Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Treatment and Characterization of Kenaf for Nonwoven and Woven Applications

A kenaf bast fiber is comprised of a bundle of single fibers bound by lignin and pectins. It offers the advantages of being renewable, biodegradable and environmentally safe. However, it is difficult to process kenaf fibers because of the coarseness, stiffness and low cohesion of the fiber bundles. In this research, kenaf fiber bundles have been treated by both alkaline sulfide and a modified chemical degumming methods to improve fiber properties. Tensile properties, fineness, length and softness of the kenaf fiber bundles after the treatments were determined. It was found that both treatments improved the fiber fineness, softness and elongation; however, fiber bundle strength was decreased. The modified chemical degumming method was more effective. Under the optimum modified chemical degumming condition, the fineness of the kenaf fiber bundle was improved more than 50% and the fiber bundle was more than twice as soft as the raw material. These kenaf fiber bundles were much finer and softer and found to be easier to process than those obtained in earlier studies. The treated kenaf fiber bundles can be blended with cotton fibers and easily carded on a cotton card with minimum losses. The carded batts can be further processed for either nonwoven or woven applications.
Large torsion subgroups of split Jacobians of curves of genus two or three

We construct examples of families of curves of genus 2 or 3 over Q whose Jacobians split completely and have various large rational torsion subgroups. For example, the rational points on a certain elliptic surface over P^1 of positive rank parameterize a family of genus-2 curves over Q whose Jacobians each have 128 rational torsion points. Also, we find the genus-3 curve 15625(X^4 + Y^4 + Z^4) - 96914(X^2 Y^2 + X^2 Z^2 + Y^2 Z^2) = 0, whose Jacobian has 864 rational torsion points. This paper has appeared in Forum Math. 12 (2000) 315-364.
Jasmine: A Tool for Model-Driven Runtime Verification with UML Behavioral Models

This paper describes the Jasmine tool to detect inconsistencies between the modelled behavior depicted in UML behavior models and monitored runtime behavior of Java programs by runtime verification. Jasmine takes Java programs under verification and corresponding UML models including sequence diagrams, activity diagrams and state machine diagrams. Jasmine imports and parses UML models created by any UML modelling tools. Jasmine instruments the code directed by the UML models, so as to relate the monitored runtime behavior to the UML models. Jasmine drives the instrumented program by existing test suites to collect the program execution traces. Jasmine checks the consistencies between the collected program execution traces and the UML models. It is implemented in Eclipse framework, working as a stand-alone Java application as well as a plug-in in Eclipse platform. It is highly automated and has been evaluated on several case studies.
Solvent Effects on the Steady State Photophysics of Estrone and 17β‐Estradiol

Absorption and emission yields for estrone and 17β‐estradiol were measured in a variety of room temperature solvents. Molar extinction coefficients were found to not vary as a function of solvent, while fluorescence yields were found to be significantly affected by the polarity and hydrogen‐bond accepting ability of the solvent, with the yield for 17β‐estradiol being highest in nonpolar, hydrogen‐bond donating solvents, and lowest in the nonpolar, hydrogen‐bond accepting solvent ethyl acetate. Estrone’s emission yield was found to be a factor of ten smaller than 17β‐estradiol’s. Strong solvent and excitation wavelength dependences were found for the relative amounts of emission between estrone’s two emission bands, with increased relative emission occurring in nonpolar aprotic solvents, and under higher excitation energies. These results are interpreted with the aid of vertical excitation energies from time‐dependent density functional calculations using both explicit and implicit solvation models.
Real-time image mosaicing from a video sequence

The paper describes a fast and robust image registration method that can be used to create a panoramic image/video from video sequences. To estimate alignment parameters for image registration, the method computes pseudo motion vectors that are rough estimates of optical flows at each selected pixel. Using the proposed method, we implemented a software system that can, with a low-cost PC, create and display panoramic images/videos in real time.
Effects of diazoxide in multiple sclerosis

Objective: The aim of this study was to test the safety of diazoxide and to search for signs of efficacy in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Methods: In this multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial (treatment allocation was concealed), 102 patients with RRMS were randomized to receive a daily oral dose of diazoxide (0.3 and 4 mg/d) or placebo for 24 weeks (NCT01428726). The primary endpoint was the cumulative number of new T1 gadolinium-enhancing lesions per patient, recorded every 4 weeks from week 4 to week 24. Secondary endpoints included brain MRI variables such as the number of new/enlarging T2 lesions and the percentage brain volume change (PBVC); clinical variables such as the percentage of relapse-free patients, relapse rate, and change in the Expanded Disability Status Scale score; and safety and tolerability. Results: Diazoxide was well-tolerated and it produced no serious adverse events other than 1 case of Hashimoto disease. At the 2 doses tested, diazoxide did not improve the primary endpoint or the MRI and clinical variables related to the presence of new lesions or relapses. Patients treated with diazoxide showed reduced PBVC compared with the placebo group, although such changes could be confounded by the higher disease activity of the treated group and the vascular effects of diazoxide. Conclusion: At the doses tested, oral diazoxide did not decrease the appearance of new lesions evident by MRI. The effects in slowing the progression of brain atrophy require further validation. Classification of evidence: This study provides Class I evidence that for patients with RRMS, diazoxide (0.3 and 4 mg/d) does not significantly change the number of new MRI T1 gadolinium-enhancing lesions.
The Importance of Wound Biopsy in the Accurate Diagnosis of Acral Malignant Melanoma Presenting as a Foot Ulcer

Neoplastic changes arising at the sites of chronic, nonhealing wounds are not uncommon; however, they often go undiagnosed. We report a case of rapidly progressing plantar melanoma presenting as a chronic, nonhealing ulcer. A 46-year-old patient presented at a specialized Wound Healing Center with an enlarging painful ulcer on the right heel of 3 months duration. The wound was biopsied and specimens were sent for examination at the Wound Pathology service at the Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery, University of Miami. Histology demonstrated features consistent with acral malignant melanoma. Immunohistochemistry using melanocytic markers MART-1, S-100, HMB-45 revealed positive staining indicating the presence of malignant cells, and D2-40 staining showed lymphatic invasion of the tumor in the wound biopsy specimen. The case presented here underscores the importance of wound biopsying in the diagnosis of malignancies associated with nonhealing wounds.
Content-aware authentication of motion JPEG2000 stream in lossy networks

Stream authentication schemes (SAS) aim to achieve effective authentication of multicast streams over lossy networks. Almost all the existing SASs is designed for stream data integrity protection only. In this paper, we argue that content integrity protection is more important than data integrity to human users. We present a content-aware SAS in motion JPEG2000 streaming. In our scheme, a chunk of JPEG2000 codestreams is encapsulated into a block of packets using multiple description coding (MDC). Our MDC exploits the inherent structure of motion JPEG2000 codestreams and is used to preserve the semanteme/content of the stream over lossy networks. To achieve robust authentication, we encode digital signature and other integrity tokens with forward erasure code against packet losses. The experiment result demonstrates that our proposed scheme allows for effective content authentication of motion JPEF2000 streaming.
The Embroidery Problem

We consider the problem of embroidering a design pattern, given by a graph G, using a single minimum length thread. We give an exact polynomial-time algorithm for the case that G is connected. If G has multiple connected components, then we show that the problem is NP-hard and give a polynomial-time 2-approximation algorithm. We also present results for special cases of the problem with various objective functions.
Polymer film strain gauges for measuring large elongations

The paper shows the possibility to print polymer strain gages, microstrip lines, coplanar waveguides, and other prints for avionics using printing technology and equipment. The methods of screen and inkjet printing have been complemented by three new operations of preparing print films for application of an electrically conductive ink layer. Such additional operations make it possible to enhance the conductive ink layer adhesion to the film and to manufacture strain gages for measuring large elongations.
Regenerative urethroplasty in reoperative hypospadias: Buried strip principle revisited

Aim: Reporting the feasibility of the Denis Browne (buried strip) principle along with tunica vaginalis (TV) pedicled wrapping of the strip in reoperative urethroplasty in hypospadias. Materials and Methods: Over a period of 5 years, 32 patients presented with failure of previous urethroplasty and the range of failure was between 2 and 6 times; mean 2.5 times. Mean age was 12.9 (range 2 to 26 years) years. “Buried strip” urethroplasty (i.e., without tubularization of urethral plate) and wrapping with TV were done along with supra pubic cystostomy (SPC) for diversion of urine. Mean follow-up was 29.8 (range 12 to 56 months) months. Results: One patient had fistula and vertical slit meatus was possible in 26 patients. The flow of urine was satisfactory in 31 patients and one patient developed pouch in penile urethra. Conclusions: The buried strip along with the additional coverage with TV was found to be simple and effective in salvaging the failed urethroplasty.
Food Security—A Commentary: What Is It and Why Is It So Complicated?

Every year over 10 million people die of hunger and hunger related diseases. Nearly six million of these are children under the age of five; that is one child’s death approximately every six seconds. Understanding how this still occurs amid the ever increasing social enlightenment of the 21st century—and under the auspices of a vigilant global developmental community—is one of the key challenges of our time. The science of food security aims to address such concerns. By understanding the multiplicity of the phenomenon, practitioners of global multilateral hegemony seek to shape appropriate policy to address these issues. The difficulty however is that the phenomenon is increasingly wrapped up inside an ever growing bundle of societal aspirations including inter-alia under-nutrition, poverty, sustainability, free trade, national self sufficiency, reducing female subjugation and so on. Any solutions therefore, involve fully understanding just what is indeed included, implied, understood or excluded within the food security catchall. Indeed, until such time as consensus can be found that adequately binds the phenomenon within a fixed delineated concept, current efforts to address the multitude of often divergent threads only serves to dilute efforts and confound attempts to once-and-for-all bring these unacceptable figures under control.
Exploring prospects of novel drugs for tuberculosis

Tuberculosis remains a disease with an enormous impact on public health worldwide. With the continuously increasing epidemic of drug-resistant tuberculosis, new drugs are desperately needed. However, even for the treatment of drug-sensitive tuberculosis, new drugs are required to shorten the treatment duration and thereby prevent development of drug resistance. Within the past ten years, major advances in tuberculosis drug research have been made, leading to a considerable number of antimycobacterial compounds which are now in the pipeline. Here we discuss a number of these novel promising tuberculosis drugs, as well as the discovery of two new potential drug targets for the development of novel effective drugs to curb the tuberculosis pandemic, ie, the coronin 1 and protein kinase G pathways. Protein kinase G is secreted by mycobacteria and is responsible for blocking lysosomal delivery within the macrophage. Coronin 1 is responsible for activating the phosphatase, calcineurin, and thereby preventing phagosome-lysosome fusion within the macrophage. Blocking these two pathways may lead to rapid killing of mycobacteria.
A weighted least-norm solution based scheme for avoiding joint limits for redundant manipulators

It is proposed to use a weighted least-norm solution to avoid joint limits for redundant manipulators. A comparison is made with the gradient projection method for avoiding joint limits. While the gradient projection method provides the optimal direction for the joint velocity vector within the null space, its magnitude is not unique and is adjusted by a scalar coefficient chosen by trial and error. It is shown that one fixed value of the scalar coefficient is not suitable even in a small workspace. The proposed manipulation scheme automatically chooses an appropriate magnitude of the self motion throughout the workspace. This scheme guarantees joint limit avoidance and also minimizes unnecessary self motion. It is implemented and tested for real-time control of a seven-degree-of-freedom manipulator. <<ETX>>
Mechanistic Understanding for the Greater Sensitivity of Monkeys to Antisense Oligonucleotide–Mediated Complement Activation Compared with Humans

Differences in sensitivity of monkeys and humans to antisense oligonucleotide (ASO)–induced complement alternative pathway (AP) activation were evaluated in monkeys, humans, and in serum using biochemical assays. Transient AP activation was evident in monkeys at higher doses of two 2′-O-methoxyethyl (2′-MOE) ASOs (ISIS 426115 and ISIS 183750). No evidence of AP activation was observed in humans for either ASO, even with plasma ASO concentrations that reached the threshold for activation in monkeys. The absence of complement activation in humans is consistent with a query of the Isis Clinical Safety Database containing 767 subjects. The in vivo difference in sensitivity was confirmed in vitro, as monkey and human serum exposed to increasing concentrations of ASO indicated that monkeys were more sensitive to AP activation with this class of compounds. The mechanistic basis for the greater sensitivity of monkeys to AP activation by 2′-MOE ASO was evaluated using purified human or monkey factor H protein. The binding affinities between a representative 2′-MOE ASO and either purified protein are similar. However, the IC50 of fluid-phase complement inhibition for monkey factor H is about 3-fold greater than that for human protein using either monkey serum or factor H–depleted human serum. Interestingly, there is a sequence variant in the monkey complement factor H gene similar to a single nucleotide polymorphism in humans that is correlated with decreased factor H protein function. These findings show that monkeys are more sensitive to 2′-MOE ASO–mediated complement activation than humans likely because of differences in factor H inhibitory capacity.
An Interaction Map of Endoplasmic Reticulum Chaperones and Foldases*

Chaperones and foldases in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) ensure correct protein folding. Extensive protein-protein interaction maps have defined the organization and function of many cellular complexes, but ER complexes are under-represented. Consequently, chaperone and foldase networks in the ER are largely uncharacterized. Using complementary ER-specific methods, we have mapped interactions between ER-lumenal chaperones and foldases and describe their organization in multiprotein complexes. We identify new functional chaperone modules, including interactions between protein-disulfide isomerases and peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans-isomerases. We have examined in detail a novel ERp72-cyclophilin B complex that enhances the rate of folding of immunoglobulin G. Deletion analysis and NMR reveal a conserved surface of cyclophilin B that interacts with polyacidic stretches of ERp72 and GRp94. Mutagenesis within this highly charged surface region abrogates interactions with its chaperone partners and reveals a new mechanism of ER protein-protein interaction. This ability of cyclophilin B to interact with different partners using the same molecular surface suggests that ER-chaperone/foldase partnerships may switch depending on the needs of different substrates, illustrating the flexibility of multichaperone complexes of the ER folding machinery.
Nedd4-2 Induces Endocytosis and Degradation of Proteolytically Cleaved Epithelial Na+ Channels*

As a pathway for Na+ reabsorption, the epithelial Na+ channel ENaC is critical for Na+ homeostasis and blood pressure control. Na+ transport is regulated by Nedd4-2, an E3 ubiquitin ligase that decreases ENaC expression at the cell surface. To investigate the underlying mechanisms, we proteolytically cleaved/activated ENaC at the cell surface and then quantitated the rate of disappearance of cleaved channels using electrophysiological and biochemical assays. We found that cleaved ENaC channels were rapidly removed from the cell surface. Deletion or mutation of the Nedd4-2 binding motifs in α, β, and γENaC dramatically reduced endocytosis, whereas a mutation that disrupts a YXXØ endocytosis motif had no effect. ENaC endocytosis was also decreased by silencing of Nedd4-2 and by expression of a dominant negative Nedd4-2 construct. Conversely, Nedd4-2 overexpression increased ENaC endocytosis in human embryonic kidney 293 cells but had no effect in Fischer rat thyroid epithelia. In addition to its effect on endocytosis, Nedd4-2 also increased the rate of degradation of the cell surface pool of cleaved αENaC. Together the data indicate that Nedd4-2 reduces ENaC surface expression by altering its trafficking at two distinct sites in the endocytic pathway, inducing endocytosis of cleaved channels and targeting them for degradation.
Microvascular Lifeboats: A Stepwise Approach to Intraoperative Venous Congestion in DIEP Flap Breast Reconstruction

Summary: The deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) flap is becoming a widely practiced method of autologous breast reconstruction. Although it has been shown to be a safe and reliable technique with acceptable morbidity, disadvantages include a comparatively higher incidence of venous congestion and total flap loss compared with autologous reconstruction with a pedicled or free transverse rectus abdominis myocutaneous flap. Venous congestion is reported in up to one-third of cases of breast reconstruction with a DIEP flap. If venous congestion is detected and addressed intraoperatively compared with postoperatively, outcomes are significantly improved. A wide variety of techniques have been introduced to augment venous drainage to treat congestion and prevent flap failure. Here, the authors offer a comprehensive review of techniques available to address intraoperative venous congestion in DIEP flaps for breast reconstruction. From this review, the authors propose a stepwise, algorithmic approach to diagnosing and treating this potentially devastating complication.
I2S-LWR Activation Analysis of Heat Exchangers Using Hybrid Shielding Methodology With SCALE6.1

The Integral Inherently Safe Light Water Reactor (I2S-LWR) concept developed by a team lead by Georgia Tech is a novel PWR reactor delivering electric power of 1000 MWe while implementing inherent safety features typically reserved for Generation III+ small modular reactors. The main safety feature is based on an integral primary circuit configuration, bringing together a compact core design with 121 fuel assemblies (FA), control rod drive mechanism (CRDM), 8 primary heat exchangers (PHE), 4 passive decay heat removal systems (DHRS), 8 pumps, and other integral components. A high power density core based on uranium silicide fuel (U3Si2) is selected to achieve high thermal power which is extracted with PHEs placed in the annular region between the barrel and the vessel. The compact and integrated design of I2S-LWR leads to activation of integral components, mainly made from stainless steel, so accurate and precise Monte Carlo (MC) simulations are needed to quantify potential dose rates to personnel during routine maintenance operation. This shielding problem is therefore very challenging, posing a non-trivial neutron flux solution in a phase space. This paper presents the performance of the hybrid shielding methodologies CADIS/FW-CADIS implemented in the MAVRIC sequence of the SCALE6.1 code package. The main objective was to develop a detailed MC shielding model of the I2S-LWR reactor along with effective variance reduction (VR) parameters and to calculate neutron fluence rates inside PHEs. Such results are then utilized to find the neutron activation rate distribution via 60Co generation inside of a stack of microchannel heat exchangers (MCHX), which will be periodically withdrawn for the maintenance. 59Co impurities are the main cause of (n,γ) radiative gamma dose to personnel via neutron activation since 60Co has half-life of 5.27 years and is emitting high energy gamma rays (1.17 MeV and 1.33 MeV). The developed MC model was successfully used to find converged fluxes inside all 8 stacks of PHEs with respect to MC statistics using the FW-CADIS methodology. For that purpose the SN module Denovo, based on forward-adjoint transport theory, was used to find VR parameters (importance map and biased source) to effectively bias MC simulation. Further research is required to account for other activation pathways, i.e. isotopes of iron which may generate 59Co through neutron activation and beta decay.
On mechanical control systems with nonholonomic constraints and symmetries

This paper presents a computationally efficient method for deriving coordinate representations for the equations of motion and the affine connection describing a class of Lagrangian systems. We consider mechanical systems endowed with symmetries and subject to nonholonomic constraints and external forces. This method is demonstrated on two robotic locomotion mechanisms known as the snake board and the roller racer. The resulting coordinate representations are compact and lead to straightforward proofs of various controllability results.