Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cadmium-tolerant plant growth-promoting bacteria associated with the roots of Indian mustard ( Brassica juncea L . Czern . )

Eleven cadmium-tolerant bacterial strains were isolated from the root zone of Indian mustard (Brassica juncea L. Czern.) seedlings grown in Cd-supplemented soils as well as sewage sludge and mining waste highly contaminated with Cd. The bacteria also showed increased tolerance to other metals including Zn, Cu, Ni and Co. The isolated strains included Variovorax paradoxus, Rhodococcus sp. and Flavobacterium sp. , and were capable of stimulating root elongation of B. juncea seedlings either in the presence or absence of toxic Cd concentrations. Some of the strains produced indoles or siderophores, but none possessed C2H2-reduction activity. All the strains, except Flavobacterium sp. strain 5P-3, contained the enzyme 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase, which hydrolyses ACC (the immediate precursor of plant hormone ethylene) to NH3 and a-ketobutyrate. V. paradoxus utilized ACC as a sole source of N or energy. A positive correlation between the in vitro ACC deaminase activity of the bacteria and their stimulating effect on root elongation suggested that utilization of ACC is an important bacterial trait determining root growth promotion. The isolated bacteria offer promise as inoculants to improve growth of the metal accumulating plant B. juncea in the presence of toxic Cd concentrations and for the development of plantinoculant systems useful for phytoremediation of polluted soils. q 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Strength distribution in complex network for analyzing experimental two-phase flow signals

We propose a reliable method for constructing complex network from a time series based on phase space reconstruction and construct complex flow networks using the conductance fluctuating signals measured from gas-liquid two-phase flow experiment. After detecting the node strength distribution of the networks, we show that the strength distribution of the resulting networks can be well fitted with a power law. Furthermore, we using the method of chaotic recurrence plot explore the physical implications of network strength distribution. To investigate the dynamic characteristics of gas-liquid flow, we construct 50 complex flow networks under different flow conditions, and find that the power-law exponent, which is sensitive to the flow pattern transition, can really characterize the nonlinear dynamics of gas-liquid two-phase flow. In this paper, from a new perspective, we not only propose a novel method to study nonlinear time series signals in practice, but also indicate that complex network may be a powerful tool for exploring complex nonlinear dynamic systems.
Does joint line elevation after revision knee arthroplasty affect tibio-femoral kinematics, contact pressure or collateral ligament lengths? An in vitro analysis

Introduction Correct restoration of the joint line is generally considered as crucial when performing total knee arthroplasty (TKA). During revision knee arthroplasty however, elevation of the joint line occurs frequently. The general belief is that this negatively affects the clinical outcome, but the reasons are still not well understood. Material and methods In this cadaveric in vitro study the biomechanical consequences of joint line elevation were investigated using a previously validated cadaver model simulating active deep knee squats and passive flexion-extension cycles. Knee specimens were sequentially tested after total knee arthroplasty with joint line restoration and after 4 mm joint line elevation. Results The tibia rotated internally with increasing knee flexion during both passive and squatting motion (range: 17° and 7° respectively). Joint line elevation of 4 mm did not make a statistically significant difference. During passive motion, the tibia tended to become slightly more adducted with increasing knee flexion (range: 2°), while it went into slighlty less adduction during squatting (range: –2°). Neither of both trends was influenced by joint line elevation. Also anteroposterior translation of the femoral condyle centres was not affected by joint line elevation, although there was a tendency for a small posterior shift (of about 3 mm) during squatting after joint line elevation. In terms of kinetics, ligaments lengths and length changes, tibiofemoral contact pressures and quadriceps forces all showed the same patterns before and joint line elevation. No statistically significant changes could be detected. Conclusions Our study suggests that joint line elevation by 4 mm in revision total knee arthroplasty does not cause significant kinematic and kinetic differences during passive flexion/extension movement and squatting in the tibio-femoral joint, nor does it affect the elongation patterns of collateral ligaments. Therefore, clinical problems after joint line elevation are probably situated in the patello-femoral joint or caused by joint line elevation of more than 4 mm.
Evolving Ext4 for Shingled Disks

Drive-Managed SMR (Shingled Magnetic Recording) disks offer a plug-compatible higher-capacity replacement for conventional disks. For non-sequential workloads, these disks show bimodal behavior: After a short period of high throughput they enter a continuous period of low throughput. We introduce ext4-lazy, a small change to the Linux ext4 file system that significantly improves the throughput in both modes. We present benchmarks on four different drive-managed SMR disks from two vendors, showing that ext4-lazy achieves 1.7-5.4× improvement over ext4 on a metadata-light file server benchmark. On metadata-heavy benchmarks it achieves 2-13× improvement over ext4 on drive-managed SMR disks as well as on conventional disks.
On the Importance of Local Sources of Radiation in Cosmological Absorption Systems

An upper limit to the importance of local sources of radiation compared to the cosmic background in cosmological absorption systems is derived as a simple consequence of the conservation of surface brightness. The limit depends only on the rate of incidence of the absorbers and the mean free path of the radiation. It is found that on average, the ionizing radiation intensity from local sources in Lyman limit systems at z > 2 must be less than half of the intensity of the cosmic background. In absorbers with column densities much lower than Lyman limit systems, the local source contribution must be negligible. The limit on the ratio of local source to background intensities is then applied to the class of damped Lyα absorption systems with detectable excited C II lines. A cooling rate of the gas in these systems has been measured by Wolfe et al., who assumed that the balancing heating source is photoelectric heating of dust by light at ~1500 Å. The intensity from local star formation at this wavelength in this class of damped Lyα systems is found to be at most ~3 times the background intensity. If the heating source is indeed photoelectric heating of dust, the background created by sources associated with damped Lyα systems can then be estimated from the average cooling rates measured in the absorbers. Current results yield a background intensity higher than previous estimates based on observed galaxy and quasar luminosity functions, although with a large uncertainty. The possibility of other sources of heating, such as shock-heating in a turbulent medium, should be explored.
ARM-CPD: Detecting SYN flooding attack by traffic prediction

This paper proposed an ARM-CPD scheme that is a simple but fast and effective approach to detect SYN flooding attacks. Instead of managing all real time ongoing traffic on the network, ARM-CPD only monitors the SYN packet and use it to predict the SYN packet in the near future to detect the SYN flooding attacks. To get the prediction SYN traffic, the Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average Model (ARIMA) is proposed; and to make the detection method insensitive to site and access pattern, a non-parametric Cumulative Sum (CUSUM) algorithm is applied. The trace-driven simulations demonstrate that ARM-CPD can shorten the detection time of SYN flooding attack effectively.
Amendment to "Performance Analysis of the V-BLAST Algorithm: An Analytical Approach." [1]

An analytical technique for the outage and BER analysis of the nx2 V-BLAST algorithm with the optimal ordering has been presented in [1], including closed-form exact expressions for average BER and outage probabilities, and simple high-SNR approximations. The analysis in [1] is based on the following essential approximations: 1. The SNR was defined in terms of total after-projection signal and noise powers, and the BER was analyzed based on their ratio. This corresponds to a non-coherent (power-wise) equal-gain combining of both the signal and the noise, and it is not optimum since it does not provide the maximum output SNR. 2. The definition of the total after-projection noise power at each step ignored the fact that the after-projection noise vector had correlated components. 3. The after-combining noises at different steps (and hence the errors) were implicitly assumed to be independent of each other. Under non-coherent equal-gain combining, that is not the case. It turns out that the results in [1] hold also true without these approximations, subject to minor modifications only. The purpose of this note is to show this and also to extend the average BER results in [1] to the case of BPSK-modulated V-BLAST with more than two Rx antennas (eq. 18-20). Additionally, we emphasize that the block error rate is dominated by the first step BER at the high-SNR mode (eq. 14 and 21).
Selective Inhibition of Matrix Metalloproteinase-9 Attenuates Secondary Damage Resulting from Severe Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death and long-term disability. Following the initial insult, severe TBI progresses to a secondary injury phase associated with biochemical and cellular changes. The secondary injury is thought to be responsible for the development of many of the neurological deficits observed after TBI and also provides a window of opportunity for therapeutic intervention. Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9 or gelatinase B) expression is elevated in neurological diseases and its activation is an important factor in detrimental outcomes including excitotoxicity, mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis, and increases in inflammatory responses and astrogliosis. In this study, we used an experimental mouse model of TBI to examine the role of MMP-9 and the therapeutic potential of SB-3CT, a mechanism-based gelatinase selective inhibitor, in ameliorating the secondary injury. We observed that activation of MMP-9 occurred within one day following TBI, and remained elevated for 7 days after the initial insult. SB-3CT effectively attenuated MMP-9 activity, reduced brain lesion volumes and prevented neuronal loss and dendritic degeneration. Pharmacokinetic studies revealed that SB-3CT and its active metabolite, p-OH SB-3CT, were rapidly absorbed and distributed to the brain. Moreover, SB-3CT treatment mitigated microglial activation and astrogliosis after TBI. Importantly, SB-3CT treatment improved long-term neurobehavioral outcomes, including sensorimotor function, and hippocampus-associated spatial learning and memory. These results demonstrate that MMP-9 is a key target for therapy to attenuate secondary injury cascades and that this class of mechanism-based gelatinase inhibitor–with such desirable pharmacokinetic properties–holds considerable promise as a potential pharmacological treatment of TBI.
Quaternion-based kinematic control of redundant spacecraft/manipulator systems

Addresses kinematic control of a redundant space manipulator mounted on a free-floating spacecraft. Redundancy of the system with respect to the number of task variables for spacecraft attitude and manipulator end-effector pose is considered. Also, the problem of both spacecraft attitude and end-effector orientation representation is tackled. A nonminimal singularity-free representation of rigid body orientation is adopted: the unit quaternion; this allows avoiding representation singularities and formulating the inverse kinematics algorithms in terms of geometrically meaningful variables. Depending on the nature of the task for the spacecraft/manipulator system, a number of closed-loop inverse kinematics algorithms are proposed. Case studies are developed for a system of a spacecraft with a six-joint manipulator attached.
Predicting Organizational Transformation in ERP Adoption: Using a Multi-Level Model to Reconcile Vvariance and Process Theories

This research attempts to reconcile these two perspectives. We propose that there are both predictive and interpretive components of human/computer interaction, and that by decomposing the interactions into layers, we can isolate and identify the predictive and interpretive elements. We also propose that it is the feedback between the layers that affects the predictability of computer technology use. Lastly, we propose that in the case of ERP, the structure of the system is very rigid and minimizes interpretive processes and feedback, thereby allowing the predictive attributes to drive the interaction. Our research model will be based on Arrow’s (2000) three-layer model of complex groups. At each layer we depict combinations of attributes as regions on a threedimensional map. We then use the map to explain how the rigid structures embedded in ERP software exert transformational pressure on the organization at each layer. The model will be tested by examining the implementation of PeopleSoft financial software at four campuses within the California State University system.
Convection in Slab and Spheroidal Geometries

Abstract: Three‐dimensional numerical simulations of compressible turbulent thermally driven convection, in both slab and spheroidal geometries, are reviewed and analyzed in terms of velocity spectra and mixing‐length theory. The same ideal gas model is used in both geometries, and resulting flows are compared. The piecewise‐parabolic method (PPM), with either thermal conductivity or photospheric boundary conditions, is used to solve the fluid equations of motion.
Beneficial or Deleterious Effects of a Preexisting Hypersensitivity to Bacterial Components on the Course and Outcome of Infection

ABSTRACT Priming with heat-killed Propionibacterium acnes enhances the sensitivity of mice to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and other biologically active bacterial components. We show that P. acnes priming has protective and deleterious effects on a subsequent serovar Typhimurium infection. It may result in a complete protection or prolonged survival, or it may accelerate mortality of the infected mice, depending on the number of serovar Typhimurium bacteria administered and on the degree of LPS hypersensitivity at the time of infection. Both effects of P. acnes-induced hypersensitivity are mediated by gamma interferon (IFN-γ) and are based on a differential activation of the innate immune mechanisms which recognize and react against the LPS present in infecting bacteria. In P. acnes-primed mice null for LPS-binding protein (LBP−/− mice), the impaired LPS recognition, due to the absence of LBP, resulted in a higher resistance to serovar Typhimurium infection. A similar P. acnes priming of mice had a protective, but no deleterious effect on a subsequent L. monocytogenes infection. This effect was IFN-γ dependent but independent of LBP.
The Deterrent Effects of Ethics Codes for Corporate Crime: A Meta-Analysis

Title of Document: THE DETERRENT EFFECTS OF ETHICS CODES FOR CORPORATE CRIME: A META-ANALYSIS Natalie Marie Schell-Busey, Ph.D., 2009 Directed By: Dr. Sally Simpson, Criminology and Criminal Justice The current financial crisis, brought on in part by the risky and unethical behaviors of investment banks, has drawn attention to corporate crime, particularly on the issue of how to prevent it. Over the last thirty years, codes of conduct have been a cornerstone of corporate crime prevention policies, and consequently are now widespread, especially among large companies. However, the empirical literature is mixed on the effectiveness of codes, leaving them open to critics who charge that codes can be costly to implement, ineffective, and even criminogenic. In this dissertation I use meta-analysis to examine the evidence regarding the preventative effects of ethics codes for corporate crime. The results show that codes and elements of their support system, like enforcement and top management support, have a positive, significant effect on ethical-decision making and behavior. Based on these results, I propose an integrated approach toward self-regulation founded on Braithwaite’s (2002) enforcement pyramid, which specifies that regulation should primarily be built around persuasion with sanctions reserved for situations where a stronger deterrent is needed. THE DETERRENT EFFECTS OF ETHICS CODES FOR CORPORATE CRIME: A META-ANALYSIS
Rapid Creation of Large-scale Photorealistic Virtual Environments

The rapid and efficient creation of virtual environments has become a crucial part of virtual reality applications. In particular, civil and defense applications often require and employ detailed models of operations areas for training, simulations of different scenarios, planning for natural or man-made events, monitoring, surveillance, games and films. A realistic representation of the large-scale environments is therefore imperative for the success of such applications since it increases the immersive experience of its users and helps reduce the difference between physical and virtual reality. However, the task of creating such large-scale virtual environments still remains a time-consuming and manual work. In this work we propose a novel method for the rapid reconstruction of photorealistic large-scale virtual environments. First, a novel parameterized geometric primitive is presented for the automatic building detection, identification and reconstruction of building structures. In addition, buildings with complex roofs containing non-linear surfaces are reconstructed interactively using a nonlinear primitive. Secondly, we present a rendering pipeline for the composition of photorealistic textures which unlike existing techniques it can recover missing or occluded texture information by integrating multiple information captured from different optical sensors (ground, aerial and satellite).
Binding to the Extracellular Matrix and Proteolytic Processing: Two Key Mechanisms Regulating Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Action

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF, VEGF-A) is a major regulator of physiological and pathological angiogenesis. One feature of VEGF is the existence of multiple isoforms arising from alternative exon splicing. Our initial biochemical and biological studies indicated that such isoforms are uniquely suited to generate angiogenic gradients by virtue of their differential ability to interact with the extracellular matrix (ECM). Although ECM-bound VEGF was bioactive, processing by physiologically relevant proteases such as plasmin was identified as a key mechanism to convert ECM-bound VEGF into freely diffusible forms. This retrospective article examines the early studies and also emphasizes the subsequent progress in our understanding of these processes in health and disease.
Sensitivity study for object reconstruction using a network of time-of-flight depth sensors

This paper investigates the integration of multiple time-of-flight (ToF) depth sensors for object reconstruction. The advantage of such a sensor network is in the increased viewing coverage and addressing the problem of object self-occlusion. However, in utilizing a network of depth sensors, calibration and interference between the sensors can be one of the key challenges of their effective utilization. In comparison with infrared depth sensors, integration of time-of-flight sensors offer some new challenges. This paper presents experimental studies of practical factors that can affect such integration and proposes a guideline which can be used to avoid interferences. Using the proposed set-up, the paper also presents a method which can be used for reconstructing objects in such a sensor network.
Volume rendering for relational data

A method for efficiently volume rendering dense scatterplots of relational data is described. Plotting difficulties that arise from large numbers of data points, categorical variables, interaction with non-axis dimensions, and unknown values, are addressed by this method. The domain of the plot is voxelized using binning and then volume rendering. Since a table is used as the underlying data structure, no storage is wasted on regions with no data. The opacity of each voxel is a function of the number of data points in a corresponding bin. A voxel's color is derived by averaging the value of one of the variables for all the data points that fall in a bin. Other variables in the data may be mapped to external query sliders. A dragger object permits a user to select regions inside the volume.
The search for minimum potential energy structures of small atomic clusters. Application of the ant colony algorithm.

The ant colony algorithm has been applied to the problem of finding the minimal potential energy configuration of a small physical system (cluster) of atoms interacting via the Lennard–Jones phenomenological potential. The ants were positively motivated if their activity (displacement of atomic positions) leads to a lower total potential energy of the system. Starting from a random spatial distribution of atoms, during the optimalization process, the ants were able to find configurations with energies much lower than the initial ones. The optimized configurations generated by the ant colony algorithm can be used as a good starting point for classical or ab initio molecular dynamics (MD) simulations.
Using Snippets in Text Summarization: a Comparative Study and an Application

Automatic text summarization consists of automatically creating a summary of one or more texts. As for Web pages, unfortunately classical techniques cannot be applied in presence of dynamic contents. In this paper, we propose the adoption of snippets –i.e., page excerpts provided together with user query results by search engines– as a text summarization technique. The study is conducted along two directions: comparing the proposed approach with a classical text summarization technique and (ii) assessing whether snippet summarization can be successfully applied to contextual advertising. On the one hand, comparative experiments show that the proposed approach has performances similar to those obtained by using the selected classical technique. On the other hand, the adoption of snippets as text summarization technique in contextual advertising show that the performances are quite satisfactory.
CAT: A Cost-Aware BitTorrent

With an enhanced client computer performance and network bandwidth, peer-to-peer (P2P) content distribution networks are receiving much attention. However, along with the popularization of P2P content distribution networks, inter- Internet service provider (ISP) traffic and ISP costs are increasing, and pose an impediment for making a potential P2P content distribution network social infrastructure. This paper presents a method to constitute P2P content distribution networks and a reduction in ISP costs by considering the form of the ISP interconnection in its distribution. Results from our simulations show that our proposal achieves a reduction in ISP costs and distribution time, regardless of the number of peers joining a P2P network and the capacity of its content.