Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Elastic Anisotropy of Earth's Inner Core

Earth's solid-iron inner core is elastically anisotropic. Sound waves propagate faster along Earth's spin axis than in the equatorial plane. This anisotropy has previously been explained by a preferred orientation of the iron alloy hexagonal crystals. However, hexagonal iron becomes increasingly isotropic on increasing temperature at pressures of the inner core and is therefore unlikely to cause the anisotropy. An alternative explanation, supported by diamond anvil cell experiments, is that iron adopts a body-centered cubic form in the inner core. We show, by molecular dynamics simulations, that the body-centered cubic iron phase is extremely anisotropic to sound waves despite its high symmetry. Direct simulations of seismic wave propagation reveal an anisotropy of 12%, a value adequate to explain the anisotropy of the inner core.
Vulnerability of European Rail Traffic Management System to Radiated Intentional EMI

In this paper, the vulnerability of the future electrified railway system in Europe from a high-power microwave (HPM) source is investigated. The scenario of in-band disturbances radiated toward a GSM-R antenna and damaging the connected communications system is evaluated for different classes of HPM sources and situations. The minimum realistic distances for the different HPM sources from the antenna to cause permanent damage is shown, and the severity of threat from the different sources is discussed.
Binary max-sum for clustering-based task allocation in the RMASBench platform

Multiagent systems has been extensively used in the context of urban disaster situations. In such situations, the agents have to perform tasks in order to mitigate the damage in a simulated city, dealing with uncertainty and conflicting information during the disaster management. This paper addresses the group formation in the RMASBench platform centred on clustering-based task allocation. The RMASBench provides an API for multiagent coordination based in the distributed constraint optimization problem. We present an objective function to minimize a distance metric based in the similarities between the features of the agents and the set of perceived tasks. To efficiently optimize our objective function, we use a message passing algorithm in a graphical model representation. Our approach is compared with the state-of-art approaches in the domain of the RMASBench platform and our results show that is possible to reduce the amount of exchanged messages and constraint checks, improving the performance of the agents in some situations.
Régions de susceptibilité dans les remaniements du chromosome Y et mosaïcisme : facteurs de risque du développement sexuel anormal

Le developpement sexuel est un processus complexe qui depend de nombreux genes, une mutation pouvant entrainer un developpement sexuel anormal. Par ailleurs, des anomalies chromosomiques peuvent avoir des repercussions importantes sur la determination gonadique, surtout lorsqu'il s'agit du chromosome Y puisqu'il porte le gene cle du developpement sexuel masculin. Premierement, nous avons identifie par cytogenetique moleculaire le point de cassure chez 5 patients avec une translocation X;Y et 10 patients avec un chromosome Y isodicentrique. Nous avons ainsi demontre que certaines regions sont plus a risque d'etre remaniees, notamment lorsqu'elles contiennent des palindromes ou d'autres sequences repetees. Nous avons egalement etabli une relation entre la distance separant le centromere et le point de cassure et l'instabilite des chromosomes Y isodicentriques lors des divisions cellulaires. Deuxiemement, nous avons etudie en cytogenetique les gonades de 22 patients avec un chromosome Y normal ou remanie et presentant un developpement sexuel anormal. Nous avons mis en evidence la perte du chromosome Y remanie dans une majorite de cellules gonadiques des 10 patients etudies, expliquant leur phenotype sexuel anormal. Cependant, chez 11 des 12 patients avec un chromosome Y normal, aucun mosaicisme expliquant clairement leur determination gonadique anormale n'a ete retrouve. Finalement, nous avons analyse par immunohistochimie les gonades dysgenesiques de 30 patients avec une anomalie du developpement sexuel et un chromosome Y normal ou remanie. Nos travaux ont montre la presence de cellules germinales immatures au sein de cordons sexuels primitifs sous forme de tissu gonadique indifferencie dans 15 gonades, dont 9 ont evolue en tumeur gonadique. Dans 13 autres gonades, ces cellules germinales immatures avaient disparues par apoptose. Dans l'ensemble, notre recherche met en evidence la susceptibilite du chromosome Y a subir des remaniements et a etre instable lors des divisions cellulaires, et indique que le mosaicisme peut avoir des repercussions sur la determination gonadique. Nos travaux montrent egalement que le tissu gonadique indifferencie peut evoluer vers deux entites, une tumeur gonadique ou une bandelette suite a l'apoptose des cellules germinales, mettant en lumiere la necessite d'analyser le tissu gonadique des patients XY avec dysgenesie gonadique dont les gonades sont laissees en place.
Understanding body composition and efficiency in ruminants : a non-linear approach.

ion of the model. The approach to estimation of efficiency differs to previous feeding systems. Traditional feeding systems utilise empirically derived linear (additive) relationships between feed, weight (and through weight, body composition) and heat production. Our approach uses empirically derived dynamic relationships which encompass simultaneous interactions between feed intake, body components (protein and fat and hence weight), and heat production. In this construction, efficiency ofenergyuse for maintenance and is an outcome rather than an input. The system we are working with can be described by the following five coupled non-linear differential equations written here in general form: Each equation contains functions of terms from other coupled equations. Unlike models derived directly Corn experimental data, the equations are built from behavioural analysis of the system of equations to ensure that they have properties that include and mimic the observed (experimental) behaviours of the system. This is an iterative process between the mathematicians and biologists and takes place before any numerical solutions are derived. Our simple notions of cause and effect have come under close scrutiny during this process, including the idea that complex behaviours can arise tiom simple laws. The first step in the model building process is to look at the behaviour of the components of the system that the model will ultimately capture. The difference in approach to that used in development of previous feeding systems is that a qualitative analysis of the system’s behaviour is conducted before numerical solutions are sought. This is to ensure that the equations will generate realistic solutions. Some of the qualitative and quantitative characteristics that influence our thinking about the form of the separate equations for protein (muscle and viscera), fat, heat production and feed intake are shown below.
Role of spinal gamma-aminobutyric acidA receptors in formalin-induced nociception in the rat.

This study investigated the role of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and GABA(A) receptors in the spinal cord in the expression of pain behaviors evoked by injection of formalin in concentrations ranging from 0.25 to 2.5% in the hindpaw of the rat. Two approaches were used. The first approach compared the effect of drug treatment to saline at each concentration of formalin. The second approach examined the effect of drug treatment on the concentration-response functions of formalin, i.e., its EC50. Intrathecal (i.t.) pretreatment with 0.03 to 0.3 microg of bicuculline, a GABA(A) receptor antagonist, dose-dependently increased the number of flinches and weighted pain scores in the interphase and phase 2, but did not alter responses in phase 1. In the interphase, the EC50 values of formalin for number of flinches or weighted pain score in bicuculline-pretreated rats were decreased to one-third or one-fourth, respectively, of their values in saline-pretreated rats. In phase 2, the EC50 values of formalin for number of flinches or weighted pain score in bicuculline-pretreated rats were similarly decreased to one-half of their value in saline-pretreated rats. These results suggest that formalin was a significantly more noxious stimulus in the presence of bicuculline. Pretreatment with the GABA(A) receptor agonists, muscimol (0.3 microg) or isoguvacine (10 or 30 microg i.t.), significantly decreased the number of flinches in phase 1 and phase 2, but produced only a marginal decrease in the weighted pain score at the highest doses. These findings suggest that there is little tonic activation of GABA(A) receptors by GABA in the spinal cord before or immediately after the injection of formalin. However, approximately 10 min after the induction of injury by formalin, there is a release of GABA and activation of GABA(A) receptors in the spinal cord that 1) contributes to the period of quiescence between phase 1 and phase 2 and 2) coincidentally diminishes the magnitude of pain behaviors in phase 2, possibly by limiting the development of central sensitization in the spinal cord.
Complications of Transforaminal Cervical Epidural Steroid Injections

Study Design. A comprehensive literature review. Objectives. To review and critically evaluate the past literature focusing on incidence and clinical presentation of complications associated with transforaminal cervical epidural steroid injection (TFCESI) and techniques employed to avoid them. The overall goal is to guide the direction of future research and improve clinical care by increasing awareness of complications and measures that may be undertaken to increase safety. Summary of Background Data. TFCESI is a component in the diagnosis and management of cervical radicular syndromes in patients who have failed conservative management. There has been much discussion and also controversy in the recent literature. Considerable attention has been paid to reports of catastrophic complications and proposed measures to avoid them. Methods. Medical databases were searched for studies of TFCESI. The bibliographies of these articles were then searched as well. Thoracic and lumbar articles were discarded as were any nontransforaminal cervical procedures or those that did not involve injection into the epidural space. Particular attention was paid to serious neurologic sequelae after TFCESI and its mechanism, as well as techniques being employed to avoid complications. Results. There are a limited number of studies looking at complications of TFCESI. One retrospective study reported an overall rate of complications of 1.64%. There are reports of serious neurologic sequelae in the literature including brain and spinal cord infarction due to embolic phenomenon of particulate steroids. Cadaveric dissection revealed ascending and deep cervical arterial branches entering the external opening of the posterior intervertebral foramen, the classic target site for TFCESI. Measures to avoid complications mentioned in the literature include the use of nonparticulate steroids, test dose of local anesthetic before injection of steroids, live fluoroscopy, digital subtraction, no to light sedation, use of true lateral view to supplement frontal and oblique views in fluoroscopy, use of blunt needles, and computed tomography guidance. Conclusion. The literature reveals a number of rare, potentially catastrophic neurologic sequelae including brain and spinal cord infarction. Most of these are thought to be due to intravascular uptake of particulate steroids. The true overall incidence remains obscure due to the lack of blinded controlled studies. Injectionists, referring physicians, and patients should be aware of the nature and potential consequences of these complications. Additionally, it is imperative for injectionists to standardize techniques to minimize complications, especially by using a test dose of local anesthetic before injection of preferably nonparticulate corticosteroid.
Gaussian particle swarm with jumps

Gaussian particle swarm optimization (GPSO) algorithm has shown promising results for solving multimodal optimization problems in low dimensional search space. But similar to evolutionary algorithms (EAs), GPSO may also get stuck in local minima when optimizing functions with many local minima like the Rastrigin or Riewank functions in high dimensional search space. In this paper, an approach which consists of a GPSO with jumps to escape from local minima is presented. The jump strategy is implemented as a mutation operator based on the Gaussian and Cauchy probability distribution. The new algorithm was tested on a suite of well-known benchmark functions with many local optima and the results were compared with those obtained by the standard PSO algorithm, and PSO with constriction factor. Simulation results show that the GPSO with Gaussian and Cauchy jump outperforms the standard one and presents a very competitive performance compared to PSO with constriction factor and also self-adaptive evolutionary programming.
Liver Transplantation for Unresectable Perihilar Cholangiocarcinoma

Patients with unresectable, stage I and II perihilar cholangiocarcinoma were treated with neoadjuvant external beam irradiation, brachytherapy, and 5-fluorouracil and/or oral capecitabine prior to liver transplantation. Fifty-six patients underwent treatment between 1993 and 2003. Four patients died and 4 had disease progression prior to completion of neoadjuvant therapy. Forty-eight patients underwent operative staging and 14 had findings precluding transplantation. Twenty-eight patients underwent transplantation and 6 patients are awaiting transplantation. Three patients died from perioperative complications, and 4 developed recurrent disease 22 to 63 months after transplantation. Actuarial patient survival was 54% at 5 years for all 56 patients, 64% for 48 operatively staged patients, and 84% for 34 patients with negative staging operations. Actuarial survival was 88% at 1 year and 82 % 5 years after transplantation. Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy with liver transplantation achieves excellent results for patients with localized, regional lymph node negative, hilar cholangiocarcinoma.
A 3D NUMERICAL INVESTIGATION OF FINE SEDIMENT TRANSPORT IN AN OSCILLATORY CHANNEL

Recent findings on a diverse range of muddy seabed states revealed by 3D, turbulence-resolving simulations are first reviewed. These transitions have critical implications to offshore delivery of fine sediment in the ocean and wave dissipation. Assuming a small particle Stokes number, the Equilibrium approximation to the Eulerian two-phase flow equations is applied. The resulting simplified equations are solved with a high-accuracy pseudo-spectral scheme in an idealized oscillatory bottom boundary layer (OBBL). For a typical energetic muddy shelf, the Stokes Reynolds number Re is no more than 1000 and all of the scales of flow turbulence and their interaction with sediments are resolved. With increasing sediment availability or settling velocity, the seabed state evolves from well-mixed sediment distribution, to the formation of lutocline and a complete laminarization of the OBBL. More recently, we further include rheological stress in the simulations in order to study the interplay between turbulence and rheology in determining the flow regimes and hydrodynamic dissipation. To include rheological stress, we extend the numerical model with a hybrid spectral and compact finite difference scheme. A sixth-order compact finite difference is implemented in vertical direction to keep the spectral-like accuracy. The model is validated with analytical solutions using simple Newtonian rheology in laminar condition. Preliminary results at Re=600 reveal that when rheology is incorporated, high viscosity can trigger earlier laminarization of OBBL. When OBBL is laminarized, sediments settle and higher concentration is accumulated near the bed that further enhances viscosity and hydrodynamic dissipation. Our preliminary finding that rheology encourages laminarization may explain why large attenuation of surface waves over muddy seabed is ubiquitous and the highest dissipation rate is often observed during the waning stage of a storm.
A collaboration-competition network model for teachers based on BA growing networks

Based on the development mechanism of BA growing networks, by a bipartite graph a model has been given which aims at a stationary growing social collaboration-competition network about teachers. In this model the nodes are endowed with competition. The degree distribution which obeys power-law form has been proved, and the simulation result is in agreement with the theoretic calculation. Both the clustering coefficient calculated by dynamic equation and the average path length obtained by statistic make this network have a small-world effect. The topological structure can provide some useful information to the policymakers of schools.
Methylglyoxal: Its Presence in Beverages and Potential Scavengers

Nonenzymic glycation, also known as the Maillard reaction, is a complex series of reactions between reducing sugars and amino compounds. Previous studies have demonstrated that reactive dicarbonyl compounds (e.g., methylglyoxal [MG] and glyoxal [GO]), formed as intermediate products of the Maillard reaction, irreversibly and progressively modify proteins over time and yield advanced glycation end products (AGEs), which are thought to contribute to the development of diabetes mellitus and its complications. Several studies have shown that higher levels of MG are present in diabetic patients' plasma than in healthy people's plasma. Thus, decreasing the levels of MG and GO will be an effective approach to reduce the formation of AGEs and the development of diabetic complications. Here, we briefly describe our effort in searching for non‐ or less‐toxic trapping agents of reactive dicarbonyl species from dietary sources. In addition, we have discovered that commercial beverages contain extremely high levels of MG. The potential hazardous effects of dietary MG on humans remain to be explored.
Dyserythropoiesis and severe anaemia associated with malaria correlate with deficient interleukin‐12 production

Complex cytokine interactions occur during blood‐stage malaria which offer a unique opportunity to study their influence on the pathogenesis of malarial anaemia. Plasmodium chabaudi AS susceptible A/J mice experience severe and fatal anaemia whereas resistant C57BL/6 (B6) mice survive following moderate anaemia. In this study we analysed the role of IL‐12 in erythropoiesis and tested whether the levels of IL‐12 produced in these mice correlated with the extent of anaemia. In vitro, IL‐12 significantly enhanced the numbers of erythroid burst (BFU‐E) and colony forming units (CFU‐E) in bone marrow and spleen cells from normal and day 7 infected A/J and B6 mice. Despite the presence of IL‐12 in vitro, the level of splenic erythropoiesis in infected A/J mice was significantly lower than in B6 mice. Moreover, sera from infected B6 mice, but not A/J mice, significantly up‐regulated erythropoiesis in vitro and this enhancement correlated with several fold higher levels of IL‐12 in the sera of B6 compared to A/J mice. Furthermore, the erythropoietic potentiating effect of sera from infected B6 mice was abrogated following depletion of IL‐12. Taken together, these findings suggest that defective IL‐12 production in A/J mice during the early course of infection may result in fatal anaemia.
Large Area a-Si/μc-Si Thin Film Solar Cells

Providing a sustainable and environment friendly energy source, photovoltaic (PV) power is becoming ever-increasingly important, as it decreases the nation’s reliance on fossil-fuel generated electricity. Though widely regarded as a clean and renewable energy source, large scale deployment of PV is still impeded by the fact that the cost of PV energy is generally higher compared to grid electricity. Current development of PV technology is focused on two aspects: 1) improving the efficiency of PV modules and systems and 2) lowering the cost of delivered electricity through decreasing the manufacturing and installation cost. The merit of commercial solar cells aiming at terrestrial application is justified by the cost of unit PV power generation, dollar per watt ($/Wp), where Wp stands for the peak power generated by the cells. Since the first practical PV cell grown on Si wafer at the Bell Laboratory in 1954, PV technology has been developed for more than five decades and evolved three “generations” based on different PV materials. The first generation of solar cells use crystalline materials, where the cost of the bulk materials has hit the point that further cost reduction is very difficult (Green 2007). In contrast, the second generation cells use thin film materials, where the required amount of materials is merely a few percent of that of bulk materials, significantly reducing the fabrication cost of this type of cells. The emerging, third generation of PV technology applies new materials and novel device concepts aiming at even higher efficiency and lower cost. At this moment, the commercial PV market is dominated by the first and second generation PV modules, and the third generation cells are still under lab research. As shown in Fig. 1, the efficiency of thin film PV system has improved from ~4 % in 1995 to >11 % in 2010, and will keep increasing to ~12% by 2020, a three-fold improvement compared to the system efficiency back in 1995. During the same timeframe, the cost of thin film PV system drops from ~4 $/Wp to ~0.5 $/Wp. Crystalline PV systems, though with higher efficiencies, have higher cost, i.e. 2.5 times the cost of thin film PV system. From the cost and material supply point of view, thin film solar cells will have a long-term development and gradually take more market share from the crystalline cells. Many thin film materials can be used for PV cells, e.g., Si, CdTe, CIGS or the emerging organic/polymeric materials. Comparing to other materials, thin film Si, including amorphous Si (a-Si) and microcrystalline Si (μc-Si), have the following characters: 1. The PV active Si is the most abundant solid state element on the earth’s shell, allowing for practically unlimited production of Si cells.
Effect of dose on serum pharmacokinetics of intravenous ciprofloxacin with identification and characterization of extravascular compartments using noncompartmental and compartmental pharmacokinetic models

The effect of dose on the pharmacokinetics of ciprofloxacin in serum and urine following single intravenous doses of 100, 150, and 200 mg was studied in nine healthy volunteers. Mean peak levels in serum were 1.4, 2.0, and 3.2 mg/liter for the 100-, 150-, and 200-mg doses, respectively. The data on concentrations in serum were best described by a three-compartment pharmacokinetic model. The terminal half-life (from noncompartmental analysis) averaged between 4.2 and 4.6 h. Average urinary recovery ranged between 45.8 and 48.1%. The average renal clearance of ciprofloxacin was 2.9- to 3.4-fold greater than the measured creatinine clearance. Total serum and renal clearances decreased with increasing dose; however, this was not statistically significant (P greater than 0.05; repeated-measures analysis of variance). Ciprofloxacin was well tolerated by all subjects. In this dose range, ciprofloxacin pharmacokinetics are independent of dose.