Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Preparation of well-defined colloidal barium titanate crystals by the controlled double-jet precipitation

A new method for the preparation of well-defined colloidal barium titanate (BaTiO_3) crystals by the controlled double-jet precipitation (CDJP) technique is described. The process is extremely fast and requires a low temperature (<100 °C). The reactants, barium and titanium salts, can be used in high concentrations and the yield is quantitative. The stoichiometry of the BaTiO_3 particles can be controlled precisely and reproducibly. The effects of the composition of the reactant solutions, flow rates, reaction time, and the addition of polymers on the precipitation process were investigated. The BaTiO_3 powders, produced by the CDJP technique, sinter to high density at a temperature as low as 1200 °C and exhibit a relative dielectric constant of 5000 at 20 °C, which is the highest value reported in the literature. The grain sizes of the sintered samples are small and uniform, ranging between 1 and 2 μm.
DNA Methyltransferase 1 Knock Down Induces Gene Expression by a Mechanism Independent of DNA Methylation and Histone Deacetylation*

DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1) catalyzes the post-replication methylation of DNA and is responsible for maintaining the DNA methylation pattern during cell division. A long list of data supports a role for DNMT1 in cellular transformation and inhibitors of DNMT1 were shown to have antitumorigenic effects. It was long believed that DNMT1 promoted tumorigenesis by maintaining the hypermethylated and silenced state of tumor suppressor genes. We have previously shown that DNMT1 knock down by either antisense oligonucleotides directed at DNMT1 or expressed antisense activates a number of genes involved in stress response and cell cycle arrest by a DNA methylation-independent mechanism. In this report we demonstrate that antisense knock down of DNMT1 in human lung carcinoma A549 and embryonal kidney HEK293 cells induces gene expression by a mechanism that does not involve either of the known epigenomic mechanisms, DNA methylation, histone acetylation, or histone methylation. The mechanism of activation of the cell cycle inhibitor p21 and apoptosis inducer BIK by DNMT1 inhibition is independent of the mechanism of activation of the same genes by histone deacetylase inhibition. We determine whether DNMT1 knock down activates one of the nodal transcription activation pathways in the cell and demonstrate that DNMT1 activates Sp1 response elements. This activation of Sp1 response does not involve an increase in either Sp1 or Sp3 protein levels in the cell or the occupancy of the Sp1 elements with these proteins. The methylation-independent regulation of Sp1 elements by DNMT1 unravels a novel function for DNMT1 in gene regulation. DNA methylation was believed to be a mechanism for suppression of CG-rich Sp1-bearing promoters. Our data suggest a fundamentally different and surprising role for DNMT1 regulation of CG-rich genes by a mechanism independent of DNA methylation and histone acetylation. The implications of our data on the biological roles of DNMT1 and the therapeutic potential of DNMT1 inhibitors as anticancer agents are discussed.
A Measurement Based Spatial Correlation Analysis for MB-OFDM Ultra Wideband Transmissions

Spatial diversity can be applied to Ultra Wideband (UWB) systems to achieve a higher bit rate. Multi-Band Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (MB-OFDM) breaks the UWB bandwidth into 13 sub-bands and the sub-bands into 128 narrow-band tones to achieve a high data rate from wide band systems. In this paper, the spatial correlation analysis is applied to an indoor light-of-sight(LoS) and non-light-of-sight(NLoS) UWB channel with one vertically polarized transmit antenna and two vertically polarized receive antennas. The analysis is supported by measurement results which confirms that the subcarriers in MB-OFDM system can be treated as narrow band signals, and an inter-sensor distance of 3cm is large enough to accomplish uncorrelated received signals for the given measurement environment.
Computational Models of Cultural Behavior for Human-Agent Interaction (Dagstuhl Seminar 14131)

From March 23 2014 to March 28, the seminar "Computational Models of Cultural Behavior for Human-Agent Interaction" held in Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz Center for Informatics. During the seminar, an interdisciplinary group of researchers explored and discussed theories and techniques for computational models of culture as part of virtual human simulations. Culturally-sensitive agents do not only improve the acceptance of man-machine interfaces by adapting their verbal and non-verbal behavior to the user's assumed cultural background. They also bear enormous potential for a rapidly growing number of ICT-based language and cultural training scenarios that make use of role-play with virtual characters. The seminar brought together researchers with an interdisciplinary background that profited from each other's perspective and explored challenges for the future.
Not Only for Ideation, But Also for Signaling: Incorporating User-Profile-Webpages into Virtual Ideas Communities

This research-in-progress-paper describes the case of SAPiens, which is a Virtual Ideas Community (VIC). Typically, SAPiens - and VICs in general - focuses solely on supporting the ideation interactions among members. There is evidence from a survey that SAPiens members are also interested in actively signaling competences, experiences and skills to third parties. However, SAPiens does not offer IT functionalities that would allow for such a signaling. Against this backdrop, we propose to enrich SAPiens through User Profile Webpages allowing SAPiens members to construct a public profile within the community and thereby to signal individual capabilities, skills and experiences. The aim of this action design research is to design such an IT artifact by building on the signaling theory. After this initial design, our research constitutes a circular process of constant refinement as well as piloting and evaluation of the IT artifact in the real world setting of the SAPiens VIC.
Improving Testing Efficiency using Cumulative Test Analysis

It can be impossible to thoroughly test complex software projects with a large library of tests to be run in many environments and configurations. The cumulative test analysis (CTA) technique described reduces the time to find defects by prioritising and minimising the testing. Tests are chosen to target the product areas having the highest risk of defects. Test effectiveness, test code coverage, product code changes and changes to dependencies are monitored and analysed to prioritise the testing. Test results from build to build are accumulated. Build reports clearly identify areas at risk, test results, and the tests that must be run. Experiences with a prototype tool are discussed and conclusions drawn from the use of CTA show that defects are found sooner, more time is available for writing new tests and the focus of test execution moves towards product quality instead of simply test results
Microwave‐Assisted Synthesis and Morphological Characterization of Chiral Poly(amide–imide) Nanostructures in Molten Ionic Liquid Salt

Ionic liquids (ILs) are outstanding microwave-absorbing agents due to their high ionic conductivity and polarizability, thus leading to a high heating rate and considerably shortened reaction time. In this study, a series of novel chiral poly(amide–imide) (PAI) nanostructures with hydroxyphenyl pendant units in the side chain were prepared with excellent yields via a simple microwave heating method using molten tetrabutylammonium bromide (TBAB) as a molten IL and triphenyl phosphite as the condensing agent. The polymerization proceeded well in molten TBAB and PAIs were obtained with high yields and moderate inherent viscosities ranging from 0.32 to 0.49 dL/g. The obtained PAIs were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, specific rotation, powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), thermogravimetric analysis, elemental analysis, and in some cases by 1H NMR technique. The FE-SEM micrographs and XRD showed that the synthesized PAIs were nanostructured and amorphous polymers that nanosize particles are in the range of 66–78 nm. The effect of ultrasonic irradiation on the size of polymer particles was also investigated. The transparent and flexible thin films based on PAI nanostructures were obtained by a casting technique, and their properties were studied. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Adv Polym Techn 2013, 32, 21333; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI 10.1002/adv.21333
Prognostic factors in recurrent glioblastoma multiforme and anaplastic astrocytoma treated with selective intra-arterial chemotherapy.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Factors predictive of primary brain tumor outcome have been studied extensively, although the prognostic value of radiologic data, such as MR imaging and angiographic characteristics, has not been studied in depth. The purpose of this study was to determine whether radiologic data were prognostic factors among patients with recurrent glioblastoma multiforme and anaplastic astrocytoma treated with selective intra-arterial chemotherapy. METHODS Forty-six patients were enrolled in a Phase II study of intra-arterial chemotherapy with carboplatin and Cereport (Alkermes Inc.; Cambridge, MA), a bradykinin analog that selectively increases permeability of the blood-tumor barrier. MR imaging volumes of enhancing tumor, resection cavity, and T2 signal abnormality were measured with T1-weighted and T2-weighted sequences. Volumes were analyzed individually and in various combinations. Tumor vascularity was graded on angiograms. Outcome was measured by time to tumor progression and survival. RESULTS Of 46 patients included in this study, 41 underwent evaluation. Thirty were male and 11 were female; mean age was 48.5 years. Karnofsky scores ranged from 70 to 100. Thirty-two patients had glioblastoma multiforme, whereas nine had anaplastic astrocytoma. Twenty-eight patients had tumor progression and 13 had stable disease. Twenty-three patients died after an average of 205 days; 18 were surviving at an average of 324 days from the start of intra-arterial chemotherapy. In multivariate analysis, time from diagnosis to intra-arterial chemotherapy was predictive both of time to tumor progression and survival. Net tumor volume and vascularity also were significant for survival. Age, Karnofsky performance status, histologic findings, gender, MR imaging area, resection cavity volume, T2 signal abnormality volume, and various combined volumes were not significant. CONCLUSION If confirmed by further studies, radiologic factors such as tumor volume and angiographic vascularity should be considered in design and stratification of future chemotherapy trials.
Spatial organization of the mammalian genome surveillance machinery in response to DNA strand breaks

We show that DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) induce complex subcompartmentalization of genome surveillance regulators. Chromatin marked by γ-H2AX is occupied by ataxia telangiectasia–mutated (ATM) kinase, Mdc1, and 53BP1. In contrast, repair factors (Rad51, Rad52, BRCA2, and FANCD2), ATM and Rad-3–related (ATR) cascade (ATR, ATR interacting protein, and replication protein A), and the DNA clamp (Rad17 and -9) accumulate in subchromatin microcompartments delineated by single-stranded DNA (ssDNA). BRCA1 and the Mre11–Rad50–Nbs1 complex interact with both of these compartments. Importantly, some core DSB regulators do not form cytologically discernible foci. These are further subclassified to proteins that connect DSBs with the rest of the nucleus (Chk1 and -2), that assemble at unprocessed DSBs (DNA-PK/Ku70), and that exist on chromatin as preassembled complexes but become locally modified after DNA damage (Smc1/Smc3). Finally, checkpoint effectors such as p53 and Cdc25A do not accumulate at DSBs at all. We propose that subclassification of DSB regulators according to their residence sites provides a useful framework for understanding their involvement in diverse processes of genome surveillance.
Afferent and efferent projections of the inferior area 6 in the macaque monkey

The rostral part of the agranular frontal cortex (area 6) can be subdivided on the basis of its cytoarchitecture, enzymatic properties, and connections into two large sectors: a superior region, lying medial to the spur of the arcuate sulcus, and an inferior region, lying lateral to it. In this study we traced the afferent and efferent connections of the inferior region of area 6 by injecting small amounts of wheat germ agglutinin conjugated to horseradish peroxidase (WGA‐HRP) and fluorescent tracers (fast blue and diamidino yellow) into restricted parts of inferior area 6 and in physiologically determined fields of area 4.
Efficient Diagnosis based on Incomplete System Descriptions

Fault diagnosis is an important task in technical domains. In the model–based diagnosis literature it has mostly been assumed that technical systems are described by complete, deterministic system descriptions. We show that intuitive descriptions of technical systems are often incomplete, and need to be completed for providing correct diagnoses. Due to the structure of the axioms of such system descriptions completion is not straightforward, because predicate completion is not applicable and circumscription does not yield first order sentences. We introduce an algorithm which reduces the system descriptions to propositional representations which are then completed. Furthermore, we discuss how diagnoses can be computed efficiently for the completed system descriptions. While the original descriptions of the system behaviour usually consist of horn clauses, their completions are typically not horn. We provide formal results, which allow to exploit the structure of the original horn clauses, when reasoning with the completed clause sets.
Fast and Accurate Approximations for the Analysis of Energy Detection in Nakagami-m Channels

Previous research has identified several exact methods for the evaluation of the probability of detection for energy detectors operating on Nakagami-m faded channels. However, these methods rely on discrete summations of complicated functions, and so can take a prohibitively long time to evaluate. In this paper, three approximations for the probability of detection in Nakagami-m faded channels, having distinct regions of applicability, are derived. All have closed forms, and enable the fast and accurate computation of key performance metrics.
A DNA dodecamer containing an adenine tract crystallizes in a unique lattice and exhibits a new bend.

The structure of d(CGCGAAAAAACG)/d(CGTTTTTTCGCG) was determined at 2.3 A resolution in order to deduce the local structural features that give rise to DNA bending by adenine tracts. Whereas all previously reported B-DNA dodecamers have crystallized isomorphously (spacegroup P2(1)2(1)2(1) with unit cell dimensions of a = 24.5 A, b = 40.3 A, c = 65.9 A), the duplex reported here crystallizes in a different lattice (spacegroup P2(1)2(1)2 with unit cell dimensions of a = 44.8 A, b = 66.1 A, c = 42.9 A). The DNA exhibits a 30 degree bend in the helix axis that is 180 degrees away from the 20 degree bend exhibited by the adenine tract DNA crystal structures that have been previously determined. This bend is 90 degrees away from the bend predicted for an adenine tract by solution and gel experiments. The adenine tract is straight and bending occurs in the G+C-rich regions. Comparison of the various adenine tract DNA crystal structures reveals that in all cases the adenine tracts have nearly identical structures, even though the overall bends of the helix axes are quite different. This implies that the structure of the adenine tract is robust, at least under the conditions of crystallization. The base-pairs in the adenine tracts exhibit a large propeller twist that leads to the formation of bifurcated hydrogen bonds and a narrow minor groove. In the crystal structure of d(CGCGAAAAAACG)/d(CGTTTTTTCGCG), a minor groove spine of hydration is observed that probably stabilizes the straight structure of the adenine tract. This straight structure of the A-tract is not consistent with the results of fiber diffraction, gel experiments, and NMR studies. Although this may imply that the results of solution experiments need to be reinterpreted, the conditions under which the crystals were grown are different from those under which the solution experiments were done. The possibility remains that the 2-methyl-2,4-pentanediol necessary for crystal growth may facilitate formation of the spine of hydration that stabilizes the straight A-tract, although recent NMR results show the presence of the spine of hydration in aqueous solution. We have also extended our previously reported observation that non-self-complementary DNA structures can exist in the crystal lattice in two orientations. A dodecamer brominated on one strand provides experimental evidence that d(CGCAAAAAAGCG)/d(CGCTTTTTTG CG) is positioned in two orientations in the crystal lattice that are related by a 180 degree rotation around the pseudo-dyad axis of the sequence. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Studies of porcine secretory IgA and its component chains in relation to intestinal absorption of colostral immunoglobulins by the neonatal pig.

Porcine secretory component was identified after reductive dissociation of secretory IgA and isolated in the free form from sow milk. Electrophoretically fast polypeptide chains were detected in the light chain fraction of reduced and alkylated porcine secretory IgA. These probably relate to J chain and were immunologically and electrophoretically distinct from secretory component. J chains were not present in the light chain fractions of reduced and alkylated porcine 7S IgG and 6.4S IgA. Porcine colostral IgA occurs in a wide range of molecular sizes and IgA lacking secretory component having S20, W 6.4 and 9.3 was isolated from colostrum and serum of suckling piglets. A haemagglutination inhibition assay for 10.6S secretory IgA using specific rabbit anti porcine secretory component demonstrated that only a very small proportion of the IgA derived from colostrum is 10.6S IgA with secretory component.
Remembering Can Cause Forgetting—but Not in Negative Moods

Repeated retrieval of a subset of previously observed events can cause forgetting of the nonretrieved events. We examined how affective states experienced during retrieval modulate such retrieval-induced forgetting by inducing positive, negative, and neutral moods in subjects immediately before they attempted to retrieve studied items. On the basis of recent work, we hypothesized that positive moods encourage relational processing, which should increase interference from related events and thus enhance retrieval-induced forgetting. By contrast, negative moods should encourage item-specific processing, which should reduce interference and thus reduce such forgetting. Our results are consistent with these predictions. When subjects were in negative moods, repeated retrieval did not cause forgetting of the nonretrieved material, whereas when subjects were in positive and neutral moods, they showed reliable retrieval-induced forgetting. Our findings suggest that the emotions involved during interrogation of a witness can affect the result of repeated interrogations.
Performance scalability of n-tier application in virtualized cloud environments: Two case studies in vertical and horizontal scaling

To my parents, my wife, and my daughter ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My Ph.D. journey was a precious roller-coaster ride that uniquely accelerated my personal growth. I am extremely grateful to anyone who has supported and walked down this path with me. I want to apologize in advance in case I miss anyone. First and foremost, I am extremely thankful and lucky to work with my advisor, Dr. Calton Pu who guided me throughout my Masters and Ph.D. programs. He first gave me the opportunity to start work in research environment when I was a fresh Master student and gave me an admission to one of the best computer science Ph.D. programs in the world. I could not imagine where I am now when I first came to his office door step. It was his constant guidance and encouragement that have been the most important driving force for my growth. He quickly grasped my thinking and guided me toward shaping concrete idea out of it no matter how vague and unclear it was. Not only professional advices, Calton did not hesitate to give life wisdom based on his experience. I have learned a countless amount and I am indebted to him for his support throughout my years at Georgia Tech. I am also grateful to Dr. Qingyang Wang, my long-term research mentor, colleague and friend who is now a professor in Louisiana State University. Qingyang and I came to Georgia Tech at the same year 2007. He was a PhD. student and I was master student. We soon became very good friends as we share common interest not to mention his good personality. Since then he has been the mentor who lead the way toward the ultimate goal as well as a friend who accompanied me through the peaks and valleys of my Ph.D. journey. I'm very fortunate to have him throughout my years in Georgia Tech and grateful for all his guidance and everything I have learned from him. I would also like to give special thanks to the members of my dissertation committee-for serving on my dissertation committee. I appreciate all the challenging questions before and during my defense that led to an improved dissertation and approving this work. iv To my previous and current colleagues in ELBA project you have supported me all along the way. We all have been in this Ph.D. boat together and without your company, I …
How ISO 9001 Compares With The CMM

Organizations concerned with ISO 9001 certification often question its overlap with the Software Engineering Institute's Capability Maturity Model (CMM). The author looks at 20 clauses in ISO 9001 and maps them to practices in the CMM. The analysis provides answers to some common questions about the two documents. >
Comparing Reordering Constraints for SMT Using Efficient BLEU Oracle Computation

This paper describes a new method to compare reordering constraints for Statistical Machine Translation. We investigate the best possible (oracle) Bleu score achievable under different reordering constraints. Using dynamic programming, we efficiently find a reordering that approximates the highest attainable Bleu score given a reference and a set of reordering constraints. We present an empirical evaluation of popular reordering constraints: local constraints, the IBM constraints, and the Inversion Transduction Grammar (ITG) constraints. We present results for a German-English translation task and show that reordering under the ITG constraints can improve over the baseline by more than 7.5 Bleu points.
MemTable: an integrated system for capture and recall of shared histories in group workspaces

This paper presents the design, implementation, and evaluation of an interactive tabletop system that supports co-located meeting capture and asynchronous search and review of past meetings. The goal of the project is to evaluate the design of a conference table that augments the everyday work patterns of small collaborative groups by incorporating an integrated annotation system. We present a holistic design that values hardware ergonomics, supports heterogeneous input modalities, generates a memory of all user interactions, and provides access to historical data on and off the table. We present a user evaluation that assesses the usefulness of the input modalities and software features, and validates the effectiveness of the MemTable system as a tool for assisting memory recall.