Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
L'autorité administrative dans l'Union européenne

The notion of 'Administrative Authority' has several dimensions in EU law. From a functional perspective, administrative authority may be exercised according to three patterns: indirect administration by member states' governmental institutions - the typical Community pattern - direct administration by the EU institutions or co-administration which implies some coordination between both types of institutions. In an organic perspective, it can be allocated to the European Commission, EC executive agencies, EC regulatory agencies, and member state or sub-state governmental agencies. A number of legal principles apply to the exercise of EU administrative authority, e.g. the principles of good administration, or representative and participative democracy, of administrative cooperation as well as general principles of European administrative law - for instance proportionality, legitimate expectations etc. In the perspective of accountability, judicial review by EC and national courts is prominent, but comes only after reciprocal monitoring of EU and national institutions, parliamentary control, and the prominent role of the European Ombudsman.
Efficient retransmission with network coding for multiple flows in wireless networks

Recently, network coding technique has emerged as a promising data transport paradigm for communication networks. In wireless networks, when network coding is applied to data recovery, an intermediate node is able to simultaneously delivery multiple loss packets destined to different destinations with a single retransmission. However, in existing retransmission scheme with opportunistic network coding for multiple unicast flows, only native packets are used in coding process. In addition, destination nodes usually erase the encoded packets they cannot decode. In this paper, we propose an efficient retransmission approach that employs opportunistic network coding for multiple unicast flows. Our approach enables nodes to exploit the potential benefits of encoded packets to create more coding opportunities. Moreover, we present a redistribution algorithm to further reduce the number of retransmissions. Simulation results for wheel networks indicate that significant performance improvement in term of the average number of retransmissions, compared with existing schemes that can be achieved.
DNA Methylation in the Medial Prefrontal Cortex Regulates Alcohol-Induced Behavior and Plasticity

Recent studies have suggested an association between alcoholism and DNA methylation, a mechanism that can mediate long-lasting changes in gene transcription. Here, we examined the contribution of DNA methylation to the long-term behavioral and molecular changes induced by a history of alcohol dependence. In search of mechanisms underlying persistent rather than acute dependence-induced neuroadaptations, we studied the role of DNA methylation regulating medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) gene expression and alcohol-related behaviors in rats 3 weeks into abstinence following alcohol dependence. Postdependent rats showed escalated alcohol intake, which was associated with increased DNA methylation as well as decreased expression of genes encoding synaptic proteins involved in neurotransmitter release in the mPFC. Infusion of the DNA methyltransferase inhibitor RG108 prevented both escalation of alcohol consumption and dependence-induced downregulation of 4 of the 7 transcripts modified in postdependent rats. Specifically, RG108 treatment directly reversed both downregulation of synaptotagmin 2 (Syt2) gene expression and hypermethylation on CpG#5 of its first exon. Lentiviral inhibition of Syt2 expression in the mPFC increased aversion-resistant alcohol drinking, supporting a mechanistic role of Syt2 in compulsive-like behavior. Our findings identified a functional role of DNA methylation in alcohol dependence-like behavioral phenotypes and a candidate gene network that may mediate its effects. Together, these data provide novel evidence for DNA methyltransferases as potential therapeutic targets in alcoholism.
Optimising Sparse Matrix Vector multiplication for large scale FEM problems on FPGA

Sparse Matrix Vector multiplication (SpMV) is an important kernel in many scientific applications. In this work we propose an architecture and an automated customisation method to detect and optimise the architecture for block diagonal sparse matrices. We evaluate the proposed approach in the context of the spectral/hp Finite Element Method, using the local matrix assembly approach. This problem leads to a large sparse system of linear equations with block diagonal matrix which is typically solved using an iterative method such as the Preconditioned Conjugate Gradient. The efficiency of the proposed architecture combined with the effectiveness of the proposed customisation method reduces BRAM resource utilisation by as much as 10 times, while achieving identical throughput with existing state of the art designs and requiring minimal development effort from the end user. In the context of the Finite Element Method, our approach enables the solution of larger problems than previously possible, enabling the applicability of FPGAs to more interesting HPC problems.
Courant Algebroids and Poisson Geometry

Given a manifold M with an action of a quadratic Lie algebra , such that all stabilizer algebras are coisotropic in , we show that the product becomes a Courant algebroid over M. If the bilinear form on is split, the choice of transverse Lagrangian subspaces of defines a bivector field π on M, which is Poisson if is a Manin triple. In this way, we recover the Poisson structures of Lu-Yakimov, and in particular the Evens-Lu Poisson structures on the variety of Lagrangian Grassmannians and on the de Concini-Procesi compactifications. Various Poisson maps between such examples are interpreted in terms of the behavior of Lagrangian splittings under Courant morphisms.
Use of stable isotopes to assess the intraspecific foraging niche of males and female colour morphs of the damselfly

1. For the first time, diet and isotopic niche overlap among males and two female-specific colour morphs of a damselfly were quantified to test whether sexual conflict could cause intra-sexual diet variation. 2. Relative to the green female morph, blue females, similar in coloration to the blue males, may be more likely overlooked by mate-searching males. If so, blue females should be more likely to forage unmolested at lake shores, where the density of males and prey is high. The blue morph’s isotopic niche space should therefore differ from that of green females and be more similar to that of males. 3. Stable isotope analyses of two Michigan populations failed to support these predictions. Despite population differences in δ13C and diet, within sites isotopic niches overlapped among males and females, with little difference between the two female colour morphs. 4. Males exhibited the broadest isotopic niche area, which increased across years, whereas that of blue females became more restricted, possibly due to greater sexual harassment in forest feeding sites. 5. There was an unexpectedly high shift in δ13C from prey to predator. Future work is merited to determine whether such trophic shifts are characteristic of Odonata, a group of important aquatic and terrestrial predators.
Model Driven Development of a Service Oriented Architecture ( SOA ) Using Colored Petri Nets

Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) is achieving widespread acceptance in a variety of enterprise systems, due to its inherent flexibility and interoperability, improving upon the more tradition and less supportable “stovepipe” approach. The high degree of concurrency and both synchronous and asynchronous communications inherent in SOA makes it a good candidate for a Petri Nets based model driven development (MDD). Such an approach, with its underlying verification and validation implications, becomes more crucial in mission-critical applications, such as those with defense implications. This paper reports on our experience with using Colored Petri Nets (CPNs) for model driven development and quality assessment of a defense-targeted serviceoriented software architecture. We identify features of CPN that have resulted in ease of adoption as a modeling tool in our present setting. Preliminary results are provided which support the use of CPNs as a basis for model driven software development, and verification and validation (V&V) for quality assurance of highly concurrent and mission-critical SOAs.
Analysis of Genes Encoding an Alternative Nitrogenase in the Archaeon Methanosarcina barkeri227

ABSTRACT Methanosarcina barkeri 227 possesses two clusters of genes potentially encoding nitrogenases. We have previously demonstrated that one cluster, called nif2, is expressed under molybdenum (Mo)-sufficient conditions, and the deduced amino acid sequences for nitrogenase structural genes in that cluster most closely resemble those for the Mo nitrogenase of the gram-positive eubacteriumClostridium pasteurianum. The previously clonednifH1 from M. barkeri shows phylogenetic relationships with genes encoding components of eubacterial Mo-independent eubacterial alternative nitrogenases and other methanogen nitrogenases. In this study, we cloned and sequencednifD1 and part of nifK1 from M. barkeri 227. The deduced amino acid sequence encoded bynifD1 from M. barkeri showed great similarity with vnfD gene products from vanadium (V) nitrogenases, with an 80% identity at the amino acid level with the vnfDgene product from Anabaena variabilis. Moreover, there was a small open reading frame located between nifD1 andnifK1 with clear homology to vnfG, a hallmark of eubacterial alternative nitrogenases. Stimulation of diazotrophic growth of M. barkeri 227 by V in the absence of Mo was demonstrated. The unusual complement of nifgenes in M. barkeri 227, with one cluster resembling that from a gram-positive eubacterium and the other resembling a eubacterial V nitrogenase gene cluster, suggests horizontal genetic transfer of those genes.
A multi-touch enabled human-transporter metaphor for virtual 3D traveling

In this tech-note we demonstrate how multi-touch hand gestures in combination with foot gestures can be used to perform navigation tasks in interactive 3D environments. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are well suited as a complex testbed for evaluation of user interfaces based on multi-modal input. Recent developments in the area of interactive surfaces enable the construction of low-cost multi-touch displays and relatively inexpensive sensor technology to detect foot gestures, which allows to explore these input modalities for virtual reality environments. In this tech-note, we describe an intuitive 3D user interface metaphor and corresponding hardware, which combine multi-touch hand and foot gestures for interaction with spatial data.
Anti-Biofilm Performance of Three Natural Products against Initial Bacterial Attachment

Marine bacteria contribute significantly towards the fouling consortium, both directly (modern foul release coatings fail to prevent “slime” attachment) and indirectly (biofilms often excrete chemical cues that attract macrofouling settlement). This study assessed the natural product anti-biofilm performance of an extract of the seaweed, Chondrus crispus, and two isolated compounds from terrestrial sources, (+)-usnic acid and juglone, against two marine biofilm forming bacteria, Cobetia marina and Marinobacter hydrocarbonoclasticus. Bioassays were developed using quantitative imaging and fluorescent labelling to test the natural products over a range of concentrations against initial bacterial attachment. All natural products affected bacterial attachment; however, juglone demonstrated the best anti-biofilm performance against both bacterial species at a concentration range between 5–20 ppm. In addition, for the first time, a dose-dependent inhibition (hormetic) response was observed for natural products against marine biofilm forming bacteria.
Natural Products Screening for the Identification of Selective Monoamine Oxidase-B Inhibitors

Aims Monoamine oxidase-B inhibitors (MAO-BIs) are used for the initial therapy of Parkinson’s disease. Also, MAO-BIs have shown to be effective neuroprotective agents in several neurodegenerative diseases. However, some concerns exist regarding the long-term use of these compounds. Meanwhile, natural compounds showed potential MAO-B selective inhibitions. To date, few selective natural MAO-BIs have been identified. Therefore, the current study is designed to identify plants with potent and specific MAO-B inhibition. Study Design In this work, we utilized high throughput screening to evaluate the different plants ethanolic extract for their effectiveness to inhibit recombinant human (h)MAO-A and hMAO-B and to determine the relative selectivity of the top MAO-BI. Methodology Recombinant human isozymes were verified by Western blotting, and the 155 plants were screened. A continuous fluorometric screening assay was performed followed by two separate hMAO-A and hMAO-B microtiter screenings and IC50 determinations for the top extracts. Results In the screened plants, 9% of the extracts showed more than 1.5-fold relative inhibition of hMAO-B (RIB) and another 9% showed more than 1.5-fold relative inhibition of hMAO-A. The top extracts with the most potent RIBs were Psoralea corylifolia seeds, Phellodendron amurense bark, Glycyrrhiza uralensis roots, and Ferula assafoetida roots, with the highest RIB of 5.9-fold. Furthermore, extensive maceration of the promising extracts led to increase inhibitory effects with a preserved RIB as confirmed with luminescence assay. The top four extracts hMAO-BIs were equally potent (IC50= 1.3 to 3.8 μg/mL) with highly significant relative selectivities to inhibit hMAO-B (4.1- to 13.4-fold). Conclusion The obtained results indicate that Psoralea corylifolia seeds, Ferula assafoetida, Glycyrrhiza uralensis roots, and Phellodendron amurense ethanolic extracts have selective inhibitions for human MAO-B. Investigating these plant extracts as natural resources for novel selective MAO-BIs may lead to the development of molecules that can be used in the therapeutic management of neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson’s disease.
Mental Accounting in Local Public Sector Budgeting: An Empirical Analysis for the Flemish Municipalities

Flemish municipalities collect revenue from different sources. The mental accounting framework suggests that the source of revenue affects the manner in which it is spent. We present an empirical test of this. Using a panel of 308 observations over the period 1989-1996 we analyze the responses of Flemish municipalities non-debt expenditures to changes in unconditional grants, tax revenues, and debt payments. Our results reveal the presence of significant flypaper effects in the case of grants and taxes, but not for debt.
Adaptive Tessellation for Trimmed NURBS Surface

We present an adaptive method for tessellating the trimmed NURBS surface in the parametric domain. Given a model space tolerance e, the algorithm first splits the NURBS surface in both the U and V directions to fit within the bounding box of the outer trimming loop. Then we subdivide the surface into Bezier patches recursively until the control net of the Bezier patch is flat enough and within the tolerance e. By building up the quadtrees of inner trimming loops, we use the scanline algorithm to remove the patches inside the inner trimming loops. Finally, we close the inner trimming loops with a set of triangles. The resulting tessellation contains both quadrilaterals and triangles.
What Is Wrong With Representative Agent Equilibrium Models?

Representative Agent Equilibrium Models (RAEMs) are standard, still very popular, simplifying yet powerful, theoretical frameworks. They match by simulation a growing number of empirical moments but their ability to t actual data is still quite poor. This study provides a formal setup to analyze what is systematically wrong with these models and how to potentially ameliorate them. Unsurprisingly RAEMs do not work during bad times, characterized by very high levels of market frictions, medium-high information asymmetry, medium-low market demand where aggregate expectations are not rational. Perhaps less obviously and more generally, the probability of RAEMs failures is found counter-clyclical and always quite high, with market frictions being more problematic during recessions and information asymmetries during normal times. The main contribution of this paper is to give a novel, uni ed and constructive explanation for this ndings: the tension of RAEMs in matching the unconditional risk premium makes them over-estimating the risk premium in bad times (and potentially under-estimating it in normal times). This is because in bad times investors are over-optimistic and require a too low compensation for bearing the market risk while in normal times they are over-pessimistic. Equilibrium models featuring informational ambiguity can accommodate this new facts. *Olin Business School, Washington University in St. Louis, Email: lpezzo@wustl.edu. I am thankful to my advisor P.H. Dybvig, T.A. Maurer, F. Corielli, O. Kadan, M. Ringgenberg, G.Zhou, A. Manela and my fellow PhD students for helpful comments and discussions. All remaining errors are my own.
A novel power noise simulation methodology for chip design using Wafer Level Chip Scale Packaging

Switching activity in digital circuits produce current peaks which result in voltage fluctuation on the power network, and the accompanying digital power noise may cause WIFI desense. To address this issue, this paper proposes a novel simulation method for application to WLCSP (Wafer Level Chip Scale Packaging), in which RDL (Redistribution Layer) routing is only partially occupied by power mesh. The proposed method correctly models the coupling effect from on-die power mesh's current, via mutual inductance, into the WIFI RX path. The proposed method is applied to a wireless combo chip to confirm that simulation correlates well with silicon measurement. As a result, we are able to demonstrate that on-die power mesh optimization can lead to significant reduction in WIFI de-sense.
DBS: a powerful tool for TCP performance evaluations

Network performance measurement tools, mainly used for TCP performance evaluations, have serious problems that their applications are limited to single point-to-point configuration and only the mean throughput for long term are measurable. Their major drawback is that they cover only a subset of the entire TCP functions and small variations of network systems. In this paper, we proposed a TCP performance measurement tool called DBS (Distributed Benchmark System) which is aiming to give performance index with multi-point configuration and also in order to measure changes of throughput. It measures the performance of entire TCP functions in various operational environments. Experiments had been conducted using DBS to measure TCP end- to-end performance with various kinds of networks such as both LANs including FDDI, ATM, and HIPPI over ATM networks, and WANs including VSAT satellite channels. In short, DBS has the capability of both measuring and analyzing TCP performance more in details. Through these measurements, DBS unveiled details of TCP performance which cannot be realized by other existing tools.
Human non-contrast T1 values and correlation with histology in diffuse fibrosis

Background Aortic stenosis (AS) leads to diffuse fibrosis in the myocardium, which is linked to adverse outcome. Myocardial T1 values change with tissue composition. Objective To test the hypothesis that our recently developed non-contrast cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) T1 mapping sequence could identify myocardial fibrosis without contrast agent. Design, setting and patients A prospective CMR non-contrast T1 mapping study of 109 patients with moderate and severe AS and 33 age- and gender-matched controls. Methods CMR at 1.5 T, including non-contrast T1 mapping using a shortened modified Look–Locker inversion recovery sequence, was carried out. Biopsy samples for histological assessment of collagen volume fraction (CVF%) were obtained in 19 patients undergoing aortic valve replacement. Results There was a significant correlation between T1 values and CVF% (r=0.65, p=0.002). Mean T1 values were significantly longer in all groups with severe AS (972±33 ms in severe asymptomatic, 1014±38 ms in severe symptomatic) than in normal controls (944±16 ms) (p<0.05). The strongest associations with T1 values were for aortic valve area (r=−0.40, p=0.001) and left ventricular mass index (LVMI) (r=0.36, p=0.008), and these were the only independent predictors on multivariate analysis. Conclusions Non-contrast T1 values are increased in patients with severe AS and further increase in symptomatic compared with asymptomatic patients. T1 values lengthened with greater LVMI and correlated with the degree of biopsy-quantified fibrosis. This may provide a useful clinical assessment of diffuse myocardial fibrosis in the future.
Stochastic inertial primal-dual algorithms

We propose and study a novel stochastic inertial primal-dual approach to solve composite optimization problems. These latter problems arise naturally when learning with penalized regularization schemes. Our analysis provide convergence results in a general setting, that allows to analyze in a unified framework a variety of special cases of interest. Key in our analysis is considering the framework of splitting algorithm for solving a monotone inclusions in suitable product spaces and for a specific choice of preconditioning operators.
Health information on alcoholic beverage containers: has the alcohol industry's pledge in England to improve labelling been met?

AIMS In the United Kingdom, alcohol warning labels are the subject of a voluntary agreement between industry and government. In 2011, as part of the Public Health Responsibility Deal in England, the industry pledged to ensure that 80% of products would have clear, legible health warning labelling, although an analysis commissioned by Portman found that only 57.1% met best practice. We assessed what proportion of alcohol products now contain the required health warning information, and its clarity and placement. DESIGN Survey of alcohol labelling data. SETTING United Kingdom. PARTICIPANTS Analysis of the United Kingdom's 100 top-selling alcohol brands (n = 156 individual products). MEASUREMENTS We assessed the product labels in relation to the presence of five labelling elements: information on alcohol units, government consumption guidelines, pregnancy warnings, reference to the Drinkaware website and a responsibility statement. We also assessed the size, colour and placement of text, and the size and colouring of the pregnancy warning logo. FINDINGS The first three (required) elements were present on 77.6% of products examined. The mean font size of the Chief Medical Officer's (CMO) unit guidelines (usually on the back of the product) was 8.17-point. The mean size of pregnancy logos was 5.95 mm. The pregnancy logo was on average smaller on wine containers. CONCLUSIONS The UK Public Health Responsibility Deal alcohol labelling pledge has not been fully met. Labelling information frequently falls short of best practice, with font and logos smaller than would be accepted on other products with health effects.