Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Research Online Research Online Editorial for the special issue on the insights and advancements in Editorial for the special issue on the insights and advancements in microfluidics microfluidics

We present a total of 19 articles in this special issue of Micromachines entitled, ”Insights and Advancements in Microﬂuidics. ” Among the 19 articles, two perspectives, eight reviews, and nine research articles were solicited from leading researchers, pioneers, and emerging investigators. The topics covered in this issue ranges from biology, chemistry, and physics to the intersection of engineering, optics, and material sciences. As editors for this issue, we are both gratiﬁed and extremely thankful for the overwhelming responses and contributions from our fellow colleagues within the ﬁeld of microﬂuidics. The special issue is themed to provide both insights and advancements in a the decades. provided on the proper designing rules of digital PCR micro-scale. and on particle on both the progress and fundamental mechanisms in manipulation using
The role of organizational and social factors for information security in a nuclear power industry

Purpose – The aim of this study was to explore the organizational and social prerequisites for employees ’ participative and rule-compliant information security behaviour in Swedish nuclear power production and its related industry. These industries are high-risk activities that must be meticulously secured. Protecting the information security in the related organizations is an essential aspect of this. Design/methodology/approach – Individual in-depth interviews were conducted with 24employees in two organizations within the nuclear power industry in Sweden. Findings – We found that prerequisites for employees ’ participative and rule-compliant information security behaviour could be categorized into structural, social and individual aspects. Structural aspects included well-adapted rules, knowledge support and resources. Social aspects included a supportive organizational culture, collaboration and adequate resources, and individual aspects included individual responsibility. Originality/value – The qualitative approach of the study provided comprehensive descriptions of the identifiedpreconditions. The resultsmaythus enableorganizations tobetterpromote conditionsimportantfor information security in a high-risk industry.
Edinburgh Research Explorer Palmitoylation and Membrane Association of the Stress Axis Regulated Insert (STREX) Controls BK Channel Regulation by Protein Kinase C

Background: Large-conductance potassium (BK) channels containing the stress axis regulated insert (STREX) are important regulators of cellular excitability. Results: Membrane detachment of STREX by protein kinase A (PKA)-mediated phosphorylation or de-palmitoylation established channel inhibition by protein kinase C (PKC). Conclusion: Membrane association of STREX regulates the access of PKC to its inhibitory phosphorylation site. Significance: The interplay of phosphorylation by PKA, PKC, and palmitoylation determines BK-STREX channel activity. Large-conductance, calcium- and voltage-gated potassium The stress axis regulated at splice site 2 inverts BK channel regulation by protein kinase A (PKA) from stimulatory to inhibitory. Here we show that palmitoylation of STREX controls BK channelregulationalsobyproteinkinaseC(PKC). Incontrastto the 50% decrease of maximal channel activity by PKC in the insertless (ZERO) splice variant, STREX channels were completely resistant to PKC. STREX channel mutants in which Ser 700 , located between the two regulatory domains of K (cid:1) conductance (RCK) immediately downstream of the STREX insert, was replaced by the phosphomimetic amino acid glutamate (S700E) showed a (cid:1) 50% decrease in maximal channel activity, whereas the S700A mutant retained its normal activity. BK channel inhibition by PKC, however, was effectively established when the palmitoylation-mediated membrane-anchor of the STREX insert was removed by either pharmacological inhibition of palmitoyl transferases or site-directed mutagenesis. These findings suggest that STREX confers a conformation on BK channels where PKC fails to phosphorylate and to inhibit channel activity. Importantly, PKA which inhibits channel activity by disassembling the STREX insert from the plasma membrane, allows PKC to further suppress the channel gating independent from voltage and calcium. Our results present an important example for the cross-talk between ion channel palmitoylation and phosphorylation in regulation of cellular excitability.
the Host/ A Crucial Role for Tryptophan Catabolism at

By mediating tryptophan catabolism, the enzyme indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) has a complex role in immunoregulation in infection, pregnancy, autoimmunity, transplantation, and neoplasia. We hypothesized that IDO might affect the outcome of the infection in mice infected with Candida albicans by virtue of its potent regulatory effects on inﬂammatory and T cell responses. IDO expression was examined in mice challenged with the fungus along with the consequences of its blockade by in vivo treatment with an enzyme inhibitor. We found that IDO activity was induced at sites of infection as well as in dendritic cells and effector neutrophils via IFN- (cid:1) - and CTLA-4-dependent mechanisms. IDO inhibition greatly exacerbated infection and associated inﬂammatory pathology as a result of deregulated innate and adaptive/regulatory immune responses. However, a role for tryptophan catabolism was also demonstrated in a fungus-autonomous fashion; its blockade in vitro promoted yeast-to-hyphal transition. These results provide novel mechanistic insights into complex events that, occurring at the fungus/pathogen interface, relate to the dynamics of host adaptation to the fungus. The production of IFN- (cid:1) may be squarely placed at this interface, where IDO activation probably exerts a ﬁne control over fungal morphology as well as inﬂammatory and adaptive antifungal responses. The Journal of Immunology, 2005, 174: 2910–2918.
CMAR_A_274856 10993..11003

1Department of Gynaecology, Henan Provincial People’s Hospital, People’s Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450003, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Gynaecology, Chongqing Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Chongqing 400021, People’s Republic of China Background: Endometrial cancer (EC) is one of the most common gynecological malignancies. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) play crucial roles in the occurrence and development of tumors. This research aimed to explore the function and potential mechanism of human serum albumin (hsa)_circ_0109046 in EC. Materials and Methods: The abundance of circ_0109046, microRNA-136 (miR-136) and high-mobility group AT-hook 2 (HMGA2) was detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction or Western blot. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) and colony formation assays were employed to assess cell proliferation. Transwell assay was used to measure cell migration and invasion. The levels of E-cadherin, Vimentin and N-cadherin were examined by Western blot. The binding association among circ_0109046, miR-136 and HMGA2 was verified by dual-luciferase reporter assay, RNA pull-down assay and RNA immunoprecipitation assay. Xenograft assay was performed to test tumor growth in vivo. Results: Circ_0109046 and HMGA2 were up-regulated, and miR-136 was down-regulated in EC tissues and cells. Knockdown of circ_0109046 impeded the proliferation, migration, invasion and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of EC cells. Moreover, miR-136 knockdown reversed the suppression of circ_0109046 silencing on EC development. HMGA2 overexpression abolished the inhibition of miR-136 on EC progression. Besides, depletion of circ_0109046 inhibited EC growth in vivo. Conclusion: Circ_0109046 accelerated EC progression via modulating miR-136/HMGA2 axis, indicating that circ_0109046 might be a promising therapeutic target for EC.
FOOD HABITS OF FOUR SYMPATRIC COLUMBIDS (AVES: COLUMBIDAE) IN ZARIA, NIGERIA

The crop contents (regurgitates) of 154 Columbids comprising of 88 (57%) Streptopelia sensgalensis , 20 (13%) Streptopelia semitorquota , 21 (14%) Streptopelia decipiens and 25 (16%) Columba guinea trapped in the wild in Zaria and its environs were examined from May 1998 to February 1999. The aim of the study was to assess the food habits of the Columbids and to illustrate the concept of niche overlap and differentiation which may aid in the management and possible domestication of these species within the study area. Forty- eight food organisms (i.e. species or other taxa that served as food for the Columbids) were isolated from the crop contents of the birds through the administration of an emetic which induced the birds to regurgitate their crop contents. These included wild and cultivated plant seeds as well as some animal materials. Thirty-eight of the forty-eight food–organisms were isolated from S. senegalensis , 25 from S . semitorquata , 20 from S. decipiens and 30 from Columba guinea . Sorghum bicolor was the most frequent food-organism, having been found in the regurgitates of 136 (82.6%) of the 154 birds. Sorghum bicolor appeared to be the most important food component in the habitats of Columbids in Zaria. Analyses of regurgitates showed a food niche over lap of 31.3% and a total food niche differentiation of 33.5% between the four Columbid species studied.
Organelles Contribute Differentially to ROS-Related Events during Extended Darkness

Treatment of Arabidopsis thaliana leaves by extended darkness generates a genetically activated senescence program that culminates in cell death. The transcriptome of leaves subjected to extended darkness was found to contain a variety of ROS-specific signatures. The levels of transcripts constituting the transcriptome footprints of chloroplasts and cytoplasm ROS stresses decreased in leaves, as early as the second day of darkness. In contrast, an increase was detected in transcripts associated with mitochondrial and peroxisomal ROS stresses. The sequential changes in the redox state of the organelles during darkness were examined by redox sensitive probes (roGFP) that were targeted to specific organelles. In plastids, roGFP showed a decreased level of oxidation as early as the first day of darkness, followed by a gradual increase to starting levels. However, in mitochondria the level of oxidation of roGFP rapidly increased as early as the first day of darkness, followed by an increase in the peroxisomal level of oxidation of roGFP on the second day. No changes in the probe oxidation were observed in the cytoplasm until the third day. The increase in mitochondrial roGFP degree of oxidation was abolished by sucrose treatment, implying that oxidation is caused by energy deprivation. The dynamic redox state visualized by roGFP probes and the analysis of microarray results are consistent with a scenario in which ROS stress emanating from the mitochondria and peroxisomes occurs early during darkness at pre-18 symptomatic stage and jointly contribute to the senescence program.
Retrograde induction of phyB orchestrates ethylene-auxin hierarchy to regulate 29 growth 30

Exquisitely regulated plastid-to-nucleus communication by retrograde signaling 61 pathways is essential for fine-tuning of responses to the prevailing environmental 62 conditions. The plastidial retrograde signaling metabolite methylerythritol 63 cyclodiphosphate (MEcPP) has emerged as a stress signal transduced into a diverse 64 ensemble of response outputs. Here we demonstrate enhanced phytochrome B protein 65 abundance in red light–grown MEcPP-accumulating ceh1 mutant plants relative to 66 wild-type seedlings. We further establish MEcPP-mediated coordination of 67 phytochrome B with auxin and ethylene signaling pathways and uncover differential 68 hypocotyl growth of red light–grown seedlings in response to these phytohormones. 69 Genetic and pharmacological interference with ethylene and auxin pathways outline 70 the hierarchy of responses, placing ethylene epistatic to the auxin signaling pathway. 71 Collectively, our findings establish a key role of a plastidial retrograde metabolite in 72 orchestrating the transduction of a repertoire of signaling cascades. This work 73 positions plastids at the zenith of relaying information coordinating external signals 74 and internal regulatory circuitry to secure organismal integrity. 75 76 77 78
Implementation of image compression based on singular value decomposition

Analyzing big data amount and the limitation of the storage data devices and the rate of data is one of the most critical issues in data processing and transferring. In this research, one of the essential approaches for image compression is proposed. Singular value decomposition (SVD) is a highly effective mathematic technique which is used for the reduction process applied to redundant data in order to minimize the required storage space or transferring channel. The main idea of this work is divided into two main phases. The first phase is explained the (SVD) computational steps approach in detailed while the second phase is described the result of the applying (SVD) in the field of image compression. The achievement results of this experiment show a powerful controlled technique depend on the desired rank of a decomposed image in order to achieve a compression result by the using of a factorized matrix on image compression. The performance of the compressed image is examined in terms of peak to signal ratio and compression ratio.
FOCUS Antifungal Susceptibility Testing: Practical Aspects and Current Challenges

Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Center for the Study of Emerging and Reemerging Pathogens, University of Texas Medical School, Houston, Texas 77030; University of Iowa College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa 52242; Infectious Diseases Section, Pediatric Branch, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland 20892; New York State Department of Health, Albany, New York 12201; Medical College of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia 23298; Department of Dermatology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106; U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Rockville, Maryland 20857; Institute of Medical Sciences, Aberdeen, United Kingdom; Veterans Administration Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas 78284; Pfizer Inc., Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Group, New York, New York 10017; and Mycotic Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
Lightweight NFC Protocol for Privacy Protection in Mobile IoT

The Internet of Things (IoT) aims to achieve the interconnection of all devices in our lives. Due to the complex network environment, the IoT with mobile devices often faces many security problems, such as privacy leakages and identity forgery attacks. As a developing technology in mobile IoT, near field communication (NFC) is widely used in electronic payments and identity authentications. The current NFC studies mainly focus on payment technology, but there are a few studies on privacy protection and the lightweight requirements in the mobile IoT authentication protocol. We focus on the lightweight privacy protection authentication technology in mobile IoT. In the paper, we summarize the clustering model in mobile IoT networks and propose a lightweight authentication protocol. A security analysis shows that the protocol can resist many security threats, such as privacy leakages, identity forgeries, and replay attacks. The simulation also shows that the protocol is lightweight, with the utilization of look-up-tables (LUTs) and registers in our protocol being less than 0.5%. Our work can provide a secure and lightweight mobile authentication serve in the NFC-based mobile IoT network such as smart home and office attendance.
Remote Collaboration Needs for New Work: Concepts, Procedure and Evaluation

More freedom, more flexibility, and reduced travel time for knowledge workers are just a few advantages of new work models, which have been discussed for several years now. Moreover, the problem of rural depopulation can be addressed by this concept. In the research project “Digital Teams”, we aim to develop a digital open-source platform to support and optimize the digital work environment for distributed teams in rural areas, especially in the knowledge work context. In this article, we focus on the research and design aspects of the project. We provide insights on how we have used the design thinking approach for our research and the development of the UX- and UI-design concepts. We are focusing on an ecosystem concept, which provides all relevant services for knowledge workers in their daily work life, rather than focusing on a specific remote collaboration purpose. We present initial evaluation results, which tend to be positive and give an outlook on future work.
Improving the Thermal Performance of Rotary and Linear Air-Cored Permanent Magnet Machines for Direct Drive Wind and Wave Energy Applications

Air-cored machines offer benefits in terms the elimination of magnetic attraction forces between stator and rotor. With no iron in the stator there is not a good thermal conduction path for heat generated by Joule losses in the stator winding. Results from both models and experimental tests are provided in this paper to investigate different methods of cooling air-cored windings, including natural air-cooling, direct liquid cooling, and the use of heat pipes.
Extended fast decoupled power flow for reconfiguration networks in distribution systems

This study proposes a power flow methodology focused on the need for reconfiguration analysis in modern distribution networks. The proposal is based on the extended fast decoupled Newton-Raphson method, which uses the information of the network switching equipment status (open or closed). To deal with eventual islanding during a reconfiguration procedure, a numerical observability technique used in state estimation analysis has been adapted for topological processing when network segments are disconnected from voltage references. A complex per unit normalisation technique is employed so that the power flow calculation by the fast decoupled approach is viable, even for networks having high R/X ratio lines. Simulation results considering two distribution feeders, one of large size, with different topological conditions are presented. The performance of the proposed methodology qualifies it as a relevant computational tool to support network reconfiguration studies involving emergent distribution systems.
Bio¢lms in chronic infections ^ a matter of opportunity ^ monospecies bio¢lms in multispecies infections

It has become evident that aggregation or bioﬁlm formation is an important survival mechanism for bacteria in almost any environment. In this review, we summarize recent visualizations of bacterial aggregates in several chronic infections (chronic otitis media, cystic ﬁbrosis, infection due to permanent tissue ﬁllers and chronic wounds) both as to distribution (such as where in the wound bed) and organization (monospecies or multispecies microcolonies). We correlate these bioﬁlm observations to observations of commensal bioﬁlms (dental and intestine) and bioﬁlms in natural ecosystems (soil). The observations of the chronic bioﬁlm infections point toward a trend of low bacterial diversity and sovereign monospecies bioﬁlm aggregates even though the infection in which they reside are multispecies. In contrast to this, commensal and natural bioﬁlm aggregates contain multiple species that are believed to coexist, interact and form bioﬁlms with high bacterial and niche diversity. We discuss these differences from both the diagnostic and the scientiﬁc point of view.
Extended State Observer-Based Sliding Mode Control of an Omnidirectional Mobile Robot With Friction Compensation

This paper presents a reduced-order extended state observer (ESO) based sliding mode control scheme for friction compensation of a three-wheeled omnidirectional mobile robot. Compared with previous works, the proposed control approach is attractive from an implementation point of view. It does not require any explicit friction model, with quite low computation cost. First, a dynamic model with unknown friction forces is given. Then, the controller is designed, consisting of two parts. One part of the control effort is to compensate the friction effects, which are estimated by a reduced-order ESO without using any explicit friction model. The inverse of inertia matrix is also avoided in the proposed reduced-order ESO. The other part of the control effort is designed based on a second-order sliding mode technique known as super-twisting algorithm, in presence of parameter uncertainties. In addition, stability analysis of the designed control system is presented. Extensive experiments are conducted to verify the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed control design in compensating different friction effects.
A Weighted Polynomial Information Gain Kernel for Resolving Prepositional Phrase Attachment Ambiguities with Support Vector Machines

We introduce a new kernel for Support Vector Machine learning in a natural language setting. As a case study to incorporate domain knowledge into a kernel, we consider the problem of resolving Prepositional Phrase attachment ambiguities. The new kernel is derived from a distance function that proved to be succesful in memory-based learning. We start with the Simple Overlap Metric from which we derive a Simple Overlap Kernel and extend it with Information Gain Weighting. Finally, we combine it with a polynomial kernel to increase the dimensionality of the feature space. The closure properties of kernels guarantee that the result is again a kernel. This kernel achieves high classification accuracy and is efficient in both time and space usage. We compare our results with those obtained by memory-based and other learning methods. They make clear that the proposed kernel achieves a higher classification accuracy.
SOCIAL MEDIA AND ITS INFLUENCE TO TOURIST DECISION MAKING AND PREFERENCES

: This study focused on determining and describing what characteristics of tourism-related social media posts impacted tourists’ and/or social media users’ decision-making and preferences, in terms of prospect travel destinations. While a number of studies have discussed the relationship between social media and the travel industry, as well as the motivations that drive tourists to travel, few have focused on studying the details and content of social media, known better as ‘social media posts’. This study aimed to bridge this gap, and additionally aimed for its findings to contribute to tourism establishments’ and stakeholders’ knowledge of social media as a tool for promotion and reaching out to a wider range of tourists. The proponents grounded the study on the Uses and Gratifications Theory (Katz et al., 1974), and the Travel-Buying Behavior Model by Mathieson et al. (1982). This quantitative study employed the descriptive research design, to describe social media posts’ characteristics and impact to travel decisions and preferences. Purposive sampling under the non-probability sampling methods was also used, with the first- to third-year BS Tourism Students of De La Salle University - Dasmarinas as the study’s participants. The study’s findings showed that for most of social media’s functions, there are no significant differences in the respondents’ assessment, with regards to their demographic profile. In contrast, it was found that there is a significant difference in the assessment of social media’s purchase decision influence depending on respondents’ level of social media usage. Through this study, tourism stakeholders can plan their social media contents accordingly, and ensure that their social media posts have a balance of informativeness, reliability, visual appeal, and accessibility to make sure that it positively impacts and motivates future guests. Furthermore, the data gathered in this study can be used in expanding social media users’ knowledge of tourism marketing.