Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Minimum number of bacteria needed for antigen detection by counterimmunoelectrophoresis: in vivo and in vitro studies

Threshold concentrations of Streptococcus pneumoniae type 3, Haemophilus influenzae type b, and Streptococcus sp. group B type Ib required for positive counterimmunoelectrophoresis reactions were determined in vivo and in vitro. Animals were infected intraperitoneally with various concentrations of microorganisms: adult mice with S. pneumoniae, suckling rats with H. influenzae, and 3-week-old mice with Streptococcus sp. group B. At 24 h after infection a minimum blood concentration of 10(3) colony-forming units (CFU)/ml was needed for S. pneumoniae or H. influenzae before antigen was detected in the serum. A minimum concentration of 10(6) CFU/ml was needed for Streptococcus sp. group B at 10 h after infection. Larger threshold concentrations (10(4) CFU/ml for S. pneumoniae, 10(5) CFU/ml for H. influenzae, and 10(7) CFU/ml for Streptococcus) were required in broth-grown cultures before cell-free antigens could be demonstrated by counterimmunoelectrophoresis in the medium. Marked levels of antigen release by group B streptococci were observed as the cultures entered early stationary phase. This study provides evidence of a long-accepted, though poorly substantiated, hypothesis that a threshold concentration of microorganism is necessary before counterimmunoelectrophoresis reactions become positive. Counterimmunoelecrophoresis results for clinical specimens should be interpreted cautiously in light of this evidence.
Fibroblast growth factor signaling in development of the cerebral cortex

Despite substantial and exciting recent progress in our understanding of developmental processes in the cerebral cortex, there is still much to be learned about the molecular and cellular mechanisms that account for formation of the cortical structures, and in turn, how the regulation of these mechanisms is linked to cortical functions and behaviors in animals and humans. Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) are a classic family of growth factors that are important in neural development and whose structures and signaling have been well‐studied molecularly and biochemically. Recent advances have revealed their diverse but specific functions in patterning and neurogenesis during cortical development, as evidenced by multiple experimental approaches using in vivo models. Importantly, changes in FGF signaling during development have been shown to influence structure and function of the cerebral cortex as well as animal behavior, and have been implicated in disorders of nervous system function and intellectual development in humans. For example, disturbance of FGF pathways during development has been implicated in the pathogenesis of autism spectrum disorders. Experimental models with altered cortical structure due to perturbations of FGF signaling present a unique opportunity whereby molecular and cellular mechanisms that underlie cortical function and animal behavior can be directly studied and linked to each other.
A Reduced Reference Distortion Measure for Performance Improvement of Smart Cameras

Application specific information processing (ASIP) unit in smart cameras requires sophisticated image processing algorithms for image quality improvement and extraction of relevant features for image understanding and machine vision. The improvement in performance as well as robustness can be achieved by intelligent moderation of the parameters both at algorithm (image resolution, contrast, compression, and so on) as well as hardware levels (camera orientation, field of view, and so on). This paper discusses the employment of ISO/IEC/IEEE 21451 smart transducer standards for performance improvement of smart cameras. The standardized transducer electronic data sheets (TEDS-by IEEE 21450) provide the self description of sensors, of which the calibration details are of vital importance to yield a smart and reconfigurable imaging system. This is possible by exercising intelligent control over the TEDS (smart camera) calibration details as well as automated tuning of algorithm parameters (in ASIP) based on decisions by perceptually efficient image quality assessment (IQA) tool. Estimation of distortion based on reduced reference IQA has been highlighted as a reliable methodology for this purpose. The proposed IQA approach uses wavelets for features extraction followed by estimation of luminance, contrast, and divergence parameters to obtain the proposed distortion measure (Q). The computational complexity in the process has been catalyzed using integral image and gradient magnitude approaches. The validation of Q metric is carried out by evaluating the image quality for various types of distortions on images from Content-based Strategies of Image Quality assessment (CSIQ) and Information Visualization CyberInfrastructure (IVC) databases. Simulation results yield a healthy correlation of Q and the subjective human opinions.
LATE EFFECTS IN HEMOPOIESIS AND BONE TISSUE AMONG PEOPLE WITH INCORPORATED OSTEOTROPIC ISOTOPE 90Sr

The present paper focuses on the analysis of data resulting from 50-y studies involving assessment of the hemopoiesis state in Techa riverside residents chronically exposed to radiation and evaluation of the bone tissue status for people with 90Sr incorporation at late time after the intakes. Conclusions: 1. In the late period after the start of chronic radiation exposure (50 y later) only a few individuals with red bone marrow doses reaching about 1.8 Gy (mean dose of 0.66 Gy) had a marked peripheral blood leucopenia, and the incidence of neutropenia, lymphopenia and thrombocypenia in the exposed group did not exceed that noted in the control group. The results of our observations indicate the spontaneous recovery of the hemopoietic system of residents of the Techa riverside villages. Thus, the adaptation mechanisms of hemopoiesis to the long-term chronic exposure in the range of low to intermediate doses are sufficiently effective; 2. About half of the people with 90Sr incorporation and the control group have changes in bone tissue expressed by different stages of osteoporosis. Age is a determinative factor of bone tissue involution in women while some tendency of 90Sr influence on the intensity of osteoporosis is revealed in the male group.
Secret Key Establishment via RSS Trajectory Matching Between Wearable Devices

Recently, people have witnessed a remarkable growth in the number of smart wearable devices. Accompanied with the development of a contactless data transmission technique, the lack of effective secret key establishment between lightweight wearable devices which support contactless data transmission technique becomes a security bottleneck. In this paper, we propose a novel wireless key establishment method by moving or shaking the wearable wireless devices. Instead of received signal strength (RSS) itself, we denote the RSS trajectories of two moving wireless devices as the materials of secret key. Moreover, inspired by channel reciprocity in a channel feature-based key establishment technique, we propose the concept of reciprocity of RSS trajectory that guarantees that even when the RSSs of two devices are the same, the identical RSS trajectories of two devices can successfully generate the secret key. In addition, to effectively utilize the RSS trajectories, we design a novel quantization scheme by considering the entropy and efficiency of key generation. Furthermore, we analyze the security of this key establishment procedure in an eavesdropped and monitored environment. We also perform an evaluation of 64-, 128-, 192-, and 256-b key generation in indoor/outdoor environment, and the results indicate that the times are 0.22/0.33, 0.61/0.74, 0.95/1.02, and 1.28/1.46 s, respectively. In addition, the ranges of efficiency and entropy are 0.654–0.795 and 0.968–0.993.
The diagonal property for abelian varieties

We study complex abelian varieties of dimension g that have a vector bundle of rank g with a section that vanishes at a single point, with multiplicity 1. The authors of [PSP] study which varieties X (defined, say, over an algebraically closed field) satisfy what they call “the diagonal property”: there exists a vector bundle of rank dim(X) on X × X with a section whose zero-scheme is the diagonal. This property is known to hold for all flag varieties SLn/P ([F1]) and, using a variant of Serre’s construction, they show that it holds for projective surfaces which have a cohomologically trivial line bundle. In particular, it holds for abelian surfaces. The diagonal property implies the weaker “point property”: for each point x of X, there exists a vector bundle of rank dim(X) on X with a section whose zeroscheme is x. When X is a group variety, these two properties are equivalent (it is even enough to have the point property for a single point x). In this note, we study these (equivalent) properties when X is a complex abelian variety. We show in §1 that a general non-principally polarized abelian variety of a sufficiently high dimension does not have these properties. Using Picard bundles, we show in §2 that these properties hold when X is the Jacobian of a smooth curve (or a product of such). However, Lange pointed out that in any dimension, principally polarized abelian varieties that have the point property are dense in their moduli space (Remark 2.4). I do not know any principally polarized abelian variety that does not have the point property, although I would like to think that Jacobians of curves are the only principally polarized abelian varieties with Picard number 1 that have this property, thereby giving us another (partial) solution to the Schottky problem. In §3 and 4, we prove a necessary condition for the point property to hold, and use it to get restrictions on possible vector bundles. We work over the complex numbers, although the results of §2 and 3 are valid over an algebraically closed field of arbitrary characteristic. 1991 Mathematics Subject Classification. Primary 14Kxx, 14H40, 14F05; Secondary 14J60.
Folic acid conjugated and Ag-carrying organoclay nanoparticles and their response to L929 fibroblast and DLD-1 cancer cells

Abstract This work presents the synthesis and characterisation of intercalated nanocomposites (NCs) from dispersed water solution blends of octadecyl amine-montmorillonite (ODA-MMT) (NC-0), folic acid (FA) conjugated ODA-MMT (NC-1) and Ag-MMT clay as a stable silver carrying agent (NC-2). The composition, chemical/physical and morphology of NCs with in situ intercalating nanostructures were investigated. Effect of organoclay, FA and Ag-MMT on L929 fibroblast (control), human colon carcinoma (DLD-1) cell lines, and the cytotoxicity, apoptosis and necrosis degree were estimated via WST-1/hemocytometric, double staining (as a ribonuclease A enzyme based method) and fluorescence microscopy methods in a dose-dependent manner. The mentioned cell lines integrated with NCs resulted in remarkable change in both morphology and nuclei of DLD-1 and fibroblast cells by apoptosis analysis. The number of necrotic cells were remarkably increased, as the toxic effects of nanocomposite nanoparticles were applied to both cell lines. Finally, the molecular mechanism of anticancer action of functionalised organoclays was elucidated.
Debt Financing and the Failure of Innovation Companies: The Application of the CHS Model in U.S. Stock Markets

ABSTRACT This study aims to determine whether increasing a firm’s leverage significantly changes its level of bankruptcy risk in the innovative industry by using the CHS model [Campbell, J. Y. , J. Hilscher, and J. Szilagyi. 2008. “In Search of Distress Risk. ” The Journal of Finance 63 (6): 2899–2939] to test 395 American innovation companies. These companies are categorised into four groups based on their debt ratios and their performance on the NYSE and NASDAQ stock exchanges is analysed in three separate periods. The findings reveal that innovation companies with a higher debt level are no riskier than those with a lower debt level.
Spatial Representations Elicit Dual-Coding Effects in Mental Imagery

Spatial aspects of words are associated with their canonical locations in the real world. Yet little research has tested whether spatial associations denoted in language comprehension generalize to their corresponding images. We directly tested the spatial aspects of mental imagery in picture and word processing (Experiment 1). We also tested whether spatial representations of motion words produce similar perceptual-interference effects as demonstrated by object words (Experiment 2). Findings revealed that words denoting an upward spatial location produced slower responses to targets appearing at the top of the display, whereas words denoting a downward spatial location produced slower responses to targets appearing at the bottom of the display. Perceptual-interference effects did not obtain for pictures or for words lacking a spatial relation. These findings provide greater empirical support for the perceptual-symbols system theory (Barsalou, 1999, 2008).
How to Gamify a Mobile Learning Application – A Modularization Approach

Countless possibilities of usage make it more and more difficult to engage and motivate users in a regular use of mobile learning applications. However, users must be convinced to complete and explore every given option within the application. Considering this, gamification seems to be a promising approach to engage and motivate users. Gamification refers to the use of game-like elements in a non-entertainment-based context. Regarding previous research, most game design elements are randomly selected and combined. This is why we use modularization to systematically select and combine game design elements. Following the design science approach and the cognitive evaluation theory, we aim to define a new way of gamifying a mobile learning application. We, therefore, present an approach for the combination of game design elements. Contributions will be given by providing guidance in how to systematically select and combine game design elements.
Daily and trait rumination: diurnal cortisol patterns in adolescent girls

ABSTRACT Rumination is a maladaptive form of emotion regulation associated with psychopathology. Research with adults suggests that rumination covaries with diurnal cortisol rhythms, yet this has not been examined among adolescents. Here, we examine the day-to-day covariation between rumination and cortisol, and explore whether trait rumination is associated with alterations in diurnal cortisol rhythms among adolescent girls. Participants (N = 122) provided saliva samples 3 times per day over 3 days, along with daily reports of stress and rumination, questionnaires assessing trait rumination related to peer stress, and diagnostic interviews assessing depression and anxiety. Greater rumination than usual during the day was associated with lower cortisol awakening responses the following morning, but this effect was not significant after accounting for wake time and an objective measure of adherence to the saliva sampling protocol. Trait rumination was associated with lower average cortisol levels at waking and flatter diurnal slopes, accounting for wake time, protocol compliance, and other factors. These patterns may help to explain why rumination is related to the development of psychopathology.
Bibliographic Attributes Extraction with Layer-upon-Layer Tagging

Bibliographic attributes extraction is an important research topic for digital libraries. In this paper we propose a rule-based method for bibliographic attributes extraction with Layer-upon-Layer Tagging (LLT). The method analyzes bibliographic attributes' appearances and punctuations to perform format and semantic taggings on two defined parsing layers. The method also resolves to specifically constructed lexicons to achieve high accuracy of semantic tagging. In the experimental evaluation on 1,000 reference strings, the accuracy of author tagging reaches to 96.8% and the accuracy of whole reference tagging is 82.9%. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed LLT method can tag bibliographic attributes in reference strings with high degree of accuracy.
Influence of the mechanical strain induced by a metal gate on electron and hole transport in single and double-gate SOI MOSFETs

We study the impact of the mechanical strain induced by a TiN metal gate on carrier transport in thin body SOI MOSFETs. The strain induced mobility variation has been calculated as a function of channel orientation and gate length, considering both n-MOS and p-MOS transistors with single or double gate architectures.
High-density genotyping of immune loci in Koreans and Europeans identifies eight new rheumatoid arthritis risk loci.

OBJECTIVE A highly polygenic aetiology and high degree of allele-sharing between ancestries have been well elucidated in genetic studies of rheumatoid arthritis. Recently, the high-density genotyping array Immunochip for immune disease loci identified 14 new rheumatoid arthritis risk loci among individuals of European ancestry. Here, we aimed to identify new rheumatoid arthritis risk loci using Korean-specific Immunochip data. METHODS We analysed Korean rheumatoid arthritis case-control samples using the Immunochip and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) array to search for new risk alleles of rheumatoid arthritis with anticitrullinated peptide antibodies. To increase power, we performed a meta-analysis of Korean data with previously published European Immunochip and GWAS data for a total sample size of 9299 Korean and 45,790 European case-control samples. RESULTS We identified eight new rheumatoid arthritis susceptibility loci (TNFSF4, LBH, EOMES, ETS1-FLI1, COG6, RAD51B, UBASH3A and SYNGR1) that passed a genome-wide significance threshold (p<5×10(-8)), with evidence for three independent risk alleles at 1q25/TNFSF4. The risk alleles from the seven new loci except for the TNFSF4 locus (monomorphic in Koreans), together with risk alleles from previously established RA risk loci, exhibited a high correlation of effect sizes between ancestries. Further, we refined the number of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that represent potentially causal variants through a trans-ethnic comparison of densely genotyped SNPs. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrates the advantage of dense-mapping and trans-ancestral analysis for identification of potentially causal SNPs. In addition, our findings support the importance of T cells in the pathogenesis and the fact of frequent overlap of risk loci among diverse autoimmune diseases.
Ubiquitin as a degradation signal.

For many short‐lived eukaryotic proteins, conjugation to ubiquitin, yielding a multiubiquitin chain, is an obligatory pre‐degradation step. The conjugated ubiquitin moieties function as a ‘secondary’ signal for degradation, in that their posttranslational coupling to a substrate protein is mediated by amino acid sequences of the substrate that act as a primary degradation signal. We report that the fusion protein ubiquitin‐‐proline‐‐beta‐galactosidase (Ub‐P‐beta gal) is short‐lived in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae because its N‐terminal ubiquitin moiety functions as an autonomous, primary degradation signal. This signal mediates the formation of a multiubiquitin chain linked to Lys48 of the N‐terminal ubiquitin in Ub‐P‐beta gal. The degradation of Ub‐P‐beta gal is shown to require Ubc4, one of at least seven ubiquitin‐conjugating enzymes in S.cerevisiae. Our findings provide the first direct evidence that a monoubiquitin moiety can function as an autonomous degradation signal. This generally applicable, cis‐acting signal can be used to manipulate the in vivo half‐lives of specific intracellular proteins.
The Political Economy of Violent Conflict Within States

The political economy of violent conflict is a body of literature that investigates how economic issues and interests shape the dynamics associated to violent conflict after the Cold War. The literature covers an area of research focusing on civil wars—the predominant type of conflict in the 1990s and early 2000s—and an area of research focusing on other types of violent conflict within states, such as permanent emergencies, criminal violence, and political violence associated to turbulent transitions. The first area involves four themes that have come to characterize discussions on the political economy of civil wars, including research on the role of greed and grievance in conflict onset, on economic interests in civil wars, on the nature of conflict economies, and on conflict financing. The second area responds to the evolution of violent conflict beyond the categories of “interstate” or “civil” war and shows how political economy research adapted to new types of violent conflict within states as it moved beyond the “post-Cold War” era. Overall, the literature on the political economy of violence conflict emphasizes the role of informal systems behind power, profits and violence, and the economic interests and functions of violence underlying to violent conflict. It has also become a conceptual laboratory for scholars who after years of field research tried to make sense of the realities of authoritarian, violent or war-affected countries. By extending the boundaries of the literature beyond the study of civil wars after the Cold War, political economy research can serve as an important analytical lens to better understand the constantly evolving nature of violent conflict and to inform sober judgment on the possible policy responses to them.
Field moving metasurface

We introduce the concept of field moving metasurface, where the field profile (magnitude and phase) produced by a source at a given distance d0 is moved to a closer (d < d0) or farther (d > d0) distance by placing the properly designed metasurface just above the source. The metasurfaces are designed by specifying the field measured at d0 without the metasurface at the new distance d with the metasurface and applying the surface susceptibility synthesis method [1]. The concept is demonstrated by two full-wave examples, one pulling a far-field profile to the near field (d < d0, magnification) and the other one pushing a near-field profile to the far field (d > d0, contraction). Field moving metasurfaces are expected to find numerous applications across the entire electromagnetic spectrum from microwaves (e.g. field pulling in compact range systems) to optical waves (e.g. field pushing in microscopy). Details and experimental results will be presented at the conference.
An Automatic Document Classifier System based on Naíve Bayes Classifier and Ontology

An automatic document classifier system based on ontology and the naive Bayes classifier is proposed in this paper. The main concept is to first establish a keyword synonymous table by experts for narrowing down the range and getting the consistency of keywords. The formal concept analysis is then used for establishing knowledge ontology through the complex categories and attributes relation. Finally, the ontology is applied to a naive Bayes classifier to get the automatic document classifier system. In this system, 319 documents divided into 11 categories are used to assess the effectiveness of classification, where 224 and 95 documents are the training and testing documents respectively, and the F1-measure is as the assessment criteria. The experimental results show that nine from 11 categories reaches 80% effectiveness of the documents classification, whereas the other two categories reached over 60% effectiveness of the documents classification. In sum, the average effectiveness of document classification in 11 categories is about 89%. Thus, the automatic classifier system can indeed reach the effectiveness of document classification.