Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Towards ultrahigh resolution EBSD by low accelerating voltage

Abstract By using a low SEM accelerating voltage in the range of 5–7·5 kV with an electron backscatter diffraction system, the interaction volume of electrons with matter is markedly decreased, and the spatial resolution is improved. The authors present measurements which prove this relationship. Electron backscatter diffraction at low acceleration voltage, however, is not a straightforward technique with the current equipment and a standard set-up. The authors show that an optimised working distance and dedicated sample preparation are essential to obtain improved spatial resolution for detailed nanoscale microstructure investigations.
Low power design of DCT and IDCT for low bit rate video codecs

This paper examines low power design techniques for discrete cosine transform (DCT) and inverse discrete cosine transform (IDCT) circuits applicable for low bit rate wireless video systems. The techniques include skipping DCT computation of low energy macroblocks, skipping IDCT computation of blocks with all coefficients equal to zero, using lower precision constant multipliers, gating the clock, and reducing transitions in the data path. The proposed DCT and IDCT circuits reduce power dissipation by, on average, 94% over baseline reference circuits.
Menaquinone biosynthesis: mutants of Escherichia coli K-12 requiring 2-succinylbenzoate

Two independent mutants of Escherichia coli K-12, selected for their inability to grow anaerobically with fumarate as the terminal electron acceptor, were shown to be deficient in menaquinone biosynthesis. In both cases, exogenously supplied 2-succinylbenzoate promoted normal anaerobic growth on a lactate plus fumarate medium. Anaerobic growth of the mutants on glucose minimal medium was impaired but could be restored to normal by adding either uracil or 2-succinylbenzoate. The addition of 2-succinylbenzoate (but not uracil) permitted the synthesis of menaquinone and demethylmenaquinone by both mutants. The menaquinone content of the parental strain grown on lactate plus fumarate was three times greater than observed after growth on glucose. Transduction studies with phage P1 showed that the two mutations are very closely linked and probably affect the same gene, menC, which is cotransducible with nalA (23%), glpT (51%), and purF (8 to 14%). The gene order nalA-nrdA-glpTA-menC-purF was indicated. The results were consistent with 2-succinylbenzoate being an intermediate in menaquinone biosynthesis and show that the gene designated menC (located at 48.65 min of the E. coli chromosome) is involved in the conversion of chorismate to 2-succinylbenzoate. It was also concluded that menaquinone is essential for electron transport to fumarate in E. coli.
Nonisothermal crystallization of isotactic polypropylene in carbon nanotube networks

Isotactic polypropylene (iPP) composites with carbon nanotube (CNT) networks at relatively high loadings could have various applications such as electromagnetic interference shielding and thermal conductivity. The crystallization behavior of iPP inside CNT networks could be very much related to the above properties, which was found to be quite different from that of neat iPP in this work. In CNT networks, CNTs not only act as effective heterogeneous nucleating agents to noticeably increase the onset temperature (more than 18°C) of iPP crystallization but also bring strong confinement on the mobility of iPP chains and then reduce the overall crystallization rate of iPP matrix. It is interesting to find that CNT networks, especially in the case of ultrahigh loading (90 wt%), have remarkable confinement effect on crystallization of iPP, overcoming the heterogeneous nucleation of CNTs, resulting in a decline of crystallization rate of iPP. The nonisothermal crystallization kinetics of iPP in the dense CNT network quite fits to the modified Avrami mode by Jeziorny, even more satisfactorily than the case of neat iPP. When confinement effect is dominated during crystallization, we found that the perfection and size of crystallites are extremely decreased at ultrahigh loading, leading to a very low melting point of iPP (approximately 140°C).
Finitary winning in ω-regular games

Games on graphs with ω-regular objectives provide a model for the control and synthesis of reactive systems. Every ω-regular objective can be decomposed into a safety part and a liveness part. The liveness part ensures that something good happens “eventually. ” Two main strengths of the classical, infinite-limit formulation of liveness are robustness (independence from the granularity of transitions) and simplicity (abstraction of complicated time bounds). However, the classical liveness formulation suffers from the drawback that the time until something good happens may be unbounded. A stronger formulation of liveness, so-called finitary liveness, overcomes this drawback, while still retaining robustness and simplicity. Finitary liveness requires that there exists an unknown, fixed bound b such that something good happens within b transitions. While for one-shot liveness (reachability) objectives, classical and finitary liveness coincide, for repeated liveness (Büchi) objectives, the finitary formulation is strictly stronger. In this work we study games with finitary parity and Streett objectives. We prove the determinacy of these games, present algorithms for solving these games, and characterize the memory requirements of winning strategies. We show that finitary parity games can be solved in polynomial time, which is not known for infinitary parity games. For finitary Streett games, we give an EXPTIME algorithm and show that the problem is NP-hard. Our algorithms can be used, for example, for synthesizing controllers that do not let the response time of a system increase without bound.
Optical coherence tomography in turbid tissue: theoretical analysis and experimental results

Optical imaging of obscure structures in biological tissue can be accomplished by means of time-gated or coherence gated technique which enables effective rejection of multiple scattering from outside the small tissue volume of interest. However the mechanisms of these modalities differ according to our recent theoretical model: unlike the time-resolved technique, coherence-gated method traces out the local variations of the pathlength-resolved backscattering. In this paper, measurements on tissue scattering phantoms which provide apparent evidences in support of our model prediction are presented. Speckle-related effects are exhibited and analyzed. Some in vitro and in vivo tissue measurements are presented Monte-Carlo simulation is incorporated to provide pathlength-resolved reflectance in order to analyze OCT measurements. The results show that OCT is a promising means of detecting optical heterogeneity due to tissue microstructural differences.
Acceleration of reinforcement learning via game-based renewal energy management system

Renewal energy generation has improved greatly in the last decade despite its limitations; e.g., the generated power varies depending on weather conditions. As an example, the electricity generated by a photovoltaic system varies based on irradiation and temperature. The variation in the generated power remains a serious problem. To solve this problem, we usually need to use a rechargeable battery to stabilize the generated power. However, high skills are required to meet the conditions for a smooth operation of such batteries. Using a reinforcement learning method to acquire such skills might require a long learning period. To overcome this problem, we introduce herein a new scheme; a smart grid game-based skill acquisition system. In this system, human skills are corrected via a game and such imitated them by using a supervised actor-critic method. As a result, our system acquire a high operation skill about one-year of operation on the smart grid game whereas the conventional approach takes more than two years to obtain such skills.
Syntaxin-1a is a Direct Target of miR-29a in Insulin-producing β-Cells

Abstract Downregulation of proteins involved in the exocytotic machinery has been implicated in the impairment of normal β-cell function in response to high glucose levels. Syntaxin-1a (Stx-1a) is one of two t-SNAREs involved in insulin exocytosis and decreased expression of Stx-1a protein impairs glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) in isolated rat pancreatic islets. In diabetic patients Stx-1a protein levels are reduced, but the mechanism of this suppression is unknown. MicroRNAs are small noncoding RNAs, which are important regulators of gene-expression at the post transcriptional level, partially binding to the 3′UTRs of their target gene transcripts either mediating transcript degradation or inhibiting translation. We have recently shown that miR-29a is upregulated in response to elevated glucose levels in β-cells and is involved in mediating the negative effect of high glucose levels on GSIS. Stx-1a has a predicted target site of miR-29a present in its 3′ untranslated region. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether miR-29a targets Stx-1a directly to decrease mRNA and/or protein levels in response to glucose. Stx-1a mRNA and protein levels decreased in β-cells treated with increased glucose levels. Overexpression of miR-29a decreased Stx-1a mRNA and protein levels. Furthermore, miR-29a decreases the response of a luciferase reporter construct containing the predicted target site normally present in the Stx-1a gene. When 2 nucleotides are mutated in this target site, responsiveness to miR-29a disappears, confirming miR-29a binding to this sequence. Collectively, these data implicate miR-29a as a mediator of glucose-induced downregulation of Stx-1a in β-cells.
Addressing openness and portability in outdoor pervasive role-playing games

This article introduces Barbarossa, an outdoor pervasive role-playing game. Existing pervasive game prototypes do not enable relocation of the game space as they heavily rely in orchestration actions. They also overlook several aspects which critically affect user acceptance and game experience such as scenario design, usability of employed technologies, game duration and intensity. Barbarossa addresses the abovementioned issues featuring portable game modes through moderating or seamlessly embedding any orchestration actions needed within the game process. It also takes into account concrete technology usage requirements for each game mode according to the game session duration and player effort required. Game experience is enhanced through incorporating several contextual parameters, while game rules may be personalized based on players' profile data retrieved from social networks.
The Electrical and Optical Properties of PMMA/MWCNTs Nanocomposite Thin Films

The poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)/multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) nanocomposite thin films have been prepared by spin‐coating technique. The electrical properties as well as UV‐Visible spectrophotometer have been studied as a function of the MWCNTs’ weight percentage. The electrical conductivity of the films increases by several orders of magnitude upon the addition of MWCNTs into PMMA solution. It was observed that the conductivity enhancement is interpreted by the formation of a continuous electron paths or conducting network in the polymer nanocomposite indicated by the efficient dispersion of MWCNTs into PMMA. The optical band gap of the films was assessed using Tauc approximation from the UV‐Vis spectra. The surface morphology was investigated using the scanning electron microscope (SEM) to study on the MWCNTs’ dispersion in the polymer matrix.
Assessing the impact of different management options using ISIS-Fish : the French Merluccius merluccius - Nephrops norvegicus mixed fishery of the Bay of Biscay

In this paper, we present an approach to compare the impact of different management options on the dynamics of a mixed fishery. We used ISIS-Fish, a simulation tool aimed at evaluating the impact of spatial and sea- sonal management measures on the dynamics of mixed fisheries. The French Nephrops norvegicus (Norway lobster) - Merluccius merluccius (hake) mixed fishery of the Bay of Biscay was chosen as a study case. First, we parameterised the population and exploitation models. We then selected several management measures, including marine protected areas (MPAs) and total allowable catches (TAC), and parameterised fishermen's reaction to each measure. Then, a sen- sitivity analysis was performed according to a fractional factorial experimental design. Management scenarios were assessed and compared using a statistical simulation design. The sensitivity analysis showed the large influence of some parameters, such as natural mortality, N. norvegicus fecundity, and catchability on both abundance and catches. Given model parameters, an improvement of trawl selectivity and several MPA designs (differing in size, seasonality and location) were found to result in a significant increase in abundance over 10 years, especially for N. norvegicus. This study illustrates the need for a pluri-specific approach to fisheries assessment and management.
In-Ear Microphone Hybrid Speech Enhancement

This paper presents a novel speech enhancement approach for performing noise reduction in severely disturbed environments. A small microphone for communication purposes is placed inside the external auditory canal to pick up the speech signal originating from the speech production organ. The speech enhancement is achieved by using three different noise reduction methods: High frequencies are attenuated by passive absorbers, low frequency components are attenuated by employing active noise control and finally a broadband noise reduction is achieved by using spectral subtraction.
Ductile fracture analysis in a steel plate by cohesive zone modeling

There are several theories used to describe fracture process including Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics (LEFM), Elastic-Plastic Fracture Mechanics (EPFM), and Cohesive Zone Models (CZM), which allow for development of predictive capabilities. The main disadvantage of LEFM and EPFM techniques is that only structures with an initial crack can be modeled. Other drawbacks of these techniques are geometry dependence and validity limits. In contrast, CZM can simulate fracture in any structures, with or without a crack. CZM is not confined to a class of materials, but it can be used for arbitrary materials. In this research, the CZM was used to numerically simulate crack initiation and growth in steel plates. Within the CZM, material separation (i.e. damage of the structure) is described by interface elements, which open irreversibly and lose their stiffness at failure, causing the continuum elements to be disconnected. Numerical simulation of tensile tests was conducted to determine and validate the cohesive parameters and then these parameters were used for modeling mode I fracture in steel plates. It was shown that the cohesive model is capable of simulating ductile fracture in cases where the crack path is not known in advance and the crack can evolve anywhere in the specimen.
All-cause, liver-related, and non-liver-related mortality among HCV-infected individuals in the general US population.

BACKGROUND Liver-related mortality among those infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been described, but little is known about non-liver-related mortality. Our objective was to determine HCV-associated all-cause, liver-, and non-liver-related mortality in the general US population. METHODS A prospective cohort study of 9378 nationally representative adults aged 17-59 years was performed utilizing the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) Linked Mortality File that was made publicly available in 2010. HCV status was assessed from 1988 to 1994, with mortality follow-up of the same individuals through 2006. RESULTS There were 614 deaths over a median follow-up of 14.8 years. After adjusting for all covariate risk factors, HCV chronic infection had a 2.37 times higher all-cause mortality rate ratio [MRR] (95% CI: 1.28-4.38; P = .008), a 26.46 times higher liver-related MRR (95% CI: 8.00-87.48; P < .001), and 1.79 times higher non-liver-related MRR (95% CI: .77-4.19; P = .18), compared with being HCV-negative. This represents an estimated 2.46 million US adults aged 17-59 years with chronic HCV infection who had an estimated 31,163 deaths from all causes per year, of which 57.8% (95% CI: 21.9%-77.2%) were attributable to HCV. Among those, there was an estimated 9569 liver-related deaths per year, of which 96.2% (95% CI: 87.5-98.9%) were attributable to HCV. Non-liver-related deaths were not significantly associated with HCV status. CONCLUSIONS Chronic HCV all-cause mortality is more than twice that of HCV-negative individuals. This suggests that those with chronic HCV infection are at a higher risk of death even after accounting for liver-related morbidity and should be closely monitored.
Therapeutic apheresis: a summary of current indication categories endorsed by the AABB and the American Society for Apheresis

T he field of “therapeutic apheresis” encompasses a variety of blood processing techniques that improve the outcomes of susceptible clinical disorders. These techniques include, in part, therapeutic plasma exchange, therapeutic cytoreduction or cell harvesting, in-line cellular immunomodulation, and in-line plasma treatment. Some of these applications are the primary therapy for certain disease processes, and many others are considered to be secondary or adjunctive therapy, but both categories of apheresis treatments are considered to be effective and beneficial. Therapeutic apheresis, as currently practiced, has evolved since the mid-1970s. Whereas early reports of efficacy in treating disease were based predominantly on uncontrolled or anecdotal clinical experiences, the current prevailing requirement for acceptance of new indications for therapeutic apheresis is the controlled clinical trial. This has resulted in the recognition of new indications, the abandonment of some older ones, and in general, improved confidence in the true utility of therapeutic apheresis procedures. As early as 1985, the American Medical Association convened an expert panel on therapeutic plasmapheresis to attempt to classify relative indication categories for plasma exchange and other therapeutic apheresis techniques.1 The indication categories for therapeutic apheresis as established by the American Medical Association were as follows: I. Standard therapy, acceptable but not mandatory; II. Available evidence tends to favor efficacy; conventional therapy usually tried first; III. Inadequately tested at this time; IV. No demonstrated value in controlled trials.
Organising Keywords In A Web Search Environment: A Methodology Based On Co-Word Analysis

The rapid development of the Internet and World Wide Web has caused some critical problem for information retrieval. Researchers have made several attempts to solve these problems. Thesauri and subject heading lists as traditional information retrieval tools have been criticised for their efficiency to tackle these newly emerging problems. This paper proposes an information retrieval tool generated by cocitation analysis, comprising keyword clusters with relationships based on the co-occurrences of keywords in the literature. Such a tool can play the role of an associative thesaurus that can provide information about the keywords in a domain that might be useful for information searching and query expansion.
3D scan-conversion algorithms for voxel-based graphics

An assortment of algorithms, termed three-dimensional (3D) scan-conversion algorithms, is presented. These algorithms scan-convert 3D geometric objects into their discrete voxel-map representation within a Cubic Frame Buffer (CFB). The geometric objects that are studied here include three-dimensional lines, polygons (optionally filled), polyhedra (optionally filled), cubic parametric curves, bicubic parametric surface patches, circles (optionally filled), and quadratic objects (optionally filled) like those used in constructive solid geometry: cylinders, cones, and spheres. All algorithms presented here do scan-conversion with computational complexity which is linear in the number of voxels written to the CFB. All algorithms are incremental and use only additions, subtractions, tests and simpler operations inside the inner algorithm loops. Since the algorithms are basically sequential, the temporal complexity is also linear. However, the polyhedron-fill and sphere-fill algorithms have less than linear temporal complexity, as they use a mechanism for writing a voxel run into the CFB. The temporal complexity would then be linear with the number of pixels in the object's 2D projection. All algorithms have been implemented as part of the CUBE Architecture, which is a voxel-based system for 3D graphics. The CUBE architecture is also presented.
Measurement and characteristics of neurotransmitter receptor surface trafficking (Review)

Neurotransmitter receptor trafficking in and out synapses has emerged as a key process to regulate synaptic transmission during synaptic development and plasticity both at excitatory and inhibitory synapses. Lateral diffusion of surface neurotransmitter receptors has recently emerged as a key pathway to regulate receptor trafficking to and from synapses. Receptors enter and exit synapses mainly by lateral diffusion within the plane of the membrane while their retrieval and addition from and to the plasma membrane by endo and exocytotic processes occur largely at extrasynaptic sites. As a consequence, regulation of receptor surface trafficking is likely to be a major process to regulate receptor numbers at synapses. Measurement of receptor surface diffusion has required the development of new experimental approaches to specifically label and track surface receptor with appropriate time- and space-resolutions. In this review, we first discuss the approaches that have been used to measure receptor surface diffusion, such as the ensemble approach that measure average diffusion of a defined surface receptor population and the single molecule/particle approaches that measure the surface diffusion of isolated receptors. To date, surface diffusion has been described for a variety of neurotransmitter receptors that exhibit common as well as specific features. These points are discussed in a comparative manner and emerging rules of surface trafficking as well as potential interplay between receptor classes are further commented. Because our knowledge on neurotransmitter receptor surface diffusion is fairly recent, open questions and experimental challenges facing the field are highlighted throughout the review.