Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Silica Fume on the Pore Structure and Properties of Mortars Exposed to Sulphate Aggressive Media

The use of additions as clinker replacement has become very popular, due to the advantages that they provide, especially regarding the improvement of cement industry sustainability. The microstructure of cement-based materials has a direct influence on their service properties. In this research, mortars with different contents of silica fume (up to 10%) have been studied. These mortars were exposed to aggressive media with presence of sodium and magnesium sulphate along 90 days. On one hand, the evolution of their pore structure was characterised using different results provided by mercury intrusion porosimetry technique, such as intrusion-extrusion curves and logarithm of differential intrusion volume versus pore size curves. On the other hand, the compressive strength and the steady-state ionic diffusion coefficient obtained from resistivity of the samples, which was measured using impedance spectroscopy, were also studied. In general, silica fume mortars showed good performance, although the greatest deterioration of these mortars was observed in a mixed magnesium and sodium sulphate solution.
Linking susceptibility genes and pathogenesis mechanisms using mouse models of systemic lupus erythematosus

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) represents a challenging autoimmune disease from a clinical perspective because of its varied forms of presentation. Although broad-spectrum steroids remain the standard treatment for SLE, they have many side effects and only provide temporary relief from the symptoms of the disease. Thus, gaining a deeper understanding of the genetic traits and biological pathways that confer susceptibility to SLE will help in the design of more targeted and effective therapeutics. Both human genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and investigations using a variety of mouse models of SLE have been valuable for the identification of the genes and pathways involved in pathogenesis. In this Review, we link human susceptibility genes for SLE with biological pathways characterized in mouse models of lupus, and discuss how the mechanistic insights gained could advance drug discovery for the disease.
DIRECT‐ID: An automated method to identify and quantify conformational variations—application to β2‐adrenergic GPCR

The conformational dynamics of a macromolecule can be modulated by a number of factors, including changes in environment, ligand binding, and interactions with other macromolecules, among others. We present a method that quantifies the differences in macromolecular conformational dynamics and automatically extracts the structural features responsible for these changes. Given a set of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of a macromolecule, the norms of the differences in covariance matrices are calculated for each pair of trajectories. A matrix of these norms thus quantifies the differences in conformational dynamics across the set of simulations. For each pair of trajectories, covariance difference matrices are parsed to extract structural elements that undergo changes in conformational properties. As a demonstration of its applicability to biomacromolecular systems, the method, referred to as DIRECT‐ID, was used to identify relevant ligand‐modulated structural variations in the β2‐adrenergic (β2AR) G‐protein coupled receptor. Micro‐second MD simulations of the β2AR in an explicit lipid bilayer were run in the apo state and complexed with the ligands: BI‐167107 (agonist), epinephrine (agonist), salbutamol (long‐acting partial agonist), or carazolol (inverse agonist). Each ligand modulated the conformational dynamics of β2AR differently and DIRECT‐ID analysis of the inverse‐agonist vs. agonist‐modulated β2AR identified residues known through previous studies to selectively propagate deactivation/activation information, along with some previously unidentified ligand‐specific microswitches across the GPCR. This study demonstrates the utility of DIRECT‐ID to rapidly extract functionally relevant conformational dynamics information from extended MD simulations of large and complex macromolecular systems. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
What's new about Natsal-3?

In November 2013, the initial results from the third National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal-3) were published.1–6 To coincide with their release, this edition of Sexually Transmitted Infections presents two methodological papers7 ,8 explaining the lengthy steps taken to ensure that the data from Britain's latest decennial national probability sample survey of sexual behaviour are reliable and representative of the population. But what are the new challenges and new questions addressed, especially as this is the third such survey? Studies of sexual behaviour have come a long way since the pioneering but methodologically problematic surveys carried out by Kinsey in the USA in 1948. The emergence of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980s provided the imperative for the collection of reliable data on sexual behaviour, as epidemiologists and public health specialists recognised the need for accurate estimates with which to predict the likely extent of future spread of HIV in Britain, and the type and scale of prevention activities required. In 1986, plans for a national probability sample survey of sexual attitudes and lifestyles were made. Although feasibility studies had demonstrated the public's acceptance of such a survey and the high quality data obtained,9 ,10 in September 1989, the then prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, vetoed the funding, arguing that it would be an invasion of people's privacy. Subsequently, the Wellcome Trust agreed to fund Natsal-1, and interviews with a probability sample of 18 876 men and women aged 16–59 years from across Britain were …
Suppression of PMA-induced tumor cell invasion and migration by ginsenoside Rg1 via the inhibition of NF-κB-dependent MMP-9 expression

Ginseng has become one of the most commonly used alternative herbal medicines, and its active component, ginsenoside Rg1 has known pharmacological effects, including anticancer properties. However, the effects of ginsenoside Rg1 on metastasis have yet to be investigated. In this study, we demonstrated the ability of ginsenoside Rg1 to suppress phorbol myristate acetate (PMA)-induced invasion and migration in MCF-7 breast cancer cells. MCF-7 cells were treated with ginsenoside Rg1 and incubated with or without PMA. The protein and mRNA expression of MMP-9 and MMP-2 was analyzed using Transwell and wound-healing assays and western blotting. The results showed that suppression was associated with the reduced secretion of MMP-9, a key metastatic enzyme. MMP-9 levels were regulated transcriptionally and correlated with the suppression of NF-κB phosphorylation and DNA binding activity. Conversely, ginsenoside Rg1 did not affect MMP-2 mRNA and TIMP-1 mRNA levels, or the activation of AP-1, suggesting a specificity of pathway inhibition. Inhibition of NF-κB activation by p65 small-interfering RNA (siRNA) was shown to suppress PMA-induced cell invasion and migration. The siRNA studies also showed that PMA-induced MMP-9 expression is NF-κB-dependent. The results suggested that the anticancer properties of ginsenoside Rg1 may derive from its ability to inhibit invasion and migration, and that these processes are regulated in breast cancer cells through the NF-κB-mediated regulation of MMP-9 expression.
Multiscale methods for fabrication design

Modern manufacturing technologies such as 3D printing enable the fabrication of objects with extraordinary complexity. Arranging materials to form functional structures can achieve a much wider range of physical properties than in the constituent materials. Many applications have been demonstrated in the fields of mechanics, acoustics, optics, and electromagnetics. Unfortunately, it is difficult to design objects manually in the large combinatorial space of possible designs. Computational design algorithms have been developed to automatically design objects with specified physical properties. However, many types of physical properties are still very challenging to optimize because predictive and efficient simulations are not available for problems such as high-resolution non-linear elasticity or dynamics with friction and impact. For simpler problems such as linear elasticity, where accurate simulation is available, the simulation resolution handled by desktop workstations is still orders of magnitudes below available printing resolutions. We propose to speed up simulation and inverse design process of fabricable objects by using multiscale methods. Our method computes coarse-scale simulation meshes with data-drive material models. It improves the simulation efficiency while preserving the characteristic deformation and motion of elastic objects. The first step in our method is to construct a library of microstructures with their material properties such as Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio. The range of achievable material properties is called the material property gamut. We developed efficient sampling method to compute the gamut by focusing on finding samples near and outside the currently sampled gamut. Next, with a pre-computed gamut, functional objects can be simulated and designed using microstructures instead of the base materials. This allows us to simulate and optimize complex objects at a much coarser scale to improve simulation efficiency. The speed improvement leads to designs with as many as a trillion voxels to match printer resolutions. It also enables computational design of dynamic properties that can be faithfully reproduced in reality. In addition to efficient design optimization, the gamut representation of the microstructure envelope provides a way to discover templates of microstructures with extremal physical properties. In contrast to work where such templates are constructed by hand, our work enables the first computational method to automatically discovery microstructure templates that arise from voxel representations.
Origin of the Alu family: a family of Alu-like monomers gave birth to the left and the right arms of the Alu elements

The Alu dimeric elements are a common feature of the primate genomes, where they constitute a family of related sequences (1). The identification of a free left Alu monomer (FLAM) family plus a free right Alu monomer (FRAM) family suggests that the dimeric structure results from the fusion of a FLAM sequence with a FRAM sequence (2). Here, we describe a very old Alu-like monomeric family, referred to as FAM for fossil Alu monomer. This family arose from a 7SL RNA sequence and gave birth to the FLAM and FRAM families. From the results obtained, the evolution of the Alu family can be subdivided into two phases. The first phase, which involves only monomeric elements, is characterized by deep remodelling of the progenitor sequences and ends with the appearance of the first Alu dimeric element through the fusion of a FLAM and a FRAM element. The second phase, still in progress, starts with the first Alu dimeric element. This phase is characterized by the stabilization of the progenitor sequences.
Effect of Degussa P25 on the Morphology, Thickness and Crystallinity of Sol-Gel TiO2 Coating

The deposition of titanium dioxide, TiO2, films on various substrates was studied in order to take benefit of its antimicrobial properties for suitable application in related fields. In this paper, the effect of Degussa P25 (a commercial TiO2 nanoparticles additive in the sol) on the morphology, thickness and crystallinity of the deposited TiO2 was investigated. TiO2 films, without and with Degussa P25, were deposited on glass slides and unglazed ceramic tiles via sol-gel process. Films were deposited ten times using dip coating technique and heat treated at 500°C for 1 hour. The coating morphologies and thickness were analyzed using Scanning electron microscope (SEM), while the crystalline phases were characterized using Glancing angle X-ray Diffraction (GAXRD). Results show that the addition of Degussa P25 produces coating with homogeneous morphology and less cracks, thicker film and promotes the presence of anatase and rutile phases. It was also observed that the deposition of TiO2 with Degussa P25 on unglazed ceramic tile produced thicker film (~120mm) as compared to the film deposited on glass slide (~7mm). Thus, it can be concluded that the addition of Degussa P25 affect the morphology, thickness and crystallinity of the TiO2 coatings, whereas the type of substrate only affects the coating morphology and thickness, but not the crystallization of the TiO2 coating.
Quantum typing

The objective of this paper is to develop a functional programming language for quantum computers. We develop a lambda-calculus for the QRAM model, following the work of P. Selinger (2003) on quantum ﬂow-charts. We deﬁne a call-by-value operational semantics, and we develop a type system using afﬁne intuitionistic linear logic. The main result of this preprint is the subject-reduction of the language.
An initial exploration of a multi-sensory design space: Tactile support for walking in immersive virtual environments

Multi-sensory feedback can potentially improve user experience and performance in virtual environments. As it is complicated to study the effect of multi-sensory feedback as a single factor, we created a design space with these diverse cues, categorizing them into an appropriate granularity based on their origin and use cases. To examine the effects of tactile cues during non-fatiguing walking in immersive virtual environments, we selected certain tactile cues from the design space, movement wind, directional wind and footstep vibration, and another cue, footstep sounds, and investigated their influence and interaction with each other in more detail. We developed a virtual reality system with non-fatiguing walking interaction and low-latency, multi-sensory feedback, and then used it to conduct two successive experiments measuring user experience and performance through a triangle-completion task. We noticed some effects due to the addition of footstep vibration on task performance, and saw significant improvement due to the added tactile cues in reported user experience.
Iron toxicity

During the past half century, excessive/misplaced iron has been observed to be a risk factor for an increasing number and diversity of disease conditions. An extensive list of conditions and of the types of iron association were published in early 2008. Within the subsequent year, four additional disorders have been recognized to be enhanced by iron: aging muscle atrophy, viral replication, rosacea and pulmonary alveolar proteinosis. This paper adds new data and emphasis on these disorders as entities associated with increased iron load and toxicity.
Establishment Success of Introduced Amphibians Increases in the Presence of Congeneric Species

Darwin’s naturalization hypothesis predicts that the success of alien invaders will decrease with increasing taxonomic similarity to the native community. Alternatively, shared traits between aliens and the native assemblage may preadapt aliens to their novel surroundings, thereby facilitating establishment (the preadaptation hypothesis). Here we examine successful and failed introductions of amphibian species across the globe and find that the probability of successful establishment is higher when congeneric species are present at introduction locations and increases with increasing congener species richness. After accounting for positive effects of congeners, residence time, and propagule pressure, we also find that invader establishment success is higher on islands than on mainland areas and is higher in areas with abiotic conditions similar to the native range. These findings represent the first example in which the preadaptation hypothesis is supported in organisms other than plants and suggest that preadaptation has played a critical role in enabling introduced species to succeed in novel environments.
Spatio-temporally resolved optical laser-induced damage to study defect limited performance of optical films

Laser-induced damage (LID) limits the performance of optical films and surfaces. Despite intensive study for decades following the invention of laser, the study of LID remains timely and attractive, because for nanosecond laser pulses the LID process is controlled by randomly distributed defects of unknown origin. Traditional damage tests yield little information about the defects present in optical films and surfaces. These methods record a “yes” or “no” damage result after each test and cannot distinguish the different defects present. This dissertation focuses on the development of a new kind of laser-induced damage test that measures the actual fluence (intensity) at which damage is initiated in each test. This technique works by identifying the initiation both spatially and temporally. The technique is dubbed Spatially-TEmporally REsolved Optical LaserInduced Damage (STEREO-LID). In this dissertation, the use of this new technique to study LID in optical films will be shown. First, it will be shown how the spatial and temporal information is recorded during a single damage event. Second, STEREO-LID will be compared to the ISO
A new formulation technique for local torque optimization of redundant manipulators

A new formulation technique called "torque-based formulation" for the local torque optimization of redundant manipulators is introduced in this paper. The formulation based on joint torques makes the pseudoinverse and recursive techniques possible to local torque optimization. The local torque optimization approaches that are formulated on the basis of the proposed formulation technique are simple in formulation and are efficient in computational cost. Equivalence between the proposed solutions for local torque optimization and the conventional solutions is also proven analytically.
The Tully-Fisher relation of distant field galaxies

We examine the evolution of the Tully-Fisher relation (TFR) using a sample of 89 field spirals for which we have measured confident rotation velocities (V rot ). This sample covers the redshift range 0.1? z? 1, with a median of (z) = 0.33. The best-fitting TFR has a slope consistent with that measured locally, and we find no significant evidence for a change with redshift, although our sample is not large enough to well constrain this. By plotting the residuals from the local TFR versus redshift, we find evidence that these luminous (M B ? M* B ) spiral galaxies are increasingly offset from the local TFR with redshift, reaching a brightening of -1.0 ± 0.5 mag, for a given V rot , by z ∼ 1. This is supported by fitting the TFR to our data in several redshift bins, suggesting a corresponding brightening of the TFR intercept. Since selection effects would generally increase the fraction of intrinsically bright galaxies at higher redshifts, we argue that the observed evolution is probably an upper limit. Previous studies have used an observed correlation between the TFR residuals and V rot to argue that low-mass galaxies have evolved significantly more than those with higher mass. However, we demonstrate that such a correlation may exist purely due to an intrinsic coupling between the V rot scatter and TFR residuals, acting in combination with the TFR scatter and restrictions on the magnitude range of the data, and therefore it does not necessarily indicate a physical difference in the evolution of galaxies with different V rot . Finally, if we interpret the luminosity evolution derived from the TFR as due to the evolution of the star formation rate (SFR) in these luminous spiral galaxies, we find that SFR(z) α (1 + z) 1.7±1.1 . Notwithstanding the relatively large uncertainty, this evolution, which is probably overestimated due to selection effects, seems to be slower than the one derived for the overall field galaxy population. This suggests that the rapid evolution in the SFR density of the Universe observed since z ∼ 1 is not driven by the evolution of the SFR in individual bright spiral galaxies.
The loss-cone problem in dense nuclei

We address the classical problem of star accretion on to a supermassive central gaseous object in a galactic nucleus. The resulting supermassive central star–gas object is assumed to be located at the centre of a dense stellar system for which we use a simplified model consisting of a Plummer model with an embedded density cusp using stellar point masses. From the number of stars belonging to the loss-cone, which plunge on to the central object on elongated orbits from outside, we estimate the accretion rate taking into account a possible anisotropy of the surrounding stellar distribution. The total heating rate in the supermassive star as a result of the loss-cone stars plunging on to it is estimated. This semi-analytical study, revisiting and expanding the work of the classical paper, is a starting point for future work on a more detailed study of early evolutionary phases of galactic nuclei. It merits closer examination, because it is one of the key features for the link between cosmology and galaxy formation.
Practical parallel algorithms for minimum spanning trees

We study parallel algorithms for computing the minimum spanning tree of a weighted undirected graph G with n vertices and m edges. We consider an input graph G with m/n/spl ges/p, where p is the number of processors. For this case, we show that simple algorithms with data-independent communication patterns are efficient both in theory and in practice. The algorithms are evaluated theoretically using Valiant's (1990) BSP model of parallel computation and empirically through implementation results.
Levodopa is not a useful treatment for Lesch‐Nyhan disease

Lesch‐Nyhan disease (LND) is characterized by dystonia, cognitive abnormalities, and self‐injurious behavior. No effective therapies are available. LND is associated with a presynaptic dopaminergic deficit, but the reported effects of dopamine replacement therapy are conflicting. The current prospective open‐label study assesses the effects of levodopa on both neurological and behavioral features of LND. All 6 study participants discontinued levodopa early, due to lack of effect and sometimes worsening of motor function. The results provide important clues for pathophysiological mechanisms and suggestions for future treatment options. © 2011 Movement Disorder Society
A hierarchical test scheme for system-on-chip designs

System-on-chip (SOC) design methodology is becoming the trend in the IC industry. Integrating reusable cores from multiple sources is essential in SOC design, and different design-for-testability methodologies are usually required for testing different cores. Another issue is test integration. The purpose of this paper is to present a hierarchical test scheme for SOC with heterogeneous core test anti lest access methods. A hierarchical test manager (HTM) is proposed to generate the control signals for these cores, taking into account the IEEE P1500 Standard proposal. A standard memory BIST interface is also presented, linking the HTM and the memory BIST circuit. It can control the BIST circuit with the serial or parallel test access mechanism. The hierarchical test control scheme has low area anti pin overhead, and high flexibility. An industrial case using this scheme has been designed, showing an area overhead of only about 0.63%.