Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Readily processed protonic ceramic fuel cells with high performance at low temperatures

Cooler ceramic fuel cells Ceramic ion conductors can be used as electrolytes in fuel cells using natural gas. One drawback of such solid-oxide fuel cells that conduct oxygen ions is their high operating temperatures (at least 600°C). Duan et al. have made a proton-conducting ceramic fuel cell with a modified cathode material that exhibits high performance on methane fuel at 500°C (see the Perspective by Gorte). Science, this issue p. 1321; see also p. 1290 A proton-conduction cathode and simpler fabrication enable lower-temperature operation of methane-fueled ceramic fuel cells. [Also see Perspective by Gorte] Because of the generally lower activation energy associated with proton conduction in oxides compared to oxygen ion conduction, protonic ceramic fuel cells (PCFCs) should be able to operate at lower temperatures than solid oxide fuel cells (250° to 550°C versus ≥600°C) on hydrogen and hydrocarbon fuels if fabrication challenges and suitable cathodes can be developed. We fabricated the complete sandwich structure of PCFCs directly from raw precursor oxides with only one moderate-temperature processing step through the use of sintering agents such as copper oxide. We also developed a proton-, oxygen-ion–, and electron-hole–conducting PCFC-compatible cathode material, BaCo0.4Fe0. 4Zr0.1Y0. 1O3-δ (BCFZY0.1), that greatly improved oxygen reduction reaction kinetics at intermediate to low temperatures. We demonstrated high performance from five different types of PCFC button cells without degradation after 1400 hours. Power densities as high as 455 milliwatts per square centimeter at 500°C on H2 and 142 milliwatts per square centimeter on CH4 were achieved, and operation was possible even at 350°C.
Commensal Bifidobacterium promotes antitumor immunity and facilitates anti–PD-L1 efficacy

Gut microbes affect immunotherapy The unleashing of antitumor T cell responses has ushered in a new era of cancer treatment. Although these therapies can cause dramatic tumor regressions in some patients, many patients inexplicably see no benefit. Mice have been used in two studies to investigate what might be happening. Specific members of the gut microbiota influence the efficacy of this type of immunotherapy (see the Perspective by Snyder et al.). Vétizou et al. found that optimal responses to anticytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen blockade required specific Bacteroides spp. Similarly, Sivan et al. discovered that Bifidobacterium spp. enhanced the efficacy of antiprogrammed cell death ligand 1 therapy. Science, this issue, p. 1079 and p. 1084; see also p. 1031 Gut microbes modulate the effectiveness of cancer immunotherapies in mice. [Also see Perspective by Snyder et al.] T cell infiltration of solid tumors is associated with favorable patient outcomes, yet the mechanisms underlying variable immune responses between individuals are not well understood. One possible modulator could be the intestinal microbiota. We compared melanoma growth in mice harboring distinct commensal microbiota and observed differences in spontaneous antitumor immunity, which were eliminated upon cohousing or after fecal transfer. Sequencing of the 16S ribosomal RNA identified Bifidobacterium as associated with the antitumor effects. Oral administration of Bifidobacterium alone improved tumor control to the same degree as programmed cell death protein 1 ligand 1 (PD-L1)–specific antibody therapy (checkpoint blockade), and combination treatment nearly abolished tumor outgrowth. Augmented dendritic cell function leading to enhanced CD8+ T cell priming and accumulation in the tumor microenvironment mediated the effect. Our data suggest that manipulating the microbiota may modulate cancer immunotherapy.
Neuroprotective action of Piper longum against MPTP-induced changes in mouse brain

Background: Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the progressive and selective loss of dopaminergic neurons. Purpose: The study was designed with the aim of investigating the effect of Piper longum in experimental model of Parkinson's disease. Methods: Swiss albino mice were divided into the following 4 groups: group I received vehicle saline (0.25 ml); group II was treated with 20 mg/kg body weight of MPTP (2 dose with 2 h intervals); group III received MPTP along with 50 mg/kg body weight of Piper longum and group IV received 50 mg/kg body weight Piper longum . Results: MPTP induced mice showed vascular degeneration and cytoplasmic vacuolation in the brain tissue. In group II the specific activities of superoxide dismutase and, catalase were increased with increase in lipid peroxidation along with reduction in the activities of adenosine tri phosphatase. Conclusion: The oxidative stress and related biochemical alteration by MPTP were altered in Piper longum treatment. However, further studies are needed to assess the precise mechanism to support the clinical use of the plant as a source of antiparkinsonian drug. doi : 10.5214/ans.0972. 7531.2010. 170105 Competing interests: None. Source of Funding: UGC Received Date: 02 Nov 2009 Revised Date: 30 Nov 2009 Accepted Date: 15 Dec 2009
Information transfer and antipredator maneuvers in schooling herring

Schooling behavior in fish has been recognized to confer antipredator advantages. However, the mechanisms that lead to various patterns of escape maneuvers in fish schools are largely unknown. Here, we investigated the effect of startle stimulus characteristics (distance and orientation) on the escape maneuvers of schools of a highly gregarious fish species, the Atlantic herring Clupea harengus. We quantified information transfer of the onset of startle responses by analyzing the speed of the waves of their propagation (Uw = 6.7 ± 1.6 m/s; mean ± SD). Uw was found to be positively correlated with the number of early responders (i.e., individuals reacting with a latency <50 ms). In addition, we identified the rules determining two different evading maneuvers: highly aligned maneuvers (i.e., all individuals oriented in a relatively uniform direction) and “split” maneuvers (i.e., individuals escaping with low directional uniformity). The pattern of escape maneuvers was dependent on stimulus direction (αs). Lateral stimulation (30° < αs < 120°) elicits highly aligned maneuvers away from the stimulus, while frontal stimulations (αs < 30°) causes split maneuvers, which are followed by realignment about 1 s after stimulation. These simple rules suggest that certain stimulus characteristics are important factors determining the variability of antipredator maneuvers observable in schooling fish.
Modelling Communication Based Train Control System for Dependability Analysis of the LTE Communication Network in Train Control Application

The Communication Based Train Control (CBTC) systems today has generated immense interest in transport domain because of its ability to enhance safety and improve operational effectiveness. The current communication solutions for urban guided transport system that is based on the Wireless local area network (WLAN) becomes obsolete with a number of shortcomings in term of capacity and capability. Hence, the Long Term Evolution (LTE) is considered as a new solution for railway communication technology. Before widely deploying this new solution in railway industry, it must be evaluated and tested to ensure the desired performance level for CBTC system according to the railway safety standards. Therefore, it is necessary to propose a model of CBTC system that allows to consider the behaviours of the LTE communication network in real time. In this paper, we propose to use Petri nets for modelling CBTC system based on a LTE architecture. Using this model, preliminary dependability analysis for the data communication system based on the LTE technology is then performed.
Enhanced seasonal CO2 exchange caused by amplified plant productivity in northern ecosystems

Warming making bigger CO2 swings The combined effects of climate change and vegetation dynamics at high northern latitudes have amplified the seasonal variation of atmospheric CO2 concentrations over the past half century. Forkel et al. combined observations and models to show that climate warming has caused the photosynthetic uptake of carbon to increase faster than its respiratory release from the terrestrial biosphere. This has increased the difference from summer to winter, as well as the latitudinal gradient. Because of the physiological limitations to carbon uptake by terrestrial vegetation, this negative feedback to warming in the boreal north and Arctic cannot continue indefinitely. Science, this issue p. 696 Climate warming has affected the yearly variation of carbon dioxide in the high north. Atmospheric monitoring of high northern latitudes (above 40°N) has shown an enhanced seasonal cycle of carbon dioxide (CO2) since the 1960s, but the underlying mechanisms are not yet fully understood. The much stronger increase in high latitudes relative to low ones suggests that northern ecosystems are experiencing large changes in vegetation and carbon cycle dynamics. We found that the latitudinal gradient of the increasing CO2 amplitude is mainly driven by positive trends in photosynthetic carbon uptake caused by recent climate change and mediated by changing vegetation cover in northern ecosystems. Our results underscore the importance of climate–vegetation–carbon cycle feedbacks at high latitudes; moreover, they indicate that in recent decades, photosynthetic carbon uptake has reacted much more strongly to warming than have carbon release processes.
Analog to Digital Converters Performance Evaluation Using Figure of Merits in Industrial Applications

Analog to Digital Converter(ADC) helps us to connect between analog to digital world. ADCs have function from a tiny electronic device to medical imaging and satellites. Resolution, sampling rate, effective number of bits, power dissipation are some of the commonly accepted parameters to evaluate key performance characteristics of ADCs. This paper presents a detailed performance evaluation survey of commercially available most popular types of ADCs. Commercially available 1828 data for most popular types of ADCs are taken from three major integrated circuit company as Texas Instrument, Analog Devices and Maxim. These data is reviewed and classified into categories. The main contribution of this paper is that the data of current commercially available analog to digital converters are analyzed and a table is given to explain main specifications and limits of current industrial applications. The aim of this paper is to provide a broad perspective on the status of some characteristics of different types of commercially available ADC performance comparison for researchers and application engineers who are dealing with resolution and speed of the data converters.
Structural and biochemical basis for induced self-propagation of NLRC4

Inflammasomes take the wheel Cells require microbial ligand binding to sense pathogens (see the Perspective by Liu and Xiao). Binding to the family of NOD-like receptors triggers the assembly of large protein signaling complexes called inflammasomes, leading infected cells to die and produce inflammatory mediators. Hu et al. and Zhang et al. use cryo–electron microscopy to uncover the structural and biochemical basis of two such receptors: NAIP2, which directly binds microbial ligands, and NLRC4, a protein functioning directly downstream. A self-propagating activation mechanism of downstream inflammasome signaling starts with one molecule of NAIP4 directly binding its microbial ligand. NAIP4 then catalyzes the activation of 10 to 12 NLRC4 molecules to form a wheel-like structure. Science, this issue p. 399, 404; see also p. 376 An autocatalytic self-propagating mechanism drives activation of the NLRC4 inflammasome. [Also see Perspective by Liu and Xiao] Responding to stimuli, nucleotide-binding domain and leucine-rich repeat–containing proteins (NLRs) oligomerize into multiprotein complexes, termed inflammasomes, mediating innate immunity. Recognition of bacterial pathogens by NLR apoptosis inhibitory proteins (NAIPs) induces NLR family CARD domain–containing protein 4 (NLRC4) activation and formation of NAIP-NLRC4 inflammasomes. The wheel-like structure of a PrgJ-NAIP2-NLRC4 complex determined by cryogenic electron microscopy at 6.6 angstrom reveals that NLRC4 activation involves substantial structural reorganization that creates one oligomerization surface (catalytic surface). Once activated, NLRC4 uses this surface to catalyze the activation of an inactive NLRC4, self-propagating its active conformation to form the wheel-like architecture. NAIP proteins possess a catalytic surface matching the other oligomerization surface (receptor surface) of NLRC4 but not those of their own, ensuring that one NAIP is sufficient to initiate NLRC4 oligomerization.
Joint channel estimation and data detection in space-time communications

The paper considers joint channel estimation and data sequence detection for multipath radio channels with multiple antennas at the transmitter and/or receiver. An iterative space-time receiver based on the expectation-maximization algorithm is proposed. We examine the performance of this receiver for transmit diversity and space-time coding methods over Rayleigh fading channels. Simulation results show that the receiver can often achieve near-coherent performance with modest complexity and using very few pilot symbols.
Merging multicarrier CDMA and oscillating-beam smart antenna arrays: exploiting directionality, transmit diversity, and frequency diversity

In this paper, a novel merger of multicarrier code-division multiple access (MC-CDMA) and smart antenna arrays is introduced. Here, a group of Q carriers in the MC-CDMA system is applied to its own M-element smart antenna array at the base station (BS). The smart antennas are located in close proximity to one another. We generate a transmit diversity gain at the receiver by carefully moving (oscillating) the antenna array's pattern. The pattern oscillation is achieved by applying appropriate time-varying phases to array elements of each smart antenna. The beam pattern oscillation ensures a mainlobe at the position of the intended user and small oscillations in the beam pattern. This beam pattern oscillation leads to a time-varying channel with a controllable coherence time; hence, a transmit diversity benefit, in the form of a time diversity benefit, is available at the receiver. Employing MC-CDMA with the proposed smart antenna at the BS, we achieve: 1) directionality which creates high network capacity via space-division multiple access; 2) a transmit diversity gain which supports high performance at the receiver in the mobile unit; and 3) increased capacity and performance via MC-CDMA's ability to support both CDMA and frequency diversity benefits, respectively.
Forest health and global change

Humans rely on healthy forests to supply energy, building materials, and food and to provide services such as storing carbon, hosting biodiversity, and regulating climate. Defining forest health integrates utilitarian and ecosystem measures of forest condition and function, implemented across a range of spatial scales. Although native forests are adapted to some level of disturbance, all forests now face novel stresses in the form of climate change, air pollution, and invasive pests. Detecting how intensification of these stresses will affect the trajectory of forests is a major scientific challenge that requires developing systems to assess the health of global forests. It is particularly critical to identify thresholds for rapid forest decline, because it can take many decades for forests to restore the services that they provide.
Mutually beneficial pollinator diversity and crop yield outcomes in small and large farms

More-diverse pollinators improve crop yields It is known that increased pollinator diversity can improve the yield of agricultural crops. However, how best to both produce food and maintain diversity is still debated. Garibaldi et al. show that on small farms, which provide food for the most vulnerable populations globally, pollinator diversity can significantly increase productivity. Thus, the management of crops and surrounding areas for ecological health is likely to benefit both wild pollinator populations and farmers. Science, this issue p. 388 A large international data set confirms that increased diversity of wild pollinators increases crop yields. Ecological intensification, or the improvement of crop yield through enhancement of biodiversity, may be a sustainable pathway toward greater food supplies. Such sustainable increases may be especially important for the 2 billion people reliant on small farms, many of which are undernourished, yet we know little about the efficacy of this approach. Using a coordinated protocol across regions and crops, we quantify to what degree enhancing pollinator density and richness can improve yields on 344 fields from 33 pollinator-dependent crop systems in small and large farms from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. For fields less than 2 hectares, we found that yield gaps could be closed by a median of 24% through higher flower-visitor density. For larger fields, such benefits only occurred at high flower-visitor richness. Worldwide, our study demonstrates that ecological intensification can create synchronous biodiversity and yield outcomes.
Space-time code design for CPFSK modulation over frequency-nonselective fading channels

We derive a novel space-time code (STC) design criterion for continuous-phase frequency-shift keying (CPFSK) over frequency-nonselective fading channels. Our derivation is based on a specific matrix that is related to the input symbols of the CPFSK modulators. With this code-design criterion, we propose a simple interleaved space-time encoding scheme for CPFSK modulation over frequency-nonselective correlated fading channels to exploit potential temporal and spatial diversity advantages. Such an encoding scheme consists of a ring convolutional encoder and a spatial encoder, between which a convolutional interleaver is placed. A decoding algorithm that generates symbol metrics for the Viterbi decoder of convolutional codes from the spatial modulation trellis is examined. Simulation results confirm that the advantages of the combination of the interleaved convolutional encoding (for temporal diversity) and the spatial encoding (for spatial diversity) are promising for various system parameters.
Methane metabolism in the archaeal phylum Bathyarchaeota revealed by genome-centric metagenomics

Methane cycling gets more diverse The production and consumption of methane by microorganisms play a major role in the global carbon cycle. Although these processes can occur in a range of environments, from animal guts to the deep ocean, these metabolisms are confined to the Archaea. Evans et al. used metagenomics to assemble two nearly complete archaeal genomes from deep groundwater methanogens (see the Perspective by Lloyd). The two reconstructed genomes are members of the recently described Bathyarchaeota and not the phylum to which all previously known methane-metabolizing archaea belonged. Science, this issue p. 434, see also p. 384 Two reconstructed archaeal genomes reveal that methane metabolism is more diverse than anticipated. [Also see Perspective by Lloyd] Methanogenic and methanotrophic archaea play important roles in the global flux of methane. Culture-independent approaches are providing deeper insight into the diversity and evolution of methane-metabolizing microorganisms, but, until now, no compelling evidence has existed for methane metabolism in archaea outside the phylum Euryarchaeota. We performed metagenomic sequencing of a deep aquifer, recovering two near-complete genomes belonging to the archaeal phylum Bathyarchaeota (formerly known as the Miscellaneous Crenarchaeotal Group). These genomes contain divergent homologs of the genes necessary for methane metabolism, including those that encode the methyl–coenzyme M reductase (MCR) complex. Additional non-euryarchaeotal MCR-encoding genes identified in a range of environments suggest that unrecognized archaeal lineages may also contribute to global methane cycling. These findings indicate that methane metabolism arose before the last common ancestor of the Euryarchaeota and Bathyarchaeota.
Marmoset kids actually listen

Humans and other vertebrates may share a developmental program for vocal learning [Also see Report by Takahashi et al.] Undergraduate linguistics courses typically present language as unique to humans. Chomsky and others have postulated a language organ that evolved in hominids. This idea found modest support in the lack of evidence for vocal production learning (imitating sounds) in nonhuman primates. But did language suddenly emerge in the Homo lineage as a “hopeful monster” (1) who could learn new sounds and meanings? Evidence for vocal learning in nonhuman primates is now emerging (2, 3), and in hindsight, looking at vocal production learning as the sole evolutionary precursor of language might have been shortsighted. Similar developmental processes can lead to different end points, and minor modifications of a primitive developmental program can create very different creatures. On page 734 of this issue, Takahashi et al. (4) provide evidence for a developmental process, rather than its endpoint, which reveals a shared developmental program for animal communication and human language. This indicates an ancestral developmental program that is shared not only between humans and other primates but also across mammals and birds.
Establishing affinity relationships toward agents: effects of sympathetic agent behaviors toward human responses

People tend to favor the opinions of those who previously made the same decisions as theirs. We conducted an experiment to investigate the effect of sharing opinions with interface agents on subsequent human behaviors. Three agents with distinctive appearances were used in the experiment. In the first stage, several questions are posed to a subject by the Presider agent, and the Agreeable agent shows explicit agreement to all of the answers by the subject, whereas the Neutral agent doesn't show any agreement. Then, in the second stage, both the Agreeable and Neutral agents state their own opinions to a question by the Presider agent, and the subject is required to choose between the two. All possible assignments (six patterns) of the roles of Presider, Agreeable and Neutral to the three agents were included in the experiment to exclude the possibility of decisions based on subjects liking a particular agent's appearance. The Agreeable agent was consistently in favor of the subject's decisions. We examined how the subject indicates sympathetic responses to the Agreeable agent after he/she interacts with agents. The results showed that people tend to behave favorably toward opinions of agents that previously agreed with their decisions. This suggests that human-computer interaction has the same social dynamics as human-human interaction.
Occurrence of Urinary Calculi in Inbred Strain (C3H) of Mice Treated with Estrogen

Summary Urinary calculi occurred in 33.1% of the 151 strain C3H male mice treated with estogren, and in 4.1% of 96 controls. The highest incidence was noted in mice 5 months of age or older, which had received from 9 to 20 weekly injections of 100 rat units. The calculi appeared at an earlier age in the treated animals.