Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Studying the Dynamics of Structured Population Models: A Versatile Technique and Its Application to Daphnia

We introduce a versatile model formulation, called the escalator boxcar train, that can be used to study the dynamics of populations structured by age, size, or any other physiological trait. Spanning the entire spectrum between the classical, age-structured, Leslie matrix models and continuous-time, physiologically structured population models, it combines the computational ease of the matrix models with the flexibility of the continuous-time models: it allows the population dynamics to depend on an arbitrary number of individual characteristics and can account for nonlinear interactions of the population with its (fluctuating) environment, for density dependence in individual behavior, and for a continuous reproduction process. Application of the technique to a model for the dynamics of a Daphnia population reveals that a food-dependent maturation delay induces a very specific type of population cycle, in which the demography of the population plays a major role. The influence of "growth-curve plasticity," that is, the change in size at each age with a change in food density, on individual feeding behavior (at higher food densities individuals are larger and hence eat more) is a potential mechanism to stabilize the dynamics. The influence of growth-curve plasticity on reproduction (primarily the increase in maturation delay with a decrease in food density) greatly destabilizes the system.
HBD-2 variants and SARS-CoV-2: New insights into inter-individual susceptibility

Background A deep understanding of the causes of liability to SARS-CoV-2 is essential to develop new diagnostic tests and therapeutics against this serious virus in order to overcome this pandemic completely. In the light of the discovered role of antimicrobial peptides [such as human b-defensin-2 (hBD-2) and cathelicidin LL-37] in the defense against SARS-CoV-2, it became important to identify the damaging missense mutations in the genes of these molecules and study their role in the pathogenesis of COVID-19. Methods We conducted a comprehensive analysis with multiple in silico approaches to identify the damaging missense SNPs for hBD-2 and LL-37; moreover, we applied docking methods and molecular dynamics analysis to study the impact of the filtered mutations. Results The comprehensive analysis reveals the presence of three damaging SNPs in hBD-2; these SNPs were predicted to decrease the stability of hBD-2 with a damaging impact on hBD-2 structure as well. G51D and C53G mutations were located in highly conserved positions and were associated with differences in the secondary structures of hBD-2. Docking-coupled molecular dynamics simulation analysis revealed compromised binding affinity for hBD-2 SNPs towards the SARS-CoV-2 spike domain. Different protein–protein binding profiles for hBD-2 SNPs, in relation to their native form, were guided through residue-wise levels and differential adopted conformation/orientation. Conclusions The presented model paves the way for identifying patients prone to COVID-19 in a way that would guide the personalization of both the diagnostic and management protocols for this serious disease.
Fine needle aspiration cytology in the diagnosis and management of thyroid diseases

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Swellings of thyroid are frequently encountered in surgical practice. Clinical evaluation helps in early diagnosis but its difficult to distinguish early malignant lesions from the most prevalent benign goiters.A variety of tests has been employed to distinguish between benign from malignant thyroid nodules. A radionucleotide scan with Radioiodine or Technetium helps in diagnosis but doesnot provide an accurate histological diagnosis. USG can differentiate between only solid and cystic swellings. Surgical excision is the only means by which a definitive diagnosis is obtained based on HPE. An alternative approach is called for other than surgery as most cases are benign. FNAC is a simpler and safer procedure carried out in the OPD with minimum equipment and it also has a good patient compliance. The present study aims at correlating the cytological diagnosis with the final histological diagnosis to evaluate the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of FNAC smears, thereby its role in preoperative diagnosis in planning proper management. METHODOLOGY: A proforma was drafted for the study of all patients presenting with history of palpable thyroid swelling and undergo surgery in our hospital. Clinical presentations, FNAC and histopathology of all cases were documented. Only those patients, whose specimen contained adequate material were included in the study. RESULTS: 100 cases who presented with thyroid swellings were studied and their histopathological diagnosis was compared with the FNAC. Out of the 100 cases, 88 were females and 12 were males, being 7.3 : 1. Of the 86 cases which were seen benign by FNAC, 82 were confirmed by histopathology. Of the 18 cases which were proved to be malignant by histopathology 14 were only seen as malignant by FNAC. The sensitivity of FNAC in the diagnosis of benign lesions was found to be 77.78% , specificity was 100%, positive predictive value 100% and accuracy is 96%. INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSION: The majority of our patients were between second and third decade, of which females being predominant. The majority of cases were benign of which multinodular goiter being the most dominant pathology (25 %). Among the malignancies, majority being papillary carcinoma (78.94 %). The sensitivity, specificity and predictive value of positive smears being 77.78%, 100 %, and 100% respectively. FNAC was of greater help in the preoperative management of thyroid swellings. Multinodular goiters and colloid goiters were distinguished easily by FNAC but confusion prevailed in cases of follicular adenomas. Majority of our patients were rural folks, who cannot be followed up regularly and for a longer time, so clinical suspicion should be one of the indications for surgery, inspite of FNAC being negative. FNAC is simpler, safer, quicker and more informative, when compared with other sophisticated methods in the diagnosis of thyroid lesions.
Performance Evaluation of LTE Physical Layer Using SC-FDMA & OFDMA

Since past few decades different types of cellular networks were launched and went successful on the radio links such as WiMAX, that became very popular because of its high data rate (70Mbps) and support for providing wireless internet services over 50km distance. The UMTS Long Term Evolution (LTE) is an emerging technology in the evolution of 3G cellular services. LTE runs on an evolution of the existing UMTS infrastructure already used by over 80 percent of mobile subscribers globally. We have very limited resources in cellular technologies and it is important to utilize them with high efficiency. Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) & Orthogonal Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) are major part of LTE. OFDMA was well utilized for achieving high spectral efficiency in communication system. SC-FDMA is introduced recently and it became handy candidate for uplink multiple access scheme in LTE system that is a project of Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). The Multiple Access Scheme in Advanced Mobile radio system has to meet the challenging requirements for example high throughput, good robustness, efficient Bit Error Rate (BER), high spectral efficiency, low delays, low computational complexity, low Peak to Average Power Ratio (PAPR), low error probability etc. Error probability is playing vital role in channel estimation and there are many ways to do channel estimation, like Wiener Channel Estimation, Bayesian Demodulation etc. In our thesis, we investigate the performance of SC-FDMA and OFDMA of LTE physical layer by considering different modulation schemes (BPSK, QPSK, 16QAM and 64QAM) on the basis of PAPR, BER, power spectral density (PSD) and error probability by simulating the model of SC-FDMA & OFDMA. We use Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN) channel and introduce frequency selective (multipath) fading in the channel by using Rayleigh Fading model to evaluate the performance in presence of noise and fading. A set of conclusions is derived from our results describing the effect of higher order modulation schemes on BER and error probability for both OFDMA and SC-FDMA. The power spectral densities of both the multiple access techniques (OFDMA and SC-FDMA) are calculated and result shows that the OFDMA has high power spectral density. The considered modulation schemes also have a significant impact on the PAPR of both OFDMA and SC-FDMA such that the higher order modulations increase PAPR in SC-FDMA and decrease PAPR in OFDMA. However, the overall value of PAPR is minimum in SC-FDMA for all modulation schemes. The PSD calculation results also support the remarks given on PAPR.
A survey of HC3N in extragalactic sources Is HC3N a tracer of activity in ULIRGs

Context. HC3N is a molecule that is mainly associated with Galactic star-forming regions, but it has also been detected in extragalactic environments. Aims. To present the first extragalactic survey of HC3N, when combining earlier data from the literature with six new single-dish detections, and to compare HC3N with other molecular tracers (HCN, HNC), as well as other properties (silicate absorption strength, IR flux density ratios, C II flux, and megamaser activity). Methods. We present mm IRAM 30 m, OSO 20 m, and SEST observations of HC3N rotational lines (mainly the J = 10-9 transition) and of the J = 1-0 transitions of HCN and HNC. Our combined HC3N data account for 13 galaxies (excluding the upper limits reported for the non-detections), while we have HCN and HNC data for more than 20 galaxies. Results. A preliminary definition "HC3N-luminous galaxy" is made based upon the HC3N/HCN ratio. Most (similar to 80%) HC3N-luminous galaxies seem to be deeply obscured galaxies and (U) LIRGs. A majority (similar to 60% or more) of the HC3N-luminous galaxies in the sample present OH mega- or strong kilomaser activity. A possible explanation is that both HC3N and OH megamasers need warm dust for their excitation. Alternatively, the dust that excites the OH megamaser offers protection against UV destruction of HC3N. A high silicate absorption strength is also found in several of the HC3N-luminous objects, which may help the HC3N to survive. Finally, we find that a high HC3N/HCN ratio is related to a high dust temperature and a low C II flux.
Axial compression behavior of reinforced concrete beam to square thin‐walled concrete‐filled steel tube column joints stiffened by internal diaphragms

A joint system was proposed to connect square thin‐walled concrete‐filled steel tube (CFST) columns and reinforced concrete (RC) beams. In the system, longitudinal beam reinforcing bars are continuous through the joint zone by passing the rectangular holes in the steel tube, aiming to achieve direct load‐transfer of the beam and joint integrity; and the square thin‐walled steel tube with holes is strengthened by internal diaphragms. Previous cyclic tests showed that the proposed joint system satisfied the requirements of strong‐joint weak‐component, namely the shear capacity of the joint zone was larger than that provided by CFST columns and RC beams. However, further research was necessary to evaluate the behavior under axial compression, as the discontinuous diagonal ribs and holes in the joint steel tube weakened the load capacity. In this investigation, the effect of internal diaphragms was first evaluated based on the axial compression tests on six square CFST stub columns. The test results showed that the internal diaphragms effectively improved the strength and ductility. The finite element analyses (FEA) on square CFST columns and RC beam to CFST column joints stiffened by internal diaphragms were then carried out based on the verified FEA models. The analysis results showed that thicker internal diaphragms increased the strength, and changed the failure mode from the column‐center failure to column‐end failure for columns and from the joint failure to column failure for joints, respectively. Finally, the mechanics‐based models and axial strength equations of square CFST columns and RC beam to CFST column joints stiffened by internal diaphragms were proposed, and the predictions agreed well with the test and analysis results.
Editorial: Whole Brain Emulation seeks to Implement a Mind and its General Intelligence through System Identification

Whole brain emulation (WBE) is a systematic approach to large-scale neuroprostheses with theintent to replicate the functions of a speciﬁc mind in some other operating substrate. The engineeringpractice of system identiﬁcation can be applied in a way that makes this big problem a feasiblecollection of connected smaller system identiﬁcation problems to solve.Whole brain emulation is an essential goal for neuroscience. Following Richard Feynman’sfamous 1988 Caltech chalkboard quote: “What I cannot create, I do not understand. ” To create orbuild a human mind we need models, a combination of building blocks with processes. When weexplain something that is observed, e.g., mental functions and behaviors, we strive to make thatpredictable within constraints that satisfy our interests: We create boundaries, we measure withinthose well-deﬁned outlines, and then we use those measurements to derive model processes enablingoutcome prediction. Within the deﬁned system outlines of our model, taking into account deﬁnedsets of signals, we mathematically describe interactions (which may be expressed in informationtheoretic terms). Every aspect of modern science relies on creating representations of things. In each case, wefocus on the signals and the observables (or behavior) that interest us. Then, we try to interpret interms of functions what the system processes are doing. Where brain functions are concerned, somecognitive prosthetic work, such as the pioneering efforts of the labs of Theodore W. Berger at theUniversity of Southern California, has managed to carry out these steps and produced successfulexperimental results (Berger et al., 2012). Berger’s team has developed and tested an experimentalhippocampal neural prosthetic that is implemented on a bio-mimetic chip. A transfer functionwas identiﬁed and used to replicate the operational properties of biological neural circuitry in aregion of the rat hippocampus known as CA3. In experiments, the prosthesis is able to reproducethe way in which input to the region is turned into output from that region. This method ofdeveloping neuroprostheses, with demonstrated success in rats, is presently being tested in primates(Marmarelis et al., 2013).
Classic Kaposi's sarcoma and vascular endothelial growth factor.

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The Complete Book of Middleware

From the Publisher: "This reference highlights the changes to middleware technologies and standards. It offers a concise overview of middleware technology alternatives and distributed systems. Many increasingly complex examples are incorporated and the book concludes with guidelines on the practice of IT architecture. Performance considerations such as caching and monitoring are also reviewed and the appendix includes middleware resources and new modeling standards. " The scope of the book covers traditional middleware and also next-generation techniques that serve to glue disparate systems in the ever-expanding world of distributed network systems. Provided with the concepts, principles, and alternatives discussed in The Complete Book of Middleware, systems architects, systems analysts, systems designers, systems developers, and programmers can proceed with greater confidence in designing complex enterprise systems.
Epidemiological and Clinical Investigation of the ST Elevated Myocardial Infarction in an Emergency Department in Turkey

Objectives: In this study, epidemiologic investigation of clinical features and risk factors of the patients diagnosed as acute ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Methods: The study designed as retrospective, descriptive, cross-sectional. 229 patients admitted to the training and research hospital emergency department with a yearly admission of 252677 in 2010, were included the study. Results: A total of 77.7% of the patients was male. Patient admission was the most in February (11.8%), and the least in August (5.2%). The most effected part of the heart was anterior (48.5%). 55.4% of the patients had smoking and 2.8% had alcohol usage history; 23.3% had hypertension, 20.0% hyperlipidemia, 18.3% diabetes mellitus, 11.7% family history of coronary artery disease. Conclusions: By the prevention from the modifiable risk factors for acute coronary diseases can reduce the frequency of coronary artery diseases.
When is a measured soil organic matter fraction equivalent to a model pool?

Dynamic simulation models are important tools for rationalizing complex changes in soil organic matter. Most such models for organic matter can be described as having either a pool structure or a continuous one. A pool structure can offer advantages in ease of use and transferability. Some pools are easily measured, whereas others cannot be measured directly. New methods of fractionation are being developed in an attempt to base models on measurable fractions. A requirement for such models is a demonstration that the measured fraction and model pool are equivalent. A measured fraction is equivalent to a model pool only if, within acceptable limits, it is unique as well as non‐composite. If the measured fraction is not unique, describing it as a separate pool adds no extra information, while the added complexity can increase propagation of errors. If it is composite then the characteristics of the fraction will change with changing environment as a result of changing proportions of subpools. This will produce a model that cannot be applied without deriving parameters afresh: such a model is of greatly reduced value. Here we develop methods to examine if a fraction is both unique and non‐composite. The tests for unique and composite pools were applied to the SUNDIAL (simulation of nitrogen dynamics in arable land) model of organic matter and nitrogen turnover in soil. Results suggest that the debris, biomass and humus pools are unique, but biomass and humus are composed of two or more subpools. This worked example illustrates how, given suitable data, any pool‐based model can be tested by these methods.
Cross-Language Latent Relational Search between Japanese and English Languages Using a Web Corpus

Latent relational search is a novel entity retrieval paradigm based on the proportional analogy between two entity pairs. Given a latent relational search query {(Japan, Tokyo), (France, ? )}, a latent relational search engine is expected to retrieve and rank the entity “Paris” as the first answer in the result list. A latent relational search engine extracts entities and relations between those entities from a corpus, such as the Web. Moreover, from some supporting sentences in the corpus, (e.g., “Tokyo is the capital of Japan” and “Paris is the capital and biggest city of France”), the search engine must recognize the relational similarity between the two entity pairs. In cross-language latent relational search, the entity pairs as well as the supporting sentences of the first entity pair and of the second entity pair are in different languages. Therefore, the search engine must recognize similar semantic relations across languages. In this article, we study the problem of cross-language latent relational search between Japanese and English using Web data. To perform cross-language latent relational search in high speed, we propose a multi-lingual indexing method for storing entities and lexical patterns that represent the semantic relations extracted from Web corpora. We then propose a hybrid lexical pattern clustering algorithm to capture the semantic similarity between lexical patterns across languages. Using this algorithm, we can precisely measure the relational similarity between entity pairs across languages, thereby achieving high precision in the task of cross-language latent relational search. Experiments show that the proposed method achieves an MRR of 0.605 on Japanese-English cross-language latent relational search query sets and it also achieves a reasonable performance on the INEX Entity Ranking task.
The Role of the Auditory and Visual Modalities in the Perceptual Identification of Brazilian Portuguese Statements and Echo Questions

This paper presents the results of three perceptual experiments investigating the role of auditory and visual channels for the identification of statements and echo questions in Brazilian Portuguese. Ten Brazilian speakers (five male) were video-recorded (frontal view of the face) while they produced a sentence (“Como você sabe”), either as a statement (meaning “As you know.”) or as an echo question (meaning “As you know? ”). Experiments were set up including the two different intonation contours. Stimuli were presented in conditions with clear and degraded audio as well as congruent and incongruent information from both channels. Results show that Brazilian listeners were able to distinguish statements and questions prosodically and visually, with auditory cues being dominant over visual ones. In noisy conditions, the visual channel improved the interpretation of prosodic cues robustly, while it degraded them in conditions where the visual information was incongruent with the auditory information. This study shows that auditory and visual information are integrated during speech perception, also when applied to prosodic patterns.