Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Oxidation stability of biodiesel fuels and blends using the Rancimat and PetroOXY methods. Effect of 4-allyl-2,6-dimethoxyphenol and catechol as biodiesel additives on oxidation stability

In the present work, several fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) have been synthesized from various fatty acid feedstocks: used frying olive oil, pork fat, soybean, rapeseed, sunflower, and coconut. The oxidation stabilities of the biodiesel samples and of several blends have been measured simultaneously by both the Rancimat method, accepted by EN14112 standard, and the PetroOXY method, prEN16091 standard, with the aim of finding a correlation between both methodologies. Other biodiesel properties such as composition, cold filter plugging point (CFPP), flash point (FP), and kinematic viscosity have also been analyzed using standard methods in order to further characterize the biodiesel produced. In addition, the effect on the biodiesel properties of using 4-allyl-2,6-dimethoxyphenol and catechol as additives in biodiesel blends with rapeseed and with soybean has also been analyzed. The use of both antioxidants results in a considerable improvement in the oxidation stability of both types of biodiesel, especially using catechol. Adding catechol loads as low as 0.05% (m/m) in blends with soybean biodiesel and as low as 0.10% (m/m) in blends with rapeseed biodiesel is sufficient for the oxidation stabilities to comply with the restrictions established by the European EN14214 standard. An empirical linear equation is proposed to correlate the oxidation stability by the two methods, PetroOXY and Rancimat. It has been found that the presence of either catechol or 4-allyl-2,6-dimethoxyphenol as additives affects the correlation observed.
Exploration of Effects of Distraction, Competing Tasks and Cognitive Style on Attention Deployment

The study dealt with the influence of drive content and cognitive style (field dependence) on the deployment of attention between two competing tasks. Ss were less able to call out letters in a random order when they simultaneously had to listen to a taped verbal passage (at one time with open sexual content and at another with more neutral content). The amount of recall of the verbal passage was positively correlated with the degree of decrease in randomness on the letter task. On the passage with sexual content, field-dependent Ss had a poorer recall and showed no relationship between the amount of recall and the decrease in randomness on the letter task. Individual differences in randomness were highly consistent across several distraction conditions and were unrelated to field dependence.
Subcellular and single-molecule imaging of plant fluorescent proteins using total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (TIRFM)

Total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (TIRFM) has been proven to be an extremely powerful technique in animal cell research for generating high contrast images and dynamic protein conformation information. However, there has long been a perception that TIRFM is not feasible in plant cells because the cell wall would restrict the penetration of the evanescent field and lead to scattering of illumination. By comparative analysis of epifluorescence and TIRF in root cells, it is demonstrated that TIRFM can generate high contrast images, superior to other approaches, from intact plant cells. It is also shown that TIRF imaging is possible not only at the plasma membrane level, but also in organelles, for example the nucleus, due to the presence of the central vacuole. Importantly, it is demonstrated for the first time that this is TIRF excitation, and not TIRF-like excitation described as variable-angle epifluorescence microscopy (VAEM), and it is shown how to distinguish the two techniques in practical microscopy. These TIRF images show the highest signal-to-background ratio, and it is demonstrated that they can be used for single-molecule microscopy. Rare protein events, which would otherwise be masked by the average molecular behaviour, can therefore be detected, including the conformations and oligomerization states of interacting proteins and signalling networks in vivo. The demonstration of the application of TIRFM and single-molecule analysis to plant cells therefore opens up a new range of possibilities for plant cell imaging.
Benefits and Usefulness of a Personal Motivation Video: A Case Study of a Professional Mountain Bike Racer

Video has been incorporated into coaching and sport performance for skill development and as a feedback instrument. The purpose of the study was to examine the perceived usefulness and benefits such as enhanced motivation, concentration, and anxiety management of using a personal motivation video (PMV). A PMV is a video with music personally created for the athlete. The participant was a 23-year-old male professional mountain bike racer. Data from open-ended interviews and evaluation forms were examined. Results indicated the PMV to be particularly useful for motivation, mental imagery, confidence and emotional management, and concentration. PMVs can be a creative and useful tool for sport psychology researchers and practitioners to apply imagery in a unique way. Recommendations for improvements to the PMV for future use are highlighted, as well as suggestions for future research and applications are presented.
Cognitive Performance Effects of Bilastine 20 mg During 6 Hours at 8000 ft Cabin Altitude.

INTRODUCTION Bilastine is a new oral, second generation antihistamine used in the symptomatic treatment of allergic rhinoconjunctivitis and urticaria. It is considered a nonsedating antihistamine and might be recommended for use in pilots, pending research on the effects on flying-related performance under hypobaric conditions that prevail in an airliner. We assessed the effects of a single dose of bilastine 20 mg on alertness and complex task performance of healthy volunteers in a hypobaric chamber at 75.2 kPa (8000 ft/2438 m cabin altitude). METHODS In a randomized, double-blind, crossover study, 24 volunteers received a single dose of bilastine 20 mg, hydroxyzine 50 mg (active control), and placebo. Using the Vigilance and Tracking Task, Multi-Attribute Task Battery, and Stanford Sleepiness Scale, assessments were made before and up to 6 h after intake of the study medication. RESULTS Bilastine 20 mg had no impairing effects on sleepiness levels, vigilance, or complex task performance for up to 6 h post-dose. Hydroxyzine 50 mg (active control) was associated with significant sleepiness and impaired performance across this time period, confirming the sensitivity of the tests. CONCLUSION Bilastine 20 mg did not cause sleepiness or impaired performance on tasks related to flying. It is anticipated that a single dose of bilastine 20 mg will not affect flying performance. Bilastine may provide a safe therapeutic alternative for pilots suffering from allergic rhinitis or urticaria. Our findings might also have implications for the treatment of allergic disorders of personnel involved in other safety-sensitive jobs. Valk PJL, Simons R, Jetten AM, Valiente R, Labeaga L. Cognitive performance effects of bilastine 20 mg during 6 hours at 8000 ft cabin altitude. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2016; 87(7):622-627.
Genetic variation for resistance to high temperature stress of mature sperm – a study in Drosophila

Genetic variation for resistance to heat stress has been found for a number of life-history components in Drosophila species. For male and female fertility (or sterility), stress resistance of the parents is confounded with stress resistance of the haploid gametes. Many genes are known to influence male fertility in Drosophila melanogaster. Some may carry temperature sensitive alleles that reduce fertility through effects on mature sperm when exposed to heat stress. In this study, sperm from each of 320 males were either not heat shocked (control) or exposed to a heat shock (36.9°C for 2 hours) either in the male testes or in the female reproductive tract. We did not detect any temperature sensitive sterility alleles. These results are relevant in relation to haploid gene expression and the findings of considerable amounts of mRNA in mature sperm, potentially important for sperm function and fertilization.
A novel multi-robot exploration approach based on Particle Swarm Optimization algorithms

This paper proposes two extensions of Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and Darwinian Particle Swarm Optimization (DPSO), respectively named as RPSO (Robotic PSO) and RDPSO (Robotic DPSO), so as to adapt these promising biological-inspired techniques to the domain of multi-robot systems, by taking into account obstacle avoidance. These novel algorithms are demonstrated for groups of simulated robots performing a distributed exploration task. The concepts of social exclusion and social inclusion are used in the RDPSO algorithm as a “punish-reward” mechanism enhancing the ability to escape from local optima. Experimental results obtained in a simulated environment show that biological and sociological inspiration can be useful to meet the challenges of robotic applications that can be described as optimization problems (e.g. search and rescue).
Complaint Sequences Within Antagonistic Argument

This article examines a corpus of audio and audiovisual recordings of people engaged in acrimonious argument, in which complaints and accusations are being made about the behavior of copresent parties. Analysis focuses on the sequences immediately following complaints. The initial replies predominantly consist of denials, which are made up of 2 main types-"didn't do it" and "not at fault" denials. Their shape and distribution is considered with special reference to claims that have been made concerning the reversal of the preference for agreement within argument sequences. Further analysis is provided of the ways in which the original complainers treat initial replies from complainees. These are shown to be consequential for the subsequent trajectory of the sequence and, specifically, for the exposure of acrimony and rancor. The complainer and complainee alignments are also constructed so as to preserve a relation between them in which one is the complainer, the other the complainee. However, this is altered where this order of collaboration breaks down, as when both parties complain against each other.
Renaming the DSCR1 / Adapt78 gene family as RCAN: regulators of calcineurin

Kelvin J. A. Davies,* Gennady Ermak,* Beverley A. Rothermel, Melanie Pritchard, Joseph Heitman, Joohong Ahnn, Flavio Henrique-Silva, Dana Crawford, Silvia Canaider,** Pierluigi Strippoli,** Paolo Carinci,** Kyung-Tai Min, Deborah S. Fox, Kyle W. Cunningham, Rhonda Bassel-Duby, Eric N. Olson, Zhuohua Zhang, R. Sanders Williams, Hans-Peter Gerber,*** Merce Perez-Riba, Hisao Seo, Xia Cao, Claude B. Klee, Juan Miguel Redondo, Lois J. Maltais, Elspeth A. Bruford, Sue Povey, Jeffery D. Molkentin,**** Frank D. McKeon, Elia J. Duh, Gerald R. Crabtree,§§§§ Martha S. Cyert, Susana de la Luna, and Xavier Estivill
Reframing Conflict in Translation

This article draws on narrative theory and the notion of framing, the latter as developed in the literature on social movements, to explore various ways in which translators and interpreters accentuate, undermine or modify contested aspects of the narrative(s) encoded in the source text or utterance. Starting with an outline of the assumptions and strengths of a narrative framework compared with existing theories of translation, the article goes on to define the concept of framing in the context of activist discourse. It then outlines some of the sites—or points in and around the text—at which (re)framing may be achieved, and offers various examples of framing strategies used in written and screen translation. The examples are drawn from translations between English and Arabic in the context of the Middle East conflict and the so-called War on Terror, but the theoretical issues outlined are not language specific or context specific.
Sovereign Debt Risk Premia and Fiscal Policy in Sweden

This paper takes a step toward providing a general equilibrium framework within which to study the nub of the current fiscal debate around the world: what are the tradeoffs between short-run stabilization and long-run sustainability when the perceived riskiness of government debt depends, in part, on the current and expected fiscal environment in place? We calibrate a simple model to Swedish fiscal data in two periods: before and after the financial crisis of the early 1990s. We compute the dynamic fiscal limit, which depends on the peak of the Laffer curve, for the pre-crisis and three alternative post-crisis fiscal policies. The model simulates the macroeconomic consequences of alternative policies in the face of the sequence of bad output shocks that Sweden experienced from 1991-1997.
Chloroquine Prevents Progression of Experimental Pulmonary Hypertension via Inhibition of Autophagy and Lysosomal Bone Morphogenetic Protein Type II Receptor Degradation

Rationale: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is characterized by excessive proliferation and apoptosis resistance in pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs). Objective: We reasoned that chloroquine, based on its ability to inhibit autophagy and block lysosomal degradation of the bone morphogenetic protein type II receptor (BMPR-II), might exert beneficial effects in this disease. Methods and Results: PAH was induced in male Sprague–Dawley rats by administering monocrotaline. The induction of PAH was associated with changes in lung expression of LC3B-II, ATG5, and p62, consistent with increased autophagy, and decreased BMPR-II protein expression. Administration of chloroquine prevented the development of PAH, right ventricular hypertrophy, and vascular remodelling after monocrotaline, and prevented progression of established PAH in this model. Similar results were obtained with hydroxychloroquine. Chloroquine treatment increased whole lung and PASMC p62 protein levels consistent with inhibition of autophagy, and increased levels of BMPR-II protein. Chloroquine inhibited proliferation and increased apoptosis of PASMCs in vivo. In cultured rat PASMCs we confirmed that chloroquine both inhibited autophagy pathways and increased expression of BMPR-II protein via lysosomal inhibition. Consistent with the in vivo findings, chloroquine inhibited the proliferation and stimulated apoptosis of rat PASMCs in vitro, with no effect on endothelial cell proliferation or survival. Moreover, direct inhibition of autophagy pathways by ATG5 small interfering RNA knockdown inhibited proliferation of rat PASMCs. Conclusions: Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine exert beneficial effects in experimental PAH. The mechanism of action includes inhibition of autophagy pathways and inhibition of lysosomal degradation of BMPR-II.
Analysis of the synergistic stimulation of mouse macrophage proliferation by macrophage colony‐stimulating factor (CSF‐1) and tumor necrosis factor a (TNF‐α)

Abstract: Tumor necrosis factor a (TNF‐α) more than doubles tritiated thymidine ([3H]TdR) uptake in mouse macrophages stimulated by macrophage colony‐ stimulating factor (CSF‐1). However, nothing is known of how TNF‐α affects this increase or even whether it is manifested by increased cellular proliferation. Here we characterize the effects of TNF‐α on CSF‐l‐stimulated proliferation of both primary cells (bone marrow‐derived macrophages, BMMs) and a cloned growth factor‐dependent macrophage cell line (SI). We show that the TNF‐ α‐induced increase in [3H]TdR uptake of CSF‐l‐stimu‐ lated macrophages is directly proportional to an increase in the DNA content of the culture and that the effects of TNF‐α are direct and independent of cell number. TNF‐a decreases the population doubling time of log‐phase growing macrophages having quite different growth rates to the same (approximately 30%) extent: the doubling time of BMMs decreases from 24 to 17 h and that of SI cells from 17 to 13 h. TNF‐α exerts its effects on log‐phase growth by increasing to the same proportion CSF‐l‐stimulated proliferation at all concentrations of CSF‐1; that is, TNF‐α does not shift, but rather amplifies, the CSF‐1 dose‐response curve. Although TNF‐α alone does not stimulate macrophage proliferation, its presence in S1 cell cultures coming to quiescence after withdrawal of CSF‐1 greatly increases subsequent CSF‐l‐stimulated [3H]TdR uptake as the cells reenter the cycle. Finally, we show that both human and mouse TNF‐α increase CSF‐l‐stimulated log‐phase growth and reentry of quiescent cells into the cycle equally on a molar basis (halfmaximal stimulation of approximately 0.3 nM). The latter observation argues that the growth‐stimulatory effects of TNF‐α are mediated via the 55‐60‐kd TNF receptor. We conclude that TNF‐α acts directly on growth‐ competent macrophages to decrease significantly the population doubling time in a manner that enhances the mitogenic effects of CSF‐1.
Higher prevalence of sexually transmissible co-infections among the human immunodeficiency virus-infected population of South India.

This correspondence talks about the necessity of investigating the prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) hepatitis C virus (HCV) and syphilis among the regional HIV-infected population in India in order to carry out proper remedial action for the local community. It discusses a specific study which included patients attending the Integrated Counselling and Testing Centre at Government Theni Medical College Hospital in India.
Is Your Teen at Risk? Discourses of adolescent sexting in United States television news

“Sexting” is the term commonly used to refer to the transfer of nude or semi-nude pictures or videos between mobile devices. This paper contextualizes the reaction to the practice of sexting among adolescents by exploring legal responses and reviewing the literature on teens and cell phone use. The purpose of the paper is to identify, explore and analyze the key themes emerging from the coverage of teen sexting by television news in the United States. The author explores three primary themes that emerge from the broadcast discourse: preference for technologically deterministic explanations; reliance on gender-differentiated scenarios; and, a preference for solutions involving surveillance. This paper further explores whether the discourse around sexting can be understood using media panic theory. Noting the problematic conflation of risk and harm in the discourse, the author concludes by suggesting avenues for future research regarding the creation and transmission of sexual images using digital devices.
Measuring Purchase‐decision involvement

Purchase-decision involvement is distinguished from product-class involvement. Literature on consumer involvement is shown to be lacking a measure of purchase involvement. Therefore, a scale of purchase-decision involvement is developed. Two empirical studies are described and are shown to furnish tests of convergent and discriminant validities. The individual items of the proposed scale are explicitly embedded in the purchase-decision context, and the scale is simple and parsimonious, making it especially useful to practitioners.
Techniques for Design and Implementation of Secure Reconfigurable PUFs

Physically unclonable functions (PUFs) provide a basis for many security and digital rights management protocols. PUF-based security approaches have numerous comparative strengths with respect to traditional cryptography-based techniques, including resilience against physical and side channel attacks and suitability for lightweight protocols. However, classical delay-based PUF structures have a number of drawbacks including susceptibility to guessing, reverse engineering, and emulation attacks, as well as sensitivity to operational and environmental variations. To address these limitations, we have developed a new set of techniques for FPGA-based PUF design and implementation. We demonstrate how reconfigurability can be exploited to eliminate the stated PUF limitations. We also show how FPGA-based PUFs can be used for privacy protection. Furthermore, reconfigurability enables the introduction of new techniques for PUF testing. The effectiveness of all the proposed techniques is validated using extensive implementations, simulations, and statistical analysis.
Global Management Concepts and Local Adaptations: Working Groups in the French and German Car Manufacturing Industry

In this paper, the diffusion process and organizational consequences of management concepts that spread globally through an industry are analyzed. Taking the example of the working group concept, the organization of the final assembly of a sample of French and German car manufacturers is studied. It can be shown that, in both countries, working groups similar to the ones used in Japanese car companies are widely diffused in the car industry. It also becomes clear from the analysis that plants have been experimenting with working groups and have adjusted them to their proper needs; a process which we call `local adaptation'. Our results indicate that the local adaptation of working groups is brought about to a large extent by the institutional differences between countries. Because of diffusion and adaptation processes, isomorphic as well as idiosyncratic tendencies in organizational structures can be observed at the same time.
Use of surface marker analysis to predict outcome of adult acute myeloblastic leukemia.

In order to investigate the clinical significance of surface antigen analysis in acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML), the blasts from 196 patients with AML were analyzed prospectively with a panel of 16 monoclonal antibodies. The antibodies were selected to identify differentiation-associated antigens of either the myeloid lineage (MY9, PM-81, AML-2-23, MY7, MCS-1, MY8, Mo1, MY1, MY4, Mo2), T cell lineage (T101, T11), B cell lineage (B1, B4) or multiple lineages [J5 (CALLA), HLA-DR]. Independent morphological review and classification by French-American-British (FAB) criteria was performed in 161 of the 196 cases. One or more myeloid surface antigens were detected on the blasts of 195 cases, while B and T cell markers were detected on 0% to 2% of cases. When both blood and marrow samples were studied on the same patient, very few differences were noted between the antigenic profiles of the paired specimens. The frequency of expression of individual myeloid antigens ranged from 91% (PM-81) to 29% (Mo2). Expression of individual antigens was found to correlate significantly with several clinical parameters including FAB classification, cytochemical staining for alpha naphthyl acetate esterase, leukocyte count, and the presence of extramedullary disease at presentation. Two myeloid antigens (MY4 and MY7) predicted for a low rate of complete remission (CR) to standard induction chemotherapy. MY4+ cases (37% of the total population) had a CR rate of 53%, while M4- cases had a CR rate of 69% (P = .03). MY7+ cases (57% of the total population) had a CR rate of 55% while MY7- cases had a CR rate of 73% (P = .01). Neither MY4 nor MY7 antigen expression was correlated with patient age. Paired combinations of antigens were also examined. The [MY4- MY7-] phenotype was exhibited by 32% of all cases and was associated with an 82% CR rate while the CR rate of all other cases was 54% (P = .001). The expression of three antigens (HLA-DR, MY8, Mo1) was associated with a decreased continuous complete remission (P less than .05, median follow-up time of 19 months). Expression of MY8 antigen was also associated with decreased survival (P = .03). These results confirm earlier reports of antigenic heterogeneity in AML, and indicate that immunologically defined subgroups of AML patients which are of potential clinical significance can be identified.