Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Anti-Cancer Mechanisms of Diarylpentanoid MS17 (1,5-Bis(2-hydroxyphenyl)-1,4-pentadiene-3-one) in Human Colon Cancer Cells: A Proteomics Approach

Diarylpentanoids are synthesized to overcome curcumin’s poor bioavailability and low stability to show enhanced anti-cancer effects. Little is known about the anti-cancer effects of diarylpentanoid MS17 (1,5-bis(2-hydroxyphenyl)-1,4-pentadiene-3-one) in colon cancer cells. This study aimed to elucidate molecular mechanisms and pathways modulated by MS17 in colon cancer based on proteomic profiling of primary SW480 and metastatic SW620 colon cancer cells. Cytotoxicity and apoptotic effects of MS17 were investigated using MTT assay, morphological studies, and Simple Western analysis. Proteomic profiling using LC/MS analysis identified differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) in MS17-treated cells, with further analysis in protein classification, gene ontology enrichment, protein–protein interaction network and Reactome pathway analysis. MS17 had lower EC50 values (SW480: 4.10 µM; SW620: 2.50 µM) than curcumin (SW480: 17.50 µM; SW620: 13.10 µM) with a greater anti-proliferative effect. MS17 treatment of 1× EC50 induced apoptotic changes in the morphology of SW480 and SW620 cells upon 24 h treatment. A total of 24 and 92 DEPs (fold change ≥ 1.50) were identified in SW480 and SW620 cells, respectively, upon MS17 treatment of 2× EC50 for 24 h. Pathway analysis showed that MS17 may induce its anti-cancer effects in both cells via selected DEPs associated with the top enriched molecular pathways. RPL and RPS ribosomal proteins, heat shock proteins (HSPs) and ubiquitin–protein ligases (UBB and UBC) were significantly associated with cellular responses to stress in SW480 and SW620 cells. Our findings suggest that MS17 may facilitate the anti-proliferative and apoptotic activities in primary (SW480) and metastatic (SW620) human colon cancer cells via the cellular responses to stress pathway. Further investigation is essential to determine the alternative apoptotic mechanisms of MS17 that are independent of caspase-3 activity and Bcl-2 protein expression in these cells. MS17 could be a potential anti-cancer agent in primary and metastatic colon cancer cells.
CD25+CD4+ Regulatory T Cells and Memory T Cells Prevent Lymphopenia-Induced Proliferation of Naive T Cells in Transient States of Lymphopenia1

Lymphopenia has been associated with autoimmune pathology and it has been suggested that lymphopenia-induced proliferation of naive T cells may be responsible for the development of immune pathology. In this study we demonstrate that lymphopenia-induced proliferation is restricted to conditions of extreme lymphopenia, because neither naive nor memory T cells transferred into T cell-depleted hosts proliferate unless the depletion exceeds 90% of the peripheral repertoire. Memory CD4 T cells as well as regulatory CD4 T cells proved to be relatively resistant to depletion regimes, and both subsets restrict the expansion and phenotypic conversion of naive T cells by an IL-7R-dependent mechanism. It therefore seems unlikely that lymphopenia-induced proliferation of peripheral T cells causes deleterious side effects that result in immune pathology in states of partial and transient lymphopenia.
Automatic Encoding of Polyphonic Melodies in Musicians and Nonmusicians

In music, multiple musical objects often overlap in time. Western polyphonic music contains multiple simultaneous melodic lines (referred to as voices) of equal importance. Previous electrophysiological studies have shown that pitch changes in a single melody are automatically encoded in memory traces, as indexed by mismatch negativity (MMN) and its magnetic counterpart (MMNm), and that this encoding process is enhanced by musical experience. In the present study, we examined whether two simultaneous melodies in polyphonic music are represented as separate entities in the auditory memory trace. Musicians and untrained controls were tested in both magnetoencephalogram and behavioral sessions. Polyphonic stimuli were created by combining two melodies (A and B), each consisting of the same five notes but in a different order. Melody A was in the high voice and Melody B in the low voice in one condition, and this was reversed in the other condition. On 50 of trials, a deviant final (5th) note was played either in the high or in the low voice, and it either went outside the key of the melody or remained within the key. These four deviations occurred with equal probability of 12.5 each. Clear MMNm was obtained for most changes in both groups, despite the 50 deviance level, with a larger amplitude in musicians than in controls. The response pattern was consistent across groups, with larger MMNm for deviants in the high voice than in the low voice, and larger MMNm for in-key than out-of-key changes, despite better behavioral performance for out-of-key changes. The results suggest that melodic information in each voice in polyphonic music is encoded in the sensory memory trace, that the higher voice is more salient than the lower, and that tonality may be processed primarily at cognitive stages subsequent to MMN generation.
Congestion driven incremental placement algorithm for standard cell layout

Congestion minimization is the least understood in placement objectives, however, it models routability most accurately. In this paper, a new incremental placement algorithm ,C-ECOP, for standard cell layout, is presented to reduce routing congestion. Congestion estimation is based on a new routing model and a more accurate cost function. An integer linear programming (ILP) problem is formulated to determine cell flow direction and avoid conflicts between adjacent congestion areas. Experimental results show that the algorithm can considerably reduce routing congestion and preserve the performance of the initial placement with high speed.
Hand-eye calibration using convex optimization

Hand-eye calibration is a very important task in robotics. Many algorithms have been proposed for it, but they almost apply the L2 optimization, which is usually in the form of nonlinear optimization. In this paper, we propose new hand-eye calibration algorithms using convex optimization, and it can be solved in the form of a global linear optimization without starting values. Experiments with both simulated and real data are performed to test our algorithms. The experimental results show the robustness and validity of our algorithms. Considering both the computing errors and the time consuming, our algorithm based on quaternions is a good option for real applications.
Intradermal, epidermal and transcutaneous vaccination: from immunology to clinical practice

The dermis and epidermis are alternative sites for prophylactic vaccination that have received renewed interest in recent years, not only because of the ease of access to the skin, but also its unique immunological properties. This review discusses the characteristics of the skin, current knowledge on skin immunity and clinical experience with cutaneous immunization against infectious diseases, with a special focus on intradermal immunization. The most widely accepted paradigm explaining the efficacy of cutaneous immunization is reviewed and recent research suggesting where this paradigm may need some refinement is highlighted. Clinical investigations that have concentrated on the intradermal route to vaccinate against influenza, rabies or hepatitis B support the current knowledge on skin immunity and, when combined with recent progress made in the development of user-friendly injection systems, have stimulated the ongoing clinical development of novel vaccines.
The Impact of Environmental Certification on Hotel Guest Ratings

In this article, we analyze the impact on hotels of the ISO 14001 environmental certification system from the customers’ perspective. Based on a comparison of customer ratings of 6,850 hotels in Spain with and without ISO 14001 certification, overall guests rate the hotels with ISO 14001 certification higher than those without the certification. These results are stronger for hotel comfort and hotel services compared with other hotel attributes. Moreover, the most significant differences were found in the upscale four-star hotels. While the study does not reveal causes for these findings, the implication is that the highest end five-star luxury hotels do not gain distinctive differentiation by having the ISO 14001 certification, while for three-star hotels, guests’ price sensitivity overrides environmental concerns. At the four-star level, however, hotels seem to be able to gain a distinct market advantage from environmental certification. For all hotels, the management discipline provided by ISO 14001 can provide a competitive advantage.
apid near-infrared fluorescence excitation – emission atrix spectroscopy for multifluorophore haracterization using an acousto-optic tunable filter echnique

ao Li ei Zheng hiwei Huang ational University of Singapore aculty of Engineering epartment of Bioengineering ptical Bioimaging Laboratory Engineering Drive 1 ingapore 117576 Abstract. We report on a novel acousto-optic tunable filter AOTF – based near-infrared NIR fluorescence excitation–emission matrix EEM spectroscopy technique for rapid multifluorophore characterization. We implement a unique light filtering module design by using cascaded AOTFs coupled with three orthogonally oriented polarizers to effectively remove the side-ripple artifacts of AOTFs as well as by using a pair of AOTFs coupled with two orthogonally oriented polarizers to improve detection efficiency for high-quality fluorescence EEM acquisitions. NIR fluorescence EEM spectroscopy 41 excitation wavelengths ranging from 550 to 950 nm in 10-nm increments; fluorescence emission from 570 to 1000 nm at 10-nm intervals can be acquired from fluorescence dyes e.g., diethylthiatricarbocyanine DTTC iodide, oxazine 750, and IR 140 within 10 s or even less, illustrating the potential of the AOTF-based NIR EEM technique developed for rapid multifluorophore analysis and characterization in biochemical and biomedical systems. © 2010 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers. DOI: 10.1117/1.3374051
The researches on the hunting in Brazil: a brief overview

This article aims to realize a brief overview regarding researches involving hunting of wildlife in Brazil. The Amazon is the most studied biome and holds the largest number of date on Ecology, one of the main research tendencies in this field; the second being Ethnozoology, which is most applied in the Caatinga biome. The development of research in the other Brazilian biomes is most urgent. In addition, it is necessary to have more analyses in both number and complexity involving biomass consumption, defaunation impacts, wildlife management and hunting sustainability.
Iconicity and Sign Lexical Acquisition: A Review

The study of iconicity, defined as the direct relationship between a linguistic form and its referent, has gained momentum in recent years across a wide range of disciplines. In the spoken modality, there is abundant evidence showing that iconicity is a key factor that facilitates language acquisition. However, when we look at sign languages, which excel in the prevalence of iconic structures, there is a more mixed picture, with some studies showing a positive effect and others showing a null or negative effect. In an attempt to reconcile the existing evidence the present review presents a critical overview of the literature on the acquisition of a sign language as first (L1) and second (L2) language and points at some factor that may be the source of disagreement. Regarding sign L1 acquisition, the contradicting findings may relate to iconicity being defined in a very broad sense when a more fine-grained operationalisation might reveal an effect in sign learning. Regarding sign L2 acquisition, evidence shows that there is a clear dissociation in the effect of iconicity in that it facilitates conceptual-semantic aspects of sign learning but hinders the acquisition of the exact phonological form of signs. It will be argued that when we consider the gradient nature of iconicity and that signs consist of a phonological form attached to a meaning we can discern how iconicity impacts sign learning in positive and negative ways.
Identification of optimal hyperspectral wavelength to discriminate maize and sorghum crops using AVIRIS-NG data in Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh, India

In this study, we utilized AVIRIS-NG hyperspectral data captured during the Rabi season in February 2018 in a region of Guntur District, Andhra Pradesh, where Maize and Sorghum crops are extensively cultivated. Despite having parallel crop calendars and spectral similarities, distinguishing between Maize and Sorghum crops during similar vegetative growth stages poses a challenge. The high spectral resolution of AVIRIS-NG data allows for precise identification of subtle changes in the objects under study. The key finding of our research is the identification of sensitive spectral bands within specific wavelength regions that facilitate the differentiation of these two visually similar crops. Our results indicate that the spectral range from 1553 nm to 1749 nm of AVIRIS-NG data provides optimal discrimination between Sorghum and Maize crops, irrespective of their growth stages. Notably, the wavelengths at 1649 nm and 1654 nm emerge as particularly suitable for distinguishing between Maize and Sorghum crops, as indicated by statistical separability measures such as Wilks' Lambda and F-Value. At these wavelengths, we observed significant results with Wilks' Lambda values of 0.388 and 0.387, and F-Values of 39.29 and 39.46, respectively, further supporting their efficacy in crop discrimination.
Investigation of three-phase nozzle flow (water- sand -air) in an innovative sand-blasting system

The study presented herewith was mainly focused on the numerical analysis of air-sand-water three-phase turbulent flow through converging-diverging nozzle. For this purpose dispersed flow of air-sand-water by various air inlet pressures, ambient air inlet temperature, sand particles and water droplets by different mass flow rates and temperature were considered. This study puts emphasis on sand blasting nozzle which is employed in Farrow abrasive system. Two-way turbulence coupling between particles/droplets and air flow as well as interference between the incident stream of particles and rebounded from the wall were applied in the numerical model. In addition, the shock wave which is produced in supersonic flow at diverging part of nozzle was considered. In order to capture the turbulent flow features accurately, Standard, RNG and Realizable k- models as well as Spalart-Allmaras and Reynolds Stress turbulence models were tested. Meanwhile, Eulerian Model and Discrete Phase Model were employed for simulating of multi-phase flow through the nozzle. Eventually, Realizable k-e Discrete Phase model was utilized in the present study. Since there is not any experimental or analytical result on three-phase flow through the nozzle, for validation of model, the same turbulent and multi-phase models were utilized on air-water two-phase flow. The obtained results were in good agreement with the experimental data. According to the results of three-phase flow simulation, the averaged exhaust momentum of sand particles had inverse proportion with water mass flow rate. The increasing of air inlet pressure had significant effect on mean exhaust velocity of sand particles. Moreover, the air exhaust velocity had direct proportion with inlet temperature of water droplets and sand particles. This investigation may be used in further studies related to the optimisation of sand blasting nozzle in different working conditions.
Long-range correlations and patterns of recurrence in children and adults' attention to hierarchical displays

In order to make sense of a scene, a person must pay attention to several levels of nested order, ranging from the most differentiated details of the display to the integrated whole. In adults, research shows that the processes of integration and differentiation have the signature of self-organization. Does the same hold for children? The current study addresses this question with children between 6 and 9 years of age, using two tasks that require attention to hierarchical displays. A group of adults were tested as well, for control purposes. To get at the question of self-organization, reaction times were submitted to a detrended fluctuation analysis and a recurrence quantification analysis. H exponents show a long-range correlations (1/f noise), and recurrence measures (percent determinism, maximum line, entropy, and trend), show a deterministic structure of variability being characteristic of self-organizing systems. Findings are discussed in terms of organism-environment coupling that gives rise to fluid attention to hierarchical displays.
Progressive Algorithm for Classifier Ensemble Construction Based on Diversity : Application to the Arabic

Multiple classifier systems (MCS) have become a popular classification paradigm for strong generalization performance. Diversity measures play an important role in constructing and explaining multiple classifier systems. The first observation concerning Arabian manuscript reveals the complexity of the task, especially for the used ensemble of classifier for recognitions. In this paper we propose a new approach Based on “Overproduce and select Paradigm” for Arabic handwritten recognition. It combines diversity measures and individual classifiers accuracy for selecting the best classifier sub. We have tested this approach with three fusion methods (Voting, Weighted voting and Bks (Behavior Knowledge Space)). The obtained experimental results are very encouraging. Keywords; Handwritten recognition; Ensemble classifier; Diversity measures; Overproduce and select; Classifiers fusion methods.
Soil and Water Conservation Practices and its Contribution to Small Holder Farmers Livelihoods in Northwest Ethiopia: A Shifting Syndrome from Natural Resources Rich Areas

Climate change is a current threat to food production and food security. Temperature rise and variability in rainfall patterns has had serious consequences on crop and livestock production in Ethiopia leading to a decline in food production. Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) is the way to turn around the situation to more resilience and higher agricultural productivity leading to improved food security status. Although CSAs have been promoted in the country, not all farmers have adopted fully and their effects on food security are not clear. This review sought to evaluate the uptake of CSAs and their effects on food security among small scale farmers in Ethiopia. The demand for CSA practices was positively influenced by gender of the household head, household size, participation in off-farm employment, farm size, group membership, annual contacts with extension service agents, credit access and negatively influenced by age of the household head. The mean number of CSA strategies used by farmers was 2 applied by 44.8% of farmers. Most importantly, it was evident that CSA practices had a great potential to solve food security challenges. A complete package with crop management, field management, farm risk reduction and specific soil management practices had the highest implication to food security. To improve demand for CSAs, farmers need to be motivated to join and participate in farmer organizations through which they could gain access to extension information and credit. Additionally, farmers should be sensitized on the need to invest in farm productive assets in order to absorb the risks of climate change while also enabling them to benefit from use of CSAs which require these important assets. Finally, land fragmentation should be discouraged through civic education and provision of alternative income generating activities for farmers to benefit from CSAs when practiced on relatively bigger land.
Transmission capacity: applying stochastic geometry to uncoordinated ad hoc networks

This paper summarizes recent contributions on the transmission capacity of ad hoc networks. Although it is notoriously difficult to derive general end-to-end capacity results for ad hoc networks, the transmission capacity framework allows for quantification of achievable single-hop rates by focusing on a simplified physical/MAC-layer model. By using stochastic geometry to quantify the multi-user interference in the network, the relationship between the spatial density and success probability of transmissions in the network can be determined. The basic model and analytical tools are first discussed, followed by summaries of results that capture the effect of important network parameters such as the fading distribution and path loss exponent. Design choices, including direct-sequence versus frequency-hopping spread spectrum, the optimal number of sub-bands under a rate constraint, interference cancellation, an optimum channel-strength threshold for scheduling, power control exponent selection, and the use of multiple antennas are investigated. The paper closes by discussing shortcomings in the model as well as future directions.
Association between Left Atrial Appendage Morphology and Clot Histology in Patients with Embolic Ischemic Stroke: An Exploratory Study

Background: Acute embolic ischemic stroke poses a significant healthcare challenge. Histological clot features’ variability among patients with acute ischemic stroke treated by mechanical thrombectomy has potential implications for determining treatment and etiology. This study investigated the clot histological feature differences among patients who experienced cardioembolic stroke and embolic stroke of undetermined source with different left atrial appendage (LAA) morphologies. Methods: We conducted a prospective observational study involving 79 patients with acute embolic ischemic stroke undergoing mechanical thrombectomy. Computed tomography angiography images were used to classify LAA morphologies. An artificial intelligence algorithm assessed the clot fibrin and red blood cell contents. Results: Patients with chicken-wing LAA morphology exhibited lower mean clot fibrin proportions than did those with non-chicken-wing morphology (p < 0.001). Linear regression analysis showed that chicken-wing LAA was significantly associated with a lower clot fibrin proportion (estimate, −0.177; 95% CI [−0.259, −0.096]; p < 0.001). The successful recanalization rate and first-pass effect between the groups did not differ significantly. Conclusions: The chicken-wing LAA morphological type is associated with lower clot fibrin contents, suggesting potentially different embolism mechanisms or diverse embolic sources, compared with the non-chicken-wing LAA types. Further studies are required to investigate this association.
Video thumbnail extraction using video time density function and independent component analysis mixture model

In this paper, we propose a new vector quantization method to create video thumbnail. In particular, we employ video time density function (VTDF) to explore the temporal characteristics of video data first. A VTDF-based temporal quantization is then applied to segment the whole video in time domain. The optimal number of segments is obtained by a temporal mean square error (TMSE)-based criterion. We employ independent component analysis (ICA) to each temporal segment for feature extraction and build a compact 2D feature space. An ICA mixture-based vector quantization method is developed to explore the spatial characteristics of video data. The optimal number of ICA mixture components is determined by Bayes information criterion (BIC). The video frames that are the nearest neighbors to the quantization codebook are sampled to generate the video thumbnails. Experimental results show that our method is computationally efficient and practically effective to create video thumbnails.