Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nouveaux MEMS C-BAR : résonateurs capacitifs à ondes élastiques de volume piégées sur substrat Silicium.

Ces travaux de these decrivent l’etude et la realisation de resonateurs MEMS (Micro-ElectroMechanical Systems) acoustiques a couplage capacitif dits C-BAR (Capacitive Bulk Acoustic Resonator). Les C-BAR exploitent les modes d’extension-compression d’epaisseur en mode fondamental a 9, 45MHz. L’element vibrant est constitue de Si-monocristallin purement resistif et d’orientation (100). Notre but consiste a transposer au monde des MEMS a` excitation capacitive les caracteristiques de stabilite des resonateurs piezoelectriques BAW utilises dans les sources de frequences embarquees. Notre strategie de developpement s’est fondee sur l’exploitation de deux concepts originaux dans les domaines respectifs electrique et acoustique : l’interet immediat des resonateurs MEMS-Si capacitifs tient a la disponibilite du materiau, au faible cout unitaire, a la produire a grande echelle, ainsi qu’a la robustesse. A plus longue echeance, cet interet tient au potentiel d’integration avec l’electronique de commande ; Cette recherche est motivee par la necessite d’eliminer les pertes structurelles dans les resonateurs MEMS. Grâce a l’etude de la dispersion acoustique des ondes elastiques guidees dans une plaque de Si, nous avons pu controler les bandes d’arret par modification locale des caracteristiques de la propagation afin de confiner l’energie acoustique au centre du resonateur. Une premiere partie de ces travaux est consacree a la modelisation du C-BAR. Grâce a des simulations FEM appuyees sur des calculs analytiques, nous avons defini les limites imposees aux parametres constructifs pour l’obtention de performances satisfaisantes pour les applications visees. Nous avons notamment quantifie le necessaire compromis entre les quantites antagonistes constituees par le k2, limite par la rigidite statique de la plaque, et le Q, limite par les constantes de dispersion des modes exploites et le facteur d’aspect de la plaque. La deuxieme partie est consacree a la micro-fabrication du C-BAR exploitant les micro techniques disponibles au sein de la Centrale MIMENTO.
Constructive Analysis of S1S and Büchi Automata

We study S1S and B\"uchi automata in the constructive type theory of the Coq proof assistant. For UP semantics (ultimately periodic sequences), we verify B\"uchi's translation of formulas to automata and thereby establish decidability of S1S constructively. For AS semantics (all sequences), we verify B\"uchi's translation assuming that sequences over finite semigroups have Ramseyan factorisations (RF). Assuming RF, UP semantics and AS semantics agree. RF is a consequence of Ramsey's theorem and implies the infinite pigeonhole principle, which is known to be unprovable constructively. We show that each of the following properties holds for UP semantics but is equivalent to RF for AS semantics: excluded middle of formula satisfaction, excluded middle of automaton acceptance, and existence of complement automata.
Loss of Biofilm Formation in an Emerging Foodborne PathogenEnteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) Under Acid Stress

Purpose: Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) is an emerging foodborne pathogen as a significant diarrheal pathogen in multiple population groups. However, the associated phenotypic changes by which EAEC bacteria survive acid conditions, as it passes through the human digestive track, is not completely understood. Materials and methods: EAEC (T8) was grown in vitro by mimicking the in vivo pH conditions found in human stomach and intestine. Results: The lowest pH where EAEC (T8) was able to grow was pH 4.0 in Luria Bertani (LB) media, albeit with a lower growth rate and the bacteria reached log phase in approximately 7h. However, there was no significant difference in the growth pattern at mild acidic pH 5.5. In addition, EAEC (T8) grown at pH 4.0, demonstrated an absence of biofilm formation, clump or pellicle formation and umbrella shaped hemagglutination pattern and within 3h rod-shaped bacteria appeared as coccoid or spheroid forms with average dimensions approximately half the size of bacteria grown at control pH conditions. Conclusions: Taken together, our data suggest that the changes in the associated phenotypic characters might relate to the adaptation and survival of EAEC under acid stress conditions.
Efficient production of trans‐4‐Hydroxy‐l‐proline from glucose by metabolic engineering of recombinant Escherichia coli

Trans‐4‐Hydroxy‐l‐proline (trans‐Hyp) is a valuable chiral building block for the synthesis of pharmaceutical intermediates. Bioconversion of l‐proline using recombinant strain with proline‐4‐hydroxylase (P4H) is a preferred biocatalytic process in the economical production of trans‐Hyp. In this study, a recombinant E. coli overexpressing hydroxylase (P4H), γ‐glutamyl kinase and glutamate‐semialdehyde dehydrogenase (ProBA) genes were constructed by knocking out the key genes in the metabolism. These key genes contained putA encoding proline dehydrogenase (PutA) in the l‐proline metabolism and other catalytic enzyme genes, sucAB encoding α‐ketoglutarate dehydrogenase (SucAB), aceAK encoding isocitratelyase (AceA) and isocitrate dehydrogenase kinase/phosphatase (AceK) in the TCA cycle. This recombinant strain coupled the synthetic pathway of trans‐Hyp with TCA cycle of the host strain. It inhibited the consumption of l‐proline completely and promoted the accumulation of 2‐oxoglutarate (2‐OG) as a co‐substrate, which realized the highest conversion of glucose to trans‐Hyp. A fed‐batch strategy was designed, capable of producing 31·0 g l−1 trans‐Hyp from glucose. It provided a theoretical basis for commercial conversion of glucose to trans‐Hyp.
Evidenzkarten-basierte Sensorfusion zur Umfelderkennung und Interpretation in der Ernte

Unser Ansatz zur Umfelderkennung in der Ernte basi ert auf den Arbeiten zu Evidenzkarten von Elfes und Moravec. In einfacher F orm kommen Evidenzkarten als „Occupancy Grid Maps“ in der Roboternavigation und Kollisionsve rm idung zur Anwendung. Sie stellen auf Grund der effizienten Verarbeitund Interpretierba keit noch immer den Stand der Technik für aktuelle, autonome Roboterund Automobilsysteme dar . Die Ansätze aus der Robotik nutzen wir im Rahmen unserer Arbeit und erweitern diese zur Anw endung in der Erntesituation, indem einzelne Karten die Wahrscheinlichkeit einer Eigens chaft des Umfeldes der Erntemaschine (Masten, Gräben, große Steine etc.) repräsentieren.
El Niño and the shifting geography of cholera in Africa

Significance In the wake of the 2015–2016 El Niño, multiple cholera epidemics occurred in East Africa, including the largest outbreak since the 1997–1998 El Niño in Tanzania, suggesting a link between El Niño and cholera in Africa. However, little evidence exists for this link. Using high-resolution mapping techniques, we found the cholera burden shifts to East Africa during and following El Niño events. Throughout Africa, cholera incidence increased three-fold in El Niño-sensitive regions, and 177 million people experienced an increase in cholera incidence. Without treatment, the case fatality rate can reach 50%, but accessible, appropriate care nearly eliminates mortality. Climatic forecasts predicting El Niño events 6–12 mo in advance could trigger public health preparations and save lives. The El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and other climate patterns can have profound impacts on the occurrence of infectious diseases ranging from dengue to cholera. In Africa, El Niño conditions are associated with increased rainfall in East Africa and decreased rainfall in southern Africa, West Africa, and parts of the Sahel. Because of the key role of water supplies in cholera transmission, a relationship between El Niño events and cholera incidence is highly plausible, and previous research has shown a link between ENSO patterns and cholera in Bangladesh. However, there is little systematic evidence for this link in Africa. Using high-resolution mapping techniques, we find that the annual geographic distribution of cholera in Africa from 2000 to 2014 changes dramatically, with the burden shifting to continental East Africa—and away from Madagascar and portions of southern, Central, and West Africa—where almost 50,000 additional cases occur during El Niño years. Cholera incidence during El Niño years was higher in regions of East Africa with increased rainfall, but incidence was also higher in some areas with decreased rainfall, suggesting a complex relationship between rainfall and cholera incidence. Here, we show clear evidence for a shift in the distribution of cholera incidence throughout Africa in El Niño years, likely mediated by El Niño’s impact on local climatic factors. Knowledge of this relationship between cholera and climate patterns coupled with ENSO forecasting could be used to notify countries in Africa when they are likely to see a major shift in their cholera risk.
Selective and Divided Attention: Extracting Information from Simultaneous Sound Sources

The way in which sounds interact and interfere with each other (both acoustically and perceptually) has an important influence on how well an auditory display can convey information. While spatial separation of simultaneous sound sources has been shown to be very effective when a listener must report the content of one source and ignore another source (a condition known as selective attention), little is known about how spatial separation influences performance in divided-attention tasks, i.e., tasks in which the listener must report the content of more than one simultaneous source. This paper reports preliminary results from a pilot study investigating how perceived spatial separation of sources and consistency in source locations influences performance on selectiveand divided-attention tasks. Results demonstrate that 1) in both selectiveand divided-attention tasks, overall performance is generally better when sources are perceived at different locations than when they are perceived at the same location; 2) in both selectiveand divided-attention tasks, randomly changing the perceived source locations from trial to trial tends to degrade performance compared to conditions where the source locations are fixed; and 3) both of the above effects are larger for selective-attention tasks than dividedattention tasks.
Food variety and dietary diversity scores in children: are they good indicators of dietary adequacy?

Abstract Objective To assess whether a food variety score (FVS) and/or a dietary diversity score (DDS) are good indicators of nutrient adequacy of the diet of South African children. Methods Secondary data analyses were undertaken with nationally representative data of 1–8-year-old children (n = 2200) studied in the National Food Consumption Study in 1999. An average FVS (mean number of different food items consumed from all possible items eaten) and DDS (mean number of food groups out of nine possible groups) were calculated. A nutrient adequacy ratio (NAR) is the ratio of a subject's nutrient intake to the estimated average requirement calculated using the Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization (2002) recommended nutrient intakes for children. The mean adequacy ratio (MAR) was calculated as the sum of NARs for all evaluated nutrients divided by the number of nutrients evaluated, expressed as a percentage. MAR was used as a composite indicator for micronutrient adequacy. Pearson correlation coefficients between FVS, DDS and MAR were calculated and also evaluated for sensitivity and specificity, with MAR taken as the ideal standard of adequate intake. The relationships between MAR and DDS and between anthropometric Z-scores and DDS were also evaluated. Results The children had a mean FVS of 5.5 (standard deviation (SD) 2.5) and a mean DDS of 3.6 (SD 1.4). The mean MAR (ideal = 100%) was 50%, and was lowest (45%) in the 7–8-year-old group. The items with the highest frequency of consumption were from the cereal, roots and tuber group (99.6%), followed by the ‘other group’ (87.6%) comprising items such as tea, sugar, jam and sweets. The dairy group was consumed by 55.8%, meat group by 54.1%, fats by 38.9%, other vegetables by 30.8%, vitamin-A-rich by 23.8%, other fruit by 22%, legumes and nuts by 19.7% and eggs by 13.3%. There was a high correlation between MAR and both FVS (r = 0.726; P < 0.0001) and DDS (r = 0.657; P < 0.0001), indicating that either FVS or DDS can be used as an indicator of the micronutrient adequacy of the diet. Furthermore, MAR, DDS and FVS showed significant correlations with height-for-age and weight-for-age Z-scores, indicating a strong relationship between dietary diversity and indicators of child growth. A DDS of 4 and an FVS of 6 were shown to be the best indicators of MAR less than 50%, since they provided the best sensitivity and specificity. Conclusion Either FVS or DDS can be used as a simple and quick indicator of the micronutrient adequacy of the diet.
Right heart function in impaired left ventricular diastolic function: 2D speckle tracking echocardiography–based and Doppler tissue imaging–based analysis of right atrial and ventricular function

The aim of our study was to describe right atrial (RA) and right ventricular (RV) function, assessed by Doppler tissue imaging and 2D speckle tracking echocardiography (2DSTE), in women with signs of early impaired left ventricular diastolic function (DD).
Classification and Aesthetic Evaluation of Paintings and Artworks

Painters and Artists have contributed to the field of art over the years with their exceptional talent and skills. The Internet is full of their creativity and imagination where one can find most of their work. Like any other information present on the Internet, paintings are also not well organized. In this paper, a method is proposed to classify paintings with the help of support vector machine classifier using features extracted by a pre trained convolutional neural network-AlexNet. A painting is not only an art on paper but is a medium to arouse emotions and sense of pleasure within the audience. Aesthetic Evaluation aims at evaluation/rating a painting or an artwork on the basis of various parameters like style, topic, emotional engagement etc. which cannot be done by a machine alone. So we cannot leave behind the human inputs while determining the aesthetic value of a painting or an artwork. In this paper we also propose a method to judge or evaluate the aesthetic value of a painting by training a regression model with several image features, like Local Binary Pattern for texture, color histogram for color, Histogram of Oriented Gradients for edges and GIST for scene recognition in the painting, against human ratings for each painting. A dataset constituting of 1225 digital images of paintings of 7 categories is used for classifying and evaluating the aesthetic value. The classification phase was found to have 92.73% accuracy and the evaluation phase performed with an accuracy of 64.15%.
Molecular Bases of Ataxia Telangiectasia: One Kinase Multiple Functions

Ataxia Telangiectasia (A-T) is an autosomal recessive hereditary progressive neurodegener‐ ative and multisystem disease characterized by cerebellar ataxia, telangiectasia, recurrent si‐ nopulmonary infections, variable immunologic defects among which a significantly higher incidence of leukaemia and lymphoma and type 2 diabete. This disorder has been clearly linked to the loss of expression of the serine/threonine kinase ATM (Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated), a central player of the DNA Damage Response (DDR). Several clinical features of A-T patients, as well as the pleiotropic phenotypes observed in Atm deficient mice, can be associated to a defective DDR. Moreover, ATM deficient cellular models display radiosensi‐ tivity and failure to activate cell cycle checkpoints in response to DNA damaging agents. Emerging evidences indicate that ATM kinase may be involved in several additional signal‐ ling pathways, among which the signalling cascades triggered by oxidative stress, hypoxia, autophagy, metabolic changes, growth factors and death receptors, suggesting that the en‐ dangerment of these functions in the absence of ATM activity may importantly contribute to the development of A-T pathology.
Noninvasive fetal sex determination by analysis of cell‐free fetal DNA in maternal capillary blood obtained by fingertip puncture

Noninvasive fetal sex determination is used to indicate fetal sex in the first trimester of pregnancy. The assay searches for Y‐chromosomes in maternal plasma isolated from venous blood drawn by venipuncture. The detection of Y‐chromosome sequences indicates the gestation of a male fetus. By exclusion, its nondetection indicates the gestation of a female fetus. The test is reliable if performed by qPCR after the eighth week of gestation. An overall sensitivity of 95.4% (95% CI 94.7%‐ 96.1%) and specificity of 98.6% (95% CI 98.1%‐99.0%) have been reported. Clinical indications include pregnancies at risk of conditions affecting One sex in particular, for example female fetuses with congenital adrenal hyperplasia or males with serious X‐linked conditions such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy. We sought to detect the presence of fetal DNA in the maternal microcirculation and to evaluate noninvasive fetal sex determination using capillary blood collected by fingertip puncture. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the fetal sex determination performed on plasma isolated from capillary blood is comparable to results obtained using plasma isolated from venous blood. A research ethical committee approved this study (registry CAAE 52869116.1.0000.0023), and written informed consent was obtained from each participant. The study involved 101 pregnant volunteers with a median gestational age of 11 (8‐20) weeks. The initial study design was prospective. However, after commencement of the study, the appearance of false‐ positive results for male DNA among the capillary samples leads us to suspect maternal skin contamination with exogenous male DNA. We subsequently instituted new skin‐cleansing protocols for the capillary samples and compared with these results with our plasma samples.
“Black cloud” vs. “white cloud” physicians – Myth or reality in apheresis medicine?

Many practitioners believe in the phenomenon of either being labeled a “black cloud” or “white cloud” while on‐call. A “white‐cloud” physician is one who usually gets fewer cases. A “black‐cloud” is one who often has more cases. It is unclear if the designation is only superstitious or if there is some merit. Our aim is to objectively assess this phenomenon in apheresis medicine at our center.
Evidence of Field-Evolved Resistance to Bifenthrin in Western Corn Rootworm (Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte) Populations in Western Nebraska and Kansas

Pyrethroid insecticides have been used to control larvae or adults of the western corn rootworm (WCR), Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte, a key pest of field corn in the United States. In response to reports of reduced efficacy of pyrethroids in WCR management programs in southwestern areas of Nebraska and Kansas the present research was designed to establish a baseline of susceptibility to the pyrethroid insecticide, bifenthrin, using susceptible laboratory populations and to compare this baseline with susceptibility of field populations. Concentration-response bioassays were performed to estimate the baseline susceptibility. From the baseline data, a diagnostic concentration (LC99) was determined and used to test adults of both laboratory and field populations. Larval susceptibility was also tested using both laboratory and field populations. Significant differences were recorded in adult and larval susceptibility among WCR field and laboratory populations. The highest LC50 for WCR adults was observed in populations from Keith 2 and Chase Counties, NE, with LC50s of 2.2 and 1.38 μg/vial, respectively, and Finney County 1, KS, with 1.43 μg/vial, as compared to a laboratory non-diapause population (0.24 μg/vial). For larvae, significant differences between WCR field and laboratory populations were also recorded. Significant differences in mortalities at the diagnostic bifenthrin concentration (LC99) were observed among WCR adult populations with western Corn Belt populations exhibiting lower susceptibility to bifenthrin, especially in southwestern Nebraska and southwestern Kansas. This study provides evidence that resistance to bifenthrin is evolving in field populations that have been exposed for multiple years to pyrethroid insecticides. Implications to sustainable rootworm management are discussed.
An Experimental Analysis of Different Key-Value Stores and Relational Databases

Nowadays, databases serve two main workloads: Online Transaction Processing (OLTP) and Online Analytic Processing (OLAP). For decades, relational databases dominated both areas. With the hype on NoSQL databases, this has changed. Initially designed as inter-process hash tables, some key-value store vendors have started to tackle the area of OLAP. In this performance study, we compare the relational databases PostgreSQL, MonetDB, and MonetDB with the key-value stores Redis and Aerospike in their write, read, and analytical capabilities. Based on the results, we investigate the reasons of the database’s respective advantages and disadvantages and examine whether key-value stores can serve as the storage-layer within relational databases. Additionally, we evaluate storing denormalized values versus rebuilding them via join and show that in certain cases key-value stores have an advantage when processing OLAP queries.
Mutation T74S in HIV-1 subtype B and C proteases resensitizes them to ritonavir and indinavir and confers fitness advantage.

OBJECTIVES Several drug resistance and secondary mutations have been described in HIV-1 viruses from patients undergoing antiretroviral therapy. In this study, we assessed the impact of the protease substitution T74S on the phenotype and on the replicative fitness in HIV-1 subtypes B and C. METHODS HIV-1 molecular clones carrying subtype B or C proteases had these coding regions subjected to site-directed mutagenesis to include T74S alone or in combination with four known protease inhibitor (PI) primary drug resistance mutations. All clones were used in a phenotypic assay to evaluate their susceptibility to most commercially available PIs. The impact of T74S on virus fitness was also assessed for all viruses through head-to-head competitions and oligonucleotide ligation assays to measure the proportion of each virus in culture. RESULTS Viruses of both subtypes carrying T74S did not have their susceptibility altered to any tested PI. Viruses with the four resistance mutations showed strong resistance to most PIs with fold changes ranging from 5 to 300 times compared with their wild-type counterparts. Surprisingly, the addition of T74S to the multiresistant clones restored their susceptibilities to indinavir and ritonavir and partially to lopinavir, close to those of wild-type viruses. Most 74S-containing viruses were more fit than their 74T counterparts. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that T74S is not a major drug resistance mutation, but it resensitizes multiresistant viruses to certain PIs. T74S is a bona fide accessory mutation, restoring fitness of multidrug-resistant viruses in both subtypes B and C. T74S should be further studied in clinical settings and considered in drug resistance interpretation algorithms.