Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Identification of Rhizobium spp. in peat-based inoculants by DNA hybridization and PCR and its application in inoculant quality control

Procedures based on DNA hybridization and PCR were developed for quality control of Rhizobium inoculants. Inoculants for pea and goat's rue were produced by Elomestari Ltd., Juva, Finland, in sterile dry fine peat by the standard procedure used by the company. The inoculants contained Rhizobium galegae HAMBI 1174 and HAMBI 1207 and an R. leguminosarum biovar vicia strain, 16HSA, either solely or in combinations of two or three strains. DNA was isolated from 1-g samples of each peat inoculant and analyzed by nonradioactive DNA-DNA hybridization and by PCR. The hybridization probes were total DNAs from pure cultures of R. galegae HAMBI 1207 and R. leguminosarum biovar viciae 16HSA and a 264-bp strain-specific fragment from the genome of R. galegae HAMBI 1174. The total DNA probes distinguished inoculants containing R. galegae or R. leguminosarum, and the strain-specific probe distinguished inoculants containing R. galegae HAMBI 1174. The hybridization results for R. galegae were verified in a PCR experiment by amplifying an R. galegae species-specific fragment and an R. galegae HAMBI 1174 strain-specific fragment in the same reaction. When suitable probes and primers are available, the methods described here offer promising alternatives for the quality control of peat-based inoculants.
Effect of API-1 and FR180204 on cell proliferation and apoptosis in human DLD-1 and LoVo colorectal cancer cells

The activation of the phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase/v-akt murine thymoma viral oncogene homolog (Akt) and mitogen activated protein kinase kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathways are implicated in the majority of cancers. Selective inhibition of Akt and ERK represents a potential approach for cancer therapy. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the apoptotic and anti-proliferative effects of the novel and selective Akt inhibitor 4-amino-5,8-dihydro-5-oxo-8-β-D-ribofuranosyl-pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidine-6-carboxamide (API-1) and selective ERK1/2 inhibitor FR180204 (FR) alone and in combination on colorectal cancer (CRC) cells (DLD-1 and LoVo). In addition, the effects of API-1 and FR on Akt and ERK signaling pathways were also investigated. The effects of the agents on DLD-1 and LoVo cells were evaluated in terms of cell viability, cytotoxicity, DNA synthesis rate, DNA fragmentation and caspase-3 activity levels. In addition, quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and western blot analysis were performed to examine relevant mRNA and protein levels. The present study observed that the combination of FR with API-1 resulted in significant apoptosis and cytotoxicity compared with any single agent alone in a time-dependent manner in these cells. Also, treatment with FR and API-1 in combination decreased the expression levels of B-cell lymphoma-2 (BCL2), Bcl-2-like1, cyclin D1 and cMYC, and increased the expression levels of BCL2-associated X protein and BCL2 antagonist/killer via phosphorylated Akt and phosphorylated ERK1/2 downregulation. The combination of Akt and ERK1/2 inhibitors resulted in enhanced apoptotic and anti-proliferative effects against CRC cells. The present study hypothesizes that the combination of FR and API-1 in CRC cells may contribute toward potential anti-carcinogenic effects. Additional analyses using other cancer cell lines and animal models are required to confirm these findings in vitro and in vivo.
One-dimensional hybrid-direct kinetic simulation of the discharge plasma in a Hall thruster

In order to model the non-equilibrium plasma within the discharge region of a Hall thruster, the velocity distribution functions (VDFs) must be obtained accurately. A direct kinetic (DK) simulation method that directly solves the plasma Boltzmann equation can achieve better resolution of VDFs in comparison to particle simulations, such as the particle-in-cell (PIC) method that inherently include statistical noise. In this paper, a one-dimensional hybrid-DK simulation, which uses a DK simulation for heavy species and a fluid model for electrons, is developed and compared to a hybrid-PIC simulation. Time-averaged results obtained from the hybrid-DK simulation are in good agreement with hybrid-PIC results and experimental data. It is shown from a comparison of using a kinetic simulation and solving the continuity equation that modeling of the neutral atoms plays an important role for simulations of the Hall thruster discharge plasma. In addition, low and high frequency plasma oscillations are observed. Altho.
Microsoft Research Asia with Redmond at the NTCIR-8 Community QA Pilot Task

paper, we describe our approaches that we used for the NTCIR-8 Community QA Pilot task and report on its results. Specifically in the pilot task, we mainly focused on discovering effective features for evaluating quality of answers, for example, features on relevance of an answer to a question, authority of an answerer, or informativeness of an answer. Also, we examined two different statistical learning approaches for finding the best quality answer. The official evaluation results of our runs showed that our proposed features and learning approaches are effective in terms of finding the best quality answers. KeywordsQA, Answer quality evaluation, Best answer finding
Infall and Outflow around the HH 212 Protostellar System

HH 212 is a highly collimated jet discovered in H2 powered by a young Class 0 source, IRAS 05413-0104, in the L1630 cloud of Orion. We have mapped around it in 1.33 mm continuum, 12CO (J = 2-1), 13CO (J = 2-1), C18O (J = 2-1), and SO (NJ = 56-45) emission at ~2. ″5 resolution with the Submillimeter Array. A dust core is seen in the continuum around the source. A flattened envelope is seen in C18O around the source in the equator perpendicular to the jet axis, with its inner part seen in 13CO. The structure and kinematics of the envelope can be roughly reproduced by a simple edge-on disk model with both infall and rotation. In this model, the density of the disk is assumed to have a power-law index of p = -1.5 or -2, as found in other low-mass envelopes. The envelope seems dynamically infalling toward the source with slow rotation because the kinematics is found to be roughly consistent with a free fall toward the source plus a rotation of a constant specific angular momentum. A 12CO outflow is seen surrounding the H2 jet, with a narrow waist around the source. Jetlike structures are also seen in 12CO near the source aligned with the H2 jet at high velocities. The morphological relationship between the H2 jet and the 12CO outflow, and the kinematics of the 12CO outflow along the jet axis, are both consistent with those seen in a jet-driven bow shock model. SO emission is seen around the source and the H2 knotty shocks in the south, tracing shocked emission around them.
A Method of Traditional Camera Calibration Considering Distortion Based on Extended Kalman Filter

This paper presents a new algorithm of traditional camera calibration which is based on Extended Kalman Filter. The Extended Kalman Filter is a set of mathematical equations that provides an efficient way to estimate the state of a process. The technique of camera calibration can be divided into three kinds in practice, among which the traditional camera calibration has the highest precision. The substance of camera calibration is to figure out the intrinsic and extrinsic parameters of a camera for its further application in computer vision. In this paper, the image coordinates of the characteristics and the corresponding world coordinates are taken as the filter's inputs, the estimate value of these parameters are taken as the filter's outputs. Simulation and experiments results show the well optimization of this method.
Analysis of Grounders and Solvers for ASP Encodings of Argumentation Frameworks Bachelor Thesis

We present an experimental evaluation of popular answer-set programming (ASP) grounders and solvers that were tested with the ASP encodings for argumentation frameworks provided in the technical report “Answer-Set Programming Encodings for Argumentation Frameworks” by Uwe Egly, Sarah Alice Gaggl and Stefan Woltran. We made 21303 tests of randomly generated argumentation frameworks with 90-200 nodes and an edge density of 10-30 percent. The tested candidates were dlv, lparse, gringo, smodels, cmodels, clasp, claspd and gnt.
Fortaleza's Immigrant Song: Portrait-Narratives and an Identity Needs Analysis of Recent Immigrants' Lived Experiences

This inquiry sheds light on the personal stories and lived experiences of a group of recent immigrants currently living in Fortaleza, the sprawling capital of the Northeastern state of Ceará, Brazil. Utilizing a theoretical framework guided by “Epistemologies of the South,” ethnographic principles, and constructivist grounded theory, this capstones presents five first person portrait-narratives highlighting intimate details of project participants’ lives prior to immigrating, and uncovers four persistent and recurrent themes expressed by project participants: (1) language and communication, (2) professional opportunity, (3) personal growth, and (4) “saudade” and belongingness. Through the lens of Johan Galtung’s Basic Needs Approach, this inquiry also sought to analyze the relationship between conflict and identity, insofar as it existed, through determinable identity needs and satisfiers while recognizing overlapping themes for further inquiry. This analysis was organized under the four aforementioned themes offering explicit examples of when these identity needs weren’t satisfied, and of how personal or latent interpersonal conflict manifested. These manifestations of conflict often occurred when perceived social equilibrium failed to be respected or when research participants purportedly disrupted it. This inquiry could not determine identity based conflict in more traditional or academic senses, but at times revealed moments of polarization, isolation, and degrees of cultural resistance and friction as a result of a basic immigrant identity. This inquiry’s findings can be best utilized by local organizations working to provide and improve support related to the aforementioned persistent and recurrent themes to promote better inclusion and integration into Fortalecense society.
The Calpain, Caspase 12, Caspase 3 Cascade Leading to Apoptosis Is Altered in F508del-CFTR Expressing Cells

In cystic fibrosis (CF), the most frequent mutant variant of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), F508del-CFTR protein, is misfolded and retained in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). We previously showed that the unfolded protein response (UPR) may be triggered in CF. Since prolonged UPR activation leads to apoptosis via the calcium-calpain-caspase-12-caspase-3 cascade and because apoptosis is altered in CF, our aim was to compare the ER stress-induced apoptosis pathway between wild type (Wt) and F508del-CFTR expressing cells. Here we show that the calcium-calpain-caspase-12-caspase-3 cascade is altered in F508del-CFTR expressing cells. We propose that this alteration is involved in the altered apoptosis triggering observed in CF.
Compliance Checking for Requirement-Oriented Service Workflow Interoperations

The Internet of Things (IoT) not only identifies physical and virtual objects, but also enables the connection of such objects in an internet-like structure. In this context, services are one of the most important technologies where IoT can be utilized to enhance dynamic interoperation in the form of service workflows. In opened environments, because services are dynamically gathered, IoT identification is an essential feature which leads to more complicated service composition than before. Since services may possess different requirements, it becomes very challenging to determine suitable services to be a part of a workflow. Compliance of such requirements, reflecting trust-based decision of a service to join a workflow, plays a significant role in the success of service interoperation. This paper presents the compliance checking algorithms for service workflow specification (SWSpec) and service workflow net (SWN) to support trust-based decision for service workflow participation. The application of SWSpec is illustrated using an example of a disaster warning system. Finally, the prototype is developed to evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithms.
Individual Differences in Loss Aversion

Loss aversion is considered a general pervasive bias occurring regardless of the context or the person making the decision. We hypothesized that conscientiousness would predict an aversion to losses in the financial domain. We index loss aversion by the relative impact of income losses and gains on life satisfaction. In a representative German sample (N = 105,558; replicated in a British sample, N = 33,848), with conscientiousness measured at baseline, those high on conscientiousness have the strongest reactions to income losses, suggesting a pronounced loss aversion effect, whereas for those moderately unconscientious, there is no loss aversion effect. Our research (a) provides the first evidence of personality moderation of any loss aversion phenomena, (b) supports contextual perspectives that both personality and situational factors need to be examined in combination, (c) shows that the small but robust relationship between income and life satisfaction is driven primarily by a subset of people experiencing highly impactful losses.
Advanced Three-Dimensional Finite Element Modeling of a Slow Landslide through the Exploitation of DInSAR Measurements and in Situ Surveys

In this paper, we propose an advanced methodology to perform three-dimensional (3D) Finite Element (FE) modeling to investigate the kinematical evolution of a slow landslide phenomenon. Our approach benefits from the effective integration of the available geological, geotechnical and satellite datasets to perform an accurate simulation of the landslide process. More specifically, we fully exploit the capability of the advanced Differential Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (DInSAR) technique referred to as the Small BAseline Subset (SBAS) approach to provide spatially dense surface displacement information. Subsequently, we analyze the physical behavior characterizing the observed landslide phenomenon by means of an inverse analysis based on an optimization procedure. We focus on the Ivancich landslide phenomenon, which affects a residential area outside the historical center of the town of Assisi (Central Italy). Thanks to the large amount of available information, we have selected this area as a representative case study highlighting the capability of advanced 3D FE modeling to perform effective risk analyses of slow landslide processes and accurate urban development planning. In particular, the FE modeling is constrained by using the data from 7 litho-stratigraphic cross-sections and 62 stratigraphic boreholes; and the optimization procedure is carried out using the SBAS-DInSAR retrieved results by processing 39 SAR images collected by the Cosmo-SkyMed (CSK) constellation in the 2009–2012 time span. The achieved results allow us to explore the spatial and temporal evolution of the slow-moving phenomenon and via comparison with the geomorphological data, to derive a synoptic view of the kinematical activity of the urban area affected by the Ivancich landslide.
Selective image authentication tolerant to JPEG compression

A watermark application in the integrity maintenance and verification of associated images is considered. There is a great advantage of watermark use in the context of conventional authentication since it does not require additional storage space for supplementary metadata. However JPEG compression, being a conventional method to compress images, leads to breaking of exact authentication. The usage of occuring selective authentication, tolerant to JPEG compression, is proposed. This technique is based on execution of Zernike moments. The performance evaluation of the proposed method depending on a compression factor is estimated. Simulation results show a good efficiency of this approach, including resistance to malicious attacks rather important within the frame of Security and Privacy in Future Generation Services topics.
Validity and reliability of clinical signs in the diagnosis of dehydration in children.

OBJECTIVE To determine the validity and reliability of various clinical findings in the diagnosis of dehydration in children. DESIGN Prospective cohort study. SETTING An urban pediatric hospital emergency department. PARTICIPANTS One hundred eighty-six children ranging in age from 1 month to 5 years old with diarrhea, vomiting, or poor oral fluid intake, either admitted or followed as outpatients. Exclusion criteria included malnutrition, recent prior therapy at another facility, symptoms for longer than 5 days' duration, and hyponatremia or hypernatremia. METHODS All children were evaluated for 10 clinical signs before treatment. The diagnostic standard for dehydration was fluid deficit as determined from serial weight gain after treatment. MAIN RESULTS Sixty-three children (34%) had dehydration, defined as a deficit of 5% or more of body weight. At this deficit, clinical signs were already apparent (median = 5). Individual findings had generally low sensitivity and high specificity, although parent report of decreased urine output was sensitive but not specific. The presence of any three or more signs had a sensitivity of 87% and specificity of 82% for detecting a deficit of 5% or more. A subset of four factors-capillary refill >2 seconds, absent tears, dry mucous membranes, and ill general appearance-predicted dehydration as well as the entire set, with the presence of any two or more of these signs indicating a deficit of at least 5%. Interobserver reliability was good to excellent for all but one of the findings studied (quality of respirations). CONCLUSIONS Conventionally used clinical signs of dehydration are valid and reliable; however, individual findings lack sensitivity. Diagnosis of clinically important dehydration should be based on the presence of at least three clinical findings.
Review Stepping Stones in Dna Sequencing Review Recent Advances in Targeted Genome Engineering in Mammalian Systems Review Glyco-engineering in Plants to Produce Human-like N-glycan Structures Review Using Storage Organelles for the Accumulation and Encapsulation of Recombinant Proteins the Challeng

Special issue: Biotech Reviews – Biofuels, Protein engineering, Plant biotechnology. This issue provides an excellent overview of the latest developments in biotechnology with its very broad topics. You will find articles on genome engineering of mammalian cells, engineering of plant cells for glyco sylation and expression of proteins in different organelles, cellular responses to ethanol stress, neuronal stem cells and more. Cover image by Elena du Guerny (8 years old).
The impact of financial incentives on task performance: The role of cognitive abilities and intrinsic motivation

Economists widely assume that financial incentives represent the dominant and effective stimulator of human productive activities. Yet this assumption may be wrong in the case of mental production processes. This is because intrinsic motivation as well as financial stimuli foster cognitive effort, and because the impact of effort on performance is also moderated by individual cognitive abilities. My ultimate aim is three-fold: first, to formalize a model of cognitive production that would incorporate these insights; second, to test the derived predictions econometrically on laboratory and field data; and third, to apply the gained insights in a broader economic context. This paper provides a literature review necessary as a starting point for carrying out the proposed research.
Types of abuse and intimate partner violence on depression: Does social support matter?

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a public health concern causing negative impacts across gender, socioeconomic strata, cultures, and ethnicities. The relation between IPV and negative mental health outcomes has been established, with more recent research examining the impact of various manifestations of IPV (e.g., abuse type and chronicity) on individual functioning. Protective factors, such as social support, have been identified that attenuate the increased risk for depression. Less is known about the interrelations between social support, depression, and abuse type (physical, psychological, sexual). While IPV is traditionally examined either from the victim or initiator role, it is also important to consider relationships in which both partners experience and demonstrate violence. Using a sample of caregivers at high-risk for experiencing adverse events, the current study examined the relation between IPV chronicity and severity by type (physical, psychological, and sexual) and depression among caregivers reporting unidirectional (reporting IPV victimization only) versus bidirectional (reporting victimization and initiation of IPV) violence. The impact of social support on depression levels among those reporting unidirectional versus bidirectional physical IPV was also assessed. Results suggest that the majority of the sample (44%) reported bidirectional IPV as compared to victimization only (11%), initiation only (7%) or no IPV (38%), and that this difference was statistically significant. Regarding the impact of abuse type on depression, results indicate that among those reporting unidirectional or bidirectional IPV, abuse variables were not significantly associated with depression. Further, the interactions between social support and abuse variables on depression were not statistically significant. However, those reporting more social support reported significantly lower depression levels regardless of their report of IPV. Findings suggest that both initiation and victimization of IPV should be assessed among individuals at risk for abuse, as the majority of participants reported bidirectional IPV as compared to IPV initiation or victimization. The importance of social support was also identified in this study. Clinicians should assess for patients’ unidirectional and bidirectional IPV, particularly among those with young children at high-risk for experiencing adverse events. Connections to social support should also be a focus for clinicians working with families.
Linked data: a new alphabet for the semantic web

The paper defines the linked data as a set of best practices that are used to publish data on the web using a machine; the technology (or mode of realization) of linked data is associated with the concept of the semantic web. It is the area of the semantic web, or web of data, as defined by Tim Berners-Lee "A web of things in the world, described by data on the web". The paper highlights the continuities and differences between semantic web and web traditional, or web documents. The analysis of linked data takes place within the world of libraries, archives and museums, traditionally committed to high standards for structuring and sharing of data. The data, in fact, assume the role of generating quality information for the network. The production of linked data requires compliance with rules and the use of specific technologies and languages, especially in the case of publication of linked data in open mode. The production cycle of linked data may be the track, or a guideline, for institutions that wish to join projects to publish their data. Data quality is assessed through a rating system designed by Tim Berners-Lee.