Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Antioxidant Properties of Casein Phosphopeptides (CPP) and Maillard-Type Conjugated Products

A casein phosphopeptide (CPP) fraction derived from tryptic hydrolysis of bovine casein was evaluated for antioxidant activity. Conjugations or mixtures of CPP with polysaccharide, galactomannan (Gal), or xyloglucan (Xyl) were prepared to evaluate potential enhancement of CPP antioxidant activity. The effect of calcium was also investigated. The CPP preparation alone was effective at scavenging hydroxyl radicals and sequestering Fe2+ to protect against Fenton reaction-induced deoxyribose oxidation in non-site-specific (up 63.3% inhibition) and site-specific (up 32.1% inhibition) binding assays, respectively. CPP also effectively quenched 2,2’-azinobis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid radicals (ABTS•+) to an extent of 67.6% scavenging in an aqueous system. In a soybean lecithin liposome system, CPP exhibited effective protection against peroxyl radical-induced liposomal peroxidation (38.3% of control in terms of rate of propagation). Conjugating CPP with Gal or Xyl polysaccharides using Maillard reaction conditions significantly reduced activity in the Fenton reaction-deoxyribose assays, while exhibiting no effect on the antioxidant activity of native CPP in both the ABTS and liposome assays, respectively. These results represent comparative antioxidant capacity of the native CPP and associated conjugates in phases that varied in relative hydrophilic and hydrophobic character. We conclude that CPP has the potential to act as both a primary and secondary antioxidant by displaying transition metal ion sequestering activity and free radical quenching activity. Improvements in antioxidant activity of CPP by Maillard-type conjugation with Xyl or Gal were relatively small and model-specific.
Preparation of Hot-Melt Extruded Dosage Form for Enhancing Drugs Absorption Based on Computational Simulation

The aim of this study was to control the dissolution rate and permeability of cilostazol. To enhance the dissolution rate of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), hot-melt extrusion (HME) technology was applied to prepare a solid dispersion (SD). To control permeability in the gastrointestinal tract regardless of food intake, the HME process was optimized based on physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) simulation. The extrudates were produced using a laboratory-scale twin-screw hot-melt extruder with co-rotatory screws and a constant feeding rate. Next, for PBPK simulation, parameter-sensitive analysis (PSA) was conducted to determine the optimization approach direction. As demonstrated by the dissolution test, the solubility of extrudate was enhanced comparing cilostazol alone. Based on the PSA analysis, the surfactant induction was a crucial factor in cilostazol absorption; thus, an extrudate with an even distribution of lipids was produced using hot-melt extrusion technology, for inducing the bile salts in the gastrointestinal tract. In vivo experiments with rats demonstrated that the optimized hot-melt extruded formulation was absorbed more rapidly with lower deviation and regardless of the meal consumed when compared to marketed cilostazol formulations.
Enrolment of Women in Higher Education: A Comparative Study on Women's Equity in Governance and Employment Status in India

Many research studies, globally, suggest that a rise in the rates of higher education of women enhances their living standards and decision-making powers. Education has served as a powerful tool for empowering women. Having higher women’s representation in governance should enable the empowerment of women. The Gross Enrolment Ratio [GER] of Indian women has shown a steady rise in the past two decades. The GER of women has surpassed men in the age group of 18 to 23 in the year 2018-2019 (All India Survey of Higher Education [AISHE] Reports, 2019). In the year 2019, only 48.20 % of the Indian population are women. India shows a negative trend concerning women entering the workforce despite their increasing literacy rate and GER of women in higher education. In the Indian parliament, only 14.36 % of elected representatives in the lower house (The Lok Sabha) are women in the year 2020 (www.loksabha.nic.in). These statistics raise an important question on whether the efforts taken to empower women are yielding the intended results in terms of their equity in workforce and governance. This study is an analysis of the relationship between the enrolment of women in higher education and literacy level of women with their representation in governance and the workforce in India.
High Resolution fMRI using Compressed Sensing

While functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is widely used in studies of brain functions, spatiotemporal resolution of the technique is limited. Conventionally, increasing spatial resolution requires acquiring more samples to satisfy Nyquist rate, leading to inadequately long scan time. When Nyquist sampling rate is violated, resulting image is degraded by aliasing artifacts. However, recent work in field of compressed sensing and previous applications of compressed sensing to MRI have demonstrated that images can be accurately reconstructed from fewer samples than necessary: scan times can be reduced without loss of image quality. This work describes an application of compressed sensing to fMRI, demonstrating accurate reconstruction of activation maps and blood level oxygenation dependent (BOLD) signal time series, from significantly undersampled data. We then show that the potential reduction in scan time can instead be traded off for substantially improved spatial resolution. Specifically, our method allows us to attain more than five-fold increase in image matrix size, with no loss of volume coverage, decrease in temporal resolution, or any changes to relevant imaging parameters. Results are shown on two optogenetic fMRI datasets.
Collapse of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning described by Langevin dynamics

Abstract. Using a machine learning technique, collapse trajectories of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation from climate models of intermediate complexity are fitted to a simple model based on the Langevin equation. A total of six parameters are sufficient to quantitatively describe the collapses seen in these simulations under a freshwater forcing. Reversing the freshwater forcing results in asymmetric behaviour that is less well captured and would require a more complicated model.
Partitioning variation in measurements of beef carcass traits using ultrasound1

Abstract Ultrasound technology provides cattle breeders with a quick, noninvasive, and inexpensive way to measure carcass data on live animals. Ultrasound data are used as indicator traits in cattle genetic evaluations for economically relevant carcass traits. Ultrasound cattle genetic evaluations assume homogeneous additive genetic and residual variance. Thus, the objective was to partition phenotypic variance in ultrasound carcass measurements into components for additive genetic effects, technicians, contemporary groups within technicians, and residual and to examine the homogeneity of these variances among image interpretation laboratories. Records of longissimus muscle area (LMA), percentage of intramuscular fat (IMF), and subcutaneous fat depth (SFD), measured using ultrasound, were provided by the American Angus Association (n = 65,967), American Hereford Association (n = 43,182), and American Simmental Association (n = 48,298). The data also included contemporary group, technician, imaging lab, and a three-generation pedigree for each animal. Variance components for ultrasound carcass measurements were first estimated with univariate animal models for each breed and imaging laboratory using derivative-free restricted maximum likelihood. Then, treating data from each imaging laboratory as separate traits, genetic correlations between laboratories for LMA, percentage of IMF, and subcutaneous fat were estimated with trivariate animal models. The technician explained 12–27%, 5–23%, and 4–26% of the variance for IMF, SFD, and LMA, respectively, across all three breeds. Variance due to technician was often greater than variance due to additive genetic effects but almost always less than that explained by the contemporary group. Within breeds, estimates of additive genetic variance for LMA, SFD, and IMF differed (range divided by mean) among laboratories by 4.5%, 21.5%, and 39.4 % (Angus); 31.6%, 15.0%, and 49.1% (Hereford); and 19.9%, 46.6%, and 55.3% (Simmental), respectively. Likewise, estimates of residual variance for LMA, SFD, and IMF differed among laboratories by 43.4%, 22.9%, and 43.3% (Angus); 24.9%, 15.2%, and 79.2% (Hereford); and 26.4%, 32.5%, and 46.2% (Simmental), respectively. Genetic correlations between labs across breeds ranged from 0.79 to 0.95 for IMF, 0.26 to 0.94 for SFD, and 0.78 to 0.98 for LMA. The impact of the observed heterogeneity of variance between labs on genetic evaluation requires further study.
Time to Recache: Measuring Memory Miss Behavior

Caches are integral to the performance of the memory sub-system for any processor. In contemporary literature, it is common to use metrics such as a count of memory misses over some number of instructions, or to use the rate of instruction issue as a proxy for true system performance as indicators of the performance of a last level cache. We introduce a novel metric called “Time to Recache” (TTR) that more directly represents the closeness with which any technique approaches the optimal caching scheme. As an example of how this metric might be used, we include an analysis of a few traditional and modern replacement policies using cycle-accurate processor and cache simulation.
An Improved Threshold Determination Method Based on PSO Algorithm for Sensor Fault Diagnosis

Based on the Kalman filter theory, detecting sensor faults in gas turbine control system and performing output reconstruction for fault signals is a hot focus in recent years. The selection of detection thresholds directly affects the rate and accuracy of fault diagnosis, which is extremely important for the safe operating of control system and its value is usually determined by actual experience and the noise characteristics of the sensor itself. Based on characteristics of the sensor and the observed signals, the cost function of the threshold is constructed by the combination of the leakage alarm probability and the false alarm probability, which is then used as the fitness function in the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm, and the inertia weight in the iterative search process is adaptively changed. So, an improved dynamic weight adaptive threshold determination method based on PSO algorithm comes into being. The simulation comparison of the proposed method with the traditional threshold determination method shows that the timeliness, accuracy and integrity of the method is improved somewhat.
Nest-boxes for Common Swifts Apus apus as compensatory measures in the context of building renovation: efficacy and predictors of occupancy

Summary Currently, renovation and thermal insulation of buildings is happening at a high rate in many European countries, driven in part by the political aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Unfortunately, building renovations often lead to a loss of structures, such as accessible cavities, on which synanthropic species, for example house-nesting birds, depend. In Germany, due to legislative regulations, it is a common practice to install nest-boxes as compensation for destroyed nest sites of birds. However, studies on the efficacy of such measures remain sparse. We monitored the occupancy of 477 compensatory nest-boxes for Common Swifts Apus apus, predominantly placed on renovated prefabricated buildings in a city in Germany. We found 24.3% of the boxes occupied by Swifts. On most buildings, the number of occupied boxes was as high as or even higher than the assumed number of breeding sites prior to renovation. Furthermore, in a district where nearly all buildings had been renovated in the past 10 years, we recorded a remarkably high density of Swifts breeding in nest-boxes. Using boosted regression trees, we analysed whether eight different nest-box properties influenced box occupation probability. The number of neighbouring boxes was the most important. Additionally, box age, facade orientation, city district, relative and absolute height, and manner of installation (external/internal) also played a role. Between different nest-box types, we found only negligible differences in occupation probability. Our findings suggest that installing nest-boxes is likely to be an appropriate measure to compensate for nesting sites of Swifts lost during building renovations. Based on our results, we recommend mounting the boxes a few metres apart from each other and close to the roof edge to maximise success. Further studies should be carried out to assess whether our results and conclusions can be confirmed in other situations.
Adaptive diversification in experimental populations of Escherichia coli

What processes contribute to the origin and maintenance of biological diversity? When populations occupy different environments, that have divergent ecological characteristics, natural selection can cause each population to adapt to its environment, resulting in phenotypic divergence between populations. But can natural selection cause a single population to diverge? Adaptive dynamics theory predicts that ecological interactions between individuals in a population can result in negative frequency-dependent selection, and the branching of the population into phenotypically distinct subpopulations. Here, I tested predictions from adaptive dynamics theory. To do this, I experimentally evolved populations of the clonal bacterium Escherichia coli in the lab. First, using replicate populations of E. coli that had diversified in parallel, I tested whether convergent ecotypes among replicate populations competed in a likewise manner. I found they do not, suggesting that the genetic underpinnings of the convergent ecotypes among populations were different. The ecological interaction that has received the most attention from adaptive dynamics theory is resource competition, yet there are few direct tests that competition for resources does cause phenotypic distributions to evolve. I used diversified populations of bacteria, and experimentally demonstrated that competition can cause ecological character displacement. Subsequently, I explored whether mutational bias for novelty can regulate adaptive radiation when ecological opportunities and selection were similar. I found an asymmetry in the extent and range of diversification among replicate populations initiated from different genotypes, suggesting that mutational bias can regulate adaptive diversification. Finally, I tested for resource specialization trade-offs by measuring the extent of variation in populations evolved in environments that range in complexity from one to three
Highly Disaggregated Topological Land Unavailability∗

Using high resolution satellite imagery data and GIS software, we compute the percentage of undevelopable land – Land Unavailability – at levels high levels of geographic disaggregation down to the zip code level. Our Land Unavailability measure expands on the popular proxy from Saiz (2010) by (1) using higher resolution satellite imagery from the USGS; (2) more accurate geographic boundaries; and (3) multiple levels of disaggregation. First, we document the importance of using disaggregated data in the construction of land unavailability as larger aggregated areas (e.g. MSAs in California and the Southwest) have larger variance in Land Unavailability and thus yield less precise two-stage least squares estimates. Next, using data at the zip code level, we show that Land Unavailability is uncorrelated with housing demand proxies, validating disaggregated Land Unavailability as an instrument for house prices. JEL Classification: R30, R31, R20 ;
Compliance Behavior of Business Zakat Payment in Malaysia: A Theoretical Economic Exposition

The issue on compliance behavior of business zakat payment has been the subject of much discussion among both academicians and practitioners in Malaysia especially using the economic approach. Lack of review of the literature in the zakat scenario explained the compliance issue based on economic approach. Most of the previous studies on this issue only focused on the behavior approach. In contrast, to the study on the subject of tax compliance are numerous and used various approaches. Hence, firstly this paper is to identify the factors influence compliance behavior of zakat based on previous discussion and secondly to expose the economic approach as an alternative explanation in the issue of zakat compliance. The exposition is based on Expected Utility Theory and Utility Function Model as framework. The unit of study is among the small and medium industry in Malaysia.
Study on the components and antioxidant activity of the Bletilla plant in Taiwan

Bai ji (Rhizoma Bletillae) is a well known traditional Chinese medicine, and Taiwan bai ji (Bletilla formosana (Hayaata) Schltr. ) is commonly available in Taiwan. In this study, B. formosana (Hayata) Schltr. was collected from Wutai township (Pingtung county), Shaolin township (Hualien county) and Datung township (Yilan county), while B. formosana (Hayata) Schltr. f. kotoensis (Hayata) T. P. Lin was collected from Orchid Island (Taitung county). Four components, namely militarine, cinnamic acid, 1, 8-bi(4-hydroxybenzyl)-4-methoxyphenanthrene-2, 7-diol (BHMD), and 4, 7-dihydroxy-1-p-hydroxybenzyl-2-methoxy-9, 10-dihydro-phenanthrene (DHMD), were used as marker compounds for quantitative analysis by HPLC. The Folin-Ciocalteu method was used to measure the total phenolic content in extracts. DPPH radical-scavenging assay was employed to measure antioxidant activity. Our results showed that the contents of cinnamic acid and militarine in the tubers from Yilan were higher than those in other regions. Moreover, the contents of BHMD and DHMD in the tuber of the plants from Orchid Island were higher than those in other regions. In addition, the content of the components in the seedlings grown by tissue culture were lower. B. formosana (Hayata) Schltr. f. kotoensis (Hayata) T. P. Lin from Taitung had a higher total phenolic content and higher DPPH scavenging ability.
An Overview of End-to-End Entity Resolution for Big Data

One of the most critical tasks for improving data quality and increasing the reliability of data analytics is Entity Resolution (ER), which aims to identify different descriptions that refer to the same real-world entity. Despite several decades of research, ER remains a challenging problem. In this survey, we highlight the novel aspects of resolving Big Data entities when we should satisfy more than one of the Big Data characteristics simultaneously (i.e., Volume and Velocity with Variety). We present the basic concepts, processing steps, and execution strategies that have been proposed by database, semantic Web, and machine learning communities in order to cope with the loose structuredness, extreme diversity, high speed, and large scale of entity descriptions used by real-world applications. We provide an end-to-end view of ER workflows for Big Data, critically review the pros and cons of existing methods, and conclude with the main open research directions.
Fluorescence microscopic analysis of cytoskeletal organization and dynamics

Fluorescence microscopy represents a simple, efficient approach for examining the distribution of specific molecules in cells. Such spatial information is particularly important for the study of the cytoskeleton, since the molecular components involved often undergo dramatic reorganizations in response to internal and external stimuli. During the past two decades fluorescence microscopy has served as a bridge between biochemical characterization and cellular functions, and has provided important clues to the mechanisms of various motile activities and the functional roles of many cytoskeletal proteins. Most applications of fluorescence microscopy to date involve fixing cells and staining with either specific antibodies (immunofluorescence) or specific fluorescent ligands such as phalloidin. The application of multiple fluorophores has allowed up to five separate components to be mapped and correlated within a given cell. The main limitation of this approach is that all observations are made with fixed cells, thus it can be difficult to reconstruct dynamic events based on still images of different cells. The second approach, fluorescent analogue cytochemistry, is based on the observation of functional, fluorescentIy-labelled proteins microinjected into living cells. It allows not only the direct observation of specific components during dynamic processes, but also the analysis of protein interactions and molecular mobilities. Laboratory procedures for both fluorescent staining and fluorescent analogue cytochemistry have been discussed in numerous articles (1-7). The purpose of the present article is to describe our current procedures for the fluorescence microscopy of cultured animal cells, and to provide additional details that are not already available.
Physical Manipulation of Virtual Holograms Using Proxies

Head-mounted optical see-through displays allow users to interact with digital content in more immersive ways. While much work has been done on the display side, we still rely on abstracted controls for input/output. In this work, we introduce a method for more natural interaction with virtual holograms . Our method uses physical proxies as handles for manipulating holograms. To achieve this, we use a probabilistic Bayesian model for 3D -object tracking and pose estimation. This method only requires a generic model of the object that is being tracked and achieves reasonable real time performance. We show its implementation and system integration with the Microsoft HoloLens.
Skin lesion segmentation and classification based on an improved multi-scale approach

— Skin cancer is one of the most common types of cancer; its incidences have reached epidemic proportions and causes many deaths. Skin cancer can be categorized into three main types; Actinic Keratoses, Basal Cell Carcinoma, and Melanoma. The Melanoma skin cancer is the most aggressive and the deadliest form of skin cancer compared to the others. Early Melanoma detection and diagnosis often allows for more treatment options and can decrease the number of deaths significantly. Many researchers proposed to use image processing for skin lesion detection. The process can be divided into three main stages: lesion identification based on image segmentation, features extraction, and lesion classification. Segmentation and features extraction are the key-steps and significantly influence the outcome of the classification results. In this paper, a new approach for automatic segmentation and classification for skin lesion will be proposed. The proposed approach consists of a preprocess based on a Multi-scale decomposition that is separating the input image into two components. The geometrical component will be used in the segmentation stage and the texture component in the features extraction, also the asymmetry and color of the lesion are extracted to improve the accuracy of our approach. The classification will be performed using the Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier. The efficiency and the performance of the proposed approach has been evaluated in comparison with recent and robust dermoscopic approaches from literature.