Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Enzymes and Metabolites in Carbohydrate Metabolism of Desiccation Tolerant Plants

Resurrection plants can tolerate extreme water loss. Substantial sugar accumulation is a phenomenon in resurrection plants during dehydration. Sugars have been identified as one important factor contributing to desiccation tolerance. Phylogenetic diversity of resurrection plants reflects the diversity of sugar metabolism in response to dehydration. Sugars, which accumulate during dehydration, have been shown to protect macromolecules and membranes and to scavenge reactive oxygen species. This review focuses on the performance of enzymes participating in sugar metabolism during dehydration stress. The relation between sugar metabolism and other biochemical activities is discussed and open questions as well as potential experimental approaches are proposed.
Cooperative AF MIMO wireless relay networks under relay power constraint

This paper presents an amplify-and-forward (AF) relay scheme for M-source-M-destination pairs and N relay nodes. Cooperative minimum mean square error (MMSE) and zero-forcing (ZF) strategies for wireless relay networks under the relay power constraint are investigated. The main contribution of this paper is the derivation of both the MMSE-based and the ZF-based amplifying relay matrices (ARMs) under the relay power constraint. By adopting the ARMs derived, the cost function and the total signal component power (SCP) of the received signals at the destination nodes are investigated. Finally, the system bit error rate (BER) performance is evaluated theoretically by using the cost function and total SCP behaviors, and numerically by using Monte-Carlo simulations.
Novel role for gabapentin in neuroprotection of central nervous system in streptozotocine-induced diabetic rats

AbstractAim:To investigate the effect of gabapentin on neural [neuron-specific enolase (NSE)] and glial markers [glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and S100B] in different brain regions of diabetic rats.Methods:Diabetes was induced by a single intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocine (50 mg/kg body weight). Rats in one diabetic group received gabapentin (50 mg·kg−1·d−1) and rats in the other diabetic group received vehicle only for 6 weeks. The levels of GFAP, S100B, and NSE were determined by immunoblotting in the hippocampus, cortex, and cerebellum. Lipid peroxidation (LPO as malondialdehyde+ 4-hydroxyalkenals) and glutathione (GSH) levels were also determined in the same brain parts.Results:Total and degraded GFAP content and S100B protein expression in different areas of brain tissues significantly increased in diabetic rats compared to control rats. Similarly, NSE levels were also significantly elevated in hyperglycemic rats. In addition, there was a significant increase in LPO levels in the diabetic rat brain compared to control rat brains. Pretreatment with gabapentin prevented the upregulation of GFAP, S100B, and NSE in all brain regions of diabetic rats. The level of LPO was reduced, but not completely halted, by treatment with gabapentin.Conclusion:These results suggest that diabetes causes glial and neuronal injury, possibly as a result of elevated oxidative stress, and that gabapentin protects neurons and glial cells. Thus, we predict that gabapentin treatment will attenuate the hippocampal and cortical neurodegeneration observed during diabetes mellitus in rats.
Generic Parallel Cryptography for Hashing Schemes

We emphasize that future secure communicating systems, secured mass storages and access policies will require efficient and scalable security algorithms and protocols. More-over, parallelism will be used at quiet low level implementation of software or hardware basic mechanisms for offering efficient support to cryptographic algorithms. In this paper we concentrate on a family of generic schemes for efficient implementation of tree based hash functions. The main reason for designing a parallel algorithm based on a hash tree scheme is to obtain optimal performances when dealing with critical applications which can require tuned implementations for security aspects on multi-core target processors. Indeed, parallelism for cryptographic primitives has become a mandatory feature as imposed also by recent NIST requirements.
Visual versus Automated Evaluation of Chest Computed Tomography for the Presence of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Background Incidental CT findings may provide an opportunity for early detection of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which may prove important in CT-based lung cancer screening setting. We aimed to determine the diagnostic performance of human observers to visually evaluate COPD presence on CT images, in comparison to automated evaluation using quantitative CT measures. Methods This study was approved by the Dutch Ministry of Health and the institutional review board. All participants provided written informed consent. We studied 266 heavy smokers enrolled in a lung cancer screening trial. All subjects underwent volumetric inspiratory and expiratory chest computed tomography (CT). Pulmonary function testing was used as the reference standard for COPD. We evaluated the diagnostic performance of eight observers and one automated model based on quantitative CT measures. Results The prevalence of COPD in the study population was 44% (118/266), of whom 62% (73/118) had mild disease. The diagnostic accuracy was 74.1% in the automated evaluation, and ranged between 58.3% and 74.3% for the visual evaluation of CT images. The positive predictive value was 74.3% in the automated evaluation, and ranged between 52.9% and 74.7% for the visual evaluation. Interobserver variation was substantial, even within the subgroup of experienced observers. Agreement within observers yielded kappa values between 0.28 and 0.68, regardless of the level of expertise. The agreement between the observers and the automated CT model showed kappa values of 0.12–0.35. Conclusions Visual evaluation of COPD presence on chest CT images provides at best modest accuracy and is associated with substantial interobserver variation. Automated evaluation of COPD subjects using quantitative CT measures appears superior to visual evaluation by human observers.
Cooking for humanoid robot, a task that needs symbolic and geometric reasonings

This paper presents a work toward the old dream of the housekeeping robot. One humanoid robot will cooperate with the user to cook simple dishes. The system combines predefined tasks and dialogues to find a plan in which both robot and user help each other in the kitchen. The kitchen problem allows the demonstration of a large variety of actions, and then the necessity to find and to plan those actions. With this problem the task planner can be fully used to enhance the robot reasoning capacity. Furthermore the robot must also use motion planning to have general procedures to cope with the action planned. We focus on the planning problems and the interactions of these two planning methods
Mining Actionable Behavioral Rules Based on Decision Tree Classifier

Actionable behavioral rules mining is a new problem of data mining. The produced rules can provide the user explicit suggestions of actions to influence the behaviors of the entity in concern with satisfactory utility to the user. To guarantee the reliability of the rules, the traditional mining approaches need to find frequent action sets. However, this will result in high time complexity. In this paper, to handle this problem, a decision-tree-classifier-based mining algorithm are proposed. It achieves reduction of time complexity by avoiding finding frequent action sets. The experimental results strongly suggest the superiority of our approach.
The Influences of Periodontal Status and Periodontal Pathogen Quantity on Salivary 8-Hydroxydeoxyguanosine and Interleukin-17 Levels.

BACKGROUND Periodontitis is a biofilm-initiated disease that is characterized by elevated inflammatory status. 8-Hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) and interleukin (IL)-17 are highly associated with inflammation and bone resorption and therefore are regarded as potential biomarkers for periodontitis. In this study, the associations between salivary 8-OHdG and IL-17 levels and clinical and microbial parameters before and after non-surgical treatment are investigated. METHODS Forty-five patients with chronic periodontitis (CP) and 47 periodontally healthy volunteers were recruited for the study. Clinical parameters, including the probing depth (PD), clinical attachment level (CAL), sulcular bleeding index, and simplified oral hygiene index (OHI-S), were examined for each participant. Microbial parameters including the quantities of Porphyromonas gingivalis, Tannerella forsythia, and Treponema denticola in the subgingival plaque and saliva were determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction at baseline and 1 and 3 months after the non-surgical treatment. Salivary 8-OHdG and IL-17 levels were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. RESULTS Compared with healthy volunteers, CP group patients had significantly higher salivary 8-OHdG and IL-17 levels at baseline. Baseline salivary 8-OHdG and IL-17 levels were positively correlated with all clinical parameters as well as the quantities of T. forsythia and T. denticola. After non-surgical treatment, baseline levels of salivary 8-OHdG and IL-17 were reduced significantly at both the 1- and 3-month follow-ups. The hierarchical linear model revealed that variations in the PD, CAL, and OHI-S had significant positive effects on variation in the salivary 8-OHdG level. However, variations in the PD; quantity of T. forsythia in the subgingival plaque; and quantities of P. gingivalis, T. forsythia, and T. denticola in saliva were associated significantly with variation in the salivary IL-17 levels. CONCLUSIONS There was a strong association between salivary 8-OHdG and IL-17 levels and periodontitis. Variation in the salivary 8-OHdG level was correlated with variations in the clinical parameters, whereas variation in the IL-17 level was correlated with variation in the microbial parameters.
Developing a penetration test methodology in ensuring router security and testing it in a virtual laboratory

In today's world of informatics, penetration tests becoming one of the most important factors in ensuring corporate information security. Penetration test methodologies provided to this day for ensuring information security have mostly concentrated on network components such as servers and firewalls. The fact that there has not been sufficient focus on router security in the penetration tests that have been conducted leads to major problems in ensuring corporate information security. This study presents a router penetration test methodology consisting of three steps to ensure full range router security. The effectiveness of the methodology presented was analyzed in a virtual penetration test laboratory, for which the design is provided in this study. Following the test trials, it was observed that the presented test methodology enables the common security vulnerabilities occurring on routers to be controlled in order.
Cluster-based Collaborative Caching for Amorphous User Cell Association

Increasing cell capacity with non-ideal backhaul link is the most challenging issue in small cell technology. In this paper, we propose amorphous user cell association strategy which is a combination of caching and multiple access schemes to achieve a substantial capacity enhancement in dense hotspot zone without requirement of ideal backhaul link. The objective of user cell association strategy is to maximize average utility function by joint design of caching and multiple access schemes in two different time scales. At off-peak hours, cluster-based collaborative caching (CCC) scheme is optimized according to long-term popularity distribution of files. Based on availability of files on collaborative caches, cache-enabled multiple access (CEMA) scheme is introduced to opportunistically broadcast coded parity bits to multiple users with same user request and to choose optimal biasing factor to scale cell size dynamically at peak-traffic hours. Our simulation results show that by taking into account of channel state information (CSI) and user request profile (URP) for user cell association, significant capacity gain can be achievable in ultra-dense networks.
Control for throwing manipulation by one joint robot

This paper proposes a throwing manipulation strategy for a robot with one revolute joint. The throwing manipulation enables the robot not only to manipulate the object to outside of the movable range of the robot, but also to control the position of the object arbitrarily in the vertical plane even though the robot has only one degree of freedom. In the throwing manipulation, the robot motion is dynamic and quick, and the contact state between the robot and the object changes. These make it difficult to obtain the exact model and solve its inverse problem. In addition, since the throwing manipulation requires more powerful actuators than the static manipulation, we should set the control input by taking consideration of the performance limits of the actuators. The present paper proposes the control strategy based on the iteration optimization learning to overcome the above problems and verifies its effectiveness experimentally.
On improving the range of inductive proximity sensors for avionic applications

This paper describes the design of a highly accurate proximity sensing system that is capable of operating in a wide distance range. The system is based on passive inductive proximity sensors that can withstand harsh environments, and, therefore, are widely used in avionic applications. Our design methodology consists of determining the ideal trade-off between the sensor excitation method and the computational complexity of processing the response. Once the method is chosen, we create a FPGA design for sensor characterization. Finally, we create the deployment design that uses the characterization data to determine the distance between the passive sensor and the metallic target. Our experimental results show that we are able to measure distances in the range of 0-5 mm at 0.1 mm resolution with high accuracy using off-the-shelf passive sensors and FPGA. This is a major improvement over comparable proximity sensing technologies currently available for avionic applications.
Serum amyloid P component forms a stable complex with human C5b6.

A 30,000 m.w. protein bound tightly to C5b6, which was formed by activating C7-depleted human serum with zymosan. The protein remained bound to the C5b6 complex during the isolation procedure for C5b6, including chromatography on lysine-Sepharose and an anion exchange resin. Following electrophoresis and electroblotting of the C5b6 complex to a polyvinylidene difluoride transfer membrane, the 30,000 m.w. protein was microsequenced. The 24 N-terminal amino acid sequence was determined and showed identity of the 30,000 m.w. protein with the serum amyloid P (SAP) component. The C5b6-SAP complex did not dissociate in the presence of 10 mM EDTA, which distinguishes SAP-C5b6 binding from SAP's usual Ca2+-dependent binding to other molecules. SAP, which was isolated from serum by chromatography, was able to bind to preformed C5b6, which had been assembled and isolated from purified components. Functionally, the C5b6-SAP could bind C7, and the resulting C5b67-SAP complex had only moderately lower specific hemolytic activity than that of C5b67. In addition, hemolytically inactive C5b67-SAP, such as hemolytically inactive C5b67, was chemotactically active for neutrophils, while isolated SAP had no effect on cell mobility. Because SAP reacts with other serum proteins and with cells, it is likely that the addition of SAP to terminal complement complexes may affect the fate of these complexes.
6. Moving (Literally) to Engage Students: Putting the (Physically) Active in Active Learning

This paper explores a variety of practices and classroom activities that engage the whole student. Grounded in a somatic perspective (from “soma” meaning the body in its wholeness – the integration of thinking, feeling, and acting), the discussion shows how students can be brought fully into learning through movement, music, and interaction. Examples include: “The Leaders Body: Moving to the Next Level,” which incorporates postures, moving to selected music clips, and working in small groups to learn about five dispositions of the body (determination, openness, flexibility, stability, and centre); “Finding Flow,” which includes an experiential process in groups of five that brings alive the spectrum from boredom to optimal experience to anxiety; and “Building a Humour Body,” which is based on both Reich’s (1960) notions about armoring and the chakra system.
Incremental stream processing using computational conflict-free replicated data types

Information has become a key commodity for most service providers. Analyzing streams of data efficiently, in real time, has become increasingly more important for supporting new products and applications. This paper outlines a novel abstraction for performing incremental stream processing based on Computational Conflict-free Replicated Data Types. C-CRDTs are replicated objects that can be updated concurrently without coordination to perform a computation and still converge to a consistent state that reflects all contributions. Results obtained with a preliminary prototype show that C-CRDTs have the potential to match and improve computational throughput when compared with a state of the art stream processing system.
VIRTUAL CLASS SEBAGAI STRATEGI PEMBELAJARAN UNTUK PENINGKATAN KUALITAS STUDENT-CENTERED LEARNING DI PERGURUAN TINGGI

ABSTRAK Metode pembelajaran berpusat pada siswa (Student-Centered Learning) memberikan ruang gerak lebih bagi mahasiswa untuk dapat berpartisipasi aktif dalam aktivitas perkuliahan di Perguruan Tinggi sesuai dengan kompetensi yang ingin dicapai. Melalui penerapan Student-Centered Learning ini maka mahasiswa dapat mengoptimalkan kemampuannya dalam belajar kreatif dan mandiri sehingga peran dosen dalam proses pembelajaran lebih diarahkan sebagai pendamping dan fasilitator belajar mahasiswa. Untuk mendukung penerapan Student-Centered Learning ini dapat dilakukan dengan memanfaatkan Information and Communication Technology (ICT) dalam berbagai macam strategi pembelajaran, salah satunya adalah dengan mengimplementasikan konsep kelas virtual (Virtual Class). Kata k unci : student-centered learning, information and communication technology, strategi pembelajaran, virtual class ABSTRACT Student Centered Learning (SCL) gives students some extra space for actively participating in every learning activity in the university according to their aiming competence. In this SCL application, student hopefully could optimize their ability in creative and self study learning so that lecturers are just stay as their study supervisor and facilitator. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is then used to draw on this as a SCL booster in every learning strategy, such as implementing Virtual Class. Key words : student centered learning, information and communication technology, learning strategy, virtual class
Genetic evidence that the Vibrio cholerae monolayer is a distinct stage in biofilm development

Biofilm development is conceived as a developmental process in which free swimming cells attach to a surface, first transiently and then permanently, as a single layer. This monolayer of immobilized cells gives rise to larger cell clusters that eventually develop into the biofilm, a three‐dimensional structure consisting of large pillars of bacteria interspersed with water channels. Previous studies have shown that efficient development of the Vibrio cholerae biofilm requires a combination of pili, flagella and exopolysaccharide. Little is known, however, regarding the requirements for monolayer formation by wild‐type V. cholerae. In this work, we have isolated the wild‐type V. cholerae monolayer and demonstrated that the environmental signals, bacterial structures, and transcription profiles that induce and stabilize the monolayer state are unique. Cells in a monolayer are specialized to maintain their attachment to a surface. The surface itself activates mannose‐sensitive haemagglutinin type IV pilus (MSHA)‐mediated attachment, which is accompanied by repression of flagellar gene transcription. In contrast, cells in a biofilm are specialized to maintain intercellular contacts. Progression to this stage occurs when exopolysaccharide synthesis is induced by environmental monosaccharides. We propose a model for biofilm development in natural environments in which cells form a stable monolayer on a surface. As biotic surfaces are degraded with subsequent release of carbohydrates, the monolayer develops into a biofilm.
Using cone beam computed tomography to detect the relationship between the periodontal bone loss and mucosal thickening of the maxillary sinus

Background: Maxillary sinuses are covered by a 1 mm thick mucous membrane that when this membrane becomes inflamed, the thickness may increase 10-15 times. The common causes of odontogenic sinusitis are dental abscesses and periodontal disease. Computed tomography (CT) is considered the gold standard for sinus diagnosis. Recently, cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) has been introduced for dental and maxillofacial imaging, which has several advantages over traditional CT, including lower radiation dose and chairside process. This study aims to find the association between mucosal thickening (MT) of the sinus and periodontal bone loss (PBL) and pulpoperiapical condition. Materials and Methods: A total of 180 CBCT images were reviewed. PBL was assessed in six points under each sinus at the mesial and distal sides of the upper second premolar and first and second molars by measuring the distance from the alveolar crest to the point 2 mm under the cemento-enamel junction (CEJ). The MT was assessed at six points in the floor of the sinus precisely over the mentioned points. To assess the possible role of pulpoperiapical condition on the sinus MT, the existing teeth were classified into five groups due to the probable effect of each condition on the pulp and peri-apex. The statistical association between MT of sinus and PBL and pulpoperiapical condition was assessed using SPSS software (SPSS Inc., version 16.0, Chicago, IL, USA) and bivariate correlation and binary linear regression statistical tests (P < 0.05). Results: MT was observed in 39.4% of patients (mean = 4.68 ± 5.25 mm). PBL was seen in 33% of the patients (mean = 1.87 ± 1.63 mm). Linear regression test showed that there is an association between both PBL and pulpoperiapical condition and MT, but the effect of PBL was about 4 times stronger. Conclusion: This study showed that MT of the maxillary sinus was common among patients with PBL and MT of the maxillary sinus was significantly associated with PBL.
Land Tenure, Democracy, and Patterns of Violence During the Maoist Insurgency in Nepal, 1996-2005

We seek to investigate the determinants of Nepal's relapse into authoritarianism and resort to violence rather than reform as a response to the Maoist insurgency. Revolutionary insurgency emerged in Nepal after a transition to parliamentary democracy, whereas democracy is supposed to inoculate a nation against the risk of civil war. We present a theory of how the level of violence varies across districts with variations in the distribution of peasants among land tenure categories. Copyright (c) 2010 by the Southwestern Social Science Association.