Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Understanding Sources of Errors in Bit-Patterned Media to Improve Read Channel Performance

The limitations of current lithographic techniques result in a variation of the geometry of the fabricated islands in bit-patterned media. These variations give rise to jitter in the replay waveform that has a detrimental effect on the recovery of stored data. By analyzing experimental bit-patterned media, we show that the presence of lithography jitter can be quantified in terms of variations in the size and position of the islands, which can be seen to be Gaussian-like in nature. In addition, the amount of jitter increases as the periodicity and size of the islands reduces, confirming that lithography jitter will be a significant source of noise in any future storage system incorporating bit-patterned media. By using a comprehensive read channel model we demonstrate that a novel trellis structure offers improved read channel performance in the presence of island position variations.
A conserved charged single α-helix with a putative steric role in paraspeckle formation

Paraspeckles are subnuclear particles involved in the regulation of mRNA expression. They are formed by the association of DBHS family proteins and the NEAT1 long noncoding RNA. Here, we show that a recently identified structural motif, the charged single α-helix, is largely conserved in the DBHS family. Based on the available structural data and a previously suggested multimerization scheme of DBHS proteins, we built a structural model of a (PSPC1/NONO)n multimer that might have relevance in paraspeckle formation. Our model contains an extended coiled-coil region that is followed by and partially overlaps with the predicted charged single α-helix. We suggest that the charged single α-helix can act as an elastic ruler governing the exact positioning of the dimeric core structures relative to each other during paraspeckle assembly along the NEAT1 noncoding RNA.
Morphological Change Through Phonological Analogy: 2nd Person Singular -s → -st and Related Developments in Germanic

Almost all existing accounts of the change of the 2nd person singular verbal agreement ending -s to -st in Old English and Old High German attribute the development to some combination of reanalysis of forms with enclitic subject pronouns ending in -stu and analogy based on a handful of mainly preterite-present verbs that already had 2nd person singular -st in the present indicative in Proto-(West)-Germanic. These factors retain a role in the analysis presented here, but I argue that the operative mechanisms are essentially phonological in nature, licensed ultimately by certain neutralizing processes such as degemination, rather than involving the spread of an existing -st morpheme, grammaticalization of an enclitic subject pronoun, or relocation of a morphological boundary. This analysis also sheds light on the relationship of the 2nd person singular change to the more general phenomenon of word-final t accretion seen in dozens of words such as German Axt ‘ax’ < Middle High German ackes or English against < earlier agains. *
Sensitivity Analysis of Broadband On-Wafer Dielectric Spectroscopy of Yeast Cell Suspensions up to 110 GHz

This letter presents broadband on-wafer dielectric spectroscopy of baker's yeast cell suspensions up to 110 GHz. A detailed analysis of the sensitivities to measurement repeatability and uncertainties in the multi-step de-embedding procedure is performed. The Cole-Cole dispersion parameters of the cell suspensions are obtained from measured complex permittivity data between 0.5 and 110 GHz. Our analysis shows that the measured complex permittivity per frequency is most sensitive to length uncertainties of the test fixture, while the relaxation time in the Cole-Cole model is most sensitive to measurement repeatability.
A simple network capable of inductive generalization

Various networks have been described which will function as content addressable memories; when given an incomplete description of a stored item they will supply those features of the item which are missing from the description. In this paper we consider a more difficult problem, that of designing a network which will also accept a description to which no stored item corresponds, and will supplement such a description by inductive generalization over the items already in store. This problem is tractable only if the ensemble of possible items is restricted in some way. A reasonable restriction is to assume (i) that any item can be fully described by a binary vector of fixed length, where the value of any component indicates the value of the corresponding binary feature; (ii) that no two features are logically independent of one another. Condition (ii) implies for example, that the ensemble does not contain items answering to all four of the descriptions + + . , + — . , — + . and — . If these conditions are satisfied, the ensemble may be represented as a tree, in which each node corresponds to a possible item and each link to the alteration of one or more features. A simple network is described, incorporating modifiable switches and threshold logic, which will supply all the inferences which could be drawn about an incompletely described item by inspecting this tree. It is possible, furthermore, to give a clear interpretation to the output of the network when the input describes an item which could not possibly belong to the same ensemble as those in store.
„Natural”︁ killer cells in the mouse. I. Cytotoxic cells with specificity for mouse Moloney leukemia cells. Specificity and distribution according to genotype

In the spleens of young, adult mice there exist naturally occurring killer lymphocytes with specificity for mouse Moloney leukemia cells. The lytic activity was directed against syngeneic or allogeneic Moloney leukemia cells to a similar extent, but was primarily expressed when tested against in vitro grown leukemia cells. Two leukemias of non‐Moloney origin were resistant and so was the mastocytoma line P815. Although killer activity varied between different strains of mice, the specificity of lysis was the same as indicated by competition experiments using unlabeled Moloney or other tumor cells as inhibitors in the cytotoxic assays. Capacity to compete and sensitivy to lysis by the killer cells were found to be highly positively correlated. Analysis of the kinetics of the cytotoxic assay revealed a rapid induction of lysis within one to four hours, arguing against any conventional in vitro induction of immune response. No evidence was found of soluble factors playing any role in the cytolytic assay.
Merleau-Ponty and metaphysical realism

Global metaphysical antirealism (or “antirealism”) is often thought to entail that the identity of each and every concrete entity in our world ultimately depends on us—on our adoption of certain social and linguistic conventions, for instance, or on our use of certain conceptual schemes. Drawing on the middle‐period works of Maurice Merleau‐Ponty, I contend that metaphysical antirealism entails nothing of the sort. For Merleau‐Ponty, I argue, entities do not ultimately owe their identities to us, even though—as he puts it—their “articulations are the very ones of our existence. ” Once this is recognised, I maintain, certain interpretations of phenomenology are revealed to be caricatures and certain general objections to antirealism lose their force.
Differences in the Expression of Apoptotic Proteins in Burkitt's Lymphoma Cell Lines: Potential Models for Screening Apoptosis-Inducing Agents

Mammalian cells undergo programmed cell death by orchestrated interactions involving multiple independent pathways. At least one of them, the p53- dependent pathway is commonly compromised in Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) cell lines. Differences in the integrity of this pathway in various BL cell lines have made them useful experimental models in understanding response to standard or novel anti-tumor drugs vis-a-vis the p53 pathway. Non-p53-dependent loss of apoptotic regulation also contributes to the genesis and/or progression of lymphomas and it is possible that BL cell lines also represent these models. We have characterized the expression of multiple apoptotic proteins in a panel of BL cell lines and describe cell lines with loss of cIAP1, cIAP2, Bax, Bak, Bcl-Xs and p38 MAP-kinase. This data should make this panel of cell lines a useful screening system for testing novel apoptotic inducers.
Access control: principles and solutions

Access control is the process of mediating every request to resources and data maintained by a system and determining whether the request should be granted or denied. The variety and complexity of the protection requirements that may need to be imposed makes access control a far from trivial process. Expressiveness and flexibility are top requisites for an access control system together with, and usually in conflict with, simplicity and efficiency. In this paper, we discuss the main desiderata for access control systems and illustrate the main characteristics of access control solutions in some of the most popular existing systems. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Genome Sequences of Two Plant Growth-Promoting Fluorescent Pseudomonas Strains, R62 and R81

ABSTRACT Plant growth-promoting rhizobacterial (PGPR) strains R62 and R81 have previously been isolated and characterized as part of the Indo-Swiss Collaboration in Biotechnology. Here we present the draft genome sequences of these two PGPR strains, with the aim of unraveling the mechanisms behind their ability to promote wheat growth.
Reliability of the conditioned pain modulation paradigm to assess endogenous inhibitory pain pathways.

BACKGROUND Conditioned pain modulation paradigms are often used to assess the diffuse noxious inhibitory control (DNIC) system. DNICs provide one of the main supraspinal pain inhibitory pathways and are impaired in several chronic pain populations. Only one previous study has examined the psychometric properties of the conditioned pain modulation technique and this study did not evaluate intersession reliability. OBJECTIVES To evaluate and compare the intra- and intersession reliability of two conditioned pain modulation paradigms using different conditioning stimuli, and to determine the time course of conditioned pain inhibition following stimulus removal. METHODS An electronic pressure transducer was used to determine the pressure-pain threshold at the knee during painful conditioning of the opposite hand using the ischemic arm test and the cold pressor test. Assessments were completed twice on one day and repeated once approximately three days later. RESULTS The two conditioning stimuli resulted in a similar increase in the pressure-pain threshold at the knee, reflecting presumed activation of the DNIC system. Intrasession intraclass correlation coefficients for the cold pressor (0.85) and ischemic arm tests (0.75) were excellent. The intersession intraclass correlation coefficient for the cold pressor test was good (0.66) but was poor for the ischemic arm test (-0.4). Inhibition of the pressure-pain threshold remained significant at 10 min following conditioning, but returned to baseline by 15 min. CONCLUSIONS Within-session reliability of DNIC assessment using conditioned pain modulation paradigms was excellent, but the applicability of assessing pain modulation over multiple sessions was influenced by the conditioning stimulus. The cold pressor test was the superior technique.
Dynamic characteristics of circular CMUTs with air-filled cavities

Our work deals with the study of the dynamic characteristics of a single circular CMUT transducer under squeeze film damping effect. A simplified analytical approach is developed for parallel plate approximation for the electromechanical behavior and the squeeze film damping. Analytically calculated results demonstrates, that trends of resonant frequency with bias voltage are defined by the ratio of air spring constant to mechanical spring constant. At the same time FEM multiphysics model is built to define the influence of membrane flexibility and venting boundary conditions to the dimensionless viscous and elastic damping forces. FEM study shows the presence of viscous loss in the sealed air-filled cavity and the insensitivity of squeeze film damping forces to the type of lateral venting boundary conditions in high squeeze number region which is typical for CMUT operation. Finally, the experimental dynamic characterization is conducted on CMUT with 67 μm - 167 μm radii fabricated utilizing an anodic bonding technology. Experimental data are in a good agreement with the results of multiphysics FEM calculation, which take into account bias voltage, initial plate deflection, radiation loss and squeeze film damping.
Spinal muscular atrophy: A new player joins the battle for SMN2 exon 7 splicing

Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) is a neurodegenerative disease with high impact in the human population, being the leading genetic cause of death in infancy. No cure is currently available for SMA, raising interest in the development of novel therapeutic strategies for this disease. Much of the effort in this sense has been aimed at increasing the SMN2-derived transcript levels, either by improving transcription rate or by reprogramming exon 7 splicing. Herein, we discuss recent findings on the regulation of SMN2 gene expression, focusing on splicing modulation as a therapeutic target. We review the literature regarding splicing factors involved in the regulation of exon 7 splicing in SMN2, and discuss the role played in this process by the RNA binding protein Sam68, a novel crucial regulator of SMN2 splicing.
Cranial airways and the integration between the inner and outer facial skeleton in humans.

The cranial airways are in the center of the human face. Therefore variation in the size and shape of these central craniofacial structures could have important consequences for the surrounding midfacial morphology during development and evolution. Yet such interactions are unclear because one school of thought, based on experimental and developmental evidence, suggests a relative independence (modularity) of these two facial compartments, whereas another one assumes tight morphological integration. This study uses geometric morphometrics of modern humans (N = 263) and 40 three-dimensional-landmarks of the skeletal nasopharynx and nasal cavity and outer midfacial skeleton to analyze these questions in terms of modularity. The sizes of all facial compartments were all strongly correlated. Shape integration was high between the cranial airways and the outer midfacial skeleton and between the latter and the anterior airway openings (skeletal regions close to and including piriform aperture). However, no shape integration was detected between outer midface and posterior airway openings (nasopharynx and choanae). Similarly, no integration was detected between posterior and anterior airway openings. This may reflect functional modularization of nasal cavity compartments related to respiratory physiology and differential developmental interactions with the face. Airway size likely relates to the energetics of the organism, whereas airways shape might be more indicative of respiratory physiology and climate. Although this hypothesis should be addressed in future steps, here we suggest that selection on morphofunctional characteristics of the cranial airways could have cascading effects for the variation, development, and evolution of the human face.
Assessing Differential Gene Expression with Small Sample Sizes in Oligonucleotide Arrays Using a Mean‐Variance Model

Summary The identification of the genes that are differentially expressed in two‐sample microarray experiments remains a difficult problem when the number of arrays is very small. We discuss the implications of using ordinary t‐statistics and examine other commonly used variants. For oligonucleotide arrays with multiple probes per gene, we introduce a simple model relating the mean and variance of expression, possibly with gene‐specific random effects. Parameter estimates from the model have natural shrinkage properties that guard against inappropriately small variance estimates, and the model is used to obtain a differential expression statistic. A limiting value to the positive false discovery rate (pFDR) for ordinary t‐tests provides motivation for our use of the data structure to improve variance estimates. Our approach performs well compared to other proposed approaches in terms of the false discovery rate.
Glutathione conjugation protects some, but not all, cell lines against DNA binding of benzo[alpha]pyrene metabolites.

Three major types of cell lines were distinguished according to their capacity for glutathione (GSH) conjugation of extracellularly generated benzo[alpha]pyrene (BaP) metabolites, and the level of DNA binding of such metabolites. (i) Cells, e.g. HepG2, which conjugate BaP metabolites only very poorly with GSH and are highly susceptible to DNA binding. The number of DNA adducts in these cells (approximately 10 pmol/mg DNA) is taken to be the maximum DNA binding in 'unprotected' cells. (ii) Cells, e.g. V79 and NCI-H322, which efficiently conjugate BaP metabolites with GSH but, like HepG2 cells, are 'unprotected' as indicted by maximum DNA binding. (iii) Cells, e.g. 2sFou and H4IIEC3/G-, which are positive for GSH conjugation and exhibit only very little DNA binding. When GSH conjugation in these apparently 'protected' cells is suppressed by depletion of GSH, the level of DNA binding increases to that found in 'unprotected' lines. GSH depletion does not substantially affect DNA binding in 'unprotected' cells. The results show that, although GSH conjugation is capable of suppressing DNA binding of reactive BaP metabolites in some cell types, it fails to protect against DNA binding in others. It is possible that the reactive species are compartmentalized and certain cell types are protected, because they are able to specifically trap those BaP metabolites which bind to DNA.
Insulin-activated Erk-mitogen-activated Protein Kinases Phosphorylate Sterol Regulatory Element-binding Protein-2 at Serine Residues 432 and 455 in Vivo*

The transcription factor sterol regulatory element binding protein (SREBP)-2 plays a pivotal role in lipid metabolism. Previously, we have shown that the mature form of SREBP-2 is a substrate of Erk-mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK). The aim of the present study was to identify Erk-specific phosphorylation sites. Using a protein chemistry approach, we could identify Ser-432 and Ser-455 as major phosphorylation sites. Further characterization by electrophoretic mobility shift assay and promoter reporter gene analyses revealed that phosphorylation does not influence protein/DNA interaction, but enhances trans-activity. In intact cells, SREBP-2 is phosphorylated by insulin, which seems to be related to their bio-responses on low density lipoprotein receptor activity. These results suggest that activation of Erk-MAPK pathways by hormones such as insulin might be related to a novel regulatory principle of SREBP-2.
EL2-related studies in irradiated and implanted GaAs

2014 Le donneur profond EL2 est un defaut tres important par le role qu’il joue dans la compensation du materiau GaAs semi-isolant non dope. La connaissance de sa structure exacte devient de plus en plus necessaire. Nous presentons une revue des resultats experimentaux concernant la creation artificielle de EL2 par irradiation (electrons, neutrons) et egalement par implantation ionique avec et sans recuit. Ces etudes ont fortement contribue a specifier la nature de EL2 a savoir un defaut intrinseque complexe a base d’un arsenic antisite AsGa(AsGa + X). Nous soulignons de nouveaux concepts tels que les transitions par sauts dues au tunnelling des electrons entre defauts profonds proposees pour interpreter les resultats obtenus sur les materiaux implantes et irradies aux neutrons. Nous discutons egalement les principaux resultats de ces experiences de creations artificielles en fonction des plus recents modeles proposes pour EL2 a ce jour.
Studies in Mysticism and Mystical Experience in the Soviet and Post-Soviet Russia

The paper highlights the key perspectives on mysticism typical for Soviet and Post-Soviet religious studies. Recognizing the vagueness of the ‘mystical’, Soviet scholars interpreted it as a belief in ‘communication’ with ‘supernatural powers’. Furthermore, ‘mysticism’ was thought of as a multicomponent entity composed of (1) mystical experiences, (2) mystical beliefs, and (3) ‘mysticism’ as a ‘false ideology’. Such an understanding resulted from their epistemological settings, i.e. the reflection theory of dialectical materialism. In this light, mystical experiences and beliefs were distorted ‘reflections’ of objective reality in the human mind caused by factors both of an individual and a social nature. This understanding still defines the academic interpretations of the ‘mystical’ in Russia today.
Étude du comportement des apprenants dans les travaux pratiques et de sa corrélation avec la performance académique

Cette etude analyse le comportement des apprenants au sein de laboratoires distants afin d'identifier de nouveaux facteurs de prediction du succes de l'apprentissage. A partir d'une fouille de motifs sequentiels d'actions, nous definissons des strategies d'apprentissage, indicateurs de plus haut niveau d'abstraction. Certaines sont correlees a la performance academique des apprenants, comme la construction d'une action etape par etape, plus frequemment appliquee par les etudiants de plus haut niveau de performance. Tandis que notre proposition peut s'appliquer a d'autres contextes, nos resultats nous ont permis d'implanter de nouveaux outils de suivi et de guidage dans notre environnement.
Molecular Epidemiology of Genital Chlamydia T rachomatis Infection in Asymptomatic Adolescent-Young People

Infections by Chlamydia trachomatis are usually asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic and for this reason, diagnosis is often delayed. The aim of this study was to investigate the genotype of genital Chlamydia trachomatis infections among asymptomatic adolescent and young people. Detection and genotyping of Chlamydia trachomatis were performed with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis directly on crude cells of first-void urine. Crude samples (n=427; 222 men/205 women) from young people with different social and economic conditions were screened for C. trachomatis. The prevalence of chlamydial infection was 13.7% among women and 4.1% among men. Socioeconomically disadvantaged women had a significantly higher prevalence compared with the rest of the women 27.4% vs. 6.1% (p=0.0006). Genotype E was the most frequently found (N=27 73%) among both genders. Screening programs focussed on sexually active adolescents and young people attending health clinics are important for detection of Chlamydia trachomatis infections.
The Influence of Diabetes Mellitus on Lenticular Thickness

The prevalence of diabetes is increasing exponentially often causing an enormous public health burden. A hospital based observational study was undertaken and 144 type I diabetic subjects with equal number of non-diabetic controls were enrolled. The mean lens thickness, duration, fasting blood sugar, post prandial blood sugar and glycated hemoglobin were assessed. The crystalline lens was thicker in the diabetic group (4.33±0.38 mm vs 4.05±0.55 mm) which was statistically significant (p<0.001). There was a significant correlation between lens thickness and age (p<0.001, r=0.651) and between lens thickness and duration of diabetes (p<0.001, r=0.468). However, HBA1c and blood sugar levels had no significant influence on lenticular thickness.