Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sanguinarine, Isolated From Macleaya cordata, Exhibits Potent Antifungal Efficacy Against Candida albicans Through Inhibiting Ergosterol Synthesis

In recent decades, infections caused by the opportunistic fungus Candida albicans have increased, especially in patients with immunodeficiency. In this study, we investigated the mechanism of action of sanguinarine (SAN) against C. albicans both in vitro and in vivo. SAN exhibited antifungal activity against C. albicans clinical isolates, with MICs in the range of 112.8–150.5 μM. Furthermore, scanning electron and transmission electron microscopy showed that SAN induced morphological changes as well as structure disruption in C. albicans cells, including masses of cellular debris, ruptured cell walls, and membrane deformation. Flow cytometry revealed that SAN could lead to cell membrane damage, and ergosterol content analysis indicated that SAN could cause ergosterol content reduction exceeding 90%. Further, we validated the efficacy of SAN against candidiasis caused by C. albicans in a murine model, and SAN significantly improved survival and reduced weight loss compared to vehicle. The treatment of 1.5 and 2.5 mg/kg/d SAN obviously reduced the fungal burden in the kidney. In addition, histopathological examination indicated that no fungal cells were observed in lung and kidney tissues after SAN treatment. Hence, this study suggests that SAN is a promising plant-derived compound for the development of an effective anticandidal agent.
Prediction of Material Removal Rate for Chemical Mechanical Planarization Using Decision Tree-Based Ensemble Learning

Chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) has been widely used in the semiconductor industry to create planar surfaces with a combination of chemical and mechanical forces. A CMP process is very complex because several chemical and mechanical phenomena (e.g., surface kinetics, electrochemical interfaces, contact mechanics, stress mechanics, hydrodynamics, and tribochemistry) are involved. Predicting the material removal rate (MRR) in a CMP process with sufficient accuracy is essential to achieving uniform surface finish. While physics-based methods have been introduced to predict MRRs, little research has been reported on monitoring and predictive modeling of the MRR in CMP. This paper presents a novel decision tree-based ensemble learning algorithm that can train the predictive model of the MRR. The stacking technique is used to combine three decision tree-based learning algorithms, including the random forests (RF), gradient boosting trees (GBT), and extremely randomized trees (ERT), via a meta-regressor. The proposed method is demonstrated on the data collected from a CMP tool that removes material from the surface of wafers. Experimental results have shown that the decision tree-based ensemble learning algorithm using stacking can predict the MRR in the CMP process with very high accuracy.
The Denaturant- and Mutation-Induced Disassembly of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Hexameric Hfq Y55W Mutant

Although oligomeric proteins are predominant in cells, their folding is poorly studied at present. This work is focused on the denaturant- and mutation-induced disassembly of the hexameric mutant Y55W of the Qβ host factor (Hfq) from mesophilic Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Pae). Using intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence, dynamic light scattering (DLS), and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), we show that the dissociation of Hfq Y55W occurs either under the effect of GuHCl or during the pre-denaturing transition, when the protein concentration is decreased, with both events proceeding through the accumulation of stable intermediate states. With an extremely low pH of 1.4, a low ionic strength, and decreasing protein concentration, the accumulated trimers and dimers turn into monomers. Also, we report on the structural features of monomeric Hfq resulting from a triple mutation (D9A/V43R/Y55W) within the inter-subunit surface of the protein. This globular and rigidly packed monomer displays a high thermostability and an oligomer-like content of the secondary structure, although its urea resistance is much lower.
Aeroelastic Optimization with an Economical Transonic Flutter Constraint Using Navier–Stokes Aerodynamics

Structural optimization with a flutter constraint for a vehicle designed to fly in the transonic regime is a particularly difficult task. In this speed range, the flutter boundary is very sensitive to aerodynamic nonlinearities, typically requiring high-fidelity Navier–Stokes simulations. However, the repeated application of unsteady computational fluid dynamics to guide an aeroelastic optimization process is very computationally expensive. This expense has motivated the development of methods that incorporate aspects of the aerodynamic nonlinearity, classical tools of flutter analysis, and more recent methods of optimization. Although it is possible to use doublet-lattice method aerodynamics, this paper focuses on the use of an unsteady high-fidelity aerodynamic reduced-order model combined with successive transformations that allows for an economical way of using high-fidelity aerodynamics in the optimization process. This approach is applied to the common research model wing structural design. The high.
A Hybrid Metaheuristic for Multi-Objective Scientific Workflow Scheduling in a Cloud Environment

Cloud computing has emerged as a high-performance computing environment with a large pool of abstracted, virtualized, flexible, and on-demand resources and services. Scheduling of scientific workflows in a distributed environment is a well-known NP-complete problem and therefore intractable with exact solutions. It becomes even more challenging in the cloud computing platform due to its dynamic and heterogeneous nature. The aim of this study is to optimize multi-objective scheduling of scientific workflows in a cloud computing environment based on the proposed metaheuristic-based algorithm, Hybrid Bio-inspired Metaheuristic for Multi-objective Optimization (HBMMO). The strong global exploration ability of the nature-inspired metaheuristic Symbiotic Organisms Search (SOS) is enhanced by involving an efficient list-scheduling heuristic, Predict Earliest Finish Time (PEFT), in the proposed algorithm to obtain better convergence and diversity of the approximate Pareto front in terms of reduced makespan, minimized cost, and efficient load balance of the Virtual Machines (VMs). The experiments using different scientific workflow applications highlight the effectiveness, practicality, and better performance of the proposed algorithm.
Automatic Detection Pipeline for Accessing the Motor Severity of Parkinson’s Disease in Finger Tapping and Postural Stability

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a nervous disorder that can cause motor impairment. PD severity assessment based on a series of motor movements illustrated in Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) is an important part of clinical PD diagnosis. However, the current quantifying method heavily relies on human observation, which is time-consuming and subjective. Therefore, automatic severity estimation stemming from machine learning methods is receiving increasing amount of research attention. However, these advances are still limited by data availability and interpretability. In this paper, we release a large PD motor dataset of over 300 real PD patients collected under doctors’ instructions and propose a pipeline to automatically quantify the motor severity of PD in finger tapping and postural stability. These two selected movements are representative of local and global motor control, exhibiting great clinical importance. The pipeline contains three-stage: pose estimation, domain knowledge extraction, and classification stage. The pose estimation uses deep-learning-based methods to extract 21 and 17 key points for finger tapping and postural stability respectively. The domain knowledge extraction stage extracts several explicit features pre-defined by experienced neuro-physicians. Finally, a classifier is trained to infer PD severity under MDS-UPDRS. To combine deep-learning-based features from pose estimation and domain features from the expert, the pipeline achieves a better trade-off between the model efficiency and clinical interpretability. Experiments show that our method achieves an micro average f1-score of 88%, 84%, and 84%, respectively on left finger tapping, right finger tapping and postural stability, outperforming previous methods by a large margin. In addition, involving expert knowledge in the feature extraction stage greatly improves our model’s interpretability, which is essential in automatic PD detection.
Probing doors to visual awareness: Choice set, visibility, and confidence

ABSTRACT Visibility and confidence are two subtly (sensation-based and intuition-based) different ways to assess our visual experiences. We investigated how different choice sets affect the ability of confidence and visibility judgments to retrieve conscious information from perceptual decision-making processes. Six participants made introspective judgments on sinusoidal gratings at close to chance signal-to-noise values. We used signal detection theory and mixed regression models to analyze choices and pupilometric recordings. The results suggest that allowing null responses (e.g., “I saw nothing”) asymmetrically affects the signal distribution variances associated with null and non-null responses; confidence is more effective than visibility in accessing unconscious information; and bias-free methods hinder accurate introspective judgment by forbidding free decision criteria. Our findings underscore the importance of the context afforded by choice and stimulus sets, which determines the extent to which elicited introspective judgments are based on the actual information from the past events they are intended to measure.
2002 Student Paper Award Winner: Project Management Maturity Models: The Silver Bullets of Competitive Advantage?

Project management maturity models are important assessment tools for the profession. Maturity models identify organizational strengths and weaknesses as well as provide benchmarking information. They capture explicit, codified practice (know-what), but do not include the intangible assets of project management (know-how). Some have made the claim that project management maturity models (MMs) can lead to a competitive advantage for firms. This paper uses four resource-based frameworks to assess whether or not maturity models lead to a sustained competitive advantage. In the context of the strategy domain, the authors conclude that MMs can result in a temporary competitive advantage but not a sustained competitive advantage. Clearly, a sustained competitive advantage is rooted in a combination of know-what and know-how.
Complete mitochondrial genome and phylogenetic analysis of Mystacoleucus lepturus (Teleostei, Cypriniformes, Cyprinidae)

Abstract In this study, we aimed to sequence and annotate the complete mtDNA genome sequence of Mystacoleucus lepturus, which were collected from Luosuojiang River in Menglun area, Yunnan Province, China. The mitochondrial genome was 16,592 bp in length, comprising 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNA genes (tRNAs), two ribosomal RNA genes (rRNAs), and two non-coding regions (origin of L-strand replication and control region). The whole genome contained C (26.5%), A (32.5%), T (25.3%), and G (15.7%), with an obvious A + T bias (57.8%). Based on the concatenated amino acids sequences of 13 PCGs of M. lepturus and other 22 fishes, a phylogenetic tree was reconstructed using the maximum-likelihood method. The result of phylogenetic analysis supported a close relationship between M. lepturus and M. marginatus. The fundamental genetic data of M. lepturus would be useful for conservation and phylogeny.
Design and implementation of an off-grid PV drive system for small scale fresh produce cooling

Design and Implementation of an off-grid PV drive system for small-scale fresh produce cooling J. Samuels Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Stellenbosch, Private Bag X1, Matieland 7602, South Africa. Thesis: M.Eng (E & E) December 2017 The implementation of a PV drive system is discussed in this thesis with the focus on fresh produce cooling for small-scale farmer. A background study is presented, which firstly addresses hunger and food insecurity through emphasis on one of the mentioned six causes of hunger, namely, food waste. Further focus is placed on cooling and, specifically, solar cooling. Therefore, the relevant factors pertaining to cooling and solar energy as a power source are presented, adding to the background study. Thereafter, the project details are outlined which states the research significance as the investigation of feasibility, in terms of cost and performance, of the design and implementation of PV drive systems, using the proposed development process. With that being said, the design of the PV drive system, elevation of low-voltage solar PV energy and cost-effective implementation were evaluated. In a high-level project overview the project parts are presented for the designed and implemented PV drive system, with the focus on the solar energy source and the cooling application. Similarly, the proposed development process is discussed through which the drive system was implemented. In effect, this process entails using off-the-shelf subsystems, as far as possible, to construct the drive system with only the necessary self-built subsystems. The drive system consists of the following self-built subsystems, namely the DC-DC converter and control module, and a commercial VSD, with integration between these subsystems. As the main means of voltage elevation, from the low-voltage solar PV source, the focus is placed on DC-DC converters. Furthermore, a comparison of DC-DC converters are made, with the defined criteria for the project, for the most suitable converter. For easier comparison, the converters are grouped and their advantages and disadvantages are presented. Ultimately, a converter choice was made. The chosen converter, the resonant push-pull converter, was thoroughly discussed, analysed and specifically designed for the project. Furthermore, this theoretical design of the converter was firstly simulated, for confirmation, before physical construction proceeded. Thereafter, converter tests were done to verify the design through various measurements. Most importantly, the converter output voltage range and efficiency were measured and verified to a satisfactory degree. ii Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za
Service quality for architects: scale development and validation

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop and explain an empirically validated scale to measure service quality for architects in India. Design/methodology/approach This study applies a systematic procedure for development of a psychometric scale in three phases. Phase 1 includes item generation and selection through review of literature and expert opinion. Phase 2 comprises scale refinement using item analysis and exploratory factor analysis. Phase 3 applies confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) for establishing convergent, discriminant and nomological validity. This study has involved 15 expert participants in Phase 1 and sought participation from 250 respondents using an online questionnaire in two other independent phases. Findings The findings of the empirical study resulted in the development of a 22-item scale that measures the constructs such as design quality, project administration quality, communication quality, relationship quality and dependability quality. Research limitations/implications This study has developed a context-specific psychometric scale of service quality for architects in India using snowball sampling. Although this study identified five valid service quality factors, the classified information relating to the formation of expectations was not collected. Practical implications This reliable and valid scale would be helpful for architects to measure the level of service quality in enhancing business performance. This study has established that service quality for architects is achieved only when the perceived benefits are available from the aspects like design, project administration, communication, relationship and dependability. Social implications This study can facilitate an architect interested in opportunities relating to contracting, consulting and engineering to explore possibilities of higher fees from clients. Originality/value This study is an original attempt in developing a validated tool to measure service quality of architects in India.
WiFi Scanner Technologies for Obtaining Travel Data about Circulator Bus Passengers: Case Study in Obuse, Nagano Prefecture, Japan

Recently, a variety of technologies, such as the development of Bluetooth, WiFi, and smart cards, have been used to investigate the movements of passengers or vehicles. This study describes the use of a WiFi scanner that was installed on a bus and circulated around the bus’s route 14 times. The method presented here involves the use of WiFi and GPS to analyze passengers’ movements while the bus is running and while stopped at a bus stop. Nine steps were used to derive travel data from the raw data to estimate the number of movements of the passengers. The results of this study describe the travel data collected between bus stops no. 1 and no. 9 and compare the observer data with the WiFi data.
Behavioral health and treatment-seeking behaviors among deployed vs. non-deployed service members: How impactful is deployment on well-being?

ABSTRACT Increasing attention has been dedicated to studying behavioral health of non-deployed military personnel. This investigation explored the impacts of a variety of sociodemographic and health factors on key behavioral health outcomes among active duty personnel. A secondary analysis was conducted using 2014 Defense Health Agency Health Related Behaviors Survey data (unweighted n = 45,762, weighted n = 1,251,606). Three logistic regression models investigated factors associated with reporting symptomatology consistent with depression, anxiety, and stress. We found that after adjusting for sociodemographic and other health variables (e.g., sleep), deployment was associated with stress but not anxiety or depression. Although deployed personnel were more likely to report increased levels of stress overall, few differences with respect to the sources of stressors were identified. While behavioral health screening and treatment needs may differ for non-deployed and deployed personnel, programs to support mental and physical well-being among all service members should be robustly promoted.
A novel balanced-to-balanced power divider based on three-line coupled structure

Abstract This paper presents a novel balanced-to-balanced power divider (PD) based on a simple and compact three-line coupled structure for the first time. By bisecting the proposed symmetrical structure, the differential mode (DM) and the common mode (CM) equivalent circuits can be obtained for analysis. The DM equivalent circuit exhibits a three-line in-phase power dividing response, and then a resistor is added between the two outputs for achieving good isolation. Meanwhile, the CM equivalent circuit shows a three-line all-stop response so that the CM suppression in this design does not need to be considered. Accordingly, the detailed design procedure of the DM PD is given. For demonstration, a prototype centered at 1.95 GHz is designed, fabricated, and measured. The simulated and measured results with good agreement are presented, showing low DM loss and wideband CM suppression.
New detection of acoustic signatures from solar flares, 2005

With the advancement of local helioseismic techniques such as helioseismic holography we have now detected numerous seismic sources of varying size and intensity produced by solar flares. We have performed a systematic survey of the SOHO-MDI database in search for seismic waves from X-class flares produced during 1996 – 2005. The detection of acoustically active flares has opened a new and promising connection between helioseismology and flare physics. The main question we ask is: why are some large flares acoustically active while most are acoustically inactive? We also address questions such as: Is photospheric heating by high-energy protons a major factor in seismic emission from flares? What is the effect of magnetic fields in the acoustics of a flare?
Using BPMN-based Business Processes in Requirements Engineering: The Case Study of Sustainable Design

Global economic challenges force companies to constantly seek alternatives to become more efficient in order to grow, or even survive. Process improvement has the potential to transform a company and lead to innovation while information technology is an enabler of business change. Both must evolve together to maximize the outcomes. This paper introduces the case study of a business process to support the sustainable design (SD) of products and services. The purpose is to illustrate how processes can be used to support eliciting and managing system requirements for highly complex domains, where both processes and requirements are difficult to define. The process was designed in Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN). The case study shows how information is gained during process mapping and how this information can be used in requirements engineering. Relevant SD knowledge and best practices are presented, making this process also very helpful for SD beginners.
Noninvasive Measurement of Heart Rate and Respiratory Rate for Perioperative Infants

A novel fiber optic sensor is designed with mesh microbenders for simultaneous perioperative measurement of heart rate (HR) and respiratory rate (RR) for infants. The feasibility of the mesh microbend fiber sensor was evaluated in ten infants, ranging from 1 to 12 months in a prospective cross-sectional observational study with the sensor placed under the subjects in the perioperative period. All the study subjects received standard intraoperative physiological monitoring of their vital signs. The high order harmonic sensing signals associated with other filtering methods are used for the removal of motion noise. The study results displayed good agreement in the measurement of HR and RR between the proposed microbend fiber sensor and the current standard physiological monitoring used in medical settings.