Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Chemical Composition and Antioxidant Activities of Three Polysaccharide Fractions from Pine Cones

The traditional method of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for monosaccharide component analysis with pretreatment of acetylation is described with slight modifications and verified in detail in this paper. It was then successfully applied to the quantitative analysis of component monosaccharides in polysaccharides extracted from the pine cones. The results demonstrated that the three pine cone polysaccharides all consisted of ribose, rhamnose, arabinose, xylose, mannose, glucose and galactose in different molar ratios. According to the recovery experiment, the described method was proved accurate and practical for the analysis of pine cone polysaccharides, meeting the need in the field of chemical analysis of Pinus plants. Furthermore; the chemical characteristics, such as neutral sugar, uronic acids, amino acids, molecular weights, and antioxidant activities of the polysaccharides were investigated by chemical and instrumental methods. The results showed that the chemical compositions of the polysaccharides differed from each other, especially in the content of neutral sugar and uronic acid. In the antioxidant assays, the polysaccharide fractions exhibited effective scavenging activities on ABTS radical and hydroxyl radical, with their antioxidant capabilities decreasing in the order of PKP > PAP > PSP. Therefore, although the polysaccharide fractions had little effect on superoxide radical scavenging, they still have potential to be developed as natural antioxidant agents in functional foods or medicine.
Theories of Visual Perception

An introduction to theories of visual perception psychophysics and the concept of the threshold the Gestalt theory Brunswik's probabilistic functionalism the neurophysiological approach to visual perception empiricism - perception as a constructive process direct perception and ecological optics - the work of J.J. Gibson Marr's computational approach to visual perception overview and conclusions.
Identification of a New Variant of PDE1A Calmodulin-Stimulated Cyclic Nucleotide Phosphodiesterase Expressed in Mouse Sperm1

Abstract In mature sperm, cAMP plays an important role as a second messenger regulating functions that include capacitation, the acrosome reaction, motility, and, in some cases, chemosensing. We have cloned from mouse testis a novel calmodulin-stimulated cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase 1A isoform, Pde1a_v7 (mmPDE1A7), which arises from an alternative transcription start in the cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase 1A gene. The open reading frame is predicted to encode a polypeptide with a molecular mass of 52 kDa. Two further variants of this form, which contain two additional new exons, arise from alternative splicing. Analysis of testis cDNA by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) indicates that the Pde1A_v7 transcript variant is the most abundant. The PDE1A_v7 protein uniquely lacks the first amino-terminal calmodulin-binding domain, but does possess an inhibitory domain and a second calmodulin-binding site shared with other variants. In vitro translation of the corresponding Pde1a_v7 cDNA produced a 52-kDa polypeptide having cyclic nucleotide hydrolytic activity, which was stimulated threefold by calcium-bound calmodulin. Immunoprecipitation of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase 1 activity from detergent extracts of mouse sperm revealed a major protein of the size expected for PDE1A_v7, and the immunocytochemical staining for cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase 1A in mouse sperm showed intense immunoreactivity in the tail only. These observations, along with the PCR data, strongly suggest that this new variant PDE1A_v7 is the major form of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase 1A expressed in mature sperm and is therefore likely to play an important role in cyclic nucleotide regulation of mature sperm function.
RNAi–Based Functional Profiling of Loci from Blood Lipid Genome-Wide Association Studies Identifies Genes with Cholesterol-Regulatory Function

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) are powerful tools to unravel genomic loci associated with common traits and complex human disease. However, GWAS only rarely reveal information on the exact genetic elements and pathogenic events underlying an association. In order to extract functional information from genomic data, strategies for systematic follow-up studies on a phenotypic level are required. Here we address these limitations by applying RNA interference (RNAi) to analyze 133 candidate genes within 56 loci identified by GWAS as associated with blood lipid levels, coronary artery disease, and/or myocardial infarction for a function in regulating cholesterol levels in cells. Knockdown of a surprisingly high number (41%) of trait-associated genes affected low-density lipoprotein (LDL) internalization and/or cellular levels of free cholesterol. Our data further show that individual GWAS loci may contain more than one gene with cholesterol-regulatory functions. Using a set of secondary assays we demonstrate for a number of genes without previously known lipid-regulatory roles (e.g. CXCL12, FAM174A, PAFAH1B1, SEZ6L, TBL2, WDR12) that knockdown correlates with altered LDL–receptor levels and/or that overexpression as GFP–tagged fusion proteins inversely modifies cellular cholesterol levels. By providing strong evidence for disease-relevant functions of lipid trait-associated genes, our study demonstrates that quantitative, cell-based RNAi is a scalable strategy for a systematic, unbiased detection of functional effectors within GWAS loci.
FloodDefender: Protecting data and control plane resources under SDN-aimed DoS attacks

The separated control and data planes in software-defined networking (SDN) with high programmability introduce a more flexible way to manage and control network traffic. However, SDN will experience long packet delay and high packet loss rate when the communication link between two planes is jammed by SDN-aimed DoS attacks with massive table-miss packets. In this paper, we propose FloodDefender, an efficient and protocol-independent defense framework for SDN/OpenFlow networks to mitigate DoS attacks. It stands between the controller platform and other controller apps, and can protect both the data and control plane resources by leveraging three new techniques: table-miss engineering to prevent the communication bandwidth from being exhausted; packet filter to identify attack traffic and save computational resources of the control plane; and flow rule management to eliminate most of useless flow entries in the switch flow table. All designs of FloodDefender conform to the OpenFlow policy, requiring no additional devices. We implement a prototype of FloodDefender and evaluate its performance in both software and hardware environments. Experimental results show that FloodDefender can efficiently mitigate the SDN-aimed DoS attacks, incurring less than 0.5% CPU computation to handle attack traffic, only 18ms packet delay and 5% packet loss rate under attacks.
Complexity of sequential ATPG

The research reported in this paper was conducted to identify those attributes, of both sequential circuits and structural, sequential automatic test pattern generation (ATPG) algorithms, which can lead to extremely high test generation times. The retiming transformation is used as a mechanism to create two classes of circuits which present varying degrees of complexity for test generation. It was observed for three different sequential test generators that the increase in complexity of testing is not due to those circuit attributes (namely sequential depth and cycles) which have traditionally been associated with such complexity. Evidence is instead provided that another circuit attribute, termed density of encoding, is a key indicator of the complexity of structural, sequential ATPG. <<ETX>>
Content vs. Advertising: The Impact of Competition on Media Firm Strategy

Media firms compete in two connected markets. They face rivalry for the sale of content to consumers, and at the same time, they compete for advertisers seeking access to the attention of these consumers. We explore the implications of such two-sided competition on the actions and source of profits of media firms. One main conclusion we reach is that media firms may charge higher content prices in a duopoly than in a monopoly. This happens because competition for advertisers can reduce the return per customer impression from the ad market, making each firm less willing to underprice content to increase demand. Greater competitive intensity may thus increase content profits and decrease ad profits. These findings are in sharp contrast to those in a regular one-sided product market, in which competition typically lowers product prices and profits. We extend the framework to examine competition across different media (e.g., between magazines and cable TV) and show that firms in a duopolistic medium may benefit from more intense competition from a monopolist in another medium. We characterize the conditions for each firm in the duopoly medium to bundle more ads and earn greater total profits than the rival firm in the monopoly medium.
Migrating Agile Development into the Cloud Computing Environment

The emergence of cloud computing is influencing how businesses develop, re-engineer, and implement critical software applications. The cloud requires developers to elevate the importance of compliance with security policies, regulations and internal engineering standards in their software development life cycles. Cloud computing and agile development methodologies are new technologies that have come with new approaches in the way computing services are provisioned and development of quality software respectively. However, the synergy between the two is bonded with technical and non-technical challenges. In this paper, a conceptual framework is proposed to support the process of migration of South African small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) who are using agile software development methodologies to cloud computing environment.
Amerika-Mura: discourses of modernity and identity in contemporary urban Japan

This thesis is an exploration of the notion of modernity in the context of Amerika-mura ('American Village'), a district of Osaka, Japan commonly styled as the centre of that city's wakamono bunka ('youth culture'). The thesis begins with a presentation of historical and theoretical approaches to the study of Japan, problematising both essentialist and postmodern treatments. The theme of 'multiple responses to modernity' is proposed as an alternative to the notions of 'culture' and 'society' as a tool for the investigation of mutually constitutive personal and spatial identities in specific contexts. A series of examples demonstrates the complex relationship between such responses, firstly exploring historical contexts in Osaka and Japan in which notions of the 'new', the 'foreign' and the 'strange' have been interpreted, framed and spectacularised. At the level of the urban environment in Amerika-mura, these responses are shown to range from the 'framing discourses' of tourism and planning to nostalgic appeals for a return to a simpler, more 'authentic' time and place At the level of individual engagement with this environment, they vary from the collective project of sutoriito fasshon ('street fashion') to the network of unique trajectories which create personal 'topographies of taste. ' This thesis explores all of the above discourses through a selection of contexts where these intersect with the physical site of Amerika-mura. It draws upon a variety of theoretical approaches from the fields of anthropology, human geography and cultural studies, in addition to a selection of conceptual frameworks proposed by Japanese sociologists. These are deployed in an investigation of Amerika-mura as a 'microcosm of modernity', a site in which a unique spatial identity is paradoxically constructed around the juxtaposition of ostensibly disparate elements. Parallel to this investigation, a series of personal narratives is deployed in an exploration of the way in which 'authentic' individual identities are shaped both within, and m opposition to, the multitude of discourses mediated through the district.
Children and the changing family : between transformation and negotiation

Introducation: Theorizing Childhood and Family Change 1. Children's Changing Families and Circumstances: Increasing Diversification and Inequality? 2. Children's Perspectives on Middle Class Work-Family Arrangements 3. Changing Labour Markets and Changing Families 4. Father Presence in Child Care 5. Children's Experiences of their Parents' Divorce 6. Children Coping with Parental Divorce: What Helps, What Hurts? 7. As Fair as it Can be? Childhood After Divorce 8. Children's Stories - As Told and Between the Lines: Children and Fathers in Parental Break-up 9. For Children's Sake: Symbolic Power Lost? 10. Childhood and Family Time: A Historically Changing Relationship Afterword: Changing Childhood - A Case Study
Executive functioning in children with specific language impairment.

BACKGROUND A limited range of evidence suggests that children with specific language impairment (SLI) have difficulties with higher order thinking and reasoning skills (executive functioning, EF). This study involved a comprehensive investigation of EF in this population taking into account the contributions of age, nonverbal IQ and verbal ability. METHODS Ten separate measures of EF were assessed in 160 children: 41 had SLI; 31 had low language/cognitive functioning but did not fulfil the criteria for SLI (low language functioning or LLF); and 88 were typically developing with no language difficulties. Group differences in performance were assessed after controlling for age, nonverbal IQ and verbal ability in a series of regression analyses. RESULTS Children with SLI and LLF had significantly lower performance than typical children on 6 of the 10 EF tasks once age and nonverbal IQ had been controlled (verbal and nonverbal executive-loaded working memory, verbal and nonverbal fluency, nonverbal inhibition and nonverbal planning). Performance on these EF tasks remained lower for those in the SLI group even when verbal IQ was entered in the regressions. CONCLUSIONS Children with language impairments showed marked difficulties on a range of EF tasks. These difficulties were present even when adjustments were made for their verbal abilities.
What is a Community of Practice and How Can We Support It

is the notion of a community of practice. The concept, like the concept of constructivism or the concept of zones of proximal development, has been used both as an explanatory framework for learning and as a metaphor for how instruction should take place. In this chapter, I first describe some basic history of the concept of communities of practice and some of the theoretical assumptions underlying it. Next, I examine some of the key processes identified as producing and sustaining communities of practice. I compare and contrast the notion of communities of practice with other social learning approaches or knowledge communities. And finally, I describe some of the techniques people have used to support communities of practice through technology.
Lipoprotein ( a ) Concentration in Subclinical Before and After LevoThyroxine Therapy H ypothyroi dism

Subclinical hypothyroidism is a frequent disorder in populations and has been shown to be a risk factor for coronary heart disease (CHD). Less is known about the contribution of lipoprotein (a) [Lp(a)] to the development of CHD in this disorder. Therefore this study was designed to evaluate Lp(a) and other lipoprotein concentrations before and after L-T4 therapy in 20 patients with subclinical hypothyroidism and 20 normal healthy subjects matched for sex, age and BMI. In the basal state of subclinical hypothyroidism, a significant increase in total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and apolipoprotein (apo) B concentrations was observed in patients compared with those in the control group. The mean Lp(a) concentration before treatment was 163 ± 15 mg/L. This is slightly but not significantly higher than those in the control group (131 ± 15 mg/L). Treatment of subclinical hypothyroidism with a low dose of L-T4 (25 ug daily) for 3 months after restoration of euthyroidism led to decreases in levels of Lp(a) from 163 mg/L to 126 mg/L (23% reduction, P<0.001), total cholesterol from 5.5 mmol/L to 5.1 mmol/L (7% reduction, P<0.001), LDL-cholesterol from 4.14 mmol/L to 3.63 mmol/L (12%, P<0.001), and apo B from 98 mg/dL to 86 mg/dL (12% reduction, P<0.05), but triglyceride, HDL-cholesterol and apo A-I concentrations were unchanged. These data suggest that L-T4 replacement therapy in patients with subclinical hypothyroidism has beneficial effects on the lipid profile since L-T4 replacement therapy lowered the concentrations of Lp(a) and other atherogenic lipid particles.
Establishment and Clinical Applications of a Portable System for Capturing Influenza Viruses Released through Coughing

Coughing plays an important role in influenza transmission; however, there is insufficient information regarding the viral load in cough because of the lack of convenient and reliable collection methods. We developed a portable airborne particle-collection system to measure the viral load; it is equipped with an air sampler to draw air and pass it through a gelatin membrane filter connected to a cone-shaped, megaphone-like device to guide the cough airflow to the membrane. The membrane was dissolved in a medium, and the viral load was measured using quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and a plaque assay. The approximate viral recovery rate of this system was 10% in simulation experiments to collect and quantify the viral particles aerosolized by a nebulizer. Using this system, cough samples were collected from 56 influenza A patients. The total viral detection rate was 41% (23/56), and the viral loads varied significantly (from <10, less than the detection limit, to 2240 viral gene copies/cough). Viable viruses were detected from 3 samples with ≤18 plaque forming units per cough sample. The virus detection rates were similar among different groups of patients infected with different viral subtypes and during different influenza seasons. Among patients who did not receive antiviral treatment, viruses were detected in one of six cases in the vaccinated group and four of six cases in the unvaccinated group. We found cases with high viral titers in throat swabs or oral secretions but very low or undetectable in coughs and vice versa suggesting other possible anatomical sites where the viruses might be mixed into the cough. Our system is easy to operate, appropriate for bedside use, and is useful for comparing the viral load in cough samples from influenza patients under various conditions and settings. However, further large-scale studies are warranted to validate our results.
High mortality from respiratory failure secondary to swine-origin influenza A (H1N1) in South Africa.

BACKGROUND The novel influenza A (H1N1) pandemic affected South Africa late during the 2009 Southern hemisphere winter and placed an extra burden on a health care system already dealing with a high prevalence of chronic lung diseases and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. AIM The aim of this study was to describe the epidemiological characteristics, clinical features, management and outcomes of patients with confirmed influenza A (H1N1) infection complicated by respiratory failure. METHODS We included all adult patients with confirmed influenza A (H1N1) infection that were referred to the medical intensive care unit of a large academic hospital in Cape Town for ventilatory support in this prospective observational study. RESULTS A total of 19 patients (39.5 +/- 14.8 years) needed ventilatory support over a 6-week period. Of these, 15 were female and 16 had identifiable risk factors for severe disease, including pregnancy (n = 6), type 2 diabetes mellitus (n = 6), obesity (n = 4), HIV infection (n = 3), immunosuppressive therapy (n = 3) and active pulmonary tuberculosis (n = 2). The most frequent complications were acute renal failure (n = 13), acute respiratory distress syndrome (n = 12) and ventilator associated pneumonia (n = 10). Thirteen patients died (mortality: 68.4%). Fatal cases were significantly associated with an APACHE II score >or=20 (P = 0.034), but not with a P(a)O(2)/F(I)O(2) <200 (P = 0.085) and a chest radiograph score >or=12 (P = 0.134). CONCLUSION The majority of patients with respiratory failure secondary to influenza A (H1N1) infection were young females and had an underlying risk factor for severe disease. The condition had a high mortality, particularly amongst patients with an APACHE II score >or=20.
Improving Energy Efficiency of Hopping Locomotion by Using a Variable Stiffness Actuator

In recent years, the development of legged locomotion robots that can achieve both efficiency and versatility has been one of the most important challenges in robotics research. In general, fully actuated systems that can achieve many variations of behaviors show comparatively low energy efficiency, while it is extremely difficult to enrich the behavioral diversity of passivity-based systems that exhibit efficient behaviors. In order to overcome the tradeoff, there has been an increasing interest in the development of actuation technologies, such as variable stiffness actuators (VSAs) that can autonomously adjust mechanical dynamics. However, although many VSAs have been proposed and developed in the past, researchers are yet to clarify how such actuators can improve both energy efficiency and behavioral diversity. From this perspective, the goal of this paper is to investigate a one-legged hopping robot that is equipped with a class of VSA with the intention of explaining how behavioral diversity can be enhanced with modest impact in the energy efficiency. Through a systematic analysis including both simulation and a real-world robot platform, this paper investigates how the natural dynamics of hopping robots can be varied by the actuator resulting in variations in stride frequencies and locomotion speed while maximizing energy efficiency.
Stability of Multi-Task Kernel Regression Algorithms

We study the stability properties of nonlinear multi-task regression in reproducing Hilbert spaces with operator-valued kernels. Such kernels, a.k. a. multi-task kernels, are appropriate for learning prob- lems with nonscalar outputs like multi-task learning and structured out- put prediction. We show that multi-task kernel regression algorithms are uniformly stable in the general case of infinite-dimensional output spaces. We then derive under mild assumption on the kernel generaliza- tion bounds of such algorithms, and we show their consistency even with non Hilbert-Schmidt operator-valued kernels . We demonstrate how to apply the results to various multi-task kernel regression methods such as vector-valued SVR and functional ridge regression.