Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Toolkit for Bar Code Recognition and Resolving on Camera Phones - Jump Starting the Internet of Things

Automatic identification technology such as RFID promises to connect physical objects with virtual representations or even computational capabilities. However, even though RFID tags are continuously falling in price, their widespread use on consumer items is still several years away, rendering large-scale experiments with such an ''internet of things'' difficult. Much more ubiquitous are printed bar codes, yet so far their recognition required either specialized scanner equipment or custom-tailored bar codes an equally significant deployment hurdle. We have developed a freely available EAN-13 bar code recognition and information system that is both lightweight and fast enough for the use on camera equipped mobile phones, thus significantly lowering the barrier for large-scale, realworld testing of novel information and interaction applications based on ''connected'' physical objects. This demo presents our main contribution: A toolkit, consisting of a J2ME client for the barcode recognition on camera phones and a corresponding Java based server for linking the recognized product code to free and commercial databases on the internet, as well as two simple prototypical services (applications) based on this toolkit. With these tools, researchers can quickly develop fullfledged information and interaction applications based on EAN-13 product codes, and deploy them with a simple download to potentially large user bases in a much more effective manner than with the previously necessary special scanning equipment. We hope that this ''low tech'' version of bridging the gap will allow the community to quickly develop and try out more realistic and widespread applications, and thus gain real-world experiences for better jump-starting the future internet of things, today.
High-Titer Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1-Based Vector Systems for Gene Delivery into Nondividing Cells

ABSTRACT Previously we designed novel pseudotyped high-titer replication defective human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) vectors to deliver genes into nondividing cells (J. Reiser, G. Harmison, S. Kluepfel-Stahl, R. O. Brady, S. Karlsson, and M. Schubert, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 93:15266–15271, 1996). Since then we have made several improvements with respect to the safety, flexibility, and efficiency of the vector system. A three-plasmid expression system is used to generate pseudotyped HIV-1 particles by transient transfection of human embryonic kidney 293T cells with a defective packaging construct, a plasmid coding for a heterologous envelope (Env) protein, and a vector construct harboring a reporter gene such as neo, ShlacZ (encoding a phleomycin resistance/β-galactosidase fusion protein), HSA (encoding mouse heat-stable antigen), or EGFP (encoding enhanced green fluorescent protein). The packaging constructs lack functional Vif, Vpr, and Vpu proteins and/or a large portion of the Env coding region as well as the 5′ and 3′ long terminal repeats, the Nef function, and the presumed packaging signal. Using G418 selection, we routinely obtained vector particles pseudotyped with the vesicular stomatitis virus G glycoprotein (VSV-G) with titers of up to 8 × 107 CFU/μg of p24, provided that a functional Tat coding region was present in the vector. Vector constructs lacking a functional Tat protein yielded titers of around 4 × 106 to 8 × 106 CFU/μg of p24. Packaging constructs with a mutation within the integrase (IN) core domain profoundly affected colony formation and expression of the reporter genes, indicating that a functional IN protein is required for efficient transduction. We explored the abilities of other Env proteins to allow formation of pseudotyped HIV-1 particles. The rabies virus and Mokola virus G proteins yielded high-titer infectious pseudotypes, while the human foamy virus Env protein did not. Using the improved vector system, we successfully transduced contact-inhibited primary human skin fibroblasts and postmitotic rat cerebellar neurons and cardiac myocytes, a process not affected by the lack of the accessory proteins.
Fuentes termales y minerales en torno a la carretera austral, Regiones X-XI, Chile

espanolDurante los trabajos de construccion de la Carretera Longitudinal Austral, a partir de 1982, se registraron 25 fuentes termales (24 propiamente termales y una mineral), en las Regiones X y XI. Cinco de ellas poseen instalaciones para aprovechamiento como balneario termal (Llancahue, El Amarillo, Puerto Bonito, Puyuhuapi y Ouitralco). Los analisis quimicos indican que la mayoria de las aguas termales son cloruradas y/o sulfuradas y sodicas. Son predominantemente neutras y afloran a temperaturas entre 23° y 84°C, lo que permite calificarlas de hipertermales. Los regimenes de descarga son, generalmente, continuos, con leves oscilaciones atribuibles a precipitaciones pluviales y/o accion de mareas. La mayoria de las fuentes guarda una estrecha relacion espacial con las zonas de falla Liquine-Ofqui y Vanteles-Melimoyu. Estas constituyen vias de infiltracion para las aguas meteoricas; su posterior calentamiento en profundidad, debido al elevado gradiente geotermico local, favorecio su ascenso convectivo, portando elementos minerales extraidos por lixiviacion, a partir de los granitoides del Batolito Norpatagonico. EnglishTwenty-five hot springs (24 thermal and 1 mineral water occurrences) were identified and studied in Regiones X and XI, during the construction of the Carretera Longitudinal Austral (Southern Longitudinal Road), in the past seven years. Five of them have some kind of development as bathing resorts (Llancahue, El Amarillo, Puerto Bonito, Puyuhuapi and Ouitralco). Hydrochemical analyses indicate that nearly all the waters are neutral, and rich in chloride, sulfate and sodium. They reach Ihe surface at temperatures between 23° and 84°C. Water flux is continuous, with slight fluctuations related to rains andlor tidal influences. Most of the springs are closely related to the Liquine-Ofqui and VantelesMelimoyu fault zones. These faults seem to control the inflow of meteoric waters; their subsequent heating at depth in a high geothermal gradient environment favours their convective rising, carrying dissolved minerals leached from the granitoids of Ihe Norlh-Patagonian Batholith
Evolving imaging techniques in diagnostic strategies of pulmonary embolism

ABSTRACT Modern non invasive diagnostic strategies for pulmonary embolism (PE) rely on the sequential use of clinical probability assessment, D-dimer measurement and thoracic imaging tests. Planar ventilation/perfusion (V/Q) scintigraphy was the cornerstone for more than two decades and has now been replaced by computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA). Diagnostic strategies using CTPA are very safe to rule out PE and have been well validated in large prospective management outcome studies. With the widespread use of CTPA, concerns regarding radiation and overdiagnosis of PE have paved the way for investigating new diagnostic modalities. V/Q single photon emission tomography has arisen as a highly accurate test and a potential alternative to CTPA. However, prospective management outcome studies are still lacking and are warranted before implementation in everyday clinical practice.
Power supply with active energy storage to reuse the braking energy for servo drives

This paper presents a new power supply consisting of an inverter and a power factor correcting stage with an integrated active energy storage for servo drives. The energy storage is realized with a capacitor and a DC-DC-converter. This enables the power supply to reuse the braking energy of servo drives instead of losing it in a braking chopper resistor. The main advantage is the simple integration of the active storage to the power factor correcting stage.
PETROLOGY AND URANIUM POTENTIALITY OF ABU-RUSHEID SUBSURFACE GNEISSES, SOUTHEASTERN DESERT, EGYPT.

ABSTRACT The subsurface gneisses of Abu Rusheid area have been studied perfectly through two pre-pilot drillholes BH1&BH2 with depths of 70, 54m respectively comprising the geologic, petrographical and mineralogical studies applied to the picked core samples to throw light on their U-potentiality. Lithologically, the core samples of BH1 are mainly (from top to bottom): quartz-hornblende schist, serpentinite, whitish gray granoblastic gneiss alternating with pinkish gray porphyroblastic gneiss with sharp contacts. While, the core samples of the BH2 are mainly (from top to bottom) whitish gray granoblastic gneiss, pink granoblastic gneiss, quartz-feldspar-biotite schist, quartz-hornblende-biotite schist, mica schist, talc carbonate, gray granoblastic gneiss with migmatite zone and finally whitish gray granoblastic gneiss. Petrographic investigation revealed that, the pinkish dark-gray porphyroblastic gneiss of BH1 and pinkish granoblastic gneiss of BH2 are petrographically identical to granodioritic rocks (clearly granitoid composition, lake of pebbles and pelitic minerals such as cordierite and kyanite) alternated with whitish gray granoblastic gneiss of sedimentary origin ( presence of the fragments and pelitic metasomatic minerals; cordierite, kyanite, garnet and anthophyllite). The metamorphic sequence most likely represents a sequence of pelites and psammites, intruded by megacrystic granitoid injections from external sources below, then metamorphosed to an amphibolite-granulite facies assemblage. These results are important for understanding the tectonometamorphic evolution of the Abu-Rusheid area and add to the previous information about Hafafit metamorphic core complexes in the Eastern Desert, their mode of formation and formation of the present modeling are critical to future modeling of the overall tectonic evolution of the Arabian-Nubian Shield. Mineralogical study indicated that, thorite and uranothorite are the most predominant radioactive minerals in the studied boreholes in addition to the uranophane that recorded in the zone between 23-24m in BH1. Other radioelements-bearing minerals were recorded such as columbite, pyrochlore, betafite, samarskite, fergusonite and zircon associating rare metals (bismuth and molybdenite) and base metals (pyrite, sphalerite and iron oxides). Keywords; pre-pilot drillholes. Granoblastic gneiss. Cordierite. Uranium. Abu Rushied. Egypt.
MicroRNA-150 Is a Potential Biomarker of HIV/AIDS Disease Progression and Therapy

Background The surrogate markers of HIV/AIDS progression include CD4 T cell count and plasma viral load. But, their reliability has been questioned in patients on anti-retroviral therapy (ART). Five microRNAs (miRNAs) - miR-16, miR-146b-5p, miR-150, miR-191 and miR-223 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were earlier found to assign HIV/AIDS patients into groups with varying CD4 T cell counts and viral loads. In this pilot study, we profiled the expression of these five miRNAs in PBMCs, and two of these miRNAs (miR-146b-5p and miR-150) in the plasma of HIV/AIDS patients, including those on ART and those who developed ART resistance, to evaluate if these are biomarkers of disease progression and therapy. Results We quantified miRNA levels by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) using RNA isolated from PBMCs and plasma of healthy persons or HIV-infected patients who were (1) asymptomatic; (2) symptomatic and ART naïve; (3) on ART; and (4) failing ART. Our results show miR-150 (p<0.01) and to a lesser extent miR-146b-5p (p<0.05) levels in PBMCs to reliably distinguish between ART-naïve AIDS patients, those on ART, and those developing drug resistance and failing ART. The plasma levels of these two miRNAs also varied significantly between patients in these groups and between patients and healthy controls (p values <0.05). Conclusions We report for the first time that PBMC and plasma levels of miR-150 and miR-146b-5p are predictive of HIV/AIDS disease progression and therapy.
Exploring mitochondria in the intact ischemic heart: advancing technologies to image intracellular function.

In describing human nature, the Irish author and satirist Jonathan Swift noted that “vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others. ” In the biological sciences, “vision” is transformed into a “science” as progress in imaging technology enables the uncovering of previously “invisible” intracellular programs. This capacity to “see inside cells” is improving in lock-step with advancing technologies that enable fluorophore-labeling of genes, proteins, cells, substrates, and metabolites. Thus, biomedical imaging is expanding our understanding of cellular function and disease pathophysiology. In this issue of Circulation , the practical application of 2-photon scanning laser microscopy is used to directly assess the mitochondrial inner membrane potential in the intact rat heart in response to cardiac ischemia and reperfusion.1 Article p 1497 Before discussing this study, I will digress for a moment to review the relevance of mitochondrial function and the proposed role of the inner mitochondrial membrane potential on cardiac function and in its response to ischemia and reperfusion. The mitochondrion is central to cardiac function, as it modulates cardiac energetics, reactive radical biology, calcium homeostasis, and apoptosis.2 The inner mitochondrial membrane potential in turn reflects a composite of mitochondrial functioning, which means the maintenance of this electrochemical potential requires: (1) the functional integrity of electron transfer redox centers of oxidative phosphorylation; (2) the catalytic integrity of enzymes of β-oxidation and the Kreb’s cycle; and (3) the appropriate functioning of transport mechanisms linking the cytosol and the mitochondrial matrix. The mitochondrial inner membrane potential is not static; rather, the modulation of this electrochemical gradient directly controls mitochondrial adenosine triphosphate generation, Ca2+ flux, and the production and control of reactive oxygen species (ROS). 3 Interestingly, modest modulation of the mitochondrial membrane potential appears to confer cellular adaptations that enhance …
Different Regions of HIV-1 Subtype C env Are Associated with Placental Localization and In Utero Mother-to-Child Transmission

ABSTRACT HIV infections are initiated by a limited number of variants that diverge into a diverse quasispecies swarm. During in utero mother-to-child transmission (IU MTCT), transmitted viral variants must pass through multiple unique environments, and our previously published data suggest a nonstochastic model of transmission. As an alternative to a stochastic model of viral transmission, we hypothesize that viral selection in the placental environment influences the character of the viral quasispecies when HIV-1 is transmitted in utero. To test this hypothesis, we used single-template amplification to isolate HIV-1 envelope gene (env) sequences from both peripheral plasma and the placentas of eight nontransmitting (NT) and nine IU-transmitting participants. Statistically significant compartmentalization between peripheral and placental HIV-1 env was detected in one of the eight NT cases and six of the nine IU MTCT cases. In addition, viral sequences isolated from IU MTCT placental tissue showed variation in env V1 loop lengths compared to matched maternal sequences, while NT placental env sequences did not. Finally, comparison of env sequences from NT and IU MTCT participants indicated statistically significant differences in Kyte-Doolittle hydropathy in the signal peptide, C2, V3, and C3 regions. Our working hypothesis is that the hydropathy differences in Env associated with IU MTCT alter viral cellular tropism or affinity, allowing HIV-1 to efficiently infect placentally localized cells.
A SCALABLE FRAMEWORK FOR MULTIPLE SPEAKER LOCALIZATION AND TRACKING

In this paper we present a novel, scalable approach to the localization and tracking of multiple speakers using microphone arrays. The approach is capable of localizing sources both in non-competing and in concurrent situations, and is based on the disjointness of speech in the short-time discrete frequency domain (STFD). The algorithm operates on a narrowband localization cost function in the STFD and yields an estimate of the speaker activity per time frame b by applying a Mixture of Gaussians (MoG) fit to the narrowband localization estimates. The advantages of the proposed method are manifold: it allows us to use a coarser search grid for the cost function evaluation, without compromising on the location accuracy; it allows for a soft-decision on the number and position of sources on the fly; the framework is scalable to multi-array systems; and it can also serve as a base framework for enhancement algorithms. In principle, this approach is not specific to speakers and will work for any source combination provided they exhibit some temporal and spectral disjointness.
The Matrix Metalloproteinase Inhibitor Prinomastat Enhances Photodynamic Therapy Responsiveness in a Mouse Tumor Model

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) clinical results are promising; however, tumor recurrences can occur and, therefore, methods for improving treatment efficacy are needed. PDT elicits direct tumor cell death and microvascular injury as well as expression of angiogenic, inflammatory, and prosurvival molecules. Preclinical studies combining antiangiogenic drugs or cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors with PDT show improved treatment responsiveness (A. Ferrario et al., Cancer Res 2000;60:4066–9; A. Ferrario et al., Cancer Res 2002;62:3956–61). In the present study, we evaluated the role of Photofrin-mediated PDT in eliciting expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and modulators of MMP activity. We also examined the efficacy of a synthetic MMP inhibitor, Prinomastat, to enhance tumoricidal activity after PDT, using a mouse mammary tumor model. Immunoblot analysis of extracts from PDT-treated tumors demonstrated strong expression of MMPs and extracellular MMP inducer along with a concomitant decrease in expression of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1. Gelatin zymography and enzyme activity assays performed on protein extracts from treated tumors confirmed the induction of both latent and enzymatically active forms of MMP-9. Immunohistochemical analysis indicated that infiltrating inflammatory cells and endothelial cells were primary sources of MMP-9 expression after PDT, whereas negligible expression was observed in tumor cells. Administration of Prinomastat significantly improved PDT-mediated tumor response (P = 0.02) without affecting normal skin photosensitization. Our results indicate that PDT induces MMPs and that the adjunctive use of an MMP inhibitor can improve PDT tumor responsiveness.
Molecular medicine of TFF-peptides: from gut to brain.

TFF-peptides (i.e. TFF1, TFF2, TFF3; formerly P-domain peptides, trefoil factors) have been established as secretory products typical of the gastrointestinal tract. Their synthesis has recently been recognized in a number of mucin-producing epithelial cells, for example, of the respiratory tract, the salivary glands, the uterus and of the conjunctiva. They have a pivotal role in maintaining the surface integrity of these delicate epithelia as constituents of mucus gels as well as by their anti-apoptotic properties and their motogenic activity modulating cell migratory processes. The latter is important for rapid healing in particular of gastrointestinal and respiratory epithelia by a process termed "restitution". On the other hand, one of these peptides--namely TFF3--has been detected as a new neuropeptide of the human hypothalamo-pituitary axis where it is synthesized in oxytocinergic neurons of the paraventricular and supraoptic nuclei. From there it is transported to the posterior pituitary where it is released into the blood stream. Synthesis of TFF-peptides also occurs pathologically as result to chronic inflammatory diseases, for example of the gastrointestinal tract. Aberrant synthesis of TFF-peptides is observed in many tumors.
The Age Penalty and Its Effect on Cache Performance

Web content caching is recognized as an effective mechanism to decrease server load, network traffic, and user-perceived latency. An HTTP compliant cache associates with each cached object an expiration time calculated according to directives set by the object's origin server. The cache incurs a miss when it has no cached copy of a requested object or when the existing copy had expired (is not fresh). Upon a miss, the cache needs to fetch or validate a copy through exchanges with another cache with a fresh copy or the origin server. Thus, misses generate traffic and prolong service times. Caches are deployed as proxies, reverse proxies, and hierarchically and as a result, caches often serve other caches. As this happens, content age at higher-level caches, in addition to availability and freshness, emerges as a performance factor. The age of a cached copy of an object is the elapsed time since fetched from the respective origin. Fresh cached copies of the same object can have different ages and older copies typically expire sooner. Therefore, a proxy cache would suffer a higher miss rate if it receives older objects (e.g., from a reverse-proxy cache). Similarly, reverse-proxy caches that serve proxy-caches receive more requests than an origin server would have received. We refer to the increase in miss rate due to age as the age penalty. We use trace-based simulations to measure the extent of the age penalty for content served by content delivery networks and large caches. Even though the age penalty had not been considered previously, we demonstrate that it can be significant, and moreover, can highly vary under different practices.
Mucus Properties and Goblet Cell Quantification in Mouse, Rat and Human Ileal Peyer's Patches

Peyer's patches (PPs) are collections of lymphoid follicles in the small intestine, responsible for scanning the intestinal content for foreign antigens such as soluble molecules, particulate matter as well as intact bacteria and viruses. The immune cells of the patch are separated from the intestinal lumen by a single layer of epithelial cells, the follicle-associated epithelium (FAE). This epithelium covers the dome of the follicle and contains enterocyte-like cells and M cells, which are particularly specialized in taking up antigens from the gut. However, the presence and number of goblet cells as well as the presence of mucus on top of the FAE is controversial. When mouse ileal PPs were mounted in a horizontal Ussing-type chamber, we could observe a continuous mucus layer at mounting and new, easily removable mucus was released from the villi on the patch upon stimulation. Confocal imaging using fluorescent beads revealed a penetrable mucus layer covering the domes. Furthermore, immunostaining of FAE from mice, rats and humans with a specific antibody against the main component of intestinal mucus, the MUC2 mucin, clearly identify mucin-containing goblet cells. Transmission electron micrographs further support the identification of mucus releasing goblet cells on the domes of PPs in these species.