Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Emergence of Different Functionally Equivalent PAH Degrading Microbial Communities from a Single Soil in Liquid PAH Enrichment Cultures and Soil Microcosms Receiving PAHs with and without Bioaugmentation

Abstract Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs) are common soil contaminants of concern due to their toxicity toward plants, animals and microorganisms. The use of indigenous or added microbes (bioaugmentation) is commonly used for bioremediation of PAHs. In this work, the biodegradation rates and changes in the bacterial community structure were evaluated. The enrichment culture was useful for unambiguously identifying members of the soil bacterial community associated with PAH degradation and yielded a low diversity community. No significant difference in the rate of PAH degradation was observed between the microcosm receiving only PAHs or PAHs and bioaugmentation. Moreover, identical matches to the bioaugmentation inoculum were only observed at the initial stages of PAH degradation on day 8. After 22 days of incubation, the substantial degradation of all PAHs had occurred in both microcosms and the PAH contaminated soil had statistically significant increases in Alphaproteobacteria. There were also increases in Betaproteobacteria. In contrast, the PAH contaminated and bioaugmented soil was not enriched in PAH degrading Proteobacteria genera and, instead, an increase from 1.6% to 8% of the population occurred in the phylum Bacteroidetes class Flavobacteria, with Flavobacterium being the only identified genus. In addition, the newly discovered genus Ohtaekwangia increased from 0% to 3.2% of the total clones. These results indicate that the same soil microbial community can give rise to different PAH degrading consortia that are equally effective in PAH degradation efficiency. Moreover, these results suggest that the lack of efficacy of bioaugmentation in soils can be attributed to a lack of persistence of the introduced microbes, yet nonetheless may alter the microbial community that arises in response to PAH contamination in unexpected ways.
Hypidone Hydrochloride (YL-0919) Produces a Fast-Onset Reversal of the Behavioral and Synaptic Deficits Caused by Chronic Stress Exposure

Our previous study showed that hypidone hydrochloride (YL-0919), a partial serotonin 1A (5-HT1A) receptor agonist and 5-HT reuptake inhibitor, exerts a significant antidepressant effect in various animal models. The aim of the present study was to further investigate the underlying mechanisms and whether it could act as a fast-onset antidepressant. In the current study, depressive-like behavior was induced in rats by a chronic unpredictable stress (CUS) model and assessed with the Sucrose Preference Test (SPT). Treatment with YL-0919 (2.5 mg/kg, i.g.), but not with fluoxetine (Flx; 10 mg/kg, i.g.), caused a fast improvement in the SPT scores. In CUS-exposed rats, YL-0919 treatment for 5 days decreased the immobility time in a forced swimming test (FST), and a 10-day treatment decreased the latency to feed in a Novelty-Suppressed Feeding Test (NSFT). In addition to the behavioral tests, the effects of YL-0919 on synaptic protein expression were also evaluated. Western blotting showed that YL-0919 significantly enhanced the expression levels of synaptic proteins such as synapsin I, postsynaptic density protein 95 (PSD95), phosphorylated mammalian targeting of rapamycin (pmTOR) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the hippocampus. To determine how the mTOR signaling is involved in the fast-onset antidepressant-like effects of YL-0919, the mTOR-specific inhibitor rapamycin was administered intracerebroventricularly (i.c.v.) together with the YL-0919 treatment. The observed changes in behavioral tests and protein expression could be reversed by rapamycin treatment. This suggests that the fast-onset antidepressant effects of YL-0919 were partially caused by changes in synaptogenesis mediated by activation of mTOR pathways. Our data suggest that YL-0919 may be a powerful/effective antidepressant with fast-onset.
Acute stress responses after indirect exposure to the MH17 airplane crash

People can experience disasters vicariously (indirectly) via conversation, social media, radio, and television, even when not directly involved in a disaster. This study examined whether vicarious exposure to the MH17‐airplane crash in Ukraine, with 196 Dutch victims, elicited affective and somatic responses in Dutch adults about 2,600 km away, who happened to participate in an ongoing diary study. Participants (n = 141) filled out a diary three times a day for 30 days on their smartphones. Within‐person changes in positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) and somatic symptoms after the crash were studied. Additionally, we tested whether between‐person differences in response could be explained by age, baseline personality (NEO‐FFI‐3), and media exposure. The MH17 crash elicited a small within‐person decrease in PA and an increase in NA and somatic symptoms. This response waned after 3 days and returned to baseline at day four. The decrease in PA was larger in more extraverted participants but smaller in those higher on neuroticism or conscientiousness. The NA response was smaller in elderly. Personality did not seem to moderate the NA and somatic response, and neither did media exposure. Dutch participants showed small acute somatic and affective responses up till 3 days to a disaster that they had not directly witnessed. Vicariously experienced disasters can thus elicit affective‐visceral responses indicative of acute stress reactions. Personality and age explained some of the individual differences in this reaction.
Integral-type Sliding Mode based Fault-tolerant Attitude Stabilization of A Quad-rotor UAV

This work addresses the fault tolerant attitude stabilization control problem of a quad-rotor UAV utilizing the integral-type sliding mode control strategy, in the presence of external disturbances and actuator faults. As a stepping stone, a simple PD-type controller is introduced to guarantee the asymptotical stability of the ideal UAV attitude control system without any fault. Then, an integral-type sliding mode control based fixed-time robust controller is proposed for the attitude control system under external disturbances. Further consider the actuator faults, a novel integral-type sliding mode control and adaptive technique based fixed-time fault-tolerant controller is proposed, and the chattering phenomenon is restricted by the switching control construction. Finally, a quad-rotor UAV example is utilized to verify the effectiveness and fine performance of the proposed schemes by numerical simulations.
Cybersecurity Issues in Internet of Things and Countermeasures

The rapid growth of the connected "Things" to the Internet create new technology known as the Internet of Things (IoT). The complex connection between the "things" in the IoT environment bring about security challenges. This paper analyzes some of these security challenges and provides some countermeasures for a four layers IoT architecture.
Reinforcement Learning Based Decision Fusion Scheme for Cooperative Spectrum Sensing in Cognitive Radios

Spectrum Sensing is a key module in Cognitive Radios (CR) for detecting spectrum holes. The performance of spectrum sensing algorithms is compromised due to channel impairments, such as, multi-path fading and shadowing. Cooperative Spectrum Sensing (CSS) scheme mitigates the above issues and improves the spatial diversity gain of Secondary Users (SUs). In this paper, we present Reinforcement Learning (RL) based CSS scheme with the objective of improving cooperative sensing accuracy by maximizing expected cumulative reward. Using reinforcement learning, the Fusion Center(FC) makes a global decision by interacting with the radio environment which consists of cooperative SUs and primary transmitter. The cooperative SUs are deployed randomly in a fading wireless channel environment modeled as a Markov Decision Process (MDP). The optimal solution of RL based CSS algorithm is formulated using policy iteration to meet the requirements of IEEE 802.22 Wireless Regional Area Network (WRAN) standard. The simulation results show that the RL based CSS scheme improves the detection performance under channel fading/shadowing and overall cooperative learning capability.
Cloud application architecture appraiser (CA3): A multicriteria approach and tool for assessing cloud deployment options based on nonfunctional requirements

Cloud computing is an emerging computing paradigm that is changing software engineering. It offers scalable virtual compute resources at low prices, thus attracting many software developers interested in reducing their infrastructure and operational costs. Even though acquiring and using cloud solutions can be simple, a common difficulty developers face is how to best configure their applications at the architectural level, given a myriad of cloud services and resource types available, specially when considering different attributes such as cost, scalability, and performance. An inappropriate architectural decision can lead to a significant cost increase or a deployment option that does not meet the minimum required performance. This paper focuses on the problem of finding the best cloud deployment options for a given application that meet a given set of well‐known nonfunctional requirements. To address this problem, the paper presents Cloud Application Architecture Appraiser (CA3), a multicriteria optimization approach and tool that relies on nonfunctional requirements as key drivers for assessing and selecting the best architectural options for deploying applications in the cloud. Results from the assessment of a real web application (WordPress), deployed using several different architectural options in a popular cloud provider (Amazon), are also presented to illustrate the use and benefits of the proposed method and tool.
Bimanual 25-gauge chandelier technique for direct perfluorocarbon liquid-silicone oil exchange in retinal detachments associated with giant retinal tear

Direct perfluorocarbon liquid (PFCL)-silicone oil exchange presents its own set of challenges in the micro incision vitreous surgery era. We propose a simple bimanual technique to circumvent this problem. Thirteen eyes of patients with retinal detachment associated with giant retinal tears underwent vitrectomy followed by self-retaining endo illuminator (Chandelier) assisted direct PFCL-silicone exchange. No intra or postoperative complications related to the surgical technique were noted. All patients had attached retinas and satisfactory visual recovery at 6 months. Direct bimanual PFCL silicone oil exchange using a Chandelier seems to be a safe and effective technique.
Quadrature Hybrid Integrated Dual-Circularly Polarized Array Antenna

A new dual-circularly polarized array antenna integrated with a quadrature hybrid is presented in this paper. The antenna shows wideband performance due to the wideband characteristic of the quadrature hybrid. Two substrate layers and three metal layers are used to realize the proposed antenna. Bothsided MIC technology is used to distribute the whole feed network on the different substrate layers. Use of this technique leads to compact structure of the proposed array antenna. Two orthogonal modes with quadrature phase shift to excite circular polarization is achieved by using orthogonally fed patches and quadrature hybrid. Moreover, use of quadrature hybrid enables to change the circular polarization sense. The performances of the proposed antenna is experimentally validated and measured axial ratios are more than 9{\%}.
Smart Tutoring System for Arabic Sign Language Using Leap Motion Controller

This paper presents a smart tutoring system for Arabic Sign Language (ArSL). Sign language is one of the main approaches of communication for people with hearing impairment. Many people are willing to learn sign language and support this segment of the society; however, learning this language requires some effort and assistant. Tools that are used to support sign language learners and specifically ArSL are limited and insufficient. Hence, the development of a tool that is capable of training and assessing ArSL learners becomes a necessity. We proposed a smart tutoring for ArSL based on using the leap motion’s hand tracking technology. The aim of this system is assisting non-disabled learners who want to learn the sign language, such as undergraduates specializing in hearing disabilities, parents of kids with hearing impairment or any interested subject. The system allows learners to practice ArSL in different levels and self-assess themselves. As it utilizes the recent technology of leap motion controller, it can detect and track hand and fingers movements and consequently assess the position and movement accuracy. Machine learning techniques, specifically the K- Nearest Neighbor algorithm was applied for classification and sign recognition. Preliminary prototype was developed and tested in terms of users’ acceptance. The outcomes show satisfactory and promising results. It is expected that the proposed system will contribute in enriching the learning process of ArSL and consequently support an important segment of our community.
Validation of a Short Form of Job Crafting Scale in a Spanish Sample

Abstract Applications of job crafting are widespread in the professional practice. In an attempt to measure this phenomenon, Tims, Bakker and Derks (2012) developed a Job Crafting Scale based on the Job Demand-Resources model (JD-R) and validated it in a Dutch sample. However, its application to other cultural contexts presented some difficulties. The present work aimed to validate a shorter version of scale by Tims et al. (2012) in a Spanish sample (n = 1,647). The data were randomly split in two independent subsamples (Sample 1: Explorative; Sample 2: Confirmative). The exploratory factor analysis showed a three-factor structure. Through a confirmatory factor analysis, the four-dimensionality structure of the original scale was replicated. In fact, the four-factor solution presented better goodness of fit indices than the alternative one-factor model, χ2(48) = 192.70, p < . 01; AGFI = . 94; NNFI = . 93; RMR = . 05; RMSEA = . 06. Alpha reliabilities were acceptable for increasing structural job resources (α = .75), decreasing hindering job demands (α = .64), increasing social job resources (α = .78) and increasing challenging job demands (α = .77). Convergent validity was appropriate for three of the four dimensions, because each construct’s AVE were around . 50 and each construct’s Composite Reliability were around . 70. Decreasing hindering job demands presented more limited values (CR = .65; AVE = .40). In addition, the four job crafting dimensions presented significant correlations with job performance (range –.09 to .42) and personal growth (ranging from –.09 to .45). Finally, the squared correlations between factors were lower than the square root of AVE, which confirmed discriminant validity.
Research of Sentiment Analysis Based on Long-Sequence-Term-Memory Model

A method based on Long-Sequence-Term-Memory model and vector embedding to analyze sentiments of the online reviews is proposed in this paper. In order to obtain the vector representation from sentence level, it uses the extraction methods of LSTM, which is based on non-liner learning, to extend the vector embedding to sentence representation, and to achieve sentence embedding ultimately. The experimental results proved the high accuracy of this method, with which could live up to 91.35% when classifying the sentiments of online reviews. The ability to be applied to variety languages and the strong scalability of large scale corpus are two of its advantages, meanwhile, feature extraction of bigram can also improve its test accuracy. As the experimental results showed that the sentiment analysis method based on the LSTM model and the principle of embedding word is a highly effective method of sentiment analysis, and it has the strong scalability and can be applied to comments of different languages.
Depletion of Tissue-Specific Ion Transporters Causes Differential Expression of PRL Targets in Response to Increased Levels of Endogenous PRL

Prolactin (PRL) has been considered a key regulator of ion uptake in zebrafish. The genes slc12a10.2 and slc12a3, which are Na+ and chloride Cl− co-transporters, have been reported to be regulated by PRL in freshwater fish. The integrative network of PRL signaling dissected from the knockout of tissue-specific downstream PRL ion transporters remains poor. In the present study, zebrafish models with increased endogenous levels of PRL were generated through the knockout of slc12a10.2 or slc12a3, and the developmental consequences were analyzed. The increased levels of pituitary PRL were observed in both slc12a10.2- and slc12a3-deficient fish. Unlike the slc12a3-deficient fish, which could survive to adulthood, the slc12a10.2-deficient fish began to die at 9 days post-fertilization (dpf) and did not survive beyond 17 dpf. This survival defect is a result of defective Cl− uptake in this mutant, indicating that Slc12a10.2 plays an essential role in Cl− uptake. Intriguingly, compared to the levels in control fish, no significant differences in the levels of Na+ in the body were observed in slc12a10.2- or slc12a3-deficient zebrafish. The upregulations of the PRL downstream transporters, slc9a3.2, slc12a10.2, and atp1a1a.5 were observed in slc12a3-deficient fish in both the gills/skin and the pronephric duct. However, this type of response was not observed in the pronephric duct of slc12a10.2-deficient fish, except under Na+-deprived conditions. Our results show that PRL is susceptible to deficiencies in downstream ion transporters. Moreover, both the gills/skin and pronephric duct show differential expression of downstream PRL targets in response to increased levels of pituitary PRL caused by the depletion of tissue-specific ion transporters.
Hand Gesture Recognition System Under Complex Background Using Spatio Temporal Analysis

The interaction between human and machine can be achieved by implementing human gesture applications which are known as human computer interaction (HCI). It has been developed several years ago, and now we can easily find it in many applications in real world e.g. in virtual reality, games, robotics, sign language recognition, etc. Gesture recognition has the potential to offer a natural way of communication between humans and machines. The most popular methods in human gesture application are hand gesture recognition. Several of hand gesture recognition methods still have the same problem when trying to recognize hand gesture accurately because of the existence of the uncontrolled environment problem, especially complex background. This study offered a method that can handle complex background in hand gesture recognition by analyzing pattern in spatio temporal domain. The system could reduce irregular noise in complex background significantly that affected to recognize the hand gesture. The experiment had been conducted using 180 videos with a total of 15 gestures. The result showed that the proposed method could recognize 15 hand gestures with accuracy of 98.33%.
Interactions of BDNF Val66Met Polymorphism and Menstrual Pain on Brain Complexity

The irregularity and uncertainty of neurophysiologic signals across different time scales can be regarded as neural complexity, which is related to the adaptability of the nervous system and the information processing between neurons. We recently reported general loss of brain complexity, as measured by multiscale sample entropy (MSE), at pain-related regions in females with primary dysmenorrhea (PDM). However, it is unclear whether this loss of brain complexity is associated with inter-subject genetic variations. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a widely expressed neurotrophin in the brain and is crucial to neural plasticity. The BDNF Val66Met single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) is associated with mood, stress, and pain conditions. Therefore, we aimed to examine the interactions of BDNF Val66Met polymorphism and long-term menstrual pain experience on brain complexity. We genotyped BDNF Val66Met SNP in 80 PDM females (20 Val/Val, 31 Val/Met, 29 Met/Met) and 76 healthy female controls (25 Val/Val, 36 Val/Met, 15 Met/Met). MSE analysis was applied to neural source activity estimated from resting-state magnetoencephalography (MEG) signals during pain-free state. We found that brain complexity alterations were associated with the interactions of BDNF Val66Met polymorphism and menstrual pain experience. In healthy female controls, Met carriers (Val/Met and Met/Met) demonstrated lower brain complexity than Val/Val homozygotes in extensive brain regions, suggesting a possible protective role of Val/Val homozygosity in brain complexity. However, after experiencing long-term menstrual pain, the complexity differences between different genotypes in healthy controls were greatly diminished in PDM females, especially in the limbic system, including the hippocampus and amygdala. Our results suggest that pain experience preponderantly affects the effect of BDNF Val66Met polymorphism on brain complexity. The results of the present study also highlight the potential utilization of resting-state brain complexity for the development of new therapeutic strategies in patients with chronic pain.
Preserving Location Privacy in Geosocial Applications using Error Based Transformation

Geo-social applications deal with constantly sharing user's current geographic information in terms of location (Latitude and Longitude). Such application can be used by many people to get information about their surrounding with the help of their friend's locations and their recommendations. But without any privacy protection, these systems can be easily misused by tracking the users. We are proposing Error Based Transformation (ERB) approach for location transformation which provides significantly improved location privacy without adding uncertainty in to query results or relying on strong assumptions about server security. The key insight is to apply secure user-specific, distance-preserving coordinate transformations to all location data shared with the server. Only the friends of a user can get exact co-ordinates by applying inverse transformation with secret key shared with them. Servers can evaluate all location queries correctly on transformed data. ERB privacy mechanism guarantee that servers are unable to see or infer actual location data from the transformed data. ERB privacy mechanism is successful against a powerful adversary model where prototype measurements used to show that it provides with very little performance overhead making it suitable for today's mobile device.
An Efficient Preparation of 1,2-Diamino-1-phenylheptane

A convenient four-step method for the preparation of the lipophilic vicinal diamine 1,2-diamino-1-phenylheptane is described. Condensation involving octan-2-one, benzaldehyde and ammonia is reported. Regioselective Schmidt rearrangement of 2,6-diphenyl-3-pentyl-piperidin-4-one (1) to 2,7-diphenyl-3-pentyl hexahydrodiazapin-5-one (3) is presented. Hydrolysis of 2,7-diphenyl-3-pentyl hexahydrodiazapin-5-one to 1,2-diamino-1-phenylheptane (4) is also reported for the first time.