Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Variability in red supergiant stars: pulsations, long secondary periods and convection noise

We study the brightness variations of galactic red supergiant stars using long-term visual light curves collected by the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) over the last century. The full sample contains 48 red semiregular or irregular variable stars, with a mean time-span of observations of 61 years. We determine periods and period variability from analyses of power density spectra and time-frequency distributions. We find two significant periods in 18 stars. Most of these periods fall into two disti nct groups, ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand days. Theoretical models imply fundamental, first and possibly second overtone mode pulsations for the shorter periods. Periods greater than 1000 days form a parallel period-luminosity relation that is similar to th e Long Secondary Periods of the Asymptotic Giant Branch stars. A number of individual power spectra shows a single mode resolved into multiple peaks under a Lorentzian envelope, which we interpret as evidence for stochastic oscillations, presumably caused by the interpl ay of convection and pulsations. We find a strong 1/f noise component in the power spectra that is remarkably similar in almost all stars of the sample. This behaviour fits the picture of irregu lar photometric variability caused by large convection cells, analogous to the granulation background seen in the Sun.
Design, Synthesis, and Evaluation of Carnosine Derivatives as Selective and Efficient Sequestering Agents of Cytotoxic Reactive Carbonyl Species

Carnosine aryl derivatives as sequestering agents of RCS: Reactive carbonyl species (RCS) are cytotoxic mediators representing a novel drug target, as they are presumed to play a pathogenic role in several diseases. Carnosine is a selective RCS‐sequestering agent, but is rapidly hydrolyzed by serum carnosinase. Herein we describe the in silico design, synthesis, and evaluation of a set of carnosine aryl derivatives.
Differential expression of LEF1/TCFs family members in colonic carcinogenesis

Lef1/Tcfs family, which includes Lef1, Tcf1, Tcf3, and Tcf4, is required for the transcriptional activation induced by β‐catenin. However, whether all the members play the same role in colon carcinogenesis is not clear. We found that Lef1 and Tcf1, but not Tcf3 and Tcf4, were upregulated at both mRNA and protein level with the formation of colon tumor in AOM‐DSS mouse model. The same profiles were seen in human specimens with the evolvement from adenoma to adenocarcinoma. Additionally, Lef1 and Tcf1 were correlated with a subgroup of Wnt target genes, including Lgr5, a key gene of intestinal stem cell. Further studies supported the role of Tcf1 on sphere formation and transcriptional regulation of Lgr5 in vitro. Interestingly, 3′ UTR of each Lef1/Tcfs member were targeted by diverse miRNAs, which were negatively correlated with respective member in human colon cancer specimens. Furthermore, these miRNAs were verified to repress Tcf1 and Lef1 in vitro. Taken together, Lef1 and Tcf1 showed oncogenic effect in colonic carcinogenesis. Cellular context of miRNAs might play important roles in carcinogenesis by altering the expression pattern of Lef/Tcfs members. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Directing vanillin production from ferulic acid by increased acetyl‐CoA consumption in recombinant Escherichia coli

The amplification of gltA gene encoding citrate synthase of TCA cycle was required for the efficient conversion of acetyl‐CoA, generated during vanillin production from ferulic acid, to CoA, which is essential for vanillin production. Vanillin of 1.98 g/L was produced from the E. coli DH5α (pTAHEF‐gltA) with gltA amplification in 48 h of culture at 3.0 g/L of ferulic acid, which was about twofold higher than the vanillin production of 0.91 g/L obtained by the E. coli DH5α (pTAHEF) without gltA amplification. The icdA gene encoding isocitrate dehydrogenase of TCA cycle was deleted to make the vanillin producing E. coli utilize glyoxylate bypass which enables more efficient conversion of acetyl‐CoA to CoA in comparison with TCA cycle. The production of vanillin by the icdA null mutant of E. coli BW25113 harboring pTAHEF was enhanced by 2.6 times. The gltA amplification of the glyoxylate bypass in the icdA null mutant remarkably increased the production rate of vanillin with a little increase in the amount of vanillin production. The real synergistic effect of gltA amplification and icdA deletion was observed with use of XAD‐2 resin reducing the toxicity of vanillin produced during culture. Vanillin of 5.14 g/L was produced in 24 h of the culture with molar conversion yield of 86.6%, which is the highest so far in vanillin production from ferulic acid using recombinant E. coli. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2009;102: 200–208. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Using Semantic Approximations in Validation and Diagnosis of Constraint Logic Programs

During program development and debugging, several tools may be used which deal with (approximations of the) program semantics in one way or the other. Examples of such tools are automatic validation tools, declarative debuggers, program analyzers, etc. These tools also have in common that the semantics of the current program and the semantics of the intended program are often compared. In this paper we rst propose a uniform formulation of the \problems" which have to be dealt with in a wide collection of such tools. The formulation is very general with the only assumption that the program semantics used is in the class of xpoint semantics. We then analyze the e ect of using approximations rather than the exact program semantics when solving such problems, with particular emphasis on the case of using abstract interpretation in order to approximate program semantics. In doing this, we clarify some of the possibilities and the limits inherent to the use of approximations. We also propose a tool architecture for program development and debugging using approximations of program semantics, and report on three debugging environment prototypes developed as particular instances of such an architecture.
Serum concentrations of vitamin A and oxidative stress in critically ill patients with sepsis.

INTRODUCTION Sepsis is one of the main causes of mortality in patients in Intensive Care Units. As a result of the systemic inflammatory response and of the decrease of the aerobic metabolism in sepsis, the oxidative stress occurs. Vitamin A is recognized by the favorable effect that it exerts on the immune response to infections and antioxidant action. OBJECTIVE To bring new elements for reviewing of the nutritional support addressed to critically ill patients with sepsis, with emphasis to vitamin A. METHODS Critically ill patients with sepsis had circulating concentrations of retinol, beta-carotene, thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) and C-reactive protein (CRP) measured in Medicosurgical Intensive Care Unit in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The patients were divided into two groups: patients who were receiving nutritional support and those without support. At the act of the patient's admission, APACHE II score was calculated. RESULTS 46 patients were studied (with diet n = 24 and without diet n = 22). Reduced levels of retinol and beta-carotene were found in 65.2% and 73.9% of the patients, respectively. Among the patients who presented lower concentrations of CRP it was found higher beta-carotene inadequacy (64.8%) and 50% of retinol inadequacy. There was no significant difference as regards retinol, TBARS and APACHE II levels among the patients with and without nutritional support. However, higher levels of CRP (p = 0.001) and lower levels of serum beta-carotene (p = 0.047) were found in patients without nutritional support. CONCLUSIONS Septic patients presented an important inadequacy of retinol and beta-carotene. The present study bring elements to the elaboration/review of the nutritional protocol directed to the group studied, especially as regards vitamin A intake.
Detecting Operator Errors in Cloud Maintenance Operations

IT services built from cloud applications are subject of several maintenance operations like upgrades, reconfigurations, or redeployments. Monitoring those changes is crucial to detect operator errors, which are a main source of service failures. Another challenge, which exacerbates operator errors is the increasing frequency of changes, e.g. because of continuous deployments. In this paper we propose a monitoring approach to detect operator errors right when they appear, by using complex event processing and anti-pattern. The basis of the monitoring approach is a novel business process modelling method, combining TOSCA and XML-nets, which is the main contribution in this paper.
Multiport S-Parameter Measurements of Linear Circuits With Open Ports

A simple technique to measure the S-parameters of a linear multiport with a two-port network analyzer is evaluated. Just two probes and a single specimen are required. All two-port combinations are measured with the other ports left open. Special care was taken to estimate the maximum measurement uncertainties and to identify critical parameter values. Results can be further improved by using a simplified weighting scheme or by correcting for open-port capacitances. The technique is especially suited for wafer probes
Connecting the Mechanical and Conductive Properties of Conjugated Polymers

Both the mechanical deformability and electronic conductivity of conjugated polymers play important roles in the development of wearable and stretchable electronics. Despite the recent progress and emphasis on achieving highly stretchable and conductive devices, the correlation between the mechanical and conductive properties is poorly understood and remains mostly empirical. The future of flexible electronics relies on the ability to predict and tune the mechanical and conductive properties such that the molecular design of conjugated polymers can be optimized for various applications. Instead of seeking a direct correlation between mechanical and conductive properties, this Progress Report proposes to examine the common microstructural origin for mechanical performance and charge transport in conjugated polymers. Measurements of microstructural information, such as persistence length, chain entanglement, glass transition, liquid crystalline phase transition, and intercrystalline morphology, are desperately needed in the field of conjugated polymers in order to establish connections with both the mechanical/conductive properties and the chemical structures. Conventional experimental methods in the field of flexible polymer physics, such as linear viscoelastic rheometry, open up new avenues for characterizing these microstructural parameters, thereby providing a path toward predicting and designing the molecular structure of conjugated polymers with desired mechanical and conductive properties.
ON THE QUALITY OF AUTOMATIC RELATIVE ORIENTATION PROCEDURES

This paper presents an empirical investigation into the quality of automatic relative orientation procedures. The results of an in-house developed automatic orientation software called AURELO (Läbe and Förstner, 2006) are evaluated. For this evaluation a recently proposed consistency measure for two sets of orientation parameters (Dickscheid et al., 2008) and the ratio of two covariances matrices is used. Thus we evaluate the consistency of bundle block adjustments and the precision level achievable. We use different sets of orientation results related to the same set of images but computed under differing conditions. As reference datasets results on a much higher image resolution and ground truth data from artificial images rendered with computer graphics software are used. Six different effects are analysed: varying results due to random procedures in AURELO, computations on different image pyramid levels and with or without points with only two or three observations, the effect of replacing the used SIFT operator with an approximation of SIFT features, called SURF, repetitive patterns in the scene and remaining non-linear distortions. These experiments show under which conditions the bundle adjustment results reflect the true errors and thus give valuable hints for the use of automatic relative orientation procedures and possible improvements of the software.
The Prognostic Value of Percentage Total Plaque Score Adjusted to Age

Background: Total plaque score (TPS) on coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) has been validated as a surrogate measure of coronary artery disease (CAD) burden and is prognostic. We propose a novel measure, percentage TPS adjusted to age (%TPS/age), that may reflect vascular age and potentially more rapidly progressive atherosclerosis and evaluate its potential prognostic value. Methods: %TPS/age was calculated for consecutive patients prospectively enrolled into our institutional CCTA registry and evaluated for primary composite outcome of cardiac death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, and late revascularization. Results: Of 1896 patients identified (mean age 57.7 ± 11.4 years, 50.1% male, median follow-up 18.6 months [interquartile range: 15.3, 32.4]), 552 (29%) had %TPS/age = 0 (no atherosclerosis), with 1 (0.2%) primary outcome observed (annual event rate [AER] = 0.1%). Two events (0.4%, AER = 0.3%) were observed in %TPS/age < 0.314 category, 22 (5.0%, AER = 2.2%) in %TPS/age 0.314 to 0.699 category, and 54 (12.0%, AER = 5.7%) in %TPS/age ≥ 0.700 category. After adjusting for clinical predictors and obstructive CAD, higher %TPS/age category was associated with hazard ratio 1.95 (1.31-2.88, P < .001) for primary outcome on multivariable analysis, Harrell-C-Statistic 0.87 (confidence interval 95%: 0.84-0.90), and net reclassification improvement of 0.71 (P < .001). Conclusion: %TPS/Age has incremental prognostic value to traditional risk factors and CCTA measures of CAD and improves evaluation of burden of coronary atherosclerosis and clinical risk.
Pneumonia in the neutropenic cancer patient

Purpose of review Pneumonia is the leading cause of death among neutropenic cancer patients, particularly those with acute leukaemia. Even with empiric therapy, case fatality rates of neutropenic pneumonias remain unacceptably high. However, recent advances in the management of neutropenic pneumonia offer hope for improved outcomes in the cancer setting. This review summarizes recent literature regarding the clinical presentation, microbiologic trends, diagnostic advances and therapeutic recommendations for cancer-related neutropenic pneumonia. Recent findings Although neutropenic patients acquire pathogens both in community and nosocomial settings, patients’ obligate healthcare exposures result in the frequent identification of multidrug-resistant bacterial organisms on conventional culture-based assessment of respiratory secretions. Modern molecular techniques, including expanded use of galactomannan testing, have further facilitated identification of fungal pathogens, allowing for aggressive interventions that appear to improve patient outcomes. Multiple interested societies have issued updated guidelines for antibiotic therapy of suspected neutropenic pneumonia. The benefit of antibiotic medications may be further enhanced by agents that promote host responses to infection. Summary Neutropenic cancer patients have numerous potential causes for pulmonary infiltrates and clinical deterioration, with lower respiratory tract infections among the most deadly. Early clinical suspicion, diagnosis and intervention for neutropenic pneumonia provide cancer patients’ best hope for survival.
Microstructure and properties of A357 aluminium alloy treated by pulsed magnetic field

ABSTRACT This study examined the effects of a pulsed magnetic field (PMF) on the solidified microstructure and properties of A357 aluminium alloy. Results showed that the solidified microstructure of the alloy treated by a PMF was refined. The treated alloy in the T6 state had superior mechanical properties, with the ultimate tensile strength, yield strength and elongation increasing by 48 MPa (18.5%), 46 MPa (16.4%) and 4.8% (142%), respectively, when compared with the untreated alloy. When testing at room temperature, with a strain amplitude of 1 × 10−4 and at a frequency of 1 Hz, the damping capacity value was 14.2 × 10−3 for the alloy subjected to a PMF treatment, which increased by nearly 170% when compared with the untreated alloy.
Biological function of the dTDP-rhamnose synthesis pathway in Streptococcus mutans

We have cloned a new gene locus that comprises three genes concerned with the biosynthesis of the serotype c-specific polysaccharide antigen in Streptococcus mutans. The genes encode proteins exhibiting significant homology to the rfbA, rfbB, and rfbD gene products that are involved in the anabolism of dTDP-L-rhamnose from D-glucose-1-phosphate. This anabolism pathway pertains to biosynthesis of the O antigen of lipopolysaccharide in gram-negative bacteria. The cell extract of Escherichia coli expressing each of the cloned genes of S. mutans exhibited enzymatic activity corresponding to the homologous counterpart of the rfb gene products. Rhamnose was not detected in the cell wall preparation purified from the mutant in which each of the three cloned genes was insertionally inactivated. Rabbit antiserum against S. mutans serotype c-specific antigen did not react with the autoclaved extracts from these mutants. These results indicate that the gene products identified in the present study are involved in the dTDP-L-rhamnose synthesis pathway and that the pathway relates to the biosynthesis of the serotype-specific polysaccharide antigen of S. mutans. Southern hybridization analysis revealed that genes homologous to the cloned genes involved in the dTDP-L-rhamnose synthesis pathway were widely distributed in a variety of streptococci. This is the first report of the biological function of the dTDP-rhamnose pathway in streptococci.
A Geometric Study of Tunable Planar Groove Gap Waveguide Cavities

A comparative simulation-based study of tunable Planar Groove Gap Waveguide (PGGWG) cavities is presented. All cavities employ a simple biasing scheme to control the resonance of the cavity electronically. This is done by exploiting the DC isolation of the Planar Groove Gap Waveguide geometry for device biasing. Results obtained show that a higher tuning range (1.4%) is obtained with a rectangular PGGWG cavity as opposed to square and circular cavities. A higher unloaded Q-factor is obtained for the square cavity, which is more variable over the tuning range as compared to the circular and rectangular cavities.
Identification of oxidized serum albumin in the cerebrospinal fluid of ischaemic stroke patients

Background and purpose: Extensive evidence has shown that oxidative stress mediates neuronal death in animal models of hypoxic–ischaemia. Brain biomarkers of oxidative stress need to be identified in order to better understand and treat brain damage in human stroke patients. The present study was conducted to identify potential target proteins of oxidative stress in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of stroke patients with acute ischaemic brain injury.
DNA Content and Fragmentation of the Egg Nucleus of Trichoplax adhaerens

Abstract Under culture conditions the egg nucleus of Trichoplax adhaerens reaches an unusually high and variable DNA content. Before the "fertilization membrane" is formed, the nucleus undergoes fragmentation. It is assumed that culture conditions differ from natural conditions by preventing the switch-over from the S-phase to the G 2-phase of the cell cycle: DNA replication continues and nuclear division is impossible. Cleavage ceases at an earlier or later stage.
Buprofezin susceptibility survey, resistance selection and preliminary determination of the resistance mechanism in Nilaparvata lugens (Homoptera: Delphacidae).

BACKGROUND Buprofezin has been used for many years to control Nilaparvata lugens (Stål). Assessment of susceptibility change in the insect is essential for maintaining control efficiency and resistance management. RESULTS Eleven-year surveys showed that most field populations were susceptible before 2004. However, substantially higher levels of resistance (up to 28-fold) were found in most of the rice fields in China after 2004. A field population was collected and periodically selected for buprofezin resistance in the laboratory. After 65 generations (56 were selected), the colony successfully obtained 3599-fold resistance to buprofezin. Synergism tests showed that O,O-diethyl-O-phenyl phosphorothioate (SV1), piperonyl butoxide (PBO) and diethyl maleate (DEM) increased buprofezin toxicity in the resistant strain by only 1.5-1.6 fold, suggesting that esterases, P450-monooxygenases and glutathione S-transferases had no substantial effect on buprofezin resistance development. CONCLUSION The results from this study indicate that N. lugens has the potential to develop high resistance to buprofezin. A resistance management program with rotation of buprofezin and other pesticides may efficiently delay or slow down resistance development in the insect. Further investigation is also necessary to understand the resistance mechanisms in N. lugens.
Computer-Assisted Analysis of Heterogeneity on B-Mode Imaging Predicts Instability of Asymptomatic Carotid Plaque

Background: Computerized assessment of plaque echogenicity by B-mode ultrasonography has demonstrated that the gray-scale median (GSM) pixel intensity of the entire plaque predicts future ischemic stroke in patients with symptomatic carotid stenosis, but not those with asymptomatic stenosis. This study investigated whether plaque heterogeneity (i.e., the distribution of pixel intensities) could predict the instability of asymptomatic plaque. Methods: By comparison with carotid endarterectomy specimens and the GSM values of known tissues on B-mode images, the GSM values for blood, lipid, muscle/fibrous tissue, and calcification were determined. Then we estimated the percent area of each tissue component for 297 asymptomatic plaques causing 40–99% carotid artery stenosis in 250 patients, and monitored the incidence of atherothrombotic cerebral infarction due to carotid stenosis during follow-up. Results: Eight infarcts occurred during a follow-up period of 22 ± 15 months. Plaques in the top tertile for the percent area of lipid-like echogenicity (p < 0.05) and in the lowest tertile for calcification (p = 0.06) showed an association with future infarction according to Kaplan-Meier analysis. This association remained significant after adjustment for the severity of carotid stenosis (hazard ratio 4.4 for lipid-like and 0.24 for calcification-like component, both p < 0.05) according to Cox proportional hazards analysis. Conclusions: The distribution of pixel intensities in carotid plaque on B-mode ultrasonography can be employed to predict instability of asymptomatic plaque and possibly to select patients for interventional procedures. A large-scale investigation will be needed to confirm that estimating the percentage of plaque components relative to the total plaque area can predict ischemic stroke.
Automatic modeling of switch-level networks using partial orders

A key idea in switch-level simulation is the use of a total ordering of signal strengths to resolve conflicts between opposing signals. For many circuits, however, it is not possible to assign such strengths to circuit elements in a logically consistent fashion without user intervention. It is shown that the use of a partial ordering of strengths avoids these difficulties and allows modeling to be done automatically. The authors also discuss the need to minimize the number of distinct strengths needed to model a circuit, because simulation times are affected by the number of strengths being used. This is especially important for compiled switch-level simulators that generate representations whose size is proportional to the number of strengths. Statistics on the application of these ideas to industrial chips are presented. <<ETX>>