Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Simulations interactives de champ ultrasonore pour des configurations complexes de contrôle non destructif / par Hamza Chouh

In order to fulfill increasing reliability and safety requirements, non-destructive testing techniques are constantly evolving and so does their complexity. Consequently, simulation is an essential part of their design. We developed a tool for the simulation of the ultrasonic field radiated by any planar probes into non-destructive testing configurations involving meshed geometries without prominent edges, isotropic and anisotropic, homogeneous and heterogeneous materials, and wave trajectories that can include reflections and transmissions. We approximate the ultrasonic wavefronts by using polynomial interpolators that are local to ultrasonic ray pencils. They are obtained using a surface research algorithm based on pencil tracing and successive subdivisions. Their interpolators enable the computation of the necessary quantities for the impulse response computation on each point of a sampling of the transducer surface that fulfills the Shannon criterion. By doing so, we can compute a global impulse response which, when convoluted with the excitation signal of the transducer, results in the ultrasonic field. The usage of task parallelism and of SIMD instructions on the most computationally expensive steps yields an important performance boost. Finally, we developed a tool for progressive visualization of field images. It benefits from an image reconstruction technique and schedules field computations in order to accelerate convergence towards the final image.
Biochemical characterization and variability in garden pea (Pisum sativum var. hortense) under cool hilly weather conditions

Malnourishment is widespread and severe problems in most of the developing countries, and nutritionally rich food can address this issue efficiently by introducing nutritionally rich cultivars for cultivation. In this endeavor, 33 genotypes (30 agronomically superior advance lines and three cultivars) were analyzed for nutritional and essential agromorphological attributes. This set of materials has shown wide significant variations for most of the nutritional attributes indicating significant levels of genetic diversity. Antioxidant metabolites (total carotenoids and total polyphenols) and total chlorophyll were positively correlated with each other. First, four principal components explained 70.47% of the total variation. Best-performing lines were marked for important nutritional and agro-morphological attributes and may be tested in the multi-location trial to be released as new nutritionally rich cultivars for on-farm production.Alternatively, these could also be of instant significance as a donor in the future breeding program.
Are Fair Weather Fans Affected by Weather? Rainfall, Habit Formation and Live Game Attendance

We analyze habit formation in sports attendance utilizing rainfall as an unexpected, transitory shock to attendance costs. Using attendance data from Major League Baseball (MLB) and NOAA weather data, we analyze the impact of variation in game day weather conditions on current and future MLB attendance. The empirical strategy permits identification of both the formation and persistence of habit from exogenous weather shocks. Past adverse weather shocks increase future attendance by about 200 fans per game. Our study contributes to the literature developing empirical evidence of habit formation in the field and provides policy implications for optimal ticket pricing strategies.
Bird Community Dynamics and Habitat Associations in Karst, Mangrove and Pterocarpus Forest Fragments in an Urban Zone in Puerto Rico

Abstract. Puerto Rico's forest cover decreased to less than 10% in the early 1900's leaving few forest patches available for migrant and resident birds. In this process of deforestation karst hills and coastal wetlands have been some of the most severely modified forest types; however, we know little about their bird community dynamics and their relation with habitat variables. To address this issue we studied bird species composition and habitat characteristics in karst forest and two coastal forested wetlands (mangrove and Pterocarpus forest) in the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico. In each forest type, we conducted 10 point counts monthly for two years and characterized habitat variables. We performed a non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMS) ordination and a multi-response permutation procedure (MRPP) for each year to determine the similarity of bird species composition among monthly censuses and the relation between species composition and habitat variables. This ordination technique grouped censuses into three groups: karst forest, Pterocarpus and mangrove in the migratory period, and Pterocarpus and mangrove in the non-migratory period. The high tree species richness in the karst forest, and the presence of standing water in coastal wetlands were the most important habitat variables associated with the different bird communities. Our results demonstrate that the karst and coastal wetlands forests, even if they are small patches surrounded by a mixed matrix of pasture and urban settlements may be important habitat for both residents and migrants, and suggest that the protection and restoration of these habitats should be high management and conservation priorities.
White Nepotism: Interrogating "Corporate Culture" in the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area Labour Market

This research project examines systemic forms of racism that limit the employment chances of racialized workers in the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) labour market. Through a situated analysis of racialized workers, institutional actors, and public policies, I explore the nuances of racialized individuals’ encounters with discriminatory hiring practices and job promotion procedures that exist in the labour market. Through the perspectives of racialized workers’ lived experiences, and by bringing into question the employment practices of hiring managers and human resource personnel, this project addresses the following key questions: 1) How do racialized workers negotiate their movement through places of employment in the Toronto CMA? 2) How might we understand the operation of racism in hiring practices and what are the mechanisms under which it remains institutionally entrenched? This research critiques the organizational cultures of private companies that are configured as spaces of whiteness.
From approximate synchronization to identical synchronization in coupled systems

We establish a framework to investigate approximate synchronization of coupled systems under general coupling schemes. The units comprising the coupled systems may be nonidentical and the coupling functions are nonlinear with delays. Both delay-dependent and delay-independent criteria for approximate synchronization are derived, based on an approach termed sequential contracting. It is explored and elucidated that the synchronization error, the distance between the asymptotic state and the synchronous set, decreases with decreasing difference between subsystems, difference between the row sums of connection matrix, and difference of coupling time delays between different units. This error vanishes when these factors decay to zero, and approximate synchronization becomes identical synchronization for the coupled system comprising identical subsystems and connection matrix with identical row sums, and with identical coupling delays. The application of the present theory to nonlinearly coupled heterogeneous FitzHugh-Nagumo neurons is illustrated. We extend the analysis to study approximate synchronization and asymptotic synchronization for coupled Lorenz systems and show that for some coupling schemes, the synchronization error decreases as the coupling strength increases, whereas in another case, the error remains at a substantial level for large coupling strength.
Bias in linkage analysis due to ignoring epistasis effects.

INTRODUCTION Methods for linkage analysis in the literature are largely concerned with mapping single genes that do not have epistasis effects (or gene interactions). Examples of gene interactions have been reported in several species including cattle (Long and Gregory, 1978; Reecy et al. 2002), dogs (Bourdon, 2000), rat (Wright, 1958), drosophila (Desalle et al., 1986) and humans (Pedersen and Berg, 1989; El-Hazmi et al., 1994). Although bias in linkage analysis can be expected if epistasis exists and is ignored or stated incorrectly, no reports were available about methods for linkage analysis involving genes with an epistasis effect and about the consequence of ignoring epistasis or using an incorrect epistasis model in linkage analysis. The purpose of this study is to present a method of linkage analysis to map two genes with epistasis effects and to study the bias in the estimates of recombination frequency between a marker and one of the two interacting genes due to ignoring epistasis or using an incorrect epistasis model.
Current status of transboundary fish diseases in Indonesia: Occurrence, surveillance, research and training

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THE FULL TEXT To cite this document : Sunarto, A. , Widodo, Taukhid, Koesharyani, I. , Supriyadi, H. , Gardenia, L. , . Rukmono, D. (2004). Current status of transboundary fish diseases in Indonesia: Occurrence, surveillance, research and training. In C. R. Lavilla-Pitogo & K. Nagasawa (Eds.), Transboundary Fish Diseases in Southeast Asia: Occurence, Surveillance, Research and Training. Proceedings of the Meeting on Current Status of Transboundary Fish Diseases in Southeast Asia: Occurence, Surveillance, Research and Training, Manila, Philippines, 23-24 June 2004 (pp. 91-121). Tigbauan, Iloilo, Philippines: SEAFDEC Aquaculture Department.
Ozone-Oxidation Products of Triterpenoid Hydrocarbons Belonging to the Hopane and Migrated Hopane Series

The ozone oxidation reaction of eleven triterpenoid monoenes belonging to the hopane and migrated hopane series was investigated. Under suitable reaction conditions, various reaction products including three ozonides, seven epoxides and one ketone were obtained from the eight starting materials. The reaction of glutin-5-ene was also examined for comparison
Behavioral and electrophysiological responses of the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella, to polyamines (Lepidoptera: Yponomeutidae).

The most common polyamines, putrescine [put], spermidine [spd], and spermine [spm], were tested against adult diamondback moth, Plutella zylostella Linnaeus 1753. A Y-tube olfactometer was used to assay the behavioural response of moths to the polyamines and cabbage [Brassica oleracea var capitata L] juice [cj]. Both naive males and the virgin females responded significantly to the three kinds of polyamines tested. In addition, the mated females were only significantly attracted to the 0.5% put. While compared to the cj, the naive males and the virgin females were only significantly attracted to 0.5% put and 0.5% spd separately and the response to three polyamines had no significant difference. Moths exhibited varying electroantennogram [EAG] responses from 6.80 to 14.18 mV to three polyamines, and showed higher responses to polyamines compared with the control. The EAG responses of the naive males were significantly higher than the virgin females, while in most situations, there were no significant differences between virgin and mated females response to any other odors tested. Taken together, our results demonstrated that polyamines could be important general olfactory stimuli of diamondback moth.
The Amino-Terminal Src Homology 2 Domain of Phospholipase Cγ1 Is Essential for TCR-Induced Tyrosine Phosphorylation of Phospholipase Cγ1

TCR engagement activates phospholipase Cγ1 (PLCγ1) via a tyrosine phosphorylation-dependent mechanism. PLCγ1 contains a pair of Src homology 2 (SH2) domains whose function is that of promoting protein interactions by binding phosphorylated tyrosine and adjacent amino acids. The role of the PLCγ1 SH2 domains in PLCγ1 phosphorylation was explored by mutational analysis of an epitope-tagged protein transiently expressed in Jurkat T cells. Mutation of the amino-terminal SH2 domain (SH2(N) domain) resulted in defective tyrosine phosphorylation of PLCγ1 in response to TCR/CD3 perturbation. In addition, the PLCγ1 SH2(N) domain mutant failed to associate with Grb2 and a 36- to 38-kDa phosphoprotein (p36–38), which has previously been recognized to interact with PLCγ1, Grb2, and other molecules involved in TCR signal transduction. Conversely, mutation of the carboxyl-terminal SH2 domain (SH2(C) domain) did not affect TCR-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of PLCγ1. Furthermore, binding of p36–38 to PLCγ1 was not abrogated by mutations of the SH2(C) domain. In contrast to TCR/CD3 ligation, treatment of cells with pervanadate induced tyrosine phosphorylation of either PLCγ1 SH2(N) or SH2(C) domain mutants to a level comparable with that of the wild-type protein, indicating that pervanadate treatment induces an alternate mechanism of PLCγ1 phosphorylation. These data indicate that the SH2(N) domain is required for TCR-induced PLCγ1 phosphorylation, presumably by participating in the formation of a complex that promotes the association of PLCγ1 with a tyrosine kinase.
Techniques for Pollination Biologists

This is the first book to incorporate all techniques published in the pollination literature as well as unpublished methods compiled from practicing pollination biologists. The bibliography includes 1,200 references from more than 200 journals, plus books and previously unpublished materials. This book presents the newest techniques such as fluorescence microscopy to examine pollen tubes, high-pressure liquid chromatography for nectar analysis, and using particle counters to count pollen grains and nuclear magnetic resonance for floral odour analysis. In addition to these sophisticated methods, basic techniques are described for labelling plants, manipulating flowers, marking or excluding, and designing simple but elegant experiments with small budgets. The book also examines potential pitfalls for pollination studies and offers cautionary advice about designing and implementing different types of pollination experiments.
The human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) in the breast cancer : from measurement to targeted treatment

v Table of contents . vii Tables index . xiii Figures index . xv List of abbreviations . xvi Acknowledgments . xxii Foreword . xxiv Chapter 1: Introduction . 1 Literature overview . 2 1.1. Breast cancer intrinsic subtypes . 2 1.1.1. Molecular classification of breast cancer . 2 1.1.2. Molecular classification of breast cancer subtypes using immunohistochemical surrogates . 5 1.1.3. HER2-enriched subtype vs. breast cancer clinically evaluated as HER2-positive . 7 1.1.4. Breast cancer clinically evaluated as HER2-positive . 8 1.2. Methods for the evaluation of HER2 status in breast cancer specimens. 9 1.2.1. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) and in situ hybridization (ISH) methods . 9 1.2.2. Methodological worries related to HER2 testing . 11 1.2.3. Concordance of HER2 status determined by IHC, FISH, CISH and SISH in the literature . 13 1.3. HER2 biology. 14 1.3. 1. HER2 structure and function . 14 1.3. 2. Consequences of constitutive HER2 receptor activation. 18 1.4. Treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer patients . 19 1.4. 1. Anti-HER2 agents . 19 1.4. 2. Endocrine therapy . 24 1.4. 3. Chemotherapeutic drugs . 26 1.5. Resistance to trastuzumab . 27 1.5. 1. Molecular mechanisms of trastuzumab resistance . 28 1.5. 2. Genetic and epigenetic factors and survival of HER2-positive breast cancer patients . 34 1.5. 2.1. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) . 34 1.5. 2.2. HER2 SNPs . 34 1.5. 2.3. HER2 SNPs and response to trastuzumab . 35 -
Cannabinoids and Terpenes as Chemotaxonomic markers in Cannabis

In this paper, we present principal component analysis (PCA) results from a dataset containing 494 cannabis flower samples and 170 concentrate samples analyzed for 31 compounds. A continuum of chemical composition amongst cannabis strains was found instead of distinct chemotypes. Our data shows that some strains are much more reproducible in chemical composition than others. Strains labeled as indica were compared with those labeled as sativa and no evidence was found that these two cultivars are distinctly different chemotypes. PCA of “OG” and “Kush” type strains found that “OG” strains have relatively higher levels of α-terpineol, fenchol, limonene, camphene, terpinolene and linalool where “Kush” samples are characterized mainly by the compounds trans-ocimene, guaiol, β-eudesmol, myrcene and α-pinene. The composition of concentrates and flowers were compared as well. Although the absolute concentration of compounds in concentrates is much higher, the relative composition of compounds between flowers and concentrates is similar.
Dietary supplementation and in ovo injection of 1α-OHD3 in a low-calcium and low-phosphorous diets for broilers

Three hundred and twenty day-old chicks were assigned to four experimental treatments of positive control (standard diets with recommended levels of calcium and phosphorus), negative control (diets containing calcium and phosphorus at the 50% of recommended levels), Negative control plus in ovo injection of 1α-OHD3 (50 ng/egg 1α-OHD3 on day 18 of incubation), and negative control plus feeding of 1α-OHD3 (5 µg/kg of diet). Four replications assigned for each treatment with 20 birds per each. Diets consisted of a starter phase from 0 to 14 days and a grower phase from 15 to 28 days. At 28 days, feed intake (FI), body weight gain (BWG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were determined. Two birds per pen were killed to evaluate the carcass and tibia traits. No differences in FI, FCR, carcass traits, tibia weight and length, ash, Ca, P and Seedor index were observed at 28 days of age. Supplementation of dietary 1α-OHD3 significantly increased BWG in compare to negative control. Between treatments, negative control had lowest breaking strength. The current study indicated that supplementation of dietary 5 µg/kg of 1α-OHD3 may improve performance and tibia strength of broilers fed low-calcium and low-phosphorus diets.
Characterization of AlInN/AlN/GaN FET structures using x-ray diffraction, x-ray reflectometry and grazing incidence x-ray fluorescence analysis

The structural parameters of AlInN/AlN/GaN high mobility field effect transistors (FETs) determine their electrical properties. The AlN-interlayer (spacer) thickness especially plays an important role to enhance the mobility and the density of the two dimensional electron gas (2DEG). However, structural characterization of this ultra-thin AlN-interlayer is ambiguous when only high resolution x-ray diffraction (HRXRD) and x-ray reflectometry (XRR) are taken into account. Here a combined layer analysis was performed using HRXRD, XRR and grazing incidence x-ray fluorescence (GIXRF) for the determination of the AlN-interlayer thickness. A sample series of AlInN/AlN/GaN FETs on Si(1 1 1) has been grown and analysed. The growth time of the AlN-interlayer was changed from 0 to 12 s and the AlInN barrier was grown nearly lattice matched to GaN with a nominal thickness of 5 nm. By the combination of HRXRD, XRR, GIXRF and simultaneous simulation of the data the determination of the spacer thickness was successfully performed.
Behavior of Listeria monocytogenes during the Manufacture, Ripening, and Cold Storage of Afuega'l Pitu Cheese.

Afuega'l Pitu is an artisanal acid-coagulated cheese manufactured in Asturias (northern Spain) and mainly consumed between the 3rd and the 30th day of ripening. Six cheese-making trials were performed in a pilot plant by using pasteurized whole milk inoculated with Listeria monocytogenes (strain L2 [serotype 1/2a], L39, or L41 [serotype 4b]) to ca. 2.7 log CFU/ml. A starter containing three strains, Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis IPLA 947, Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis biovar diacetylactis IPLA 838, and Leuconostoc citreum IPLA 616, grown separately in milk and combined in the volumetric proportion 3:1:1.3 was used. During the acidification L. monocytogenes counts increased 2.78- to 7.03-fold, depending on the strain, and remained within the curd; from this time counts decreased abruptly and were not detected in cheeses beyond the 7th day. The average pH in the curd was 4.43, and it decreased to around 4.0 in 5- to 7-day-old cheeses. These pH values were near the tolerance limit for L. monocytogenes and probably caused cell damage. Although moisture, aw, and NaCl levels were not limiting for the growth and survival of L. monocytogenes , salt content must be considered as a contributing factor in L. monocytogenes inactivation. Finally, the L2 strain grew better in curd and was slightly more resistant to low pH and refrigeration than strain L39 or L41. The manufacture of Afuega'l Pitu cheese from pasteurized milk and the design of a specific starter from the autochthonous lactic microbiota can lead to a safer product that can be consumed after very short ripening periods.
Studies on in vitro human T cell reactivity to antigens of mycobacterium tuberculosis

Studies on antigens of Mycobacterium tuberculosis are of wide interest to improve vaccine efficacy and to define a biomarker for diagnosis and monitoring of treatment. The methodologies used for these investigations differ greatly between laboratories and the discrepancies between results are inevitable. The following investigations are addressed in this chapter. Firstly, IFNresponse to well characterized MTB proteins was evaluated in HIV-1 infected and uninfected persons, by 3 different techniques: Overnight IFNELISpot and FACS analysis; and 7 day PBMC culture. Findings show that HIV-1 infected persons, have a lower ability to induce an immune response to MTB proteins, by all 3 techniques and suggests that the proportion of terminally differentiated activated T cells, effector memory and central memory differ between HIV-1 infected and HIV-1 uninfected. Poor correlation between the techniques suggests phenotypic heterogeneity between what is measured by specific readouts. Secondly, discrepancies in IFNresponse between short and prolonged in vitro culture systems and the performance of synthetic peptide mixtures and recombinant proteins were studied in the context of whole blood cultures. The results suggest that recombinant proteins perform well in prolonged in vitro whole blood cultures, whilst the peptide pools perform poorly. The activity of peptides and recombinant proteins do not differ in short term or long-term PBMC culture assays. In addition, results provide evidence that the use of DMSO (up to 0.3% final concentration) to dissolve synthetic peptides do not affect the viability or the activity of the antigens. Further findings suggest that peptides are degraded during the course of 7 days of incubation in whole blood culture system. Un ive rsi ty of Ca pe To wn
Novel genetic polymorphisms in caprine GPR54 gene associated with reproductive functions

The objective of this study was to characterize caprine GPR54 gene, a key mediator of molecular mechanism of reproduction (puberty and prolificacy) in mammals. A panel of 9 Indian goat breeds differing in sexual precocity and prolificacy (Black-Bengal, Malabari, Beetal, Barbari, Osmanabadi, Sangamneri, Jakhrana, Ganjam and Sirohi) were utilized for polymorphism scanning of GPR54 gene by direct DNA sequencing. Exon 1, 2 and 3 along with adjacent intronic regions of the GPR54 gene were amplified with 5 primer pairs and 2 novel SNPs, 1 each in exon 1 (C1122T) and intron 1 (T1830C) were recorded. All the variations and SNPs were synonymous. The results showed that these mutations existed in both, sexually precocious and late-maturing goat breeds as well as low and high prolificacy goat breeds. The results extend the limited information on genetic variation of the caprine GPR54 gene, which might contribute towards molecular breeding to enhance productivity of goat.