Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hardness and microstructure of carbon pellets from self-adhesive pyropolymer prepared from acid and alkaline-treated oil palm bunch

Oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB), a natural polymeric material from the palm oil tree, is a potential precursor for making carbon for advanced materials applications because of its continuous generation in large quantities as a low cost by-product of the palm oil mill; annual production of EFB in Malaysia is approximately 2 million tonnes. Powders of natural pyropolymer having self-adhesion property, NPP1, NPP2, and NPP3, were prepared by precarbonizing the EFB, EFB treated with acid (1% HCL), and alkaline (1% NaOH) respectively. Green bodies of carbon pellets prepared from the NPP1, NPP2, and NPP3 were carbonized up to 1000°C using a multistep heating profile. Hardness of the carbonized pellets prepared from NPP1, NPP2, and NPP3 were 1/8, 2/5, and 1/2 of that of the reference sample (334 HV) respectively. This implied that, although the treatment improved the sample hardness it did not significantly increase the intermolecular forces or the number of inter-ribbon cross-links in the samples during carbonization. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Adv Polym Techn 23: 51–58, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/adv.10069
ECOLOGICAL SOUNDING Predicting the past distribution of species climatic nichesgeb

Predicting past distributions of species climatic niches, hindcasting, by using climate envelope models (CEMs) is emerging as an exciting research area. CEMs are used to examine veiled evolutionary questions about extinctions, locations of past refugia and migration pathways, or to propose hypotheses concerning the past population structure of species in phylogeographical studies. CEMs are sensitive to theoretical assumptions, to model classes and to projections in non-analogous climates, among other issues. Studies hindcasting the climatic niches of species often make reference to these limitations. However, to obtain strong scientific inferences, we must not only be aware of these potential limitations but we must also overcome them. Here, I review the literature on hindcasting CEMs. I discuss the theoretical assumptions behind niche modelling, i.e. the stability of climatic niches through time and the equilibrium of species with climate. I also summarize a set of ‘recommended practices’ to improve hindcasting. The studies reviewed: (1) rarely test the theoretical assumptions behind niche modelling such as the stability of species climatic niches through time and the equilibrium of species with climate; (2) they only use one model class (72% of the studies) and one palaeoclimatic reconstruction (62.5%) to calibrate their models; (3) they do not check for the occurrence of non-analogous climates (97%); and (4) they do not use independent data to validate the models (72%). Ignoring the theoretical assumptions behind niche modelling and using inadequate methods for hindcasting CEMs may well entail a cascade of errors and naïve ecological and evolutionary inferences. We should also push integrative research lines linking macroecology, physiology, population biology, palaeontology, evolutionary biology and CEMs for a better understanding of niche dynamics across space and time.
Comparing multi-objective and threshold-moving ROC curve generation for a prototype-based classifier

Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) curves represent the performance of a classifier for all possible operating conditions, i.e., for all preferences regarding the tradeoff between false positives and false negatives. The generation of a ROC curve generally involves the training of a single classifier for a given set of operating conditions, with the subsequent use of threshold-moving to obtain a complete ROC curve. Recent work has shown that the generation of ROC curves may also be formulated as a multi-objective optimization problem in ROC space: the goals to be minimized are the false positive and false negative rates. This technique also produces a single ROC curve, but the curve may derive from operating points for a number of different classifiers. This paper aims to provide an empirical comparison of the performance of both of the above approaches, for the specific case of prototype-based classifiers. Results on synthetic and real domains shows a performance advantage for the multi-objective approach.
delayed flowering1 Encodes a Basic Leucine Zipper Protein That Mediates Floral Inductive Signals at the Shoot Apex in Maize[W]

Separation of the life cycle of flowering plants into two distinct growth phases, vegetative and reproductive, is marked by the floral transition. The initial floral inductive signals are perceived in the leaves and transmitted to the shoot apex, where the vegetative shoot apical meristem is restructured into a reproductive meristem. In this study, we report cloning and characterization of the maize (Zea mays) flowering time gene delayed flowering1 (dlf1). Loss of dlf1 function results in late flowering, indicating dlf1 is required for timely promotion of the floral transition. dlf1 encodes a protein with a basic leucine zipper domain belonging to an evolutionarily conserved family. Three-dimensional protein modeling of a missense mutation within the basic domain suggests DLF1 protein functions through DNA binding. The spatial and temporal expression pattern of dlf1 indicates a threshold level of dlf1 is required in the shoot apex for proper timing of the floral transition. Double mutant analysis of dlf1 and indeterminate1 (id1), another late flowering mutation, places dlf1 downstream of id1 function and suggests dlf1 mediates floral inductive signals transmitted from leaves to the shoot apex. This study establishes an emergent framework for the genetic control of floral induction in maize and highlights the conserved topology of the floral transition network in flowering plants.
Aviation and Chemistry and Transport Processes in the Upper Troposphere and Lower Stratosphere

Aircraft emissions impact the atmosphere in a variety of ways, including enhancing greenhouse gases, especially water vapor and carbon dioxide, in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere, forming persistent contrails, and altering the distributions of reactive chemical species, which change the oxidative capacity of the atmosphere. This paper summarizes some recent findings related to the impacts of aircraft exhaust on the chemistry of the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS). Of particular note are the improvements in our understanding of production of nitrogen oxides (NOx ~ NO + NO2) by lightning and of the influence of long-range transport on background abundances of reactive species. Studies have also identified gaps in our knowledge, including the behavior of HOx (OH and HO2) species at high NOx and discrepancies in measurements of water vapor in the relatively dry UTLS. Lack of detailed observations of species, such as the halogens chlorine and bromine, limits our ability to assess t.
Pyk2 Is Required for Neutrophil Degranulation and Host Defense Responses to Bacterial Infection

The appropriate regulation of neutrophil activation is critical for maintaining host defense and limiting inflammation. Polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) express a number of cytoplasmic tyrosine kinases that regulate signaling pathways leading to activation. One of the most highly expressed, but least studied, kinases in PMNs is proline rich kinase 2 (Pyk2). By analogy to the related focal adhesion kinase, Pyk2 has been implicated in regulating PMN adhesion and migration; however, its physiologic function has yet to be described. Using pyk2−/− mice, we found that this kinase was required for integrin-mediated degranulation responses, but was not involved in adhesion-induced cell spreading or activation of superoxide production. Pyk2-deficient PMNs also manifested reduced migration on fibrinogen-coated surfaces. The absence of Pyk2 resulted in a severe reduction in paxillin and Vav phosphorylation following integrin ligation, which likely accounts for the poor degranulation and cell migration. Pyk2−/− mice were unable to efficiently clear infection with Staphylococcus aureus in a skin abscess model, owing in part to the poor release of granule contents at the site of infection. However, Pyk2-deficient PMNs responded normally to soluble agonists, demonstrating that this kinase functions mainly in the integrin pathway. These data demonstrate the unrealized physiologic role of this kinase in regulating the adhesion-mediated release of PMN granule contents.
Either a Th17 or a Th1 effector response can drive autoimmunity: conditions of disease induction affect dominant effector category

Experimental autoimmune uveitis (EAU) represents autoimmune uveitis in humans. We examined the role of the interleukin (IL)-23–IL-17 and IL-12–T helper cell (Th)1 pathways in the pathogenesis of EAU. IL–23 but not IL-12 was necessary to elicit disease by immunization with the retinal antigen (Ag) interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein (IRBP) in complete Freund's adjuvant. IL-17 played a dominant role in this model; its neutralization prevented or reversed disease, and Th17 effector cells induced EAU in the absence of interferon (IFN)-γ. In a transfer model, however, a polarized Th1 line could induce severe EAU independently of host IL-17. Furthermore, induction of EAU with IRBP-pulsed mature dendritic cells required generation of an IFN-γ–producing effector response, and an IL-17 response by itself was insufficient to elicit pathology. Finally, genetic deficiency of IL-17 did not abrogate EAU susceptibility. Thus, autoimmune pathology can develop in the context of either a Th17 or a Th1 effector response depending on the model. The data suggest that the dominant effector phenotype may be determined at least in part by conditions present during initial exposure to Ag, including the quality/quantity of Toll-like receptor stimulation and/or type of Ag-presenting cells. These data also raise the possibility that the nonredundant requirement for IL-23 in EAU may extend beyond its role in promoting the Th17 effector response and help provide a balance in the current Th1 versus Th17 paradigm.
Removing content consumers from mapping system

Nowadays, the global routing system suffers from great scalability problem. Core/edge separation solutions are proposed to solve the problem. However, they bring a global mapping system which might also suffer from scalability problem. We come up with an idea to reduce the necessary routing or mapping information, which is to separate content provider networks (containing content providers) from content consumer networks (containing only content consumers) and remove the routing or mapping information of content consumer networks. We combine this idea with core/edge separation solutions to reduce the necessary information in the global mapping system.
Aberrant DNA methylation profile in pleural fluid for differential diagnosis of malignant pleural mesothelioma

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) usually develops pleural fluid. We investigated the value of DNA methylation in the pleural fluid for differentiating MPM from lung cancer (LC). Pleural fluid was collected from 39 patients with MPM, 46 with LC, 25 with benign asbestos pleurisy (BAP) and 30 with other causes. The methylation of O6‐methylguanine‐DNA methyltransferase (MGMT), p16INK4a, ras association domain family 1A (RASSF1A), death‐associated protein kinase (DAPK), and retinoic acid receptor β (RARβ) was examined using quantitative real‐time PCR. DNA methylation of RASSF1A, p16INK4a, RARβ, MGMT and DAPK was detected in 12 (30.8%), 3 (7.7%), 11 (28.2%), 0 (0.0%) and five patients (12.8%) with MPM, and in 22 (47.8%), 14 (30.4%), 24 (52.2%), 1 (2.2%) and six patients (13.0%) with LC, respectively. The mean methylation ratios of RASSF1A, p16INK4a and RARβ were 0.37 (range 0.0–2.84), 0.11 (0.0–2.67) and 0.44 (0.0–3.32) in MPM, and 0.87 (0.0–3.14), 1.16 (0.0–5.35) and 1.69 (0.0–6.49) in LC, respectively. The methylation ratios for the three genes were significantly higher in LC than in MPM (RASSF1A, P = 0.039; p16INK4a, P = 0.005; and RARβ, P = 0.002). Patients with methylation in at least one gene were 3.51 (95% confidence interval, 1.09–11.34) times more likely to have LC. Hypermethylation seemed no greater with MPM than with BAP. Extended exposure to asbestos (≧30 years) was correlated with an increased methylation frequency (P = 0.020). Hypermethylation of tumor suppressor genes in pleural fluid DNA has the potential to be a valuable marker for differentiating MPM from LC. (Cancer Sci 2012; 103: 510–514)
Devanagari Text Recognition: A Transcription Based Formulation

Optical Character Recognition (OCR) problems are often formulated as isolated character (symbol) classification task followed by a post-classification stage (which contains modules like Unicode generation, error correction etc.) to generate the textual representation, for most of the Indian scripts. Such approaches are prone to failures due to (i) difficulties in designing reliable word-to-symbol segmentation module that can robustly work in presence of degraded (cut/fused) images and (ii) converting the outputs of the classifiers to a valid sequence of Unicodes. In this paper, we propose a formulation, where the expectations on these two modules is minimized, and the harder recognition task is modelled as learning of an appropriate sequence to sequence translation scheme. We thus formulate the recognition as a direct transcription problem. Given many examples of feature sequences and their corresponding Unicode representations, our objective is to learn a mapping which can convert a word directly into a Unicode sequence. This formulation has multiple practical advantages: (i) This reduces the number of classes significantly for the Indian scripts. (ii) It removes the need for a reliable word-to-symbol segmentation. (ii) It does not require strong annotation of symbols to design the classifiers, and (iii) It directly generates a valid sequence of Unicodes. We test our method on more than 6000 pages of printed Devanagari documents from multiple sources. Our method consistently outperforms other state of the art implementations.
A Systematic Review of Learning Analytics Intervention Contributing to Student Success in Online Learning

Recent developments in Learning Analytics have attracted much attention from researchers and practitioners, as well as diverse stakeholders, in exploring the potential for Learning Analytics to enhance learning and teaching practices. Hence, this paper presents a literature review of the use of the Learning Analytics Intervention implemented in various educational institutions in order to improve students' success and engagement in their learning, particularly for at-risk students. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of how Learning Analytics Intervention has been utilised in the educational institution, the types of theory applied in the intervention and what tools are used in the intervention. Additionally, the application of Learning Analytics Intervention, its purpose, effects and examples are also discussed in this paper. The findings show that most of the Learning Analytics Interventions have an impact on students' success in their learning, although some of them have little impact or no significant effect, and various Learning Analytics tools and strategies are discovered. Lastly, it is suggested that further Learning Analytics Interventions should be developed in order to meet the needs of students.
Dietary Macronutrient Composition Affects the Influence of Exogenous Prolactin-Releasing Peptide on Appetite Responses and Hypothalamic Gene Expression in Chickens.

BACKGROUND The interaction between the effects of exogenous neurotransmitters and dietary composition on appetite regulation in nonmammalian species is unclear. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to determine the effects of exogenous prolactin-releasing peptide (PrRP) and dietary macronutrient composition on food intake regulation in broiler chicks. METHODS Three isocaloric diets were formulated: high-carbohydrate (HC), high-fat (HF; 60% of ME from lard) and high-protein (HP) diets. In Expt. 1, 4-d-old Hubbard × Cobb-500 chicks fed 1 of the 3 diets since hatch were intracerebroventricularly injected with 0 (vehicle), 3, or 188 pmol PrRP (n = 10). Food intake was measured for 180 min. In Expt. 2, hypothalamic mRNA abundance of appetite-associated factors was measured in hypothalamus samples obtained 1 h postinjection of 0 or 188 pmol PrRP. In Expt. 3, chicks were given free access to all diets before and after intracerebroventricular injection and food intake was measured. RESULTS Three and 188 pmol PrRP increased (P = 0.0008 and 0.04) HP diet intake, but only 188 pmol PrRP was efficacious at increasing HC (P = 0.0011) and HF (P = 0.01) consumption compared with the vehicle. There was a diet effect on mRNA abundance of all genes (P < 0.05), with greater expression in chicks fed the HF or HP than the HC diet. Whereas neuropeptide Y (NPY) mRNA was similar between vehicle- and PrRP-injected chicks that consumed HP or HF diets, expression was greater (P < 0.05) in PrRP- than vehicle-injected chicks that consumed the HC diet. When chicks had access to all diets, 188 pmol PrRP caused preferential (P < 0.0001) intake of the HP over the HC and HF diets. CONCLUSION The HP diet enhanced the sensitivity of chicks to the food intake-stimulating effects of PrRP, and PrRP in turn increased preference for the HP diet. Thus, dietary macronutrient composition influences PrRP-mediated food intake, and PrRP in turn affects nutrient intake and transcriptional regulation in chicks.
Recommendations for the diagnosis and management of Alzheimer's disease and other disorders associated with dementia: EFNS guideline

The aim of this international guideline on dementia was to present a peer‐reviewed evidence‐based statement for the guidance of practice for clinical neurologists, geriatricians, psychiatrists, and other specialist physicians responsible for the care of patients with dementia. It covers major aspects of diagnostic evaluation and treatment, with particular emphasis on the type of patient often referred to the specialist physician. The main focus is Alzheimer's disease, but many of the recommendations apply to dementia disorders in general. The task force working group considered and classified evidence from original research reports, meta‐analysis, and systematic reviews, published before January 2006. The evidence was classified and consensus recommendations graded according to the EFNS guidance. Where there was a lack of evidence, but clear consensus, good practice points were provided. The recommendations for clinical diagnosis, blood tests, neuroimaging, electroencephalography (EEG), cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis, genetic testing, tissue biopsy, disclosure of diagnosis, treatment of Alzheimer's disease, and counselling and support for caregivers were all revised when compared with the previous EFNS guideline. New recommendations were added for the treatment of vascular dementia, Parkinson's disease dementia, and dementia with Lewy bodies, for monitoring treatment, for treatment of behavioural and psychological symptoms in dementia, and for legal issues. The specialist physician plays an important role together with primary care physicians in the multidisciplinary dementia teams, which have been established throughout Europe. This guideline may contribute to the definition of the role of the specialist physician in providing dementia health care.
A Unique Voltage Sensor Sensitizes the Potassium Channel AKT2 to Phosphoregulation

Among all voltage-gated K+ channels from the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, the weakly rectifying K+ channel (Kweak channel) AKT2 displays unique gating properties. AKT2 is exceptionally regulated by phosphorylation: when nonphosphorylated AKT2 behaves as an inward-rectifying potassium channel; phosphorylation of AKT2 abolishes inward rectification by shifting its activation threshold far positive (>200 mV) so that it closes only at voltages positive of +100 mV. In its phosphorylated form, AKT2 is thus locked in the open state in the entire physiological voltage range. To understand the molecular grounds of this unique gating behavior, we generated chimeras between AKT2 and the conventional inward-rectifying channel KAT1. The transfer of the pore from KAT1 to AKT2 altered the permeation properties of the channel. However, the gating properties were unaffected, suggesting that the pore region of AKT2 is not responsible for the unique Kweak gating. Instead, a lysine residue in S4, highly conserved among all Kweak channels but absent from other plant K+ channels, was pinpointed in a site-directed mutagenesis approach. Substitution of the lysine by serine or aspartate abolished the “open-lock” characteristic and converted AKT2 into an inward-rectifying channel. Interestingly, phosphoregulation of the mutant AKT2-K197S appeared to be similar to that of the Kin channel KAT1: as suggested by mimicking the phosphorylated and dephosphorylated states, phosphorylation induced a shift of the activation threshold of AKT2-K197S by about +50 mV. We conclude that the lysine residue K197 sensitizes AKT2 to phosphoregulation. The phosphorylation-induced reduction of the activation energy in AKT2 is ∼6 kT larger than in the K197S mutant. It is discussed that this hypersensitive response of AKT2 to phosphorylation equips a cell with the versatility to establish a potassium gradient and to make efficient use of it.
A Review of Polyphenolics in Oak Woods

Polyphenolics, which are ubiquitous in plants, currently are among the most studied phytochemicals because of their perceptible chemical properties and antioxidant activity. Oak barrels and their alternatives, which are widely used in winemaking nowadays, contribute polyphenolics to wines and are thought to play crucial roles in the development of wines during aging. This study summarizes the detailed information of polyphenolics in oak woods and their products by examining their structures and discussing their chemical reactions during wine aging. This paper evaluates the most recent developments in polyphenolic chemistry by summarizing their extraction, separation, and their identification by the use of chromatographic and spectral techniques. In addition, this paper also introduces polyphenol bioactive ingredients in other plant foods.
Iterative decoding of differentially space-time coded multiple descriptions of images

We consider transporting images over wireless fading channels rather than the on-off channels considered in most works related to multiple description (MD) coding. The new idea is to use iterative (turbo) decoding techniques developed for serially concatenated coding systems to improve the performance of the receiver in successive decoding iterations. We treat MD coding, realized by embedded image coding plus unequal error protection (e.g., product code structure), as the outer constituent code and use a differential space-time code as the inner constituent code. Experimental results show that our iterative scheme can effectively improve the system performance. Furthermore, most of the gain in PSNR is achieved with only one iteration in the low SNR range, e.g., 0-20 dB.