Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
EFFECT OF BENZYL AMINO PURINE ON THE PATHOGEN GROWTH AND DISEASE DEVELOPMENT OF TARO LEAF BLIGHT CAUSED BY PHYTOPHTHORA COLOCASIAE

SUMMARY Cytokinins are implicated in a wide variety of developmental and physiological processes in plants including host-pathogen interactions. The effect of cytokinin benzyl amino purine (BAP) on Phytophthora colocasiae mycelium growth was investigated in vitro and in planta. BAP inhibited the growth of P. colocasiae under in vitro conditions and a corresponding decrease in endo b-1,3 glucanase (EBG) activity was observed in a dose-dependent manner. The BAP mediated inhibitory effect of P. colocasiae mycelium growth was overcome by supplying the media with an external source of EBG. Results also showed that BAP has inhibitory effect on disease development in taro leading to a reduction in disease severity which correlated with increasing BAP concentrations. It is concluded that the use of BAP could be an important strategy in the control of taro leaf blight.
Managing chronic hepatitis C in the difficult-to-treat patient

Patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and disease‐related complications – among them cirrhosis and liver failure – pose a particular management challenge. Some of these patients may fail to respond to current therapy (non‐responders), and some are affected so severely that treatment puts them at an unacceptable risk for complications. Treatment with pegylated interferon (peg‐IFN) plus ribavirin improves hepatic enzyme levels and eradicates the virus in ≈50% of patients; however, a significant number of patients do not respond to therapy or relapse following treatment discontinuation. Several viral, hepatic and patient‐related factors influence response to IFN therapy; many of these factors cannot be modified to improve long‐term outcomes. Identifying risk factors and measuring viral load early in the treatment can help to predict response to IFN therapy and determine the need to modify or discontinue treatment. Retreatment options for patients who have failed therapy are limited. Retreatment with peg‐IFN has been successful in some patients who exhibit an inadequate response to conventional IFN treatment, particularly those who have relapsed. Consensus IFN, another option in treatment‐resistant patients, has demonstrated efficacy in the retreatment of non‐responders and relapsers. Although the optimal duration of retreatment and the benefits and safety of maintenance therapy have not been determined, an extended duration is likely needed. This article reviews the risk factors for HCV treatment resistance and discusses the assessment and management of difficult‐to‐treat patients.
Comparative Multi-Criteria Assessment of Climate Policies and Sustainable Development Strategies in Cameroon: Towards a GIS Decision-Support Tool for the Design of an Optimal REDD+ Strategy

Cameroon is committed to reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation plus conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of carbon stocks (REDD+). To achieve this goal, the government has introduced a series of policy reforms and formulated a number of key strategic planning documents to advance the REDD+ readiness process in Cameroon. This paper assesses the extent to which major cross-sectoral policies support or impede the development and implementation of an optimal REDD+ strategy in Cameroon from a comparative multi-criteria perspective. Study results reveal that a majority of the policy instruments reviewed appeared to be less prescriptive in terms of any tangible REDD+ strategy, as they do not have provisions for tangible measures to reduce deforestation and forest degradation. Given the lack of adequate flexibility, prompt review and responsiveness of these cross-sectoral policies to adapt themselves to new realities and respond to a changing environment, this paper introduces a GIS-REDD+ decision support system (GIS-REDD+DSS) that is necessary to support the adaptive element of an adaptive REDD+ strategy in Cameroon. The GIS-REDD+DSS, an electronic REDD+agri intermediary hub, serves the following purpose: (1) host a database of locally-relevant climate information, improved input technologies, best practices as well as land use and forest cover geo-spatial maps; (2) host a virtual economic tool that performs economic valuations (costs and benefits) and financial analysis of REDD+agri projects to aid investment decision-making; and (3) host an electronic marketplace to mediate any-to-any transactions among REDD+agri project developers, service providers, input suppliers, private and institutional investors and buyers (wholesalers and retailers), thereby creating value in two ways: aggregation and matching. This decision support tool, we argue, is a fundamental prerequisite for “policy and REDD+ safeguard integration” innovation that allows new scientific findings to be integrated into REDD+ strategies in a short period of time.
Characterization and Clinical Evaluation of CD10+ Stroma Cells in the Breast Cancer Microenvironment

Purpose: There is growing evidence that interaction between stromal and tumor cells is pivotal in breast cancer progression and response to therapy. Based on earlier research suggesting that during breast cancer progression, striking changes occur in CD10+ stromal cells, we aimed to better characterize this cell population and its clinical relevance. Experimental Design: We developed a CD10+ stroma gene expression signature (using HG U133 Plus 2.0) on the basis of the comparison of CD10 cells isolated from tumoral (n = 28) and normal (n = 3) breast tissue. We further characterized the CD10+ cells by coculture experiments of representative breast cancer cell lines with the different CD10+ stromal cell types (fibroblasts, myoepithelial, and mesenchymal stem cells). We then evaluated its clinical relevance in terms of in situ to invasive progression, invasive breast cancer prognosis, and prediction of efficacy of chemotherapy using publicly available data sets. Results: This 12-gene CD10+ stroma signature includes, among others, genes involved in matrix remodeling (MMP11, MMP13, and COL10A1) and genes related to osteoblast differentiation (periostin). The coculture experiments showed that all 3 CD10+ cell types contribute to the CD10+ stroma signature, although mesenchymal stem cells have the highest CD10+ stroma signature score. Of interest, this signature showed an important role in differentiating in situ from invasive breast cancer, in prognosis of the HER2+ subpopulation of breast cancer only, and potentially in nonresponse to chemotherapy for those patients. Conclusions: Our results highlight the importance of CD10+ cells in breast cancer prognosis and efficacy of chemotherapy, particularly within the HER2+ breast cancer disease. Clin Cancer Res; 18(4); 1004–14. ©2012 AACR.
Geochemical and mineralogical characterization of smectites from the Ventzia basin, western Macedonia, Greece

Abstract Three samples of bulk smectite clay from the Pilori and Velanida bentonite deposits of the Ventzia basin, western Macedonia, Greece, were characterized in detail. Chemical analyses and X-ray diffraction (XRD; Rietveld method) showed that the samples are rich in Fe and Mg (8–13 mass% and 6–10 mass% as oxides, respectively) and contain ~60–65 mass% smectite. The high Fe and Mg content as well as the high Cr (0.3–0.5 mass%) and Ni content (0.1–0.3 mass%) are consistent with the formation of these clays from ultramafic precursor sediments of the Vourinos ophiolite complex. Both XRD and infrared spectroscopy indicate the presence of other clay minerals besides smectite, such as minor amounts of kaolinite, trioctahedral-rich palygorskite, serpentine and talc (depending on the sample). The position of the d060 reflection (1.51–1.52 Å) is compatible with either high Fe content or partial trioctahedral character, or probably both. The predominance of ferruginous smectite or nontronite was confirmed by infrared spectroscopy, but the minor presence of a trioctahedral magnesian smectite in some of the samples cannot be excluded. Layer charge densities, determined by the νO-D (oxygen-deuterium IR-stretching) method calibrated against the structural formula method, are in the 0.48–0.52 eq/FU range. Various methods point to the existence of a significant amount of tetrahedral charge, which is typical of ferruginous smectites. The major exchangeable cation is Mg2+ (73–90%), which represents a special property of these materials compared with other bentonites.
Evaluation of e-performance system: A cultural perspective

Increased competition, changing technology, and process re-engineering have changed the traditional employees' practice and capability. To meet such demands, organizations and businesses are relying on Information and communication technology (ICT) to monitor and improve employee performance and productivity. In this paper we examine the influence of cultural forces in accepting the implementation of such a system that deals with assessment and evaluation of government employees, to facilitate the transitional process from manual to e-performance assessment in governmental organizations in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). A user study consisting of pilot tests and surveys was carried out in order to test the effectiveness and acceptability of the e-performance system. It is envisaged that this research provides better understanding of e-performance management system in countries like the UAE.
Network cooperation for client-ap association optimization

In a WiFi deployment with multiple access points, optimizing the way each client selects an AP from amongst the available choices, has a significant impact on the realized performance. When two or more such multi-AP networks are deployed in the same region, APs from different networks can cause severe interference to one another. In this paper, we study how inter-network interference effects the intra-network association optimization and propose a cooperative optimization scheme to mitigate the interference. We model the interference between multiple overlapping WiFi deployments, determine the information that networks need to share, and formulate a non-linear program that each network can solve for optimal proportional-fair association of clients to APs. Assuming a ‘sum of log rates’ utility function, we apply a known 2+ε approximation algorithm for solving the NP-hard problem in polynomial time. We evaluate the performance gain through large-scale simulations with multiple overlapping networks, each consisting of 15–35 access points and 50–250 clients in a 0.5×0.5 sq.km. urban setting. Results show an average of 150% improvement in random deployments and upto 7× improvements in clustered deployments for the least-performing client throughputs with modest reductions in the mean client throughputs.
On the use of machine translation for spoken language understanding portability

Across language portability of a spoken language understanding system (SLU) deals with the possibility of reusing with moderate effort in a new language knowledge and data acquired for another language. The approach proposed in this paper is motivated by the availability of the fairly large MEDIA corpus carefully transcribed in French and semantically annotated in terms of constituents. A method is proposed for manually translating a portion of the training set for training an automatic machine translation (MT) system to be used for translating the remaining data. As the source language is annotated in terms of concept tags, a solution is presented for automatically transferring these tags to the translated corpus. Experimental results are presented on the accuracy of the translation expressed with the BLEU score as function of the size of the training corpus. It is shown that the process leads to comparable concept error rates in the two languages making the proposed approach suitable for SLU portability across languages.
On the quantitative analysis of deep belief networks

Deep Belief Networks (DBN's) are generative models that contain many layers of hidden variables. Efficient greedy algorithms for learning and approximate inference have allowed these models to be applied successfully in many application domains. The main building block of a DBN is a bipartite undirected graphical model called a restricted Boltzmann machine (RBM). Due to the presence of the partition function, model selection, complexity control, and exact maximum likelihood learning in RBM's are intractable. We show that Annealed Importance Sampling (AIS) can be used to efficiently estimate the partition function of an RBM, and we present a novel AIS scheme for comparing RBM's with different architectures. We further show how an AIS estimator, along with approximate inference, can be used to estimate a lower bound on the log-probability that a DBN model with multiple hidden layers assigns to the test data. This is, to our knowledge, the first step towards obtaining quantitative results that would allow us to directly assess the performance of Deep Belief Networks as generative models of data.
Imaging of Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator Receptor Expression Using a 64Cu-Labeled Linear Peptide Antagonist by microPET

Purpose: Malignant tumors are capable of degrading the surrounding extracellular matrix, resulting in local invasion or metastasis. Urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) and its cell surface receptor (uPAR) are central molecules in one of the major protease systems involved in extracellular matrix degradation. Noninvasive imaging of this receptor in vivo with radiolabeled peptides that specifically target uPAR may therefore be useful to decipher the potential invasiveness of malignant lesions. Experimental Design: In this study, we developed a 64Cu-labeled uPAR-binding peptide for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging. A linear, high-affinity uPAR-binding peptide antagonist AE105 was conjugated with 1,4,7,10-tetraazadodecane-N,N′,N″,N‴-tetraacetic acid (DOTA) and labeled with 64Cu for microPET imaging of mice bearing U87MG human glioblastoma (uPAR positive) and MDA-MB-435 human breast cancer (uPAR negative). Results: Surface plasmon resonance measurements show that AE105 with DOTA conjugated at the α-amino group (DOTA-AE105) has high affinity toward uPAR. microPET imaging reveals a rapid and high accumulation of 64Cu-DOTA-AE105 in uPAR-positive U87MG tumors (10.8 ± 1.5%ID/g at 4.5 hours, n = 3) but not in uPAR-negative MDA-MB-435 tumors (1.2 ± 0.6%ID/g at 4.5 hours, n = 3). Specificity of this peptide-based imaging of uPAR was validated by further control experiments. First, a nonbinding variant of AE105 carrying a single amino acid replacement (Trp→Glu) does not target U87MG tumors in vivo. Second, targeting of U87MG tumors by 64Cu-DOTA-AE105 is specifically inhibited by a nonlabeled antagonist. Conclusion: The successful demonstration of the ability of a 64Cu labeled uPAR-specific probe to visualize uPAR expression in vivo may allow clinical translation of this class of radiopharmaceuticals for uPAR-positive cancer detection and patient stratification for uPA/uPAR system-based cancer therapy.
The Effect of Direction on Cursor Moving Kinematics

There have been only few studies to substantiate the kinematic characteristics of cursor movement. In this study, a quantitative experimental research method was used to explore the effect of moving direction on the kinematics of cursor movement in 24 typical young persons using our previously developed computerized measuring program. The results of multiple one way repeated measures ANOVAs and post hoc LSD tests demonstrated that the moving direction had effects on average velocity, movement time, movement unit and peak velocity. Moving leftward showed better efficiency than moving rightward, upward and downward from the kinematic evidences such as velocity, movement unit and time. Moreover, the unique pattern of the power spectral density (PSD) of velocity (strategy for power application) explained why the smoothness was still maintained while moving leftward even under an unstable situation with larger momentum. Moreover, the information from this cursor moving study can guide us to relocate the toolbars and icons in the window interface, especially for individuals with physical disabilities whose performances are easily interrupted while controlling the cursor in specific directions.
Mammals of Cleopatra’s Needle Critical Habitat: Outcomes of a rapid assessment

A rapid biodiversity assessment of mammalian fauna was conducted in the Cleopatra’s Needle mountain range in the biodiversity hotspot province of Palawan, Philippines to determine species diversity of, anthropogenic activities affecting and conservation status of the species in the area. Standard methods of research sampling for capturing or observing volant and non-volant mammalian species included: baited cage trapping, drift-fenced pitfall trapping, camera trapping, mist-net trapping and opportunistic hand-capturing or observing. A total of 12 mammalian species were documented. Maxomys panglima and Crucidura palawanensis were the most commonly captured species with the use of baited cage traps and pitfall traps, respectively. The rare Chiropodomys calamianensis was also captured with a baited cage trap. Aonyx cinereus is listed as Vulnerable in the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species; Prionailurus bengalensis heaneyi and Sus ahoenobarbus, are listed as Vulnerable under the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources’ 2017 National List of Threatened Philippine Fauna and their Categories. The results revealed this area is an important habitat for threatened and poorly studied species of mammals, most of which are imperiled by individual threats and habitat loss.
What only the CEO can do.

The author combines his nine years' experience as the CEO of Procter & Gamble with the last writings of the management scholar Peter Drucker to answer the question "What is the work of the CEO? " The chief executive, Lafley says, is held singularly accountable for the performance and results of the company--according not just to its own goals but also to those of diverse and often competing external stakeholders. In other words, he or she is responsible for linking the outside to the inside--a job that consists of four fundamental tasks. DEFINING THE MEANINGFUL OUTSIDE: At P&G this means emphasizing that the consumer is boss. The company has also worked to change what had been win-lose negotiations into win-win partnerships with retail customers and suppliers. DECIDING WHAT BUSINESS YOU ARE IN (OR NOT IN): After a thorough analysis of its strengths, current competitive position, and structural conditions, P&G chose to grow from its core--laundry products, baby diapers, feminine care, and hair care--and also to focus more on low-income consumers and developing markets, where sales have grown from 21% to 31% of the total since 2000. The company has exited food and beverages and is selling its pharmaceutical business. Where to compete and where not to compete remain ongoing questions. BALANCING PRESENT AND FUTURE: P&G defines realistic growth targets and uses a flexible budgeting process with complementary short-term, midterm, and long-term goals. SHAPING VALUES AND STANDARDS: The CEO must interpret the organization's values in the context of change and competition and define the standards that will guide decisions. Trust at P&G had come to mean that employees could rely on the company for lifetime jobs. Lafley redefined it as consumers' trust in the company's brands and shareholders' trust in its value as a long-term investment.
Asymptotic Stability for Force Reflecting Teleoperators with Time Delay

A bilateral system consists of a local master manipulator and a remotely located slave manipulator. Velocity commands are sent forward from the master to the slave, and force information is "re flected "back from the slave to the master. Often there is a transmission delay when communicating between the two subsys tems, which causes instability in the force-reflecting teleoperator. Recently, a solution for this instability problem was found, based on mimicking the behavior of a lossless transmission line. Al though the resulting control law was shown to stabilize an actual single-DOF teleoperator system, and although the control law is intuitively stable because of its passivity properties, stability for the system has not yet been proven. In this article we extend these results to a nonlinear n-DOF system and prove its stability. Non linear, multidimensional networks are used to characterize the nonlinear equations for the master and slave manipulators, the time-delayed communication systems, the human operator, and the environment. Tellegen's theorem and the Lyapunov theory are then applied to prove that the master and slave subsystems have asymp totically stable velocities. In addition, we show how gain scaling can be used without disturbing the stability of the system.
How good are your testers? An assessment of testing ability

During our previous research conducted in the Sheffield Software Engineering Observatory [11], we found that test first programmers spent a higher percentage of their time testing than those testing after coding. However as the team allocation was based on subjects ' academic records and their preference, it was unclear if they were simply better testers. Thus this paper proposes two questionnaires to assess the testing ability of subjects, in order to reveal the factors that contribute to the previous findings. Preliminary results show that the testing ability of subjects, as measured by the survey, varies based on their professional skill level.
Constrained Optimization for Retinal Curvature Estimation Using an Affine Camera

We study retinal curvature estimation from multiple images that provides the fundamental geometry of human retina. We use an affine camera model due to its simplicity, linearity, and robustness. Moreover, the affine camera is suitable in this research because (1) NIH's retinal imaging protocols specify a narrow 30degC field-of-view in each eye and (2) each field has small depth variation. A major challenge is that there is a series of optics involved in the imaging process, including an actual fundus camera, a digital camera, and the human cornea, all of which cause significant non-linear distortions in the retinal images. In this work, we develop a new constrained optimization procedure that considers both the geometric shape of human retina and lens distortions. Moreover, the constrained optimization is implemented in the affine space because it is computationally efficient and robust to noise. Specifically, we amend the affine bundle adjustment algorithm by including a quadratic surface fitting error and the lens distortion correction into the cost function for constrained optimization. The experiments on both synthetic data and real retinal images show the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed algorithm.