Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Stability of Nano Encapsulated Rice Bran Derived Bioactive Pentapeptide in Apple Juice

Bioactive compounds can be derived from cereal grains and their components such as rice bran. These bioactive compounds have a potency to promote health. A pentapeptide with a sequence of amino acids Glu-Gln-Arg-Pro-Arg (EQRPR) prepared from heat stablized defatted rice bran (HDRB) has demonstrated multi-site anti-cancer properties in human cell lines. Fruit juces can be used as vehicles to incorporate the pentapeptide as a nutraceutical. To address the stability of the pentapeptide in the beverage and to prevent possible interactions with other components, nano-encapsulation with poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) was used to deliver the bioactive ingredient. The nano-encapsulated pentapeptide (concentrations: 200/400/600 μg/mL) in the apple juice (model system) showed significant stability with no degradation for 2 months based on the high performance liquid chromatography analysis. The nanoparticles were uniform and stable with an effective diameter ranging between 82 and 83 nm and the results also indicated that there were no significant changes in the size over a storage period of 60 days. There was no microbial growth observed in the prepared apple juice samples. The un-encapsulated pentapeptide incorporated in the apple juice showed significant degradation after 7 days of storage. The PLGA nanoparticles showed a remarkable effect in protecting and stabilizing the bioactive compounds (pentapeptide) during the storage period at 4°C. The PLGA nanoparticles can thus be a promising carrier for the bioactive pentapeptide when incorporated into a juice medium.
ANALYSIS OF L-THYROXINE AND 3 , 3 ’ , 5-TRIIODO-L-THYRONINE USING POTENTIOMETRIC MICROSENSORS

Potentiometric microsensors based on maltodextrin and α-cyclodextrin, were developed for the assay of 3,3’,5-triiodo-L-thyronine (L-T3) and L-thyroxine (L-T4). The matrix used for the design of the potentiometric microsensors was carbon nanopowder. The limits of quantification obtained for 3,3’,5-triiodo-L-thyronine using the microsensor based on maltodextrin was 10 mol/L, and 10 mol/L using the sensor based on α-cyclodextrin. For L-thyroxine, there were obtained the limits of quantification of 10 mol/L using the microsensor based on maltodextrin, and 10 mol/L using the microsensor based on α-cyclodextrin. The analytical application of the microsensors was for the analysis of thyroid hormones in whole blood.
Motion-robust diffusion-weighted brain MRI reconstruction through slice-level registration-based motion tracking.

This work proposes a novel approach for motionrobust diffusion-weighted (DW) brain MRI reconstruction through tracking temporal head motion using slice-to-volume registration. The slice-level motion is estimated through a filtering approach that allows tracking the head motion during the scan and correcting for out-of-plane inconsistency in the acquired images. Diffusion-sensitized image slices are registered to a base volume sequentially over time in the acquisition order where an outlier-robust Kalman filter, coupled with slice-tovolume registration, estimates head motion parameters. Diffusion gradient directions are corrected for the aligned DWI slices based on the computed rotation parameters and the diffusion tensors are directly estimated from the corrected data at each voxel using weighted linear least squares. The method was evaluated in DWI scans of adult volunteers who deliberately moved during scans as well as clinical DWI of 28 neonates and children with different types of motion. Experimental results showed marked improvements in DWI reconstruction using the proposed method compared to the state-of-the-art DWI analysis based on volumeto- volume registration. This approach can be readily used to retrieve information from motion-corrupted DW imaging data.
QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS AND RECOVERY OF CEREBRAL LIPIDS BY MODIFIED THIN LAYER CHROMATOGRAPHY

IN EARLIER work from this laboratory (DAVISON and WAJDA, 1962) it was reported that analysis of cerebral lipids could be considerably simplified by prior fractionation of a lipid extract on an alumina column. Since the method is time consuming and since phosphatidylserine cannot be completely removed from the column without decomposition (LONG and STAPLES, 1959, 1960, 1961), it was thought desirable to find an alternative method for an initial separation of lipids prior to their estimation. Separation of lipids by thin layer chromatography is now well established as a reliable technique (MANGOLD, 1961 ; WAGNER, HORHAMMER and WOLFF, 1961) and this method seemed suitable for present purposes. Although quantitative analysis of phospholipids and sphingolipids from silicic acid thin layer chromatograms has been reported (JATZKEWITZ, 1961), the specialised micro-methods employed necessitate ashing or hydrolysis of lipids and, under these conditions, quantitative analysis is difficult. VACIKOVA, FELT and MALIKOVA (1 962) have recovered neutral lipids and phospholipids from alumina spread layers; however, in this investigation only serum lipids were used and no attempt was made to separate phospholipids. The present paper describes a simple method for the quantitative recovery of intact lipids from thin layer chromatograms. A preliminary account of this work has already been published (DAVISON and GRAHAM-WOLFAARD, 1963).
High-throughput sequencing of the T-cell receptor repertoire: pitfalls and opportunities

&NA; T‐cell specificity is determined by the T‐cell receptor, a heterodimeric protein coded for by an extremely diverse set of genes produced by imprecise somatic gene recombination. Massively parallel high‐throughput sequencing allows millions of different T‐cell receptor genes to be characterized from a single sample of blood or tissue. However, the extraordinary heterogeneity of the immune repertoire poses significant challenges for subsequent analysis of the data. We outline the major steps in processing of repertoire data, considering low‐level processing of raw sequence files and high‐level algorithms, which seek to extract biological or pathological information. The latest generation of bioinformatics tools allows millions of DNA sequences to be accurately and rapidly assigned to their respective variable V and J gene segments, and to reconstruct an almost error‐free representation of the non‐templated additions and deletions that occur. High‐level processing can measure the diversity of the repertoire in different samples, quantify V and J usage and identify private and public T‐cell receptors. Finally, we discuss the major challenge of linking T‐cell receptor sequence to function, and specifically to antigen recognition. Sophisticated machine learning algorithms are being developed that can combine the paradoxical degeneracy and cross‐reactivity of individual T‐cell receptors with the specificity of the overall T‐cell immune response. Computational analysis will provide the key to unlock the potential of the T‐cell receptor repertoire to give insight into the fundamental biology of the adaptive immune system and to provide powerful biomarkers of disease.
A hybrid TTS between unit selection and HMM-based TTS under limited data conditions

The intelligibility of HMM-based TTS can reach that of the original speech. However, HMM-based TTS is far from natural. On the contrary, unit selection TTS is the most-natural sounding TTS currently. However, its intelligibility and naturalness on segmental duration and timing are not stable. Additionally, unit selection needs to store a huge amount of data for concatenation. Recently, hybrid approaches between these two TTS, i.e. the HMM trajectory tiling TTS (HTT), have been studied to take advantages of both unit selection and HMM-based TTS. However, such methods still require a huge amount of data for rendering. In this paper, a hybrid TTS among unit selection, HMM-based TTS, and the Modified Restricted Temporal Decomposition (MRTD), named HTD, is proposed motivating to take advantages of both unit selection and HMM-based TTS under limited data conditions. Here, TD is a sparse representation of speech that decomposes a spectral or prosodic sequence into two mutually independent components: static event targets and correspondent dynamic event functions, and MRTD is a compact but efficient version of TD. Previous studies show that the dynamic event functions of MRTD are related to the perception of speech intelligibility, one core linguistic or content information, while the static event targets of MRTD convey non-linguistic or style information. Therefore, by borrowing the concepts of unit selection to render the event targets of the spectral sequence, and directly borrowing the prosodic sequences and the dynamic event functions of the spectral sequence generated by HMM-based TTS, the naturalness and the intelligibility of the proposed HTD can reach the naturalness of unit selection, and the intelligibility of HMM-based TTS, respectively. Due to the smoothness of event functions of MRTD, an appropriate smoothness in synthesized speech can still be ensured when being rendering by a small amount of data, resulting in the usability of the proposed HTD under limited data conditions. The experimental results with a small Vietnamese dataset, simulated to be a “limited data condition”, show that the proposed HTD outperformed all HMM-based TTS, unit selection, HTT under a limited data condition. Index Terms: TTS, unit selection, HMM-based, Temporal Decomposition, HTT
Who's the boss?

From 'Trust me, I'm a doctor' to 'The patient will see you now, doctor'. How the world of health care has changed. The notion that a patient would automatically trust a doctor, even that nice Dr Findlay from the 1960s TV series, now seems anachronistic. The second statement, from a BUPA advert, suggests that private health care views patients progressively, as active consumers, in comparison with the paternalistic NHS.
Capacity of a two-way function multicast channel

We explore the role of interaction for the problem of reliable computation over two-way multicast networks. Specifically we consider a four-node network in which two nodes wish to compute a modulo-sum of two independent Bernoulli sources generated from the other two, and a similar task is done in the other direction. The main contribution of this work lies in the characterization of the computation capacity region for a deterministic model of the network via a novel transmission scheme. One consequence of this result is that not only we can get an interaction gain over the one-way non-feedback computation capacities, we can sometime get all the way to perfect-feedback computation capacities simultaneously in both directions. This result draws a parallel with the recent result developed in the context of two-way interference channels [1].
Formation Control and Network Localization via Orientation Alignment

We propose a formation control strategy based on inter-agent displacements for single-integrator modeled agents in the plane. Since the orientations of the local reference frames of the agents are not aligned with each other due to the absence of a common sense of orientation, the proposed strategy consists of an orientation alignment law and a formation control law. Under the proposed strategy, if the interaction graph is uniformly connected and all the initial orientation angles belong to an interval with length less than π, the orientations are exponentially aligned and the formation exponentially converges to the desired formation. We also show that the proposed strategy can be utilized for network localization as a dual problem.
Natural Language Data Management and Interfaces: Recent Development and Open Challenges

The volume of natural language text data has been rapidly increasing over the past two decades, due to factors such as the growth of the Web, the low cost associated to publishing and the progress on the digitization of printed texts. This growth combined with the proliferation of natural language systems for search and retrieving information provides tremendous opportunities for studying some of the areas where database systems and natural language processing systems overlap. This tutorial explores two more relevant areas of overlap to the database community: (1) managing natural language text data in a relational database, and (2) developing natural language interfaces to databases. The tutorial presents state-of-the-art methods, related systems, research opportunities and challenges covering both areas.
Interconnected-tubes model of hepatic elimination.

The distributed-tubes model of hepatic elimination is extended to include intermixing between sinusoids, resulting in the formulation of a new, interconnected-tubes model. The new model is analysed for the simple case of two interconnected tubes, where an exact solution is obtained. For the case of many strongly-interconnected tubes, it is shown that a zeroth-order approximation leads to the convection-dispersion model. As a consequence the dispersion number is expressed, for the first time, in terms of its main physiological determinants: heterogeneity of flow and density of interconnections between sinusoids. The analysis of multiple indicator dilution data from a perfused liver preparation using the simplest version of the model yields the estimate 10.3 for the average number of interconnections. The problem of boundary conditions of the dispersion model is considered from the viewpoint that the dispersion-convection equation is a zeroth-order approximation to the equations for the interconnected-tubes model.
Asynchronous Coordinate Descent under More Realistic Assumptions

Asynchronous-parallel algorithms have the potential to vastly speed up algorithms by eliminating costly synchronization. However, our understanding to these algorithms is limited because the current convergence of asynchronous (block) coordinate descent algorithms are based on somewhat unrealistic assumptions. In particular, the age of the shared optimization variables being used to update a block is assumed to be independent of the block being updated. Also, it is assumed that the updates are applied to randomly chosen blocks. In this paper, we argue that these assumptions either fail to hold or will imply less efficient implementations. We then prove the convergence of asynchronous-parallel block coordinate descent under more realistic assumptions, in particular, always without the independence assumption. The analysis permits both the deterministic (essentially) cyclic and random rules for block choices. Because a bound on the asynchronous delays may or may not be available, we establish convergence for both bounded delays and unbounded delays. The analysis also covers nonconvex, weakly convex, and strongly convex functions. We construct Lyapunov functions that directly model both objective progress and delays, so delays are not treated errors or noise. A continuous-time ODE is provided to explain the construction at a high level.
Factors influencing the adoption of Mobile banking services in Jordan from the perspective of customers : Overview and Pilot study

Mobile banking is part or result of the mobile technological boom in recent years. Even though automated teller machines (ATM), telephone, and Internet banking offer effective delivery channels for traditional banking products, mobile banking is likely to have significant effects on markets. The main objective of this pilot study is to design and test a questionnaire to measure the adoption of mobile banking services by Jordanian customers. The findings of online survey with 60 respondents describe Jordanians’’ adoption of mobile banking in Jordan by identifying factors that explain their intention to use Mobile banking services in Jordan. This online Pilot survey shared over the email and other social media channels. Results indicate that the factors significantly influencing the Behavioral Intention to adopt online banking include Performance Expectancy, Effort Expectancy and Social Influence.
Outcome of respiratory syncytial virus infection and a cost–benefit analysis of prophylaxis

Objectives: To determine outcome and length of stay (LOS) for infants younger than 2 years of age admitted to hospital for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection and to perform a cost–benefit analysis of prophylaxis with RSV γ‐globulin (Respigam; CSL Laboratories, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) and monoclonal antibody (Synagis; Abbott Australasia, Kurnell, NSW, Australia) in the Australian context.
Palmitoylation and ubiquitination regulate exit of the Wnt signaling protein LRP6 from the endoplasmic reticulum

Canonical Wnt signaling is initiated by binding of Wnt proteins to members of the Frizzled family and subsequent complex formation with lipoprotein receptor-related proteins 5/6 (LRP5/6). Here, we show that LRP6 is palmitoylated on a juxtamembranous cysteine and that palmitoylation is required for exit from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). We propose that palmitoylation serves to tilt the long, 23-residue transmembrane domain of LRP6 with respect to the plane of membrane to prevent a hydrophobic mismatch and subsequent recognition by the ER quality control. In support of this model, a palmitoylation-deficient LRP6 mutant could be rescued from ER retention by deletion of two to four residues in the transmembrane domain. Importantly, we found that palmitoylation-deficient LRP6 was retained in the ER by a completely novel monoubiquitination-dependent ER retention mechanism. Mutation of a specific lysine indeed abolished ubiquitination of palmitoylation-deficient LRP6 and led to a rescue from ER retention. Finally, at the cell surface, we found that interplay between palmitoylation and ubiquitination was necessary for efficient Wnt signaling.
Multiband printed monopole antenna with defected ground plane for GPS/WLAN/WiMAX applications

This work presents a small size multiband antenna suitable for GPS, WLAN and WiMAX Applications. The antenna has three branches that the modified branches consist of the straight branch that a bent stub has been added to the end of it. Also new design for defected ground structure is used to improve the impedance matching of the antenna. The omnidirectional radiation pattern and good gain with impedance matching below -10 dB over all frequency bands have been achieved. It was found that the results of simulations and measurements agree well over each separated frequency bands.
Genetic Interactions Between Arabidopsis DET1 and UVH6 During Development and Abiotic Stress Response

Plants must adapt to a variety of abiotic inputs, including visible light, ultraviolet (UV) light, and heat. In Arabidopsis thaliana, DE-ETIOLATED 1 (DET1) plays a role in visible light signaling, UV tolerance, and development. UV-HYPERSENSITIVE 6 (UVH6) mutants are UV and heat sensitive, as well as dwarf and pale, like det1. In this study, we examine the genetic interactions between these two genes. In dark-grown seedlings, uvh6 exhibits a weak de-etiolated phenotype but does not affect the stronger de-etiolated phenotype of det1. In the light, det1 is epistatic to uvh6 with regard to chlorophyll level, but their effect on all size parameters is additive and therefore independent. With regard to UV tolerance, det1 UV resistance is epistatic to uvh6 UV sensitivity. In heat stress experiments, det1 enhances heat-induced tissue damage in the uvh6 background but suppresses heat-induced growth inhibition. Thus, det1 acts epistatically to uvh6 with respect to de-etiolation, chlorophyll level, UV tolerance, and heat-induced growth inhibition, whereas det1 and uvh6 act additively to regulate plant size and heat-induced cell death. These data provide insight into interplay between light and heat signaling.
Recombinant C1 inhibitor in brain ischemic injury

C1 inhibitor (C1‐INH) is an endogenous inhibitor of complement and kinin systems. We have explored the efficacy and the therapeutic window of the recently available human recombinant (rh) C1‐INH on ischemic brain injury and investigated its mechanism of action in comparison with that of plasma‐derived (pd) C1‐INH.
Linear B: An Introduction

This introduction is suitable for the student with some knowledge of Greek who wishes to have access to Linear B material. Part One places the development of the Linear B script against its historical background; the earlier varieties of Aegean writing are discusses, and Ventris' decipherment of Linear B is described and the Mycenaean dialect of Greek is examined. In Part two, the reader is taken through a number of important Linear B texts. These are presented first in a 'normalised' transcription of the Linear B characters, so as to induce familiarity with the lay-out of the original texts, secondly in transliteration, and thirdly in translation where this is possible.
Parallel Pathways for Nitrite Reduction during Anaerobic Growth in Thermus thermophilus

ABSTRACT Respiratory reduction of nitrate and nitrite is encoded in Thermus thermophilus by the respective transferable gene clusters. Nitrate is reduced by a heterotetrameric nitrate reductase (Nar) encoded along transporters and regulatory signal transduction systems within the nitrate respiration conjugative element (NCE). The nitrite respiration cluster (nic) encodes homologues of nitrite reductase (Nir) and nitric oxide reductase (Nor). The expression and role of the nirSJM genes in nitrite respiration were analyzed. The three genes are expressed from two promoters, one (nirSp) producing a tricistronic mRNA under aerobic and anaerobic conditions and the other (nirJp) producing a bicistronic mRNA only under conditions of anoxia plus a nitrogen oxide. As for its nitrite reductase homologues, NirS is expressed in the periplasm, has a covalently bound heme c, and conserves the heme d1 binding pocket. NirJ is a cytoplasmic protein likely required for heme d1 synthesis and NirS maturation. NirM is a soluble periplasmic homologue of cytochrome c552. Mutants defective in nirS show normal anaerobic growth with nitrite and nitrate, supporting the existence of an alternative Nir in the cells. Gene knockout analysis of different candidate genes did not allow us to identify this alternative Nir protein but revealed the requirement for Nar in NirS-dependent and NirS-independent nitrite reduction. As the likely role for Nar in the process is in electron transport through its additional cytochrome c periplasmic subunit (NarC), we concluded all the Nir activity takes place in the periplasm by parallel pathways.