Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nanofibrous Chitosan-Polyethylene Oxide Engineered Scaffolds: A Comparative Study between Simulated Structural Characteristics and Cells Viability

3D nanofibrous chitosan-polyethylene oxide (PEO) scaffolds were fabricated by electrospinning at different processing parameters. The structural characteristics, such as pore size, overall porosity, pore interconnectivity, and scaffold percolative efficiency (SPE), were simulated by a robust image analysis. Mouse fibroblast cells (L929) were cultured in RPMI for 2 days in the presence of various samples of nanofibrous chitosan/PEO scaffolds. Cell attachments and corresponding mean viability were enhanced from 50% to 110% compared to that belonging to a control even at packed morphologies of scaffolds constituted from pores with nanoscale diameter. To elucidate the correlation between structural characteristics within the depth of the scaffolds' profile and cell viability, a comparative analysis was proposed. This analysis revealed that larger fiber diameters and pore sizes can enhance cell viability. On the contrary, increasing the other structural elements such as overall porosity and interconnectivity due to a simultaneous reduction in fiber diameter and pore size through the electrospinning process can reduce the viability of cells. In addition, it was found that manipulation of the processing parameters in electrospinning can compensate for the effects of packed morphologies of nanofibrous scaffolds and can thus potentially improve the infiltration and viability of cells.
Wikipedia based semantic metadata annotation of audio transcripts

A method to automatically annotate video items with semantic metadata is presented. The method has been developed in the context of the Papyrus project to annotate documentary- like broadcast videos with a set of relevant keywords using automatic speech recognition (ASR) transcripts as a primary complementary resource. The task is complicated by the high word error rate (WER) of the ASR for this kind of videos. For this reason a novel relevance criterion based on domain information is proposed. Wikipedia is used both as a source of metadata and as a linguistic resource for disambiguating keywords and for eliminating the out of topic/out of domain keywords. Documents are annotated with relevant links to Wikipedia pages, concepts definitions, synonyms, translations and concepts categories.
The Outer Mitochondrial Membrane Protein mitoNEET Contains a Novel Redox-active 2Fe-2S Cluster*

The outer mitochondrial membrane protein mitoNEET was discovered as a binding target of pioglitazone, an insulin-sensitizing drug of the thiazolidinedione class used to treat type 2 diabetes (Colca, J. R., McDonald, W. G., Waldon, D. J., Leone, J. W., Lull, J. M., Bannow, C. A., Lund, E. T., and Mathews, W. R. (2004) Am. J. Physiol. 286, E252–E260). We have shown that mitoNEET is a member of a small family of proteins containing a 39-amino-acid CDGSH domain. Although the CDGSH domain is annotated as a zinc finger motif, mitoNEET was shown to contain iron (Wiley, S. E., Murphy, A. N., Ross, S. A., van der Geer, P., and Dixon, J. E. (2007) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 104, 5318–5323). Optical and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy showed that it contained a redox-active pH-labile Fe-S cluster. Mass spectrometry showed the loss of 2Fe and 2S upon cofactor extrusion. Spectroscopic studies of recombinant proteins showed that the 2Fe-2S cluster was coordinated by Cys-3 and His-1. The His ligand was shown to be involved in the observed pH lability of the cluster, indicating that loss of this ligand via protonation triggered release of the cluster. mitoNEET is the first identified 2Fe-2S-containing protein located in the outer mitochondrial membrane. Based on the biophysical data and domain fusion analysis, mitoNEET may function in Fe-S cluster shuttling and/or in redox reactions.
Cultural Tourism and Identity

Studies of cultural tourism and indigenous identity are fraught with questions concerning exploitation, entitlement, ownership and authenticity. Unease with the idea of leveraging a group identity for commercial gain is ever-present. This anthology articulates some of these debates from a multitude of standpoints. It assimilates the perspectives of members of indigenous communities, non-governmental organizations, tourism practitioners and academic researchers who participated in an action research project that aims to link research to development outcomes.
Semiparametric density forecasts of daily financial returns from intraday data

In this article we propose a new method for producing semiparametric density forecasts for daily financial returns from high-frequency intraday data. The daily return density is estimated directly from intraday observations that have been appropriately rescaled using results from the theory of unifractal processes. The method preserves information concerning both the magnitude and sign of the intraday returns and allows them to influence all properties of the daily return density via the use of nonparametric specifications for the daily return distribution. The out-of-sample density forecasting performance of the method is shown to be competitive with existing methods based on intraday data for exchange rate and equity index data.
Classical and Quantum D-branes in 2 D String Theory

We investigate two classes of D-branes in 2-d string theory, corresponding to extended and localized branes, respectively. We compute the string emission during tachyon condensation and reinterpret the results within the c = 1 matrix model. As in hep-th/0304224, we find that the extended branes describe classical eigenvalue trajectories, while, as found in hep-th/0305159, the localized branes correspond to the quantum field that creates and destroys eigenvalues. This result suggests that the localized brane acts as the operator that creates the quantum version of the extended brane.
Automated Proofs of Pairing-Based Cryptography

Analyzing cryptographic constructions in the computational model, or simply verifying the correctness of security proofs, are complex and error-prone tasks. Although computer tools have significant potential to increase confidence in security proofs and to reduce the time for building these proofs, existing tools are either limited in scope, or can only be used by formal methods experts, and have a significant overhead. In effect, it has remained a challenge to design usable and intuitive tools for building and verifying cryptographic proofs, especially for more advanced fields such as pairing-based or lattice-based cryptography. This paper introduces a formal logic which captures some key reasoning principles in provable security, and more importantly, operates at a level of abstraction that closely matches cryptographic practice. Automatization of the logic is supported by an effective proof search procedure, which in turn embeds (extended and customized) techniques from automated reasoning, symbolic cryptography and program verification. Although the logic is general, some of the techniques for automating proofs are specific to fixed algebraic settings. Therefore, in order to illustrate the strengths of our logic, we implement a new tool, called AutoG&P, which supports extremely compact, and often fully automated, proofs of cryptographic constructions based on (bilinear or multilinear) Diffie-Hellman assumptions. For instance, we provide a 100-line proof of Waters' Dual System Encryption (CRYPTO'09), and fully automatic proofs of Boneh-Boyen Identity-Based Encryption (CRYPTO'04). Finally, we provide an automated tool that generates independently verifiable EasyCrypt proofs from AutoG&P proofs.
Restoration of Spermatogenesis and Male Fertility Using an Androgen Receptor Transgene

Androgens signal through the androgen receptor (AR) to regulate male secondary sexual characteristics, reproductive tract development, prostate function, sperm production, bone and muscle mass as well as body hair growth among other functions. We developed a transgenic mouse model in which endogenous AR expression was replaced by a functionally modified AR transgene. A bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) was constructed containing all AR exons and introns plus 40 kb each of 5' and 3' regulatory sequence. Insertion of an internal ribosome entry site and the EGFP gene 3’ to AR allowed co-expression of AR and EGFP. Pronuclear injection of the BAC resulted in six founder mice that displayed EGFP production in appropriate AR expressing tissues. The six founder mice were mated into a Sertoli cell specific AR knockout (SCARKO) background in which spermatogenesis is blocked at the meiosis stage of germ cell development. The AR-EGFP transgene was expressed in a cyclical manner similar to that of endogenous AR in Sertoli cells and fertility was restored as offspring were produced in the absence of Sertoli cell AR. Thus, the AR-EGFP transgene under the control of AR regulatory elements is capable of rescuing AR function in a cell selective, AR-null background. These initial studies provide proof of principle that a strategy employing the AR-EGFP transgene can be used to understand AR functions. Transgenic mice expressing selective modifications of the AR-EGFP transgene may provide crucial information needed to elicit the molecular mechanisms by which AR acts in the testis and other androgen responsive tissues.
Prolonged protection provided by a single dose of atovaquone-proguanil for the chemoprophylaxis of Plasmodium falciparum malaria in a human challenge model.

BACKGROUND We conducted a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial to establish the efficacy of atovaquone-proguanil to prevent malaria with the goal of simulating weekly dosing in a human Plasmodium falciparum challenge model. METHODS Thirty volunteers randomly received 1 of the following dose regimens: (1) 250 milligrams of atovaquone and 100 milligrams of proguanil (250/100 milligrams) 1 day prior to infectious mosquito challenge (day -1), (2) 250/100 milligrams on day 4 after challenge, (3) 250/100 milligrams on day -7, (4) 500 milligrams of atovaquone and 200 milligrams of proguanil (500/200 milligrams) on day -7 or, (5) 1000 milligrams of atovaquone and 400 milligrams of proguanil (1000/400 milligrams) on day -7. All regimens included matching placebo such that all volunteers received identical pill numbers. Six volunteers served as open-label infectivity controls. Volunteers underwent mosquito sporozoite challenge with P. falciparum 3D7 strain. Follow-up consisted of serial microscopy and close clinical monitoring for 90 days. RESULTS Six of 6 infectivity controls developed parasitemia as expected. Two of 5 evaluable volunteers receiving 250/100 milligrams 7 days prior to challenge and 1 of 6 volunteers receiving 1000/400 milligrams 7 days prior to challenge were microscopically diagnosed with malaria. All other volunteers were protected. Atovaquone exposure (area under the curve) during liver stage development was low in 2 of 3 volunteers with prophylactic failure (423 and 199 ng/mL × days compared with a mean for protected volunteers of 1903 ng/mL × days), as was peak concentration (165 and 81 ng/mL compared with a mean of 594 ng/mL in volunteers with prophylactic success). Elimination half-life was short in volunteers with prophylactic failure (2.4, 2.0, and 3.3 days compared with a mean of 4.1 days in volunteers with prophylactic success). CONCLUSIONS Single-dose atovaquone-proguanil provides effective malaria chemoprophylaxis against P. falciparum challenge at dosing intervals supportive of weekly dosing. Postexposure prophylaxis 4 days after challenge was 100% effective.
Intensification of tropical cyclones in the GFS model

Abstract. Special forecasts from the Global Forecast System (GFS) model were used in this study to evaluate how the intensification process in a tropical cyclone is represented in this model. Several tropical cyclones that developed in 2005 were analyzed in terms of the storm-scale circulation rather than more traditional measures such as maximum wind or minimum central pressure. The primary balance governing the circulation in the planetary boundary layer is between the convergence of environmental vorticity, which tends to spin up the storm, and surface friction, which tends to spin it down. In addition, we employ recently developed ideas about the relationship between precipitation and the saturation fraction of the environment to understand the factors controlling mass, and hence vorticity convergence. The budget of moist entropy is central to this analysis. Two well-known governing factors for cyclone intensification emerge from this study; surface moist entropy fluxes, dependent in the model on sea surface temperature and cyclone-generated surface winds, and ventilation of the system by dry environmental air. Quantitative expressions for the role of these factors in cyclone intensification are presented in this paper.
Power-efficient cooperative relaying with node location information in wireless sensor networks

Cooperative communication with a single relay is a simple and effective technology for wireless sensor networks. However, its gains often come at a price in terms of extra energy consumption for relay selecting and the relaying device running. As such, we contend that it is worthwhile to consider a relaying scheme that satisfies an overall performance requirement constraint such that cooperation is only invoked to save energy when necessary. In this paper, we propose a power-efficient relay selecting (PERS) scheme with node location information to answer the questions, ldquowhen to cooperaterdquoand ldquowhom to cooperate withrdquo, in terms of power-efficiency. Optimal power allocation strategies under both of overall symbol-error-rate (SER) constraint and maximum power limit are derived for both non-cooperative and cooperative schemes. Taking into account extra power, the scheme with minimum overall power is adopted for a source-destination pair. Then we also propose a low-complexity PERS scheme based on local information in wireless sensor nodes. Simulation results show that the proposed schemes are power-efficient than conventional cooperative scheme.
Broad-phase collision detection using semi-adjusting BSP-trees

The broad-phase step of collision detection in scenes composed of n moving objects is a challenging problem because enumerating collision pairs has an inherent O(n2) complexity. Spatial data structures are designed to accelerate this process, but often their static nature makes it difficult to handle dynamic scenes. In this work we propose a new structure called Semi-Adjusting BSP-tree for representing scenes composed of thousands of moving objects. An scheduling algorithm evaluates locations where the BSP-tree becomes unbalanced, uses several strategies to alter cutting planes, and defer updates based on their re-structuring cost. We show that the tree does not require a complete re-structuring even in highly dynamic scenes, but adjusts itself while maintaining desirable balancing and height properties.
The older the bolder? Does relative age among peers influence children's confidence and risk attitudes?

Relative age at school has been found to have long lasting consequences on a wide range of economic and social outcomes. We investigate the roots of these differences and study whether the relative age position of children at school plays a role in shaping their behavioural traits. We run a controlled experiment in high schools across two states in Australia. More than 600 students who are the very oldest or very youngest in their classroom participated. We elicit their preferences for competition, overconfidence, risk and ambiguity aversion, and professional aspirations. Overall, we find only mild evidence of an effect of relative age on the traits investigated.
A GIS-Based Multicriteria Decision Analysis Approach for Mapping Accessibility Patterns of Housing Development Sites: A Case Study in Canmore, Alberta

This paper presents a Geographic Information System (GIS) based multicriteria decision analysis approach for mapping accessibility patterns of housing development sites in Canmore, Alberta. The approach involves integrating two multicriteria decision methods (Analytical Hierarchy Process and Ordered Weighted Aver-aging) in a raster GIS environment, and incorporating the linguistic quantifier concept as a method for ob-taining the order weights. The approach facilitates a wide range of location (decision) strategies to be gener-ated and examined. The aim of the study is to help the housing development authorities in addressing the uncertainty involved in the decision making process, achieving a better understanding of the alternative ac-cessibility patterns. It also assists the authorities in evaluating and prioritizing the potential housing devel-opment sites in terms of accessibility levels.
Multi-Agent Plan Verification with Answer Set Programming

Reasoning about multi-agent plans allows to detect modelling failures and to improve the efficiency of the modelling process. Therefore, we evaluate the applicability of an answer set programming based reasoning support for the multiagent modelling language ALICA. For a proper judgement several reasoning tasks of different complexity are investigated. The overall architecture is highlighted and encountered problems are discussed. Finally it is concluded that answer set programming is a promising approach for reasoning about multi-agent plans.
Analysis of Dispersed-Phase Fresh Perspective Systems :

single-particle process Consider a single particle of volume V ( t ) at time t which undergoes random, discontinuous “erosion” to smaller sizes in accord with the probabilistic law: Pr( V ( t + d t ) I u I V ( f ) = u’ 1 = B ( u I u’ )dt We let F( u, t ) be the cumulative distribution function for the size of the single particle undergoing random erosion. Suppose that the cumulative probability distribution of the particle volume at time t + dt is desired from consideration of its size at time t . If the particle has to have at time t+dt volume less than or equal to u, it can arise from either of two mutually exclusive possibilities. One is that the particle had volume I u at time f, and the other is that it had volume 2 u at time t and underwent random erosion during the time interval t to t + dt to a size I v. Mathematically, this becomes F ( u , t + d t ) = F ( u , t ) + B(ulu’)aF(~’, t)dt s : which, on transposing and letting dt tend to 0, clearly leads to Eq. 6. Simulation of a breakup process The above single-particle process can be simulated in a very simple manner. In view of the equivalence of the single-particle erosion process to a population of particles undergoing breakage alone, the simulation procedure is applicable to the latter with a minimum of the bookkeeping that is characteristic of simulation strategies. Suppose that the size of the particle is known at any instant t . Following Shah et al. (1977), we may define a quiescence interval Tas the period in which the particle does not undergo random erosion (but that it certainly does during the instant following T). Using the methods of the cited o p , . m ixio-’ 1x104 1 x i o 5 1 x l 0“
A Novel Visual Feature Extraction and Its Application in Vowel Recognition

Speech recognition techniques have been developed dramatically in recent years. Nevertheless, errors caused by environmental noise are still a serious problem in recognition. Employing algorithms to detect and follow the motion of lips have been widely used to improve the performance of speech recognition algorithms. This paper presents a novel technique to recognize vowels. Lip features extracted by using a combined method are used as input parameters to a neural network system for recognition. Accuracy of the proposed method is verified by using it to recognize 6 main Farsi vowels.
Antigen-specific activation, tolerization, and reactivation of the interleukin 4 pathway in vivo

The outcome of immune responses critically depends on the pattern of lymphokines secreted by CD4+ T cells. CD4+ T cells may differentiate into interleukin 2 (IL-2) and interferon gamma secreting T helper 1 (Th1)-like cells or IL-4/IL-5/IL-10 secreting Th2-like cells. However, the mechanisms that regulate production of IL-4 or other T cell lymphokines in vivo remain unknown. We use the superantigen, Staphylococcus enterotoxin A (SEA), as a model antigen to characterize the signals that regulate the production of IL-4 in vivo. Induction of IL-4 in normal CD4+ T cells required stimulation with both antigen and IL-4. SEA-specific CD4+ T cells produced large amounts of IL-4 when restimulated within 10 d after in vivo priming. Repetitive application of both signals was required to prevent downregulation of IL-4 production. Although controversy exists regarding the susceptibility of Th2-like cells to tolerogenic signals, high doses of superantigen readily abolished the capacity to produce IL-4 in both naive T cells and in T cells already primed for IL-4 production. Infection with the nematode, Nippostrongylus brasiliensis, reversed the established T cell tolerance, whereas the signals which induced IL-4 production in normal T cells, antigen and IL-4, were not capable of reversing superantigen- specific tolerance in vivo. The major parameter that correlated with the capacity of parasitic infection to break tolerance was magnitude of the lymphoproliferation seen during the course of the infection. The capacity to activate or tolerize the IL-4 pathway in an antigen- specific fashion should prove useful in the design of antigen-specific therapies for autoimmune and allergic diseases.
Serum procalcitonin is a sensitive marker for septic shock and mortality in secondary peritonitis.

BACKGROUND Serum procalcitonin (PCT) is considered to be a sensitive marker for the early recognition of severe infection. The aim of this study was to review the diagnostic accuracy of serum procalcitonin levels to predict the risk of septic shock and mortality in patients with secondary peritonitis. METHODS We carried out a retrospective review of patients (November 2010 to November 2012) admitted to the surgical intensive care unit (ICU) with secondary peritonitis classified into localised peritonitis (LP) or diffuse peritonitis (DP) groups. Organ dysfunction was assessed with the SOFA score. Demographic data was collected as well as results for neutrophil count, C- reactive protein, blood lactate, and PCT levels. The primary end-point was ICU mortality. RESULTS From a total of 222 patients, 123 were allocated to the LP group and 99 to the DP group. Severe sepsis was observed in 41.9% of all patients in the DP group. The PCT levels increased significantly in the DP group, with the development of septic shock in 29 patients. Higher PCT levels were associated with an increased risk for septic shock with a cut-off value of 15.3 ng mL⁻¹ and an increased risk for mortality with a cut-off value 19.6 ng mL⁻¹. A total of 59.1% of those who developed septic shock died. CONCLUSION An increase in PCT levels is an indirect sign of diffuse secondary peritonitis and this is associated with an increased risk of septic shock. Increased PCT level on admission is associated with an increased risk of mortality in this category of patients.