Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Water Wetting Observation on a Superhydrophobic Hairy Plant Leaf Using Environmental Scanning Electron Microscopy

Mankind has been continuously learning from nature via careful observation in attempt to improve their own lives and to further overcome the environmental issues. In the last 10 years, researchers have focused their attention on the surface functions of parts of living organisms, such as gecko’s feet, water strider’s legs, and lotus leaves for various applications (e.g., self-cleaning surfaces, nano-micro robotics, and water harvesting) (Bhushan & Her, 2010; Cheng et al., 2005; Cho & Choi, 2008; Gao & Jiang, 2004; Hansen & Autumn, 2005; Neinhuis & Barthlott, 1997). In particular, functional plant surfaces such as lotus or acacia leaves have been studied owing to their excellent characteristics of superhydrophobicity and self-cleaning, which are a result of their structures and surface materials (Cha et al., 2010; Cheng et al., 2005; Neinhuis & Barthlott, 1997). For characterizing superhydrophobicity, one can use simple water droplet measurements on target surfaces or measure the squeezing pressure at the micro-scale. Measurement of water condensation with water vapors is also a key indicator of robust superhydrophobicity at the nanoscale (Ko et al., 2012, 2015; Quéré, 2008; Shin et al., 2012; Varanasi et al., 2009). When a water droplet is placed on a superhydrophobic plant leaf possessing nanoor micro-scale roughness like hair or bump-shapes (Fig. 1A), the droplet forms a nearly perfect spherical shape, rolls off, and cleans the leaf surface as shown in Fig. 1B. This self-cleaning and water-repellent behavior is typically attributed to the roughness of the surface and lowsurface-energy coatings such as the hydrophobic epicuticular wax crystalloid coating of lotus leaves. Superhydrophobicity has been commonly characterized by higher water contact angles (i.e., higher than 160) and wetting angle hysteresis of drop rolling. However, because this method uses relatively large water droplets with millimeter-scale sizes, additional information on the quality of superhydrophobicity has been recently obtained. A robust superhydrophobic surface should be able to sustain high contact angles against condensation
Household Response to Income Changes: Evidence from an Unconditional Cash Transfer Program in Kenya ∗

This paper studies the response of poor rural households in rural Kenya to large temporary income changes. Using a randomized controlled trial, households were randomly assigned to receive unconditional cash transfers of at least USD 404 from the NGO GiveDirectly. We designed the experiment to address several long-standing questions in the economics literature: what is the shape of households’ Engel curves? Do household members eectively pool income? Are there constraints to savings? Do transfers generate externalities? In addition, we study in detail the eects of transfers on psychological well-being and levels of the stress hormone cortisol. We randomized at both the village and household levels; further, within the treatment group, we randomized recipient gender (wife vs. husband), transfer timing (lump-sum transfer vs. monthly installments over 9 months), and transfer magnitude (USD 404 vs. USD 1,520). We find a strong consumption response to transfers, with an increase in monthly consumption from USD 157 to USD 194 four months after the transfer ended. Implied expenditure elasticities for food, medical and education expenditures range between 0.84 and 1.47, while the point estimates are negative for alcohol and tobacco. Intriguingly, recipient gender does not aect the household response to the program. Households may face savings constraints: monthly transfers are more likely than lump-sum transfers to improve food security, while lump-sum transfers are more likely to be spent on durables. We find no evidence for externalities on non-recipients except for a significant positive spillover on female empowerment. Transfer recipients experience large increases in psychological well-being, and several types of transfers lead to reductions in levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Together, these results suggest that unconditional cash transfers have significant impacts on consumption and psychological well-being.
Cancer Therapy : Preclinical Combination Therapy with a Second-Generation Androgen Receptor Antagonist and a Metastasis Vaccine Improves Survival in a Spontaneous Prostate Cancer Model

Purpose: Enzalutamide, a second-generation androgen antagonist, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) treatment. Immunotherapy has been shown to be a promising strategy for prostate cancer. This study was performed to provide data to support the combination of enzalutamide and immunotherapy for CRPC treatment. Experimental Design: Male C57BL/6 or TRAMP (transgenic adenocarcinoma of the mouse prostate) prostate cancer model mice were exposed to enzalutamide and/or a therapeutic vaccine targeting Twist, an antigen involved in epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and metastasis. The physiologic and immunologic effects of enzalutamidewere characterized. The generation of Twist-specific immunity by Twist-vaccine was assessed. Finally, the combination of enzalutamide and Twist-vaccine to improve TRAMPmice overall survival was evaluated. Results: Enzalutamide mediated immunogenic modulation in TRAMP-C2 cells. In vivo, enzalutamide mediated reduced genitourinary tissue weight, enlargement of the thymus, and increased levels of T-cell excision circles. Because no changes were seen in T-cell function, as determined byCD4þ T-cell proliferation and regulatory T cell (Treg) functional assays, enzalutamide was determined to be immune inert. Enzalutamide did not diminish the ability of Twist-vaccine to generate Twist-specific immunity. Twist was confirmed as a valid tumor antigen in TRAMP mice by immunohistochemistry. The combination of enzalutamide and Twist-vaccine resulted in significantly increased overall survival of TRAMP mice compared with other treatment groups (27.5 vs. 10.3 weeks). Notably, the effectiveness of the combination therapy increased with disease stage, i.e., the greatest survival benefit was seen in mice with advanced-stage
Current Trend in fabricating a Full Ceramic Restoration for Discolored Anterior Teeth: A Dental Laboratory Survey

Aim: The aim of the survey conducted in dental laboratories was to evaluate the current trend in fabricating a full ceramic restoration for discolored anterior teeth through a questionnaire and personal interaction with the dental technician. Materials and methods: The survey questionnaire consisted of 20 questions aimed toward the current trend in fabricating a full ceramic restoration for discolored anterior teeth. This questionnaire was validated by a panel of senior prosthodontists and technicians and was sent to 32 dental technicians in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai. Results and conclusion: The results of the study showed that majority of the dental technicians preferred taking the stump shade themselves by visiting the clinic or inviting the patient to the laboratory. Majority of the dental technicians preferred using lithium disilicate material and its medium opacity ingots to fabricate restorations by the layering technique for masking discolored anterior teeth. Majority of the technicians believed that their dentists did not use try-in paste prior to luting of the restoration. Clinical significance: This survey would help to improve the rapport between the clinicians and dental laboratories and optimize the esthetics of the restorations fabricated for anterior discolored teeth.
Molecular organization of the uvomorulin-catenin complex

The Ca(2+)-dependent cell adhesion molecule uvomorulin is a member of the cadherin gene family. Its cytoplasmic region complexes with structurally defined proteins termed alpha-, beta-, and gamma-catenins. Here we show that A-CAM (N-cadherin), another member of this gene family, also associates with catenins suggesting that this complex formation may be a general property of the cadherins. For uvomorulin it has been found that this association with catenins is of crucial importance for the adhesive function, but little is known about the molecular organization of the uvomorulin-catenin complex. Using a combination of biochemical analyses we show that a single complex is composed of one molecule of uvomorulin, one or two molecules of beta- catenin, and one molecule of alpha-catenin. Furthermore, beta-catenin seems to interact more directly with uvomorulin. In pulse-chase experiments beta-catenin is already associated with the 135-kD uvomorulin precursor molecule but the assembly of the newly synthesized alpha-catenin into the complex is only detected around the time of endoproteolytic processing.
Optimizing Transmission and Shutdown for Energy-Efficient Real-time Packet Scheduling in Clustered Ad Hoc Networks

Energy efficiency is imperative to enable the deployment of ad hoc networks. Conventional power management focuses independently on the physical or MAC layer and approaches differ depending on the abstraction level. At the physical layer, the fundamental tradeoff between transmission rate and energy is exploited, which leads to transmit as slow as possible. At MAC level, power reduction techniques aim to transmit as fast as possible to maximize the radios power-off interval. The two approaches seem conflicting and it is not obvious which one is the most appropriate. We propose a transmission strategy that optimally mixes both techniques in a multiuser context. We present a cross-layer solution considering the transceiver power characteristics, the varying system load, and the dynamic channel constraints. Based on this, we derive a low-complexity online scheduling algorithm. Results considering an-ary quadrature amplitude modulation radio show that for a range of scenarios a large power reduction is achieved, compared to the case where only scaling or shutdown is considered.
Poly(vinyl alcohol)-poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) blends: preparation and characterization for a prospective medical application

Poly(vinyl alcohol) and poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) were blended and films were obtained by casting method. Glutaraldehyde, hydrochloric acid and lactic acid were added to investigate their effect on mechanical properties, swelling and solubility of the blends with the aim to find a possible material candidate for medium or long term implants. Combination of all three additives (lactic acid, glutaraldehyde and hydrochloric acid) proved as the best choice for poly(vinyl alcohol)/poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) films production with respect to examined properties important for any indwelling medical application.
Synthetic Mucus Nanobarriers for Identification of Glycan-Dependent Primary Influenza A Infection Inhibitors

Current drugs against the influenza A virus (IAV) act by inhibiting viral neuraminidase (NA) enzymes responsible for the release of budding virions from sialoglycans on infected cells. Here, we describe an approach focused on a search for inhibitors that reinforce the protective functions of mucosal barriers that trap viruses en route to the target cells. We have generated mimetics of sialo-glycoproteins that insert into the viral envelope to provide a well-defined mucus-like environment encapsulating the virus. By introducing this barrier, which the virus must breach using its NA enzymes to infect a host cell, into a screening platform, we have been able to identify compounds that provide significant protection against IAV infection. This approach may facilitate the discovery of potent new IAV prophylactics among compounds with NA activities too weak to emerge from traditional drug screens.
Four principles of bio-musicology

As a species-typical trait of Homo sapiens, musicality represents a cognitively complex and biologically grounded capacity worthy of intensive empirical investigation. Four principles are suggested here as prerequisites for a successful future discipline of bio-musicology. These involve adopting: (i) a multicomponent approach which recognizes that musicality is built upon a suite of interconnected capacities, of which none is primary; (ii) a pluralistic Tinbergian perspective that addresses and places equal weight on questions of mechanism, ontogeny, phylogeny and function; (iii) a comparative approach, which seeks and investigates animal homologues or analogues of specific components of musicality, wherever they can be found; and (iv) an ecologically motivated perspective, which recognizes the need to study widespread musical behaviours across a range of human cultures (and not focus solely on Western art music or skilled musicians). Given their pervasiveness, dance and music created for dancing should be considered central subcomponents of music, as should folk tunes, work songs, lullabies and children's songs. Although the precise breakdown of capacities required by the multicomponent approach remains open to debate, and different breakdowns may be appropriate to different purposes, I highlight four core components of human musicality—song, drumming, social synchronization and dance—as widespread and pervasive human abilities spanning across cultures, ages and levels of expertise. Each of these has interesting parallels in the animal kingdom (often analogies but in some cases apparent homologies also). Finally, I suggest that the search for universal capacities underlying human musicality, neglected for many years, should be renewed. The broad framework presented here illustrates the potential for a future discipline of bio-musicology as a rich field for interdisciplinary and comparative research.
Association Analysis of Polymorphisms in ROCK2 with Cardiovascular Disease in a Chinese Population

Background Rho-kinase (ROCK) has been shown to play an important role in cardiovascular disease such as coronary artery disease (CAD) and hypertension. Recently, common variants of ROCK2 have been reported to influence blood pressure, but the relationship between common ROCK2 variants and cardiovascular disease has not been extensively studied in the Chinese population. Methods To derive a more precise estimation of their relationship, we screened for the common variants by direct sequencing of all exons of ROCK2, and then we performed genetic association analyses in a CAD case–control study, including a total of 1344 cases and 1267 ethnically and geographically matched controls. Results Unconditional logistic regression showed that no significant association between common variants in the coding region of ROCK2 and CAD was observed in our study (for rs978906, OR = 0.92, 95% CI 0.72–1.20 and P = 0.63; for rs2230774, OR = 0.90, 95% CI 0.70–1.16 and P = 0.47; for rs56304104, OR = 0.97, 95% CI 0.70–1.31 and P = 0.83; respectively). Conclusions The relationship between the ROCK2 polymorphisms and cardiovascular disease risk cannot be entirely discounted and warrants further evaluation in a large population.
A model based on age, sex, and morbidity to explain variation in UK general practice prescribing: cohort study

Objective To examine whether patient level morbidity based measure of clinical case mix explains variations in prescribing in general practice. Design Retrospective study of a cohort of patients followed for one year. Setting UK General Practice Research Database. Participants 129 general practices, with a total list size of 1 032 072. Main outcome measures Each patient was assigned a morbidity group on the bases of diagnoses, age, and sex using the Johns Hopkins adjusted clinical group case mix system. Multilevel regression models were used to explain variability in prescribing, with age, sex, and morbidity as predictors. Results The median number of prescriptions issued annually to a patient is 2 (90% range 0 to 18). The number of prescriptions issued to a patient increases with age and morbidity. Age and sex explained only 10% of the total variation in prescribing compared with 80% after including morbidity. When variation in prescribing was split between practices and within practices, most of the variation was at the practice level. Morbidity explained both variations well. Conclusions Inclusion of a diagnosis based patient morbidity measure in prescribing models can explain a large amount of variability, both between practices and within practices. The use of patient based case mix systems may prove useful in allocation of budgets and therefore should be investigated further when examining prescribing patterns in general practices in the UK, particularly for specific therapeutic areas.
Deadline-Based Differentiation in P2P Streaming

Splitting a P2P video distribution in multiple media flows with different priorities is an interesting approach for developing flexible and adaptive streaming systems, ranging from VoD to TV. Such an approach can both yield satisfactory quality to all end users and be light in network resources usage, because low-priority flows can be discarded a-priori when target peers do not have enough resources to receive them. This paper focuses on chunk-based video distribution in unstructured meshes, adopting a push strategy (the sender takes the scheduling decision) based on buffer map exchange to avoid sending duplicated chunks. A deadline-based scheduling algorithm is proposed, where different flows of chunks are prioritized using different deadline postponing parameters for each flow. Some experimental results show good differentiation properties and streaming performance much better than with strict priority enforcement. Also, PSNR measures on real video streams show improvements compared to both strict priority and single stream distribution.
How to fix any 3D segmentation interactively via Image Foresting Transform and its use in MRI brain segmentation

In medical imaging, there are many approaches for automatic segmentation. However, none of these methods provide any effective solution to correct segmentation interactively, which becomes a necessity in the case of poorly defined structures. Manual segmentation can not be an alternative given that it might be unfeasible in many cases. On the other hand, how to complete a poor automatic segmentation in an interactive tool is an issue, since the automatic approach and the tool may have been designed with different optimization criteria. We propose solutions to this problem using the framework of the “Image Foresting Transform” (IFT), with evaluation in the context of the segmentation of MR-T1 brain structures. The results indicate that effective semi-automatic correction is possible using just a few markers.
Efficient iris recognition system based on iris anatomical structure

: The global rising security concerns propel growth of bio-metrics recognition techniques. Iris recognition is widely regarded as one of the most promising biometrics methods because of its high accuracy. Among the whole iris recognition process, how to capture the signiﬁcant features in the iris pattern and to encode them eﬃciently is a hard task. In this paper, an innovative method is proposed to extract iris features according to iris anatomical structure characteristics. The proposed method can represent the iris pattern with less redundancy and moreover less computational demanding than traditional methods.
A New Non-Iterative Decoding Algorithm for the Erasure Channel : Comparisons with Enhanced Iterative Methods

This paper investigates decoding of binary linear block codes over the binary erasure channel (BEC). Of the current iterative decoding algorithms on this channel, we review the Recovery Algorithm and the Guess Algorithm. We then present a Multi-Guess Algorithm extended from the Guess Algorithm and a new algorithm - the In-place Algorithm. The Multi-Guess Algorithm can push the limit to break the stopping sets. However, the performance of the Guess and the Multi- Guess Algorithm depend on the parity-check matrix of the code. Simulations show that we can decrease the frame error rate by several orders of magnitude using the Guess and the Multi-Guess Algorithms when the parity-check matrix of the code is sparse. The In-place Algorithm can obtain better performance even if the parity check matrix is dense. We consider the application of these algorithms in the implementation of multicast and broadcast techniques on the Internet. Using these algorithms, a user does not have to wait until the entire transmission has been received.
The plastid genome in Cladophorales green algae is encoded by hairpin plasmids

Virtually all plastid (chloroplast) genomes are circular double-stranded DNA molecules, typically between 100-200 kb in size and encoding circa 80-250 genes. Exceptions to this universal plastid genome architecture are very few and include the dinoflagellates where genes are located on DNA minicircles. Here we report on the highly deviant chloroplast genome of Cladophorales green algae, which is entirely fragmented into hairpin plasmids. Short and long read high-throughput sequencing of DNA and RNA demonstrated that the chloroplast genes of Boodlea composita are encoded on 1-7 kb DNA contigs with an exceptionally high GC-content, each containing a long inverted repeat with one or two protein-coding genes and conserved non-coding regions putatively involved in replication and/or expression. We propose that these contigs correspond to linear single-stranded DNA molecules that fold onto themselves to form hairpin plasmids. The Boodlea chloroplast genes are highly divergent from their corresponding orthologs. The origin of this highly deviant chloroplast genome likely occurred before the emergence of the Cladophorales, and coincided with an elevated transfer of chloroplast genes to the nucleus. A chloroplast genome that is composed only of linear DNA molecules is unprecedented among eukaryotes and highlights unexpected variation in the plastid genome architecture.
The Economic Returns to U.S. Public Agricultural Research

We use newly constructed state-specific data to explore the implications of common modeling choices for measures of research returns. Our results indicate that state-to-state spillover effects are important, that the research and development lag is longer than many studies have allowed, and that misspecification can give rise to significant biases. Across states, the average of the own-state benefit-cost ratios is 21:1, or 32:1 when the spillover benefits to other states are included. These ratios correspond to real internal rates of return of 9% or 10% per annum, much smaller than those typically reported in the literature, partly because we have corrected for a methodological flaw in computing rates of return. Copyright 2011, Oxford University Press.
A Statistical Geometric Framework for Reconstruction of Scene Models

This paper addresses the problem of reconstructing surface models of indoor scenes from sparse 3D scene structure captured from N camera views. Sparse 3D measurements of real scenes are readily estimated from image sequences using structure-from-motion techniques. Currently there is no general method for reconstruction of 3D models of arbitrary scenes from sparse data. We previously introduced an algorithm for recursive integration of sparse 3D structure to obtain a consistent model. In this paper we focus on incorporating uncertainty information into model to achieve reliable reconstruction of real-scenes in the presence of noise. A statistical geometric framework is described that provides a unified approach to probabilistic scene reconstruction from sparse or even dense 3D scene structure.