pinecone/core-2020-05-10-deduplication huggingface dataset:
Reduced cardiolipin content decreases respiratory chain capacities and increases ATP synthesis yield in the human HepaRG cells

International audienceCardiolipin (CL) is a unique mitochondrial phospholipid potentially affecting many aspects of mitochondrial function/processes, i.e. energy production through oxidative phosphorylation. Most data focusing on implication of CL content and mitochondrial bioenergetics were performed in yeast or in cellular models of Barth syndrome. Previous work reported that increase in CL content leads to decrease in liver mitochondrial ATP synthesis yield. Therefore the aim of this study was to determine the effects of moderate decrease in CL content on mitochondrial bioenergetics in human hepatocytes. For this purpose, we generated a cardiolipin synthase knockdown (shCLS) in HepaRG hepatoma cells showing bioenergetics features similar to primary human hepatocytes. shCLS cells exhibited a 55% reduction in CLS gene and a 40% decrease in protein expression resulting in a 45% lower content in CL compared to control (shCTL) cells. Oxygen consumption was significantly reduced in shCLS cells compared to shCTL regardless of substrate used and energy state analyzed. Mitochondrial low molecular weight supercomplexes content was higher in shCLS cells (+ 60%) compared to shCTL. Significant fragmentation of the mitochondrial network was observed in shCLS cells compared to shCTL cells. Surprisingly, mitochondrial ATP synthesis was unchanged in shCLS compared to shCTL cells but exhibited a higher ATP:O ratio (+ 46%) in shCLS cells. Our results suggest that lowered respiratory chain activity induced by moderate reduction in CL content may be due to both destabilization of supercomplexes and mitochondrial network fragmentation. In addition, CL content may regulate mitochondrial ATP synthesis yield
Psychiatric disorder and cognitive function in children with epilepsy in Kerala, South India

The cognitive and psychiatric associations of childhood epilepsy have not been studied in developing countries. Children with epilepsy were identified during a population-based epidemiological study of 1403 8- to 12-year-old children in Kerala, South India. They were compared with age-, sex- and social class-matched controls on measures of reading, vocabulary, non-verbal reasoning and school performance. In addition, psychiatric symptoms were measured using standard questionnaires and the presence or absence of psychiatric disorder was established by interview. Patients performed as well as controls on the non-verbal test, but performed worse on tests of vocabulary and reading, suggesting a specific disadvantage in the area of education. Psychiatric disorder was more prevalent in the children with epilepsy. It was concluded that epilepsy in the population studied is accompanied by a significant burden of cognitive and psychiatric disorders which need recognition and adequate service provision
Three-Dimensional Fractional Topological Insulators in Coupled Rashba
  Layers

We propose a model of three-dimensional topological insulators consisting of
weakly coupled electron- and hole-gas layers with Rashba spin-orbit interaction
stacked along a given axis. We show that in the presence of strong
electron-electron interactions the system realizes a fractional strong
topological insulator, where the rotational symmetry and condensation energy
arguments still allow us to treat the problem as quasi-one-dimensional with
bosonization techniques. We also show that if Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit
interaction terms are equally strong, by doping the system with magnetic
impurities, one can bring it into the Weyl semimetal phase
Functional brain networks: great expectations, hard times and the big leap forward

Many physical and biological systems can be studied using complex network theory, a new statistical physics understanding of graph theory. The recent application of complex network theory to the study of functional brain networks has generated great enthusiasm as it allows addressing hitherto non-standard issues in the field, such as efficiency of brain functioning or vulnerability to damage. However, in spite of its high degree of generality, the theory was originally designed to describe systems profoundly different from the brain. We discuss some important caveats in the wholesale application of existing tools and concepts to a field they were not originally designed to describe. At the same time, we argue that complex network theory has not yet been taken full advantage of, as many of its important aspects are yet to make their appearance in the neuroscience literature. Finally, we propose that, rather than simply borrowing from an existing theory, functional neural networks can inspire a fundamental reformulation of complex network theory, to account for its exquisitely complex functioning mode
Galactose Epimerase Deficiency: Expanding the Phenotype

Galactose epimerase deficiency is an inborn error of metabolism due to uridine diphosphate-galactose-4'-epimerase (GALE) deficiency. We report the clinical presentation, genetic and biochemical studies in two siblings with generalized GALE deficiency.Patient 1: The first child was born with a dysmorphic syndrome. Failure to thrive was noticed during the first year. Episodes of heart failure due to dilated cardiomyopathy, followed by liver failure, occurred between 12 and 42 months. The finding of a serum transferrin isoelectrofocusing (IEF) type 1 pattern led to the suspicion of a congenital disorder of glycosylation (CDG). Follow-up disclosed psychomotor disability, deafness, and nuclear cataracts.Patient 2: The sibling of patient 1 was born with short limbs and hip dysplasia. She is deceased in the neonatal period due to intraventricular hemorrhage in the context of liver failure. Investigation disclosed galactosuria and normal transferrin glycosylation.Next-generation sequence panel analysis for CDG syndrome revealed the previously reported c.280G>A (p.[V94M]) homozygous mutation in the GALE gene. Enzymatic studies in erythrocytes (patient 1) and fibroblasts (patients 1 and 2) revealed markedly reduced GALE activity confirming generalized GALE deficiency. This report describes the fourth family with generalized GALE deficiency, expanding the clinical spectrum of this disorder, since major cardiac involvement has not been reported before.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Maximization of monomeric C5 sugars from wheat bran by using mesoporous ordered silica catalysts

The hydrolysis process of a real fraction of arabinoxylans derived from wheat bran was studied. The influence of catalyst type and loading, reaction time and different metal cations were discussed in terms of the hydrolysis yield of arabinose and xylose oligomers as well as the formation of furfural as degradation product. A high yield of arabinoxylans into the corresponding monomeric sugars (96 and 94% from arabino- and xylo-oligosaccharides, respectively) was obtained at relatively high temperatures (180 °C) and short reaction times (15 min) with a catalyst loading of 4.8 g of RuCl3/Al-MCM-48 per g of initial carbon in hemicelluloses.CTQ2015-64892-R (MINECO/FEDER
Assessing the influence of the carbon source on the abatement of industrial N2O emissions coupled with the synthesis of added-value bioproducts

Producción CientíficaThe continuous abatement of a synthetic N2O emission from a nitric acid plant coupled with the simultaneously production of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) copolymer and the coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) in a bubble column reactor (BCR) was tested using methanol, glycerol and a mixture of sodium acetate-acetic acid (Ac-HAc) as a carbon and electron donor source. The BCRs were inoculated with Paracoccus denitrificans and supplied with the carbon/electron donor at a loading rate of 139 g C m− 3 d− 1. High N2O removal efficiencies (81–91%) were achieved, with glycerol supporting the highest abatement. The PHBV cell content ranged from 25 to 53%, with highest accumulation in the culture obtained with methanol and Ac-HAc. However, the greatest PHBV productivities were observed in the BCRs operated with glycerol and Ac-HAc (21.7 and 33.5 g PHBV m− 3 d− 1, respectively). Glycerol supply induced the highest molar ratio (23%) of the homopolymer 3-hydroxyvalerate in the composition of PHBV. In addition, the specific cell content of CoQ10 ranged from 0.4 to 1 mg g− 1. This work constitutes, to the best of our knowledge, the first study combining N2O abatement with the simultaneous production of multiple bioproducts, which pave the way to the development of greenhouse gas biorefineries for climate change mitigation.Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (Project CTM2015-70442-R and Red NOVEDAR
Electron heating mode transitions in dual frequency capacitive discharges

The authors consider electron heating in the sheath regions of capacitive discharges excited by a combination of two frequencies, one much higher than the other. There is a common supposition that in such discharges the higher frequency is the dominant source of electron heating. In this letter, the authors discuss closed analytic expressions quantifying the Ohmic and collisionless electron heating in a dual frequency discharge. In both cases, the authors show that the lower frequency parameters strongly influence the heating effect. Moreover, this influence is parametrically different, so that the dominant heating mechanism may be changed by varying the low frequency current density
An ontology for software component matching

The Web is likely to be a central platform for software development in the future. We investigate how Semantic Web technologies, in particular ontologies, can be utilised to support software component development in a Web environment. We use description logics, which underlie Semantic Web ontology languages such as DAML+OIL, to develop\ud
an ontology for matching requested and provided components. A link between modal logic and description logics will prove invaluable for the provision of reasoning support for component and service behaviour
Development of a team measure for tacit knowledge in software development teams

In this paper we operationally define and measure tacit knowledge at the team-level in the software development domain. Through a series of three empirical studies we developed and validated the team tacit knowledge measure (TTKM) for software developers. In the first study, initial scale items were developed using the repertory grid technique and content analysis. In Study 2, supplied repertory grids were administered to novices and experts to establish differential items, and Study 3 validated the TTKM on a sample of 48 industrial software development teams. In developing the TTKM we explored the relationships between tacit knowledge, explicit job knowledge and social interaction and their effect on team performance as measured by efficiency and effectiveness. In addition we assess the implications for managing software development teams and increasing team performance through social interaction
Electrical detection of the mechanical resonances in AlN-actuated microbridges for mass sensing applications

We report the fabrication and frequency characterization of mechanical resonators piezoelectrically actuated with aluminum nitride films. The resonators consist of a freestanding unimorph structure made up of a metal/AlN/metal piezoelectric stack and a Si3N4 supporting layer. We show that the electrical impedance of the one-port device can be used to assess the vibrational behavior of the resonators, provided that the modes do not exhibit specific symmetries, for which the impedance variations cancel. Frequency shifts arise when loading the resonators with small masses. As gravimetric sensors, the microbridges exhibit mass sensitivities of 0.18 fg/Hz for vibrational modes around 2 MHz
Transient growth analysis of the flow past a circular cylinder

We apply direct transient growth analysis in complex geometries to investigate its role in the primary and secondary bifurcation/transition process of the flow past a circular cylinder. The methodology is based on the singular value decomposition of the Navier-Stokes evolution operator linearized about a two-dimensional steady or periodic state which leads to the optimal growth modes. Linearly stable and unstable steady flow at Re=45 and 50 is considered first, where the analysis demonstrates that strong two-dimensional transient growth is observed with energy amplifications of order of 10(3) at U-infinity tau/D approximate to 30. Transient growth at Re=50 promotes the linear instability which ultimately saturates into the well known von-Kaacutermaacuten street. Subsequently we consider the transient growth upon the time-periodic base state corresponding to the von-Kaacutermaacuten street at Re=200 and 300. Depending upon the spanwise wavenumber the flow at these Reynolds numbers are linearly unstable due to the so-called mode A and B instabilities. Once again energy amplifications of order of 10(3) are observed over a time interval of tau/T=2, where T is the time period of the base flow shedding. In all cases the maximum energy of the optimal initial conditions are located within a diameter of the cylinder in contrast to the spatial distribution of the unstable eigenmodes which extend far into the downstream wake. It is therefore reasonable to consider the analysis as presenting an accelerator to the existing modal mechanism. The rapid amplification of the optimal growth modes highlights their importance in the transition process for flow past circular cylinder, particularly when comparing with experimental results where these types of convective instability mechanisms are likely to be activated. The spatial localization, close to the cylinder, of the optimal initial condition may be significant when considering strategies to promote or control shedding
On the Spatial Structure of Global Linear Instabilities And Their Experimental Identification

The purpose of the present paper is to discuss the spatial structure of global instabilities, solutions of the partial derivative eigenvalue problem resulting from a nonparallel linear instability analysis of the incompressible Navier–Stokes and continuity equations, as developing upon four prototype essentially two-dimensional steady laminar flows. Theoretical knowledge of these eigendisturbances is instrumental to devising measurement techniques appropriate for their experimental recovery and ultimate control of laminar-turbulent transition mechanisms. Raising the awareness of the global linear flow eigenmodes contributes to redefining the boundaries between experimental observations which may be attributed to linear global as opposed to nonlinear mechanism
Customizing floating-point units for FPGAs: Area-performance-standard trade-offs

The high integration density of current nanometer technologies allows the implementation of complex floating-point applications in a single FPGA. In this work the intrinsic complexity of floating-point operators is addressed targeting configurable devices and making design decisions providing the most suitable performance-standard compliance trade-offs. A set of floating-point libraries composed of adder/subtracter, multiplier, divisor, square root, exponential, logarithm and power function are presented. Each library has been designed taking into account special characteristics of current FPGAs, and with this purpose we have adapted the IEEE floating-point standard (software-oriented) to a custom FPGA-oriented format. Extended experimental results validate the design decisions made and prove the usefulness of reducing the format complexit
The relationship between budgetary expenditure and economic growth in Poland

Abstract This paper investigates the association between different kinds of budgetary
expenditure and economic growth of Poland. The empirical analysis makes use of
linear and nonlinear Granger causality tests to evaluate the applicability of Wagner’s
Law and that of the contrasting Keynesian theory.We employ aggregate and disaggregate
data with the sub-categories of most important budgetary expenditure, including
health care and social security, education and science, national defence and public
security expenditure and government administration expenditure for the period Q1
2000 to Q3 2008. This causality analysis indicates that total relation between budgetary
expenditure and economic growth is consistent with Keynesian theory. The results
of our computations have important policy implications. In case of Poland the health
care expenditure was found to be as important for economic growth as expenditures
on education and science. Furthermore, in order to stimulate economic growth, Polish
government should consider reallocating some of national defence, public security
and government administration expenditure to health care, social security, education
and science expenditure.
Optimal inspection policy for three-state systems monitored by variable sample
size control charts

This paper presents the expected long-run cost per unit time for a system
monitored by an adaptive control chart with variable sample sizes: if the
control chart signals that the system is out of control, the sampling which
follows will be conducted with a larger sample size. The system is supposed to
have three states: in-control, out-of-control, and failed. Two levels of repair
are applied to maintain the system. A minor repair will be conducted if an
assignable cause is confirmed by an inspection, and a major repair will be
performed if the system fails. Both the minor and major repairs are assumed to
be perfect. We derive the expected long-run cost per unit time, which can be
used to obtain the optimal inspection policy. Numerical examples are conducted
to validate the derived cost
Enamel hypoplasias and physiological stress in the Sima de los Huesos Middle Pleistocene hominins

This study presents an analysis of linear enamel hypoplasias (LEH) and plane-form defects (PFD) in the hominine dental sample from the Sima de los Huesos (SH) Middle Pleistocene site in Atapuerca (Spain). The SH sample comprises 475 teeth, 467 permanent and 8 deciduous, belonging to a minimum of 28 individuals. The method for recording PFD and LEH is discussed, as well as the definition of LEH. The prevalence of LEH and PFD in SH permanent dentition (unilateral total count) is 4.6% (13/280). Only one deciduous tooth (lower dc) showed an enamel disruption. Prevalence by individual ranges from 18.7-30%. The most likely explanation for the relatively low LEH and PFD prevalence in the SH sample suggests that the SH population exhibited a low level of developmental stress. The age at occurrence of LEH and PFD was determined by counting the number of perikymata between each lesion and the cervix of the tooth. Assuming a periodicity of nine days for the incremental lines, the majority of LEH in the SH sample occurred during the third year of life and may be related to the metabolic stress associated with weaning. Am J Phys Anthropol 123:000-000, 2004. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.1040
A block active set algorithm for large-scalequadratic programming with box constraints

Abstract  An algorithm for computing a stationary point of a quadratic program with box constraints(BQP) is proposed. Each iteration of this procedure comprises a guessing strategy whichforecasts the active bounds at a stationary point, the determination of a descent direction bymeans of solving a reduced strictly convex quadratic program with box constraints and anexact line search. Global convergence is established in the sense that every accumulationpoint is stationary. Moreover, it is shown that the algorithm terminates after a finite numberof iterations, if at least one iterate is sufficiently close to a stationary point which satisfiesa certain sufficient optimality condition. The algorithm can be easily implemented for sparselarge-scale BQPs. Furthermore, it simplifies for concave BQPs, as it is not required to solvestrictly convex quadratic programs in this case. Computational experience with large-scaleBQPs is included and shows the appropriateness of this type of methodology.http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:101899001497
User Identification Using Games

There is a significant shift towards a digital identity and yet the most common means of user authentication, username and password pairs, is an imperfect system. In this paper we present the notion of using videogames, specifically Tetris, to supplement traditional authentication methods and provide an additional layer of identity validation. Two experiments were undertaken that required participants to play a modified version of Tetris; the first experiment with a randomly ordered set of pieces and the second with the pieces appearing in a fixed order. The results showed that even simple games like Tetris demonstrate significant complexity in the available game states and that while some users displayed repeatable strategic behaviour, others were effectively random in their behaviours exhibiting no discernible strategy or repeatable behaviour. However, some pieces and gameboard scenarios encouraged users to exhibit behaviours that are more unique than others
Single-atomic-layered quantum wells built in wide-gap semiconductors LnCuOCh (Ln=lanthanide, Ch=chalcogen)

LnCuOCh (Ln=lanthanide, Ch=chalcogen) layered oxychalcogenides are wide-gap p-type semiconductors composed of alternately stacked (Ln2O2)2+ oxide layers and (Cu2Ch2)2- chalcogenide layers. Energy band calculations revealed that Cu-Ch hybridized bands only spread in the (Cu2Ch2)2- layers, which suggests that hole carriers in these bands are confined by the potential barriers formed by the (Ln2O2)2+ layers. Stepwise absorption spectra of a series of LnCuOCh experimentally verified that an exciton in the (Cu2Ch2)2- layers shows a two-dimensional behavior. These theoretical and experimental results indicate that LnCuOCh has “natural multiple quantum wells” built into its layered structure
Overcoming public speaking anxiety of software engineers using virtual reality exposure therapy.

Public speaking anxiety is a type of social phobia, which might be commonly seen in novice software engineers. It is usually triggered by a fear of social performance especially when the performer is unfamiliar with the audience. Today, many software engineering activities (e.g. code inspection, peer review, daily meetings, etc.) require social gatherings where individuals need to present their work. However, novice software engineers may not be able to reduce their performance anxiety during their course of education. In this study, we propose a vir- tual reality approach to construct a practice environment for improving novice software engineers’ pubic speaking experiences. Consequently, we examine the effects of virtual reality intervention on the public speaking experience of six novice software engineers from a computer engineering department. We designed a virtual auditorium to simulate the presentation delivery environment and findings suggest that using this infrastructre for training purposes can reduce presenter anxiety levels which is consistent with related published studies. We believe that this virtual auditorium environment can deliver benefits for students and practitioners alike in terms of addressing the anxiety that is often associated with early stage career presenter
Light absorption in the near field around surface plasmon polaritons

A semiclassical method is developed to calculate the energy absorption of an electronic system located in the near field of a metal nanoparticle sustaining surface plasmons. The results are found to be similar to those of photon absorption from ordinary transversal radiation. However, they are affected by a geometrical factor that can increase the absorption by several orders of magnitude. As example, we investigate ellipsoidal-shaped metal nanoparticles which, under favorable conditions, may provide near field aborption enhancements almost as large as 104, and in many cases above 10