Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Production and characterization of escherichia coli outer membrane vesicles displaying anti-muc1 single-chain variable fragment via spytag/spycatcher system

Outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) secreted from Gram-negative bacteria have been discovered for a decade. Special features like high stability, ease of production, and intrinsic adjuvanticity highlight the use of OMVs in diverse applications such as vaccination, bioimaging, and multifunctional delivery systems. Synthetic biological approaches can functionalize OMVs to present heterologous proteins by expressing genetic fusion of target protein to outer membrane proteins. However, complex proteins cannot be incorporated into the OMVs due to lack of some post-translational modifications in bacteria. Herein, we demonstrated a convenient method for presentation of versatile proteins in OMVs with the implementation of the bio-ligation system called SpyTag/SpyCatcher system. OMVs derived from Escherichia coli were generated to anchor SpyCatcher via Lpp'OmpA surface display system (OMVs:Lpp'OmpA-SpyCatcher). To test the proof-of-concept, anti-MUC1 single-chain variable fragment (scFv) clone SM3 which previously used in targeting MUC1-presenting tumor cells was chosen and produced as a fusion with SpyTag (SpyTag-SM3) in CHO-based expression system. This system provides disulfide linkage processes to maintain its function. Upon mixing, SpyTag simultaneously performs an irreversible isopeptide bond with SpyCatcher resulting in coupling of SpyTag-SM3 onto the surface of OMVs:Lpp'OmpA-SpyCatcher. The conjugation of two proteins on OMVs was confirmed by Western blotting. Physiochemical characterizations of conjugated OMVs were also analyzed by Dynamic light scattering and Transmission electron microscope. Despite attachment of anti-MUC1 scFv SM3, the morphology of conjugated OMVs was spherical lipid vesicles with the size of 103.77 nm. In addition, the localization of scFv SM3 was observed on the surface of the OMVs as evaluated by proteinase K protection assay. Furthermore, the result of binding analysis towards MUC1-presenting cell (MCF-7) indicated the binding of anti-MUC1 scFv SM3 displayed on the conjugated OMVs. As a result, this study provides a flexible protein decoration system in OMVs that can be used in targeted drug delivery system.
Caractérisation microstructurale d'un PEHD semi-cristallin déformé, par tomographie X et diffusion de lumière polarisée

Le sujet porte essentiellement sur la caracterisation du PolyEthylene Haute Densite (PEHD) a l'echelle de la microstructure au cours de sollicitations mecaniques. Une premiere partie presente une strategie de modelisation du comportement du polymere qui se veut a la fois representative des observations mecaniques macroscopiques et surtout adaptee a une metrologie fine de ses parametres constitutifs. L'accent se porte ensuite sur des techniques d'investigation a la mesoechelle (ordre du micrometre) par technique in-situ de transport de lumiere incoherente polarisee (IPSLT) et par microtomographie X realisee sous rayonnement synchrotron. L'objectif est de comprendre les phenomenes qui interviennent a toutes ces echelles pendant les phases successives de transformation de la matiere, qui passe d'un etat homogene quasi-isotrope constitue de deux phases, cristalline et amorphe, vers une mesostructure dite fibrillaire, fortement anisotrope. Entre autres constats majeurs, nous montrons que le polymere semi-cristallin etudie ne presente pas de phenomene de cavitation et que contrairement a la majorite des resultats publies dans la litterature, le blanchiment observe ne peut donc pas lui etre attribue. Ce resultat montre que les processus de deformation mecanique mis en jeu dans l'elasto-visco-plasticite avec durcissement hyperelastique, peuvent tout a fait se concevoir sans mecanismes preponderants de creation de porosite. Il ouvre donc la voie a de nouveaux scenarios pour expliquer les evolutions de microstructure observees en lien avec la deformation
Primary Progressive Aphasia: A Review

This review summarizes clinical and imaging features associated with primary progressive aphasia (PPA). We investigate the hypothesis that these patients can be divided into subgroups of progressive non-fluent aphasia (PNFA) and semantic dementia (SD), based on their linguistic profiles and related imaging studies, and examine whether each of these major subgroups can be further subdivided. We focus on several critical features within each progressive aphasic subgroup. In PNFA, we examine agrammatism, phonologic disorder, and impaired verb processing to determine whether this syndrome is related to a modality-specific impairment in word formation and articulation, or a conceptual deficit that interferes with grammatical processing. In SD, we examine impaired semantic memory, limited remote memory, and anomia to assess whether this syndrome is due to a modality-neutral interruption of semantic memory, or the degradation of various material-specific representations of object features and words. We conclude that there is sufficiently consistent and converging evidence from clinical and imaging studies to support the claim that PNFA and SD are distinct subgroups of PPA. However, there does not appear to be sufficient evidence at this point to support further discrimination within these progressive aphasic subgroups. Testing hypotheses about finer-grained syndromes such as progressive dysarthria or progressive anomia has important consequences for improving our understanding of language organization and the neural basis for language.
Follow the Timeline! Generating an Abstractive and Extractive Timeline Summary in Chronological Order

Today, timestamped web documents related to a general news query flood the Internet, and timeline summarization targets this concisely by summarizing the evolution trajectory of events along the timeline. Unlike traditional document summarization, timeline summarization needs to model the time series information of the input events and summarize important events in chronological order. To tackle this challenge, in this article we propose our Unified Timeline Summarizer, which can generate abstractive and extractive timeline summaries in time order. Concretely, in the encoder part, we propose a graph-based event encoder that relates multiple events according to their content dependency and learns a global representation of each event. In the decoder part, to ensure the chronological order of the abstractive summary, we propose to extract the feature of event-level attention in its generation process with sequential information retained and use it to simulate the evolutionary attention of the ground truth summary. The event-level attention can also be used to assist in extracting a summary, where the extracted summary also comes in time sequence. We augment the previous Chinese large-scale timeline summarization dataset and collect a new English timeline dataset. Extensive experiments conducted on these datasets and on the out-of-domain Timeline 17 dataset show that our Unified Timeline Summarizer achieves state-of-the-art performance in terms of both automatic and human evaluations.1
Predictive factors of surgical complications after pelvic exenteration for gynecological malignancies: a large single-institution experience

Objective To evaluate pre-operative predictors of early (<30 days) severe complications (grade Dindo 3+) in patients with gynecological malignancy submitted to pelvic exenteration (PE). Methods We retrospectively analyzed 129 patients submitted to surgery at Fondazione Policlinico Gemelli between 2010 and 2019. We included patients affected by primary or recurrent/persistent cervical, endometrial, or vulvar/vaginal cancers. Post-operative complications were graded according to the Dindo classification. Logistic regression was used to analyze potential predictors of complications. Results We performed 63 anterior PE, 10 posterior PE, and 56 total PE. The incidence of early severe post-operative complications was 27.9% (n=36), and the early mortality rate was 2.3% (n=3). More frequent complications were related to the urinary diversion and intestinal surgery. In univariable analysis, hemoglobin ≤10 g/dL (odds ratio [OR]=4.2; 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.65–10.7; p=0.003), low albumin levels (OR=3.9; 95% CI=1.27–12.11; p=0.025), diabetes (OR=4.15; 95% CI=1.22–14.1; p=0.022), 2+ comorbidities at presentation (OR=5.18; 95% CI=1.49–17.93; p=0.012) were predictors of early severe complications. In multivariable analysis, only low hemoglobin and comorbidities at presentation were independent predictors of complications. Conclusion Pelvic exenteration is an aggressive surgery characterized by a high rate of post-operative complications. Pre-operative assessment of comorbidities and patient health status are crucial to better select the right candidate for this type of surgery.
Shifting inequalities? Patterns of exclusion and inclusion in emerging forms of political participation

Participation patterns in industrialized democracies have changed considerably in the last couple of decades. While institutionalized forms of participation (e.g., party membership) are declining, we can observe a rise in the occurrence of non-institutionalized forms of political participation. In this article we pose the question of what the effect of this trend has been for patterns of political stratification during the period 1974–2002 using the Political Action Survey as well as the European Social Survey. It can be observed that gender differences have been substantially reduced and in some cases even reversed for non-institutionalized participation and women tend to be more active in these forms than men. Younger age groups also clearly have a preference for non-institutionalized forms. Stratification based on education, however, remains the same compared to the 1970s. These findings are confirmed by a longitudinal analysis of Dutch Election Studies data for the period 1971–1998. We conclu.
Thermoplastic hardened Cu–Ni–Si–Ag alloy

The paper aims to investigate the inﬂuence of silver addition on the microstructure of CuNi2Si1 alloys. The investigated copper alloy was cast and then supersaturated, plastically deformed on the Gleeble 3800 simulator and ﬁnally aged. Structural changes were examined using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Orientation mapping was completed with FEI Quanta 3D ﬁeld emission gun scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with TSL electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) system. The effect of structural and microstructural changes on hardness and conductivity was also investigated. Based on the mechanical tests it was found that the mechanical properties and conductivity are improved due to heat and plastic treatment. It was also found that the precipitation hardening raises the hardness to the level of 40% whilst an increase in conductivity by 20% is observed.
Channel estimation for spatial modulation

In single-stream multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) schemes, such as spatial modulation (SM) and space shift keying (SSK), a single transmit antenna is activated at any given time. Therefore, unlike multi-stream MIMO transmitters, simultaneous pilot transmissions are prohibitive because of a single radio-frequency (RF) chain. In state-of-the-art literature, the channels of different transmit antennas are individually estimated. As a result, more time is required to transfer pilots and the effective data rate is compromised. In this paper, we propose a novel channel estimation (CE) technique for single-stream MIMO systems. Given a pilot ratio, the proposed scheme achieves the same estimation period as multi-stream MIMO systems without needing any additional information or feedback. Simulations are implemented under a practical base station environment. Results show that for various speeds of the mobile user, the proposed approach significantly improves the performance of SM in comparison to the conventional CE method.
Concentration And Velocity Fields Throughout The Flow Field Of Swirling Flows In Gas Turbine Mixers

Air velocity and fuel concentration data have been collected throughout the flow fields of two gas turbine mixers in an effort to better understand the mixing of fuel and air in gas turbine mixers. The two gas turbine mixers consisted of an annular flow profile and incorporated swirl vanes to produce a swirling flow to promote fuel/air mixing. The fuel was injected into the bulk flow from the pressure side of the swirl vanes. The first mixer had a swirl angle of 45, while the second had a swirl angle of 55. In order to examine the effect of the swirl angle on the mixing of fuel and air as the flow progressed through gas turbine mixers, axial and tangential air velocity data was taken using a laser Doppler velocimeter (LDV). Also, fuel concentration data was taken separately using a hydrocarbon concentration probe with methane diluted with air as the fuel. The data were taken at varying axial and varying angular locations in an effort to capture the spatial development of the fuel and velocity profiles. The spectra of the data were analyzed as well in an effort to understand the turbulence of the flow. It was found that the 55 swirler exhibited smaller variations in both velocity and fuel concentration values and that the fuel reached a uniform concentration at axial locations further upstream in the 55 degree mixer than in the 45 mixer. The RMS values of the velocity, which were influenced by the swirl vanes, were higher in the 55 mixer and likely contributed to the better mixing performance of the 55 mixer. The fuel concentration spectrum data showed that the spectra of the two mixers were similar, and that the fluctuations in fuel concentration due to flow emanating from the swirl vanes were seen throughout the length of the two mixers.
at the Nano

: In an effort to give a global view of this field of research, in this mini-review we highlight the most recent publications and patents focusing on modified asphalt pavements that contain certain reinforcing nanoparticles which impart desirable thermal, electrical and mechanical properties. In response to the increasing cost of asphalt binder and road maintenance, there is a need to look for alternative technologies and new asphalt composites, able to self-repair, for preserving and renewing the existing pavements. First, we will focus on the self-healing property of asphalt, the evidences that support that healing takes place immediately after the contact between the faces of a crack, and how the amount of healing can be measured in both the laboratory and the field. Next we review the hypothetical mechanisms of healing to understand the material behaviour and establish models to quantify the damage-healing process. Thereafter, we outline different technologies, nanotechnologies and methodologies used for self-healing paying particular attention to embedded micro-capsules, new nano-materials like carbon nanotubes and nano-fibres, ionomers, and microwave and induction heating processes.
Evaluation of the hierarchical control of distributed Energy Storage Systems in islanded Microgrids based on Std IEC/ISO 62264

— In this paper, a decentralized control methodology based on hierarchical control levels is investigated. In recent years, efforts have been made to standardize microgrids (MGs), and the decentralized control method evaluated here is based on the IEC/ISO 62264 standard. Since the main challenge to decentralized control in Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESSs) is the different levels of stored energy, a modified droop control is used here to share the power between the different storage units, based on the energy level of each unit. The power coefficients of the droop control are set inversely proportionally and directly proportionally, respectively, to the state of charge (SoC) of each battery unit during discharging and charging mode. To evaluate this decentralized method based on the IEC/ISO 62264 standard, PSCAD/EMTDC software is used.
Novel Wafer-Scale Adhesive Bonding with Improved Alignment Accuracy and Bond Uniformity

We report a versatile method for improving post-bonding wafer alignment accuracy and BCB thickness uniformity in stacks bonded with soft-baked BCB. It is based on novel BCB-based micro-pillars that act as anchors during bonding. The anchor structures become a natural part of the bonding interface therefore causing minimal interference to the optical, electrical and mechanical properties of the bonded stack. We studied these properties for fixed anchor density and various anchor heights with respect to the adhesive BCB thickness. We demonstrated that the alignment accuracy can be improved by approximately an order of magnitude and approach the fundamental pre-bond alignment accuracy by the tool. We also demonstrated that this technique is effective for a large range of BCB thicknesses of 2 – 16 μ m. Furthermore we observed that the thickness non-uniformities were reduced by a factor of 2 – 3 × for BCB thicknesses in the 8 – 16 μ m range.
Use of chemotherapy plus a monoclonal antibody against HER2 for metastatic breast cancer that overexpresses HER2.

BACKGROUND The HER2 gene, which encodes the growth factor receptor HER2, is amplified and HER2 is overexpressed in 25 to 30 percent of breast cancers, increasing the aggressiveness of the tumor. METHODS We evaluated the efficacy and safety of trastuzumab, a recombinant monoclonal antibody against HER2, in women with metastatic breast cancer that overexpressed HER2. We randomly assigned 234 patients to receive standard chemotherapy alone and 235 patients to receive standard chemotherapy plus trastuzumab. Patients who had not previously received adjuvant (postoperative) therapy with an anthracycline were treated with doxorubicin (or epirubicin in the case of 36 women) and cyclophosphamide alone (138 women) or with trastuzumab (143 women). Patients who had previously received adjuvant anthracycline were treated with paclitaxel alone (96 women) or paclitaxel with trastuzumab (92 women). RESULTS The addition of trastuzumab to chemotherapy was associated with a longer time to disease progression (median, 7.4 vs. 4.6 months; P<0.001), a higher rate of objective response (50 percent vs. 32 percent, P<0.001), a longer duration of response (median, 9.1 vs. 6.1 months; P<0.001), a lower rate of death at 1 year (22 percent vs. 33 percent, P=0.008), longer survival (median survival, 25.1 vs. 20.3 months; P=0.01), and a 20 percent reduction in the risk of death. The most important adverse event was cardiac dysfunction of New York Heart Association class III or IV, which occurred in 27 percent of the group given an anthracycline, cyclophosphamide, and trastuzumab; 8 percent of the group given an anthracycline and cyclophosphamide alone; 13 percent of the group given paclitaxel and trastuzumab; and 1 percent of the group given paclitaxel alone. Although the cardiotoxicity was potentially severe and, in some cases, life-threatening, the symptoms generally improved with standard medical management. CONCLUSIONS Trastuzumab increases the clinical benefit of first-line chemotherapy in metastatic breast cancer that overexpresses HER2.
Probability Dueling DQN Active Visual SLAM for Autonomous Navigation in Complex Environment

This paper presents an active SLAM framework for performing autonomous navigation under a complex environment with static and dynamic obstacles. We integrate a path planning algorithm with visual SLAM in order to decrease navigation uncertainty and build an environment map. We employ Monodepth method for improving the predictive speed of recognizing the obstacles and propose a Probability Dueling DQN (PD3QN) algorithm to optimize the path of the robot, which can reach the destination more quickly than Dueling DQN. Then PD3QN-based path planning algorithm is integrated with FastSLAM to achieve the autonomous navigation and map the environment. We show that the proposed method oﬀers good performance over existing Dueling DQN for navigation uncertainty under the complex environment with diﬀerent numbers of the static and dynamic obstacles in real world ﬁeld.
Institutional Innovations: Learning how to link sustainable agriculture practices to local markets in developing countries

HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés. Institutional Innovations: Learning how to link sustainable agriculture practices to local markets in developing countries Allison Marie Loconto, Anne Sophie Poisot, Pilar Santacoloma, Marcello Vicovaro
Advanced LPV-YK Control Design with Experimental Validation on Autonomous Vehicles

This paper presents and experimentally validates two new methodologies to perform a smooth switching between a set of Linear Parameter-Varying (LPV) controllers that have been designed separately for different objectives. For a given partition of the scheduling parameter region, a set of LPV controllers (polytopic and grid-based) are designed separately on each subregion based on Youla-Kucera (YK) parameterization. Such kind of parameterization is beneficial to switch or interpolate between multiple controllers without adding any constraints to the design of the local controllers and the switching signals. The closed-loop system is proved to guarantee stability and performance under arbitrary switching in terms of a set of Linear Matrix Inequalities (LMIs). An application to autonomous vehicle lateral control is chosen for its challenging objectives. Experimental validation and comparison are depicted to illustrate the performance improvement compared to previous LPV control approaches.
Urban anomalies in response to rainstorms based on smartphone location data : a 1 case study of eight cities in China 2

1 case study of eight cities in China 2 Jiawei Yi1,2, Yunyan Du1,2*, Fuyuan Liang3, Tao Pei1,2, Ting Ma1,2, Chenghu Zhou1,2 3 1State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information System, Institute of 4 Geographic Science and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China 5 2University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China 6 3Department of Geography, Western Illinois University, Macomb, IL, USA 7 *Corresponding author: duyy@lreis.ac. cn 8 9