Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Automated real-time control of fluidic self-assembly of microparticles

Self-assembly is a key coordination mechanism for large multi-unit systems and a powerful bottom-up technology for micro/nanofabrication. Controlled self-assembly and dynamic reconfiguration of large ensembles of microscopic particles can effectively bridge these domains to build innovative systems. In this perspective, we present SelfSys, a novel platform for the automated control of the fluidic self-assembly of microparticles. SelfSys centers around a water-filled microfluidic chamber whose agitation modes, induced by a coupled ultrasonic actuator, drive the assembly. Microparticle dynamics is imaged, tracked and analyzed in real-time by an integrated software framework, which in turn algorithmically controls the agitation modes of the microchamber. The closed control loop is fully automated and can direct the stochastic assembly of microparticle clusters of preset dimension. Control issues specific to SelfSys implementation are discussed, and its potential applications presented. The SelfSys platform embodies at microscale the automated self-assembly control paradigm we first demonstrated in an earlier platform.
Exploratory Research on Molecular Communication between Nanomachines

paper describes the possibility of molecular communication as a solution for communication between nanomachines. Nanomachines are artificial or biological nano-scale devices that perform simple computation, sensing, or actuation. Existing communication technologies cannot be applied to nano-scale communication between nanomachines due to difficulty of scaling down and energy inefficiency of existing technologies. Molecular communication applies the communication mechanisms existing in biological cells to provide a mechanism for nanomachines to communicate over a short distance (adjacent nanomachines to tens of micrometers) by sending and receiving molecules as a communication carrier. Communicating nanomachines can spur the creation of entirely new applications such as communication among the computation gates of a molecular computer. This paper presents the framework of the molecular communication.
Fast Inline Roll‐to‐Roll Printing for Indium‐Tin‐Oxide‐Free Polymer Solar Cells Using Automatic Registration

carbon nanotubes [20] with varying success. However, only the report in Ref. [11] has demonstrated the potential to be sufficiently scaleable for the final substrate to be produced at a speed and cost allowing for its consideration as a serious candidate for R2R printing. Here we present a new flexible semitransparent substrate which, when used in the preparation of OPVs, provides similar performances to analogous modules prepared on ITOcovered substrates. [1] This “flextrode” substrate is suitable for inverted-structure OPVs and is based on a high-conductivity PEDOT:PSS layer, which is coated with zinc oxide. For larger areas a flexo-printed silver grid reduces sheet resistance. We demonstrate how the ITO-free electrode material can be processed at high speed by printing several layers at the same time using inline printing and coating. We show that a length of 1000 m is easily manufactured within a few hours having full 2-dimensional registration of the printed pattern. We see this as the first real candidate for a mass producible replacement for ITO, and to promote the use of such substrates in academic research, this substrate is made freely available.
Resolution of airway inflammation and hyperreactivity after in vivo transfer of CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells is interleukin 10 dependent

Deficient suppression of T cell responses to allergen by CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells has been observed in patients with allergic disease. Our current experiments used a mouse model of airway inflammation to examine the suppressive activity of allergen-specific CD4+CD25+ T cells in vivo. Transfer of ovalbumin (OVA) peptide–specific CD4+CD25+ T cells to OVA-sensitized mice reduced airway hyperreactivity (AHR), recruitment of eosinophils, and T helper type 2 (Th2) cytokine expression in the lung after allergen challenge. This suppression was dependent on interleukin (IL) 10 because increased lung expression of IL-10 was detected after transfer of CD4+CD25+ T cells, and regulation was reversed by anti–IL-10R antibody. However, suppression of AHR, airway inflammation, and increased expression of IL-10 were still observed when CD4+CD25+ T cells from IL-10 gene–deficient mice were transferred. Intracellular cytokine staining confirmed that transfer of CD4+CD25+ T cells induced IL-10 expression in recipient CD4+ T cells, but no increase in IL-10 expression was detected in airway macrophages, dendritic cells, or B cells. These data suggest that CD4+CD25+ T cells can suppress the Th2 cell–driven response to allergen in vivo by an IL-10–dependent mechanism but that IL-10 production by the regulatory T cells themselves is not required for such suppression.
Overexpression of cyclooxygenase-2 correlates with advanced stages of colorectal cancer

OBJECTIVE:We aimed to investigate the associations of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) with pathological features and survival in patients with colorectal cancer.METHODS:The expression of COX-2 was examined by immunohistochemistry in 112 primary colorectal cancers, with 64 samples from the corresponding normal mucosa and 16 metastases in the regional lymph nodes of patients with colorectal cancer. The associations of COX-2 expression with clinicopathological features, including survival, were analyzed.RESULTS:The frequency and intensity of COX-2 staining were remarkably increased from the normal samples (17%) to the primary tumors (72%) and to the metastases (100%). Expressions of COX-2 were 25%, 74%, 78%, and 67% in Dukes’ A, B, C, and D tumors, respectively (p = 0.005), and positively related to proliferative activity (p = 0.003). COX-2 expressions were 80% in colonic tumors and 60% in rectal tumors (p = 0.03). The expression of COX-2 was positively related to the better differentiated tumors in the colon (p = 0.04). We were unable to find any relationship of COX-2 with patient age, sex, tumor growth pattern, apoptosis, and patient survival (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION:We found that the expression of COX-2 was upregulated from normal cells to primary tumors and to metastases, and related to proliferative activity, tumor location, Dukes’ stage, and differentiation. These results further support the evidence that COX-2 may be involved in tumorigenesis and development of colorectal cancer.
A framework for GPU-accelerated AES-XTS encryption in mobile devices

Attacks on data stored in mobile devices are increasingly getting more efficient and successful, especially with the use of advanced cryptanalysis techniques and high-tech systems. Encryption using the IEEE XTS-AES algorithm might be an attractive solution for this problem, but it comes with a significant impact on the performance of these limited-resources devices. The emergence of the potential Graphical Processing Units (GPUs), as a general purpose non-graphical computational power, has gained a great interest in both industry and academia. Recently, GPUs have presented higher performance for parallel programming than conventional CPUs while they continue gaining reduced cost. One important application area that can benefit from GPUs power is storage encryption in mobile devices. In this paper, we introduce a GPU-accelerated framework for storage encryption in mobile devices using the XTS-AES encryption algorithm. The Google's Android is targeted in this work as a mobile operating system.
Multilocus Sequence Typing and Phylogenetic Analysis of Propionibacterium acnes

ABSTRACT Propionibacterium acnes is a commensal of human skin but is also implicated in the pathogenesis of acne vulgaris, in biofilm-associated infections of medical devices and endophthalmitis, and in infections of bone and dental root canals. Recent studies associate P. acnes with prostate cancer. As the species includes evolutionary lineages with distinct association with health and disease, there is a need for a high-resolution typing scheme. Recently, two multilocus sequence typing (MLST) schemes were reported, one based on nine and one based on seven housekeeping genes. In the present study, the two schemes were compared with reference to a phylogenetic tree based on 78 P. acnes genomes and their gene contents. Further support for a basically clonal population structure of P. acnes and a scenario of the global spread of epidemic clones of P. acnes was obtained. Compared to the Belfast scheme, the Aarhus MLST scheme (http://pacnes.mlst.net/), which is based on nine genes, offers significantly enhanced resolution and phylogenetic inferences more concordant with analyses based on a comprehensive sampling of the entire genomes, their gene contents, and their putative pathogenic potential.
Causes of requirement change - A systematic literature review

Context: Research shows that one of the main reasons of project failure is changing requirements. The success or failure of software projects largely depends upon how we respond to changing requirements. The knowledge about the causes of requirements change can improve our ability to make better decisions and manage changing requirements effectively. Objective: In this paper we present findings from an empirical study that was aimed at identifying the causes of requirement change and the frequency of these causes in different software development phases. Methods: We performed a systematic literature review and went through all the stages required by the process. Although our search strings yielded a large amount of papers but after careful filtration we were left with only five papers (six studies) which reported empirical knowledge about the causes of requirement change. Results: We have identified different causes and their frequency in software development phases. We have classified the extracted causes of requirements change into two major types i.e., essential and accidental causes. Conclusions: It is surprising to find little empirical evidence on the causes of requirements change as requirements change has been widely quoted as one of the major challenges faced by requirements engineers. With this small number of evidences, it is hard to generalize the research results. There is a need for further empirical research to identify and fully understand the causes of requirement change.
An audit of rubella IgG antibody status in antenatal women in a NHS Trust over 5 years (2005–2009)

SUMMARY Rubella, a vaccine-preventable infection. This study examined the antibody status of 11 987 pregnant women during 2005–2009. Results showed a non-significant decrease in those with antibody levels of <4·0 IU/ml from 29/2312 (1·3%) in 2005 to 21/2447 (0·9%) in 2009 (χ2 for linear trend=0·279, P=0·56) but a significant increase in those with levels of <10 IU/ml from 88/2312 (3·8%) in 2005 to 124/2447 (5·1%) in 2009 (χ2 for linear trend=10·27, P=0·001). In women born before 1983 (pre-pubertal vaccination) the proportion of first pregnancies with titres <4 IU was 1·1% (21/2002) compared to 3·4% (69/2022) in those born after 1983 (χ2=25·176, P<0·0001) and 2·2% (44/2002) for titres <10 IU compared to 14·0% (282/2022) for those born after 1983 (χ2=171·43, P<0·0001). The potential impact of the increase is difficult to determine, requiring further monitoring. This paper discusses the effect of changing immunization programmes on rubella susceptibility in pregnant women.
Spatially Explicit Models to Investigate Geographic Patterns in the Distribution of Forensic STRs: Application to the North-Eastern Mediterranean

Human forensic STRs used for individual identification have been reported to have little power for inter-population analyses. Several methods have been developed which incorporate information on the spatial distribution of individuals to arrive at a description of the arrangement of diversity. We genotyped at 16 forensic STRs a large population sample obtained from many locations in Italy, Greece and Turkey, i.e. three countries crucial to the understanding of discontinuities at the European/Asian junction and the genetic legacy of ancient migrations, but seldom represented together in previous studies. Using spatial PCA on the full dataset, we detected patterns of population affinities in the area. Additionally, we devised objective criteria to reduce the overall complexity into reduced datasets. Independent spatially explicit methods applied to these latter datasets converged in showing that the extraction of information on long- to medium-range geographical trends and structuring from the overall diversity is possible. All analyses returned the picture of a background clinal variation, with regional discontinuities captured by each of the reduced datasets. Several aspects of our results are confirmed on external STR datasets and replicate those of genome-wide SNP typings. High levels of gene flow were inferred within the main continental areas by coalescent simulations. These results are promising from a microevolutionary perspective, in view of the fast pace at which forensic data are being accumulated for many locales. It is foreseeable that this will allow the exploitation of an invaluable genotypic resource, assembled for other (forensic) purposes, to clarify important aspects in the formation of local gene pools.
Lesion of Primary Visual Cortex in Monkey Impairs the Inhibitory but Not the Facilitatory Cueing Effect on Saccade

Prior visual stimulus presentation induces immediate facilitation and subsequent inhibition of orienting to an ensuing target at the same location. Recent studies revealed that the superior colliculus (SC) is involved in these facilitatory and inhibitory cueing effects on saccade; however, as the SC receives inputs both directly from the retina (retino-tectal pathway) and indirectly from visual cortices (geniculostriate pathway), it is unclear which visual pathway contributes to the effects. We investigated this issue using monkeys with lesions in the primary visual cortex (V1), thus depriving the SC of the geniculostriate pathway and leaving the retino-tectal pathway intact. We found that the inhibitory cueing effect was selectively impaired and the facilitatory cueing effect was spared after V1 lesions. The results suggest that the geniculostriate and the retino-tectal pathways are differentially involved in the generation of cueing effects on saccade: The former is critically involved in the inhibitory effect whereas the latter alone can induce the facilitatory effect. The results provide the first direct evidence for the involvement of the geniculostriate pathway in the inhibitory cueing effect and further imply that the more recent evolution of the geniculostriate pathway in higher mammals improves the efficiency of visual search by inhibiting orienting to a previously attended location.
Tracking the Immunoregulatory Mechanisms Active During Allograft Tolerance1

Immunoregulatory mechanisms dependent on regulatory CD4+ T cells are believed to be critical in the maintenance of peripheral tolerance to allografts. However, a detailed characterization of the effects of these regulatory T cells has been hampered by the absence of a simple means to track and study them. In this work we provide evidence that in a murine model of islet transplantation the interactions between alloaggressive and regulatory T cells can be studied in vitro and in vivo at the single-cell level. The observations made in both an in vitro coculture system and an in vivo CFSE-based adoptive transfer model indicate that lymphocytes from tolerant allograft recipients 1) proliferate weakly to donor strain allogeneic cells but vigorously to third-party strain cells; and 2) suppress the proliferation of naive syngeneic CD4+ and CD8+ T cells to donor tissue in a cell dose- and Ag-specific manner. These effects depend on the presence of CD4+CD25+ T cells and are neutralized by anti-CTLA4 mAb or rIL-2. The principal effect of anti-CTLA4 is directed against the naive, not regulatory, T cell population. These results can be replicated in vivo by transferring lymphocyte populations into transplant recipients, proving that the graft-protecting actions of regulatory T cells are blunted by a rise in the number of allodestructive T cells (pool size model) and depend on the presence of CD4+CD25+ T cells and the integrity of the CTLA4/B7 pathway.
Cell death and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis: where is ballooning relevant?

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common form of liver disease in the Western world. Progression to more aggressive forms of liver injury, such as nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and cirrhosis, occurs in less than a third of affected subjects. Human data and both in vivo and in vitro models demonstrate that cell death, particularly apoptosis, is increased in NAFLD and NASH patients, suggesting that it is crucial in disease progression. Indeed, fatty acids – more specifically, saturated fatty acids – strongly induce hepatocyte apoptosis. In addition, hepatic steatosis renders hepatocytes more susceptible to apoptotic injury. Ballooned hepatocytes and Mallory–Denk bodies are important hallmarks of NASH and correlate with disease progression. There are complex correlations between ballooning, Mallory–Denk bodies and apoptosis through keratin metabolism and depletion, as well as through the endoplasmic reticulum stress response. Whether apoptosis may promote hepatocellular ballooning, or vice versa, will be discussed in this article.
Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) Air Pollution and Selected Causes of Postneonatal Infant Mortality in California

Studies suggest that airborne particulate matter (PM) may be associated with postneonatal infant mortality, particularly with respiratory causes and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). To further explore this issue, we examined the relationship between long-term exposure to fine PM air pollution and postneonatal infant mortality in California. We linked monitoring data for PM ≤2.5 μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM2.5) to infants born in California in 1999 and 2000 using maternal addresses for mothers who lived within 5 miles of a PM2.5 monitor. We matched each postneonatal infant death to four infants surviving to 1 year of age, by birth weight category and date of birth (within 2 weeks). For each matched set, we calculated exposure as the average PM2.5 concentration over the period of life for the infant who died. We used conditional logistic regression to estimate the odds of postneonatal all-cause, respiratory-related, SIDS, and external-cause (a control category) mortality by exposure to PM2.5, controlling for the matched sets and maternal demographic factors. We matched 788 postneonatal infant deaths to 3,089 infant survivors, with 51 and 120 postneonatal deaths due to respiratory causes and SIDS, respectively. We found an adjusted odds ratio for a 10−μg/m3 increase in PM2.5 of 1.07 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.93–1.24] for overall postneonatal mortality, 2.13 (95% CI, 1.12–4.05) for respiratory-related postneonatal mortality, 0.82 (95% CI, 0.55–1.23) for SIDS, and 0.83 (95% CI, 0.50–1.39) for external causes. The California findings add further evidence of a PM air pollution effect on respiratory-related postneonatal infant mortality.
What Children Are Looking at During Shared Storybook Reading

Two studies were conducted to determine the extent to which young children fixate on the print of storybooks during shared book reading. Children's books varying in the layout of the print and the richness of the illustrations were displayed on a computer monitor. Each child's mother or preschool teacher read the books while the child sat on the adult's lap wearing an EyeLink headband that recorded visual fixations. In both studies, children spent very little time examining the print regardless of the nature of the print and illustrations. Although fixations on the illustrations were highly correlated with the length of the accompanying text and could be altered by altering the content of the text, fixations to the text were uncorrelated with the length of the text. These results indicate that preschool children engage in minimal exploration of the print during shared book reading.
Microstructure of Cermets

The microstructure of several TiC-TiN-Mo 2 C-WC-Co/Ni model alloys and a commercial (Ti,Ta,W,Mo)(C,N)-(Co,Ni) type cermet was studied using x-ray diffraction, optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, analytical electron microscopy and atom probe field ion microscopy. In addition thermodynamical calculations were made in order to understand the development of the microstructure during sintering. Some alloys were performance tested to study their properties in cutting tool applications. All alloys contained carbonitride grains with a core-rim structure. Ti(C,N) and (Ti,W)(C,N) cores were remnants of undissolved raw material powders. The rims were formed during sintering and contained both Ti and heavy elements. The nitrogen content of the carbonitride phases increased linearly with increasing nitrogen content in the material. Mo and W increased the activity of N in the carbonitride. The grains were embedded in the continuous Co/Ni binder phase. Its Ti content could be controlled by the Co/Ni ratio, while its Mo content was more dependent on nitrogen content in the material. The C and N content of the binder was very low. An increasing content of WC in the raw materials gave an increased volume fraction of inner rim and an increased W content in the outer rim. For high WC contents undissolved WC remained after sintering. Mo 2 C was completely dissolved during sintering. With increasing Mo 2 C content in the raw materials the volume fraction of inner rim and the Mo content in both inner and outer rim increased. Thermodynamical calculations suggested that the inner rim is formed during solid state sintering at a temperature of approximately 1000 o C when there is an open porosity and thus the nitrogen activity can be assumed to be very low. Cermets manufactured from pre-alloyed raw material powders had a more homogeneous microstructure. Performance testing suggested that this improved wear resistance, whereas a high volume fraction of inner rims/W-rich cores and Ti(C,N) cores promoted toughness. The microstructure of the commercial cermet was very complicated but could be well explained using the results obtained from the model alloys.
Flexibility of design variables to pareto-optimal solutions in multi objective optimization problems

In this paper, we propose the concept of the flexibility of design variables to Pareto-optimal solutions in multi-objective optimization problems. In addition, we introduce a method for measurement of the flexibility of design variables to Pareto-optimal solutions. Increases in the number of design variables usually result in a wide variety of optimum solutions. However, when the flexibilities of some design variables are small, the contributions of these design variables are also very small. This means that the same Pareto-optimal solutions can be derived without these parameters. Therefore, it is very important to find the flexibility of the design variables to the Pareto-optimal solutions. To find the flexibility, the values of one of the design variables are changed, while those of the remaining parameters are fixed. In this procedure, it is very important to determine the fixed values. We describe these procedures to determine the flexibility of the design variable to the Pareto-optimal solutions. Finally, we illustrate using the diesel engine fuel emission scheduling problem that the Pareto- optimal solutions can be derived with only the design variables whose flexibilities are high.