Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
RetroSpat: a Perception-Based System for Semi-Automatic Diffusion of Acousmatic Music

—We present the RetroSpat system for the semi-automatic diffusion of acousmatic music. This system is intended to be a spatializer with perceptive feedback. More precisely, RetroSpat can guess the positions of physical sound sources ( e.g. loudspeakers) from binaural inputs, and can then output multichannel signals to the loudspeakers while controlling the spatial location of virtual sound sources. Together with a realistic binaural spatialization technique taking into account both the azimuth and the distance, we propose a precise localization method which estimates the azimuth from the interaural cues and the distance from the brightness. This localization can be used by the system to adapt to the room acoustics and to the loudspeaker conﬁguration. We propose a simpliﬁed sinusoidal model for the interaural cues, the model parameters being derived from the CIPIC HRTF database. We extend the binaural spatialization to a multi-source and multi-loudspeaker spatialization system based on a static adaptation matrix. The methods are currently implemented in a real-time free software. Musical experiments are conducted at the SCRIME, Bordeaux.
The RNA-binding protein tristetraprolin schedules apoptosis of pathogen-engaged neutrophils during bacterial infection

Protective responses against pathogens require a rapid mobilization of resting neutrophils and the timely removal of activated ones. Neutrophils are exceptionally short-lived leukocytes, yet it remains unclear whether the lifespan of pathogen-engaged neutrophils is regulated differently from that in the circulating steady-state pool. Here, we have found that under homeostatic conditions, the mRNA-destabilizing protein tristetraprolin (TTP) regulates apoptosis and the numbers of activated infiltrating murine neutrophils but not neutrophil cellularity. Activated TTP-deficient neutrophils exhibited decreased apoptosis and enhanced accumulation at the infection site. In the context of myeloid-specific deletion of Ttp, the potentiation of neutrophil deployment protected mice against lethal soft tissue infection with Streptococcus pyogenes and prevented bacterial dissemination. Neutrophil transcriptome analysis revealed that decreased apoptosis of TTP-deficient neutrophils was specifically associated with elevated expression of myeloid cell leukemia 1 (Mcl1) but not other antiapoptotic B cell leukemia/lymphoma 2 (Bcl2) family members. Higher Mcl1 expression resulted from stabilization of Mcl1 mRNA in the absence of TTP. The low apoptosis rate of infiltrating TTP-deficient neutrophils was comparable to that of transgenic Mcl1-overexpressing neutrophils. Our study demonstrates that posttranscriptional gene regulation by TTP schedules the termination of the antimicrobial engagement of neutrophils. The balancing role of TTP comes at the cost of an increased risk of bacterial infections.
An investigation of dichroic surfaces of staggered tuned arrays in an infinite medium and a stratified dielectric medium

Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are re­ produced by sectioning the original, beginning a t the upper left-hand corner and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. These are also available as one exposure on a standard 35mm slide or as a 17" x 23" black and w hite photographic p rin t for an additional charge.
Reproduction of Zoanthus sansibaricus in the Infra-Littoral Zone at Taisho Lava Field, Sakurajima, Kagoshima, Japan

Abstract In order to obtain data on the reproductive pattern of the clonal cnidarian Zoanthus sansibaricus, polyps were sampled by scuba gear at Taisho Lava Field, Sakurajima, for 24 months between April 2000 and March 2002 (polyps collected weekly for breeding season). According to cross-sections, Zoanthus polyps were divided into three sexual types; male, female and asexual, and were found in the same colony. At Sakurajima, Zoanthus sansibaricus spawned in the middle of July, releasing oocytes and sperm. These spawning events occur synchronously with moon phase. In gametogenesis of Zoanthus sansibaricus, oocytes became recognizable in February and grew rapidly from the end of June onward. Spermatocytes became recognizable in June and matured rapidly in the middle of July. After spawning events, oocytes still remaining in the endoderm were absorbed into Zoanthus tissue quickly.
On the Throughput of Clustered Photolithography Tools: Wafer Advancement and Intrinsic Equipment Loss

For clustered photolithography tools we develop two analytic models characterizing the throughput. The models are essentially distinguished by the manner in which wafers advance through the tool and allow for many important features present in practical manufacturing systems. Such features include a diversity of lot populations (with different process times at each module) and disturbances to the ideal processing behavior such as delays to begin processing and delays incurred at specific modules. Our models thus allow us to quantify important classes of intrinsic equipment loss.
Introduction. Climate change and urban areas: research dialogue in a policy framework

In 2005, 50% of the world's population lived in cities consuming over 75% of the world's energy use; as human development (as measured by the UN index) energy use will increase faster than the increase in population. By 2030, it is predicted that over 60% of the world's population will live in
Optimization of the reliability polynomial in presence of mediocre elements

Some connections between extremal set theory and the optimization of the reliability polynomial are shown. Then the concept of the reliability polynomial is generalized for the case when the elements can have three different states: good, mediocre and bad. The state of the device can be described by a 0,1,2 sequence. Such a state is called operative if the device operates when its elements are in the states described by the sequence. The maximum of the generalized reliability polynomial is studied under the condition that the set of operative states froms an antichain. © 1993 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Inherent Replica Inconsistency in Cassandra

Inherent replica inconsistency refers to the difference among the replicas of the same logical data item in the write propagation process of a normally running distributed storage system. In this paper, we formalize the write propagation process model of Cassandra, a widely used NoSQL storage system. In the write propagation process we explore two queueing systems, sending task queues and mutation queues, which locate at each replica node and are determinants of the replica inconsistency. The departure time difference from the mutation queue is used as the measure of inconsistency between two replicas. Furthermore, Request Per Second (RPS) and Mutation Threads Number (MTN), which affect the inherent inconsistency, are discussed and the MTN adaptation algorithm is proposed. Finally, A Cassandra inconsistency measurement framework is implemented using the source instrumentation approach. The empirical results conform well with our proposed inconsistency measurement model.
Glycerophosphate/Acylglycerophosphate Acyltransferases

Acyl-CoA:glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase (GPAT) and acyl-CoA: 1-acyl-glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase (AGPAT) are involved in the de novo synthesis of triacylglycerol (TAG) and glycerophospholipids. Many enzymes belonging to the GPAT/AGPAT family have recently been identified and their physiological or pathophysiological roles have been proposed. The roles of GPAT/AGPAT in the synthesis of TAG and obesity-related diseases were revealed through the identification of causative genes of these diseases or analyses of genetically manipulated animals. Recent studies have suggested that some isoforms of GPAT/AGPAT family enzymes are involved in the fatty acid remodeling of phospholipids. The enzymology of GPAT/AGPAT and their physiological/pathological roles in the metabolism of glycerolipids have been described and discussed in this review.
Using agent model to find efficient envy-free allocation of a continuously divisible good between two agents

Division of a resource among multiple agents is a critical problem in multiagent systems and fair, efficient, and decentralized allocation procedures are highly valued. A division of a resource or good is envy-free when every agent believes that its share is not less than anyone else’s share by its own estimate. Envy-free procedures are not efficient, i.e., they are not Pareto optimal in general. We provide a procedure for improving the efficiency of an envy-free division of a continuously divisible good among two agents using models of agents’ utility function. We further provide an anytime recursive algorithm that increases, if possible, the efficiency of an initial envy-free allocation. Though efficient envy-free division is not possible for general utility functions, we show that our procedure produces optimal, envy-free divisions for certain classes of utility functions.
Dissecting Vancomycin-Intermediate Resistance in Staphylococcus aureus Using Genome-Wide Association

Vancomycin-intermediate Staphylococcus aureus (VISA) is currently defined as having minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 4–8 µg/ml. VISA evolves through changes in multiple genetic loci with at least 16 candidate genes identified in clinical and in vitro-selected VISA strains. We report a whole-genome comparative analysis of 49 vancomycin-sensitive S. aureus and 26 VISA strains. Resistance to vancomycin was determined by broth microdilution, Etest, and population analysis profile-area under the curve (PAP-AUC). Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of 55,977 single-nucleotide polymorphisms identified in one or more strains found one highly significant association (P = 8.78E-08) between a nonsynonymous mutation at codon 481 (H481) of the rpoB gene and increased vancomycin MIC. Additionally, we used a database of public S. aureus genome sequences to identify rare mutations in candidate genes associated with VISA. On the basis of these data, we proposed a preliminary model called ECM+RMCG for the VISA phenotype as a benchmark for future efforts. The model predicted VISA based on the presence of a rare mutation in a set of candidate genes (walKR, vraSR, graSR, and agrA) and/or three previously experimentally verified mutations (including the rpoB H481 locus) with an accuracy of 81% and a sensitivity of 73%. Further, the level of resistance measured by both Etest and PAP-AUC regressed positively with the number of mutations present in a strain. This study demonstrated 1) the power of GWAS for identifying common genetic variants associated with antibiotic resistance in bacteria and 2) that rare mutations in candidate gene, identified using large genomic data sets, can also be associated with resistance phenotypes.
Regulation of Expression of Mammalian Gonadotrophin‐Releasing Hormone Receptor Genes

Gonadotrophin‐releasing hormone (GnRH), acting via its cognate GnRH receptor (GnRHR), is the primary regulator of mammalian reproductive function, and hence GnRH analogues are extensively used in the treatment of hormone‐dependent diseases, as well as for assisted reproductive techniques. In addition to its established endocrine role in gonadotrophin regulation in the pituitary, evidence is rapidly accumulating to support the expression and functional roles for two forms of GnRHR (GnRHR I and GnRHR II) in multiple and diverse extra‐pituitary mammalian tissues and cells. These findings, together with findings indicating that mutations of the GnRHR are linked to the disease hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism and that GnRHRs play a direct role in neuronal migration and reproductive cancers, have presented new therapeutic targets and intensified research into the structure, function and mechanisms of regulation of expression of GnRHR genes. The present review focuses on the current knowledge on tissue‐specific and hormonal regulation of transcription of mammalian GnRH receptor genes. Emerging insights, such as the discovery of diverse regulatory mechanisms in pituitary and extra‐pituitary cell types, nonclassical mechanisms of steroid regulation, the use of composite elements for cell‐specific expression, the increasing profile of hormones involved in regulation, the complexity of kinase pathways that target the GnRHR I gene, as well as species‐differences, are highlighted. Although further research is necessary to understand the mechanisms of regulation of expression of GnRHR I and GnRHR II genes, the GnRHR is emerging as a potential target gene for facilitating cross‐talk between neuroendocrine, immune and stress‐response systems in multiple tissues via autocrine, paracrine and endocrine signalling.
Dopaminergic and indoleamine-accumulating amacrine cells express GABA- like immunoreactivity in the cat retina

Colocalization of indoleamine uptake and GABA-like immunoreactivity was studied in the cat retina. Consecutive, semithin sections were incubated in antisera to either 5-HT (5-hydroxytryptamine) or GABA. More than 90% of all 5-HT-accumulating amacrine cells expressed GABA- like antigens. With the same approach, the colocalization of 5-HT uptake and GABA-like immunoreactivity was studied in rabbit and 75–80% of the 5-HT-accumulating amacrine cells expressed GABA-like immunoreactivity, thus confirming a previous study (Osborne and Beaton, 1986). Since, in both cat and rabbit, endogenous 5-HT could not be found by immunocytochemistry, one must consider the possibility that some GABAergic amacrine cells take up indoleamines. In the cat retina, antibodies against tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) label dopaminergic amacrine cells (Oyster et al., 1985). By incubating consecutive, semithin sections in antisera to either TH or GABA, it was found that 84% of the dopaminergic amacrine cells also expressed GABA-like immunoreactivity. GABA-like immunoreactivity and 3H-muscimol uptake were found to be colocalized in more than 90% of the amacrine cells labeled. However, dopaminergic amacrine cells did not accumulate 3H- muscimol. Evidence is presented from colocalization studies for 2 types of interplexiform cell in the cat retina. One is stained by GABA-like immunocytochemistry and by 3H-muscimol uptake. The other is the dopaminergic amacrine cell, which also expresses GABA-like immunoreactivity, but does not accumulate 3H-muscimol.
Fifteen-year experience with bloodstream isolates of coagulase-negative staphylococci in neonatal intensive care

Investigators worldwide, as well as the neonatologists and infection control team at our hospital, have reported that the incidence of coagulase-negative staphylococcal bacteremia in critically ill neonates has increased dramatically in recent years. To investigate these claims, we examined the results of all blood cultures obtained from 1970 to 1984 in our neonatal intensive care unit. Throughout this study period, coagulase-negative staphylococci were prominent blood culture isolates (crude overall incidence of 4.4 positive bacteremia workups per 100 neonates admitted; range, 2.5 to 6.7), representing 26.3 to 69.6% of all positive cultures. There was no significant increase in incidence over time by analysis of linear trend. Detailed analysis of data from 1976 and 1982 (two selected years for which complete information concerning culturing practices and patient characteristics was available) revealed that these observations were not explained by changes in the frequency of blood culturing. In both 1976 and 1982, the probability that a blood culture would grow coagulase-negative staphylococci increased steadily from 2 to 3% shortly after admission to reach a level of about 12% in week 3 of hospitalization, before declining to an intermediate level thereafter. This pattern is more consistent with nosocomial bacteremia than with contamination of blood cultures. Contrary to clinical reports, coagulase-negative staphylococci have been the principal pathogens isolated from blood cultures in our neonatal intensive care unit since at least 1970, with no measurable increase over the subsequent 14 years.
The Marriage of Incremental and Approximate Computing

Most data analytics systems that require low-latency execution and efficient utilization of computing resources, increasingly adopt two computational paradigms, namely, incremental and approximate computing. Incremental computation updates the output incrementally instead of re-computing everything from scratch for successive runs of a job with input changes. Approximate computation returns an approximate output for a job instead of the exact output. Both paradigms rely on computing over a subset of data items instead of computing over the entire dataset, but they differ in their means for skipping parts of the computation. Incremental computing relies on the memoization of intermediate results of sub-computations, and reusing these memoized results across jobs for sub-computations that are unaffected by the changed input. Approximate computing relies on representative sampling of the entire dataset to compute over a subset of data items. In this thesis, we make the observation that these two computing paradigms are complementary, and can be married together! The high level idea is to: design a sampling algorithm that biases the sample selection to the memoized data items from previous runs. To concretize this idea, we designed an online stratified sampling algorithm that uses self-adjusting computation to produce an incrementally updated approximate output with bounded error. We implemented our algorithm in a data analytics system called IncAppox based on Apache Spark Streaming. Our evaluation of the system shows that IncApprox achieves the benefits of both incremental and approximate computing.
An extremely miniaturized ultra wide band 10–67 GHz Power Splitter in 65 nm CMOS Technology

An extremely compact power splitter based on a modified Wilkinson power divider is presented. The design optimization, based on the use of lumped component, yields state of the art RF performances and an unrivaled size reduction. The splitter is design to operate over 3 octaves (10 – 80 GHz) and measurements in the 10 – 67 GHz frequency range show an IL better then 0.8 dB, a power unbalance below 0.05 dB and isolation better than 10 dB starting from 35 GHz and which reaches a maximum of 27 dB at 60 GHz. Reflection coefficients for the three ports are better than −15 dB with a maximum of −20 dB in the 55 – 67 GHz band.
From the Arcane to the Lucid: A Case Study of Improvements to a Library Database Using Visual Cues

As we move from analogue to digital new systems are being developed for searching and finding physical documents in archival stores. However, many digital database systems do not provide the efficiencies promised. Indeed, many make the original task harder. This short paper discusses the migration of an existing, analogue, paper-based catalogue to a digital database. It highlights the shortcomings of the new text-only digital database and outlines a series of incremental changes to this database using visual cues with user studies between each leading to a more efficient system. The findings of this study are transferable to other contexts.
Intestinal calcium absorption is associated with bone mass in stone-forming women with idiopathic hypercalciuria.

BACKGROUND Patients with idiopathic hypercalciuria are predisposed to osteoporosis despite their high enteral calcium absorption. Conversely, low calcium absorption has been reported in patients with osteoporosis. Because bone loss occurs earlier in women, this work explores the relationship between bone mineral density (BMD) and calcium absorption in premenopausal and postmenopausal hypercalciuric stone-forming women. METHODS BMD and intestinal calcium absorption were compared in 64 hypercalciuric and 42 normocalciuric calcium stone-forming women. Calcium absorption was assessed by using strontium as a surrogate marker for calcium. Strontium was administered to patients as an oral load, then measured in blood to calculate absorption after 60 minutes. Femoral and lumbar-spine BMD were measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. RESULTS Strontium absorption was significantly increased in hypercalciuric stone formers, whereas BMD z score was decreased in hypercalciuric patients at the lumbar spine, but not the femur. The increase in strontium absorption was detected in both postmenopausal (n = 29) and premenopausal (n = 35) hypercalciuric patients. The decrease in lumbar-spine BMD was confirmed in postmenopausal, but not premenopausal, hypercalciuric patients. Strontium absorption was greater in hypercalciuric patients with a lumbar-spine BMD z score of -2 or less (n = 10) than in those with a score greater than -2 (n = 54). Multiple stepwise regression showed that lumbar-spine BMD was related negatively to intestinal strontium absorption and age in hypercalciuric patients. CONCLUSION Results of the strontium absorption test suggest that the increase in calcium absorption is associated with a decrease in lumbar-spine BMD in hypercalciuric stone-forming women. Hypercalciuric stone-forming women with high calcium intestinal absorption denote a group of patients predisposed to loss of bone mass.
Effect of show jumping training on the development of locomotory muscle in young horses.

OBJECTIVE To investigate whether training for show jumping that is commenced early after birth affects the characteristics of equine locomotory muscle. ANIMALS 19 Dutch Warmblood horses. PROCEDURES Horses were assigned to a trained or not trained (control) group. After weaning, training (free jumping [2 d/wk] that was alternated with a 20-minute period of exercise in a mechanical rotating walker [3 d/wk]) was started and continued until horses were 3 years old. Fiber type composition (determined from myosin heavy chain [MyHC] content), fiber area, diffusion index (area supplied by 1 capillary), citrate synthase activity, and Na(+),K(+)-ATPase content were assessed in gluteus medius muscle specimens collected at 0.5, 1, 2, and 3 years. RESULTS Developmental changes included an increase in MyHC fiber type IIa and a decrease in type IIad; increases in fiber area, diffusion index, and citrate synthase activity; and a decrease in Na(+),K(+)-ATPase content. The MyHC fiber type I and type IId were detected in high and low proportions, respectively. Training increased Na(+),K(+)-ATPase content, but did not affect other variables. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE In horses, show jumping training at an early age resulted in increased Na(+),K(+)-ATPase content of the deep portions of the gluteus medius muscle. The lack of training effects on the other muscle characteristics can partly be explained by the fact that an appropriate (aerobic) fiber type composition was already established at training commencement. These data also suggested that the developmental changes in equine muscle represent sufficient adaptation to meet the demands of this specific training.