Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Structural heterogeneity of carbohydrate modifications affects serospecificity of Campylobacter flagellins

Flagellin from Campylobacter coli VC167 is post‐translationally modified at ≥ 16 amino acid residues with pseudaminic acid and three related derivatives. The predominant modification was 5,7‐diacetamido‐3,5,7,9 ‐ tetradeoxy ‐ l ‐ glycero ‐ l ‐ manno ‐ nonulosonic acid (pseudaminic acid, Pse5Ac7Ac), a modification that has been described previously on flagellin from Campylobacter jejuni 81‐176. VC167 lacked two modi‐fications present in 81‐176 and instead had two unique modifications of masses 431 and 432 Da. Flagellins from both C. jejuni 81‐176 and C. coli VC167 were also modified with an acetamidino form of pseudaminic acid (PseAm), but tandem mass spectrometry indicated that the structure of PseAm differed in the two strains. Synthesis of PseAm in C. coli VC167 requires a minimum of six ptm genes. In contrast, PseAm is synthesized in C. jejuni 81‐176 via an alternative pathway using the product of the pseA gene. Mutation of the ptm genes in C. coli VC167 can be detected by changes in apparent Mr of flagellin in SDS‐PAGE gels, changes in isoelectric focusing (IEF) patterns and loss of immunoreactivity with antiserum LAH2. These changes corresponded to loss of both 315 Da and 431 Da modifications from flagellin. Complementation of the VC167 ptm mutants with the 81‐176 pseA gene in trans resulted in flagellins containing both 315 and 431 Da modifications, but these flagellins remained unreactive in LAH2 antibody, suggesting that the unique form of PseAm encoded by the ptm genes contributes to the serospecificity of the flagellar filament.
A Simple Mechanism to Reproduce the Neural Solution of the Aperture Problem in Monkey Area MT

We propose a simple mechanism to reproduce the neural solution of the aperture problem in monkey area MT. More precisely, our goal is to propose a model able to reproduce the dynamical change of the preferred direction (PD) of a MT cell depending on the motion information contained in the input stimulus. The PD of a MT cell measured through drifting gratings differs of the one measured using a barberpole, which is highly related with its aspect ratio. For a barberpole, the PD evolves from the perpendicular direction of the drifting grating to a PD shifted according to the aspect ratio of the barberpole. The mechanisms underlying this dynamic are unknown (lateral connections, surround suppression, feed-backs from higher layers). Here, we show that a simple mechanism such as surround-inhibition in V1 neurons can produce a significant shift in the PD of MT neurons as observed with barberpoles of different aspect ratios.
Planetary Monocular Simultaneous Localization and Mapping

Planetary monocular simultaneous localization and mapping (PM‐SLAM), a modular, monocular SLAM system for use in planetary exploration, is presented. The approach incorporates a biologically inspired visual saliency model (i.e., semantic feature detection) for visual perception in order to improve robustness in the challenging operating environment of planetary exploration. A novel method of generating hybrid‐salient features, using point‐based descriptors to track the products of the visual saliency models, is introduced. The tracked features are used for rover and map state‐estimation using a SLAM filter, resulting in a system suitable for use in long‐distance autonomous (micro)rover navigation, and the inherent hardware constraints of planetary rovers. Monocular images are used as an input to the system, as a major motivation is to reduce system complexity and optimize for microrover platforms. This paper sets out the various components of the modular SLAM system and then assesses their comparative performance using simulated data from the Planetary and Asteroid Natural Scene Generation Utility (PANGU), as well as real‐world datasets from the West Wittering field trials (performed by the STAR Lab) and the SEEKER field trials in Chile (performed by the European Space Agency). The system as a whole was shown to perform reliably, with the best performance observed using a combination of Hou‐saliency and speeded‐up robust features (SURF) descriptors with an extended Kalman filter, which performed with higher accuracy than a state‐of‐the‐art, independently optimized visual odometry localization system on a challenging real‐world dataset.
Depth from focusing and defocusing

The problem of obtaining depth information from focusing and defocusing is studied. In depth from focusing, instead of the Fibonacci search, which is often trapped in local maxima, the combination of Fibonacci search and curve fitting is proposed. This combination leads to an unprecedentedly accurate result. A model of the blurring effect that takes geometric blurring as well as imaging blurring into consideration in the calibration of the blurring model is proposed. In spectrogram-based depth from defocusing, a maximal resemblance estimation method is proposed to decrease or eliminate the window effect. <<ETX>>
Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology Application of Functional Genomics to Primate Endometrium: Insights into Biological Processes

Endometrium is a dynamic tissue that responds on a cyclic basis to circulating levels of the ovarian-derived steroid hormones, estradiol and progesterone. Functional genomics has enabled a global approach to understanding gene regulation in whole endometrial tissue in the setting of a changing hormonal milieu. The proliferative phase of the cycle, under the influence of estradiol, has a preponderance of genes involved in DNA synthesis and cell cycle regulation. Interestingly, genes encoding ion channels and cell adhesion, as well as angiogenic factors, are also highly regulated in this phase of the cycle. After the LH surge, different gene expression profiles are uniquely observed in the early secretory, mid-secretory (window of implantation), and late secretory phases. The early secretory phase is notable for up-regulation of multiple genes and gene families involved in cellular metabolism, steroid hormone metabolism, as well as some secreted glycoproteins. The mid-secretory phase is characterized by multiple biological processes, including up-regulation of genes encoding secreted glycoproteins, immune response genes with a focus on innate immunity, and genes involved in detoxification mechanisms. In the late secretory phase, as the tissue prepares for desquamation, there is a marked up-regulation of an inflammatory response, along with matrix degrading enzymes, and genes involved in hemostasis, among others. This monograph reviews hormonal regulation of gene expression in this tissue and the molecular events occurring therein throughout the cycle derived from functional genomics analysis. It also highlights challenges encountered in using human endometrial tissue in translational research in this context.
Adiponectin Secretion Is Regulated by SIRT1 and the Endoplasmic Reticulum Oxidoreductase Ero1-Lα

ABSTRACT Adiponectin is secreted from adipose tissue in response to metabolic effectors in order to sensitize the liver and muscle to insulin. Reduced circulating levels of adiponectin that usually accompany obesity contribute to the associated insulin resistance. The molecular mechanisms controlling the production of adiponectin are essentially unknown. In this report, we demonstrate that the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) oxidoreductase Ero1-Lα and effectors modulating peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) and SIRT1 activities regulate secretion of adiponectin from 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Specifically, adiponectin secretion and Ero1-Lα expression are induced during the early phase of adipogenesis but are then down-regulated during the terminal phase, coincident with an increased expression of SIRT1. Suppression of SIRT1 or activation of PPARγ enhances Ero1-Lα expression and stimulates secretion of high-molecular-weight complexes of adiponectin in mature adipocytes. Suppression of Ero1-Lα through expression of a corresponding small interfering RNA reduces adiponectin secretion during the differentiation of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. Moreover, ectopic expression of Ero1-Lα in Ero1-Lα-deficient 3T3 fibroblasts stimulates the secretion of adiponectin following their conversion into adipocytes and prevents the suppression of adiponectin secretion in response to activation of SIRT1 by exposure to resveratrol. These findings provide a framework to understand the mechanisms by which adipocytes regulate secretion of adiponectin in response to various metabolic states.
Helping users create better passwords: is this the right approach?

Users tend to form their own mental models of good passwords regardless of any instructions provided. They also tend to favour memorability over security. In our study comparing two mnemonic phrase-based password schemes, we found a surprising number of participants misused both schemes. Intentional or not, they misused the system such that their task of password creation and memorization became easier. Thus, we believe that instead of better instructions or password schemes, a new approach is required to convince users to create more secure passwords. One possibility may lie in employing Persuasive Technology.
How to Deforest in Accumulative Parameters

Software engineering has to reconcile modularity with efficiency. One way to grapple with this dilemma is to automatically transform a modular-speci- fied program into an efficient-implementable one. This is the aim of deforesta- tion transformations which get rid of intermediate data structures constructio- ns that appear when two functions are composed. Nevertheless, existing functional methods cannot deforest non-trivial intermediate constructions that are processed by symbolic composition. This new deforestation technique is based on the descriptional composition dedicated to attribute grammars. In this paper, we present the symbolic composition, we outline its counterpart in terms of classical deforestation methods and we sketch a way to embed it in a functional framework.
LEARNING BY FEELING: EVOKING EMPATHY WITH SYNTHETIC CHARACTERS

ABSTRACT Virtual environments (VEs) are now becoming a promising new technology to be used in the development of interactive learning environments for children. Perhaps triggered by the success of computer games, VEs are seen as an emergent and engaging new way by which children can learn experimental sciences and other disciplines. Inhabiting these IVEs can be agents or intelligent characters that are responsible for events that happen in the environment and make it not predictive or completely controlled. However, to build such environments, in particular, if populated by synthetic characters, one needs to carefully address the problem of how do the learners respond to the characters in the virtual environment. Do learners like the characters? Do learners identify themselves with characters in virtual environments? This relation between learners and characters in virtual environments can be studied in several perspectives. In this paper, we will focus primarily on the issue of empathy as one desirable aspect of the affective interaction between learners and synthetic characters. In particular, we will defend that in order for such affective relations to happen, characters should be created and designed taking into account what we call the proximity factor. This is based on the fact that children are found to respond more empathically to those that are perceived as similar to the self than those who are perceived as dissimilar (Barnett 1987). This appears to be the case when similarity is defined in terms of a shared characteristic, such as sex (Bryant 1982), race or in terms of shared personal experiences (Bryant 1982). Thus, designing characters aiming at pedagogical empathic interactions, we should carefully address how close the learner will feel with the synthetic characters developed in terms of situation, behavior or even physical appearance. In order to illustrate this factor in eliciting emotional reactions to synthetic characters, we will present a specific system called FearNot! FearNot! was developed to address the difficult and often devastating problem of bullying in schools. By using role-playing and synthetic characters in a 3D environment, FearNot! allows children from age 8 to 12 to experience a virtual scenario where they can witness (in a third-person perspective) bullying situations. To build empathy into FearNot, we have considered the following components: agent's architecture, the characters' embodiment, the environment itself, and emotionally charged situations. All these elements were built to allow for a stronger proximity with the user and the system. In this paper, we will focus primarily on this problem and report some results achieved in the evaluation executed with 127 children and 95 adults on the system.
Effects of different types of fluid resuscitation on hepatic mitochondria and apoptosis

The aim of this study was to observe the effects of different types of fluid resuscitation on hepatic mitochondria and apoptosis in hemorrhagic shock, and the corresponding mechanisms. Forty rats were divided into five groups: Sham surgery (Sham group), shock (Shock group), Ringer’s lactate resuscitation (RL group), hydroxyethyl starch resuscitation (HES group) and autologous blood resuscitation (BL group). A model of hemorrhagic shock was successfully induced in the latter four groups. The recovery objective was to maintain the mean arterial pressure (MAP) of the rats at 80 mmHg. Two hours after the end of the recovery experiment, fresh liver samples were examined in order to observe the changes in the morphology and mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm). In addition, the levels of succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) activity were assessed, and a terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay was conducted to evaluate the level of apoptosis in the liver cells. In the Shock, RL, HES and BL groups, mitochondrial ultrastructural damage in the liver cells, significant reductions in liver cell function, liver ΔΨm and SDH activity, and the apoptosis of hepatocytes were more apparent compared with those in the Sham group. In the BL group, compared with the RL and HES groups, the injuries to the mitochondrial ultrastructure and liver cell function were significantly reduced, the hepatic ΔΨm and SDH activity were significantly increased and the hepatocyte apoptosis index (AI) was significantly reduced (P<0.05). In conclusion, in a rat model of hemorrhagic shock, different methods of fluid resuscitation may improve the liver cells with regard to mitochondrial ultrastructure and function, the stability of liver ΔΨm, the activity of SDH and the inhibition of liver cell apoptosis. The results indicate that infusion with autologous blood followed by RL solution is a preferable method of fluid resuscitation compared with HES.
Identification of Interleukin‐1β–Producing Monocytes That Are Susceptible to Pyronecrotic Cell Death in Patients With Neonatal‐Onset Multisystem Inflammatory Disease

Spontaneous inflammatory responses initiated by NLRP3 mutations promote inflammasome‐mediated interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β) processing and release and can induce rapid necrotic cell death. The cells that produce IL‐1β in neonatal‐onset multisystem inflammatory disease (NOMID) have not been clearly identified, nor have the mechanisms mediating IL‐1β release and cell death been completely elucidated.
Flow Boiling Heat Transfer and Two-Phase Flow of Carbon Dioxide: Fundamentals, Mechanistic Models and Applications

In order to design evaporators for the CO2 thermal systems effectively, it is essential to understand the fundamentals and mechanisms of flow boiling heat transfer, flow patterns and two-phase flow characteristics of CO2 inside horizontal tubes including both the macroand microchannels. The proper prediction models for CO2 flow boiling heat transfer should be relevant to the physical mechanisms and corresponding flow patterns. This paper presents a comprehensive review of flow boiling heat transfer and two-phase flow of CO2 characteristics and their prediction methods. First, the review addresses the extensive experimental studies on flow boiling heat transfer and two-phase flow in macro-channels and micro-channels. Then, The studies of CO2 two-phase flow patterns are summarized. Furthermore, the effects of oil on the flow boiling heat transfer and two-phase pressure drops are analyzed. The generalized mechanistic models for flow boiling heat transfer and two-phase pressure drops of CO2 and a new flow pattern map specially for CO2, which cover both macroand microchannels developed by Cheng et al. are presented and compared to the experimental data in the literature. It has been proved that the models and flow maps favorably agree with the experimental data. In the application aspect, comparison of simulation results and the experimental data in the real thermal systems are presented.
Optimization of mixed logic circuits with application to a 64-bit static adder

In this paper, a CMOS logic delay optimization algorithm was used to find the optimal number of pass transistors to use for buffer insertion into a CPL chain. The result was then used as a guide during the design of a 64-bit high-speed static adder. Simulation results indicated a worst-case critical-path delay of 650 ps for a device based on TSMC 0.18 /spl mu/m technology.
Gram-positive bacteria-induced granulocytopenia and pulmonary leukostasis in rabbits

Pneumococci have been shown to induce granulocytopenia and pulmonary leukostasis which might contribute to morbidity and mortality in pneumococcal sepsis. We studied whether other gram-positive species (groups A and B streptococci, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, and Clostridium perfringens) could also induce these phenomena. Rabbits were challenged with nonviable preparations of each species, and all five species induced profound granulocytopenia (mean decrease of 90%) and pulmonary leukostasis. In vitro studies of serum incubated with these species of bacteria showed a mean consumption of total hemolytic complement of 90%, a mean increase of chemotactic activity for granulocytes of 204%, and a mean augmentation of granulocyte adherence of 45% (compared with 18% for the control). Infusion of sonicate-exposed sera induced granulocytopenia in recipient rabbits. Thus, several nonviable gram-positive species can interact with serum to activate the complement system, generate C5a bioactivity, augment granulocyte adherence, and generate a neutropenia-inducing factor. These alterations may contribute to granulocytopenia or pulmonary leukostasis, which may play a role in the morbidity and mortality associated with gram-positive bacterial infections.
Scalable Web Caching of Frequently Updated Objects Using Reliable Multicast

Frequently updated web objects reduce the benefit of caching, increase the problem of cache inconsistency, and aggravate the inefficiency of the conventional "repeated unicast" delivery model. In this paper, we investigate multicast invalidation and delivery of popular, frequently updated objects to web cache proxies. Our protocol, MMO, groups objects into volumes, each of which maps to one IP multicast group. We show that, by forming volumes of the appropriate size and/or object correlation, the benefit from reliable multicast outweighs the cost of delivering extraneous data as well as the overhead of multicast reliability. Moreover, trace-driven simulations show that the bandwidth saving over conventional approaches increases significantly as the audience size grows. We conclude that MMO provides efficient bandwidth utilization and service scalability, and makes strong web cache consistency for dynamic objects practical.
A Proposed Solution for Partial Shadowing

The Partial Shadowing (PS) is one of the hotspot topics and one of the significant challenges in the Photovoltaic (PV) systems. The PS of PV modules cause serious energy loss of the PV energy. It is observed (using detailed simulation MATLAB programs) that, The PS effect is clear on both of I-V & P-V output characteristics (Ch/s) curves. Also, it is observed that, the energy loss due to PS when no diode is used is significantly large. But when the diodes are used, the energy loss decreases appreciably. The saving in energy loss increases as the number of diodes per module increases. It is proposed here to increase the number of diodes per each group of solar cells results in saving of energy loss. This Paper shows the recommended number of bypass diodes (Internal or External) solution to reduce the energy loss. The internal solution by increasing of diodes number per module, while the external solution by increasing of diodes number per group. This paper also discusses the effect of increasing the operating voltage of the system on PS loss.
Comparison of the 45-second/15-second intermittent running field test and the continuous treadmill test.

PURPOSES To compare the physiological responses and maximal aerobic running velocity (MAV) during an incremental intermittent (45-s run/15-s rest) field test (45-15FIT) vs an incremental continuous treadmill test (TR) and to demonstrate that the MAV obtained during 45-15FIT (MAV45-15) was relevant to elicit a high percentage of maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) during a 30-s/30-s intermittent training session. METHODS Oxygen uptake (VO2), heart rate (HR), and lactate concentration ([La]) were measured in 20 subjects during 2 maximal incremental tests and four 15-min intermittent tests. The time spent above 90% and 95% VO2max (t90% and t95% VO2max, respectively) was determined. RESULTS Maximal physiological parameters were similar during the 45-15FIT and TR tests (VO2max 58.6±5.9 mL·kg(-1)·min(-1) for TR vs 58.5±7.0 mL·kg(-1)·min(-1) for 45-15FIT; HRmax 200±8 beats/min for TR vs 201±7 beats/min for 45-15FIT). MAV45-15 was significantly (P<.001) greater than MAVTR (17.7±1.1 vs 15.6±1.4 km/h). t90% and t95% VO2max during the 30-s/30-s performed at MAVTR were significantly (P<.01) lower than during the 30-s/30-s performed at MAV45-15. Similar VO2 during intermittent tests performed at MAV45-15 and at MAVTR can be obtained by reducing the recovery time or using active recovery. CONCLUSIONS The results suggested that the 45-15FIT is an accurate field test to determine VO2max and that MAV45-15 can be used during high-intensity intermittent training such as 30-s runs interspersed with 30-s rests (30-s/30-s) to elicit a high percentage of VO2max.
Context-Aware Routing Algorithm for WSNs Based on Unequal Clustering

Clustering and multi-hop routing algorithms prolongs the lifetime of wireless sensor networks(WSNS) substantially. However, existing algorithms usually consider clustering and routing as two independent problems. Information exchanged in clustering phase is not fully utilized in routing phase. Energy Hole is another problem that shrinks the lifetime of WSNs due to the characteristics of the multi-hop forwarding model. In this paper, we propose a Context-Aware Unequal-Clustering Routing Algorithm (CAUCR) for WSNs, which consists of an Optimized Weighted Unequal-Clustering Algorithm (OWUCA) and a Reverse Minimum Energy (RME) multi-hop routing algorithm. During our OWUCA clustering process, we additionally save some useful information for the subsequent RME routing algorithm, including minimum energy, minimum hop to base, and residual energy of neighbor cluster heads. RME starts routing construction based on the cluster head's distance to the sink, and the cluster head closer to the sink forms the routing table earlier. At the same time, RME utilizes the saved clustering information to reduce the overhead and energy consumption of the routing phase. Simulation results show that our CAUCR balances the energy consumption among sensor nodes, relieves the influence of 'energy hole', and achieves an obvious improvement on the network lifetime.