Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Workplace Gossip and Rumor : The Information Ethics Perspective

Information Communication Technology (ICT) contributes effectively to spreading of all sorts of information, including gossip and rumors. The continuous growth of online communications calls thus for analysis of their mechanisms and consequences, as moral responsibility increases with increasing information. Taking the Information Ethics (IE) perspective we discuss gossip and its role in social networks. Interesting attempts have been made to computationally model gossip and reputation. However more research is needed in order to gain a comprehensive interdisciplinary understanding of gossip and be able to form a common view of this old human practice as it appears in the ICT age.
QSPR and QSAR Models Derived with CODESSA Multipurpose Statistical Analysis Software

An overview on the development of QSPR/QSAR equations using various descriptor mining techniques and multilinear regression analysis in the framework of program CODESSA (Comprehensive Descriptors for Structural and Statistical Analysis) is given. The description of the methodologies applied in CODESSA is followed by the presentation of the QSAR and QSPR models derived for eighteen molecular activities and properties. The properties cover single molecular species, interactions between different molecular species, properties of surfactants, complex properties and properties of polymers.
Self-managed Adaptable Software Architecture for UAVs : a Testbed

The paper outlines a three-layer architecture for adaptable software for UAVs. In the bottom level of this architecture, services are provided by components and the set of services is assembled and coordinated by plan or task execution at the next level. These plans are generated from high-level goals. The paper describes how we have instantiated this architecture for a testbed consisting of a set of Koala robots with associated on-board and external sensors. The robots are given goals which they co-operate to achieve in the presence of uncertainties such as failures and unexpected obstacles. Software is dynamically updated and reconfigured in response to environmental changes as the robots attempt to achieve the overall goal.
Loudspeaker Voice-Coil Inductance Losses: Circuit Models, Parameter Estimation, and Effect on Frequency Response

When the series resistance is separated and treated as a separate element, it is shown that losses in an inductor require the ratio of the flux to MMF in the core to be frequency dependent. For small-signal operation, this dependence leads to a circuit model composed of a lossless inductor and a resistor in parallel, both of which are frequency dependent. Mathematical expressions for these elements are derived under the assumption that the ratio of core flux to MMF varies as ω n-1 , where n is a constant. A linear regression technique is described for extracting the model parameters from measured data. Experimental data are presented to justify the model for the lossy inductance of a loudspeaker voice coil. A SPICE example is presented to illustrate the effects of voice-coil inductor losses on the frequency response of a typical driver.
Role of Calcitriol and Cortisol on Human Adipocyte Proliferation and Oxidative and Inflammatory Stress: A Microarray Study

Dietary calcium inhibits adiposity, and a key underlying mechanism is suppression of calcitriol, which modulates Ca2+ signaling and mitochondrial uncoupling in adipocytes. We demonstrated that calcitriol directly regulates adipocyte 11β-HSD-1 expression and cortisol production in human adipocytes in vitro and dietary calcium inhibits visceral adipose tissue 11β-HSD-1 expression in mice, indicating an interaction of calcitriol and cortisol in obesity. Consequently, we have evaluated the gene expression profile of human subcutaneous adipocytes treated with calcitriol and/or cortisone. Data analysis demonstrated significant calcitriol modulation of gene expression toward inhibition of the adipocyte apoptosis (e.g., VEGF and STC-2) and promotion of adipocyte proliferation (e.g., IGF-1 and IGF-1R). Calcitriol also up-regulated oxidative stress and inflammatory genes such as NOX-4 and TLR-3. The calcitriol/cortisone combination resulted in significant additional up-regulation of 11β-HSD-1 and down-regulation of adiponectin expression, while cortisone exerted little independent effect in the absence of calcitriol. Overall, calcitriol stimulated a pattern of adipocyte gene expression which favored adipocyte proliferation, oxidative and inflammatory stress and visceral adiposity, and these effects were amplified in the presence of cortisone; however, this conclusion must be tempered by the adipocyte source (subcutaneous) and requires confirmation in visceral adipocytes.
Comprehensive Transcriptome Analysis of Developing Xylem Responding to Artificial Bending and Gravitational Stimuli in Betula platyphylla

Betula platyphylla Suk (birch) is a fast-growing woody species that is important in pulp industries and the biofuels. However, as an important pulp species, few studies had been performed on its wood formation. In the present study, we investigated the molecular responses of birch xylem to artificial bending and gravitational stimuli. After trunks of birch trees were subjected to bending for 8 weeks, the cellulose content was significantly greater in tension wood (TW) than in opposite wood (OW) or normal wood (NW), whereas the lignin content in TW was significantly lower than that in OW and NW. In addition, TW grew more rapidly than OW and generated TW-specific fibers with an additional G-layer. Three transcriptome libraries were constructed from TW, OW and NW of B. platyphylla, respectively, after the plants were subjected to artificial bending. Overall, 80,909 nonredundant unigenes with a mean size of 768 nt were assembled. Expression profiles were generated, and 9,684 genes were found to be significantly differentially expressed among the TW, OW and NW libraries. These included genes involved in secondary cell wall structure, wood composition, and cellulose or lignin biosynthesis. Our study showed that during TW formation, genes involved in cellulose synthesis were induced, while the expression of lignin synthesis-related genes decreased, resulting in increased cellulose content and decreased lignin levels in TW. In addition, fasciclin-like arabinogalactan proteins play important role in TW formation. These findings may provide important insights into wood formation at the molecular level.
A Novel Web Usage Mining Method - Mining and Clustering of DAG Access Patterns Considering Page Browsing Time

In this paper, we propose a novel method to analyze web access logs. The proposed method defines a web access pattern as a DAG with page browsing time, and extracts the patterns using the closed frequent embedded DAG mining algorithm, DIGDAG. The proposed method succeeds in extracting as small number of patterns as necessary minimum, and enables more efficient analysis by clustering the extracted results.
Epidermal Permeability Barrier in the Treatment of Keratosis Pilaris

Objectives. To evaluate and compare the efficacy, safety, hydrating properties, and tolerability of 10% lactic acid (LA) and 5% salicylic acid (SA) in the therapy of keratosis pilaris (KP). Material and Method. Patients with KP were randomized for treatment with either 10% LA or 5% SA creams being applied twice daily for 3 months. The patients were clinically assessed at baseline and after 4, 8, and 12 weeks of treatment and 4 weeks after treatment. The functional properties of the stratum corneum (SC) were determined before treatment, 12 weeks, and follow-up phase by high-frequency conductance and transepidermal water loss (TEWL). Results. At the end of the trial, the mean reduction of the lesions from baseline was statistically significant for 10% LA (66%) and 5% SA (52%). During the treatment, higher conductance values were found on both group and this improvement was maintained until the follow up period. No significant differences in transepidermal water loss were observed after treatment. The adverse effects were limited to mild irritation localized on the skin without systemic side effect. Conclusion. The study demonstrated that 10% LA and 5% SA are beneficial to treat KP with the significantly clearance and marked improvement as by instrumental evaluation.
Privacy conscious architecture for improving emergency response in smart cities

With advancements in wireless technologies, location based services (LBS) have become ubiquitous and are fundamental to services that provide emergency response to those that enhance the quality of daily life. Location tracking applications include traffic congestion management, waste management, indoor navigation in malls/airports, receiving coupons/advertisements by retailers, applications to allow parents to track their children, providing centimeter-level guidance to visually impaired users in indoor environments etc. Location tracking also enables applications in device-free situations - intrusion detection by means of tracking people and their movements through walls, monitoring the heartbeat of a person(ex: elderly citizen) through walls etc. In conjunction with location based services, the development of the Internet of Things (IoT) provides rich contextual information which is key to the scalability of smart cities. Managing these technologies along with establishing effective countermeasures against security and privacy concerns of individual citizens as well as service providers and government agencies is essential for their adoption. In this paper we envision a feature of the emergency response system of a smart city whereby critical contextual information from the emergency site is made available to the emergency service provider to enable effective first response strategy. We use the example of a smart building with an infrastructure that consists of an indoor hybrid wireless environment for identifying individuals, tracking their location, monitoring vital statistics and measuring ambient conditions. This information is critical to rescue teams and paramedics. We provide an architecture that addresses the security and privacy issues associated with the highly sensitive information generated by this system.
IgE Mediates Killing of Intracellular Toxoplasma gondii by Human Macrophages through CD23-Dependent, Interleukin-10 Sensitive Pathway

Background In addition to helminthic infections, elevated serum IgE levels were observed in many protozoal infections, while their contribution during immune response to these pathogens remained unclear. As IgE/antigen immune complexes (IgE-IC) bind to human cells through FcεRI or FcεRII/CD23 surface molecules, the present study aimed to identify which functional receptor may be involved in IgE-IC interaction with human macrophages, the major effector cell during parasite infection. Methodology/Principal Findings Human monocyte-derived macrophages were infected with Toxoplasma gondii before being incubated with IgE-IC. IgE receptors were then identified using appropriate blocking antibodies. The activation of cells and parasiticidal activity were evaluated by mediator quantification and direct counting of infected macrophages. RNAs were extracted and cell supernatants were also collected for their content in tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin-10 (IL-10) and nitrites. Sera from symptomatic infected patients were also tested for their content of IgE, IL-10 and nitrites, and compared to values found in healthy donors. Results showed that IgE-IC induced intracellular elimination of parasites by human macrophages. IgE-mediated effect was FcεRI-independent, but required cross-linking of surface FcεRII/CD23, cell activation and the generation of nitric oxide (NO). Although TNF-α was shown to be produced during cell activation, this cytokine had minor contribution in this phenomenon while endogenous and exogenous IL-10 down-regulated parasite killing. Inverse relationship was found between IL-10 and NO expression by infected human macrophages at both mRNA and mediator levels. The relationship between these in vitro data and in vivo levels of various factors in T. gondii infected patients supports the involvement of CD23 antigen and IL-10 expression in disease control. Conclusion Thus, IgE may be considered as immune mediator during antiprotozoal activity of human macrophages through its ability to trigger CD23 signaling. Increased cell activation by IgE-IC may also account for chronic inflammatory diseases observed in some patients.
A Network Congestion Control Protocol to More Quickly Finish Flows

The transmission control protocol (TCP) is the major transport protocol in the Internet. TCP and its variants have the drawback of not accurately knowing rate share of flows at bottleneck links. Some protocols proposed to address these drawbacks are not fair to short flows, which are the majority of the Internet traffic. Other protocols result in high queue length and packet drops which translate into a high average flow completion time (AFCT). In this paper we present the design and analysis of a Quick congestion Control Protocol (QCP). QCP can quickly give flows their fair share rates hence allow them to quickly finish. Unlike existing schemes, QCP uses an accurate formula to calculate the number of flows sharing a network link. This enables QCP to get fair share rates to flows without over or under-utilization of bottleneck link capacitie s. We also present an efficient sharing mechanism which QCP uses to assign capacity which is not used by some flows bottlenecked elsewhere to other flows which need the capacity. We show how QCP can be implemented by extending the emerging OpenFlow architecture. Simulation results confir m the design goals of QCP in achieving reduced AFCT (by upto 30%).
Anti-windup synthesis using Riccati equations

The aim of this paper is to give a novel solution to the full order anti-windup (AW) compensation problem for stable systems with input saturation. The solution is obtained by “completing the square” in three steps and requires the solution to a single bounded-real Riccati equation, characterized by the open-loop plant's norm. The Riccati equation plays the role of the LMIs usually found in anti-windup synthesis, but, in addition to its numerical advantages, it yields a family of anti-windup compensators with the same performance. This family of compensators is parameterized by a matrix which is intimately linked with both the poles of the anti-windup compensator and the robustness properties of the closed-loop saturated system. Thus, this matrix allows a robust anti-windup problem to be solved in a straightforward and intuitive manner. The effectiveness of the proposed technique is demonstrated on a simple example.
Integrin Dynamics and Matrix Assembly : Tensin-dependent Translocation of a 5 b 1 Integrins Promotes Early Fibronectin Fibrillogenesis

Fibronectin matrix assembly is a multistep, integrin-dependent process. To investigate the role of integrin dynamics in fibronectin fibrillogenesis, we developed an antibody-chasing technique for simultaneous tracking of two integrin populations by different antibodies. We established that whereas the vitronectin receptor a v b 3 remains within focal contacts, the fibronectin receptor a 5 b 1 translocates from focal contacts into and along extracellular matrix (ECM) contacts. This escalator-like translocation occurs relative to the focal contacts at 6.5 6 0.7 m m/h and is independent of cell migration. It is induced by ligation of a 5 b 1 integrins and depends on interactions with a functional actin cytoskeleton and vitronectin receptor ligation. During cell spreading, translocation of ligand-occupied a 5 b 1 integrins away from focal contacts and along bundles of actin filaments generates ECM contacts. Tensin is a primary cytoskeletal component of these ECM contacts, and a novel dominant-negative inhibitor of tensin blocked ECM contact formation, integrin translocation, and fibronectin fibrillogenesis without affecting focal contacts. We propose that translocating a 5 b 1 integrins induce initial fibronectin fibrillogenesis by transmitting cytoskeleton-generated tension to extracellular fibronectin molecules. Blocking this integrin translocation by a variety of treatments prevents the formation of ECM contacts and fibronectin fibrillogenesis. These studies identify a localized, directional, integrin translocation mechanism for matrix assembly.
Interestingness Detection in Sports Audio Broadcasts

This paper presents a novel method for semantic understanding of sports matches by extracting and ranking events within a match by interestingness. Using audio feature extraction, a system is presented which is able to segment between studio and pitch side broadcast. Key events within Rugby Union matches are then identified based on crowd excitation levels and referee whistles. This identifies individual interesting events and a timeline of interestingness estimation allowing viewers to navigate to sections of the broadcast where interesting sections of play occur.
Parameter sensitivity of soil moisture retrievals from airborne L-band radiometer measurements in SMEX02

Over the past two decades, successful estimation of soil moisture has been accomplished using L-band microwave radiometer data. However, remaining uncertainties related to surface roughness and the absorption, scattering, and emission by vegetation must be resolved before soil moisture retrieval algorithms can be applied with known and acceptable accuracy using satellite observations. Surface characteristics are highly variable in space and time, and there has been little effort made to determine the parameter estimation accuracies required to meet a given soil moisture retrieval accuracy specification. This study quantifies the sensitivities of soil moisture retrieved using an L-band single-polarization algorithm to three land surface parameters for corn and soybean sites in Iowa, United States. Model sensitivity to the input parameters was found to be much greater when soil moisture is high. For even moderately wet soils, extremely high sensitivity of retrieved soil moisture to some model parameters for corn and soybeans caused the retrievals to be unstable. Parameter accuracies required for consistent estimation of soil moisture in mixed agricultural areas within retrieval algorithm specifications are estimated. Given the spatial and temporal variability of vegetation and soil conditions for agricultural regions it seems unlikely that, for the single-frequency, single-polarization retrieval algorithm used in this analysis, the parameter accuracy requirements can be met with current satellite-based land surface products. We conclude that for regions with substantial vegetation, particularly where the vegetation is changing rapidly, any soil moisture retrieval algorithm that is based on the physics and parameterizations used in this study will require multiple frequencies, polarizations, or look angles to produce stable, reliable soil moisture estimates.
Model-Based Testing of Robots with NModel

We present a method of two level modeling for model-based testing of robotics applications. The goal is to perform model-based hardware-in-the-loop testing of a system of robots. The main idea is to use models in two different roles: as control models of individual robots, and as a coordination model on the global level for modeling the behavior of the system. This way it is possible to reduce the total state space visible to the system level model since the local abstractors discard details that are not important from the global perspective. We demonstrate the approach with model programs of the toolkit NModel in the context of LEGO NXT based mobile robots. The system consists of robots sharing a critical resource — an intersection where they must not collide. The local control model distinguishes whether the robot is in the critical section and has the means to pause the robot in an appropriate zone. The coordination model provides the system view and enables to detect system level errors, for example whether it is possible that two robots enter the critical section at the same time. We present the local control models and the coordination models and the full toolchain for model-based testing of the system.
Responses and Protection Confers Enhanced Mucosal Immune Liposome-Encapsulated Protein Boost A DNA Vaccine Prime Followed by a

A variety of DNA vaccine prime and recombinant viral boost immunization strategies have been developed to enhance immune responses in humans, but inherent limitations to these strategies exist. There is still an overwhelming need to develop safe and effective approaches that raise broad humoral and T cell-mediated immune responses systemically and on mucosal surfaces. We have developed a novel mucosal immunization regimen that precludes the use of viral vectors yet induces potent T cell responses. Using hepatitis B surface Ag (HBsAg), we observed that vaccination of BALB/c mice with an i.m. HBsAg-DNA vaccine prime followed by an intranasal boost with HBsAg protein encapsulated in biologically inert liposomes enhanced humoral and T cell immune responses, particularly on mucosal surfaces. Intranasal live virus challenge with a recombinant vaccinia virus expressing HBsAg revealed a correlation between T cell immune responses and protection of immunized mice. A shortened immunization protocol was developed that was successful in both adult and neonatal mice. These results support the conclusion that this new approach is capable of generating a Th-type-1-biased, broad spectrum immune response, speciﬁcally at mucosal surfaces. The success of this design may provide a safe and effective vaccination alternative for human use. The Journal of Immunology, 2008, 180: 6159–6167.
Simulation-based evaluation of real-time multiprocessor scheduling strategies

Simulation can be an approximate performance evaluation method of real-time scheduling strategies. This method is useful when the analytical evaluation is too complex to be put in practice. In this paper we use simulation to evaluate the performance of Rate Monotonic and FIFO scheduling algorithms in different multiprocessor scheduling approaches. We present the design of our real-time scheduling simulation tool and the loose clustered scheduling approach as a result of our research.
Induced pluripotent stem cells: advances to applications

Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPS) technology has enriched the armamentarium of regenerative medicine by introducing autologous pluripotent progenitor pools bioengineered from ordinary somatic tissue. Through nuclear reprogramming, patient-specific iPS cells have been derived and validated. Optimizing iPS-based methodology will ensure robust applications across discovery science, offering opportunities for the development of personalized diagnostics and targeted therapeutics. Here, we highlight the process of nuclear reprogramming of somatic tissues that, when forced to ectopically express stemness factors, are converted into bona fide pluripotent stem cells. Bioengineered stem cells acquire the genuine ability to generate replacement tissues for a wide-spectrum of diseased conditions, and have so far demonstrated therapeutic benefit upon transplantation in model systems of sickle cell anemia, Parkinson’s disease, hemophilia A, and ischemic heart disease. The field of regenerative medicine is therefore primed to adopt and incorporate iPS cell-based advancements as a next generation stem cell platforms.