Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Etude du dopage par des ions actifs et des nanoparticules semi-conductrices de matériaux sol-gel pour l'optique. Interaction dopant-matrice et croissance localisée de nanoparticules par irradiation laser

Ce travail concerne le dopage par des ions actifs et/ou des nanoparticules semi-conductrices de CdS et la caracterisation de xerogels de SiO 2 poreux obtenus par voie sol-gel. Le but de cette etude est de contribuer a la comprehension de l'effet du dopage sur les proprietes structurales, texturales et optiques du materiau final. Nous avons montre par spectroscopie Raman et absorption-desorption d'azote que l'incorporation d'ions actifs, tels que Cd 2+ , Pb 2+ ou Eu 3+ , modifie les cinetiques et les mecanismes de la gelification et la densification du reseau de SiO 2 . La nature meme de ces modifications est fonction de la concentration en ions dopants. Dans le cas de l'ion Eu 3+ , l'analyse a ete completee par la spectroscopie d'emission utilisant cet ion comme sonde luminescente pour decrire son environnement dans la matrice. Des xerogels de SiO 2 ont aussi ete post-dopes avec des nanoparticules de CdS. La methode consiste a laisser diffuser dans la matrice poreuse une solution aqueuse contenant les precurseurs de cadmium et du soufre. Les nanoparticules cristallisent ensuite in situ de maniere homogene sous l'effet d'un traitement thermique. La taille des nanoparticules et leurs proprietes d'emission ont ete determinees par spectroscopies d'absorption UV-visible, d'emission et d'excitation. Ces techniques ont montre l'influence des niveaux pieges lies a des defauts de surface des nanocristaux sur leurs proprietes optiques et ont mis en evidence un transfert d'energie lors du co-dopage de SiO 2 par CdS :Eu 3+ . Une deuxieme technique de croissance cristalline a ete utilisee. Elle consiste a irradier, par un faisceau laser pulse, les matrices sol-gel contenant les precurseurs de CdS pour former localement des microstructures de nanoparticules. Nous montrons notamment que l'absorption a deux photons permet d'envisager la structuration a l'echelle submicronique des nanocristaux de CdS.
Alternating automata on data trees and XPath satisfiability

A data tree is an unranked ordered tree whose every node is labeled by a letter from a finite alphabet and an element (“datum”) from an infinite set, where the latter can only be compared for equality. The article considers alternating automata on data trees that can move downward and rightward, and have one register for storing data. The main results are that nonemptiness over finite data trees is decidable but not primitive recursive, and that nonemptiness of safety automata is decidable but not elementary. The proofs use nondeterministic tree automata with faulty counters. Allowing upward moves, leftward moves, or two registers, each causes undecidability. As corollaries, decidability is obtained for two data-sensitive fragments of the XPath query language.
Mechanical properties of 3-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes/epoxy composites cured by electron beam irradiation

Electron beam (EB) curing is a high rate manufacturing technique for preparing of the epoxy composites. In this study, EB radiation was used to prepare carbon nanotubes (CNTs)/epoxy composites and the effects of 3-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane (GPTMS) functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) on the mechanical properties of EB cured MWNTs/epoxy composites were studied given the important effects on the composites performance of interfacial adhesion between the CNTs and epoxy. The results showed that a substantial increase of the Vicker’s hardness appeared at MWNTs content of 0.1 wt%, but further filler content increase led to insignificant changes. Also the tensile modulus of the 0.25 wt% GPTMS functionalized MWNTs (GPTMS-MWNTs)/epoxy composites was enhanced by 34.9%. Dynamic mechanical analysis studies revealed that filling the 0.25 wt% GPTMS-MWNTs into epoxy can produce an 18.4℃ (from 121.1℃ to 139.5℃) increase in Tg as well. It was concluded that GPTMS functionalization has a significant effect on the mechanical properties of MWNTs/epoxy composites.
Effects of sodium butyrate on the membrane glycoconjugates of murine sarcoma virus-transformed rat cells

The temporal relationship between butyrate-induced cellular flattening of murine sarcoma virus-transformed rat cells (MSV-NRK) and alterations in certain surface-associated biochemical markers of transformation, e.g., surface glycopeptides, glycolipids, fibronectin, hexose uptake, and cell-substrate adhesion was examined. The induction of elevated levels of the ganglioside GM3 and of a GDla-like ganglioside were observed to precede or to parallel cellular flattening. Likewise, enhanced incorporation of radioisotopically labeled fucose into a novel fucose-containing component, i.e., glucopyranosyl (1 leads to 3) fucopyranosyl-threonine, was also observed to occur at an early stage of cellular flattening. In contrast, a shift in the molecular weight distribution of trypsin-sensitive, surface fucopeptides was observed to occur at a late stage of cellular flattening. Moreover, surface fibronectin was not detectable in the butyrate-flattened MSV-NRK cells despite the fact that the cells manifested significantly enhanced cell- substrate adhesion. Thus, butyrate appears to be a useful tool for understanding the sequential changes associated with expression of the transformed phenotype of MSV-NRK cells.
Decentralized coordinated robust adaptive control for AC/DC interconnected power systems based on WAMS

For improving the transient stability of AC/DC interconnected power systems, the input-output feedback model of AC/DC interconnected power systems is constructed and the decentralized coordinated robust adaptive control scheme based on WAMS is developed. The additional control of DC lines with unmodeled dynamics only uses a few signals and its design is simple, furthermore it can obviously improve the stability of power systems in different operational conditions. Experimental results for the China Southern Grid (CSG) prove the efficiency of the control scheme. The design process of controller provided a new idea to design controller by using simplified model.
Processing Relative Clauses in Supportive Contexts

Results from two self-paced reading experiments in English are reported in which subject- and object-extracted relative clauses (SRCs and ORCs, respectively) were presented in contexts that support both types of relative clauses (RCs). Object-extracted versions were read more slowly than subject-extracted versions across both experiments. These results are not consistent with a decay-based working memory account of dependency formation where the amount of decay is a function of the number of new discourse referents that intervene between the dependents (Gibson, 1998; Warren & Gibson, 2002). Rather, these results support interference-based accounts and decay-based accounts where the amount of decay depends on the number of words or on the type of noun phrases that intervene between the dependents. In Experiment 2, presentation in supportive contexts was directly contrasted with presentation in null contexts. Whereas in the null context the extraction effect was only observed during the RC region, in a supportive context the extraction effect was numerically larger and persisted into the following region, thus showing that extraction effects are enhanced in supportive contexts. A sentence completion study demonstrated that the rate of SRCs versus ORCs was similar across null and supportive contexts (with most completions being subject-extractions), ruling out the possibility that an enhanced extraction effect in supportive contexts is due to ORCs being less expected in such contexts. However, the content of the RCs differed between contexts in the completions, such that the RCs produced in supportive contexts were more constrained, reflecting the lexical and semantic content of the preceding context. This effect, which we discuss in terms of expectations/lexico-syntactic priming, suggests that the enhancement of the extraction effect in supportive contexts is due to the facilitation of the subject-extracted condition.
Organization of early frog embryos by chemical waves emanating from centrosomes

The large cells in early vertebrate development face an extreme physical challenge in organizing their cytoplasm. For example, amphibian embryos have to divide cytoplasm that spans hundreds of micrometres every 30 min according to a precise geometry, a remarkable accomplishment given the extreme difference between molecular and cellular scales in this system. How do the biochemical reactions occurring at the molecular scale lead to this emergent behaviour of the cell as a whole? Based on recent findings, we propose that the centrosome plays a crucial role by initiating two autocatalytic reactions that travel across the large cytoplasm as chemical waves. Waves of mitotic entry and exit propagate out from centrosomes using the Cdk1 oscillator to coordinate the timing of cell division. Waves of microtubule-stimulated microtubule nucleation propagate out to assemble large asters that position spindles for the following mitosis and establish cleavage plane geometry. By initiating these chemical waves, the centrosome rapidly organizes the large cytoplasm during the short embryonic cell cycle, which would be impossible using more conventional mechanisms such as diffusion or nucleation by structural templating. Large embryo cells provide valuable insights to how cells control chemical waves, which may be a general principle for cytoplasmic organization.
Teaching with Examples in A Real Environment

Teaching is challenging in a real environment. One problem is that not all examples may be available to teach. We show how to teach several important concept classes namely conjunction, disjunction and linear threshold functions under different characterizations of the domain of available examples. We show that a monotone linear threshold function is teachable using a polynomial number of examples when the accessible domain is defined by the intersection of multiple monotone linear threshold functions. Also, a teacher may not be smart enough to know the target concept exactly but he may be able to provide better examples from available examples. We show how to teach without knowing the target concept exactly and using only available examples. Our experiments on the benchmark data sets of text categorization and movie review classification show that the algorithm Partial Instance Feedback (PIF) results in 8 − 11% error reduction over active learning and 16− 18% error reduction over random sampling.
Cellophane Perinephritis Hypertension and Its Reversal in Rabbits: Effect on Plasma Renin, Renin Substrate, and Renal Mass

Plasma renin activity and renin substrate levels were measured during the development of cellophane perinephritis hypertension induced by either a bilateral renal wrap procedure or a wrap-nephrectomy procedure in 28 rabbits. Unoperated and unilaterally nephrectomized controls were also studied. Plasma renin concentration was derived from plasma renin activity and plasma renin substrate levels using a measured Km of 2.3 × 10−6M. All surgical operations were followed by a transient increase in plasma renin substrate levels and a fall in plasma renin concentration. Unilateral nephrectomy in normotensive controls suppressed plasma renin activity and concentration for a 20-day period. Similar suppression occurred during the onset of hypertension in rabbits subjected to the wrap-nephrectomy procedure. Decapsulation accompanied by a fall in blood pressure again suppressed plasma renin activity and concentration. With bilateral wrapping, hypertension developed gradually without a change in renin levels. Decreased renin secretion during the evolution of perinephritis hypertension probably reflects a decreased renal excretory capacity for salt and water that overrides the renin-releasing effect of renal compression.
Genetic basis of Alzheimer's dementia: role of mtDNA mutations

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disorder associated to dementia in late adulthood. Amyloid precursor protein, presenilin 1 and presenilin 2 genes have been identified as causative genes for familial AD, whereas apolipoprotein E ɛ4 allele has been associated to the risk for late onset AD. However, mutations on these genes do not explain the majority of cases. Mitochondrial respiratory chain (MRC) impairment has been detected in brain, muscle, fibroblasts and platelets of Alzheimer's patients, indicating a possible involvement of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in the aetiology of the disease. Several reports have identified mtDNA mutations in Alzheimer's patients, suggesting the existence of related causal factors probably of mtDNA origin, thus pointing to the involvement of mtDNA in the risk contributing to dementia, but there is no consensual opinion in finding the cause for impairment. However, mtDNA mutations might modify age of onset, contributing to the neurodegenerative process, probably due to an impairment of MRC and/or translation mechanisms.
Similarities and Differences Between Warped Linear Prediction and Laguerre Linear Prediction

Linear prediction has been successfully applied in many speech and audio processing systems. This paper presents the similarities and differences between two classes of linear prediction schemes, namely, Warped Linear Prediction (WLP) and Laguerre Linear Prediction (LLP). It is shown that both systems are closely related. In particular, we show that the LLP is in fact a WLP system where the optimization procedure is adapted such that the whitening property is automatically incorporated. The adaptation consists of a new linear constraint on the parameters. Furthermore, we show that an optimized WLP scheme where whitening is achieved by prefiltering before estimating the optimal coefficients results in a filter having all except the last reflection coefficient equal to those of the optimal LLP filter.
Concentration of Dilute Industrial Wastes by Direct Osmosis

The purpose of this research was to study the feasibility of using direct osmosis with sea water to concentrate dilute industrial wastes. several continuous flow laboratory size osmosis units were designed, constructed, and operated successfully. Dilute waste solutions were concentrated by direct osmosis using simulated sea water on the other side of the membrane. With the reverse osmosis membranes currently available, permeation rates were much lower than expected based upon their reported reverse osmosis rates. Another problem was that the diffusion rate of sodium chloride from the sea water to the waste solution and of the metallic ions from the waste solution to the sea water. were greater than could be tolerated in most applications. This method of concentrating waste solutions does not appear to be practical until more selective high flux membranes than are cu r rently available are developed. This method would be feasible if a suitable membrane were available. Membrane development was not within the scope of thi s i nvestigation.
Total mortality after changes in leisure time physical activity in 50 year old men: 35 year follow-up of population based cohort

Objective To examine how change in level of physical activity after middle age influences mortality and to compare it with the effect of smoking cessation. Design Population based cohort study with follow-up over 35 years. Setting Municipality of Uppsala, Sweden. Participants 2205 men aged 50 in 1970-3 who were re-examined at ages 60, 70, 77, and 82 years. Main outcome measure Total (all cause) mortality. Results The absolute mortality rate was 27.1, 23.6, and 18.4 per 1000 person years in the groups with low, medium, and high physical activity, respectively. The relative rate reduction attributable to high physical activity was 32% for low and 22% for medium physical activity. Men who increased their physical activity level between the ages of 50 and 60 continued to have a higher mortality rate during the first five years of follow-up (adjusted hazard ratio 2.64, 95% confidence interval 1.32 to 5.27, compared with unchanged high physical activity). After 10 years of follow-up their increased physical activity was associated with reduced mortality to the level of men with unchanged high physical activity (1.10, 0.87 to 1.38). The reduction in mortality associated with increased physical activity (0.51, 0.26 to 0.97, compared with unchanged low physical activity) was similar to that associated with smoking cessation (0.64, 0.53 to 0.78, compared with continued smoking). Conclusions Increased physical activity in middle age is eventually followed by a reduction in mortality to the same level as seen among men with constantly high physical activity. This reduction is comparable with that associated with smoking cessation.
cAMP Response Element-Binding Protein Is Essential for the Upregulation of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Transcription, But Not the Behavioral or Endocrine Responses to Antidepressant Drugs

Antidepressant drugs activate the cAMP signal transduction pathway through a variety of monoamine neurotransmitter receptors. Recently, molecular studies have identified a role for cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) in the mechanism of action of chronically administered antidepressant drugs. However, the function of CREB in the behavioral and endocrine responses to these drugs has not been thoroughly investigated. We have used CREB-deficient mice to study the effects of two antidepressants, desipramine (DMI) and fluoxetine (FLX), in behavioral, endocrine, and molecular analyses. Behaviorally, CREB-deficient mice and wild-type mice respond similarly to DMI and FLX administration in the forced swim test and tail suspension test. Furthermore, the ability of DMI to suppress an acute corticosterone response after swim stress is maintained in CREB-deficient mice. However, upregulation of a molecular target of CREB, BDNF, is abolished in the CREB-deficient mice after chronic administration of DMI. These data are the first to demonstrate that CREB activation is upstream of BDNF mechanistically in response to antidepressant drug treatment. Therefore, although behavioral and endocrine responses to antidepressants may occur by CREB-independent mechanisms, CREB is critical to target gene regulation after chronic drug administration, which may contribute to long-term adaptations of the system to antidepressant drug treatment.
Modeling and Forecasting Influenza-like Illness (ILI) in Houston, Texas Using Three Surveillance Data Capture Mechanisms

Objective The objective was to forecast and validate prediction estimates of influenza activity in Houston, TX using four years of historical influenza-like illness (ILI) from three surveillance data capture mechanisms. Background Using novel surveillance methods and historical data to estimate future trends of influenza-like illness can lead to early detection of influenza activity increases and decreases. Anticipating surges gives public health professionals more time to prepare and increase prevention efforts. Methods Data was obtained from three surveillance systems, Flu Near You, ILINet, and hospital emergency center (EC) visits, with diverse data capture mechanisms. Autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models were fitted to data from each source for week 27 of 2012 through week 26 of 2016 and used to forecast influenza-like activity for the subsequent 10 weeks. Estimates were then compared to actual ILI percentages for the same period. Results Forecasted estimates had wide confidence intervals that crossed zero. The forecasted trend direction differed by data source, resulting in lack of consensus about future influenza activity. ILINet forecasted estimates and actual percentages had the least differences. ILINet performed best when forecasting influenza activity in Houston, TX. Conclusion Though the three forecasted estimates did not agree on the trend directions, and thus, were considered imprecise predictors of long-term ILI activity based on existing data, pooling predictions and careful interpretations may be helpful for short term intervention efforts. Further work is needed to improve forecast accuracy considering the promise forecasting holds for seasonal influenza prevention and control, and pandemic preparedness.
The increasing importance of quality measures for trainees.

Quality measurement is the “new normal” in gastroenterology. As we have argued, quality measurement presents a unique and valuable educational opportunity for our trainees. But to capitalize on this opportunity, and to train gastroenterologists who will thrive in our increasingly integrated, quality-oriented healthcare system, we need to engage trainees in formal educational programs on this topic. We also need to be thoughtful about not only the potential benefits, but also the potential harms of quality measurement. And as a profession, we need to be sure that we have a voice in defining and improving not only quality of care, but also the quality measures by which we are judged.
The RSL99 language for role-based separation of duty constraints

Separation of duty (SOD) is a fundamental technique for prevention of fraud and errors, known and practiced long before the existence of computers. It is discussed at several places in the literature, but there has been Iittle work on specifying SOD policies in a systematic way. This paper describes a framework for specifying separation of duty and conflict of interest policies in role-based systems. To specify these policies, we need an appropriate language. We propose an intuitive formal language which uses system functions and sets as its basic elements. The semantics for this language is defined by its translation to a restricted form of first order predicate logic. We show how previously identified SOD properties can be expressed in our language. Moreover, we show there are other significant SOD properties which have not been previously identified in the literature. Unlike much of the previous work, this paper deals with SOD in the presence of role hierarchies. Our work shows that there are many alternate formulations of even the simplest SOD properties, with varying degree of flexibility and assurance. Our language provides us a rigorous foundation for systematic study of SOD properties. *This work is partially supported by grants from the National Science Foundation and the National Security Agency at the Laboratory for Information Security Technology at George Mason University. All correspondence should be addressed to Ravi Sandhu, ISE Department, Mail Stop 4A4, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030, saudhuQisse.gmu.edu, wwv.list. gmu.edu. Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. To copy otherwise. to republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. RBAC ‘99 10199 Fairfax, VA, USA