Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Epitope Dampening Monotypic Measles Virus Hemagglutinin Glycoprotein Results in Resistance to Cocktail of Monoclonal Antibodies

The measles virus (MV) is serologically monotypic. Life-long immunity is conferred by a single attack of measles or following vaccination with the MV vaccine. This is contrary to viruses such as influenza, which readily develop resistance to the immune system and recur. A better understanding of factors that restrain MV to one serotype may allow us to predict if MV will remain monotypic in the future and influence the design of novel MV vaccines and therapeutics. MV hemagglutinin (H) glycoprotein, binds to cellular receptors and subsequently triggers the fusion (F) glycoprotein to fuse the virus into the cell. H is also the major target for neutralizing antibodies. To explore if MV remains monotypic due to a lack of plasticity of the H glycoprotein, we used the technology of Immune Dampening to generate viruses with rationally designed N-linked glycosylation sites and mutations in different epitopes and screened for viruses that escaped monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). We then combined rationally designed mutations with naturally selected mutations to generate a virus resistant to a cocktail of neutralizing mAbs targeting four different epitopes simultaneously. Two epitopes were protected by engineered N-linked glycosylations and two epitopes acquired escape mutations via two consecutive rounds of artificial selection in the presence of mAbs. Three of these epitopes were targeted by mAbs known to interfere with receptor binding. Results demonstrate that, within the epitopes analyzed, H can tolerate mutations in different residues and additional N-linked glycosylations to escape mAbs. Understanding the degree of change that H can tolerate is important as we follow its evolution in a host whose immunity is vaccine induced by genotype A strains instead of multiple genetically distinct wild-type MVs.
Knowledge sharing behaviour influences: a case of Library and Information Science faculties in Iran

The dynamism of a new economy requires information professionals to not only quickly create knowledge but also to acquire and apply knowledge through knowledge sharing. As such, determining factors that may influence knowledge sharing behaviour constitutes an important area of research. This paper aims to determine the factors that influence knowledge sharing amongst Library and Information Science (LIS) faculties, which in this context refers to attitude, intention and intrinsic motivation. Also, the paper identifies the effect of two demographic variables (type of institute and length of teaching experience) on knowledge sharing behaviour. Data were collected through survey questionnaire returned by 93 full-time LIS teaching staff in governmental and private universities (Islamic Azad universities) in Iran. Results showed that among demographic variables a significant difference was found between knowledge sharing behaviour of LIS educators with different teaching experiences (.027) but observed no significant difference between knowledge sharing behaviour of LIS faculties working in governmental universities and those working in Islamic Azad universities. The researchers also found a significant relationship (0.000) between attitude of educators toward knowledge sharing and their intention to share knowledge. Results showed that intention and intrinsic motivation influence knowledge sharing behaviour of the LIS educators sampled.
Phase-processing for voice activity detection: A statistical approach

Conventional voice activity detectors (VAD) mostly rely on the magnitude of the complex valued DFT spectral coefficients. In this paper, the circular variance of the Discrete Fourier transform (DFT) coefficients is investigated in terms of its ability to represent speech activity in noise. To this end we model the circular variance as a random variable with different underlying distributions for the speech and the noise class. Based on this, we derive a binary hypothesis test relying only on the circular variance estimated from the noisy speech. The experimental results show a reasonable VAD performance justifying that amplitude-independent information can characterize speech in a convenient way.
Longitudinal Changes in the Brain Following Third Ventriculostomy in a Child With Hydrocephalus

AbstractThe goal of this study was to detect the long-term effect of shunting on the integrity of white matter in young children with hydrocephalus.The authors reported the case of a 6-month-old boy with hydrocephalus who was evaluated by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) before and after a shunt operation.When compared with normal children, the structures of the corpus callosum, internal capsule, and corona radiata in the patient showed a decrease in fractional anisotropy and an increase in radial diffusivity values before the shunt operation. Following successful cerebrospinal fluid shunting, long-term follow-up DTI demonstrated a trend toward normalization of the fractional anisotropy and radial diffusivity values.Shunt treatment can prevent further damage to the brain and grossly reconstitute the distorted anatomy. DTI could be a useful tool in detecting longitudinal changes after a shunt operation. Further studies involving larger case numbers are needed to detect the long-term effect of shunting on the brains of children with hydrocephalus.
Substrate Integrated Waveguide (SIW) to Microstrip Transition at X-Band

Substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) is a new form of transmission line. It facilitates the realization of non- planar (waveguide based) circuits into planar form for easy integration with other planar (microstrip) circuits and systems. This paper describes the design of an SIW to microstrip transition. The transition is broadband covering the frequency range of 8 - 12GHz. The measured in-band insertion loss is below 0.6dB while the return loss is less than 10dB. The circuit is simulated in HFSS and results are measured on vector network analyzer (VNA).
A multiresolution approach for texture synthesis using the circular harmonic functions

In this paper, an unsupervised model-based texture reproduction technique is described. In accordance with the Julesz's (1962) conjecture, the statistical properties of the prototype up to the second order are copied in order to generate a synthetic texture perceptually indistinguishable from the given sample. However, this task is accomplished using a hybrid approach which operates partially in the spatial domain and partially in a multiresolution domain. The latter employed is the circular harmonic function (CHF) domain since it has been proven to be well suited for mimicking the behavior of the human visual system (HVS). This approach allows, for a wide range of textures typologies, obtaining synthetic textures that better match the prototype with respect to the ones obtained using techniques based on the Julesz's conjecture operating only in the spatial domain, and to dramatically reduce the computational complexity of similar methods operating only in the multiresolution domain.
PCR performance of a thermostable heterodimeric archaeal DNA polymerase

DNA polymerases are versatile tools used in numerous important molecular biological core technologies like the ubiquitous polymerase chain reaction (PCR), cDNA cloning, genome sequencing, and nucleic acid based diagnostics. Taking into account the multiple DNA amplification techniques in use, different DNA polymerases must be optimized for each type of application. One of the current tendencies is to reengineer or to discover new DNA polymerases with increased performance and broadened substrate spectra. At present, there is a great demand for such enzymes in applications, e.g., forensics or paleogenomics. Current major limitations hinge on the inability of conventional PCR enzymes, such as Taq, to amplify degraded or low amounts of template DNA. Besides, a wide range of PCR inhibitors can also impede reactions of nucleic acid amplification. Here we looked at the PCR performances of the proof-reading D-type DNA polymerase from P. abyssi, Pab-polD. Fragments, 3 kilobases in length, were specifically PCR-amplified in its optimized reaction buffer. Pab-polD showed not only a greater resistance to high denaturation temperatures than Taq during cycling, but also a superior tolerance to the presence of potential inhibitors. Proficient proof-reading Pab-polD enzyme could also extend a primer containing up to two mismatches at the 3' primer termini. Overall, we found valuable biochemical properties in Pab-polD compared to the conventional Taq, which makes the enzyme ideally suited for cutting-edge PCR-applications.
Analyzing and modeling the failure behavior of Wireless Sensor Networks software under errors

As Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are starting to be adopted in critical scenarios, it becomes important to study the behavior of WSN software in response to errors induced by hardware faults. To this aim, in this paper we present the results of an extensive fault-injection campaign, conducted on three different WSN operating systems (OSs). Results show that, depending on the concurrency model and on the memory management, the OS reacts to injected faults differently, indicating that fault containment strategies and hang-checking assertions should be implemented to avoid spreading and activations of errors. Analysis also allowed us to define a detailed dependability model of the WSN software, to be used to simulate the expected failure behavior of a given OS when solicited by given low-level hardware faults.
Student teachers' perceptions of seminar learning contexts in ITE (initial teacher education)

This paperoutlines how examining student teachers’ perceptionsof the use of seminars in HE led to reflections about the role and significance of seminars in initial teachereducation (ITE). Whilst thegeneric literatureon student learningprovides useful insights about how they approach their learning and tutors’teaching strategies, we know little about students,and in particular student teachers’1perceptions of seminars (a learning context that can nurture important HE attributes such as reflection, reasoning and judgement). The study focuses on student teachers and reportsonthe findings from a series of in-depth interviews withfivesecond year undergraduate primary teacher education student teachersin a post-1992 English university. Their accounts present seminars as rich and multi-layered learning contexts that draw on their peers’, tutors’and families’practices,and characterised by instrumentalist judgementsabout the extent to which seminars ‘enabled’ or ‘disabled’ participation and teacher preparation. This paper's contribution is in problematising seminars, a common learning context for student teachers, and highlighting the ways in which the studyled to pedagogical reflections about the purpose,value and potential of university-based seminars for teacher preparation.KeywordsSeminars; perceptions; student teachers;context; reflection; theory/practice.IntroductionThis paper is an accountofhowthe renewed emphasis on student teachers' reflection ininitialteacher education(ITE)(DELNI, 2014; DfE, 2015; Khortagen et al., 2001) led to pedagogical reflectionsabout seminars’role in promoting student teachers’ reflections. The emerging international consensus that teacher quality has the biggest impacton children’s educational outcomes has led to new initiatives for student teachers’ training and education (Hulme et al, 2013). A significant change is the ‘practicum turn’(Burns & Mutton, 2010); a policy shift to devolve much of teacher educationinto schools as evidenced in England’s School Direct programme (DfE, 2011; McLean Davies et al., 2013). Behind this shift is policy makers’ view that students make little use of what they learn at university (Hodson, 2003 in Smith & Hodson, 2010)and that teacher education has failed to preparethem for classroom realities (Burns & Mutton, 2013; McLean Davies et al., 2013; Kessels&Korthagen 1999). It is also due to the increasing recognition of classroom teachers’ practice knowledgeand the desire to give student teachers access to teachers’ tacit knowledge (Khortagen et al.,2001). The ‘practicum turn’ and its implicationsfor student teachers, schools and teacher educators is nonetheless, widely debated. Some have prioritised an ‘apprentice’ perspective (a view that 1The term 'student teacher' is used to refer to those undertaking a teaching degree although 'student' is sometimes used for stylistic purposes. All other references to 'students' refer to those on non-teaching degrees.
Effect of Thiol-reducing Agents and Antioxidants on Sulfasalazine-induced Hepatic Injury in Normotermic Recirculating Isolated Perfused Rat Liver

Sulfasalzine is a widely administered drug against inflammatory-based disorders in human. However several cases of liver injury are associated with its administration. There is no stabilized safe protective agent against sulfasalazine-induced liver injury. Current investigation was designed to evaluate if N-acetylcysteine (NAC) and dithioteritol (DTT) as thiol reducing agents and/or vitamins C and E as antioxidants have any protective effects against sulfasalazine-induced hepatic injury in an ex vivo model of isolated rat liver. Rat liver was canulated and perfused via portal vein in a closed recirculating system. Different concentrations of sulfasalazine and/or thiol reductants and antioxidants were administered and markers of organ injury were monitored at different time intervals. It was found that 5 mM of sulfasalazine caused marked liver injury as judged by rise in liver perfusate level of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate amino-transferase (AST), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) ( p < 0.05). A significant amount of lipid peroxidation and hepatic glutathione depletion were detected in drug-treated livers, accompanied with significant histopathological changes of the organ. Administration of NAC (500 µM), DTT (400 µM), Vitamin C (200 µM), or vitamin E (200 µM) significantly alleviated sulfasalazine-induced hepatic injury in isolated perfused rat liver. The data obtained from current investigation indicate potential therapeutic properties of thiol reductants and antioxidants against sulfasalazine-induced liver injury.
Viewing streaming spatially-referenced data at interactive rates

Given the increasing prevalence of streaming spatially-referenced datasets resulting from sensor networks usually consisting of text objects of varying length (termed labels) as well as streaming spatially oriented queries leads to closer scrutiny of mapping interfaces to present the data to users. These interfaces must cope with the fact that the labels associated with each location are constantly changing and that there are too many objects to display clearly within the interface. An algorithm meeting these challenges is presented. It differs from classical methods by avoiding expensive pre-computation steps, thereby allowing different labels to be associated with locations without needing to completely recompute the layout. In other words, we are addressing a write-many read-many setting instead of the conventional write-once read-many setting. Our experiments show consistent sub-second query times for query windows that contain as many as 11 million data objects, with only slight differences in the set of displayed labels when compared to an exhaustive baseline algorithm. This enables the algorithm to be used in a mapping application that involves both streaming data and streaming queries such as windowing realized by real-time, continuous zooming and panning operations.
A hierarchical neural model in short-term load forecasting

This paper proposes a novel neural model for the short-term load forecasting problem. The neural model is made up of two self-organizing map nets-one on top of the other. It has been successfully applied to domains in which the context information given by former events plays a primary role. The model was trained and assessed on the load data extracted from a Brazilian electric utility. It was required to predict once every hour the electric load during the next 24 hours. The paper presents the results and evaluates them.
Handling Interpretation and Representation in Multilingual Research: A Meta-Study of Pragmatic Issues Resulting from the Use of Multiple Languages in a Qualitative Information Systems Research Work.

Although the number of multilingual qualitative research studies appears to be growing, investigations concerned with methodological issues arising from the use of several languages within a single research are still very scarce. Most of these seem to deal exclusively with issues related to the use of interpreters and translators in qualitative research (e.g., Temple & Edwards, 2002; Temple, Edwards & Alexander, 2006; Edwards, 1998; Temple & Young 2004). Methodological investigations going beyond pure translation dilemmas in qualitative research are, however, almost nonexistent. The reason for this seems to be simple: the situation where the researcher possesses mother-tongue fluency in all or most of the languages used in a particular study – and, thus, is in a position to probe interpretational and representational problematics related to the multilingual character of this study with an adequate depth – is very rare. The author of this paper has used her recent qualitative research work in the area of Information Systems as the basis for a meta-study 1 1 While the Information Systems studies providing the empirical basis for this paper were on specific IT methodologies, the “overlying” study (reported in this paper) was rather carried out at a “meta-level” – observing and analyzing the process of interviews carried out in the original studies and the role of the language in this process. In this sense, the author of this paper is following the original Greek meaning of the prefix “meta”, namely “about” – “study about a study”. in which she investigates selected methodological issues resulting from the use of five different languages within the frame of a single research work. This paper specifically focuses on challenges encountered and observations made concerning three different issues, namely, how to choose the interview languages in a situation where the prospective interviewees have very diverse ethnic backgrounds, which languages to use for the data analysis in a situation where the data has been collected in several different languages, and how to determine the most appropriate stage of the research for transitioning from the languages used to collect and analyze the data to the language of the final research product. Although this meta-study is based on an Information Systems research work and is, thus, specifically addressing qualitative Information Systems researchers conducting multilingual research and encountering language-related issues in their work, this study might also be of interest to any researcher using qualitative research methodologies and employing more than one language to collect data, conduct data analysis, and craft the final
SEU Strategies for Virtex-5 Devices

Xilinx® devices are designed to have an inherently low susceptibility to single event upsets (SEUs). This application note provides a substantial discussion of strategies and representative calculations for handling SEUs with an emphasis on reliability when addressing these low probability events. This application note introduces an SEU controller macro that can be included in any Virtex®-5 FPGA design to implement an SEU detection and correction scheme. This application note is also a useful tool in evaluating the different methods for addressing SEUs. Due to the infrequent and unpredictable nature of real SEUs, small scale testing of their effects and system verification is impractical. For this reason, the SEU controller macro can emulate an SEU by deliberately injecting an error into the FPGA configuration to confirm the subsequent detection and correction. Injection of errors can also be used to assess SEU mitigation circuits implemented in a design and to verify the claims made in this application note. This application note focuses on the Virtex-5 family, however, much of the discussion is also applicable to the Spartan®-6, Virtex-6, and Extended Spartan-3A families.
Parallel Viewshed Analysis on GPU Using CUDA

Viewshed analysis is a long established function of many geographical information systems to determine the visible cells of an input raster from one or more observers. It can be extended into large scale or higher resolution which requires the parallel implementation for time-tolerance. In this paper, we describe a GPU parallelization of viewshed analysis using CUDA. The implementation includes two layered components, matrix traversal and ray traversal, which can be implemented in parallel by CUDA or sequentially in iteration. Under the combined four scenarios, the experimental results show that parallel matrix traversal and sequential ray traversal (PMSR) achieves the best performance which is several orders of magnitude more efficient than the completely sequential version. This is because PMSR reaches a trade-off between the acceleration by multiple threads and their brought workloads on GPU.
Comparison between grid side and inverter side current control for parallel interleaved grid connected converters

To meet the ever stringent grid codes, the high power converter systems have multiple converters connected in parallel and require high order filters due to their limited switching capability. Controlling the grid current and, at the same time, ensuring equal current sharing is a challenge that these converters have to face. There are two main methods on how to control the output current of the converter system: either by directly controlling the total grid current and applying the same gate signals for all parallel converters, or by controlling the individual converters' currents. Using simulation and experimental results, this paper presents the advantages and disadvantages of both control methods when applied on a converter system consisting of two parallel interleaved converters connected to the electricity grid through a high order filter. For a better comparison, a controller design for both methods is also included.
Finding Two Maximum Separating Circles

In this paper, for the first time an algorithm is presented for separating the points by two circles. Separating the points by circles is one of the problems in computational geometry being applied in different fields of science, some of which are: facility location, image processing and clustering. Our algorithm finds the locations of two smallest circles in the plane such that these two circles cover as many as points of Q while avoid the points of P. The running time of the algorithm is O(n2), where n is total number of input points. The experimental results show that our algorithm succeeds to find near-optimal solutions, with an approximation factor of 1.32 in average. The proposed algorithm is not optimal, but in some cases it yields optimum solutions.
Real-time perceptual tempo estimation for music signal based on envelope autocorrelation

Tempo and beats are very important elements in the perceptual music. This paper proposes a real-time perceptual tempo estimation algorithm, which calculates the envelope autocorrelation of the music signals firstly, and then a weighted tempo function based on envelope autocorrelation is constructed to estimate the music's perceptual tempo. The weighted tempo function is computed according to the peak amplitudes and positions of the envelope autocorrelation, which can demonstrate the real-time tempo information of the music signal, and its statistics can be used to represent the rhythm of the whole piece of music. Our experiment results show that the proposed weighted tempo function is highly related to the sense of auditory rhythm, and is capable of describing the music tempo changes at real-time.