Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Electromigration aware circuits by using special signal non-default routing rules

Electromigration (EM) effects are a high concern in power delivery networks where the current flow is unidirectional. As the integrated circuits (IC) technology nodes become smaller, the EM effects become a critical reliability failure mechanism also on signal nets. Such effect is also known as AC electromigration. This work presents a design strategy using special signal non-default routing rules (SSNDRs) to re-route the wire segments of critical nets that present a high current density and are EM-unsafe. Some EM-aware design steps are added in the traditional design flow to analyze, fix and improve the Mean Time to Failure (MTTF) of the designs.
Modi fi ed Gellan Gum hydrogels with tunable physical and mechanical properties

Gellan Gum (GG) has been recently proposed for tissue engineering applications. GG hydrogels are produced by physical crosslinking methods induced by temperature variation or by the presence of divalent cations. However, physical crosslinking methods may yield hydrogels that become weaker in physiological conditions due to the exchange of divalent cations by monovalent ones. Hence, this work presents a new class of GG hydrogels crosslinkable by both physical and chemical mechanisms. Methacrylate groups were incorporated in the GG chain, leading to the production of a methacrylated Gellan Gum (MeGG) hydrogel with highly tunable physical and mechanical properties. The chemical modification was confirmed by proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR-ATR). The mechanical properties of the developed hydrogel networks, with Young’s modulus values between 0.15 and 148 kPa, showed to be tuned by the different crosslinking mechanisms used. The in vitro swelling kinetics and hydrolytic degradation rate were dependent on the crosslinking mechanisms used to form the hydrogels. Three-dimensional (3D) encapsulation of NIH-3T3 fibroblast cells in MeGG networks demonstrated in vitro biocompatibility confirmed by high cell survival. Given the highly tunable mechanical and degradation properties of MeGG, it may be applicable for a wide range of tissue engineering approaches. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Cholesterol incorporation into bacterial membranes

The wall-covered bacteria Micrococcus lysodeikticus, Bacillus megaterium, and Proteus mirabilis incorporated exogenous cholesterol into their cytoplasmic membrane in quantities resembling those incorporated by sterol-nonrequiring mycoplasmas. Cholesterol incorporation into the outer membrane of P. mirabilis was much more restricted than into the cytoplasmic membrane.
A male with fetal valproate syndrome and autism

Fetal valproate syndrome (FVS) is characterized by minor craniofacial anomalies, major organ malformations, and developmental delay. We report on a patient who has a clinical phenotype compatible with both FVS and autism. The presence of an autistic disorder in a previously reported case of FVS and similar findings in our patient suggest that a relation between this known teratogen and autism may exist.
Extraction of building footprints from airborne laser scanning: Comparison and validation techniques

Many applications in urban planning and analysis require the position and extent of buildings, the so-called building footprint. Cadastral maps acquired by ground based surveying are often not up-to-date or may not be available at all. Airborne laser scanning, on the other hand, offers the possibility to detect the roof outlines in an automated manner. This subject has been researched in the previous years, but a final comparison of the quality of these algorithms has not been performed. Additionally, the methods for assessing the quality of building footprint extraction should consider the special characteristics of airborne laser scanning data. This paper gives an overview of the algorithms developed for the task of house detection from airborne laser scanning and evaluates two algorithms experimentally. The methods of quality assessment are discussed and next to the standard method of pixel based comparison the object based comparison is studied, providing more insight.
Le tout est toujours plus petit que ses parties

Cet article vise a demonter que la disponibilite recente de donnees numeriques permet de revisiter la theorie sociale de Gabriel Tarde (1843-1904) qui se passe totalement de notions telles que l’individu ou la societe. Notre analyse repose sur l’idee que, tant qu’il etait impossible, difficile ou simplement fastidieux d’amasser et de consulter des quantites d’informations liees a des sujets precis, il etait logique de traiter les donnees relatives aux liens sociaux en definissant deux niveaux : un pour l’element individuel, l’autre pour l’agregat collectif. Mais des que l’on suit les individus par le biais de leurs relations (ce que l’on fait generalement dans le cas des profils) il serait plus avantageux de naviguer a travers les fichiers de donnees sans distinguer le niveau de l’element individuel de celui de la structure collective. On peut alors accorder une certaine credibilite a l’etrange notion de « monades » de Tarde. Nous affirmons que c’est justement ce mode de navigation, rendu possible par l’acces aux bases de donnees numeriques, qui permet de modifier la theorie sociologique. Au sens strict du terme, nous ne devrions plus parler de phenomenes collectifs par opposition a des phenomenes individuels, mais seulement d’autant de facons differentes de collecter des phenomenes.
Using Live Pathogens to Treat Infectious Diseases: A Historical Perspective on the Relationship between Gb Virus C and HIV

Recent reports that co-infection with GB virus C (GBV-C) is associated with a reduced mortality in HIV-infected individuals, a slower progression to AIDS, and lower HIV viral loads, suggest a potential role of GBV-C as therapy for HIV infection. Although not known to cause any human disease, GBV-C was only recently discovered and prospective studies assessing long-term consequences of infection have not been completed. Our understanding of the host-viral interactions between humans and GBV-C is in its infancy. Further research into the intriguing relationship between GBV-C and HIV is needed before intentional inoculation of GBV-C into individuals infected with HIV should proceed. This essay explores the history of the once-popular treatment of paretic tertiary syphilis with the blood-borne pathogen Plasmodium vivax, providing a historical perspective on the current state of affairs between GBV-C and HIV. A brief review of GBV-C biology and human infection is followed by a discussion of the current challenges facing the use of this organism to treat HIV.
Mutagenesis supports water mediated recognition in the trp repressor‐operator system.

High resolution crystallographic analysis of the trp repressor‐operator complex indicates that the principal determinants of specificity are water mediated hydrogen bonds between the helix‐turn‐helix and the identity elements of the operator. One such hydration site involves a conserved G‐C base pair (designated G6) six nucleotides away from the dyad which, if changed symmetrically to any other pair (e.g. G6‐‐>A) reduces affinity to nonspecific levels. This same water site also contacts the conserved A5 which, if changed to G (mutation A5‐‐>G), also diminishes affinity. The stereochemistry of the water mediated hydrogen bonding system predicts that the severe deterioration of in vitro binding caused by G6‐‐>A should be reverted by a second deleterious mutation A5‐‐>G. This proved to be the case. No other second mutation at conserved operator position 5 or 7 (flanking the G6‐‐>A) reversed the effect of G6‐‐>A.
Identitätsmanagement im E-Commerce (Identity Management in E-Commerce)

Bei heutigen Online-Shops muss der Kunde oft mehr persönliche Daten preisgeben, als für die Abwicklung des Einkaufs benötigt werden. Daher kaufen viele Menschen nicht über das Internet ein, weil sie den Missbrauch ihrer Daten fürchten. In dieser Arbeit wird das Phasenmodell der Markttransaktion daraufhin untersucht, welche Daten der Kunde dem Händler gegenüber in den einzelnen Phasen eines Online-Einkaufs bekannt geben muss. Aufbauend auf diesen Ergebnissen wird mit dem Persönlichen Identitätsmanager die technische Realisierung eines Sicherheitswerkzeugs vorgestellt, das dem Kunden eine flexible und der Situation angepasste Freigabe seiner persönlichen Daten ermöglicht.
Designing an interactive open-domain question answering system

Abstract Interactive question answering (QA), where a dialogue interface enables follow-up and clarification questions, is a recent although long-advocated field of research. We report on the design and implementation of YourQA, our open-domain, interactive QA system. YourQA relies on a Web search engine to obtain answers to both fact-based and complex questions, such as descriptions and definitions. We describe the dialogue moves and management model making YourQA interactive, and discuss the architecture, implementation and evaluation of its chat-based dialogue interface. Our Wizard-of-Oz study and final evaluation results show how the designed architecture can effectively achieve open-domain, interactive QA.
The immediate effects of BCG revaccination.

Although revaccination with BCG has been practised for many years, the effects of this procedure have not been studied in detail. This paper gives some results from a study of the immediate effects of revaccination, i.e., the lesion developing at the site of injection and the tuberculin sensitivity present after a few months. The data indicate that both of these responses are slightly stronger after revaccination than after first-time vaccination.The data collected in the study have confirmed that the tuberculin test has serious limitations when used for selecting candidates for revaccination.
Increased Prevalence of Activated Protein C Resistance During Pregnancy may Implicate Venous Thrombo Embolic Disorders as a Common Cause of Maternal Mortality in Nigeria

Background: Acquired resistance to protein C in pregnancy has been established as one of the factors associated with thromboembolic phenomenon, an important cause of maternal mortality and morbidity. Objectives: To establish the mean levels of PCA ratio (measure of protein C resistance) of among our pregnant women since maternal mortality rate of the country is on the increase despite efforts to reduce this trend. Materials and Methods: A prospective study was carried out in a tertiary institution in Enugu State, Southeastern Nigeria over the 7 months period from May 2010 to November 2010. Two hundred pregnant women and 50 non pregnant female controls were recruited and PCA ratio, (coagulometric assay) were determined. Results: There was a non significant difference between the mean and standard deviation PCA ratio of the female non pregnant controls and pregnant women in 2nd trimester 4.32±0.4 and 4.30±0.4 respectively. A significant difference was noted between the controls and pregnant women in 3rd trimester 4.32±0.4 and 3.87±0.5 respectively also between the pregnant women in their 2nd and 3rd trimester 4.30±0.4 and 3.87±0.5 respectively. Conclusion: There is increased protein resistance C in our pregnant women. This may implicate thromboembolic disorders as one of the leading causes of increase maternal mortality despite a downward trend in the prevalence of post partum haemorrhage. Keywords: Acquired protein C resistance, maternal mortality, pregnancy, post partum hemorrhage, thromboembolic disorders
Generalized sphere-packing upper bounds on the size of codes for combinatorial channels

A code for a combinatorial channel is a feasible point in an integer linear program derived from that channel. Sphere-packing upper bounds are closely related to the fractional relaxation of this program. When bounding highly symmetric channels, this formulation can often be avoided, but it is essential in less symmetric cases. We present a few low-complexity upper bounds on the value of the relaxed linear program. We also discuss a more general bound derived from the codeword constraint graph for the channel. This bound is not necessarily computationally tractable. When there is a family of channels with the same constraint graph, tractable bounds can be applied to each channel and the best bound will apply to the whole family.
Les comportements de rachat en Assurance Vie en régime de croisière et en période de crise

Nous nous attachons dans cet article a decrire de maniere precise le risque de rachat de contrat d'Assurance Vie, plus particulierement sur le marche des contrats d'epargne. Apres avoir propose un panorama du rachat en France, nous nous attardons sur les enjeux sous-jacents a ce risque et les aspects Solvabilite II en termes de reglementation et d'estimation. Le comportement de rachat des assures joue un role essentiel dans le resultat d'une ligne de produit et sa comprehension permet a l'assureur d'anticiper des possibles vagues de rachats/non-rachat qui peuvent lui etre fortement prejudiciables. Ces vagues sont le reflet de l'apparition d'une correlation naissante entre les comportements des assures, due a un contexte economique et des conditions financieres difficiles. La prise en compte de ces crises de correlation est un element clef dont l'assureur doit etre conscient dans l'optique d'une bonne gestion du risque de rachat en calculant des provisions techniques prudentielles adaptees.
Overcoming Fear of Floating: Exchange Rate Policies in Chile

Este articulo revisa las politicas cambiarias pasadas en Chile, poniendo particular enfasis en el sistema de tipo de cambio flotante y los dos episodios en que el Banco Central ha intervenido en el. Presenta evidencia de las condiciones favorables de Chile para enfrentar los shocks cambiarios: un sector financiero bien desarrollado que ofrece oportunidades de cobertura para que el sector empresarial reduzca su vulnerabilidad a traves de efectos sobre el balance contable; y un nivel bajo y decreciente de traspaso desde el tipo de cambio a los precios. Asi, ayuda a recortar los costos del regimen flotante, reduciendo la amenaza implicita en terminos financieros y de inestabilidad de precios, y por lo mismo evitando el miedo a flotar. Ademas, provee suficiente credibilidad al actual sistema cambiario, y refuerza el compromiso con dejar las intervenciones para muy contadas ocasiones.
Effect of Ethanol on Grape Seed Proanthocyanidin Extraction

Proanthocyanidins are found in the seeds and skins of winegrapes and are extracted into the must-wine during maceration. For seed proanthocyanidins, extraction is generally thought to be possible only in the presence of ethanol. This study examined the extraction of seed proanthocyanidins in model solutions with increasing concentrations of ethanol, from 0 to 15% v/v. Spectrophotometric and chromatographic results showed that ethanol was not required for proanthocyanidin extraction, although its presence increased the rate of extraction. Extraction dynamics indicated that alcohol increased the rate of proanthocyanidin extraction for the initial six days of maceration, after which, even in the absence of ethanol, the extraction rate was nearly identical for all treatments. These findings suggest that extraction time is an important consideration when managing techniques, such as cold soak, which are thought not to affect seed proanthocyanidin extraction.
A Hybrid Firm's Pricing Strategy in Electronic Commerce Under Channel Migration

Achieving an effective business design across the Internet and the off-line channel is a critical concern for a hybrid firm's choice of pricing strategy. Two pricing models are proposed to examine how consumer channel migration (one-way channel interaction from the traditional sales channel to the Internet) affects pricing strategy. One model has no interaction between the Internet and off-line channels. The other includes the possibility of one-way migration to the Internet channel and incorporates consumers' channel-switching costs and loyalty to the firm. The two models offer interesting results for understanding traditional and Internet-based selling. A high level of channel migration leads a firm to manage the two channels as one. With low channel migration, in contrast, the firm should optimize and manage each channel separately. The models had two main findings: (1) the level of channel migration determines a hybrid firm's pricing strategy; (2) a hybrid firm's price-level choice should be determined by the on-line demand proportion of its business. The modeling results were validated with empirical analysis for 10 large South Korean e-commerce firms by comparing prices in different product categories for various types of hybrid firms and Internet-only firms. This research offers new marketing strategy insights for managers of hybrid firms who wish to optimize price-setting decisions based on interactions between distribution channels and the intensity of the firm's involvement in the on-line channel.
Speaker recognition based on variational Bayesian method

This paper presents a speaker identiﬁcation system based on Gaussian Mixture Models (GMM) using the variational Bayesian method. Maximum Likelihood (ML) and Maximum A Posterior (MAP) are well-known methods for estimating GMM parameters. However, the overtraining problem occurs with insufﬁcient data due to a point estimate of model parameters. The Bayesian approach estimates a posterior distribution of model parameters and achieves a more robust prediction than ML and MAP approach. To solve complicated integral calculations in the Bayesian approach, the variational Bayesian method has been proposed and applied to many classiﬁcation problems using latent variable models. However, the performance of the Bayesian approach has not been extensively investigated in large speaker identiﬁcation tasks. The experimental results shows that the VB method improves the overtraining problem than the conventional ML and MAP methods.
Historical dictionary of medieval China

The Historical Dictionary of Medieval China fills an urgent need for a standard reference tailored to the interest of Western academics and readers. The history of medieval China is related through the book's introductory essay, maps, a table of Dynastic Periods, a bibliography, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries on key people, historical geography, arts, institutions, events, and other important terms.
Male-specific IDGF, a Novel Gene Encoding a Membrane-bound Extracellular Signaling Molecule Expressed Exclusively in Testis of Drosophila melanogaster *

We identified a novel gene of Drosophila melanogaster, Male-specific IDGF (MSI), encoding a transmembrane signaling molecule with exclusive expression in the testis. This molecule (MSI) contains a single transmembrane domain and has 35% amino acid identity with insect-derived growth factor (IDGF), a soluble growth factor for embryonic cells of the flesh fly,Sarcophaga peregrina. When MSI was exogenously expressed in Schneiders's line 2 cells, it was shown to be localized on the cell surface and exhibits growth factor activity, suggesting that MSI is a membrane-bound extracellular signaling molecule. Gene expression studies revealed that MSI mRNA was restricted to mature primary spermatocytes, whereas MSI was detected in the cells at the later developmental stages. Analysis using four meiotic arrest mutants,aly, can, mia, and sasuggested that MSI is involved in spermiogenesis, the final differentiation step of spermatogenesis. These results suggest that MSI is an extracellular signaling molecule participating in spermatogenesis and is a new member of the IDGF family.
Fragment-guided design of subnanomolar β-lactamase inhibitors active in vivo

Fragment-based design was used to guide derivatization of a lead series of β-lactamase inhibitors that had heretofore resisted optimization for in vivo activity. X-ray structures of fragments overlaid with the lead suggested new, unanticipated functionality and points of attachment. Synthesis of three derivatives improved affinity over 20-fold and improved efficacy in cell culture. Crystal structures were consistent with the fragment-based design, enabling further optimization to a Ki of 50 pM, a 500-fold improvement that required the synthesis of only six derivatives. One of these, compound 5, was tested in mice. Whereas cefotaxime alone failed to cure mice infected with β-lactamase-expressing Escherichia coli, 65% were cleared of infection when treated with a cefotaxime:5 combination. Fragment complexes offer a path around design hurdles, even for advanced molecules; the series described here may provide leads to overcome β-lactamase-based resistance, a key clinical challenge.
Further Experiments on the Inhibition of the Development of Lateral Buds by Growth Hormone.

The inhibition of lateral buds brought about by the application of growth substance after decapitation is not due to a stimulation of the growth of the experimental plants, since inhibition is complete without any accompanying increase in stem length or thickness. The application of two different crystalline preparations of growth substance, auxin B and Hetero-auxin, to decapitated Pisum shows these to be at least as active in causing inhibition as the impure preparation from Rhizopus, when used in the same growth substance concentrations. A third crystalline compound, auxin A, which had lost most of its growth-promoting activity produced no inhibition. The inhibition produced by the application of the growth hormone is not accompanied by any injury to the plant.
Architecture for a robot learning by imitation system

Robot learning by imitation has become a key topic in robotics research in the last years, due to the increasing interest in social robots. While several architectures that deal with this topic have been proposed, few efforts have been done in finding unified formats that may help in analyzing and comparing these architectures. This paper firstly proposes a set of components that can be identified in any of these architectures. Then, a novel architecture based on these components is proposed, that allows social robots to learn upper-body human gestures from imitation. This architecture uses as only input the information provided by a pair of stereo cameras. It is designed to work in uncontrolled environments, and does not impose the person to wear specific markers or color patches to be perceived. Experimental results show that the proposed architecture is able to effectively perceive, recognize and learn gestures in these real scenarios.
Young Women as Smokers and Nonsmokers: A Qualitative Social Identity Approach

The authors used a social identity perspective to explore young women’s perceptions of smoking. They carried out 13 focus groups and 6 intercept interviews with women aged 16 to 28 years in regards to the social identities that might influence young women’s smoking behavior. Three identities emerged: the cool smoker applied to the initiation of smoking; considerate smokers, who were older addicted smokers; and the actual and anticipated good mother identity, which applied to young women who quit smoking during pregnancy. These identities add to our understanding of the meaning of smoking within the lives of young women and might allow more focused initiatives with this group to prevent the progression to regular addicted smoking.
Nosocomial multiply resistant Providencia stuartii: a long-term outbreak with multiple biotypes and serotypes at one hospital

A long-term outbreak of urinary tract-associated multiply resistant Providencia stuartii occurred in a large medical facility that included a 513-bed chronic care unit. The unique characteristics of this outbreak were that from within a single medical facility, P. stuartii with multiple serotypes, biotypes, and antibiograms could be identified. The organisms isolated had five different biotypes, seven different antibiograms, and two major serotypes. All of the organisms were susceptible to amikacin, cefamandole, and cefoxitin. Application of standard infection control measures impeded the spread of this outbreak, and it slowly terminated 16 months later.