Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Physical and biochemical properties of Yanang juice mixed with longan flower-honey following high pressure processing.

This study investigated the effects of high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) at 400-600 MPa/25 and 50°C/20 min on physicochemical qualities and bioactive compounds retention in Yanang juice mixed with 10% (v/v) longan flower-honey. The results showed that the parameter (brightness) significantly increased in pressurized juices when compared to fresh juice, while the greenness (-a*) of all processed juices slightly decreased, in particular pressurized batches at 50°C. There was no significant difference in the pH values of fresh and pressurized juices. The levels of ascorbic acid and antioxidant capacity (DPPH and FRAP assays) decreased according to treatment severities, particularly the juices processed at milder-temperatures. The highest retention of total phenols and flavonoids was found in HHP treated juices at 600 MPa. This study also demonstrated that pressure could inactivate the indicator microorganisms including total plate counts, yeasts-moulds and fecal coliforms to levels conforming to the Thai Community Product Standard for Yanang juice.
ADAPTACION DEL METODO BLIGH & DYER A LA EXTRACCION DE LIPIDOS DE MICROALGAS NATIVAS PARA LA PRODUCCION DE BIODIESEL

En la cadena de produccion de biodiesel a partir de microalgas, las etapas de disrupcion celular y extraccion de lipidos son importantes para la obtencion de trigliceridos que pueden ser transesterificados a biodiesel y glicerina. En este trabajo se adapto el metodo Bligh & Dyer para la extraccion de lipidos de microalgas nativas aplicando conjuntamente mecanismos de disrupcion celular para favorecer el proceso de extraccion. Las especies de microalgas empleadas en la parte experimental de este estudio fueron: Botryococcus braunii, Nannocloropsis, Closterium, Guinardia y Amphiprora. El metodo Bligh & Dyer emplea cloroformo, metanol y agua como solventes y contempla las etapas de agitacion, centrifugacion, filtracion, y destilacion. La adaptacion del metodo consistio en determinar: la relacion biomasa/solvente, el efecto de agregar agua en la primera parte de la agitacion y las mejores condiciones de agitacion (tiempo [min] y frecuencia [rpm]). Se encontro que las mejores condiciones del metodo Bligh & Dyer a la extraccion de lipidos de microalgas nativas fueron: relacion biomasa/solvente 1:20, no agregar agua en la primera parte de la agitacion, agitar a 5000 rpm durante 14 minutos y centrifugar a 3400 rpm durante 15 minutos. Los mecanismos de disrupcion celular aplicados fueron: Hidrolisis acida y pretratamiento organosolv. Estos metodos de disrupcion celular permitieron obtener extractos lipidicos mas ricos en lipidos luego de realizar la extraccion con el metodo Bligh & Dyer, pero desfavorecieron significativamente los porcentajes totales de extraccion. Finalmente se identificaron los acidos grasos presentes en los extractos lipidicos empleando cromatografia de gases a cargo del Instituto Colombiano del Petroleo ICP-ECOPETROL. Este trabajo fue realizado por la Universidad Industrial de Santander dentro del desarrollo del proyecto ? Bioprospeccion de microalgas colombianas para la produccion de biodiesel? codigo 2008D32006-6710, financiado por el Ministerio de Agricultura y Desarrollo Rural, en cooperacion con el Instituto Colombiano del Petroleo ICP-ECOPETROL y la Corporacion Instituto Morrosquillo.
Panel discussion: can there be a biomarker for sleepiness?

Dr. Quan: It appears to me that there are two issues to consider when discussing the possibility for a biomarker for sleepiness. In one scenario, we are looking for something that will identify people who have an increase in sleep propensity. I'll just use that word, so that we can recognize that they are at risk for doing something dangerous. In the other scenario, we are looking for a biomarker that is associated with chronically-reduced sleep and then we associate that with some abnormality in their metabolic or their physiologic function, which can have implications for their personal health. I would like to ask the people on the panel if they think that this is a reasonable dichotomy, or if they think that perhaps there is something else we should be looking at?
Cogging torque reduction in interior permanent magnet brushless dc motor with flux-concentration type rotor

An improved pole arc combination method to minimize the cogging torque in the interior permanent magnet brushless dc motor with flux-concentration type rotor is presented. Due to the magnetic saturation and relative complex structure, the cogging torque in interior permanent magnet brushless machines is more complicated than that in the surface permanent magnet brushless machines. Pole arc combination method offers a better alternative for cogging torque reduction in the interior permanent magnet brushless machines from the point of view of cost and convenience. Based on the mathematical analysis of the resultant cogging torque, the relationship between the pole arc widths for combination is found. To overcome the drawback of the existing pole arc combination method, an improved method is presented. Using the finite element method and a comparison program, the optimal pole arc widths for combination are searched out, and considerable reduction of the cogging torque is obtained. Superposition technique is adopted to validate the feasibility of the proposed method.
The interpersonal expression of perfection: perfectionistic self-presentation and psychological distress.

A concept involving the interpersonal expression of perfection, perfectionistic self-presentation, is introduced. It is argued that perfectionistic self-presentation is a maladaptive self-presentational style composed of three facets: perfectionistic self-promotion (i.e., proclaiming and displaying one's perfection), nondisplay of imperfection (i.e., concealing and avoiding behavioral demonstrations of one's imperfection), and nondisclosure of imperfection (i.e., evading and avoiding verbal admissions of one's imperfection). Several studies involving diverse samples demonstrate that perfectionistic self-presentation is a valid and reliable construct and a consistent factor in personal and interpersonal psychological distress. It is argued that the need to promote one's perfection or the desire to conceal one's imperfection involves self-esteem regulation in the interpersonal context.
A comparison of different machine learning algorithms for automatic classification of sonar targets

A well-known problem with modern anti-submarine warfare sonars with narrow beamwidths and wide frequency bandwidths, is the frequent occurence of false alarms, particularly in littoral environments. This increases the workload of sonar operators and also reduces the usefulness of automatic systems such as autonomous underwater vehicles, since their limited communication abilities hinder them from sharing large amounts of contacts. In this paper, four traditional machine learning algorithms are tested on sonar data with a high amount of false alarms together with synthetic submarine echoes. It is shown that some of the algorithms can outperform simple signal to noise ratio (SNR) thresholding by a significant amount, but that the performance is highly dependent on the parameter values chosen for each algorithm. These parameters are therefore investigated in order to determine their relative significance.
On kinematic constraint in microplane theory

It is shown that the microplane formulation based on the volumetric-deviatoric split (VD split) possesses the property of losing macro information during the transition from macro to micro level, i.e. during the projection of macroscopic strain components on microplanes with various orientations. However, it is also argued that the kinematic constraint principle including microplane lateral strains preserves all the information related to the macroscopic strain tensor.
Quick and simultaneous estimation of available bandwidth and effective UDP throughput for real-time communication

We propose a method, called PathQuick2, for quickly and simultaneously estimating both of the available bandwidth that is unused capacity of an end-to-end path and the effective UDP throughput that is the receiving rate of an UDP flow which can pass through the path, with a single measurement. In PathQuick2, a sender transmits a probing packet train (i.e., a set of multiple probing packets) that each packet is placed at an equal time interval, and each packet size increases as the packet sequence proceeds. A receiver produces the estimated available bandwidth and the estimated effective UDP throughput at the same time from the single packet train. To this end, the receiver detects a packet at which the observed time intervals begin increasing, and the per-packet receiving rate becomes the estimated available bandwidth. Then, the receiver detects a packet at which the observed per-packet receiving rates stop increasing even if the packet sequence proceeds, and the per-packet receiving rate becomes the estimated effective UDP throughput. Our evaluation of PathQuick2 has shown that its estimation duration is only 182 ms, and its probing load is about 90 kB which is more than 160 times as light as a direct measurement of effective UDP throughput. PathQuick2 can provide two useful metrics for real-time communication applications such as video chat and video conferencing; the available bandwidth indicates an upper limit of video sending rate which enables stable video communication without packet loss, and the effective UDP throughput indicates an upper limit of video receiving rate that can pass through an end-to-end path, with a given video sending rate.
The role of footprints in the management of clubfeet.

Management of clubfoot, in spite of advances, may still present the expert with problems since no definite criteria has been established by which one can predict the outcome of the treatment. The age of the child when treatment is started, history of previous treatment, type of clubfoot (idopathic, myogenic neurogenic or osteogenic), degree of deformity (grade I, 11, III),I flexibility of the foot (supple or rigid), development and rotation of the heel and tests for the muscular coordination etc. are probably the only clinical parameters for the surgeon to start and plan the treatment as well as predict the prognosis (both in terms of necessity of performing operation and total end result of the treatment). The aim of this paper is to describe a simple method of determining the progress of clubfoot patients by analyzing their serial footprints. As it is a preliminary report, only cases of congenital idiopathic talipes equinovarus (C.T.E.V.) of infancy and childhood are being communicated. This method was employed for the first time in 22 patients of C.T. E.V. offering 32 feet with encouraging results.
Liveness Detection using Gaze

This paper presents a liveness detection method based on tracking the gaze of the user of a face recognition system using a single camera. The user is required to follow a visual animation of a moving object on a display screen while his/her gaze is measured. The visual stimulus is designed to direct the gaze of the user to sets of collinear points on the screen. Features based on the measured collinearity of the observed gaze are then used to discriminate between live attempts at responding to this challenge and those conducted by “impostors” holding photographs and attempting to follow the stimulus. An initial set of experiments is reported that indicates the effectiveness of the proposed method in detecting this class of spoofing attacks
Prevention of gallstone formation in morbidly obese patients undergoing rapid weight loss: results of a randomized controlled pilot study.

INTRODUCTION An increased risk of gallstone (GS) formation has been linked to obesity and to episodes of rapid and significant weight loss. Previous reports have suggested that bile salt therapy (ursodeoxycholic acid) or prostaglandin inhibition (ibuprofen) may prevent gallstone formation in this high-risk group. The purpose of this study was to investigate GS prevention following bariatric surgery. DESIGN Randomized double blind controlled trial. METHODS Sixty patients without gallstones preoperatively (gender, 9 male, 51 female; average preop wt, 349.6 lb; mean age, 38 years) were randomly assigned to receive urso (600 mg/day, n = 20), ibuprofen (600 mg/d, n = 20), or placebo (n = 20). At the time of standard open gastric bypass, intraoperative ultrasonography confirmed the absence of stones or microcalculi, and bile samples were collected via puncture of the gallbladder for bile lipid analysis. Following recovery and resumption of a bariatric diet, study medication was prescribed for the first 6 months postop. Gallbladder emptying and GS formation were assessed using ultrasonograms preop and at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months postop (gallbladder emptying following a high-fat liquid test meal was assessed preop, and at 3 and 6 months postop). RESULTS Forty-one (68.3%, 8 male, 33 female) of the original 60 patients completed all phases of the study (15 urso, 15 ibuprofen, 11 placebo). The average weight loss was 98.5 +/- 7.2 lb over the 12-month period following bariatric surgery. Twenty-nine (71%) of 41 patients who completed the study developed GS. Of those who formed stones, 12 (41%) developed symptomatic GS and 8/12 (67%) underwent cholecystectomy (4 refused operation). Preoperative gallbladder emptying studies showed no differences in emptying between groups (urso 29%, ibuprofen 32%, and placebo 30%). There was no correlation found between the cholesterol saturation index (CSI mean 205.15, range 67-360) and the incidence of GS. There was a statistical difference (P < 0.01) between the ursodeoxycholic acid group and the ibuprofen group with respect to the incidence of stone formation. There was correlation between weight loss (mean 99 lb, range 21-278 lb) and GS formation, in that patients who lost more weight had a greater tendency to form gallstones. Complete medical compliance was achieved in only 17/60 (28%) of patients originally enrolled. CONCLUSIONS This pilot study confirms the high incidence of gallstone formation (71% of assessed patients) associated with rapid weight loss in patients undergoing gastric bypass. Despite active enrollment in a supervised prevention trial, the two therapies investigated to reduce gallstone formation were not efficacious, likely because compliance with medical therapy was poor. These findings highlight the significant risk of gallstone formation in this patient cohort even when prevention strategies are utilized.
Wavelet analysis of human photoreceptoral response

Feature detection of biomedical signals is crucial for deepening our knowledge of the physiological phenomena giving rise to them. To achieve this aim, even if many analytic approaches have been suggested only few are able to deal with signals whose features are time dependent, and to provide useful clinical information. In this work we use the wavelet analysis to extract peculiarities of the early response of the photoreceptoral human system, known as a-wave ERG-component. The analysis of the a-wave features is important since this component reflects the functional integrity of the two populations of photoreceptors, rods and cones whose activation dynamics are not well known. Moreover, in incipient photoreceptoral pathologies the eventual anomalies in a-wave are not always detectable with a naked eye analysis of the traces. We here propose the possibility to discriminate the pathologic from the healthy traces throughout the differentiation of their time-frequency characteristics, revealed by the wavelet analysis. The investigated pathologies are the Achromatopsia, a cone disease and the Congenital Stationary Night Blindness, a rod trouble. The results show that the number of stable frequencies present and their times of occurrence are indicative of the status of the retinal photoreceptors. In particular, in the pathological cases, the frequency components shift toward lower values and change their times of occurrence, with respect to healthy traces.
Simulation moléculaire : Problèmes dynamiques et hors d'équilibre

L'objectif de la simulation moleculaire est de comprendre et predire les proprietes macroscopiques des materiaux a partir de leur description a l'echelle microscopique. Ce memoire presente quelques contributions a ce sujet, pour des modeles de la physique statistique et de la physique quantique. Mes travaux en physique statistique numerique peuvent etre classes en deux categories : le calcul de proprietes d'equilibre, l'accent etant porte sur le calcul de differences d'energie libre (chapitre 2), et l'etude de dynamiques hors d'equilibre en regime permanent pour le calcul de proprietes de transport (chapitre 3). Dans les deux cas, les methodes numeriques reposent sur des dynamiques hors d'equilibre ou nonlineaires, la distinction entre ces classes de methodes provenant du fait que l'etat invariant du systeme est soit un etat d'equilibre (eventuellement, a une correction pres) ou un etat hors d'equilibre. Le chapitre 4 presente quelques resultats pour des dynamiques quantiques : fictives, comme pour la transition adiabatique d'etats degeneres ; ou authentiques, comme pour l'evolution en temps des defauts locaux dans les cristaux.
Cleavage of a C-terminal Peptide Is Essential for Heptamerization of Clostridium perfringens ε-Toxin in the Synaptosomal Membrane*

Activation of Clostridium perfringens ε-protoxin by tryptic digestion is accompanied by removal of the 13 N-terminal and 22 C-terminal amino acid residues. In this study, we examined the toxicity of four constructs: an ε-protoxin derivative (PD), in which a factor Xa cleavage site was generated at the C-terminal trypsin-sensitive site; PD without the 13 N-terminal residues (ΔN-PD); PD without the 23 C-terminal residues (ΔC-PD); and PD without either the N- or C-terminal residues (ΔNC-PD). A mouse lethality test showed that ΔN-PD was inactive, as is PD, whereas ΔC-PD and ΔNC-PD were equally active. ΔC-PD and ΔNC-PD, but not the other constructs formed a large SDS-resistant complex in rat synaptosomal membranes as demonstrated by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. When ΔNC-PD and ΔC-PD, both labeled with 32P and mixed in various ratios, were incubated with membranes, eight distinct high molecular weight bands corresponding to six heteropolymers and two homopolymers were detected on a SDS-polyacrylamide gel, indicating the active toxin forms a heptameric complex. These results indicate that C-terminal processing is responsible for activation of the toxin and that it is essential for its heptamerization within the membrane.
Different patterns of receptor‐activated cytoplasmic Ca2+ oscillations in single pancreatic acinar cells: dependence on receptor type, agonist concentration and intracellular Ca2+ buffering.

Agonist‐specific cytosolic Ca2+ oscillation patterns can be observed in individual cells and these have been explained by the co‐existence of separate oscillatory mechanisms. In pancreatic acinar cells activation of muscarinic receptors typically evokes sinusoidal oscillations whereas stimulation of cholecystokinin (CCK) receptors evokes transient oscillations consisting of Ca2+ waves with long intervals between them. We have monitored changes in the cytosolic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) by measuring Ca2(+)‐activated Cl‐ currents in single internally perfused mouse pancreatic acinar cells. With minimal intracellular Ca2+ buffering we found that low concentrations of both ACh (50 nM) and CCK (10 pM) evoked repetitive short‐lasting Ca2+ spikes of the same duration and frequency, but the probability of a spike being followed by a longer and larger Ca2+ wave was low for ACh and high for CCK. The probability that the receptor‐evoked shortlasting Ca2+ spikes would initiate more substantial Ca2+ waves was dramatically increased by intracellular perfusion with solutions containing high concentrations of the mobile low affinity Ca2+ buffers citrate (10–40 mM) or ATP (10–20 mM). The different Ca2+ oscillation patterns normally induced by ACh and CCK would therefore appear not to be caused by separate mechanisms. We propose that specific receptor‐controlled modulation of Ca2+ signal spreading, either by regulation of Ca2+ uptake into organelles and/or cellular Ca2+ extrusion, or by changing the sensitivity of the Ca2(+)‐induced Ca2+ release mechanism, can be mimicked experimentally by different degrees of cytosolic Ca2+ buffering and can account for the various cytosolic Ca2+ spike patterns.
Non‐invasive in situ monitoring and quantification of TOL plasmid segregational loss within Pseudomonas putida biofilms

Methods for the detection of plasmid loss in natural environments have typically relied on replica plating, selective markers and PCR. However, these traditional methods have the limitations of low sensitivity, underestimation of specific cell populations, and lack of insightful data for non‐homogeneous environments. We have developed a non‐invasive microscopic analytical method to quantify local plasmid segregational loss from a bacterial population within a developing biofilm. The probability of plasmid segregational loss in planktonic and biofilm cultures of Pseudomonas putida carrying the TOL plasmid (pWWO::gfpmut3b) was determined directly in situ, in the absence of any applied selection pressure. Compared to suspended liquid culture, we report that the biofilm mode of growth enhances plasmid segregational loss. Results based on a biofilm‐averaged analysis reveal that the probability of plasmid loss in biofilm cultures (0.016 ± 0.004) was significantly greater than that determined in planktonic cultures (0.0052 ± 0.0011). Non‐invasive assessments showed that probabilities of plasmid segregational loss at different locations in a biofilm increased dramatically from 0.1% at the substratum surface to 8% at outside layers of biofilm. Results suggest that higher nutrient concentrations and subsequentially higher growth rates resulted in higher probability of plasmid segregational loss at the outer layers of the biofilm. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2013;110: 2949–2958. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
LiFePO4 battery modeling and SOC estimation algorithm

Lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) battery is widely used in electric vehicle power supply. For the estimation of lithium iron phosphate battery model and the remaining power, a new third-order RC circuit model has been designed, and the state of charge (SOC) estimation based on sampling point Kalman joint algorithm is used to estimate the remaining capacity of the proposed battery model. This algorithm not only uses improved time integration method to estimate real-time battery power, but also uses the sampling point Kalman algorithm to correct the SOC estimation error when the error accumulation of improved integration method is too large. The new third-order RC circuit model is better than the second-order RC circuit model in characterizing the battery, and the error value of the improved sampling point SOC estimation algorithm is controlled within 2%.
Developing Process Models as Summaries of HCI Action Sequences

We describe the utility of process models for summarizing the sequential actions of individuals. Such models describe why users did what they did, what information they used from the outside environment, and what knowledge they used to perform the task. These detailed explanations of users' thoughts and actions can enhance interface design by offering behavior summaries that are inspectable and transferable to new interfaces. Sequential data sets and models for human-computer interaction are often large and complex. We present a computer-supported methodology for developing these models as summaries of sequential data. We illustrate that this methodology can make building and using such models tractable by applying it to an existing model for using an on-line database.