Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Characterization and Biological Activity of Taishan Pinus massoniana Pollen Polysaccharide In Vitro

Taishan Pinus massoniana pollen polysaccharide (TPPPS) improves cellular and humoral immune responses of animals and is a novel potential immunomodulator. However, the components of TPPPS have not been recognized. To investigate the composition of TPPPS, crude polysaccharide was obtained from Taishan P. massoniana pollen through water extraction and ethanol precipitation. Three homogeneous polysaccharide fractions (TPPPS1, TPPPS2, and TPPPS3) were purified from TPPPS by DEAE-cellulose column chromatography. The average molecular weights of the three polysaccharides were 56, 25, and 128 kDa, respectively. Results of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) showed that TPPPS comprised mannose, ribose, xylose, glucuronic acid, galacturonic acid, glucose, galactose, and arabinose. The biological activity assays showed that TPPPS2 and TPPPS3 significantly promoted spleen lymphocyte proliferation, and that TPPPS3 showed better effect than TPPPS2. TPPPS3 enhanced the secretion of cytokine IL-2 and TNF, whereas TPPPS2 mainly elevated IL-2 secretion. By contrast, TPPPS1 exhibited other effects, and it induced the highest amount of NO production, thereby indicating that TPPPS1 had the best antioxidant activity. TPPPS3 at 50 μg/mL significantly inhibited the proliferation of subgroup B Avian Leukosis virus (ALV-B) through virus adsorption interference in vitro. Results indicated that TPPPS comprised three main components, among which, TPPPS1 mainly showed antioxidant effects, whereas TPPPS2 and TPPPS3 played key roles in immunomodulation, especially TPPPS3. Further studies on the use of a reasonable proportion of TPPPS1-3 may facilitate the development of an effective immunomodulator.
Selective assembly of connexin37 into heterocellular gap junctions at the oocyte/granulosa cell interface

Studies of mice with targeted disruptions of specific connexin genes have revealed that at least two connexins, connexin37 (Cx37) and connexin43 (Cx43), play essential roles in ovarian follicle development. To explore the respective roles of these two connexins in gap-junctional communication between the developing murine oocyte and its surrounding cumulus granulosa cells, we used confocal immunofluorescence microscopy and oocyte preloading functional assays. Immunofluorescence microscopy located Cx37 within gap-junction plaques between granulosa cells and the oocyte, and Cx43 between surrounding granulosa cells. Preloading assays combining denuded oocytes and cultured granulosa cells expressing or lacking Cx37 or Cx43 revealed that Cx37 must be present in both cell types for the establishment of heterocellular gap-junctional coupling. Furthermore, immunofluorescence microscopy of cultured granulosa cells after incubation with denuded oocytes showed that the oocyte induces the formation of gap junctions containing Cx37 at the surface of granulosa cells. Continuous Cx37 expression in granulosa cells was confirmed using RT-PCR. Together, these results indicate that the growing murine oocyte is functionally coupled with granulosa cells by homotypic gap junctions composed of Cx37, and that the formation and/or stabilization of Cx37 junctions is selectively induced at the oocyte-granulosa interface by cell contact.
Agility improvements by censor-based cooperative spectrum sensing in cognitive radio networks

In cognitive radio networks, cooperative spectrum sensing is used to improve the performance of spectrum sensing. However, the limit of control channel bandwidth and the delay of sensing will more impact the spectrum sensing performance when the number of cognitive user becomes very large. In order to solve this problem, censor-based cooperative spectrum sensing scheme is presented to reduce communication overhead and total sensing time thus improve the agility of the cognitive radio networks, which indicates that the local sensing observation is censored and only local decision with reliable information is allowed to transmit to cognitive base-station. In order to prefix appropriate thresholds, a tradeoff between communication overhead and spectrum utilization is characterized to obtain the optimal no decision probability. Numerical results show that agility gain can be available without the loss of spectrum sensing reliability. Moreover, an improved censor-based scheme is proposed to reduce the spectrum utilization loss.
Alpha 5 Integrin Mediates Osteoarthritic Changes in Mouse Knee Joints

Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of most common skeletal disorders and can affect synovial joints such as knee and ankle joints. α5 integrin, a major fibronectin receptor, is expressed in articular cartilage and has been demonstrated to play roles in synovial joint development and in the regulation of chondrocyte survival and matrix degradation in articular cartilage. We hypothesized that α5 integrin signaling is involved in pathogenesis of OA. To test this, we generated compound mice that conditionally ablate α5 integrin in the synovial joints using the Gdf5Cre system. The compound mice were born normally and had an overall appearance similar to the control mice. However, when the mutant mice received the OA surgery, they showed stronger resistance to osteoarthritic changes than the control. Specifically the mutant knee joints presented lower levels of cartilage matrix and structure loss and synovial changes and showed stronger biomechanical properties than the control knee joints. These findings indicate that α5 integrin may not be essential for synovial joint development but play a causative role in induction of osteoarthritic changes.
A novel data clustering algorithm based on electrostatic field concepts

In this paper a new method is presented for finding data clusters centroids. This method, called Force, is based on the concepts of electrostatic fields in which the centroids are positioned at locations where an electrostatic equilibrium or balance could be achieved. After determining the centroids locations, criteria such as minimum distance to centroid can be used for clustering data points. The performance of the proposed method is compared against the k-means algorithm through simulation experiments. Experimental results show that the Force algorithm does not suffer from problems associated with k-means, such as sensitivity to noise and initial selection of centroids, and tendency to converge to poor local optimum. In fact, we show that this algorithm always converges to global equilibrium points, regardless of the initial guesses, and even in presence of high levels of noise.
USING AERIAL BEHAVIOR TO PREDICT REMORA PRESENCE IN HAWAI'I ISLAND ASSOCIATED SPINNER DOLPHINS (STENELLA LONGIROSTRIS LONGIROSTRIS)

Gray's spinner dolphin (Stenella longirostris longirostris) is a species of spinner dolphin associated with Hawai'i Island. This species has a unique 24-hour schedule involving traveling offshore to forage at night and then migrating back to shore to rest in bays during the day. While in these bays, spinner dolphins come in close proximity to humans. A factor in determining the impact of human interactions with dolphins in the bay is understanding the behavior of spinner dolphins. Spinner dolphins known for the aerial behavior of leaping in the air and spinning. There are several hypotheses as to the function, or functions, of this behavior such as communication or removal of remoras (Remora australis), which are hydrodynamic parasites that attach to the body of dolphins and negatively impact their health. This study used a generalized linear model (GLM) to assess if the aerial behavior of the spinning leap can predict remora presence on spinner dolphins off the coast of Hawai'i Island. The study found that the aerial behavior of spinning leaps is not statistically significant in determining remora presence on a spinner dolphin. This finding compliments other research suggesting that spinning is not used primarily for remora removal.
Realtime shape-enhanced shading of large scale skinned meshes with fast normal updating

Shape exaggeration is highly expected in many applications such as cultural heritage, cartography, educational demos, game etc. Although there have been some research on shape-exaggerated shading, most of them are too slow for real-time applications when large scale meshes are involved. We notice the bottleneck is updating of surface normal. Based on this observation, we present a real-time shape-exaggerated shading method for large scale skinned meshes. The key component is a fast normal updating method tailored for skinned meshes. Experimental results show that our method can generate shading results that are comparable to existing methods in real-time.
Towards landmine detection using artificial vision

One of the main needs for the humanitarian demining procedures in Colombia and in the whole world is to find complementary sensing methods for the metal detectors. This paper presents a study whose main goal is the development of a complementary sensor for a metal detector, based on the analysis of images taken by an on-board camera. The images are processed by developing texture and color analysis of different types of surfaces, composed mainly by grass or small rocks. Based on the color and texture analysis, this paper shows that it is possible to determine the presence of a non-metallic landmine within the image. This is achieved by finding the image regions whose texture features variations and color compositions are considered to be anomalous. It is thought that the texture variations over the image are an indicator that the surface has been intentionally modified. This image processing strategy is being integrated on the robot 'Ursula', designed at Universidad Javeriana in Colombia.
Essays on land cash rents, biofuels, and their interactions

Farmland cash rental markets is one general theme of this dissertation, with the first two essays addressing specific topics related to cash rental rates. A better understanding of the determinants of local cash rental rates and their adjustments to changing economic conditions is important because an increasing and significant portion of farmland is being farmed by tenant operators. Another common thread connecting all the three essays is that they attempt to analyze the impact of biofuels on cash rents, corn/soybean acreage allocation, and gasoline prices. The first essay seeks to establish the determinants of cropland cash rental rates in Iowa using a unique panel data set. It provides evidence on how responsive rental rates are to national commodity prices, in the short-run and in the long-run. These contributions allow us to comment on how closely the Ricardian Rent Theory approximates real-world rent determination. We find that it is an incomplete explanation, even in the long-run. The second essay is concerned with embedded real option components in cash rental rates. Traditional rent valuation methods are biased downward because they excludes the renter's flexibility to use more up-to-date price information when making crop and input intensity choices. We develop an asset pricing model and employ the Monte Carlo simulation to better understand this planting real option. The third essay explores the negative impact of ethanol production on wholesale gasoline prices. The impact varies considerably across regions and comes at the expense of refiners' profits. Based on a transparent analytical model, the study concludes that a net welfare loss arises from ethanol support policies.
POWER WITHOUT RESPONSIBILITY: The press, broadcasting, and new media in Britain

Part 1 Press History: 1 Whig press history as political mythology 2 The struggle for a free press 3 The ugly face of reform 4 The industrialisation of the press 5 the era of the press barons 6 The press under public regulation 7 The press in the age of globalisation Part 2 Broadcasting History: 8 Reith and the denial of politics 9 Broadcasting and the blitz 10 Social revolution? 11 The fall of the BBC 12 Class, taste and profit 13 How the audience is made 14 Video, cable and satellite 15 To be or not to be the BBC: broadcasting in the 1980s and 1990s Part 3 Rise of New Media: 16 Scientists, capitalist and cyberchartists 17 Sociology of the internet 18 New media in Britain Part 4 Theories of the Media: 19 Global futures, the information society and broadcasting 20 The sociology of the mass media 21 The liberal theory of press freedom 22 Broadcasting and the theory of public service Part 5 Politics of the Media: 23 Contradictions in media policy 24 Central debates in media policy
X-Ray Crystal Structure and Properties of Phanta, a Weakly Fluorescent Photochromic GFP-Like Protein

Phanta is a reversibly photoswitching chromoprotein (ΦF, 0.003), useful for pcFRET, that was isolated from a mutagenesis screen of the bright green fluorescent eCGP123 (ΦF, 0.8). We have investigated the contribution of substitutions at positions His193, Thr69 and Gln62, individually and in combination, to the optical properties of Phanta. Single amino acid substitutions at position 193 resulted in proteins with very low ΦF, indicating the importance of this position in controlling the fluorescence efficiency of the variant proteins. The substitution Thr69Val in Phanta was important for supressing the formation of a protonated chromophore species observed in some His193 substituted variants, whereas the substitution Gln62Met did not significantly contribute to the useful optical properties of Phanta. X-ray crystal structures for Phanta (2.3 Å), eCGP123T69V (2.0 Å) and eCGP123H193Q (2.2 Å) in their non-photoswitched state were determined, revealing the presence of a cis-coplanar chromophore. We conclude that changes in the hydrogen-bonding network supporting the cis-chromophore, and its contacts with the surrounding protein matrix, are responsible for the low fluorescence emission of eCGP123 variants containing a His193 substitution.
Development of an All-in-One Inducible Lentiviral Vector for Gene Specific Analysis of Reprogramming

Fair comparison of reprogramming efficiencies and in vitro differentiation capabilities among induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines has been hampered by the cellular and genetic heterogeneity of de novo infected somatic cells. In order to address this problem, we constructed a single cassette all-in-one inducible lentiviral vector (Ai-LV) for the expression of three reprogramming factors (Oct3/4, Klf4 and Sox2). To obtain multiple types of somatic cells having the same genetic background, we generated reprogrammable chimeric mice using iPSCs derived from Ai-LV infected somatic cells. Then, hepatic cells, hematopoietic cells and fibroblasts were isolated at different developmental stages from the chimeric mice, and reprogrammed again to generate 2nd iPSCs. The results revealed that somatic cells, especially fetal hepatoblasts were reprogrammed 1200 times more efficiently than adult hepatocytes with maximum reprogramming efficiency reaching 12.5%. However, we found that forced expression of c-Myc compensated for the reduced reprogramming efficiency in aged somatic cells without affecting cell proliferation. All these findings suggest that the Ai-LV system enables us to generate a panel of iPSC clones derived from various tissues with the same genetic background, and thus provides an invaluable tool for iPSC research.
Incorporation of nisin in natural casing for the control of spoilage microorganisms in vacuum packaged sausage

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of natural casing treatment with nisin and phosphoric acid on control of spoilage microorganisms in vacuum packaged sausages. Ovine casings were dipped in the following baths: 1) 0.1% food grade phosphoric acid; 2) 5.0 mg/L nisin; 3) 0.1% phosphoric acid and 5.0 mg/L nisin; and 4) sterile water (control). The sausages were produced in a pilot plant, stuffed into the pretreated natural casings, vacuum packaged and stored at 4 and 10 °C for 56 days. The experiments were performed according to a full factorial design 23, totalizing 8 treatments that were repeated in 3 blocks. Aerobic plate counts and lactic acid bacteria analysis were conducted at 1, 14, 28, 42 and 56 days of storage. Treatment of casings with phosphoric acid 0.1% alone did not inhibit the growth of lactic acid bacteria and reduced the aerobic plate count by 1 log. The activity of nisin against lactic acid bacteria was enhanced by the addition of phosphoric acid, demonstrating a synergistic effect. Furthermore nisin activity was more evident at lower storage temperature (4 ºC). Therefore treatment of the natural casings with nisin and phosphoric acid, combined with low storage temperature, are obstacles that present a potential for controlling the growth of lactic acid bacteria in vacuum packaged sausage.
Abstract Machines for Polymorphous Computing

Abstract : The Abstract Machines for Polymorphous Computing (AMP) project made important contributions to the understanding of the programming of polymorphous computing architectures. Polymorphous architectures are a promising technology for exploiting explicit on-chip parallelism, which the microprocessor industry has recognized is necessary for the survival of the industry. The AMP project developed software tools to explore programming methodologies for polymorphous architectures, including Morphware. The AMP project mapped application to polymorphous architectures and demonstrated significant, scalable speedups. Finally, the AMP project developed prototype hardware that enabled the development of realistic and complex applications for polymorphous architectures.
Carvalho: English-Galician SMT system from EuroParl English-Portuguese parallel corpus

espanolPara poder construir sistemas de traduccion estadistica es preciso contar con corpora paralelos suficientemente relevantes. No existe en estos momentos suficientes corpus paralelos entre el par de lenguas ingles-gallego. Siguiendo las teorias de importantes romanistas como Eugene Coseriu o Cunha & Cintra que gallego, portugues y brasileno son tres variedades del mismo sistema linguistico y puesto que la variante portuguesa si que tiene estos corpus, en este proyecto investigamos si podemos usar el corpus EUROPARL ingles-portugues para conseguir un ingenio de traduccion estadistica entre el ingles-galego. Para conseguir esto, convertimos los corpus ingles-portugues a ingles-gallego usando un traductor RBMT Opentrad portugues- gallego. Las palabras no detectadas por el traductor son enviadas a un conversor ortografico entre la grafia etimologica e historica que usa el portugues y la grafia castellanizada del gallego. Posteriormente mediante Moses y Giza++ conseguimos modelos de lenguaje de nuestro prototipo. Los resultados obtenidos nos permiten pensar en la posibilidad de usar recursos linguistico-computacionais del portugues para construir recursos, herramientasy aplicaciones para el gallego normativo ILG-RAG. EnglishIn order to build reliable Statistical Machine Translation (SMT) engines between two languages it is essential to use a significantly big amount of parallel corpora. Since available English-Galician parallel corpora are not yet sufficient, it is obvious that other strategies must be followed. Important Romanicists, such as Coseriu (1987) or Cunha & Cintra (2002) have theorized that Galician and Portuguese are two varieties of European Portuguese. From a Computational Linguistics practical stand point, this assumption opens a new line of research that potentially supplies Galician with huge amount of computational resources from both European and Brazilian Portuguese. Thus, drawing from the English-Portuguese Europarl parallel corpus, imaxin|software has built a English-Galician Phrase-based Statistical Machine Translation prototype. To achieve that, the English-Portuguese parallel corpus was first converted into English-Galician using a Opentrad Portuguese Galician Rule-based Machine Translation (RBMT) engine and a spelling converter. Secondly, using Moses, Kohen et al. (2007), and GIZA++, Och & Ney (2003) we built the English-Galician translations and language models of our prototype. The results obtained allow us to conclude that SMT tools based on Galician can be drawn from Portuguese resources, which otherwise would have been an unthinkable task due to the lack of English-Galician parallel corpora. We can also conclude that this strategy can be implemented to develop a great variety of computational tools for Galician language.
A constraint approach for UWB and PDR fusion

Pedestrian Dead-Reckoning (PDR) and Radio Frequency (RF) ranging/positioning are complementary techniques for position estimation but they usually locate different points in the body (RF in the head/hand and PDR in the foot). We propose to fuse the information from both navigation points using a constraint filter with an upper bound in the distance between the estimated positions of both sensors.
Scalable Video Coding Extension for HEVC

This paper describes a scalable video codec that was submitted as a response to the joint call for proposals issued by ISO/IEC MPEG and ITU-T VCEG on HEVC scalable extension. The proposed codec uses a multi-loop decoding structure. Several inter-layer texture prediction methods are employed to remove the inter-layer redundancy. Inter-layer prediction is also used when coding enhancement layer syntax elements such as motion parameter and intra prediction mode, to further reduce bit overhead. Additionally, alternative transforms as well as adaptive coefficients scanning are used to code the prediction residues more efficiently. Experimental results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme. When compared to HEVC single-layer coding, the additional rate overhead for the proposed scalable extension is 1.2% to 6.4% to achieve two layers of SNR and spatial scalability.
Central Funding of Local Public Works

This paper formalises a three-tier administrative hierarchy. A benevolent federal government must decide how to fund an indivisible local public work, planned to be undertaken by a single firm. But the federal government observes neither the cost nor the local benefit of the project. To obtain this information, he relies on the loval authority which gains from the effective realization of the project.
A MIXED SPEECH F 0 ESTIMATION ALGORITHM

This mixed speech fundamental frequency (f0) estimation algorithm is an extension of the classical AMDF (Average Magnitude Difference Function) algorithm for one voice. An exhaustive search of the parameter space of two cascaded timedomain comb filters yields an estimation of the periods of the component voices. The algorithm, which is computationally expensive but easily parallelizable, was tested on a database of continuous male and female speech. Segments of voiced speech, selected according to a "good periodicity" criterion to ensure that the reference single-voice f 0 algorithm would not fail (this criterion rejected 25% of voiced speech frames), were paired and summed to simulate mixed speech. The search range of the algorithm was limited to a 3 octave range, and search was performed frame-by-frame without continuity constraints. The resulting estimates were compared to those of the reference algorithm and found to be within 3 % of target values for 90 % of all frames.