Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sodium/Calcium Exchanger (NCX1) Macromolecular Complex*

The sodium-calcium exchanger, NCX1, is a ubiquitously expressed membrane protein essential in calcium homeostasis for many cells including those in mammalian heart and brain. The function of NCX1 depends on subcellular (“local”) factors, the phosphorylation state of NCX1, and the subcellular location of NCX1 within the cell. Here we investigate the molecular organization of NCX1 within the cardiac myocyte. We show that NCX1 is dynamically phosphorylated by protein kinase A (PKA)-dependent phosphorylation in vitro. We also provide evidence that the regulation of this phosphorylation is attributed to the existence of an NCX1 macromolecular complex. Specifically, we show that the macromolecular complex includes both the catalytic and regulatory subunits of PKA. However, only the RI regulatory subunit is found in this macromolecular complex, not RII. Other critical regulatory enzymes are also associated with NCX1, including protein kinase C (PKC) and two serine/threonine protein phosphatases, PP1 and PP2A. Importantly, the protein kinase A-anchoring protein, mAKAP, is found and its presence in the macromolecular complex suggests that these regulatory enzymes are coordinately positioned to regulate NCX1 as has been found in diverse cells for a number of channel proteins. Dual immunocytochemical staining showed the colocalization of NCX1 protein with mAKAP and PKA-RI proteins in cardiomyocytes. Finally, leucine/isoleucine zipper motifs have been identified as possible sites of interaction. Our finding of an NCX1 macromolecular complex in heart suggests how NCX1 regulation is achieved in heart and other cells. The existence of the NCX1 macromolecular complex may also provide an explanation for recent controversial findings.
Parameters Estimation of Goel ’ s Okumotu Model using Simulated Annealing

Goel’s Okomtou model is based on the Exponential model and simple non-homogeneous Poisson process (NHPP) model. Some optimization technique has been discussed which can be used to optimize the Goel’s Okomtou models. Simulated Annealing (SA) is a heuristic optimization modelling technique that can been applied to solve many difficult problems in the various fields such as scheduling, modelling etc. PSO (Particle Swarm Optimization) and ACO (Ant Colony Optimization) algorithms are explored to estimate Software reliability Growth model (SRGM) parameters. These algorithms were used to handle the modelling problems for the Power model, the Delayed S-Shaped model and the Exponential model. The optimized result to estimate the parameters using Simulated Annealing (SA) algorithm are better as compared to other techniques.
Multimodal Biometric System Based on Fingerprint Identification and Iris Recognition

Mono modal biometric systems encounter a variety of security problems and present sometimes unacceptable error rates. Some of these drawbacks can be overcome by setting up multimodal biometric systems. Multimodal biometrics consists in combining two or more biometric modalities in a single identification system to improve the recognition accuracy. However features of different biometrics have to be statistically independent. This paper proposes a multimodal biometric systems using fingerprint and iris recognition.
Can Context Sequence Matching Be Used for XML Querying ?

We describe a matching algorithm for terms built over flexible arity function symbols and context, function, sequence, and individual variables. The algorithm is called a context sequence matching algorithm. Context variables allow matching to descend in term-trees to arbitrary depth. Sequence variables allow matching to move in term-trees in arbitrary breadth. The ability to explore terms in two orthogonal directions in a uniform way may be useful for querying data available as a large term, like XML documents. We extend the algorithm to process regular constraints and discuss its possible application in XML querying.
Positive adjustment to first grade despite divorce: Lessons for school psychologists

Positive adjustment to first grade is an important milestone in children’s lives. Yet, it is sometimes further complicated by additional challenges such as parental divorce. Drawing on a social ecological perspective we explored how the systems rooted in social ecologies enable children’s resilience when their parents are divorced so as to result in their coping well with adjusting to first grade. We used a single instrumental case study that involved visual methodologies to uncover lessons from the story of a first grader whose parents divorced but who continued to adjust well to first grade. Our findings suggest leverage points for school psychologists (SPs) who wish to champion the resilience of first graders who are adjusting to formal school as well as their parents’ divorce. SPs can intervene by supporting the first grader’s processes of agency and meaning making; by working systemically to engage systems of support; and by mobilizing systems with task-sharing.
Perceptions of HIV testing venues among men who have sex with men in London and the Midlands, United Kingdom

Abstract Undiagnosed HIV and late HIV diagnosis increase the risk of poor disease prognosis in infected individuals and of onward HIV transmission. It is vital to encourage regular HIV testing among men who have sex with men (MSM), a group disproportionately affected by HIV. A sample of 18 MSM from London and the East Midlands in England were interviewed regarding their perceptions of testing in the following three contexts: genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinics, community settings, and at home using a self-testing kit. The data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Perceived stigma from health care professionals, fear of being seen by significant others, and delays in being attended to were seen as barriers to testing in GUM clinics. While community settings were viewed as more accepting of sexual identity, concerns around homophobia and HIV stigma impeded access to testing for some individuals. HIV self-testing alleviated confidentiality concerns, but interviewees doubted the accuracy of the test results and worried about the lack of social support in the event of a reactive test result. Recommendations are offered for improving the acceptability of HIV testing in these contexts.
Sensor-based Global Planning for Mobile Manipulators Navigation using Voronoi Diagram and Fast Marching

Mobile Manipulators are special cases of mobile robots that need a careful consideration when planning their motion. Due to their higher and changing centre of gravity caused by the position of the manipulator and its configuration, abrupt motion or change of direction can have dangerous consequences and the toppling of the whole mobile manipulator. Therefore, the motion planning process has to produce smooth and safe trajectories. Since the 1980’s mobile robot motion planning problems have been an important research topic that has attracted the attention of many researchers who worked extensively to obtain efficient methods to solve these problems. Such problems have been approached in two general ways: one approach has concentrated on solving motion planning problems by considering a previously known global environment or obstacles information and robot characteristics; the second approach has focused on planning motions by using local sensor information and robot characteristics. The first approach has been used extensively at a global planning level in robotics to plan trajectories from one environment location to another. This plan functions under the assumption of a perfectly controlled and modelled environment that in most situations does not exist. Unexpected obstacles, persons or moving elements make this approach difficult to utilize except in robustly controlled environments, such as in industrial manipulation environments (manufacturing). The second approach became evident in mobile robotics from the very beginning. A mobile robot’s environment presents unexpected objects which makes it impossible to use the first approach exclusively. The second approach produces local plans by using local sensor information to avoid obstacles. Obviously a local plan is a solution for a local scale problem and needs to be integrated with a global planner or with global information to guarantee the existence of a solution to the global problem. This method received different names such as collision avoidance methods, local planners, and navigation methods. To navigate in complex environments, an autonomous mobile robot needs to reach a compromise between the need for reacting to unexpected events and the need for efficient and optimized trajectories. Usually, path planning methods work in two steps: in the first
Lipid mapping in human dystrophic muscle by cluster-time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry imaging Published, JLR Papers in Press, November 17, 2007.

Human striated muscle samples, from male control and Duchenne muscular dystrophy-affected children, were subjected to cluster-time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (cluster-ToF-SIMS) imaging using a 25 keV Bi3+ liquid metal ion gun under static SIMS conditions. Spectra and ion density maps, or secondary ion images, were acquired in both positive and negative ion mode over several areas of 500 × 500 μm2 (image resolution, 256 × 256 pixels). Characteristic distributions of various lipids were observed. Vitamin E and phosphatidylinositols were found to concentrate within the cells, whereas intact phosphocholines accumulated over the most damaged areas of the dystrophic muscles, together with cholesterol and sphingomyelin species. Fatty acyl chain composition varied depending on the region, allowing estimation of the local damage extent.
De Novo Assembly and Characterization of Oryza officinalis Leaf Transcriptome by Using RNA-Seq

Although endeavors have been made to identify useful wild rice genes that can be used to improve cultivated rice, the virtual reservoir of genetic variation hidden within the wild relatives of cultivated rice is largely untapped. Here, using next-generation sequencing technology, we investigated the leaf transcriptome of a wild rice O. officinalis with CC genome. Approximately 23 million reads were produced in the species leaf transcriptome analysis and de novo assembly methods constructed 68,132 unigenes. Functional annotations for the unigenes were conducted using sequence similarity comparisons against the following databases: the nonredundant nucleotide database, the nonredundant protein database, the SWISS-PROT database, the Clusters of Orthologous Groups of proteins database, the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes database, the Gene Ontology Consortium database, and the InterPro domains database. In addition, a total of 476 unigenes related to disease resistance were identified in O. officinalis, and these unigenes can serve as important genetic resources for cultivated rice breeding and quality improvement. The present study broadens our understanding of the genetic background of non-AA genomic wild rice species and it also provides a bridge to extend studies to other Oryza species with CC genomes.
Effectiveness of web search results for genre and sentiment classification

The motivation of this study is to enhance general topical search with a sentiment-based one where the search results (snippets) returned by the web search engine are clustered by sentiment categories. Firstly we developed an automatic method to identify product review documents using the snippets (summary information that includes the URL, title, and summary text), which is genre classification. Then the identified snippets were automatically classified into positive (recommended) and negative (non-recommended) documents, which is sentiment classification. Thereafter the user may directly decide to access the positive or negative review documents. In this study we used only the snippets rather than their original full-text documents, and applied a common machine learning technique, SVM (support vector machine), and heuristic approaches to investigate how effectively the snippets can be used for genre and sentiment classification. The results show that the web search engine should improve the quality of the snippets especially for opinionated documents (i.e. review documents).
The origins of a source: Edward Long, Coromantee slave revolts and The History of Jamaica

ABSTRACT Since the 1960s, historians of the early-modern era have been working with colonial sources to uncover the ways that Africans with connections to the Gold Coast – often known as ‘Coromantees’ in the Anglo-American colonies – shaped the history of the Atlantic World. One of the most influential primary sources used in this literature is a 32-page section of the second volume of The History of Jamaica, written by the planter-historian Edward Long in 1774. ‘The origins of a source’ uses Long’s life and works, both published and unpublished, to tell the story of this source’s creation. In doing so, it provides a detailed case study for how a prominent and controversial intellectual acquired knowledge of African culture, and then repurposed and deployed that knowledge as a tool in the abolitionist debates. It argues that the political context of abolition is essential to understanding Long’s writings on the Coromantee.
Electromyographic Activity of Rat Ankle Extensors During Treadmill Locomotion after Hindlimb Unloading

The aim of this work was to study the electromyographic characteristics of two ankle extensors during treadmill locomotion after hindlimb unloading. The studied muscles were the soleus which contains mainly slow fibres, and three parts (red, mixed and white) of the heterogeneous gastrocnemius. Our results showed that the cycle duration was significantly increased (+26%) after 14 days of unloading; the burst duration was increased in the soleus (+18%) and in the red gastrocnemius (+20%). The mean EMG (burst area divided by burst duration) was decreased when treadmill speed was increased in the soleus (-11%) and the red part (-5%) of the gastrocnemius after unloading; in contrast, it was greatly increased in the white part (+46%). These data suggest that hindlimb unloading shifts the normal speedrelated increase in muscle effort from the red to the white compartment of the muscle.
LIA system description for NIST SRE 2016

This paper describes the LIA speaker recognition system developed for the Speaker Recognition Evaluation (SRE) campaign. Eight sub-systems are developed, all based on a state-of-the-art approach: i-vector/PLDA which represents the mainstream technique in text-independent speaker recognition. These sub-systems differ: on the acoustic feature extraction front-end (MFCC, PLP), at the i-vector extraction stage (UBM, DNN or two-feats posteriors) and finally on the data-shifting (IDVC, mean-shifting). The submitted system is a fusion at the score-level of these eight sub-systems.
Maximum Margin Learning Projections for Face Recognition

This paper presents a novel dimensionality reduction algorithm called maximum margin learning projections (MMLP) for face recognition. MMLP exploits the geometrical and discriminant structures of the data points. In this way, MMLP can seek the subspace which optimally preserves the local neighborhood information of the data set and maximizes the margin between data points from different classes in each local area. Experimental results on the ORL and Yale face databases demonstrate that MMLP outperforms most of the state-of-the-art methods.
Mutations of a Redundant α-Tubulin Gene Affect Caenorhabditis elegans Early Embryonic Cleavage via MEI-1/Katanin-Dependent and -Independent Pathways

The C. elegans zygote supports both meiosis and mitosis within a common cytoplasm. The meiotic spindle is small and is located anteriorly, whereas the first mitotic spindle fills the zygote. The C. elegans microtubule-severing complex, katanin, is encoded by the mei-1 and mei-2 genes and is solely required for oocyte meiotic spindle formation; ectopic mitotic katanin activity disrupts mitotic spindles. Here we characterize two mutations that rescue the lethality caused by ectopic MEI-1/MEI-2. Both mutations are gain-of-function alleles of tba-2 α-tubulin. These tba-2 alleles do not prevent MEI-1/MEI-2 microtubule localization but do interfere with its activity. TBA-1 and TBA-2 are redundant for viability, but when katanin activity is limiting, TBA-2 is preferred over TBA-1 by katanin. This is similar to what we previously reported for the β-tubulins. Removing both preferred α- and β-isoforms results in normal development, suggesting that the katanin isoform preferences are not absolute. We conclude that while the C. elegans embryo expresses redundant α- and β-tubulin isoforms, they nevertheless have subtle functional specializations. Finally, we identified a dominant tba-2 allele that disrupts both meiotic and mitotic spindle formation independently of MEI-1/MEI-2 activity. Genetic studies suggest that this tba-2 mutation has a “poisonous” effect on microtubule function.
A Secure Architecture for Data Storage in the Cloud Environments

Due to the increasing popularity of cloud computing, data owners are motivated to upload their data of different types from local devices to the interrelated public cloud for large-scale data storage and data sharing. However, there are many security issues and challenges are associated with the storage and sharing in the public cloud. In this paper, at first, we explore security issues of the public cloud and existing solutions and establish requirements of privacy and usability. In order to solve these issues, as our principal contribution, we design an updated secure architecture which can be applied in the multi-party data sharing and computation under the public cloud environments. At last, we discuss the practical application scenarios and show our new architecture which can give comprehensive privacy guarantees, especially its better usability.
Who is Doing What and When: Social Map-Based Recommendation for Content-Centric Social Web Sites

Content-centric social Web sites, such as discussion forums and blog sites, have flourished during the past several years. These sites often contain overwhelming amounts of information that are also being updated rapidly. To help users locate their interests at such sites (e.g., interesting blogs to read or discussion forums to join), researchers have developed a number of recommendation technologies. However, it is difficult to make effective recommendations for new users (a.k.a. the cold start problem) due to a lack of user information (e.g., preferences and interests). Furthermore, the complexity of recommendation algorithms often prevents users from comprehending let alone trusting the recommended results. To tackle these above two challenges, we are building a social map-based recommender system called Pharos. A social map summarizes users’ content-related social behavior over time (e.g., reading, writing, and commenting behavior during the past week) as a set of latent communities. For a given time interval, each community is characterized by the theme of the content being discussed and the key people involved. By discovering, ranking, and displaying the most popular latent communities at different time intervals, Pharos creates a time-sensitive, visual social map of a Web site. This enables new users to obtain a quick overview of the site, alleviating the cold start problem. Furthermore, we use the social map as a context to help explain Pharos-recommended content and people. Users can also interactively explore the social map to locate the content in which they are interested or people that are not being explicitly recommended, compensating for the imperfections in the recommendation algorithms. We have developed several Pharos applications, one of which is deployed within our company. Our preliminary evaluation of the deployed application shows the usefulness of Pharos.
Behavioral biometrics for DARPA's Active Authentication program

The aim of the US Defense Advance Research Project Agency's (DARPA) Active Authentication program is the continuous authentication of users by using behavioral biometrics authentication systems, which does not depend on specific hardware or sensors. This paper presents how such a continuous authentication system would perform in an office like environment. The analysis is performed on a data set captured from 99 users over a 10 week period. Our continuous authentication system builds a behavior biometric profile of the user by observing mouse movement, keystrokes and application usage. The user is then actively matched against his profile. The goal was, as DARPA is mentioning in their Active Authentication program, “This means the system would, potentially have to falsely reject the user more than five times in a row during continuous usage over a 40 hour period to fail to meet this target. The technologies developed under this solicitation should be able to work invisibly to the user unless five false positives are reached”. The results of our study indicate that the correct user can work through a regular workday without being falsely rejected, while the incorrect user would be detected within 18 seconds using keyboard or 2.4 minutes using mouse. Application process usage results show that the incorrect user would be detected in just over 1.5 minutes.
Improved rates and coding for the MIMO two-way relay channel

The Gaussian multiple-input multiple-output two-way relay channel is considered. By applying linear pre- and post-processing, the channel matrices are transformed into triangular form having equal diagonals. Over the obtained triangular channels, dirty-paper coding is applied, yielding parallel symmetric scalar two-way relay channels; thus, reducing the coding task to that of coding over the scalar symmetric two-way relay channel. Any existing coding technique can then be readily applied over these resulting channels. This technique allows to obtain new achievable rates in the symmetric case.
Depth Analysis of Semi-Transparent Media by a Time-Correlated CMOS SPAD Line Sensor-Based Depth-Resolving Raman Spectrometer

Raman spectroscopy has proved to have potential in deep surface analytical applications. We present here, to the best of our knowledge, the first time depth analysis of semi-transparent media by a depth-resolving Raman spectrometer based on an adjustable time-correlated CMOS SPAD (single-photon avalanche diode) line sensor that can measure the depth of target samples embedded in a centimeter-scale semi-transparent medium simultaneously with a normal Raman depth profiling operation and suppress the fluorescence background by means of adjustable picosecond time gating. The variability of the depth derivation was measured to be ± 0.43 cm at depths ranging from 2 to 9 cm. In addition, the advantages of the adjustable picosecond time gating in terms of depth derivation and fluorescence background suppression performance were shown by comparing gate widths ranging from 100 ps to 13 ns. We believe that the technology concerned could pave the way for a new kind of compact, practical depth-resolving Raman spectrometer for deep subsurface analytical applications.