Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Local 3 D Shape Analysis for Facial Expression Recognition

In this paper, we investigate the person-independent 3D facial expression recognition. A 3D shape analysis is applied on local regions of 3D face scan. The correspondent regions of different faces under different expressions, are extracted and represented by a set of closed that capture their shapes. A framework is applied to quantify the deformations between curves and compute the geodesic length (or distance) that separates them. These measures are employed as inputs to a commonly used classification techniques such as AdaBoost and Support Vector Machines (SVM). A quantitative evaluation of our novel approach is conducted on the publicly available BU-3DFE database.
Direct inhibitory effects of a somatostatin analog, SMS 201-995, on AR4-2J cell proliferation via pertussis toxin-sensitive guanosine triphosphate-binding protein-independent mechanism.

Somatostatin has been demonstrated to negatively regulate pancreatic growth in vivo. In this study we used the AR4-2J rat pancreatic acinar tumor cell line to investigate the effect of a stable somatostatin analog, SMS 201-995 (SMS) on cell proliferation. SMS induced an antiproliferative effect on both serum or epidermal growth factor (EGF)-induced cell proliferation; exposure of the cells for 48 h to SMS caused a slight inhibition of serum-induced proliferation (maximal inhibition, 26%) and abolished the growth-promoting effect of EGF. Maximal effect was observed with 10 nM SMS, and half-maximal (IC50) effect with 0.06-0.1 nM SMS. Binding studies with an iodinated derivative of SMS, [125I-Tyr3]SMS, revealed the presence of a single class of high affinity binding sites on AR4-2J plasma membranes with an equilibrium dissociation constant of 0.2 +/- 0.03 nM and a binding site number of 1.1 +/- 0.07 pmol/mg protein. Addition of the nonhydrolyzable GTP analog, guanosine 5-[gamma-thio] triphosphate (GTP gamma S), increased the rate of dissociation of the specifically bound peptide in agreement with the coupling of somatostatin receptors with a GTP-binding regulatory protein. The good agreement between the IC50 for SMS inhibition of cell proliferation and the apparent Kd for binding indicates that the characterized binding sites are the somatostatin receptors that mediate the antiproliferative effect of SMS. When cells were grown in serum-free medium EGF stimulated AR4-2J cell proliferation with half-maximal (ED50) and maximal effects at 0.6 and 10 nM EGF, respectively. This stimulatory effect of EGF was mediated by specific receptors, since binding studies with [125I]EGF indicated that AR4-2J cells contained a single class of EGF receptors (13,000 sites/cell), with an affinity constant for [125I]EGF (Kd = 0.9 +/- 0.09 nM) close to the ED50 for EGF stimulation of cell growth. To examine if SMS-induced growth inhibition involved a cAMP-dependent mechanism we first studied the effect of SMS on cAMP production. SMS had no effect on basal cAMP, but completely inhibited VIP-stimulated cAMP production with an IC50 of 0.2 nM. Pertussis toxin, which is known to abolish the inhibitory effect of somatostatin on adenylate cyclase activity in AR4-2J cells, did not reverse the ability of SMS to inhibit cell proliferation as well as EGF-induced cell proliferation. These data indicate that the antiproliferative effect of SMS does not involve the GTP-binding protein-mediated negative coupling of somatostatin receptors to adenylate cyclase. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Molecular analysis of the psa permease complex of Streptococcus pneumoniae

The psaBCA locus of Streptococcus pneumoniae encodes a putative ABC Mn2+‐permease complex. Downstream of the operon is psaD, which may be co‐transcribed and encodes a thiol peroxidase. Previously, there has been discordance concerning the phenotypic impact of mutations in the psa locus, resolution of which has been complicated by differences in mutant construction and the possibility of polar effects. Here, we constructed unmarked, in frame deletion mutants ΔpsaB, ΔpsaC, ΔpsaA, ΔpsaD, ΔpsaBC, ΔpsaBCA and ΔpsaBCAD in S. pneumoniae D39 to examine the role of each gene within the locus in Mn2+ uptake, susceptibility to oxidative stress, virulence, nasopharyngeal colonization and chain morphology. The requirement for Mn2+ for growth and transformation was also investigated for all mutants. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP‐MS) analysis provided the first direct evidence that PsaBCA is indeed a Mn2+ transporter. However, this study did not substantiate previous reports that the locus plays a role in choline‐binding protein pro‐duction or chain morphology. We also confirmed the importance of the Psa permease in systemic virulence and resistance to superoxide and hydrogen peroxide, as well as demonstrating a role in nasopharyngeal colonization for the first time. Further evi‐dence is provided to support the requirement for Mn2+ supplementation for growth and transformation of ΔpsaB, ΔpsaC, ΔpsaA, ΔpsaBC, ΔpsaBCA and ΔpsaBCAD mutants. However, transformation, as well as growth, of the ΔpsaD mutant was not dependent upon Mn2+ supplementation. We also show that, apart from sensitivity to hydrogen peroxide, the ΔpsaD mutant exhibited essentially similar phenotypes to those of the wild type. Western blot analysis with a PsaD antiserum showed that deleting any of the genes upstream of psaD did not affect its expression. However, we found that deleting psaB resulted in decreased expression of PsaA relative to that in D39, whereas deleting both psaB and psaC resulted in at least wild‐type levels of PsaA.
Study and Modeling of the Impact of TID on the ATREE Response in LM124 Operational Amplifier

Shapes of ATREEs (Analog Transient Radiation Effects on Electronics) in a bipolar integrated circuit change with exposure to Total Ionizing Dose (TID) radiation. The impact of TID on ATREEs is investigated in the LM124 operational amplifier (opamp) from three different manufacturers. Significant variations are observed on the ATREE responsesfrom different manufacturers. The ATREEs are produced by pulsed X-ray experiments. ASET laser mappings are performed to highlight the sensitive bipolar transistors, explaining the ATREE phenomena variations from one manufacturer to another one. ATREE modeling results are presented using a previously developed simulation tool. A good agreement is observed between experimental ATREE responses and model outputs whatever the TID level, the prompt dose level, the amplifier configuration and the device manufacturer.
Key factors in the acquisition of contrast kinetic data for oncology

Dynamic contrast‐enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE‐MRI) has recently emerged as a promising method for both diagnosis and prognosis of cancer despite considerable variation in both the methods of data acquisition and analysis. Both to facilitate integration of results from multiple institutions and to ensure that the data reflect the underlying physiology as accurately as possible, several aspects of data acquisition should be taken into account when developing protocols for DCE‐MRI regardless of how the data are analyzed. Among the relevant issues are the relationship between signal enhancement and contrast agent concentration, intra‐ or inter‐patient variation in the blood contrast agent concentration as a function of time, requirements for spatial and temporal resolution, the impact of tumor heterogeneity, and the impact of patient motion during the study. This review considers these factors and, when possible, makes specific recommendations for addressing them experimentally. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 1999;10:254–259. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin lymphoma

Diagnostic characteristics of nodular lymphocytepredominant Hodgkin lymphoma (NLPHL): nodular or nodular and diffuse proliferation of scattered lymphocyte predominant (LP) tumour cells within a background reminiscent of primary or secondary lymphoid follicles. Six different patterns: A) 'classical' nodular, B) serpiginous/interconnected nodular, C) nodular with prominent extra-nodular LP cells, D) T-cell-rich nodular, E) diffuse with a Tcell-rich background, and F) diffuse, B-cell-rich pattern. Typical histopathologic patterns in NLPHL include patterns A and B. Both of these patterns show a predominantly nodular growth, with LP cells located within the nodules. So called "histopathologic variants" are defined by prominent extranodular LP cells associated to patterns C to F. "Histopathologic variants" may be associated with advanced stage disease and higher relapse rate. Assessing "histopathologic variants" patterns in NLPHL may be useful for the management of the patients.
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF LEMON (CITRUS LIMON) AND PEELS ITS CONSIDERATIONS AS ANIMAL FOOD

Lemon peels utilizable foodstuffs were analysed for crude protein, phosphorus, calcium, copper, manganese, iron, zinc, sodium, potassium and some chemical parameters in feedstuffs. The levels of protein (9.42 %), fat (4.98%), ash (6.26%), fiber (15.18%), sodium (755.5 mg/100g), potassium (8600 mg/100g), calcium (8452.5 mg/100g), copper (4.94 mg/100g), iron (147.65 mg/100g), magnesium (1429.50 mg/100g), zinc (13.94 mg/100g) and phosphorus (6656 mg/100g) detected in the lemon peels were compared with that of Iranian national standard for animal food. The value of fat, crude protein and fiber are comparable to the values for varieties of animal feed reported by Iranian national standard.
Differential Power Analysis of Advanced Encryption Standard on accelerated 8051 processor

This paper presents implementation details of Differential Power Analysis (DPA) attack on accelerated 8051-based microcontroller with Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) algorithm. It also mentions differences between accelerated and regular 8051 cores from DPA point of view. DPA attack is performed on the devices by measuring their instantaneous power consumption during AES encipher process. Correlation analysis of precomputed and measured data can reveal secret key used by AES algorithm. Modification of measurement process and statistical evaluation algorithms improves results of the attack. Main results of this paper are working DPA attacks on accelerated 8051-based microcontroller, differences in power consumption models between common and accelerated 8051 cores, comparison of different measure points, methods for finding power model consumption, automated measurement of the traces and improved algorithm of correlation analysis. These results can be used to protect future implementations against DPA attacks.
Masculinidades em diálogo: Produção de sentido a partir de marcadores sociais da diferença

Neste estudo, investigou-se a producao de sentidos subjetivos em relacao a identidade de genero masculina. Quatro homens cisgeneros (26, 31, 32 e 37 anos), residentes e nascidos em cidades do sul do pais, foram selecionados a partir de tres marcadores sociais da diferenca (orientacao sexual, cor de pele e deficiencia fisica) para a participacao em um grupo focal, com duracao de 1h e 30min. Tres eixos analiticos foram explorados: 1) representacoes de masculinidades; 2) invisibilidade e sua relacao com o modelo dominante de masculinidade; 3) visibilidade e sua relacao com privilegios das masculinidades. A analise construtivo-interpretativa permitiu explorar zonas de sentido sobre a producao de diferencas em torno de um eixo naturalizado, que por sua vez produz opressoes contra as quais os sujeitos reagem de diferentes formas. Compreendeu-se que o individuo nao ocupa um lugar fixo de “opressor” ou “oprimido”, mas que essas instâncias se dao de forma contextual, localizada e intercambiavel.
The behaviour of mammalian striated muscle in the presence of 2: 4‐dinitrophenol

The observation (Parker, Barnes & Denz, 1951) that rigor mortis developed very rapidly in animals fatally poisoned by dinitro-orthocresol led to a study of the action of the related substance dinitrophenol (DNP) on isolated mammalian striated muscle. A preliminary report of the mechanical reaction of the isolated rat diaphragm to different concentrations of DNP has already been made (Barnes & Duff, 1954). If DNP is added to the bath in which such a preparation is suspended a severe contracture is induced, lasting about 1 hr, after which the muscle slowly returns to its original, length. In a suitable concentration of DNP such a reaction does not lead to death of the muscle for it will respond to stimuli when the DNP has been removed. The ability of DNP to induce contractures in muscle had been noted in frog muscle by Cori & Cori (1936), and in rat diaphragm by Weeks & Chenoweth (1952). The nature of the contracture produced in the rat diaphragm by nitrated phenols has been discussed recently by Hajdu & Szent-Gyorgyi (1954). The interest in the present observations was directed both to the initial contracture and subsequent relaxation. An attempt has been made to interpret these changes in muscle behaviour under the influence of DNP in the light of the accompanying biochemical changes and some current concepts of muscle physiology.
A Feature-Enriched Neural Model for Joint Chinese Word Segmentation and Part-of-Speech Tagging

Recently, neural network models for natural language processing tasks have been increasingly focused on for their ability of alleviating the burden of manual feature engineering. However, the previous neural models cannot extract the complicated feature compositions as the traditional methods with discrete features. In this work, we propose a feature-enriched neural model for joint Chinese word segmentation and part-of-speech tagging task. Specifically, to simulate the feature templates of traditional discrete feature based models, we use different filters to model the complex compositional features with convolutional and pooling layer, and then utilize long distance dependency information with recurrent layer. Experimental results on five different datasets show the effectiveness of our proposed model.
Characterization of Irreversible Binding of -Funaltrexamine to the Cloned Rat Opioid Receptor (*)

Binding of β-funaltrexamine (β-FNA) to the cloned rat μ opioid receptor expressed in COS-1 cells or Chinese hamster ovary cells was examined. β-FNA bound to the μ receptor with high affinity. Irreversible binding of [3H]β-FNA was defined as the binding that could not be dissociated by trichloroacetic acid. Na greatly enhanced the specific irreversible binding of [3H]β-FNA to the μ receptor, which was concentration- and time-dependent. Specific irreversible binding of [3H]β-FNA was potently inhibited by CTAP (a μ ligand), but not by ICI174,864 (a ligand) or U50,488H (a κ ligand). These results indicate that [3H]β-FNA binds irreversibly to the cloned μ opioid receptor. SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and fluorography showed that [3H]β-FNA-labeled receptors migrated as one broad and diffuse band with a mass of 80 kDa in Chinese hamster ovary or COS cells and as one band with a mass of 67 kDa in the rat brain preparation. Upon removal of N-linked carbohydrates, labeled receptors became a sharper band with a mass of 40 kDa. [3H]β-FNA did not bind irreversibly to the cloned rat κ receptor. [3H]β-FNA binding to four chimeric μ/κ receptors was examined. The region from the middle of the third intracellular loop to the C terminus of the μ receptor is necessary for irreversible binding of β-FNA.
Nucleic Acids Research

Nearly identical members of the heterogeneous lAP gene family are expressed in thymus of different mouse strains ABSTRACT Poly(A)RNAs prepared from the thymuses of C57BL/6J and DBA/2J mice were used to construct cDNA libraries in the bacterial expression vector Agtll. The libraries were scanned first for protein production with polyvalent antiserum prepared against the 73kDa gag protein of mouse intracisternal A-particles (IAP). Reactive plaques were crossed-screened by hybridization with an IAP-specific DNA probe. Two IAP-specific protein-producing plaques were obtained from the C57BL/6 library and 4 from the DBA/2 library. One C57BL/6 cDNA clone (B12) and two DBA cDNA clones (D8 and D20) were sequenced in their entirety. Clones B12 and D8 were remarkably similar, particularly when compared to the 6 other IAP elements that have been sequenced thus far. We discuss the evidence which leads us to suggest that these clones may be derived from allelic IAP elements expressed in mouse thymus.
Numerical investigation of the effect of a rod dielectric lens on the electromagnetic wave strength using two dimensional FDTD method

This paper presents an overview of the performance of a dielectric lens that can be used in wireless broadband communication systems. Dielectric-lens is effective at generating highly shaped beams which enhance the wireless communication systems performance. Beam shaping is used to reduce multipath interference and to enhance gain, so that the received power level is compatible with the requirements of high-data-rate transmission. To investigate the gain, two dimensional Finite Difference Time Domain method (FDTD) was performed. The rods dielectrics are arranged in shape of semi circles and located in the physical domain to act as dielectric lens with permittivity constant 2. The result shows that when a plane wave propagates in free space and passing through rod dielectrics lens, the wave is reshaped and more concentrated.
Distributed agent system for behavior pattern recognition

This paper describes a system that is being developed for providing services to support elderly residents in assisted living facilities. Passive RFID tags and readers are used as the basic sensor modality to distinguish people and objects. An intelligent multiagent system with a distributed topology enables local decision making without the need for a centralized server or database. Rather than use predefined decision rules, we employ agents that extract behavior pattern of the residents from sensor data, use these patterns to identify abnormal events, and trigger actions to assist the residents. Because the system is implemented on a resource constrained platform, a light weight clustering algorithm is utilized to generate data models of the residents' daily activities. Finally, a set of local Markov chains enables future locations of the residents to be predicted.
Pulse wave velocity--a useful tool for cardiovascular surveillance in pre-dialysis patients.

BACKGROUND Cardiovascular mortality is high among patients with chronic kidney disease. Pulse wave velocity (PWV) is a simple method used for arterial distensibility evaluation. Few data are available concerning PWV in pre-dialysis patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between PWV and cardiovascular disease in pre-dialysis. METHODS One hundred and four patients were submitted to PWV analysis, coronary artery calcium (CAC) determination with a multi-slice CT scan of the coronary arteries, echocardiogram and a carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) evaluation, with a high resolution ultrasound. The demographic characteristics and laboratory tests results were studied. RESULTS The mean age of those studied was 54.4 +/- 11.5 years, 60% were males and the mean creatinine clearance was 40 ml/min/1.73 m(2). The mean PWV was 12.2 +/- 3.4 m/s and it was significantly higher in males, diabetics, those with creatinine clearance <60 ml/min and proteinuria > or =1 g/24 h. PWV was correlated with systolic blood pressure, age, triglycerides, total cholesterol and 24 h proteinuria. In the multiple regression analysis, PWV was significantly associated with diabetes, age, systolic blood pressure and cholesterol. Fifty-eight patients (56%) presented coronary calcification and PWV correlated with coronary calcium score (R = 0.48; P < 0.001) and calcium volume (R = 0.50; P < 0.001). Moreover, PWV was higher in patients with coronary calcification (13.4 +/- 3.6 m/s vs 10.7 +/- 2.4 m/s; P < 0.001). The mean left ventricular mass index (LVMI) was 106 +/- 31 g/m(2) and 24% of patients had left ventricular hypertrophy, while 19 (18.3%) patients had left ventricular dysfunction. PVW was correlated with LVMI (R = 0.25; P = 0.01) while no association could be seen between PWV and the ejection fraction or left ventricular dysfunction. A correlation between the IMT and PWV was observed (R = 0.27; P = 0.005). In addition, those with a thicker IMT had a higher PWV (13.2 +/- 3.4 m/s vs 11. 2 +/- 3.2 m/s; P = 0.003). CONCLUSION PWV is associated with cardiovascular disease in pre-dialysis patients and can be a useful tool to identify patients with increased cardiovascular risk.
Comparison of urine dipstick test with conventional urine culture in diagnosis of urinary tract infection.

OBJECTIVE To determine the sensitivity, specificity, Positive Predictive Value (PPV) and Negative Predictive Value (NPV) of Urine Nitrite (NIT) and Leukocyte Esterase (LE) test compared with urine culture for diagnosis of UTI. STUDY DESIGN Validation study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY Department of Microbiology, Army Medical College, Rawalpindi, from January 2013 to December 2013. METHODOLOGY Three hundred fresh uncentrifuged urine samples with suspicion of UTI, were collected and tested for LE and NIT by using (COMBI-10SL, UK) strip. Nitrite was considered as positive if there was a change in color of dipstick from colorless towards pink within 60 seconds. Leukocyte esterase was considered as positive if there was a change in color from off-white towards purple within 2 minutes. Quantitative urine culture was performed by using the strips calibrated to deliver 0.02 ul of urine on Cystine Lactose Electrolyte Deficient (CLED) medium agar. All plates were incubated at 37°C and read after 24 and 48 hours. Culture was considered as gold standard to evaluate the performance of dipstick test. RESULTS Out of 300 samples, 136 were culture positive and 164 were culture negative. Out of 136 positive culture results, 103 were dipstick positive and 33 were negative. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of both nitrite and leukocyte esterase were 75.74%, 68.90%, 66.66% and 77.40% respectively considering culture as gold standard. CONCLUSION Dipstick test for the detection of leukocyte esterase and nitrite in urine are sensitive and specific and can be used reliably for the detection of UTI in resource limited setup.
Acute Effects of Loaded Half-Squat Jumps on Sprint Running Speed in Track and Field Athletes and Soccer Players

Abstract Vanderka, M, Krčmár, M, Longová, K, and Walker, S. Acute effects of loaded half-squat jumps on sprint running speed in track and field athletes and soccer players. J Strength Cond Res 30(6): 1540–1546, 2016—The purpose of the study was to determine the acute responses to a jump squat protocol designed to induce postactivation potentiation on sprint running performance in experienced track and field athletes and soccer players. Twenty-five regional level athletes (12 track and field: ∼17 years; ∼177 cm; ∼73 kg and 13 soccer: ∼18 years; ∼175 cm; ∼72 kg) performed 2 test sessions assessing 40-m sprint running performance in a balanced, crossover design. Dual-beam light timing gates measured 0–20 and 20–40 m sprint times before and after either 9 minutes of sitting (control) or 2 sets of 6 repetition half-squat jump with the load eliciting maximum power (experimental) conditions. Sprint performance was significantly enhanced over both 0–20 m (3.09 ± 0.07 to 3.04 ± 0.08 seconds; &Dgr; ∼1.5%; p ⩽ 0.05) and 20–40 m (2.42 ± 0.09 to 2.39 ± 0.09 seconds; &Dgr; ∼1%; p ⩽ 0.05) in track and field athletes only. Also, the magnitude of enhanced sprint performance was related to baseline 0–20 m sprint performance (r = 0.44; p = 0.028; n = 25). It seems that using loaded half-squat jumps to enhance sprint performance could be used in training of high-level young athletes.