Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Immobilization of Beauveria bassiana Lipase on Silica Gel by Physical Adsorption

Extracellular lipase from Beauveria bassianastrain CG481 was immobilized by using thirteen different immobilization protocols. Silica gel was chosen as the most suitable adsorbent with 94.8% of activity yield. The adsorption on silica gel did not change the optimum pH (8.5) and temperature (45oC) values of the free lipase (FL) for lipolytic activity, and it showed higher activities in extreme conditions (pH 9.0 to 10.5, 60oC). The lipase immobilized on silica gel (ILS) showed enhanced stability at pH 7.0 after 120 h incubation (69.0%) when compared to FL (33.3%). The thermal stability was also enhanced by immobilization at 60oC in aqueous (64.6%) and organic medium (95.1%), while FL showed only 40.6% of residual activity in aqueous medium and exhibited no activity for esterification reaction in n-heptane. The treatment of ILS with 0.8 M NaCl prevented lipase desorption while Triton X-100 (0.1%) resulted the enzyme leakage. The ILS was reused for four times for esterification reaction with 80.8% of initial activity.
From crypsis to mimicry: changes in colour and the configuration of the visual system during ontogenetic habitat transitions in a coral reef fish

ABSTRACT Animals often change their habitat throughout ontogeny; yet, the triggers for habitat transitions and how these correlate with developmental changes – e.g. physiological, morphological and behavioural – remain largely unknown. Here, we investigated how ontogenetic changes in body coloration and of the visual system relate to habitat transitions in a coral reef fish. Adult dusky dottybacks, Pseudochromis fuscus, are aggressive mimics that change colour to imitate various fishes in their surroundings; however, little is known about the early life stages of this fish. Using a developmental time series in combination with the examination of wild-caught specimens, we revealed that dottybacks change colour twice during development: (i) nearly translucent cryptic pelagic larvae change to a grey camouflage coloration when settling on coral reefs; and (ii) juveniles change to mimic yellow- or brown-coloured fishes when reaching a size capable of consuming juvenile fish prey. Moreover, microspectrophotometric (MSP) and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) experiments show developmental changes of the dottyback visual system, including the use of a novel adult-specific visual gene (RH2 opsin). This gene is likely to be co-expressed with other visual pigments to form broad spectral sensitivities that cover the medium-wavelength part of the visible spectrum. Surprisingly, the visual modifications precede changes in habitat and colour, possibly because dottybacks need to first acquire the appropriate visual performance before transitioning into novel life stages. Summary: The dusky dottyback goes through various cryptic stages and modifications of its visual system before turning into one of the most successful fish mimics on tropical coral reefs.
Propagation Characteristics of Microstrip Lines (MTLS) with Defected Ground Structure Slots: Theory and Application

Propagation characteristics, including scattering, dispersion, and loss modeling, of some microstrip lines (MTLs) with defected ground structure (DGS) slots were investigated in this paper. A simple approach was firstly introduced to calculate the slow-wave factors (SWF) of these MTLs with DGS. Based on the above-mentioned theory, a meander MTL structure with periodic DGS slots was proposed and analyzed. The improved SWF and characteristic impedances have been demonstrated, while the bandgap performances have been proved by experimental results. Further, a type of nonuniform DGS slots, which are composed of dual-periodic photonic bandgap structures, was applied to reduce the second-order harmonics and improve the output power of a Ku-band voltage-controlled oscillator. Measurements showed that the second-order harmonics are suppressed by more than - 20 dB and the output power is improved by 3–5%.
Nongeometric Distortion Smoothing Approach for Depth Map Preprocessing

Depth image-based rendering (DIBR) is a process that uses one 2-D color image and its associated depth map to render virtual view 3-D images. One of the main problems in DIBR is how to reduce holes that occur on the generated virtual view images. In general, preprocessing the whole depth image by smoothing filter before image warping can reduce the hole occurrence. However, smoothing the whole depth image not only produces some geometric distortions on the generated virtual directional images, but also increases computation time. This paper proposes an adaptive edge-oriented smoothing process to solve the above problem, in which the adaptive smoothing filter for the depth map is determined by the characteristics of the hole region with or without vertical lines in the color image. The adaptive smoothing filter contains two types: the asymmetric smoothing filter is used to reduce the geometric distortions by smoothing the hole regions with vertical lines that belong to the background; and the horizontal smoothing filter is used to reduce hole occurrence and computation time by smoothing the hole regions without vertical lines. The experiment results show that the proposed method turns out to be a good tradeoff between time saving, hole reduction rate, and virtual view quality.
Improved Nuclear Medicine Uniformity Assessment with Noise Texture Analysis

Because γ cameras are generally susceptible to environmental conditions and system vulnerabilities, they require routine evaluation of uniformity performance. The metrics for such evaluations are commonly pixel value–based. Although these metrics are typically successful at identifying regional nonuniformities, they often do not adequately reflect subtle periodic structures; therefore, additional visual inspections are required. The goal of this project was to develop, test, and validate a new uniformity analysis metric capable of accurately identifying structures and patterns present in nuclear medicine flood-field uniformity images. Methods: A new uniformity assessment metric, termed the structured noise index (SNI), was based on the 2-dimensional noise power spectrum (NPS). The contribution of quantum noise was subtracted from the NPS of a flood-field uniformity image, resulting in an NPS representing image artifacts. A visual response filter function was then applied to both the original NPS and the artifact NPS. A single quantitative score was calculated on the basis of the magnitude of the artifact. To verify the validity of the SNI, an observer study was performed with 5 expert nuclear medicine physicists. The correlation between the SNI and the visual score was assessed with Spearman rank correlation analysis. The SNI was also compared with pixel value–based assessment metrics modeled on the National Electrical Manufacturers Association standard for integral uniformity in both the useful field of view (UFOV) and the central field of view (CFOV). Results: The SNI outperformed the pixel value–based metrics in terms of its correlation with the visual score (ρ values for the SNI, integral UFOV, and integral CFOV were 0.86, 0.59, and 0.58, respectively). The SNI had 100% sensitivity for identifying both structured and nonstructured nonuniformities; for the integral UFOV and CFOV metrics, the sensitivities were only 62% and 54%, respectively. The overall positive predictive value of the SNI was 87%; for the integral UFOV and CFOV metrics, the positive predictive values were only 67% and 50%, respectively. Conclusion: The SNI accurately identified both structured and nonstructured flood-field nonuniformities and correlated closely with expert visual assessment. Compared with traditional pixel value–based analysis, the SNI showed superior performance in terms of its correlation with visual perception. The SNI method is effective for detecting and quantifying visually apparent nonuniformities and may reduce the need for more subjective visual analyses.
alvianolic acid B promotes osteogenesis of human mesenchymal tem cells through activating ERK signaling pathway

Salvianolic acid B, a major bioactive component of Chinese medicine herb, Salvia miltiorrhiza, is widely used for treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Our recent studies have shown that Salvianolic acid B can prevent development of osteoporosis. However, the underlying mechanisms are still not clarified clearly. In the present study, we aim to investigate the effects of Salvianolic acid B on viability and osteogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). The results showed Salvianolic acid B (Sal B) had no obvious toxic effects on hMSCs, whereas Sal B supplementation (5 M) increased the alkaline phosphatase activity, osteopontin, Runx2 and osterix expression in hMSCs. Under steogenesis alvianolic acid B steoporosis osteogenic induction condition, Sal B (5 M) significantly promoted mineralization; and when the extracellular-signal-regulated kinases signaling (ERK) pathway was blocked, the anabolic effects of Sal B were diminished, indicating that Sal B promoted osteogenesis of hMSCs through activating ERK signaling pathway. The current study confirms that Sal B promotes osteogenesis of hMSCs with no cytotoxicity, and it may be used as a potential therapeutic agent for the management of osteoporosis. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Generic Minimizing Behavior in Semialgebraic Optimization

We present a theorem of Sard type for semialgebraic set-valued mappings whose graphs have dimension no larger than that of their range space: the inverse of such a mapping admits a single-valued analytic localization around any pair in the graph, for a generic value parameter. This simple result yields a transparent and unified treatment of generic properties of semialgebraic optimization problems: “typical” semialgebraic problems have finitely many critical points, around each of which they admit a unique “active manifold” (analogue of an active set in nonlinear optimization); moreover, such critical points satisfy strict complementarity and second-order sufficient conditions for optimality are indeed necessary.
Impact of Early Postnatal Androgen Exposure on Voice Development

Background The impact of early postnatal androgen exposure on female laryngeal tissue may depend on certain characteristics of this exposure. We assessed the impact of the dose, duration, and timing of early androgen exposure on the vocal development of female subjects who had been treated for adrenocortical tumor (ACT) in childhood. Methods The long-term effects of androgen exposure on the fundamental vocal frequency (F0), vocal pitch, and final height and the presence of virilizing signs were examined in 9 adult (age, 18.4 to 33.5 years) and 10 adolescent (13.6 to 17.8 years) female ACT patients. We also compared the current values with values obtained 0.9 years to 7.4 years after these subjects had undergone ACT surgery, a period during which they had shown normal androgen levels. Results Of the 19 subjects, 17 (89%) had been diagnosed with ACT before 4 years of age, 1 (5%) at 8.16 years, and 1 (5%) at 10.75 years. Androgen exposure (2 to 30 months) was sufficiently strong to cause pubic hair growth in all subjects and clitoromegaly in 74% (14/19) of the subjects, but did not reduce their height from the target value. Although androgen exposure induced a remarkable reduction in F0 (132 Hz) and moderate pitch virilization in 1 subject and partial F0 virilization, resulting in F0 of 165 and 169 Hz, in 2 subjects, the majority had normal F0 ranging from 189 to 245 Hz. Conclusions Female laryngeal tissue is less sensitive to androgen exposure between birth and adrenarche than during other periods. Differential larynx sensitivity to androgen exposure in childhood and F0 irreversibility in adulthood are age-, concentration-, duration-, and timing-dependent events that may also be affected by exposure to inhibitory or stimulatory hormones. Further studies are required to better characterize each of these factors.
Immediate functional and non-functional loading of dental implants: a 2- to 60-month follow-up study of 646 titanium implants.

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was the evaluation, from a clinical point of view, of implants subjected to immediate functional loading (IFL) and to immediate non-functional loading (INFL) in various anatomical configurations. METHODS The study included 152 patients who had given their informed consent. A total of 646 implants were inserted. The implants were placed in 39 totally edentulous mandibles, 14 edentulous maxillae, 23 edentulous posterior mandibles, 16 edentulous anterior mandibles, 16 edentulous anterior maxillae, and 15 edentulous posterior maxillae. Fifty-eight implants were used to replace single missing teeth. In 65 cases, IFL was carried out for 422 implants. INFL was carried out in 116 cases, (224 implants). RESULTS In the IFL group 6 of 422 implants failed (1.4%); in the INFL group 2 of 224 implants failed (0.9%). All the other implants appeared, from clinical and radiographic observations, to have successfully osseointegrated and have been functioning satisfactorily since insertion. All failures were observed in the first few months after implant loading. CONCLUSION Immediate functional and non-functional loading seems to be a technique that gives satisfactory results in selected cases.
An open solution to provide personalized feedback for building energy management

The integration of renewable energy sources increases the complexity in mantaining the power grid. In particular, the highly dynamic nature of generation and consumption demands for a better utilization of energy resources, which seen the cost of storage infrastructure, can only be achieved through demand-response. Accordingly, the availability of energy and potential overload situations can be reflected using a price signal. The effectiveness of this mechanism arises from the flexibility of device operation, which is nevertheless heavily reliant on the exchange of information between the grid and its consumers. In this paper, we investigate the capability of an interactive energy management system to timely inform users on energy usage, in order to promote an optimal use of local resources. In particular, we analyze data being collected in several households in Italy and Austria to gain insights into usage behavior and drive the design of more effective systems. The outcome is the formulation of energy efficiency policies for residential buildings, as well as the design of an energy management system, consisting of hardware measurement units and a management software. The Mj\"olnir framework, which we release for open use, provides a platform where various feedback concepts can be implemented and assessed. This includes widgets displaying disaggregated and aggregated consumption information, as well as daily production and tailored advices. The formulated policies were implemented as an advisor widget able to autonomously analyze usage and provide tailored energy feedback.
Daily deaths are associated with combustion particles rather than SO2 in Philadelphia

OBJECTIVES To assess whether the association between SO2 and daily deaths in Philadelphia during the years 1974–88 is due to its correlation with airborne particles, and vice versa. METHODS There is a significant variation in the relation between total suspended particulate (TSP) and SO2 in Philadelphia by year and season. Firstly, 30 separate regressions were fitted for each pollutant in the warm and cold season of each year. These regressions controlled for weather, long term temporal patterns, and day of the week. Then a meta–regression was performed to find whether the effect of SO2 was due to TSP, or vice versa. RESULTS Controlling for TSP, there was no significant association between SO2and daily deaths. By contrast, in periods when TSP was less correlated with SO2, its association with daily deaths was higher. However, all of the association between TSP and daily deaths was explained by its correlation with extinction coefficient, a measurement of the scattering of light by fine particles, which has been shown to be highly correlated with fine combustion particles in Philadelphia. CONCLUSIONS The association between air pollution and daily deaths in Philadelphia is due to fine combustion particles, and not to SO2.
Spectroscopy of microwave plasmas and carbon nanostructures : from the visible to the extreme ultraviolet

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Layout-optimized sorting of goods with decentralized controlled conveying modules

To increase flexibility in intralogistics, decentralized controlled material handling systems have been developed. We investigate the suitability of one of these systems, the FlexConveyor, for sorting of goods. The FlexConveyor is a material handling system built out of multiple, identical modules, each equipped with a controller. By communicating with each other, the modules are able to cooperate and to transport goods from any source to its specific destination. For sorting of goods, densely connected layouts promise high throughput while requiring little space. To compare different layouts, to identify bottlenecks and to draw conclusion about algorithm optimizations, we do a layout analysis partially based on methods coming from the network analysis of national transportation networks. The results of this layout analysis are compared to experimental results of a discrete event simulation model.
A Novel Congestion Detection Scheme in TCP Over OBS Networks

This paper introduces a novel congestion detection scheme for high-bandwidth TCP flows over optical burst switching (OBS) networks, called statistical additive increase multiplicative decrease (SAIMD). SAIMD maintains and analyzes a number of previous round-trip time (RTTs) at the TCP senders in order to identify the confidence with which a packet loss event is due to network congestion. The confidence is derived by positioning short-term RTT in the spectrum of long-term historical RTTs. The derived confidence corresponding to the packet loss is then taken in the developed policy for TCP congestion window adjustment. We will show through extensive simulation that the proposed scheme can effectively solve the false congestion detection problem and significantly outperform the conventional TCP counterparts without losing fairness. The advantages gained in our scheme are at the expense of introducing more overhead in the SAIMD TCP senders. Based on the proposed congestion control algorithm, a throughput model is formulated, and is further verified by simulation results.
PapX, a P Fimbrial Operon-Encoded Inhibitor of Motility in Uropathogenic Escherichia coli

ABSTRACT Motility and adherence are two integral aspects of bacterial pathogenesis. Adherence, often mediated by fimbriae, permits bacteria to attach to host cells and establish infection, whereas flagellum-driven motility allows bacteria to disseminate to sites more advantageous for colonization. Both fimbriae and flagella have been proven important for virulence of uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC). Reciprocal regulation is one mechanism by which bacteria may reconcile the contradictory actions of adherence and motility. PapX, a P fimbrial gene product of UPEC strain CFT073, is a functional homolog of MrpJ of Proteus mirabilis; ectopic expression of papX in P. mirabilis reduces motility. To define the connection between P fimbria expression and motility in UPEC, the role of papX in the regulation of motility of strain CFT073 was examined. Overexpression of papX decreased motility of CFT073, which correlated with both a significant reduction in flagellin protein synthesized and flagella assembled on the cell surface. Conversely, an increase in motility and flagellin production was seen in an isogenic papX deletion mutant of CFT073. Microarray and quantitative reverse transcription-PCR analysis indicated that repression of motility of CFT073 by PapX appears to occur at the transcriptional level; expression of many motility-associated genes, including flhDC, the master regulator of motility, is decreased when papX is overexpressed. Transcription of motility genes is increased in the papX mutant compared to wild type. Electrophoretic mobility gel shift analysis revealed that PapX binds to the flhD promoter. We conclude that synthesis of P fimbriae regulates flagellum synthesis to repress motility via PapX.
Adaptively detecting changes in Autonomic Grid Computing

Detecting the changes is the common issue in many application fields due to the non-stationary distribution of the applicative data, e.g., sensor network signals, web logs and grid-running logs. Toward Autonomic Grid Computing, adaptively detecting the changes in a grid system can help to alarm the anomalies, clean the noises, and report the new patterns. In this paper, we proposed an approach of self-adaptive change detection based on the Page-Hinkley statistic test. It handles the non-stationary distribution without the assumption of data distribution and the empirical setting of parameters. We validate the approach on the EGEE streaming jobs, and report its better performance on achieving higher accuracy comparing to the other change detection methods. Meanwhile this change detection process could help to discover the device fault which was not claimed in the system logs.
Does Traditional Chinese Medicine pattern affect acupoint specific effect? Analysis of data from a multicenter, randomized, controlled trial for primary dysmenorrhea.

OBJECTIVES This study assessed the importance of the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) pattern on an acupoint-specific effect. DESIGN This was a TCM pattern subdivision analysis of the first intervention data from a multicenter, randomized, controlled trial (ISRCTN24863192) (the main trial). SETTINGS The main trial recruited participants from six hospitals in three provinces in China. SUBJECTS Five hundred and one (501) participants diagnosed with primary dysmenorrhea (PD) were enrolled in the main trial. INTERVENTIONS The main trial randomly and equally divided participants into three treatment groups with bilateral electroacupuncture at three sites, respectively: Sanyinjiao (SP6), Xuanzhong (GB39), and an adjacent nonacupoint. Participants were diagnosed with TCM patterns before the treatment. The intervention was carried out when the visual analogue scale (VAS) score of participant's menstrual pain was ≥ 40 mm on the first day of menstruation and lasted for 30 minutes. OUTCOME MEASURES The immediate improvement of pain was measured with a 100-mm VAS before the intervention, at 5 minutes, 10 minutes, and 30 minutes during the intervention, and at 30 minutes after the completion of this intervention. RESULTS Three (3) TCM patterns (n=320) were eligible for analysis, including Cold and Dampness Stagnation pattern (n=184), Qi and Blood Stagnation pattern (n=84), and Qi and Blood Deficiency pattern (n=52). In Cold and Dampness Stagnation pattern, the SP6 group had a significant reduction in VAS scores compared with the GB39 group (mean difference -7.6 mm) and the nonacupoint group (mean difference -8.2 mm), respectively. There was no difference between the latter two groups. There were no group differences in VAS scores in the other two patterns. CONCLUSIONS It suggested that TCM pattern might affect acupoint specific effect on the immediate pain relief obtained for participants with PD.