Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Diagonal Subschemes and Vector Bundles

We study when a smooth variety X, embedded diagonally in its Cartesian square, is the zero scheme of a section of a vector bundle of rank dim(X) on X × X. We call this the diagonal property (D). It was known that it holds for all flag manifolds SLn/P . We consider mainly the cases of proper smooth varieties, and the analogous problems for smooth manifolds (“the topological case”). Our main new observation in the case of proper varieties is a relation between (D) and cohomologically trivial line bundles on X, obtained by a variation of Serre’s classic argument relating rank 2 vector bundles and codimension 2 subschemes, combined with Serre duality. Based on this, we have several detailed results on surfaces, and some results in higher dimensions. For smooth affine varieties, we observe that for an affine algebraic group over an algebraically closed field, the diagonal is in fact a complete intersection; thus (D) holds, using the trivial bundle. We conjecture the existence of smooth affine complex varieties for which (D) fails; this leads to an interesting question on projective modules. The arguments in the topological case have a different flavour, with arguments from homotopy theory, topological K-theory, index theory etc. There are 3 variants of the diagonal problem, depending on the type of vector bundle we want (arbitrary, oriented or complex). We obtain a homotopy theoretic reformulation of the diagonal property as an extension problem for a certain homotopy class of maps. We also have detailed results in several cases: spheres, odd dimensional complex projective quadric hypersurfaces, and manifolds of even dimension ≤ 6 with an almost complex structure.
Deorphanization of GPRC6A: A Promiscuous l-α-Amino Acid Receptor with Preference for Basic Amino Acids

One of the most important tasks of molecular pharmacology is the deorphanization of the large number of G-protein-coupled receptors with unidentified endogenous agonists. We recently reported the cloning and analysis of expression of a novel human family C G-protein-coupled receptor, termed hGPRC6A. To identify agonists at this orphan receptor, we faced the challenges of achieving surface expression in mammalian cell lines and establishing an appropriate functional assay. Generating a chimeric receptor construct, h6A/5.24, containing the ligand binding amino-terminal domain (ATD) of hGPRC6A with the signal transducing transmembrane and C terminus of the homologous goldfish 5.24 receptor allowed us to overcome these obstacles. Homology modeling of the hGPRC6A ATD based on the crystal structure of the metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype 1 predicted interaction with α-amino acids and was employed to rationally select potential ligands. Measurement of Ca2+-dependent chloride currents in Xenopus laevis oocytes facilitated the deorphanization of h6A/5.24 and identification of l-α-amino acids as agonists. The most active agonists were basic l-α-amino acids, l-Arg, l-Lys, and l-ornithine, suggesting that these may function as endogenous signaling molecules. Measurement of intracellular calcium in tsA cells expressing h6A/5.24 allowed determination of EC50 values, which confirmed the agonist preferences observed in oocytes. Cloning, cell surface expression and deorphanization of the mouse ortholog further reinforces the assignment of the agonist preferences of hGPRC6A. This study demonstrates the utility of a chimeric receptor approach in combination with molecular modeling, for elucidating agonist interaction with GPRC6A, a novel family C G-protein-coupled receptor.
A Mesophilic, Autotrophic, Ammonia-Oxidizing Archaeon of Thaumarchaeal Group I.1a Cultivated from a Deep Oligotrophic Soil Horizon

ABSTRACT Soil nitrification plays an important role in the reduction of soil fertility and in nitrate enrichment of groundwater. Various ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) are considered to be members of the pool of ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms in soil. This study reports the discovery of a chemolithoautotrophic ammonia oxidizer that belongs to a distinct clade of nonmarine thaumarchaeal group I.1a, which is widespread in terrestrial environments. The archaeal strain MY2 was cultivated from a deep oligotrophic soil horizon. The similarity of the 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain MY2 to those of other cultivated group I.1a thaumarchaeota members, i.e., Nitrosopumilus maritimus and “Candidatus Nitrosoarchaeum koreensis,” is 92.9% for both species. Extensive growth assays showed that strain MY2 is chemolithoautotrophic, mesophilic (optimum temperature, 30°C), and neutrophilic (optimum pH, 7 to 7.5). The accumulation of nitrite above 1 mM inhibited ammonia oxidation, while ammonia oxidation itself was not inhibited in the presence of up to 5 mM ammonia. The genome size of strain MY2 was 1.76 Mb, similar to those of N. maritimus and “Ca. Nitrosoarchaeum koreensis,” and the repertoire of genes required for ammonia oxidation and carbon fixation in thaumarchaeal group I.1a was conserved. A high level of representation of conserved orthologous genes for signal transduction and motility in the noncore genome might be implicated in niche adaptation by strain MY2. On the basis of phenotypic, phylogenetic, and genomic characteristics, we propose the name “Candidatus Nitrosotenuis chungbukensis” for the ammonia-oxidizing archaeal strain MY2.
Characterization of the vertebral anomalies in different phases of the production of Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis): stereoscopic, radiographic and histological approach

Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis) is one of the most promising species in the Spanish aquaculture. This Doctoral Thesis arises from the need to find solutions to prevent the high frequency of skeletal abnormalities detected in this species, coming up to 100% of deformed individuals, in some experimental studies. This supposes a major limitation for its aquaculture because they are often diagnosed using macroscopic techniques when they already have repercussions on the morphology of the fish. In consequence, besides welfare and productive inconveniences there could be rejection by consumers of a downgraded product. Currently, there is still scarce information on the anomaly profile affecting reared Senegalese sole in industrial facilities, especially, at later stages of the productive cycle. This Doctoral Thesis underlines the importance of an interdisciplinary approach to cope a multi-factorial issue in the aquaculture sector. The magnitude of the problem impelled to look for diagnostic tools to provide a detailed scan of the most common deformities at distinct farming phases in Senegalese sole. The employment of stereomicroscopy in larvae, and radiographic techniques in juveniles, allowed the comprehensive characterization of skeletal anomalies for each developmental stage. The results showed a frequency of skeletal anomalies higher than 75% in reared larvae, early juvenile and juvenile Senegalese sole. The main differences detected in the anomaly profiles among ages lied in the incidence of deformations in the caudal complex plates or neural/haemal spines, which clearly diminished in later phases. Vertebral body anomalies and vertebral column deviations were similarly frequent at the three studied ages. Once this was elucidated, the same systematic was used to evaluate the influence of a nutritional strategy on the skeletogenesis of reared larvae and early juveniles. In this sense, a multivariate approach was applied, revealing differences in the anomaly profile between ages rather than a clear effect of commercial enrichment products for live prey on the development of vertebral abnormalities. The histological techniques complemented considerably the radiographic studies and allowed to deepen into the knowledge of Senegalese sole anosteocytic bone reaction during anomaly development. The presence of ectopic chondrocytes in the endplates and within the intervertebral space (IVS) was notable and it seems to be a common mechanism in different types of anomalies affecting diverse teleost species with either osteocytic or anosteocytic bone. Moreover, some histopathological changes in deformed vertebrae as flattened endplates, narrow IVS and/or abundant cartilaginous tissue in such space could be consistent with initial stages of fusion, and in one case, with the aggravation of a primary fusion process.
IMPACTS OF VEGETATION ON THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FLOW: MANNING ROUGHNESS COEFFICIENTS FOR OPEN CHANNEL

The presence of vegetation in waterways plays an important role from ecological point of view as it can be used to improve water quality and reduce soil erosion by altering the flow magnitude. Vegetation roughness is an important parameter in describing flow through river systems. Vegetation impedes the flow, which affects the stage-discharge curve and may increase flood risks. To understand the impact of vegetation flow, an experimental approach using a field channel is adopted. The present study will consider natural vegetation in a rectangular flume located in Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS. Geometrical dimensions of the drainage system, vegetation properties and flow parameters such as flow depth, velocity and discharges will be measured for different inflow scenarios into the drainage system. Subsequently, several flow scenarios will be allowed to pass through the vegetation array emerging from the water surface and when fully submerged.
Two-dimensional antenna beamsteering using metamaterial transmitarray

A new two-dimensional (2D) beamsteering antenna technique using a metamaterial transmitarray structure is proposed in this paper. The proposed technique allows the steering of the main lobe of the original antenna pattern in both elevation and azimuth planes when coupled to a conventional horn antenna. This has been demonstrated on a 5 × 5 unit-cell stacked structure, in which electromagnetic simulations, performed at 5.35 GHz, allowed the evaluation of the unit-cell parameters and the behaviour of the array. A fixed steering output with range of θ = 25° and φ = 25° in spherical coordinates is achieved by means of electromagnetic simulations and validated against experimental results, clearly demonstrating the potential of using metamaterials structures for beamsteering purposes.
Simple Wait-Free Snapshots for Real-Time Systems with Sporadic Tasks

We present a simple and wait-free implementation of a snapshot shared data structure suitable for real-time systems with sporadic tasks. Snapshot mechanisms give the means to a real-time task to read a globally consistent set of variable values while other concurrent tasks are updating them. Such a mechanism can be used to solve a variety of communication and synchronization problems, including system monitoring and control of real-time applications. Typical snapshot implementations are based on mutual exclusion, which causes blocking. Besides from causing reduced overall system performance, blocking also complicates the scheduling analysis and can cause serious problems as priority inversion or dead-locks. To address those problems researchers have introduced non-blocking synchronization methods. The strongest form of non-blocking algorithms is wait-free, and is suitable for hard real-time systems as it gives guarantees in the form of worst-case execution times. In this paper we consider real-time systems with scheduling of periodic or sporadic tasks. Previous suitable wait-free snapshot algorithms are based on strong atomic primitives. By exploiting the timing information that is available and necessary to the real-time scheduler, we have designed a simpler wait-free snapshot algorithm that only relies on atomic read and writes. Experiments on a Sun Enterprise 10000 multiprocessor system show that the new algorithm, because of its simplicity, outperforms considerably the respective wait-free snapshot algorithm that is not using the timing information.
Prediction of electric motor performance by in-line testing of permanent excited rotors

The market growth of electric drives is pushed forward due to high coercive magnet material and new, more efficient motor designs. These new designs require only small tolerances within the whole manufacturing process. While quality assurance is well established within the stator manufacturing process, the rotor assembly process suffers from lack of testing. Hence, this gap causes rejects not detected until the end-of-line-test of the whole motor, measuring especially the back electromotive force (BEMF) and the total harmonic distortion (THD) of the output signal. To avoid rejects of whole motors at the end of the value chain, this paper presents the possibilities delivered by in-line magnetic field measuring of the rotor. Therefore, different testing methods, such as a commercial available monolithic hall array and a discrete hall line array are used and evaluated. Out of these measurement series a rotor KPI is defined in order to evaluate the rotor quality right after the measurement.
Retinoids and their receptors in skeletal development

The embryonic vertebrate limb serves as an excellent experimental model system in which to study mechanisms that regulate morphogenesis of the skeleton. The appendicular skeleton arises through the process of endochondral ossification, whereby a cartilage template is initially formed and subsequently replaced by bone. One molecule that has a dramatic effect on these processes is the vitamin‐A metabolite, retinoic acid (RA). RA functions through a class of nuclear hormone receptors, the retinoic acid receptors (RARs) and retinoid‐X‐receptors (RXRs), to regulate gene transcription. Experimental evidence from RA teratogenesis suggests that the presence of ligand‐activated RARs and/ or inappropriate expression of RARs inhibits chondrogenesis. Conversely, genetic analysis has shown that the absence of the receptors can lead to deficiencies in cartilage formation while also promoting chondrogenesis at ectopic sites. Taken together, these studies suggest that the RARs play a fundamental role in the early stages of skeletal development, specifically those involved in the formation of prechondrogenic condensations and their subsequent differentiation into chondroblasts. Microsc. Res. Tech. 43:137–155, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The decoupled simulation model for virtual reality systems

The Virtual Reality user interface style allows the user to manipulate virtual objects in a 3D environment using 3D input devices. This style is best suited to application areas where traditional two dimensional styles fall short, but the current programming effort required to produce a VR application is somewhat large. We have built a toolkit called MR, which facilitates the development of VR applications. The toolkit provides support for distributed computing, head-mounted displays, room geometry, performance monitoring, hand input devices, and sound feedback. In this paper, the architecture of the toolkit is outlined, the programmer's view is described, and two simple applications are described.
In Vitro Activities of Cethromycin (ABT-773), a New Ketolide, against Streptococcus pneumoniae Strains That Are Not Susceptible to Penicillin or Macrolides

ABSTRACT Pneumococcal resistance to antimicrobials presents problems to physicians for empirical treatment of acute otitis media (AOM). Three hundred thirty-three isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae selected for nonsusceptibility to penicillin (MIC >0.1 μg/ml) from the middle ear (n = 325) or mastoid (n = 8) of children seen between 1994 and 2000 at four children's hospitals in the United States were tested by broth microdilution for susceptibility to nine antibiotics. Using NCCLS 2002 breakpoints, resistance to the following drugs was as indicated: amoxicillin, 1%; azithromycin, 71%; cefprozil, 71%; ceftriaxone, 2%; cefdinir, 98%; erythromycin, 70%; levofloxacin, 0%; and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, 93%. Of the penicillin- and erythromycin-nonsusceptible isolates, 97% were inhibited by cethromycin (ABT-773) and 83% were inhibited by telithromycin at a concentration of ≤0.125 μg/ml. Macrolide resistance among penicillin-nonsusceptible pneumococci increased from 44 to 80% in the 6 years of the study from which the isolates were selected; however, the proportion of isolates with M or MLSB phenotypes remained constant over the time period (53 and 18%, respectively). Prior treatment with a macrolide or clindamycin alone or in combination with a β-lactam resulted in 94 or 85% of isolates causing infections being macrolide and or clindamycin resistant. No prior individual macrolide (azithromycin, erythromycin, or clarithromycin) resulted in more macrolide resistance or in a more prevalent resistance phenotype. The ketolides appear to be active antimicrobials against penicillin- and macrolide-resistant pneumococci.
REVIEW: PART OF A SPECIAL ISSUE ON PLANT NUTRITION Boron transport in plants: co-ordinated regulation of transporters

† Background The essentiality of boron (B) for plant growth was established . 85 years ago. In the last decade, it has been revealed that one of the physiological roles of B is cross-linking the pectic polysaccharide rhamnogalacturonan II in primary cell walls. Borate cross-linking of pectic networks serves both for physical strength of cell walls and for cell adhesion. On the other hand, high concentrations of B are toxic to plant growth. To avoid deficiency and toxicity problems, it is important for plants to maintain their tissue B concentrations within an optimum range by regulating transport processes. Boron transport was long believed to be a passive, unregulated process, but the identification of B transporters has suggested that plants sense and respond to the B conditions and regulate transporters to maintain B homeostasis. † Scope Transporters responsible for efficient B uptake by roots, xylem loading and B distribution among leaves have been described. These transporters are required under B limitation for efficient acquisition and utilization of B. Transporters important for tolerating high B levels in the environment have also been identified, and these transporters export B from roots back to the soil. Two types of transporters are involved in these processes: NIPs (nodulin-26-like intrinsic proteins), boric acid channels, and BORs, B exporters. It is demonstrated that the expression of genes encoding these transporters is finely regulated in response to B availability in the environment to ensure tissue B homeostasis. Furthermore, plants tolerant to stress produced by low B or high B in the environment can be generated through altered expression of these transporters. † Conclusions The identification of the first B transporter led to the discovery that B transport was a process mediated not only by passive diffusion but also by transporters whose activity was regulated in response to B conditions. Now it is evident that plants sense internal and external B conditions and regulate B transport by modulating the expression and/or accumulation of these transporters. Results obtained in model plants are applicable to other plant species, and such knowledge may be useful in designing plants or crops tolerant to soils containing low or high B.
Assessment of the Efficacy and Safety of a New Treatment for Head Lice

Infestation with head lice is a widespread, persistent, and recurring issue leading to serious health problems if untreated. We are facing resistance phenomena to usual pediculicides and questions about their direct or cumulative toxicity. The aim of this trial was to assess the efficacy of a new product, free of chemical insecticides but with a physical effect. This product contains components whose antilice efficacy has already been demonstrated, as well as Andiroba oil which asphyxiates the lice and Quassia vinegar which dissolves the chitin of the nits (they are then inactivated). 30 patients with head lice infestation, aged 3–39 years, applied the treatment one to three times, 5 days apart. Cure was defined as the absence of live lice after 5, 10, or 14 days, and symptoms are usually associated with infestation. Easiness and safety of the treatment were assessed by the patients and/or their parents. Overall cure rates were 20% on D5 after one treatment, 37% on D10 after two treatments, and 90% on D14 after three treatments. Symptoms such as itch, scalp dryness, redness, and flakiness rapidly diminished. This treatment seems to be a beneficial addition or a valuable alternative to existing treatments, considering the total absence of chemical insecticides, the absence of drug-resistance induction in head lice, the absence of major toxicological risks compared with usual pediculicides, and the favourable patient use instructions.
A novel wireless EV charger using SiC single-ended quasi-resonant inverter for home use

Electric Vehicles (EV) offer promise as an effective solution to environmental issues. One of the key technologies to their successful diffusion is the provision of adequate battery/capacitor charging infrastructure. In order to create a charging infrastructure by installing equipment in such as locations as carports in private homes, the inductive power transfer (IPT)-wireless battery charging system is very suitable. It is a promising system for wider diffusion because it is easy and safe to use for a broad range of users including the elderly. This paper presents a new system with the simplest components and low cost aiming at wide diffusion for home use. Proposed is a novel type of IPT-wireless EV charging system with an efficient and compact type single-ended load-resonant high-frequency inverter and DC-DC converter using SiC MOSFET. The single-ended high-frequency resonant inverter, which can operate under a self-excited ZVS control and a PFM power regulation scheme is evaluated from an experimental point of view. This system can supply a controlled charging current successfully with simple output stage. A feasibility study result is presented as a charging system for the commuter EV to demonstrate the viability of the proposed system.
Heat Shock Protein 70 Expression Is Spatially Distributed in Human Placenta and Selectively Upregulated during Labor and Preeclampsia

Placental oxidative stress is a feature of both human labor and the pregnancy syndrome preeclampsia. Heat shock proteins (HSPs) can be induced in cells as a protective mechanism to cope with cellular stress. We hypothesized that HSP 70 would increase during labor and preeclampsia and that expression would vary in different placental zones. Samples were obtained from 12 sites within each placenta: 4 equally spaced apart pieces were sampled from the inner, middle and outer placental regions. Non-labor, labor and preeclampsia were studied. HSP 70 expression was investigated by Western blot analysis. HSP 70 protein expression was increased in the middle compared with the outer area (p = 0.03) in non-labor and in both the inner and middle areas compared with the outer area (p = 0.01 and p = 0.02 respectively) in labor. HSP 70 was increased in the preeclampsia non-labor group compared to the control non-labor group in the inner region (p = 0.003) and in the control labor group compared with the preeclampsia labor group at the middle area (p = 0.001). In conclusion HSP 70 is expressed in a spatial manner in the placenta. Changes in HSP 70 expression occur during labor and preeclampsia but at different zones within the placenta. The physiological and pathological significance of these remains to be elucidated but the results have important implications for how data obtained from studies in placental disease (and other organs) can be influenced by sampling methods.