Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Role of Stem Cells and Extracellular Matrix in the Regeneration of Skeletal Muscle

Adult skeletal muscle has a remarkable capacity to initiate a rapid and extensive repair process after damage due to injury or degenerative disease. Although satellite cells are the primary skeletal muscle stem cells, there are many reports of non-satellite cell popula- tions with myogenic capacity resident within skeletal muscle. The activity of muscle-resi-dent stem cells during the regeneration process is tightly controlled through the dynamic interactions between intrinsic factors within the cells and extrinsic factors constituting the muscle stem cell niche. The extracellular matrix (ECM) in skeletal muscle plays an integral role in force transmission, structural maintenance, and regulation of stem cell niche. ECM interacts with stem cells either directly by binding cell surface receptors or indirectly through growth factor presentation, and maintains a balance between their quiescence, self-renewal, and differentiation. These interactions are reciprocal since the stem cells can remodel the niche and secrete or degrade ECM components. Natural ECM scaffolds, derived from decellularized tissues can influence stem cell activity both in vitro and in vivo and are widely being investigated for skeletal muscle repair. In this chapter, we discuss the regenerative potential of stem cell populations and ECM bioscaffolds in the treatment of skeletal muscle injury and disease.
Reduction of Electromagnetic Interference Using ZnO-PCL Nanocomposites at Microwave Frequency

In industrial equipment and home appliance applications, the electromagnetic compatibility compliance directive (ECCD) demands that electromagnetic interference side effects be eliminated or marginally minimized. The equipment must not disturb radio and telecommunication as well as other appliances. Additionally the ECCD also governs the immunity of such equipment to interference and seeks to ensure that this equipment is not disturbed by radio emissions when used as intended. Many types of absorbing materials are commercially available. However, many are expensive and not environmentally friendly. It is in the light of the above that we studied the electromagnetic absorption properties of ZnO-PCL nanocomposites prepared from cheap and abundant resources which are environmentally friendly (zinc and polycaprolactone). The test was carried out using a microstrip, open ended coaxial probe, and vector network analyzer. Amongst other findings, result showed that the ZnO-PCL nanocomposite has the capability of attenuating microwave frequency up to −18.2 dB due to their very high specific surface areas attributed to the nanofillers at 12 GHz.
Algorithm based on Histogram and Entropy for Edge Detection in Gray Level Images

Edge detection and feature extraction are widely used in image processing and computer vision applications. Most of the traditional methods for edge detection are based on the first and second order derivatives of gray levels of the pixels of the original image utilizing 2D spatial convolution masks to approximate the derivative. In this paper we present an algorithm for edge detection in gray level images. The main objective is to solve the previous problem of traditional methods with generate suitable quality of edge detection. Our new algorithm is based on two definitions of entropy: Shannon’s classical concept and a variation called Tsallis entropy. The novel approach utilizing Subextensive Tsallis entropy rather than the evaluation of derivatives of the image in detecting edges in gray level images has been proposed. Here, we have used a suitable threshold value to segment the image and achieve the binary image. The effectiveness is demonstrated by using many different kinds of test images from the real-world and synthetic images. The results of this study were quite promising.
FOOD PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT: WHEY CHEESE WITH PUMPKIN JAM

In Portugal a very popular desert consists in whey cheese with pumpkin jam. However, these two products are only sold separately, being necessary to join them together so as to obtain the desired product. Having in mind that the production of a combination of these two products would be a potentially interesting field for new food commercializing, studies were conducted on the development of this new food product. This, was complemented with a sensorial evaluation, so as to perceive how consumers accepted this new product, and with a consumer study, in order to understand how the consumers would react when faced with the offer of such a new product. The sensorial evaluation was performed by means of a descriptive analysis, with a panel of 17 tasters, of which 12 were women and 5 men. The parameters evaluated using five points hedonic scales were: homogeneity in colour, homogeneity of the product, milk aroma, intensity of aroma, intensity of taste, salty taste, milk taste, sweetness, consistency, granules. The consumer study was performed by applying questionnaires to 100 persons, of which 57 were women and 43 were men. With respect to the results obtained, the sensory analysis to the product developed showed a good global appreciation, indicating that this product could be successful. Regarding it’s acceptability by consumers, the preliminary results are encouraging, since the major part of the enquired liked the combination of whey cheese with pumpkin jam.
A metaheuristic feature-level fusion strategy in classification of urban area using hyperspectral imagery and LiDAR data

ABSTRACT One of the most sophisticated recent data fusions in remote sensing has involved the use of LiDAR and hyperspectral data. Feature-level fusion strategy is applied based on extraction of several recent proposed spectral and structural features from hyperspectral and LiDAR data, respectively. In order to optimize classification performance, feature selection and determination of classifier parameters are carried out simultaneously. Referring to complexity of search space, cuckoo search as a powerful metaheuristic optimization algorithm is applied. Experiments show that the proposed method can improve the overall classification accuracy up to 6% with respect to only hyperspectral imagery. The obtained results show the classification improvement for the tree, residential and commercial classes is about 4%, 21% and 35%, respectively.
Novel Regenerative Solutions Induce Rapid Adipogenic Differentiation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells with No Evidence of Transformation or Osteogenic Differentiation

Adipose tissue is commonly used in plastic surgery procedures and is also a rich source of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Since MSCs are functionally plastic cells, adipose tissue may provide a promising cell source for regenerative medicine applications. We have developed two mixed growth factor formulations (termed "dermal" and "fat" factor formulations) to be used with autologous adipose tissue to help induce the regeneration of human skin and subcutaneous tissue. In this study, we investigate the effect of these formulations on proliferation and differentiation of MSCs obtained from human bone marrow and from adipose tissues. Lower concentrations of both formulations had no effect on MSC proliferation, but induced rapid adipogenic differentiation. At higher concentrations, both formulations induced MSC death. There was no evidence of osteogenesis ormalignant transformation at any concentration, as judged by absence of foci formation, inability of the cells to be serially passaged and absence of colonies in methylcellulose matrix. Thus, at optimal doses these factor formulations promote rapid differentiation of MSCs into adipogenic cells, with no evidence of cell transformation or osteogenic induction. These studies have implications for wound healing and tissue regeneration, as well as cosmetic applications to enhance the deficits seen in aging skin and in facial volume loss.
MEMS-Based Endoscopic Optical Coherence Tomography Jingjing

Early cancer detection has been playing an important role in reducing cancer mortality. Optical coherence tomography (OCT), due to its micron-scale resolution, has the ability to detect cancerous tissues at their early stages. For internal organs, endoscopic probes are needed as the penetration depth of OCT is about 1–3 mm. MEMS technology has the advantages of fast speed, small size, and low cost, and it has been widely used as the scanning engine in endoscopic OCT probes. Research results have shown great potential for OCT in endoscopic imaging by incorporating MEMS scanning mirrors. Various MEMS-OCT designs are introduced, and their imaging results are reviewed in the paper.
Extension of the ALVINN-architecture for robust visual guidance of a miniature robot

Extensions of the ALVINN architecture are introduced for a KHEPERA miniature robot to navigate visually robust in a labyrinth. The reimplementation of the ALVINN-approach demonstrates, that also in indoor-environments a complex visual robot navigation is achievable using a direct input-output-mapping with a multilayer perceptron network, which is trained by expert-cloning. With the extensions it succeeds to overcome the restrictions of the small visual field of the camera by completing the input vector with history-components, introduction of the velocity dimension and evaluation of the network's output by a dynamic neural field. This creates the prerequisites to take turns which are no longer visible in the actual image and so make use of several alternatives of actions.
Non-linear dynamics in marine-phytoplankton population systems

Although non-linear density-dependence has been widely emphasized in population dynamics studies, the existence of non-linear exogenous forces have been less explored. In particu- lar, we propose that the formulation of population dynamics models that include both non-linear endogenous (i.e. feedback structure) and exogenous (e.g. climatic) responses is relevant for under- standing how climate variability affects natural systems. Here we show that single-species non-linear logistic models for marine phytoplankton in combination with non-linear exogenous forces capture observed population oscillations very well. Our results suggest that general population dynamic theory represents a useful tool for understanding the natural fluctuations of phytoplankton popula- tions. Altogether we document what might be called a switch-on/switch-off dynamics in the phyto- plankton population dynamics in relation to climate variability. We suggest the importance of, and the need for, linking population dynamics processes at local and regional scales to processes at the ecosystem level, thus reflecting a macroecological perspective of marine pelagic systems.
On the Spanish inferential construction ser que

Spanish (along with English and many other languages) has inferential sentences such as No es que no quiera: Es que no sabe querer , ‘It’s not that she doesn’t love; it’s that she doesn’t know how to love. ’ We describe the grammar and pragmatics of these sentences and show how their pragmatic characteristics follow from their grammar and the principles of relevance theory. Inferentials consist of a finite clause embedded as the complement of an expletive copular matrix clause, which may be modified by a focusing particle and/or a negator. Inferentials function as metalinguistic devices which characterize the relevance of the proposition represented by their clause to the processing of an utterance. Negative inferentials characterize that proposition as likely to be considered in the processing but they deny its relevance; positive inferentials characterize the proposition as unlikely to be considered but they assert its relevance. The inferential proposition may be interpreted as an implicated premise or conclusion. If it is taken as an implicated premise then it may be further interpreted as an explanation, reason, or cause; if it is taken as an implicated conclusion then it may be further interpreted as a result, consequence, or conclusion. It may also be taken as a (re)interpretation or reformulation of the target utterance.
ANALYSIS OF ELECTROOCULOGRAPHY (EOG) FOR CONTROLLING WHEELCHAIR MOTION NOR AZURAH BINTI BAHAROM

Rehabilitation devices are increasingly being used to improve the quality of the life of differentially abled people. Human Machine Interface (HMI) has been studied extensively to control electromechanical rehabilitation aids using bio signals such as EEG, EOG and EMG. Among the various bio signals, EOG signals have been studied in depth due to the occurrence of a definite signal pattern. Persons suffering from extremely limited peripheral mobility like Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) usually have the ability to coordinate eye movements. This project focuses on the analysis of EOG signals for controlling wheelchair motion. The EOG signal is obtained from the eye muscle by using disposable electrodes. For the acquisition of EOG raw signal, NI MyDAQ is used. The features are extracted from the conditioned EOG signal such as root mean square value and average rectifier value. The signals are usually nonrepeatable and contradictory in nature. Therefore, to classify such kind of signal, a classifier able to withstand uncertainties in data is required. Fuzzy theory is well known for its capability to deal with imprecise environment. So, in this work a fuzzy classifier is designed and implemented using LabVIEW software. The classifier system is tested using 10 subjects. The simulation results have authenticated the capability of implemented system. PTTA PERP UST AKA AN TUN KU T UN AMI NAH
The Impact of Competition and Time-to-Finance on Corporate Cash Holdings

In this paper we introduce time frictions in the capital market to show how industry specific competition explains the variation in corporate cash holdings. We show that time-to-finance is positively related to cash when firms are exposed to preemption risk, and that the role of cash changes with the level of preemption risk. Firms facing a high risk of preemption puts a higher value on cash for investments and a lower value on cash held for hedging illiquidity risk. Additionally, corporate cash holdings are hump-shaped in competition in the presence of time-to-finance, which reconciles some of the earlier mixed empirical findings. To do so we develop a dynamic model of investment, financing, and cash management decisions with uncertain and lumpy investment opportunities in which firms are subject to time frictions in capital markets and preemption risk.
Musculoskeletal pain, associated risk factors and coping strategies in school teachers

Age, sex and working with improper position, physically and psychologically strenuous work increase risk of musculoskeletal pain (MSP) in some professions. The aim of this study was to determine prevalence of MSP and its characteristics among school teachers. Nine hundred teachers were evaluated. Pain characteristics, pain intensity, related factors, and activity limitation of the teachers with MSP were questioned. Coping strategies were also investigated. Comparison of the relevant data was done using Chi- Square Test. 463 (51.4%) teachers (269 female; 194 male; mean age= 38.08±9.2 year.) reported MSP. Pain in neck, upper- back and shoulder region were common in female teachers (p<0.05). Meanwhile, female teachers expressed that the pain severity increases with the overhead reaching and more activity limitations. While male teachers preferred thermal spring therapy, females preferred to take pain killers. Females also took sick-leave report from health providers more frequently. Both female and male teachers with MSP showed moderate depression according to the Beck Depression Inventory a significant difference between gender was found (p=0.05). The female teachers reported more depressive symptoms. Gender, age, emotional status, and improper posture are significant risk factors in terms of developing MSP. Teachers were found to be at risk. Key words: Musculoskeletal pain (MSP), teacher, risk factors, coping strategies, depression.
Follow Link Seeking Strategy: A Pattern Based Approach

The way Twitter and other microblogging networks work is to have users create follow links among one another, and create short messages to their followers. Most of the time, the creation of follow links to other users does not require approval from the latter. Therefore, it is very easy for a user to create such links. On the other hand, the same cannot be said for seeking incoming follow links which is useful in some application scenarios. In this paper, we therefore study the Follow Link Seeking Problem that aims to nd the strategies for a source user to maximize the likelihood of receiving a follow link from a target user. We formulate this problem as a recommendation task and generate a set of strategies from well known follow link patterns. Using the condence scores of follow link patterns, we derive the success probability of each strategy. Finally, we present Friender, a working recommender system for follow link seeking strategies. The system performs localized crawling of the target user, computes the required strategies on the y, and presents the strategies visually.
A Capability-Based Hybrid CPU/GPU Pattern Matching Algorithm for Deep Packet Inspection

Network applications have been developed quickly during recent years, and communications between these applications involve a large quantity of data transfer through high speed networks. Deep packet inspection (DPI) becomes indispensable to ensure network application-aware security. One of the DPI services is the signature-based network intrusion detection system (NIDS), in which the implementation on software platforms has become a trend due to the advantages of high programmability and low cost. Recently, the graphic processing units (GPU) is commonly used to accelerate the packet processing because of its superior parallel processing power. Since delivering all packets to GPU causes high data transfer latency and consequently restricts the overall performance, our previous study proposed a mechanism, HPMA, to reduce the effect of transfer bottleneck and achieve higher processing speed. In this paper, we introduce an enhancement of HPMA, a capability-based hybrid CPU/GPU pattern matching algorithm (CHPMA). A preliminary experiment shows that the CHPMA not only performs as efficient as the HPMA in most cases, but also obtains higher performance gain than the HPMA under unfavorable conditions.
Global direct aerosol radiative forcing, as constrained by comprehensive observations

Aerosols directly affect the radiative balance of the Earth through absorption and scattering of solar radiation. Although the contributions of absorption (heating) and scattering (cooling) of sunlight have proved difficult to quantify, the consensus is that anthropogenic aerosols cool the climate, partially offsetting the warming by rising greenhouse gas concentrations. Recent estimates of global direct aerosol radiative forcing are −0.35±0.5 Wm -2 , and these estimates depend either entirely or heavily on aerosol simulation. Here, we integrate a comprehensive suite of satellite and ground-based observations to constrain total AOD, its fine-mode fraction, the vertical distribution of aerosols and clouds, and the co-location of clouds and overlying aerosols. We find that finemode forcing is −0.46 Wm -2 (−0.54 ~ −0.39 Wm -2 ). Fine-mode aerosols include sea salt and dust aerosols, and we find that these natural aerosols pose a very large cooling (−0.44 ~ −0.26 Wm -2 ) when constrained by observations. When the contribution of these natural aerosols is subtracted from the fine-mode forcing, the net becomes −0.10 (−0.28 ~ +0.05) Wm -2 . The net forcing arises from carbonaceous, sulfate and nitrate aerosols. Despite uncertainties in the anthropogenic fraction of these aerosols, this −0.28 ~ +0.05 Wm -2 range compels the direct aerosol forcing to be near zero.
The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School Department of Psychology MATERNAL ANXIETY, PARENTING, AND THE EMERGENCE OF CHILD ANXIETY AMONG YOUNG CHILDREN WITH AND WITHOUT DEVELOPMENTAL DELAY A Thesis in Psychology by

The present study investigated mechanisms of transmission of anxiety from mother to child across the preschool period, with particular attention to the mediating role of parenting specifically related to emotional experiences. Contrasts in these processes between families of children with and without developmental delays allowed for further exploration of mechanisms of effect related to the presence of risk. In contrast to the generally modest findings in the absence of child risk, findings in the presence of risk were notably more powerful. Although maternal anxiety during early childhood appeared associated with later child anxious symptoms regardless of risk status, only in the presence of risk was a mechanism of effect able to be identified. More specifically, a lack of positive parenting behaviors mediated the relations between maternal anxiety in early childhood and later child anxiety in the presence of child risk. As hypothesized, family factors appeared more salient under conditions of risk and served to intensify and realize the risk of early maternal anxiety. Specific study results and implications for prevention and intervention efforts are discussed.
Studies on the body wall ultrastructure of Hirschmanniella oryzae and H. spinicaudata (Nematoda: Pratylenchidae)

Summary - The body wall ultrastructure of H. oryzae and H. spinicaudata is described. The cuticle consists of three major zones: a cortical zone WiU1 t'NO layers (an outer trilaminate layer and an inner granular layer), a median zone represented by a vacuolar layer, and a basal zone consisting of a striated layer. Beneath the lateral fields, the fine structure of the cortical zone is unchanged, whereas the median zone is composed of four layers (two vacuolar layers separated by two granular layers) instead of a single vacuolar layer, and the basal zone is made of two thick fibrillar layers instead of a single striated layer. Exami­ nation of the muscle fields shows that the so-called "Thornean cells" of Sher (1968) correspond ra an inflated sarcoplasmic portion of muscle cells with large amounts of glycogen, as revealed by cytochemical studies. This unusual accumulation of glycogen is discussed.