Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Diabetes by Inhibition of the Receptor for Blockade of Late Stages of Autoimmune

Ligation of the receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) occurs during inﬂammation. Engagement of RAGE results in enhanced expression of addressins and it is therefore, not surprising that previous studies have shown a role of RAGE/ligand interactions in immune responses including cell/cell contact but the role of RAGE in spontaneous autoimmunity has not been clearly deﬁned. To study the role of RAGE/ligand interactions in autoimmune diabetes, we tested the ability of soluble RAGE, a scavenger of RAGE ligands, in late stages of diabetes development in the NOD mouse-disease transferred with diabetogenic T cells and recurrent disease in NOD/ scid recipients of syngeneic islet transplants. RAGE expression was detected on CD4 (cid:1) , CD8 (cid:1) , and B cells from diabetic mice and transferred to NOD/ scid recipients. RAGE and its ligand, S100B, were found in the islets of NOD/ scid mice that developed diabetes. Treatment of recipient NOD/ scid mice with soluble RAGE prevented transfer of diabetes and delayed recurrent disease in syngeneic islet transplants. RAGE blockade was associated with increased expression of IL-10 and TGF- (cid:2) in the islets from protected mice. RAGE blockade reduced the transfer of disease with enriched T cells, but had no effect when diabetes was transferred with the activated CD4 (cid:1) T cell clone, BDC2.5. We conclude that RAGE/ligand interactions are involved in the differentiation of T cells to a mature pathogenic phenotype during the late stages of the development of diabetes. The Journal of Immunology, 2004, 173: 1399–1405.
Dynamic Conversational Chatbot using Amazon Web Services

—The proposed system is a service-based chatbot. The chatbots infrastructure is based on Amazon Web Services (AWS). It makes use of AWS components such as Amazon Lex, Amazon DynamoDB, Amazon Cloudwatch, Amazon S3, Amazon Cognito, and Amazon IAM. To extend the functionality of the chatbots, a third-party service Twilio is been used. It provides the customers to order ice cream and book hotel rooms, rental cars for travel through SMS too. As it’s a cloud-based infrastructure, it can easily deploy our chatbot and integrate it with any other platform or even separately on websites through API. We have stressed on our chatbots security. It is able to mitigate attacks as it has a cloud-based infrastructure.
A Linear Matrix Inequality Based Strategy For Maximum Amplitude Analysis In Discrete Time Systems

—A typical problem in engineering consists of quantifying the maximum amplitude of the signals of discrete-time linear time-invariant systems. This paper suggests a strategy based on the solution of a convex optimization problem, in particular, a linear matrix inequality feasibility problem. The proposed strategy is motivated by the fact that the existing methods are generally conservative.
PsychDisclosure.org: Grassroots Support for Reforming Reporting Standards in Psychology

There is currently an unprecedented level of doubt regarding the reliability of research findings in psychology. Many recommendations have been made to improve the current situation. In this article, we report results from PsychDisclosure.org, a novel open-science initiative that provides a platform for authors of recently published articles to disclose four methodological design specification details that are not required to be disclosed under current reporting standards but that are critical for accurate interpretation and evaluation of reported findings. Grassroots sentiment—as manifested in the positive and appreciative response to our initiative—indicates that psychologists want to see changes made at the systemic level regarding disclosure of such methodological details. Almost 50% of contacted researchers disclosed the requested design specifications for the four methodological categories (excluded subjects, nonreported conditions and measures, and sample size determination). Disclosed information provided by participating authors also revealed several instances of questionable editorial practices, which need to be thoroughly examined and redressed. On the basis of these results, we argue that the time is now for mandatory methods disclosure statements for all psychology journals, which would be an important step forward in improving the reliability of findings in psychology.
Improving Interrupter Synchronization in CIPS Cathodic Protection Test for Gas Transmission Pipelines

: Corrosion is one of the most important problems which underground gas pipelines is facing it. Cathodic protection systems are dynamic systems that use electrical current to control corrosion. According to the existing standards there are different methods for evaluating level of cathodic protection and coverings underground metal pipes. One of the most practical methods is the close interval potential survey (CIPS). The efficiency of this method is very dependent on the quality of measuring parameter during the inspection. minimising all the error source , either during the inspection or when interpreting the data is vital. In this research CIPS method is analyzed and by optimizing synchronization of the Interrupter devices to decrease the errors during the CIPS test, in evaluating of cothodic protection level and covering the gas transmission underground metal pipes provides a significant improvement.
Viral Transmission Facilitates Binds HIV-1 Envelope Protein and gp340 Expressed on Human Genital Epithelia

During sexual transmission of HIV in women, the ﬁrst cells likely to be infected are submucosal CD4 (cid:1) T cells and dendritic cells of the lower genital tract. HIV is segregated from these target cells by an epithelial cell layer that can be bypassed even when healthy and intact. To understand how HIV penetrates this barrier, we identiﬁed a host protein, gp340, that is expressed on genital epithelium and binds the HIV envelope via a speciﬁc protein-protein interaction. This binding allows otherwise subinfectious amounts of HIV to efﬁciently infect target cells and allows this infection to occur over a longer period of time after binding. Our ﬁndings suggest a mechanism of viral entry during heterosexual transmission where HIV is bound to intact genital epithelia, which then promotes the initial events of infection. Understanding this step in the initiation of infection will allow for the development of tools and methods for blocking HIV transmission. The Journal of Immunology, 2007, 179: 3126–3132.
Dietary L-Valine Improved Growth, Antioxidant Capacity, and Alleviated Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress-Mediated Apoptosis in the Intestine of Juvenile Largemouth Bass Micropterus Punctulatus After Infection With Aeromonas Veronii

Background: The intestine is the first line of defense against bacteria, toxins and antigens presents in the lumen of the instine. Aeromonas veronii is an opportunistic pathogen that has been related to mortality in fish. However, the protective mechanisms of intestinal damage caused by Aeromonas veronii are poorly defined. Thus, the objetive of this study was to evaluate the influence of dietary valine (Val) on growth, antioxidant capacity, and endoplasmic reticulum stress-mediated apoptosis in intestines of the juvenile largemouth bass Micropterus punctulatus after infection with Aeromonas veronii (A. veronii). Methods: A total of 720 fish (37.99 ± 0.01 g) were randomly allocated to six groups with three replicates each group, with different levels of Val (11.0, 14.0, 17.0, 20.1, 23.1, and 26.1 g/kg diet, respectively) for 77 d, and then challenged with A. veronii. Results: In the present study, we demonstrated that dietary Val: (1) increased the percent weight gain (PWG), specific growth rate (SGR), feed intake (FI), feed efficiency (FE), protein efficiency ratio (PER), protein production value (PPV), lipid production value (LPV), and ash production value (APV) (P< 0.05); (2) improved survival rate (SR) and alleviated intestinal injury; (3) reduced the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), malondialdehyde (MDA), and protein carbonyl (PC) (P< 0.05), and improved the intestinal antioxidant capacity by enhancing the mRNA levels of Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1), catalase (CAT), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR), and γ-glutamyl cysteine ligase catalytic subunit (GCLC) (P< 0.05); (4) increased nuclear NFE2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) mRNA and protein levels (P< 0.05); (5) reduced intestinal DNA fragments, and down-regulated the mRNA levels of 78 KD glucose regulated protein (GRP78), activating transcription factor 6 (ATF6), inositol requiring enzyme-1 (IRE1), protein kinase RNA-dependent-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase (PERK), eukaryotic initiation factor 2α (eIF2α), activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4), C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP), cysteine-aspartic protease 9 (caspase 9), and cysteine-aspartic protease 3 (caspase 3), while up-regulating that of B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl2) (P< 0.05); (6) decreased phosphorylation of PERK (p-PERK) and phosphorylation of eIF2α (p-eIF2α), caspase 9, and caspase 3 protein levels. Conclusion: Dietary optimal Val level enhanced the growth performance and the intestinal antioxidant capacity via the Nrf2 signaling pathway after infection with A. veronii. Furthermore, this study is the first to demonstrate the role of Val in reducing ERS-mediated apoptosis through modulation of the PERK/eIF2α signaling pathway. Finally, Quadratic regression analysis of the SGR indicated that the dietary Val requirement of largemouth bass (37.99-162.92 g) was 21.50 g/kg diet, corresponding to 46.64 g/kg protein.
The practice of construction management

International literature indicates that supervision, communication, motivation and leadership are the top ranked skills required for practicing construction management — the discipline of managing a construction business and/or project(s). Whereas operational and middle management require more skills and knowledge in operational programming, labour forecasting and organisation, top management requires more skills and knowledge in competitive tendering, costing and estimating, and analysis of project risk. The research reported on in the article constitutes phase two of the study ‘The practice of construction management’, which follows two previous surveys conducted to determine knowledge areas and skills required, and their frequency of use. The first study determined that all construction managers (CMs) need: to be able to work with people; to integrate the efforts of people, and technical expertise. Other findings include that the top four subject areas are: programming; quality management; productivity, and industrial relations. The second study determined that administration, oral communication, controlling, co-ordinating, decision making and leadership are skills ranked among the top ten for all levels of management. Other findings include that contract administration, contract documentation, cost control, building methods and quality management are subject areas ranked in the top ten positions for all levels of management. The article concludes that the most frequently used subject areas reflect the focus at the respective levels of management: top — the management of the business of construction; middle — the management of a number of projects and operational — the management of specific projects. The article concludes that construction management undergraduate programmes need to focus on management, and more specifically, the management of resources within defined parameters, along with the requisite technical expertise.
ANTIMICROBIAL AND ANTI-INFLAMMATORY ACTIVITY OF SCHIFF-BASE DERIVATIVES CONTAINING BENZIMIDAZOLE MOIETY

A new class of Schiff base derivatives containing benzimidazole moiety were screened for their potential antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties. Some of these derivatives showed moderate to potent in-vitro antimicrobial and in-vivo anti-inflammatory activities. The results revealed that, Compound a12 and a20 exhibited the most potent antibacterial activity with lowest MIC value against S. aureus and E. coli . While compounds a12 , a14 , a17 , and a18 showed excellent antifungal activity when compared with standard drugs. Compounds a12 , a14 , a15, a17, a18 and a20 were found to be the main structural requirement for maintaining anti-inflammatory activity.
Very High Resolution Simulations of African Climate with the Regional Climate Model REMO

The regional climate model REMO is used to perform high resolution simulations of African climate. Simulated seasonal precipitation is analysed and compared to a lower resolution run and observational data. We show that the high resolution model is able to represent small scale features of the precipitation distribution and therefore demonstrates considerable improvement compared to the lower resolution version. We also assessed the performance of REMO on the JUQUEEN supercomputer (J¨ulich Supercomputing Centre, JSC) and found, that it is not the optimal system for conducting regional climate model simulations. Computers with architecture similar to JUROPA or JURECA (JSC) are better suited for this type of applications.
AIS Electronic Library (AISeL)

Governments around the world are actively promoting electronic government (e-Government) initiatives to provide fast, convenient and innovative services. Most previous studies focus mainly on discussing the affecting factors of public's satisfaction toward information services provided by their government in the context of voluntary adoption. In order to effectively enable and provide e-Government service, most government agencies have been urged to use specific information systems (IS) to implement functions for information and records management. Under such mandated IS deployment, the interaction among regulatory body, government agency and end-users critically shapes the deployment of system. However, few researches examined the technology adoption in mandatory setting. The purpose of this study is to propose a model for user’s satisfaction in e-Government and clarify the relationship among strategy formulation, social influence, perceived performance, and end-users’ satisfaction of IS in government agency through empirical investigation. The empirical findings suggest that strategy formulation is the antecedent of users’ satisfaction in using IS through the effect of organizational resources and individual performance.
QoS-based Channel and Radio Assignment Algorithm for Mesh Cognitive Radio Networks intended for HealthCare

— Smart homes monitoring for patient healthcare is an emerging research area. Monitoring smart homes locally at large scale requires a lot of infrastructure deployment which is not a cost effective solution. Thus the recent advancement in the cloud computing and introduction of cognitive radio’s provides a new direction to the smart homes monitoring. Thus in future all the data monitoring and analysis at large scale will be on cloud using cognitive radios. Cognitive radios utilize radio spectrum opportunistically without purchasing their license. Therefore, efficient routing and quality of service based channel selection and radio assignment are most challenging issues in the deployment of this technology for remote smart homes monitoring. In this paper, we proposed a novel channel selection and radio assignment scheme for multi-radio multi-channel multi-hop mesh cognitive networks with the objectives of minimizing overall network interference and minimum interference with the primary users. Channel and radio assignment in such networks is a NP-hard problem. Therefore, integer linear programming model is presented and heuristic solution for susceptibility and capacity aware channel selection and radio assignment is proposed. Furthermore, collaborative channel utilization and local healing Scheme is also presented. Our proposed algorithms maintain highly quality of service based stable routes with the overall reduction of network interference.
Diversity oriented multi-objective island based genetic algorithm for flexible job shop scheduling considering setup operator regulation

The flexible job-shop scheduling problem has received considerable attention in the production scheduling field. Setup operators are inseparable from the system of a small-volume and widely diverse producing. The work load balance among setup operators is important to increase the satisfaction at work. In this paper, a diversity-oriented multi-objective island based genetic algorithm is proposed to solve the FJSP considering the setup operators as a constraint. The total tardiness of each product and the difference of the setup number between setup operators are regarded as objectives and optimized using the Pareto-based method. When the pro posed GA is applied to a test instance with moderate size of the problem complexity, it obtained the two exact solutions within a few seconds. Results show that the proposed algorithm, which was applied to the realistic production planning of the model enterprise, improves diversity of sub-solutions and the local search performance by the introduction of the diversity-oriented evaluation of each island, and emigration strategy among islands.
Flame intensity analysis for hot molten metal pouring in the steel industry by applying image segmentation

: Pouring large quantities of hot metal (HM) can release substantial amounts of flame. This problem is frequently encountered within the Basis Oxygen Furnace (BOF) steelmaking process where large quantities of HM (frequently exceeding 300 t) are poured into the converter vessels. The HM is contained in specially designed ladles and poured using overhead girder cranes. Excess release of flame may damage surrounding components such as crane ropes and consequently reduce their lifecycle. Therefore, limiting the release of flame during pouring, allows extending the lifetime of the components located in proximity of the ladle. The scope of this paper is to characterise flame generation during different pouring operations at a BOF steelmaking plant and to relate the amount of flame generated to process factors. Due to the complexity of the process under investigation, this paper does not aim to eliminate flame generation, but rather to identify approaches to its mitigation. The proposed approach utilises a standard CCTV camera to record videos of pours. An image segmentation analysis is then performed, where the flame is separated from the background image using pixel information in the CIE L*a*b* colour space. For each frame, flame intensity is then calculated. This process is partially automated for each video making use of MATLAB. A total of 169 videos are analysed and the pours that cause higher flame intensity are identified. In the last steps of the analysis, the process factors with the most significant impact on the flame release are identified and mitigating solutions are proposed.
THE ADOPTION OF MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING PRACTICES BY SMALL AND MEDIUM CLOTHING AND TEXTILE ENTITIES IN AN EMERGING MARKET

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) operating in the clothing and textile sector are perceived as significant players in many emerging markets. These entities contribute considerably in providing job opportunities for many households, and they play a pivotal role in developing economies globally. However, SMEs, if not well managed, cannot fulfil their contributions and compete in a globalised business environment. Preliminary studies contend that management accounting practices (MAPs) are considered essential tools that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the clothing and textile sector can use to promote efficiency and sustainability. Driven by the lack of research on the use of MAPs in small and medium clothing and textile SMEs in South Africa, this paper explores the contributing role and benefits of MPAs to these entities. A quantitative descriptive survey of 51 clothing and textile manufacturing SMEs in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal using a self-administered questionnaire was employed having employed the census sampling method. The results indicate that budgeting systems are the most used MAPs by the investigated clothing and textile SMEs. Clothing and textile SMEs still use traditional MAPs, however, they are endeavouring to integrate the modern or newly-developed MAPs such as the use of the decision support systems into their enterprises’ administration. The results indicated that the most valued role of MAPs was for planning future strategies, tactics and operations. On the other hand, certain roles of MAPs were considered not to be beneficial to the investigated clothing and textile SMEs.
Estrogen Receptor- > Genotype Affects Exercise-Related Reduction of Arterial Stiffness

HAYASHI, K. , S. MAEDA, M. IEMITSU, T. OTSUKI, J. SUGAWARA, T. TANABE, T. MIYAUCHI, S. KUNO, R. AJISAKA, and M. MATSUDA. Estrogen Receptor- > Genotype Affects Exercise-Related Reduction of Arterial Stiffness. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. , Vol. 40, No. 2, pp. 252–257, 2008. Purpose: Arterial stiffness, an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease, increases with advancing age. Arterial stiffness is improved by regular exercise, but individual responses to exercise training are variable. Given that estrogen and estrogen receptor- > (ER- > ) can induce vasodilation and can exert an antiatherosclerotic effect in vessels, we hypothesized that gene polymorphisms of ER- > might influence the ability of regular exercise to improve arterial stiffness in postmenopausal women. Methods: One hundred ninety-five healthy postmenopausal women (62 T 6 yr, mean T SD) participated in our cross-sectional study. We determined the genotype of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) at j 401T/C of intron 1 of the ER- > gene. Arterial stiffness was measured by brachial–ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), and daily physical activity was estimated by a uniaxial accelerometer. Subjects were divided into active and inactive groups according to the median value (200 kcal I d j 1 ) of energy expenditure. Results: baPWV in individuals with the TT variant of j 401T/C genotype were significantly higher than for individuals with the TC+CC genotype. No significant differences in mean baPWV values were found between the active group and the inactive group ( P = 0.09). A significant reduction of baPWV secondary to increased daily physical activity was observed in individuals with the TC+CC genotype but not in individuals with the TT genotype (TT/active: 1470 T 36 cm I s j 1 ; TT/inactive: 1457 T 34 cm I s j 1 ; TC+CC/active: 1359 T 21 cm I s j 1 ; TC+CC/inactive: 1433 T 24 cm I s j 1 ). Conclusion: These results suggest that ER- > polymorphism affects the regular exercise-related reduction in arterial stiffness in healthy postmenopausal women.