Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
AC-impedance and dielectric properties of hybrid polymer composites

The AC-impedance and dielectric properties of hybrid polymer composites made up of epoxy (diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A) matrix filled with various zinc oxide concentrations (0, 4.9, 9.9, 14.9 and 19.9 wt%) and reinforced with conductive carbon black nanoparticles (0.1 wt%) have been investigated as a function of fillers concentrations, applied frequency in the range from 20 kHz to1 MHz and temperature in the range from 30℃ to 110℃. The observed data were analyzed using the dielectric permittivity and electric modulus formalisms (i.e. the inverse quantity of complex permittivity). The dielectric constant of the composites increases with increasing temperature and filler concentrations, and this case can be explained by hopping and tunneling processes. The AC-conductivity is apparently enhanced with increasing frequency, temperature, zinc oxide and carbon black fillers. The observed increase in the AC conductivity was explained based on the concept of conductive paths and connections between the zinc oxide–particles and the conductive carbon black–nanoparticles. The activation energy has been estimated from fitting the AC conductivity–temperature data and it was found that it is decreased by the addition of the zinc oxide content in the epoxy matrix reinforced with carbon black, which means that the composites have better electrical conduction. The scanning electron microscopy images revealed that the dispersed zinc oxide-particles and carbon black-nanoparticles were randomly distributed within the epoxy matrix with some paths and surface contacts between the fillings. It was found that the addition of carbon black nanoparticles to epoxy/zinc oxide composites enhances the electrical conduction due to the electronic and impurity contributions.
Analysis of Flange Joints Under External Loads

Flange joint leakage is one of the common maintenance problems in refineries and chemical plants. This paper studies the effect of external loads on the strength and leakage behavior of flanged joints. Finite element and analytical methods are compared, and the proposed method is compared with leakage data. The common equivalent pressure method is shown to be very conservative, and a method of evaluating external loads is recommended.
Multi-Modal Word Synset Induction

A word in natural language can be polysemous, having multiple meanings, as well as synonymous, meaning the same thing as other words. Word sense induction attempts to ﬁnd the senses of polysemous words. Synonymy detection attempts to ﬁnd when two words are interchangeable. We combine these tasks, ﬁrst inducing word senses and then detecting similar senses to form word-sense synonym sets ( synsets ) in an unsupervised fashion. Given pairs of images and text with noun phrase labels, we perform synset induction to produce collections of underlying concepts described by one or more noun phrases. We ﬁnd that considering multi-modal features from both visual and textual context yields better induced synsets than using either context alone. Human evaluations show that our unsupervised, multi-modally induced synsets are comparable in quality to annotation-assisted ImageNet synsets, achieving about 84% of ImageNet synsets’ approval.
Architecting to achieve a billion requests per second throughput on a single key-value store server platform

Distributed in-memory key-value stores (KVSs), such as memcached, have become a critical data serving layer in modern Internet-oriented datacenter infrastructure. Their performance and efficiency directly affect the QoS of web services and the efficiency of datacenters. Traditionally, these systems have had significant overheads from inefficient network processing, OS kernel involvement, and concurrency control. Two recent research thrusts have focused upon improving key-value performance. Hardware-centric research has started to explore specialized platforms including FPGAs for KVSs; results demonstrated an order of magnitude increase in throughput and energy efficiency over stock memcached. Software-centric research revisited the KVS application to address fundamental software bottlenecks and to exploit the full potential of modern commodity hardware; these efforts too showed orders of magnitude improvement over stock memcached. We aim at architecting high performance and efficient KVS platforms, and start with a rigorous architectural characterization across system stacks over a collection of representative KVS implementations. Our detailed full-system characterization not only identifies the critical hardware/software ingredients for high-performance KVS systems, but also leads to guided optimizations atop a recent design to achieve a record-setting throughput of 120 million requests per second (MRPS) on a single commodity server. Our implementation delivers 9.2X the performance (RPS) and 2.8X the system energy efficiency (RPS/watt) of the best-published FPGA-based claims. We craft a set of design principles for future platform architectures, and via detailed simulations demonstrate the capability of achieving a billion RPS with a single server constructed following our principles.
Point: Exercise training-induced bradycardia is caused by changes in intrinsic sinus node function.

it is well known that athletes have a resting sinus bradycardia—their resting heart rate can be half the normal value ([7][1])— and this is normally attributed to high vagal tone ([3][2]). This is a logical assumption, because we have known since 1921 from the work of the physiologist Otto Loewi
Vaccine Adjuvants: from 1920 to 2015 and Beyond

The concept of stimulating the body’s immune response is the basis underlying vaccination. Vaccines act by initiating the innate immune response and activating antigen presenting cells (APCs), thereby inducing a protective adaptive immune response to a pathogen antigen. Adjuvants are substances added to vaccines to enhance the immunogenicity of highly purified antigens that have insufficient immunostimulatory capabilities, and have been used in human vaccines for more than 90 years. While early adjuvants (aluminum, oil-in-water emulsions) were used empirically, rapidly increasing knowledge on how the immune system interacts with pathogens means that there is increased understanding of the role of adjuvants and how the formulation of modern vaccines can be better tailored towards the desired clinical benefit. Continuing safety evaluation of licensed vaccines containing adjuvants/adjuvant systems suggests that their individual benefit-risk profile remains favorable. Adjuvants contribute to the initiation of the innate immune response induced by antigens; exemplified by inflammatory responses at the injection site, with mostly localized and short-lived effects. Activated effectors (such as APCs) then move to draining lymph nodes where they direct the type, magnitude and quality of the adaptive immune response. Thus, the right match of antigens and adjuvants can potentiate downstream adaptive immune responses, enabling the development of new efficacious vaccines. Many infectious diseases of worldwide significance are not currently preventable by vaccination. Adjuvants are the most advanced new technology in the search for new vaccines against challenging pathogens and for vulnerable populations that respond poorly to traditional vaccines.
Fourier ptychographic microscopy for filtration-based circulating tumor cell enumeration and analysis

Abstract. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are recognized as a candidate biomarker with strong prognostic and predictive potential in metastatic disease. Filtration-based enrichment technologies have been used for CTC characterization, and our group has previously developed a membrane microfilter device that demonstrates efficacy in model systems and clinical blood samples. However, uneven filtration surfaces make the use of standard microscopic techniques a difficult task, limiting the performance of automated imaging using commercially available technologies. Here, we report the use of Fourier ptychographic microscopy (FPM) to tackle this challenge. Employing this method, we were able to obtain high-resolution color images, including amplitude and phase, of the microfilter samples over large areas. FPM’s ability to perform digital refocusing on complex images is particularly useful in this setting as, in contrast to other imaging platforms, we can focus samples on multiple focal planes within the same frame despite surface unevenness. In model systems, FPM demonstrates high image quality, efficiency, and consistency in detection of tumor cells when comparing corresponding microfilter samples to standard microscopy with high correlation (R2=0.99932). Based on these results, we believe that FPM will have important implications for improved, high throughput, filtration-based CTC analysis, and, more generally, image analysis of uneven surfaces.
A posteriori error estimation for hp-adaptivity for fourth-order equations

A posteriori error estimates developed to drive hp-adaptivity for second-order reaction-diffusion equations are extended to fourth-order equations. A C 1 hierarchical finite element basis is constructed from Hermite-Lobatto polynomials. A priori estimates of the error in several norms for both the interpolant and finite element solution are derived. In the latter case this requires a generalization of the well-known Aubin-Nitsche technique to time-dependent fourth-order equations. We show that the finite element solution and corresponding Hermite-Lobatto interpolant are asymptotically equivalent. A posteriori error estimators based on this equivalence for solutions at two orders are presented. Both are shown to be asymptotically exact on grids of uniform order. These estimators can be used to control various adaptive strategies. Computational results for linear steady-state and time-dependent equations corroborate the theory and demonstrate the effectiveness of the estimators in adaptive settings.
Security Issues and Solutions in Peer-to-Peer Systems for Realtime Communications

Peer-to-peer (P2P) networks offer higher robustness against failure, easier configuration and are generally more economical than their client-server counterparts. It has therefore become reasonable for resource consuming and typically centralized applications like Voice over IP (VoIP) and, in general, realtime communication to adapt and exploit the benefits of P2P. Such a migration needs to address a new set of P2P specific security problems. This document describes some of the known issues found in common P2P networks, analyzing the relevance of such issues and the applicability of existing solutions when using P2P architectures for realtime communication. This document is a product of the P2P Research Group.
Tissue-specific roles of Fgfr2 in development of the external genitalia

Congenital anomalies frequently occur in organs that undergo tubulogenesis. Hypospadias is a urethral tube defect defined by mislocalized, oversized, or multiple openings of the penile urethra. Deletion of Fgfr2 or its ligand Fgf10 results in severe hypospadias in mice, in which the entire urethral plate is open along the ventral side of the penis. In the genital tubercle, the embryonic precursor of the penis and clitoris, Fgfr2 is expressed in two epithelial populations: the endodermally derived urethral epithelium and the ectodermally derived surface epithelium. Here, we investigate the tissue-specific roles of Fgfr2 in external genital development by generating conditional deletions of Fgfr2 in each of these cell types. Conditional deletion of Fgfr2 results in two distinct phenotypes: endodermal Fgfr2 deletion causes mild hypospadias and inhibits maturation of a complex urethral epithelium, whereas loss of ectodermal Fgfr2 results in severe hypospadias and absence of the ventral prepuce. Although these cell type-specific mutants exhibit distinctive genital anomalies, cellular analysis reveals that Fgfr2 regulates epithelial maturation and cell cycle progression in the urethral endoderm and in the surface ectoderm. The unexpected finding that ectodermal deletion of Fgfr2 results in the most severe hypospadias highlights a major role for Fgfr2 in the developing genital surface epithelium, where epithelial maturation is required for maintenance of a closed urethral tube. These results demonstrate that urethral tubulogenesis, prepuce morphogenesis, and sexually dimorphic patterning of the lower urethra are controlled by discrete regions of Fgfr2 activity. Summary: The development of mouse urethral tube is a sexually dimorphic process that requires Fgfr2-mediated cell cycle progression and epithelial maturation in distinct tissue compartments.
The Effect of Handwashing with Water or Soap on Bacterial Contamination of Hands

Handwashing is thought to be effective for the prevention of transmission of diarrhoea pathogens. However it is not conclusive that handwashing with soap is more effective at reducing contamination with bacteria associated with diarrhoea than using water only. In this study 20 volunteers contaminated their hands deliberately by touching door handles and railings in public spaces. They were then allocated at random to (1) handwashing with water, (2) handwashing with non-antibacterial soap and (3) no handwashing. Each volunteer underwent this procedure 24 times, yielding 480 samples overall. Bacteria of potential faecal origin (mostly Enterococcus and Enterobacter spp.) were found after no handwashing in 44% of samples. Handwashing with water alone reduced the presence of bacteria to 23% (p < 0.001). Handwashing with plain soap and water reduced the presence of bacteria to 8% (comparison of both handwashing arms: p < 0.001). The effect did not appear to depend on the bacteria species. Handwashing with non-antibacterial soap and water is more effective for the removal of bacteria of potential faecal origin from hands than handwashing with water alone and should therefore be more useful for the prevention of transmission of diarrhoeal diseases.
A Panel Study of Physical Activity in Taiwanese Youth: Testing the Revised Health‐Promotion Model

The rate of inactivity among young people in Taiwan remains high. However, few studies have explored physical activity patterns with a longitudinal approach in this population. Based on the revised health-promotion model, this study used 2-wave panel data to test a structural model of how individual characteristics, cognitions, and interpersonal influences predicted physical activity of Taiwanese adolescents. The findings suggest that gender, social support, modeling, self-efficacy, and perceived benefits and barriers to performing physical activity directly and indirectly influence the behavior of physical activity in Taiwanese adolescents. The hypothesized model explained 25% of the variance in physical activity. The implications for parents and policy are discussed.
Determination of the ice dielectric permittivity using the data of the test in Antarctica of the ground-penetrating radar for Mars'98 mission

A ground-penetrating radar will be integrated inside the guiderope ballast of the Mars'98 balloon mission. A prototype of this impulse system working in the 5-15 MHz band was tested close to Dumont d'Urville, the French Antarctic Station, in February 1993. The authors obtained a large set of profiles in cold ice with a glacier thickness from 200 to about 900 m. For each depth, the measured echoes are very clear with a good signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). In this paper, the authors firstly describe the performances of the radar and they study the electromagnetic propagation in the Antarctica glacier. This knowledge allows them to use the frequency wavenumber migration to focus the signal, to increase the SNR and to rebuild an image of the subsurface. The migration process gives a good estimation of the real part of the permittivity (i.e., the velocity). The fact that the signal comes from different depths is used to measure the imaginary part of the permittivity which defines the ice attenuation. The spectral analysis gives its frequency dependence.
Exploring Consumer Perceptions and Economic Burden of Onchocerciasis on Households in Enugu State, South-East Nigeria

Introduction Onchocerciasis or river blindness constitutes a major burden to households especially in resource-poor settings, causing a significant reduction in household productivity. There has been renewed interest from policy makers to reduce the burden of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) such as onchocerciasis on individuals and households. This paper provides new information on the patient’s perceptions of onchocerciasis and its economic burden on households in South-eastern Nigeria. The information will be useful to health providers and policy makers for evidence-informed resource allocation decisions. Methods Information was generated from a cross-sectional household survey conducted in Achi community, Oji River Local Government Area (LGA) of Enugu State, Southeast Nigeria. A pre-tested interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. A total of 747 households were visited randomly and data were collected using pre-tested interviewer administered questionnaire from 370 respondents. The respondents’ knowledge of the cause of symptoms of the disease, costs incurred for seeking treatment and productivity losses were elicited. Data were analyzed using tabulations and inferential statistics. A socio-economic status (SES) index was used to disaggregate some key variables by SES quintiles for equity analysis. Results Many people had more than one type of manifestation of onchocerciasis. However, more than half of the respondents (57%) had no knowledge of the cause of their symptoms. Male respondents had significantly more knowledge of the cause of symptoms than females (P = 0.04) but knowledge did not differ across SES (P = 0.82). The average monthly treatment cost per respondent was US$ 14.0. Drug cost (US$10) made up about 72% of total treatment cost. The per capita productivity loss among patients was US$16 and it was higher in the poorest (Q1) (US$20) and the third SES quintiles (Q3) (US$21). The average monthly productivity loss among caregivers was US$3.5. Conclusion Onchocerciasis still constitutes considerable economic burden on patients due to the high cost of treatment and productivity loss. Prioritizing domestic resource allocation for the treatment of onchocerciasis is important for significant and sustained reduction in the burden of the disease. In addition, focused health promotion interventions such as health education campaigns should be scaled up in onchocerciasis-endemic communities.
Return of the JTMS: Preferences Orchestrate Conflict Learning and Solution Synthesis

We use a lexicographical preference order on the problem space to combine solution synthesis with conflict learning. Given two preferred solutions of two subproblems, we can either combine them to a solution of the whole problem or learn a 'fat' conflict which cuts off a whole subtree. The approach makes conflict learning more pervasive for Constraint Programming as it well exploits efficient support finding and compact representations of Craig interpolants.
Multi-target reflection point model of cyclists for automotive radar

Pushed by the EuroNCAP regulations the number of autonomous emergency braking systems for pedestrians (AEB-P) is rapidly increasing since the year 2016. The same rise is expected for cyclist protection systems driven by new test scenarios of EuroNCAP from 2018 onwards. To get an adequate reaction of the system, target objects have to be classified clearly. Visual sensors provide some benefits in object recognition, but the performance suffers in adverse environmental conditions. In this area radar sensors have proven as very robust against darkness, fog, or rain. For classification unique features are required. To extract relevant features, a motion analysis of cyclists is presented in this work which is subsequently used to derive a reflection point model. Specific properties of radar evaluation have been added to the model too. In combination with an automotive radar sensor model, detection limits of actual sensors can be explored. It is also possible to determine the performance requirements for future sensor generations and to evaluate new signal processing algorithms.
A duplexed phenotypic screen for the simultaneous detection of inhibitors of the molecular chaperone heat shock protein 90 and modulators of cellular acetylation

Histone deacetylases (HDACs), histone acetyltransferases (HATs), and the molecular chaperone heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) are attractive anticancer drug targets. High-throughput screening plays a pivotal role in modern molecular mechanism-based drug discovery. Cell-based screens are particularly useful in that they identify compounds that are permeable and active against the selected target or pathway in a cellular context. We have previously developed time-resolved fluorescence cell immunosorbent assays (TRF-Cellisas) for compound screening and pharmacodynamic studies. These assays use a primary antibody to the single protein of interest and a matched secondary immunoglobulin labeled with an europium chelate (Eu). The availability of species-specific secondary antibodies labeled with different lanthanide chelates provides the potential for multiplexing this type of assay. The approach has been applied to the development of a 384-well duplexed cell-based screen to simultaneously detect compounds that induce the co-chaperone HSP70 as a molecular marker of potential inhibitors of HSP90 together with those that modulate cellular acetylation (i.e., potential inhibitors of histone deacetylase or histone acetyltransferase activity). The duplexed assay proved reliable in high-throughput format and ∼64,000 compounds were screened. Following evaluation in secondary assays, 3 of 13 hits from the HSP70 arm were confirmed. Two of these directly inhibited the intrinsic ATPase activity of HSP90 whereas the third seems to have a different mechanism of action. In the acetylation arm, two compounds increased cellular acetylation, one of which inhibited histone deacetylase activity. A third compound decreased cellular histone acetylation, potentially through a novel mechanism of action. [Mol Cancer Ther 2007;6(3):1112–22]
A Visual Analytics Approach to Multiscale Exploration of Environmental Time Series

We present a Visual Analytics approach that addresses the detection of interesting patterns in numerical time series, specifically from environmental sciences. Crucial for the detection of interesting temporal patterns are the time scale and the starting points one is looking at. Our approach makes no assumption about time scale and starting position of temporal patterns and consists of three main steps: an algorithm to compute statistical values for all possible time scales and starting positions of intervals, visual identification of potentially interesting patterns in a matrix visualization, and interactive exploration of detected patterns. We demonstrate the utility of this approach in two scientific scenarios and explain how it allowed scientists to gain new insight into the dynamics of environmental systems.