Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multiple Symmetries in Sliding-Tile Puzzles : First Experiments

Since their introduction, symmetries have proven to be very powerful for the solution of different tasks related to heuristic search on sliding-tile puzzles. The most relevant being the boost of the heuristic values stored in Pattern Databases (PDBs), the construction time and storing size of PDBs, and the reduction in the number of written states in external search algorithms. Indeed, in the later, symmetries are almost a necessity in order to perform such complete search in acceptable time and space. All these applications only use single symmetries. As it turns out, multiple symmetries can also be utilized with very good results. In this paper, we explore the application of multiple symmetries on sliding puzzle problems and present some preliminary experimental results on complete explorations of state spaces using an external search algorithm. As it is shown, the net result is a 4-fold reduction in the number of written states with respect to an implementation that utilizes no symmetries.
Assessing user preferences for sexually transmitted infection testing services: a discrete choice experiment

Objective To assess user preferences for different aspects of sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing services. Design A discrete choice experiment. Setting 14 centres offering tests for STIs in East Sussex, England. Participants People testing for STIs. Main outcome measure (Adjusted) ORs in relation to preferred service characteristics. Results 3358 questionnaires were returned; mean age 26 (SD 9.4) years. 70% (2366) were recruited from genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinics. The analysis suggested that the most important characteristics to users were whether ‘staff had specialist STI knowledge’ compared with ‘staff without it’ (OR 2.55; 95% CI 2.47 to 2.63) and whether ‘tests for all STIs’ were offered rather than ‘some’ (OR 2.19; 95% CI 2.12 to 2.25). They remained the most important two service characteristics despite stratifying the analysis by variables such as age and sex. Staff levels of expertise were viewed as particularly important by people attending CASH centres, women and non-men who have sex with men. A ‘text or call to a mobile phone’ and ‘dropping in and waiting’ were generally the preferred methods of results reporting and appointment system, respectively. Conclusions This study suggests that people testing for STIs place particular importance on testing for all infections rather than some and staff with specialist STI knowledge. Thus, targets based purely on waiting up to 48 h for an appointment are misguided from a user perspective.
Toward a dust penetrated classi cation of the evolved stellarPopulation II disks of galaxiesDavid

To derive a coherent physical framework for the excitation of spiral structure in galaxies, one must consider the coexistence of two diierent dynamical components: a gas-dominated Population I disk (OB associations , HII regions, cold interstellar HI gas) and an evolved stellar Population II component. The Hubble classiication scheme has as its focus, the morphology of the Population I component only. In the near-infrared, the morphology of evolved stellar disks indicates a simple classiication scheme: the dominant Fourier m-mode in the dust penetrated regime, and the associated pitch angle. On the basis of deprojected K 0 (2.1m) images, we propose that the evolved stellar disks may be grouped into three principal dust penetrated archetypes: those with tightly wound stellar arms characterised by pitch angles at K 0 of 10 (the class), an intermediate group with pitch angles of 25 (the class) and thirdly, those with open spirals demarcated by pitch angles at K 0 of 40 (the bin). There is no correlation between our dust penetrated classes and optical Hubble binning; the Hubble tuning fork does not constrain the morphology of the old stellar Population II disks. Any speciic dust penetrated archetype may be the resident disk of both an early or late type galaxy. The number of arms and the pitch angle of the arms at K 0 of the early-typèa' spiral NGC 718 are almost identical to those for the late-typèc' spiral NGC 309. We demonstrate that galaxies on opposite ends of the tuning fork can display remarkably similar evolved disk morphologies and belong to the same dust penetrated class. Furthermore, a prototypically occulent galaxy such as NGC 5055 (Elmegreen arm class 3) can have an evolved disk morphology almost identical to that of NGC 5861, characterised in the optical as having one of the most regular spiral patterns known and of Elmegreen class 12. Both optically occulent or grand design galaxies can reside within the same dust penetrated morphological bin. As was suggested by Block et al. (1994a), it is the gas dominated Population I component which determines the optical types (a, b, c), decoupled from the Population II. Those L=lopsided galaxies (where m=1 is a dominant mode) are designated L, L and L according to the dust penetrated pitch angle; E=evensided galaxies (where m=2 is the dominant Fourier mode) are classiied into classes E, E and E, according to our three principal dust penetrated archetypes. The …
Novel Insights into the Pharmacology of Flavonoids

Flavonoids are widely distributed secondary metabolites and currently consumed in large amounts in the daily diet. In this article, some of the most recent developments in flavonoid – and related polyphenolic compounds – pharmacology are discussed, with particular emphasis on very recent data, most of which are published in Phytotherapy Research, which highlight new aspects in flavonoid anti‐inflammatory, antilipidemic, antihyperglycemic, antiviral, hepatoprotective, gastric antiulcer, cardioprotective, neuroprotective, antioxidant and anticancer actions. These updated data confirm the well‐established diverse beneficial pharmacological actions and might support the perspective for a therapeutic use. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The peptide-binding motif for the human transporter associated with antigen processing

Presentation of antigenic peptides by human leukocyte antigen class I molecules is dependent on peptide transport into the endoplasmic reticulum by the transporters associated with antigen processing (TAP) (Germain, R. N. 1994. Cell. 76:287-299). This translocation step is currently regarded as permissive for all peptides with COOH-terminal residues capable of binding to HLA class I molecules (Momburg, F., J. Roelse, J. C. Howard, G. W. Butcher, G.J. Hammerling, and J.J. Neefjes. 1994. Nature (Lond.). 367:648-651). In this report, we show that the human transporter selects peptides according to a binding motif based on the strong effects on peptide affinity of the three NH2-terminal positions and the COOH-terminal residues. TAP favors strongly hydrophobic residues in position 3 (P3) and hydrophobic or charged residues in P2, whereas aromatic or acidic residues in P1, as well as Pro in P1 and P2, have strong deleterious effects. Selection of naturally presented peptides by the transporter is suggested by their higher average affinity for TAP, as compared to nonselected peptides. The TAP preferences in the three NH2-terminal positions correspond to those of the vast majority of human leukocyte antigen class I alleles, but they represent an obstacle for peptide supply to some alleles, e.g., the B7-like group. We propose that peptides binding to these alleles, and in general, peptides with TAP affinities below a certain threshold, may be transported as extended precursors.
Evaluating Publication Similarity Measures

Publication searching based on keywords provided by users is traditional in digital libraries. While useful in many circumstances, the success of locating related publications via keyword-based searching paradigm is influenced by how users choose their keywords. Example-based searching, where user provides an example publication to locate similar publications, is also becoming commonplace in digital libraries. Existing publication similarity measures, needed for example-based searching, fall into two classes, namely, text-based similarity measures from Information Retrieval, and citation-based similarity measures based on bibliographic coupling and/or co-citation. In this paper, we list a number of publication similarity measures, and extend and evaluate them in terms of their accuracy, separability, and independence. For evaluation, we use the ACM SIGMOD Anthology, a digital library of about 15,000 publications.
Impact of device geometry and doping concentration variation on electrical characteristics of 22nm FinFET

This paper presents the impact of device physical geometry and doping concentration variation on dc characteristics of 22nm FinFET. The device geometry such as thickness of fin (T<sub>fin</sub>) and gate oxide thickness (t<sub>ox</sub>) are varied and the performance such as threshold voltage (V<sub>th</sub>), subthreshold swing (SS), on current (I<sub>on</sub>), off current (I<sub>off</sub>) of FinFET are analyzed using TCAD. Also the impact of doping concentration on dc characteristics were studied. The results show that for T<sub>fin</sub> of 3nm, t<sub>ox</sub> of 1.5nm and fin height (H<sub>fin</sub>) of 7nm has higher I<sub>on</sub> and lower I<sub>off</sub>.
DVSleak: combining leakage reduction and voltage scaling in feedback EDF scheduling

Recent trends in CMOS fabrication have the demand to conserve power of processors. While dynamic voltage scaling (DVS) is effective in reducing dynamic power, microprocessors produced in ever smaller fabrication processes are increasingly dominated bystatic power. For such processors, voltage/frequency pairs below acritical speed result in higher energy per cycle than entering a processor sleep mode. Yet, computational demand above this critical speed is best met by DVS techniques while still conserving power. We develop a novel combined leakage and DVS scheduling algorithm forreal-time systems, DVS leak, based on earliest-deadline-first scheduling (EDF). Our method trades off DVS with leakage, where the former slows down execution while the latter intelligently defers dispatching of jobs when sleeping is beneficial. We further capitalize on feedback knowledge about actual execution times to anticipate computational demands without sacrificing deadline guarantees. As such, we contribute a novel feedback delay policy for leakage awareness, which addresses structural limitations of prior approaches. Experiments show that this combined DVS/leakage algorithm results in an average of (a) 50% additional energy savings over a leakage-oblivious DVS algorithm, (b) 20% more energy savings over a more simplistic combination of DVS and sleep policies and (c) 8.5% or more over dynamic slack reclamation with procrastination. Particularly task sets with periods shorter than ten milliseconds profit from our approach with 15% energy savings over best prior schemes. This makes DVS leak the best combined DVS/leakage regulation approach for real-time systems that we know of.
Resonant magnetotunneling through individual self-assembled InAs quantum dots.

Abstract A single-barrier GaAs/AlAs/GaAs heterostructure, with self-assembled In-based quantum dots incorporated in the AlAs tunnel barrier, exhibits a series of resonant peaks in the low temperature current–voltage characteristics. We argue that each peak arises fromsingle-electrontunneling through thediscrete zero-dimensionalstate of anindividualInAs dot. We use the tunneling for fine probing of the local density of states in the emitter-accumulation layer. Landau-quantized states are resolved at magnetic field B∥ as low as 0.2 T. Spin-splitting of the dot electron states has been observed forB⊥I.
Impaired Wheel Running Exercise in CLC-1 Chloride Channel-Deficient Myotonic Mice

Background: Genetic deficiency of the muscle CLC-1 chloride channel leads to myotonia, which is manifested most prominently by slowing of muscle relaxation. Humans experience this as muscle stiffness upon initiation of contraction, although this can be overcome with repeated efforts (the “warm-up” phenomenon). The extent to which CLC-1 deficiency impairs exercise activity is controversial. We hypothesized that skeletal muscle CLC-1 chloride channel deficiency leads to severe reductions in spontaneous exercise. Methodology/Principal Findings: To examine this quantitatively, myotonic CLC-1 deficient mice were provided access to running wheels, and their spontaneous running activity was quantified subsequently. Differences between myotonic and normal mice in running were not present soon after introduction to the running wheels, but were fully established during week 2. During the eighth week, myotonic mice were running significantly less than normal mice (322 ± 177 vs 5058 ± 1253 m/day, P = 0.025). Furthermore, there were considerable reductions in consecutive running times (18.8 ± 1.5 vs 59.0 ± 3.7 min, P < 0.001) and in the distance per consecutive running period (58 ± 38 vs 601 ± 174 m, P = 0.048) in myotonic compared with normal animals. Conclusion/Significance: These findings indicate that CLC-1 chloride deficient myotonia in mice markedly impairs spontaneous exercise activity, with reductions in both total distance and consecutive running times.
The Seagrass Holobiont and Its Microbiome

Seagrass meadows are ecologically and economically important components of many coastal areas worldwide. Ecosystem services provided by seagrasses include reducing the number of microbial pathogens in the water, providing food, shelter and nurseries for many species, and decreasing the impact of waves on the shorelines. A global assessment reported that 29% of the known areal extent of seagrasses has disappeared since seagrass areas were initially recorded in 1879. Several factors such as direct and indirect human activity contribute to the demise of seagrasses. One of the main reasons for seagrass die-offs all over the world is increased sulfide concentrations in the sediment that result from the activity of sulfate-reducing prokaryotes, which perform the last step of the anaerobic food chain in marine sediments and reduce sulfate to H2S. Recent seagrass die-offs, e.g., in the Florida and Biscayne Bays, were caused by an increase in pore-water sulfide concentrations in the sediment, which were the combined result of unfavorable environmental conditions and the activities of various groups of heterotrophic bacteria in the sulfate-rich water-column and sediment that are stimulated through increased nutrient concentrations. Under normal circumstances, seagrasses are able to withstand low levels of sulfide, probably partly due to microbial symbionts, which detoxify sulfide by oxidizing it to sulfur or sulfate. Novel studies are beginning to give greater insights into the interactions of microbes and seagrasses, not only in the sulfur cycle. Here, we review the literature on the basic ecology and biology of seagrasses and focus on studies describing their microbiome.
Qualification and application of an ELISA for the determination of Tamm Horsfall Protein (THP) in human urine and its use for screening of Kidney Stone Disease

Kidney stone disease affects 1 - 20% of the general population. At present, the diagnosis of a stone is done using radiography method when noticeable symptoms appeared. We developed a non-invasive quantitative assay for urinary THP, namely ELISA; whereby our previous study and other reports had shown the usefulness of THP as biomarker for kidney stone disease. Since urine is biological fluid that is easily obtainable, this method could be used as a screening assay for kidney stone prior to confirmation with radiography. The ELISA gave assay linearity r2 > 0.999 within the range of 109 ng/mL to 945 ng/mL THP. Assay precisions were < 4% (C.V.) for repeatability and < 5% (C.V.) for reproducibility. Assay accuracy range from 97.7% to 101.2% at the various THP concentrations tested. Assay specificity and sensitivity were 80% and 86%, respectively. The cut-off points at P < 0.05 were 37.0 and 41.2 μg/mL for male and female, respectively. The assay is cost effective and rapid whereby the cost for assaying each urine sample in duplicate is approximately USD0.35 and within 5 hours, 37 samples can be assayed alongside full range of standards and 3 QC samples in each plate. Furthermore, sample preparation is relatively easy where urine sample was diluted 10 times in TEA buffer. The usability of the ELISA method for diagnosis of kidney stone disease is evaluated with 117 healthy subjects and 58 stone formers.
Less is more: restricted application of insecticide to cattle to improve the cost and efficacy of tsetse control

Abstract Studies were carried out in Zimbabwe of the responses of tsetse to cattle treated with deltamethrin applied to the parts of the body where most tsetse were shown to land. Large proportions of Glossina pallidipes Austen (Diptera: Glossinidae) landed on the belly (∼ 25%) and legs (∼ 70%), particularly the front legs (∼ 50%). Substantial proportions of Glossina morsitans morsitans Westwood landed on the legs (∼ 50%) and belly (25%), with the remainder landing on the torso, particularly the flanks (∼ 15%). Studies were made of the knockdown rate of wild, female G. pallidipes exposed to cattle treated with a 1% pour‐on or 0.005% suspension concentrate of deltamethrin applied to the (a) whole body, (b) belly and legs, (c) legs, (d) front legs, (e) middle and lower front legs, or (f) lower front legs. The restricted treatments used 20%, 10%, 5%, 2% or 1% of the active ingredient applied in the whole‐body treatments. There was a marked seasonal effect on the performance of all treatments. With the whole‐body treatment, the persistence period (knockdown > 50%) ranged from ∼ 10 days during the hot, wet season (mean daily temperature > 30 °C) to ∼ 20 days during the cool, dry season (< 22 °C). Restricting the application of insecticide reduced the seasonal persistence periods to ∼ 10–15 days if only the legs and belly were treated, ∼ 5–15 days if only the legs were treated and < 5 days for the more restricted treatments. The restricted application did not affect the landing distribution of tsetse or the duration of landing bouts (mean = 30 s). The results suggest that more cost‐effective control of tsetse could be achieved by applying insecticide to the belly and legs of cattle at 2‐week intervals, rather than using the current practice of treating the whole body of each animal at monthly intervals. This would cut the cost of insecticide by 40%, improve efficacy by 27% and reduce the threats to non‐target organisms and the enzootic stability of tick‐borne diseases.
To See or not to See - Innovative Display Technologies as Enablers for Ergonomic Cockpit Concepts

Given the fact that the driving task will remarkably change by the increase of assistance and information systems in the future innovative display technologies play a central role for the ergonomic realization of the driver vehicle interaction. Increasing assistance and even automation of the driving task do not lead to a decrease or disappearance of visual information but instead request new and in some cases revolutionary concepts to close the loop between driver, vehicle and traffic environment. Augmenting information in contact analog head-up-displays for navigation and driver assistance is a very promising approach. Replacement of mirrors via camera monitor systems is a further example. Free programmable cluster instruments in combination with HUD promise to resolve the problem of information density produced by an increasing amount of ADAS and IVIS functionality. The driving task is by its nature very visual, therefore the integration of additional visual information needs specific care. Relevant requirements are compiled in ISO 15008 and guidelines like ESOP. From an ergonomic point of view the potential offered by innovative display technologies is huge. In many cases the solutions cited above show high potential for an ageing driver population and its visual limitations to ensure a safe and comfortable individual mobility. But for an efficient usage ergonomic rules and guidelines are necessary to avoid driver distraction and ensure readability and intuitive usage of these systems that are remarkable change for drivers that are suited to optical mirrors and static mechanical cluster instruments. In the following the UR:BAN MMI strategy shows an example how to formulate ergonomic guidelines for the integration of different display technologies. Furthermore the potential of digital human model RAMSIS cognitive for the early development phase of a camera-monitor system to replace the mirror will be shown. Finally the integration of augmenting information in a contact analogue head-up-display will be discussed from an ergonomic point of view.
Stability analysis for systems with asynchronous sensors and actuators

The paper provides computation-oriented necessary and sufficient conditions for the global exponential stability of linear systems with asynchronous sensors and actuators. Precisely, we focus on continuous-time linear systems whose state undergoes finite jumps referred to as impulsions. The impulsions are of two types: those related to input updates and those related to measurement updates. We assume that impulsions of each type occur periodically but the periods may be different and the clocks at the sensor and at the actuator are not synchronized. We first show that the analysis can be reduced to a finite time domain. Based on that, we provide necessary and sufficient conditions for the global exponential stability of systems belonging to the class under study. An example illustrates numerically the proposed results.
Using Unsupervised Patterns to Extract Gene Regulation Relationships for Network Construction

Background The gene expression is usually described in the literature as a transcription factor X that regulates the target gene Y. Previously, some studies discovered gene regulations by using information from the biomedical literature and most of them require effort of human annotators to build the training dataset. Moreover, the large amount of textual knowledge recorded in the biomedical literature grows very rapidly, and the creation of manual patterns from literatures becomes more difficult. There is an increasing need to automate the process of establishing patterns. Methodology/Principal Findings In this article, we describe an unsupervised pattern generation method called AutoPat. It is a gene expression mining system that can generate unsupervised patterns automatically from a given set of seed patterns. The high scalability and low maintenance cost of the unsupervised patterns could help our system to extract gene expression from PubMed abstracts more precisely and effectively. Conclusions/Significance Experiments on several regulators show reasonable precision and recall rates which validate AutoPat's practical applicability. The conducted regulation networks could also be built precisely and effectively. The system in this study is available at http://ikmbio.csie. ncku.edu. tw/AutoPat/.