Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pozzolanic Activity Assessment of LUSI (LUmpur SIdoarjo) Mud in Semi High Volume Pozzolanic Mortar

LUSI mud obtained from the mud volcano in Sidoarjo, Indonesia, is a viable aluminosilicate material to be utilized as pozzolanic material. LUSI is an abbreviation of the local name of the mud, i.e., Lumpur Sidoarjo, meaning Sidoarjo mud. This paper reports the results of an investigation to assess the pozzolanic activity of LUSI mud, especially in semi high volume pozzolanic mortar. In this case, the amount of mud incorporated is between 30% to 40% of total cementitious material, by mass. The content of SiO2 in the mud is about 30%, whilst the total content of SiO2, Fe2O3 and Al2O3 is more than 70%. Particle size and degree of partial cement replacement by treated LUSI mud affect the compressive strength, the strength activity index (SAI), the rate of pozzolanic activity development, and the workability of mortar incorporating LUSI mud. Manufacturing semi high volume LUSI mud mortar, up to at least 40% cement replacement, is a possibility, especially with a smaller particle size of LUSI mud, less than 63 μm. The use of a larger percentage of cement replacement by LUSI mud does not show any adverse effect on the water demand, as the flow of the fresh mortar increased with the increase of percentage of LUSI mud usage.
"Ratio regions": a technique for image segmentation

We develop a image segmentation algorithm in which the segmented region has both an exterior boundary cost and an interior benefit associated with it. Our segmentation method proceeds by minimizing the ratio between the exterior boundary cost and the enclosed interior benefit using a computationally efficient graph partitioning algorithm. Our interest is motivated by very efficient algorithms for finding the globally optimum solution, and a desire to investigate how weak smoothness constraints may be globally imposed without disallowing very high local curvature. We analyze the performance of the approach, indicating both strengths and weaknesses, and discuss its connections with prior image partitioning algorithms. The relationship with snakes is discussed in detail and it is shown how to efficiently compute an approximation to common snakes under the additional constraint that it enclose a given point. When user interaction is available, there is a clear advantage to minimizing user interaction for purposes of improved speed and ease of use and for robustness. "Ratio regions" can accommodate several levels of user interaction and it is empirically shown that very coarse initializations can be tolerated. User interaction not only guides the algorithm to perceptually salient regions but can also be exploited to significantly reduce the computational cost.
Motives For Metaphor: Literacy, Curriculum Reform, and the Teaching of English

Despite urgent calls for reform, composition, literature, and creative writing, remain territorial, competitive fields. This book imagines ways in which the three English camps can reconnect. Seitz contends that the study of metaphor can advance curriculum reform precisely because of its unusual institutional position. By pronouncing equivalence in the very face of difference, metaphor performs an irrational discursive act that takes us to the nexus of textual, social, and ideological questions that have stirred such contentious debate in recent years over the function of English studies itself. As perhaps the most radical (yet also quotidian) means by which language negotiates difference, metaphor can help us to think about the politics of identification and the curricular movements such a politics has inspired.
Multi-modal graphene polymer interface characterization platform for vaporizable electronics

Characterization of physical and chemical properties of organic thin films such as polycarbonates is essential for their application-specific design. In this paper, we report a novel micromechanical resonant membrane platform with both graphene resistivity and mass-dependent frequency sensing to measure the thermal response, vaporization, and subsequent mass change of thin-film analytes deposited on top of the membrane. Graphene transferred on silicon nitride (SixNy) is below the analyte thin film, and the graphene resistance changes due to dangling bond interactions between the analyte film and graphene surface. At the same time, the resonance frequency of the analyte film/graphene/SixNy composite membrane changes with variations in temperature, mechanical properties, mass and elasticity of the analyte film. This device provides a bi-modal characterization of the organic thin film, both in the electrical and mechanical domain, which allows one to identify and optimize the organic film formulation. As an example, we demonstrate differentiating formulations of a polymer blend to realize low degradation temperature, which is critical for vaporizable electronics enabling low-power transience.
Combined surface and volumetric occlusion shading

In this paper, a method for interactive direct volume rendering is proposed that computes ambient occlusion effects for visualizations that combine both volumetric and geometric primitives, specifically tube shaped geometric objects representing streamlines, magnetic field lines or DTI fiber tracts. The proposed algorithm extends the recently proposed Directional Occlusion Shading model to allow the rendering of those geometric shapes in combination with a context providing 3D volume, considering mutual occlusion between structures represented by a volume or geometry.
Who values children's imagination? The effect of religious orthodoxy on human values in 16 Western countries

Developmental research suggests that imagination is an important attribute for children’s development, but some individuals value children’s imagination more, and some less. What factors drive the difference? A theory is presented that religious orthodoxy, defined as belief in absolute rules, decreases the likelihood that individuals value imagination. Using the World Values Survey, a probit regression analysis is conducted on responses from 12,911 participants in 16 countries to assess the impact of religious orthodoxy on the perceived importance of children’s imagination. Results support the hypothesis that religious orthodoxy carries a robust negative influence, above and beyond individual differences in religiosity, education, age, and gender. Implications for parenting style and educational intervention are discussed.
Robust Car License Plate Localization Using a Novel Texture Descriptor

This paper presents a novel texture descriptor based on line-segment features for text detection in images and video sequences, which is applied to build a robust car license plate localization system.Unlike most of existing approaches which use low level features (color, edge) for text / non-text discrimination, our arm is to exploit more accurate perceptual information. A - scale and rotation invariant - texture descriptor which describes the directionality, regularity, similarity, alignment and connectivity of group of segments are proposed. A improved algorithm for feature extraction based on local connective Hough transform has been also investigated.The robustness of our approach is proved throughout a real-time detection / verification scheme of car license plate. First, all possible candidates are detected using a rule based method, which is very robust to illumination change and in varying poses. Then, true license plates are identified by the mean of a SVM classifier trained with proposed descriptor. Comparison and evaluation are conducted with two complex datasets.
Least cost paths with algebraic cost functions. Part 1

An idea of planning safer paths for robot motion is outlined. Use is made of algebraic cost functions of clearance to obstacles. A parameter k, safety factor, controls the balance between safety and length of the resultant paths. Analytical solutions are given for a polygon world by using calculus of variations. Results are reported about simple regions only. Another fundamental idea of the 'equivalence classes' of paths is introduced. <<ETX>>
An elementary metabolite unit (EMU) based method of isotopically nonstationary flux analysis

Nonstationary metabolic flux analysis (NMFA) is at present a very computationally intensive exercise, especially for large reaction networks. We applied elementary metabolite unit (EMU) theory to NMFA, dramatically reducing computational difficulty. We also introduced block decoupling, a new method that systematically and comprehensively divides EMU systems of equations into smaller subproblems to further reduce computational difficulty. These improvements led to a 5000‐fold reduction in simulation times, enabling an entirely new and more complicated set of problems to be analyzed with NMFA. We simulated a series of nonstationary and stationary GC/MS measurements for a large E. coli network that was then used to estimate parameters and their associated confidence intervals. We found that fluxes could be successfully estimated using only nonstationary labeling data and external flux measurements. Addition of near‐stationary and stationary time points increased the precision of most parameters. Contrary to prior reports, the precision of nonstationary estimates proved to be comparable to the precision of estimates based solely on stationary data. Finally, we applied EMU‐based NMFA to experimental nonstationary measurements taken from brown adipocytes and successfully estimated fluxes and some metabolite concentrations. By using NFMA instead of traditional MFA, the experiment required only 6 h instead of 50 (the time necessary for most metabolite labeling to reach 99% of isotopic steady state). Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2008;99: 686–699. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Modulatory effects of human herpes virus‐7 on cytokine synthesis and cell proliferation in human peripheral blood mononuclear cell cultures

Human herpes virus‐7 (HHV‐7) infects cells of the immune system and thus may modulate their function. To investigate the potential immunomodulatory effects of this virus, we performed an in vitro study in which we investigated effects of HHV‐7 on the synthesis of several key immunomodulatory cytokines, i.e. tumor necrosis factor α (TNF‐α), interleukin‐2 (IL‐2), interferon‐γ (IFN‐γ), IL‐4, IL‐6, and transforming growth factor β (TGF‐β). This was examined after in vitro infection of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) with HHV‐7. We found elevated levels of TNF‐α, TGF‐β, and IFN‐γ in the supernatants of HHV‐7‐infected cells. By reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) analysis, using cytokine‐specific primers, we found that levels of TNF‐α, TGF‐β, and IFN‐γ mRNA were increased in the infected cells. The HHV‐7 infection also significantly (P < 0.05) decreased the production of IL‐2 from activated, IL‐2‐producing PBMC. Furthermore, mitogen‐ and cytokine‐induced cellular proliferative responses of human PBMC were found to be significantly (P < 0.05) down‐regulated by this virus. On the other hand, HHV‐7 did not affect IL‐4 and IL‐6 synthesis. Overall, our results indicate that HHV‐7 infection causes significant immunomodulatory effects with regard to cytokine synthesis in these cells as well as inhibiting lymphocyte proliferation by various stimuli. J. Leukoc. Biol. 66: 822–828; 1999.
Acute rejection in vascularized composite allotransplantation

Purpose of reviewAcute rejection is the most common complication after vascularized composite allotransplantation (VCA). This review provides a state-of-the-art analysis of prevention, diagnosis and treatment of acute rejection episodes and highlights recent findings with the potential to improve patient care and enhance understanding of the underlying biologic processes. Recent findingsRecent reports suggest that maintenance immunosuppression dose reduction and steroid withdrawal are realistic goals in VCA, despite the known high immunogenicity of the skin component. It appears that utilization of sentinel flaps, in-depth histological analyses and application of novel biomarkers have facilitated early diagnosis and characterization of acute rejection episodes, leading to timely institution of appropriate therapy. The successful management of the first highly sensitized face transplant recipient suggests the possibility of carefully considering these high-risk VCA candidates for transplantation. SummaryAcute rejection is higher in VCA than in any other organ in the field of transplantation, although most episodes are controlled by high-dose steroids and optimization of maintenance immunosuppression. Because of limitations in patient number and the duration of follow-up, the long-term safety and effectiveness of VCA remain unclear. Moreover, the tests currently used to diagnose acute rejection are of limited value. Better diagnostic tools and a better understanding of the immunologic events during acute rejection are therefore needed to improve diagnosis, treatment and outcomes of this life-changing restorative surgery.
Fabrication and characterization of nuclear localization signal-conjugated glycol chitosan micelles for improving the nuclear delivery of doxorubicin

Background Supramolecular micelles as drug-delivery vehicles are generally unable to enter the nucleus of nondividing cells. In the work reported here, nuclear localization signal (NLS)-modified polymeric micelles were studied with the aim of improving nuclear drug delivery. Methods In this research, cholesterol-modified glycol chitosan (CHGC) was synthesized. NLS-conjugated CHGC (NCHGC) was synthesized and characterized using proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, and fluorescence spectroscopy. Doxorubicin (DOX), an anticancer drug with an intracellular site of action in the nucleus, was chosen as a model drug. DOX-loaded micelles were prepared by an emulsion/solvent evaporation method. The cellular uptake of different DOX formulations was analyzed by flow cytometry and confocal laser scanning microscopy. The cytotoxicity of blank micelles, free DOX, and DOX-loaded micelles in vitro was investigated by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay in HeLa and HepG2 cells. Results The degree of substitution was 5.9 cholesterol and 3.8 NLS groups per 100 sugar residues of the NCHGC conjugate. The critical aggregation concentration of the NCHGC micelles in aqueous solution was 0.0209 mg/mL. The DOX-loaded NCHGC (DNCHGC) micelles were observed as being almost spherical in shape under transmission electron microscopy, and the size was determined as 248 nm by dynamic light scattering. The DOX-loading content of the DNCHGC micelles was 10.1%. The DOX-loaded micelles showed slow drug-release behavior within 72 hours in vitro. The DNCHGC micelles exhibited greater cellular uptake and higher amounts of DOX in the nuclei of HeLa cells than free DOX and DOX-loaded CHGC (DCHGC) micelles. The half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of free DOX, DCHGC, and DNCHGC micelles against HepG2 cells were 4.063, 0.591, and 0.171 μg/mL, respectively. Moreover, the IC50 values of free DOX (3.210 μg/mL) and the DCHGC micelles (1.413 μg/mL) against HeLa cells were nearly 6.96- and 3.07-fold (P < 0.01), respectively, higher than the IC50 value of the DNCHGC micelles (0.461 μg/mL). Conclusion The results of this study suggest that novel NCHGC micelles could be a potential carrier for nucleus-targeting delivery.
Draft Genome Sequence of Corynebacterium amycolatum Strain ICIS 53 Isolated from a Female Urogenital Tract

ABSTRACT This report describes the draft genome sequence of Corynebacterium amycolatum strain ICIS 53, isolated from the reproductive tract of a healthy woman. The size of the genome was 2,460,257 bp (58.98% G+C content). Annotation revealed 2,173 coding sequences, including 2,076 proteins, 7 rRNA genes, and 53 tRNA genes.
On deep annotation

The success of the Semantic Web crucially depends on the easy creation, integration and use of semantic data. For this purpose, we consider an integration scenario that defies core assumptions of current metadata construction methods. We describe a framework of metadata creation when web pages are generated from a database and the database owner is cooperatively participating in the Semantic Web. This leads us to the definition of ontology mapping rules by manual semantic annotation and the usage of the mapping rules and of web services for semantic queries. In order to create metadata, the framework combines the presentation layer with the data description layer -- in contrast to "conventional" annotation, which remains at the presentation layer. Therefore, we refer to the framework as deep annotation 1.We consider deep annotation as particularly valid because, (i), web pages generated from databases outnumber static web pages, (ii), annotation of web pages may be a very intuitive way to create semantic data from a database and, (iii), data from databases should not be materialized as RDF files, it should remain where it can be handled most efficiently -- in its databases.
Journal of Theoretical and Applied Information Technology Evaluation of Steganography for Urdu /arabic Text

Establishing hidden communication and conveying information secretly has been of interest since long past ago. One of the methods introduced for establishing hidden communication is steganography. Methods of steganography have been mostly applied on images, audios, videos and text while the major characteristic of these methods are to change in the structure and features so as not to be identifiable by human users. Text documents have been widely used since very long time ago. Therefore, different methods of hiding information in texts (text steganography) are witnessed from the past to the present. In this paper a new approach for steganography in Arabic and Urdu texts is introduced. Considering the existence of harakaat/Araabs i.e. Fatha, Kasra, and Damma in Arabic and Urdu phrases, in this approach, by using Reverse Fatha, information is hidden in the texts. This approach can be categorized under feature coding methods. This method can be used for Arabic/Urdu Watermarking.
A Mathematical Perspective of Self-Optimizing Wireless Networks

We present a mathematical framework for quantitative investigations of self-optimizing wireless networks (SON) with focus on the 3GPP Long-Term Evaluation (LTE) system. Basic target functions, such as the signal-to-noise ratio distribution, the number of satisfied users, or energy efficiency are derived as a figure of merit, including the impact of adaptation of downlink transmit power adaptation, antenna tilt, and the handover parameter. The framework is exemplified by basic investigations on load balancing.
Teaching Writing to Children.

I want to discuss children's writing, beginning with some general observations about the language of children, then moving to specific suggestions for the teaching of writing. My remarks are drawn primarily from my reading; in addition, we've touched on some of the points I'm going to make in class. My purpose is to summarize what we've been learning. The following dialogue took place when a psychologist tried to correct an immaturity in her small daughters speech:1
A CONCURRENT COMPONENT-BASED ENTITY ARCHITECTURE FOR GAME DEVELOPMENT

With the prevalence of large simulated game worlds in game development, component-based approaches to game entities are becoming more common. At the same time, gaming hardware is becoming increasingly parallel, making it more difficult to fully utilize the hardware, especially when writing games for multiple hardware platforms. We describe a new Entity-component system design, focusing on scalable, automatic parallelization with little or no need for manual management of threads.
A 12-bit 104 MS/s SAR ADC in 28 nm CMOS for Digitally-Assisted Wireless Transmitters

A 12-bit 104 MS/s successive approximation register analog-to-digital converter (SAR ADC) is developed for a digitally-assisted wireless transmitter system for use in cellular applications. A power-on calibration method is implemented to correct capacitor DAC mismatch and reduce capacitor size, thereby lowering the current consumption of the input buffer and reference generator. The total capacitor size is reduced to 0.6 pF, from the 3.6 pF required for 12-bit matching. The ADC analog core area is 0.003 mm2. The proposed method achieves 88 dB SFDR at 26 MHz sampling rate and 76.2 dB SFDR at 104 MHz sampling rate after calibration. The measured DNL and INL are 0.5 LSB and 1.1 LSB, respectively. The ADC achieves both high speed and low power by combining several features, namely digital calibration, redundancy, asynchronous bit-cycling, monotonic switching, 25% duty-cycle sampling period, 3 dB input gain, and a fully dynamic comparator. The power consumption from 1.2 V/1.1 V supplies is 0.88 mW for a single ADC core and 6.1 mW for the entire I/Q ADC, including the reference generator and input buffers. The ADC is fabricated in 28 nm CMOS.
Combining MSCR detector and PCA-SIFT descriptor for scene recognition

This paper introduces a novel scene recognition algorithm to perform reliable scene recognition. Firstly, to construct the maximally stable regions, we exploit the maximally stable color regions (MSCR) detector for improving the identification of stable regions. Secondly, each detected region is processed properly by using the method of mathematics morphology. Finally, the descriptor is computed by using the Principal Components Analysis (PCA) based scale invariant feature transform (SIFT) descriptors, with the detected MSCR regions as input. Our experiments demonstrate that this algorithm wins high recognition accuracy, is more robust to image deformations and is both significantly more accurate and much faster than the standard SIFT descriptor based algorithm. Also we compare our algorithm to the global appearance based method, and show through experiments in both indoor and outdoor environments that our approach performs better.