Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evolvability metrics in adaptive operator selection

Evolvability metrics gauge the potential for fitness of an individual rather than fitness itself. They measure the local characteristics of the fitness landscape surrounding a solution. In adaptive operator selection the goal is to dynamically select from a given pool the operator to apply next during the search process. An important component of these adaptive schemes is credit assignment, whereby operators are rewarded according to their observed performance. This article brings the notion of evolvability to adaptive operator selection, by proposing an autonomous search algorithm that rewards operators according to their potential for fitness rather than their immediate fitness improvement. The approach is tested within an evolutionary algorithm framework featuring several mutation operators on binary strings. Three benchmark problems of increasing difficulty, Onemax, Royal Staircase and Multiple Knapsack are considered. Experiments reveal that evolvability metrics significantly improve the performance of adaptive operator selection, when compared against standard fitness improvement metrics.The main contribution is to effectively use fitness landscape metrics to guide a self-configuring algorithm.
Optimal solutions of multivariate coupling problems

Some necessary and some suucient conditions are established for the explicit construction and characterization of optimal solutions of multivariate transportation (coupling) problems. The proofs are based on ideas from duality theory and nonconvex optimization theory. Applications are given to multivariate optimal coupling problems w.r. t. minimaì p-type metrics, where fairly explicit and complete characterizations of optimal transportation plans (couplings) are obtained. The results are of interest even in the one-dimensional case. For the rst time an explicit criterion is given for the construction of optimal multivariate couplings for the Kantorovich metric`1 .
Caspase and calpain substrates: Roles in synaptic plasticity and cell death

Neurons are an unusual type of cell in that they send processes (axons and dendrites) over great distances. This elaborate morphology, together with their excitability, places neurons at risk for multiple insults. Recent studies have demonstrated that apoptotic and excitotoxic mechanisms not only contribute to neuronal death, but also to synaptic dysfunction and a breakdown in neural circuitry (see Mattson and Duan [1999] J. Neurosci. Res. 58:152–166, this issue). Proteases of the caspase and calpain families have been implicated in neurodegenerative processes, as their activation can be triggered by calcium influx and oxidative stress. Caspases and calpains are cysteine proteases that require proteolytic cleavage for activation. The substrates cleaved by caspases include cytoskeletal and associated proteins, kinases, members of the Bcl‐2 family of apoptosis‐related proteins, presenilins and amyloid precursor protein, and DNA‐modulating enzymes. Calpain substrates include cytoskeletal and associated proteins, kinases and phosphatases, membrane receptors and transporters, and steroid receptors. Many of the substrates of caspases and calpains are localized in pre‐ and/or postsynaptic compartments of neurons. Emerging data suggest that, in addition to their roles in neurodegenerative processes, caspases and calpains play important roles in modulating synaptic plasticity. The present article provides a review of the properties of the different caspases and calpains, their roles in cell death pathways, and the substrates upon which they act. Emerging data are considered that suggest key roles for these proteases in the regulation of synaptic plasticity. J. Neurosci. Res. 58:167–190, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Polyurethane/hydroxypropyl cellulose electrospun nanofiber mats as potential transdermal drug delivery system: characterization studies and in vitro assays

Abstract Donepezil hydrochloride containing polyurethane/hydroxypropyl cellulose (PU/HPC) nanofibers were prepared by the electrospinning for transdermal drug delivery. PU/HPC nanofibers were characterized with SEM, DSC, and Pascal mercury porosimetry. Drug–excipient interaction was studied by ATR-FTIR. In vitro release of PU/HPC nanofiber mat (10:2:1) exhibited Korsmeyer–Peppas release kinetics controlled by the diffusion of drug. In vitro permeation studies across skin resembling synthetic membrane demonstrated the flux of model drug. The in vitro cytotoxicity data obtained via MTT assay indicated that PU/HPC nanofiber mat could be well tolerated by the skin and the components was not irritant for the skin.
Design and characterization of fully integrated low frequency, low voltage 0.25μm CMOS clock generator circuit

When designing an integrated circuit, simulation should normally pass through 5 corner libraries. The ideal case is to have the simulation results showing the same performance for all the corner libraries. However, owing to the difference in specifications among libraries, there can be significant variations of one result over another per library. In this paper, a fully integrated CMOS RC Clock circuit topology design is presented. The circuit was designed to have minimal sensitivity to process corner library variations. The design can operate at a low voltage of 1.5V using the 0.25um library. Simulation shows the clock output frequency remains stable at 50 kHz for all process corner libraries with a maximum deviation of only 6%. An added feature of the circuit is the variation of the clock's duty cycle. The entire design is fitted in an area of 1.11um2.
Mitochondrial abnormalities in oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy

A family with oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy (OPMD) is described. Histological and histochemical studies of muscle biopsy showed nonspecific myopathic changes; no “ragged‐red” fibers were seen. Electron microscopy demonstrated bizarre large mitochondria with abnormal cristae, but no intranuclear inclusion bodies. Our findings are compatible with the possibility that OPMD is a heterogeneous syndrome, and may be a manifestation of mitochondrial myopathy.
Predicting the number of giant arcs expected in the next-generation wide-field surveys from space

In this paper we estimate the number of gravitational arcs detectable in a wide- field survey such as that which will be operated by the Euclid space mission, assuming aCDM cosmology. We use the publicly available code moka to obtain realistic deflection angle maps of mock gravitational lenses. The maps are processed by a ray- tracing code to estimate the strong lensing cross sections of each lens. Our procedure involves 1) the generation of a light-cone which is populated with lenses drawn from a theoretical mass-function; 2) the modeling of each single lens using a triaxial halo with a NFW (Navarro-Frenk-White) density profile and theoretical concentration-mass relation, including substructures, 3) the determination of the lensing cross section as a function of redshift for each lens in the light-cone, 4) the simulation of mock observations to characterize the redshift distribution of sources that will be detectable in the Euclid images. We focus on the so-called giant arcs, i.e. gravitational arcs characterized by large length-to-width ratios (l/w > 5,7.5 and 10). We quantify the arc detectability at different significances above the level of the background. Performing 128 different realizations of a 15,000 sq. degree survey, we find that the number of arcs detectable at 1σ above the local background will be 8912 +79 73, 2914 +38 25, and 1275 +22 15 for l/w > 5, 7.5 and 10, respectively. The expected arc numbers decrease to 2409 +24 28 , 790 +10 12 , and 346 +6 6 for a detection limit at 3σ above the background level. From our analysis, we find that most of the lenses which contribute to the lensing optical depth are located at redshifts 0.4 3. This is the first step towards the full characterization of the population of strong lenses that will be observed by Euclid. Given these results, we conclude that Euclid is a powerful instrument for strong lensing related science, which will be useful for several applications, ranging from arc and Einstein ring statistics to the measurement of the matter content in the cluster cores.
Emerging Excitatory Role of Cardiovascular Sympathetic Afferents in Pathophysiological Conditions

There is sound experimental evidence that cardiovascular sympathetic afferent fibers mediate cardiovascular reflexes largely excitatory in nature with positive-feedback characteristics. This afferent neural channel is likely to normally participate in the neural regulation of cardiovascular function. The hypothesis, which is the core of this article, is that in some pathophysiological conditions, sympathetic overactivity may be partly due to an emerging excitatory reflex action of cardiovascular sympathetic afferents. In fact, the early phase of congestive heart failure can be characterized by an increase in arterial pressure and heart rate and/or by a diastolic dysfunction, leaving unchanged the cardiac output; in these conditions, in which no baroreceptor deactivation should occur, it is possible that cardiovascular sympathetic afferents with sensory endings in the thoracic low-pressure areas, highly responsive to volume loading, are responsible for mediating the reflex sympathetic excitation. Similarly, during acute myocardial infarction, ventricular sympathetic afferents are likely to mediate a reflex sympathetic overactivity, which is known to facilitate sudden death. Finally, numerous reports have described in essential arterial hypertension an increased sympathetic activity that may be due, at least in part, to the reinforcing action of sympathosympathetic reflexes. Thus, in pathophysiological conditions, cardiovascular sympathetic afferents would mediate a reflex sympathetic overactivity independently of baroreceptive mechanisms, and such an absence of a homeostatic purpose would provide a better rationale for some beneficial effects of therapeutic correction.
The drift table: designing for ludic engagement

The Drift Table is an electronic coffee table that displays slowly moving aerial photography controlled by the distribution of weight on its surface. It was designed to investigate our ideas about how technologies for the home could support ludic activities-that is, activities motivated by curiosity, exploration, and reflection rather than externally-defined tasks. The many design choices we made, for example to block or disguise utilitarian functionality, helped to articulate our emerging understanding of ludic design. Observations of the Drift Table being used in volunteers' homes over several weeks gave greater insight into how playful exploration is practically achieved and the issues involved in designing for ludic engagement.
Study of Dynamics of Land-Use in Bajiang Basin Based on the Data of TM and ETM+

Abstract: According to basic problems with the construction of environmental resource supported conditions of social-economic sustainable development in the source area of water of a karst plateau, the land use /land cover pattern of Bajiang Basin has been researched. Using RS & GIS technology as a basic platform, we, analyzed the changes in areas of land-use and the features of spatial variation with access by information technology, space analysis technology and statistics, then performed spatial overlay operations to the land-use maps of different periods. On the basis of the situation of conversion between different types of land-use, we established a transition probability matrix for different land-use types of the river basin, so as to make clear the main types and direction of land-use changes in the Bajiang Basin. Through these, the conclusions were that the main land use types were croplands and woodlands which accounted for more than 79% of the total land areas; croplands, woodlands, bare lands and grasslands were the land-use types which varied most significantly within the river basin in the last 10 years. While cropland , residential and industrial land, land used for roads and unused land showed a marked increase, woodlands went in the opposite direction. This reflects the fact that the urbanization progress of the watershed has been accelerated but the condition of the ecological environment has been worsened; the changes in different types of land use were mainly effected by human activities and local policy. A large number of bare gravel, rocky desertification areas had a tendency to decrease, but not obviously. Thu , a scientific plan for land use in karst areas, and exploration of new technology and methods for the management of degrading karst or rocky desertification areas, will play a major role both in improving the eco-environment and in economic development.
A new eigenspace subband beamformer for cancellation of broadband interferences using Subband Adaptive Filtering

At this paper a new broadband beamformer is presented that is realized in eigenspace. That is designed using generalized sidelobe canceller (GSC) structure, linearly constrained minimum variance (LCMV) algorithm, subband adaptive filtering (SAF) method, and uses effective eigenvalues of received data to cancel narrowband and broadband interferers that arrive to array systems through their antenna sidelobes. In nonstationary environments and in environments that number of input samples is low, the new eigenspace subband beamformer is better than sample matrix inversion (SMI) counterpart and gives higher array gain. Also, it requires fewer samples to reach to a given SNR at output. Thus, computational complexity of system is reduced. This design can be used for multipath fading effect mitigation in wireless communications, jamming cancellation in radar systems, interference signals elimination in noisy places such as stadiums, many reflection locations like conference rooms, and etc.
Isolation of Antibiotics Turbomycin A and B from a Metagenomic Library of Soil Microbial DNA

ABSTRACT To access the genetic and biochemical potential of soil microorganisms by culture-independent methods, a 24,546-member library in Escherichia coli with DNA extracted directly from soil had previously been constructed (M. R. Rondon, P. R. August, A. D. Bettermann, S. F. Brady, T. H. Grossman, M. R. Liles, K. A. Loiacono, B. A. Lynch, I. A. MacNeil, M. S. Osburne, J. Clardy, J. Handelsman, and R. M. Goodman, Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 66:2541-2547, 2000). Three clones, P57G4, P89C8, and P214D2, produced colonies with a dark brown melanin-like color. We fractionated the culture supernatant of P57G4 to identify the pigmented compound or compounds. Methanol extracts of the acid precipitate from the culture supernatant contained a red and an orange pigment. Structural analysis revealed that these were triaryl cations, designated turbomycin A and turbomycin B, respectively; both exhibited broad-spectrum antibiotic activity against gram-negative and gram-positive organisms. Mutagenesis, subcloning, and sequence analysis of the 25-kb insert in P57G4 demonstrated that a single open reading frame was necessary and sufficient to confer production of the brown, orange, and red pigments on E. coli; the predicted product of this sequence shares extensive sequence similarity with members of the 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (4HPPD) family of enzymes. Another member of the same family of genes, lly, which is required for production of the hemolytic pigment in Legionella pneumophila, also conferred production of turbomycin A and B on E. coli. We further demonstrated that turbomycin A and turbomycin B are produced from the interaction of indole, normally secreted by E. coli, with homogentisic acid synthesized by the 4HPPD gene products. The results demonstrate successful heterologous expression of DNA extracted directly from soil as a means to access previously uncharacterized small organic compounds, serving as an example of a chimeric pathway for the generation of novel chemical structures.
Precise Identification of a Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Antigen Processing Mutant

ABSTRACT Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) evokes a strong immune response, but the virus persists. Polymorphisms within known antigenic sites result in loss of immune recognition and can be positively selected. Amino acid variation outside known HLA class I restricted epitopes can also enable immune escape by interfering with the processing of the optimal peptide antigen. However, the lack of precise rules dictating epitope generation and the enormous genetic diversity of HIV make prediction of processing mutants very difficult. Polymorphism E169D in HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT) is significantly associated with HLA-B*0702 in HIV-1-infected individuals. This polymorphism does not map within a known HLA-B*0702 epitope; instead, it is located five residues downstream of a HLA-B*0702-restricted epitope SPAIFQSSM (SM9). Here we investigate the association between E169D and HLA-B*0702 for immune escape via the SM9 epitope. We show that this single amino acid variation prevents the immune recognition of the flanked SM9 epitope by cytotoxic T cells through lack of generation of the epitope, which is a result of aberrant proteasomal cleavage. The E169D polymorphism also maps within and abrogates the recognition of an HLA-A*03-restricted RT epitope MR9. This study highlights the potential for using known statistical associations as indicators for viral escape but also the complexity involved in interpreting the immunological consequences of amino acid changes in HIV sequences.
A Framework for Evaluating Safety-Net and other Community-Level Factors on Access for Low-Income Populations

The framework presented in this article extends the Andersen behavioral model of health services utilization research to examine the effects of contextual determinants of access. A conceptual framework is suggested for selecting and constructing contextual (or community-level) variables representing the social, economic, structural, and public policy environment that influence low-income people's use of medical care. Contextual variables capture the characteristics of the population that disproportionately relies on the health care safety net, the public policy support for low-income and safety-net populations, and the structure of the health care market and safety-net services within that market. Until recently, the literature in this area has been largely qualitative and descriptive and few multivariate studies comprehensively investigated the contextual determinants of access. The comprehensive and systematic approach suggested by the framework will enable researchers to strengthen the external validity of results by accounting for the influence of a consistent set of contextual factors across locations and populations. A subsequent article in this issue of Inquiry applies the framework to examine access to ambulatory care for low-income adults, both insured and uninsured.
Representability is not decidable for finite relation algebras

We prove that there is no algorithm that decides whether a finite relation algebra is representable. Representability of a finite relation algebra A is determined by playing a certain two player game G(A) over 'atomic A-networks'. It can be shown that the second player in this game has a winning strategy if and only if A is representable. Let be a finite set of square tiles, where each edge of each tile has a colour. Suppose includes a special tile whose four edges are all the same colour, a colour not used by any other tile. The tiling problem we use is this: is it the case that for each tile T 2 there is a tiling of the plane Z ◊ Z using only tiles from in which edge colours of adjacent tiles match and with T placed at (0,0)? It is not hard to show that this problem is undecidable. From an instance of this tiling problem we construct a finite relation algebra RA( ) and show that the second player has a winning strategy in G(RA( )) if and only if is a yes- instance. This reduces the tiling problem to the representation problem and proves the latter's undecidability.
Regulation of the distance between the center of mass and the minimum moment axis for stabilized locomotion in humans

This study aims at showing that, to ensure stability, humans tend to minimize the distance between their center of mass and the minimal moment axis of contact forces. This work is based on a theoretical reasoning in mechanics and on experiments in human walking movement. A destabilizing setup was built on which five different experiments were carried out by 15 volunteers. We computed the distance between the minimal moment axis of the contact forces and the center of mass of the participants. This distance significantly increased (p < 0.001, ranging from 55.1 mm to 150.9 mm) as subjects balance was perturbed through the five different conditions (walking on a destabilizing setup, increasing walking speed, grasping or not a fixed element). Furthermore, the analysis of each segment's position with regard to the studied axis shows that heaviest segments are kept close to it, while lightest segments are less constrained around it (p < 0.001, from 145.7 mm to 493.1 mm). This might reveal a strategy used to obtain a fine control of the center of mass distance from the axis and thus a good regulation of the variation of whole body angular momentum. Tracking this distance could be used for different purposes, such as fall detection, prosthesis studies and trajectory generation in humanoid robotics.
Electronic polarizability of light crude oil from optical and dielectric studies

In the present paper we report the temperature dependence of density, refractive indices and dielectric constant of three samples of crude oils. The API gravity number estimated from the temperature dependent density studies revealed that the three samples fall in the category of light oil. The measured data of refractive index and the density are used to evaluate the polarizability of these fluids. Molar refractive index and the molar volume are evaluated through Lorentz-Lorenz equation. The function of the refractive index, FRI, divided by the mass density ρ, is a constant approximately equal to one-third and is invariant with temperature for all the samples. The measured values of the dielectric constant decrease linearly with increasing temperature for all the samples. The dielectric constant estimated from the refractive index measurements using Lorentz-Lorentz equation agrees well with the measured values. The results are promising since all the three measured properties complement each other and offer a simple and reliable method for estimating crude oil properties, in the absence of sufficient data.
On the origin of X-shaped radio-sources: New insights from the properties of their host galaxies

A significant fraction of extended radio sources presents a peculiar X-shaped radio morphology: in addition to the classical double lobed structure, radio emission is also observed along a second axis of symmetry in the form of diffuse wings or tails. We re-examine the origin of these extensions relating the radio morphology to the properties of their host galaxies. The orientation of the wings shows a striking connection with the structure of the host galaxy as they are preferentially aligned with its minor axis. Furthermore, wings are only observed in galaxies of high projected ellipticity. Hydrodynamical simulations of the radio-source evolution show that X-shaped radio-sources naturally form in this geometrical situation: as a jet propagates in a non-spherical gas distribution, the cocoon surrounding the radio-jets expands laterally at a high rate producing wings of radio emission, in a way that is reminiscent of the twin-exhaust model for radio-sources.