Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Soil-borne antagonists for biological control of bacterial wilt disease caused by Ralstonia solanacearum in tomato and pepper.

Bacterial wilt is an important disease of tomatoes and peppers, causing plant death and significant yield losses. Control methods include use of resistant varieties, crop rotation, etc. Biological control is desirable because control with other methods gives variable results. This paper describes the effectiveness of microbial antagonists isolated from soils. Of 73 isolated antagonists, eight were screened and evaluated in vitro and in vivo against Ralstonia solanacearum. They all significantly reduced disease symptoms. The effects of carbon and nitrogen source, incubation temperature and broth culture pH were evaluated for production of inhibitory substances. Results indicated that the optima were sucrose 2.5% (w/v), peptone 2% (w/v), temperature 28°C, and initial medium pH of 7. Three antagonists isolated from soil (Bacillus megaterium, Enterobacter cloacae, Pichia guillermondii) and Candida ethanolica showed high potential for disease suppression and also increased fruit weight, biomass and plant height. These results provide encouragement for continued research on biological control of bacterial wilt by antagonistic isolates from soil.
The molecular biology and regulation of 5-lipoxygenase.

5-Lipoxygenase (5LO) catalyzes the conversion of arachidonic acid to 5(S)-hydroperoxy-6-trans-8,11,14-cis-eicosatetraenoic acid (5-HPETE), and further to the allylic epoxide 5(S)-trans-7,9-trans-11,14-cis-eicosatetrenoic acid (leukotriene A 4 , LTA 4 ). Thus, 5LO has a central role in leukotriene biosynthesis. This article covers some basic properties of 5LO. Studies regarding the 5LO gene and targeted gene disruption, and 5LO intracellular compartmentalization, are described in other parts of this supplement.
Oxidative stress up‐regulates IL‐8 and TNF‐α synthesis by human dendritic cells

In addition to their damaging effects, reactive oxygen intermediates exert a regulatory role on gene expression and cell apoptosis. In this study, we evaluated the effects of oxidative stress on human dendritic cells (DC), a cell type which is critical for the initiation of the immune response. For this purpose, we tested the effects of H2O2 on DC derived from adherent peripheral blood mononuclear cells cultured in the presence of granulocyte‐macrophage colony‐stimulating factor and IL‐4. Despite a moderate increase of DC apoptosis in the presence of H2O2, we observed that H2O2 stimulated the production of IL‐8 and TFN‐α by DC in a dose‐dependent manner. The induction of cytokine synthesis was found to depend on the oxidative properties of H2O2 as it was inhibited by the addition of catalase, and to require de novo protein synthesis as it was not observed in the presence of cycloheximide. These data suggest that DC could contribute to innate immunity through an enhanced production of inflammatory cytokines in response to oxidative stress.
Towards a Flexible and Secure Runtime for Embedded Devices

Advancing towards the Internet of Things, a need for bigger connectivity between every time smaller embedded devices is foreseen. In the near future, heterogeneous resource-restricted devices will probably have a set of services with a strong need for connection. Two needs are envisioned as mandatory: flexibility and security. There is firstly a need for some degree of isolation between services but there is also a need for services to be able to have their runtime altered without having to stop the whole platform. This generates a clash of interests and needs, since achieving both flexibility and security balanced is apparently incompatible. The purpose of this article is to explain the needs and requirements that such systems will most surely have, as well as inspiring technologies and related works, in order to advance towards a platform with flexible and secure services that will add bigger capabilities to the devices.
Self-disclosure on Facebook: How much do we really reveal?

This paper investigates the use of the social networking site Facebook to self-disclose and analyses the responses of a small group of Facebook users surveyed about their own willingness to self-disclose. An online survey was used to ask Facebook users about their level of Facebook use, what types of personal information they are willing to reveal and the frequency of these personal revelations. The survey also asked the participants to take a look at their publicly viewable profile and the types of information revealed there. Results indicated that overall, most people tended to be cautious about the types of information they revealed, posted mainly positive statements about themselves and were aware of personal privacy issues.
Resonant-wavelength tuning of microring filters by oxygen plasma treatment

The resonant-wavelength tuning of integrated-optic microring filters in silicon nitride using oxygen plasma treatment is demonstrated. During the treatment, high-energy oxygen ions in the plasma enter into the device surface such that the material composition is converted to SiO/sub x/N/sub y/. The corresponding index variation results in a modification of the effective index of the guide mode and, therefore, the tuning of the resonant wavelength of microring filters. The effects of treatment parameters, such as radio-frequency power, oxygen flow rate, and treatment time, on the characteristics of microring filters are discussed. Experimental results show that the resonant wavelengths of microring filters can be effectively tuned over a range larger than their free spectral ranges.
DNA Breaks Induction by Mimosine

Abstract Mouse erythroleukemic F4 N cells were treated with mimosine, etoposide, Fe(II)-EDTA, and Cu(II) in the presence of ascorbate. DNA was isolated and subjected to agarose gel electrophoresis and the size and distribution of the DNA fragments produced by the agents were compared. With increasing concentration of Cu(II) the production of DNA fragments was increased without decrease of the average length of the fragments, and their sizes were similar to those produced by etoposide as expected for cleavage of DNA at the nuclear matrix attachments sites. In contrast, mimosine and Fe(II) produced fragments of random size and with the progression of the reaction the average length of the fragments decreased. These results indicate that mimosine cuts DNA in a random fashion, regardless of its higher order chromatin organization. A conclusion is drawn that the DNA fragments obtained after mimosine treatment are a result of mimosine-assisted, Fe(II) dependent Fenton-like reactions randomly cutting chromosomal DNA.
C15. Registration of multi-focus images using Hough transform

Image registration is the process of finding a transformation that aligns one image to another. Most researchers who are interested in the registration task don't take into consideration the out-of-focus phenomenon that might affect the accuracy of the registration process. Nevertheless, they suggest that the images are well focused. Consequently, this work deals with the registration of multi-focus images; the out of focus is being treated side by side with the registration process. This paper presents an accurate and fast method for rigid registration of multi focus images. It is based on Hough transformation of images followed by Particle Swarm Optimizer (PSO) as an optimization technique and mutual information (MI) as a cost function (similarity measure). Hough transform introduces a proper initialization for the optimizer. Maximizing the MI between reference and sensed images will lead to minimizing the misalignment error between reference and sensed images, hence yields to accurate registration.
Multimedia Content Distribution Governed by Ontology-Represented Contracts

Multimedia content can be digitally distributed in a B2B and in a B2C context. While B2C distribution has been successful ly governed by means of digital licenses, B2B transfers have received less attention. These digital licenses have been expressed in standard RELs (Rights Expression Language) and they can be seen as the electronic replacement of distribution contracts and end user licenses. However RELs fail to replace the rest of the contracts agreed along the complete Intellectual Property (IP) Value Chain. To represent their corresponding electronic counterpart licenses, an I P value chain ontology able to represent contract terms is presented here. It h as been conceived to deal with a broader set of parties, to handle typical clauses found in the audiovisual market contracts, and to govern every transaction p erformed on IP Objects. Contract clauses are modelled as deontic logic propo sitions, and an event-based system is described to allow a DRM system the execut ion of the contract.
Latent Space Gaussian Process Gaze-Tracking

Commercial gaze-tracking devices provide accurate measurements of the visual gaze and are applied to a broad range of problems in marketing, human-computer interaction, and health care technology. In some applications commercial systems are either unavailable or unaffordable. Therefore, developing low cost solutions using off the shelf components is worthwhile. In the paper at hand, we apply a hierarchy of Gaussian processes, a class of probabilistic function regressors, to the problem of visual gaze-tracking for consumer grade cameras. Gaussian process latent variable models lead to a lower dimensional manifold which represents the gaze space. Finally, a Gaussian process mapping from screen coordinates to gaze manifold enables us to seek for the users visual gaze point given a previously unseen eye-patch. In our experiments, we achieve mean errors of approximately 2 cm for a consumer grade webcam that is positioned 30–40 cm in front of the user.
THERAPEUTIC PROPERTIES OF NONI ( Morinda citrifolia ) AND ITS PRODUCTS

Noni (Morinda citrifolia) is a drought tolerant tree, which grows in adverse climatic conditions (20-45 0 C). There are about 160 phytochemical compounds identified in this plant which is having the explored benefits such as anti-viral, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, anti-nematode, anti-cancer and in the treatment of arthritis, diabetes, asthma, hypertension and pain.
Cationic Antimicrobial Peptides and Biogenic Silver Nanoparticles Kill Mycobacteria without Eliciting DNA Damage and Cytotoxicity in Mouse Macrophages

ABSTRACT With the emergence of multidrug-resistant mycobacterial strains, better therapeutic strategies are required for the successful treatment of the infection. Although antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are becoming one of the popular antibacterial agents, their antimycobacterial potential is not fully evaluated. In this study, we synthesized biogenic-silver nanoparticles using bacterial, fungal, and plant biomasses and analyzed their antibacterial activities in combination with AMPs against mycobacteria. Mycobacterium smegmatis was found to be more susceptible to AgNPs compared to M. marinum. We found that NK-2 showed enhanced killing effect with NP-1 and NP-2 biogenic nanoparticles at a 0.5-ppm concentration, whereas LLKKK-18 showed antibacterial activity only with NP-2 at 0.5-ppm dose against M. smegmatis. In case of M. marinum NK-2 did not show any additive activity with NP-1 and NP-2 and LLKKK-18 alone completely inhibited the bacterial growth. Both NP-1 and NP-2 also showed increased killing of M. smegmatis in combination with the antituberculosis drug rifampin. The sizes and shapes of the AgNPs were determined by transmission electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering. AgNPs showed no cytotoxic or DNA damage effects on macrophages at the mycobactericidal dose, whereas treatment with higher doses of AgNPs caused toxicity and micronuclei formation in cytokinesis blocked cells. Macrophages actively endocytosed fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled AgNPs resulting in nitric oxide independent intracellular killing of M. smegmatis. Apoptosis and cell cycle studies showed that treatment with higher dose of AgNPs arrested macrophages at the G1-phase. In summary, our data suggest the combined effect of biogenic-AgNPs and antimicrobial peptides as a promising antimycobacterial template.
Participation in Transfer Pricing: The Role of Affective and Cognitive Mechanisms

This study examines how transfer pricing participation is related to satisfaction and organizational outcome. We propose and test a structural equation model that includes both direct and indirect links between participation and organizational outcome which is measured by transfer pricing effectiveness and firm performance. Based on the data collected from a cross-sectional survey of subsidiary/division managers in China and applying the structural equation modeling technique, we find that transfer pricing participation affects transfer pricing effectiveness not only directly but also indirectly through both affective and cognitive mechanisms as intervening variables. However, we do not find any direct impact of transfer pricing participation on firm performance. Transfer pricing participation affects performance only indirectly through affective and cognitive mechanisms. The findings of this study contribute to the accounting literature and enhance our understanding of participation behavior and its consequences in transfer pricing decisions.
Risk-Return Efficiency, Financial Distress Risk, and Bank Financial Strength Ratings

This paper investigates whether there is any consistency between banks' financial strength ratings (bank rating) and their risk-return profiles. It is expected that banks with high ratings tend to earn high expected returns for the risks they assume and thereby have a low probability of experiencing financial distress. Bank ratings, a measure of a bank's intrinsic safety and soundness, should therefore be able to capture the bank's ability to manage financial distress while achieving risk-return efficiency. We first estimate the expected returns, risks, and financial distress risk proxy (the inverse z-score), then apply the stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) to obtain the risk-return efficiency score for each bank, and finally conduct ordered logit regressions of bank ratings on estimated risks, risk-return efficiency, and the inverse z-score by controlling for other variables related to each bank's operating environment. We find that banks with a higher efficiency score on average tend to obtain favorable ratings. It appears that rating agencies generally encourage banks to trade expected returns for reduced risks, suggesting that these ratings are generally consistent with banks' risk-return profiles.
Quality of life in rheumatoid arthritis: validation of a Spanish version of the Arthritis Impact Measurement Scales (Spanish-AIMS)

OBJECTIVE To translate and validate The Arthritis Impact Measurement Scales (AIMS) to be used by Spanish speaking populations. METHODS We administered the questionnaire to 97 outpatients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) during routine patient care, in most cases with a trained interviewer. Reliability was assessed in stable patients using test-retest at a one-month interval. Internal consistency was evaluated with the coefficient of reliability. Convergent and construct validation was tested using ARA functional class, disease severity, disease activity, patient global assessment, and pain scores. Responsiveness was evaluated with one-tailed Student's t test and percentage of change. RESULTS Test-retest reliability was statistically significant for all scales except Activities of Daily Living and Anxiety. The coefficient of reliability was > 0.7 for all scales. Convergent and construct validity was detected with the constructs employed (Pearson's r > 0.4). Four/nine scales detected improvement (p < 0.05) in those patients in whom clinical change was recorded. CONCLUSION The Spanish-AIMS retained the methodological properties of the original version and can be used as an outcome measure in Spanish speaking patients with RA.
To Explore the Mechanism of the GRM4 Gene in Osteosarcoma by RNA Sequencing and Bioinformatics Approach

Background Glutamate metabotropic receptor 4 (GRM4) has been correlated with the pathogenesis of osteosarcoma. The objective of this study was to explore the underlying molecular mechanism of GRM4 in osteosarcoma. Material/Methods The expression levels of GRM4 in four human osteosarcoma cell lines and hFOB1.19 cells were examined by real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). The U2OS cells of the highest GRM4 expression were transfected with lentivirus-mediated small interfering RNA (siRNA). The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) after GRM4 gene silencing were screened through RNA sequencing, and analyzed by bioinformatics. Additionally, the transcription factors (TFs) targeting GRM4 were predicted and the downstream protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed using the bioinformatics approach. Results A total of 51 significant DEGs were obtained, including 14 upregulated and 37 downregulated DEGs. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis of the DEGs indicated that four significant enrichment pathways were obtained. A total of six TFs that could be involved in the transcriptional regulation of GRM4 were detected. The results showed that 182 genes in the PPI network were significantly enriched in 14 pathways. The chemokines and chemokine receptors were found to be significantly enriched in three pathways. Conclusions The DEGs in the four significant enrichment pathways might participate in the development and progression of osteosarcoma through GRM4. The results revealed that EGR1 and CTCF are probably involved in the transcriptional regulation of GRM4, which participates in the progress of osteosarcoma by interacting with chemokines and their receptors.
Credit Risk Measurement and Management: The Ironic Challenge in the Next Decade

We are experiencing dynamic changes in the interest and concern with credit risk management despite historically low default rates and losses in the loan and corporate bond markets. The reasons are that lending institutions are increasingly comfortable with transacting their assets in counterparty arrangements whereby credit risk exposed is shifted. This motivation has helped to stimulate the congruence of several important ingredients for the sophisticated treatment of corporate credit evaluation and management including stand-alone valuation techniques, portfolio management approaches, comprehensive and reliable relevant data bases and the growth in credit derivative and other types of credit insurance structures. We expect these dynamic forces to continue over the next several years.
Contracts and Trust

Social preferences and third-party enforcement of formal contracts are two mechanisms that facilitate performance of an agreement. The standard argument is that formal contracting substitutes when social preferences are lacking. We explore the hypothesis that social preferences and contract enforcement are complements. We measure social preferences from a Trust Game and use it is an explanatory variable in a contract game. We find that both increased contract enforcement and high trusting preferences lead to enhanced rates of contract formation and larger investments. There is an interaction effect where trusting individuals make larger investment agreements, specifically when enforcement is greater. Thus, contracts and social preferences complement one another.
A stereo vision technique using curve-segments and relaxation matching

A multichannel feature-based stereo vision technique is described in which curve segments are used as the feature primitives in the matching process. The left and right images are first filtered by using several Laplacian of Gaussian operators of different widths (channel). Curve segments are extracted by a tracking algorithm, and their centroids are obtained. At each channel, the generalized Hough transform of each curve-segment in images is evaluated. The R-table is used as a local feature vector in representing the distinctive characteristics of a segment. The epipolar constraint on the centroids of the curve segment and the channel size is used to limit the search space in the right image. To resolve the ambiguity of the false targets (multiple matches), a relaxation technique is used in which the initial scores of the node assignments are updated by the compatibility measures between the centroids of the curve segments. The node assignments with the highest score are chosen as the matching segments. <<ETX>>
Process-Driven Information Management System at a Biotech Company: Concept and Implementation

While established pharmaceutical companies have chemical information systems in place to manage their compounds and the associated data, new startup companies need to implement these systems from scratch. Decisions made early in the design phase usually have long lasting effects on the expandability, maintenance effort, and costs associated with the information management system. Careful analysis of work and data flows, both inter- and intradepartmental, and identification of existing dependencies between activities are important. This knowledge is required to implement an information management system, which enables the research community to work efficiently by avoiding redundant registration and processing of data and by timely provision of the data whenever needed. This paper first presents the workflows existing at Anadys, then ARISE, the research information management system developed in-house at Anadys. ARISE was designed to support the preclinical drug discovery process and covers compound registration, analytical quality control, inventory management, high-throughput screening, lower throughput screening, and data reporting.
Comparison of bankruptcy prediction models of Altman (1969), Ohlson (1980) and Zmijewski (1984) on German and Belgian listed companies between 2008-2013

Companies in all kind of fields are interested in the performance of their business. The prediction of financial soundness of a business has led to presence in many academic work and newspaper; especially in times of financial crises and economic downturns. As financial ratios are key indicators of a business performance, different bankruptcy prediction models have been created to forecast the likelihood of bankruptcy. However, a bankruptcy prediction model with high accuracy rate remains a challenge since bankruptcy prediction models are based on industries and specific samples. Therefore, the aim of this Master Thesis is to assess the accuracy rate of accounting-based bankruptcy prediction models to industries and periods outside those of original studies. The accuracy rate of three accounting-based bankruptcy prediction models of Altman (1968), Ohlson (1980), and Zmijewski (1984) were tested on German and Belgium listed companies between 2008- 2013.The accuracy rates for Belgian listed companies on Altman (1968), Ohlson (1980), and Zmijewski (1984) are 68.3 %, 68.0 % and 67.9 % whereas the accuracy rates for German listed companies on Altman (1968), Ohlson (1980), and Zmijewski (1984) are 52.1 %, 53.1 % and 52.0 %.
Managing Competition in Professional Services and the Burden of Inertia

Professional services require certain organizational patterns in order to avoid information asymmetries and external effects. These same patterns are used within production structures involving various degrees of monopoly. However, competitive restraints are justified today only when substantial external effects are clearly present, whereas information asymmetries hardly justify such restraints because reputational investments have become widespread in the economy and are relatively efficient in overcoming such asymmetries. As a consequence, innovation in the production of externalities can make competitive constraints unnecessary.