Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fingerprinting sequence variation in ribosomal DNA of parasites by DGGE.

Although there is a tendency for rDNA genes within a species to maintain sequence homogeneity, there can be significant levels of variation among rDNA repeat sequences within populations or individuals of a species as a consequence of mutation mechanisms. To date, there have been no practical techniques available in molecular parasitology that allow the extent of sequence variation among the repeats (i.e., number of sequence types) to be displayed visually. In this report, we describe the use of the denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) technique for the rapid screening of parasite rDNA for sequence variation without the need for exhaustive cloning or DNA sequencing. The resolution of this variation by DGGE provides a diagnostic fingerprint for a species.
A Two-Dimensional Framework of Multiple Kernel Subspace Learning for Recognizing Emotion in Speech

As a highly active topic in computational paralinguistics, speech emotion recognition (SER) aims to explore ideal representations for emotional factors in speech. In order to improve the performance of SER, multiple kernel learning (MKL) dimensionality reduction has been utilized to obtain effective information for recognizing emotions. However, the solution of MKL usually provides only one nonnegative mapping direction for multiple kernels; this may lead to loss of valuable information. To address this issue, we propose a two-dimensional framework for multiple kernel subspace learning. This framework provides more linear combinations on the basis of MKL without nonnegative constraints, which preserves more information in the learning procedures. It also leverages both of MKL and two-dimensional subspace learning, combining them into a unified structure. To apply the framework to SER, we also propose an algorithm, namely generalised multiple kernel discriminant analysis (GMKDA), by employing discriminant embedding graphs in this framework. GMKDA takes advantage of the additional mapping directions for multiple kernels in the proposed framework. In order to evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm a wide range of experiments is carried out on several key emotional corpora. These experimental results demonstrate that the proposed methods can achieve better performance compared with some conventional and subspace learning methods in dealing with SER.
To go or not to go: travel constraints and attractiveness of travel affecting outbound Chinese tourists to Japan

ABSTRACT The fast growth of the Chinese economy has transformed Chinese outbound tourism into one of the major players in the tourism industry worldwide. However, Chinese outbound tourists may still encounter travel constraints in some countries, such as Japan, which has had a close and complicated relationship in history with China. This study adopted the qualitative approach by applying focus group and in-depth interviews to investigate and triangulate the travel barriers affecting Chinese outbound travel to Japan. The findings indicated that domestic nationalist sentiment played a key constraining role in influencing Chinese outbound travel decision-making, followed by current political factors, while quality products and service, as well as social environment encouraged tourists to travel. This research also found that visitors and non-visitors have perception differences in terms of travel barriers and attractiveness of travel.
TREATMENT OF GREENHOUSE WASTEWATER USING CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS

Five wetland designs, based on conventional surface flow (SF) and subsurface flow (SSF) approaches, were assessed for nitrogen and phosphorus removal from greenhouse wastewater. Results indicated none of the individual designs assessed was capable of providing the highest treatment effect for all nutrients of concern; however, the SF wetland emerged as the most appropriate design for the treatment of greenhouse wastewater. The highest mean phosphorus reduction of 65 % was observed in the unplanted SF wetlands. Peak nitrate reductions of 54% were observed in the 15-cm deep SF wetlands and ammonia removal of 74% was achieved in the unplanted SF wetlands. Nitrate concentration in the greenhouse effluent can be reduced to acceptable levels for the protection of freshwater aquatic life (i.e., less then 40 ppm) using a loading rate of 1.65 g NO3-N/m2/day and a design water depth of 30 cm or greater. Based on available literature and the results of this research project, a multistage design, consisting of an unplanted pre-treatment basin followed by a 25 to 35 cm deep surface flow marsh with open water components, is recommended.
COLD PCR HRM: a highly sensitive detection method for IDH1 mutations

The p.Arg132His mutation of isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1R132H) is a frequent alteration and a major prognostic marker in gliomas. However, direct sequencing of highly contaminated tumor samples may fail to detect this mutation. Our objective was to evaluated the sensitivity of a newly described amplification method, coamplification at lower temperature‐PCR (COLD PCR), combined with high‐resolution melting (HRM) for the detection of the IDH1R132H mutation. To this end, we used serial dilutions of mutant DNA with wild‐type DNA. PCR‐HRM assay detects IDH1R132H at an abundance of 25%, similar to the detection limit of direct Sanger sequencing. Introducing a run of COLD PCR allows the detection of 2% mutant DNA. Using two consecutive runs of COLD PCR, we detected 0.25% mutant DNA in a background of wild‐type DNA, that mimics a tumor sample highly contaminated by normal DNA. We then analyzed 10 biopsies of tumor edges, considered free of tumor cells by histological analysis, and showed that immunohistochemistry of IDH1R132H was positive in three cases (30%), whereas double COLD PCR HRM was positive in the 10 cases studied (100%). In summary, COLD PCR HRM analysis is 100‐fold more sensitive than Sanger sequencing, rendering this rapid and powerful strategy particularly useful for samples highly contaminated with normal tissue.Hum Mutat 31:1–6, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
L0-compressed sensing for parallel dynamic MRI using sparse Bayesian learning

Since the advent of compressed sensing in dynamic MR imaging area, a number of l1-compressed sensing algorithms have been proposed to improve the resolution. Recently, it was shown that by solving an lp minimization problem with 0 ≤ p &#60; 1, the number of required measurements for an exact sparse reconstruction is more reduced than in solving an l1 minimization. However, when 0 ≤ p &#60; 1, the problem is not convex and there exist many local minima. To deal with this problem, we adopted an empirical Bayesian approach called sparse Bayesian learning (SBL). The main contribution of this paper is to extend the idea for parallel dynamic MR imaging problems. By exploiting the simultaneous sparsity, the algorithm outperforms other methods, especially when the coil sensitivity map is not accurate. Numerical results confirms the theory.
Winding loss separation in thermal analysis of electromagnetic devices

This paper investigates various winding loss separation approaches applicable to the thermal analysis of electrical machines, transformers and wound passive components. The accurate temperature prediction and identification of hot-spots within such electromagnetic devices is strongly dependent on the absolute power loss data as well as the loss distribution within the subassemblies or regions of the device. The losses within a device are often defined as the average loss over a particular region, for example, the winding loss, core loss or magnet loss. However, such a loss definition might not yield the required fidelity or resolution, particularly if localised power loss such as ac winding loss is present during device operation. To account for the inhomogeneous winding loss, a more detailed loss separation is required. In this paper, the winding subassembly is subdivided into a number of sub-regions accounting for both the active length and end-winding. Three-dimensional (3D) electromagnetic and thermal analyses are employed to give insight into the effect of the loss definition on the accuracy and validity of the temperature prediction. A hardware exemplar representative of a single-layer open-slot stator/winding subassembly has been selected for the analysis. The results suggests that detailed loss separation provides improved accuracy of the temperature predictions and hotspots identification when compared with the more common averaged loss definition. The theoretical findings have been validated with experimental data showing close correlation.
Price definition in the establishment of electronic contracts for web services

The large amount of information in electronic contracts hampers their establishment due to high complexity. An approach inspired in software product line and based on feature modeling was proposed to make this process more systematic through information reuse and structuring. To allow the coverage assessment of this and other similar approaches, this paper presents a set of requirements that should be met by an approach in order to obtain success in supporting the process of Web services negotiation and contracting. By assessing the feature-based approach in relation to the proposed requirements, it was showed that the approach does not allow the price of services and of quality of services (QoS) attributes to be considered in the negotiation and included in the electronic contract. Thus, this paper also presents an extension of such approach in which prices and price types associated to Web services and QoS levels are applied. An extended toolkit prototype is also presented as well as an experimentation example of the proposed approach.
Low serum pepsinogen I and pepsinogen I/II ratio and Helicobacter pylori infection are associated with increased risk of gastric cancer: 14‐year follow up result in a rural Chinese community

The correlation between low serum PG level and H. pylori infection with the development of gastric cancer has caused considerable concerns all over the world. Some authors exclaimed that gastric cancer developed only in patients infected with H. pylori, whereas the other had different findings. In this study, 1,501 adult local residents with determined serum PG levels and anti H. pylori IgG status were followed for 14 years for the development of gastric cancer in a rural community with high risk of gastric cancer in Hebei Province, China. The results showed the accumulated gastric cancer incidence in the subjects with abnormal PG level and those with H. pylori infection were all significantly higher than that in the corresponding normal controls (53.9‰ vs. 12.7‰, p < 0.05 and 23.1‰ vs. 5.93‰, p < 0.05). The highest gastric cancer incidence was seen in the subjects with both abnormal serum PG and positive H. pylori (56.0‰), and followed by the subjects with abnormal PG and negative H. pylori (47.6‰) and those with normal serum PG and positive H. pylori (18.4‰). The abnormal serum PG level (OR 3.029) and H. pylori infection (OR 4.345) were all risk factors for the development of gastric cancer. The results suggested that the subjects with abnormal serum PG level and/or positive H. pylori infection in the rural area of China were all high risk population for gastric carcinoma and the subjects with both abnormal serum PG and positive H. pylori infection were at especially high risk for the development of gastric carcinoma.
Investigation of Absolute Light Output Measurement Techniques

The recently published works on new measurement techniques of the scintillators' absolute light yield triggered our response in the attempt to find out a way to resolve the disagreements between the old, established technique and the emerging, new one. Authors of the new approach argue that the conditions in which the photomultipliers photocathodes quantum efficiencies' characteristics are being determined differ substantially from those present in assembled scintillation detectors. The suggested changes, such as resignation from applying an optical coupling, however, seem to overestimate the impact of some factors on derived absolute light yield. A series of measurements of BGO, CsI(Tl), NaI(Tl), LaCl3, and LaBr3 crystals of various sizes were performed in order to verify the credibility of the new method's assumptions. The results seem to support the approved and broadly applied technique.
Synthesis and Biological Activity of Some New Flavone Derivatives

Summary In this study, a new series of 2-{4-[substituted benzylamino-methyl)-phenyl]-4H-benzopyrane-4-one (IVa-e) and N-substituted benzyl-N-[4-(4-oxo-4H-benzopyrane-2-yl)benzyl]-3-phenyl-acrylamide (Va-e) derivatives was synthesized and the results of their biological activity are reported. The synthesized compounds were tested for their in vitro antifungal and antibacterial activities. Compound IVa showed the best antifungal activity compared with miconazole (CAS 22916-47-8). Compound IVe indicated the same antibacterial activity compared with the control drug ampicillin (CAS 69-53-4).
An axial velocity estimator for ultrasound blood flow imaging, based on a full evaluation of the Doppler equation by means of a two-dimensional autocorrelation approach

This paper introduces a new velocity estimator, referred to as the 2D autocorrelator, which differs from conventional Doppler techniques in two respects: the derivation of axial velocity values by evaluating the Doppler equation using explicit estimates of both the mean Doppler and the mean RF frequency at each range gate location; and, the 2D nature (depth samples versus pulse transmissions) of processing within the range gate. The estimator's output can be calculated by evaluating the 2D autocorrelation function of the demodulated (baseband) backscattered echoes at two lags. A full derivation and mathematical description of the estimator is presented, based on the framework of the 2D Fourier transform. The same framework is adopted to analyze two other established velocity estimators (the conventional 1D autocorrelator and the crosscorrelator) in a unifying manner, and theoretical arguments as well as experimental results are used to highlight the common aspects of all three estimators. In addition, a thorough performance evaluation is carried out by means of extensive simulations, which document the effect of a number of factors (velocity spread, range gate length, ensemble length, noise level, transmitted bandwidth) and provide an insight into the optimum parameters and trade-offs associated with individual algorithms. Overall, the 2D autocorrelator is shown to offer the best performance in the context of the specific simulation conditions considered here. Its superiority over the crosscorrelator is restricted to cases of low signal-to-noise ratios. However, the 2D autocorrelator always outperforms the conventional 1D autocorrelator by a significant margin. These comparisons, when linked to the computational requirements of the proposed estimator, suggest that it combines the generally higher performance of 2D broadband time-domain techniques with the relatively modest complexity of 1D narrowband phase-domain velocity estimators. <<ETX>>
Green fluorescent protein in Saccharomyces cerevisiae: real-time studies of the GAL1 promoter.

Green fluorescent protein (GFP) was used to study the regulation of the galactose-inducible GAL1 promoter in yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains. GFP was cloned into the pGAL110 vector and transformed into the yeast strains. Time course studies comparing culture fluorescence intensity and GFP concentration were conducted along with on-line monitoring of GFP expression. Our results demonstrated that GFP fluorescence could be used as a quantifiable on-line reporter gene in yeast strains. The effect of an integrated GAL10p-GAL4 transcription cassette was investigated. Induction time studies showed that there was no significant difference in GFP expression level by adding galactose at different culture times. A wide range of galactose concentrations was used to study the initial galactose concentration effect on GFP expression kinetics. A minimum of 0.05 g/L galactose doubled the GFP fluorescence signal as compared to the control, whereas 0.1 g/L gave the highest specific GFP yield. A simple analytical model was proposed to describe GFP expression kinetics based on the experimental results. In addition, this GFP-based approach was shown to have potential use for high-throughput studies. The use of GFP as a generic tool provided important insights to the GAL expression system and has great potential for further process optimization applications.
Roles of negative emotions in customers’ perceived helpfulness of hotel reviews on a user-generated review website: A text mining approach

Purpose This paper aims to explore how emotional expressions embedded in online hotel reviews influence consumers’ helpfulness perceptions. In particular, this study develops and tests hypotheses analyzing empirical data with a text-mining method in the context of hotels to investigate how review valence influences the perceived helpfulness of online hotel reviews and to examine the role of negative emotional expressions embedded in online consumer reviews with respect to perceived helpfulness. Design/methodology/approach This study collected 520,668 online reviews involving 488 hotels in New York City (NYC) on Tripadvisor.com. Of these reviews, 69,202 reviews (13.29 per cent) that had received helpfulness votes were analyzed by a text mining method and negative binomial regression. Findings This study demonstrates that negative reviews are considered more helpful than positive reviews when potential customers read online hotel reviews for their future stay. However, when intensively negative emotions were expressed, the degree of helpfulness regarding negative reviews was diminished. Originality/value While emotional expressions prevail in online consumer reviews, surprisingly little attention has been devoted to the consequences of emotional expressions in consumers’ information processing and decision-making. Due to the nature of service, given the inseparability of production and consumption, which often hinders the execution of flawless service, consumers tend to be more dependent on reviews to minimize any potential failures they may encounter later on. Therefore, this study fills a gap by demonstrating that negative reviews and emotional expressions play a more crucial role in consumers’ information processing and decision-making.
In Vitro Quantified Determination of β-Amyloid 42 Peptides, a Biomarker of Neuro-Degenerative Disorders, in PBS and Human Serum Using a Simple, Cost-Effective Thin Gold Film Biosensor

A simple in vitro biosensor for the detection of β-amyloid 42 in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) and undiluted human serum was fabricated and tested based on our platform sensor technology. The bio-recognition mechanism of this biosensor was based on the effect of the interaction between antibody and antigen of β-amyloid 42 to the redox couple probe of K4Fe(CN)6 and K3Fe(CN)6. Differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) served as the transduction mechanism measuring the current output derived from the redox coupling reaction. The biosensor was a three-electrode electrochemical system, and the working and counter electrodes were 50 nm thin gold film deposited by a sputtering technique. The reference electrode was a thick-film printed Ag/AgCl electrode. Laser ablation technique was used to define the size and structure of the biosensor. Cost-effective roll-to-roll manufacturing process was employed in the fabrication of the biosensor, making it simple and relatively inexpensive. Self-assembled monolayers (SAM) of 3-Mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) was employed to covalently immobilize the thiol group on the gold working electrode. A carbodiimide conjugation approach using N-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-N′-ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC) and N–hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) was undertaken for cross-linking antibody of β-amyloid 42 to the carboxylic groups on one end of the MPA. The antibody concentration of β-amyloid 42 used was 18.75 µg/mL. The concentration range of β-amyloid 42 in this study was from 0.0675 µg/mL to 0.5 µg/mL for both PBS and undiluted human serum. DPV measurements showed excellent response in this antigen concentration range. Interference study of this biosensor was carried out in the presence of Tau protein antigen. Excellent specificity of this β-amyloid 42 biosensor was demonstrated without interference from other species, such as T-tau protein.
Iterative Learning Controller With Multiple Phase-Lead Compensation for Dual-Mode Flyback Inverter

This paper proposes an iterative learning control (ILC) scheme for a dual-mode flyback inverter operating in both discontinuous conduction mode (DCM) and continuous conduction mode (CCM). In dealing with more than 200-W power applications, the dual-mode flyback inverter takes advantage of both DCM and CCM operations. However, it is difficult to control the output current because the system gain is quite low in DCM and the system transfer function has a right-half plane zero in CCM. To overcome the problems occurring in DCM and CCM operations, we propose an ILC scheme with multiple phase-lead compensation. The ILC is proposed to achieve accurate reference tracking and to reject periodic disturbances. The multiple phase-lead compensation technique is then employed to compensate for the effect of different system dynamics. As a theoretical result, we derive the asymptotic stability of the closed-loop system. We also performed the numerical simulations and experimental tests to validate the proposed control approach.
Semliki Forest virus vectors with mutations in the nonstructural protein 2 gene permit extended superinfection of neuronal and non-neuronal cells

Semliki Forest virus (SFV) vectors are widely used in neurobiological studies because they efficiently infect neurons. As with any viral vector, they possess a limited cloning capacity, so infection with different SFV vectors may be required to introduce multiple transgenes into individual cells. However, this approach is limited by superinfection exclusion. The authors examined marker expression in baby hamster kidney cells, mouse cortical neurons, and rat hippocampal neurons using different fluorophore-encoding vectors that are based on the wild-type SFV4 strain and on the less cytopathic SFV4(PD) mutant, which carries two point mutations in nonstructural protein 2. For every fluorophore tested, SFV4(PD) gave higher (up to 22-fold) expression compared to SFV4. In infections using two and three different vectors, SFV4 caused relatively few multifluorescent baby hamster kidney cells when applied at 0-s, 15-min, or 2-h intervals. In contrast, SFV4(PD) permitted significantly enhanced marker coexpression, resulting in 46% doubly and 21% triply fluorescent baby hamster kidney cells, and 67% to 78% doubly fluorescent cortical and hippocampal neurons. At 15-min or 2-h addition intervals, SFV4(PD) still permitted 23% to 36% doubly fluorescent baby hamster kidney cells. The increased efficiency of SFV4(PD) in coexpressing separate markers from different viral particles suggests that mutations in nonstructural protein 2 affect alphaviral superinfection exclusion. The results demonstrate that SFV4(PD) is well-suited to coexpress multiple proteins in neuronal and non-neuronal cells. This capability is particularly valuable to express the various components of heteromeric protein complexes, especially when the individual cDNAs cannot be combined into single SFV particles.