Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Biophysics of flagellar motility

One feature characterizing the transition from prokaryote to eukaryote is the ‘sudden’ appearance of centrioles and their highly structured products, the typical eukaryotic flagella and cilia. These mechanochemical systems appear as fully developed machines, containing some 200 diffierent proteins (Luck et al. 1978) arranged in a remarkably complex organization which has undergone little modification since the advent of the first eukaryotic cells. It is now well established (see, for example, Satir, 1974) that ciliary and flagellar motility is based on a sliding filament mechanism that superficially resembles the far more extensively studied sliding filament system of striated skeletal muscle.The flagellar system, however, appears to be much more complex than the muscle system, because it does not ‘merely’ shorten and generate force, but develops propagating waves and exerts its effects via hydrodynamic interactions with a viscous medium.
Texture and other Physicochemical Properties of Whole Rice Bread

Samples of experimental rice breads baked in a home bread machine were evaluated by physicochemi- cal methods and compared with a local commercial whole-wheat bread. The results showed that rice breads had less specific volume, harder texture, and were more prone to retrogradation during storage than whole wheat bread. All stored breads showed a peak at about 52 8C by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis, which is character- istic of retrograded starch. However, the DH for rice bread was about 3 times the value of whole-wheat bread, suggesting its strong tendency to retrograde. X-ray diffraction (XRD) evaluation also indicated the appearance of a strong 2u peak between 16.7 8C to 17.0 8C in rice bread than in whole-wheat bread, which is consistent with starch retrogradation.
Path-planning of automated guided vehicle based on improved Dijkstra algorithm

In the automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS), a reasonable path-planning is fundamental for the effective work of AGV. For the rectangular environment map of the AS/RS system, the traditional Dijkstra algorithm can only find one shortest path, and skip over other paths with the same distance. An improved Dijkstra algorithm is proposed to solve the path-planning problem in the rectangular environment, which can find all equidistant shortest paths. The optimal path with both the shortest distance and time is obtained by adding running time to the path-planning evaluation. The algorithm is programmed using Visual C++, and the simulation results show that the algorithm is effective and feasible for path-planning in the AS/RS system.
What to Do on Spring Break?

When individuals choose future activities on the basis of their past experiences, what guides those choices? The present study compared students' predicted, on-line, and remembered spring-break experiences, as well as the influence of these factors on students' desire to take a similar vacation in the future. Predicted and remembered experiences were both more positive—and, paradoxically, more negative—than on-line experiences. Of key importance, path analyses revealed that remembered experience, but neither on-line nor anticipated experience, directly predicted the desire to repeat the experience. These results suggest that although on-line measures may be superior to retrospective measures for approximating objective experience, retrospective measures may be superior for predicting choice.
Examining the determinants of Mobile Internet service continuance: a customer relationship development perspective

Mobile Internet (M-Internet) service users are not only technology users but also service consumers. However, most previous studies on Information System (IS) continuance focused solely on technology user aspect, despite the inability of such lopsided viewpoint to explain how people make decisions on the continuance of M-Internet service. Thus, this study examined four factors that span the divide between the development of dedication- and constraint-based customer relationships based on Status Quo Bias (SQB) theory. Results show that satisfaction, perceived value and familiarity, but not switching costs, significantly influence continuance intention. The contributions and implications of these findings are discussed.
Heterogeneous Oxidation of Methylene Blue with Surface-Modified Iron-Amended Activated Carbon

The present study aims to develop effective adsorption and oxidation of synthetic dye in wastewater by using the newly synthesized iron-amended activated carbon. Recently synthetic dye-containing wastewater has gained more attention due to its mass discharge, high toxicity and low biodegradation. For enhancing adsorption of dye and oxidative regeneration of dye-exhausted activated carbon, the novel amendment of iron-deposited granular activated carbon (GAC) was developed. It was to amend ferrous ion onto the acid-pretreated GAC when pH of iron solution was higher than the pH at point of zero charge (pH, pzc) of the GAC. Methylene blue (MB) in water was adsorbed onto the acid-treated iron- amended GAC (Fe-GAC) followed by single or multiple applications of H2O2. Batch experiments were carried out to study the adsorption isotherm and kinetics indicating adsorption of MB onto the Fe-GAC followed Langmuir isotherm and the pseudo-second order kinetics. The Fe-GACshowed the maximum adsorption capacity (qm) of 238.1 ± 0.78 mg/g which was higher than the virgin GAC with qm of 175.4 ± 13.6 mg/g at 20? C, pH 6 and the initial concentration of 20 - 200 mg/L. The heterogeneous Fenton oxidation of MB in the Fe-GAC revealedthat increasing the H2O2 loading from 7 to 140 mmol H2O2/mmol MB led to enhancing the oxidation efficiency of MB in the GAC from 62.6% to 100% due to the increased generation of hydroxyl radicals. Further enhancement of oxidation of MB in the Fe-GAC was made by the multiple application of H2O2 while minimizing OH radical scavenging often occurring at high concentration of H2O2. Therefore, the acid-treated iron-amended GAC would provide excellent adsorption capacity for MB and high oxidation efficiency of MB in the GAC with multiple applications of H2O2 and optimum iron loading.
International Conference on Knowledge-Based and Intelligent Information & Engineering Systems-KES 2014 Towards accurate eye tracker calibration – methods and procedures

Eye movement is a new emerging modality in human computer interfaces. With better access to devices which are able to measure eye movements (so called eye trackers) it becomes accessible even in ordinary environments. However, the first problem that must be faced when working with eye movements is a correct mapping from an output of eye tracker to a gaze point – place where the user is looking at the screen. That is why the work must always be started with calibration of the device. The paper describes the process of calibration, analyses of the possible steps and ways how to simplify this process. c © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. Peer-review under responsibility of KES International.
Impact of Supply Chain Management on the Relationship between Enterprise Resource Planning System and Organizational Performance

Two of the essential IT investment options that managers resort are supply chain management and enterprise resource planning. These options are known in the relevant literature as factors contributing to the enhancement of organizational performance. The objective of this study is to investigate the enterprise resource planning adoption and its influence on organizational performance through supply chain management. This article suggests a new model which applies enterprise resource planning with supply chain management to optimal organizational performance. Structural equation model was utilized to test the model fitting level and the four proposed hypotheses. The required data for this research was collected from 174 companies in Malaysia through prepared surveys. The results support, through empirical evidences, the existence of positive effects of enterprise resource planning on the supply chain which ultimately results in improved overall performance of the studied organizations.
Chemotaxis of human keratocytes is increased by platelet-derived growth factor-BB, epidermal growth factor, transforming growth factor-alpha, acidic fibroblast growth factor, insulin-like growth factor-I, and transforming growth factor-beta.

PURPOSE Following corneal wounding, early migration of keratocytes into the wound area is of pivotal importance in the healing process, but the nature of this migration is not well understood. The influence of peptide growth factors on the chemotactic and chemokinetic migration of human corneal keratocytes was investigated, using the following growth factors: platelet derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB), epidermal growth factor (EGF), transforming growth factor-alpha (TGF-alpha), acidic fibroblast growth factor (aFGF), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), and transforming growth factor-beta-1 (TGF-beta 1). METHODS The chemotactic stimulation was investigated in the Boyden blind-well chemotaxis chamber, and the chemokinetic effect of the growth factors determined by a modified checker-board analysis. RESULTS PDGF-BB, EGF and TGF-beta 1 stimulated chemotaxis towards a peak value, with a subsequent decline at higher concentrations. PDGF-BB and EGF peaked at 1 ng/ml with a 2.0 and a 2.5-fold increase respectively in the number of keratocytes migrating, whereas TGF-beta 1 reached a maximum response at 0.1 ng/ml, with a 1.7-fold increase. Chemotaxis reached an early plateau and remained constant at concentrations between 1 ng/ml and 100 ng/ml when stimulating with TGF-alpha (2.7-fold), bFGF (2.0-fold), aFGF (2.7-fold), and IGF-I (4.5-fold). Checkerboard analysis revealed that all growth factors were chemotactic agents for human keratocytes, except bFGF, which principally stimulated chemokinesis. CONCLUSION These in vitro results demonstrate that PDGF-BB, EGF, TGF-alpha, aFGF, IGF-I, and TGF-beta 1 increase keratocyte chemotaxis, and they may play an important role in the early recruitment of keratocytes to the corneal wound site in vivo.
Strategic Planning for a Project Office

Within the last several years, companies have come to realize that the knowledge collected on project management is intellectual property and must be treated as such. The project office concept seems to be the preferred method by companies for the collection, distribution, and updating of the intellectual property. Because this intellectual property can affect all aspects of the business, the project office has been assigned additional responsibilities such as portfolio management and an input into the strategic planning process. The project office also may have the responsibility for benchmarking, administration of tools, and compliance to the project management methodology.
Botulinum toxin injection for congenital muscular torticollis presenting in children and adults

Congenital muscular torticollis may present in late childhood or adulthood with cervical contractures, limited range of motion, pain, and muscular hypertrophy. Seven of eight pediatric and adult patients with congenital muscular torticollis were injected with botulinum toxin type A. Only two patients had a modest benefit with improved range of motion. Early recognition and treatment of congenital muscular torticollis is crucial to prevent subsequent contractures and other complications.
Decoupling, re‐engaging: managing trust relationships in implementation projects

An important aspect of the successful implementation of large information systems (such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems) is trust. These implementations impact the legitimate interests of many groups of stakeholders, and trust is a critical factor for success. Trust in the project is contingent upon many factors, is likely to vary over time and should not be taken for granted. Previous studies have identified the relationship between trust and project outcomes and suggested trust‐building strategies but have largely ignored the dynamic quality of trust relations through the life of a major project and the complex demands of managing those fluctuations. We investigate evolving trust relationships in a longitudinal case analysis of a large integrated hospital system implementation for the Faroe Islands. Trust relationships suffered various breakdowns, but the project was able to recover and eventually meet its goals. Based on concepts from Giddens' later work on modernity, we develop two approaches for managing dynamic trust relationships in implementation projects: decoupling and re‐engaging.
Comment on “Drought-Induced Reduction in Global Terrestrial Net Primary Production from 2000 Through 2009”

Zhao and Running (Reports, 20 August 2010, p. 940) reported that global net primary production has declined over the past decade and that this reduction was caused by drought. However, their findings are not direct measurements, but rather are based on outcomes from models in which a strong temperature dependence is assumed. I examine the assumptions underlying their results and show that their findings can be explained as logical consequences of these assumptions.
Carotid artery stenting: the 2011 NICE guidelines

Death and disability as a result of cerebrovascular disease are a significant and growing problem in our ageing society. Surgery for significant carotid artery stenosis (>50%) in the form of carotid endarterectomy (CEA) reduces the subsequent risk of ipsilateral stroke. This benefit is particularly evident in recently symptomatic patients with minor stroke or transient ischaemic attack.1 2 Asymptomatic subjects with significant carotid artery stenosis (>70%) also benefit from surgery (stroke risk at 10 years 10.8% vs 16.9% with medical treatment (gain of 6.1%, 95% CI 2.7% to 9.4%)). 3 Carotid artery stenting (CAS) is a less invasive alternative to CEA avoiding the morbidity associated with a surgical incision. However, CAS is a technically demanding procedure and some early results were poor, with an unacceptably high peri-procedural stroke risk with CAS compared with CEA. Pooled outcome data for 3433 symptomatic patients randomised in EVA-3S, SPACE and ICSS trials demonstrated that risk of stroke and death in the first 120 days were significantly higher after CAS (8.9%) than after CEA (5.8%, RR=1.53, 95% CI 1.20 to 1.95; p=0.0006). Patients over 70 years of age were identified as a group in whom CAS has particularly poor results with double the risk of adverse outcome in CAS compared with CEA. In patients younger than 70 years there was no significant difference in risk estimate of stroke or death at 30 days.4 In the recent CREST study, there was no significant difference between stenting and surgery for the composite end point of any stroke, myocardial infarction or death within the perioperative period. Ipsilateral stroke risk at 4-years' follow-up was similar (2.0% and 2.4%, respectively; …
Genetic Alterations in Differentiated Thyroid Cancer Patients with Acromegaly.

AIM Acromegaly is associated with increased thyroid cancer risk. We aimed to analyze the frequency of point mutations of BRAF and RAS genes, and RET/PTC, PAX8/PPARγ gene rearrangements in patients with acromegaly having differentiated thyroid cancers (DTC) and their relation with clinical and histological features. MATERIALS AND METHODS 14 acromegalic patients (8 male, 6 female) with DTC were included. BRAF V600E and NRAS codon 61 point mutations, RET/PTC1, RET/PTC3, and PAX8/PPARγ gene rearrangements were analyzed in thyroidectomy specimens. We selected 14 non-acromegalic patients with DTC as a control group. RESULTS 2 patients (14.3%) were detected to have positive BRAF V600E and 3 patients (21.4%) were detected to have NRAS codon 61 mutation. NRAS codon 61 was the most frequent genetic alteration. Patients with positive mutation had aggressive histologic features more frequently than patients without mutations. Comparison of the acromegalic and non-acromegalic patients with DTC revealed that BRAF V600E mutation was more frequent in non-acromegalic patients with DTC (14.2% vs. 64.3%, p=0.02). RET/PTC 1/ 3, PAX8/PPARγ gene rearrangements were not detected in any patient. None of the patients including the patients with positive point mutations had recurrence, and local and/or distant metastasis. CONCLUSION NRAS codon 61 is the most frequent genetic alteration in this acromegaly series with DTC. Since acromegalic patients have lower prevalance of BRAF V600E mutation, BRAF V600E mutation may not be a causative factor in development of DTC in acromegaly. Despite the relation of BRAF V600E and NRAS codon 61 mutations with aggresive histopathologic features, their impact on tumor prognosis remains to be defined in acromegaly in further studies.
The evolving new understanding of endodontic infections

The science of oral microbiology is in a period of change from the era of bacterial cultivation to an era of molecular genetic methods and techniques. Already a significant body of new knowledge exists with regard to the oral flora in health and disease. Inevitably, this new knowledge has led to a better understanding of many oral diseases. In endodontics, the prevailing concepts are still to a great extent based on the results of the classical cultivation studies. However, a few groups have started to use molecular methods, and a new understanding of endodontic infections is presently evolving. Thus, the root canal infection clearly is more complex than revealed by cultivation methods alone, and both previously unidentified and uncultivable microorganisms have been detected by molecular methods. A reasonable estimate at present is that the infected root canal contains, not less than 10, but rather between 10 and 50 bacterial species which coincide well with the number of bacterial species normally found in a dental plaque sample and at different sites in the oral cavity. A further interesting finding in the studies using molecular techniques is that the microbiota of the infected root canal appears to be very similar to the flora of the periodontal pocket in patients with active periodontal disease. With regard to infection of periapical lesions in patients with asymptomatic apical periodontitis, electron microscopic and molecular methods have confirmed our cultivation findings that this is a common occurrence. Mature biofilms have been demonstrated on the external surfaces of root tips and in the form of sulfur granules within periapical granulomas. As in dental plaque, Actinomyces species appear to have a special role as scaffold builders in the development of sulfur granules. Other bacteria are then attracted to the site and a multibacterial granule (biofilm) develops. In addition, in situ hybridization studies show a variety of different bacteria and bacterial morphotypes in periapical lesions. With DNA–DNA hybridization between 11and 39 bacterial species have been recognized in the lesions, again confirming that in patients with active disease, the microbiotas of endodontic and periodontal infections are very similar. Thus, the recent findings demonstrate and confirm that the periapical endodontic lesion is not as hostile to microorganisms as many have thought. As clinicians we have to understand and accept that an infection might not be limited to the root of the tooth, but include the periapical lesion as well.
Development of an Interactive Immersion Environment for Engendering Understanding about Nanotechnology: Concept, Construction, and Implementation

The advent of nanoscientific applications in modern life is swiftly in progress. Nanoscale innovation comes with the pressing need to provide citizens and learners with scientific knowledge for judging the societal impact of nanotechnology. In rising to the challenge, this paper reports the developmental phase of a research agenda concerned with building and investigating a virtual environment for communicating nano-ideas. Methods involved elucidating core nano-principles through two purposefully contrasting nano "risk" and "benefit" scenarios for incorporation into an immersive system. The authors implemented the resulting 3D virtual architecture through an exploration of citizens' and school students' interaction with the virtual nanoworld. Findings suggest that users' interactive experiences of conducting the two tasks based on gestural interaction with the system serve as a cognitive gateway for engendering nano-related understanding underpinning perceived hopes and fears and as a stimulating pedagogical basis from which to teach complex science concepts.
Investigations into the prevalence of bovine brucellosis and the risk factors that predispose humans to infection among urban dairy and non-dairy farming households in Dagoretti Division, Nairobi, Kenya.

OBJECTIVE To explore the knowledge, attitudes and practices of dairy and non-dairy farming households in Dagoretti in regard to the risk posed by bovine brucellosis and determine the prevalence of the disease in urban dairy cattle. DESIGN A cross sectional study. SETTING Urban and Peri-urban dairy farming and non dairy farming households in Dagoretti division, Nairobi. SUBJECTS Two hundred ninety nine dairy farming and 149 non dairy farming households. INTERVENTION Segregated focus group discussions, administration of a household questionnaire and collection of unboiled milk from dairy and non dairy farming households were the instruments used to gather data on the practices, attitudes, perceptions and prevalence of bovine brucellosis. RESULTS Three hundred and ninety three milk samples were collected and analysed for the presence of antibodies to Brucella abortus in an indirect ELISA. The apparent prevalence of bovine brucellosis from milk was estimated at 1% for the samples collected while in dairy farming households the prevalence was 1.1% [0.2, 3.4%] and 0.7% [0.4%] in non dairy farming households. Thirty percent (90/296) of dairy respondents and 22% (32/147) of non-dairy respondents knew of the existence of brucellosis. Risk of contracting brucellosis was very low considering that milk is boiled together with other ingredients used in making tea and porridge. However, 31% (93/296) and 22% (31/143) of dairy and non dairy farming households respectively made traditionally fermented milk without first boiling the milk. This practice may predispose this group to brucellosis. CONCLUSION The low prevalence of bovine brucellosis requires constant surveillance in case the prevalence rates do change. Education of dairy farming households who are more at risk of contracting brucellosis on the transmission pathways and risk factors is required in order to lower further the prevalence of bovine brucellosis in Dagoretti.