Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Delivery of miR-146a to Ly6Chigh Monocytes Inhibits Pathogenic Bone Erosion in Inflammatory Arthritis

Rationale: Monocytes play critical roles in the pathogenesis of arthritis by contributing to the inflammatory response and bone erosion. Among genes involved in regulating monocyte functions, miR-146a negatively regulates the inflammatory response and osteoclast differentiation of monocytes. It is also the only miRNA reported to differentially regulate the cytokine response of the two classical Ly6Chigh and non-classical Ly6Clow monocyte subsets upon bacterial challenge. Although miR-146a is overexpressed in many tissues of arthritic patients, its specific role in monocyte subsets under arthritic conditions remains to be explored. Methods: We analyzed the monocyte subsets during collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) development by flow cytometry. We quantified the expression of miR-146a in classical and non-classical monocytes sorted from healthy and CIA mice, as well as patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We monitored arthritis features in miR-146a-/- mice and assessed in vivo the therapeutic potential of miR-146a mimics delivery to Ly6Chigh monocytes. We performed transcriptomic and pathway enrichment analyses on both monocyte subsets sorted from wild type and miR-146a-/- mice. Results: We showed that the expression of miR-146a is reduced in the Ly6Chigh subset of CIA mice and in the analogous monocyte subset (CD14+CD16-) in humans with RA as compared with healthy controls. The ablation of miR-146a in mice worsened arthritis severity, increased osteoclast differentiation in vitro and bone erosion in vivo. In vivo delivery of miR-146a to Ly6Chigh monocytes, and not to Ly6Clow monocytes, rescues bone erosion in miR-146a-/- arthritic mice and reduces osteoclast differentiation and pathogenic bone erosion in CIA joints of miR-146a+/+ mice, with no effect on inflammation. Silencing of the non-canonical NF-κB family member RelB in miR-146a-/- Ly6Chigh monocytes uncovers a role for miR-146a as a key regulator of the differentiation of Ly6Chigh, and not Ly6Clow, monocytes into osteoclasts under arthritic conditions. Conclusion: Our results show that classical monocytes play a critical role in arthritis bone erosion. They demonstrate the theranostics potential of manipulating miR-146a expression in Ly6Chigh monocytes to prevent joint destruction while sparing inflammation in arthritis.
Effects of C substitution on the pinning mechanism of MgB2

The temperature and magnetic field of the critical current density of four selected pure and C-doped ${\text{MgB}}_{2}$ samples have been investigated in detail and the flux pinning mechanism has been analyzed. It was found that the sintering temperature and the substitution of carbon can significantly modify the flux pinning mechanism. Below 30 K, the reduced field dependences of the reduced pinning force for all investigated samples were found to closely obey one scaling law, reflecting the presence of only one dominant pinning mechanism. A $\ensuremath{\delta}{T}_{c}$ pinning mechanism was found to be mainly responsible in pure ${\text{MgB}}_{2}$ samples while the $\ensuremath{\delta}l$ pinning mechanism becomes dominant for C-doped samples.
Extending Switching Frequency for Torque Ripple Reduction Utilizing a Constant Frequency Torque Controller in DTC of Induction Motors

Direct torque control (DTC) of induction machines is known to offer fast instantaneous torque and flux control with a simple control structure. However, this scheme has two major disadvantageous, namely, a variable inverter switching frequency and a high torque ripple. These problems occur due to the use of hysteresis comparators in conventional DTC schemes, particularly in controlling the output torque. This paper reviews the utilization of constant frequency torque controllers (CFTC) in DTC to solve these problems while retaining the simple control structure of DTC. Some extensions of the work in utilizing a CFTC will be carried out in this paper which can further reduce the torque ripple. This is particularly useful for a system which has a limited/low sampling frequency. The feasibility of a CFTC with an extended carrier frequency in minimizing the torque ripple is verified through experimental results.
Clearing off the Cloud over the Internet of Things

As was foreshadowed by product introductions in 2013, the Consumer Electronics Show 2014 has seen the introduction of a large number of “Internet of Things” (IoT) innovations. Almost all of these have in common that they are meant to operate via Cloud-based services. In the light of the recent attention to threats by statelevel tenacious attackers with significant infrastructure (STASI), in particular to their practice of pervasive monitoring, we discuss the implications of a cloud-centric IoT landscape, and attempt to outline a set of principles as a program to improve the long-term outlook.
Interpretation of partially detached divertor operation with and without impurity seeding in JET with EDGE2D-EIRENE

impurity seeding in JET with EDGE2D-EIRENE A. E. Jaervinen, S. Brezinsek, C. Giroud, M. Groth, C. Guillemaut, P. Belo, G. Corrigan, P. Drewelow, D. Harting, A. Huber, K. Lawson, B. Lipschultz, C. Maggi, G.F. Matthews, A.G. Meigs, D. Moulton, M.F. Stamp, S. Wiesen, and JET Contributors EUROfusion Consortium, JET, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, OX14 3DB, UK. 1 Aalto University, Espoo, Finland. 2 Forschungszentrum Julich GmbH, Institut fur Energieund Klimaforschung – Plasmaphysik, 52425 Julich, Germany. 3 CCFE, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, OX13 3DB, UK. 4 Max-Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, Garching, Germany. 5 York Plasma Institute, University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD, UK. Radiative power exhaust with extrinsic impurities is necessary in ITER to maintain the divertor surface heat fluxes below 10 MW/m while producing 500 MW of fusion power [1]. Reliable prediction of these scenarios for the next step devices relies on model validation with existing experimental facilities. To address these needs, partially detached divertor operation with N2 and Ne injection in high-triangularity, high confinement mode JET plasmas with both strike points on vertical targets have been experimentally investigated at toroidal magnetic field of 2.7 T and plasma current of 2.5 MA with about 16 – 25 MW of NBI and 3 – 5 MW of ICRH heating [2, 3]. In this study, the divertor characteristics in these plasmas are further dissected and simulated with the multi-fluid code package EDGE2D-EIRENE [4, 5, 6]. The EDGE2D-EIRENE setup, including cross-field transport coefficients, is similar to that used in [7]. The simulation grid in this study corresponds to a high triangularity, vertical target configuration, whereas the grid in [7] corresponded to a high triangularity equilibrium with the low-field side (LFS) strike point on the horizontal target. Further details about the configurations can be found in [2]. Deuterium is injected into the computational domain at the high-field side (HFS) divertor into the common SOL with the puff rate adjusted to provide a LFS mid-plane separatrix electron density of 4.1e19 m, at which the model captures the measured LFS divertor saturation currents and strike point electron temperatures in the unseeded plasmas at medium deuterium fuelling rates (about 2.2 – 2.6e22 electrons/s). As in the experiment, the deuterium puff level is not changed when increasing the impurity injection rate in the model. With this setup, the predicted LFS mid-plane electron density and
Use of colour for language processing during reading

The study examined whether literal correspondence is necessary for the use of visual features during word recognition and text comprehension. Eye movements were recorded during reading and used to change the colour of dialogue when it was fixated. In symbolically congruent colour conditions, dialogue of female and male characters was shown in orchid and blue, respectively. The reversed assignment was used in incongruent conditions, and no colouring was applied in a control condition. Analyses of oculomotor activity revealed Stroop-type congruency effects during dialogue reading, with shorter viewing durations in congruent than incongruent conditions. Colour influenced oculomotor measures that index the recognition and integration of words, indicating that it influenced multiple stages of language processing.
Differences in the fungal communities nursed by two genetic groups of the alpine cushion plant, Silene acaulis

Abstract Foundation plants shape the composition of local biotic communities and abiotic environments, but the impact of a plant's intraspecific variations on these processes is poorly understood. We examined these links in the alpine cushion moss campion (Silene acaulis) on two neighboring mountain ranges in the French Alps. Genotyping of cushion plants revealed two genetic clusters matching known subspecies. The exscapa subspecies was found on both limestone and granite, while the longiscapa one was only found on limestone. Even on similar limestone bedrock, cushion soils from the two S. acaulis subspecies deeply differed in their impact on soil abiotic conditions. They further strikingly differed from each other and from the surrounding bare soils in fungal community composition. Plant genotype variations accounted for a large part of the fungal composition variability in cushion soils, even when considering geography or soil chemistry, and particularly for the dominant molecular operational taxonomic units (MOTUs). Both saprophytic and biotrophic fungal taxa were related to the MOTUs recurrently associated with a single plant genetic cluster. Moreover, the putative phytopathogens were abundant, and within the same genus (Cladosporium) or species (Pyrenopeziza brassicae), MOTUs showing specificity for each plant subspecies were found. Our study highlights the combined influences of bedrock and plant genotype on fungal recruitment into cushion soils and suggests the coexistence of two mechanisms, an indirect selection resulting from the colonization of an engineered soil by free‐living saprobes and a direct selection resulting from direct plant–fungi interactions.
Characterization of temperature and pH-responsive poly-N-isopropylacrylamide-co-polymer nanoparticles for the release of antimicrobials

Chitosan and alginate are both pH-responsive biopolymers extracted from crustacean exoskeletons and brown algae, respectively. Poly-N-isopropylacrylamide (PNIPAAM) is a hydrogel that becomes hydrophobic at a lower-critical solution temperature. This study sought to combine pH- and temperature-responsive polymers via crosslinking, in order to create a dual-stimuli responsive polymer for hydrophobic antimicrobial compounds delivery, improving their antimicrobial effects. Cinnamon bark extract (CBE) was used as a model for hydrophobic antimicrobial. Two co-polymers were synthesized to create two nanoparticles types: chitosan-co-PNIPAAM and alginate-co-PNIPAAM. Nanoparticles were formed from the resulting co-polymers using a self-assembly top-down process followed by glutaraldehyde or calcium chloride crosslinking. These nanoparticles were then used as controlled delivery vehicles for CBE, whose rapid release could be triggered by specific external stimuli. For the same pH and temperature conditions, the chitosan-co-PNIPAAM nanoparticles were significantly more potent bacterial inhibitors against both pathogens and also exhibited a faster CBE release over time as well as slightly higher entrapment efficiency. The alginate-co-PNIPAAM nanoparticles were significantly smaller and exhibited a slow, gradual release over a long time period. Although both nanoparticles were able to effectively inhibit pathogen growth at lower (P < 0.05) concentration than free CBE, the chitosan-co-PNIPAAM nanoparticles were more effective in delivering a natural antimicrobial with controlled release against foodborne pathogens.
Migration performance of Atlantic salmon post-smolts in a Norwegian fjord system

The migratory behaviour of hatchery-reared Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) postsmolts during their seaward migration was examined using acoustic telemetry. The first study focused on the swimming depths of eight post-smolts relative to the water-column salinity and temperature using depth sensitive acoustic transmitters. Individuals were released at the mouth of the Eio River and manually tracked during the first hours of their sea migration in a Norwegian fjord system. Vertical salinity and temperature distributions were recorded along the tracked post-smolts' trajectory. Post-smolts were tracked for a mean of 11.4 ± 1.9 hours after release over a mean distance of 8.7 ±3.4 km from release into the fjord. Mean swimming depth was 1.6 m with a range of 0.5 2.1 m. The results of this study suggest no overall preference for salinity concentration with post-smolts spending on average 68% of the time in salinity concentrations lower than 20 practical salinity units (psu) during the sea migration. The second study compared the behaviour of two distinct populations with different inherent migratory distances to the ocean in a common-garden experiment. Atlantic salmon post-smolts of Rivers Flekke (20 km from the open ocean, n = 80) and Lasrdal (144 km from the open ocean, n = 79) origin were tagged with acoustic transmitters and released in spring of 2005 and 2006 at the mouth of the river Opo, in S0rfjorden, Western Norway. The post-smolts' migratory behaviour was continuously monitored using acoustic listening stations at three areas in Sorfjorden (2.5 35 km from the release point). The high percentage of post-smolts detected 35 km from release site (84% in 2005 and 81% in 2006) suggested a high survival and was independent of the fish origin. The post-smolts' progression rate from release to the end of area 3 (means, 2005: 0.6 bl s" and 2006: 0.7 bl s") was not dependent on fish origin in either of the two years. This study is the first to describe the swimming behaviour, including swimming depth, of fjord-migrating post-smolts.
Waste as a Resource for Avifauna: Review and Survey of the Avifaunal Composition in and around Waste Dumping Sites and Sewage Water Collection Sites (India)

Urbanization has lead to the challenge of waste disposal. The dumping sites are affecting the natural habitats in and around urban areas. The most eye catching group of animals, the birds had used these modified habitats. The reconnaissance surveys were conducted for eleven sites of the seven municipal areas Rajasthan and Punjab states of India to assess the avifaunal composition. The observations of bird species using modified habitats in form of solid and liquid (effluent/ sewage) waste sites were assessed. The dumping site at Mount Abu (Sirohi, Rajasthan) was no more in existence. Since authors were involved in studies since last two decades, therefore, past records were also included for such sites. It was observed that such sites of waste collection (solid and liquid) were harboring 100 species of birds with three additional species in past, accounting 103 bird species belonging to 37 families in 11 orders. Terrestrial species accounted 53 whereas wetland bird species were 37 species and 11 species were wetland dependent. Around 58 species were resident, 18 migrants and 27 species resident with local movements. Thirteen species of global interest were recorded from the sites. Three of these species were under critically endangered and were the past records. Two endangered species, one vulnerable species and seven near threatened species were recorded from the investigation sites. Sites of Udaipur and Bharatpur were having the maximum diversity of birds. Besides scavenger and raptors species, egrets and passerines were of common occurrence. It was observed that the sites were mainly used for the feeding purposes and if the surrounding habitats were used for the other life cycle processes by the birds. The dumping sites with the organic (biodegradable and animal) wastes could be prepared and further modified as per the nature’s rule to develop the birding sites for the species of global interest. The animal waste management through reviving bio-disposal mechanism through scavenger birds could be ideal model for revenue generation through birding.
Bio-suppression of Fusarium Wilt Disease in Potato Using NonpathogenicPotato-associated Fungi

Ten nonpathogenic Aspergillus spp. and Penicillium spp. isolates, naturally occurring within healthy potato plants and previously selected based on their ability to suppress Fusarium dry rot disease, were evaluated for their in vitro antifungal potential against Fusarium sambucinum, F. oxysporum and F. graminearum and their effects against Fusarium wilt severity and on plant growth and production. Tested through the dual culture technique on PDA medium, all isolates tested had significantly decreased Fusarium spp. growth relative to the untreated control. Growth inhibition, achieved after 7 days of incubation at 25°C, varied from 32.3 to 42.9% using Aspergillus spp. and from 44.1 to 59.6% with Penicillium spp. The highest inhibition, by about 55-59%, was noted using isolates E.36. 11 (P. chrysogenum) and E.39. 11 (Penicillium sp.). Competition, mycoparasitism, hyphal lysis, early formation of resting structures and mycelial cords, and decreased sporulating ability are the main effects recorded during antagonism exerted toward targeted Fusarium species. Fusarium wilt severity, noted 75 days posy-planting, was significantly lowered by 29 to 47% on potato plants treated using 7 out the 10 isolates tested. The highest wilt severity decrease, by 41-47% over the inoculated and untreated control, was achieved using E.13. 11 (A. niger), E.25. 11 (A. flavus), E.36. 11 (P. chrysogenum), and E.29. 11 (P. polonicum) based treatments. Plant inoculated with Fusarium spp. and treated with E.29. 11 (P. polonicum), E.13. 11 (A. niger), E.41. 11 (A. terreus), E.60. 11 (A. flavus), and E.25. 11 (A. flavus) showed 36-46% higher aerial part growth. The most interesting improvements of root and tuber fresh weights, achieved using the majority of isolates tested, ranged between 22-40% and 15-21%, respectively. Further investigations are needed to more elucidate the antifungal activity of the extracellular metabolites of the most effective isolates toward Fusarium species infecting potato.
Price change frictions in production plants : learning from a simulation study

Price stickiness is often taken for granted in modern macroeconomic models, without adequate knowledge of the underlying microeconomic foundations. We want to assess whether the assumptions of price stickiness are consistent with actual pricing patterns. There is a broad consensus in the literature that prices exhibit a pattern of inaction followed by large price changes, so called “zeros and lumps”. A key topic, however, is how to explain the observance of small price changes. This thesis proposes a model specification which sets out to explain small price adjustments, as well as inaction and large price changes. We search for evidence of thresholds and inertia in producer price data. Parameters are estimated using a Simulated Method of Moments (SMM) approach, based on yearly product specific price observations from the Norwegian manufacturing industry. In the simulation model, the adjustment towards the frictionless price is conditional on thresholds and partial adjustments. Price frictions seem to play a major role in explaining how producers change prices, as modeling with friction parameters gives a much better fit than frictionless modeling. Overall, the evidence in this thesis supports assumptions of nominal stickiness. We find evidence of both thresholds and inertia in the price setting, which indicates that prices are affected by different forms of rigidities. Even when we control for inflation, our findings suggest that there are more frictions downwards than upwards. Thus, we can cannot exclude the possibility that it is easier to increase than to decrease prices. An assessment of the literature shows that, in general, macroeconomic models fail to include all the evidence presented in this thesis. While some models assume that firms have pricing thresholds, others assume inertia in the price setting. However, none of the models considered incorporates the combination of both features. Our findings therefore suggest new ways in which macroeconomic models can be improved.
Sensopercepción del color

La percepcion del color o la vision del color es la capacidad de percibir y discriminar entre las luces sobre la base de su composicion de longitud de onda. El principal componente de un color es la longitud de onda de la luz y, para una sensacion de color determinada, existen tres dimensiones psicologicas: La saturacion, o pureza de la longitud de onda; el matiz, significado comun de color; y la brillantez, o percepcion de la cantidad de luz emitida por una fuente o reflejada por una superficie. El proceso de combinar diferentes longitudes de onda de luz a fin de producir colores nuevos se denomina mezcla aditiva de color, existiendo fenomenos de postimagen y contraste sucesivo ante efectos de fatiga debidos a estimulacion prolongada en una region de la retina Los efectos de alguna experiencia pasada sobre el color aparente se deben, segun se considera, a la memoria de colores. Existen varias teorias acerca de los diversos fenomenos de la percepcion del color. La teoria tricromatica sostiene que el color se codifica mediante tres conos distintos que absorben, en forma selectiva, longitudes de ondas de luz cortas, medias o largas. La teoria de oposicion sugiere que existen mecanismos neurologicos en las celulas ganglionares de la retina y en las capas parvocelulares del nucleo geniculado lateral con una actividad especifica que identifica ondas de luz especificas que incrementan o reducen selectivamente la actividad especifica del receptor para cada color determinando asi la percepcion del color. Los defectos en la percepcion cromatica se reconocen como una caracteristica recesiva vinculada al sexo y transmitida geneticamente, y ocurren como tal especialmente en el sexo masculino. Ademas de los monocromatas, que no distinguen el color, existen tres manifestaciones de ceguera al color: protanopia (perdida de la vision para longitud de onda larga ), deuteronopia (perdida de la vision para longitud de onda media) y tritanopia (perdida de la vision para longitud de onda corta) . Palabras clave: Color, longitud de onda, dimensiones psicofisicas, teorias de color, deficiencias perceptuales de color.
Sliding Mode Control of a Bidirectional Buck/Boost DC-DC Converter with Constant Switching Frequency

In this paper, sliding mode control (SMC) for a bidirectional buck/boost DC-DC converter (BDC) with constant frequency in continuous conduction mode (CCM) is discussed. Since the converter is a high-order converter, the reduced-order sliding manifold is exploited. Because of right-half-plan zero (RHPZ) in the converter’s duty ratio to output voltage transfer function, sliding mode current controller is used. This controller benefits from various advantages such as fast dynamic response, robustness, stable and small variation of the settling time over a wide range of operation conditions. Because the converter operates in both step-down and step-up modes, two sliding manifold is derived for each mode. The existence and stability conditions are analyzed for both SMC in stepdown and step-up modes. Finally, Simulation results are also provided to justify the feasibility of the controller using MATLAB/Simulink.