Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Identification and characterization of chemical components in the bioactive fractions of Cynomorium coccineum that possess anticancer activity

Cynomorium coccineum has long been used as the health and medicinal plant known to induce cancer cell death. However, the bioactive compounds of C. coccineum and the underlying mechanism of their regulator in cell autophagy and cell apoptosis remain unexplored. In our previous study, we found that the ethanol extract had antitumor activity through inducing cancer cell death. In this study, by detecting the anti-tumor effect of sequence extracts from Cynomorium coccineum, the active constituents were collected in solvent ethyl acetate. A strategy based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with hybrid quadrupole-orbitrap mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-Orbitrap/MS) was first utilized to analyze the chemical constituents of active fraction (ethyl acetate fraction, CS3). A total of 29 compounds including 8 triterpenoids, 6 flavonoids, 4 fatty acids, 8 phenolic acids, 1 anthraquinones, 1 nucleoside and 1 sterol were detected and identified or tentatively identified for the first time in Cynomorium coccineum. We found that CS3 induces cancer cell death accompanied with a great number of vacuoles in the cytoplasm. CS3-induced autophagosome formation was found and confirmed by electron microscopy and the high expression levels of microtubule-associated protein-1 light chain 3-II (LC3II), a marker protein of autophagy. We additionally demonstrated that CS3 activated and increased the pro-apoptotic mitochondrial proteins, BNIP3 and BNIP3L, in mRNA and protein levels. The constituents of CS3 down-regulated anti-apoptotic BCL2, and then releases autophagic protein Beclin-1. These finding for the first time systematically not only explore and identify the active constituents of CS3 in Cynomorium coccineum, but also examined the mechanism associated with CS3-induced cell death via cell autophagy. This active component may serve as a potential source to obtain new autophagy inducer and anti-cancer compounds for hepatocellular carcinoma.
Automata and Logic for Concurrent Systems

We study the computional power of restarting transducers, a recently introduced model for computing binary (word) relations. We show that the classes of relations defined by these machines are incomparable to the most common ones. Further, a restricted version, the so-called monotone restarting transducer, yield a class of relations that is almost equivalent to the pushdown relations.
Title Insecure Food: Diet, Eating, and Identity among the Ethiopian Suri People in the Developmental Age

In this paper I discuss food, cultural identity and development among the agropastoral Suri people of Southwest Ethiopia. Their food system is discussed in its actual form and in its process of change, accelerated since a decade or so. The theoretical concern of this paper is with issues of identity formation and continuity through the materiality of food and food systems, in the context of varying assumptions underlying discourses of development. The Suri people remain at the margins of the modernizing Ethiopian state and experienced a decline in food security, health and wealth in the last decade, coinciding with growing inter-group tension and new state developmental plans which devalue the agro-pastoral mode of life. State support or investment is in massive sugar and other mono-crop plantations and in enterprises by foreigners and private capitalists, not matched by parallel investment in local economies of agro-pastoralism and crop cultivation. Some of the effects on the production system, diet and ‘food sovereignty’ of the Suri are described so as to highlight the challenges they face, including growing internal differentiation, pressure on modifying their food system and the increasing sale and use of alcoholic drinks. Observing the, often ambivalent, changes in the Suri food pattern and food consumption shows the challenges they face in (re)defining group identity, responding to internal tensions and to state-capitalist modernizing schemes that impact their way of life.
Pseudohyphal Growth of the Emerging Pathogen Candida auris Is Triggered by Genotoxic Stress through the S Phase Checkpoint

Candida auris is a newly emerged fungal pathogen of humans. This species was first reported in 2009 when it was identified in an ear infection of a patient in Japan. However, despite intense interest in this organism as an often multidrug-resistant fungus, there is little knowledge about its cellular biology. During infection of human patients, fungi are able to change cell shape from ellipsoidal yeast cells to elongated filaments to adapt to various conditions within the host organism. There are different types of filaments, which are triggered by reactions to different cues. Candida auris fails to form filaments when exposed to triggers that stimulate yeast filament morphogenesis in other fungi. Here, we show that it does form filaments when its DNA is damaged. These conditions might arise when Candida auris cells interact with host immune cells or during growth in certain host tissues (kidney or bladder) or during treatment with antifungal drugs. ABSTRACT The morphogenetic switching between yeast cells and filaments (true hyphae and pseudohyphae) is a key cellular feature required for full virulence in many polymorphic fungal pathogens, such as Candida albicans. In the recently emerged yeast pathogen Candida auris, occasional elongation of cells has been reported. However, environmental conditions and genetic triggers for filament formation have remained elusive. Here, we report that induction of DNA damage and perturbation of replication forks by treatment with genotoxins, such as hydroxyurea, methyl methanesulfonate, and the clinically relevant fungistatic 5-fluorocytosine, cause filamentation in C. auris. The filaments formed were characteristic of pseudohyphae and not parallel-sided true hyphae. Pseudohyphal growth is apparently signaled through the S phase checkpoint and, interestingly, is Tup1 independent in C. auris. Intriguingly, the morphogenetic switching capability is strain specific in C. auris, highlighting the heterogenous nature of the species as a whole. IMPORTANCE Candida auris is a newly emerged fungal pathogen of humans. This species was first reported in 2009 when it was identified in an ear infection of a patient in Japan. However, despite intense interest in this organism as an often multidrug-resistant fungus, there is little knowledge about its cellular biology. During infection of human patients, fungi are able to change cell shape from ellipsoidal yeast cells to elongated filaments to adapt to various conditions within the host organism. There are different types of filaments, which are triggered by reactions to different cues. Candida auris fails to form filaments when exposed to triggers that stimulate yeast filament morphogenesis in other fungi. Here, we show that it does form filaments when its DNA is damaged. These conditions might arise when Candida auris cells interact with host immune cells or during growth in certain host tissues (kidney or bladder) or during treatment with antifungal drugs.
Crowd Worker Strategies in Relevance Judgment Tasks

Crowdsourcing is a popular technique to collect large amounts of human-generated labels, such as relevance judgments used to create information retrieval (IR) evaluation collections. Previous research has shown how collecting high quality labels from a crowdsourcing platform can be challenging. Existing quality assurance techniques focus on answer aggregation or on the use of gold questions where ground-truth data allows to check for the quality of the responses. In this paper, we present qualitative and quantitative results, revealing how different crowd workers adopt different work strategies to complete relevance judgment tasks efficiently and their consequent impact on quality. We delve into the techniques and tools that highly experienced crowd workers use to be more efficient in completing crowdsourcing micro-tasks. To this end, we use both qualitative results from worker interviews and surveys, as well as the results of a data-driven study of behavioral log data (i.e., clicks, keystrokes and keyboard shortcuts) collected from crowd workers performing relevance judgment tasks. Our results highlight the presence of frequently used shortcut patterns that can speed-up task completion, thus increasing the hourly wage of efficient workers. We observe how crowd work experiences result in different types of working strategies, productivity levels, quality and diversity of the crowdsourced judgments.
Classification of causes of speech recognition errors using attention-based bidirectional long short-term memory and modulation spectrum

In this paper, we address the problem of classifying four common utterance characteristics related to the utterance speed, which cause speech recognition errors. We previously proposed bidirectional long short-term memory (BLSTM) as a classifier and the modulation spectrum as an acoustic feature. However, the performance of it is still insufficient, since BLSTM classified the utterance characteristics from the overall utterance, while most of the recognition errors resulted from utterance characteristics occur in only a small part of utterance. In this paper, we propose an approach to enhance classifier by using attention mechanism (attention-based BLSTM). Attention-based BLSTM enables the classifier to weight each frame according to its importance instead of directly measuring overall information from the speech. Furthermore, we investigate the correspondence of utterance characteristics to different modulation spectrum block lengths. To evaluate the performance of the proposed method, we conducted a classification experiment on Japanese conversational speeches with four different utterance characteristics: ‘fast’, ‘slow’, ‘filler’, and ‘stutter’. As a result, the proposed method improved the F-score by 0.033-0.129 compared with the previously proposed method using BLSTM. This result confirms the effectiveness of attention-based BLSTM in classifying cause of errors based on utterance characteristics.
Causes of the Diurnal Variation observed in γ-ray Spectrum using NaI (Tl) Detector

Present paper studies the γ-ray spectrum observed using NaI(Tl) scintillation detector over a year. The paper reports the presence of a distinct diurnal pattern in the total number of γ-ray counts detected by the NaI detector. The counts start decreasing after sunrise and show gradual recovery after sunset. The amplitude of this variation is quite significant ( > 10%) at the observation site Tirunelveli, South India. However, further investigation based on different energy ranges reveals that the mentioned diurnal pattern is actually present only in the energies related to the terrestrial background radioactivity. The study demonstrates that the pattern is associated with the radioactivity of isotopes of radon (Rn and Rn ) and their daughter radionuclides. The amplitude of the diurnal variation is found to have seasonal dependence, with the lowest amplitude during June–October (∼ 2%), and highest in April–May months (∼ 14%). The dependence of the amplitude of the diurnal variation on various atmospheric parameters, namely temperature, relative humidity, and vertical wind is examined. The observed diurnal pattern is attributed to the generation of the inversion layer. The distribution of concentration of radon and thoron progenies in an air column changes with the vertical mixing and atmospheric boundary layer (ABL), resulting in the diurnal variation of γ-rays.
Overshare and collapse: How sustainable are profit-oriented company-to-peer bike-sharing systems?

Die vorliegende Studie untersucht, ob bzw. in welchem Maße ge-winnorientierte und als Business-to-Customer-Geschäft konzipierte Fahrrad-Sharing-Systeme nachhaltig sind. Basierend auf den von Martin (2016) entwickelten Zuschreibungen der Sharing Economy wird untersucht, ob kommerzielle Fahrrad-Sharing-Systeme diese ihnen beigemessenen Charakteristika tatsächlich aufweisen. Die Ergebnisse sind ernüchternd: kommerzielle Fahrrad-Sharing-Systeme sind (1) ökonomisch (noch) nicht rentabel, (2) stellen keine nachhal-tigere Form des Konsums dar, (3) führen nicht zu einer stärker de-zentralisierten, faireren und nachhaltigeren Wirtschaft, (4) erfordern eine weitreichendere Regulierung, (5) sind anfällig für Monopolisie-rungstendenzen und (6) basieren auf weder neuen noch disruptiven Geschäftsmodellen. Die Autoren plädieren für weitere Forschungs-anstrengungen, um nachhaltigere Systeme zu entwickeln. The primary concern of this study is to examine if or to what extent profit-oriented bike-sharing systems are sustainable. Based on the frames attributed to the sharing economy developed by Martin (2016), the authors analyze whether the commercial company-to-peer bike-sharing systems actually show these attributed characteristics. The results reveal that profit-oriented bike-sharing systems (1) do not pay off (yet) in economic terms, (2) are not a more sustainable form of consumption, (3) are not a pathway towards a more decentralized, equitable, and
Roofline Analysis and Performance Optimization of the MGB Hydrological Model

The Roofline model gives insights about the performance behavior of applications bounded by either memory or processor limits, providing useful guidelines for performance improvements. This work uses the Roofline model on the analysis of the MGB model that simulates hydrological processes in largescale watersheds. Real-world input data are used to characterize the performance on two multicore architectures, one with only CPUs and one with CPUs/GPU. The MGB model performance is improved with optimizations for better memory use, and also with shared-memory (OpenMP) and GPU (OpenACC) parallelism. CPU performance achieves 42.51 % and 50.17 % of each system’s peak, whereas GPU performance is low due to overheads caused by the MGB model structure.
Creative Expression with Immersive 3D Interactions

Virtual and augmented realities (VR/AR) allow artists to create 3D content in a three-dimensional space  both display and inputs are 3D. Getting rid of 2D proxies such as screens and graphic tablets removes a significant barrier from 3D creation and allows artists to create more intuitively, and potentially more efficiently. However, creating in VR/AR introduces new control, precision, and ergonomic challenges. Designing interactive tools for 3D creation is therefore non-trivial. A deep understanding of human factors, user preferences, as well as biases stemming from users' experience with 2D tools is essential to develop effective creative tools for VR/AR. My research combines exploratory user studies and technical advancements to build novel tools for creating 3D content in immersive spaces. I present two computer graphics applications which utilize 3D interactions to improve existing creative workflows and devise novel ones for visual creative expression in three-dimensions. The first studies concept sketching, while the second explores animation of dynamic physical phenomena. I then describe my ongoing work and planned future work on other creative applications.
Hybrid GA-SA Algorithms for Reducing Energy Consumption in Embedded Systems

Reducing energy consumption in embedded systems is a major crucial issue. In this paper, we propose new sequential and distributed heuristic algorithms based on Simulated Annealing (SA) and Genetic Algorithm (GA) for reducing energy consumption in embedded systems. Experimentations performed on benchmarks selected for the Future Architectures Program of ANR (French National Research Agency), show that our algorithms outperform the best known existing heuristics BEH and Tabu Search (TS). In fact, our hybrid algorithms manage to consume nearly from 76% up to 98% less memory energy than BEH and TS.
Acute Exposure to Permethrin Modulates Behavioral Functions, Redox, and Bioenergetics Parameters and Induces DNA Damage and Cell Death in Larval Zebrafish

Permethrin (PM) is a synthetic pyrethroid insecticide widely used as domestic repellent. Damage effects to nontarget organisms have been reported, particularly in the early stages of development. Studies indicate redox unbalance as secondary PM effect. Therefore, our goal was to investigate the acute PM effects on larval zebrafish. Larvae (6 days postfertilization) were exposed to PM (25–600 μg/L) during 24 hours, and 50% lethal concentration was estimated. For subsequent assays, the sublethal PM concentrations of 25 and 50 μg/L were used. PM increased anxiety-like behaviors according to the Novel Tank and Light-Dark tests. At the molecular level, PM induced increased ROS, which may be related to the increased lipid peroxidation, DNA damage, and apoptosis detected in PM-exposed organisms. In parallel, upregulation of the antioxidant system was detected after PM exposure, with increased superoxide dismutase, glutathione S-transferase and glutathione reductase activities, and thiol levels. The increased of Nrf2 target genes and the activation of an electrophile response element-driven reporter Tg(EPRE:LUC-EGFP) suggest that the Nrf2 pathway can mediate a fast response to PM, leading to antioxidant amplification. By using high-resolution respirometry, we found that exposure to PM decreased the oxygen consumption in all respiratory stages, disrupting the oxidative phosphorylation and inhibiting the electron transfer system, leading to decrease in bioenergetics capacity. In addition, PM led to increases of residual oxygen consumption and changes in substrate control ratio. Glucose metabolism seems to be affected by PM, with increased lactate dehydrogenase and decreased citrate synthase activities. Taken together, our results demonstrated the adverse effects of acute sublethal PM concentrations during larval development in zebrafish, causing apparent mitochondrial dysfunction, indicating a potential mechanism to redox unbalance and oxidative stress, which may be linked to the detected cell death and alterations in normal behavior patterns caused by acute PM exposure.
Defining social content and social content management: Service science perspective

Social media enables unlimited open interactions between organisations and customers. Social content resulting from social media interactions are of immense value and could be beneficial to both organisations and customers. Well managed social content could be used as a basis for producing service innovations offered by the organisations. However, the meaning of social content and its definition is not clearly articulated in the literature. This led to an equally limited meaning of social content management. In this regard, this article proposed that the definition of social content and social content management should be developed from the service science perspective. This is necessary to capture the essential facet of social interactions, that of value co-creation. Both definitions are developed through a triangulation process namely, literature review and a series of interviews with experts. With the proposed definition of social content and social content management, it is hoped that it would enhance the understanding of both concepts thus leading to a more effective way of managing social content.
Induction and Activity of Terminal Oxidases of Electron Transport Chain in Broccoli Heads under Controlled Atmosphere Storage

Controlled atmosphere (CA) storage, under atmospheres with low O2 and high CO2 concentrations, is effective for extending the shelflife of horticultural products. We investigated the influence of CA storage (O2/CO2: 2.5%/6.0% or 2.5%/0.0%) at 1C for 21 d versus normoxia (normal air) on the physicochemical and biological properties of broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica, Plenck, 1794) via amounts and activities of terminal oxidases of electron transport chain. Mass loss, a sensitive index of freshness for broccoli heads under CA, was significantly lower under CA than under normoxia. The effect for depressing mass loss was observed 7 d earlier under CA including 6.0% CO2 than under CA without CO2. Environmental CO2 was also effective for depressing loss of L-ascorbate. The alternative oxidase (AOX) level under CA was lower than under normoxia during storage, while the level of cytochrome c oxidase (COX), and the AOX/COX activity ratio (based on oxygen isotope discrimination), were stable during storage. Our results indicate that CA storage is effective for retaining freshness of broccoli heads during storage by depressing the induction of AOX. However, depression of AOX level was found to be independent of environmental CO2.
RAAE 2 2019, Regular Article, Alishani

The effects of support policies on technical efficiency are not clear and are very complex because the results may be either positive or negative. The effects can be positive if the money received will serve as an incentive to innovate or to switch to new technologies or can have a negative effect if the money received increase the income of the farms and as a result prefer to have more leisure time. Given the theoretical uncertainty of the impact of supporting policies on efficiency, productivity and added value, the aim of this paper is to address this issue empirically. This paper contributes to the literature for the case of Kosovo by fulfilling the following objectives (i) to measure technical efficiency of farms in Kosovo and (ii) to identify the effect of subsidies by employing a stochastic output distance function and an inefficiency effect model as the one proposed by Battese and Coelli (1995). Parametric stochastic frontier approach was employed to estimate technical efficiency and to determine the effect of exogenous variables on technical efficiency through one-step approach. The share of total subsidies to total output (%) was used as proxy for policy variable and a set of farm characteristics as exogenous variables. We used FADN of Kosovo data provided by MAFRED for 2014. The results suggest that on average a farm in Kosovo produced 15.7% of the maximum output, while the rest of the potential output was lost due to technical inefficiency. Subsidies had negative effect on technical efficiency, however insignificant.
SIMULATION OF THE GAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF EDFA

In this study, one of the most important characteristics of Erbium-Doped Fiber Amplifier (EDFA), gain is simulated and analyzed. In used slicing method, Erbium-doped fiber (EDF) is divided into many small splices in which the Er population densities of EDF at metastable state and ground state is assumed to be unchanged. Simulation results show that EDFA gain is affected by some parameters such as fiber length, signal wavelength, pump wavelength, input signal power and pump power. Generally, the EDFA gain is the non-linear function of these parameters. Each has different effect on the gain. These results are consistent with published materials.
The Relation between Storm Risk and Wind and Wave Forecast Accuracy in the North Atlantic Ocean

Oceanic storms are the main reason for shipping delays in the North Atlantic Ocean, due to the uncertainty in the forecast of tropical cyclones and extra tropical winter storms. This work investigates the relation between the statistical storm risk and the accuracy of the wind and wave forecast in the North Atlantic. The evaluation is based on historical wind and wave forecast data from the German Weather Service (DWD) between August, 2005 and November, 2010. First of all the regional storm risk in the North Atlantic is assessed. For this purpose 11 different storm clusters have been identified in the historical weather data with a non-parametric clustering algorithm. It shows that the storm risk varies between the storm clusters regionally as well as seasonally. Furthermore a correlation was found between the storm risk and the wind speed and wave height forecast root mean squared error (RMSE). The results allow for estimating future forecast accuracy based on the assessment of the regional and seasonal storm risk.