Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The use of frequency modulation for television transmission

We have investigated the application of frequency modulation to television transmission. We have tested the possibility of improving the picture quality by using a receiver capable of taking full advantage of the capture effect. This procedure does not necessarily provide a distortionless signal. A ghost, characteristic of frequency modulation, is obtained under multipath propagation conditions. It is quite different from the ghost produced by amplitude modulation under similar conditions. By the use of de-emphasis, the effects of the frequency-modulation ghost can be reduced but not removed. A wider bandwidth system can give a better reduction of the interference. The question of whether the ghost obtained with frequency modulation is less objectionable than that obtained with amplitude modulation is a subjective one and is difficult to answer.
On the algebraic K-theory of some homogeneous varieties

In this paper the K-theory of the inner twisted forms of the homogeneous varieties G/H with the connected reductive algebraic groups H ⊂ G of the same rank is computed. We provide an explicit isomorphism with the K-theory of certain central simple algebras associated to the considered variety, as a consequence one has that K0(G/H) is a free abelian group of rank [W (G) : W (H)]. The result is used for computing the K-theory of some affine homogeneous varieties including the octonionic projective plane and the quaternionic projective spaces.
A novel approach in the assessment of polymeric film formation and film adhesion on different pharmaceutical solid substrates

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the nature of film formation on tablets with different compositions, using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), and to measure film adhesion via the application of a novel “magnet probe test”. Three excipients, microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), spray-dried lactose monohydrate, and dibasic calcium phosphate dihydrate, were individually blended with 0.5% magnesium stearate, as a lubricant, and 2.5% tetracycline HCl, as a fluorescent marker, and were compressed using a Carver press. Tablets were coated with a solution consisting of 7% hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) phthalate (HP-55), and 0.5% cetyl alcohl in acetone and isopropanol (11:9). The nature of polymer interaction with the tablets and coating was evaluated using CLSM and a designed magnet probe test. CLSM images clearly showed coating efficiency, thickness, and uniformity of film formation, and the extent of drug migration into the film at the coating interfaces of tablets. Among the excipients, MCC demonstrated the best interface for both film formation and uniformity in thickness relative to lactose monohydrate and dibasic calcium phosphate dihydrate. The detachment force of the coating layers from the tablet surfaces, as measured with the developed magnet probe test, was in the order of MCC>lactose monohydrate>dibasic calcium phosphate dihydrate. It was also shown that the designed magnet probe test provides reliable and reproducible results when used for measurement of film adhesion and bonding strength.
Spaceflight Affects Postnatal Development of the Aortic Wall in Rats

We investigated effect of microgravity environment during spaceflight on postnatal development of the rheological properties of the aorta in rats. The neonate rats were randomly divided at 7 days of age into the spaceflight, asynchronous ground control, and vivarium control groups (8 pups for one dam). The spaceflight group rats at 9 days of age were exposed to microgravity environment for 16 days. A longitudinal wall strip of the proximal descending thoracic aorta was subjected to stress-strain and stress-relaxation tests. Wall tensile force was significantly smaller in the spaceflight group than in the two control groups, whereas there were no significant differences in wall stress or incremental elastic modulus at each strain among the three groups. Wall thickness and number of smooth muscle fibers were significantly smaller in the spaceflight group than in the two control groups, but there were no significant differences in amounts of either the elastin or collagen fibers among the three groups. The decreased thickness was mainly caused by the decreased number of smooth muscle cells. Plastic deformation was observed only in the spaceflight group in the stress-strain test. A microgravity environment during spaceflight could affect postnatal development of the morphological and rheological properties of the aorta.
A Reinforcement Learning Approach for Product Delivery by Multiple Vehicles

Real-time delivery of products in the context of stochastic demands and multiple vehicles is a difficult problem, as it requires the joint investigation of the problems in inventory control and vehicle routing. We model this problem in the framework of Average-reward Reinforcement Learning (ARL) and present experimental results on a modelbased ARL algorithm called H-Learning with piecewise linear function approximation. We also show that a version of hill climbing yields at least as good performance as exhaustive search with an order of magnitude speedup in execution time.
The NF1 gene revisited – from bench to bedside

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is a relatively common tumour predisposition syndrome related to germline aberrations of NF1, a tumour suppressor gene. The gene product neurofibromin is a negative regulator of the Ras cellular proliferation pathway, and also exerts tumour suppression via other mechanisms. Recent next-generation sequencing projects have revealed somatic NF1 aberrations in various sporadic tumours. NF1 plays a critical role in a wide range of tumours. NF1 alterations appear to be associated with resistance to therapy and adverse outcomes in several tumour types. Identification of a patient's germline or somatic NF1 aberrations can be challenging, as NF1 is one of the largest human genes, with a myriad of possible mutations. Epigenetic factors may also contribute to inadequate levels of neurofibromin in cancer cells. Clinical trials of NF1-based therapeutic approaches are currently limited. Preclinical studies on neurofibromin-deficient malignancies have mainly been on malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumour cell lines or xenografts derived from NF1 patients. However, the emerging recognition of the role of NF1 in sporadic cancers may lead to the development of NF1-based treatments for other tumour types. Improved understanding of the implications of NF1 aberrations is critical for the development of novel therapeutic strategies.
Mean Shift: A Method for Measurement Matrix of Compressive Sensing

In this work, we propose a mean shift based measurement matrix for compressive sensing and systematically investigate the possibility of constructing measurement matrix with mean shift of different chaotic sequences. With this matrix, we apply it in compressive sensing of digital images and compare the accuracy of reconstruction while using it to construct measurement matrices. The experimental results showed that mean shift based measurement matrix for compressive sensing can not only lead to visible PSNR improvements over state-of the-art method such as Gaussian random matrix method, but also preserve much better the image structures when compressed and generate good recovered visual quality.
Twenty-Five Years of Research in Structural and Mutation Testing

Research in software testing has been carried out for approximately forty years, but its importance has escalated very quickly in the last ten or fifteen years. In particular, structural and mutation testing are techniques which havereceived a large amount of investment in both academia and software development industry. In this paper, we draw a historical perspective on how they appeared and how they evolved. In particular, the main contributions on structural and mutation testing from two Brazilian researching groups -- ICMC-USP and FEEC-UNICAMP -- are described. We highlight the workproduced and published in these twenty-five years in the Brazilian Symposium on Software Engineering and elsewhere, as well its impact in the community of software testing.
A novel palm-shape breast deformation robot for MRI-guided biopsy

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) presents better performance in breast imaging compared to computed tomography or ultrasound, however, its image quality critically depends on the stabilization of breast tissues during interventions. Conventionally, 2D compression plates for immobilization have been used by various researchers, however, not only do these plates cause anatomical distortion and patient discomfort, but it is difficult to advance the biopsy gun to certain area of the breast due to rigid immobilization. In this paper, we present a mechanism and initial result of a new breast deformation device for MRI-guided breast biopsy. This mechanism can immobilize the breast as well as actively deform the tissue into a desired configuration. The mechanism has multiple degrees-of-freedom actuated by a piezoelectric motor and multiple pneumatic bladders. The developed system, which is MRI-compatible, can be used and actuated inside the magnetic bore with the help of MR images. Preliminary experimental results are presented to verify the performance of the device.
EVOLUTION UNDER RELAXED SEXUAL CONFLICT IN THE BULB MITE RHIZOGLYPHUS ROBINI

Abstract The experimental evolution under different levels of sexual conflict have been used to demonstrate antagonistic coevolution in muscids, but among other taxa a similar approach has not been employed. Here, we describe the results of 37 generations of evolution under either experimentally enforced monogamy or polygamy in the bulb mite Rhizoglyphus robini. Three replicates were maintained for each treatment. Monogamy makes male and female interests congruent; thus selection is expected to decrease harmfulness of males to their partners. Our results were consistent with this prediction in that females from monogamous lines achieved lower fecundity when housed with males from polygamous lines. Fecundity of polygamous females was not affected by mating system under which their partners evolved, which suggests that they were more resistant to male-induced harm. As predicted by the antagonistic coevolution hypothesis, the decrease in harmfulness of monogamous males was accompanied by a decline in reproductive competitiveness. In contrast, female fecundity and embryonic viability, which were not expected to be correlated with male harmfulness, did not differ between monogamous and polygamous lines. None of the fitness components assayed differed between individuals obtained from crosses between parents from the same line and those obtained from crosses between parents from different lines within the same mating system. This indicates that inbreeding depression did not confound our results. However, interpretation of our results is complicated by the fact that both males and females from monogamous lines evolved smaller body size compared to individuals from polygamous lines. Although a decrease in reproductive performance of males from monogamous lines was still significant when body size was taken into account, we were not able to separate the effects of male body size and mating system in their influence on fecundity of their female partners.
Zooplankton diversity across three Red Sea reefs using pyrosequencing

Coral reefs are considered among the most diverse ecosystems on Earth, yet little is known about the diversity of plankton in the surrounding water column. Moreover, few studies have utilised genomic methods to investigate zooplankton diversity in any habitat. This study investigated the diversity of taxa by sampling 45 stations around three reef systems in the central/southern Red Sea. The diversity of metazoan plankton was investigated by targeting the 18S rRNA gene and clustering OTUs at 97% sequence similarity. A total of 754 and 854 metazoan OTUs were observed in the data set for the 1380F and 1389F primer sets respectively. The phylum Arthropoda dominated both primer sets accounting for ~60% of reads followed by Cnidaria (~ 20%). Only about 20% of OTUs were shared between all three reef systems and the relation between geographic distance and Jaccard Similarity measures was not significant. Cluster analysis showed that there was no distinct split between reefs and stations from different reefs clustered together both for metazoans as a whole and for the phyla Arthropoda, Cnidaria and Chordata separately. This suggests that distance may not be a determining factor in the taxonomic composition of stations.
Transnational familial strategies, social reproduction, and migration: Chinese immigrant women professionals in Canada

ABSTRACT This paper fills a lacuna in the literature on gender, work, and migration by exploring the migration experience and familial arrangements of middle-class Mainland Chinese migrant women who were professionals in their home country. Informed by theoretical debates on social reproduction, and transnational migration frameworks, it explores how transnational migration is shaped by intersectional gender, race/ethnicity, and class processes, and demonstrates how these Chinese immigrant women utilized transnational familial arrangements as strategies for social reproduction. In doing so, the Mainland Chinese immigrant women professionals provide what they perceive as better opportunities for themselves and for their families. Our research starts with Chinese immigrant women’s individual articulations of their own migration trajectories, we then go further to examine how the women’s transmigration strategies are embedded in the context of the changing social, economic, political, and cultural processes in China and in Canada. In this paper, Mainland Chinese immigrant women’s motivations for immigrating to Canada; how migration shapes their experiences in Canada; as well as their transnational strategies for social reproduction are explored.
Identification of a New Exon in the Myelin Proteolipid Protein Gene Encoding Novel Protein Isoforms That Are Restricted to the Somata of Oligodendrocytes and Neurons

The myelin proteolipid protein (PLP) gene (i.e., the PLP/DM20 gene) has been of some interest because of its role in certain human demyelinating diseases, such as Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease. A substantial amount of evidence, including neuronal pathology in knock-out and transgenic animals, suggests the gene also has functions unrelated to myelin structure, but the products of the gene responsible for these putative functions have not yet been identified. Here we report the identification of a new exon of the PLP/DM20 gene and at least two new products of the gene that contain this exon. The new exon, located between exons 1 and 2, is spliced into PLP and DM20 mRNAs creating a new translation initiation site that generates PLP and DM20 proteins with a 12 amino acid leader sequence. This leader sequence appears to target these proteins to a different cellular compartment within the cell bodies of oligodendrocytes and away from the myelin membranes. Furthermore, these new products are also expressed in a number of neuronal populations within the postnatal mouse brain, including the cerebellum, hippocampus, and olfactory system. We term these products somal-restricted PLP and DM20 proteins to distinguish them from the classic PLP and DM20 proteolipids. They represent putative candidates for some of the nonmyelin-related functions of the PLP/DM20 gene.
RKIP Suppresses Breast Cancer Metastasis to the Bone by Regulating Stroma-Associated Genes

In the past decade cancer research has recognized the importance of tumorstroma interactions for the progression of primary tumors to an aggressive and invasive phenotype and for colonization of new organs in the context of metastasis. The dialogue between tumor cells and the surrounding stroma is a complex and dynamic phenomenon, as many cell types and soluble factors are involved. While the function of many of the players involved in this cross talk have been studied, the regulatory mechanisms and signaling pathways that control their expression haven't been investigated in depth. By using a novel, interdisciplinary approach applied to the mechanism of action of the metastasis suppressor, Raf kinase inhibitory protein (RKIP), we identified a signaling pathway that suppresses invasion and metastasis through regulation of stroma-associated genes. Conceptually, the approach we developed uses a master regulator and expression arrays from breast cancer patients to formulate hypotheses based on clinical data. Experimental validation is followed by further bioinformatic analysis to establish the clinical significance of discoveries. Using RKIP as an example we show here that this multi-step approach can be used to identify gene regulatory mechanisms that affect tumor-stroma interactions that in turn influence metastasis to the bone or other organs.
American Economic Association A Multinomial-Choice Model of Neighborhood Effects

A Multinomial-Choice Model of Neighborhood Effects Author(s): William A. Brock and Steven N. Durlauf Source: The American Economic Review, Vol. 92, No. 2, Papers and Proceedings of the One Hundred Fourteenth Annual Meeting of the American Economic Association (May, 2002), pp. 298-303 Published by: American Economic Association Stable URL: http://www.jstor. org/stable/3083420 . Accessed: 10/09/2014 15:26
LUCAS: latency-adaptive unified cluster assignment and instruction scheduling

Clustered VLIW architectures are statically scheduled wide-issue architectures that combine the advantages of wide-issue processors along with the power and frequency scalability of clustered designs. Being statically scheduled, they require that the decision of mapping instructions to clusters be done by the compiler. State-of-the-art code generation for such architectures combines cluster-assignment and instruction scheduling in a single unified pass. The performance of the generated code, however, is very susceptible to the inter-cluster communication latency. This is due to the nature of the two clustering heuristics used. One is aggressive and works well for low inter-cluster latencies, while the other is more conservative and works well only for high latencies. In this paper we propose LUCAS, a novel unified cluster-assignment and instruction-scheduling algorithm that adapts to the inter-cluster latency better than the existing state-of-the-art schemes. LUCAS is a hybrid scheme that performs fine-grain switching between the two state-of-the art clustering heuristics, leading to better scheduling than either of them. It generates better performing code for a wide range of inter-cluster latency values.
Towards the identification of players' profiles using game's data analysis based on regression model and clustering

Personalization of serious games is an important factor for motivating and engaging players. It requires the identification of players' profiles through the analysis of large volume of data including game data. This research study aims at identifying relevant data from an online serious game and the appropriate data mining methods for deduction of players' profiles. Multiple linear regression is applied to analyze the influence of player's characteristics on his performance. Moreover, clustering technique is used, in particular K-means, to extract players' clusters and to identify their common characteristics. The regression models showed that the number of access to the game, completed quests and advantages used contribute significantly to the scores and the gaming duration, while the clustering revealed three forms of players' participation: beginner, intermediate and advanced; who interact with the game according to their experiences.
Expression of N-acetyltransferases in Periodontal Granulation Tissue

Smoking is a major risk of periodontal diseases. At the site of first contact, the gingiva is exposed to aromatic amines and polycyclic hydrocarbons. These are metabolized by the N-acetyltransferases (NAT), leading to local detoxification and/or activation reactions contributing to the risk of periodontal destruction in smokers. The purpose of this study was to detect the expression of N-acetyltransferase isoenzymes NAT1 and NAT2 in periodontal granulation tissue. In 24 specimens obtained from periodontitis patients or control subjects, mRNA encoding for NAT1 and NAT2 was detected by RT-PCR, and proteins were identified by immunohistochemistry. In periodontal granulation tissues, immunoreactivity for NAT1 and NAT2 was detected in infiltrating leukocytes and fibroblasts. In normal gingiva, both enzymes were found in epithelial cells, whereas NAT1 was also detected in endothelial cells. The results suggest that these enzymes may play a role in the defense against xenobiotics and the accelerated progression of periodontal disease in smokers.
Semantic integrity in a relational data base system

As a model of some aspect(s) of the real world, the data in a data base must be accurate. In the context of a relational data base system, a facility to allow the expression and enforcement of a set of semantic integrity constraints is discussed. Semantic integrity constraints may describe properties of and relationships between data objects (in a relational data base) that are to hold (state snapshot constraints). Constraints may also place limitations on permissible data base operations (state transition constraints). A second type of semantic integrity information that is important in the context of a relational data base system is the precise description of domains (viewed as sets of atomic data objects), and the specification of their use as underlying domains of columns of relations in a data base. High-level nonprocedural languages to facilitate the expression of these two types of semantic integrity information are introduced and examples are presented.
Learning Arm/Hand Coordination with an Altered Visual Input

The focus of this study was to test a novel tool for the analysis of motor coordination with an altered visual input. The altered visual input was created using special glasses that presented the view as recorded by a video camera placed at various positions around the subject. The camera was positioned at a frontal (F), lateral (L), or top (T) position with respect to the subject. We studied the differences between the arm-end (wrist) trajectories while grasping an object between altered vision (F, L, and T conditions) and normal vision (N) in ten subjects. The outcome measures from the analysis were the trajectory errors, the movement parameters, and the time of execution. We found substantial trajectory errors and an increased execution time at the baseline of the study. We also found that trajectory errors decreased in all conditions after three days of practice with the altered vision in the F condition only for 20 minutes per day, suggesting that recalibration of the visual systems occurred relatively quickly. These results indicate that this recalibration occurs via movement training in an altered condition. The results also suggest that recalibration is more difficult to achieve for altered vision in the F and L conditions compared to the T condition. This study has direct implications on the design of new rehabilitation systems.