Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The effect of non-uniform temperature and velocity fields on long range ultrasonic measurement systems in MYRRHA

SCK·CEN, the Belgian Nuclear Research Center, is developing MYRRHA, a generation IV liquid metal cooled nuclear research reactor. As the liquid metal coolant is opaque to light, normal visual feedback during fuel manipulations is not available and must therefore be replaced by a system that is not hindered by the opacity of the coolant. In this respect ultrasonic based instrumentation is under development at SCK·CEN to provide feedback during operations under liquid metal. One of the tasks that will be tackled using ultrasound is the detection and localization of a potentially lost fuel assembly. In this application, the distance between ultrasonic sensor and target may be as large as 2.5m. At these distances, non uniform velocity and temperature fields in the liquid metal potentially influence the propagation of the ultrasonic signals, affecting the performance of the ultrasonic systems. In this paper, we investigate how relevant temperature and velocity gradients inside the liquid metal influence the propagation of ultrasonic waves. The effect of temperature and velocity gradients are simulated by means of a newly developed numerical ray-tracing model. The performance of the model is validated by dedicated water experiments. The setup is capable of creating velocity and temperature gradients representative for MYRRHA conditions. Once validated in water, the same model is used to make predictions for the effect of gradients in the MYRRHA liquid metal environment.
On overshoot and nonminimum phase zeros

It is widely known that real nonminimum phase zeros lead to step response undershoot, and that the size of the undershoot necessarily tends to infinity as the settling time tends to zero. In this note, we show that the presence of two or more real nonminimum phase zeros can lead to step response overshoot in addition to undershoot. A lower bound on the overshoot is derived, and it is shown that the overshoot, like the undershoot, necessarily tends to infinity as the settling time tends to zero. The results are derived for single-input-single-output linear time-invariant continuous-time systems, and apply to both open-loop control and general two degree-of-freedom closed-loop control
Non-redundant stockwell transform based feature extraction for handwritten digit recognition

Feature extraction is an important stage which decides the accuracy of any character recognition system. The state-of-the-art feature extraction can be categorized to be either spatial domain based, transform domain based or a hybrid combination of both. We propose a new feature extraction method based on the non-redundant Stockwell Transform (ST), which takes care of the redundancy as well as computational complexity of original ST. We applied the proposed method on Odia numerals with k-Nearest Neighbor (k-NN) classifier, Support Vector Machine (SVM), Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP) classifier and Modified Quadratic Discriminant Function (MQDF) classifier. The highest recognition accuracy is found to be 98.80% for the Odia numeral database, which outperforms the previous reported classification results.
Study on full-polarization hyperspectral imaging technology

Since full-polarization parameter measurement can not be well combined with hyperspectral imaging technology yet , a new full-polarization hyperspectral imaging measurement structure using a dual optical path system was investigated. We utilized the hyperspectral1 interference imaging technology and polarization modulation technology based on electro-optic effect in our research. The polarization information, spectral information and spatial image information were acquired at the same time, which means the simultaneous measurement of hyperspectral information and full-polarization parameter was achieved. In this artical, the principle of the full-polarization parameter measurement was introduced at first. Then the experiment setup was shown and the optical elements were illustrated. Also,the detailed formula derivation steps of the full-Stokes vector was given. At last, some computer simulation data and experimental results were given. Through the combination of spectral imaging and full-polarization parameter measurement, the detecting information of the object is greatly enriched. This work will definitely be helpful to many optical remote sensing technology areas such as resources survey, environmental monitoring and military reconnaissan.
Systemic Therapy of Non-Resectable Metastatic Melanoma

In advanced metastatic melanoma (non-resectable stage III/IV), the prognosis still remains poor, with median survival times between six and twelve months. Systemic therapeutic approaches for metastatic melanoma include chemotherapy, immunotherapy, immunochemotherapy, small molecules and targeted therapy. In this review, we will focus on the various treatment modalities as well as new agents used for targeted therapy.
ARB users exhibit a lower fracture incidence than ACE inhibitor users among older hypertensive men

Introduction Angiotensin II, a major effector protein of the renin angiotensin system (RAS), induces bone loss under certain conditions. Drugs that block the RAS may therefore reduce bone loss and fracture incidence. The fracture incidence in older hypertensive men with long-term use of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) were compared with the incidence in users of calcium channel blockers (CCBs) and non-users. Methods A total of 5,994 US men aged 65 years or older who had bone mineral density measured at baseline in the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men Study (MrOS) were followed for fracture incidence for an average of 6.8 years. Men with follow-up dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry bone mineral density data and who reported hypertension at any visit, or use of antihypertensive medications at any visit among those with non-missing mediation data were included in the study (N = 2,573). Results Six hundred and nineteen men had taken ACE inhibitors, while 182 took ARBs for at least 4 years. Using Cox regression for the incidence of non-vertebral fractures, we found that long-term users of ACE inhibitors and ARBs each had a significantly lower fracture incidence than non-users. The hazard ratio of non-vertebral fractures was three times lower in ARB users than ACE inhibitor users (Hazard ratio (95% confidence interval): 0.194 (0.079–0.474) versus 0.620 (0.453–0.850), P = 0.0168). There was a trend of greater fracture risk reduction with longer duration of ARB use, but not for ACE inhibitor use. Conclusions In older hypertensive men, ARBs use was associated with lower incidence of non-vertebral fracture than ACE inhibitors or CCBs.
Chalk deformation and large-scale migration of calcium carbonate

Sixty Upper Cretaceous chalk exposures were examined and sampled in Dorset, the Isle of Wight and Guildford, South England, in order to investigate the effects of tectonic deformation on the chalk fabric. Light and scanning-electron microscopes were used extensively, and chemical, mineralogical and isotopic analyses ware carried out. Two types of fabric modification were distinguished. The first type involves more than 90% volume loss by mechanical compaction at the early stages of deformation followed by dissolution and removal of calcium carbonate in the advanced stages of deformation. Chalks which have undergone this type of fabric modification are dense and consist of well rounded 0.5–3 μ calcite crystals with well developed pressure-solution contacts. These chalks contain a high proportion of calcispheres (many of which are plastically deformed) but very few well preserved planktonic foraminifera and coccoliths. They are relatively enriched in insoluble constituents and depleted in strontium. The second type of fabric modification involves introduction of calcium carbonate into the pore spaces. Chalks which have undergone this type of modification are dense and contain a high proportion of 3–5 μ polygonal interlocking calcite crystals. Fossils are virtually never deformed, and delicate foraminifera and coccoliths are well preserved. Insoluble constituents similar to those found in the unmodified chalks occur in low concentrations. Removal of calcium carbonate at crystal contacts has taken place in chalks which have been subjected to high effective tectonic stresses and at crystal peripheries in chalks which have been subjected to high pore fluid pressure. Dissolution at crystal peripheries is responsible for the extensive calcium carbonate losses, and it is termed herein ‘confining pressure solution’. Introduction of calcium carbonate occurs in rocks which were under low tectonic stresses. During deformation calcium carbonate migrates from chalks under high stresses towards those under tow stresses, while some goes into solution in sea water. Well developed joints and high pore fluid pressure might increase the rate of calcium carbonate removal by three orders of magnitude. Petrographic and isotopic data suggest-that all fabric modifications studied took place in meteoric water.
Therapeutic strategies to overcome crizotinib resistance in non-small cell lung cancers harboring the fusion oncogene EML4-ALK

The echinoderm microtubule-associated protein-like 4 (EML4)-anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) fusion oncogene represents a molecular target in a small subset of non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs). This fusion leads to constitutive ALK activation with potent transforming activity. In a pivotal phase 1 clinical trial, the ALK tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) crizotinib (PF-02341066) demonstrated impressive antitumor activity in the majority of patients with NSCLC harboring ALK fusions. However, despite these remarkable initial responses, cancers eventually develop resistance to crizotinib, usually within 1 y, thereby limiting the potential clinical benefit. To determine how cancers acquire resistance to ALK inhibitors, we established a model of acquired resistance to crizotinib by exposing a highly sensitive EML4-ALK–positive NSCLC cell line to increasing doses of crizotinib until resistance emerged. We found that cells resistant to intermediate doses of crizotinib developed amplification of the EML4-ALK gene. Cells resistant to higher doses (1 μM) also developed a gatekeeper mutation, L1196M, within the kinase domain, rendering EML4-ALK insensitive to crizotinib. This gatekeeper mutation was readily detected using a unique and highly sensitive allele-specific PCR assay. Although crizotinib was ineffectual against EML4-ALK harboring the gatekeeper mutation, we observed that two structurally different ALK inhibitors, NVP-TAE684 and AP26113, were highly active against the resistant cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, these resistant cells remained highly sensitive to the Hsp90 inhibitor 17-AAG. Thus, we have developed a model of acquired resistance to ALK inhibitors and have shown that second-generation ALK TKIs or Hsp90 inhibitors are effective in treating crizotinib-resistant tumors harboring secondary gatekeeper mutations.
Molecular mechanisms of inflammasome activation during microbial infections

Summary: The innate immune system plays a crucial role in the rapid recognition and elimination of invading microbes. Detection of microbes relies on germ‐line encoded pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) that recognize essential bacterial molecules, so‐called pathogen‐associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). A subset of PRRs, belonging to the NOD‐like receptor (NLR) and the PYHIN protein families, detects viral and bacterial pathogens in the cytosol of host cells and induces the assembly of a multi‐protein signaling platform called the inflammasome. The inflammasome serves as an activation platform for the mammalian cysteine protease caspase‐1, a central mediator of innate immunity. Active caspase‐1 promotes the maturation and release of interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β) and IL‐18 as well as protein involved in cytoprotection and tissue repair. In addition, caspase‐1 initiates a novel form of cell death called pyroptosis. Here, we discuss latest advances and our insights on inflammasome stimulation by two model intracellular pathogens, Francisella tularensis and Salmonella typhimurium. Recent studies on these pathogens have significantly shaped our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of inflammasome activation and how microbes can evade or manipulate inflammasome activity. In addition, we review the role of the inflammasome adapter ASC in caspase‐1 autoproteolysis and new insights into the structure of the inflammasome complex.
Costas arrays and the Lovász Local Lemma

We propose a fundamentally new approach to studying the existence of Costas arrays. We explore the consequences of applying new formulations of the Lovász Local Lemma in an effort to apply the probabilistic method to show that Costas arrays of a given order n must exist. Our applications of the Lovász Local Lemma make use of a characterization of all O(n6) configurations of ones within a permutation matrix whose existence violates the definition of a Costas array. We show that this approach can at least be used to establish the existence of arrays of orders 3 - 5 and also can be applied to prove the existence of frequency-hopping waveforms of all orders satisfying many subsets of at least n(n - 1)(n - 2)2 - 2 of the violating constraints.
Attentional Prioritization of Infant Faces Is Limited to Own-Race Infants

Background Recent evidence indicates that infant faces capture attention automatically, presumably to elicit caregiving behavior from adults and leading to greater probability of progeny survival. Elsewhere, evidence demonstrates that people show deficiencies in the processing of other-race relative to own-race faces. We ask whether this other-race effect impacts on attentional attraction to infant faces. Using a dot-probe task to reveal the spatial allocation of attention, we investigate whether other-race infants capture attention. Principal Findings South Asian and White participants (young adults aged 18–23 years) responded to a probe shape appearing in a location previously occupied by either an infant face or an adult face; across trials, the race (South Asian/White) of the faces was manipulated. Results indicated that participants were faster to respond to probes that appeared in the same location as infant faces than adult faces, but only on own-race trials. Conclusions/Significance Own-race infant faces attract attention, but other-race infant faces do not. Sensitivity to face-specific care-seeking cues in other-race kindenschema may be constrained by interracial contact and experience.
“Finding and reminding” reconsidered

In the July 1995 SIGCHI Bulletin, Deborah Barreau and Bonnie Nardi rightly point out that "every computer user spends enormous time and effort in filing and finding of electronic files, yet there has been very little research on the subject. " To this end, Barreau and Nardi have investigated electronic filing and finding practices of the users of common desktop systems to determine "the factors affecting individual decisions to acquire, organize, maintain, and retrieve information. " While we applaud their efforts to study the most basic aspects of user/computer interaction, we believe they draw the wrong conclusions from their own research. Our goal in this paper is to explain why.
Artificial annelid robot driven by soft actuators

The annelid provides a biological solution of effective locomotion adaptable to a large variety of unstructured environmental conditions. The undulated locomotion of the segmented body in the annelid is characterized by the combination of individual motion of the muscles distributed along the body, which has been of keen interest in biomimetic investigation. In this paper, we present an annelid-like robot driven by soft actuators based on dielectric elastomer. To mimic the unique motion of the annelid, a novel actuation method employing dielectric elastomer is developed. By using the actuator, a three-degree-of-freedom actuator module is presented, which can provide up–down translational motion, and two rotational degree-of-freedom motion. The proposed actuation method provides advantageous features of reduction in size, fast response and ruggedness in operation. By serially connecting the actuator modules, a micro-robot mimicking the motion of the annelid is developed and its effectiveness is experimentally demonstrated.
Association of CD20+ Infiltrates with Poorer Clinical Outcomes in Acute Cellular Rejection of Renal Allografts

We undertook a study to ascertain the relationship between the presence of CD20‐positive B‐lymphocytes in renal allografts undergoing acute cellular rejection and graft survival. We identified 27 patients transplanted between January 1, 1998 and December 31, 2001, with biopsy‐proven Banff 1‐A or Banff 1‐B rejection in the first year after transplantation, and stained the specimens for CD20 and C4d. At least 4 years of follow‐up data were available for each patient studied. Six patients had CD20‐positive B‐cell clusters in the interstitium, and 21 patients were negative for CD20 infiltrates. The CD20‐positive group was significantly more likely to have steroid‐resistant rejection and reduced graft survival compared to CD20‐negative controls. This study supports prospective identification of CD20‐positive B‐cell clusters in biopsy‐proven rejection and offers a therapeutic rationale for a trial of monoclonal anti‐CD20 antibody in such patients.
Variation in STAT4 is associated with systemic lupus erythematosus in a Finnish family cohort

Objectives To investigate whether 10 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and haplotypes in the STAT4 gene, previously associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in a Swedish case–control cohort, are also associated with SLE risk in a Finnish SLE family cohort. Method Genotyping was performed in 192 Finnish families, with 237 affected subjects and their healthy relatives, using the SNPstream genotyping system. Results Transmission disequilibrium test analysis provided the strongest signal of association for two linked SNPs: rs7582694 (p=0.002, OR=2.57) and rs10181656 (p=0.001, OR=2.53). Haplotype association analysis using a sliding window approach was also performed and showed that the strongest association signal originates from SNPs in intron 3 of STAT4. Conclusion The main association signal for STAT4 with SLE previously reported in Caucasians is the same in the Finnish population. This is the first study that confirms the association of STAT4 with SLE in a family cohort.
Immunosensors Based on Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes ( SWCNT ) for the Detection of Deep Venous Thrombosis

Thanks to their properties, Single-Walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) open a new way to the fabrication of Immunosensors with the particularity to amplify the response signal from antibody–antigen interaction and to improve the Immunosensors characteristics. In this context, two new impedimetric immunosensors were developed by immobilizing antibody on Single-Walled carbon, the later was immobilized following two ways the first consist of immobilizing the carbon nanotubes on a polypyrrole layer by adsorption and the second consist of functionalized gold with amino thiol and then immobilizing the carbon nanotubes with covalent binding. The electrical properties and the morphology of the immunosensors have been characterized respectively by Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry and Atomic Force Spectroscopy. A low detection limit for both immunosensors was determined as 1 pg/ml and linear ranges up to 10 ng/ml with polypyrrole and up to 100 ng/ml with amino thiol were obtained. Moreover, the studied Immunosensors exhibited high sensitivity, stability and reproducibility. Copyright © 2014 IFSA Publishing, S. L.
Autonomicity - an antidote for complexity?

Autonomic computing and other self-managing system initiatives, many strongly based on biological metaphors, are emerging as a significant new vision for the design and development of complex computer systems. They offer the promise of controlling complexity through the achievement of self governance (autonomy) and self management (autonomicity). We consider how complexity is exhibited in the computer industry as a whole, and how the situation is deteriorating, rather than improving. We consider how autonomous and autonomic systems, with their biological inspiration, can provide a framework for tackling complexity and overcoming the problems of its (unavoidable) inherent existence in certain classes of systems.
Both RNase E and RNase III control the stability of sodB mRNA upon translational inhibition by the small regulatory RNA RyhB

Previous work has demonstrated that iron-dependent variations in the steady-state concentration and translatability of sodB mRNA are modulated by the small regulatory RNA RyhB, the RNA chaperone Hfq and RNase E. In agreement with the proposed role of RNase E, we found that the decay of sodB mRNA is retarded upon inactivation of RNase E in vivo, and that the enzyme cleaves within the sodB 5′-untranslated region (5′-UTR) in vitro, thereby removing the 5′ stem–loop structure that facilitates Hfq and ribosome binding. Moreover, RNase E cleavage can also occur at a cryptic site that becomes available upon sodB 5′-UTR/RyhB base pairing. We show that while playing an important role in facilitating the interaction of RyhB with sodB mRNA, Hfq is not tightly retained by the RyhB–sodB mRNA complex and can be released from it through interaction with other RNAs added in trans. Unlike turnover of sodB mRNA, RyhB decay in vivo is mainly dependent on RNase III, and its cleavage by RNase III in vitro is facilitated upon base pairing with the sodB 5′-UTR. These data are discussed in terms of a model, which accounts for the observed roles of RNase E and RNase III in sodB mRNA turnover.
Mars Odyssey Gamma Ray Spectrometer elemental abundances and apparent relative surface age: Implications for Martian crustal evolution

[1] Quantifying secular variations in the chemical composition of the Martian crust provides unique insights into the processes that have guided the evolution of the Martian crust-mantle system. Using global abundances for a suite of elements determined by the Gamma Ray Spectrometer (GRS) on board the Mars Odyssey spacecraft and global mapping of apparent surface age adapted from existing geologic maps in the USGS Martian Geologic Investigation series, we report the average abundance of K, Th, Fe, Cl, H, and Si for the major Martian geologic epochs (Noachian, Hesperian, and Amazonian). Average GRS-determined K and Th abundances generally decrease by 9% and 7%, respectively, between the Hesperian and the Amazonian, possibly implying evolving magma chemistry throughout major resurfacing events (although the effects of surficial alteration processes cannot be entirely discounted). GRS-determined Fe and Cl averages increase by 12% and 19%, respectively, with younger apparent relative surface age, suggesting the possible mobilization and transport of these elements through aqueous processes (although an igneous origin for the variation in Fe also cannot be excluded). While H abundance does vary with surface age, the relationship is likely not governed by geologic processes. No statistically reliable apparent surface age relation was found for Si.