Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of ultrasound method for determining aggregate gradations in asphaltic concrete mixes

The purpose of this study is to evaluate a geotechnical method, ultrasound, to detect aggregate gradation differences in asphaltic concrete pavements. Empirical data had previously been used to suggest that the more course the gradation, the less incidence's of rutting. It is my thesis that the more coarse the gradation, the higher the velocity of a sound wave through the asphalt concrete. This being the case, the velocity measure can be used in a design or field quality control procedure as a correlation to a performance test to choose a coarse gradation that has non-rutting field performance properties. Tests were performed on actual production quality control samples of various gradation types to demonstrate that the ultrasound velocities detect gradation.
Adherence to Mediterranean diet and health status: meta-analysis

Objective To systematically review all the prospective cohort studies that have analysed the relation between adherence to a Mediterranean diet, mortality, and incidence of chronic diseases in a primary prevention setting. Design Meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. Data sources English and non-English publications in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials from 1966 to 30 June 2008. Studies reviewed Studies that analysed prospectively the association between adherence to a Mediterranean diet, mortality, and incidence of diseases; 12 studies, with a total of 1 574 299 subjects followed for a time ranging from three to 18 years were included. Results The cumulative analysis among eight cohorts (514 816 subjects and 33 576 deaths) evaluating overall mortality in relation to adherence to a Mediterranean diet showed that a two point increase in the adherence score was significantly associated with a reduced risk of mortality (pooled relative risk 0.91, 95% confidence interval 0.89 to 0.94). Likewise, the analyses showed a beneficial role for greater adherence to a Mediterranean diet on cardiovascular mortality (pooled relative risk 0.91, 0.87 to 0.95), incidence of or mortality from cancer (0.94, 0.92 to 0.96), and incidence of Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease (0.87, 0.80 to 0.96). Conclusions Greater adherence to a Mediterranean diet is associated with a significant improvement in health status, as seen by a significant reduction in overall mortality (9%), mortality from cardiovascular diseases (9%), incidence of or mortality from cancer (6%), and incidence of Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease (13%). These results seem to be clinically relevant for public health, in particular for encouraging a Mediterranean-like dietary pattern for primary prevention of major chronic diseases.
Discussion of “ QE 1 vs . 2 vs . 3 . . . : A Framework for Analyzing Large-Scale Asset Purchases as a Monetary Policy Tool ” ∗

This is a useful paper, for three reasons. First, as a partial equilibrium contribution, it offers a nice and tractable characterization of bank intermediation, rich enough to capture many of the mechanisms central to the crisis. Second, as a general equilibrium contribution, the assumptions used to integrate the model of banks in a general equilibrium setting lead to an elegant closure (although some of the assumptions, such as exogenous entry and exit of banks, make calibration even more of an art than usual). Third, as a contribution to the issue at hand, namely the role and the scope of targeted easing, the framework is the right one to start addressing the issues.
Inhibition of Orai1 Store–Operated Calcium Channel Prevents Foam Cell Formation and Atherosclerosis

Objective— To determine the role of orai1 store–operated Ca2+ entry in foam cell formation and atherogenesis. Approach and Results— Acute administration of oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL) activates an orai1-dependent Ca2+ entry in macrophages. Chelation of intracellular Ca2+, inhibition of orai1 store–operated Ca2+ entry, or knockdown of orai1 dramatically inhibited oxLDL-induced upregulation of scavenger receptor A, uptake of modified LDL, and foam cell formation. Orai1-dependent Ca2+ entry induces scavenger receptor A expression and foam cell formation through activation of calcineurin but not calmodulin kinase II. Activation of nuclear factor of activated T cells is not involved in calcineurin signaling to foam cell formation. However, oxLDL dephosohorylates and activates apoptosis signal–regulating kinase 1 in macrophages. Orai1 knockdown prevents oxLDL-induced apoptosis signal–regulating kinase 1 activation. Knockdown of apoptosis signal–regulating kinase 1, or inhibition of its downstream effectors, JNK and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase, reduces scavenger receptor A expression and foam cell formation. Notably, orai1 expression is increased in atherosclerotic plaques of apolipoprotein E−/− mice fed with high-cholesterol diet. Knockdown of orai1 with adenovirus harboring orai1 siRNA or inhibition of orai1 Ca2+ entry with SKF96365 for 4 weeks dramatically inhibits atherosclerotic plaque development in high-cholesterol diet feeding apolipoprotein E−/− mice. In addition, inhibition of orai1 Ca2+ entry prevents macrophage apoptosis in atherosclerotic plaque. Moreover, the expression of inflammatory genes in atherosclerotic lesions and the infiltration of myeloid cells into the aortic sinus plaques are decreased after blocking orai1 signaling. Conclusions— Orai1-dependent Ca2+ entry promotes atherogenesis possibly by promoting foam cell formation and vascular inflammation, rendering orai1 Ca2+ channel a potential therapeutic target against atherosclerosis.
Lexical access changes in patients with multiple sclerosis: A two-year follow-up study

The aim of the study was to analyze lexical access strategies in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and their changes over time. We studied lexical access strategies during semantic and phonemic verbal fluency tests and also confrontation naming in a 2-year prospective cohort of 45 MS patients and 20 healthy controls. At baseline, switching lexical access strategy (both in semantic and in phonemic verbal fluency tests) and confrontation naming were significantly impaired in MS patients compared with controls. After 2 years follow-up, switching score decreased, and cluster size increased over time in semantic verbal fluency tasks, suggesting a failure in the retrieval of lexical information rather than an impairment of the lexical pool. In conclusion, these findings underline the significant presence of lexical access problems in patients with MS and could point out their key role in the alterations of high-level communications abilities in MS.
Brachial-Ankle Pulse Wave Velocity Predicts Decline in Renal Function and Cardiovascular Events in Early Stages of Chronic Kidney Disease

Objective: In this study, we investigated the predictive capacity of the brachial-ankle aortic pulse wave velocity (baPWV), a marker of arterial stiffness, for the decline in renal function and for cardiovascular events in the early stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Method: Two hundred forty-one patients who underwent a comprehensive check-up were included and were divided into two groups according to their estimated glomerular filtration rates (eGFR): patients with CKD categories G2, G3a and G3b (30 ≤ eGFR < 90 ml/min/1.73m2, eGFR < 90 group; n=117) and those with eGFR ≥ 90 ml/min/1.73 m2 (eGFR ≥ 90 group; n=124). The change in renal function, the eGFR change, was determined by the slope of eGFR against time. We analysed whether baPWV was associated with eGFR change or predicted cardiovascular events. Results: baPWV was independently associated with eGFR change in a multivariate analysis of the total patients (β=-0.011, p=0.011) and remained significantly associated with eGFR change in a subgroup analysis of the eGFR < 90 group (β=-0.015, p=0.035). baPWV was independently associated with cardiovascular events (odds ratio=1.002, p=0.048) in the eGFR < 90 group, but not in the eGFR ≥ 90 group. The receiver operative characteristic curve analysis showed that 1,568 cm/sec was the cut-off value of baPWV for predicting CV events in the eGFR < 90 group (area under curve=0.691, p=0.03) Conclusions: In patients with early stages of CKD, baPWV was independently associated with the decline in renal function and short-term cardiovascular events.
Switchable and tunable dual-wavelength Er-doped fiber ring laser with single-frequency lasing wavelengths

We obtain a switchable and tunable dual-wavelength single-frequency Er-doped ring fiber laser. In order to realize single-longitudinal output, two saturable-absorber-based tracking narrow-band filters are formed in 3- meter-long unpumped Er-doped fiber to narrow the linewidth via using the PM-FBG as a reflection filter. The maximum output power is 2.11 mW centered at 1550.16 nm and 1550.54 nm when the fiber laser operates in dual-wavelength mode. The corresponding linewidths of those two wavelengths are measured to be 769 Hz and 673 Hz, respectively. When the temperature around the PM-FBG is changed from 15 °C to 55 °C, the dual-wavelength single-frequency fiber laser can be tuned from 1550.12 nm to 1550.52 nm and from 1550.49 nm to 1550.82 nm, respectively.
Micromechanical foundations of pulmonary elasticity.

Article de synthese sur la mecanique de l'elasticite pulmonaire chez les mammiferes. Micromecanique de l'expansion uniforme et de la distortion du poumon. Contribution des structures parenchymateuses et non parenchymateuses. Modele d'etude de la stabilite pulmonaire
Use of Injectable Nicardipine for Neurovascular Indications

Injectable nicardipine is increasingly being used to manage neurovascular conditions. To better understand its place in therapy, we conducted an evidenced‐based literature review. Two‐hundred twenty‐three article abstracts were identified; after independent review by two individuals and a supplemental manual search, 29 were deemed relevant and were included in this review. Nicardipine has been studied or recommended for management of hypertension in many neurovascular settings (ischemic stroke, intracerebral hemorrhage, craniotomy, and spinal surgery), for vasospasm in aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage, and in acute traumatic brain injury. In the management of hypertension in acute stroke, nicardipine is one of several recommended options available; expert opinion forms the basis of these recommendations in clinical guidelines, with limited randomized controlled trial evidence to support its use. Among the various antihypertensive agents, nicardipine has the highest drug acquisition cost. In two meta‐analyses, intravenous nicardipine had no impact on patient outcomes (death, disability) in patients with acute traumatic brain injury (relative risk [RR] 0.25, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.05‐1.27) or in patients with aneursymal subarachnoid hemorrhage (RR 0.97, 95% CI 0.78‐1.20). Intraarterial nicardipine reduced angiographic diameter (p value not reported) and peak systolic velocities on transcranial Doppler images (p<0.001) in published case series. Given nicardipine's high cost relative to that of other agents and the limited evidence to support its use in patients with neurovascular conditions, this drug should be considered only in patients who have failed or have contraindications to alternative agents in the management of hypertension. Although intraarterial nicardipine appears to be promising in aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage, well‐designed studies are needed in this setting before its use can be routinely recommended.
Thermal desorption of water ice in the interstellar medium

Water (H2O) ice is an important solid constituent of many astrophysical environments. To comprehend the role of such ices in the chemistry and evolution of dense molecular clouds and comets, it is necessary to understand the freeze-out, potential surface reactivity, and desorption mechanisms of such molecular systems. Consequently, there is a real need from within the astronomical modelling community for accurate empirical molecular data pertaining to these processes. Here we give the first results of a laboratory programme to provide such data. Measurements of the thermal desorption of H2O ice, under interstellar conditions, are presented. For ice deposited under conditions that realistically mimic those in a dense molecular cloud, the thermal desorption of thin films (�50 molecular layers) is found to occur with zero order kinetics characterised by a surface binding energy, Edes, of 5773 ±60 K, and a pre-exponential factor, A, of 10 30±2 molecules cm 2 s 1 . These results imply that, in the dense interstellar medium, thermal desorption of H2O ice will occur at significantly higher temperatures than has previously been assumed.
Stepwise-Nanocavity-Assisted Transmissive Color Filter Array Microprints

Visible-light color filters using patterned nanostructures have attracted much interest due to their various advantages such as compactness, enhanced stability, and environmental friendliness compared with traditional pigment or dye-based optical filters. While most existing studies are based on planar nanostructures with lateral variation in size, shape, and arrangement, the vertical dimension of structures is a long-ignored degree of freedom for the structural colors. Herein, we demonstrate a synthetic platform for transmissive color filter array by coordinated manipulations between height-varying nanocavities and their lateral filling fractions. The thickness variation of those nanocavities has been fully deployed as an alternative degree of freedom, yielding vivid colors with wide gamut and excellent saturation. Experimental results show that the color-rendering capability of the pixelated nanocavities can be still retained as pixels are miniaturized to 500 nm. Crosstalk between closely spaced pixels of a Bayer color filter arrangement was calculated, showing minimal crosstalk for 1 µm2 square subpixels. Our work provides an approach to designing and fabricating ultracompact color filter arrays for various potential applications including stained-glass microprints, microspectrometers, and high-resolution image sensing systems.
Studying the structural features of peptide dendrimers using a combined computational and experimental approach

Dendrimers are a family of highly branched synthetic compounds that share a common layout where wedges emerge radially from a core by means of a regular branching pattern. Topologically, dendrimers are characterized by three distinct regions: core, branches, and periphery, with the latter being typically composed of functionalized end-groups. Peptide dendrimers are dendrimers composed of amino acids. These peptidic tree-like molecules have attracted considerable interest due to their inherent multivalency and the possibility of constructing molecules with a variable number and type of amino acids within the dendrimer branches and core. This topologic versatility, along with the possibility of grafting different functional groups to the dendrimers end-groups, has sparked the development of several applications ranging from catalytic peptide dendrimers and metalloprotein models to antimicrobial and drug delivery agents. Although the synthesis of these systems is becoming increasingly straightforward, two main issues remain mostly unaddressed and hinder their widespread application: (1) little is known about these molecules structure in solution and the influence played by each of its constituents on the overall fold, and (2) the selection of which amino acids to use for specific functions is ruled by chemical reasoning and trial and error screening of large combinatorial libraries. There are at least two kinds of preferential structural behaviors exhibited by these molecules, which acquire either compact or noncompact shapes. However, the key structural determinants of such behaviors remained, until now, unstudied. In the first part of this work, we have conducted a comprehensive
A comparative study on Ca content and distribution in two Gesneriaceae species reveals distinctive mechanisms to cope with high rhizospheric soluble calcium

Excessive Ca is toxic to plants thus significantly affects plant growth and species distribution in Ca-rich karst areas. To understand how plants survive high Ca soil, laboratory experiments were established to compare the physiological responses and internal Ca distribution in organ, tissue, cell, and intracellular levels under different Ca levels for Lysionotus pauciflorus and Boea hygrometrica, two karst habitant Gesneriaceae species in Southwest China. In the controlled condition, L. pauciflorus could survive as high as 200 mM rhizospheric soluble Ca, attributed to a series of physiological responses and preferential storage that limited Ca accumulation in chloroplasts of palisade cells. In contrast, B. hygrometrica could survive only 20 mM rhizospheric soluble Ca, but accumulated a high level of internal Ca in both palisade and spongy cells without disturbance on photosynthetic activity. By phenotype screening of transgenic plants expressing high Ca-inducible genes from B. hygrometrica, the expression of BhDNAJC2 in A. thaliana was found to enhance plant growth and photosynthesis under high soluble Ca stress. BhDNAJC2 encodes a recently reported heat shock protein (HSP) 40 family DnaJ-domain protein. The Ca-resistant phenotype of BhDNAJC2 highlights the important role of chaperone-mediated protein quality control in Ca tolerance in B. hygrometrica. Taken together, our results revealed that distinctive mechanisms were employed in the two Gesneriaceae karst habitants to cope with a high Ca environment.
Computer Intelligence in Modeling, Prediction, and Analysis of Complex Dynamical Systems

Our technological civilization has had to confront numerous technological challenges such as finding the optimal solution of various problems including control technologies, power sources construction, and energy distribution amongst others. Analysis and prediction of complex system behavior such as stock exchange or other complex engineering structures and devices. Technology development of those and related areas has had and continues to have a profound impact on our civilization and lifestyle. The topics discussed in this special issue belong to these mentioned areas and are mutually joined into a comprehensive text, which while discussing the specific selected topics gives a deeper insight to the interdisciplinary fusion of those modern and promising areas of emerging algorithms and technologies. This special issue discusses the mutual intersection of interesting fields of research, as artificial intelligence, unconventional algorithm, complex system behavior like chaos, soft computing, simulators, and software engineering amongst others. Novel techniques are also discussed in this special issue, which are able to handle tasks such as model and control of various systems, optimization by means standard and novel methods. Together with many interesting emerging technologies, a reader will also find in the special issue various mathematical and algorithmical methods used for proposed applications. Therefore, this special issue is a timely volume to be welcome by the community focused on above mentioned techniques and beyond. This special issue is devoted to the studies of common and related subjects in intensive research fields of modern algorithms and their applications. For these reasons, we believe that this special issue will be interesting to scientists and engineers working in the above mentioned fields of research and applications. Ivan Zelinka Ajith Abraham Otto Rossler Mohammed Chadli Rene Lozi
Digital Down Converter Demo / Framework for HERON modules with FPGA

The advent of larger and faster Xilinx FPGA’s has opened up the field of digital signal processing. The large array of configurable logic blocks within the FPGA give great flexibility together with speed, once configured the FPGA is not as flexible as a processor but is much faster. For many DSP applications speed is important especially for the initial processing of the data, after which the data rate reduces and becomes more manageable. Digital Down Conversion is a technique that takes a band limited high sample rate digitised signal, mixes the signal to a lower frequency and reduces the sample rate while retaining all the information. The main advantage of using an FPGA to implement the Digital Down Converter is the speed, but it also has advantages associated with any digital signal processing system in that once it is defined it is fixed relative to the sample frequency, and will not change with time or temperature. For example once the coefficients for a digital filter have been set the characteristics of that filter are defined, if an identical filter is required then implement the same length filter with the same coefficients. Identical filters are particularly useful in quadrature sampling systems. The use of Field Programmable Gate Arrays means that while developing your system if, for example, the filter characteristics are not quite right all that is required is to reconfigure the FPGA with a different filter. Dedicated hardware would most likely require component changes. HUNT ENGINEERING manufacture FPGA modules together with A/D and D/A converters on them. The IO5V has an A/D sample rate of 210MSamples per Second, which makes it suitable for digital radio applications that would require Digital Down Conversion. This DDC demo/Framework is for the IO5V FPGA module developed by HUNT ENGINEERING to show how a RF signal can be down converted. The RF signal used for this demonstration is composed of an amplitude modulated signal plus a frequency modulated signal both shifted up in frequency by 10.0MHz. All of the source files for the FPGA and the Host program used can be found on the HUNT ENGINEERING CD under “Getting Started Getting Started with FPGA modules and tools DDC framework”. Click on the “Files” link for the HERON-IO5V.
Inhibitors of p38 suppress cytokine production in rheumatoid arthritis synovial membranes: does variable inhibition of interleukin-6 production limit effectiveness in vivo?

OBJECTIVE The activity of p38 MAPK regulates lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated production of key proinflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα). Consequently, p38 MAPK inhibitors have attracted considerable interest as potential treatments of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and studies in murine models of arthritis have yielded promising results. However, the performance of several compounds in human clinical trials has been disappointing. At present, the reason for this poor performance is unclear. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of p38 inhibitors on both diseased and normal human tissue and cells, in order to test whether this kinase still plays a critical role in cytokine production under conditions of chronic inflammation. METHODS Proinflammatory and antiinflammatory cytokine production was monitored after treatment of primary human monocytes, macrophages, and RA synovial membrane cultures with p38 MAPK inhibitor compounds. The following 3 inhibitors were used in these studies: SB-203580 (inhibits the α and β isoforms), BIRB-796 (inhibits the α, β, γ, and δ isoforms), and a novel, structurally distinct p38 MAPK inhibitor, SB-731445 (inhibits the α and β isoforms). RESULTS SB-731445 and SB-203580 produced profound inhibition of spontaneous production of proinflammatory cytokines (TNFα and interleukin-1 [IL-1]) in both RA membrane cultures and LPS-stimulated primary human monocytes. However, this and other p38 MAPK inhibitors produced a significant increase in IL-6 production by LPS-stimulated primary human macrophages and a decrease in IL-10 production by all cell types examined. CONCLUSION The potentially proinflammatory consequences of these activities (decreased IL-10 production and increased IL-6 production) may offer some explanation for the inability of p38 MAPK inhibitors to provide the therapeutic benefit that had been hoped for in RA.