Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Vegetation development following fire in Picea mariana (black spruce). Pleurozium forests of south-eastern Labrador, Canada

(1) The pattern of post-fire vegetation development in Picea mariana (black spruce)Pleurozium forests in south-eastern Labrador, Canada, is evaluated using palaeoecological methods and vegetation analysis of extant stands. (2) Macrofossil analysis of mor humus profiles in mature stands yields the following stratigraphy: mineral soil-charcoal-Polytrichum juniperinum-Cladonia lichensPleurozium schreberi-feather mosses and Sphagnum girgensohnii. The stratigraphic record of the post-fire dynamics of the vegetation at individual sites strengthens the conclusions obtained from the detailed analysis of a chronosequence of stands. (3) The pattern of vegetation development, especially of the arboreal species, is significantly different from that reported for the central and western boreal forest in North America. This difference is attributed to the much longer fire cycle in the maritime region of Labrador which allows the accumulation of a thick organic soil layer that is incompletely removed by fire. (4) Arboreal regeneration is slow due to the limited availability of mineral soil seedbeds. The progressive establishment of black spruce and balsam fir over a 70-100 year period results in an uneven age structure and provides a long period when lichen woodlands cover the landscape. (5) The majority of the vascular understorey species follow the pattern of initial floristics and resprout rapidly following fire. Coptis groenlandicum, Gaultheria hispidula, and Empetrum nigrum decrease following fire whereas only Epilobium angustifolium shows a marked increase. (6) The cryptogam ground cover undergoes a physiognomic and compositional succession that represents contrasting substrate requirements and the differential response of the major species to a temporally-varying environment.
Molecular mechanisms of ETS transcription factor-mediated tumorigenesis

Abstract The E26 transformation-specific (ETS) family of transcription factors is critical for development, differentiation, proliferation and also has a role in apoptosis and tissue remodeling. Changes in expression of ETS proteins therefore have a significant impact on normal physiology of the cell. Transcriptional consequences of ETS protein deregulation by overexpression, gene fusion, and modulation by RAS/MAPK signaling are linked to alterations in normal cell functions, and lead to unlimited increased proliferation, sustained angiogenesis, invasion and metastasis. Existing data show that ETS proteins control pathways in epithelial cells as well as stromal compartments, and the crosstalk between the two is essential for normal development and cancer. In this review, we have focused on ETS factors with a known contribution in cancer development. Instead of focusing on a prototype, we address cancer associated ETS proteins and have highlighted the diverse mechanisms by which they affect carcinogenesis. Finally, we discuss strategies for ETS factor targeting as a potential means for cancer therapeutics.
Spatially Distributed Alternative Splice Variants of the Renal Na-K-Cl Cotransporter Exhibit Dramatically Different Affinities for the Transported Ions*

Three splice variants of the renal Na-K-Cl cotransporter (NKCC2 F, A, and B) are spatially distributed along the thick ascending limb of the mammalian kidney. To test whether NKCC2 splice variants differ in ion transport characteristics we expressed cDNAs encoding rabbit NKCC2 F, A, and B inXenopus oocytes and determined the ion dependence of bumetanide-sensitive 86Rb influx. The three splice variants of NKCC2 showed dramatic differences in their kinetic behavior. The medullary variant F exhibited 3–4-fold lower affinity than variants A and B for Na+ and K+. Chloride affinities also markedly distinguish the three variants (K m F = 111.3, K m A = 44.7, andK m B = 8.9 mm Cl−). Thus, the kinetic properties of the NKCC2 splice variants are consistent with the spatial distribution of the variants along the thick ascending limb as they are involved in reabsorbing Na+, K+, and Cl− from a progressively diluted fluid in the tubule lumen. Variant B also showed an anomalous inhibition of rubidium influx at high extracellular Na+ concentrations, possibly important in its highly specialized role in the macula densa. The adaptation of the kinetic characteristics of the NKCC2 variants to the luminal concentrations of substrate represents an excellent example of functional specialization and diversity that can be achieved through alternative mRNA splicing.
Effect of plant neutrophil elastase inhibitor on leucocyte migration, adhesion and cytokine release in inflammatory conditions

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The serine and cysteine peptidase inhibitor, BbCI, isolated from Bauhinia bauhinioides seeds, is similar to the classical plant Kunitz inhibitor, STI, but lacks disulphide bridges and methionine residues. BbCI blocks activity of the serine peptidases, elastase (Kiapp 5.3 nM) and cathepsin G (Kiapp 160.0 nM), and the cysteine peptidase cathepsin L (Kiapp 0.2 nM). These three peptidases play important roles in the inflammatory process.
Effect of a traditional Chinese medicine Liu Wei Di Huang Wan on the activities of CYP2C19, CYP2D6 and CYP3A4 in healthy volunteers

Liu Wei Di Huang Wan (LDW), a well-known traditional Chinese medicine, is widely used for the treatment of various diseases in China. This study was designed to investigate the potential herb–drug interactions of LDW in healthy volunteers and attempted to ascertain whether the interaction might be affected by genotypes. We assessed the effect of LDW on the activities of CYP2C19, CYP2D6 and CYP3A4 in 12 Chinese healthy subjects in a single-center, controlled, non-blinded, two-way crossover clinical trial. The subject pool consisted of six extensive metabolizers with CYP2C19*1/*1 and six poor metabolizers with CYP2C19*2/*2. Placebo or 4.8 g LDW (12 pills, 0.2 g/pill, twice daily) was given to each participant for 14 continuous days with a wash-out period of 2 weeks after an oral administration of 30 mg omeprazole, 30 mg dextromethorphan hydrobromide and 7.5 mg midazolam. The activities of CYP2C19, CYP2D6 and CYP3A4 were ascertained by their respective plasma or urinary metabolic ratios on day 14 post-treatment. There is no difference in the activities of the three tested enzymes before or after a 14-day administration of LDW. LDW had no effect on the pharmacokinetic parameters of the substrates and their metabolites. A 14-day administration of LDW did not affect the activities of CYP2C19, CYP2D6 and CYP3A4. LDW is unlikely to cause pharmacokinetic interaction when it is combined with other medications predominantly metabolized by these enzymes.
Couples de spin-orbite en vue d'applications aux mémoires cache

Le remplacement des technologies DRAM et SRAM des memoires caches est un enjeu pour l’industrie microelectronique qui doit faire face a des demandes de miniaturisation, de reduction des amplitudes et des durees des courants d’ecriture et de lecture des donnees. Les memoires a acces direct magnetiques (MRAM) sont des candidates pour une future generation de memoires et la decouverte des couples de spin-orbite (SOT) a ouvert la voix a une combinaison des deux technologies appelee SOT-MRAM. Ces memoires sont tres prometteuses car elles allient non-volatilite et bonne fiabilite, mais de nombreux defis techniques et theoriques restent a relever.L’objectif de ce travail de these est d’etudier le retournement de l’aimantation par couple de spin-orbite avec des impulsions de courant sub-nanoseconde et de diminuer les courants d’ecriture a couple de spin-orbite. Ce travail est preliminaire a la preuve de concept d’une memoire SOT-MRAM ecrite avec des impulsions de courant electrique ultra-courtes et des amplitudes relativement faibles.Pour cela nous avons etudie des cellules memoire a base de Ta-CoFeB-MgO. Nous avons verifie les dependances du courant critique en durees d’impulsions et en un champ magnetique exterieur. Nous avons ensuite, sur une cellule type SOT-MRAM, prouve l’ecriture ultrarapide avec des impulsions de courant inferieures a la nanoseconde. Puis nous nous sommes interesses a la diminution du courant d’ecriture de SOT-MRAM a l’aide d’un champ electrique. Nous avons demontre que ce dernier permet de modulerl’anisotropie magnetique. Sa diminution lors d’une impulsion de courant dans la liste de tantale montre que la densite de courant critique pour le retournement de l’aimantation du CoFeB par SOT est reduite. Ces resultats sont tres encourageants pour le developpement des SOT-MRAM et incitent a approfondir ces etudes. Le mecanisme de retournement de l’aimantation semble etre une nucleation puis une propagation de parois de domaines magnetiques. Cette hypothese se fonde sur des tendances physiques observees lors des experiences ainsi que sur des simulations numeriques.
Development of the New Lung Allocation System in the United States

This article reviews the development of the new U.S. lung allocation system that took effect in spring 2005. In 1998, the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services published the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) Final Rule. Under the rule, which became effective in 2000, the OPTN had to demonstrate that existing allocation policies met certain conditions or change the policies to meet a range of criteria, including broader geographic sharing of organs, reducing the use of waiting time as an allocation criterion and creating equitable organ allocation systems using objective medical criteria and medical urgency to allocate donor organs for transplant. This mandate resulted in reviews of all organ allocation policies, and led to the creation of the Lung Allocation Subcommittee of the OPTN Thoracic Organ Transplantation Committee. This paper reviews the deliberations of the Subcommittee in identifying priorities for a new lung allocation system, the analyses undertaken by the OPTN and the Scientific Registry for Transplant Recipients and the evolution of a new lung allocation system that ranks candidates for lungs based on a Lung Allocation Score, incorporating waiting list and posttransplant survival probabilities.
Data Buffering Multilevel Model at a Multiservice Traffic Service Node

The basic principles of data buffering at a multiservice traffic service node were reviewed. A multilevel data buffering mode was proposed for nodes that serves a large amount of TCP traffic. Each level of the model has its own characteristics and is relatively independent. However, a malfunction of any one of them may adversely affect the efficiency of other levels. The network interface represents the physical level, which is the lowest. Packet routing occurs at the protocol level. Two queues provide communication between the physical layer (a network interface card) and the IP module. One is called the backlog and is used for incoming packets, while the other is called txqueue and works for outgoing packets. In current networks, the basis for data transmission is the TCP/IP protocol stack. It provides a set of tools to deliver data from one application to another. Optimization of the data buffering multilevel model to ensure a satisfactory quality of service in a multiservice data network was performed in this paper.
V-band balanced resistive mixer in 65-nm CMOS

We report a wideband resistive mixer fabricated in 65-nm CMOS for 60-GHz frequency range. The local oscillator signal balancing is implemented with an on-chip spiral balun. The broadband response of the balun enables wideband local oscillator tuning range. The mixer topology is suitable for both up- and downconversion. We present the on-wafer measurement results in both of these mixing modes. In downconversion, the mixer achieved 12.5 dB of conversion loss and +5 dBm of 1-dB input compression point. In upconversion, the measured conversion loss was 13.5 dB with -19 dBm of 1-dB output compression point. The local oscillator suppression was better than 34 dB for an LO frequency from 51 to 62 GHz. The size of the mixer including pads is 0.47 mm2.
Scaling Factors of ID-FDTD Scheme for Dispersive Media Based on the Auxiliary Differential Equation (ADE) Method

The isotropic-dispersion finite-difference time domain (ID-FDTD) scheme is modified for a dispersive medium. The proposed ID-FDTD scheme is based on the ADE method. In this correspondence, three typical dispersive media are considered: Debye, Drude, and Lorentz media, for which scaling factors are formulated. The dispersion property is then examined, and the accuracy of the proposed scheme is verified by consideration of two scattering problems.
El sujeto de la psicologia sociocomputacional

rizacion del lenguaje y su uso metarrepresentacional, hasta la que vincula el lenguaje interior con la funcion ejecutiva, pero hace depender la segunda del primero. Es importante notar que la evidencia que presenta Frawley en el capitulo final, sobre alternaciones de control y su asociacion con alteraciones del lenguaje, no permite diferenciar entre estas alternativas. En resumen, Frawley opta por una ecumenica cuadratura del circulo, en lugar de presentar a Vygotski como alternativa. A pesar de todo, este es un libro con un objetivo ambicioso, y mas alli de 10 insatisfactorio de su resultado, resulta estimulante, al obligar a replantearse 10s supuestos dominantes y a tener claro 10 que no 10 esta.
DHA Effect on Chemotherapy-Induced Body Weight Loss: An Exploratory Study in a Rodent Model of Mammary Tumors

Body weight loss during the course of cancer disease has been associated with poor prognosis. Beside cancer-associated cachexia, weight loss can also result from chemotherapy. This work explored whether a model of mammary tumors in female Sprague Dawley rats could be appropriate to study the effect of doxorubicin on body weight, described weight change in this model, and assessed the effect of DHA on weight during chemotherapy. After tumor induction, rats were randomly assigned to a control or a DHA-enriched diet, and treated with doxorubicin or placebo twice a week for 2.5 wk (n = 6 in each group). Body weight, food intake, and tumor growth were monitored. Neither the induction of tumors nor their initial development impaired body weight gain. No reduction in food intake was observed. Tumor growth was similar between groups from day 1 to day 11. Although doxorubicin induced body weight loss from day 4 compared to placebo (P< 0.01) in rats fed the control diet, it did not induce body weight loss in rats fed the DHA-enriched diet (P = 0.02), indicating that DHA had a protective effect. These results indicate that doxorubicin can induce body weight loss in this model and that a DHA-enriched diet can prevent this effect.
Vitamin D Supplementation to Prevent Falls in the Elderly: Evidence and Practical Considerations

Pharmacists in both ambulatory and institutional settings are often in a position to help optimize the drug regimens of patients who are experiencing falls. Supplementation with vitamin D is an important emerging therapy for the prevention of falls. Numerous investigators have recently studied or reviewed the association between vitamin D supplementation and decreased risk of falls in elderly patients, yet little of this information is available in the pharmacy literature. A MEDLINE search was conducted to collect relevant articles about the role of vitamin D in preventing falls among elderly patients; recently published meta‐analyses and randomized controlled trials were identified and reviewed. The studies indicated a statistically significant positive relationship between vitamin D supplementation with either cholecalciferol 700 IU/day or greater or ergocalciferol 800 IU/day or greater and decreased risk of falls. Other practical issues, including who should receive vitamin D replacement, what form of vitamin D should be used, and what dosage is required to prevent falls, are discussed.
Telavancin (VIBATIV) for the treatment of complicated skin and skin structure infections

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus has emerged as a major causative pathogen in complicated skin and skin structure infections (cSSSIs). Unfortunately, treatment failure with vancomycin has been increasingly reported. Over the past decade, several alternative antimicrobial agents have been studied and approved for the treatment of cSSSIs. One such agent is the lipoglycopeptide telavancin, which was approved by the US FDA 2009. Given its dual mechanism of action, telavancin is characterized by a highly bactericidal activity and low potential for resistance selection. In addition, in clinical trials, it was efficacious and safe in the treatment of cSSSI. The purpose of this review is to give a background overview of telavancin, highlighting its microbiological, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamics characteristics, to summarize the available evidence for its use in the treatment of cSSSIs, and to provide an updated evaluation of its safety profile.
A fault diagnosis method using Hyper-Ellipsoidal learning based Locally Linear Embedding

Fault data samples do not necessarily obey the normal distribution and often contain noise points. The reconstruction error obtained by Locally Linear Embedding (LLE) based on the k-Nearest Neighbor will be large. The completeness of geometric structure cannot be maintained by the classical neighborhood structure constructed based on the k-Nearest Neighbor. A Hyper-Ellipsoidal based LLE method (HE-LLE) is presented to solve this problem. The neighborhood graph is constructed by the neighborhood defined by hyper-ellipsoid. Then the intrinsic distribution and geometry structure of data is discovered by classical Locally Linear Embedding. The analysis result of simulation data and experiment data shows that the presented method has the ability to suppress noise. The analysis of engineering fault shows that the new algorithm can maintain geometry and topology structure of original data sets well. The recognition correctness of fault is improved.
On the Eguchi-Oki-Matsumura Equation for Phase Separation in One Space Dimension

Eguchi--Oki--Matsumura equations are introduced to describe the dynamics of pattern formation that arises from phase separation in some binary alloys. The model extends the well-known Cahn--Hilliard equation and consists of coupled two functions; one is the local concentration and the other is the local degree of order. We show the existence of a solution, its asymptotic profile, and in part the structure of steady state solutions. Computational studies are also given.
Ultra wideband dual polarised arrays

The paper describes two printed ultra wideband fixed-beam dual polarised arrays. The first consists of plain diamond dipoles, each with an integrated unbalanced-to-balanced transformer (balun), formed by a tapered microstrip line. The second array modifies the first by introducing a shorted Minkowski fractal pattern onto the diamond elements forming the dipoles. Both perform well over a 3:1 bandwidth with low cross-polarisation. The design and performance of these arrays are discussed.
A Technique for Accelerating the Convergence of Restarted GMRES

We have observed that the residual vectors at the end of each restart cycle of restarted GMRES often alternate direction in a cyclic fashion, thereby slowing convergence. We present a new technique for accelerating the convergence of restarted GMRES by disrupting this alternating pattern. The new algorithm resembles a full conjugate gradient method with polynomial preconditioning, and its implementation requires minimal changes to the standard restarted GMRES algorithm.
Perceptual preferences in depth strati fi cation of transparent layers : Photometric and non-photometric factors Laboratory for Perceptual Dynamics

In three experiments, using a two-alternative forced-choice task, we obtained depth judgments of displays containing transparent regions. The regions varied in lightness, size, and animation. Observers nearly always strongly preferred one certain depth ordering among the regions, even though their lightness conditions were expected to give rise to ambiguity among possible orderings. This expectation was based on the contrast polarity model, which expects ambiguity in the absence of contrast polarity reversal. The expectation was founded also on a stronger condition based on the transmittance anchoring principle, which gives preference to the largest lightness contrast between regions. In the absence of contrast polarity reversal and in conditions of balanced regional contrast, preferences were shown to depend on additional conditions of contrast between two respective regions and their overlap. Depth ordering judgment seems to be based on a critical decision threshold, independently of the coordinate system used to specify lightness. We also investigated the role of non-photometric factors such as motion and relative size, and concluded that these variables can modulate depth ordering judgments in transparency.
Observer-Based Robust Process Fauldt Detection and DiAgnosi's for a Satellite System with Flexible Appendages

This paper presents a novel observer-based robust process fault detection and diagnosis (FDD) scheme in a class of nonlinear dynamic systems. The proposed observer synthesis sliding mode techniques and PID-type iterative learning estimators. The observer inputs, which are designed to isolate and estimate faults, are iteratively computed using the proportional, integral, and derivative information about the output estimation error. An adaptive algorithm is adopted to update the parameters of the observer. Moreover, robustness, sensitivity, and stability or this fault detection and diagnosis scheme are theoretically analyzed. Finally, the proposed algorithm is applied to a satellite system with flexible appendages, and simulation results illustrate its effectiveness
BiLoc: Bi-Modal Deep Learning for Indoor Localization With Commodity 5GHz WiFi

In this paper, we study fingerprinting-based indoor localization in commodity 5-GHz WiFi networks. We first theoretically and experimentally validate three hypotheses on the channel state information (CSI) data of 5-GHz OFDM channels. We then propose a system termed BiLoc, which uses bi-modality deep learning for localization in the indoor environment using off-the-shelf WiFi devices. We develop a deep learning-based algorithm to exploit bi-modal data, i.e., estimated angle of arrivings and average amplitudes (which are calibrated CSI data using several proposed techniques), for both the off-line and online stages of indoor fingerprinting. The proposed BiLoc system is implemented using commodity WiFi devices. Its superior performance is validated with extensive experiments under three typical indoor environments and through comparison with three benchmark schemes.
Evaluation of the Teaching Approaches of Biochemistry for Medical Students: A Sri Lankan Case Study

Teaching Biochemistry courses is extremely difficult in preclinical medical education because of monotonous use of lectures, tutorials, practical and end semester load with end semester examination which is a burden for undergraduates. Purposes of this study are to identify the effectiveness of teaching methods and implementation of the best method of teaching Biochemistry course. Participants of this study were second year medical student (n=177) of Faculty of Medicine, University of Rajarata, Sri Lanka. Two non-compulsory evaluating questions were administered with each of the candidates when they sat for 2nd MBBS Objective Structured Practical Examination (OSPE). The students gave high positive rating for the lectures. The preferred order of the teaching method includes lectures as the first preference and other methods include Student Staff interaction, panel discussion and the least preference was seminar. To conclude it is found that still students prefer lectures because they get more knowledge easily with face to face contact.