Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The method of auxiliary sources for analysis low frequency EM field scattering from composite object

The motivation of this work is the need for an efficient numerical method to analyze low frequency electromagnetic field scattering from highly permeable and conducting materials. The principle idea of the method of auxiliary sources (MAS) is based on the concept of distributing a set of auxiliary current/charge/dipole sources with unknown coefficients on virtual surfaces that usually conform to, but do not coincide with the real surface of examined objects. By imposing the boundary conditions on the real surface, the unknown coefficients of the auxiliary sources are determined and hence the secondary field can be easily found. To illustrate the potential of this method, this paper presents a description of the MAS with reference to the work of Shubitidze, O'Neill, Haider, Sun, and Paulsen (see MMET'2000 Proceedings, Kharkov, Ukraine, p.468-70, Sept. 2000), followed by numerical results for highly conducting and permeable material. Special emphasis is given to the detailed investigation of the low frequency scattering from a composite target with and without electrical connection between the constituent parts.
Efficient solutions for programming and safe monitoring of an industrial robot via a virtual cell

In the short- and mid-term visions for robotics development, robots are expected to be used also in small and medium-sized companies, sharing spaces with different manufacturing cycles and possibly with human operators. This objective can be fulfilled only assuring high flexibility in production control, safety for workers and for machinery, and interfaces that allow an easy use of the equipment. The development of a proper hardware/software architecture for robot motion planning and on-line safe monitoring is a fundamental step, which requires the solution of various problems, both from the theoretical and the practical point of view. A hardware/software architecture has been developed using Microsoft Robotics Developers Studio and implemented for a six-dof COMAU NS 12 robot, allowing in particular to dynamically constrain the robot motion, and to supervise it on-line. This paper develops (i) a fast and efficient procedure to perform iterative inverse kinematics, in order to achieve full programming capabilities in the Cartesian space, and (ii) safety solutions that avoid the robot to enter the off-limits regions of the workspace, considering the delays between the motion of the real robot and its replica in the virtual cell.
Genomic Analyses and Transcriptional Profiles of the Glycoside Hydrolase Family 18 Genes of the Entomopathogenic Fungus Metarhizium anisopliae

Fungal chitin metabolism involves diverse processes such as metabolically active cell wall maintenance, basic nutrition, and different aspects of virulence. Chitinases are enzymes belonging to the glycoside hydrolase family 18 (GH18) and 19 (GH19) and are responsible for the hydrolysis of β-1,4-linkages in chitin. This linear homopolymer of N-acetyl-β-D-glucosamine is an essential constituent of fungal cell walls and arthropod exoskeletons. Several chitinases have been directly implicated in structural, morphogenetic, autolytic and nutritional activities of fungal cells. In the entomopathogen Metarhizium anisopliae, chitinases are also involved in virulence. Filamentous fungi genomes exhibit a higher number of chitinase-coding genes than bacteria or yeasts. The survey performed in the M. anisopliae genome has successfully identified 24 genes belonging to glycoside hydrolase family 18, including three previously experimentally determined chitinase-coding genes named chit1, chi2 and chi3. These putative chitinases were classified based on domain organization and phylogenetic analysis into the previously described A, B and C chitinase subgroups, and into a new subgroup D. Moreover, three GH18 proteins could be classified as putative endo-N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidases, enzymes that are associated with deglycosylation and were therefore assigned to a new subgroup E. The transcriptional profile of the GH18 genes was evaluated by qPCR with RNA extracted from eight culture conditions, representing different stages of development or different nutritional states. The transcripts from the GH18 genes were detected in at least one of the different M. anisopliae developmental stages, thus validating the proposed genes. Moreover, not all members from the same chitinase subgroup presented equal patterns of transcript expression under the eight distinct conditions studied. The determination of M. anisopliae chitinases and ENGases and a more detailed study concerning the enzymes’ roles in morphological or nutritional functions will allow comprehensive insights into the chitinolytic potential of this highly infective entomopathogenic fungus.
Dynamic Analysis for Diagnosing Integration Faults

Many software components are provided with incomplete specifications and little access to the source code. Reusing such gray-box components can result in integration faults that can be difficult to diagnose and locate. In this paper, we present Behavior Capture and Test (BCT), a technique that uses dynamic analysis to automatically identify the causes of failures and locate the related faults. BCT augments dynamic analysis techniques with model-based monitoring. In this way, BCT identifies a structured set of interactions and data values that are likely related to failures (failure causes), and indicates the components and the operations that are likely responsible for failures (fault locations). BCT advances scientific knowledge in several ways. It combines classic dynamic analysis with incremental finite state generation techniques to produce dynamic models that capture complementary aspects of component interactions. It uses an effective technique to filter false positives to reduce the effort of the analysis of the produced data. It defines a strategy to extract information about likely causes of failures by automatically ranking and relating the detected anomalies so that developers can focus their attention on the faults. The effectiveness of BCT depends on the quality of the dynamic models extracted from the program. BCT is particularly effective when the test cases sample the execution space well. In this paper, we present a set of case studies that illustrate the adequacy of BCT to analyze both regression testing failures and rare field failures. The results show that BCT automatically filters out most of the false alarms and provides useful information to understand the causes of failures in 69 percent of the case studies.
Use of an Enactive Insole for Reducing the Risk of Falling on Different Types of Soil Using Vibrotactile Cueing for the Elderly

Background Our daily activities imply displacements on various types of soil. For persons with gait disorder or losing functional autonomy, walking on some types of soil could be challenging because of the risk of falling it represents. Methods In this paper, we present, in a first part, the use of an enactive shoe for an automatic differentiation of several types of soil. In a second part, using a second improved prototype (an enactive insole), twelve participants with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and nine age-matched controls have performed the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test on six types of soil with and without cueing. The frequency of the cueing was set at 10% above the cadence computed at the lower risk of falling (walking over the concrete). Depending on the cadence computed at the lower risk, the enactive insole activates a vibrotactile cueing aiming to improve gait and balance control. Finally, a risk index is computed using gait parameters in relation to given type of soil. Results The frequency analysis of the heel strike vibration allows the differentiation of various types of soil. The risk computed is associated to an appropriate rhythmic cueing in order to improve balance and gait impairment. The results show that a vibrotactile cueing could help to reduce the risk of falling. Conclusions Firstly, this paper demonstrates the feasibility of reducing the risk of falling while walking on different types of soil using vibrotactile cueing. We found a significant difference and a significant decrease in the computed risks of falling for most of types of soil especially for deformable soils which can lead to fall. Secondly, heel strike provides an approximation of the impulse response of the soil that can be analyzed with time and frequency-domain modeling. From these analyses, an index is computed enabling differentiation the types of soil.
A randomized, placebo-controlled trial of zoledronic acid in patients with hormone-refractory metastatic prostate carcinoma.

BACKGROUND Bone metastases are a common cause of morbidity in patients with prostate carcinoma. We studied the effect of a new bisphosphonate, zoledronic acid, which blocks bone destruction, on skeletal complications in prostate cancer patients with bone metastases. METHODS Patients with hormone-refractory prostate cancer and a history of bone metastases were randomly assigned to a double-blind treatment regimen of intravenous zoledronic acid at 4 mg (N = 214), zoledronic acid at 8 mg (subsequently reduced to 4 mg; 8/4) (N = 221), or placebo (N = 208) every 3 weeks for 15 months. Proportions of patients with skeletal-related events, time to the first skeletal-related event, skeletal morbidity rate, pain and analgesic scores, disease progression, and safety were assessed. All statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS Approximately 38% of patients who received zoledronic acid at 4 mg, 28% who received zoledronic acid at 8/4 mg, and 31% who received placebo completed the study. A greater proportion of patients who received placebo had skeletal-related events than those who received zoledronic acid at 4 mg (44.2% versus 33.2%; difference = -11.0%, 95% confidence interval [CI] = -20.3% to -1.8%; P =.021) or those who received zoledronic acid at 8/4 mg (38.5%; difference versus placebo = -5.8%, 95% CI = -15.1% to 3.6%; P =.222). Median time to first skeletal-related event was 321 days for patients who received placebo, was not reached for patients who received zoledronic acid at 4 mg (P =.011 versus placebo), and was 363 days for those who received zoledronic acid at 8/4 mg (P =.491 versus placebo). Compared with urinary markers in patients who received placebo, urinary markers of bone resorption were statistically significantly decreased in patients who received zoledronic acid at either dose (P =.001). Pain and analgesic scores increased more in patients who received placebo than in patients who received zoledronic acid, but there were no differences in disease progression, performance status, or quality-of-life scores among the groups. Zoledronic acid at 4 mg given as a 15-minute infusion was well tolerated, but the 8-mg dose was associated with renal function deterioration. CONCLUSION Zoledronic acid at 4 mg reduced skeletal-related events in prostate cancer patients with bone metastases.
Improving the ability to predict mortality among burn patients.

BACKGROUND Early efforts to predict death following severe burns focused on age and burn size; more recent work incorporated inhalation injury and pneumonia. Gender, co-morbid illness, and co-existent trauma have been implicated in burn mortality but have rarely been incorporated into predictive models. METHODS The National Burn Repository (NBR) and the National Trauma Data Bank (NTDB) provided data on 68,661 (54,219 and 14,442, respectively) burn patients that was used to develop and validate, respectively, a predictive model of burn mortality. Logistic regression was used to model the odds of mortality with respect to age, gender, % body surface area burned (BSAB), co-existent trauma, inhalation injury, pneumonia, and co-morbid illness. Performance of the predictive model was assessed using a deviance statistic, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, and the Hosmer-Lemeshow (HL) statistic. RESULTS The predictive model that demonstrated optimal performance included the variables age, percent total BSAB, inhalation injury, co-existent trauma, and pneumonia. The area under the ROC curve for this model was 0.94 and the HL statistic was 16.0. The inclusion of additional variables, i.e., gender, co-morbid illness, did not improve the performance of the model despite reduction in the model deviance. When the predictive model was applied to the validation data source, the area under the ROC curve was 0.87 and the HL statistic was 10.0, indicating good discrimination and calibration. CONCLUSION The results of this study suggest that a comprehensive predictive model of burn mortality incorporating certain variables not previously considered in other models provides superior predictive ability.
Assessing Quitter Effects: Disaggregating Current Nondrinkers

areas. The authors somehow fail to emphasize that, with one exception, the Food and Drug Administration has approved sleeping pills for short-term use only. Their summary of an important meta-analysis lists the benefits and downplays the side effects of sedative–hypnotics. In contrast, the meta-analysis refers to the size of the benefits as ‘‘small,’’ citing, as a representative example, a score of 3.7 for the treatment group and 3.8 for the placebo group (lower scores being better) on a 7-point sleep-quality scale (nothing about function); this is statistically significant but meaningless. The analysis considers the risk of adverse events as ‘‘potentially clinically relevant’’; the odds ratio with treatment for adverse cognitive effect (a functional outcome), for example, was 4.8. Table 3 claims that ‘‘Nonbenzodiazepines and melatonin receptor agonists are the safest and most efficacious hypnotic drugs currently available. ’’ Britain’s National Institute of Clinical Excellence says this: ‘‘It is recommended that, because of the lack of compelling evidence to distinguish between zaleplon, zolpidem, zopiclone or the shorter acting benzodiazepine hypnotics, the drug with the lowest purchase cost (taking into account daily required dose and product price per dose) should be prescribed. ’’ Table 4 states that ‘‘The older sedative-hypnotics should not be prescribed for patients with confirmed OSA [obstructive sleep apnea], and patients should be advised to avoid drinking alcohol within 2 hours of bedtime. ’’ Here is something delicately unspoken; might there be newer hypnotic drugs that should be prescribed for OSA? Sleep is fascinating, poorly understood, and dearly beloved. The adverse effects of sleeping pills are significant, and their legitimate clinical role would not be profitable enough to support their concerted promotion by industry through direct-to-consumer advertising, industry-sponsored research, and supplements such as these.
Inhibition of Protein Phosphatase 2A Enhances Cytotoxicity and Accessibility of Chemotherapeutic Drugs to Hepatocellular Carcinomas

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common and therapeutically challenging malignancies worldwide. For patients ineligible for “curative resection” or liver transplantation, chemotherapy is an important minimally effective option. Strategies for chemosensitization are urgently needed. Here, we report that LB-100, a serine/threonine protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) inhibitor, enhances the cytotoxicity of chemotherapy for HCC in vitro and in vivo. We found that LB-100 significantly enhanced inhibition of HCC by doxorubicin and cisplatin in vitro and in vivo in a PP2A-dependent way, while having little inhibitory activity when used alone. LB-100 promoted vascular endothelial growth factor secretion and vasculogenic mimicry, associated with increased microvessel density and blood perfusion of tumor cell xenografts. LB-100 also enhanced paracellular endothelial permeability to Evans Blue dye and doxorubicin in vivo and in vitro, presumably by altering vascular endothelial–cadherin contact between cells. Changes in permeability and perfusion were accompanied by increased accumulation of doxorubicin in HCC xenografts but not in normal liver tissue. In conclusion, LB-100 enhances chemotherapy by interfering with DNA damage–induced defense mechanisms and by increasing angiogenesis and drug penetration into tumor cells. The induction of angiogenesis and vascular permeability of tumor xenografts by inhibition of PP2A may be a novel approach for enhancing the cytotoxic treatment of HCC and potentially other cancers. Mol Cancer Ther; 13(8); 2062–72. ©2014 AACR.
Characterization of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 enhancer-binding proteins from the human T-cell line Jurkat.

The transcription of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is under the control of cellular proteins that bind to the viral long terminal repeat (LTR). Among the protein-binding regions of the HIV-1 LTR is the transcription-enhancer region. We show that at least one inducible, C1, and one constitutive, C2, protein can bind to the HIV enhancer in Jurkat cells. The two proteins differ in their surface charge, since they are separable by anion-exchange chromatography. Bivalent cations such as Mg2+ and Zn2+ differentially affect their binding to oligonucleotides which contain the HIV-enhancer domain. Both C1 and C2 proteins also bind to a similar sequence found in the interleukin-2-receptor alpha-subunit enhancer. The inducible C1 protein was partially purified by three chromatographic steps and characterized by u.v. cross-linking as a 47 kDa protein.
Skin permeabilization for transdermal drug delivery: recent advances and future prospects

Introduction: Transdermal delivery has potential advantages over other routes of administration. It could reduce first-pass metabolism associated with oral delivery and is less painful than injections. However, the outermost layer of the skin, the stratum corneum (SC), limits passive diffusion to small lipophilic molecules. Therefore, methods are needed to safely permeabilize the SC so that ionic and larger molecules may be delivered transdermally. Areas covered: This review focuses on low-frequency sonophoresis, microneedles, electroporation and iontophoresis, and combinations of these methods to permeabilize the SC. The mechanisms of enhancements and developments in the last 5 years are discussed. Potentially high-impact applications, including protein delivery, vaccination and sensing are presented. Finally, commercial interest and clinical trials are discussed. Expert opinion: Not all permeabilization methods are appropriate for all applications. Focused studies into applications utilizing the advantages of each method are needed. The total dose and kinetics of delivery must be considered. Vaccination is one application where permeabilization methods could make an impact. Protein delivery and analyte sensing are also areas of potential impact, although the amount of material that can be delivered (or extracted) is of critical importance. Additional work on the miniaturization of these technologies will help to increase commercial interest.
Civic Identity in Australia

A typology of macro-social identities is suggested based on the strength of social attachments (strong vs. weak:) and the nature of the objects-referents of such attachments (society vs. nation). It yields three types of identity: civic, ethno-national, and denizen. This typology is then operationalized using national survey data (1995 ISSP). The analysis reveals two modal forms of identity in Australia (the denizen identity appears to be very rare). The largest proportion (38%) of Australians embrace civic identity, and this identity is most widespread among 'baby boomers', tertiary educated, and the secular. Ethno-nationalists form a sizable minority (30%), and they are predominantly older, less educated and religious people. The key issue dividing the adherents to civic and ethno-national identity is immigration and its socioeconomic consequences. The proportion of ethno-nationalists is likely to shrink in the process of generational replacement, educational revolution and progressive secularization.
Automatic extraction of contextual valence shifters.

In opinion mining, many linguistic structures, called contextual valence shifters, may modify the prior polarity of items. Some systems of sentiment analysis have tried to take these shifters into account, but few studies have focused on the identification of all these structures and their impact on polarized words. In this paper, we describe a method that automatically identifies contextual valence shifters. It relies on a chi-square test applied to the contingency table representing the distribution of a candidate shifter in a corpus of reviews of diverse opinions. The approach depends on two resources - a corpus of reviews and a lexicon of valence terms - to build a list of contextual valence shifters. We also introduce a set of rules used to classify the extracted contextual valence shifters according to their impact on polarized words. They make use of the Pearson residuals in contingency tables to filter candidate shifters and classify them. We show that the technique reaches an F-measure of either 0.56 or 0.66, depending on how the categories of shifters are defined.
The degradation behaviors of white LEDs under highly accelerated stress testing (HAST)

Reliability of GaN-based LEDs is attracting researchers to engage in actively. At present, evaluating the lifetime of GaN-based LEDs in a short testing duration is still open question. Thermal and humidity stresses are two main environmental stresses that LED products will suffer infield applications. At the level of devices, LEDs are non-sensitive to vibration. In order to evaluate the reliabilities (including the lifetime and failure rate)of white LED devices in a short period, highly accelerated stress testing (HAST) method is attempted boldly in the present paper. A series of HAST conditions are designing through different combinations of thermal, electrical and humidity stresses. The temperatures fixed at 120°C, the biased currents vary between 20mA–350mA, and the humidities vary between 65%RH–95%RH, which imply the pressure inside the furnace is high than 1atm. The forward voltage and light intensity are monitored in-situ with a time step of 1min. Preliminary results indicate that the white LED devices' lifetime of L70 obeys Gaussian distribution under HAST humidity conditions, while the L70 lifetime obeys Inverse power distribution with the injection current density variation. Based on the Arrhenius equation, Inverse power law equation and Gauss equation, the copula acceleration model equation is established with respect to thermal, electrical and humidity stresses. As an example, under the condition of 20mA&85%RH&120°C the accelerating factor is estimated as 118.0 and 109.2. The general lifetime of L70 for white LED devices are estimated as 16926.9h and 5722.5h, respectively.