Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Common micro‐RNA signature in skeletal muscle damage and regeneration induced by Duchenne muscular dystrophy and acute ischemia

The aim of this work was to identify micro‐RNAs (miRNAs) involved in the pathological pathways activated in skeletal muscle damage and regeneration by both dystrophin absence and acute ischemia. Eleven miRNAs were deregulated both in MDX mice and in Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients (DMD signature). Therapeutic interventions ameliorating the mdx‐phenotype rescued DMD‐signature alterations. The significance of DMD‐signature changes was characterized using a damage/regeneration mouse model of hind‐limb ischemia and newborn mice. According to their expression, DMD‐signature miRNAs were divided into 3 classes. 1) Regeneration miRNAs, miR‐31, miR‐34c, miR‐206, miR‐335, miR‐449, and miR‐494, which were induced in MDX mice and in DMD patients, but also in newborn mice and in newly formed myofibers during postischemic regeneration. Notably, miR‐206, miR‐34c, and miR‐335 were up‐regulated following myoblast differentiation in vitro. 2) Degenerative‐miRNAs, miR‐1, miR‐29c, and miR‐135a, that were down‐modulated in MDX mice, in DMD patients, in the degenerative phase of the ischemia response, and in newborn mice. Their down‐modulation was linked to myofiber loss and fibrosis. 3) Inflammatory miRNAs, miR‐222 and miR‐223, which were expressed in damaged muscle areas, and their expression correlated with the presence of infiltrating inflammatory cells. These findings show an important role of miRNAs in physiopathological pathways regulating muscle response to damage and regeneration. —Greco, S. , De Simone, M. , Colussi, C. , Zaccagnini, G. , Fasanaro, P., Pescatori, M. , Cardani, R. , Perbellini, R. , Isaia, E. , Sale, P., Meola, G. , Capogrossi, M. C. , Gaetano, C. , Martelli, F. Common micro‐RNA signature in skeletal muscle damage and regeneration induced by Duchenne muscular dystrophy and acute ischemia. FASEB J. 23, 3335–3346 (2009). www.fasebj. org
Factors Influencing Adoption and Post-Adoption of Smart Phone

This research aimed to develop a comprehensive model for consumers' adoption of smart phone and their behaviors after adoption. For this purpose, a multi-dimensional approach was attempted, considering both the initial adoption stage of smart phone and the stage after adoption. Affecting factors were first deduced based on literature review and in-depth interviews, and based on deduced factors, a comprehensive hypothetical adoption model was established for consumers' adoption of smart phone and their behaviors after adoption. In this empirical research a survey was conducted using an organized questionnaire, involving consumers in their 20s and 30s who were accepting smart phones. A longitudinal survey was performed in order to analyze consumers' behaviors before and after adoption. The first survey (before adoption) secured 628 valid responses; however, the second survey secured 286 valid responses. The results of the empirical research were as follows. First, relative advantage, aesthetics and social image are positively related to adoptive intention of smart phone. Second, adoptive intention of smart phone is positively related to adoption of smart phone. Third, adoption of smart phone is positively related to relationship investment. Fourth, relationship investment is positively related to switching cost and emotional attachment. Fifth, switching cost is positively related to continued adoptive intention. sixth, emotional attachment is positively related to switching cost and continued adoptive intention.
A proposal for a new questionnaire for the evaluation of teachers at the University of the Basque Country . Dimensional , differential and psychometric study

The aim of this paper is to analyze the new questionnaire designed by the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) to evaluate its teaching staff (SET). To do it, the responses of a 941 students sample were analyzed and the following aspects of the questionnaire were studied: its reliability, dimensionality, construct and criterion validity; concluding with a differential study considering variables such as gender, disciplinary field, perceived difficulty level or subject interest. The results suggest high internal consistency that fits to the theorical dimensions: planning, process and results, enabling a formative use of information.
initio study of two-dimensional PdPS as an ideal light harvester and promising catalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction

The development of two-dimensional (2D) energy materials with high light absorption and ideal Gibbs free energy for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) can propel us toward new technologies of efficient photoelectric conversion and clean energy production. Here our first-principles study depicts the 2D PdPS as a promising material for the photovoltaic solar cell and highly active catalyst for HER. Specifically, the calculated optical gap of PdPS monolayer is 1.65 eV, close to the ideal gap for solar cells. The PdPS monolayer shows a remarkably high absorbance in the visible light region and the exciton binding energy is estimated to be 0.55 eV. The PdPS sheet is found to possess highly active sites for HER, with the ideal value of Gibbs free energy, which is more desirable than that of Pt and MoS2. Furthermore, we find the single-layer PdPS can be obtained experimentally by mechanical cleavage and it is dynamically stable by analysing its vibrational normal modes. Our work expands the family of 2D solar cells and the highly active HER activity of PdPS layer will place it as a promising catalyst for water splitting. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
URBAN SETTLEMENT PROCESS IN SICILY : FROM HISTORY TO THE CONTEMPORARY PERIOD

Urban settlement process in Sicily: from history to the contemporary period. This paper deals with historical settlement process in Sicily from modern age to present day through a spatial analysis of urbanization process in the island. The paper is divided in three parts. In the first part we speak about the main features of settlement urban process from the modern age to beginning of the controversial modernization period which coincides with the post war reconstruction. The second part is about the demographic analysis of the three principal metropolitan areas of Palermo, Catania and Messina from 1951 to 2010 in which we detect two different stages. The first one is characterized by high rate of population concentration in the main towns’ center (capital of district) until the 70’. From this decade the principal Sicilian cities know phenomenon of counter-urbanization. This paper will give a concise representation through cartographic maps of this settlement process as well as the socio economic factors who determine the more recent settlement processes. In particular the analysis move from the application of the model of FUR (Functional urban Region) introduced in Europe by Cheshire and Hall (1989) that differs from administrative ones. Finally in the last part of this paper we borrow the model of urban life cycle by the geographer Van den Berg and then modified by Emanuel. It will be applied to the three metropolitan areas. In this model the authors detected 6 typologies of urban settlement structures. In the conclusion we try to define the main characteristics of this current settlement patterns, stressing that its weakness reflects a serious sluggish of social and economic development hard to take off. Rezumat: Procesul de urbanizare în Sicilia de la moştenirea istorică la perioada contemporană. Această lucrare se ocupă cu procesul de urbanizare sub raport istoric în Sicilia de la epoca modernă în prezent printr-o analiză spaţială a procesului de dezvoltare urbană pe insulă. Lucrarea este împărţită în
Perceptions Of Academic Staff : Does Internal Quality Management Contribute To The Improvement Of Teaching-Learning Process ? The Case of Ethiopian Higher Education

The purpose of this study was to assess perceptions of academic staff on the internal quality management practices of the Ethiopian higher education. Descriptive survey research method was used. Data were collected from three universities using questionnaire. The mean scores per item and per scale as well as, the standard error and the standard deviation per scale were computed. In addition, the data were analysed, by using a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Importance-performance analysis. The findings indicate that academic staff of the universities perceived the internal quality management practice as poor. Thus, to improve the internal quality management practice of the universities, it was recommended that the universities management should focus on areas considered by the academic staff as top priority and required immediate attention
Neural networks for fast soft X-ray tomographic inversions in tokamaks

1. The tomographic inversion problem Reconstructing the local plasma emissivity in the soft X-ray (SXR) range 0.1 – 20 keV can be very useful to access crucial information on particle transport, magnetohydrodynamic activity or impurity content in tokamaks. In particular, radiative cooling of heavy impurities like tungsten (W) could be detrimental for the plasma core performances of ITER and developing robust and fast SXR diagnostics is an essential issue to monitor the impurities and to prevent their central accumulation. 2D tomography is the usual method to access the local SXR emissivity of the plasma in a poloidal cross-section of the tokamak from lineintegrated measurements of two or more pinhole cameras. In the Line-of-Sight (LoS) approximation, the mj measurements of the j-th detector (in W.m ) looking at the plasma through the camera aperture is given by the following line integral, after spatial discretization of the plasma 2D emissivity field in Np pixels:
Application of Stereo-PIV : Propeller Wake Analysis in a Large Circulating Water Channel

An experimental investigation of a five blade propeller wake behind a Series 60 Cb=0.6 ship model has been performed using Stereo Particle Image Velocimetry (Stereo-PIV) in a large free surface cavitation tunnel. Problems related with the application of the Stereo-PIV in a large water facility are discussed. The image preprocessing is presented and the measurement uncertainties are assessed. The investigation of the wake at different longitudinal stations and its evolution in phase with the propeller has pointed out the capability of Stereo-PIV in resolving the complexity of the flow field. The blade viscous wake, which develops from the blade surface boundary layers, the trailing vortex sheets that are due to the radial gradient of the bound circulation, and the velocity fluctuation distributions are identified and discussed. The complex interaction between the hull wake and propeller is described through the evolution of the mean velocity components and the vorticity fields. Mean vorticity distribution behind a ship model
Consensus SFE / SFHTA / AFCE consensus on primary aldosteronism , part 4 : Subtype diagnosis Consensus hyperaldostéronisme primaire SFE / SFHTA groupe 4 : diagnostic étiologique des hyperaldostéronismes primaires

Stéphane Bardeta, Bernard Chamontinb, Claire Douillardc, Jean-Yves Pagnyd, Anne Hernigoud, Francis Joffree, Pierre-François Plouinf,∗, Olivier Steicheng a Service de médecine nucléaire, centre François-Baclesse, 3, avenue du Général-Harris, 14076 Caen cedex 05, France b Service de médecine interne et d’hypertension artérielle, centre hospitalo-universitaire Rangueil, 31059 Toulouse, France c Service d’endocrinologie et des maladies métaboliques, hôpital Huriez, centre hospitalier régional universitaire de Lille, rue Polonovski, 59037 Lille, France d Département de radiologie, hôpital européen Georges-Pompidou, Assistance publique–Hôpitaux de Paris, 75908 Paris, France e Département de radiologie, centre hospitalo-universitaire Rangueil, 31059 Toulouse, France f Unité d’hypertension, Assistance publique–Hôpitaux de Paris, hôpital européen Georges-Pompidou, 20, rue Leblanc, 75908 Paris cedex 15, France g Assistance publique–Hôpitaux de Paris, hôpital Tenon, service de médecine interne, rue de la Chine, 75020 Paris, France
Adaptive Estimation of Speed and Rotor Time Constant for the Vector Controlled Induction Motor Drive Using Reactive Power

Model reference adaptive system (MRAS) -based techniques for the estimation of speed and rotor time constant for induction motor drive are presented in this paper. The proposed methods use both the instantaneous and steady state reactive power to formulate the error signal. The use of instantaneous reactive power (IRP) in the reference model makes it completely free from the machine parameters. On the other hand, the choice of steady state reactive power (SRP) in the adjustable model eliminates derivative terms from the same. Therefore, the accuracy in the estimated quantity is improved. It is important to mention that the flux estimation is not required in any step of the computation. Moreover, the system is independent of stator resistance variation, as the reactive power is considered in the MRAS. The stability of the proposed MRAS is achieved by applying Popov's hyperstability criterion along with proper manipulation of different error signals. Simulation results and the corresponding experimental results have been presented to validate the method.
A Spin-Diode Logic Family

While most modern computing technologies utilize Si complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) transistors and the accompanying CMOS logic family, alternative devices and logic families exhibit significant performance advantages. Though heretofore impractical, diode logic allows for the execution of logic circuits that are faster, smaller, and dissipate less power than conventional architectures. In this paper, magnetoresistive semiconductor heterojunctions are used to produce the first complete logic family based solely on diodes. We utilize the diode magnetoresistance states to create a binary logic family based on high and low currents in which a full range of logic functions is executed. The diode is used as a switch by manipulating its magnetoresistance with current-carrying wires that generate magnetic fields. Using this device structure, we present basis logic elements and complex circuits consisting of as few as 10% of the devices required in their conventional CMOS counterparts. This diode logic family is therefore an intriguing potential replacement for CMOS technology as Si scaling reaches its inherent limits.
DIETARY MANNANOLIGOSACCHARIDE INFLUENCED FEED CONSUMPTION AND GUT MORPHOLOGY OF NILE TILAPIA RAISED IN NET-CAGE SYSTEMS *

This work was set out to determine the effects of increasing levels of dietary mannanoligosaccharides (MOS) on growth and intestine morphology of Nile tilapia. Individuals (12.3 ± 0.3 g) were randomly distributed into 16 net-cages (250 L; 20 fishes per net cage) at Salto Caxias Hydroelectric reservoir in Jacutinga river, Paraná, Brazil and fed during 60 days with a commercial diet supplemented with 0.0; 0.2; 0.4 and 0.8% dietary mannanoligosaccharides (n = 4). Fish feed consumption showed quadratic correlation with dietary levels of prebiotic at 30 and 60 days. Intestinal villi height were increased in fishes fed with 0.4% dietary MOS for 30 days. However, after 60 days, fishes fed with control diet showed significant increase in villi height. On the other hand, none of the levels of mannanoligosaccharides had been tested shown efficiency on growth parameters. In conclusion, the prebiotic had improved the vilosity height of the gut epithelium, even though, no effects were observed in the growth parameters of the Nile tilapia.
Mortality and Cancer Experience of Quebec Aluminum Reduction Plant Workers, Part 4: Cancer Incidence

Objective: To describe the cancer experience of Quebec aluminum smelter workers. Methods: Cancer incidence was compared with that of the Quebec general population and examined in relation to benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) and smoking exposure indices. Results: There was a statistically significant increased incidence of stomach (two cohorts), pancreatic (one cohort), laryngeal (one cohort), lung (three cohorts), and bladder (four cohorts) cancers. Unlike lung and bladder cancers, pancreatic and stomach cancer risks do not relate meaningfully to cumulative B[a]P exposure. Laryngeal and buccal cavity cancer standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) seem to increase with increasing B[a]P exposure. SIRs from lung cancer have greatly diminished whereas bladder cancer SIRs remain elevated in all but one cohort. Conclusions: The cancer incidence results are consistent with those from mortality studies, but identify other cancers that deserve scrutiny in future follow-ups.
Formalization of Rice ’ s Theorem over a Functional Language Model

Classical proofs of Rice’s Theorem assume the existence of a universal (Turing) machine and build a reduction from the problem of deciding whether a machine halts or not to the problem of separability of semantic properties of machines. This work presents a formalization in PVS of Rice’s Theorem over a computational model given as a class of partial recursive functions. The main differences with classical proofs are that the given formalization is developed over a functional programming model and that the proof does not depends on the undecidability of the Halting Problem being made directly without using any translation to or from other computational models. As corollaries, straightforward formalizations of the undecidability of the Halting Problem, functional equivalence problem, existence of fixed points problem and self-replication problem are obtained.
COMPACT DESIGN AND SIMULATION OF LOW PASS MICROWAVE FILTER ON MICROSTRIP TRANSMISSION LINE AT 2 . 4 GHz

Abstract (10pt) This paper presents a frequency responsive 5 pole microstrip Low Pass filter at 2.4 GHz with Z0 = 50 ohm and passband ripple LAR = 0.04321dB. This presents a novel design of Chebyshev LPF prototype with substrate thickness 1.6 mm, strip thickness 0.035 mm, FR4 substrate relative permittivity is 4.4 and dielectric loss tangent 0.02. The simulated results for the filter are in good concurrence and shows cutoff at 2.4 GHz. In this filter with changing every high or low impedance characteristics such as length or width desired characteristics can be rich and the simulation and analysis of the low pass planar filter is performed using the Ansoft‟s HFSS simulator. Snapshots of the simulation and the graphical results obtained are shown in the paper. Design with making by the micro strip technology, it becomes practical. This Filter has less complexity rather than other filters.
Protecting the world from secondhand tobacco smoke exposure: where do we stand and where do we go from here?

INTRODUCTION Article 8 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control mandates all signatory countries to "protect citizens from exposure to tobacco smoke in workplaces, public transport and indoor public places. " Even though there has been great progress in the implementation of Article 8, still most of the world population remains exposed to secondhand smoke (SHS). In this article, we sought to summarize the research that supports Article 8, where do we stand, and current research gaps and future directions. DISCUSSION Secondhand smoke is an established cause of heart disease and several types of cancer. Additional research is needed to reach final conclusions for diseases where evidence is only suggestive of causality. The only solution to SHS exposure in public places is banning smoking indoors. Research on the gaming industry and nightclubs, particularly in developing countries, needs to be disseminated to support their inclusion in smoke-free laws. Aside from indoor bans, additional research is needed for outdoor and multiunit housing bans and in support of measures that protect children and other vulnerable populations. The impact of smoke-free laws on other health outcomes, besides heart disease and respiratory outcomes, is another area where further research is needed. Thirdhand smoke assessment and health effects are also likely to be a topic of further research. As new tobacco products emerge, evaluating SHS exposure and effects will be vital. CONCLUSIONS Furthering research in support of Article 8 can contribute to reach the final goal of protecting everyone from SHS exposure.
Automatic Chorus Segmentation of Music Documents Using Self-Similarity

Content-based information retrieval is becoming increasingly important for audio document collections. We present a segmentation algorithm for discreetly sampled music documents that employs similarities in the frequency domain between small time slices to index chorus regions. Its performance is compared in two tasks with statistically derived estimators, trained on a test suite of music documents: In the audio thumbnailing task, a short time window has to be placed within a chorus segment; in the song structure task, a chorus detector has to segment a music document in chorus/non chorus regions. Key-Words: Automatic audio segmentation, Self-similarity, Chorus detection, Audio thumbnail
hat tree rings can tell us about the competition between trees and ianas ? A case study based on growth , anatomy , density , and carbon ccumulation

In tropical forest, landscape fragmentation and the consequent degradation of disturbed forests increase the incidence of light and dry hot winds, causing a disturbance on natural regeneration. Under these conditions, lianas (woody vines) development is stimulated instead of other species, which are more suited to mature forest and under less influence of the edge effect. For this, lianas colonization is an important variable for assessing the disturbance level of a forest. In this context, it becomes important to understand the nature of the competitive relationships between hyper-abundant lianas and ring growth of the host trees. Here, we selected trees with occupation or absence of lianas from two tropical species – Pinus caribaea var. hondurensis (Caribbean pine) and Tectona grandis (teak) – localized in a semideciduous forest fragment in southeastern Brazil, aiming to compare growth, climatic response, anatomy (vessels and intra-annual density fluctuations), wood density and carbon, by tree-ring analysis. The results showed that the lianas caused a change in tree-ring anatomy of host trees in last 10 years, mainly. We observed that trees occupied by lianas had a decrease the radial growth and carbon in the two species, an increase of the vessels size in teak and a decrease of the IADF frequency in Caribbean pine. In teak, the climatetree relationship indicated that trees with lianas had lower response to rainfall and higher response to temperature in the summer (rainy and hottest period); in Caribbean pine, we observed that trees with lianas had a 2-month delay in the radial growth response to rainfall in the dry season. In the teak group, we observed that host trees had higher wood density values than liana-free tree in the outer rings, and the opposite was showed for pine. These findings show that tree-ring growth of host trees are a strong bioindicator of forest disturbance caused by aggressive colonization of lianas. We believe that these methods are applicable to future studies relating to the effects of habitat fragmentation and forest ity an degradation on biodivers