Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Proteins involved in fl or yeast carbon metabolism under bio fi lm formation conditions

A lack of sugars during the production of biologically aged wines after fermentation of grape must causes flor yeasts to metabolize other carbon molecules formed during fermentation (ethanol and glycerol, mainly). In this work, a proteome analysis involving OFFGEL fractionation prior to LC/MS detection was used to elucidate the carbon metabolism of a flor yeast strain under biofilm formation conditions (BFC). The results were compared with those obtained under non-biofilm formation conditions (NBFC). Proteins associated to processes such as non-fermentable carbon uptake, the glyoxylate and TCA cycles, cellular respiration and inositol metabolism were detected at higher concentrations under BFC than under the reference conditions (NBFC). This study constitutes the first attempt at identifying the flor yeast proteins responsible for the peculiar sensory profile of biologically aged wines. A better metabolic knowledge of flor yeasts might facilitate the development of effective strategies for improved production of these
Clinical utility of viscoelastic testing (TEG and ROTEM analyzers) in the management of old and new therapies for hemophilia

Hemophilia A and B are rare inherited bleeding disorders resulting from deficiency of coagulation factors VIII and IX respectively. In the past few decades, the field of hemophilia has witnessed pivotal management challenges and therapeutic advances. Routine coagulation and factor assays, while useful in the classification of severity and treatment monitoring in hemophilia patients, have been shown to be of limited use in managing clinical presentations and outcomes. This prompted the investigation of viscoelastic studies in hemophilia care, which have established their utility in various bleeding and thrombotic states. In this review, we will discuss and critically assess the current literature highlighting the use of viscoelastic studies in various aspects of hemophilia including the determination of clinical phenotype, management of patients with inhibitors, perioperative management, and monitoring of novel agents.
Systems Thinking Education - Seeing the Forest through the Trees

Systems thinking is an indispensable tool in comprehending and analyzing real-world phenomena. Observed processes are naturally composed of many interconnected components which ought to be studied jointly rather than individually. Engineering systems thinking is a very valuable skill, which helps to successfully execute multi-disciplinary projects. In high-tech companies that deal with complex and dynamic systems projects, the need for engineers with high systems thinking skills is growing. Engineers with high systems thinking skills are able to understand the big picture and the project in its entirety, both functionally and conceptually, without necessarily knowing all of the small details. Systems thinking enables understanding the entire system beyond its components, and clarifies the importance of the isolated component as part of the system as a whole. Systems thinking helps understand how sub-systems connect to one whole system, and provides solutions for the client’s specifications and requirements. In addition, systems thinking enables perceiving the inter-relationships and mutual influence among the system’s components and other systems. The current study examined the development of systems thinking among engineers and engineering students. In addition, the personality traits of engineers with high systems thinking skills were examined by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality type test. This article also presents the initial results of the development of a new systems thinking study course, taught as a pilot course to industrial and management engineering students. It seems that engineers with certain personality traits can acquire or improve their systems thinking capabilities through a gradual, long-term learning process and by acquiring the necessary tools. Additionally, the study includes recommendations for the continuation of ongoing research on developing systems thinking.
Draft A NUMERICAL INVESTIGATION OF ROTOR BOLT WINDAGE WITHIN A ROTOR STATOR CAVITY

This paper presents a numerical study of the effect of rotor mounted bolts on the windage within a rotor-stator cavity representative of modern gas turbine engine design. The CFD computations are performed using the commercial code FLUENT. The simulation methodology is first validated using experimental data from plain co-rotating disc and rotor-stator cavities from the open literature. Comparisons are then made with experimental data obtained from the bolt windage test rig at the Thermo Fluid Mechanics Research Centre (TFMRC), University of Sussex. Computations were performed at Reφ = 6.8 x 10, Cw = 5929 (λT = 0.35) with different numbers of bolts (0 < N < 60), and also a continuous ring, at r/b = 0.9. The study has improved the current understanding of the effect that rotor mounted protruding features have on windage in rotor-stator systems. It is seen that the contribution of skin friction to the moment coefficient reduces as the number of bolts is increased. The size and shape of the wake created by a rotating bolt also means that the pressure loss per bolt reduces with N but the overall effect is to increase the moment coefficient because there are more bolts. NOMENCLATURE a, b Inner and outer radius of the disc, respectively D Bolt diameter (measured across-flats) G = s/b Gap ratio M Moment m! Mass flow rate N Number of bolts p Pressure rs Radius of the shaft r, z Radial and axial coordinates rp Radius of the protrusions s Axial gap between discs sc Seal clearance U Mean radial velocity Vr, Vφ Radial and tangential velocities in a stationary coordinate system. β = Vφ /ωr Core rotation factor β* Value of β when Cw = 0 μ Dynamic viscosity ρ Density ω Angular velocity Fluid Dimensionless Groups 5 2 m b 2 1 M C ρω = Moment coefficient b m Cw μ = ! Flow Reynolds number μ ω ρ = φ 2 b Re Rotational Reynolds number
DETERMINATION OF NIFEDIPINE IN RAT PLASMA USING HPLC-UV DETECTOR: A SIMPLE METHOD FOR PHARMACOKINETICS AND ORAL BIOAVAILABILITY STUDIES Original Article

Objective: To develop and validate a high-performance liquid chromatographic method (HPLC) for the determination of nifedipine (NFD) concentration in rat plasma. Methods: 1.5 mol of sodium hydroxide solution was added to each plasma sample, followed by the addition of an extraction solvent based on nhexane and dichloromethane (70: 30, v/v). The organic layer was transferred and evaporated to dryness under nitrogen flow. The residue was reconstituted with 0.5 mol of acetic acid, followed by the addition of n-hexane. After centrifuging the mixture, the supernatant organic layer of nhexane was discarded, and the aqueous solution was injected onto the HPLC using A Phenomenex Luna-C18 reversed phase analytical column (250 x 4.6 mm, 5 µm). The mobile phase consisted of 0.01 mol aqueous ammonium formate: methanol: acetonitrile (55: 43: 2, v/v) with pH adjusted to 4.9 using formic acid. The flow rate was 0.8 ml/min; UV detector set at 235 nm and the samples were quantified using the peak area. Results: A well-resolved NFD peak was achieved free of interference from endogenous compounds in rat plasma. Recovery of NFD was more than 93 % over concentrations ranged from 5.00 to 200 ng/ml. The limit of quantification (LOQ) of this assay was 6 ng/ml and, intra-and inter-day coefficient of variation (CV) were 5.75 % and 7.93 %, respectively. NFD was found to be stable in rat plasma after being stored at -30 °C over 90 d. Conclusion: The stability, sensitivity, specificity and reproducibility of this method make it suitable for the determination of NFD plasma concentration in pharmacokinetics and oral bioavailability studies.
Surface Wave Dispersion Measurements and Tomography From Ambient Seismic Noise in China

Abstract : We have recently performed ambient noise tomography of China using the new national China Seismic Network and surrounding global and regional stations. For most of the station pairs, we can retrieve very good Rayleigh waves from ambient noise correlations using 18- months of continuous data at all distance ranges (100 km to 5000 km) and for periods down to about 8 s. We obtain Rayleigh wave group velocity dispersion measurements using a frequency-time analysis method and construct Rayleigh wave group velocity maps for periods from 8 s to 60 s. Our preliminary dispersion maps show significant features that correlate with surface geology. Two major features stand out in particular. First, the major basins with thick sediment deposition correlate well with slow group velocities at shorter periods (10 to 20 s). The major basins, including Tarim, Junggar, Qadaim, Sichuan, Bohai, Songliao, Southern North China, and Jianghan, are all well delineated by slow velocities. Second, variations in crustal thickness correlate with group velocities for periods around 30 s. The major trend of crust thickening from the east to west is well represented by the velocity decreases from east to west. We propose several methods to estimate the reliability and error of Rayleigh wave dispersions derived from the ambient noise.
CS 229 T / STATS 231 : Statistical Learning Theory

Here L is the expected loss. θ̂ is the minimizer of the training loss, while θ∗ is the ground truth parameter. This result partially explains why the MLE, which has the smallest training loss, is also likely to achieve a small testing error when there are enough training examples. One limitation of the above result is that it requires well-specifiedness, i.e., the data are distributed precisely according to a particular ground truth parameter θ∗ in the parameter space. We would like to prove a more general result in the following form without assuming well-specifiedness.1 L(θ̂)− L(θ∗) ≤ f(p, n), ∀p, n ≥ 1.
Feldspar thermometry; a valuable tool for deciphering the thermal history of granulite-facies rocks, as illustrated with metapelites from Sri Lanka

Two-feldspar geothermometry is applied to granulite-facies metapelites from the Highland Complex of Sri Lanka, for which very high peak temperatures of metamorphism have been inferred. Two-feldspar thermometry can be applied, even where only one feldspar has preserved its original bulk-composition in terms of Al-Si content, in spite of or because of unmixing to perthite or antiperthite. Different methods of integration of the unmixed feldspars to get the original bulk-composition are evaluated. Several types of feldspar assemblages are distinguished: (1) disequilibrium and near-equilibrium perthite - plagioclase pairs (several generations), (2) disequilibrium antiperthite - perthite pairs, (3) single mesoperthite, (4) near-equilibrium antiperthite-mesoperthite pairs. The highest temperatures, above 900 degrees C, are derived from antiperthite porphyroclasts with evenly spaced exsolution lamellae and rods, from antiperthite-mesoperthite pairs, and from perthite inclusions in garnet porphyroclasts. The causes for the preservation of ternary feldspar compositions are discussed. Feldspar recrystallization in response to strong deformation is related to thrusting of the Highland Complex onto the Vijayan Complex. It occurred at about 830-900 degrees C. In the main part of the Highland Complex, the feldspars recrystallized at ca. 680-760 degrees C. Mylonitization along the Digana shear zone took place at about 710 degrees C. Late retrograde recrystallization or growth of feldspar rims occurred in the range 460-590 degrees C. Two-feldspar geothermometry combined with published geochronological data reveal new insights in the metamorphic evolution of the Highland Complex of Sri Lanka.
1 Assessing the contribution of bioeconomy to the total 2 economy : a review of national frameworks 3

Developments in technology have enabled envisioning the derivation of materials and 11 products from renewable biomass, as an alternative to finite fossil-based resource consumption. 12 Therefore, bioeconomy is regarded as an opportunity for sustainable economic growth. Countries 13 are formulating strategies in accordance with their goals to attain from bioeconomy. Proper 14 measurement, monitoring and reporting of the outcomes of these strategies is crucial for long-term 15 success. This study aims to critically evaluate the national methods used for the measurement, 16 monitoring and reporting of bioeconomy contribution to the total economy. For this purpose, 17 research and surveys have been conducted on selected countries (Argentina, Germany, Malaysia, 18 the Netherlands, South Africa and the United States). The results reveal that the bioeconomy targets 19 set up in the strategies often reflect country’s priorities and comparative advantages. However, 20 comprehensive approaches to measure and monitor bioeconomy progress are frequently lacking. 21 Most countries only measure the contribution to gross domestic product (GDP), turnover and 22 employment of the sectors included in their bioeconomy definition, which may provide an 23 incomplete picture. In addition, this study identifies the mismatch between the targets and 24 measurement methods, as the environmental and social impacts of bioeconomy are often foreseen, 25 but not measured. It is concluded that existing global efforts towards a sustainable bioeconomy 26 monitoring can be strengthened and leveraged to measure progress towards sustainable goals. 27
Image compression with xvc

This paper describes xvc – a format for efficient compression of visual data – originally developed for compression of video sequences, but in the context of this paper applied to still images. The xvc codec is a block based lossy codec using a traditional approach for prediction, residual representation and entropy coding. There are no elements of Machine Learning or Artificial Neural Networks in the xvc encoder or decoder. The xvc codec offers support for tuning towards PSNR or perceptual quality. The images submitted for the CLIC challenge and the descriptions included in this paper are based on the perceptually tuned setting.
Captcha as Graphical Password Security

Many security primitives are based on hard mathematical problems. Using hard AI problems for security is emerging as an exciting new paradigm, but has been under-explored. In this , we present a new security primitive based on hard AI problems, namely, a novel family of graphical password systems built on top of Captcha technology, which we call Captcha as graphical passwords (CaRP). CaRP is both a Captcha and a graphical password scheme. CaRP addresses a number of security problems altogether, such as online guessing attacks, relay attacks, and, if combined with dual-view technologies, shoulder-surfing attacks. Notably, a CaRP password can be found only probabilistically by automatic online guessing attacks even if the password is in the search set. CaRP also offers a novel approach to address the well-known image hotspot problem in popular graphical password systems, such as PassPoints, that often leads to weak password choices. CaRP is not a panacea, but it offers reasonable security and usability and appears to fit well with some practical applications for improving online security.
Incorporation of Conductive Materials into Hydrogels for Tissue Engineering Applications

In the field of tissue engineering, conductive hydrogels have been the most effective biomaterials to mimic the biological and electrical properties of tissues in the human body. The main advantages of conductive hydrogels include not only their physical properties but also their adequate electrical properties, which provide electrical signals to cells efficiently. However, when introducing a conductive material into a non-conductive hydrogel, a conflicting relationship between the electrical and mechanical properties may develop. This review examines the strengths and weaknesses of the generation of conductive hydrogels using various conductive materials such as metal nanoparticles, carbons, and conductive polymers. The fabrication method of blending, coating, and in situ polymerization is also added. Furthermore, the applications of conductive hydrogel in cardiac tissue engineering, nerve tissue engineering, and bone tissue engineering and skin regeneration are discussed in detail.
Combination of Gabor and Curvelet Texture Features for Face Recognition Using Principal Component Analysis

Biometric face Recognition is a new generation technology for identification and verification. Many techniques have been developed for this purpose in past two decades. A good face recognition technique must require unique, effective and efficient features from face images. Content based image retrieval (CBIR) can extract features that can be useful for face recognition. Recently, Gabor and curvelet texture features have been successfully used in image retrieval research. In this paper, we propose a novel face recognition method that uses texture features obtained by calculating mean and standard deviation of Gabor and curvelet transformed face images. PCA is then applied to the feature vectors instead of entire transformed images which traditional methods do. Using this process, we build four classifiers using mean and standard deviation calculated from Gabor and curvelet transformed face images. For identification purpose, a new matching strategy is proposed that checks goodness of four matching results of the classifiers. As we consider only mean or standard deviation features, the image representation has comparatively lower dimensions. Furthermore, our proposed method does not necessarily require all the input images to be of same resolution. We evaluate the proposed method using ORL and Yale face databases. The recognition results of the experiments show that our approach is significantly better than the conventional methods.
Impact of organizational trust on whistle-blowing intentions at Malaysian enforcement agency

The current study investigated the relationship between organizational trust and whistle-blowing intentions at Malaysian Enforcement Agency.For further analysis, a sample of 346 employees working at Malaysian Enforcement Agency was selected using proportionate stratified random sampling method. For measurement, this study has adopted by Bews (1999) for organizational trust and adopted by Park (2009) for whistle-blowing intentions. To show the relationship between organizational trust and whistle-blowing intentions, this study using factor analysis and correlation analysis.The data analysis indicated that the organizational trust has positive impact on whistle-blowing intentions.The results also showed that organizational trust has significant and positive impact on the dimension of whistle-blowing intentions (internal whistle-blowing and external whistle-blowing).
Comparative cluster reaction studies of the V, Nb, and Ta series

Reactions of the group 5 transition-metal clusters (V{sub n}, Nb{sub n}, and Ta{sub n}) have been investigated in the gas phase by using a fast-flow chemical reactor. Dissociative chemisorption of D{sub 2} and N{sub 2} is found to be size selective for these bare metal clusters, as well as for the cluster monoxides V{sub n}O and Ta{sub n}O and monocarbides V{sub n}C. The effect of a single atomic impurity (C or O) wanes for clusters larger than 10 atoms and becomes negligible for clusters larger than 15-20 atoms. This loss of sensitivity to impurities is consistent with the loss of cluster size specificity, which occurs in the same size range. Evidence of structural isomerism is found for Nb{sub 9}, Nb{sub 11}, Nb{sub 12}, and Ta{sub 12}, which react with N{sub 2} with biexponential reaction kinetics. The rate of chemisorption of ethane (C{sub 2}H{sub 6}) displays a steady increase with cluster size for V{sub n} and Nb{sub n}, but Ta{sub n} clusters are only slightly reactive. Finally, the rate of addition of a second ligand to a metal clusters is considered, and examples are analyzed for Nb{sub n}N{sub 2} + N{sub 2}.
Electrostatic interactions between middle domain motif-1 and the AAA1 module of the bacterial ClpB chaperone are essential for protein disaggregation

ClpB, a bacterial homologue of heat shock protein 104 (Hsp104), can disentangle aggregated proteins with the help of the DnaK, a bacterial Hsp70, and its co-factors. As a member of the expanded superfamily of ATPases associated with diverse cellular activities (AAA+), ClpB forms a hexameric ring structure, with each protomer containing two AAA+ modules, AAA1 and AAA2. A long coiled-coil middle domain (MD) is present in the C-terminal region of the AAA1 and surrounds the main body of the ring. The MD is subdivided into two oppositely directed short coiled-coils, called motif-1 and motif-2. The MD represses the ATPase activity of ClpB, and this repression is reversed by the binding of DnaK to motif-2. To better understand how the MD regulates ClpB activity, here we investigated the roles of motif-1 in ClpB from Thermus thermophilus (TClpB). Using systematic alanine substitution of the conserved charged residues, we identified functionally important residues in motif-1, and using a photoreactive cross-linker and LC-MS/MS analysis, we further explored potential interacting residues. Moreover, we constructed TClpB mutants in which functionally important residues in motif-1 and in other candidate regions were substituted by oppositely charged residues. These analyses revealed that the intra-subunit pair Glu-401–Arg-532 and the inter-subunit pair Asp-404–Arg-180 are functionally important, electrostatically interacting pairs. Considering these structural findings, we conclude that the Glu-401–Arg-532 interaction shifts the equilibrium of the MD conformation to stabilize the activated form and that the Arg-180–Asp-404 interaction contributes to intersubunit signal transduction, essential for ClpB chaperone activities.
Liturgical pharmacology : time of the question, complexity and ethics

Bernard Stiegler depicts technics as the human’s tertiary memory retention generating a pharmakon with both curative and malignant potential. He additionally rues the posthuman epoch’s depletion of a ‘time of the question’: revealed in the prevalent inaptitude for wisdom – scilicet long-term acuity. We offer Christian liturgy as an abeyant psychotechnique arcing the current pharmakon to cure through soliciting a ‘time of the question’. Rejuvenating Christian liturgy as a psychotechnique can bolster a broader societal ‘time of the question’. Firstly, we describe technic’s du jour mise on scene . Secondly, we constrain Christian liturgies as complex systems incorporating malleability, temporality, and instability. Thirdly, we imagine Christian liturgy as empty tradition allowing amateur repetition of ancient art enticing a ‘time of the question’. Keywords: Liturgy; Ethics; Technology; Stiegler; Complexity; Paul Cilliers; Van Huyssteen
HUMAN SKIN DETECTION USING NEURAL NETWORKS AND BLOCK PROCESSING TECHNIQUES C ă t ă

The first stage in algorithms for face detection, hand gesture recognition and many other, is represented by the “skin” / “non-skin” segmentation. Increasing the accuracy of the segmentation algorithm, we improve the overall system performance. In this work we develop and test a human skin recognition system. The system will be optimal in terms of classification performance over processing time ration. To obtain a high accuracy, our system combines information regarding the texture and colour features obtained by using vector processing techniques and classic techniques. To reduce the overall processing time, the features will be extracted using block processing techniques.