Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
On setting the parameters of quantum-inspired evolutionary algorithm for practical application

In this paper, some guidelines for setting the parameters of quantum-inspired evolutionary algorithm (QEA) are presented. QEA is based on the concept and principles of quantum computing, such as a quantum bit and superposition of states. However, QEA is not a quantum algorithm, but a novel evolutionary algorithm. Like other evolutionary algorithms, QEA is also characterized by the representation of the individual, the evaluation function, and the population dynamics. From recent research on the knapsack problem, the results of QEA are better than those of CGA (conventional GA). Although the performance of QEA is excellent, there is relatively little or no research on the effects of different settings for its parameters. This paper describes some guidelines for setting these parameters. The guidelines are drawn up based on extensive experiments carried out for a class of combinatorial and numerical optimization problems. Through the guidelines, the performance of QEA can be maximized.
Generating a Table-of-Contents

This paper presents a method for the automatic generation of a table-of-contents. This type of summary could serve as an effective navigation tool for accessing information in long texts, such as books. To generate a coherent table-of-contents, we need to capture both global dependencies across different titles in the table and local constraints within sections. Our algorithm effectively handles these complex dependencies by factoring the model into local and global components, and incrementally constructing the model’s output. The results of automatic evaluation and manual assessment confirm the benefits of this design: our system is consistently ranked higher than nonhierarchical baselines.
Co‐activation of RanGTPase and inhibition of GTP dissociation by Ran‐GTP binding protein RanBP1.

RCC1 (the regulator of chromosome condensation) stimulates guanine nucleotide dissociation on the Ras‐related nuclear protein Ran. Both polypeptides are components of a regulatory pathway that has been implicated in regulating DNA replication, onset of and exit from mitosis, mRNA processing and transport, and import of proteins into the nucleus. In a search for further members of the RCC1‐Ran signal pathway, we have identified proteins of 23, 45 and 300 kDa which tightly bind to Ran‐GTP but not Ran‐GDP. The purified soluble 23 kDa Ran binding protein RanBP1 does not activate RanGTPase, but increases GTP hydrolysis induced by the RanGTPase‐activating protein RanGAP1 by an order of magnitude. In the absence of RanGAP, it strongly inhibits RCC1‐induced exchange of Ran‐bound GTP. In addition, it forms a stable complex with nucleotide‐free RCC1‐Ran. With these properties, it differs markedly from guanine diphosphate dissociation inhibitors which preferentially prevent the exchange of protein‐bound GDP and in some cases were shown to inhibit GAP‐induced GTP hydrolysis. RanBP1 is the first member of a new class of proteins regulating the binding and hydrolysis of GTP by Ras‐related proteins.
Polarization switching, locking and synchronization in VCSELs with optical injection

Le laser a cavite verticale emettant par la surface (VCSEL ou Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser) comporte des avantages competitifs par rapport aux lasers emettant par le cote. Le VCSEL presente souvent deux modes de polarisation lineaire orthogonaux avec des frequences et des gains optiques presque identiques. Des lors, de faibles perturbations telles que des modifications du courant d injection ou de la temperature peuvent induire des basculements de polarisation. Toutefois, en utilisant un schema d injection optique d un faisceau laser externe, il est possible de controler ces instabilites de polarisation. Nous nous interessons au controle du basculement de polarisation, a la bistabilite de polarisation ainsi qu a la competition des modes transverses d un VCSEL soumis a injection optique de polarisation orthogonale. En variant les parametres d injectioni(puissance injectee et desaccord en frequence entre le laser maitre et le VCSEL), nous montrons que le basculement de polarisation implique des dynamiques non lineaires telles le melange d ondes, le cycle limite, la resonance subharmonique ainsi qu une route de doublement de periode vers le chaos optique. L analyse des bifurcations sous-jacentes permet de dresser une cartographie des dynamiques de basculement de polarisation du VCSEL. orthogonaux affecte la qualite de la synchronisation du chaos. Ces resultats sont interessants dans le cadre du developpement de liaisons de communication securisee par chaos optique. Dans notre these, nous etudions egalement la synchronisation du chaos de VCSELs dans un schema de couplage unidirectionnel. Nous montrons que la competition des modes de polarisation lineaire
A robotic device for hand motor therapy after stroke

This paper describes the design of a robotic device - the hand-wrist assisting robotic device, or HWARD ("Howard") - that can assist functional grasping and releasing movements of the stroke-impaired hand. The 3 degrees-of-freedom device is pneumatically-actuated and backdriveable. The design of HWARD was guided by neurobiological principles of motor learning, such as sensorimotor integration, movement repetition, environmental complexity, and attention. Specifically, HWARD can assist repetitive grasping and releasing movements while allowing the subject to feel real objects during therapy. The use of real objects having rich sensory and functional characteristics can stimulate sensorimotor cortex activation while enhancing subject motivation and attention - features hypothesized to reduce impairment and disability. A pilot study tests the safety and efficacy of HWARD, with endpoints that include established motor function scales as well as brain mapping with functional MRI (fMRI).
A Distributed Policy Scheduling for Wireless Sensor Networks

We aim to save energy by scheduling periodic sensors' duty cycles. Different from existing works, we integrate two important tasks, collision avoidance and duty cycling, into one scheduling of sensors' activities. Our scheme consists of two parts: a coloring scheme that assigns a "color" to each sensor and a color scheduling scheme that associates each color with a schedule. Each sensor switches between sleep and active modes according to the schedule associated with its color. We propose a coloring definition. Theoretical analyses and simulation results show that, if this coloring is used by collision avoidance schemes such as TDMA or CDMA, connectivity can be guaranteed by using much less colors than traditional colorings. Theoretical analyses and simulation evaluations are presented for our scheduling. As compared to handling collision avoidance and duty cycling separately, performances can be improved by integrating these two tasks into one carefully designed schedule of sensors' activities. In particular, in duty cycled dense networks, in order to reduce packet latency and save energy, it is desirable to guarantee the communication connectivity of links only in a sparse connected subgraph.
THE EFFECT OF MASS LOSS ON MECHANIC PROPERTIES OF HEAT - TREATED PAULOWNIA WOOD

ABSTRACT In this study, the eff ect of mass loss on mechanic properties of Paulownia ( Paulownia elongata ) wood was investigated. For this study, three diff erent temperatures (160, 180, and 200 o C) and durations (3, 5, and 7 hours) were carried out. After heat treatment, the mass loss of the heat-treated samples were found and then it is determined how aff ected on mechanic properties of Paulownia wood Th e data obtained were analyzed using variance analysis, and then Tukey’s test was used to determine the eff ect on mechanic properties of mass loss during heat treatment. Th e results show that mechanic properties were occurred decreasing in variation ration in relate with mass loss. While the maximum mass loss found was 9,78% at 200 o C and 7 hour, the compression strength, modulus of elasticity, bending strength and impact strength decreased about 17, 19, 78 and 88%, respectively. Hence, it is determined that the mass loss on mechanic properties of Paulownia wood signifi cantly aff ected.KEY WORDS: Paulownia wood, mechanic properties, mass loss, heat treatment.
A Compressive Sensing Based Secure Data Transmission Scheme

In compressive sensing theory, a signal can be reconstructed from a small set of non-adaptive, linear measurements if the signal can be represented as a sparse object in some orthonormal basis. We proposed a compressive sensing based secure data transmission scheme in this paper. Only simple linear operations are required in the encryption end and complex computations are transferred to the resourcerich decryption end. The detailed encryption and decryption processes are described in detail. We proved the proposed secure data transmission scheme can achieve perfect secrecy under some conditions. Signal encryption and decryption experiments are also provided to verify the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.
An XSet Based Protocol for Coordinating the Behaviour of Stigmergic Ant-Like Robotic Devices

Formal protocols for driving swarms of robotic devices towards predictable emergent behaviour are rare in the literature but critical in most upcoming sciences such as nanotechnology, genetic engineering, and amorphous computing. Such collections of robotic device control protocols would foster the development of deliberately engineered swarm outcomes, while at the same time, discouraging the feared evolution of "engines of destruction to nature and mankind". Many inspiring swarm coordination paradigms have been proposed in the literature. However simulated ant inspired metaphors have demonstrated plausible successes in terms of robustness, fault tolerance, speed, and quality of the emergent behaviour thereof. We propose an XSet based protocol with which swarms of stigmergic ant-like robotic devices are driven towards predictable shortest path finding and path following behaviours. The theme features of the proposed XSet based protocol are built on the primitive activities of simulated stigmergic foraging ant agents. In this context, an XSet is an extended set of primitive activities, parameter values, and meta information which stipulates when and how primitive activities are used. Investigations into the composition of the proposed XSet and the sequences in which primitive activities are arranged in the XSet reveal that relatively best swarm performances arise when the proposed XSet triggers robotic devices to respectively, (a) drop specific levels of pheromone chemicals in specific quantities, (b) orientate towards relatively attractive directions based on the levels of pheromone around, (c) move along the direction of orientation, and (d) alternate between different internal states when it becomes necessary. Besides prescribing a new robotic device control paradigm, this work inspires further developments towards generalized robotic device control standards.
Risk Factors for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms: A 7-Year Prospective Study: The Tromsø Study, 1994–2001

Background— Abdominal aortic aneurysm is an asymptomatic condition with a high mortality rate related to rupture. Methods and Results— In a cohort of 2035 men and 2310 women in Tromsø, Norway, who were 25 to 82 years old in 1994, the authors identified risk factors for incident abdominal aortic aneurysm over the next 7 years. The impact of smoking was studied in particular. Ultrasound examination was performed initially in 1994/1995 and repeated in 2001. There were 119 incident cases of abdominal aortic aneurysms (an incidence of 0.4% per year). Male sex and increasing age were strong risk factors. In addition, the following variables were significantly associated with increased abdominal aortic aneurysm incidence: Smoking (OR=13.72, 95% CI 6.12 to 30.78, comparing current smokers of ≥20 cigarettes/d with never-smokers), hypertension (OR=1.54, 95% CI 1.03 to 2.30), hypercholesterolemia (OR=2.11, 95% CI 1.23 to 3.64, comparing subjects with serum total cholesterol ≥7.55 mmol/L with those with total cholesterol <5.85 mmol/L), and low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (OR=3.25, 95% CI 1.68 to 6.27, comparing subjects with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol <1.25 mmol/L with those with high-density lipoprotein ≥1.83 mmol/L). In addition, use of statins was associated with increased risk of abdominal aortic aneurysm (OR=3.77, 95% CI 1.45 to 9.81), but this was probably a marker of high risk of cardiovascular diseases. Conclusions— The results demonstrate strong associations between traditional atherosclerosis risk factors and the risk of incident abdominal aortic aneurysms.
Ribavirin Derivatives with a Hexitol Moiety: Synthesis and Antiviral Evaluation

Current standard therapy for the treatment of chronic infections with hepatitis C virus consists of combination therapy with (pegylated) interferon-α and ribavirin. 1,5-Anhydrohexitol nucleoside analogues are constrained congeners known to mimic the ribonucleoside conformation. Within this series some analogues are endowed with strong antiviral properties, particularly against herpesviruses. The six-membered anhydrohexitol ring was, therefore, combined with the triazolyl carboxamide moiety of ribavirin, thus providing a new series of ribavirin analogues. None of the newly synthesized compounds elicited any substantial antiviral activity, neither against herpes simplex virus type 1 and 2, nor against bovine viral diarrhoea virus (a surrogate for hepatitis C virus) or the yellow fever virus.
Using NEMO to Extend the Functionality of MANETs

Network mobility is an established topic of research which has the potential capability to support many valuable scenarios. Specifically, the ability to support the mobility of entire networks of IP enabled devices that are oblivious to the changing network conditions beneath them is particularly useful to numerous scenarios such as vehicle based networks and personal area networks (PAN). In this paper, we present an efficient and scalable approach that allows mobile networks to intercommunicate and be reachable via the Internet both directly (via their own Internet connection) and indirectly (via another mobile network with an Internet connection). The implemented approach is based on the concept of combining the beneficial features of mobile ad-hoc networking (MANET) protocols and the network mobility basic support (NEMO BS) protocol to develop what is known as a MANEMO solution. In the paper we highlight the key performance characteristics of our protocol through analysis of our implementation in a testbed environment.
Role of programmed necrosis and cell death in intestinal inflammation

Purpose of review To critically review recent advances on the role of programmed necrosis and other cell death modalities in intestinal health and inflammatory bowel disease. Recent findings Tight regulation of intestinal epithelial cell proliferation and cell death is required for intestinal physiology, and to maintain an integral barrier that restricts microbiota translocation and ensures immune tolerance. Apoptosis has long been considered as a normal part of intestinal epithelial cell turnover. However, recent studies have demonstrated that excessive cell death leads to deleterious intestinal inflammation, as is observed in inflammatory bowel disease. Additionally, a novel form of cell death dubbed programmed necrosis, or necroptosis, has been recently shown to be pathological in the gut. Summary The role of cell death in the intestine is complex and its potential implication in intestinal diseases, and inflammatory bowel disease in particular, needs to be reevaluated.
The directed migration of eukaryotic cells.

The in vivo migration of eukaryotic cells over surfaces is important to a wide range of physiological processes, such as the development of the embryo, defense against infections, wound healing, the homing of lym­ phocytes to lymphoid organs, and tumor metastases (cf Trinkaus 1 984). Despite much study, the directed migration of cells is not yet well under­ stood, no doubt because it is indeed a complex problem. Part of the complexity is due to the great variety of locomotory phenotypes that are expressed by different types of motile cells. Many different cells can migrate under appropriate circumstances: In this article we refer to the directed migration of fibroblasts, endothelial cells, epithelial cells, macrophages, granulocytes, fish epidermal keratocytes, and amebae. Many of these cell types show distinct locomotory characteristics. However, most inves­ tigators agree that common mechanisms must operate in all cell migration.
Behavioral Neuroscience

Odors are used as CSs, and sucrose solution as US for hungry bees. Several forms of memory developing in series and in parallel have been described leading to lifelong memory under appropriate conditions (Menzel, 1990). Memory formation has been shown to consist of distinctive phases; each depends on different molecular pathways: short-term and mid-term memories depend on existing proteins, and two forms of long-term memory (LTM) are controlled by different (eLTM) depends on translation and late LTM (lLTM) depends on transcription processes (Wüstenberg et al., 1998; Friedrich et al., 2004). When applied shortly prior to acquisition, emetine, a protein synthesis blocker which inhibits translation processes, is known to inhibit eLTM consolidation in the honeybee. The effects of transcription and translation inhibitors have been studied so far only in simple forward pairing paradigms In the honeybee, reversal learning was found to have a heritable component which is manifested in the rapidity to reverse from the former CS− to the new CS+ association (Ferguson et al., 2001). However, Ben-Shahar et al. (2000) found differences in the extinction rate of the former CS+ during the reversal phase, which were derived from the bees' behavioral state: nurses showed faster rates of extinction than foragers. Taken together, these finding suggest that two dissociable processes constitute the reversal learning, i.e., excitatory learning and inhibitory learning. Using local anesthetics to block the main output region of the mushroom body (MB), Devaud et al. (2007) were able to demonstrate that the acquisition of reversal learning requires an intact MB activity, whereas simple differential learning (the first phase in reversal paradigm) was spared. It was also shown that experiencing olfactory reversal learning improves the bee's future performance
Biomarkers of inflammation in persons with chronic tetraplegia

In addition to lung volume restriction, individuals with chronic tetraplegia exhibit reduced airway caliber and bronchodilator responsiveness similar to persons with asthma. In asthma, airflow obstruction is closely linked to airway inflammation. Conversely, little is known regarding the airway inflammatory response in tetraplegia. To compare levels of biomarkers of inflammation in exhaled breath condensate (EBC) and serum in subjects with chronic tetraplegia, mild asthma, and able-bodied controls. Prospective, observational pilot study. Thirty-four subjects participated: tetraplegia (n = 12), asthma (n = 12), controls (n = 10). Biomarkers in EBC [8-isoprostane (8-IP), leukotriene B4 (LT-B4), prostaglandin E2 (PG-E2), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin 6 (IL-6)] and serum (8-IP, LT-B4, TNF-α, IL-6) were determined using commercially available EIA kits (Cayman Chemical Company, Ann Arbor, MI). Separate, one-way ANOVA with Bonferroni’s post-hoc analyses were performed to determine group differences in demographic and dependent variables [EBC and serum biomarkers, fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO), pulmonary function parameters, and specific airway conductance (sGaw)]. The tetraplegia group had significantly elevated 8-IP levels in EBC compared to the asthma (68 ± 38 versus 21 ± 13 pg ml−1; p < 0.001) and control groups (22 ± 13 pg ml−1; p < 0.01), respectively. FeNO levels were significantly elevated in the asthma compared to the control group (26 ± 18 versus 11 ± 4 ppb; p < 0.05), and trended higher than levels in the tetraplegia group (15 ± 6; p = 0.08). Levels of serum biomarkers did not differ significantly among groups. Through analysis of EBC, levels of 8-IP were significantly elevated compared to levels found in individuals with mild asthma and healthy controls. Further studies are needed to extend upon these preliminary findings that suggest the presence of airway inflammation in subjects with chronic tetraplegia, and how this relates to pulmonary dysfunction in this population.
Dually inducible TetON systems for tissue-specific conditional gene expression in zebrafish

Systems for spatial and temporal control of gene expression are essential for developmental studies and are of particular importance for research in adult model organisms. We present two modified dually inducible TetON systems for tissue-specific conditional control of gene expression in zebrafish based on (i) a tetracycline inducible transcriptional activator (TetActivator) fused to the ligand binding domain of a mutated glucocorticoid receptor (TetA-GBD) and (ii) a TetActivator fused with a domain of the Ecdysone receptor (TetA-EcR). Both systems showed strong induction of tetracycline-responsive promoters upon administration of the appropriate ligands (doxycycline and dexamethasone for TetA-GBD, and doxycycline and tebufenozide for TetA-EcR), and undetectable leakiness when compared with classical TetActivators. Combinations of transgenic lines expressing TetA-GBD specifically in the heart or the CNS with different Tet-responsive transgenic lines allows conditional and tissue-specific control of gene expression in embryos and adults. Importantly, induction is fully reversible and tunable by the doses of drugs used. The TetA-EcR system avoids the possible side effects of dexamethasone and displays improved sensitivity both in zebrafish and in mammalian cells. These results show that dually inducible TetON systems are convenient tools for reversible and very tightly controlled conditional gene expression in zebrafish.
Assessment of Ecological Risk of Heavy Metal Contamination in Coastal Municipalities of Montenegro

Assessment of heavy metal concentrations in the soil samples of urban parks and playgrounds is very important for the evaluation of potential risks for residents, especially children. Until recently, there has been very little data about urban parks pollution in Montenegro. To evaluate the sources of potential contamination and concentration of heavy metals, soil samples from coastal urban parks and kindergartens of Montenegro were collected. Based on the heavy metal concentrations, multivariate analysis combined with geochemical approaches showed that soil samples in coastal areas of Montenegro had mean Pb and Cd concentrations that were over two times higher than the background values, respectively. Based on principal component analysis (PCA), soil pollution with Pb, Cd, Cu, and Zn is contributed by anthropogenic sources. Results for Cr in the surface soils were primarily derived from natural sources. Calculation of different ecological contamination factors showed that Cd is the primary contribution to ecological risk index (RI) origins from anthropogenic, industry, and urbanization sources. This data provides evidence about soil pollution in coastal municipalities of Montenegro. Special attention should be paid to this problem in order to continue further research and to consider possible ways of remediation of the sites where contamination has been observed.