Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mechanisms of Antibacterial Action of Three Monoterpenes

ABSTRACT In the present paper, we report the antimicrobial efficacy of three monoterpenes [linalyl acetate, (+)menthol, and thymol] against the gram-positive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus and the gram-negative bacterium Escherichia coli. For a better understanding of their mechanisms of action, the capability of these three monoterpenes to damage biomembranes was evaluated by monitoring the release, following exposure to the compounds under study, of the water-soluble fluorescent marker carboxyfluorescein from unilamellar vesicles with different lipidic compositions (phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylcholine/phosphatidylserine [9:1], phosphatidylcholine/stearylamine [9:1], and phosphatidylglycerol/cardiolipin [9:1]). Furthermore, the interaction of the terpenes tested with dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine multilamellar vesicles as model membranes was monitored by means of differential scanning calorimetry. Finally, the results were related to the relative lipophilicity and water solubility of the compounds examined. Taken together, our findings lead us to speculate that the antimicrobial effect of (+)menthol, thymol, and linalyl acetate may result, at least partially, from a perturbation of the lipid fraction of microorganism plasma membrane, resulting in alterations of membrane permeability and in leakage of intracellular materials. Besides being related to physicochemical characteristics of the drugs (such as lipophilicity and water solubility), this effect seems to be dependent on lipid composition and net surface charge of microbial membranes. Furthermore, the drugs might cross the cell membranes, penetrating into the interior of the cell and interacting with intracellular sites critical for antibacterial activity.
Carrier Frequency Offset Estimation using Data-Dependent Superimposed Training

In this paper we propose, for the first time, a solution to the problem of carrier frequency offset (CFO) estimation within the Data Dependent Superimposed Training (DDST) framework for channel estimation. While time division multiplexed (TDM) trained systems can use the TDM sequence to determine the CFO, the original attraction of DDST for channel estimation was that it avoided any TDM training. So in this paper we show how CFO estimation can still be very effectively performed with the DDST algorithm, while continuing to preclude the need for any additional bandwidth-consuming TDM training. Finally, simulations are presented that verify the theoretical developments.
Efficient Test of Dynamic Read Destructive Faults in SRAM Memories

This paper presents an analysis of the electrical origins of dynamic Read Destructive Faults (dRDFs) that affects the SRAM memories. This fault is the consequence of resistive-open defects in the refreshment loop of the SRAM core-cells. The consequence of this fault is that multiple consecutive read operations on a cell may induce the faulty swap of the stored value. In a recent paper, we have considered only two of the four possible dRDF fault primitives. Here, we complete this study by evaluating the effectiveness of all fault primitives. We also show that read or write operations on a cell involve a stress on the other cells of the same word line. This stress, called Read Equivalent Stress (RES), has the same effect as an actual read operation for the dRDF sensitization. On this basis, we demonstrate that RESs can replace actual read operations in the dRDF fault primitives making them more efficient.
Time–motion, heart rate, perceptual and motor behaviour demands in small-sides soccer games: Effects of pitch size

Abstract The aim of this study was to examine physical, physiological, and motor responses and perceived exertion during different soccer drills. In small-sided games, the individual playing area (∼275 m2, ∼175 m2, and ∼75 m2) was varied while the number of players per team was kept constant: 5 vs. 5 plus goalkeepers. Participants were ten male youth soccer players. Each session comprised three small-sided game formats, which lasted 8 min each with a 5-min passive rest period between them. A range of variables was recorded and analysed for the three drills performed over three training sessions: (a) physiological, measured using Polar Team devices; (b) physical, using GPS SPI elite devices; (c) perceived exertion, rated using the CR-10 scale; and (d) motor response, evaluated using an observational tool that was specially designed for this study. Significant differences were observed for most of the variables studied. When the individual playing area was larger, the effective playing time, the physical (total distance covered; distances covered in low-intensity running, medium-intensity running, and high-intensity running; distance covered per minute; maximum speed; work-to-rest ratio; sprint frequency) and physiological workload (percent maximum heart rate; percent mean heart rate; time spent above 90% maximum heart rate), and the rating of perceived exertion were all higher, while certain motor behaviours were observed less frequently (interception, control and dribble, control and shoot, clearance, and putting the ball in play). The results show that the size of the pitch should be taken into account when planning training drills, as it influences the intensity of the task and the motor response of players.
Thymic origin of embryonic intestinal gamma/delta T cells

Current evidence suggests both thymic and extrathymic origins for T cells. Studies in mice favor an in situ origin for a prominent population of intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes that express gamma/delta T cell receptor (TCR). This developmental issue is explored in an avian model in which the gamma/delta lymphocytes constitute a major T cell subpopulation that is accessible for study during the earliest stages of lymphocyte development. In the chick embryo, cells bearing the gamma/delta TCR appear first in the thymus where they reach peak levels on days 14-15 of embryogenesis, just 2 d before gamma/delta T cells appear in the intestine. Using two congenic chick strains, one of which expresses the ov antigen, we studied the origin and kinetics of intestinal colonization by gamma/delta T cells. The embryonic gamma/delta+ thymocytes homed to the intestine where they survived for months, whereas an embryonic gamma/delta- thymocyte population enriched in thymocyte precursors failed to give rise to intestinal gamma/delta+ T cells. Embryonic hemopoietic tissues, bone marrow, and spleen, were also ineffective sources for intestinal gamma/delta+ T cells. Intestinal colonization by gamma/delta+ thymocytes occurred in two discrete waves in embryos and newly hatched birds. The data indicate that intestinal gamma/delta T cells in the chicken are primarily thymic migrants that are relatively long-lived.
An energy efficient GPGPU memory hierarchy with tiny incoherent caches

With progressive generations and the ever-increasing promise of computing power, GPGPUs have been quickly growing in size, and at the same time, energy consumption has become a major bottleneck for them. The first level data cache and the scratchpad memory are critical to the performance of a GPGPU, but they are extremely energy inefficient due to the large number of cores they need to serve. This problem could be mitigated by introducing a cache higher up in hierarchy that services fewer cores, but this introduces cache coherency issues that may become very significant, especially for a GPGPU with hundreds of thousands of in-flight threads. In this paper, we propose adding incoherent tinyCaches between each lane in an SM, and the first level data cache that is currently shared by all the lanes in an SM. In a normal multiprocessor, this would require hardware cache coherence between all the SM lanes capable of handling hundreds of thousands of threads. Our incoherent tinyCache architecture exploits certain unique features of the CUDA/OpenCL programming model to avoid complex coherence schemes. This tinyCache is able to filter out 62% of memory requests that would otherwise need to be serviced by the DL1G, and almost 81% of scratchpad memory requests, allowing us to achieve a 37% energy reduction in the on-chip memory hierarchy. We evaluate the tinyCache for different memory patterns and show that it is beneficial in most cases.
Modelling Deformation and Strains induced by Waste Settlement in a Centrifuge Test

A numerical model to estimate the tensile strains (loads) of the geomembrane liner in the waste containment facility due to waste settlement is presented. A centrifuge test of the geomembrane-lined landfill is used to validate the numerical model. The calculated surface settlement at the centre of the landfill and the geomembrane tensile strains on intermediate benches are generally in good agreement with the measured data. Parametric analyses associated with foundation shear strength as well as interface shear strength and stiffness are performed. The influence of geometric nonlinearity on the geomembrane tensile strains is also examined. The numerical analyses indicate that the maximum geomembrane tensile strain occurs at the crest of the side slope near the intermediate bench for the cases and conditions examined. The lessons learned are likely to be useful to landfill design engineers using numerical models to aid in the design of the geosynthetic liner system for the waste containment facilities.
Verifying Pipelined-RAM Consistency over Read/Write Traces of Data Replicas

Data replication technologies in distributed storage systems introduce the problem of data consistency. For high performance, data replication systems often settle for weak consistency models, such as Pipelined-RAM consistency. To determine whether a data replication system provides Pipelined-RAM consistency, we study the problem of <italic> verifying Pipelined-RAM consistency</italic> over read/write traces (VPC, for short). Four variants of VPC (labeled VPC-SU, VPC-MU, VPC-SD, and VPC-MD) are identified according to whether there are Multiple shared variables (or one Single variable) and whether write operations can assign Duplicate values (or only Unique values) to each shared variable. We prove that VPC-SD is <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\sf {NP}$</tex-math><alternatives> <inline-graphic xlink:type="simple" xlink:href="huang-ieq1-2453985.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula>-complete (so is VPC-MD) by reducing the strongly <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\sf {NP}$</tex-math><alternatives> <inline-graphic xlink:type="simple" xlink:href="huang-ieq2-2453985.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula>-complete problem <sc>3-Partition </sc> to it. For VPC-MU, we present the <sc>Read-Centric</sc> algorithm with time complexity <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$O(n^4)$</tex-math><alternatives><inline-graphic xlink:type="simple" xlink:href="huang-ieq3-2453985.gif"/> </alternatives></inline-formula>, where <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$n$</tex-math><alternatives> <inline-graphic xlink:type="simple" xlink:href="huang-ieq4-2453985.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula> is the number of operations. The algorithm constructs an operation graph by iteratively applying a rule which guarantees that no overwritten values can be read later. It incrementally processes all the read operations one by one, and exploits the total order between the dictating writes on the same variable to avoid redundant applications of the rule. The experiments have demonstrated its practical efficiency and scalability.
Combination of agglomerative and sequential clustering for speaker diarization

This paper aims at investigating the use of sequential clustering for speaker diarization. Conventional diarization systems are based on parametric models and agglomerative clustering. In our previous work we proposed a non-parametric method based on the agglomerative information bottleneck for very fast diarization. Here we consider the combination of sequential and agglomerative clustering for avoiding local maxima of the objective function and for purification. Experiments are run on the RT06 eval data. Sequential Clustering with oracle model selection can reduce the speaker error by 10% w.r. t. agglomerative clustering. When the model selection is based on Normalized Mutual Information criterion, a relative improvement of 5% is obtained using a combination of agglomerative and sequential clustering.
Large Iterative Multitier Ensemble Classifiers for Security of Big Data

This paper introduces and investigates large iterative multitier ensemble (LIME) classifiers specifically tailored for big data. These classifiers are very large, but are quite easy to generate and use. They can be so large that it makes sense to use them only for big data. They are generated automatically as a result of several iterations in applying ensemble meta classifiers. They incorporate diverse ensemble meta classifiers into several tiers simultaneously and combine them into one automatically generated iterative system so that many ensemble meta classifiers function as integral parts of other ensemble meta classifiers at higher tiers. In this paper, we carry out a comprehensive investigation of the performance of LIME classifiers for a problem concerning security of big data. Our experiments compare LIME classifiers with various base classifiers and standard ordinary ensemble meta classifiers. The results obtained demonstrate that LIME classifiers can significantly increase the accuracy of classifications. LIME classifiers performed better than the base classifiers and standard ensemble meta classifiers.
A system for real-time XMR guided cardiovascular intervention

The hybrid magnetic resonance (MR)/X-ray suite (XMR) is a recently introduced imaging solution that provides new possibilities for guidance of cardiovascular catheterization procedures. We have previously described and validated a technique based on optical tracking to register MR and X-ray images obtained from the sliding table XMR configuration. The aim of our recent work was to extend our technique by providing an improved calibration stage, real-time guidance during cardiovascular catheterization procedures, and further off-line analysis for mapping cardiac electrical data to patient anatomy. Specially designed optical trackers and a dedicated calibration object have resulted in a single calibration step that can be efficiently checked and updated before each procedure. An X-ray distortion model has been implemented that allows for distortion correction for arbitrary c-arm orientations. During procedures, the guidance system provides a real-time combined MR/X-ray image display consisting of live X-ray images with registered recently acquired MR derived anatomy. It is also possible to reconstruct the location of catheters seen during X-ray imaging in the MR derived patient anatomy. We have applied our registration technique to 13 cardiovascular catheterization procedures. Our system has been used for the real-time guidance of ten radiofrequency ablations and one aortic stent implantation. We demonstrate the real-time guidance using two exemplar cases. In a further two cases we show how off-line analysis of registered image data, acquired during electrophysiology study procedures, has been used to map cardiac electrical measurements to patient anatomy for two different types of mapping catheters. The cardiologists that have used the guidance system suggest that real-time XMR guidance could have substantial value in difficult interventional and electrophysiological procedures, potentially reducing procedure time and delivered radiation dose. Also, the ability to map measured electrical data to patient specific anatomy provides improved visualization and a path to investigation of cardiac electromechanical models.
Information in the Term Structure of Yield Curve Volatility

Using a novel no-arbitrage model and extensive second-moment data, we decompose conditional volatility of U.S. Treasury yields into volatilities of short-rate expectations and term premia. Short-rate expectations become more volatile than premia before recessions and during asset market distress. Correlation between shocks to premia and shocks to short-rate expectations is close to zero on average and varies with the monetary policy stance. While Treasuries are nearly unexposed to variance shocks, investors pay a premium for hedging variance risk with derivatives. We illustrate the dynamics of the yield volatility components during and after the financial crisis.
AN EVOLUTIONARY APPROACH TO DISTANCE VECTOR ROUTING

Distance vector routing algorithms operate by having each router maintain a table giving the best known distance to each destination and which line to use to get there. Genetic algorithms are search algorithms based on mechanics of natural selection and natural genetics. To overcome some of the problems of traditional adaptive routing techniques genetic algorithms can be used. GA's have the capacity of solving complicated solutions in practical systems. Hardware implementation of GA is very fast and it is not sensitive to network size. GA's are very flexible as quality of solution can be adjusted as a function of population size. GA hardware scale well to network that may not even fit in memory. Due to the above reasons GA offers very promising solutions to many problems. In the proposed work parameters used for calculating the routes are hop count and queue length. For better performance of any network, path which is selected for transmission should be such that path with lowest hop count and shortest queue length is selected. Various parameters i.e. throughput, packet delivery ratio, delay, hop count etc. are analyzed to see the performance of the network with and without using GA in
Single-primer PCR procedure for rapid identification of transposon insertion sites.

Transposons have been used in many laboratories worldwide as a powerful tool for insertional mutagenesis to investigate gene function in bacteria (8). The technique has recently been adapted in which a transposon, such as mini-Tn5, delivers a unique identifying sequence of 40 nucleotides (1). This technique, termed signature-tagged mutagenesis (STM), is widely used in the search for virulence-associated genes via negative selection and allows the large-scale analysis of pooled mutants. Different procedures have been developed for identification of the transposon insertion regions. Single-primer PCR (4) requires restriction endonuclease digestion, ligation, PCR and cloning steps. It also depends on the availability of appropriate restriction sites. The rapid amplification of transposon ends (RATE) technique (6) involves several steps including ligation of DNA fragments to linkers, singlestrand amplification using biotin-labeled primers, isolation of the amplified products and another PCR before the sequencing. A single-primer PCR technique was originally developed by Parks et al. (5) and modified by Spector et al. (7). However, both techniques required intermediate cloning and selection steps before sequencing. Here, we report a technique that does not require cloning and allows rapid identification of transposon insertion sites using a single PCR primer and a uniquely designed PCR procedure. To test this method, we used mini-Tn5 insertion mutants from a recently constructed Yersinia pseudotuberculosis STM library (3). Figure 1 outlines the strategy for sequencing the transposon insertion regions. The procedure involves just one transposon-specific primer and a single PCR consisting of three rounds of amplification. The first round is designed for linear amplification of single-stranded, transposon-specific templates from the transposon that are to be used in the following steps and is carried out at a standard annealing temperature (50°C). The second round involves a low annealing temperature (30°C) for amplification of the region adjacent to the transposon insertion site. Amplification of this region is possible because, at low annealing temperatures, the primer will bind to sites of limited sequence comBenchmarks
Growth spurt in height and weight of children in rural South Africa : the case of Ellisras longitudinal study

The Ellisras Longitudinal Study (ELS) opened the possibilities for understanding the growth variations among children in rural South Africa. The aim of the study was to analyse the growth spurt in height and weight of children using the ELS. This is part of the on-going ELS and this study followed secondary analytical longitudinal study using data collected from November 1996 to November 2003. All children underwent a series of anthropometric measurements of height and weight according to the standard procedures recommended by the International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry. The descriptive statistics was done for age, height, weight, velocity and acceleration by gender amongst rural children in Ellisras. The linear mixed model was used to analyse data. Based on the smallest values of AIC and BIC, the best model to fit the ELS data which was found to be the unstructured covariance structure model was chosen. The interaction between age and gender, which was significant at 5% level suggested that the relationship of age with growth varies depending on gender. There was also a significant positive linear relationship of age with distance. The onset of growth spurt for rural children in Ellisras was at 12.05 years for boys and at 12.32 years for girls, while the Senegalese boys took off earlier at 11.02 years. Ellisras rural boys and USA boys had their onset of growth spurt almost at the same age at 13 years for USA boys and 12.05 years for Ellisras rural boys. USA girls had their onset of growth spurt earlier at 11 years than Ellisras rural girls at 12.32 years. Newcastle upon Tyne adolescents reached
Ten years of software sustainability at the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center

This paper presents a case study of an approach to sustainable software architecture that has been successfully applied over a period of 10 years to astronomy software services at the NASA Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC), Caltech (http://www.ipac.caltech.edu). The approach was developed in response to the need to build and maintain the NASA Infrared Science Archive (http://irsa.ipac.caltech.edu), NASA's archive node for infrared astronomy datasets. When the archive opened for business in 1999 serving only two datasets, it was understood that the holdings would grow rapidly in size and diversity, and consequently in the number of queries and volume of data download. It was also understood that platforms and browsers would be modernized, that user interfaces would need to be replaced and that new functionality outside of the scope of the original specifications would be needed. The changes in scientific functionality over time are largely driven by the archive user community, whose interests are represented by a formal user panel. The approach has been extended to support four more major astronomy archives, which today host data from more than 40 missions and projects, to support a complete modernization of a powerful and unique legacy astronomy application for co-adding survey data, and to support deployment of Montage, a powerful image mosaic engine for astronomy. The approach involves using a component-based architecture, designed from the outset to support sustainability, extensibility and portability. Although successful, the approach demands careful assessment of new and emerging technologies before adopting them, and attention to a disciplined approach to software engineering and maintenance. The paper concludes with a list of best practices for software sustainability that are based on 10 years of experience at IPAC.