Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Relationship between Expression of the Family of M Proteins and Lipoteichoic Acid to Hydrophobicity and Biofilm Formation in Streptococcus pyogenes

Background Hydrophobicity is an important attribute of bacteria that contributes to adhesion and biofilm formation. Hydrophobicity of Streptococcus pyogenes is primarily due to lipoteichoic acid (LTA) on the streptococcal surface but the mechanism(s) whereby LTA is retained on the surface is poorly understood. In this study, we sought to determine whether members of the M protein family consisting of Emm (M protein), Mrp (M-related protein), Enn (an M-like protein), and the streptococcal protective antigen (Spa) are involved in anchoring LTA in a manner that contributes to hydrophobicity of the streptococci and its ability to form biofilms. Methodology/Principal Findings Isogenic mutants defective in expression of emm, mrp, enn, and/or spa genes of eight different serotypes and their parental strains were tested for differences in LTA bound to surface proteins, LTA released into the culture media, and membrane-bound LTA. The effect of these mutations on the ability of streptococci to form a hydrophobic surface and to generate biofilms was also investigated. A recombinant strain overexpressing Emm1 was also engineered and similarly tested. The serotypes tested ranged from those that express only a single M protein gene to those that express two or three members of the M protein family. Overexpression of Emm1 led to enhanced hydrophobicity and biofilm formation. Inactivation of emm in those serotypes expressing only a single emm gene reduced biofilm formation, and protein-bound LTA on the surface, but did not alter the levels of membrane-bound LTA. The results were more varied in those serotypes that express two to three members of the M protein family. Conclusions/Significance Our findings suggest that the formation of complexes with members of the M protein family is a common mechanism for anchoring LTA on the surface in a manner that contributes to hydrophobicity and to biofilm formation in S. pyogenes, but these activities in some serotypes are dependent on a trypsin-sensitive protein(s) that remains to be identified. The need for interactions between LTA and M proteins may impose functional constraints that limit variations in the sequence of the M proteins, major virulence factors of S. pyogenes.
Executable Graph Model for building data-centric applications

This paper proposes a novel approach to consumer application development using executable Application Graph Model (AGM). Based on Object-Process Methodology (OPM), AGM has expressive nature to model a generic, data-centric application based on desired domain model. AGM is interpretative, not generative, and also reflective, which enables runtime modeling and production on the same execution environment. AGM contains every aspect of data-centric application: data persistence, business logic, user interface and actors in interaction with application, both human and non-human. Finally, an executing architecture is given supporting multi-platform execution across mobile and desktop devices.
A CMOS current-mode multiplier/divider circuit

Combination of A/D-D/A converters allows implementing multiplier/divider operations. An efficient design based on continuous-time, current-mode, dividing-algorithmic converters is presented in this paper. It offers high speed and capability of low voltage operation, and it is suitable for applications of low or middle resolution (below 9 bits). In addition, the division result is given in both analog and digital formats. Experimental results from a CMOS prototype with 5 bit resolution are included.
Obstructive sleep apnea and neurodegenerative diseases: A bidirectional relation

Sleep disorders are common during the clinical course of the main neurodegenerative diseases. Among these disorders, obstructive sleep apnea has been extensively studied in the last decade and recent knowledge regarding its relationship with the neurodegenerative process points a bidirectional relationship. Neurodegenerative diseases can lead to functional changes in the respiratory system that facilitate the emergence of apnea. On the other hand, obstructive sleep apnea itself can lead to acceleration of neuronal death due to intermittent hypoxia. Considering that obstructive sleep apnea is a potentially treatable condition, its early identification and intervention could have a positive impact on the management of patients with neurodegenerative diseases.
EJACULATE QUALITY AND CONSTRAINTS IN RELATION TO SPERM COMPETITION LEVELS AMONG EUTHERIAN MAMMALS

The outcome of sperm competition is influenced by the relative quantity and quality of sperm among competing ejaculates. Whereas it is well established that individual ejaculate traits evolve rapidly under postcopulatory sexual selection, little is known about other factors that might influence the evolution of ejaculates. For example, the metabolic rate is likely to affect the sperm production rate and the cellular activity or metabolism of sperm, and it has recently been suggested to constrain the evolution of sperm length in large but not small mammals. I thus examined in eutherian mammals how ejaculate quality traits vary with one another and with testis mass, body size, and metabolism. I found all ejaculate traits to covary positively with one another and to increase with relative testis mass. When controlling for testis mass, small‐bodied species showed superior sperm quality (but not sperm number). Furthermore, sperm motility and viability were positively associated with the mass‐corrected metabolic rate, but the percentage of morphologically normal and acrosome‐intact sperm were not. These results indicate that body size and the energy budget may also influence the evolution of ejaculate quality, although these influences appear to vary among traits.
Identification of human renal cell carcinoma associated genes by suppression subtractive hybridization

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) are frequently chemo- and radiation resistant. Thus, there is a need for identifying biological features of these cells that could serve as alternative therapeutic targets. We performed suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) on patient-matched normal renal and RCC tissue to identify variably regulated genes. 11 genes were strongly up-regulated or selectively expressed in more than one RCC tissue or cell line. Screening of filters containing cancer-related cDNAs confirmed overexpression of 3 of these genes and 3 additional genes were identified. These 14 differentially expressed genes, only 6 of which have previously been associated with RCC, are related to tumour growth/survival (EGFR, cyclin D1, insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-1 and a MLRQ sub-unit homologue of the NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase complex), angiogenesis (vascular endothelial growth factor, endothelial PAS domain protein-1, ceruloplasmin, angiopoietin-related protein 2) and cell adhesion/motility (protocadherin 2, cadherin 6, autotaxin, vimentin, lysyl oxidase and semaphorin G). Since some of these genes were overexpressed in 80–90% of RCC tissues, it is important to evaluate their suitability as therapeutic targets. © 2001 Cancer Research Campaign www.bjcancer. com
Performance evaluation of virtual machines in a service-oriented Grid testbed

In this paper we analyze the performance of execution of service workflows in virtual machines (VMs) used as resources in our service-oriented grid testbed (SGT). We chosen an application widely known by computer network researchers and developers to evaluate the testbed: the simulation of networks using the Network Simulator. We constructed workflows which execute several WiMAX network scenarios in parallel, and we executed them to evaluate the performance of virtual and physical machines in the grid. The experiments show that the adequate support to the parallelism can minimize the consequences of the overhead introduced by the VMs, allowing the simulation of several scenarios with execution time as low as one simulation alone would take. We conclude that it is important to have a VM-aware resource manager to completely explore the hardware and its VMs.
Potential Search: A New Greedy Anytime Heuristic Search

In this paper we explore a novel approach for anytime heuristic search, in which the node that is most probable to improve the incumbent solution is expanded first. This is especially suited for the "anytime aspect" of anytime algorithms - the possibility that the algorithm will be be halted anytime throughout the search. The potential of a node to improve the incumbent solution is estimated by a custom cost function, resulting in Potential Search, an anytime best-first search. Experimental results on the 15-puzzle and on the key player problem in communication networks (KPP-COM) show that this approach is competitive with state-of-the-art anytime heuristic search algorithms, and is more robust.
Transforming Natural Language into Controlled Language for Requirements Elicitation: A Knowledge Representation Approach

Requirements elicitation is one of the first processes of the requirements engineering for software development. At the beginning of this process, a team of analysts and stakeholders must capture the requirements belonging to the domain—expressed in natural language—in which the future software application must work. Then, the analyst must transform the captured information into artifacts—mostly diagrams—(Leite, 1987), which specify this domain.
Technical note High-cycle fatigue crack initiation and propagation behaviour of high-strength sprin steel wires

An attempt has been made to characterize high-cycle fatigue behaviour of high-strength spring steel wire by means of an ultrasonic fatigue test and analytical techniques. Two kinds of induction-tempered ultra-high-strength spring steel wire of 6.5 mm in diameter with a tensile strength of 1800 MPa were used in this investigation. The fatigue strength of the steel wires between 10 6 and 10 9 cycles was determined at a load ratio R = -1. The experimental results show that fatigue rupture can occur beyond 10 7 cycles. For Cr-V spring wire, the stress-life (S-N) curve becomes horizontal at a maximum stress of 800 MPa after 10 6 cycles, but the S-N curve of the Cr-Si steel continues to drop at a high number of cycles (> 10 6 cycles) and does not exhibit a fatigue limit, which is more correctly described by a fatigue strength at a given number of cycles. By using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), the crack initiation and propagation behaviour have been examined. Experimental and analytical techniques were developed to better understand and predict high-cycle fatigue life in terms of crack initiation and propagation. The results show that the portion of fatigue life attributed to crack initiation is more than 90% in the high-cycle regime for the steels studied in this investigation.
Maximizing network-lifetime in large scale heterogeneous wireless sensor-actuator networks: a near-optimal solution

Delay and energy constraints have a significant impact on the design and operation of wireless sensor-actuator networks. We cosider a wireless sensor-actuator network, consisting of large number of sensors and few actuators, in which both energy and delay are hard constraints and must be jointly optimized. Abstract In this paper, we propose that each sensor node must transmit its data to only one of the actuators. To maximize the network lifetime and attain minimum end-to-end delays, it is essential to optimally match each sensor node to an actuator and find an optimal routing scheme. We model the actuator selection and optimal flow routing as joint optimization problem, which is NP-hard in general. Therefore, we use a relaxation technique and provide a distributed solution for optimal actuator selection subject to energy and delay constraints. Further, once the destination actuators are fixed, we provide an optimal flow routing solution with the aim of maximizing network lifetime. We then propose to use a delay-energy aware TDMA based MAC protocol in compliance with the routing algorithm. The optimal routing and TDMA MAC schemes together guarantees a near-optimal lifetime. The proposal is validated by means of analysis and ns-2 simulation results.
Affordance-Based Control of a Variable-Autonomy Telerobot

Most robot platforms operate in one of two modes: full autonomy, usually in the lab; or lowlevel teleoperation, usually in the field. Full autonomy is currently realizable only in narrow domains of robotics—like mapping an environment. Tedious teleoperation/joystick control is typical in military applications, like complex manipulation and navigation with bomb-disposal robots. This thesis describes a robot “surrogate” with an intermediate and variable level of autonomy. The robot surrogate accomplishes manipulation tasks by taking guidance and planning suggestions from a human “supervisor. ” The surrogate does not engage in high-level reasoning, but only in intermediate-level planning and low-level control. The human supervisor supplies the high-level reasoning and some intermediate control—leaving execution details for the surrogate. The supervisor supplies world knowledge and planning suggestions by “drawing” on a 3D view of the world constructed from sensor data. The surrogate conveys its own model of the world to the supervisor, to enable mental-model sharing between supervisor and surrogate. The contributions of this thesis include: (1) A novel partitioning of the manipulation task load between supervisor and surrogate, which side-steps problems in autonomous robotics by replacing them with problems in interfaces, perception, planning, control, and human-robot trust; and (2) The algorithms and software designed and built for mental model-sharing and supervisor-assisted manipulation. Using this system, we are able to command the PR2 to manipulate simple objects incorporating either a single revolute or prismatic joint. Thesis Supervisor: Professor Seth Teller Title: Professor of Computer Science and Engineering
The Research on the Experiment Conditions for the Preparation of New Geopolymer by the Utilization of Tailings

Admix different tailings for preparing new inorganic mineral polymer. To explore the preparation conditions by testing the different performances of mortar specimens. The results show that, the strength performance is the best when the tailing dosage is 20%, the modulus of water glass is 1.2, water glass content (Na2O) is 4.5% and the ratio of liquid to solid is 0.6.
Multilayer Adaptive Linear Predictors for Real-Time Tracking

Enlarging or reducing the template size by adding new parts or removing parts of the template according to their suitability for tracking requires the ability to deal with the variation of the template size. For instance, real-time template tracking using linear predictors, although fast and reliable, requires using templates of a fixed size and does not allow online modification of the predictor. To solve this problem, we propose the Adaptive Linear Predictors (ALPs), which enable fast online modifications of prelearned linear predictors. Instead of applying a full matrix inversion for every modification of the template shape, as standard approaches to learning linear predictors do, we just perform a fast update of this inverse. This allows us to learn the ALPs in a much shorter time than standard learning approaches while performing equally well. Additionally, we propose a multilayer approach to detect occlusions and use ALPs to effectively handle them. This allows us to track large templates and modify them according to the present occlusions. We performed an exhaustive evaluation of our approach and compared it to standard linear predictors and other state-of-the-art approaches.
Physical, psychological and occupational consequences of job burnout: A systematic review of prospective studies

Burnout is a syndrome that results from chronic stress at work, with several consequences to workers’ well-being and health. This systematic review aimed to summarize the evidence of the physical, psychological and occupational consequences of job burnout in prospective studies. The PubMed, Science Direct, PsycInfo, SciELO, LILACS and Web of Science databases were searched without language or date restrictions. The Transparent Reporting of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines were followed. Prospective studies that analyzed burnout as the exposure condition were included. Among the 993 articles initially identified, 61 fulfilled the inclusion criteria, and 36 were analyzed because they met three criteria that must be followed in prospective studies. Burnout was a significant predictor of the following physical consequences: hypercholesterolemia, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, hospitalization due to cardiovascular disorder, musculoskeletal pain, changes in pain experiences, prolonged fatigue, headaches, gastrointestinal issues, respiratory problems, severe injuries and mortality below the age of 45 years. The psychological effects were insomnia, depressive symptoms, use of psychotropic and antidepressant medications, hospitalization for mental disorders and psychological ill-health symptoms. Job dissatisfaction, absenteeism, new disability pension, job demands, job resources and presenteeism were identified as professional outcomes. Conflicting findings were observed. In conclusion, several prospective and high-quality studies showed physical, psychological and occupational consequences of job burnout. The individual and social impacts of burnout highlight the need for preventive interventions and early identification of this health condition in the work environment.
Delay discounting, risk-taking, and rejection sensitivity among individuals with Internet and Video Gaming Disorders

Background and aims There is a previous evidence for impulsivity in individuals with Internet and Video Gaming Disorders. The aim of this study was to examine whether Internet and video game addictions are associated with experiential delay discounting, risk-taking, and sensitivity to social rejection using computerized tasks and questionnaires. Methods Twenty participants (mean age 24, SD = 1.55) with high score on the Problematic Online Gaming Questionnaire (POGQ) were compared with 20 participants (mean age 24.8, SD = 1.34) with low score on the POGQ. They performed on computerized Balloon Analog Risk Task and Experiential Delay discounting Task (EDT), and filled in the sensitivity to social rejection questionnaire. Results Participants with high POGQ scores had lower measures of delay discounting, higher measures of risk-taking, and higher measures of sensitivity to social rejection compared with participants with low POGQ scores. Discussion The results of this study support the previous evidence of risk-taking and provide new evidence for difficulties in delay discounting and sensitivity to social rejection among those who score high on Internet and video games. Conclusions The results suggest that Internet- and video game-addicted individuals seek immediate gratification and cannot wait for later reward. Furthermore, these individuals spend time in the virtual world, where they feel safe, and avoid social interactions presumably due to fears of social rejection.
A spectral efficient multi-mode relaying technique

Cooperative relaying with Distributed Space-Time Coding (DSTC) and cooperative Opportunistic Relaying (OR) are the two main relaying techniques that are typically employed in current wireless systems. However, OR is less complex and proven to be outage optimal compared to DSTC. Thus, in this paper we propose a Multi-Mode Relaying (MMR) technique that is based on OR and combined with the Successive Relaying (SR) technique in order to deal with the half-duplex constraint of the relay nodes. MMR, by employing Multi-Mode Decode-and-Forward (MMDF) relay nodes and incorporating two interference mitigation algorithms, not only combines the merits of OR and SR but also is able to alleviate the increased inter-relay interference caused by SR. The performance of MMR is evaluated through simulation and the results show that it is able to increase the average end-to-end capacity of the wireless path as well as the percentage of high quality packets received at the terminal of the user.
Convexity of Decentralized Controller Synthesis

In decentralized control problems, a standard approach is to specify the set of allowable decentralized controllers as a closed subspace of linear operators. This then induces a corresponding set of Youla-Kucera parameters. Previous work has shown that quadratic invariance of the controller set implies that the set of Youla-Kucera parameters is convex. In this technical note, we prove the converse. We thereby show that the only decentralized control problems for which the set of Youla-Kucera parameters is convex are those which are quadratically invariant. We further show that under additional assumptions, quadratic invariance is necessary and sufficient for the set of achievable closed-loop maps to be convex. We give two versions of our results. The first applies to bounded linear operators on a Banach space and the second applies to (possibly unstable) causal LTI systems in discrete or continuous time.
WIP: Live Restructuring of Data Architecture

In large-scale Earth System simulation codes, such asthe Accelerated Climate Model for Energy (ACME), complex user derived data types (containing large numberof variables) are designed to represent the interactionsof atmosphere, ocean, land, ice, and biosphere toproject global climate under a wide variety of conditions. The following is our proposed approach to restructurethe data architecture of a land component within theACME project while the project is undergoing activedevelopment. The data architect for the land subsystemdefines the new datatype requirements that wouldgreatly simplify the implementation of terrestrial landsubmodels by converting more than 50 to just eight primarydata-types. Since the code is developed with thecommunity governance, we have to ensure that the restructuringdoes not interface the other developmentwhich, with dozens of changes occurring every day, makeit impossible to work on a shared development branch. The active development also occurs on almost five hundredbranches, making it extremely difficult to assesspotential interactions. To address these challenges we have designed andstarted an iterative procedure for implementing the datarestructuring and estimating both the effort it takes torestructure and the effort would save once the restructuringis implemented.
Incremental Segmentation and Decoding Strategies for Simultaneous Translation

Simultaneous translation is the challenging task of listening to source language speech, and at the same time, producing target language speech. Human interpreters achieve this task routinely and effortlessly, using different strategies in order to minimize the latency in producing target language. Toward modeling the human interpretation process, we propose a novel input segmentation method using the phrase alignment structure of the language pair. We compare and contrast three incremental decoding and two different input segmentation strategies, including our proposed method, for simultaneous translation. We present accuracy and latency tradeoffs for each of the decoding strategies when applied to audio lectures from the TED collection.