Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Magnetic equivalent circuit modelling of Reluctance Machines

This paper is devoted to the fast modelling of Switched Reluctance Machines (SRMs) and Synchronous Reluctance Machines (SynRMs) by Magnetic Equivalent Circuit (MEC) approach. For SRMs, a combined MEC-FE model is presented. A table of reluctance as function of flux and rotor position is obtained from a reduced FE model which contains a part of the stator and rotor pole. For SynRMs, two separate MEC models of d and q axes are described. The flux paths in the stator and rotor pole, the stator and rotor yokes are modelled as different flux tubes with different reluctances. The flux-linkage curves of both machines can be obtained with good accuracy and low computation time, taking the full FE models as reference. Furthermore, the capability of the MEC-FE model to assess the influence of different machine parameters is also studied in this paper.
De novo synthesis of thymidylate via deoxycytidine in dcd (dCTP deaminase) mutants of Escherichia coli

dcd (dCTP deaminase) mutants of Escherichia coli were reported not to require thymidine for growth even though most of the thymidylate that is synthesized de novo arises from cytosine nucleotides through a pathway involving dCTP deaminase. We found, however, that the fresh introduction of dcd mutations into many strains of E. coli produced a requirement for thymidine for optimum aerobic growth, but the mutants readily reverted to prototrophy via mutations in other genes. One such mutation was in deoA, the gene for deoxyuridine phosphorylase. However, a dcd deo mutant became thymidine dependent once again if a cdd mutation (affecting deoxycytidine deaminase) were introduced. The results indicate that dcd mutants utilize an alternative pathway of TMP synthesis in which deoxycytidine and deoxyuridine are intermediates. A cdd mutation blocks the pathway by preventing the conversion of deoxycytidine to deoxyuridine, whereas a deoA mutation enhances it by sparing deoxyuridine from catabolism. The deoxycytidine must arise from dCTP or dCDP via unknown steps. It is not known to what extent this pathway is utilized in wild-type cells, which, unlike the dcd mutants, do not accumulate dCTP.
CD24 mediates rolling of breast carcinoma cells on P‐selectin

P‐selectin mediates rolling of neutrophils and other leukocytes on activated endothelial cells and platelets through binding to P‐selectin glycoprotein ligand‐1 (PSGL‐1). Certain PSGL‐1 negative tumor cell lines can bind P‐selectin under static conditions through the GPI‐linked surface mucin, CD24, but the physiological significance of this interaction and whether it can occur under flow conditions is not known. Here, we show that CD24+ PSGL‐1– KS breast carcinoma cells attach to and roll on recombinant P‐selectin under a continuous wall shear stress, although at a lower density and higher velocity than CD24+ PSGL‐1+ cells, such as HL‐60. Adding excess soluble CD24 or removing CD24 from the cell surface with phosphatidylinositol‐phospholipase C (PI‐PLC) significantly reduced KS cell rolling on P‐selectin. The ability of KS cells to roll on P‐selectin was positively correlated with the CD24 expression level. Comparison with three other CD24+ cell lines established that expression of sialyl‐Lewisx antigen was also necessary for CD24‐mediated rolling on P‐selectin. CD24 purified from KS cells supported rolling of P‐selectin transfectants, but not L‐selectin transfectants. Finally, KS cells rolled on vascular endothelium in vivo in a P‐selectin‐dependent manner. Together our data show that CD24 serves as a ligand for P‐selectin under physiological flow conditions. Interaction of tumor cells with P‐selectin via CD24 may be an important adhesion pathway in cancer metastasis. —Aigner, S. , Ramos, C. L. , Hafezi‐Moghadam, A. , Lawrence, M. B. , Friederichs, J., Altevogt, P., and Ley, K. CD24 mediates rolling of breast carcinoma cells on P‐selectin. FASEB J. 12, 1241–1251 (1998)
Reducing location management costs in hierarchical-based model of mobile and wireless computing systems

With the rapid growth in mobile and wireless computing technology, location management techniques become more challenging. Future personal communications systems (PCS) will support a huge user population and a network spanning a large geographical area. In such systems, the signaling traffic and processing overhead for locating mobile users is expected to increase dramatically. In a mobile computing environment, mobile hosts move from one place to another and need to access the information without interruption, regardless of their location. This is the reason why location management is one of the important issues in mobile computing environments. Several techniques have been proposed in order to optimally manage the location of mobile hosts. In this paper, we introduce a probability-based location management (PBLM) algorithm which is based on to previously introduced algorithm which is based on two previously introduced algorithms to locate a user optimally: FBFind and FVLF. The basic idea of using PBLM algorithm is to reduce the Signaling System No. 7(SS7) message traffic and database access traffic by maintaining a local database, which is called location information database (LID) and is to reuse the information of mobile hosts' mobility patterns. WE evaluate this algorithm and identify its optimal conditions as well as limitations. Results indicate that reusing mobile hosts' mobility information in local databases can save great deal of the updating costs.
Objective measurements of customary physical activity in elderly men and women before and after retirement.

An objective method for assessing customary physical activity has been described, based on heart rate and footfall signals recorded on magnetic tape using small body-borne recorders. Computer analyses were used to obtain indices of the intensity and duration of periods of physical activity using both biosignals. Threshold values were set for each individual at a heart rate related to a standard walking speed of 4.8 km . h-1 (3 miles per hour). Four activity indices were defined in terms of time spent above this threshold and the intensity of the heart rate elevation above it, applying criteria relating to the duration of periods of activity or the concurrent activation of the walking signal. The choice and validity of these indices are discussed, and results for several groups of subjects presented. Three groups of subjects aged over 60 years were studied before and after retirement: twenty-five were steel-workers and thirty-nine were factory-workers (men and women). Rather low levels of activity were recorded. After one year of retirement the female factory workers showed a significant decrease in activity. In men this was found only after several years of retirement had elapsed.
Surgical strategies and outcomes of spinal ependymomas of different lengths: analysis of 210 patients: clinical article.

OBJECT The aim of this study was to investigate the surgical strategies and outcomes for spinal ependymomas of different lengths. METHODS The authors used data from 210 patients with spinal ependymomas (WHO Grades II and III) in this 10-year retrospective study (January 1999 to December 2008), dividing them into 3 different groups according to length (spinal ependymomas < 5 cm, 5-10 cm, and > 10 cm). All patients underwent tumor resection. The basic characteristics of the patients were reviewed and the functional status was assessed using the McCormick classification. RESULTS There were 89, 81, and 40 patients, respectively, in the 3 groups (< 5 cm, 5-10 cm, and > 10 cm). Grosstotal resections (GTRs) were performed in 172 patients (81.9% overall, or 86.5%, 79.0%, and 77.5% in the 3 groups, respectively). Subtotal and partial resections were achieved in 38 patients (18.1%). Eight patients with medulla oblongata or upper cervical cord tumors received a tracheotomy postoperatively. The follow-up period ranged from 56 to 176 months. One hundred thirty-five patients (76.7%) experienced improvement, (88.2%, 83.8%, and 34.4% in the < 5 cm, 5-10 cm, and > 10 cm groups, respectively). Thirty-three patients (18.8%) maintained their pretreatment status, and 8 patients (4.5%) showed deterioration following tumor resection at 6 months. Tumor recurrence or progression was observed in 6 (2.9%) of the 210 patients. Among the 6 patients, recurrent tumors were located in the conus (n = 3), thoracic (n = 1), and medullocervical cord (n = 2). CONCLUSIONS Radical resection of spinal ependymomas could be performed in most patients, and the rate of GTR was significantly different in the different-length groups (< 10 cm vs > 10 cm, p = 0.032). Patients with longer tumors had worse surgical results compared with those with small tumors (p < 0.001), and more postoperative neuropathic pain and proprioceptive deficits could usually be observed in patients harboring larger tumors. Early diagnosis and timely operation are critical to achieving better neurological outcomes. For tumors with dense adhesions, complete removal should be performed cautiously because of the significant incidence of neurological deterioration.
The evolutionary origins and catalytic importance of conserved electrostatic networks within TIM‐barrel proteins

Conservation of function is the basic tenet of protein evolution. Conservation of key electrostatic properties is a frequently employed mechanism that leads to conserved function. In a previous report, we identified several conserved electrostatic properties in four protein families and one functionally diverse enzyme superfamily. In this report, we demonstrate the evolutionary and catalytic importance of electrostatic networks in three ubiquitous metabolic enzymes: triosephosphate isomerase, enolase, and transaldolase. Evolutionary importance is demonstrated using phylogenetic motifs (sequence fragments that parallel the overall familial phylogeny). Phylogenetic motifs frequently correspond to both catalytic residues and conserved interactions that fine‐tune catalytic residue pKa values. Further, in the case of triosephosphate isomerase, quantitative differences in the catalytic Glu169 pKa values parallel subfamily differentiation. Finally, phylogenetic motifs are shown to structurally cluster around the active sites of eight different TIM‐barrel families. Depending upon the mechanistic requisites of each reaction catalyzed, interruptions to the canonical fold may or may not be identified as phylogenetic motifs.
Chitin — The Undisputed Biomolecule of Great Potential

Of the truly abundant polysaccharides in Nature, only chitin has yet to find utilization in large quantity. Chitin is the second most abundant natural biopolymer derived from exoskeletons of crustaceans and also from cell walls of fungi and insects. Chitin is a linear β1,4-linked polymer of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (GlcNAc), whereas chitosan, a copolymer of GlcNAc (∼20%) and glulcosamine (GlcN, 80%) residues, is a product derived from de-N-acetylation of chitin in the presence of hot alkali. Chitosan is, in fact, a collective name representing a family of de-N-acetylated chitins deacetylated to different degrees. Both chitin/chitosan and their modified derivatives find extensive applications in medicine, agriculture, food, and non-food industries as well. They have emerged as a new class of physiological materials of highly sophisticated functions. Their application versatility is a great challenge to the scientific community and to industry. All these are the result of their versatile biological activity, excellent biocompatibility, and complete biodegradability in combination with low toxicity. Commercial availability of high-purity forms of chitin/chitosan and the continuous appearance of new types of chitin/chitosan derivatives with more and more useful and specific properties have led to an unlimited R&D efforts on this most versatile amino polysaccharide, chitin to find new applications, which are necessary to realize its full potential. Incidentally, this too has become an environmental priority. No doubt, chitin is surely an undisputed biomolecule of great potential. Referee: Dr. D. Julian McClements, Food Science Dept., University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003
Towards an Efficient Hierarchical Codebooks for Content-Based Images Retrieval

⎯ In space feature quantization, the most important problem is designing an efficient and compact codebook. The hierarchical clustering approach successfully solves the problem of quantifying the feature space in a large vocabulary size. In this paper we propose to use a tree structure of hierarchical self-organizing-map (H-SOM) with the depth length equal to two and a high size of branch factors (50, 100, 200, 400, and 500). Moreover, an incremental learning process of H-SOM is used to overcome the problem of the curse of the dimensionality of space. The method is evaluated on three public datasets. Results exceed the current state-of-art retrieval performance on Kentucky and Oxford5k dataset. However, it is with less performance on the Holidays dataset. The experiment results indicate that the proposed tree structure shows significant improvement with a large number of branch factors.
Improving Adherence to Complex Medical Regimens through the Integration of Knowledge , Technology and Informatics

About 33.3 million people were living with HIV at the end of 2009. Over the past several years a significant investment in the scale up of antiretroviral therapy (ART) has contributed to both a reduction in AIDS-related morbidity and mortality and in a decline in new HIV infection. A total of 5.2 million people in lowand middle-income countries now receive antiretroviral therapy. Within several months of initiating ART most patients become asymptomatic and then must closely adhere to unforgiving drug regimens for life. Incomplete adherence to ART regimens results in treatment failure, the emergence of drug resistance and the transmission of drug resistant virus to uninfected individuals. This requirement for lifelong regimen adherence has proven to be the Achilles’ heel of antiretroviral therapy. Advances in the capability and affordability of mobile technologies present a new perspective on this paradigm. Combined with human and computer networks, mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets bring patients and providers together in previously impossible ways and may present real and lastingremedies for patient outreach and communication. In order to integrate the three major components of adherence: Information, Motivation and Behavioral Modification, we are developing open source pictographic software enabled for web and mobile platforms. We will use these tools to study ART adherence and motivation in low-literacy patients with the goal of enhancing patient comprehension and health.Cybernetic technologies utilizing mobile computing and pictogram interfaces can serve to communicate highly tailored information, evaluate regimenspecific knowledge and assess motivation and behavioral skills of patients requiring therapy. We expect this workshop will bring together all of the requisite expertise in informatics and cybernetics required to develop powerful computerized tools to ensure ART treatment success at the level of both individual patients and the population at large.
Thresholds of hypoxia for marine biodiversity

Hypoxia is a mounting problem affecting the world's coastal waters, with severe consequences for marine life, including death and catastrophic changes. Hypoxia is forecast to increase owing to the combined effects of the continued spread of coastal eutrophication and global warming. A broad comparative analysis across a range of contrasting marine benthic organisms showed that hypoxia thresholds vary greatly across marine benthic organisms and that the conventional definition of 2 mg O2/liter to designate waters as hypoxic is below the empirical sublethal and lethal O2 thresholds for half of the species tested. These results imply that the number and area of coastal ecosystems affected by hypoxia and the future extent of hypoxia impacts on marine life have been generally underestimated.
Use of speckle strain to assess left ventricular responses to cardiotoxic chemotherapy and cardioprotection.

AIMS The variability of ejection fraction (EF) poses a problem in the assessment of left ventricular (LV) function in patients receiving potentially cardiotoxic chemotherapy. We sought to use global longitudinal strain (GLS) to compare LV responses to various cardiotoxic chemotherapy regimens and to examine the response to cardioprotection with beta-blockers (BB) in patients showing subclinical myocardial damage. METHODS AND RESULTS We studied 159 patients (49 ± 14 year, 127 women) receiving anthracycline (group A, n = 53, 46 ± 17 year), trastuzumab (group T, n = 61, 53 ± 12 year), or trastuzumab after anthracyclines (group AT, n = 45, 46 ± 9 year). LV indices [ejection fraction (EF), mitral annular systolic velocity, and GLS] were measured at baseline and follow-up (7 ± 7 months). Patients who decreased GLS by ≥11% were followed for another 6 months; initiation of BB was at the discretion of the clinician. Anthracycline dose was similar between group A and group AT (213 ± 118 vs. 216 ± 47 mg/m(2), P = 0.85). Although ΔEF was similar among the groups, attenuation of GLS was the greatest in group AT (group A, 0.7 ± 2.8% shortening; T, 1.1 ± 2.7%; and AT, 2.0 ± 2.3%; P = 0.003, after adjustment). Of 52 patients who decreased GLS by ≥-11%, 24 were treated with BB and 28 were not. GLS improved in BB groups (from -17.6 ± 2.3 to -19.8 ± 2.6%, P < 0.001) but not in non-BB groups (from -18.0 ± 2.0 to -19.0 ± 3.0%, P = 0.08). Effects of BB were similar with all regimens. CONCLUSIONS GLS is an effective parameter for identifying systolic dysfunction (which appears worst with combined anthracycline and trastuzumab therapy) and responds to cardioprotection in patients administered beta-blockers.
Lignocarbohydrate Solubilization from Straw by Actinomycetes

Actinomycetes grown on wheat straw solubilized a lignocarbohydrate fraction which could be recovered by acid precipitation. Further characterization of this product (APPL) during growth of Streptomyces sp. strain EC1 revealed an increase in carboxylic acid and phenolic hydroxyl content, suggesting progressive modification. This was also observed in dioxane-extracted lignin fractions of degraded straw, and some similarity was further suggested by comparative infrared spectroscopy. However, the molecular weight profile of APPL was relatively constant during growth of Streptomyces sp. strain EC1 on straw, while analysis of the dioxane-extracted lignin fractions appeared to show fragmentation followed by repolymerization. Lignocarbohydrate solubilization could be monitored in all cultures by routine assay of APPL-associated protein, which accounted for up to 20% of the extracellular culture protein in some cases. Interestingly, this protein fraction was found to include active hydrolytic and oxidative enzymes involved in the degradation of lignocellulose, and specific enzyme activities were often increased in the acid-insoluble fractions of culture supernatants. This was particularly important for peroxidase and veratryl oxidase activities, which could be readily detected in the acid-precipitable lignocarbohydrate complex but were virtually undetectable in untreated culture supernatants.
Late Development of a Lamellar Macular hole after the Spontaneous Separation of Vitreoretinal Traction: Case Report

Purpose To report a case of epiretinal macular membrane and a lamellar macular hole developing after the spontaneous separation of an idiopathic vitreoretinal traction. Methods Retrospective, observational, long follow-up of a case evaluated and documented with optical coherence tomography and managed with current therapies including pars plana vitrectomy. Results Good anatomic and functional results with stable 20/30 best-corrected visual acuity. Conclusions The natural course of idiopathic vitreomacular traction has been documented during prolonged observation after its spontaneous separation from the fovea leading to the development of an epiretinal membrane and a lamellar macular hole.
Extracellular Matrix Remodeling during Morphogenesis a

The role of proteinases in extracellular matrix remodeling during the developmental program of bone, cartilage, muscle, and epithelial differentiation in the mandibular arch during embryogenesis was investigated. ECM changes accompany morphogenesis during development. The most dramatic changes occur during development of bone and cartilage. The expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) was altered by regulating expression of MMPs by growth factors, by inhibiting MMP activity, and by genetic ablation of MMPs. The data point to critical roles for MMPs in cartilage development and endochondral bone formation. MMPs appear to regulate not only ECM degradation but also programmed cell death, cell migration, and invasion during these morphogenic processes. The data suggest that matrix metalloproteinases play a pivotal role in the morphogenesis of structures derived from epithelium (oral sulcus), somitic mesoderm (tongue), and cranial neural crest (Meckel's cartilage).
An universal architecture for designing modulo (2n-2p-1) multipliers

In this express, we propose an extending method, which extends the residue set of modulus (2n-2p-1) from [0,2n-2p-1) to [0,2n-1]. The proposed extending method can simplify modulo (2n-2p-1) operations and we can simply cope with the bits weighted by 2n+k(k≥0). With the proposed extending method, we propose an universal architecture for designing high-efficient modulo (2n-2p-1) multipliers on the condition n≥2p+1. Synthesized results demonstrate that the proposed modulo (2n-2p-1) multipliers have a good performance.
Further results on multidimensional rational covariance extension with application to texture generation

The rational covariance extension problem is a moment problem with several important applications in systems and control as, for example, in identification, estimation, and signal analysis. Here we consider the multidimensional counterpart and present new results for the well-posedness of the problem. We apply the theory to texture generation by modeling the texture as the output of a Wiener system. The static nonlinearity in the Wiener system is assumed to be a thresholding function and we identify both the linear dynamical system and the thresholding parameter.