Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Selection of Novel Reference Genes by RNA-Seq and Their Evaluation for Normalising Real-Time qPCR Expression Data of Anthocyanin-Related Genes in Lettuce and Wild Relatives

Lettuce is a popular vegetable source of bioactive compounds, like anthocyanins, powerful antioxidants present in red and semi-red varieties. Selection of reliable reference genes (RGs) for the normalization of real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) data is crucial to obtain accurate gene expression results. Among the genes with totally unrelated biological functions, six candidate RGs (ADF2, CYB5, iPGAM, SCL13, TRXL3-3, and VHA-H) with low variation in expression according to RNA-seq analyses, were selected for future expression studies of anthocyanin-related genes in three different experiments: leaf colour comparison (green vs. red) in commercial varieties; tissue comparison (leaf vs. stem) in a wild relative; and drought stress experiment in commercial and traditional varieties, and a wild relative. Expression profiles of the candidate RGs were obtained by qPCR and their stability was assessed by four different analytical tools, geNorm, NormFinder, BestKeeper, and Delta Ct method, all integrated in RefFinder. All results considered, we recommend CYB5 to be used as RG for the leaf colour experiment and TRXL3-3 for the tissue and drought stress ones, as they were the most stable genes in each case. RNA-seq is useful to preselect novel RGs although validation by qPCR is still advisable. These results provide helpful information for gene expression studies in Lactuca spp. under the described conditions.
Modified far-upwind reconstruction methods for the implementation of NVSF schemes on unstructured grids

Abstract Based on the analysis of the existing far-upwind reconstruction methods, three modified far-upwind reconstruction methods, named as NM-1, NM-2 and NM-3, are developed for the implementation of Normalized Variable and Space Formulation (NVSF) schemes on arbitrary unstructured grids. In the modified reconstruction methods, the locations of the cell centroids around the upwind cell are considered for the position reconstruction. And three interpolation techniques, including the nearest point interpolation, the inverse distance weighted interpolation and the gradient-considered inverse distance weighted interpolation are adopted for the value reconstruction. Moreover, a modified boundedness limitation is proposed to constrain the reconstructed value of the far-upwind node within a more reasonable scope. The pure advection tests demonstrate that NM-3 leads to a better overall performance in terms of accuracy and convergence comparing with the previous and the other modified reconstruction methods for seven classic NVSF schemes. Such advantage of NM-3 retains in the applications of multiphase flow (dam-break flow) and incompressible fluid flow (backward step flow and lid-driven cavity flow). Theoretical analysis implies that the good performance of NM-3 mainly attributes to that its position reconstruction better represents the ‘average position’ of the adjacent cell centroids around the upwind cell and its value reconstruction combines the advantages of the nearest point interpolation and the inverse distance weighted interpolation simultaneously.
Spike-Based Anytime Perception

In many emerging computer vision applications, it is critical to adhere to stringent latency and power constraints. The current neural network paradigm of frame-based, floating-point inference is often ill-suited to these resource-constrained applications. Spike-based perception – enabled by spiking neural networks (SNNs) – is one promising alternative. Unlike conventional neural networks (ANNs), spiking networks exhibit smooth tradeoffs between latency, power, and accuracy. SNNs are the archetype of an "anytime algorithm" whose accuracy improves smoothly over time. This property allows SNNs to adapt their computational investment in response to changing resource constraints. Unfortunately, mainstream algorithms for training SNNs (i.e., those based on ANN-to-SNN conversion) tend to produce models that are inefficient in practice. To mitigate this problem, we propose a set of principled optimizations that reduce latency and power consumption by 1–2 orders of magnitude in converted SNNs. These optimizations leverage a set of novel efficiency metrics designed for anytime algorithms. We also develop a state-of-the-art simulator, SaRNN, which can simulate SNNs using commodity GPU hardware and neuromorphic platforms. We hope that the proposed optimizations, metrics, and tools will facilitate the future development of spike-based vision systems.
Deep Reinforcement Learning for Edge Caching with Mobility Prediction in Vehicular Networks

As vehicles are connected to the Internet, various services can be provided to users. However, if the requests of vehicle users are concentrated on the remote server, the transmission delay increases, and there is a high possibility that the delay constraint cannot be satisfied. To solve this problem, caching can be performed at a closer proximity to the user which in turn would reduce the latency by distributing requests. The road side unit (RSU) and vehicle can serve as caching nodes by providing storage space closer to users through a mobile edge computing (MEC) server and an on-board unit (OBU), respectively. In this paper, we propose a caching strategy for both RSUs and vehicles with the goal of maximizing the caching node throughput. The vehicles move at a greater speed; thus, if positions of the vehicles are predictable in advance, this helps to determine the location and type of content that has to be cached. By using the temporal and spatial characteristics of vehicles, we adopted a long short-term memory (LSTM) to predict the locations of the vehicles. To respond to time-varying content popularity, a deep deterministic policy gradient (DDPG) was used to determine the size of each piece of content to be stored in the caching nodes. Experiments in various environments have proven that the proposed algorithm performs better when compared to other caching methods in terms of the throughput of caching nodes, delay constraint satisfaction, and update cost.
Mode Information Guided CNN for Quality Enhancement of Screen Content Coding

Video quality enhancement methods are of great significance in reducing the artifacts of decoded videos in the High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC). However, existing methods mainly focus on improving the quality of natural sequences, not for screen content sequences that have drawn more attention than ever due to the demands of remote desktops and online meetings. Different from the natural sequences encoded by HEVC, the screen content sequences are encoded by Screen Content Coding (SCC), an extension tool of HEVC. Therefore, we propose a Mode Information guided CNN (MICNN) to further improve the quality of screen content sequences at the decoder side. To exploit the characteristics of the screen content sequences, we extract the mode information from the bitstream as the input of MICNN. Furthermore, due to the limited number of screen content sequences, we establish a large-scale dataset to train and validate our MICNN. Experimental results show that our proposed MICNN can achieve 3.41% BD-rate saving on average. In addition, our MICNN method consumes acceptable computational time compared with the other video quality enhancement methods.
Osteogenic Differentiation of Canine Adipose Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells on B-TCP and B-TCP/Collagen Biomaterials

Mesenchymal stem cells are adult stem cells that have the ability to differentiate into osteogenic, chondrogenic, adipogenic and myogenic lineages. In the field of orthopedics and traumatology, mesenchymal stem cells in combination with biomaterials are used especially for the treatment of bone fractures and diseases in both humans and animals. The purpose of this study is to promote growth, proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells that were isolated from the adipose tissue of canines on B-TCP (Beta-tricalcium phosphate) and B-TCP/Collagen biomaterials. MTT analysis was performed to test the cell adhesion and proliferation on B-TCP and B-TCP/Collagen biomaterials that were used to mimic the extracellular matrix of three-dimensional bone tissue. Scanning electron microscope analysis was performed to show general surface characters of B-TCP and B-TCP /Collagen biomaterials. The osteoinductive capacities of the B-TCP and B-TCP/Collagen biomaterials were determined by alkaline phosphatase and Von Kossa stainings, and RT-PCR analysis. The ALP activity of the B-TCP/Col containing material was significantly higher than the B-TCP on the first days. In terms of gene expression, there were no significant differences except 14th-day SPARC gene expression. The results of Von Kossa staining indicate that B-TCP/Col has above the desired level degradation capacity. As a result of this research, although it is advantageous in terms of alkaline phosphatase activity and osteogenic gene expression compared to B-TCP material, it is thought that B-TCP/Collagen biomaterial should be developed for use in bone tissue engineering due to its high degradation property.
Performance-on-Demand MEMS (PODMEMS): Electrical Control of Effective Mass, Damping, and Stiffness

Sayed, Shehrin. M.S.E.C. E. , Purdue University, December 2013. Performance-onDemand MEMS (PODMEMS): Electrical Control of Effective Mass, Damping, and Stiffness. Major Professor: Jason V. Clark. We propose the use of electrostatic force feedback to control the stiffness, damping, or mass of MEMS. If feedback forces are proportional to sensed displacement, velocity, or acceleration of a MEMS proof mass, then feedback can be used to increase or decrease the apparent stiffness, damping, and or mass of the MEMS. Such feedback can be used to compensate for process variations, packaging stress, thermal drift, viscous damping, etc. Prior efforts by others include position or velocity based feedback for modifying frequency, bandwidth, quality factor, or sensitivity of resonators. We present a means of quantitative control of stiffness, damping, and mass of MEMS to achieve performance on demand, which we call Performance-on-Demand MEMS (PODMEMS). Our comprehensive control on effective parameters may enable two devices with different geometry to behave identically. This technology might enable a single PODMEMS to adjust its dynamic response depending on an application’s requirements. We derive and study both steady-state and transient PODMEMS models that include feedback forces, circuit delay, and noise. We compare transient and steady-state results for verification. There exists cross-talk among effective parameters. Cross-talk in effective damping from electrical mass and stiffness can decrease/increase the damping. The effective damping may become negative due to cross-talk, making the system unstable. The delayed feedback forces develop hysteresis in displacement, velocity, and acceleration and the width of hysteresis loop increases as the delay increases. Due to delayed feedback forces, the potential/kinetic energy show late or early minima/maxima and there are two
An estimation of deep parameters describing Argentine consumer behaviour

This paper investigates the microfoundation of consumer decisions in Argentina (1980:1–2001:3). Structural parameters are estimated following the Euler Equation–GMM approach. Attention is focused on parameter instability, an empirical difficulty for applying this method often pointed out in the literature. The rates of return on assets are approximated by the real interest rate and the rate of growth of real exchange rate as they have been considered as the main variables explaining variations of Argentine ‘wealth’. The results show that parameter estimates have the expected values and the correct signs. Overidentifying restrictions are tested and the null hypothesis of validity of instruments is not rejected. Estimates are also robust for different specifications of the weighting matrix. However, parameter constancy is jointly rejected. Recursive estimates show that the risk aversion coefficient appears as more unstable than the impatience parameter, which is also the less uncertain within sample. Observed changes in estimates seem to be an expected response to different macroeconomic frameworks.
Extratropical Forcing and the Burst of Equatorial Westerlies in the Western Pacific: A Synoptic Study

A partir des vents de surface (intervalles 6 h, 4 hivers et printemps boreaux 1970-73), on a identifie 2 cas de forte poussee de vent d'Ouest dans le centre du Pacifique ouest equatorial (ISSE). Le 1er cas survint au debut avril et le 2eme au debut mai 1972, precedant les anomalies maximales de TSM le long de la cote peruvienne au cours de l'ENOS de 1972. Deux facteurs sont responsables de l'initiation de cette poussee: la force accrue du gradient zonal de p, et le deplacement associe vers l'Est de la poussee equatoriale de cette pression
Extract of Laurus nobilis attenuates inflammation and epithelial ulcerations in an experimental model of inflammatory bowel disease

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, are classified as chronic inflammatory disorders and typically require anti-inflammatory drug therapies, such as glucocorticoid regimens, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and biologics, aimed at reducing inflammation in the bowel wall. However, each of these therapies is accompanied by a list of possible serious side effects. Because of this, there remains an urgent need to identify new pharmacologic options to reduce or prevent the pro-inflammatory events of IBD while minimizing adverse side effects and making available more cost-effective treatment modalities. We have previously identified several herbal extracts that demonstrate the potent bio-inhibitory activity of the innate immune response. In particular, Laurus nobilis (LN), or more commonly called bay laurel, demonstrated significant anti-inflammatory function by inhibiting nuclear factor-κB activation. Based upon our original in vitro findings, we have now examined the effects of this herbal extract on a murine dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) model of IBD. Hematoxylin and eosin-stained paraffin sections prepared from DSS-treated animals show clear epithelial damage, including ulcerations, extensive neutrophil infiltration into the mucosal layer, and granuloma formation. Tissue from DSS-treated animals that also received LN extract showed improved tissue morphology more closely resembling that from control animals. In addition, DSS-treated mice with co-administration of LN extract showed a significant reduction in CD4+ antibody staining within the mucosal layer in colonic sections indicating reduced lymphocyte infiltration. Based on these findings, we believe that the administration of LN extracts may be effective in reducing the intestinal epithelial damage seen in human IBD and warrants further investigation through clinical trials. Lay Summary: Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), such as Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), manifest as chronic inflammation and ulceration of tissues lining the digestive tract. CD involves inflammation of the deeper layers of the digestive tract, including both the small and large intestines, and less commonly, the upper digestive tract. UC involves inflammation along the lining of the colon and rectum. Steroid or biological treatments for IBD are common, however, they are limited due to significant side effects and/or prohibitive costs. In the present study, we provide evidence for use of the natural product, Laurus nobilis (bay leaf), as a safe and effective anti-inflammatory therapy for IBD.
The Impact of Childhood Trauma on Problematic Alcohol and Drug Use Trajectories and the Moderating Role of Social Support

Adverse childhood experiences (ACE) have a strong association with alcohol and drug use; however, more research is needed to identify protective factors for this association. The present study assesses the longitudinal impact of ACE on problematic alcohol and drug use and the potential moderating effect of perceived social support. Data (n = 1404) are from a sample of Hispanic youth surveyed in high school through young adulthood. Linear growth curve models assessed the effect of ACE and perceived social support over time on problematic alcohol and drug use. Results indicated youth with ACE (vs. those without ACE) report more problematic alcohol and drug use in adolescence and have increased rates into young adulthood. Additionally, findings suggest that social support in high school may moderate the effects of ACE on problematic use over time. Among youth with high levels of support, the association of ACE with problematic alcohol and drug use was diminished. Although ACE can have a persistent impact on problematic alcohol and drug use from adolescence into adulthood, high social support during adolescence may mitigate the negative effects of ACE, lowering early problematic alcohol and drug use, offering the potential for lasting benefits.
Frequency-selective surface coupled metal-oxide-metal diodes

Metal-Oxide-Metal diodes offer the possibility of directly rectifying infrared radiation. To be effective for sensing or energy harvesting they must be coupled to an antenna which produces intense fields at the diode. While antennas significantly increase the effective capture area of the MOM diode, it is still limited and maximizing the captured energy is still a challenging goal. In this work we investigate integrating MOM diodes with a slot antenna Frequency Selective Surface (FSS). This maximizes the electromagnetic capture area while minimizing the transmission line length which helps reduce losses because metal losses are much lower at DC than at infrared frequencies. Our design takes advantage of a single self-aligned patterning step using shadow evaporation. The structure is optimized at 10.6 µm to have less than 2% reflection (polarization sensitive) and simulations predict that 70% of the incident energy is dissipated into the oxide layer. Initial experimental results fabricated with e-beam lithography are presented and the diode coupled FSS is shown to produce a polarization sensitive unbiased DC short circuit current. This work is promising for both infrared sensing and imaging as well as direct conversion of thermal energy.
Because I'm happy: exploring the happiness of shopping in social enterprises and its effect on customer satisfaction and loyalty

PurposeThis research analyzes the role of happiness associated with sustainable purchases in social enterprises (SEs) as a key precursor of prosocial behavioral responses through satisfaction with such purchases.Design/methodology/approachThis paper studies the relationships between past purchase in a social enterprise, consumer happiness, satisfaction and three indicators of loyalty: repurchase intention, word-of-mouth (WOM) intention and willingness to pay more. In addition, it analyzes the moderating role of altruistic motivation. A survey was designed to collect data from 380 consumers who had bought in a social enterprise.FindingsSustainable consumption is a source of happiness for ethical consumers to the extent that they feel that they meet a personal need or desire, and they contribute to achieving a social objective with their purchasing behavior.Practical implications SEs must appeal to the happiness of consumers as a strategic line to achieve their satisfaction and loyalty. Social enterprise practitioners and marketers should deploy organizational capabilities and resources in key performing areas such as communication, customer service or shopping experience, with the purpose of maximizing the happiness of ethical consumers with whom the firm is interacting for the first time.Originality/valueThis research highlights the importance of the social enterprise in the commercial setting, since it has been proven that purchases in these companies generate happiness and satisfaction in consumers. In addition, satisfaction has a great impact on their loyalty, which is a direct advantage for this type of company and an indirect one for society as a whole.
Predicting Algebra Achievement with an Algebra Prognosis Test, IQs, Teacher Predictions, and Mathematics Grades

SCHOOL grades, IQs, achievement tests, special-purpose prognosis tests, and recommendations by eighth-grade mathematics teachers have all been used to predict algebra success. Although studies of the validity of teacher recommendations have not appeared in the literature recently, multiple-regression analyses involving various combinations of the other kinds of predictors have been reported (Dinkel, 1959; Duncan, 1960; Barns and Asher, 1962; Sabers and Feldt, 1968). The purposes of this study were to compare the validities of a special-purpose prognosis test, IQs, teacher-predicted algebra grades, and mathematics grades in predicting algebra success and to estimate the extent to which the validities of the individual predictors coud be raised by using multiple-regression procedures. Methods. The initial sample consisted of 1,105 eighth-grade mathematics students in nine schools in six states who took the Orleans-
Biochar Addition in Membrane Bioreactor Enables Membrane Fouling Alleviation and Nitrogen Removal Improvement for Low C/N Municipal Wastewater Treatment

Membrane bioreactors (MBRs) are frequently used to treat municipal wastewater, but membrane fouling is still the main weakness of this technology. Additionally, the low carbon-nitrogen (C/N) ratio influent has been shown to not only increase the membrane fouling, but also introduce challenges to meet the effluent discharge standard for nitrogen removal. Herein, the authors addressed the challenges by adding cost-effective biochar. The results suggested that the biochar addition can enable membrane fouling alleviation and nitrogen removal improvement. The reduced membrane fouling can be ascribed to the biochar adsorption capacity, which facilitates to form bigger flocs with carbon skeleton in biochar as a core. As a result, the biochar addition significantly altered the mixed liquor suspension with soluble microbial product (SMP) concentration reduction of approximately 14%, lower SMP protein/polysaccharide ratio from 0.28 ± 0.02 to 0.22 ± 0.03, smaller SMP molecular weight and bigger sludge particle size from 67.68 ± 6.9 μm to 113.47 ± 4.8 μm. The nitrogen removal is also dramatically improved after biochar addition, which can be due to the initial carbon source release from biochar, and formation of aerobic–anaerobic microstructures. Microbial diversity analysis results suggested more accumulation of denitrification microbes including norank_f__JG30-KF-CM45 and Plasticicumulans. Less relative abundance of Aeromonas after biochar addition suggested less extracellular polymer substance (EPS) secretion and lower membrane fouling rate.
Understanding Consumer Brand Love, Brand Commitment, and Brand Loyalty

Abstract This study examines the role of brand love and its relationship with brand-related variables, such as brand quality, brand trust, brand commitment, and brand loyalty. A total of 265 responses from smartphone users were collected via an online survey over a two-week period. The findings confirmed the effect of brand quality on brand trust, brand love, and brand loyalty as well as the effect of brand trust on brand love and brand commitment. Brand love affects brand commitment and brand loyalty, which comprises purchase intention, word-of-mouth, and willingness to pay. Managerial implications and future research directions are provided.