Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The story of the fibrin(ogen) αC-domains: evolution of our view on their structure and interactions

Although much has been established concerning the overall structure and function of fibrinogen, much less has been known about its two αC regions, each consisting of an αC-connector and αC-domain, but new information has been accumulating. This review summarizes the state of our current knowledge of the structure and interactions of fibrinogen’s αC regions. A series of studies with isolated αC regions and their fragments demonstrated that the αC-domain forms compact ordered structures consisting of N- and C-terminal sub-domains including β sheets and suggested that the αC-connector has a poly(L-proline) type II structure. Functionally, the αC-domains interact intramolecularly with each other and with the central region of the molecule, first demonstrated by electron microscopy and then quantified by optical trap force spectroscopy. Upon conversion of fibrinogen into fibrin, the αC-domains switch from intra- to intermolecular interactions to form ordered αC polymers. The formation of αC polymers occurs mainly through the homophilic interaction between the N-terminal sub-domains; interaction between the C-terminal sub-domains and the αC-connectors also contributes to this process. Considerable evidence supports the idea that the αC-regions accelerate fibrin polymerization and affect the final structure of fibrin clots. The interactions between αC-regions are important for the mechanical properties of clots, increasing their stiffness and extensibility. Conversion of fibrinogen into fibrin results in exposure of multiple binding sites in its αC regions, providing interaction of fibrin with different proteins and cell types during hemostasis and wound healing. This heretofore mysterious part of the fibrinogen molecule is finally giving up its secrets.
Divergence control of a one-level supply chain replenishment rule

We present a general control and improvement strategy for a one-level supply chain based on maintaining the divergence of the system close to zero at each time step. The online implementations as well as the results obtained are shown for a logistic chain model with an Order-Up-To policy using several demand patterns. The divergence can be obtained using the state-space volume calculated with all the state variables of the model. However, it is also possible to calculate the divergence by applying state-space reconstruction techniques using only one state variable. The results obtained with both approaches show that this strategy allows the reduction in the total cost.
Role and importance of trace elements in New Zealand livestock. Fact and fiction

In New Zealand as a result of extensive trace element supplementation animal response trials, an excellent database has been established on protocols to detect deficiencies, dietary trace element requirements, and the efficacy of many products to prevent deficiencies. However, situations still arise where the above information is not well evaluated or correctly implemented by some consultants and farmers.
The relationship between portal hypertension and portal hypertensive gastropathy

Abstract Background and aim Portal hypertensive gastropathy (PHG) most commonly occurs in the setting of increased portal pressure in patients with cirrhosis. Here, we aimed to understand the correlation between hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) and the presence and severity of PHG in patients with cirrhosis. Methods We examined patients with cirrhosis who underwent HVPG measurement at the Medical University of South Carolina between 2014 and 2020. Extensive demographic, clinical, laboratory, procedural (including precise grading of PHG severity using standard definitions), and outcome data were abstracted at the time of HVPG measurement. Results Three hundred and ten patients with HVPG measurements and cirrhosis were identified. Seventy-three patients having endoscopy within 6 months of HVPG measurement were included (mean age 54 ± 11, 44% female). The most common causes of cirrhosis were alcohol (41%) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (32%). The average HVPG was 15 mmHg (±6) and 62 patients had clinically significant portal hypertension (CSPH) (HVPG ≥ 10 mmHg). Of the 73 patients with HVPG measured, 45 (62%) had PHG, including 40 (89%) of whom had CSPH. Out of the 45 patients with PHG, 41 and four had mild or severe PHG, respectively. MELD scores were similar in patients with and without PHG [15 ± 9 (SD) and 17 ± 9, respectively; p = . 37]. HVPG was higher in patients with PHG (17 ± 7 mmHg) than those without PHG (13 ± 4 mmHg) (p = .01) but did not differ between mild and severe PHG. Conclusion A weak correlation exists between HVPG level and the presence of PHG.
Effects of storage time and restoration depth on instrumental color adjustment potential of universal resin composites.

PURPOSE To determine the instrumental color adjustment potential (CAP-I)of 3 universal composites at 2 time intervals and 2 depths. METHODS Omnichroma, Estelite Sigma Quick, and Filtek Universal Restorative were tested. Two types of specimens were prepared. For dual specimens, Class V restorations were created in anterior denture teeth and restored with resin composites. For single specimens, replications were fabricated with resin composites (n = 10). Unrestored teeth were used for comparison. Color was measured with a spectrophotometer at 24 h and 1 month, and CAP-I was calculated. Data were compared by analysis of variance followed by the Student t-test and paired sample t-test. RESULTS The CAP-I of tested materials ranged from 0.11 to 0.27 at 24 h and from 0.60 to 0.76 at 1 month. At 24 h, Omnichroma yielded the highest values, followed by Estelite Sigma Quick and Filtek Universal Restorative (P < 0.05). CAP-I was significantly higher at 1 month than at 24 h in all groups. In all groups, restorations with a depth of 3.0 mm yielded better results than restorations with a depth of 2.0 mm (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION Storage time and restoration depth were positively associated with CAP-I. Single-shade and multi-shade universal composites are good alternatives for color-matched, esthetically satisfying restorations.
NonRegSRNet: A Nonrigid Registration Hyperspectral Super-Resolution Network

Due to the limitations of imaging systems, satellite hyperspectral imagery (HSI), which yields rich spectral information in many channels, often suffers from poor spatial resolution. HSI super-resolution (SR) refers to the fusion of high spatial resolution multispectral imagery (MSI) and low spatial resolution HSI to generate HSI that has both a high spatial and high spectral resolution. However, most existing SR methods assume that the two original images used are perfectly registered: in reality, nonrigid deformation areas can exist locally in the two images even if prior registration of the control points has been carried out. To address this problem, we propose a novel unsupervised spectral unmixing and image deformation correction network—NonRegSRNet—with multimodal and multitask learning that can be used for the joint registration of HSI and MSI and to produce SR imagery. More specifically, NonRegSRNet integrates the dense registration and SR tasks into a unified model that includes a triplet convolutional neural network. This allows these two tasks to complement each other so that better registration and SR results can be achieved. Furthermore, because the point spread function (PSF) and spectral response function (SRF) are often unavailable, two special convolutional layers are designed to adaptively learn the parameters of the PSF and SRF, which makes the proposed model more adaptable. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method has the ability to produce highly accurate and stable reconstructed images under complex nonrigid deformation conditions. (Code available at https://github.com/saber-zero/NonRegSRNet)
Responses and Performance of Stabilized Full-Depth Reclaimed Pavements at the Minnesota Road Research Facility

This paper details the construction and analysis of three stabilized full-depth reclamation (SFDR) sections (Cells 2, 3, and 4) constructed at the Minnesota Road Research Facility on I-94 in 2008. Three test sections with different ratios of pulverized asphalt concrete to granular base were constructed, and the performance of full-depth reclaimed pavements stabilized with engineered emulsion was studied. Emulsion content and base structure varied between test sections. Each test section was designed for 3.5 million equivalent single-axle loads for a period of 5 years. As of June 30, 2012, the sections had been subjected to approximately 2.2 million such loads. Responses were measured with strain gauges embedded at the bottom of the hot-mix asphalt and SFDR layers in each test section. The strain gauges indicated that the bottom of both the hot-mix asphalt and the SFDR layers was subject to horizontal tensile strain from falling weight deflectometer testing and heavy vehicle loading. Pavement performance for rutting, cracking, and international roughness index was measured periodically. The results indicated that all three cells were performing well. The only crack in the three cells was in Cell 3; the roughness index values were well within the acceptable range and rutting, although progressing, was still acceptable. The paper concludes with modeled responses and performance predictions from DARWinME and BISAR. Model predictions indicate that an SFDR layer will provide greater structural benefits and increased performance than will similar structures with unstabilized full-depth reclaimed or granular base layers.
Distinct Serotypes of Streptococcal M Proteins Mediate Fibrinogen-Dependent Platelet Activation and Proinflammatory Effects

Sepsis is a life-threatening complication of infection that is characterized by a dysregulated inflammatory state and disturbed hemostasis. Platelets are the main regulators of hemostasis, and they also respond to inflammation. ABSTRACT Sepsis is a life-threatening complication of infection that is characterized by a dysregulated inflammatory state and disturbed hemostasis. Platelets are the main regulators of hemostasis, and they also respond to inflammation. The human pathogen Streptococcus pyogenes can cause local infection that may progress to sepsis. There are more than 200 serotypes of S. pyogenes defined according to sequence variations in the M protein. The M1 serotype is among 10 serotypes that are predominant in invasive infection. M1 protein can be released from the surface and has previously been shown to generate platelet, neutrophil, and monocyte activation. The platelet-dependent proinflammatory effects of other serotypes of M protein associated with invasive infection (M3, M5, M28, M49, and M89) are now investigated using a combination of multiparameter flow cytometry, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), aggregometry, and quantitative mass spectrometry. We demonstrate that only M1, M3, and M5 protein serotypes can bind fibrinogen in plasma and mediate fibrinogen- and IgG-dependent platelet activation and aggregation, release of granule proteins, upregulation of CD62P to the platelet surface, and complex formation with neutrophils and monocytes. Neutrophil and monocyte activation, determined as upregulation of surface CD11b, is also mediated by M1, M3, and M5 protein serotypes, while M28, M49, and M89 proteins failed to mediate activation of platelets or leukocytes. Collectively, our findings reveal novel aspects of the immunomodulatory role of fibrinogen acquisition and platelet activation during streptococcal infections.
Factors that influence course completion of individuals enrolled in craft-training courses offered by a large organization of member construction companies

The construction industry is one of the largest providers of jobs in the United States. Between 2009 and 2013, approximately 20% of the 7.7 million Americans employed in construction related jobs (Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 2009) would be eligible to retire. The industrial construction industry must attract, train, and retain a significant number of people to the construction industry. The primary purpose of this study was to determine the influence of selected personal demographic characteristics and academic behaviors of individuals participating in craft training courses offered by a large organization of member construction companies who successfully completed or left the construction training courses prior to its completion. The study used descriptive, comparative, and discriminant analytical statistical procedures to achieve the primary purpose. The population was defined as adult students who were enrolled in craft-training courses offered by one large organization of member construction companies during the 2008 Fall semester. Data was transferred from the training provider into a researcher design spreadsheet for analysis. The descriptive analysis found 96.6% of the respondents were male and 74.8% respondents were classified as non-metropolitan residents. Welding and Electrical crafts had the largest numbers of students enrolled. The comparative analyses found that crafts, craft levels, attendance, and grades tended to be related to course completion rates. Due to the findings that not all courses awarded grades, two discriminant analyses were used to identify substantively and statistically significant models that increased the researcher’s ability to explain the completion status of students enrolled in the craft training courses. The discriminant model for graded courses correctly classified 89.4% of the original grouped cases (completers and non-completers), which was a 64.8% improvement over chance. The discriminant model for non-graded courses correctly classified 83.0% of the original grouped cases (completers and non-completers), which was a 66.03% improvement over chance. The variable attendance had the greatest impact in both models. Since attendance was found to be related to completion status, the researcher recommended further studies on determining why students were absent from classes. Additionally the researcher recommends reviewing other possible variables that may influence students’ completion status.
City logistics through the canals? A simulation study on freight waterborne transport in the inner-city of Amsterdam

This study investigates whether distributing goods across the water to the city of Amsterdam can be a potential future solution considering the busy traffic of the pleasure crafts and touring boats on the canals. A simulation model was developed to analyse the logistics performances and traffic influences for different fleet size configurations. The simulation tests have shown that four vessels are needed to guarantee the requested delivery times, a sufficient loading rate (82%) was generated for each ship, and no significant delays will happen due to interaction with other water traffic. Conclusion of this study is that a waterborne city logistics concept through the canals of Amsterdam has demonstrated the capability to reduce congestion in the inner-city and is able to satisfy the delivery requirements of the shopkeepers without significant interference with other waterborne traffic.
EDWA: key enabler of optical integration on PLC

One of the trends that persist in the telecom industry in all market conditions is a continuous push towards lower cost and higher performance optical components. Unlike today’s networks, a more cost efficient network of tomorrow will contain many components utilizing Planar Lightwave Circuits (PLC) technology. PLC technology is a platform for optical integration that could dramatically lower cost-per-function in many optical networks. However, integration may result in degraded optical performance due to higher insertion losses as compared to “standard” fiber-based solutions. A solution to the loss problems is an optical amplifier that can be integrated on the same PLC platform and used to restore optical signals as needed. Inplane Photonics is developing Er-doped waveguide amplifier (EDWA) technology, which is fully compatible with a glass-on silicon PLC platform. We identify that an EDWA is a necessary building block to achieve the full potential of optical integration. In this paper we will present recent EDWA performance that approaches that of an EDFA. Furthermore, we will demonstrate several examples of practical integration between passive and active building blocks on a single PLC chip.
ANTIDIABETIC AND ANTIHYPERLIPIDAEMIC EFFECTS OF THE ETHANOL EXTRACT OF THE LEAVES AND STEM OF CISSUS GRACILLIS (GULL ET PERR) (VITACEAE)

Objectives: This study investigated the antidiabetic and antihyperlipidemic potential of the ethanol extract of the leaves and stem of Cissus gracillis on alloxan monohydrate-induced diabetic albino rats. Methods: Preliminary phytochemical screening and acute toxicity were carried out. Animals were assigned into seven groups of five rats each. Groups A and B were administered 10 mg/kg each of glibenclamide and atorvastatin respectively, C, D, and E were given 125, 250 and 500 mg/kg of ethanol extract of C. gracillis, respectively, daily for 21 days through oral gavage, group F was diabetic but untreated (diabetic control group), while group G was non-diabetic and untreated which served as the control group. Results: Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of steroids/triterpenoids and carbohydrates. LD50 was above 5000 mg/kg. The extract at 500 mg/kg showed a statistically significant (p<0.05) decrease in blood glucose level when compared with the glibenclamide group on day 21. However, gradual non- significant reduction in blood glucose levels were observed in the extract treated groups on the 7th, 14th, and 21st days of treatment. The administration of ethanol extract of C. gracillis to alloxan-induced diabetic rats produced a decrease in total cholesterol, triglycerides, and low-density lipoproteins comparable to glibenclamide and atorvastatin. Conclusion: The ethanol extract of the leaves and stem of C. gracillis possess a mildly significant antidiabetic and antihyperlipidemic activity.
AUCTION: Automated and Quality-Aware Client Selection Framework for Efficient Federated Learning

The emergency of federated learning (FL) enables distributed data owners to collaboratively build a global model without sharing their raw data, which creates a new business chance for building data market. However, in practical FL scenarios, the hardware conditions and data resources of the participant clients can vary significantly, leading to different positive/negative effects on the FL performance, where the client selection problem becomes crucial. To this end, we propose AUCTION, an Automated and qUality-aware Client selecTION framework for efficient FL, which can evaluate the learning quality of clients and select them automatically with quality-awareness for a given FL task within a limited budget. To design AUCTION, multiple factors such as data size, data quality, and learning budget that can affect the learning performance should be properly balanced. It is nontrivial since their impacts on the FL model are intricate and unquantifiable. Therefore, AUCTION is designed to encode the client selection policy into a neural network and employ reinforcement learning to automatically learn client selection policies based on the observed client status and feedback rewards quantified by the federated learning performance. In particular, the policy network is built upon an encoder-decoder deep neural network with an attention mechanism, which can adapt to dynamic changes of the number of candidate clients and make sequential client selection actions to reduce the learning space significantly. Extensive experiments are carried out based on real-world datasets and well-known learning models to demonstrate the efficiency, robustness, and scalability of AUCTION.
An Analysis of Students’ Perception of Online Assessments and its Relation to Motivation Towards Mathematics Learning

Assessing student performance is a challenge faced by most educational institutions during this time when conducting in-campus classes is affected by the pandemic. Use of online assessments to determine student performance is gaining wider acceptance over the traditional paper-and-pen type as it allows evaluation of what the students learned despite the lack of physical classroom interaction. Although there are studies that examine student perceptions about online learning in general, only a few focus on assessments especially those that consider its relation to affective aspects of learning. The views of students being the primary beneficiaries of the technology would give relevant information in designing appropriate online assessments and can bring about the success of its implementation. Thus, this present study investigated the usefulness of online assessments according to the perspective of students particularly in their math subject and its relation to their motivation towards mathematics learning. A mixed methods research design was conducted to determine the perception and motivation of 127 second year level engineering students via a questionnaire survey after exposure to a set of online assessments. Results showed that students have a high level of motivation towards mathematics learning and have positive perception about online assessments. Using factor analysis, variations in the perception were found to be explained by 4 factors focused on ease of use and functionality, personal preference, technical considerations, and complementation with other methods. Some of these factors were found to be significantly related with various aspects of motivation. Interview of students also revealed they found taking online assessments a positive innovation in giving assignments and prefer them over traditional assignments. The findings derived from this study give teachers a basis in designing more effective online assessments particularly those that address the needs of today’s generation of learners. Further, for a developing country like the Philippines, findings of this study would greatly contribute to the government and academic sector’s efforts in capacity building of its online system of education.
Is Gender Still Important in Defining the Work Family Conflict of Married Employees in 21st Century?

: The purpose of this research was to analyze the importance of gender in defining the work-family conflict of married employees in 21 st century. Especially in workplaces with higher work related and work environment related stress. To achieve the research objective, 362 married male and female bank employees (181 each) who had at least one child, were selected for the study. The research results disseminated that although there is no significant difference in level of work related stress, work environment related stress, and work-family conflict of married employees. But unlike males, work-family conflict of married females is highly dependent on their level of work related stress. Hence, gender still plays an important role in defining the source of work-family conflict. Even though it is no longer important in determining their level of work related stress, work environment related stress, and work-family conflict. So, banks and other organizations should focus on lowering the work stress of their employees: to reduce the work-family conflict of their employees, and to flourish the performance and culture of their organization.