Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Biodegradation on the Structure and Properties of Windmill Palm (Trachycarpus fortunei) Fibers Using Different Chemical Treatments

In this work, windmill palm fiber (WPF), alkali-treated fiber (AF) without hemicellulose and bleached fiber (BF) without lignin were prepared and buried in soil for 30, 60 and 90 days. The surface morphology, chemical composition, crystallinity degree, mechanical properties, and residual mass rate of the samples, before and after biodegradation, were investigated. According to the results, soil burial degradation can remove the parenchyma cells and silica-bodies of WPF and deplete droplets containing the lignin of alkali-treated fiber after it has been buried for 30 days (AF30), and degradation of the single fiber cell wall of bleached fiber after it has been buried for 30 days (BF30). Buried in natural soil, lignin has a slower degradation rate than that of hemicellulose. WPF showed no significant differences in tensile strength after burial in soil for 90 days, because of the integrity fiber structure decreased the biodegradation. The most serious decrease, about 43%, in tensile strength occurred in AF after it had been buried for 90 days (BF90). This basic knowledge may be helpful for windmill palm fiber applications, especially for biodegradable composites.
Implementation of High-Precision Quadrature Control for Single-Stage SECS

In this paper, a high precision quadrature control for a single-stage solar energy conversion system (SECS) is presented with power quality improvement capabilities. The SECS uses a voltage source converter (VSC) which performs multifunctions. It harvests maximum energy from the solar photovoltaic (SPV) string and it integrates the extracted energy to the grid. In addition, it utilizes a SPV feed-forward loop to improve the dynamic response and reduces the burden on the proportional-integral controller by regulating dc bus voltage. To control the switching sequences of VSC, a high precision quadrature control is used which extracts the fundamental current from the contaminated load current. The mathematical formulation of quadrature control is corroborated by the experimental results of SECS under different operating conditions.
Chronic Allograft Nephropathy: Pathogenesis and Management of an Important Posttransplant Complication

Chronic allograft nephropathy is a devastating complication of kidney transplantation that is responsible for a significant proportion of graft loss. This complication is characterized by a progressive decline in kidney function, which is not attributable to a specific cause. Many risk factors exist for the development of chronic allograft nephropathy, including donor-, recipient-, and transplant-related factors (eg, use of calcineurin inhibitors and acute rejection episodes), as well as comorbid conditions such as hypertension and hyperlipidemia. There is no definitive treatment for this complication; management has focused on minimization or withdrawal of calcineurin inhibitors in conjunction with addition of sirolimus or mycophenolate mofetil. Alterations in the immunosuppressive regimen must be done cautiously, as precipitating acute rejection will cause further damage to the allograft. Optimal control of blood pressure, particularly with the use of agents such as angiotensin II receptor blockers, in conjunction with management of dyslipidemia may be effective concurrent therapies in patients with chronic allograft nephropathy.
ABRC: an end-to-end rate adaptation scheme for multimedia streaming over wireless LAN

The rapid growth of wireless LAN (WLAN) deployments will bring about many novel mobile applications. Among them will be real-time multimedia streaming applications running on UDP, which may interfere with current data applications running on TCP. This paper is a first attempt to investigate how to ensure the performance of these two groups of applications when they co-exist over a WLAN. Toward this end, we have designed and implemented a UDP rate adaptation scheme called adaptive-buffer rate control (ABRC) for multimedia streaming over WLAN. ABRC has two distinguishing features compared with other schemes: 1) it can achieve arbitrary bandwidth allocations between UDP and TCP in the WLAN, as opposed Io previously proposed "TCP friendly" schemes, which can only achieve uniform bandwidth allocations; and 2) the majority of previously proposed flexible bandwidth-allocation schemes achieve arbitrary bandwidth allocations by prioritizing and scheduling packet transmissions within network equipment (i.e., within routers, base stations, etc.). In contrast, ABRC is an end-to-end application-layer solution that does not require changes to current WLAN products, making it more readily deployable over existing networks.
Characterization of the Rate and Temperature Sensitivities of Bacterial Remineralization of Dissolved Organic Phosphorus Compounds by Natural Populations

Production, transformation, and degradation are the principal components of the cycling of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in marine systems. Heterotrophic Bacteria (and Archaea) play a large part in this cycling via enzymatic decomposition and intracellular transformations of organic material to inorganic carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P). The rate and magnitude of inorganic nutrient regeneration from DOM is related to the elemental composition and lability of DOM substrates as well as the nutritional needs of the mediating organisms. While many previous efforts have focused on C and N cycling of DOM, less is known in regards to the controls of organic P utilization and remineralization by natural populations of bacteria. In order to constrain the relative time scales and degradation of select dissolved organic P (DOP) compounds we have conducted a series of experiments focused on (1) assessment of the short-term lability of a range of DOP compounds, (2) characterization of labile DOP remineralization rates, and (3) examination of temperature sensitivities of labile DOP remineralization for varying bacterial populations. Results reinforce previous findings of monoester and polyphosphate lability and the relative recalcitrance of a model phosphonate: 2-aminoethylphosphonate. High resolution time-series of P-monoester remineralization indicates decay constants on the order of 0.67–7.04 day−1 for bacterial populations isolated from coastal and open ocean surface waters. The variability of these rates is predictably related to incubation temperature and initial concentrations of heterotrophic bacteria. Additional controls on DOP hydrolysis included seasonal shifts in bacterial populations and the physiological state of bacteria at the initiation of DOP addition experiments. Composite results indicate that bacterial hydrolysis of P-monoesters exceeds bacterial P demand and thus DOP remineralization efficiency may control P availability to autotrophs.
Changes in volatile compounds, microstructure and texture of sharri cheese during maturation

the Abstract Changes on volatile profile and microstructure during manufacture and maturation were determined in samples of Sharri mountain cheese obtained from farm batches in the main production area in Macedonia. These cheeses were analyzed at 1, 120 and 150 days of maturation for texture profile, volatile compounds and microstructure properties. A total of 82 volatile compounds including esters (20), acids (16), alcohols (15), terpenes (7), aldehydes (7), ketones (5) and miscellaneous (12) were identified by SPME/GC-MS. Hexanoic and butanoic acid were the most important carboxylic acids present in Sharri cheese. The highest concentration of carboxylic acids at cheeses were detected until 120 days of ripening, its concentration then decreased during 150 days of ripening. Volatiles and the textural parameters of the cheeses were significantly influenced by the maturation process (P < 0.05). Higher levels of springiness were observed in at the beginning of maturation however stiffness, showed a large decrease during the maturation. On the other hand, small differences in adhesiveness were registered throughout the entire maturation period. Similar behaviors were also found in microstructure. This fact could be, among other factors, consequences of differences in technologies and maturation conditions of different producers which are not well standardized, as there are neither defined protocols for this procedure.
RULE MINING AND CLASSIFICATION OF ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS USING ADAPTIVE REGRESSION TREES

: Road traffic accidents are among the top leading causes of deaths and injuries of various levels. Ethiopia is experiencing highest rate of such accidents resulting in fatalities and various levels of injuries. Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia, takes the lion’s share of the risk having higher number of vehicles and traffic and the cost of these fatalities and injuries has a great impact on the socio-economic development of a society. This research is focused on developing adaptive regression trees to build a decision support system to handle road traffic accident analysis for Addis Ababa city traffic office. The study focused on injury severity levels resulting from an accident using real data obtained from the Addis Ababa traffic office. Empirical results show that the developed models could classify accidents within reasonable accuracy.
Effects of Lamotrigine on field potentials, propagation, and long‐term potentiation in rat prefrontal cortex in multi‐electrode recording

Lamotrigine (LTG) is an anti‐epileptic drug that is widely used clinically in various neuropsychiatric disorders. Although consensus is found on the general mode of action by LTG on voltage‐gated sodium current, its effect on field potential, neuropropagation, and long‐term potentiation, especially in prefrontal cortex (PFC), is still not understood completely. We investigated LTG effects on synaptic response in rat prefrontal cortical slice with the aid of a novel multi‐electrode dish (MED64) system. The amplitude and propagation of field excitatory postsynaptic potentials (fEPSP), presynaptic fiber volleys (PrV) were expressed dimensionally in the MED64 system. Lamotrigine (3–100 μM) inhibited the amplitude and propagation of fEPSP and PrV in a concentration dependent manner. It exerted a predominant presynaptic action, as indicated by the increment in paired‐pulse facilitation. Stimulating dependency with reduction fEPSP was seen in the presence of LTG at clinically relevant concentrations as well as with PrV, both in amplitude and propagation. In addition, the depression of PrV amplitudes in the presence of LTG showed a use‐dependent fashion. As to LTP in PFC, it was not fEPSP amplitude but propagation reduced by LTG. In PFC, LTG exerts its use‐ and concentration‐dependent inhibitory effect on presynaptic action and depresses fEPSP amplitude and propagation in a clinically relevant concentration. LTP was preserved in its fEPSP amplitude but not propagation in PFC in the presence of LTG. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Computational Color Harmony based on Coloroid System

This paper presents experimentally based rules and methods for the creation of harmonic color sets. First, dichromatic rules are presented which concern the harmony relationships of two hues. For an arbitrarily given hue pair, we define the just harmonic saturation values, resulting in minimally harmonic color pairs. These values express the fuzzy border between harmony and disharmony regions using a single scalar. Second, the value of harmony is defined corresponding to the contrast of lightness, i.e. the difference of perceptual lightness values. Third, we formulate the harmony value of the saturation contrast, depending on hue and lightness. The results of these investigations form a basis for a unified, coherent dichromatic harmony formula as well as for analysis of polychromatic color harmony. Introduced color harmony rules are based on Coloroid, which is one of the 5 - 6 main color-order systems and furthermore it is an aesthetically uniform continuous color space. Coloroid has simple closed forward and backward transformation formulas with the color space of CIE XYZ. It relies on a huge number of observations and experiments, and it is a very suitable tool of color dynamics for describing aesthetical relationships. It has been used in numerous architectural projects. The experimental data that may be retrieved from them are only partly processed and published so far. Our article utilizes a 'slice' of this database, together with additional complementary observations. This paper is the first of a planned series of articles, dealing with rules and coherences of color harmony based on the Coloroid system.
Immunodepressive serum treatment of acute heart transplant rejection.

The second case, a woman aged 26, presented with a six-month history of intermittent abdominal pain and diarrhoea, the stools being semi-formed and not containing blood. She was noted to be anxious but no other ab- normality was found on examination, including sigmoidoscopy. The initial clinical diagnosis was that of the irritable bowel syndrome. A barium enema, barium meal and follow-through, and a colonic motility study showed no abnormality. A rectal biopsy specimen taken routinely at the initial sigmoid- oscopy showed submucosal granulomata very similar to those of case 1. The third case, a man aged 26, gave a six-month history of intermittent abdominal pain and diarrhoea with stools of ribbon-like appearance. Blood had been nQted in the stool on two isolated occasions but had been attributed to haemorrhoids. Examination, including sigmoidoscopy, disclosed no abnormality, and a provisional diagnosis of the irritable bowel syndrome was made. A barium enema and barium meal and follow-through were normal but a rectal biopsy specimen showed typical sarcoid-type granulomata similar to those in the first case.
Ergotamine-derived dopamine agonists and left ventricular function in Parkinson patients: systolic and diastolic function studied by conventional echocardiography, tissue Doppler imaging, and two-dimensional speckle tracking.

AIMS Ergot-derived dopamine agonists (EDDA) induce fibrotic heart valve disease. We aimed to investigate whether EDDA treatment also affects left ventricular (LV) function. METHODS AND RESULTS Myocardial function was evaluated in 110 Parkinson patients [mean age (63.4 +/- 9.0 years)] treated for at least 6 months with either EDDA (n = 71) or non-EDDA (n = 39). LV ejection fraction did not differ between EDDA and non-EDDA patients [63 +/- 4% vs. 65 +/- 4% (ns)]. There was no difference in prevalence of diastolic dysfunction between EDDA and non-EDDA patients [7% vs. 8% (ns)]. Finally, averaged LV systolic myocardial strain and longitudinal displacement analysed by means of two-dimensional speckle tracking showed no difference between EDDA and non-EDDA patients [strain: 19 +/- 3% vs. 19 +/- 2% (ns) and longitudinal displacement: 12 +/- 2 mm vs. 12 +/- 2 mm (ns)]. Elevated p-NT-proBNP was found in 38% of EDDA patients and in 59% of non-EDDA patients (ns). CONCLUSION In contrast to the well-established association between EDDA treatment and valvular fibrosis, EDDA did not have a detectable adverse impact on myocardial systolic and diastolic function.
A Comparison of Parallel Pyrosequencing and Sanger Clone-Based Sequencing and Its Impact on the Characterization of the Genetic Diversity of HIV-1

Background Pyrosequencing technology has the potential to rapidly sequence HIV-1 viral quasispecies without requiring the traditional approach of cloning. In this study, we investigated the utility of ultra-deep pyrosequencing to characterize genetic diversity of the HIV-1 gag quasispecies and assessed the possible contribution of pyrosequencing technology in studying HIV-1 biology and evolution. Methodology/Principal Findings HIV-1 gag gene was amplified from 96 patients using nested PCR. The PCR products were cloned and sequenced using capillary based Sanger fluorescent dideoxy termination sequencing. The same PCR products were also directly sequenced using the 454 pyrosequencing technology. The two sequencing methods were evaluated for their ability to characterize quasispecies variation, and to reveal sites under host immune pressure for their putative functional significance. A total of 14,034 variations were identified by 454 pyrosequencing versus 3,632 variations by Sanger clone-based (SCB) sequencing. 11,050 of these variations were detected only by pyrosequencing. These undetected variations were located in the HIV-1 Gag region which is known to contain putative cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) and neutralizing antibody epitopes, and sites related to virus assembly and packaging. Analysis of the positively selected sites derived by the two sequencing methods identified several differences. All of them were located within the CTL epitope regions. Conclusions/Significance Ultra-deep pyrosequencing has proven to be a powerful tool for characterization of HIV-1 genetic diversity with enhanced sensitivity, efficiency, and accuracy. It also improved reliability of downstream evolutionary and functional analysis of HIV-1 quasispecies.
Anthropometerical association of the craniofacial dysmorphology with schizophrenia.

BACKGROUND Dysmorphology is more concentrated in the craniofacial region of Schizophrenic Patients. So, an early anthropometric assessment of the physical dimensions of the cranium and the face may indicate a potential clue of Schizophrenia. AIMS To study the craniofacial dysmorphology in schizophrenic patients and in healthy controls of the Agra region and to find out whether its evaluation could be used as a tool in the early diagnosis of schizophrenia. SETTING AND DESIGN This was a case-control, cross-sectional study. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Schizophrenic Patients well diagnosed by consultant psychiatrists on the basis of the DSM IV criteria of the S.N. Medical College Agra and the Institute of Mental health, Agra and healthy controls of Agra were selected for the study. The total facial height (trichion to gnathion), the upper facial height (trichion to subnasale) and the lower facial height (subnasale to gnathion) were measured among the various groups of patients and the controls. The mean data were statistically correlated by using the t test for the independent variables. RESULTS The total facial height (trichion to gnathion) was elongated in the Schizophrenic male patients as compared to the controls. When we compared the schizophrenic patients on the basis of the family history of schizophrenia, it was found that there was an elongation of the total facial height in the patients with a positive family history of schizophrenia as compared to the patients without a family history of schizophrenia. There was also a significant elongation of the upper facial height (trichion to subnasale ) in the schizophrenic male and female patients. CONCLUSIONS There was total facial elongation and upper facial region elongation in the schizophrenia patients as compared to the controls.
A New SVM Method for Short Text Classification Based on Semi-Supervised Learning

Short text is a popular text form, which is widely used in short commentary, micro-blog and many other fields. With the development of the social software and movie websites, the size of data is also becoming larger and larger. Most data is useless for us while other data is important for us. Therefore, it is very necessary for us to extract the useful short text from the big data. However, there are some problems such as fewer features, irregularity on the short text classification. To solve the problem we should pretreat the short text set and choose the significant features. This paper use semi-supervised learning and SVM to improve the traditional method and it can classify a large number of short texts to mining the useful massage from the short text. The experimental results also show a good improvement.
Gonococcal infections and emergence of gonococcal decreased susceptibility to cephalosporins in France, 2001 to 2012.

Resistance to cephalosporins may lead to untreatable gonococcal infections. We describe the results of the sentinel surveillance of gonococcal infections and the evolution of the resistance of Neisseria gonorrhoeae to antibiotics in France from 2001 to 2012. We also analyse the factors associated with decreased susceptibility to third generation cephalosporins. In France, surveillance of gonococcal infections is conducted through a network of voluntarily participating laboratories. Strains are sent to the national reference laboratory to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for six antibiotics. During the study period, the number of gonococcal infections increased steadily. The susceptibility of 8,649 strains was studied for this period. The proportion of strains with decreased susceptibility to cefixime (MIC>0.125 mg/L) quadrupled between 2011 (0.7%:10/1,521) and 2012 (3.0%: 33/1,093; p 0.125 mg/L for ceftriaxone. Decreased susceptibility to cephalosporins increased with older age and was more common in pharyngeal strains. Decreased susceptibility to cefixime may indicate that the national recommendation to use ceftriaxone as a first line treatment for cases of urethritis and cervicitis has not been fully implemented. Enhanced surveillance of pharyngeal strains is strongly suggested.
Automatic Speech Recognition for How and why it actu

In this paper, we examine various studies and reviews on the usability of Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) technology as a tool to train pronunciation in the second language (L2). We show that part of the criticism that has been addressed to this technology is not warranted, being rather the result of limited familiarity with ASR technology and with broader Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) courseware design matters. In our analysis we also consider actual problems of state-of-the-art ASR technology, with a view to indicating how ASR can be employed to develop courseware that is both pedagogically
The rate of environmental change drives adaptation to an antibiotic sink

Recent accelerated trends of human‐induced global changes are providing many examples of adaptation to novel environments. Although the rate of environmental change can vary dramatically, its effect on evolving populations is unknown. A crucial feature explaining the adaptation to harsh environments is the supply of beneficial mutations via immigration from a ‘source’ population. In this study, we tested the effect of immigration on adaptation to increasing concentrations of antibiotics. Using experimental population of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a pathogenic bacterium, we show that higher immigration rates and a slow increase in antibiotic concentration result in a more rapid evolution of resistance; however, a high immigration rate combined with rapid increases in concentration resulted in higher maximal levels of resistance. These findings, which support recent theoretical work, have important implications for the control of antibiotic resistance because they show that rapid rates of change can produce variants with the ability to resist future treatments.