Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Synthesis of New 3‐(Substituted Phenacyl)‐5‐[3′‐(4H‐4‐oxo‐1‐benzopyran‐2‐yl)‐benzylidene]‐2,4‐thiazolidinediones and their Antimicrobial Activity

Synthesis of 3‐(3‐nitrophenacyl)thiazolidine‐2,4‐dione 2g and 3‐(substituted phenacyl)‐5‐[3′‐(4H‐4‐oxo‐1‐benzopyran‐2‐yl)‐benzylidene]‐2,4‐thiazolidinediones 4a–g are reported in this paper. These compounds 4a–g were prepared from 3′‐flavone carboxaldehyde and 3‐substituted phenacyl‐2,4‐thiazolidinediones using Knoevenagel reaction. The structures of all compounds were confirmed by IR, 1H‐NMR, mass spectral data, and elemental analyses. The molecules 4a–g were evaluated for in‐vitro antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Candida albicans, Candida krusei, Candida glabrata, and Candida parapsilosis. Compounds 4c and 4f showed better inhibitory activity when compared to fluconazole against Candida krusei and Candida glabrata.
Do-it-yourself LocalWireless Networks: A Multidimensional Network Analysis of Mobile Node Social Aspects

The emerging paradigm of Do-it-yourself (DIY) networking is increasingly taking the attention of research community on DTNs, opportunistic networks and social networks since it allows the creation of local humandriven wireless networks outside the public Internet. Even when Internet is available, DIY networks may form an interesting alternative option for communication encouraging face-to-face interactions and more ambitious objectives such as e-participation and e-democracy. The aim of this paper is to analyze a set of mobility traces describing both local wireless interactions and online friendships in different networking environments in order to explore a fundamental aspect of these social-driven networks: node centrality. Since node centrality plays an important role in message forwarding, we propose a multi-layer network approach to the analysis of online and offline node centrality in DIY networks. Analyzing egocentric and sociocentric node centrality on the social network detected through wireless encounters and on the corresponding Facebook social network for 6 different real-world traces, we show that online and offline degree centralities are significantly correlated on most datasets. On the contrary, betweenness, closeness and eigenvector centralities show medium-low correlation values.
Diurnally varying regional climatic simulations

A detailed analysis has been made of the atmospheric variability at a number of specific geographical points as simulated with a global general circulation model. The objective of this study was to assess the model's performance as regards diurnal and interdiurnal variability, but more importantly to identify critical features which should be monitored in climatic-change experiments. Since the model contains a number of physical processes, including cloud forecasting, three independent rain-producing mechanisms, a very responsive surface-hydrology formulation, sea-ice determination, etc., complex interactions among the various climatic components can occur. Results are presented for a number of longitudinal points at three selected latitudes, representative of summer, winter, and tropical conditions. One of the clearest features of the model output was the very marked longitudinal asymmetry in atmospheric forcing arising from land-sea contrast. The vital role of the soil moisture, which depends critically on its model formulation, in determining whether this forcing is due to latent or sensible heating over the land is also demonstrated. The unique diurnal variations which were simulated at individual geographical points suggest that systematic distortions must occur in most near-surface processes in non-diurnal models. The extreme sensitivity of the convective mechanisms and the consequent impact on rainfall is noted, together with its implications for experiments involving climatic change. Finally, the interdiurnal variability of the model is illustrated by a number of examples, one of which highlights the potential misrepresentation of air-sea exchanges in models employing fixed sea-surface temperatures.
Household willingness to pay for improved rural water supplies: A comparison of four sites

The estimated willingness to pay for improved rural water supplies at four sites in the western United States ranges from $4.43 to $17.29 per household per month. These results are similar to other rural water supply studies. The modeling results and comparison with previous studies indicate that the contingent valuation method can provide useful estimates of rural water supply benefits. This analysis provides information useful to private and public officials who must determine where limited funds should be spent for water supply improvements. Water suppliers and government analysts who do not have the resources to complete site specific valuation studies can use general benefit criteria and site specific factors presented in the analysis to target areas for water supply improvements. The range of benefits presented in the analysis can be used to help determine an acceptable level of costs for a proposed water supply project.
Transplacental RNAi: Deciphering Gene Function in the Postimplantation-Staged Embryo

RNAi offers the opportunity to examine the role in postimplantation development of genes that cause preimplantation lethality and to create allelic series of targeted embryos. We have delivered constituitively expressed short hairpin (sh) RNAs to pregnant mice during the early postimplantation period of development and observed gene knockdown and defects that phenocopy the null embryo. We have silenced genes that have not yet been “knocked out” in the mouse (geminin and Wnt8b), those required during earlier cleavage stages of development (nanog), and genes required at implantation (Bmp4, Bmp7) singly and in combination (Bmp4 + Bmp7), and obtained unique phenotypes. We have also determined a role in postimplantation development of two transcripts identified in a differential display RT-PCR screen of genes induced in ES cells by noggin exposure, Aggf1 and an Est (GenBank AK008955). Systemic delivery of shRNAs provides a valuable approach to gene silencing in the embryo.
An evolving recommender-based framework for virtual learning communities

This article presents a recommender framework to provide personalised suggestions for learners taking introductory undergraduate courses. The framework utilises memory-based collaborative filtering algorithm combined with an imbedded web crawler to update learning material. The process of providing recommendation is divided into four steps: learner model extraction, neighbourhood formation, top-N recommendation presentation, and material update. The framework was implemented and has been successfully tested on real learners taking an introductory mathematics course. The learners of the course were divided into two groups. One of the groups, control group, was taught the material of the course using the traditional face-to-face approach. However, the students in the other group, experimental group, had the advantage to use the framework. The performance of the learners in both groups was tested and the results showed that the learners in the experimental group outperformed their counterparts in the control group.
Radiocarbon Dating for Determination of Soil Organic Matter Pool Sizes and Dynamics

The size and turnover rate of the resistant soil organic matter (SOM) fractions were measured by 14 C dating and 13 C/ 12 C measurements. This involved soils archived in 1948, and recent samples, from a series of long-term sites in the North American Great Plains. A reevaluation of C dates obtained in the 1960s expanded the study scope. The 14 C ages of surface soils were modern in some native sites and near modern in the low, moist areas of the landscape. They were much older at the catena summits. The 14 C ages were not related to latitude although this strongly influenced the total SOM content. Cultivation resulted in lower C contents and increased the 14 C age by an average of 900 yr. The 10- to 20-cm depths from both cultivated and native sites were 1200 yr older than the 0- to 10-cm depth. The 90- to 120-cm depth of a cultivated site at 7015 yr before present (BP) was 6000 yr older than the surface. The nonhydrolyzable C of this depth dated 9035 yr BP. The residue of 6 MHCl hydrolysis comprised 23 to 70% of the total soil C and was, on the average, 1500 yr older. The percentage of nonhydrolyzable C and its 14 C age analytically identify the amount and turnover rate of the old resistant soil C.
Volume and composition of human intestinal gas determined by means of an intestinal washout technic.

Abstract The volume and composition of intestinal gas of 11 normal subjects was studied by means of a technic in which an intestinal infusion of argon was used to wash out gases present in the bowel. These studies indicated that the bowel normally contains relatively small quantities of gas ranging from 30 ml to 200 ml. The composition of this gas was highly variable although N2 was usually the predominant gas whereas O2 was present in concentrations of less than 2 per cent. Gases produced within the bowel (CO2, H2 and CH4) accounted for most of the gas of three subjects. Intestinal bacteria directly influence the composition of intestinal gas through their production of H2, CH4 and CO2 and utilization of O2 and, by reducing the luminal PN2, indirectly influence the N2 content of the bowel.
An Efficient Programming Paradigm for Shared-Memory Master-Worker Video Decoding on TILE64 Many-Core Platform

The ubiquity of many-core architectures brings challenges in making scalable application software, changing dramatically from the way applications are traditionally developed. Optimization of programs for many-core platforms is a multifaceted problem, where system and architectural factors should be taken into consideration. In this paper, we attack the problem on the aspect of programming paradigm. We propose a hybrid producer-write plus consumer-read shared-memory programming paradigm for implementation of a master-worker video decoder on the TILE64 many-core platform. To evaluate the scalability and performance benefits of different programing paradigms, a Motion JPEG decoder is parallelized using master-worker structure and implemented with combinations of consumer-read programming and producer-write programming. Experimental results show that the proposed implementation obtained competitive performance speedup, scaling well with number of available cores and up to 4 times performance improvement over other implementations on the decoding of a 1080P video.
Practical static analysis of JavaScript applications in the presence of frameworks and libraries

JavaScript is a language that is widely-used for both web- based and standalone applications such as those in the upcoming Windows 8 operating system. Analysis of JavaScript has long been known to be challenging due to its dynamic nature. On top of that, most JavaScript applications rely on large and complex libraries and frameworks, often written in a combination of JavaScript and native code such as C and C++. Stubs have been commonly employed as a partial specification mechanism to address the library problem; however, they are tedious to write, incomplete, and occasionally incorrect. However, the manner in which library code is used within applications often sheds light on what library APIs return or consume as parameters. In this paper, we propose a technique which combines pointer analysis with use analysis to handle many challenges posed by large JavaScript libraries. Our approach enables a variety of applications, ranging from call graph discovery to auto-complete to supporting runtime optimizations. Our techniques have been implemented and empirically validated on a set of 25 Windows 8 JavaScript applications, averaging 1,587 lines of code, demonstrating a combination of scalability and precision.
Real-time hand tracking using a set of cooperative classifiers based on Haar-like features A ndre

In this paper we discuss the importance of the choice of features in digital image object recognition. The features can be classified as invariants or noninvariants. Invariant features are robust against one or more modifications such as rotations, translations, scaling and different light (illumination) conditions. Non-invariant features are usually very sensitive to any of these modifiers. On the other hand, non-invariant features can be used even in the event of translation, scaling and rotation, but the feature choice is in some cases more important than the training method. If the feature space is adequate then the training process can be straightforward and good classifiers can be obtained. In the last few years good algorithms have been developed relying on noninvariant features. In this article, we show how non-invariant features can cope with changes even though this requires additional computation at the detection phase. We also show preliminary results for a hand detector based on a set of cooperative Haar-like feature detectors. The results show the good potential of the method as well as the challenges to achieve real-time detection.
Dramatic impact of the South China Sea on the Indonesian Throughflow

Using OGCM experiments with and without the South China Sea throughflow, it is shown that this throughflow plays an important role in generating the subsurface maxima in the meridional velocity of the Makassar Strait throughflow. The maximum in the southward flow is located at subsurface around 110 m in the control run, whereas that exists near the surface without the South China Sea throughflow. This results in 0.18 PW difference in the southward heat transport by the Makassar Strait throughflow, suggesting that the South China Sea throughflow may play an important role in climate variability of the Indo‐Pacific region. Furthermore, the South China Sea throughflow, which undergoes a seasonal variation with a maximum in boreal winter, significantly influences the simulated seasonal variation in the Makassar Strait throughflow.
Adipose-Derived Stem Cells Stimulate Regeneration of Peripheral Nerves: BDNF Secreted by These Cells Promotes Nerve Healing and Axon Growth De Novo

Transplantation of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ASCs) induces tissue regeneration by accelerating the growth of blood vessels and nerve. However, mechanisms by which they accelerate the growth of nerve fibers are only partially understood. We used transplantation of ASCs with subcutaneous matrigel implants (well-known in vivo model of angiogenesis) and model of mice limb reinnervation to check the influence of ASC on nerve growth. Here we show that ASCs stimulate the regeneration of nerves in innervated mice's limbs and induce axon growth in subcutaneous matrigel implants. To investigate the mechanism of this action we analyzed different properties of these cells and showed that they express numerous genes of neurotrophins and extracellular matrix proteins required for the nerve growth and myelination. Induction of neural differentiation of ASCs enhances production of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) as well as ability of these cells to induce nerve fiber growth. BDNF neutralizing antibodies abrogated the stimulatory effects of ASCs on the growth of nerve sprouts. These data suggest that ASCs induce nerve repair and growth via BDNF production. This stimulatory effect can be further enhanced by culturing the cells in neural differentiation medium prior to transplantation.
Combining hierarchical radiosity and discontinuity meshing

We introduce a new approach for the computation of viewindependent solutions to the diffuse global illumination problem in polyhedral environments. The approach combines ideas from hierarchical radiosity and discontinuity meshing to yield solutions that are accurate both numerically and visually. First, we describe a modified hierarchical radiosity algorithm that uses a discontinuitydriven subdivision strategy to achieve better numerical accuracy and faster convergence. Second, we present a new algorithm based on discontinuity meshing that uses the hierarchical solution to reconstruct an object-space approximation to the radiance function that is visually accurate. Our results show significant improvements over both hierarchical radiosity and discontinuity meshing algorithms. CR Categories and Subject Descriptors: I.3. 3—[ Computer Graphics]: Picture/Image Generation; I.3. 7—[ Computer Graphics]: Three-Dimensional Graphics and Realism.
Accuracy of total ozone retrieval from NOAA SBUV/2 measurements: Impact of instrument performance

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service (NOAA/NESDIS) has been collecting and evaluating the solar backscattered ultraviolet (SBUV/2) instrument data from NOAA 9 and NOAA 11 spacecraft since March 1985. Over 5 years (March 1985 to October 1990) of NOAA 9 (version 5.0) and over 4 years (January 1989 to June 1993) of NOAA 11 (version 6.0) reprocessed data are now available to the scientific community to study geophysical phenomena involving ozone. This paper examines the impact of the instrument performance on total ozone retrieval from the two instruments. We estimate that at the end of October 1990 the total postlaunch error for NOAA 9 due to instrument alone is -2.2%. A significant fraction of this error (-1.9%) is due to diffuser degradation which is not accounted for in the version 5 reprocessing. The estimate for NOAA 11 total postlaunch instrument error, at the end of June 1993, is -0.4%.
Information flow model of human extravehicular activity operations

Future human spaceflight missions will face the complex challenge of performing human extravehicular activity (EVA) beyond the low Earth orbit (LEO) environment. Astronauts will become increasingly isolated from Earth-based mission support and thus will rely heavily on their own decision-making capabilities and onboard tools to accomplish proposed EVA mission objectives. To better address time delay communication issues, EVA characters, e.g. flight controllers, astronauts, etc., and their respective work practices and roles need to be better characterized and understood. This paper presents the results of a study examining the EVA work domain and the personnel that operate within it. The goal is to characterize current and historical roles of ground support, intravehicular (IV) crew and EV crew, their communication patterns and information needs. This work provides a description of EVA operations and identifies issues to be used as a basis for future investigation.
A new method of vegetation–climate classification in China

Coefficient C is a synthetic index from the third correlative equation, which represents the state of moisture in a region and may be used for assigning vegetation zonality. The third correlative equation is a new equation concerning heat and water balance from knowledge of evaporation on land. In this article, coefficient C and accumulated temperature over 5 °C (AT5) are combined to predict the distribution of vegetation zones in China. Predictions of vegetation distribution are made using observational climate data interpolated into a 25 × 25 km grid.
Support Vector Machines for Regression Problems with Sequential Minimal Optimization

Training a support vector machine (SVM) is usually done by mapping the underlying optimization problem into a quadratic programming (QP) problem. Unfortunately, high quality QP solvers are not readily available, which makes research into the area of SVMs difficult for the those without a QP solver. Recently, the Sequential Minimal Optimization algorithm (SMO) was introduced [1, 2]. SMO reduces SVM training down to a series of smaller QP subproblems that have an analytical solution and, therefore, does not require a general QP solver. SMO has been shown to be very efficient for classification problems using linear SVMs and/or sparse data sets. This work shows how SMO can be generalized to handle regression problems.
Activation of oligodendroglial Fyn kinase enhances translation of mRNAs transported in hnRNP A2–dependent RNA granules

Central nervous system myelination requires the synthesis of large amounts of myelin basic protein (MBP) at the axon–glia contact site. MBP messenger RNA (mRNA) is transported in RNA granules to oligodendroglial processes in a translationally silenced state. This process is regulated by the trans-acting factor heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein (hnRNP) A2 binding to the cis-acting A2 response element (A2RE). Release of this repression of MBP mRNA translation is thus essential for myelination. Mice deficient in the Src family tyrosine kinase Fyn are hypomyelinated and contain reduced levels of MBP. Here, we identify hnRNP A2 as a target of activated Fyn in oligodendrocytes. We show that active Fyn phosphorylates hnRNP A2 and stimulates translation of an MBP A2RE–containing reporter construct. Neuronal adhesion molecule L1 binding to oligodendrocytes results in Fyn activation, which leads to an increase in hnRNP A2 phosphorylation. These results suggest that Fyn kinase activation results in the localized translation of MBP mRNA at sites of axon–glia contact and myelin deposition.
What is an analogue for the semantic web and why is having one important?

This paper postulates that for the Semantic Web to grow and gain input from fields that will surely benefit it, it needs to develop an analogue that will help people not only understand what it is, but what the potential opportunities are that are enabled by these new protocols. The model proposed in the paper takes the way that Web interaction has been framed as a baseline to inform a similar analogue for the Semantic Web. While the Web has been represented as a Page + Links, the paper presents the argument that the Semantic Web can be conceptualized as a Notebook + Memex. The argument considers how this model also presents new challenges for fundamental human interaction with computing, and that hypertext models have much to contribute to this new understanding for distributed information systems.
Temperament: an event-related potential study using the oddball paradigm

present study examined the structure of interrelations between brain event-related potentials and behavioral measures and temperament dimensions during an attention task. Three temperament questionnaires were used: Eysenck Personality Inventory, Strelau Temperament Inventory, and Rusalov Structure of Temperament Questionnaire. Event-related potentials were recorded using the active auditory oddball paradigm. The stimuli (85 dB; 1050 and 1000 Hz sinusoidal tones as targets and non-targets, respectively) were easily discriminated by all of the participants. A complex framework of interrelations between temperament and personality dimensions, behavioral measures, and event-related potentials was found. P3 amplitude was negatively correlated with the number of response omissions. Emotionality was positively correlated with P2 and N1-P2 complex amplitudes. Extraversion and Mobility of Nervous Processes were negatively correlated with the amplitude of the N1-P2 complex, and Social Ergonicity was negatively correlated with N2 latency. The results indicate that Extraversion tends to be associated with both the intensity and temporal aspects of temperament and suggest the importance of using a multidimensional approach in temperament studies. Keywords: temperament, personality, attention, electroencephalogram, event-related potentials.