Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Expression and Regulation of Interferon- g -Inducible Protein 10 Gene in Rat Leydig Cells*

In the present study, we report the cloning of a gene that is dif- ferentially expressed in normal adult rat Leydig cells and whose expression is inhibited by hCG but is induced by interferon- g (IFN g ). DNA sequence analysis identified this gene as rat IFN g -inducible protein 10 (IP-10), a member of the -C-X-C- chemokine superfamily of proinflammatory cytokines. High levels of IP-10 messenger RNA (mRNA)wereconstitutivelyexpressedinfreshlyisolatedandprimaryculturedLeydigcells.hCGinhibitedthisexpressioninadose-depen-dentmanner.Theadditionof1ng/mlhCGinhibitedIP-10mRNAlevelsmorethan80%. Conversely,IP-10mRNAlevelsweremarkedlyincreasedinresponsetomurineinterleukin-1 a , murine tumor ne- crosis factor- a , and murine IFN g by 3.3-, 10-, and 26-fold, respec-tively. Concomitant addition of murine interleukin-1 a , murine tumor necrosis factor- a , and murine IFN g synergistically increased IP-10 mRNA levels by 58-fold. Furthermore, in addition to one previously described rat IP-10 mRNA transcript (1.5 kb), another larger tran-script(2.7kb)wasidentifiedbyNorthernblotinratLeydigcells.AfterscreeningarattestiscomplementaryDNAlibrary,weobtainedapartialstructuralgeneandanintronsequence,whichpossiblyorig-inatedfromthelargertranscriptofratIP-10mRNA.Histochemicalandimmunocytochemicalstainingrevealedthatpurifiedcellswerepositivefor3 b -hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase and IP-10, confirming that IP-10 is indeed present in Leydig cells. IP-10 antisense oligonucleotides enhanced basal and hCG-induced testosterone formation. This suggests that endogenous IP-10 has an inhibitory effect on Ley-digcellsteroidogenesis.Inconclusion,IP-10isexpressedinratLeydigcellsandmayhaveparacrineandautocrineeffectsontesticularfunc-tion. ( Endocrinology 139: 3637–3645,
Numerical study of bonded composite patch repair in damaged laminate composites

2019) Abstract. The present study deals with the repair of composite structures by bonding composite patches. The composite structure is a carbon/epoxy laminate with stacking sequence [45/-45/0/90] S . The damaged zone is simulated by a central crack and repaired by bonding symmetrical composite patches. The repair is carried out using composite patches laminated from the same elemental folds as those of the cracked specimen. Three-dimensional finite element method is used to determine the energy release rate along the front of repaired crack. The effects of the repair technique used single or double patch, the stacking sequence of the cracked composite patch and the adhesive properties were highlighted on the variations of the fracture energy in mode I and mixed mode I + II
Particle Image Reconstruction for particle detection in PTV

A new methodology for particle identiﬁcation and localization in the context of particle tracking velocimetry (PTV) is presented. The aim is to overcome the issue of inherent detection errors under high particle density conditions. The approach is based on the particle position reconstruction through the inversion of a linear model connecting the PTV signal with a particle-based representation of the 3D-to-2D projection. The inversion procedure accounts for both the nonnegativity and the sparsity of the sought solution. Simulation tests using synthetically generated images are carried out to evaluate the sensitivity of the proposed method to characteristic parameters such as, the particle image density, the particle image size, the model image size, and/or background noise. Its ability to provide better detection performances with high reliability than conventional techniques is demonstrated.
Neuromuscular eﬃciency of the rectus abdominis diﬀers with gender and sport practice.

The purpose of this investigation was to distinguish the abilities of the rectus abdominis (RA) muscle according to gender and sport training by means of neuromuscular parameters extracted from electromyography (EMG)-torque relationships. Thirty-eight healthy students, divided into 4 groups (i.e., 8 male runners, 10 female gymnasts, 12 male controls, and 8 female controls) were asked to perform 6 seconds of isometric trunk flexions at 20%, 25%, 75%, and 100% of their maximal voluntary contraction. Flexion torque and surface EMG of the RA muscle were recorded simultaneously to construct a EMG-torque relationship. Under maximal and submaximal conditions, an index of neuromuscular efficiency (NME) was determined to characterize the capacity of the RA muscle to develop a torque. At each level of contraction, the area of data scattering (ADS), reflecting torque and EMG fluctuations, was computed to express the capacity to maintain a constant target torque. Flexion torque, NME, and ADS values differed significantly between genders, but when data were related to anthropometric characteristics, no difference was observed. Although runners were not distinguished from male controls, gymnasts had higher flexion torque, higher NME, and lower ADS values than female controls had. These differences should reflect neural and muscular adaptations linked to the specificity of gymnastic training. These findings revealed different functional abilities of the RA muscle, according to gender and sport practices. The indices of neuromuscular capacities used in this study could constitute complementary tools to athletic trainers and professionals in sports medicine for evaluating and following, during sport-specific training programs, the abdominal muscle performance implied in force transfers with a lower cost and lower risks of back pain.
The Use of Grounded Theory Techniques in IS research

— This paper focuses on exploring the use of grounded theory and its derived types in Information System (IS) research. Specifically, it brings the light to the use of grounded theory techniques as a research method to analyse the data collected through interviews. The study uses the literature as background material to explore the types of grounded theory used in IS research. It also provides an example of the application and employment of its techniques in empirical IS study. This paper is a part of a large study investigating the factors influencing the implementation and development of eGovernment in Saudi Arabia based on the developers’ perceptive.
Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Lung Injury Microvascular Permeability in Polymorphonuclear Cell Trafficking and Adenosine Receptor A1 Regulates

Extracellular adenosine and adenosine receptors are critically involved in various inﬂammatory pathways. Adenosine receptor A1 (A1AR) has been implicated in mediating transmigration of leukocytes to sites of inﬂammation. This study was designed to characterize the role of A1AR in a murine model of LPS-induced lung injury. LPS-induced transmigration of polymorphonuclear cells (PMNs) and microvascular permeability was elevated in A1AR 2 / 2 mice. Pretreatment of wild-type mice with the speciﬁc A1AR agonist 2 9 Me–2-chloro-N6-cyclopentyladenosine attenuated PMN accumulation in the interstitium and alveolar space as well as microvascular permeability. Lower PMN counts in the lungs of pretreated wild-type mice were associated with reduced amounts of the chemotactic cytokines TNF- a , IL-6, and CXCL2/3 in the bronchoalveolar lavage. Pretreatment was only effective when A1AR was expressed on hematopoietic cells as demonstrated in chimeric mice. These ﬁndings were conﬁrmed by in vitro transmigration assays demonstrating that chemokine-induced transmigration of PMNs was reduced when PMNs but not when pulmonary endothelial or alveolar epithelial cells were pretreated. 2 9 Me–2-chloro-N6-cyclopentyladenosine prevented pulmonary endothelial but not epithelial cells from LPS-induced cellular remodeling and cell retraction. Our data reveal what we believe to be a previously unrecognized distinct role of A1AR for PMN trafﬁcking and endothelial integrity in a model of acute lung injury. The Journal of Immunology , 2010, 185:
POSTTRAUMATIC OVERMODULATION, CALLOUS TRAITS, AND OFFENDING AMONG JUSTICE-INVOLVED YOUTH

Research has demonstrated an association between childhood trauma exposure and juvenile delinquency. This association may be explained by callous traits, defined as a lack of empathy or guilt. Callous traits may stem from trauma exposure and are often associated with the most severe offending patterns. Therefore, it is important to investigate whether specific posttraumatic reactions may explain the relation between trauma exposure and callous traits, as well as severe and consistent offending patterns. Research has not yet investigated the role of posttraumatic overmodulation (emotional numbing, avoidance, and dissociation) in the relation between trauma exposure and callous traits and offending patterns. Therefore, this study sought to investigate the role of overmodulation in the association between trauma exposure and callous traits and whether overmodulation would be associated with more severe offending patterns. Participants included 363 detained youth (94 girls, 269 boys) who completed self-report measures of trauma exposure, PTSS, and callous traits. Youth charge data were obtained from the juvenile detention facility and coded for severity of offending, prior charges, and recidivism. Results of mediation demonstrated that the relation between trauma exposure and callous traits exhibited an indirect effect through overmodulation. Results also indicated that callous traits were significantly related to greater recidivism. In contrast, overmodulation was significantly related to decreased recidivism. Results suggest that interventions aimed to treat callous traits may benefit from considering
Characterizing Gully Morphology using Structure from Motion-Multi-View Stereo (SfM-MVS) technique in Garhbeta Badlands, West Bengal, India

— One of the principal causes of geo-environmental degradation in the humid tropics is gully erosion, reducing the productivity of land and increasing sediment discharge in rivers. Although there is extensive literature on gully erosion, less attention has been given to the study of gully morphology than to the factors responsible for gully initiation. The present work aims to analyze the effectiveness of modelling a single gully channel in Garhbeta badlands of West Bengal, India, with high-resolution topographic data derived from Structure from Motion-Multi View Stereo (SfM-MVS) using Canon EOS 60D camera and simultaneously extract cross-sectional properties of gullies. This close-range photogrammetric technique uses an image-matching process, whereby multiple overlapping offset images of the same surface is taken from different positions to generate a 3D object system. Markers were distributed along the gully length and the coordinates of these ground control points (GCPs) were established using Total Station and GPS. The 3D dense, point cloud obtained from SfM-MVS was used to create a high-quality DEM data and cross-sectional profiles were extracted at regular intervals along the gully length to measure morphometric parameters of the gully. Such close-range photogrammetry provides a very cost-efficient means of acquiring high-resolution topographic data, essential in the analysis of gully morphology and its response to the underlying lithological properties as this is crucial to the understanding of the gully development processes.
Edinburgh Research Explorer Stokes

During its periodic motion, a particle ﬂoating at the free surface of a water wave experiences a net drift velocity in the direction of wave propagation, known as the Stokes drift after Stokes (1847). More generally, the Stokes drift velocity is the difference between the average Lagrangian ﬂow velocity of a ﬂuid parcel and the average Eulerian ﬂow velocity of the ﬂuid. This paper reviews progress in fundamental and applied research on the induced mean ﬂow associated with surface gravity waves since the ﬁrst description of Stokes drift, now 170 years ago. After brieﬂy reviewing the fundamental physical processes, most of which have been established for decades, the review addresses progress in laboratory and ﬁeld observations of Stokes drift. Despite more than a century of experimental studies, laboratory studies of the mean circulation set up by waves in a laboratory ﬂume remain somewhat contentious. In the ﬁeld, rapid advances are expected due to increasingly small and cheap sensors and transmitters, making widespread use of small surface-following drifters possible. We also discuss remote sensing of Stokes drift from high frequency radar. Finally, the paper discusses the three main areas of application of Stokes drift: in the coastal zone, in Eulerian models of the upper ocean layer and in the modelling of tracer transport, such as oil and plastic pollution. Future climate models will likely involve full coupling of ocean and atmosphere systems, in which the wave model provides consistent forcing on the ocean surface boundary layer. Together with the advent of new space-borne instruments that can measure surface Stokes drift, such models hold the promise of quantifying the impact of wave effects on the global atmosphere-ocean system and hopefully contribute to improved for the of (1953), for for (
Active dynamics of tissue shear flow cell during band retraction: cell autonomy versus applied anisotropic

We present a hydrodynamic theory to describe shear ﬂ ows in developing epithelial tissues. We introduce hydrodynamic ﬁ elds corresponding to state properties of constituent cells as well as a contribution to overall tissue shear ﬂ ow due to rearrangements in cell network topology. We then construct a generic linear constitutive equation for the shear rate due to topological rearrangements and we investigate a novel rheological behaviour resulting from memory effects in the tissue. We identify two distinct active cellular processes: generation of active stress in the tissue, and actively driven topological rearrangements. We ﬁ nd that these two active processes can produce distinct cellular and tissue shape changes, depending on boundary conditions applied on the tissue. Our ﬁ ndings have consequences for the understanding of tissue morphogenesis during development.
Turn antiquated peek and poke interfaces in embedded module to modern web APIs.

— In Embedded system, peek and poke are the fundamental command sets available in command line interface to read or write memory address or hardware registers. During the early stage of development and debugging embedded board designs, developers may need to read (peek) values from hardware and write (poke) values into its registers or memory address before developing the driver codes [1]. Most of the times these command sets are redesigned due to hardware change. This paper describes the design to turn traditional peek and poke command sets interface to generic web APIs which are built upon existing well proven technologies and network protocols like HTTP and RESTful. This paper not only describe the overall architecture and flow, but also defines the methods that extends the peek and poke capability to work with other on-board peripherals. Moving to modern web APIs design would open the prospect to use cloud computing power to peek and poke directly at hardware level of complex embedded devices deployed in the field.
A Comparative Analysis of Forgiveness among Adolescents, Adults and Older People

The present study focused on people of three different age groups in relation to forgiveness. It was postulated that there would be a significant difference among adolescents, adults and older people in respect to forgiveness, forgiveness of self, forgiveness of others and forgiveness of situation. One hundred and fifty (n=150) participants including fifty (n=50) adolescents, fifty (n=50) adults and fifty (n=150) older people were selected through referral and respondent-driven sampling. Demographic Information Form (DIF) and Heartland Forgiveness Scale (Thompson et al., 2005) were used to collect research data. One way ANOVA test results reveal a significant difference among three groups. Older participants reported more forgiveness, forgiveness of self, others and situation than adolescents and adults. The present findings have implications for individual, family and society.
A Sample Activation Program for Neutron-Scattering Experiments

Abstract Upon reaching 180 kW, approximately one-eighth of its designed full power, the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) became the brightest pulsed neutron source in the world in August 2007. This state-of-the-art neutron-scattering facility is expected to attract 1000 to 2000 scientists and engineers each year from universities, industries, and laboratories around the world. The activation level of users’ samples must be estimated before the experiment for proper sample preparation, storage, and postexperiment treatment in compliance with the safety regulations at SNS. A program written in Perl, SAPEU (Sample Activation Program for Easy Use), was developed to serve such requests from the SNS user community. The CINDER’90 library was implemented within the program for tracking the transmutation products of the irradiated sample. The SAPEU program assumes that the incident neutron flux attenuates with the total absorption cross section and calculates the radionuclide inventory, radiotoxicity categories, radiation dose rate, and gamma spectrum during each irradiation period from a simple user input. The SAPEU program can estimate the sample activation due to a cold neutron spectrum, not limited by the 5-meV lowest energy boundary of the CINDER’90 cross-section library. For validation, the SAPEU program methodology was compared to a full analysis involving MCNPX for the flux calculation and CINDER’90 for the activation analysis for typical sample activation cases. The results were in good agreement. Although this program was developed for SNS, it may be useful as a general sample activation prediction tool at any neutron-scattering facility.
Adhesion inhibition of Salmonella enterica subspecies typhimurium to HT-29 cells by LAB isolates from traditionally fermented Indian foods

Fermented foods are known to contain probiotic bacteria that impart health benefits to its consumers in addition to nutrition. We obtained five lactic acid bacterial (LAB) isolates from traditionally fermented Indian foods and these were characterized for their probiotic potential. The aim of this study was to check the ability of these five LAB isolates to adhere HT-29 cells and to inhibit the adhesion of Salmonella enterica subspecies typhimurium to HT-29 cells. All five LAB isolates exhibited ability to adhere to HT-29 cells. To investigate ability of these isolates to inhibit adherence of intestinal pathogens; these were allowed to adhere to HT-29 cells and then actively growing culture of S. enterica subspecies typhimurium was added. Adherence to mucosal epithelia is an important determinant of pathogenicity. Pathogenicity of S. enterica subspecies typhimurium used in this study was established by determining its adhesion ability to HT-29 cells. Reduction in adhesion capacity of S. enterica subspecies typhimurium by 70 % on an average was seen by our LAB isolates. Thus, these five LAB isolates from traditionally fermented Indian foods have the potential to offer immunity against intestinal pathogens.
Novo Convertase Assembly Surfaces and Providing a Platform for De Activation by Binding Specific Target Properdin Can Initiate Complement

2 Complement promotes the rapid recognition and elimination of pathogens, infected cells, and immune complexes. The biochemical basis for its target speciﬁcity is incompletely understood. In this report, we demonstrate that properdin can directly bind to microbial targets and provide a platform for the in situ assembly and function of the alternative pathway C3 convertases. This mechanism differs from the standard model wherein nascent C3b generated in the ﬂuid phase attaches nonspeciﬁcally to its targets. Properdin-directed complement activation occurred on yeast cell walls (zymosan) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae . Properdin did not bind wild-type Escherichia coli , but it readily bound E. coli LPS mutants, and the properdin-binding capacity of each strain correlated with its respective serum-dependent AP activation rate. Moreover, properdin:single-chain Ab constructs were used to direct serum-dependent complement activation to novel targets. We conclude properdin participates in two distinct complement activation pathways: one that occurs by the standard model and one that proceeds by the properdin-directed model. The prop-erdin-directed model is consistent with a proposal made by Pillemer and his colleagues > 50 years ago. The Journal of Immunology, 2007, 179: 2600–2608. properdin levels (data not shown). These experiments demonstrate that Neisseria :properdin complexes promote the serum- and AP-dependent opsonization of the pathogen. Properdin-binding capacity strains
Use of Analytic Hierarchy Process for Wind Farm Installation Region Prioritization–Case Study

: Electricity generation via renewable sources is emerging as a possible solution to meet the growing demand for electricity worldwide. Additionally, the need to produce clean energy, with little or no pollutants or greenhouse gas emission is paramount. Due to these factors, wind farms are noticeably increasing in number, especially in Brazil. However, the vast size of the country and the poor quality of its infrastructure are among several factors that make it di ﬃ cult for e ﬀ ective decision-making to accelerate the growth of this segment in Brazil. With the purpose of assisting government agencies, regulatory agencies and other institutions in this area, the use of a multi-criteria selection method called the analytic hierarchy process is proposed here to assist in decision-making and to select priority regions for implementing wind farms. This work focuses on a case study of the state of Bahia, in which 27 territories were selected for an installation priority evaluation. Computational tools were used to hierarchize these chosen territories, including Matlab, for the construction of the computational algorithm. The results indicate the priority pf the regions according to the established criteria, which allows installation locations to be mapped—these could serve as a basis for regional investment.
Preprocessing of Biometric Images Using Various Filtering Techniques for Efficient Medical Diagnosis

- In the present scenario the world of digital image processing dominates each and every corner in the field of Medical diagnosis. Most of the image which are captured is equipped with noise. In order to overcome the issue and in the elimination of noises preprocessing is a vital task as process itself as well as a component in other process. This paper presents various filtering techniques viz., Median, Average, Gaussian, Disk are used to eliminate the dissimilar noises in the biometric images. The experimentation is made with all the selected filters and the results are evaluated. The performances of the filter are evaluated in terms of Peak Signal-to-noise Ratio (PSNR), and Mean Square Error (MSE). Finally, the efficient filters which performs well in the elimination of noises are been considered for the further processing. Among them the median filter provides better enhancement result.