Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of an alternative method for production of biodiesel from processed fats derived from Category 1, 2 and 3 animal by‐products (submitted by College Proteins)

Abstract An alternative method for the production of biodiesel from processed fats derived from Category 1, 2 and 3 animal by‐products was assessed. The method is based on a pre‐cleaning process, acidic esterification/transesterification of tallow using 1.5% methanesulfonic acid w/w; 140°C; 5.5 bar absolute pressure (bara); 4 h, followed by fractional distillation. The application focuses on the capacity of the alternative method to inactivate prions. Given the limitations that biodiesel presents for direct measurement of prion infectivity, the BIOHAZ Panel considered, based on the outcome of previous EFSA Opinions and current expert evaluation, that a reduction of 6 log10 in detectable PrPS c signal would be necessary to consider the process at least equivalent to previously approved methods for Category 1 animal by‐products. This is in addition to the inactivation achieved by the pressure sterilisation method applied before the application of any biodiesel production method. Experimental data were provided via ad hoc studies commissioned to quantify the reduction in detectable PrPS c in material spiked with scrapie hamster strain 263K, as measured by western blot, for the first two steps, with distillation assumed to provide at least an additional 3 log10 reduction, based on published data. Despite the intrinsic methodological caveats of the detection of PrPS c in laboratory studies, the BIOHAZ Panel considers that the alternative method, including the final fractional distillation, is capable of achieving the required 6 log10 reduction of the strain 263K PrPS c signal. Therefore, the method under assessment can be considered at least equivalent to the processing methods previously approved for the production of biodiesel from all categories of animal by‐product raw materials. It is recommended to check the feasibility of the proposed HACCP plan by recording the main processing parameters for a certain time period under real industrial conditions.
Serious Games for IT-Security Education

—In recent years, the notion of gamiﬁcation has gained some interest within the scientiﬁc community. Gamiﬁcation denotes the use of typical gaming mechanisms, like collecting points, reaching different levels or gaining a spot on a highscore list, in a non-gaming related context. One of the most important application areas of gamiﬁcation is education, e. g. learning a foreign language or basic arithmetics. There have been, however, few attempts to use games for IT-Security education. The present paper will review the existing approaches in this area, present a serious game that has been produced at Stuttgart Media University on behalf of the swiss bank UBS, and will provide an outlook on planned further activities in this area.
Influence of Volcanic Eruptions on Xylem Growth Patterns

Xylem formed in four pine trees growing near Paricutin Volcano, Mexico, during 8 years of volcanic activity had several kinds of abnormalities, including narrow, wide, asymmetrical, and incomplete annual growth layers, and abnormally low, as well as high, ratios of dense to porous wood. Five other pine trees were studied 12 years after volcanic activity had ceased. Only one of them was consistently producing normal annual growth layers. Among the others porous wood was produced almost exclusivcely, making it impossible to correlate growth layers with years. Reduced supplies of photosynthate, poor aeration, and abnormal supply of auxin may be responsible for the abnormal growth pattern.
ANI: Abstracted Network Inventory for Streamlined Service Placement in Distributed Clouds

Scenarios for distributed cloud with multiple edge clouds and centralized data centers are being investigated as the computing and networking underpinnings of next-generation network services such as augmented reality, self-driving vehicles, drones, and more. In such distributed environments, service providers will typically face tens, hundreds, or thousands of compute location candidates (edge, regional, and central) where network service components can be placed. To take optimized placement decisions of network services and execute the management workflows, orchestration systems require up-to-date and accurate resource availability representation, in the form of a network inventory that can be immense in distributed cloud scenarios. As a result, the service management and placement problems may become not tractable. In this work, we propose the Abstracted Network Inventory (ANI) component to generate service-optimized network views over the same network inventory. ANI implements a novel abstraction method where network service requirements are used as an input to generate an optimized abstract network inventory representation, called Logical Network Inventory (LNI). We also provide a formal definition of the network model and problem statement along with the development of three algorithms to efficiently build an LNI. Results show the potential benefits of using an LNI to streamline service management and placement: (i) the relationship between compute nodes and links (i.e., density) in an LNI is reduced between 1.8-2.7x compared to a full network inventory topology; and (ii) up to 50% of time can be saved for service placement after abstracting around 20% of the compute nodes.
Power Factor Improved using CSC Converter in PMBLDC Motor

This Project deals with a highly reliable electrical drive utilizing the Brushless DC Motor. The motor is fed by Voltage source Inverter (VSI) with a dc-dc converter power factor correction circuit (PFC) as the VSI’s predecessor. The Performance of dc-dc converters is analyzed and the results are discussed to arrive at the best suited converter. Neuro fuzzy Logic Controller is used as the Intelligent Controller for the BLDC motor. Reliable, low cost arrangement is thus provided to achieve unity power factor and speed regulation with accuracy. The Bridgeless PFC-Modified SEPIC Rectifier performs power factor correction and DC voltage control in single stage using only one controller. The designed PFC converter results in an improved power quality at AC mains in a wide range of speed control and input AC voltage. Power factor is improved by using CSC converter. Proposed method works with better power factor. The proposed method is analyzed in MATLAB simulation and hardware is implemented.
Exporters Dynamics and the Role of Imports in Argentina

This paper examines the performance of globally engaged firms in Argentina in the past decade. Using highly disaggregated firm-level customs transaction data for imports and exports, the paper documents the progressive retreat of Argentine firms from global markets. Between 2007 and 2017, the number of exporters decreased by 30 percent. Benchmarking the characteristics of these exporters with similar countries reveals that Argentine exporters are disproportionally fewer and individually larger, with export value extremely concentrated in a few firms. Firm churning rates are disproportionately low and survival rates of entrants are high. These findings reflect exceptionally high entry costs of export, which are the result of anti-export bias and import substitution policies that sought unsuccessfully to develop the local industry. The paper shows that exporters that import directly intermediate and capital goods have better export outcomes than other exporters.
Mechanical tumor microenvironment and transduction: cytoskeleton mediates cancer cell invasion and metastasis

Metastasis is a complicated, multistep process that is responsible for over 90% of cancer-related death. Metastatic disease or the movement of cancer cells from one site to another requires dramatic remodeling of the cytoskeleton. The regulation of cancer cell migration is determined not only by biochemical factors in the microenvironment but also by the biomechanical contextual information provided by the extracellular matrix (ECM). The responses of the cytoskeleton to chemical signals are well characterized and understood. However, the mechanisms of response to mechanical signals in the form of externally applied force and forces generated by the ECM are still poorly understood. Furthermore, understanding the way cellular mechanosensors interact with the physical properties of the microenvironment and transmit the signals to activate the cytoskeletal movements may help identify an effective strategy for the treatment of cancer. Here, we will discuss the role of tumor microenvironment during cancer metastasis and how physical forces remodel the cytoskeleton through mechanosensing and transduction.
Does Education Instill Civic Duty? Evidence from Monozygotic Twins in the United States and Sweden

Why do some people feel a strong sense of civic duty to vote while others feel no obligation at all? One factor that has been identified as an important antecedent of the sense of civic duty is education. In The American Voter, Campbell, Converse, Miller, & Stokes (1960) note that the sense of civic duty appears to “depend substantially on education” (480). Sniderman (1975) argues that “. the further one progresses through the educational process, the deeper and firmer his grasp of the norms of the ideal culture” (p. 134– 135). In their seminal work on voting, Wolfinger & Rosenstone (1980) note that “American schools provide a good deal of explicit instruction and exhortation on citizenship that emphasizes the obligation to vote and thus might be thought to nurture a sense of civic duty. The better educated are more likely to follow social norms” (p. 18). More recently, Lewis-Beck, Jacoby, Norpoth, & Weisberg (2008) point out that education “. instills civic responsibility, the idea of voting as a duty” (p. 351). It turns out that in many empirical models, education is one of the strongest predictors of civic duty (see, e.g., Blais & Labbé-St-Vincent, 2011; Carreras, 2018; Dinesen, Nørgaard, & Klemmensen, 2014; Jackson, 1995; Weinschenk, 2014). Jackson (1995), for example, finds that “Education is. the primary influence on civic duty. Highly educated individuals are more likely to believe that a person should vote in an election, regardless of concern over the outcome” (p. 288) and concludes that “education contributes to turnout by producing citizens who believe that they have an obligation (civic duty) to vote” (p. 295).
The National Skills Qualification Framework in India: The Promise and the Reality

There are five pillars of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in India: a. enterprise based training; b. private and public Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), c. the private vocational training providers (VTPs) funded by the government’s National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), d. the slowly growing vocational education in schools, and e. new central ministries conducting their own short term courses. This was the ecosystem to which the NSQF was meant to be applied. Ten years ago, but for a small number of ITIs and very limited enterprise based training in organized sector companies, most vocational training in India was on the job in in informal units – which survives till date.
The role of reactive oxygen species in the gut immune response of cat fleas (Ctenocephalides felis)

Fleas transmit numerous deadly and debilitating diseases, including the causative agents of murine typhus and plague. Because initial entry of these infectious agents occurs while blood feeding, the immune response in the flea gut is considered to be the first line of defense against invading microbes. However, relatively few studies have identified the flea immune molecules that effectively resist or limit infection in the gut. In other hematophagous insects, an immediate immune response to imbibed pathogens is the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). In this study, we utilized cat fleas (Ctenocephalides felis) to investigate whether natural infections with bacteria induce ROS synthesis in the flea gut, and whether production of ROS provides a defense mechanism against microbial colonization. Specifically, we assessed the generation of ROS via quantitative peroxide assays from fleas that were given uninfected and bacteria-infected blood meals. Additionally, we treated fleas with an antioxidant before infection with bacteria, and then measured the resultant bacterial load within each flea. Our data shows that ROS levels increase in response to infection in the flea gut, and that this increase helps to strengthen the flea immune response through the microbicidal activity of ROS. Overall, these data yield significant insight into how fleas interact with pathogens in their gut lumen, as well as the challenges faced by pathogens upon entering the flea host. Thesis Mentor:________________________ Dr. Lisa Brown Honors Director:_______________________ Dr. Steven Engel April 2020 Department of Biology University Honors Program Georgia Southern University
Long-term prediction of nonlinear time series with recurrent least squares support vector machines

This paper is about applying recurrent least squares support vector machines (LS-SVM) on three ESTSP08 competition datasets. Least squares support vector machines are used as nonlinear models in order to avoid local minima problems. Then prediction task is re-formulated as function approximation task. Recurrent LS-SVM uses nonlinear autoregressive exogenous (NARX) model to build nonlinear regressor, by estimating in each iteration the next output value, given the past output and input measurements.
Hypoxia, DNA repair and genetic instability

Areas of hypoxic tumour tissue are known to be resistant to treatment and are associated with a poor clinical prognosis. There are several reasons why this might be, including the capacity of hypoxia to drive genomic instability and alter DNA damage repair pathways. Significantly, current models fail to distinguish between the complexities of the hypoxic microenvironment and the biological effects of acute hypoxia exposures versus longer-term, chronic hypoxia exposures on the transcription and translation of proteins involved in genetic stability and cell survival. Acute and chronic hypoxia might lead to different biology within the tumour and this might have a direct effect on the design of new therapies for the treatment of hypoxic tumours. h y p o x I a a n d m e ta b o l I s m
The Alzheimer's Aβ-peptide is deposited at sites of complement activation in pathologic deposits associated with aging and age-related macular degeneration

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of irreversible vision loss in older individuals worldwide. The disease is characterized by abnormal extracellular deposits, known as drusen, that accumulate along the basal surface of the retinal pigmented epithelium. Although drusen deposition is common in older individuals, large numbers of drusen and/or extensive areas of confluent drusen represent a significant risk factor for AMD. Widespread drusen deposition is associated with retinal pigmented epithelial cell dysfunction and degeneration of the photoreceptor cells of the neural retina. Recent studies have shown that drusen contain a variety of immunomodulatory molecules, suggesting that the process of drusen formation involves local inflammatory events, including activation of the complement cascade. Similar observations in Alzheimer's disease (AD) have lead to the hypothesis that chronic localized inflammation is an important element of AD pathogenesis, with significant neurodegenerative consequences. Accordingly, the amyloid beta (Aβ) peptide, a major constituent of neuritic plaques in AD, has been implicated as a primary activator of complement in AD. Here we show that Aβ is associated with a substructural vesicular component within drusen. Aβ colocalizes with activated complement components in these “amyloid vesicles,” thereby identifying them as potential primary sites of complement activation. Thus, Aβ deposition could be an important component of the local inflammatory events that contribute to atrophy of the retinal pigmented epithelium, drusen biogenesis, and the pathogenesis of AMD.
A Vulnerability Assessment of Storm Surge in Guangdong Province, China

ABSTRACT In Guangdong Province, China, storm surges that threaten coastal communities are induced by typhoons. The vulnerability of a storm surge is subject to social and economic features. In this article, we provide a definition of socioeconomic vulnerability and suggest six indicators that form a vulnerability indicator system for assessing the socioeconomic vulnerability to typhoon storm surges. The hazard of a typhoon-induced storm surge is calculated by using the methods of numerical prediction, Gumbel Extreme Value Distribution Function, and information diffusion. Combining the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method and the Delphi method, and an integration of these socioeconomic indicators to represent the vulnerability of a system, we assess the socioeconomic vulnerability of cities in Guangdong Province, China, to typhoon storm surge risk.
Dynamic Migration of Real-Time Trafﬁc Flows in SDN-Enabled Networks

In this paper, we investigate the problem of dynamic migration for realtime traffic flows, which consists in accommodating new flows at runtime in SDN-enabled networks. We show results for two algorithms that can calculate direct and indirect flow migrations at runtime. Numerical results obtained on a FatTree network topology show that flow migration is typically required for networks with a modest number of flows, while direct flow migration is possible in about 60% of the cases.
Effect of Cyclodextrins on the Thermal Epimerization of Tea Catechins

The epimerization reaction of tea catechins was investigated at pH 5.5 and 120 °C in the absence/presence of cyclodextrins (CDs). In the absence of CDs, a considerable quantity (∼20%) of products originating from reactions other than the epimerization (“other products”) was formed during the epimerization of gallated catechins. In the case of (-)-EGCg, addition of β-CD to the reaction solution reduced the quantity of these other products to just a few percent, but other CDs with different cavity sizes had little effect. Generally, the addition of β-CD increased the ratio of non-epi type catechins, that is, [non-epi type catechin] / ([epi type catechin]+[non-epi type catechin]). Molecular orbital (MO) calculations using the PM3 method suggested that non-epi type catechins are more thermodynamically stable than their epitype counterparts, moving the equilibrium position in favor of non-epi type catechins in the epimerization process.
Towards Reflectometry from Interreflections

Reflectometry is the task for acquiring the bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDFs) of real-world materials. The typical reflectometry pipeline in computer vision, computer graphics, and computational imaging involves capturing images of a convex shape under multiple illumination and imaging conditions; due to the convexity of the shape, which implies that all paths from the light source to the camera perform a single reflection, the intensities in these images can subsequently be analytically mapped to BRDF values. We deviate from this pipeline by investigating the utility of higher-order light transport effects, such as the interreflections arising when illuminating and imaging a concave object, for reflectometry. We show that interreflections provide a rich set of contraints on the unknown BRDF, significantly exceeding those available in equivalent measurements of convex shapes. We develop a differentiable rendering pipeline to solve an inverse rendering problem that uses these constraints to produce high-fidelity BRDF estimates from even a single input image. Finally, we take first steps towards designing new concave shapes that maximize the amount of information about the unknown BRDF available in image measurements. We perform extensive simulations to validate the utility of this reflectometry from interreflections approach.
Management practices and other factors contributing to the decline in persistence of grazed lucerne in temperate Australia: a review

The literature relevant to the grazing management of lucerne in temperate Australia is reviewed with emphasis on the factors likely to affect its persistence. Knowledge of lucerne physiology is used to question the validity of the traditional methods of managing grazed stands, which rely mainly on using 10% flowering as a guide to root carbohydrate levels. From these data several alternative management guidelines are proposed that may lead to increased persistence; however, for long-term persistence, there is little doubt that lucerne needs to be grazed leniently and at a late stage of maturity. Several grazing experiments indicate that grazing periods of 16-20 days should have no effect on persistence, provided that the rest period between successive grazings is 35 days or longer. Data from other countries and Australian data from a limited number of experiments also indicate that grazing in either autumn or winter may substantially reduce production and could affect persistence. Three grazing studies in New South Wales were used to highlight critical differences in experimental design which make comparisons among experiments difficult. Standardised sowing rates and grazing management, and statistical procedures which account for the genotype x management x environment interaction, are suggested to improve the extrapolation of results from experiments to other environments. Persistence of different lucerne types under grazing, particularly those recently imported from the U.S.A. or bred in Australia, is considered. While it has been proposed that grazing effects may be related to crown structure, interactions with other factors which affect persistence may also occur. If grazing can be considered to be stressful to a lucerne plant then it could interact with other stresses, caused by moisture deficit, excessive moisture, insect pests and disease, to reduce persistence. Additionally, considerable variation in varietal resistance to some pests and diseases has been recorded in haycut stands, and so there may also be cultivar x grazing effects. All of these factors could combine to affect the persistence of a particular cultivar under grazing. Patterns of lucerne decline were either continuous or step-like. Continuous decline was associated with prolonged grazing, grazing and moisture stress, grazing under waterlogged conditions, or grazing in situations where the incidence of disease was likely to be high. To understand the reasons why plants fail to persist, measurements need to be made frequently and a1 regular intervals, and the moisture and disease status of the site needs to be accurately monitored. The adequacy of different methods of measuring stand persistence is also questioned. The implications for graziers, researchers and lucerne breeders are discussed.
The Complementary School-University Partnership through the Lens of a Learning Community

The paper includes the results of a descriptive case-study in which a university-based Hungar- ian practice school is compared to the model of Professional Development School. Data sourc- es include school teachers (N=102), university educators of subject methodology (N=20) and pre-service teachers doing their group practice at the university’s practice school (N=22). The data were collected via a set of questionnaires and analyzed with descriptive and mathemati- cal statistics. The open-ended questions were content analyzed with an open coding process of the answers. The results proved that teachers and university educators in complementary university-school partnership are very far from the core concept of Professional Development School. Cooperation of teachers and university teachers does not take privilege in any par- ties’ beliefs. The main goal of the school practice is to improve candidates’ individual skills, but those of enhancing collaboration are not developed adequately. Furthermore, the lack of cooperation is a relevant issue among school teachers concerning their beliefs related to the teaching-learning process.