Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Signaling for Growth Orientation and Cell Differentiation by Surface Topography in Uromyces

The dimensions of the topographical signals for growth orientation and infection structure formation, a cell differentiation event that includes nuclear division, were determined for the stomatal penetrating rust fungus Uromyces appendiculatus. The differentiation signal was found to be a simple ridge on the substrate surface that had a markedly optimum height of 0.5 micrometer. Such ridges were microfabricated on silicon wafers by using electron-beam lithography. A similar ridge, in the form of a stomatal lip, was found associated with the stomatal guard cells of the bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) leaf. Ridge elevations greater than 1.0 micrometer or less than 0.25 micrometer did not serve as effective signals. Germ tubes of the fungus were highly oriented by ridge spacings of 0.5 to 6.7 micrometers. The data indicate that the fungus is able to distinguish uniquely minute differences in leaf surface topography in order to infect the host plant.
Superinfection and the evolution of parasite virulence

Earlier ideas that parasites evolve toward becoming harmless to their hosts have, in recent years, given way to more analytic studies, focused on the ‘basic reproductive rate’, Ro, of individual parasites. In general, the biology of the parasite life cycle will lead to constraining relations between virulence (parasite-associated host death or reduction in fertility) and transmissibility: the maximum Ro may then be attained by virulence being high, or low, or at some intermediate level, depending on the details of the constraining relations. Such studies have not generally included superinfection (where an already-infected host is infected by another parasite). Here we propose a general, but simple, model of superinfection, which is amenable to analytical treatment. In such models selection does not simply act to maximize Ro; superinfection leads to selection for higher levels of virulence, highly polymorphic parasite populations and very complicated dynamics. We calculate the equilibrium distribution of parasite strains and the maximum level of virulence that can be maintained by superinfection. We also note the equivalence between our ‘superinfection model’ and recent approaches to the study of the meta-population dynamics of multispecies interactions.
Efficient vanishing point detection method in unstructured road environments based on dark channel prior

Vanishing point detection is a key technique in the fields such as road detection, camera calibration and visual navigation. This study presents a new vanishing point detection method, which delivers efficiency by using a dark channel prior-based segmentation method and an adaptive straight lines search mechanism in the road region. First, the dark channel prior information is used to segment the image into a series of regions. Then the straight lines are extracted from the region contours, and the straight lines in the road region are estimated by a vertical envelope and a perspective quadrilateral constraint. The vertical envelope roughly divides the whole image into sky region, vertical region and road region. The perspective quadrilateral constraint, as the authors defined herein, eliminates the vertical lines interference inside the road region to extract the approximate straight lines in the road region. Finally, the vanishing point is estimated by the meanshift clustering method, which are computed based on the proposed grouping strategies and the intersection principles. Experiments have been conducted with a large number of road images under different environmental conditions, and the results demonstrate that the authors’ proposed algorithm can estimate vanishing point accurately and efficiently in unstructured road scenes.
Classroom Teachers' Perceptions of the Impact of Barriers to Teaching Physical Education on the Quality of Physical Education Programs

A major aim of the current study was to determine what classroom teachers perceived to be the greatest barriers affecting their capacity to deliver successful physical education (PE) programs. An additional aim was to examine the impact of these barriers on the type and quality of PE programs delivered. This study applied a mixed-mode design involving data source triangulation using semistructured interviews with classroom teachers (n = 31) and teacher-completed questionnaires (n = 189) from a random sample of 38 schools. Results identified the key factors inhibiting PE teachers, which were categorized as teacher-related or institutional. Interestingly, the five greatest barriers were defined as institutional or out of the teacher's control. The major adverse effects of these barriers were evident in reduced time spent teaching PE and delivering PE lessons of questionable quality.
THE DISCOVERY OF AN ULTRA-FAINT STAR CLUSTER IN THE CONSTELLATION OF URSA MINOR

We report the discovery of a new ultra-faint globular cluster in the constellation of Ursa Minor, based on stellar photometry from the MegaCam imager at the Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope. We find that this cluster, Muñoz 1, is located at a distance of 45 ± 5 kpc and at a projected distance of only 45′ from the center of the Ursa Minor dwarf spheroidal galaxy. Using a maximum-likelihood technique we measure a half-light radius of 0. ′5, or equivalently 7 pc, and an ellipticity consistent with being zero. We estimate its absolute magnitude to be MV = −0.4 ± 0.9, which corresponds to LV = 120+160− 65 L☉ and we measure a heliocentric radial velocity of −137 ± 4 km s−1 based on Keck/DEIMOS spectroscopy. This new satellite is separate from Ursa Minor by ∼30 kpc and 110 km s−1 suggesting the cluster is not obviously associated with the dSph, despite the very close angular separation. Based on its photometric properties and structural parameters we conclude that Muñoz 1 is a new ultra-faint stellar cluster. Along with Segue 3 this is one of the faintest stellar clusters known to date.
Position Paper: A Proposal for Electronic Medical Records in U.S. Primary Care

Delivery of excellent primary care-central to overall medical care-demands that providers have the necessary information when they give care. This paper, developed by the National Alliance for Primary Care Informatics, a collaborative group sponsored by a number of primary care societies, argues that providers' and patients' information and decision support needs can be satisfied only if primary care providers use electronic medical records (EMRs). Although robust EMRs are now available, only about 5% of U.S. primary care providers use them. Recently, with only modest investments, Australia, New Zealand, and England have achieved major breakthroughs in implementing EMRs in primary care. Substantial benefits realizable through routine use of electronic medical records include improved quality, safety, and efficiency, along with increased ability to conduct education and research. Nevertheless, barriers to adoption exist and must be overcome. Implementing specific policies can accelerate utilization of EMRs in the U.S.
Correction of Omnidirectional Camera Images using Reconfigurable Hardware

The use of omnidirectional cameras in computer vision algorithms is an additional computational load if the processing algorithm needs to extract the rectangular transformed image. There exist different alternatives to deal with this task inside desktop computers but it would be desirable to design a hardware correction unit in order to operate in real-time while using minimal silicon area resources. The proposed design allows the online transformation of a circular grayscale image coming from an omnidirectional camera to obtain the corresponding rectangular image. The model parameters include the image size and radial center. The processing time is one output pixel per clock cycle (50 MHz) which allows the image to be transformed before the arrival of the next one in most applications. It is possible to insert the developed FPGA core in the digital interface of the current omnidirectional cameras
Effects of PCB design variations on bend and ATC performance of lead-free solder joints

Sn-Ag-Cu (SAC) solder alloys, such as Sn-3.0Ag-0.5 Cu (SAC305) are the popular choices of lead-free solders replacing SnPb solders. However, SAC solders are more brittle in nature due to high stiffness and excessive intermetallic compounds growth at the solder joint to pad interface. This leads to higher risks in solder joints failures. Memory module type lead-free BGA packages are constantly under dynamic stresses during handling and thermal stresses during operations. It is important to understand the dynamic performance and long term reliability of memory module lead-free BGAs. It is believed that the PCB design variations cause dynamic and long term failure discrepancies in the fields. In this study, different pad and trace designs were introduced to evaluate the effects of PCB design variations on the bend and Accelerate Thermal Cycling (ATC) performance of lead-free solder joints. Pad designs with NSMD (Non-solder mask defined), SMD (Solder mask defined), and a unique web design were assembled and tested. Different solder alloys including SAC305, SAC105, and SnPb solders, have been evaluated in this study. Different PCB materials have also been evaluated in the test. Four point monotonic bend tests were performed to characterize the bending performance variations with different PCB designs and compared with conventional Sn-Pb solder. SMD pad is shown to have the best bend performance among all other types of designs in this study. In addition, this design also shows improvement in mitigation of PCB pad cratering with lead-free solders. Wide trace width seems to degrade the strength and is not preferred. Same as its superior shock resistance comparing with SAC305, SAC105 solder alloy shows better bend performance. There is no significant improvement of bend performance with Web Design. After aging treatment, bend performance of both SAC305 and SAC105 degraded by up to 34% and 29% respectively. However, the bend performance of eutectic SnPb was actually improved after aging. ATC tests were performed to investigate the effects of design variations on the long term reliability of lead-free solder joints; SMD design shows less reliability life than others. The implications of these results for the reliability of lead-free solder joints are discussed in this paper.
Five glycyl tRNA genes within the noc gene complex of Drosophila melanogaster.

Five glycyl The no-ocelli gene cluster of D.melanogaster occupies at least 110-kb in bands 35B23. Mutations of noc affect the ocelli and specific macrochaetae. Genetically this cluster can be separated into 3 units, nocA, nocB and nocC (1). Hayashi et al. (2) found an in situ hybridisation site for tRNA83Y in 35B. A cloned tRNA:'y gene, from 56F (p56.33) (4), was used as a probe to DNA from the phage that cover 165-kb of chromosomal DNA from the noc-Adh region (5). Hybridisation was seen to the 10.8-kb EcoRI fragment of kob7.06 and the 3.6-kb EcoRI fragment of Aob8.10. The former region is within the nocB region, just distal to the break of In(2LR)noc7. The kob8.10 region is between nocB and the more distal nocA. 430-bp of xob7.06 including all of the tRNA homology (coordinates -80 to -80.5) was sequenced. It includes 2 tRNA:'Y genes in the same orientation, separated by 234-bp. An 1118-bp XhoI-EcoRI fragment of kob8.10 (coordinates -91.8 to -92.8) was sequenced and indudes 3 tRNAg'Y genes, separated by 218 and 143-bp, arranged as shown below. The sequences of 4 of these genes are identical to the tRNA3#Y from 56F (4). That of the 5th, the distal gene on xob7.06, differs by 1 bp, position 65 is an A, not a G. The molecular evidence for 5 tRNA9'Y genes at 35B
Protective role for CD1d-reactive invariant natural killer T cells in cauterization-induced corneal inflammation.

PURPOSE Corneal inflammation can be induced by various stimuli, such as chemical burns, trauma, and acute bacterial infection, and directly impairs visual acuity. Natural killer T (NKT) cells belong to a specialized population of leukocytes that coexpress the T-cell receptor and NK markers. This study examined the role of CD1d-reactive invariant NKT cells in cauterization-induced acute corneal inflammation. METHODS The corneas of CD1d-knockout (KO) mice and Jalpha18-KO mice (both of which are NKT cell deficient) and control mice were cauterized with silver nitrate. Corneal edema and opacity were examined, and the phenotypes of the corneal-infiltrating cells were analyzed histologically at 24 hours and by flow cytometry at 96 hours. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to determine the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), interferon (IFN)gamma, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)alpha in the cauterized corneas. RESULTS The CD1d-KO and Jalpha18-KO mice had significantly greater levels of corneal edema and opacity than did the control mice. Although the number of infiltrating cells was not significantly different at 96 hours, both groups of NKT cell-deficient mice demonstrated increased early neutrophil accumulation at 24 hours and early expression of VEGF, IFNgamma, and TNFalpha. There was no difference in the level of VEGF-induced corneal neovascularization. CONCLUSIONS NKT cells appear to regulate the early accumulation of neutrophils, protect the cornea from excessive inflammation, and maintain corneal clarity. However, in this study, they did not affect the corneal revascularization process induced by VEGF.
Distance Rationalization of Voting Rules 1

The concept of distance rationalizability allows one to define new voting rules or “rationalize” existing ones via a consensus class of elections and a distance. A consensus class consists of elections in which there is a consensus in the society who should win. A distance measures the deviation of the actual election from consensus elections. Together, a consensus class and a distance define a voting rule: a candidate is declared an election winner if she is the consensus candidate in one of the nearest consensus elections. It is known that many classic voting rules are defined in this way or can be represented via a consensus class and a distance, i.e., distance-rationalized. In this paper, we focus on the power and the limits of the distance rationalizability approach. We first show that if we do not place any restrictions on the class of possible distances then essentially all voting rules are distance-rationalizable. Thus, to make the concept of distance ratioanalizability meaningful, we have to restrict the class of distances involved. To this end, we present a very natural class of distances, which we call votewise distances. We investigate which voting rules can be rationalized via votewise distances and study the properties of such rules.
Protection against endotoxin shock and impaired glucose homeostasis with ATP.

ATP-Mg++ (10 mumoles/100 g, iv) increased the LD50 for Salmonella enteritidis lipopolysaccharide (endotoxin) in male Holtzman rats (300 +/- 10 g) from 1.3 to 6.0 mg/rat. While endotoxin at 3 mg/rat iv 5 hr previously induced hypoglycemia to 12 +/- 4 mg/dl, ATP cotreatment blunted the hypoglycemia; i.e., plasma glucose values were 78 +/- 6 mg/dl. ATP treatment prevented the depression in gluconeogenesis induced by endotoxin as evaluated in vivo by the conversion of 14C-alanine to 14C-glucose. ATP treatment also reduced the hypercatabolism of U-14 C-glucose to 14CO2 in vivo and by epididymal fat pads in vitro. A role for ATP in preventing disruption of glucose homeostasis and development of endotoxin shock via counteracting insulin is suggested.
Estimation of short circuit currents in mesh DC networks

DC power systems, such as DC microgrids, DC datacenters, and HVDC systems, are emerging technologies in recent years. Short circuit current calculation is essential to study the protection and safety issues for DC systems. The time domain simulation for detailed fault analysis contains detail dynamic system models with controllers and thus requires high modeling efforts and computational complexity for fault analysis. This paper extends the short circuit current approximation method in IEC61660 to mesh DC systems with improvements. The accuracy of the proposed method is verified by comparing with fault simulation results of a LVDC system. This DC short circuit current calculation can also be implemented to conservatively estimate arc flash incident energy for DC safety study.
Diversity, Divergence, and Evolution of Cell-Free Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 in Vaginal Secretions and Blood of Chronically Infected Women: Associations with Immune Status

ABSTRACT Most human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infections are believed to be the result of exposure to the virus in genital secretions. However, prevention and therapeutic strategies are usually based on characterizations of HIV-1 in blood. To understand better the dynamics between HIV-1 quasispecies in the genital tract and blood, we performed heteroduplex assays on amplified env products from cell-free viral RNA in paired vaginal secretion (VS) and blood plasma (BP) samples of 14 women followed for 1.5 to 3.5 years. Diversity and divergence were less in VS than in BP (P = 0.03 and P < 0.01, respectively), and divergence at both sites was correlated with blood CD4+ cell levels (VS, P = 0.05; BP, P = 0.01). Evolution of quasispecies was observed in 58% of the women; the loss or gain of quasispecies in VS or BP was always accompanied by such changes at the other site. In addition, sustained compartmentalization of quasispecies in VS was found for four women, even as CD4+ cell levels decreased to low levels (<50 cells/μl). Quasispecies changes over time were associated with fluctuations in CD4+ cell levels; concordant increases or decreases in VS and BP divergence had greater CD4+ cell level changes than intervals with discordant changes (P = 0.05), and women with evolving quasispecies had greater decreases in CD4+ cell levels compared to that for women who maintained the same quasispecies (P < 0.05). Thus, diversity, divergence, and evolution of cell-free HIV-1 in VS can be different from that in BP, and dynamics between their respective quasispecies are associated with changes in CD4+ cell levels.
Effects of a vitamin D(3) analogue in a rat model of bladder outlet obstruction.

OBJECTIVES To explore the effect of the vitamin D3 analogue, BXL-628, on some of the consequences of bladder outlet obstruction (BOO), e.g. hypertrophy and loss of contractile function, as vitamin D3 and BXL-628 inhibit prostate and bladder cell growth in vitro, and there are receptors for vitamin D in rat and human bladder. MATERIAL AND METHODS In female rats, BOO was produced by a standardized method; one group received daily BXL-628 (150 microg/kg per day) and the remaining rats received vehicle. Sham-operated rats received BXL-628 or vehicle. After 2 weeks, the conscious rats were assessed by cystometry. Plasma calcium levels were determined and in vitro contractility assessed at the end of the experiments. RESULTS There was a significant increase in bladder weight, micturition interval and volume, and in bladder capacity in both the obstructed groups compared to sham controls, but no difference between the obstructed groups. On plotting the micturition pressure against bladder weight within the obstructed groups, there was a clear correlation in the vehicle-treated group, indicating a decrease in contractile function with increasing bladder weight. There was no such correlation in the treatment group. In vitro, there was a strong correlation of increasing bladder weights vs decrease in response to KCl and electrical-field stimulation in strips from obstructed vehicle-treated rats, but no correlation in those from drug-treated rats. Treatment increased the plasma calcium level by 12%. CONCLUSIONS The vitamin D(3) analogue used did not prevent bladder hypertrophy, but appeared to reduce some of the negative functional changes of the bladder smooth muscle, which occurs with BOO-induced increases in bladder weight.
Evidence-Based Guidelines : Device Selection and Outcomes of Aerosol

2005;127;335-371 Chest Rajiv Dhand, Joseph L. Rau, Gerald C. Smaldone and Gordon Guyatt Myrna B. Dolovich, Richard C. Ahrens, Dean R. Hess, Paula Anderson, Allergy, and Immunology Physicians/American College of Asthma, American College of Chest Therapy: Evidence-Based Guidelines: Device Selection and Outcomes of Aerosol http://chestjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/127/1/335 and services can be found online on the World Wide Web at: The online version of this article, along with updated information ). ISSN: 0012-3692. http://www.chestjournal. org/misc/reprints.shtml ( of the copyright holder may be reproduced or distributed without the prior written permission Northbrook IL 60062. All rights reserved. No part of this article or PDF by the American College of Chest Physicians, 3300 Dundee Road, 2007 Physicians. It has been published monthly since 1935. Copyright CHEST is the official journal of the American College of Chest
Compréhension dynamique du contexte pour l'aide à l'opérateur en robotique. (Dynamic understanding the context for helping operator in robotics)

Les technologies de l'informatique et de la robotique sont en perpetuelle evolution. S'appuyant sur cette evolution technologique, les systemes d’aide a l’operateur restent un domaine de recherche d’actualite. Le principal defi des systemes de la future generation est d'etre "intelligents", sensibles au contexte dans un environnement complexe et imprevisible. Cette these entre dans ce cadre et traite de la comprehension dynamique du contexte par un robot evoluant dans un tel environnement. En particulier, elle s'interesse a la question suivante: comment rendre un robot capable de reagir face aux situations de blocage, imprevues dans son plan d’action initial, pour accomplir l’objectif fixe par l’operateur ? Dans la litterature, ce probleme a ete souleve et resolu en partie en programmant dans le systeme robotique, certaines des fonctions rendant le robot plus autonome. Cependant, l'integration de ces fonctions dans un meme cadre est manquante et plusieurs recherches dans ce sens sont en cours. Dans nos travaux nous proposons un systeme supportant une approche complete et generique, qui assure a un robot la capacite d’etre conscient de la situation de blocage dans laquelle il se trouve et de comprendre et faire face aux situations de blocage rencontrees. Notre approche, nommee Robot Situation AWareness (RSAW) est inspiree de la notion de Situation Awareness (SA) qui a fait ses preuves dans de nombreux domaines notamment dans l’aviation. Nos principales contributions dans RSAW portent sur la conception d’un cadre semantique integrant la capacite de comprehension, fonde sur une representation des connaissances generique, donnant la possibilite d’appliquer des techniques de raisonnement empruntees aux sciences cognitives. L’integration de RSAW dans un systeme robotique a egalement ete etudiee, concue et mise en œuvre dans un systeme a couches. Ce systeme d'experimentation est le robot SAM (Smart Autonomous Majordomo) dote du systeme AVISO et developpe par le CEA-LIST. Les resultats des experimentations elaborees dans le cadre des travaux menes dans cette these sont concluants et prometteurs