIAA members due to the diversity of the functional domain and expression pattern. Our research provides useful information for further research into the function of Aux/IAA genes in wheat.
3 D RECONSTRUCTION FROM IMAGE SEQUENCE TAKEN WITH A HANDHELD CAMERA

This paper shows in theory and in practice how to implement a 3D reconstruction algorithm. It uses image sequence taken with a handheld camera as input to reconstruct a scene up to an unknown scale factor. The camera's motion and intrinsic parameters are all unknown. We especially address to apply SIFT algorithm to find distinctive features. Feature matching is done through a Euclidean-distance based nearest neighbor searching. The fundamental matrix is then estimated by existing correspondences and sequentially used to refine matching. By recovering project matrix from fundamental matrix we get projective reconstruction. And finally we demonstrate how the projective reconstruction can be successively upgraded to affine and Euclidean reconstruction. * This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation (NSFC40601081), Beijing Municipal Science & Technology Commission (2006B57), and National Education Department Doctor Fund (20070006031)