Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Three Native Cellulose-Depolymerizing Endoglucanases from Solid-Substrate Cultures of the Brown Rot Fungus Meruliporia (Serpula) incrassata

Three extracellular cellulose-depolymerizing enzymes from cotton undergoing decay by the brown rot fungus Meruliporia (Serpula) incrassata were isolated by anion-exchange and hydrophobic interaction chromatographies. Depolymerization was detected by analyzing the changes in the molecular size distribution of cotton cellulose by high-performance size-exclusion chromatography. The average degree of polymerization (DP; number of glucosyl residues per cellulose chain) was calculated from the size-exclusion chromatography data. The very acidic purified endoglucanases, Cel 25, Cel 49, and Cel 57, were glycosylated and had molecular weights of 25,200, 48,500, and 57,100, respectively. Two, Cel 25 and Cel 49, depolymerized cotton cellulose and were also very active on carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC). Cel 57, by contrast, significantly depolymerized cotton cellulose but did not release reducing sugars from CMC and only very slightly reduced the viscosity of CMC solutions. Molecular size distributions of cotton cellulose attacked by the three endoglucanases revealed single major peaks that shifted to lower DP positions. A second smaller peak (DP, 10 to 20) was also observed in the size-exclusion chromatograms of cotton attacked by Cel 49 and Cel 57. Under the reaction conditions used, Cel 25, the most active of the cellulases, reduced the weight average DP from 3,438 to 315, solubilizing approximately 20% of the cellulose. The weight average DP values of cotton attacked under the same conditions by Cel 49 and Cel 57 were 814 and 534; weight losses were 9 and 11% respectively.
Modeling the 20th century Arctic Ocean/Sea ice system: Reconstruction of surface forcing

[1] The ability to simulate the past variability of the sea ice-ocean system is of fundamental interest for the identification of key processes and the evaluation of scenarios of future developments. To achieve this goal atmospheric surface fields are reconstructed by statistical means for the period 1900 to 1997 and applied to a coupled sea ice-ocean model of the North Atlantic/Arctic Ocean. We devised a statistical model using a redundancy analysis to reconstruct the atmospheric fields. Several sets of predictor and predictand fields are used for reconstructions on different time scales. The predictor fields are instrumental records available as gridded or station data sets of sea level pressure and surface air temperature. The predictands are surface fields from the NCAR/NCEP reanalysis. Spatial patterns are selected by maximizing predictand variance during a “learning” period. The reliability of these patterns is tested in a validation period. The ensemble of reconstructions is checked for robustness by mutual comparison and an “optimal” reconstruction is selected. Results of the simulations with the sea ice-ocean model are compared with historical sea ice extent observations for the Arctic and Nordic Seas. The results obtained with the “optimal” reconstruction are shown to be highly consistent with these historical data. An analysis of simulated trends of the “early 20th century warming” and the recent warming in the Arctic complete the manuscript.
The knowledge link : how firms compete through strategic alliances / Joseph L. Badaracco, Jr.

Why do successful companies let down their corporate walls, exposing their organizations and strategies to competitors? The answer, according to Joseph Badaracco is that corporations enter into strategic alliances to capitalize on knowledge: migratory knowledge, often technical in nature, which can be transferred easily between people or organizations in a formula or product, and embedded knowledge, which defines how a particular company organizes itself to do business. In today's business environment companies need to utilize each type of knowledge to sustain their competitive advantage. The challenge for today's manager is to balance the opportunities offered by open boundaries and free flowing information against the need to protect the corporations's unique advantages. Managing strategic alliances effectively will determine corporate success in the years ahead.
Active Physical-Layer Network Coding for Cooperative Two-Way Relay Channels

For wireless networks, traditional multihop routing, digital network coding (DNC) and physical-layer network coding (PNC) do not make full use of nonorthogonal signal subspace. We develop an active physical-layer network coding (APNC) strategy, introducing bi-directional interference to both destinations in a cooperative two-way relay channel (CTRC), which works on symbol level and uses arbitrary level of overhearing ability to increase the system overall performance. A diversity and multiplexing tradeoff (DMT) study is conducted. The result shows APNC is more general and flexible with great DMT improvement compared to state-of-the-art transmission strategies.
Balancing Exploration - Exploitation in Image Retrieval

In recent years there has been an increased interest in developing exploration–exploitation algorithms for image search. However, little research has been done as to what type of image search such techniques might be most beneﬁcial. We present an interactive image retrieval system that combines Rein-forcement Learning with an interface designed to allow users to actively engage in directing the search. Reinforcement Learning is used to model the user interests by allowing the system to trade off between exploration (unseen types of image) and exploitation (images the system thinks are relevant). A task-based user study indicates that for certain types of searches a traditional exploitation-based sys-tem is more than adequate, while for others a more complex system trading off exploration and exploitation is more beneﬁcial.
Wind farm cable route optimization using a simple approach

Worldwide it can be clearly seen that the investment in electricity transmission and distribution infrastructures is very important for the power industry. The wind farm network structure means the combined electric power sources (wind turbine) and branching lines. Also, in a wind farm the branching lines are represented by cable underground power lines (cable). The approach presented in this paper was applied to optimize the electrical inter-array cable systems for wind farms which is compatible with both radial and branched design philosophies, and can optimize for total cable length or cable cost. The newness of the proposed approach is based on a combination of classical and met-heuristic algorithms that use graph theory for wind farm cable route optimization. The results of case study clearly demonstrated the feasibility of the proposed method and showed that it can be used as a reliable tool in off-shore wind farm design for optimal cable route determination.
Association between APE1 Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (rs1760944) and Cancer Risk: a Meta-Analysis Based on 6,419 Cancer Cases and 6,781 Case-free Controls

Apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (APE1) is an essential enzyme in the base excision repair pathway. Epidemiological studies have suggested associations between APE1 rs1760944 polymorphism and cancer risk. This study was aimed to evaluate the relationship between APE1 rs1760944 polymorphism and cancer risk. We searched Pubmed, ISI Web of Knowledge, Embase, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases until September 2013 to identify eligible studies. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) were used to estimate the strength of the associations. 12 studies from 11 articles on APE1 rs1760944 genotypes and cancer risk were identified, including a total of 6,419 cancer cases and 6,781 case-free controls. Overall, APE1 rs1760944 polymorphism was significantly associated with the decreased risk of cancer in any genetic models (G vs. T: OR = 0.86, 95% CI = 0.82-0.90; homozygote comparison: OR = 0.74, 95% CI = 0.67-0.82; heterozygote comparison: OR =0.88, 95%CI = 0.81-0.95; dominant model TG+GG vs. TT: OR = 0.82, 95% CI = 0.76-0.89; recessive model GG vs. TT+TG: OR = 0.81, 95%CI = 0.75-0.88). In the stratified analysis by populations, the effect was remain in studies of Asian population (homozygote comparison: OR = 0.71, 95%CI = 0.63-0.79; heterozygote comparison: OR = 0.86, 95 %CI = 0.79- 0.94; dominant model: OR = 0.80, 95% CI = 0.74 -0.87 and recessive model: OR = 0.78, 95%CI = 0.71-0.86). Moreover, a significantly decreased risk was found in lung cancer studies (homozygote comparison: OR = 0.68, 95% CI = 0.59-0.79; heterozygote comparison: OR = 0.86, 95%CI = 0.77- 0.98; dominant model: OR = 0.80, 95%CI = 0.72-0.90 and recessive model: OR= 0.77, 95% CI= 0.68-0.87). These findings support that APE1 rs1760944 polymorphism has a possible protective effect on cancer susceptibility particularly among Asians. Further studies based on different ethnicity and various cancer types are warranted to verify our findings.
Fast Evolution of Curve Based On Chan-Vese Model for Specific Images

-In image processing, segmentation is an important intermediate step for object recognition. It is a fundamental task in image analysis responsible for partitioning an image into multiple sub-regions based on a desired feature. One such technique is through Curve Evolution and one of the applications of Geometric Curve Evolution is Active Contours. In the research work being reported in this paper an attempt has been made to enhance Chan-Vese [1] Algorithm faster by taking different planes (red, green and blue) of an image. The plane in which the contour evolves fastest gets automatically selected and rest of the algorithm will work on that particular plane. Experimental results are presented on various domains like biomedical images, artificial images and painted images. Also, the contour evolves differently in different planes. Key Termsactive contour, objects, object recognition, segmentation, standard deviation
Security Enhancement of Chang-Lee Anonymous E-Voting Scheme

In recent years, several electronic voting (e-voting) schemes for communication networks have been proposed. In 2006, Chang and Lee presented an anonymous electronic voting scheme which can be applied in real-world elections. However, this paper shows that ChangLee’s e-voting scheme suffers from susceptibility to security attacks. As a result, some essential security requirements of their e-voting scheme may be compromised. An improved scheme is suggested to enhance the security of their scheme.
Successful organizational change through win-win

Purpose – This paper aims to show new ways of overcoming resistance during organizational change by applying insights from New Institutional Economics. Design/methodology/approach – This is a conceptual paper that adapts findings from New Institutional Economics. Findings – The paper highlights the relevance of interactions between managers and employees for value creation processes: interactions can generate either win–win or lose–lose situations. By altering the restrictions on managers’ and employees’ behavior, change managers can create mutual benefits for the staff and the firm. The paper thus explicitly considers the individual interests of employees and managers and highlights an approach to link individual interests with the collective interests of the firm by means of appropriate interactions. Additionally, the paper elaborates the relevant factors that determine the success of classical change management measures, like communication or participation, to overcome resistance during organizational .
Identifying Knowledge Divergence by Vocabulary Monitoring in Software Projects

During the development of a project, words used in source code add up to a big vocabulary, which may lead to a divergent word-understanding and word-knowledge between developers. Even the drop out of a single developer may lead to a big loss of knowledge about words and their meaning. By keeping track of the active developers vocabulary one is able to identify and react upon such situations, e.g., by applying pair programming to spread the knowledge around the team. In this work we propose a way to identify such situations by analysing the words contained in identifiers obtained through the commit history in a version control system. Initial empirical results are presented and analysed.
Exposure–response analysis of allergy and respiratory symptoms in endotoxin-exposed adults

The objective of the present study was to investigate exposure–response relationships between current endotoxin exposure and allergic and respiratory symptoms in adults, taking into account farming exposures during childhood. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 877 Dutch farmers and agricultural industry workers in 2006. Based on 249 full-shift personal airborne endotoxin samples, a job-exposure matrix was constructed to assign endotoxin exposure levels to all participants. Associations between endotoxin exposure and questionnaire data on symptoms were studied by multiple logistic regression. Adjusted odds ratios (OR) for an interquartile range increase in endotoxin level were elevated for respiratory symptoms such as wheezing (OR 1.41 (95% confidence interval 1.16–1.72)), wheezing with shortness of breath (1.50 (1.18–1.90)) and daily cough (1.29 (1.03–1.62)). In contrast, endotoxin was strongly associated with a decreased prevalence of hay fever (0.62 (0.49–0.78)). Workers who had grown up on a farm had a lower prevalence of hay fever, but no evidence was found of effect modification by farm childhood. In conclusion, occupational endotoxin exposure in adulthood is associated with an increased risk of asthma-like symptoms but a reduced prevalence of hay fever.
Double Neutron Star Systems and Natal Neutron Star Kicks

We study the four double neutron star systems found in the Galactic disk in terms of the orbital characteristics of their immediate progenitors and the natal kicks imparted to neutron stars. Analysis of the effect of the second supernova explosion on the orbital dynamics, combined with recent results from simulations of rapid accretion onto neutron stars, lead us to conclude that the observed systems could not have been formed had the explosion been symmetric. Their formation becomes possible if kicks are imparted to the radio-pulsar companions at birth. We identify the constraints imposed on the immediate progenitors of the observed double neutron stars and calculate the ranges within which their binary characteristics (orbital separations and masses of the exploding stars) are restricted. We also study the dependence of these limits on the magnitude of the kick velocity and the time elapsed since the second explosion. For each of the double neutron stars, we derive a minimum kick magnitude required for their formation, and for the two systems in close orbits (≲10 R☉), we find it to exceed 200 km s-1. Lower limits are also set to the center-of-mass velocities of double neutron stars, and we find them to be consistent with the current proper motion observations.
Permutation-Robust Structure for ICA-Based Blind Source Extraction

In this paper, we investigate a new blind source separation (BSS) structure from a permutation-robustness viewpoint, to mitigate the permutation problem which commonly arises in frequency-domain independent component analysis (ICA). Permutation robustness means that how much the BSS method is not affected under a certain probability of arising permutation, unlike the conventional permutation-solving approaches. We address to analyze our previously proposed BSS architecture, so called blind spatial subtraction array (BSSA). In BSSA, source extraction is achieved by subtracting the power spectrum of the estimated noise via ICA from the power spectrum of partly speech-enhanced signal via delay-and-sum (DS) procedure. Indeed BSSA partially involves permutation problem in the ICA-based noise estimator part. However, BSSA can efficiently reduce the negative affection of the permutation owing to the over-subtraction in the spectral subtraction and defocusing properties in DS. Experiments using artificial and real-recording-based simulations reveal that the proposed method outperforms the conventional ICA.
Scaling Up Decision Theoretic Planning to Planetary Rover Problems

Abstract Because of communication limits, planetary rovers must op- erate autonomously during consequent durations. The abil- ity to plan under uncertainty is one of the main components of autonomy. Previous approaches to planning under uncer- tainty in NASA applications are not able to address the chal- lenges of hture missions, because several apparent lim- its. On another side, decision theory provides a solid princi- pled framework for reasoning about uncertainty and rewards. Unfortunately, there are several obstacles to a direct appli- cation of decision-theoretic techniques to the rover domain. This paper focuses on the issues of structure and concurrency, and continuous state variables. We describes two techniques currently under development that address specifically these issues and allow scaling-up decision theoretic solution tech- niques io pianetary rover planning problems involving a small number of goals. Introduction There are many problems inherent in direct human con- trol of remote devices such as planet exploratory rovers and satellites: (i) Communication takes significant time.
Exemplary design of a DICOM structured report template for CBIR integration into radiological routine

The large and continuously growing amount of medical image data demands access methods with regards to content rather than simple text-based queries. The potential benefits of content-based image retrieval (CBIR) systems for computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) are evident and have been approved. Still, CBIR is not a well-established part of daily routine of radiologists. We have already presented a concept of CBIR integration for the radiology workflow in accordance with the Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) framework. The retrieval result is composed as a Digital Imaging and Communication in Medicine (DICOM) Structured Reporting (SR) document. The use of DICOM SR provides interchange with PACS archive and image viewer. It offers the possibility of further data mining and automatic interpretation of CBIR results. However, existing standard templates do not address the domain of CBIR. We present a design of a SR template customized for CBIR. Our approach is based on the DICOM standard templates and makes use of the mammography and chest CAD SR templates. Reuse of approved SR sub-trees promises a reliable design which is further adopted to the CBIR domain. We analyze the special CBIR requirements and integrate the new concept of similar images into our template. Our approach also includes the new concept of a set of selected images for defining the processed images for CBIR. A commonly accepted pre-defined template for the presentation and exchange of results in a standardized format promotes the widespread application of CBIR in radiological routine.
Blind image deconvolution based on robust stable edge prediction

This paper proposes a robust blind deconvolution method for removing a uniform blur from microscopy images. For the estimation of the kernel - point spread function (PSF) - the stable edge is estimated using a fuzzy edge prediction method. Based on the estimated stable edges, optimizing a blurring objective function leads to a closed form for the estimation of a kernel and latent image. In comparison with existing deconvolution methods based on iterative optimization, the proposed method with a closed-form solution produces a significant decrease in processing time, which is an important barrier in applying deconvolution methods to real-world applications. Experimental results demonstrate the robustness and high efficiency of the proposed method for diverse microscopy images.
General binarization for parsing and translation

Binarization of grammars is crucial for improving the complexity and performance of parsing and translation. We present a versatile binarization algorithm that can be tailored to a number of grammar formalisms by simply varying a formal parameter. We apply our algorithm to binarizing tree-to-string transducers used in syntax-based machine translation.
Two Stages Maximum Power Point Tracking Algorithm for PV Systems Operating under Partially Shaded Conditions

shaded conditions, the PV characteristics get more complex with multiple peaks. This makes the tracking of the actual maximum power point (MPP) a difficult task. In this paper, a simple technique of MPPT is presented for photovoltaic power generation systems uses two stages of conventional perturb and observe method (P&O) to solve the aforementioned problems. It realizes simple control system to track the real maximum power point even under non-uniform or for rapidly changing insulation conditions. The proposed technique in the first stage searches the I-V characteristic of the PV arrays by scanning the whole range to detect the actual MPP using a P&O with large value of step. The second stage applies the conventional P&O method to oscillate around the obtained point from the first stage using a small step to obtain low oscillation with a higher efficiency. Simulation and some selected experimental results are presented to prove the feasibility of the proposed technique.
Looking for the Lost Follis

This paper describes the application of a new technique of error tolerant image retrieval to the classification and study of late Roman Empire coins. To a query, in form of a given coin, the technique answers proposing a set of coins from the database whose similarity distance is not greater than a user selected threshold. A pair of interesting results are reported and discussed. __________________________________________________________________________________________
Internal dynamics of the galaxy cluster Abell 959

Context. The connection of cluster mergers with the presence of extended, diffuse radio sources in galaxy clusters is still being debated. Aims. We aim to obtain new insights into the internal dynamics of Abell 959, showing evidence of a diffuse radio source, analyzing velocities and positions of member galaxies. Methods. Our analysis is based on redshift data for 107 galaxies in the cluster field acquired at the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo. We also use photometric data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (Data Release 6). We combine galaxy velocities and positions to select 81 galaxies recognized as cluster members and determine global dynamical properties. We analyze the cluster searching for substructures by using the weighted gap analysis, the KMM method and the Dressler‐Shectman statistics. We also study the 2D galaxy distribution in the field of the cluster. We compare our results with those f rom X‐ray and gravitational lensing analyses. Results. We estimate a cluster redshift ofh zi= 0.2883± 0.0004. We detect an NE high velocity group at 5 ′ from the cluster center with a relative line‐of‐sight (LOS) velocity of ∼ +1900 km s −1 with respect to the main system. We also detect a central, dense structure elongated along the SE‐NW direction likely connected with the two dominant galaxies and their surrounding cores. This elongated central structure is probably the trace of an old c luster merger. The LOS velocity dispersion of galaxies is very high. By