Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A virtual reality system using the concentric mosaic: construction, rendering, and data compression

This paper proposes a new image-based rendering (IBR) technique called "concentric mosaic" for virtual reality applications. IBR using the plenoptic function is an efficient technique for rendering new views of a scene from a collection of sample images previously captured. It provides much better image quality and lower computational requirement for rendering than conventional three-dimensional (3-D) model-building approaches. The concentric mosaic is a 3-D plenoptic function with viewpoints constrained on a plane. Compared with other more sophisticated four-dimensional plenoptic functions such as the light field and the lumigraph, the file size of a concentric mosaic is much smaller. In contrast to a panorama, the concentric mosaic allows users to move freely in a circular region and observe significant parallax and lighting changes without recovering the geometric and photometric scene models. The rendering of concentric mosaics is very efficient, and involves the reordering and interpolating of previously captured slit images in the concentric mosaic. It typically consists of hundreds of high-resolution images which consume a significant amount of storage and bandwidth for transmission. An MPEG-like compression algorithm is therefore proposed in this paper taking into account the access patterns and redundancy of the mosaic images. The compression algorithms of two equivalent representations of the concentric mosaic, namely the multiperspective panoramas and the normal setup sequence, are investigated. A multiresolution representation of concentric mosaics using a nonlinear filter bank is also proposed.
Mutation rate and genotype variation of Ebola virus from Mali case sequences

Evolution in the Ebola virus outbreak Has rapid mutation produced alarming new virus characteristics in the 2013–2015 Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa? Hoenen et al. sequenced isolates obtained 9 months into the epidemic from cases in Mali. The nucleotide substitution rate was consistent with rates estimated from past Central African outbreaks. In contrast, analysis of sequence data from early in the outbreak indicated rapid mutation. This more recent finding offers confidence that diagnostic methods, vaccines, and other treatment interventions will remain effective. Nevertheless, vigilance must be maintained: A few mutations can radically change the biological properties of other RNA viruses. Science, this issue p. 117 During the current outbreak in West Africa, Ebola virus has not mutated faster than historically observed. The occurrence of Ebola virus (EBOV) in West Africa during 2013–2015 is unprecedented. Early reports suggested that in this outbreak EBOV is mutating twice as fast as previously observed, which indicates the potential for changes in transmissibility and virulence and could render current molecular diagnostics and countermeasures ineffective. We have determined additional full-length sequences from two clusters of imported EBOV infections into Mali, and we show that the nucleotide substitution rate (1.3 × 10–3 substitutions per site per year) is consistent with rates observed in Central African outbreaks. In addition, overall variation among all genotypes observed remains low. Thus, our data indicate that EBOV is not undergoing rapid evolution in humans during the current outbreak. This finding has important implications for outbreak response and public health decisions and should alleviate several previously raised concerns.
Outage Performance Analysis of Content Delivery in Multiple Devices to Single Device Communications

Device to Device (D2D) communication with content caching has recently been proposed as an exciting and innovative technology for next generation cellular networks. This paper presents a novel content caching and delivery method which allows multiple devices caching the same content and the content being sent via multiple devices to single device (MDSD) communication using D2D links to enhance user experience in terms of outage probability. A closed form expression of the outage probability is derived by considering how the content caching popularity affects achievable signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR). The simulation and theoretical results show that as the popularity of the video increases, the outage probability of the system decreases substantially. On the other hand, the results show using MDSD enhances the SINR performance and decreases the outage probability of the system significantly.
Generation and characterization of monoclonal antibodies to prostate secretory protein

Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) were produced against a highly purified preparation of prostate secretory protein (PSP) isolated from normal seminal plasma. Fifteen antibodies were selected for further evaluation based on their strong reactivity and specificity for PSP. All the MAbs had a specificity for prostate epithelial cells and none reacted to any of a variety of normal tissues as determined by immunoperoxidase staining. Six of the MAbs were selected for further immunohistochemical evaluation based on their ability to recognize different antigenic determinants. Using competitive binding immunoassays, a variety of overlapping specificities were observed with at least 2 distinct epitopes identified. Although some staining variability was noted, the 6 antibodies, in general, gave the same pattern of tissue reactivity. Both the normal prostate and the benign prostate hyperplastic ductal epithelial cells stained intensely, with 78 to 100% and 50‐100% of the cells staining, respectively. The number and often the staining intensity of the tumor cells decreased as the tumor became more undifferentiated. Approximately 40 to 100% and 15 to 70% of the tumor cells stained in the moderately‐differentiated and well‐differentiated carcinoma tissues, respectively, whereas either no staining was observed or less than 20% of the tumor cells stained in the poorlydifferentiated and undifferentiated tumors. Most of the metastatic prostate tumors showed either no staining or scattered stalning in a few cells (i. e., less than 20%).
Immunohistochemical Detection of CTGF in the Human Eye

ABSTRACT Purpose/Aim of the study: Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) is a key player in the control of extracellular matrix remodeling, fibrosis, and angiogenesis. It is also involved in the modification of the trabecular meshwork, thus potentially modulating outflow facility and intraocular pressure (IOP). As a consequence, CTGF might be relevant for the development of elevated IOP, a major risk factor in glaucoma-pathogenesis. While comprehensive information on the origins of CTGF in the human eye is not available, the goal of this study is to identify ocular sources of CTGF using morphological methods. Materials and Methods: Human donor eyes were prepared for immunohistochemical analysis of CTGF, α-smooth muscle-actin (ASMA), and CD31. Confocal laser scanning microscopy was used for documentation. Results: In the cornea, CTGF-immunoreactivity (CTGF-IR) was detected in the epithelium, mainly in basal layers, stromal keratinocytes, and endothelial cells. Adjacent conjunctiva showed also CTGF-IR in epithelial cells. In the iris, both, the sphincter and dilator muscles displayed CGTF-IR, as did iris and ciliary body vessels, deriving at this location from the vascular endothelium, as detected with CD31, but not from vascular smooth muscle cells, as detected with ASMA. In the ciliary body, CTGF-IR was detected in smooth-muscle cells of the ciliary muscle and further in the non-pigmented epithelium. In the retina, CTGF-IR was detected in the NFL and weakly in the IPL/OPL. In the choroid, the choriocapillaris and blood vessels displayed CTGF-IR. Further, few cells in the optic nerve head and the lamina cribrosa were CTGF-positive. Conclusion: CTGF was detected in various structures of the human eye. Since CTGF has been also described in aqueous humor, the identified structures might be the sources of CTGF in the aqueous humor. By means of aqueous flow, CTGF is transported into the trabecular meshwork, where it could change outflow facility and therefore affecting IOP homeostasis.
X-ray structures and mechanistic implications of three functional derivatives of ascorbate oxidase from zucchini. Reduced, peroxide and azide forms.

The X-ray structures of three functional derivatives of ascorbate oxidase (EC 1.10.3.3) from Zucchini have been determined and are compared to the "native" oxidized form. The fully reduced form of ascorbate oxidase has been refined to a crystallographic R-factor of 19.6% for all reflections between 8.0 A and 2.2 A resolution. The geometry at the type-1 copper (CU1) is unchanged compared to the oxidized form, but the oxygen ligand bridging the copper ions CU2 and CU3 (spectroscopic type-3 copper pair) is released and the copper ions move apart yielding a trigonal planar co-ordination with their ligating histidine residues. The co-ordination at the copper ion CU4 (spectroscopic type-2 copper) is not affected. The copper-copper distances increase from an average 3.7 A in the native form to 5.1 A for CU2-CU3, 4.4 A for CU2-CU4 and 4.1 A for CU3-CU4. The peroxide derivative of ascorbate oxidase has been refined to a crystallographic R-factor of 16.0% for all reflections between 8.0 A and 2.59 A resolution. The geometry at the type-1 copper site is not changed compared to the oxidized form. The oxygen ligand bridging copper atoms CU2 and CU3 is lost, too. The peroxide binds terminally to the copper ion CU2 as hydroperoxide. Copper ion CU2 is fourfold co-ordinated to the NE2 atoms of the three histidine residues and to the oxygen atom of the terminally bound peroxide molecule in a distorted tetrahedral geometry. Copper ion CU3 is threefold co-ordinated as in the reduced form and co-ordination around copper atom CU4 is unaltered. The copper-copper distances increase to 4.8 A for CU2-CU3 and 4.5 A for CU2-CU4. The distance CU3-CU4 remains 3.7 A. Treatment with peroxide causes a partial depletion of copper ion CU2. The refinement for the azide derivative of ascorbate oxidase converged at a crystallographic R-factor of 17.8% for all reflections between 8.0 A and 2.32 A. There are no significant structural changes at the type-1 copper site. The oxygen ligand bridging copper ions CU2 and CU3 is again released. Two azide molecules bind terminally to copper ion CU2. Copper ion CU2 is fivefold co-ordinated to the NE2 atoms of the three histidine residues and to both terminally bound azide molecules in a trigonal-bipyramidal manner. Copper-copper distances increase to 5.1 A for CU2-CU3 and 4.6 A for CU2-CU4. The distance CU3-CU4 is decreased to 3.6 A. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Candidate locus for Gilles de la Tourette syndrome/obsessive compulsive disorder/chronic tic disorder at 18q22

Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (GTS), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and chronic tic disorder (CTD) are chronic, potentially debilitating neuropsychiatric disorders that often cluster in families. Comorbidity data and family and linkage studies support the hypothesis that these phenotypes, in some cases, share a common etiology. Studies of chromosomal abnormalities associated with this phenotypic spectrum further show that GTS, OCD, and CTD may represent alternate manifestations of a shared genetic condition. We report on a 14‐year‐old girl with severe OCD and a t(2;18)(p12;q22) translocation. The patient's chromosome 18 breakpoint localizes to the same chromosomal band as two previously reported rearrangements associated with GTS, OCD, and CTD, and fine maps to a genomic position approximately 5 Mb from these rearrangements. The clustering of these three breakpoints within a relatively small genetic interval suggests that 18q22 is a promising region for containing a gene or genes of etiologic importance in the development of the GTS/OCD/CTD phenotypic spectrum. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Technological Entrepreneurship: How does Environmental Turbulence Impact upon Collaboration Risk?

The aim of this paper is to identify the impact of environmental turbulence on the risk of cooperation in technological entrepreneurship. Multidimensional factors such as the risk of cooperation, environmental turbulence, and the reaction to operationalized changes were selected during the literature review, and were subjected to empirical verification on a 304 element sample of SMEs, which are implementing technology entrepreneurship. The study used a questionnaire interview technique conducted directly in the company, and the research tool was a specially prepared questionnaire. Because of the multidimensional character of the studied variables, structural modelling was chosen. In addition, the influence of selected mediators and moderators on the relationship between the turbulence of the environment and the risk of cooperation in technological entrepreneurship was examined. The article has been divided into five main sections. The first section constitutes the introduction to the deliberations. A detailed review of the literature, taking into account the principles of operationalization of each of the presented variables, is discussed in the second section. The methodology used is then presented. In the next section of the paper, the results of the research are presented and then a broad discussion of these results is undertaken. The last section is a summary of the conducted research and its limitations. Knowledge about the antecedents of cooperation risk allows for the minimization of the presence of adverse phenomena, while knowledge of the directions of their impact greatly enriches the experience in the management of this type of relationship. The presented research may contribute to the construction of a rational model of the cooperation risk management process, in particular, in the case of adopting resources existing within the organization.
Estradiol-induced Phosphorylation of Serine 118 in the Estrogen Receptor Is Independent of p42/p44 Mitogen-activated Protein Kinase*

Phosphorylation of Ser118 of human estrogen receptor α (ER) enhances ER-mediated transcription and is induced by hormone binding and by activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. We discovered that phosphorylation of Ser118 reduces the electrophoretic mobility of the ER. Using this mobility shift as an assay, we determined the in vivo stoichiometry and kinetics of Ser118 phosphorylation in response to estradiol, ICI 182,780, epidermal growth factor (EGF), and phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA). In human breast cancer MCF-7 cells, estradiol induced a steady state phosphorylation of Ser118 within 20 min with a stoichiometry of 0.67 mol of phosphate/mol of ER. Estradiol did not activate p42/p44 MAPK, and basal p42/p44 MAPK activity was not sufficient to account for phosphorylation of Ser118 in response to estradiol. In contrast, both EGF and PMA induced a rapid, transient phosphorylation of Ser118 with a stoichiometry of ∼0.25, and the onset of Ser118 phosphorylation correlated with the onset of p42/p44 MAPK activation by these agents. Either the EGF- or PMA-induced Ser118 phosphorylation could be inhibited without influencing estradiol-induced Ser118phosphorylation. The data suggest that a kinase other than p42/p44 MAPK is involved in the estradiol-induced Ser118phosphorylation. We propose that the hormone-induced change in ER conformation exposes Ser118 for phosphorylation by a constitutively active kinase.
Proton NMR assignments for R,S‐1,1′‐binaphthol (BN) and R,S‐1,1′‐binaphthyl‐2,2′‐diyl hydrogen phosphate (BNDHP) interacting with bile salt micelles

We report proton chemical shifts for two model chiral analytes that are commonly used in the study of micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MEKC), R,S‐1,1′‐binaphthol (1, BN) and R,S‐1,1′‐binaphthyl‐2,2′‐diyl hydrogen phosphate (2, BNDHP), in the absence and presence of monomers and micelles of sodium cholate and sodium deoxycholate. The analytes undergo fast exchange in and out of the micelles, which perturbs the analytes' chemical shifts, and which we use to resolve some resonances that are degenerate at both 300 and 600 MHz. Although BN and BNDHP are simple molecules, the proton assignments are only unambiguously established with the aid of the exchange with micelles, an attractive alternative to other methodologies such as the use of paramagnetic shift reagents which may also cause spectral distortions. We rely also upon 2D‐NOE spectra of samples in the presence of micelles to perform these assignments. Recently published assignments, which were based upon 2D‐COSY spectroscopy, appear to be in error and are corrected here. Finally, we note that these shifts are information‐rich reporters on the nature of the interactions of these model analytes with the micelles. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Herpes simplex virus glycoprotein D mediates interference with herpes simplex virus infection

We showed that the expression of a single protein, glycoprotein D (gD-1), specified by herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) renders cells resistant to infection by HSV but not to infection by other viruses. Mouse (LMtk-) and human (HEp-2) cell lines containing the gene for gD-1 under control of the human metallothionein promoter II expressed various levels of gD-1 constitutively and could be induced to express higher levels with heavy metal ions. Radiolabeled viruses bound equally well to gD-1-expressing and control cell lines. Adsorbed viruses were unable to penetrate cells expressing sufficient levels of gD-1, based on lack of any cytopathic effects of the challenge virus and on failure to detect either the induction of viral protein synthesis or the shutoff of host protein synthesis normally mediated by a virion-associated factor. The resistance to HSV infection conferred by gD-1 expression was not absolute and depended on several variables, including the amount of gD-1 expressed, the dosage of the challenge virus, the serotype of the challenge virus, and the properties of the cells themselves. The interference activity of gD-1 is discussed in relation to the role of gD-1 in virion infectivity and its possible role in permitting escape of progeny HSV from infected cells.
Metabolic impact of 100% fruit juice consumption on antioxidant/oxidant status and lipid profiles of adults: An Evidence-Based review

ABSTRACT One hundred percent fruit juice (FJ) contains bioactive compounds with antioxidant activity. As such, this fruit form has the potential to improve antioxidant status and mediate outcomes influenced by redox status. A systematic review of the literature published between 1995 and 2013 was conducted using PubMed database to evaluate associations between intake of 100% FJ and markers of antioxidant/oxidant status and blood lipid levels in healthy, free-living adults ≥18 years. Data extraction and analysis was conducted according to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Evidence Analysis Process. Limited evidence from ten clinical trials meeting inclusion/exclusion criteria suggests potential improvements in a variety of antioxidant or oxidants biomarkers postconsumption of 100% FJ. Weak evidence from five studies suggests that one or more blood lipid measures may be positively influenced by consumption of 100% FJ. Heterogeneity in study methodology including biomarkers, 100% FJ type, dosage, and intervention duration precludes the ability to make evidence-based recommendations regarding a specific dose-duration-juice effect. Key characteristics in study designs were identified which must either be controlled or statistically adjusted for in future investigations in order to obtain a more accurate understanding of the complex relationship between metabolic outcomes and consumption of 100% FJ in context of a healthy dietary pattern.
Adaptive Video Streaming With Network Coding Enabled Named Data Networking

The fast and huge increase of Internet traffic motivates the development of new communication methods that can deal with the growing volume of data traffic. To this aim, named data networking (NDN) has been proposed as a future Internet architecture that enables ubiquitous in-network caching and naturally supports multipath data delivery. Particular attention has been given to using dynamic adaptive streaming over HTTP to enable video streaming in NDN as in both schemes data transmission is triggered and controlled by the clients. However, state-of-the-art works do not consider the multipath capabilities of NDN and the potential improvements that multipath communication brings, such as increased throughput and reliability, which are fundamental for video streaming systems. In this paper, we present a novel architecture for dynamic adaptive streaming over network coding enabled NDN. In comparison to previous works proposing dynamic adaptive streaming over NDN, our architecture exploits network coding to efficiently use the multiple paths connecting the clients to the sources. Moreover, our architecture enables efficient multisource video streaming and improves resiliency to Data packet losses. The experimental evaluation shows that our architecture leads to reduced data traffic load on the sources, increased cache-hit rate at the in-network caches and faster adaptation of the requested video quality by the clients. The performance gains are verified through simulations in a Netflix-like scenario.
Women at the top of tourism organizations: Views from the glass roof

ABSTRACT Tourism is a predominantly a female economic activity. However, it is still men who prevail at the top. Studies on women as managers usually focus on the “glass ceiling,” i.e., the invisible barriers that hamper qualified women from reaching high-level positions. Hence, by leaving women who are “above the glass ceiling” unanalyzed, it is implicitly assumed by researchers that these women are in a position where gender is no longer an issue. To counteract this tendency, this exploratory study focuses on women top-level managers in tourism organizations. It aims to analyze how these women perceive the influence of gendering processes and gender power relations on their own careers and on women's careers in general in the field. It uses a feminist and qualitative methodological approach. The interviewees acknowledge how gender power relations and persisting gendering processes still affect them, even if they have reached a top position. It is concluded that there are lingering gender issues “above the glass ceiling,” and not only on the way to the top. Reaching a top-level management position does not remove the issue of gender from women's professional lives.