Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of fluctuating energy input on the small scales in turbulence

Abstract In the standard cascade picture of three-dimensional turbulent fluid flows, energy is input at a constant rate at large scales. Energy is then transferred to smaller scales by an intermittent process that has been the focus of a vast literature. However, the energy input at large scales is not constant in most real turbulent flows. We explore the signatures of these fluctuations of large-scale energy input on small-scale turbulence statistics. Measurements were made in a flow between oscillating grids, with ${R}_{\lambda } $ up to 262, in which temporal variations in the large-scale energy input can be introduced by modulating the oscillating grid frequency. We find that the Kolmogorov constant for second-order longitudinal structure functions depends on the magnitude of the fluctuations in the large-scale energy input. We can quantitatively predict the measured change with a model based on Kolmogorov’s refined similarity theory. The effects of fluctuations of the energy input can also be observed using structure functions conditioned on the instantaneous large-scale velocity. A linear parametrization using the curvature of the conditional structure functions provides a fairly good match with the measured changes in the Kolmogorov constant. Conditional structure functions are found to provide a more sensitive measure of the presence of fluctuations in the large-scale energy input than inertial range scaling coefficients.
High susceptibility of neural stem cells to methylmercury toxicity: effects on cell survival and neuronal differentiation

Neural stem cells (NSCs) play an essential role in both the developing embryonic nervous system through to adulthood where the capacity for self‐renewal may be important for normal function of the CNS, such as in learning, memory and response to injury. There has been much excitement about the possibility of transplantation of NSCs to replace damaged or lost neurones, or by recruitment of endogenous precursors. However, before the full potential of NSCs can be realized, it is essential to understand the physiological pathways that control their proliferation and differentiation, as well as the influence of extrinsic factors on these processes. In the present study we used the NSC line C17.2 and primary embryonic cortical NSCs (cNSCs) to investigate the effects of the environmental contaminant methylmercury (MeHg) on survival and differentiation of NSCs. The results show that NSCs, in particular cNSCs, are highly sensitive to MeHg. MeHg induced apoptosis in both models via Bax activation, cytochrome c translocation, and caspase and calpain activation. Remarkably, exposure to MeHg at concentrations comparable to the current developmental exposure (via cord blood) of the general population in many countries inhibited spontaneous neuronal differentiation of NSCs. Our studies also identified the intracellular pathway leading to MeHg‐induced apoptosis, and indicate that NSCs are more sensitive than differentiated neurones or glia to MeHg‐induced cytotoxicity. The observed effects of MeHg on NSC differentiation offer new perspectives for evaluating the biological significance of MeHg exposure at low levels.
STUDIES ON IMMUNITY TO LEUKEMIA L1210 IN MICE.

Studies are described on immunity to L1210 (a DBA/2 leukemia) in DBA/2 and CDBA F1 hybrid (BALB/cAn ♀ × DBA/2♂) male animals. Immunity was detectable in CDBA animals, either following treatment of advanced leukemia L1210 with 3′,5′-dichloroamethopterin or following pretreatment with x-radiated L1210 splenic suspensions from DBA/2 mice. Under the same conditions any immune response in DBA/2 mice was doubtful. Pretreatment with normal or x-radiated normal DBA/2 spleen did not protect CDBA animals against L1210 challenge. DBA/2 skin grafts were rejected by a proportion of normal CDBA animals and by CDBA animals preimmunized with L1210. The rejections were late—about 140 days for normal animals and 93 days for the immune mice. Control grafts of CDBA or of BALB/c skin were uniformly accepted. Possible explanations for the unexpected rejection of DBA/2 skin grafts by the F1 hybrids are considered. The variation in response to L1210 between DBA/2 and CDBA animals is discussed with reference to possible approaches for altering the host-tumor relationship so as to augment the effect of chemotherapy.
Virtual histology by means of high‐resolution X‐ray CT

Micro‐CT is a non‐destructive technique for 3D tomographic investigation of an object. A 3D representation of the internal structure is calculated based on a series of X‐ray radiographs taken from different angles. The spatial resolution of current laboratory‐used micro‐CT systems has come down over the last years from a few tens of microns to a few microns. This opens the possibility to perform histological investigations in 3D on a virtual representation of a sample, referred to as virtual 3D histology. The advantage of micro‐CT based virtual histology is the immediate and automated 3D visualization of the sample without prior slicing, sample preparation like decalcification, photographing and aligning. This not only permits a drastic reduction in preparation time but also offers the possibility to easily investigate objects that are difficult to slice. This article presents results that were obtained on punch biopsies of horse skin, (dental) alveolus of ponies and chondro‐osseous samples from the tarsus of foals studied with the new high resolution micro‐CT set‐up (HRXCT) at the Ghent University (Belgium) (http://www.ugct.ugent.be). This state‐of‐the‐art set‐up provides a 1 micron resolution and is therefore ideally suited for a direct comparison with standard light microscopy–based histology.
Algebraic stability indicators for ranked lists in molecular profiling

MOTIVATION We propose a method for studying the stability of biomarker lists obtained from functional genomics studies. It is common to adopt resampling methods to tune and evaluate marker-based diagnostic and prognostic systems in order to prevent selection bias. Such caution promotes honest estimation of class prediction, but leads to alternative sets of solutions. In microarray studies, the difference in lists may be bewildering, also due to the presence of modules of functionally related genes. Methods for assessing stability understand the dependency of the markers on the data or on the predictor's type and help selecting solutions. RESULTS A computational framework for comparing sets of ranked biomarker lists is presented. Notions and algorithms are based on concepts from permutation group theory. We introduce several algebraic indicators and metric methods for symmetric groups, including the Canberra distance, a weighted version of Spearman's footrule. We also consider distances between partial lists and an aggregation of sets of lists into an optimal list based on voting theory (Borda count). The stability indicators are applied in practical situations to several synthetic, cancer microarray and proteomics datasets. The addressed issues are predictive classification, presence of modules, comparison of alternative biomarker lists, outlier removal, control of selection bias by randomization techniques and enrichment analysis. AVAILABILITY Supplementary Material and software are available at the address http://biodcv.fbk. eu/listspy.html
Improving Chinese Internet's Resilience through Degree Rank Based Overlay Relays Placement

The current interdomain routing protocol (BGP) used in the Internet tends to be restrictive limiting communication between source-destination pairs to one route, which may not fully utilize the potential Internet's connection redundancy. Although overlay routing could utilize redundant communication paths between endpoints to improve reliability and performance of the Internet, the studies of overlay network still suffer two handicaps: (i) lack of accurate Internet topology model which can be used for the large-scale overlay simulation eligibly and (ii) most existing overlay systems are inefficient in choosing the relay nodes to create the disjoint overlay path. In this paper, we first present an experimental study of resilience analysis on the Chinese Internet which we obtained through a large-scale active measurement recently and contains greater connectivity than what Skitter and Routeviews have discovered. Then we propose a heuristic strategy, called Degree Rank based Overlay relays Placement (DROP) to create the redundant disjoint overlay path between each source-destination pair. Simulations show that DROP can improve the entire Chinese Internet's resilience efficiently with less topological information acquired and can be put into practice easily.
Prospective study of serum cysteine levels and oesophageal and gastric cancers in China

Background Cancers of the upper gastrointestinal tract remain a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. Cysteine, known to be involved in a myriad of immuno-modulatory, anti-oxidant, and anti-carcinogenic pathways, has not been investigated in the aetiology of oesophageal or gastric cancers. To examine the relationship between serum cysteine concentration and risk of these cancers we conducted a nested case–cohort study within the General Population Nutrition Intervention Trial in Linxian, China. Methods 498 oesophageal squamous cell carcinomas (OSCCs) and 255 gastric cardia adenocarcinomas (GCAs) were matched by age and sex to 947 individuals from the wider cohort. We calculated HRs and 95% CIs using the case–cohort estimator for the Cox proportional hazards models, stratified on age and sex, with adjustment for potential confounders. Results Higher concentrations of serum cysteine were significantly associated with a lower risk of both OSCC and GCA. For those in the highest quartile of serum cysteine, compared to those in the lowest, the multivariate HRs were 0.70 for OSCC (95% CI 0.51 to 0.98) and 0.59 for GCA (95% CI 0.38 to 0.91). These associations were dose dependent (p for trend=0.006 and 0.008, respectively). These inverse associations were not significantly modified by other risk factors, with the exception of age, where a stronger association was noted among persons in the older age strata. Conclusion Higher serum concentrations of cysteine were associated with a significantly reduced risk of OSCC and GCA. Cysteine should be further investigated for its potential as a chemopreventive agent for upper gastrointestinal cancers.
Fuzzy Controller Design by Hybrid Evolutionary Learning Algorithms

An evolutionary fuzzy system that automates the design of fuzzy systems by hybridizing multi-group genetic algorithm and particle swarm optimization, called F-MGAPSO, is proposed in this paper. By F-MGAPSO, we aim to simultaneously design the number of fuzzy rules and free parameters in a fuzzy system. In initial population, the number of rules encoded in each individual is randomly assigned, and the individuals with equal number of rules constitute the same group. Evolution of population consists of three major operations: group enhancement, variable-length individual crossover and mutation, where group enhancement is to enhance elites in each group by local version of particle swam optimization, respectively. To demonstrate the performance, F-MGAPSO is applied to fuzzy control of a nonlinear plant
Cellular Senescence After Single and Repeated Balloon Catheter Denudations of Rabbit Carotid Arteries

Abstract —The hypothesis that increased cellular proliferation in the vasculature may lead to replicative senescence has been tested in a model of neointima formation. We have used a biomarker of replicative senescence, senescence-associated &bgr;-galactosidase (SA-&bgr;-gal), to detect senescence in rabbit carotid arteries subjected to single and double balloon denudations. We found an accumulation of senescent cells in the neointima and media of all injured vessels, in contrast to the near absence of such cells in control vessels. The relative area occupied by SA-&bgr;-gal–positive cells was higher in vessels subjected to double denudation than in those subjected to single denudation, both in the neointima (0.99% versus 0.06%, respectively;P <0.001) and in the media (0.11% versus 0.01%, respectively;P <0.02). The majority of SA-&bgr;-gal–positive cells were vascular smooth muscle cells, and a minority were endothelial cells. SA-&bgr;-gal–positive cells showed no evidence of apoptosis by use of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase–mediated dUTP nick end-labeling. Our results indicate that the proliferative response that follows intraluminal injury to the artery leads to the emergence of senescent endothelial and smooth muscle cells. The demonstration that vascular cell senescence can occur in vivo suggests that this process may be involved in cardiovascular pathologies that have a proliferative component.
Three level diode clamped inverter for field oriented control of induction motor

Indirect Field Oriented Control is a control technique used in AC drive systems to obtain high performance torque control. Sine pulse width Modulation is used for control the three level diode clamped inverter. In these applications, a rotational transducer such as a shaft encoder senses the speed of rotor. PI controller is then used to alter the firing pulse of three level diode clamped inverter regulate the output voltage to achieve the reputed stator current. The work of this project is to study and evaluate the FOC with open loop and close loop control of three level diode clamped inverter applied to the induction machines through simulations. The simulations were carried out using PSIM simulation package.
Context-Aware Migratory Services in Ad Hoc Networks

Ad hoc networks can be used not only as data carriers for mobile devices but also as providers of a new class of services specific to ubiquitous computing environments. Building services in ad hoc networks, however, is challenging due to the rapidly changing operating contexts, which often lead to situations where a node hosting a certain service becomes unsuitable for hosting the service execution any longer. We propose a novel model of service provisioning in ad hoc networks based on the concept of context- aware migratory services. Unlike a regular service that executes always on the same node, a migratory service can migrate to different nodes in the network in order to accomplish its task. The migration is triggered by changes of the operating context, and it occurs transparently to the client application. We designed and implemented a framework for developing migratory services. We built TJam, a proof-of-concept migratory service that predicts traffic jams in a given region of a highway by using only car-to-car short-range wireless communication. The experimental results obtained over an ad hoc network of personal digital assistants (PDAs) show the effectiveness of our approach in the presence of frequent disconnections. We also present simulation results that demonstrate the benefits of migratory services in large-scale networks compared to a statically centralized approach.
Localization of the Germination Protein GerD to the Inner Membrane in Bacillus subtilis Spores

ABSTRACT GerD of Bacillus subtilis is a protein essential for normal spore germination with either l-alanine or a mixture of l-asparagine, d-glucose, d-fructose, and potassium ions. GerD's amino acid sequence suggests that it may be a lipoprotein, indicating a likely location in a membrane. Location in the spore's outer membrane seems unlikely, since removal of this membrane does not result in a gerD spore germination phenotype, suggesting that GerD is likely in the spore's inner membrane. In order to localize GerD within spores, FLAG-tagged GerD constructs were made, found to be functional in spore germination, and detected in immunoblots of spore extracts as not only monomers but also dimers and trimers. Upon fractionation of spore extracts, GerD-FLAG was found in the inner membrane fraction from dormant spores and was present at ∼2,000 molecules/spore. GerD-FLAG in the inner membrane fraction was solubilized by Triton X-100, suggesting that GerD is a lipoprotein, and the protein was also solubilized by 0.5 M NaCl. GerD-FLAG was not processed proteolytically in a B. subtilis strain lacking gerF (lgt), which encodes prelipoprotein diacylglycerol transferase (Lgt), indicating that when GerD does not have a diacylglycerol moiety, signal sequence processing does not occur. However, unprocessed GerD-FLAG still gave bands corresponding to monomers and dimers of slightly higher molecular weight than that of GerD-FLAG from a strain with Lgt, further suggesting that GerD is a lipoprotein. Upon spore germination, much GerD became soluble and then appeared to be degraded as the germinated spores outgrew and initiated vegetative growth. All of these results suggest that GerD is a lipoprotein associated with the dormant spore's inner membrane that may be released in some fashion from this membrane upon spore germination.
REFLEXÕES ACERCA DO ENSINO BASEADO EM TAREFAS COMO APORTE TEÓRICO PARA A METODOLOGIA WEBQUEST

Neste trabalho, apresentamos reflexoes de uma pesquisa que esta sendo realizada e cujo enfoque e o estudo da metodologia Webquest no contexto de ensino e aprendizagem de linguas. Um dos aspectos mais visiveis e que vem suscitando questionamentos entre os profissionais da educacao, em especial os professores de linguas, e o fato de a metodologia Webquest nao abarcar teorias relacionados ao ensino de linguas estrangeiras. Aspectos como a aprendizagem colaborativa e interacao sao mencionados pelo aporte teorico da metodologia, mas nao nos parece suficiente quando o assunto e ensinar uma lingua estrangeira atraves de uma Webquest. Dessa forma, o presente trabalho tem por finalidade propor Webquests levando em consideracao o Ensino Baseado em Tarefas (EBT), bem como enfocar a importância de um aporte teorico que embase Webquests construidas para ensinar uma lingua estrangeira.
New species of Indocloeon Müller-Liebenau from South-East Asia (Ephemeroptera, Baetidae)

Abstract One new species of Indocloeon Müller-Liebenau from Brunei, I. spathasetis sp. n. , and one new species from Indonesia, I. timorense sp. n. , are described and illustrated based on their larvae. The total number of known Indocloeon species increases from two to four and the generic attributes of the larvae are amended based on the examination of the new species. Results on the genetics of some species (COI) as well as comments on the distribution of I. indonesiae Kluge are also provided.
Monograph on "Lithoglyphopsis" aperta, the snail host of Mekong River schistosomiasis.

We discuss the morphology, histology, ecology, distribution, systematics, and evolutionary relationships of "Lithoglyphopsis" aperta Temcharoen, the snail host of Mekong River Schistosoma sp. , and part of a vast, complex, endemic hydrobid fauna consisting of 11 genera and over 80 species. "L" aperta is a member of the Hydrobiidae (as broadly outlined by Fretter & Graham, 1962), subfamily Triculinae (as defined by Davis, 1968b). "L" aperta cannot be assigned to Ltihoglyphopsis because its shell and radula differ from those of the type-species, L. modesta (Gredler) from China, and because L. modesta is apparently more closely allied to other Mekong River genera in these traits. The female reproductive system of "L. " aperta is similar to that of Tricula burchi Davis, a species from NW Thailand outside the Mekong River drainage. It is not possible to assign aperta to a named genus until the morphologies of numerous other hydrobiid taxa in the Mekong River are unknown. "L. " aperta is typically hydrobiid in grade of morphological organization, in the nervous digestive, ctenidial and male reproductive systems. Differences from other hydrobiid taxa are in the female reproductive system and micromorphological features of the digestive tract. "L. " aperta and species of Tricula from Thailand have a female reproduction system where sperm enter at the posterior end of the mantle cavity and travel to the bursa copulatrix via a spermathecal duct. These and related traits are the basis for the subfamily Triculinae. Hydrobiid taxa from Europe (Hydrobiinae s.s.) belong in a different phyletic line, where sperm enter the female reproductive system at the anterior end of the mantle cavity and travel via a ciliated groove in the palial oviduct to the bursa copulatrix. "L. " aperta, as well as taxa of the Pomatiopsinae (e.g. Oncomelania, Pomatiopsis), differ from most known mesogastropods in lacking a hypobranchial gland. "L. " aperta, other triculines, pomatiopsines and hydrobiines, as well as taxa studied in the Bithyniidae, Truncatellidae and Assimineidae differ from other mesogastropods, e.g. Viviparidae, Pleuroceridae, Littorinidae, etc., in that the salivary glands are dorsal to the nerve ring i.e. do not pass through the nerve ring. "L. " aperta lives on solid substrata, particularly wood, shells and leaves in the Mekong River from Khemarat, Thailand, to the Cambodian border, 200 river miles downstream. The range probably extends another 100 river miles downstream to Kratie, Cambodia. It is an "r"-selected species by having a high density-independent mortality and using much of its resources for reproduction. The species is a colonizer in a river with severe annual floods. Females live less than 12 months; they apparently lay eggs in late January or February and die. In early March neither adults nor young can be collected. By mid or late March young suddenly flourish. The new generation does not mature until late May or June, after the beginning of the rainy season.
Hybrid Guided-Wave/Free-Space Optics Photonic Spectral Processor Based on LCoS Phase Only Modulator

We propose and demonstrate a photonic spectral processor for applying arbitrary spectral phase and amplitude at high resolution with a 100-GHz free-spectral range for colorless wavelength-division-multiplexing adaptive filtering applications. The system employs free-space optics for projecting the dispersed light coming out of a planar-lightwave circuit onto a phase spatial-light modulator. The processor achieves 3-GHz optical resolution over 75-GHz usable bandwidth, with 557-MHz addressable granularity.
Mock trials and role-playing in computer ethics courses

Mock trials are an effective and fun way of eliciting thoughtful dialogue from students, and encouraging them to produce incisive analyses of current ethical dilemmas related to computers and society. This paper describes our experience using mock trials in two computer ethics courses. Each trial was centered on a specific controversial and ethically or legally ambiguous topic related to current computer usage in society. Students participated in a series of mock trials during the term, alternating their role in each trial between jury, proponent, and opponent. Class participation was nearly 100% for every trial, with many students electing to define their own sub-role within their assigned major role. The logistics of the trials were initially difficult to administer and monitor; however, they quickly became manageable as we gained more experience with the opportunities and pitfalls associated with the mock-trial system, and as students volunteered suggestions for improvements.
Fusion of ECG sources for human identification

A study about the applicability of electrocardiogram (ECG) signals in human identification systems is presented in this paper. There is strong evidence that ECG signals embed highly discriminative information in a population. In this paper, multiple levels of fusion are described to combine information gained from the standard 12 lead ECG system. Most of the current approaches make use of only one lead electrocardiogram to extract fiducial based features. However, in pattern recognition problems it is believed that the larger the amount of information, the higher the probability of recognizing a subject successfully. The primary goal of the current work is to demonstrate that all ECG leads are suitable for identification and to suggest feature and decision level fusion techniques of combining this data. When the proposed system is tested on a public dataset, considerably high recognition rates are achieved.