Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
New Insights Into the Pathogenesis of Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Transcription Factors Analysis in Bioptic Tissues From Pediatric Patients

Objectives: Our work is aimed at identifying ex vivo new transcription factors, potentially involved in the pathogenesis of pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), by using a microarray approach. Patients and Methods: Microarray, including 84 transcription factors, was performed in inflamed and uninflamed mucosal tissues of pediatric patients with Crohn disease (CD) and in healthy controls. Real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to confirm microarray results on a larger size of CD and patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). Protein expression was evaluated by Western blot assay. Results: Microarray assay showed 40 genes differentially regulated in the inflamed mucosa and 17 in the uninflamed mucosa of patients with CD as compared with controls. Real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis revealed 10 transcripts in CD and 4 in UC, selected among those with higher differences as compared with healthy controls, significantly overexpressed in the inflamed tissues of patients. Moreover, 4 transcripts in CD and 2 in UC were found significantly upregulated in the uninvolved tissue. A further investigation evidenced an increased protein expression of activating transcription factor 3 and hypoxia-inducible transcription factor-1α in patients with CD as well as in Caco2 cell line stimulated by cytokines and hypoxia. Conclusions: The present study shows an evident upregulation of several transcription factors in the inflamed and uninflamed mucosa of children with IBD, suggesting that the inflammatory process is somehow activated at molecular levels even in the macroscopically normal mucosa of patients. A differential pattern of gene expression between CD and UC indicates distinct molecular mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of 2 diseases. Finally, activating transcription factor 3 and hypoxia-inducible transcription factor-1α are proposed as new transcription factors potentially involved in the onset and maintenance of IBD.
Contrast‐enhanced ultrasound features of primary splenic lymphoma

We report a case of primary splenic lymphoma incidentally detected on abdominal ultrasound as a well‐defined homogenous hypoechoic splenic mass. Further characterization with contrast‐enhanced ultrasound showed the mass to enhance homogenously during the arterial phase to a degree similar to that of the normal splenic parenchyma followed by rapid washout becoming hypoenhanced on delayed phase. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound, 2010
Expedition: A Time-Aware Exploratory Search System Designed for Scholars

Archives are an important source of study for various scholars. Digitization and the web have made archives more accessible and led to the development of several time-aware exploratory search systems. However these systems have been designed for more general users rather than scholars. Scholars have more complex information needs in comparison to general users. They also require support for corpus creation during their exploration process. In this paper we present Expedition - a time-aware exploratory search system that addresses the requirements and information needs of scholars. Expedition possesses a suite of ad-hoc and diversity based retrieval models to address complex information needs; a newspaper-style user interface to allow for larger textual previews and comparisons; entity filters to more naturally refine a result list and an interactive annotated timeline which can be used to better identify periods of importance.
Monitoring nutrient transport in tissue‐engineered grafts

Limited nutrient diffusion in three‐dimensional (3D) constructs is a major concern in tissue engineering. Therefore, monitoring nutrient availability and diffusion within a scaffold is an important asset. Since nutrients come in various forms, we have investigated the diffusion of the oxygen, luciferin and dextran molecules within tissue‐engineered constructs using optical imaging technologies. First, oxygen availability and diffusion were investigated, using transgenic cell lines in which a hypoxia‐responsive element drives expression of the green fluorescent protein gene. Using confocal imaging, we observed oxygen limitation, starting at around 200 µm from the periphery in the context of agarose gel with 1 million CHO cells. Diffusion of luciferin was monitored real‐time in agarose gels using a cell line in which the luciferase gene was driven by a constitutively active CMV promoter. Gel concentration affected the diffusion rate of luciferin. Furthermore, we assessed the diffusion rates of fluorescent dextran molecules of different molecular weights in biomaterials by fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) and observed that diffusion depended on both molecular size and gel concentration. In conclusion, we have validated a set of efficient tools to investigate molecular diffusion of a range of molecules and to optimize biomaterials design in order to improve nutrient delivery. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Gaussian Quadrature Formulae for Arbitrary Positive Measures

We present computational methods and subroutines to compute Gaussian quadrature integration formulas for arbitrary positive measures. For expensive integrands that can be factored into well-known forms, Gaussian quadrature schemes allow for efficient evaluation of high-accuracy and -precision numerical integrals, especially compared to general ad hoc schemes. In addition, for certain well-known density measures (the normal, gamma, log-normal, Student's t, inverse-gamma, beta, and Fisher's F) we present exact formulae for computing the respective quadrature scheme. Availability: Source code is freely available online as a C-linkable ISO C++ library under a BSD-style license from http://www.fernandes. org/gaussqr. The library may be built using single, double, or extended precision arithmetic.
Knowledge discovery from social media using big data-provided sentiment analysis (SoMABiT)

In today’s competitive business world, being aware of customer needs and market-oriented production is a key success factor for industries. To this aim, the use of efficient analytical algorithms ensures better understanding of customer feedback and improves the next generation of products. Accordingly, the dramatic increase in the use of social media in daily life provides beneficial sources for market analytics. Yet how traditional analytic algorithms and methods can be scaled up for such disparate and multistructured data sources is a major challenge. This paper presents and discusses the technological and scientific focus of SoMABiT as a social media analysis platform using big data technology. Sentiment analysis has been employed in order to discover knowledge from social media. The use of MapReduce and the development of a distributed algorithm towards an integrated platform that can scale for any data volume and provide social media-driven knowledge is the main novelty of the proposed concept in comparison to the state-of-the-art technologies.
iological impact of phthalates

Esters of phthalic acid are chemical agents used to improve the plasticity of industrial polymers. Their ubiquitous use in multiple commercial products results in extensive exposure to humans and the environment. This study investigated cytotoxicity, endocrine disruption, effects mediated via AhR, lipid peroxidation and effects on expression of enzymes of xenobiotic metabolism caused by di-(2-ethy hexyl) phthalate (DEHP), diethyl phthalate (DEP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP) in developing fish embryos. Oxidative stress was identified as the critical mechanism of toxicity (CMTA) in the case of DEHP and DEP, while the efficient removal of DBP and BBP by phase 1 enzymes resulted in lesser toxicity. DEHP and DEP did not mimic estradiol (E2) in transactivation studies, but at concentrations of 10 mg/L synthesis of sex steroid hormones was affected. Exposure to 10 mg BBP/L resulted
Deep Network Shrinkage Applied to Cross-Spectrum Face Recognition

In recent years, deep learning has emerged as a dominant methodology in virtually all machine learning problems. While it has been shown to produce state-of-the-art results for a variety of applicatons (including face recognition and heterogeneous face recognition), one aspect of deep networks that has not been extensively researched is how to determine the optimal network structure. This problem is generally solved by ad hoc methods. In this work we address a subproblem of this task: determining the breadth (number of nodes) of each layer. We show how to use group-sparsity-inducing regularization to effectively replace these hyper-parameters with a single hyperparameter which can be determined by cross-validation. We demonstrate our method by using it to reduce the size of networks on two commonly used NIR face datasets.
Astrocyte‐enriched miR‐29a targets PUMA and reduces neuronal vulnerability to forebrain ischemia

Following transient forebrain ischemia, astrocytes play a key role in determining whether or not neurons in the hippocampal CA1 sector go on to die in a delayed fashion. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a novel class of RNAs that control gene expression at the post‐transcriptional level and the miR‐29 family is highly expressed in astrocytes. In this study we assessed levels of miR‐29 in hippocampus following forebrain ischemia and found that after transient forebrain ischemia and short periods of reperfusion, miR‐29a significantly increased in the resistant dentate gyrus, but decreased in the vulnerable CA1 region of the hippocampus. We demonstrate that miR‐29a targets BH3‐only proapoptotic BCL2 family member PUMA by luciferase reporter assay and by Western blot. Comparing primary neuron and astrocyte cultures, and postnatal brain, we verified the strongly astrocytic expression of miR‐29a. We further found that miR‐29a mimic protects and miR‐29a inhibitor aggravates cell injury and mitochondrial function after ischemia‐like stresses in vitro. Lastly, by overexpressing and reducing miR‐29a we demonstrate the protective effect of miR‐29a on CA1 delayed neuronal death after forebrain ischemia. Our data suggest that by targeting a pro‐apoptotic BCL2 family member, increasing levels of miR‐29a might emerge as a strategy for protection against ischemia‐reperfusion injury. GLIA 2013;61:1784–1794
Flicker reduction in old films

This paper deals with the reduction of flicker in old films. This artifact appears as global, quick and random variations of the luminance and contrast between consecutive frames of a sequence. Initially, we present a method based on the correction of mean and variance parameters of the sequence. However, although this method reduces mean and variance variation between frames, it does not yield good visual results. Finally, an algorithm based on the histogram matching is proposed. This method provides much better visual results.
Universal access architecture for digital libraries

In this paper we present a universal access architecture for digital libraries. Our architecture supports traditional fixed clients and mobile clients addressing the connection adaptation and limited resources challenges presented by mobile devices. We describe the requirements of universally available personal digital libraries and illustrate their applicability with a user scenario. These requirements are addressed by our universal access architecture, which targets to support multiple device access, including mobile devices. The main components of the architecture are the Client-Side Applications, the Data Server and the Mobile Communication Middleware (MCM). Our work has focused on the mobile connection support provided by the interaction of mobile clients with the MCM, obtaining a constant response rate in spite of variability of network conditions. The architecture of a mobile software client that benefits from these mechanisms is described and supplemented with implementation notes showing how-in spite of the limited computing resources of mobile devices-it can interact with a data server that has not been designed to support client mobility via adaptation techniques implemented in a middleware.
Effects of Glass Powder as a Supplementary Cementitious Material on the Performance of High Strength Mortars

Around 11 billion tons of concrete gused each year all over the world require considerable amounts of cement, which leads to extensive emissions of carbon dioxide. In the search for more environmentally friendly alternatives to conventional cement in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, glass powder (GP) is significant because of its high content of silica, availability, and cost and is increasingly becoming a part of cement replacement. This study examined the effects of replacing cement with three different colors of GP at different ratios on the workability and mechanical properties of high-strength mortars cured under three different curing temperatures. It was found that quantities of GP varying from 10 % to 20 % increased workability; strength changes occurred according to the hydration rate and strength activity index order of cement silica fume and GP specimens produced; and increasing the amount of GP from 10 % to 20 % decreased the resistance of mortar against penetration by chloride ions. Among the three water/binder (w/b) ratios (0.35, 0.40, and 0.45) and curing temperatures (22°C, 55°C, and 80°C), the maximum compressive and flexural strength were achieved with a 0.35 w/b ratio and 80°C curing temperature, the lowest with a 0.40 w/b ratio and 55°C curing temperature. At high w/b mixes, the strengths were mainly steered by the w/b ratio.
20 th Bled eConference eMergence : Merging and Emerging Technologies , Processes , and Institutions June 4-6 , 2007 ; Bled , Slovenia Self-service on the Internet : An Explanatory Model

This paper describes research that identifies and classifies the dimensions of selfservice activity enabled through the Internet. Self-service is effected by organizations providing ways and means whereby customers perform tasks related to the procurement of goods and services. We describe how an instrument used to measure Internet based self-service was developed, validated and applied. The results from the application of the instrument across a large number of websites covering a range of industries, countries and cultures are analysed and discussed. The study supports our initial model in which type of industry, level of technological development, and cultural factors are proposed as explanatory variables for web based self-service. We conclude with an assessment of this programme of research’s achievements so far.
In-situ observation and quantification of microalgae downstream processing on a microfluidic platform

Producing biofuels and bioproducts from microalgae is a promising path for low-carbon energy and products. Microalgal biomass is an attractive feedstock for the generation of carbon neutral biofuels and high-value bioproducts because of the high growth rate and lipid content of many microalgae species. Understanding the downstream processing of converting microalgal biomass to valuable products is a critical step in the biofuel industry. In this thesis, a novel microfluidic platform capable of precise control of processing parameters and providing optical access to reactions at high temperature and pressure was developed and applied to observe and quantify the biomass-to-bioproducts conversions in three distinct studies. First, for bioenergy application, hydrothermal liquefaction of microalgae was performed on this microfluidic platform monitored using fluorescence microscopy. A strong shift in the fluorescence signature from the algal slurry at 675 nm (chlorophyll peak) to a post-HTL stream at 510 nm is observed for reaction temperatures at 260°C, 280°C, 300°C and 320°C (P = 12 MPa), and occurs over a timescale on the order of 10 min. Biocrude formation and separation from the aqueous phase into immiscible droplets is directly observed and occurs over the same timescale. Second, many algal bioproduct efforts currently focus on high-value products such as astaxanthin due to the much-improved economics over producing fuels. Hydrothermal disruption of the cell wall for astaxanthin extraction from wet biomass using high temperature and pressure was demonstrated and studied using this microfluidic platform. Hydrothermal disruption at a
Testing of Commercial Milk Production Technology Using A Combination of High Temperature Short Time and Pulsed Electric Field

The development of milk processing technology has grown excessively, and it contains advantage and disadvantage. This study used mixed between PEF (Pulsed Electric Field) and High Temperature Short Time (HTST) to produce milk pro cessed product which is effective and efficient in killing milk microorganism without changing its color, scent, and nutrient content of processed product, therefore producing commercial sterile milk product in accord with milk Indonesian National Standard (SNI). The method used was Milk Sterilization with HTST followed by PEF and PEF followed by HTST. Milk quality test result has already in accord with SNI, with protein content 4.3%, fat content 5.3%, dry ingredients without fat content 10.42%, Total Plate Count (TPC) is 7.8 x 10 5 cfu/ml. Based on HTST followed by PEF testing, fat content is 7.47% and protein content is 4.98%, while for fresh milk testing, fat content is 7.43% and protein content is 4.16%. TPC analysis result for method Sterilization HTST followed by PEF in 145°C for 5 second is 0 cfu/ml. PEF followed by HTST for 145°C for 5 second was 15 cfu/ml. The most approaching method accordance with Indonesian standard was steriliza tion combined with HTST followed by PEF with TPC result of 0 cfu/ml. Therefore, this study was expected to be helping community in processing milk using fast and appropriate method. Milk processed product should also have a good content, not contaminated by pathogen and in accord with SNI.
Theoretical prediction and crashworthiness optimization of multi-cell polygonal tubes

Multi-cell polygonal tubes are highly efficient energy absorbers and widely used in vehicle engineering. There is no doubt that the structure designers have strong interest to know which kind of multi-cell polygonal tube has the best crashworthiness. However, the comparative study on the crashworthiness of multi-cell polygonal tubes with different edges was quite few. In this paper, the multi-cell polygonal single and bitubular tubes were investigated using the numerical simulation and theoretical prediction methods. Theoretical expressions of the mean crushing forces of the multi-cell polygonal single and bitubular tubes with arbitrary edge were derived by employing the simplified super folding element theory. The theoretical predictions well coincided with the numerical results. Based on the theoretical and numerical results, it can be found that the multi-cell polygonal bitubular tube with 18 edges had the best energy absorption capacity. In order to further improve the crashworthiness of multi-cell polygonal tube, a metamodel-based multi-objective optimization method which jointly employed the finite element simulation, metamodelling method and non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm ver. II multi-objective optimization algorithm was developed. Based on this metamodel-based optimization method, the multi-cell polygonal bitubular tube with 18 edges was optimized. The theoretical prediction also had good agreement with the numerical simulation result for the optimal design. The optimal multi-cell polygonal tube not only had excellent energy absorption capacity but also had stable collapse mode.
Understanding some software quality aspects from architecture and design models

Software systems evolve over time and it is often difficult to maintain them. One reason for this is often that it is hard to understand the previous release. Further even if architecture and design models are available and up to date, they primarily represent the functional behaviour of the system. To evaluate whether it is possible to also represent some non-functional aspects, an experiment has been conducted. The objective of the experiment is to evaluate the cognitive suitability of some visual representations that can be used to represent a control relation, software component size and component external and internal complexity. Ten different representations are evaluated in a controlled environment using 35 subjects. The results from the experiment show that it is possible to also represent some non-functional aspects. It is concluded that the incorporation of these representations in architecture and design descriptions is both easy and probably worthwhile. The incorporation of the representations should enhance the understanding of previous releases and hence help software developers in evolving and maintaining complex software systems.
A robust Approach to Classify Microcalcification in Digital Mammograms Using Contourlet Transform and Support Vector Machine

Mammogram is the best available radiographic method to detect breast cancer in the early stage. However detecting a microcalcification clusters in the early stage is a tough task for the radiologist. Herein we present a novel approach for classifying microcalcification in digital mammograms using Nonsubsampled Contourlet Transform (NSCT) and Support Vector Machine (SVM). The classification of microcalcification is achieved by extracting the microcalcification features from the Contourlet coefficients of the image and the outcomes are used as an input to the SVM for classification. The system classifies the mammogram images as normal or abnormal and the abnormal severity as benign or malignant. The evaluation of the system is carried on using Mammography Image Analysis Society (MIAS) database. The experimental result shows that the proposed method provides improved classification rate.