Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Experimental observation of the asymmetric instability of intermediate-reduced-volume vesicles in extensional flow.

Vesicles provide an attractive model system to understand the deformation of living cells in response to mechanical forces. These simple, enclosed lipid bilayer membranes are suitable for complementary theoretical, numerical, and experimental analysis. A recent study [Narsimhan, Spann, Shaqfeh, J. Fluid Mech. , 2014, 750, 144] predicted that intermediate-aspect-ratio vesicles extend asymmetrically in extensional flow. Upon infinitesimal perturbation to the vesicle shape, the vesicle stretches into an asymmetric dumbbell with a cylindrical thread separating the two ends. While the symmetric stretching of high-aspect-ratio vesicles in extensional flow has been observed and characterized [Kantsler, Segre, Steinberg, Phys. Rev. Lett. , 2008, 101, 048101] as well as recapitulated in numerical simulations by Narsimhan et al., experimental observation of the asymmetric stretching has not been reported. In this work, we present results from microfluidic cross-slot experiments observing this instability, along with careful characterization of the flow field, vesicle shape, and vesicle bending modulus. The onset of this shape transition depends on two non-dimensional parameters: reduced volume (a measure of vesicle asphericity) and capillary number (ratio of viscous to bending forces). We observed that every intermediate-reduced-volume vesicle that extends forms a dumbbell shape that is indeed asymmetric. For the subset of the intermediate-reduced-volume regime we could capture experimentally, we present an experimental phase diagram for asymmetric vesicle stretching that is consistent with the predictions of Narsimhan et al.
Absence of Detectable XMRV and Other MLV-Related Viruses in Healthy Blood Donors in the United States

Background Preliminary studies in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) patients and XMRV infected animals demonstrated plasma viremia and infection of blood cells with XMRV, indicating the potential risk for transfusion transmission. XMRV and MLV-related virus gene sequences have also been detected in 4–6% of healthy individuals including blood donors in the U.S. These results imply that millions of persons in the U.S. may be carrying the nucleic acid sequences of XMRV and/or MLV-related viruses, which is a serious public health and blood safety concern. Methodology/Principal Findings To gain evidence of XMRV or MLV-related virus infection in the U.S. blood donors, 110 plasma samples and 71 PBMC samples from blood donors at the NIH blood bank were screened for XMRV and MLV-related virus infection. We employed highly sensitive assays, including nested PCR and real-time PCR, as well as co-culture of plasma with highly sensitive indicator DERSE cells. Using these assays, none of the samples were positive for XMRV or MLV-related virus. Conclusions/Significance Our results are consistent with those from several other studies, and demonstrate the absence of XMRV or MLV-related viruses in the U.S. blood donors that we studied.
Plano de negócios: KeepIt

IX Sumário Executivo . X CAPÍTULO I . 1 1. Introdução . 1 1.1 Objetivos do Plano . 2 1.2 Breve apresentação do Projeto e Identificação dos Promotores . 3 CAPÍTULO II . 4 2. Revisão de Literatura . 4 2.1 Desenvolvimento de Novos Produtos . 4 2.1.1 O Processo de Desenvolvimento de Novos Produtos . 8 2.2 Spin-offs . 9 2.2.1 Caracterização da Tecnologia . 12 2.3 Empreendedorismo Social. 12 2.4 Eletrificação Remota em África . 16 CAPÍTULO III . 18 3. Metodologia e Objetivos . 18 3.1 Questão de Investigação . 18 3.2 Objetivos de Investigação . 20 3.3 Metodologia . 21 3.4 Métodos . 23 CAPÍTULO IV . 25 4. Descrição do Novo Negócio . 25 4.1 Identificação da Oportunidade de Negócio . 25 Plano de Negócios: KeepIt III 4.2 Apresentação da Tecnologia . 27 4.3 Apresentação da Proposta de Valor. 28 CAPÍTULO V . 31 5. Análise Externa . 31 5.1 Análise PEST . 31 5.2 Caracterização do setor . 34 5.3 Análise da Indústria . 37 5.3.1 Mapa da Indústria . 38 5.3.2 Caracterização da Estrutura e Ciclo de vida da Indústria . 38 5.4 Análise da Concorrência . 39 5.5 5 Forças de Porter . 41 5.6 Identificação das Oportunidades e Ameaças . 44 CAPÍTULO VI . 45 6. Análise Interna . 45 6.1 Estrutura Organizacional . 45 6.2 Identificação dos Pontes Fortes e Fracos . 48 CAPÍTULO VII . 49 7. Vantagens Competitivas . 49 7.1 Matriz de produtos e mercados de Ansoff . 49 7.2 Análise SWOT Sistémica . 50 CAPÍTULO VIII . 51 8. Estratégia de Desenvolvimento . 51 8.1 Formulação Estratégica . 52 8.2 Visão, Missão e Valores . 53 8.2.1 Visão . 53 8.2.2 Missão . 53 8.2.3 Valores . 53 8.3 Fatores críticos de sucesso da KeepIt, Lda . 54 8.4 Capacidades, Recursos e Competências estratégicas . 54 Plano de Negócios: KeepIt IV 8.5 Objetivos e SMART . 55 8.5.1 Objetivos . 55 8.5.2 SMART . 56 CAPÍTULO IX . 57 9. Políticas de Implementação. 57 9.1 Produto . 57 9.2 Preço . 58 9.2.1 Estratégia de Preço . 58 9.2.2 Política de Preço . 58 9.3 Distribuição . 60 9.4 Comunicação . 61 CAPÍTULO X . 62 10. Processo de Implementação . 62 10.1 Plano de Operações . 65 10.2 Requisitos de Implementação . 66 CAPÍTULO XI . 68 11. Planeamento Financeiro . 68 11.1 Pressupostos Gerais . 68 11.2 Volume de Negócios . 71 11.3 CMV e Fornecimentos e Serviços Externos . 72 11.4 Investimento em Fundo de Maneio . 74 11.5 Mapa de Cash-Flow Operacional . 75 11.6 Avaliação Económica do Projeto . 76 11.7 Análise do Break-Even Point .
LESSONS LEARNED FROM ASSESSING A SUCCESS

This paper is a case study of a business application development. The system was developed after a tender process and based on a standard application. Management considered the system almost perfect: It was developed on schedule and within budget, and it improved business. In order to learn from the success, we conducted an assessment and identified an unusual requirement approach which in a systematic way specified functionality without designing the user interface. We also identified three system problems that management believed were due to user resistance: (1) An important system goal was not supported by the system, although the goal was written in the requirements. (2) There was a specific usability problem in part of the system. (3) There were performance problems for certain large data sets. The problems could be traced to deficiencies in the requirement specification, combined with insufficient quality assurance during development. In the paper we show the strong sides of the requirement approach, and we suggest how it could be further improved to prevent the three problems in a systematic and cost-effective fashion. A central part of the suggestion is a systematic way to trace system goals to requirements.
The role of cytokines in inflammatory bone loss

Chronic inflammatory processes close to bone often lead to loss of bone in diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, periodontitis, loosened joint prosthesis and tooth implants. This is mainly due to local formation of bone resorbing osteoclasts which degrade bone without any subsequent coupling to new bone formation. Crucial for osteoclastogenesis is stimulation of mononuclear osteoclast progenitors by macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) and receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL) which induces their differentiation along the osteoclastic lineage and the fusion to mature, multinucleated osteoclasts. M-CSF and RANKL are produced by osteoblasts/osteocytes and by synovial and periodontal fibroblasts and the expression is regulated by pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines. These cytokines also regulate osteoclastic differentiation by direct effects on the progenitor cells. In the present overview, we introduce the basic concepts of osteoclast progenitor cell differentiation and summarize the current knowledge on cytokines stimulating and inhibiting osteoclastogenesis by direct and indirect mechanisms.
Activated STAT regulates growth and induces competitive interactions independently of Myc, Yorkie, Wingless and ribosome biogenesis

Cell competition is a conserved mechanism that regulates organ size and shares properties with the early stages of cancer. In Drosophila, wing cells with increased Myc or with optimum ribosome function become supercompetitors that kill their wild-type neighbors (called losers) up to several cell diameters away. Here, we report that modulating STAT activity levels regulates competitor status. Cells lacking STAT become losers that are killed by neighboring wild-type cells. By contrast, cells with hyper-activated STAT become supercompetitors that kill losers located at a distance in a manner that is dependent on hid but independent of Myc, Yorkie, Wingless signaling, and of ribosome biogenesis. These results indicate that STAT, Wingless and Myc are major parallel regulators of cell competition, which may converge on signals that non-autonomously kill losers. As hyper-activated STATs are causal to tumorigenesis and stem cell niche occupancy, our results have therapeutic implications for cancer and regenerative medicine.
Double Deception: Ant-Mimicking Spiders Elude Both Visually- and Chemically-Oriented Predators

Biological mimicry is often multimodal, in that a mimic reinforces its resemblance to another organism via different kinds of signals that can be perceived by a specific target audience. In this paper we describe a novel scenario, in which a mimic deceives at least two distinct audiences, each of which relies primarily on a different sensory modality for decision-making. We have previously shown that Peckhamia picata, a myrmecomorphic spider that morphologically and behaviorally resembles the ant Camponotus nearcticus, experiences reduced predation by visually-oriented jumping spiders. Here we report that Peckhamia also faces reduced aggression from spider-hunting sphecid wasps as well as from its model ant, both of which use chemical cues to identify prey. We also report that Peckhamia does not chemically resemble its model ants, and that its total cuticular hydrocarbons are significantly lower than those of the ants and non-mimic spiders. Although further studies are needed to clarify the basis of Peckhamia's chemically-mediated protection, to our knowledge, such ‘double deception,’ in which a single organism sends misleading visual cues to one set of predators while chemically misleading another set, has not been reported; however, it is likely to be common among what have until now been considered purely visual mimics.
Quantum Genetic Algorithm-Based Parameter Estimation of PMSM Under Variable Speed Control Accounting for System Identifiability and VSI Nonlinearity

This paper proposes a multiparameter estimation scheme for permanent-magnet (PM) synchronous machines (PMSMs) under variable-speed control, of which the estimation model is full rank and has taken into account the estimation and compensation of voltage-source-inverter nonlinearity. During the proposed estimation, the PMSM will work under variable speed control, and two sets of machine data corresponding to two sets of different rotor speeds will be recorded and used for the calculation of the proposed estimation model. It shows that the proposed estimation model can be solved by using a conventional quantum genetic algorithm and can ensure the identifiability of all needed parameters owing to its inherent full rank feature. The performance test of the proposed estimation is then conducted on an interior PMSM, and it shows that parameters such as rotor PM flux linkage and winding resistance can be accurately estimated without the aid from nominal parameter values of PMSM. Therefore, the proposed method can be used for the condition monitoring of stator winding and rotor PMs.
A Framework for Controlling False Discovery Rates and Minimizing the Amount of Genotyping in the Search for Disease Mutations

Objectives: To develop a method for designing studies to find disease mutations that can achieve a set of goals with respect to proportions of false and true discoveries with the minimum amount of genotyping. Methods: Derivation of an analytical framework supplemented with simulation techniques. The approach is illustrated for a fine mapping study and a whole-genome linkage disequilibrium scan. Results: The use of multiple stages where earlier stages are characterized by very high false discovery rates (FDR) followed by an abrupt change to the required FDR in the final stage results in a 50–75% reduction in genotyping. The proportion of true discoveries is a much more important determinant of the genotyping burden than the FDR. Neither sample size nor controlling the false discoveries will present major problems in whole-genome LD scans but the amount of genotyping will be extremely large even if the study is completely designed to minimize genotyping. Conclusions: The proposed statistical framework presents a simple and flexible approach to determine the design parameters (e.g. sample size, p values at which tests need to be performed at each stage) that minimize the genotyping burden given a set of goals for the percentage of true and false discoveries.
The mechanisms of primordial germ cell determination during embryogenesis in molluscan species

Primordial germ cells (PGCs) are the first germ cells distinguishable from surrounding somatic cells during embryogenesis. In many animal species PGC specification is generally classified into two modes: preformation, in which PGCs are determined by maternally inherited components in early development, and epigenesis, in which PGCs arise from proximal somatic cells by inductive signal in late development. In this review we focused on the process of PGC formation in molluscan bivalves and gastropods and compared the PGC specification modes of these two classes. Several reports indicated that bivalves tend to adopt preformation, as maternally inherited germline-specific genes are transcribed in specific blastomeres differentiating into PGCs. In gastropods, maternal germline-specific genes are transcribed in mesodermal stem cells. PGCs seem to be epigenetically determined from mesodermal stem cells by inductive signals after the veliger larval stage, which indicates that PGC precursor cells not only generate germline tissues but also generate mesodermal somatic tissues. The common origin of germline and mesodermal somatic tissues is observed in the annelids Platyhelminthes and Cnidaria, and is considered to be an ancient mode of germ cell determination. We suggest that gastropods retain the ancient PGC specification mode, while bivalves switch their PGC specification mode to preformation.
Book Reviews: Industrial Parsing of Software Manuals

1. Industrial Parsing of Software Manuals: an Introduction. 2. Dependency-Based Parser Evaluation: a Study with a Software Manual Corpus. 3. Comparative Evaluation of Grammatical Annotation Models. 4. Using ALICE to Analyse a Software Manual Corpus. 5. Using the English Constraint Grammar Parser to Analyse a Software Manual Corpus. 6. Using the Link Parser of Sleator and Temperly to Analyse a Software Manual Corpus. 7. Using PRINCIPAR to Analyse a Software Manual Corpus. 8. Using the Robust Alvey Natural Language Toolkit to Analyse a Software Manual Corpus. 9. Using the SEXTANT Low-Level Parser to Analyse a Software Manual Corpus. 10. Using a Dependency Structure Parser without any Grammar Formalism to Analyse a Software Manual Corpus. 11. Using the TOSCA Analysis System to Analyse a Software Manual Corpus. Appendix I. 60 IPSM Test Utterances. Appendix II. Sample Parser Outputs. Appendix III. Collated References. Index.
Behavioral studies of the olivocochlear efferent system: learning to listen in noise.

BACKGROUND Olivocochlear (OC) neurons make up an efferent, descending auditory system that returns sound representations to the inner ear soon after they have entered the brain. Efferent inputs into the cochlea modulate outer hair cell activity to improve the neural encoding of auditory signals in background noise. Based on this physiological evidence, loss of efferent feedback is expected to degrade perception in noise. Attempts to confirm this prediction with long-term audiological assessments have met with mixed results. OBJECTIVE To isolate procedural factors that may diminish the demonstration of long-term OC deficits in listening tasks. DESIGN Operant conditioning procedures were used to train domestic cats to signal a change in the location of an auditory stimulus by responding on a lever. The smallest detectable change in location was measured by manipulating the distance between speakers under quiet conditions and in the presence of background noise. Functional consequences of efferent feedback were evaluated by comparing the sound localization thresholds of OC-lesioned cats with normal controls. RESULTS As predicted by the hypothesized function of OC feedback systems, the lesioned cats exhibited significantly elevated thresholds only when tested in background noise. This initially poor performance returned to normal values after long-term exposure to the testing procedure. CONCLUSIONS The results of our animal studies support the OC enhancement of sound localization behavior in background noise. Also, our behavioral observations suggest the acquisition of alternate listening strategies that allowed lesioned cats to minimize the functional consequences of their auditory deficits by attending more closely to remaining directional cues. These learned compensatory behaviors were encouraged by our present experimental design, which incorporated long-term training under consistent stimulus conditions. These findings point out the potential limitations of the highly routine audiological procedures that have been used to assess the impact of OC feedback on human hearing.
The Impact of Educational Materials on Collegiate Student-Athletes’ Knowledge of Sports Related Concussions

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of three different types of concussion education materials for collegiate athletes and to evaluate knowledge transfer. Three different types of educational materials were used to educate the athlete. The athlete completed a pretest, completed an educational module, and then completed a posttest. Two weeks later the athlete completed a retention test. A total of 51 subjects participated in the study. The subjects were evaluated on a pretest, posttest, and retention test. Data were analyzed based on an independent t-test to compare pretest scores between athletes who have been previously concussed and athletes who have not been previously concussed. There were no significant results. Data were analyzed based on a one-way ANOVA to compare posttest scores between educational groups as well as retention test scores between educational groups. There were no significant results found. Descriptive statistics and frequencies were used to analyze self-reported knowledge rating and whether or not the athlete had received previous concussion education material.
Acute care surgery and emergency general surgery: Addition by subtraction

INTRODUCTION The formation of Acute Care Surgery services leads to decreased time to treatment and improved outcomes for emergency general surgery (EGS) patients. However, minimal work has focused on the ideal care delivery system and team structure. We hypothesize that the implementation of a dedicated EGS team (separate from trauma and surgical critical care), with EGS-specific protocols and dedicated operating room (OR) time, will increase productivity and improve mortality. METHODS This is a retrospective review of financial and EGS registry data from fiscal year (FY) 12 to FY15. Data are from an academic, university-based EGS team composed of two acute care surgery attending surgeons, advanced practitioners (APs), residents, and a fellow. In FY12, processes were implemented to standardize paging of consults, patient sign-out with attending surgeons' and APs' participation, clinical/billing protocols, OR availability, and quality improvement. Outcomes included relative value units (RVUs), surgical case volume, charges/payments, and number of patient encounters. The secondary outcome was mortality. The &khgr;2 test was used to compare mortality, and p < 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS Total patient encounters increased from 6,723 in FY 12 to 9,238 in FY 15 (+37%). Relative value units increased from 18,422 in FY 12 to 25,314 in FY 15 (+37%). Charges increased by 76% and payments increased by 60% from FY 12 to FY 15. Charges per encounter increased from $461 in FY 12 to $591 in FY 15 (+28%) Additionally, both inpatient and surgical case loads increased. Mortality remained stable throughout the study period (FY 12, 4.5%; FY 13, 5.2%; FY 14, 5.3%; FY 15, 3.2%: p = 0.177). CONCLUSIONS Implementation of dedicated OR time, defined EGS team structure, practice protocols, and active attending surgeons'/APs' participation was temporally related to increased case volume, patients seen, and revenue, while mortality remained unchanged. Further study is necessary to establish the translatability of these data to other systems. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Economic/decision, level III.
Reward, Task Motivation, Creativity, and Teaching: Towards a Cross-Cultural Examination

Background Extrinsic incentives and constraints, such as the promise of a reward or the expectation of an evaluation, have long been used by educators to motivate students. Previous research has consistently found that expected reward consistently undermines intrinsic task motivation and creativity of products and performance in students of all ages. For a majority of learners, the promise of a reward made contingent on engagement in an open-ended task frequently serves to undermine intrinsic task motivation and qualitative aspects of performance, including creativity. Purpose The implications of these experimental findings for education in the U.S. and around the world are immense. Teachers contemplating the use of reward incentives must avoid them in situations where creativity is at stake. This article explores whether the motivational and performance processes triggered by the promise of a reward are a universal phenomenon or whether they are, at least in part, culturally-dependent. Research Design Five parallel studies in five separate nations focused on elementary school students who had been randomly assigned to experimental (constraint) and control (no constraint) conditions. The complexities of the relation between task motivation and performance outcomes are reviewed and cross-cultural implications are explored. Conclusions While there is no consensus on the impact of extrinsic constraints across cultures, there is no evidence to suggest that intrinsic motivation is anything but a powerful and positive driving force for students of all ages and backgrounds—teachers are best advised to work to increase the intrinsic motivation and creativity of their students on a case-by-case basis until we understand more.
Smooth Trade-Offs between Throughput and Delay in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

Throughput capacity in mobile ad hoc networks has been studied extensively under many different mobility models. However, most previous research assumes global mobility, and the results show that a constant per-node throughput can be achieved at the cost of very high delay. Thus, we are having a very big gap here, i.e., either low throughput and low delay in static networks or high throughput and high delay in mobile networks. In this paper, employing a practical restricted random mobility model, we try to fill this gap. Specifically, we assume that a network of unit area with n nodes is evenly divided into cells with an area of n -2α, each of which is further evenly divided into squares with an area of n-2β(0≤ α ≤ β ≤1/2). All nodes can only move inside the cell which they are initially distributed in, and at the beginning of each time slot, every node moves from its current square to a uniformly chosen point in a uniformly chosen adjacent square. By proposing a new multihop relay scheme, we present smooth trade-offs between throughput and delay by controlling nodes' mobility. We also consider a network of area nγ (0 ≤ γ ≤ 1) and find that network size does not affect the results obtained before.