Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modeling and validation of spectral BRDF on material surface of space target

The modeling and the validation methods of the spectral BRDF on the material surface of space target were presented. First, the microscopic characteristics of the space targets’ material surface were analyzed based on fiber-optic spectrometer using to measure the direction reflectivity of the typical materials surface. To determine the material surface of space target is isotropic, atomic force microscopy was used to measure the material surface structure of space target and obtain Gaussian distribution model of microscopic surface element height. Then, the spectral BRDF model based on that the characteristics of the material surface were isotropic and the surface micro-facet with the Gaussian distribution which we obtained was constructed. The model characterizes smooth and rough surface well for describing the material surface of the space target appropriately. Finally, a spectral BRDF measurement platform in a laboratory was set up, which contains tungsten halogen lamp lighting system, fiber optic spectrometer detection system and measuring mechanical systems with controlling the entire experimental measurement and collecting measurement data by computers automatically. Yellow thermal control material and solar cell were measured with the spectral BRDF, which showed the relationship between the reflection angle and BRDF values at three wavelengths in 380nm, 550nm, 780nm, and the difference between theoretical model values and the measured data was evaluated by relative RMS error. Data analysis shows that the relative RMS error is less than 6%, which verified the correctness of the spectral BRDF model.
Calculating Motion Fields from Images with Two Different Exposure Times

In this paper, we present an extension to optical flow for estimating dense 2D motion fields with occlusion information. While optical flow computa- tion is based on two consecutive short-exposure images, we make also use of an additional intermediate long-exposure image. This motion-blurred in- termediate image captures scene motion directly. We introduce an image formation model that relates the long-exposure image to both short-exposure images in terms of dense 2D motion and local occlusion/disocclusion. Based on this image formation model, we describe a practical algorithm that en- ables estimating the 2D motion field of occluding and occluded regions as well as determining the instant of occlusion. Results for synthetic and real scenes demonstrate the validity of the proposed approach.
Endotracheal intubation: friend or foe?

thing from the Biko affair" and in relation to treatment of injuries received during civil unrest whether "the deafening silence of South African doctors means that once again they are prepared to condone the excesses of the South African state. " His concern about the treatment of people injured during civil unrest is shared by many health professionals in South Africa. It would not be fair or appropriate to leave the impression that concern about this, and other issues relevant to the delivery of equitable and ethical medical care, has not been strongly voiced by doctors and medical faculties dedicated to providing medical care of the highest ethical standard despite restrictions imposed by abhorrent discriminatory policies. The appended incomplete list of references illustrates this. '5 S R BENATAR
Fractalkine/CX3CR1 signaling during neuropathic pain

Chronic pain represents a major problem in clinical medicine. Whilst the acute pain that is associated with tissue injury is a protective signal that serves to maintain homeostasis, chronic pain is a debilitating condition that persists long after the inciting stimulus subsides. Chronic neuropathic pain that develops following damage or disease of the nervous system is partially treated by current therapies, leaving scope for new therapies to improve treatment outcome. Peripheral nerve damage is associated with alterations to the sensory neuroaxis that promote maladaptive augmentation of nociceptive transmission. Thus, neuropathic pain patients exhibit exaggerated responses to noxious stimuli, as well as pain caused by stimuli which are normally non-painful. Increased nociceptive input from the periphery triggers physiological plasticity and long lasting transcriptional and post-translational changes in the CNS defined as central sensitization. Nerve injury induces gliosis which contributes to central sensitization and results in enhanced communication between neurons and microglial cells within the dorsal horn. Thus, identification of mechanisms regulating neuro-immune interactions that occur during neuropathic pain may provide future therapeutic targets. Specifically, chemokines and their receptors play a pivotal role in mediating neuro-immune communication which leads to increased nociception. In particular, the chemokine Fractalkine (FKN) and the CX3CR1 receptor have come to light as a key signaling pair during neuropathic pain states.
Fast neuromorphic sound localization for binaural hearing aids

We report on the neuromorphic sound localization circuit which can enhance the perceptual sensation in a hearing aid system. All elements are simple leaky integrate-and-fire neuron circuits with different parameters optimized to suppress the impacts of synaptic circuit noises. The detection range and resolution of the proposed neuromorphic circuit are 500 us and 5 us, respectively. Our results show that, the proposed technique can localize a sound pulse with extremely narrow duration (~ 1 ms) resulting in real-time response.
Activation of the bacterial thermosensor DesK involves a serine zipper dimerization motif that is modulated by bilayer thickness

Significance The ability to sense and respond to environmental signals is essential for cell survival. Unraveling the molecular mechanisms underlying signaling processes remains a challenge, however. Here we present a model for the mode of action of a bacterial thermosensor. The physical stimulus for activation appears to be a temperature-induced increase in membrane thickness, to which the sensor responds by elongation of its transmembrane helix. This leads to exposure of three serine residues on one side of the helix, inducing reorientation of adjacent helices to allow the formation of a serine zipper, which then acts as trigger for kinase activation. The reversible formation of a serine zipper represents a novel mechanism by which membrane-embedded sensors may detect and transmit signals. DesK is a bacterial thermosensor protein involved in maintaining membrane fluidity in response to changes in environmental temperature. Most likely, the protein is activated by changes in membrane thickness, but the molecular mechanism of sensing and signaling is still poorly understood. Here we aimed to elucidate the mode of action of DesK by studying the so-called “minimal sensor DesK” (MS-DesK), in which sensing and signaling are captured in a single transmembrane segment. This simplified version of the sensor allows investigation of membrane thickness-dependent protein–lipid interactions simply by using synthetic peptides, corresponding to the membrane-spanning parts of functional and nonfunctional mutants of MS-DesK incorporated in lipid bilayers with varying thicknesses. The lipid-dependent behavior of the peptides was investigated by circular dichroism, tryptophan fluorescence, and molecular modeling. These experiments were complemented with in vivo functional studies on MS-DesK mutants. Based on the results, we constructed a model that suggests a new mechanism for sensing in which the protein is present as a dimer and responds to an increase in bilayer thickness by membrane incorporation of a C-terminal hydrophilic motif. This results in exposure of three serines on the same side of the transmembrane helices of MS-DesK, triggering a switching of the dimerization interface to allow the formation of a serine zipper. The final result is activation of the kinase state of MS-DesK.
Modeling Microfibril Angle of Larch Using Linear Mixed-Effects Models

Earlywood microfibril angle (MFA) was determined at each growth ring from disks at breast height (1.3 m) from 6 dahurian larch (Larix gmelinii. Rupr.) trees grown in northeastern China. Significant variation in microfibril angle was observed among growth rings. MFA at breast height varied from 7.5°to 21.5°between growth rings and showed a descreasing trend from pith to bark for each tree. A second order polynomial equation with linear mixed-effects was used for modeling earlywood MFA. The LME procedure in S-Plus is used to fit the mixed-effects models for the MFA data. The results showed that the polynomial model with three random parameters could significantly improve the model performance. The fitted mixed-effects model was also evaluated using a separate dataset. The mixed model was found to predict MFA better than the original model fitted using ordinary least-squares based on absolute and relative errors.
Biologically Inspired Defenses Against Computer Viruses

Today's anti-virus technology, based largely on analysis of existing viruses by human experts, is just barely able to keep pace with the more than three new computer viruses that are written daily. In a few years, intelligent agents navigating through highly connected networks are likely to form an extremely fertile medium for a new breed of viruses. At IBM, we are developing novel, biologically inspired antivirus techniques designed to thwart both today's and tomorrow's viruses. Here we describe two of these: a neural network virus detector that learns to discriminate between infected and uninfected programs, and a computer immune system that identifies new viruses, analyzes them automatically, and uses the results of its analysis to detect and remove all copies of the virus that are present in the system. The neural-net technology has been incorporated into IBM's commercial anti-virus product; the computer immune system is in prototype.
MAGNETIZATION AND POLARIZATION PROFILE IN PML-TYPE MAGNETOELECTRIC MULTIFERROICS WITH CANTED SPIN SYSTEM

We calculate the profile of both magnetization and polarization of a PML-typemagnetoelectric multiferroics which allow the magnetization of sub-lattices to be canted. Thecalculation is started by deriving the Landau energy density and followed by solvingsimultaneously three equilibrium equations which respect to polarization, magnetization andcanting angle. It is predicted that magnetoelectricity give rise to a “bump” in polarization profile. It is also calculated that the application of a magnetic/an electric field will also influence thepolarization/magnetization of the material. Keywords: multiferroics, magnetization and polarisation
TrkB Agonist Antibody Pretreatment Enhances Neuronal Survival and Long-Term Sensory Motor Function Following Hypoxic Ischemic Injury in Neonatal Rats

Perinatal hypoxic ischemia (H-I) causes brain damage and long-term neurological impairments, leading to motor dysfunctions and cerebral palsy. Many studies have demonstrated that the TrkB-ERK1/2 signaling pathway plays a key role in mediating the protective effect of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) following perinatal H-I brain injury in experimental animals. In the present study, we explored the neuroprotective effects of the TrkB-specific agonist monoclonal antibody 29D7 on H-I brain injury in neonatal rats. First, we found that intracerebroventricular (icv) administration of 29D7 in normal P7 rats markedly increased the levels of phosphorylated ERK1/2 and phosphorylated AKT in neurons up to 24 h. Second, P7 rats received icv administration of 29D7 and subjected to H-I injury induced by unilateral carotid artery ligation and exposure to hypoxia (8% oxygen). We found that 29D7, to a similar extent to BDNF, significantly inhibited activation of caspase-3, a biochemical hallmark of apoptosis, following H-I injury. Third, we found that this 29D7-mediated neuroprotective action persisted at least up to 5 weeks post-H-I injury as assessed by brain tissue loss, implicating long-term neurotrophic effects rather than an acute delay of cell death. Moreover, the long-term neuroprotective effect of 29D7 was tightly correlated with sensorimotor functional recovery as assessed by a tape-removal test, while 29D7 did not significantly improve rotarod performance. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that pretreatment with the TrkB-selective agonist 29D7 significantly increases neuronal survival and behavioral recovery following neonatal hypoxic-ischemic brain injury.
Stiffness reductions during tensile fatigue testing of graphite/epoxy angle-ply laminates

The monitoring of modulus decay during fatigue testing as an indicator of damage accumulation and incipient failure has frequently been postulated. The present study was designed to generate tensile fatigue data under carefully controlled test conditions. A computerized data acquisition system was used to permit the measurement of dynamic modulus without interrupting the fatigue cycling. Two different 8-ply laminate configurations, viz, (+ or - 45)2s and (+ or - 67.5)2s, of a T300/5208 graphite/epoxy composite were tested. The (+ or 45)2s laminate did exhibit some modulus decay, although there was no well-defined correlation with applied stress level or number of cycles. The (+ or - 67.5)2s laminate did not exhibit any measurable modulus decay. Secondary effects observed included a slight recovery of the modulus decay after a test interruption, and a significant viscoelastic (creep) response of the (+ or - 45)2s laminate during fatigue testing.
Sensitivity of the oceanic carbon reservoir to tropical surface wind stress variations

The impact of variations of the Walker cell on the ocean carbon cycle is assessed using a coupled climate model. Idealized wind perturbations are investigated, with the trade winds increased/decreased by 10%, 20%, and 30%. A global‐mean reduction in oceanic carbon storage is found for increased equatorial easterlies, while moderately decreased trade winds give increased uptake. There is a nonlinear response to weakened tropical winds due to Pacific Ocean biological pump changes; with reduced nutrient upwelling resulting in decreased biological activity and remineralization in the deep ocean. This partially offsets the increased carbon uptake due to weaker trade winds. The overall change in net carbon storage reaches −26.2 PgC (12 ppm) in the 30% increase case and 4.2 PgC (−2 ppm) in the 20% decrease cases. Regional dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) changes reach −3.3 mmol m−3 (2.1 mmol m−3) in the 10% decrease (increase) case. Gradually increasing wind perturbations give a similar pattern of DIC response to the full equilibrated solution.
Structural and biochemical impact of C8-aryl-guanine adducts within the NarI recognition DNA sequence: influence of aryl ring size on targeted and semi-targeted mutagenicity

Chemical mutagens with an aromatic ring system may be enzymatically transformed to afford aryl radical species that preferentially react at the C8-site of 2′-deoxyguanosine (dG). The resulting carbon-linked C8-aryl-dG adduct possesses altered biophysical and genetic coding properties compared to the precursor nucleoside. Described herein are structural and in vitro mutagenicity studies of a series of fluorescent C8-aryl-dG analogues that differ in aryl ring size and are representative of authentic DNA adducts. These structural mimics have been inserted into a hotspot sequence for frameshift mutations, namely, the reiterated G3-position of the NarI sequence within 12mer (NarI(12)) and 22mer (NarI(22)) oligonucleotides. In the NarI(12) duplexes, the C8-aryl-dG adducts display a preference for adopting an anti-conformation opposite C, despite the strong syn preference of the free nucleoside. Using the NarI(22) sequence as a template for DNA synthesis in vitro, mutagenicity of the C8-aryl-dG adducts was assayed with representative high-fidelity replicative versus lesion bypass Y-family DNA polymerases, namely, Escherichia coli pol I Klenow fragment exo− (Kf−) and Sulfolobus solfataricus P2 DNA polymerase IV (Dpo4). Our experiments provide a basis for a model involving a two-base slippage and subsequent realignment process to relate the miscoding properties of C-linked C8-aryl-dG adducts with their chemical structures.
Pragmatic Nonblocking Synchronization for Real-Time Systems

We present a pragmatic methodology for designing nonblocking real-time systems. Our methodology uses a combination of lock-free and wait-free synchronization techniques and clearly states which technique should be applied in which situation. This paper reports novel results in various respects: We restrict the usage of lock-free mechanisms to cases where the widely available atomic singleword compare-and-swap operation suffices. We show how Brinch Hansen’s monitors (alias Java’s synchronized methods) can be implemented on top of our mechanisms, thereby demonstrating their versatility. We describe in detail how we used the mechanisms for a full reimplementation of a popular microkernel interface (L4). Our kernel— in contrast to the original implementation—bounds execution time of all operations. We report on a previous implementation of our mechanisms in which we used Massalin’s and Pu’s single-server approach, and on the resulting performance, which lead us to abandon this well-known scheme. Our microkernel implementation is in daily use with a user-level Linux server running a large variety of applications. Hence, our system can be considered as more than just an academic prototype. Still, and despite its implementation in C++, it compares favorably with the original, highly optimized, non-real-time, assembly-language implementation.
Endoscopy in inflammatory bowel diseases

The widespread availability of gastrointestinal endoscopy has changed the management of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) to an important extent. The need for an unpleasant bowel preparation, the high cost, and the discomfort sometimes caused by endoscopic procedures should nonetheless force the clinician to optimize the indications. In this section we will describe the most characteristic lesions of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, the value of endoscopy in the initial assessment and monitoring of IBD and therapeutic endoscopic interventions. Discussion of surveillance in IBD is discussed elsewhere.
Prediction of cardiogenic shock using plasma B-type natriuretic peptide and the N-terminal fragment of its pro-hormone concentrations in ST elevation myocardial infarction: An analysis from the ASSENT-4 Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Trial

Objective:Cardiogenic shock is a major cause of death in ST elevation myocardial infarction. We investigated whether determination of B-type natriuretic peptide and the N-terminal fragment of its pro-hormone in the acute phase of ST elevation myocardial infarction could identify patients prone to development of cardiogenic shock. Design:Retrospective analysis of a multicenter, randomized open-label trial (ASSENT-4 PCI; ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00168792). Methods:Plasma B-type natriuretic peptide and the N-terminal fragment of its pro-hormone were determined in available stored samples of 1016 ST elevation myocardial infarction patients without signs of cardiogenic shock at randomization to primary percutaneous coronary intervention or to full-dose tenecteplase before percutaneous coronary intervention. The end point of the present analysis was in-hospital cardiogenic shock. Interventions:None. Measurements and Main Results:In total, 57 (5.6%) patients had cardiogenic shock during index hospitalization. In-hospital cardiogenic shock increased precipitously with higher baseline concentrations of plasma B-type natriuretic peptide and the N-terminal fragment of its pro-hormone (B-type natriuretic peptide and the N-terminal fragment of its pro-hormone ≤67 pg/mL: 1.9%; 68–1482 pg/mL: 5.9%; >1482 pg/mL: 14.9%; p < .001). Higher B-type natriuretic peptide and the N-terminal fragment of its pro-hormone concentrations were predictors of in-hospital shock, especially among those patients with relatively low clinical risk (no requirement of inotropic support before angiography, systolic blood pressure >100 mm Hg, heart rate <100 bpm, Global Utilization of Streptikonase and Tissue-Plasminogen Activator for Occluded Coronary Arteries score of <122). In multivariate Cox regression analysis, higher plasma B-type natriuretic peptide and the N-terminal fragment of its pro-hormone concentrations remained significant predictors of shock, in addition to age, systolic blood pressure, heart rate, and randomization to facilitated percutaneous coronary intervention and Killip classification. Furthermore, plasma B-type natriuretic peptide and the N-terminal fragment of its pro-hormone significantly predicted in-hospital shock independently of the validated Global Utilization of Streptikonase and Tissue-Plasminogen Activator for Occluded Coronary Arteries score (p = .014). Conclusion:Plasma B-type natriuretic peptide and the N-terminal fragment of its pro-hormone concentrations measured early in the acute phase of ST elevation myocardial infarction are useful in predicting the development of in-hospital cardiogenic shock.
Impact of Rocks and Minerals on Underground Magneto-Inductive Communication and Localization

In this paper, we analyze the effect of different underground materials on very-low and low-frequency magnetic fields used in the contexts of magneto-inductive localization and communication applications, respectively. We calculate the attenuation that these magnetic fields are subject to while passing through most common rocks and minerals. Knowing the attenuation properties is crucial in the design of underground magneto-inductive communication systems. In addition, we provide means to predict the distortions in the magnetic field that impair localization systems. The proposed work offers basic design guidelines for communication and localization systems in terms of channel path loss, operation frequencies, and bandwidth. In order to make our results reproducible by other researchers, we provide the raw data and processing source code.
Grid Computing Systems and Combinatorial Optimization

The goal of this paper is to study the applicability of a combinatorial optimization model in grid resource optimization. The advent of grid computing and demand for QoS guarantees call for a need of advance reservation mechanisms in order to coordinate resource sharing between autonomous partners. This term means the guarantee of providing specific resources at a specific time. The paper assumes that grid resource sharing can greatly benefit from the application of combinatorial optimization for improving the advance reservation mechanisms. Specifically, the temporal knapsack problem is used for modeling the advance reservation. For improving the QoS guarantees and efficient advance reservation, a new methods based on dynamic programming and a decomposition of the temporal knapsack problem is developed.
Molecular dynamics simulation of structural characterization of elastic and inelastic deformation in ZrCu metallic glasses

The nanoscopic deformation behaviors in a ZrCu metallic glass model during loading-unloading process under uniaxial compression have been analyzed on the basis of the molecular dynamics (MD). The reversible degree of shear origin zones (SOZs) is used as the structural indicator to distinguish the elastic deformation and inelastic deformation of ZrCu metallic glass at the atomic level. We find that the formation of SOZs is reversible at the elastic stage but irreversible at the inelastic stage during the loading and unloading processes. At the inelastic stage, the full-icosahedra fraction in SOZs is quickly reduced with increased strain and the decreasing process is also irreversible during the unloading processes.