Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Novel Range-Spread Target Detectors in Non-Gaussian Clutter

Range-spread target detection in spherically invariant random vector clutter is addressed, and different detectors with constant false alarm rate (CFAR) property are devised by exploiting order statistics theory. Firstly, with a known normalized clutter covariance matrix, the generalized likelihood ratio test based on order statistics (OS-GLRT) utilizes some largest observations from the range cells occupied by the most likely target scatterers. OS-GLRT is robust when the estimated number of scatterers is somewhat larger than the actual, but is degraded for smaller estimations. To improve the robustness of OS-GLRT, an OS-GLRT with dynamic threshold (DOS-GLRT) is designed, which adjusts detection threshold dynamically. By replacing the ideal normalized clutter covariance matrix with the constrained approximate maximum likelihood (ML) estimated matrix based on secondary data only, the adaptive OS-GLRT and adaptive DOS-GLRT are also obtained. The performance assessment conducted by Monte Carlo simulation confirms the effectiveness of the proposed detectors.
Quantitative Analysis of the Hepatitis C Virus Replication Complex

ABSTRACT The hepatitis C virus (HCV) encodes a large polyprotein; therefore, all viral proteins are produced in equimolar amounts regardless of their function. The aim of our study was to determine the ratio of nonstructural proteins to RNA that is required for HCV RNA replication. We analyzed Huh-7 cells harboring full-length HCV genomes or subgenomic replicons and found in all cases a >1,000-fold excess of HCV proteins over positive- and negative-strand RNA. To examine whether all nonstructural protein copies are involved in RNA synthesis, we isolated active HCV replication complexes from replicon cells and examined them for their content of viral RNA and proteins before and after treatment with protease and/or nuclease. In vitro replicase activity, as well as almost the entire negative- and positive-strand RNA, was resistant to nuclease treatment, whereas <5% of the nonstructural proteins were protected from protease digest but accounted for the full in vitro replicase activity. In consequence, only a minor fraction of the HCV nonstructural proteins was actively involved in RNA synthesis at a given time point but, due to the high amounts present in replicon cells, still representing a huge excess compared to the viral RNA. Based on the comparison of nuclease-resistant viral RNA to protease-resistant viral proteins, we estimate that an active HCV replicase complex consists of one negative-strand RNA, two to ten positive-strand RNAs, and several hundred nonstructural protein copies, which might be required as structural components of the vesicular compartments that are the site of HCV replication.
Nothing At The Center?: Academic Legitimacy in the Information Systems Field

Researchers in the information system (IS) field have recently called for the field to legitimate itself by erecting a strong theoretical core at its center. This paper examines this proposition, and concludes that it is logically invalid and does not recognize ample evidence to the contrary from the history of other disciplines. We construct a broader concept of academic legitimacy around three drivers: the salience of the issues studied, the production of strong results, and the maintenance of disciplinary plasticity. This analysis suggests that to remain successful, the IS field needs intellectual discipline in boundary spanning across a “market of ideas” concerning the application of information technology in human enterprise.
The relationship between fatty acid and citric acid concentrations in milk from Holstein cows uring the period of negative energy balance

The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between body condition score changes and the dynamics of energy balance indicators - fatty acid and citric acid contents - in milk during a early part of lactation. In addition, the relationship between these two indicators was also evaluated. A total of 27 Holstein cows that calved within three consecutive weeks were included in the analysis. During the first 17 weeks of lactation, milk samples were collected at a weekly interval and body condition score was assessed once a month. Statistical analyses were performed using Microsoft Office Excel and the procedures MEANS and CORR of SAS 9.1. Trend functions describing the development of fatty acid and citric acid contents explained 67.67 to 92.19 % of their variability. Similar relationships between fatty acid and citric acid contents and the changes in body condition score during the first three months of lactation were observed. In addition, a similar decreasing tendency was also determined for the contents of both the dependent variables in this period. Significant correlations (P0.01 – 0.001) were calculated (r = 0.51 – 0.74) for lactation weeks 6 and 7, thus before the subsequent decrease of body condition score by 0.2 points between weeks 8 and 12 after parturition. The results indicate the possibility of using the contents of fatty acids and citric acid as indicators of energy balance in dairy cows. The results also confirm the relationships between these indicators and emphasise the importance of proper herd management with respect to body condition score changes and the contents of fatty acids and citric acid in milk.
A Target Tracking Algorithm based on Adaptive Multiple Feature Fusion

This paper presents an online adaptive multiple feature fusion and template update mechanism for kernel-based target tracking. According to the discrimination between the object and background, measured by two-class variance ratio, the multiple features are combined by linear weighting to realize kernel-based tracking. An adaptive model-updating mechanism based on the likelihood of the features between successive frames is addressed to alleviate the mode drifts. In this paper, RGB colour features, Prewitt edge feature and local binary pattern (LBP) texture feature are employed to implement the scheme. Experiments on several video sequences show the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Contrôle géométrique et méthodes numériques : application au problème de montée d'un avion.

Ce travail s’interesse a la phase de montee d’un aeronef civil. Les trajectoires minimisant le temps de montee ainsi que que celles minimisant la consommation de carburant sont etudiees au travers du controle optimal geometrique. La dynamique associee a la phase de montee possede un phenomene dit de perturbation singuliere. Ce phenomene, present dans les systemes multi-echelle, rend difficile la resolution numerique du probleme de controle associe. La reduction desysteme hamiltonien, permettant de s’affranchir de la difficulte numerique introduite par la perturbation singuliere, est etudiee d’un point de vue theorique puis numerique. Dans un second temps, le systeme reduit est etudie geometriquement. L’utilisation des outils du controle geometrique combinee a celui des syntheses a temps court permet de determiner des familles de trajectoires localement temps-optimales pour des temps courts. Cette etude est completee par une etude des trajectoires temps-optimales en presence de contraintes d’etat. D’un point de vue plus numerique, les methodes directes et indirectes sont utilisees pour resoudre les differents problemes. Une synthese locale est alors realisee en partant des familles de trajectoires determinees pour des temps courts. Une etude des trajectoires minimisant la consommation de carburant est egalement realisee.
A block-based 2D Discrete Wavelet Transform structure with new scan method for overlapped sections

Regarding internal memory size, we proposed a new scan method for block-based structure to provide an efficient parametric structure for two Dimensional Discrete Wavelet Transform (2-D DWT). The main challenge in 2-D DWT structure is the amount of internal memory required to produce wavelet coefficients. The previous structures need fixed memory size depend on input frame size, but in proposed architecture, memory size is parametric and in trade off with the number of output memory access. Lifting scheme is incorporated to implement DWT.
Improving the Prediction of Risk for Anxiety Development in Temperamentally Fearful Children

Pediatric anxiety disorders are among the most common disorders in children and adolescents, resulting in both short-term and long-term negative consequences across social, academic, and other domains. Early fearful temperament has emerged as a strong predictor of anxiety development in childhood; however, not all fearful children become anxious. The current article summarizes theory and evidence for heterogeneity among children identified as temperamentally fearful and trajectories of risk for anxiety. The findings presented in this article reveal that identification of subgroups of fearful temperament improves prediction of who is at risk for developing anxiety problems.
Object‐location memory in adults with autism spectrum disorder

This study tested implicit and explicit spatial relational memory in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Participants were asked to study pictures of rooms and pictures of daily objects for which locations were highlighted in the rooms. Participants were later tested for their memory of the object locations either by being asked to place objects back into their original locations or into new locations. Proportions of times when participants choose the previously studied locations for the objects irrespective of the instruction were used to derive indices of explicit and implicit memory [process‐dissociation procedure, Jacoby, 1991, 1998]. In addition, participants performed object and location recognition and source memory tasks where they were asked about which locations belonged to the objects and which objects to the locations. The data revealed difficulty for ASD individuals in actively retrieving object locations (explicit memory) but not in subconsciously remembering them (implicit memory). These difficulties cannot be explained by difficulties in memory for objects or locations per se (i.e., the difficulty pertains to object‐location relations). Together these observations lend further support to the idea that ASD is characterised by relatively circumscribed difficulties in relational rather than item‐specific memory processes and show that these difficulties extend to the domain of spatial information. They also lend further support to the idea that memory difficulties in ASD can be reduced when support is provided at test. Autism Res 2015, 8: 609–619. © 2015 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
BARRIERS TO HYBRIDIZATION BETWEEN AEDES AEGYPTI AND AEDES ALBOPICTUS (DIPTERA: CULICIDAE) ,

Earlier reports on hybridization experiments between the mosquitoes Aedes aegypti (Linnaeus, 1762) and Aedes albop'ctus (Skuse, 1894) have given conflicting results. Furthermore, the mode of inheritance observed in this hybridization has been puzzling and these reports have evoked controversy. Both species are included in Stegomyia, a tropical subgenus with more than 90 species and eight major groups. While these two species are superficially similar, they are not closely related. In the classification of Edwards (1932), A . aegypti was placed in Group A (primarily Ethiopian species), and A . albopictus was placed in Group C (Oriental and Australasian species), based primarily on male genitalia. Horsfall (1955) states that A . aegypti is found throughout the humid parts of the world where larval sites are not subject to freezing. The distribution of A . albopictus is more limited. This species extends from Japan south and west through continental Asia, and eastward through Micronesia to the Hawaiian Islands. Both species are container-breeders and may be found together in and around dwellings (Macdonald, 1956). The first reports concerned with potential hybridization between these species were negative (MacGilchrist, 1913; Simmons et al., 1930). In 1937 Toumanoff reported
Maternal vitamin D status as a critical determinant in gestational diabetes.

OBJECTIVE To synthesize published research to determine the evidence for the association between maternal vitamin D status during pregnancy and the development of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). DATA SOURCES Literature searches were conducted for data based articles that examined maternal vitamin D during pregnancy, GDM, glucose tolerance, and insulin resistance using the PubMed, CINAHL, and SCOPUS data bases and reference lists from reviewed papers. STUDY SELECTION Primary research studies published in the English language between 1999 and 2011 reporting findings regarding the association of vitamin D with glucose homeostasis during pregnancy and GDM. DATA EXTRACTION Study characteristics and findings related to vitamin D status determinants, gestational timing, and measures of glucose homeostasis and insulin resistance. DATA SYNTHESIS Six data based articles met the criteria for study inclusion. Study findings comprised solely Level-2 evidence for the association of maternal vitamin D deficiency and risk of GDM. The majority of studies (66%) were conducted between 24 and 30 weeks gestation. Five (83%) studies reported an inverse relationship between circulating vitamin D levels and markers of glucose homeostasis associated with gestational diabetes or an increased risk for GDM associated with reduced maternal levels of vitamin D. In one study, researchers did not identify an association between vitamin D and GDM but did identify an association between higher vitamin D levels and lower fasting glucose and insulin levels. CONCLUSION Maternal vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency is prevalent among gravid women and is associated with markers of altered glucose homeostasis. These findings underscore the need for mechanistic and clinical studies to determine optimal vitamin D status in pregnancy for reduction in the risk for GDM with implications for vitamin D supplementation as a potential target for GDM prevention.
Logical Possibility: An Aristotelian Essentialist Critique

C LAIMS SUCH AS THAT IT IS logically possible for a solid iron bar to float on water or a cat to give birth to pups are either false or highly ambiguous, and this is a result of more than a mere failure to distinguish between socalled " logical " and " empirical " possibility. Rather, it is a result of a complete and total confusion of the objects logic properly studies, viz., second intentions, with those that science and metaphysics study, viz., first intentions. Further, this confusion of first with second intentions results from a tendency prevalent in philosophy, since at least Descartes, to regard concepts as atoms of meaning which one " unpacks " 1 in order to discover a priori or conceptual truth rather than intentions whose proper and definitive being consists in being of or about something other than themselves and which thus reveals the character of things. Though others 2 have noted that there is indeed something
An example of a protein ligand found by database mining: description of the docking method and its verification by a 2.3 A X-ray structure of a thrombin-ligand complex.

A computer program (SANDOCK) has been developed for the automated docking of small ligands to a target protein. It uses a guided matching algorithm to fit ligand atoms into the protein binding pocket. The protein is described by a modified Lee-Richard's dotted surface with each dot coded by chemical property and accessibility. Orientations of the ligand in the active site are generated such that a chemical and a shape complementary between the ligand and the active site cavity have to be fulfilled. The generated fits are evaluated with scoring functions which account for van der Waals, hydrophobic and hydrogen bonding interactions. This newly developed docking program can efficiently screen very large databases in a reasonable time and has been used to successfully identify novel ligands. The X-ray structure of a thrombin-ligand complex predicted by SANDOCK is described. The ligand binds to thrombin with a Kd of 65 microM and has an rmsd of 0.7 A for all ligand atoms from the predicted binding mode by SANDOCK.
Immune response in susceptible BALB/c mice immunized with DNA encoding Lipophosphoglycan 3 of Leishmania infantum

Visceral leishmaniasis is a serious parasitic infection that the development of an effective vaccine is necessary to control the disease. Lipophosphoglycan 3 (LPG3) is essential for the synthesis of glycoconjugates as parasite virulence factors. In this study, we evaluated the immunogenicity of Leishmania infantum LPG3 gene as a DNA vaccine against murine visceral leishmaniasis. For this purpose, BALB/c mice were immunized subcutaneously with the DNA encoding LPG3 either alone or in combination with recombinant heat shock protein 70 (rHSP70). Next, its immunogenicity and protective efficacy were evaluated in the immunized mice. The results showed a mixed Th1/Th2 response following immunization, which was associated with the production of both IFN‐γ and IL‐10 by splenocytes compared with control groups but did not lead to reduction in the splenic parasite burden. Serum levels of IgG antibody isotypes indicated no significant difference between the LPG3 DNA and the empty vector. In addition, the co‐administration of rHSP70 with the DNA vaccine offered no additive protective advantage on experimental infectious challenge. Thus, we propose to strengthen the immunogenic potential of L. infantum LPG3 in prime‐boost approach with a powerful adjuvant to elicit a robust parasite‐specific protective Th1 response.
Improving the Endurance Characteristics Through Boron Implant at Active Edge in 1 G NAND Flash

One of the most important issues of NAND flash memory is reliability problems caused by oxide and interface traps. But it has been revealed that their generation rate increases by Fowler-Nordheim current stressing on the tunnel oxide as the channel width of shallow trench isolation (STI) isolated NAND flash cells shrinks and electric field is increased at active edge of STI profile. By adjusting the boron doping of active edge, we decrease not only the electric field but also the trap generation. Also we confirmed the improvement of endurance and bake retention characteristics.
„Reżimy prawdy” i „reżimy fikcji” – Foucault o związkach sztuki z nauką

O filozofach Michel Foucault powiedział kiedyś, że są ich dwa rodzaje: tacy, „którzy jak Heidegger, otwierają nowe drogi myślenia” i tacy, „którzy odgrywają rolę archeologów, badają przestrzeń, w której rozwija się myśl, warunki owej myśli, sposób jej ustanawiania”. Zamierzam podążyć śladami Foucaulta, mniemając, że nie jest to wcale szeroki i do końca dobrze rozpoznany trakt. Zwracam się ku problematyce relacji między wiedzą a sztukami pięknymi, podejmowanej przez niego wielokrotnie, która jednak nie znalazła osobnego opracowania w napisanych przez niego tekstach. O ile wiedzę chciał ujmować Foucault w wielkich historycznych formacjach zwanych przez niego epistemami lub dyskursami, to w spojrzeniu na malarstwo czy literaturę kierował się ku konkretnym dziełom. Jednak pomimo różnic w ujęciach – co chciałbym pokazać – poglądy na wiedzę i sztukę cementuje u Foucaulta silny związek spójnego myśle­nia o dziejach nowożytnej kultury Zachodu. Wedle Foucaulta potencjał krytyczny zawarty w literaturze i malarstwie ma sens epistemologiczny, a nie estetyczny. To sztuka pełni krytyczne funkcje wobec wiedzy. Najważniejsze w sposobie myślenia Foucaulta jest jednak to, że owa krytyczna wobec wiedzy rola, jaką biorą na siebie malarstwo i literatura, ukazywana jest przez niego w sposób, który jest integralną częścią jego pojmowania historii wiedzy. Gdy ukazuje ona nieciągłość przemian nauk o człowieku i gdy wedle archeologicznych rozpoznań bieg ich historii nieodwracalnie anuluje prawdy wcześniej im przysługujące, to właśnie literatura i malarstwo sankcjonują zmianę i zapowiadają nowe formy poznania.
Bacterial conjugation: a two‐step mechanism for DNA transport

Bacterial conjugation is a promiscuous DNA transport mechanism. Conjugative plasmids transfer themselves between most bacteria, thus being one of the main causal agents of the spread of antibiotic resistance among pathogenic bacteria. Moreover, DNA can be transferred conjugatively into eukaryotic host cells. In this review, we aim to address several basic questions regarding the DNA transfer mechanism. Conjugation can be visualized as a DNA rolling‐circle replication (RCR) system linked to a type IV secretion system (T4SS), the latter being macromolecular transporters widely involved in pathogenic mechanisms. The scheme ‘replication + secretion’ suggests how the mechanism would work on the DNA substrate and at the bacterial membrane. But, how do these two parts come into contact? Furthermore, how is the DNA transported? T4SS are known to be involved in protein secretion in different organisms, but DNA is a very different macromolecule. The so‐called coupling proteins could be the answer to both questions by performing a dual role in conjugation: coupling the two main components of the machinery (RCR and T4SS) and actively mediating DNA transport. We postulate that the T4SS is responsible for transport of the pilot protein (the relaxase) to the recipient. The DNA that is covalently linked to it is initially transported in a passive manner, trailing on the relaxase. We speculate that the pilus appendage could work as a needle, thrusting the substrate proteins to cross one or several membrane barriers into the recipient cytoplasm. This is the first step in conjugation. The second step is the active pumping of the DNA to the recipient, using the already available T4SS transport conduit. It is proposed that this second step is catalysed by the coupling proteins. Our ‘shoot and pump’ model solves the protein–DNA transport paradox of T4SS.
In Vivo Development of Transplant Arteriosclerosis in Humanized Mice Reflects Alloantigen Recognition and Peripheral Treg Phenotype of Lung Transplant Recipients

Experimentally, regulatory T cells inhibit rejection. In clinical transplantations, however, it is not known whether T cell regulation is the cause for, or an epiphenomenon of, long‐term allograft survival. Here, we study naïve and alloantigen‐primed T cell responses of clinical lung transplant recipients in humanized mice. The pericardiophrenic artery procured from human lung grafts was implanted into the aorta of NODrag−/−/IL‐2rγc−/− mice reconstituted with peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from the respective lung recipient. Naïve or primed allogeneic PBMCs procured 21 days post–lung transplantation with or without enriching for CD4+CD25high T cells were used. Transplant arteriosclerosis was assessed 28 days later by histology. Mice reconstituted with alloantigen‐primed PBMCs showed significantly more severe transplant arteriosclerosis than did mice with naïve PBMCs (p = 0.005). Transplant arteriosclerosis was equally suppressed by enriching for autologous naïve (p = 0.012) or alloantigen‐primed regulatory T cells (Tregs) (p = 0.009). Alloantigen priming in clinical lung recipients can be adoptively transferred into a humanized mouse model. Transplant arteriosclerosis elicited by naïve or alloantigen‐primed PBMCs can be similarly controlled by potent autologous Tregs. Cellular therapy with expanded autologous Tregs in lung transplantation might be a promising future strategy.