Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Visualization of the endoplasmic reticulum in living buds and branches of the moss Funaria hygrometrica by confocal laser scanning microscopy

Caulonemata of the moss Funaria hygrometrica were vitally stained with the fluorescent, lipophilic carbocyanine dye DiOC6(3) and examined via confocal laser scanning microscopy. Although DiOC6(3) stained nearly all of the organelles, cortical endoplasmic reticulum (ER) could be resolved under favorable conditions and appeared as a network of irregular polygons, interspersed with lamellar cisternae in some cell types. The pattern of cortical ER was examined first during side initial formation and then in young branches and buds. The ER network extends into the outgrowth of a developing side initial, keeping pace with elongation of the outgrowth. Prior to the cell division that cuts off the outgrowth from the underlying cell, the network in the outgrowth becomes tighter, i.e. the polygons become smaller. If the side initial develops as a branch, this somewhat tighter ER network is maintained in the tip-growing side branch. If the side initial develops as a bud, dramatic changes in both the configuration and the quantity of the ER network occur. Coincident with the apical swelling that marks the first visible sign of bud formation, the network becomes increasingly tighter until eventually the polygonal configuration is barely discernible. The increased coverage of the bud cortex by the ER network demonstrates that a significant increase in the quantity of membranes also takes place during bud formation in Funaria.
Lung abscess combined with chronic osteomyelitis of the mandible successfully treated with video‐assisted thoracoscopic surgery

With the progress of antibiotic therapy, the mortality of lung abscess has been improved, and surgical intervention has declined. However, surgery is still required in selected cases that are intractable to antibiotic treatment. Video‐assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) is beneficial for treatment and/or diagnosis of pulmonary disease as it provides a less invasive surgical technique and reduces prolongation of post‐operative recovery. However, the indication of VATS lobectomy for lung abscess is controversial as a result of particular complications, i.e. wet lung, intrapleural adhesion and ease of bleeding. We herein report a rare combination of lung abscess and osteomyelitis of mandible resulting from the same pathogen successfully treated with VATS lobectomy. We propose VATS lobectomy for lung abscess. This procedure might be the best treatment candidate for selected cases of lung abscess.
12.9 A fully integrated 6W wireless power receiver operating at 6.78MHz with magnetic resonance coupling

Wireless power transfer (WPT) systems are becoming ubiquitous with applications in powering medical implants and a range of portable consumer electronic devices such as smart phones and wearable devices. Wireless power transferring methods can be classified into two types: inductive and resonant. For the resonant type, wider-range power transfer is possible, and multiple devices with different power requirements can be charged at the same time. The Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP) has chosen the 6.78MHz ISM band as the power-transfer frequency [1]. At 6.78MHz, the associated switching loss is an order of magnitude larger than that in a typical wireless receiver based on an inductive coupling, with a carrier frequency of around 200kHz. Besides the two fundamental aspects of switching frequency and power, there is a third important parameter, notably the higher input voltage range needed for the `loosely coupled' resonant type, which is 25V maximum for this work. Ref. [2] appears to be one of few works that can be entirely related to the current work, targeting the same application. However, it does not integrate the most critical parts of the receiver, such as the AC-DC rectifier. Other works in the same frequency range are either limited to low-power applications [3] or the AC-DC rectifier is a stand-alone chip [4-5].
Visual Perception of Orientation is Categorical near Vertical and Continuous near Horizontal

Four experiments were conducted to examine whether visual-orientation information is perceived categorically. In experiments 1 and 3, adult participants sorted oriented line stimuli into broad oblique and narrow vertical or horizontal categories. Experiments 2 and 4 showed that categorical discrimination of orientation occurred only near the vertical – oblique boundary. The data indicate that there is categorical perception near vertical and more continuous perception near horizontal. The results are relevant to the debate over whether categorical perception is derived from perceptual structure, verbal coding, or within-task learning. In addition, the asymmetrical perception of orientation around vertical and horizontal is consistent with the possibility that there may be differences in the functional significance of orientation near the two main axes.
Highly time-resolved chemical characterization of atmospheric fine particles during 2010 Shanghai World Expo

Abstract. Shanghai, with a population of over 20 million, is the largest mega-city in China. Rapidly increasing industrial and metropolitan emissions have deteriorated its air quality in the past decades, with fine particle pollution as one of the major issues. However, systematic characterization of atmospheric fine particles with advanced measurement techniques has been very scarce in Shanghai. During 2010 Shanghai World Expo, we deployed a high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS) and a single particle soot photometer (SP2) in urban Shanghai between 15 May and 10 June 2010 to measure fine particles with a high time resolution. The 4-min resolution PM1 mass concentration ranged from 5.5 to 155 μg m−3, with an average of 29.2 μg m−3. On average, sulfate and organic matter (OM) were the most abundant PM1 components, accounting for 33.3 and 28.7% of the total mass, respectively, while the fraction of nitrate showed an increasing trend with the increasing PM1 loading, indicating the photochemical nature of high fine particle pollution in Shanghai. Taking advantage of HR-ToF-AMS and SP2, OM was found to have an average OM/OC ratio (organic matter mass/organic carbon mass) of 1.55 and black carbon (BC) had an average number fraction of internally mixed BC of 41.2%. Positive matrix factorization (PMF) analysis on the high resolution organic mass spectral dataset identified a hydrocarbon-like (HOA), a semi-volatile oxygenated (SV-OOA), and a low-volatility oxygenated (LV-OOA) organic aerosol component, which on average accounted for 24.0, 46.8, and 29.2% of the total organic mass, respectively. The diurnal patterns of them with interesting time delay possibly implied a photochemical oxidizing process from HOA (and/or its concurrently emitted gaseous organic pollutants) to SV-OOA to LV-OOA. Back trajectory analysis indicated that the northwesterly continental air mass represented the most severe pollutant regional transport condition with the highest nitrate and SV-OOA fractions. In addition, the results in Shanghai were compared with similar measurements performed recently in other mega-cities in the world.
The apical transmembrane protein Crumbs functions as a tumor suppressor that regulates Hippo signaling by binding to Expanded

The Hippo signaling pathway regulates organ size and tissue homeostasis from Drosophila to mammals. At the core of the Hippo pathway is a kinase cascade extending from the Hippo (Hpo) tumor suppressor to the Yorkie (Yki) oncoprotein. The Hippo kinase cascade, in turn, is regulated by apical membrane-associated proteins such as the FERM domain proteins Merlin and Expanded (Ex), and the WW- and C2-domain protein Kibra. How these apical proteins are themselves regulated remains poorly understood. Here, we identify the transmembrane protein Crumbs (Crb), a determinant of epithelial apical-basal polarity in Drosophila embryos, as an upstream component of the Hippo pathway in imaginal disk growth control. Loss of Crb leads to tissue overgrowth and target gene expression characteristic of defective Hippo signaling. Crb directly binds to Ex through its juxtamembrane FERM-binding motif (FBM). Loss of Crb or mutation of its FBM leads to mislocalization of Ex to basolateral domain of imaginal disk epithelial cells. These results shed light on the mechanism of Ex regulation and provide a molecular link between apical-basal polarity and tissue growth. Furthermore, our studies implicate Crb as a putative cell surface receptor for Hippo signaling by uncovering a transmembrane protein that directly binds to an apical component of the Hippo pathway.
On the spatial scale of dispersal in coral reef fishes

Marine biologists have gone through a paradigm shift, from the assumption that marine populations are largely ‘open’ owing to extensive larval dispersal to the realization that marine dispersal is ‘more restricted than previously thought’. Yet, population genetic studies often reveal low levels of genetic structure across large geographic areas. On the other side, more direct approaches such as mark‐recapture provide evidence of localized dispersal. To what extent can direct and indirect studies of marine dispersal be reconciled? One approach consists in applying genetic methods that have been validated with direct estimates of dispersal. Here, we use such an approach—genetic isolation by distance between individuals in continuous populations—to estimate the spatial scale of dispersal in five species of coral reef fish presenting low levels of genetic structure across the Caribbean. Individuals were sampled continuously along a 220‐km transect following the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, population densities were estimated from surveys covering 17 200 m2 of reef, and samples were genotyped at a total of 58 microsatellite loci. A small but positive isolation‐by‐distance slope was observed in the five species, providing mean parent‐offspring dispersal estimates ranging between 7 and 42 km (CI 1–113 km) and suggesting that there might be a correlation between minimum/maximum pelagic larval duration and dispersal in coral reef fishes. Coalescent‐based simulations indicate that these results are robust to a variety of dispersal distributions and sampling designs. We conclude that low levels of genetic structure across large geographic areas are not necessarily indicative of extensive dispersal at ecological timescales.
Rede de Pesquisadores Brasileiros em Ontologia: Uma Análise de Rede Social

The research interest in the topic ontology has grown considerably in recent decades. Ontologies are searched or used primarily in the areas of Humanities, Exact and Health. This article aims to analyze the collaboration network based on co-authorship of Brazilian researchers on this topic. We retrieved 1179 articles in journals and national and international conferences from the Scopus database. The co-authorship network was created and analyzed using metrics social network analysis. The results show the existence of a fragmented network with many individual components, where the major component of the area presents authors with higher computing centralities. Resumo. O interesse de pesquisa pelo topico ontologia vem crescendo consideravelmente nas ultimas decadas. Ontologias sao pesquisadas ou utilizadas principalmente nas areas de Ciencias Humanas, Exatas e Saude. Esse artigo objetiva analisar a rede de colaboracao baseada em coautoria dos pesquisadores brasileiros nesse topico. Foram recuperados 1179 artigos em periodicos e conferencias nacionais e internacionais a partir da base de dados Scopus. A rede de coautoria foi criada e analisada atraves de metricas de analise de rede social. Os resultados mostram a existencia de uma rede fragmentada com muitos componentes isolados, onde o maior componente apresenta autores da area de computacao com as maiores centralidades. 1. Introducao Ontologia vem se tornando um topico de interesse de pesquisadores em todo o mundo. Inicialmente abordado por pesquisadores da area de Ciencias Humanas pelas suas raizes na Filosofia, posteriormente se transformou em objeto de pesquisa da area de Computacao. Uma pesquisa recente pelo termo “ontolog*” na base de dados Scopus revelou a existencia em torno de 56.000 documentos contra 2 documentos em 1980. A mesma pesquisa, para documentos onde pelo menos um autor e brasileiro encontrou 1179 documentos, sendo o primeiro deles publicado no ano de 1995. A partir desse ano, o numero de artigos com a participacao de pelo menos um autor brasileiro teve uma ascendencia constante e atingiu seu pico em 2010, com 198 documentos, o que denota o interesse e a importância desse topico de pesquisa para a ciencia no Brasil.
A model of quantitative traits under frequency-dependent balancing selection

We describe a computer model that stimulates a combination of stabilizing and frequency-dependent selection acting on a quantitative character determined by several loci. The results correspond to many features of natural variations at both the phenotypic and genotypic levels. The model is robust, and its results are not strongly dependent either on the nature and shape of the function describing the stabilizing selection, or on the precise form of frequency dependence, except near the extrema. It suggests a mechanism for the maintenance of large amounts of variability, and shows a relation between population size and heterozygosity roughly corresponding to that found in nature. In this respect it is unlike the purely neutral model.
Dance Partner Robot: An engineering approach to human-robot interaction

A Dance Partner Robot, PBDR (Partner Ball Room Dance Robot), dances a waltz as a female dancer together with a human male dancer. The waltz, a ball room dance, is usually performed by a male dancer and a female dancer, and consists of a certain number of steps, and transition of the steps. The dance is lead by the male dancer based on the transition rule of the dance. The female dance partner estimates the following step through physical interactions with the male dancer. The dance partner robot has a database about the waltz and its transition rule for estimating the following dance step and generating an appropriate step motion. The step estimation is done based on the time-series data of the force/torque applied by the male dancer to the robot upper body. The robot motion is generated for the estimated step using the step motion in the database compliantly against the interface force/moment between the human dancer and the robot in real time. The development of the dance partner robot has suggested us a lot of important issues for robots having interaction with a human. Why we are developing the dance partner robot and how the concept will be applied to other robot systems will be discussed in the presentation.
1 OSkAR : The Development of an OpenCV-based Speaking Assistant Robot

2 1. Need Identification. 2 2. Objectives . 2 3. Requirements . 3 4. Research . 4 4.1. Overview of Object Recognition . 4 4.2. Object Recognition and Robotics . 6 4.3. Haar-like Features . 6 4.4. Local Binary Patterns . 8 4.5. SURF . 9 4.6. Adaboost and Classifier Training . 9 4.7. Positive Sample Generation Algorithm . 10 4.8. BeagleBone Black . 10 4.9. BeagleBone Black . 11 5. Hardware . 12 6. Testing Environment . 13 7. Conclusion . 16
Investigation of Switching Angles Corresponding to the Elimination of Voltage Harmonics in Asymmetrical Seven Level Inverters

- This work discusses the investigation of notches corresponding to the elimination of voltage harmonics in single phase seven level asymmetrical inverter. The simulation is done using MATLAB-Simulink environment for modulation index m a = 0.8 and for various modulation frequencies m f . The reference is a stepped wave form and the carrier are triangular carrier are used for generation of pulse width modulation (PWM) in order to turn on the switches. Performance parameters are root mean square value of output voltage, DC component in output voltage, Average of output voltage, form factor, total harmonic distortion and crest factor are compared and analyzed for various carrier frequencies. It was found that the THD is better in few of the modulation index and eliminated in case of few cases .
Face recognition at a distance: low-resolution and alignment problems

Existing face recognition techniques are very successful in recognizing high-resolution facial images. However, their performance is not sufficient on low-resolution facial images. In this thesis we focus on dealing with a typical forensic scenario, where the gallery images are the high-resolution mug-shots in the police database and the probe images are the low-resolution surveillance quality facial images. We proposed a novel method, mixed-resolution biometric comparison, which allows direct low-resolution to high-resolution comparison. The method is based on the likelihood ratio framework where in the derivation of the expression for the likelihood ratio, the combined statistics of the low- and high-resolution images is taken into account. Our experiments on surveillance quality images demonstrate that this method significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art. In literature on low-resolution face recognition, what in some papers is considered as low-resolution, is still considered as high-resolution in other papers. To harmonize the terminology in low-resolution face recognition, we propose a resolution scale. We define the range of low-resolution and further divide it into Upper Low Resolution, Moderately Low Resolution and Very Low Resolution. Because the lack of low-resolution images, most of the existing low-resolution face recognition methods are trained and tested using down-sampled images. In this thesis, we test various face recognition methods and demonstrate that down-sampled images are not fully representative of realistic low-resolution images. We further demonstrate that, inaccurate alignment is the major problem that causes the poor recognition performance on real low-resolution images. In addition, we propose to use matching-score based registration to achieve better alignment and hence better face recognition performance. In conclusion, we propose solutions to compare low-resolution probes with high-resolution galleries which significantly outperform the state-of-the-art on surveillance quality facial images. We emphasise that realistic low-resolution material should be used for training and testing. We focus attention on developing face recognition methods that can actually be useful for real-life applications. We bring an important step forward of low-resolution face recognition for forensic search.
Advantages and limits of formal approaches for ultra-high dependability

The paper discusses the advantages and limits of formal approaches to software development for achieving ultra-high dependability of critical computer systems. Among the issues addressed are: what is a formal specification? What can be done with it? What is correctness? What kind of certainty comes from a proof? And from testing? The paper does not claim to answer these questions: rather it is a formulation of the author's reflections and perplexities in this area. <<ETX>>
Nitrite Attenuates Ischemia-Reperfusion–Induced Microcirculatory Alterations and Mitochondrial Dysfunction in the Microvasculature of Skeletal Muscle

Background: Recently, nitrite has been rediscovered as a physiologically relevant storage reservoir of nitric oxide in blood and it can readily be converted to nitric oxide under hypoxic and acidic conditions. In this study, the authors evaluated the therapeutic efficacy of nitrite on reperfusion-induced microcirculatory alterations and mitochondrial dysfunction in the microvasculature of skeletal muscle. Methods: The authors used a vascular pedicle isolated rat cremaster model that underwent 4 hours of warm ischemia followed by 2 hours or 17 hours of reperfusion. At 5 minutes before reperfusion, normal saline, sodium nitrite (0.20 &mgr;M/minute/kg), or nitrite mixed with 2-(4-carboxyphenyl)-4,5-dihydro-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-3-oxide-1-oxyl (potassium salt) (0.2 mg/minute/kg) was infused into the microcirculation of ischemic cremaster by means of intraarterial infusion. Ischemia-reperfusion–induced microcirculatory alterations were measured after 2 hours of reperfusion. Microvasculature of the cremaster muscle including the vascular pedicle was harvested to determine the mitochondrial dysfunction. The blood concentration of methemoglobin was also measured to determine the toxicity of nitrite. Results: The authors found that nitrite significantly attenuated ischemia-reperfusion–induced vasoconstriction, arteriole stagnation, and capillary no-reflow in the early phase of reperfusion and the depolarization of mitochondrial membrane potential and cytochrome c release in the late phase of reperfusion. Nitrite-induced protection was significantly blocked by a nitric oxide scavenger (potassium salt). The methemoglobin results showed that the doses of nitrite we used in the present study were safe. Conclusion: The supplementation of a low dose of nitrite, directly into the microcirculation of ischemic muscle through local intraarterial infusion, significantly attenuated ischemia-reperfusion–induced microcirculatory alterations in vivo and mitochondrial dysfunction in vitro in the microvasculature of skeletal muscle.
From nano to micro: topographical scale and its impact on cell adhesion, morphology and contact guidance

Topography, among other physical factors such as substrate stiffness and extracellular forces, is known to have a great influence on cell behaviours. Optimization of topographical features, in particular topographical dimensions ranging from nanoscale to microscale, is the key strategy to obtain the best cellular performance for various applications in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. In this review, we provide a comprehensive survey on the significance of sizes of topography and their impacts on cell adhesion, morphology and alignment, and neurite guidance. Also recent works mimicking the hierarchical structure of natural extracellular matrix by combining both nanoscale and microscale topographies are highlighted.
Alcohol selectively impairs negative self-relevant associations in young drinkers

The stress-dampening effects of alcohol have been attributed to ‘appraisal disruption’− decreased ability of stimuli to evoke threatening associations in memory. Appraisal disruption could apply to oneself as well as situational stimuli. This question was investigated in undergraduate drinkers (n = 90/Gender) with low or high anxiety sensitivity (AS; n = 90/AS Group), a trait linked with hyper-vigilance to threat. Subjects received alcohol (0.7 g/kg males; 0.63 g/kg females), placebo or soft drink and performed a speech about their appearance. Sequence of drink administration and speech advisory (threat) was manipulated between subjects: Threat before Drink, Threat after Drink, No-Threat Control. The Implicit Association Test measured self-relevant associations based upon time to classify positive and negative attribute words (e.g. Cute, Ugly) paired with self-relevant or non-self-relevant object words (e.g. Me, Them). Alcohol selectively slowed negative self-relevant decisions, regardless of other factors. Relative fluency of negative versus positive decisions (D) correlated inversely with state anxiety and systolic blood pressure immediately before speech performance, and correlated directly with severity of alcohol problems. These findings are consistent with the Appraisal Disruption hypothesis. Preferential impairment of negative self-relevant associations may decrease perceived vulnerability under alcohol and increase risk for alcohol problems in young drinkers.