Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Implication and Significance of Beta 2 Microglobulin: A Conservative Multifunctional Regulator

Objective:This review focuses on the current knowledge on the implication and significance of beta 2 microglobulin (&bgr;2M), a conservative immune molecule in vertebrate. Data Sources:The data used in this review were obtained from PubMed up to October 2015. Terms of &bgr;2M, immune response, and infection were used in the search. Study Selections:Articles related to &bgr;2M were retrieved and reviewed. Articles focusing on the characteristic and function of &bgr;2M were selected. The exclusion criteria of articles were that the studies on &bgr;2M-related molecules. Results:&bgr;2M is critical for the immune surveillance and modulation in vertebrate animals. The dysregulation of &bgr;2M is associated with multiple diseases, including endogenous and infectious diseases. &bgr;2M could directly participate in the development of cancer cells, and the level of &bgr;2M is deemed as a prognostic marker for several malignancies. It also involves in forming major histocompatibility complex (MHC class I or MHC I) or like heterodimers, covering from antigen presentation to immune homeostasis. Conclusions:Based on the characteristic of &bgr;2M, it or its signaling pathway has been targeted as biomedical or therapeutic tools. Moreover, &bgr;2M is highly conserved among different species, and overall structures are virtually identical, implying the versatility of &bgr;2M on applications.
Modelling and Force Tracking Control of Hydraulic Actuator for an Active Suspension System

This paper presents modelling and force tracking control of a non-linear hydraulic actuator applied in a quarter-car active suspension system. The controller structure of the active suspension system was decomposed into two loops namely outer loop and inner loop controllers. Outer loop controller is used to calculate the optimum target force to reject the effects of road disturbances, while, the inner loop controller is used to keep the actual force close to this desired force. The results of the study show that the inner loop controller is able to track well the target force ranging from sinusoidal to random functions of target force. The performance of outer loop controller also shows significant improvement in terms of body acceleration, body displacement and suspension displacement as compared to the passive suspension system
Research on Automated Trust Negotiation

The proliferation of the Internet has given opportunities on different entities to share resources or conduct business transactions. However, how to establish trust among strangers without prior relationship and common security domain poses much difficulty for these activities. To resolve these problems, a promising approach known as Automated Trust Negotiation (ATN), which establishes the trust between strangers with iterative disclosure of credentials and access control policies, is proposed. In this paper, a comprehensive survey of research on ATN is presented, and some basic techniques, e.g. negotiation model and architecture, access control policy specification, credential description and credential chain discovery, are introduced and compared. Then based on the analysis of the shortcomings and problems of the techniques, the trend of research and application is discussed. All these work may contribute to the further work on trust establishment for entities with privacy protection and autonomy in open internet.
Reductions among prediction problems: on the difficulty of predicting automata

Given examples of words accepted and rejected by an unknown automaton, the question of whether there is an algorithm that in a feasible amount of time will learn to predict which words will be accepted by the automaton is examined. A notion of prediction-preserving reducibility is developed, and it is shown that if DFAs are predictable, then so are all languages in logspace. In particular, the predictability of DFAs implies the predictability of all Booleman formulas. Similar results hold for NFAs and PDAs (or CFGs). Relationships between the complexity of the membership problem for a class of automata and the complexity of the prediction problem are obtained. Examples are given of prediction problems in which predictability implies the predictability of all languages in P. Assuming the existence of one-way functions, it follows that these problems are not predictable, even in an extremely weak sense. <<ETX>>
Using social cognition models to develop health behaviour interventions: Problems and assumptions.

This chapter describes how to use social cognition models to develop health behaviour interventions, using the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) as an example. Following a description of the theory, the steps involved in developing an intervention to change salient beliefs are summarised. Then, a number of complexities are discussed, for example the consequences of using different scoring schemes for the belief components. Next, a detailed example of a TPB-based intervention is presented. The chapter concludes with recommendations for research and practice. Key Concepts
OBJECT-BASED IMAGE ANALYSIS AND DATA MINING FOR MAPPING SUGARCANE WITH LANDSAT IMAGERY IN BRAZIL

Mapping of sugarcane planted area is an important i nformation for decision making, mainly when the sea rch for alternatives to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions has indicated the use of biofuels as a viable option. Thus, the aim of this research was to develop a methodology in order to automate the sugarcane ma pping task when remote sensing data are used. Thus the integration of two major approaches of Artificial Intelligence, Object -Based Image Analysis (OBIA) and Data Mining (DM), we re tested in a study area located in São Paulo state, which is well represent ative of the agriculture of large regions of Brazil and other countries. OBIA was used to emulate the interpreter knowledge in the pr ocess of sugarcane mapping, and DM techniques were employed for automatic generation of knowledge model. A time series of fou r Landsat images was acquired in order to represent th wide variability of the patterns during sugarcane crop season. Definiens De veloper® multiresolution segmentation algorithm pro duced the objects and properly trained decision tree applied to the Lands t ata for the generation of the thematic map with sugarcane as the main class of interest. An overall accuracy of 94% (Kappa = 0,87) was obtained, showing that OBIA and DM are very eff icient and promising in the direction of automating the sugarcane classific at on process with Landsat multitemporal time serie s. * Corresponding author.
Hierarchical wrinkling patterns

This paper reports a simple and flexible method for generating hierarchical patterns from wrinkling instability. Complex features with gradually changing topographies are generated by using the spontaneous wrinkling of a rigid membrane (titanium) on a soft foundation (polystyrene) compressed via the diffusion of a solvent. We show that the morphology of these unreported wrinkled patterns is directly related to the rheological properties of the polymer layer and the geometry of the diffusion front. Based on these ingredients, we rationalize the mechanism for the formation of hierarchical wrinkling patterns and quantify our experimental findings with a simple scaling theory. Finally, we illustrate the relevance of our structuration method by studying the mechanosensitivity of fibroblasts.
Identifying mass parameters for gravity compensation and automatic torque sensor calibration

This paper presents a new and simple procedure to identify link mass parameters used for gravity compensation and on-line automatic torque sensor calibration for a robot manipulator. The approach employs single-joint rotation and a recursive procedure that proceeds distally to proximally to identify composite mass moments. Experimental results on presented for the Sarcos Dextrous Arm.
A Statistical Framework for the Analysis of ChIP-Seq Data

Chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by sequencing (ChIP-Seq) has revolutionalized experiments for genome-wide profiling of DNA-binding proteins, histone modifications, and nucleosome occupancy. As the cost of sequencing is decreasing, many researchers are switching from microarray-based technologies (ChIP-chip) to ChIP-Seq for genome-wide study of transcriptional regulation. Despite its increasing and well-deserved popularity, there is little work that investigates and accounts for sources of biases in the ChIP-Seq technology. These biases typically arise from both the standard preprocessing protocol and the underlying DNA sequence of the generated data. We study data from a naked DNA sequencing experiment, which sequences noncross-linked DNA after deproteinizing and shearing, to understand factors affecting background distribution of data generated in a ChIP-Seq experiment. We introduce a background model that accounts for apparent sources of biases such as mappability and GC content and develop a flexible mixture model named MOSAiCS for detecting peaks in both one- and two-sample analyses of ChIP-Seq data. We illustrate that our model fits observed ChIP-Seq data well and further demonstrate advantages of MOSAiCS over commonly used tools for ChIP-Seq data analysis with several case studies. This article has supplementary material online.
A novel level set method based on distribution

A novel level set method for image segmentation is proposed in this paper. Considering the gray level distribution of pixels in image, a new energy item according to the error rate is introduced. In combination with the penalty item that prevents the level set function from deviating from the signed distance function, a new energy function is obtained. Then the level set evolution equation is deduced by minimize the energy function. The proposed algorithm can deal with the images with blurry boundaries or strong noise. The simulation results show that the proposed method is faster and more effective than traditional level set methods.
Oxygen-conserving effects of apnea in exercising men.

We sought to determine whether apnea-induced cardiovascular responses resulted in a biologically significant temporary O(2) conservation during exercise. Nine healthy men performing steady-state leg exercise carried out repeated apnea (A) and rebreathing (R) maneuvers starting with residual volume +3.5 liters of air. Heart rate (HR), mean arterial pressure (MAP), and arterial O(2) saturation (Sa(O(2)); pulse oximetry) were recorded continuously. Responses (DeltaHR, DeltaMAP) were determined as differences between HR and MAP at baseline before the maneuver and the average of values recorded between 25 and 30 s into each maneuver. The rate of O(2) desaturation (DeltaSa(O(2))/Deltat) was determined during the same time interval. During apnea, DeltaSaO(2)/Deltat had a significant negative correlation to the amplitudes of DeltaHR and DeltaMAP (r(2) = 0.88, P < 0.001); i.e., individuals with the most prominent cardiovascular responses had the slowest DeltaSa(O(2))/Deltat. DeltaHR and DeltaMAP were much larger during A (-44 +/- 8 beats/min, +49 +/- 4 mmHg, respectively) than during R maneuver (+3 +/- 3 beats/min, +30 +/- 5 mmHg, respectively). DeltaSa(O(2))/Deltat during A and R maneuvers was -1.1 +/- 0.1 and -2.2 +/- 0.2% units/s, respectively, and nadir Sa(O(2)) values were 58 +/- 4 and 42 +/- 3% units, respectively. We conclude that bradycardia and hypertension during apnea are associated with a significant temporary O(2) conservation and that respiratory arrest, rather than the associated hypoxia, is essential for these responses.
The increase of keratinized and attached gingiva using collagen wound dressing in dogs: A clinical and histomorphometric comparative study

Purpose: This study examined the width of keratinized gingiva and attached gingiva after an apically repositioned flap (APF group), APF combined with free gingival grafts (FGG group), and APF combined with collagen wound dressing (Collatape® group), both clinically and histomorphometrically. Materials and Methods: The right and left maxillary canine areas of eight mongrel dogs were used (16 surgical sites). In the maxilla, the canine areas were used as experimental sites. Three different surgical techniques were performed on the sixteen canine areas(apically repositioned flap; APF group, APF combined with free gingival grafts; FGG group, and APF combined with collagen wound dressing; Collatape® group). After 6 weeks, clinical and histomorphometric evaluation were done. Results: The FGG group showed more attached gingiva and a more favorable physiological appearance than the other groups. However, there was no significant difference in keratinized gingiva and attached gingiva among the three groups. According to the results of the histomorphometric examination, keratinized gingiva were formed in all groups. The FGG group showed thicker epithelium and connective tissue than the APF group. Collatape® group showed thicker connective tissue than the APF group. Conclusion: The clinical and histomorphometric results suggested that APF combined with collagen wound dressing promotes more favorable healing of the keratinized and attached gingiva.
Software Fault Prediction Techniques: A Study

Success of a software system depends not only on cost and schedule, but also on quality. The prediction of software faults, i.e., deviations from specifications or expectations which might lead to failures in operation has been an important research topic in the field of software engineering for more than 30 years. The quality of software components should be tracked continuously during the development of highassurance systems such as telecommunication infrastructures, medical devices, and avionics systems. Quality assurance group can improve the product quality by allocating necessary budget and human resources to low quality modules identified with different quality estimation models. In this paper we investigate various fault prediction techniques and to conclude which one is best.
The Gut Microbiota and Mucosal T Cells

It is intuitive that immune cells in the gut may require microbiota-derived cues for their differentiation. The proximity between host and microbe in the intestine would seemingly necessitate co-adaptation. However, it has been challenging to determine the members and features of the gut microbiota that influence immune system development and function. The recent identification of immunomodulatory members of the commensal microbiota is providing insight into the dependence of select, intestinal immune cell subsets on specific microbial species. In this review, we focus on the gut microbiota's influence on the development and function of mucosal T cells subsets, specifically intraepithelial lymphocytes and lamina propria CD4 T cells.
Effect of Particular Breed on the Chemical Composition, Texture, Color, and Sensorial Characteristics of Dry-cured Ham

The present study demonstrates the impact of specific breed on the characteristics of dry-cured ham. Eighty thighs from Korean native pig (KNP), crossbreed (Landrace×Yorkshire)♀×Duroc♂ (LYD), Berkshire (Ber), and Duroc (Du) pig breeds (n = 10 for each breed) were used for processing of dry-cured ham. The thighs were salted with 6% NaCl (w/w) and 100 ppm NaNO2, and total processing time was 413 days. The effects of breed on the physicochemical composition, texture, color and sensory characteristics were assessed on the biceps femoris muscle of the hams. The results revealed that the highest weight loss was found in the dry-cured ham of LYD breed and the lowest weight loss was found in Ber dry-cured ham. The KNP dry-cured ham contain higher intramuscular fat level than other breed hams (p<0.05). It was observed that the dry-cured ham made from KNP breed had the lowest water activity value and highest salt content, while the LYD dry-cure ham had higher total volatile basic nitrogen content than the Ber and Du hams (p<0.05). Zinc, iron and total monounsaturated fatty acids levels were higher in KNP ham while polyunsaturated fatty acids levels were higher in Du ham when compared to other breed hams (p<0.05). Additionally, the KNP dry-cured ham possessed higher Commission International de l’Eclairage (CIE) a* value, while the Du dry-cured ham had higher L*, CIE b* and hue angle values (p<0.05). Furthermore, breed significantly affected the sensory attributes of dry-cured hams with higher scores for color, aroma and taste found in KNP dry-cured ham as compared to other breed hams (p<0.05). The overall outcome of the study is that the breed has a potential effect on the specific chemical composition, texture, color and sensorial properties of dry-cured hams. These data could be useful for meat processors to select the suitable breeds for economical manufacturing of high quality dry-cured hams.
Fuzzy Cosets and their Gravity Duals

Dp-branes placed in a certain external RR (p+4)-form field expand into a transverse fuzzy two-sphere, as shown by Myers. We find that by changing the (p+4)-form background other fuzzy cosets can be obtained. Three new examples, S^2 X S^2, CP^2 and SU(3)/(U(1) X U(1)) are constructed. The first two are four-dimensional while the last is six-dimensional. The dipole and quadrupole moments which result in these configurations are discussed. Finally, the gravity backgrounds dual to these vacua are examined in a leading order approximation. These are multi-centered solutions containing (p+4)- or (p+6)-dimensional brane singularities.
Conceptualizing the Personal Touch: Experiential Knowledge and Gendered Strategies in Community Supervision Work

Tasked with a fractured institutional mandate of ensuring public safety while facilitating the rehabilitation of their criminalized clients, community supervision workers exercise a considerable amount of discretion in how to achieve these goals. Yet much remains unknown about these workers’ strategies for doing so, which are informed by experiential knowledge and social identities—what I call the “personal touch. ” Drawing on in-depth interviews conducted with California state parole agents and county probation officers as part of a larger ethnographic inquiry of prisoner reentry, I apply a feminist lens to analyze how workers leverage personal aspects of themselves that they value to manage the impossibilities of their work. My findings show how workers employ a personal touch to connect with clients in meaningful ways, but also how these approaches are built on normative assumptions about gender.
Synthetic speech/sound control language: MSCL

The Multi-layered Speech/Sound Synthesis Control Language (MSCL) proposed herein facilitates the synthesizing of several speech modes such as nuance, mental state and emotion, and allows speech to be synchronized to other media easily. MSCL is a multi-layered linguistic system and encompasses three layers: and semantic level layer (The S-layer), interpretation level layer (The I-layer), and parameter level layer (The P-layer). This multi-level description system is convenient for both laymen and professional users. MSCL also encompasses many e ective prosodic feature control functions such as a time-varying pattern description function, absolute and relative control forms, and SDS(Speaker Dependent Scale). MSCL enables more natural and expressive synthetic speech than conventional TTS systems. Furthermore, research was conducted into mental state tendencies using a test that examined the perceptions of the subject's sensibility to the control of synthetic speech prosody. The results showed the relationships between prosodic control rules and non-verbal expressions. Duration control reects information processing state in spoken dialogues. Sentence nal pitch contour control re ects the reliability of the information. Pitch contour dynamic range control indicates the speaker's excitement. The pitch contour control from start to peak pitch contour indicates the speaker's requirement for attention. These relationships are of use for constructing semantic prosody control. This paper describes these functions and the e ective prosodic feature controls possible with MSCL.
17 Work Groups and Teams in Organizations

This review chapter examines the literature on work team effectiveness. To begin, we consider their nature, define them, and identify four critical conceptual issues—context, workflow, levels, and time—that serve as review themes and discuss the multitude of forms that teams may assume. We then shift attention to the heart of the review, examining key aspects of the creation, development, operation, and management of work teams. To accomplish objectives of breadth and integration, we adopt a life-cycle perspective to organize the review. Topics involved in the team life cycle include: (1) team composition; (2) team formation, socialization, and development; (3) team processes, effectiveness, and enhancements; (4) team leadership and motivation; (5) and team continuance and decline. We characterize representative theory and research, identify thematic limitations, and highlight work that is beginning to push the boundaries on our critical conceptual issues. We also address application concerns where possible. Finally, we close with a discussion that reflects back on the topics, considers the state of progress regarding our critical conceptual themes, and suggests directions for new research to foster continued progress and development. Keywords: team composition; team development; team effectiveness; team leadership; team motivation
Reduction of syntactic video data clustering complexity in processing with compacted dither coding

The growing consumption of the digital video information is significant in this era. The digital video analysis and retrieval is not as simple as analysis and retrieval of information in normal data system. The visual information of video data lies in very complex nature with its high chromatic depth and density. The extraction of visual features from noisy and complex video data has a hierarchy of different sub systems from video file to chromatic attributes. This paper introduces a novel approach to reduce the video visual feature analyzing complexity and the higher level colour complexity of video data. It comes with simple vector quantization mechanism, high rate performance approach for classification of digital video visual features. Further this approach has tested with various video formats to generate probabilistic coding mechanism. The results of this approach show that it can be further enhanced with video graphical knowledge to guide the visual feature clustering with trained knowledge base.
A first speech recognition system for Mandarin-English code-switch conversational speech

This paper presents first steps toward a large vocabulary continuous speech recognition system (LVCSR) for conversational Mandarin-English code-switching (CS) speech. We applied state-of-the-art techniques such as speaker adaptive and discriminative training to build the first baseline system on the SEAME corpus [1] (South East Asia Mandarin-English). For acoustic modeling, we applied different phone merging approaches based on the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) and Bhattacharyya distance in combination with discriminative training to improve accuracy. On language model level, we investigated statistical machine translation (SMT) - based text generation approaches for building code-switching language models. Furthermore, we integrated the provided information from a language identification system (LID) into the decoding process by using a multi-stream approach. Our best 2-pass system achieves a Mixed Error Rate (MER) of 36.6% on the SEAME development set.