Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Piñon–Juniper Reduction Increases Soil Water Availability of the Resource Growth Pool

Abstract Managers reduce piñon (Pinus spp.) and juniper (Juniperus spp.) trees that are encroaching on sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) communities to lower fuel loads and increase cover of desirable understory species. All plant species in these communities depend on soil water held at > −1.5 MPa matric potential in the upper 0.3 m of soil for nutrient diffusion to roots and major growth in spring (resource growth pool). We measured soil water matric potentials and temperatures using gypsum blocks and thermocouples buried at 0.01–0.3 m on tree, shrub, and interspace microsites to characterize the seasonal soil climate of 13 tree-encroached sites across the Great Basin. We also tested the effects of initial tree infilling phase and tree control treatments of prescribed fire, tree cutting, and tree shredding on time of available water and soil temperature of the resource growth pool on nine sites. Both prescribed fire and mechanical tree reduction similarly increased the time that soil water was available (matric potential > −1.5 MPa) in spring, but this increase was greatest (up to 26 d) when treatments were applied at high tree dominance. As plant cover increased with time since treatment, the additional time of available water decreased. However, even in the fourth year after treatment, available water was 8.6 d and 18 d longer on treatments applied at mid and high tree dominance compared to untreated plots, indicating ongoing water availability to support continued increases in residual plants or annual invaders in the future. To increase resistance to invasive annual grasses managers should either treat at lower or mid tree dominance when there is still high cover of desirable residual vegetation or seed desirable species to use increased resources from tree reduction. This strategy is especially critical on warmer sites, which have high climate suitability to invasive species such as cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.)
Why should multicast be used in WSNs

Wireless sensor networks present a great potential in monitoring systems. A vast scope of applications can take advantage of WSNs and, mainly because of their own nature, the aggregation of WSN nodes into groups provides more potential solutions when compared with traditional monitoring systems. This paper introduces the issue of multicast messages and their impact on battery resources of WSNs. It presents a study based on a real implementation to evaluate the energy consumed by each node when a multicast or unicast is used. A study of the multicast impact in the neighbourhood is also presented in this paper.
Renal dysfunction in multiple myeloma.

This study aims to determine the clinical factors that may affect renal function and patient survival in 82 multiple myeloma patients. The patients were divided into 3 groups according to their renal function during the initial 8 weeks after diagnosis: Group I, 54 patients with serum creatinine (S-Cr) < 177 mumol/L; Group II, 11 with S-Cr > or = 177 mumol/L and receiving no dialysis; Group III, 17 undergoing dialysis treatment. Clinical status at diagnosis, subsequent renal function and patient survival were compared. Bence Jones proteinuria (BJP) was found in all patients in Groups II and III, compared to 67% of patients in Group I (p < 0.05, I vs II or III). Hypercalcemia, hyperuricemia and intravenous administration of contrast medium, together with BJP each constituted independent risk factors of renal dysfunction. The incidence of hypercalcemia in Group II was significantly higher than in the other 2 groups. Patient survival was 26.8 +/- 23.7 months in Group I, 8.1 +/- 10.3 in II and 12.1 +/- 16.6 in III (p < 0.05, I vs II or III). Renal function and patient survival depended on the initial renal function. Renal function was likely compromised in the presence of BJP.
Effects of short‐ and long‐term Schwann cell denervation on peripheral nerve regeneration, myelination, and size

Poor functional recovery after peripheral nerve injury has been generally attributed to inability of denervated muscles to accept reinnervation and recover from denervation atrophy. However, deterioration of the Schwann cell environment may play a more vital role. This study was undertaken to evaluate the effects of chronic denervation on the capacity of Schwann cells in the distal nerve stump to support axonal regeneration and to remyelinate regenerated axons. We used a delayed cross‐suture anastomosis technique in which the common peroneal (CP) nerve in the rat was denervated for 0–24 weeks before cross‐suture of the freshly axotomized tibial (TIB) and chronically denervated CP nerve stumps. Motor neurons were backlabeled with either fluoro‐ruby or fluorogold 12 months later, to identify and count TIB motor neurons that regenerated axons into chronically denervated CP nerve stumps. Number, size, and myelination of regenerated sensory and motor axons were determined using light and electron microscopy. We found that short‐term denervation of ≤4weeks did not affect axonal regeneration but more prolonged denervation profoundly reduced the numbers of backlabeled motor neurons and axons in the distal nerve stump. Yet, atrophic Schwann cells retained their capacity to remyelinate regenerated axons. In fact, the axons were larger and well myelinated by long‐term chronically denervated Schwann cells. These findings demonstrate a progressive inability of chronically denervated Schwann cells to support axonal regeneration and yet a sustained capacity to remyelinate the axons which do regenerate. Thus, axonal interaction can effectively switch the nonmyelinating phenotype of atrophic Schwann cells back into the myelinating phenotype. GLIA 32:234–246, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
(A)Symmetric Information Bubbles: Experimental Evidence

This study experimentally analyzes tradersichoices, with and without asymmetric information, based on the riding-bubble model. While asymmetric information has been necessary to explain a bubble in past theoretical models, our experiments show that traders have an incentive to hold a bubble asset for longer, thereby expanding the bubble in a market with symmetric, rather than asymmetric information. This Onding implies a possibility that information symmetry promotes cooperation. However, when traders are more experienced, the size of the bubble decreases, in which case bubbles do not arise, even with symmetric information.
Effects of masker duration in pure-tone forward masking.

The masking of one tone by a preceding tone (forward masking) was studied as a function of the duration of the masker. In general it was found that forward masking increased with increasing masker duration for the range of durations used (35 to 500 msec). The functions relating masked probe threshold in decibels to the logarithm of masker duration were well described by straight lines. The rate of growth of forward masking as a function of masker duration was greatest for relatively high masker levels and frequencies.
An advanced robotics motion generation framework for inferring the organisation of human movements

A large part of research works aiming at identifying functional principles of human movements, such as cost function minimisation, co-activations or synergies, is based on the analysis of stereotyped movements involving one limb only, for example reaching hand movements towards a target (Guigon et al. 2007). Understanding the principles that underlie the organisation of whole-body movements is a more complex task, which is more rarely considered. This paper aims at showing that advanced dynamic motion generation software, recently developed by roboticists for controlling humanoid robots (Saab et al. 2013), can be used to describe the organisation of whole-body human motions. We show that the same mathematical tools and inversedynamics resolution software, based on the stack-of-task formalism, provide a unified framework for both synthesising complex movements in anthropomorphic systems and modelling human movements, through the definition of a hierarchy of objectives and constraints. We explain how going back and forth from observation to simulation may lead to identify the structure of complex humanmovements.
Rôle des Sérine/Thréonine Kinases dans la cellule bêta pancréatique

En modulant en permanence une production d’insuline adaptee au besoin de l’organisme, la cellule beta pancreatique joue un role crucial dans l’homeostasie glucidique. L’adaptation de cette production d’insuline est l’operation d’une machinerie cellulaire responsable de la production de l’insuline hautement adaptative et d’une augmentation de la masse des cellules beta-pancreatiques. Cette plasticite des cellules beta est particulierement critique dans des periodes de modifications de la physiologie de l’organisme, telles que la prise de poids, la grossesse ou le developpement du nouveau-ne jusqu’au sevrage. Une perte de la fonctionnalite et de la masse des cellules beta sont a l’origine du diabete, une des causes principales de mortalite dans le monde.Chez les vertebres, les serine-threonine kinases (STKs) dirigent des voies de signalisation importantes permettant aux cellules de repondre a l’environnement. L’objectif de ma these a ete d’identifier les voies de signalisation responsables du developpement de la masse de cellules beta a la naissance, au cours de la grossesse et de l’obesite, afin de mieux comprendre le dysfonctionnement et la perte de la masse des cellules beta induite par l’environnement diabetogene (ex : LDL-oxydees, hyperglycemie, hyperlipidemie,.) du patient diabetique. En etudiant la plasticite des cellules beta des rats nouveau-nes, nous avons decouvert une elevation importante de l’expression de la proteine Dual Leucine Zipper Kinase (DLK) dans les ilots des rats nouveau-nes de 10 jours lorsqu’ils sont compares aux ilots des rats adultes. Dans les ilots des ratons, l’augmentation de l’expression de DLK coincide avec une tres forte proliferation des cellules beta et l’activation de la signalisation «cJun-amino terminal Kinase 3» (JNK3), une STK de la famille des «mitogen activated protein kinase» (MAPKs). Comme observe pour DLK, dans les ilots des ratons, l’invalidation de JNK3, reduit considerablement le nombre de cellules secretrices de l’insuline. Nous avons aussi observe que les MAPKs sont directement impliquees dans la mort des cellules beta induite par des LDL-oxydees via un mecanisme cellulaire impliquant le stress du reticulum endoplasmique et le stress oxydant. Nos resultats montrent l’importance de la signalisation des MAPKs dans le controle de la survie et de la proliferation des cellules beta et de son implication dans le diabete.
Pre-, peri-, and postnatal factors in 181 autistic patients from single and multiple incidence families.

Abstract The incidence of 34 potentially pathologic pre-, peri-, neo-, and postnatal factors in the first 181 patients enrolled in the UCLA Registry for Genetic Studies of Autism was determined. Mothers of autistic patients from single ( N = 75) incidence families had significantly increased incidences of bleeding, flu-like symptoms, taking medications during pregnancy, and induced labors than multiple incidences cases ( N = 106). Boys ( N = 149) and girls ( N = 32) were equally impaired on IQ tests.
Ontology-Based Model Annotation of Heterogeneous Geological Representations

This invention relates to the regulation of the conditions of haemodialysis by ultrafiltration of the blood wherein ultrafiltration conditions are regulated automatically as a function of the difference between the actual weight of the patient and a predetermined area of acceptable weights at any stage during the course of haemodialysis, which area will generally include an ideal curve which the patient's weight will be constrained to follow during the course of haemodialysis. This invention is applicable to the treatment of invalids having chronic renal disease.
Design of Reconfigurable Nonuniform Digital Filter Banks based on Coefficient Decimation Method_Review

With the technologies of wireless communication like cognitive radio (CR), analysis filter banks (FBs) are used to adopt two crucial tasks; channelization followed by spectrum sensing. The channelizer is used to obtain separate channels from the wideband digital input signal at different intervals of time. The three main requirements in the channelizer are reconfigurability, low complexity and flexibility. The coefficient decimation technique for reconfigurable FIR filters was recently discussed as a filter structure with low computational complexity. In this brief, the most important types of FBs based on Coefficient Decimation Method (CDM) that used in a nonuniform channelization with comparison among them based on their multiplication complexities and their flexibilities, are discussed. General Terms Digital Signal Processing, Finite Impulse Response Filters.
PROGRAMMED CELL DEATH: CONCEPT, MECHANISM AND CONTROL

Programmed cell death or apoptosis occurs under physiological conditions as a result of physiological effectors. It is a relatively slower process and requires active participation of the cell in the suicidal mechanism. Apoptosis is controlled by precise intrinsic genetic programme and may be induced by almost all those stimuli causing necrosis. The role played by the intensity in determining the death process and the underlying mechanism is imperfectly understood. Morphologically apoptotic cells appear as small condensed body. The chromatin is dense and fragmented, packed into compact membrane-bound bodies together with randomly distributed cell organelles. The plasma membrane loses its characteristic architecture and shows extensive blebbing. It buds off projections so that the whole cell may split into several membrane-bound apoptotic bodies. Significant chemical changes take place in the plasma membrane. This helps in recognition of the apoptotic bodies by phagocytes. At this moment it is unclear if all cells can undergo apoptosis or it is a characteristic of only some tissues which are predisposed to apoptotic death being directly under the control of hormones or growth factors. Experimental studies aimed at comparison of induction of apoptosis in cells of different origin are warranted to elucidate this point. Biochemically a pre-commitment step for induction of death programmation through macromolecular synthesis is essential for most systems. The double-stranded linker DNA between nucleosomes is cleaved at regular inter-nucleosomal sites through the action of a Ca2+, Mg(2+)-sensitive neutral endonuclease. Zinc is a potent inhibitor of the enzyme. Calcium probably plays a key controlling role in activation of the enzyme since prevention of Ca2+ increase prevents endonuclease activation. It is becoming evident that signal transduction through appropriate receptors control the Ca2+ flux in the cells. Most apoptotic cells require synthesis of RNA and proteins. Delay or abrogation of apoptosis by inhibition of macromolecular synthesis is well known. The dying cells show high mRNA levels for several enzymes. Several degradative enzymes become active. Regulatory proteins maintain control over the apoptotic cascade. At the molecular level, search has been initiated for the mammalian equivalents of the cell death (ced) gene. Activation of several specific genes is indicated. Specific expression of cell death-associated gene products (e.g. TRPM-2/SGP-2) has been reported in several unrelated apoptotic cell systems. Sequential induction of c-fos, c-myc and 70 kDa heat shock protein is reported. Studies demonstrate that certain genes must remain in a transcriptionally active demethylated state during programmed cell death. Recent evidences clearly indicate that apoptosis may be positively or negatively modulated by certain genes. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Activity of the Human Papillomavirus Type 16 Late Negative Regulatory Element Is Partly due to Four Weak Consensus 5′ Splice Sites That Bind a U1 snRNP-Like Complex

ABSTRACT The human papillomavirus (HPV) life cycle is tightly linked to differentiation of the squamous epithelia that it infects. Capsid proteins, and hence mature virions, are produced in the outermost layer of differentiated cells. As late gene transcripts are produced in the lower layers, posttranscriptional mechanisms likely prevent capsid protein production in less differentiated cells. For HPV type 16 (HPV-16), a 79-nucleotide (nt) negative regulatory element (NRE) inhibits gene expression in basal epithelial cells. To identify key NRE sequences, we carried out transient transfection in basal epithelial cells with reporter constructs containing the HPV-16 late 3′ untranslated region with deletions and mutations of the NRE. Reporter gene expression was increased over 40-fold by deletion of the entire element, 10-fold by deletion of the 5′ portion of the NRE that contains four weak consensus 5′ splice sites, and only 3-fold by deletion of the 3′ GU-rich region. Both portions of the element appear to be necessary for full repression. Inactivating mutations in the 5′ splice sites in the 5′ NRE partially alleviated repression in the context of the 79-nt NRE but caused full derepression when assayed in a construct with the 3′ NRE deleted. All four contribute to the inhibitory effect, though the second splice site is most inhibitory. Sm proteins, U1A and U1 snRNA, but not U1 70K, could be affinity purified with the wild-type NRE but not with the NRE containing mutations in the 5′ splice sites, indicating that a U1 snRNP-like complex forms upon the element.
Systematic review and meta-analysis: Multi-strain probiotics as adjunct therapy for Helicobacter pylori eradication and prevention of adverse events

Background Eradication rates with triple therapy for Helicobacter pylori infections have currently declined to unacceptable levels worldwide. Newer quadruple therapies are burdened with a high rate of adverse events. Whether multi-strain probiotics can improve eradication rates or diminish adverse events remains uncertain. Methods Relevant publications in which patients with H. pylori infections were randomized to a multi-strain probiotic or control were identified in PubMed, Cochrane Databases, and other sources from 1 January 1960–3 June 2015. Primary outcomes included eradication rates, incidence of any adverse event and the incidence of antibiotic-associated diarrhea. As probiotic efficacy is strain-specific, pooled relative risks and 95% confidence intervals were calculated using meta-analysis stratified by similar multi-strain probiotic mixtures. Results A total of 19 randomized controlled trials (20 treatment arms, n = 2730) assessing one of six mixtures of strains of probiotics were included. Four multi-strain probiotics significantly improved H. pylori eradication rates, five significantly prevented any adverse reactions and three significantly reduced antibiotic-associated diarrhea. Only two probiotic mixtures (Lactobacillus acidophilus/Bifidobacterium animalis and an eight-strain mixture) had significant efficacy for all three outcomes. Conclusions Our meta-analysis found adjunctive use of some multi-strain probiotics may improve H. pylori eradication rates and prevent the development of adverse events and antibiotic-associated diarrhea, but not all mixtures were effective.
ON SPOKEN LANGUAGE PROCESSING Progress Report No . 26 ( 2003-2004 ) Indiana University Visual and Visual-Spatial Memory Measures in Children with Cochlear Implants

Recent findings suggest that children developing spoken language while using a cochlear implant (CI) perform more poorly than normal-hearing (NH) children on short-term visual/visual-spatial sequence memory tasks, particularly when verbal recoding and verbal rehearsal strategies for the visual/visual-spatial information are possible. The present study examined the performance of children with CIs using two measures from the Children’s Memory Scale (CMS): memory for static patterns of dots and recognition memory for unfamiliar faces. The study included 31 eightand nine-year old deaf children implanted before age five and 31 ageand gender-matched normalhearing children. Published norms for normally-developing children were also available for comparison. On the dot locations task, the implanted children performed comparably to the published norms, but not as well as the normal-hearing comparison group. On the face recognition task, the CI group did more poorly than the published norms. Their scores were also lower than the normal-hearing comparison group. Although small, these differences reached statistical significance. Interestingly, face memory scores in the implant group showed a modest but significant positive correlation with short-term memory for sequences of auditory stimuli but not with short-term memory for sequences of visual stimuli. These results suggest that the pediatric CI users may have attempted some form of verbal recoding for these complex static (non-sequenced) visual/visualspatial face stimuli. The degree to which children with CIs have developed age-typical verbal coding and rehearsal skills may influence how they process certain complex visual stimuli such as unfamiliar faces, sequences of colored light or other visual patterns that can be rapidly encoded using phonological representations.
Secrecy Cooperative Networks With Outdated Relay Selection Over Correlated Fading Channels

In this paper, we study the impact of correlated fading on the secrecy performance of multiple decode-and-forward (DF) relaying with outdated relay selection. It is assumed that the information transmission, assisted by <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$N$</tex-math></inline-formula> DF relays from the source to the destination, can be overheard by an eavesdropper. Particularly, we consider the realistic scenario where the eavesdropper's and the main channels are correlated. In order to enhance the network security, the best relay is selected among <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$N$</tex-math></inline-formula> available DF relays to assist the secure transmission. Due to the time-varying channel environments, we note that the selected relay may be outdated. In order to study the impact of both channel correlation and outdated relay selection on the secrecy performance, we first derive an analytical expression for the secrecy outage probability (SOP). Also, we derive the asymptotic expression for the SOP in the high main-to-eavesdropper ratio regime. Numerical results are provided to demonstrate the correctness of our analytical expressions.
A systematic methodology to design high power terahertz and submillimeter-wave amplifiers

This paper presents a novel design methodology for high power terahertz and submillimeter wave CMOS amplifiers. This approach is a microwave-based method, commonly used for designing amplifiers with operation frequencies close to maximum oscillation frequency (fmax) of the transistors. This approach calculates the optimum conditions by monitoring active region of the devices in order to attain maximum accessible transistor power gain (Gacc). Limitations of existing methods and improvements upon them are investigated through both theory and simulation. Finally, a 100 GHz single-stage high-power submillimeter wave amplifier with a gain of 3.75 dB is designed and simulated in 130nm CMOS technology using the proposed microwave approach.