Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON ACOUSTICS MADRID , 2-7 SEPTEMBER 2007 A SILICON DIRECTIONAL MICROPHONE WITH SECOND-ORDER DIRECTIVITY PACS 38

A miniature microphone is described that is capable of achieving second-order directional sensitivity to sound. Microphones that exhibit directionally sensitive response t o acoustic pressures must detect differences in the pressure at a minimum of two spatial locations. First-order directional microphones detect the difference in pressure at two points, which for small separations between the measurement points, is proportional to the pressure gradient. Second-order directional microphones detect the difference between the gradients measured at two locations, yielding an estimate of the second spatial derivative of the pressure. While second-order directional microphones may be shown to provide a greater ability to reject off-axis unwanted sounds, they also suffer from significantly reduced sensitivity compared to that of first-order microphones, particularly at low frequencies. In addition, their performance is very strongly influenced by any inaccuracies in phase or amplitude in the detected pressures. The designs studied here have significant potential for overcoming these challenges. The diaphragms were inspired by our earlier studies of directional hearing in the fly O. ochracea. Measured results are shown for devices that have been fabricated out of polycrystalline silicon. INTRODUCTION There is a continuing need for the development of improved technology for acoustic sensing, particularly for portable electronic products. One market that poses significant technical challenges is the hearing aid industry. An extremely common complaint of hearing aid users continues to be that they have great difficulty understanding speech in noisy environments. Of all available technologies, the use of directional microphones has shown the most promise for addressing this problem. A number of clinical studies of the hearing impaired have demonstrated improvements in speech intelligibility in noise from the use of directional microphones. See for example: [1]. Advances in directional microphone technology are of great interest to hearing aid dispensers and users [2]. Despite the ample evidence that directional microphones play a crucial role, we have seen very modest improvements in their performance, and many engineering challenges stand in the way of achieving their full potential. Along with producing greatly improved devices for the hearing impaired, the results presented here will also enable the development of advanced consumer products such as directional microphones for telephones, computers, portable digital devices, camcorders, and surveillance systems.
Motor Ünite Say›s›nda Yaflla Birlikte Görülen Deifliklikler

‹lerleyen yaflla birlikte ust ekstremite kaslar›nda motor unite say›s›nda azalma olduu daha onceki farkl› tekniklerin kullan›ld›¤› cal›flmalarda bildirilmifl, yaflla motor unitelerin azald›¤› ama bu azalman›n fliddetinin deiflkenlik gosterebilecei sonucuna var›lm›flt›r. Bu cal›flma- n›n amac› 60 yafl alt›ndaki sal›kl› kiflilerde tenar kasta motor unite say›s›n›n ortalama de- ¤erini ve 60 yafl›na kadar motor unite say›s›nda meydana gelen deiflikliin fliddetini belirle- mektir. Cal›flmam›zda 21-60 yafl aras› sal›kl› kiflilerde tenar kasta tahmini motor unite sa- y›s› inkremental teknik kullan›larak incelenmifl, tenar motor unite say›s›nda yaflla birlikte azalma olduu ve bu azalman›n en belirgin olarak dorduncu dekaddan sonra goruldu¤u bu- lunmufltur. Motor unite say›s›n›n hastal›¤›n tan›s›, takibi ve fliddetinin belirlenmesinde onem tafl›d›¤› bircok hastal›kta hastan›n yafl› ve deerlendirilen kas da bu anlamda goz onu- ne al›nmal›d›r. Anahtar kelimeler: yafllanma, tahmini motor unite say›s›, tenar kas ✔ ✔ Changes in the Motor Unit Number with Aging The decline in the motor unit number of the upper limb muscles with advancing age was reported in the previous studies using different techniques and they confirmed that the mag- nitude of the decline in the motor unit number with age has varied. The aim of this study was to determine the mean values of the motor unit number estimates and the magnitude of the decline in the motor unit number in the tenar muscles until age 60. In our study we examined the motor unit number estimates in the tenar muscles in healthy volunteers aged 21-60 by using incremental technique. We found a decline in the motor unit number with advancing age and a significant decline was seen after fourth decade. In the diseases in which the number of motor units has an important role for determining the diagnosis, severity and following the course of the disease, we must take care to the patient's age and the muscle.
The mitochondrial receptor complex: the small subunit Mom8b/Isp6 supports association of receptors with the general insertion pore and transfer of preproteins

The mitochondrial outer membrane contains import receptors for preproteins and a multisubunit general insertion pore. Several small outer membrane proteins (< 10 kDa) have been identified by their association with receptors or the general insertion pore, yet little is known about their function. Here, we present evidence that the biochemically identified Mom8b and the genetically identified Isp6 are identical. A deletion of Mom8b/Isp6 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae leads to (i) a delay of import of preproteins, (ii) stabilization of preprotein binding to receptors and the general insertion pore, and (iii) destabilization of the interaction between receptors and the general insertion pore. These results suggest that Mom8b supports the cooperativity between receptors and the general insertion pore and facilitates the release of preproteins from import components and thereby promotes efficient transfer of preproteins.
From Usage to Grammar: The Mind's Response to Repetition

A usage-based view takes grammar to be the cognitive organization of one's experience with language. Aspects of that experience, for instance, the frequency of use of certain constructions or particular instances of constructions, have an impact on representation that is evidenced in speaker knowledge of conventionalized phrases and in language variation and change. It is shown that particular instances of constructions can acquire their own pragmatic, semantic, and phonological characteristics. In addition, it is argued that high-frequency instances of constructions undergo grammaticization processes (which produce further change), function as the central members of categories formed by constructions, and retain their old forms longer than lower-frequency instances under the pressure of newer formations. An exemplar model that accommodates both phonological and semantic representation is elaborated to describe the data considered.
Islet Autotransplantation After Extended Pancreatectomy for Focal Benign Disease of the Pancreas

Background. Extended pancreatectomy is associated with the risk of surgical diabetes. Islet autotransplantation is successful in the prevention of diabetes after pancreas resection for chronic pancreatitis (CP), with insulin independence rates of 50% at 1 year. The aim of the present study is to demonstrate the safety and efficiency of islet autotransplantation after extended left pancreatectomy for benign disease. Methods. Between 1992 and 2009, 25 patients underwent extended pancreatectomy and islet autotransplantation for benign disease. Of these, 15 patients were operated for focal lesions located at the neck of the pancreas (14 benign tumors and 1 traumatic pancreatic section), the remainder being CP cases. After unequivocal diagnosis of benignity, the rest of the pancreas was processed and infused into the portal vein. Metabolic results were analyzed and isolation results were compared with those obtained from patients with CP or donors with brain death (DBD). Results. There was no mortality and a low morbidity (Streptococcus mitis bacteremia in 1 patient), no portal thrombosis or pancreatic fistula occurred. Median follow-up was 90 months. Actuarial patient survival was 100% at 10 years. Actuarial insulin independence was 94% at 10 years. All patients had positive basal and stimulated C-peptide levels and normal HbA1c. Mean islet yields were 5455 IEQ/gram vs. 1457 in CP (P=0.001) and 3738 in DBD (P=0.003). Conclusions. Islet autotransplantation after extensive pancreatic resection for benign disease is a safe and successful procedure. Islet yields after isolation, which are equivalent to the live donor situation, are significantly better than those from DBD donors.
Performance of TCP over Ad Hoc Networks: Analysis and Enhancement

The IEEE 802.11 standard suffers from a number of serious performance problems when used alongside with TCP, the most popular transport protocol, in a multi-hop wireless ad-hoc environment. This paper focuses on enhancement of the performance of TCP over Ad Hoc Networks that uses the IEEE 802.11 MAC protocol. Two approaches where adopted; the first focuses on the use of new technique in the MAC-layer so-called quick-exchange (QE). In the second approach, the TCP receiver uses the delayed acknowledgement option. This paper has, focused on modeling the TCP over multi-hop IEEE 802.11 network with channel effects. The objective is to provide a better understanding of the effects of various parameters on TCP performance. We have present an analytical modeling for the system under consideration along with numerical and simulation validations via a number of simplified examples under some simplifying assumptions. This has resulted in a closed form formulas for TCP throughput under various channel states. Validation results have confirmed the performance enhancement we have expected.
Mathematical models and stability analysis of three-phase synchronous machines

Zaretskiy, Alexander Mathematical models and stability analysis of three-phase synchronousmachines Jyvaskyla: University of Jyvaskyla, 2013, 92 p.(+included articles) (Jyvaskyla Studies in Computing ISSN 1456-5390; 179) ISBN 978-951-39-5511-3 (nid.) ISBN 978-951-39-5512-0 (PDF) Finnish summary Diss. This work is devoted to the investigation of stability and oscillations of threephase synchronous machines with four-pole rotor at various connection (series and parallel) in feed system. Nowadays, they are widely used as generators for power generation in power plants and power systems. To study these machines new mathematical models are developed under the assumption of a uniformly rotating magnetic field generated by the stator windings. This assumption goes back to classical ideas of N. Tesla andG. Ferraris. The obtained models completely take into account rotor geometry in contrast to the well-known mathematical models of synchronous machines. Then the conditions of steady-state and global stability for synchronous machines are established. The dynamical stability is considered in the context of the limit load problem. The limit permissible loads on synchronous machines without control are estimated by the second Lyapunov method. In order to increase dynamical stability, the direct torque control is suggested. The sufficient conditions of the existence of circular solutions and at the limit cycles of the second kind for the models of synchronous machines are obtained by the non-local reduction method. The obtained analytical results are an extension of Tricomi’s classical results to multidimensional models of synchronous machines. Moreover, numerical modeling of systems, describing the synchronous machines under the load without control, with a proportional control and with a step control, is carried out. The conclusions on more preferred type of connection are made.
Frequency-dependent assistance as a way out of competitive exclusion between two strains of an emerging virus

Biological invasions are the main causes of emerging viral diseases and they favour the co-occurrence of multiple species or strains in the same environment. Depending on the nature of the interaction, co-occurrence can lead to competitive exclusion or coexistence. The successive fortuitous introductions of two strains of Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV-Mld and TYLCV-IL) in Réunion Island provided an ideal opportunity to study the invasion of, and competition between, these worldwide emerging pathogens. During a 7-year field survey, we observed a displacement of the resident TYLCV-Mld by the newcomer TYLCV-IL, with TYLCV-Mld remaining mostly in co-infected plants. To understand the factors associated with this partial displacement, biological traits related to fitness were measured. The better ecological aptitude of TYLCV-IL in single infections was demonstrated, which explains its rapid spread. However, we demonstrate that the relative fitness of virus strains can drastically change between single infections and co-infections. An epidemiological model parametrized with our experimental data predicts that the two strains will coexist in the long run through assistance by the fitter strain. This rare case of unilateral facilitation between two pathogens leads to frequency-dependent selection and maintenance of the less fit strain.
Identiﬁcation and Characterization of glxR , a Gene Involved in Regulation of Glyoxylate Bypass in Corynebacterium glutamicum

A corynebacterial clone, previously isolated by scoring repression of lacZYA fused to the aceB promoter of Corynebacterium glutamicum , was analyzed further. In the clone, an open reading frame designated glxR , consisting of 681 nucleotides and encoding a 24,957-Da protein, was found. The molecular mass of a native GlxR protein was estimated by gel ﬁltration column chromatography to be 44,000 Da, suggesting that the protein formed dimers. The predicted amino acid sequence contained both cyclic AMP (cAMP)- and DNA- binding motifs and was homologous with the cAMP receptor protein family of proteins. The aceB -repressing activity of the glxR clone was markedly relieved in an Escherichia coli cya mutant, but the activity was restored in growth medium containing cAMP. In glucose medium, the intracellular cAMP concentration of C. glutami- cum reached 22 nmol/mg of protein in the early exponential phase and then decreased further; but in acetate medium, the intracellular cAMP concentration was only 5 nmol/mg of protein and remained low throughout the growth phase. The expression of glxR was not affected by the carbon source. Binding of puriﬁed GlxR
Differential protein expression in Tree Shrew sclera during development of lens-induced myopia and recovery

Purpose The tree shrew model of refractive development is particularly useful because, like humans, tree shrews have a fibrous sclera. Selective changes in some candidate extracellular matrix proteins and mRNAs have been found in the sclera during the development of, and recovery from, induced myopia. We undertook a more neutral proteomic analysis using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry to identify scleral proteins that are differentially expressed during the development of, and recovery from, lens-induced myopia. Methods Five tree shrews (Tupaia glis belangeri) wore a monocular –5 D lens for 4 days, starting 24 days after natural eye opening. At the end of this time, all treated eyes had partially compensated for the lens and were –3.5±0.7 D (mean ± SEM) myopic relative to the untreated fellow control eyes. An additional five animals wore a –5 D lens for 11–13 days, followed by 4 days of recovery without the –5 D lens. The amount of recovery was 1.6±0.4 D. Scleral proteins from both groups were then isolated and resolved by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and spots that were differentially expressed were identified by mass spectrometry. Results The scleral protein profile typically displayed ~700 distinct protein spots within the pH 5–8 range. Comparison of the treated-eye and control-eye scleras of the lens-compensation animals revealed five spots that were significantly differentially expressed in all five pairs of eyes; all were downregulated 1.2 to 1.7 fold in the treated eye. These proteins were identified as: pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF), procollagen I α1, procollagen I α2, and thrombospondin I (two spots). In the recovering eyes, the two thrombospondin I spots remained lower in abundance while PEDF and the procollagens were no longer downregulated. In addition, 78 kDa glucose-regulated protein (GRP 78), a member of the heat shock protein 70 family, was slightly upregulated 1.3 fold. Conclusions We found consistent results across animals that were of a magnitude consistent with the physiologically small changes to the focal plane of these eyes. Changes in collagen confirm previous findings, but downregulation of thrombospondin I adds detail to our understanding of the chain of signals that regulates scleral creep rate. The differential changes in PEDF and GRP 78 were not expected, based on previous studies, and demonstrate the utility of the proteomic approach in tree shrew sclera.
Optical studies on the influence of annealing temperature of TiO2 seed layer to the growth of ZnO nanostructures

In this present work, zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructures were successfully grown on titanium dioxide (TiO2) seed layer. To prepare a suitable site for ZnO nanostructures to grow, the TiO2 seed layer was pre-coated on glass substrate by sol-gel spin-coating. The coated TiO2 thin films were heated at different annealing temperatures; 350, 400, 450, 500 and 550 C for 2 hours in order to determine the best optical quality of the seed layer film for growth of ZnO nanostructures by solution-immersion method. The optical properties of the TiO2: ZnO thin films, as a function of TiO2 annealing temperature have been studied by Photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy and UV-Vis (Ultraviolet Visible) spectroscopy. Compared to as-grown TiO2 seed layer, red shift was observed on the PL emission peaks of annealed TiO2 seed layer in visible region. This is due to the presence of interstitial oxygen (Oi-). To determine the optical quality and stoichiometric properties of the films, the ratio of the UV emission peak intensity and the visible emission peak intensity, IUV/IVIS were calculated to be 0.32, 0.77, 0.88, 1.50, 1.05 and 0.36 for as-grown, 350, 400, 450, 500 and 550 C, respectively. The higher the intensity of the ratio IUV/IVIS, the better the optical quality of the thin films is. UV-Vis spectra showed that the thin films exhibited high transparency in visible region and high absorption properties in the UV region.
Bartonella henselae prevalence in domestic cats in California: risk factors and association between bacteremia and antibody titers

The isolation of Bartonella henselae, the agent of cat scratch disease, from the blood of naturally infected domestic cats and the demonstration that cats remain bacteremic for several months suggest that cats play a major role as a reservoir for this bacterium. A convenience sample of 205 cats from northern California was selected between 1992 and 1994 to evaluate the B. henselae antibody and bacteremia prevalences and to determine the risk factors and associations between bacteremia and antibody titers. B. henselae was isolated from the blood of 81 cats (39.5%). Forty-two (52%) of these bacteremic cats were found to be infected with > or = 1,000 CFU/ml of blood. Impounded or former stray cats were 2.86 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.94, 4.22) times more likely to be bacteremic than the pet cats. Young cats ( < 1 year old) were more likely than adult cats to be bacteremic (relative risk = 1.64; (95% CI = 1.19, 2.28). Bacteremic cats were more likely than nonbacteremic cats to be infested with fleas (relative risk = 1.64; 95% CI = 1.38, 1.96). No association between B. henselae infection and feline immunodeficiency virus antibody prevalence was observed. Eighty-one percent of the cats (166 of 205) tested positive for B. henselae antibodies, and titers were higher in bacteremic than in nonbacteremic cats. Multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that younger age and seropositivity for B. henselae antibodies were associated with bacteremia. Serological screening for Bartonella antibodies may not be useful for the identification of bacteremic cats (positive predictive value = 46.4%), but the lack of antibodies to B. henselae was highly predictive of the absence of bacteremia (negative predictive value = 89.7%). Seronegative cats may be more appropriate pets for immunocompromised individuals who are at increased risk for developing severe B. henselae disease.
Linear versus mel frequency cepstral coefficients for speaker recognition

Mel-frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCC) have been dominantly used in speaker recognition as well as in speech recognition. However, based on theories in speech production, some speaker characteristics associated with the structure of the vocal tract, particularly the vocal tract length, are reflected more in the high frequency range of speech. This insight suggests that a linear scale in frequency may provide some advantages in speaker recognition over the mel scale. Based on two state-of-the-art speaker recognition back-end systems (one Joint Factor Analysis system and one Probabilistic Linear Discriminant Analysis system), this study compares the performances between MFCC and LFCC (Linear frequency cepstral coefficients) in the NIST SRE (Speaker Recognition Evaluation) 2010 extended-core task. Our results in SRE10 show that, while they are complementary to each other, LFCC consistently outperforms MFCC, mainly due to its better performance in the female trials. This can be explained by the relatively shorter vocal tract in females and the resulting higher formant frequencies in speech. LFCC benefits more in female speech by better capturing the spectral characteristics in the high frequency region. In addition, our results show some advantage of LFCC over MFCC in reverberant speech. LFCC is as robust as MFCC in the babble noise, but not in the white noise. It is concluded that LFCC should be more widely used, at least for the female trials, by the mainstream of the speaker recognition community.
Evolutionary conservation and diversification of Rh family genes and proteins

Rhesus (Rh) proteins were first identified in human erythroid cells and recently in other tissues. Like ammonia transporter (Amt) proteins, their only homologues, Rh proteins have the 12 transmembrane-spanning segments characteristic of transporters. Many think Rh and Amt proteins transport the same substrate, \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document} \begin{equation*}{\mathrm{NH}}_{3}/{\mathrm{NH}}_{4}^{+}\end{equation*}\end{document}, whereas others think that Rh proteins transport CO2 and Amt proteins NH3. In the latter view, Rh and Amt are different biological gas channels. To reconstruct the phylogeny of the Rh family and study its coexistence with and relationship to Amt in depth, we analyzed 111 Rh genes and 260 Amt genes. Although Rh and Amt are found together in organisms as diverse as unicellular eukaryotes and sea squirts, Rh genes apparently arose later, because they are rare in prokaryotes. However, Rh genes are prominent in vertebrates, in which Amt genes disappear. In organisms with both types of genes, Rh had apparently diverged away from Amt rapidly and then evolved slowly over a long period. Functionally divergent amino acid sites are clustered in transmembrane segments and around the gas-conducting lumen recently identified in Escherichia coli AmtB, in agreement with Rh proteins having new substrate specificity. Despite gene duplications and mutations, the Rh paralogous groups all have apparently been subject to strong purifying selection indicating functional conservation. Genes encoding the classical Rh proteins in mammalian red cells show higher nucleotide substitution rates at nonsynonymous codon positions than other Rh genes, a finding that suggests a possible role for these proteins in red cell morphogenetic evolution.