Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Applications of discrete-event simulation to reliability and availability assessment in civil engineering structures

This paper discusses the convenience of predicting, quantitatively, time-dependent reliability and availability levels associated with most building or civil engineering structures. Then, the paper reviews different approaches to these problems and proposes the use of discrete-event simulation as the most realistic way to deal with them, specially during the design stage. The paper also reviews previous work on the use of both Monte Carlo simulation and discrete-event simulation in this area and shows how discrete-event simulation, in particular, could be employed to solve uncertainty in time-dependent structural reliability problems. Finally, a case study is developed to illustrate some of the concepts previously covered in the paper.
Considerations on using SU-8 as a construction material for high aspect ratio structures

A nuclear fuel rod, in which a cladding tube contains fuel pellets therein and two plugs stop end openings of the cladding tube, in which a stopper member stops the fuel pellets from their moving through a spring member arranged between the stopper member and one of the plugs for biasing the stopper member onto the fuel pellets, and a getter tube is also arranged between the stopper member and the one of the plugs, and in which at least one of the spring member, the stopper member and the getter tube is made of a nonmagnetic steel.
RCAN1 Overexpression Exacerbates Calcium Overloading-Induced Neuronal Apoptosis

Down Syndrome (DS) patients develop characteristic Alzheimer's Disease (AD) neuropathology after their middle age. Prominent neuronal loss has been observed in the cortical regions of AD brains. However, the underlying mechanism leading to this neuronal loss in both DS and AD remains to be elucidated. Calcium overloading and oxidative stress have been implicated in AD pathogenesis. Two major isoforms of regulator of calcineurin 1 (RCAN1), RCAN1.1 and RCAN1.4, are detected in human brains. In this report we defined the transcriptional regulation of RCAN1.1 and RCAN1.4 by two alternative promoters. Calcium overloading upregulated RCAN1.4 expression by activating RCAN1.4 promoter through calcineurin-NFAT signaling pathway, thus forming a negative feedback loop in isoform 4 regulation. Furthermore, RCAN1.4 overexpression exacerbated calcium overloading-induced neuronal apoptosis, which was mediated by caspase-3 apoptotic pathway. Our results suggest that downregulating RCAN1.4 expression in neurons could be beneficial to AD patients.
Guard cell anion channel SLAC1 is regulated by CDPK protein kinases with distinct Ca2+ affinities

In response to drought stress, the phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) induces stomatal closure. Thereby the stress hormone activates guard cell anion channels in a calcium-dependent, as well as –independent, manner. Open stomata 1 protein kinase (OST1) and ABI1 protein phosphatase (ABA insensitive 1) represent key components of calcium-independent ABA signaling. Recently, the guard cell anion channel SLAC1 was identified. When expressed heterologously SLAC1 remained electrically silent. Upon coexpression with Ca2+-independent OST1, however, SLAC1 anion channels appear activated in an ABI1-dependent manner. Mutants lacking distinct calcium-dependent protein kinases (CPKs) appeared impaired in ABA stimulation of guard cell ion channels, too. To study SLAC1 activation via the calcium-dependent ABA pathway, we studied the SLAC1 response to CPKs in the Xenopus laevis oocyte system. Split YFP-based protein–protein interaction assays, using SLAC1 as the bait, identified guard cell expressed CPK21 and 23 as major interacting partners. Upon coexpression of SLAC1 with CPK21 and 23, anion currents document SLAC1 stimulation by these guard cell protein kinases. Ca2+-sensitive activation of SLAC1, however, could be assigned to the CPK21 pathway only because CPK23 turned out to be rather Ca2+-insensitive. In line with activation by OST1, CPK activation of the guard cell anion channel was suppressed by ABI1. Thus the CPK and OST1 branch of ABA signal transduction in guard cells seem to converge on the level of SLAC1 under the control of the ABI1/ABA-receptor complex.
State Anxiety Modulation of the Amygdala Response to Unattended Threat-Related Stimuli

Findings from fear-conditioning studies in rats and functional neuroimaging with human volunteers have led to the suggestion that the amygdala is involved in the preattentive detection of threat-related stimuli. However, some neuroimaging findings point to attentional modulation of the amygdala response. The clinical-cognitive literature suggests that the extent to which the processing of threat-related stimuli is modulated by attention is crucially dependent on participants' anxiety levels. Here, we conducted a functional magnetic resonance imaging study with 27 healthy volunteers to examine whether amygdala responsivity to unattended threat-related stimuli varies with individual differences in state anxiety. Pairs of houses and faces (both fearful or neutral in expression) were presented, and participants attended to either the faces or the houses and matched these stimuli on identity. “Low-anxious” participants showed a reduced amygdala response to unattended versus attended fearful faces, but “high-anxious” participants showed no such reduction, having an increased amygdala response to fearful versus neutral faces regardless of attentional focus. These findings suggest that anxiety may interact with attentional focus to determine the magnitude of the amygdala response to threat-related stimuli.
Pharmacokinetics of the Protease Inhibitor Indinavir in Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1-Infected Children

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to evaluate the pharmacokinetics of indinavir in human immunodeficiency virus-infected children as part of a prospective, open, uncontrolled, multicenter study in The Netherlands. Human immunodeficiency virus type 1-infected children were monitored over 6 months of treatment with zidovudine (120 mg/m2 every 8 h [q8h]), lamivudine (4 mg/kg of body weight q12h), and indinavir (33mg/kg of metabolic weight [MW] q8h). Four weeks after the start of treatment, the steady-state pharmacokinetics of indinavir were determined by high-pressure liquid chromatography. If patients had an indinavir area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) of below 10 or above 30 mg/liter · h, a dose increase or a dose reduction was made and pharmacokinetic measurements were repeated 4 weeks later. Nineteen patients started with the dose of 33 mg/kg of MW q8h. The median AUC (range) was 10.5 (2.8 to 51.0) mg/liter · h. The median AUC (range) in 17 children treated with 50 mg/kg of MW q8h was 20.6 (4.1 to 38.7) mg/liter · h. Finally, five patients had a dose increase to 67 mg/kg of MW q8h, resulting in a median AUC (range) of 36.6 (27.2 to 80.0) mg/liter · h. After 6 months of treatment, there were 11 children with an AUC of below 20 mg/liter · h, of whom 5 (45%) had a detectable viral load, while this was the case in none of the 11 children with an AUC of higher than 20 mg/liter · h. We conclude that the optimal dose of indinavir in children to obtain drug exposure similar to that observed in adult patients is 50 mg/kg of MW q8h, which approximates 600 mg/m2 q8h. It would even be better to adjust the indinavir dose based on an AUC of greater than 20 mg/liter · h.
Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of Atlantic Cod Bycatch in the Maine Lobster Fishery and Its Impacts on Stock Assessment

Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.library. umaine.edu/etd Part of the Aquaculture and Fisheries Commons, Biostatistics Commons, Longitudinal Data Analysis and Time Series Commons, Marine Biology Commons, Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, Natural Resources Management and Policy Commons, Population Biology Commons, Statistical Methodology Commons, Statistical Models Commons, and the Zoology Commons
Value of A103 (melan-A) immunostaining in the differential diagnosis of ovarian sex cord stromal tumours

Aims—To assess A103 (melan-A) immunoreactivity in a range of ovarian sex cord stromal tumours and to evaluate it for the differential diagnosis of other neoplasms. Methods—Paraffin embedded tissue sections from 45 sex cord stromal tumours and 44 potential histological mimics were examined immunohistochemically using the antibody A103. The sex cord stromal group included 21 adult granulosa cell tumours (AGCT), two juvenile granulosa cell tumours (JGCT), eight tumours showing Sertoli cell or Sertoli-Leydig cell differentiation, two unclassified tumours, two gonadoblastomas, one sex cord tumour with annular tubules, two steroid cell tumours, five thecomas/fibrothecomas, and two sclerosing stromal tumours. The histological mimics include 14 primary ovarian carcinomas, 13 metastatic carcinomas, four carcinoid tumours, four lymphomas, three endometrioid stromal sarcomas, two ovarian tumours of probable Wolffian origin, and one case each of small cell carcinoma, desmoplastic small round cell tumour, melanoma, and primitive neuroectodermal tumour. Results—A103 immunoreactivity was identified in 25 sex cord stromal tumours including 10 AGCT, two JGCT, six Sertoli/Sertoli-Leydig cell tumours, two steroid cell tumours, three thecomas/fibrothecomas, and two sclerosing stromal tumours. Of the potential histological mimics, staining was present only in the two ovarian tumours of probable Wolffian origin and the melanoma. Immunoreactive stromal cells were noted in a minority of cases. Normal hilus cells and rete ovarii epithelium also expressed A103. Conclusions—A103 is a moderately sensitive and specific marker of sex cord stromal differentiation within the range of tumours examined in this study and as such is a valuable adjunct to other immunocytochemical markers in the assessment of diagnostically problematic ovarian tumours. The staining of normal and neoplastic Wolffian elements merits further investigation.
Association of Spermatogenic Failure with the b2/b3 Partial AZFc Deletion

Infertility affects around 1 in 10 men and in most cases the cause is unknown. The Y chromosome plays an important role in spermatogenesis and specific deletions of this chromosome, the AZF deletions, are associated with spermatogenic failure. Recently partial AZF deletions have been described but their association with spermatogenic failure is unclear. Here we screened a total of 339 men with idiopathic spermatogenic failure, and 256 normozoospermic ancestry-matched men for chromosome microdeletions including AZFa, AZFb, AZFc, and the AZFc partial deletions (gr/gr, b1/b3 and b2/b3). AZFa and AZFc deletions were identified in men with severe spermatogenic failure at similar frequencies to those reported elsewhere. Gr/gr deletions were identified in case and control populations at 5.83% and 6.25% respectively suggesting that these deletions are not associated with spermatogenic failure. However, b2/b3 deletions were detected only in men with spermatogenic failure and not in the normospermic individuals. Combined with our previous data this shows an association of the b2/b3 deletion (p = 0.0318) with spermatogenic failure in some populations. We recommend screening for this deletion in men with unexplained spermatogenic failure.
The effect of aspartate-lysine-isoleucine and aspartate-arginine-tyrosine mutations on the expression and activity of vasopressin V2 receptor gene.

BACKGROUND Vasopressin type 2 receptor (V2R) plays an important role in the water reabsorption in the kidney collecting ducts. V2R is a G protein coupled receptor (GPCR) and the triplet of amino acids aspartate-arginine-histidine (DRH) in this receptor might significantly influence its activity similar to other GPCR. However, the role of this motif has not been fully confirmed. Therefore, the present study attempted to shed some more light on the role of DRH motif in G protein coupling and V2R function with the use of site-directed mutagenesis. METHODS Nested PCR using specific primers was used to produce DNA fragments containing aspartate-lysine-isoleucine and aspartate-arginine-tyrosine mutations with replacements of the arginine to lysine and histidine to tyrosine, respectively. After digestion, these inserts were ligated into the pcDNA3 vector and transformation into E. coli HB101 was performed using heat shock method. The obtained colonies were analyzed for the presence and orientation of the inserts using proper restriction enzymes. After transient transfection of COS-7 cells using diethylaminoethyl-dextran method, the adenylyl cyclase activity assay was performed for functional study. The cell surface expression was analyzed by indirect ELISA method. RESULTS The functional assay indicated that none of these mutations significantly altered cAMP production and cell surface expression of V2R in these cells. CONCLUSION Since some substitutions in arginine residue have shown to lead to the inactive V2 receptor, further studies are required to define the role of this residue more precisely. However, it seems that the role of the histidine residue is not critical in the V2 receptor function.
Evidence that folliculo-stellate cells mediate the inhibitory effect of interferon-gamma on hormone secretion in rat anterior pituitary cell cultures.

Interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) is known to inhibit the release of ACTH, PRL, and GH by rat anterior pituitary (AP) cells, stimulated by appropriate hypothalamic releasing factors. In the present study we examined the mechanisms underlying this inhibition. Dose-response studies, revealing a maximal inhibitory effect with an IFN-gamma dose as small as 10 U/ml, suggested the existence of a limiting intermediate step. In addition, in perifusion experiments with aggregates of established hormone-secreting tumor cell lines (AtT-20 and GH3), IFN-gamma had no inhibitory effect, suggesting that an accessory cell type was involved. Studies on differentially enriched cell populations of normal rat AP, obtained by velocity and buoyant density sedimentation, indicated that the inhibitory effect of IFN-gamma on stimulated ACTH and GH release was absent in those populations that contained only few folliculo-stellate (FS) cells. The presence of a minimal proportion of FS cells was found to be necessary for the inhibition to be manifest. This was seen in monolayers, but also in cultures of AP cell aggregates, which are well known to closely mimic the behavior of the AP gland in vivo. Definitive evidence for the role of FS cells was obtained by reconstitutive coculture experiments; FS cell-poor populations, which by themselves resisted the inhibitory effect of IFN-gamma, became sensitive when cocultured with an FS cell-rich population. Basal ACTH and GH release were not influenced by preincubation with IFN-gamma in either original or fractionated AP cell populations. In contrast, basal PRL release was inhibited in both systems. In cultures of AP cell populations, separated by velocity sedimentation, this inhibition showed a pattern similar to that observed for stimulated release of ACTH and GH, i.e. more inhibition in fractions with a higher proportion of FS cells. However, in FS cell-poor cultures, inhibition of basal PRL release did occur, although to a lesser degree than in FS cell-rich cultures. Our results indicate that IFN-gamma affects AP hormone secretion through the FS cell. In addition, they suggest that IFN-gamma and the FS cell constitute a system through which the pituitary gland perceives changes in the activation state of the immune system.
Recent advances in adherence and invasion of pathogenic Escherichia coli

Purpose of review Colonization of the host epithelia by pathogenic Escherichia coli is influenced by the ability of the bacteria to interact with host surfaces. Because the initial step of an E. coli infection is to adhere, invade, and persist within host cells, some strategies used by intestinal and extraintestinal E. coli to infect host cell are presented. Recent findings This review highlights recent progress understanding how extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli strains express specific adhesins or invasins that allow colonization of the urinary tract or the meninges, while intestinal E. coli strains are able to colonize different regions of the intestinal tract using other specialized adhesins or invasins. Finally, evaluation of different diets and environmental conditions regulating the colonization of these pathogens is discussed. Summary Discovery of new interactions between pathogenic E. coli and the host epithelial cells unravels the need for more mechanistic studies that can provide new clues regarding how to combat these infections.
A direct CPW-to-rectangular waveguide transition using a dipole slot antenna

A direct CPW-to-rectangular waveguide transition using a dipole slot antenna is proposed in this paper. The advantage of this transition is that no intermediate transition and vias are needed in this transition. Parameter studies demonstrate that a transition having a fractional bandwidth of 22.85%, for which the return loss is larger than 15 dB, is achieved in the X-band (8.2–12.4 GHz). In order to verify our results, we fabricate and measure a back-to-back transition for which the measurement results agree well with the simulation results.
EgoLP: Fast and Distributed Community Detection in Billion-Node Social Networks

Community structure is one of the most important and characteristic features of social networks. Numerous methods for discovering implicit user communities from a social graph of users have been proposed in recent years. However, most of them have performance and scalability issues which make them hardly applicable to population-wide analysis of modern social networks (billions of users and growing). In this paper we present EgoLP - an efficient and fully distributed method for social community detection. The method is based on propagating community labels through the network with the help of friendship groups of individual users. Experimental evaluation of Apache Spark implementation of the method showed that it outperforms some state-of-the-art methods in terms of a) similarity of extracted communities to the reference ones from synthetic networks, b) precision of user attributes prediction in Facebook based solely on community memberships, c) likelihood of the discovered community structure according to the proposed generative model. At the same time, the method retains near-linear complexity in the number of edges and is thus applicable to social graphs of up to 109 users.
Influence of the size and degree of conservation of remnants of the Atlantic rain forest on chiropteran assemblages

Reduction in the size and loss of the quality of habitats are considered the greatest threats to bat species. Aiming to complement information, the objective of this study was to evaluate, from compiled data, the influence of the size of forest fragments and their degree of conservation on the richness and composition of chiropteran fauna in the Atlantic rain forest. A total of 33 publications on Chiroptera in the Atlanticrain forest was reviewed and a list of 86 species was extracted from them. The size of forest fragments exhibited positive and significant relationship with the total number of Relatively Common Species, Rare Species, Not Generalist species and with richness. Positive and significant relationship was observed between degree of conservation of the forest fragments and the total number of Rare Species, of Not Generalist species and with richness. The results here presented indicate that largeand well-conserved fragments of Atlantic rain forest should be the priority when the intention is to maintain a high richness of Chiroptera and of Rare Species and Not Generalist Species.
Incremental learning of skill collections based on intrinsic motivation

Life-long learning of reusable, versatile skills is a key prerequisite for embodied agents that act in a complex, dynamic environment and are faced with different tasks over their lifetime. We address the question of how an agent can learn useful skills efficiently during a developmental period, i.e., when no task is imposed on him and no external reward signal is provided. Learning of skills in a developmental period needs to be incremental and self-motivated. We propose a new incremental, task-independent skill discovery approach that is suited for continuous domains. Furthermore, the agent learns specific skills based on intrinsic motivation mechanisms that determine on which skills learning is focused at a given point in time. We evaluate the approach in a reinforcement learning setup in two continuous domains with complex dynamics. We show that an intrinsically motivated, skill learning agent outperforms an agent which learns task solutions from scratch. Furthermore, we compare different intrinsic motivation mechanisms and how efficiently they make use of the agent's developmental period.
Inducible Covalent Posttranslational Modification of Histone H3

The physiological state of a eukaryotic cell is determined by endogenous and exogenous signals, and often the endpoint of the pathways that transmit these signals is DNA. DNA is organized into chromatin, a nucleoprotein complex, which not only facilitates the packaging of DNA within the nucleus but also serves as an important factor in the regulation of gene function. The nucleosome is the basic unit of chromatin and generally consists of approximately two turns of DNA wrapped around an octamer of core histone proteins. Each histone also contains an accessible N-terminal tail that extends outside the chromatin complex and is subject to posttranslational modifications that are crucial in the regulation of gene expression. Two distinct categories of histone posttranslational modification have been observed: (i) inducible or stimulation-dependent and (ii) mitosis-dependent. Stimulation by mitogens or stress leads to rapid transient posttranslational modifications of histones, in particular histone H3, which are mechanistically and temporarily distinct from modifications associated with mitosis. This Review focuses mainly on the inducible phosphorylation of histone H3 brought about by different stimuli, such as epidermal growth factor, 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate, arsenite, or ultraviolet radiation. We examine the most recent, and at times controversial, research data concerning the identity of the histone H3 kinases responsible for this phosphorylation. In addition, the interdependence of phosphorylation and acetylation will be discussed in light of data showing patterns of inducible modification at specific genes. The cellular response to stress is determined by intracellular communication systems that end in the initiation of gene expression, which is tailored to fit the needs of the individual cell. DNA is organized into chromatin, which facilitates the packaging of DNA within the nucleus and also is extremely important in the regulation of gene function. The nucleosome is the basic unit of chromatin and consists of about two turns of DNA wrapped around eight core histone proteins. Each histone protein has an accessible N-terminal tail that extends outside the complex, and this tail is subject to modifications needed in the regulation of gene expression. Histone modifications can be induced by specific stimuli or are associated with mitosis. Stimulation by stress leads to rapid short-lived modifications of histones, in particular histone H3, which are different from modifications associated with mitosis. This STKE Review, with two figures, two tables, and 149 citations, focuses mainly on the inducible phosphorylation of histone H3 brought about by different stimuli and examines the most recent research data concerning the identity of the histone H3 kinases responsible for this phosphorylation.