Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of Acid mixtures on the Hydrolysis of Coconut Coir for Recovery of Fermentable Sugars

In this study, coconut coir was hydrolysed to produce fermentable sugars using dilute nitric and acetic acid. The hydrolysis process was carried out according to a four variable Box-Behnken design which was used to develop a statistical model to describe the relationship between the concentration of fermentable sugars produced (dependent variable) and the independent variables (time, temperature, nitric acid concentration and acetic acid concentration). Results of analysis of variance (ANOVA) performed to determine the fit of the statistical model showed that the model was statistically significant (p<0.0001) with a low standard deviation (1.77) and non-significant lack of fit (R2=0.93). The concentrations of nitric and acetic acid as well as the hydrolysis time and temperature all positively influenced the hydrolysis process as evident in the increase in the amount of fermentable sugars produced when the values of these variables were increased. When both acids were combined together, the amount of fermentable sugar produced was increased by as much 54%. Optimisation of the statistical model showed that the maximum sugar concentration was 32.7 g/L and this was obtained for coconut coir catalysed by 0.50 %w/v nitric acid, 0.40 %w/v acetic acid at 160 o C for 30 minutes. Validation of the statistical model showed that there was no significant difference between predicted and observed values. Keyword : Coconut coir, Lignocellulosic feedstock, Response Surface Methodology, Optimisation
Properties of the Bone Marrow Stromal Microenvironment in Adult Patients with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia before and After Allogeneic Transplantation of Hematopoietic Stem Cells

The bone marrow stromal microenvironment that regulates normal hematopoiesis suffers during leukemia development and its treatment. In this study, we examined Multipotent Mesenchymal Stromal Cells (MMSCs) and fibroblast colony-forming units (CFU-F) derived from the Bone Marrow (BM) of 15 adult patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) before and after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). The time points assessed after allo-HSCT were defined by the treatment protocol. The analogous cells obtained from the BM of 64 healthy donors were used as controls. The ability of MMSCs to proliferate, concentration of CFU-F in BM, and gene expression in both cell types were assessed. The data indicate that MMSCs of ALL patients before allo-HSCT did not differ from MMSCs of healthy donors either in cumulative cell production or in gene expression except for SDF1. The SDF1 expression was decreased 2-fold in the MMSCs of ALL patients. The MMSC cumulative cell production from ALL patients was significantly decreased during 1 year after allo-HSCT. The expression level of SDF1 was also downregulated during the observation period. We identified changes in the FGF2 and PDGF signaling pathways. The CFU-F analysis revealed that its concentration in the BM of ALL patients had been profoundly decreased for the whole year after allo-HSCT. This decrease was accompanied by the downregulation of FGFR1 and slight upregulation of differentiation marker gene expression. Thus the number of stromal precursorcells decreased and their ability to regenerate was depressed after allo-HSCT. These changes were accompanied by an increase of more mature precursor cells with reduced proliferative potential.
Blunt cerebrovascular injury practice management guidelines: the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma.

BACKGROUND Blunt injury to the carotid or vertebral vessels (blunt cerebrovascular injury [BCVI]) is diagnosed in approximately 1 of 1,000 (0.1%) patients hospitalized for trauma in the United States with the majority of these injuries diagnosed after the development of symptoms secondary to central nervous system ischemia, with a resultant neurologic morbidity of up to 80% and associated mortality of up to 40%. With screening, the incidence rises to 1% of all blunt trauma patients and as high as 2.7% in patients with an Injury Severity Score of >or=16. The Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma organization Practice Management Guidelines committee set out to develop an EBM guideline for the screening, diagnosis, and treatment of BCVI. METHODS A computerized search of the National Library of Medicine/National Institute of Health, Medline database was performed using citations from 1965 to 2005 inclusive. Titles and abstracts were reviewed to determine relevance, and isolated case reports, small case series, editorials, letters to the editor, and review articles were eliminated. The bibliographies of the resulting full-text articles were searched for other relevant citations, and these were obtained as needed. These papers were reviewed based on the following questions: 1. What patients are of high enough risk, so that diagnostic evaluation should be pursued for the screening and diagnosis of BCVI? 2. What is the appropriate modality for the screening and diagnosis of BCVI? 3. How should BCVI be treated? 4. If indicated, for how long should antithrombotic therapy be administered? 5. How should one monitor the response to therapy? RESULTS One hundred seventy-nine articles were selected for review, and of these, 68 met inclusion criteria and are excerpted in the attached evidentiary table and used to make recommendations. CONCLUSIONS The East Practice Management Guidelines Committee suggests guidelines that should be safe and efficacious for the screening, diagnosis, and treatment of BCVI. Risk factors for screening are identified (see ), screening modalities are reviewed indicating that although angiography remains the gold standard, multi-planar (>or==8 slice) CT angiography may be equivalent, and treatment algorithms are evaluated. It is noted that change in the diagnosis and management of this injury constellation is rapid due to technological advancement and the difficulties inherent in performing randomized prospective trials in this patient population.
Combined side-channel attacks on COMP128

Authentication in GSM networks uses COMP128, which is vulnerable to side-channel attack called partitioning attack. On the device constrained in resources, such as SIM-card, table lookups are quite unreliable, so the attack can be carried out using up to 1000 queries. Proposed method - combined side-channel attack - can speed up key retrieving. Partitioning attack measures only power consumption, while it can be combined with timing attack, fault injection or probing attack. Study of combination with timing attack shows that it will be the least effective variant, because used in COMP128 operations are not vulnerable to timing attack. Probing attack gives way more opportunities as it is invasive attack. Increased number of rounds that can be monitored give 8-time speed gain. However, best combination of non-invasive execution and efficiency is fault injection attack. This combination gives the opportunity of power measurement on each round and reduces quantity of needed queries by 8 times as well. Despite the increased speed of the attack, defence against combined attacks comes down to defence against the weakest component.
Free Trade Agreements and Domestic Politics: The Case of the Trans‐Pacific Partnership Agreement

What is the role of domestic politics in facilitating or constraining a government's decision to participate in free trade agreements (FTAs)? This paper seeks to answer this question by focusing on the domestic politics in Japan over the Trans‐Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP). In particular, we ask why the opposition to the TPP encompasses a much broader segment of society than is predicted by trade theorems. We show that a broader protectionist coalition can emerge through persuasion and policy campaigns by the elites, in particular, powerful protectionist interests expending resources to persuade the uncertain public.
An Efficient and Effective Pilot Space-Time Adaptive Algorithm for Mobile Communication Systems

In this paper we present a new adaptive space- time algorithm for mitigating the effects of CCI and ISI and minimizing the probability of error in mobile communica- tion systems, and evaluate its performance for different mobile velocities. The proposed algorithm is computa- tionally efficient and provides better performance than the conventional RLS algorithm.
Genetic Diversity of Great Dane Breed Using Ten Microsatellites: Impact of Breeding Control over the Breeding Line

The American Kennel Club and the Federation Cynologique Internationale recognize two phenotypic variants of Great Dane breed denominated American and European varieties. Historically, these varieties have been segregated according to morphological characteristics. In an attempt to obtain a better characterization, breeders have been interested in the genetic parameters that could evaluate the within-breed diversity. In this document, we studied the genetic structure of Great Dane breed with 10 STR markers in 88 dogs using capillary electrophoresis. Cluster analysis, population differentiation and phylogenetic analyses revealed that American and European varieties are genetically independent. Nevertheless, within the American variety a genetic stratification was found. Additionally, a high misclassification (28%) was detected, which could be due to wrong registration or false paternity. Our results support the importance to deem genetic markers as useful tools in breeding control. Similarly, these studies serve as an accurate reference to establish standards by dog breeding associations and for choosing among dogs for inter-breeding. Nevertheless, genetic tools are only a complement of morphological methods, since both are reshuffling the control over the breeding line. Notwithstanding, this database provides an overall and scape concerning the impact of genetic diversity within-breed. Unmistakably, more databases are needed to increase the quality of the breeding line as well as the number of STR in order to study, with more detail, the genetic structure in the Great Dane race.
Evaluation of Pheochromocytoma and Paraganglioma

CONTENT: Compelling evidence now indicates that initial screening for PPGLs should include measurements of plasma free metanephrines or urine fractionated metanephrines. LC-MS/MS offers numerous advantages over other analytical methods and is the method of choice when measurements include methoxytyramine, the O-methylated metabolite of dopamine. The plasma test offers advantages over the urine test, although it is rarely implemented correctly, rendering the urine test preferable for mainstream use. To ensure optimum diagnostic sensitivity for the plasma test, reference intervals must be established for blood samples collected after 30 min of supine rest and after an overnight fast when measurements include methoxytyramine. Similarly collected blood samples during screening, together with use of age-adjusted reference intervals, further minimize false-positive results. Extents and patterns of increases in plasma normetanephrine, metanephrine, and methoxytyramine can additionally help predict size and adrenal vs extraadrenal locations of tumors, as well as presence of metastases and underlying germline mutations of tumor susceptibility genes.
Operator ordering and consistency of the wave function of the universe

We demonstrate in the context of the minisuperspace model consisting of a closed Friedmann-Robertson-Walker universe coupled to a scalar field that Vilenkin's tunneling wavefunction can only be consistently defined for particular choices of operator ordering in the Wheeler-DeWitt equation. The requirement of regularity of the wavefunction has the particular consequence that the probability amplitude, which has been used previously in the literature in discussions of issues such as the prediction of inflation, is likewise ill-defined for certain choices of operator ordering with Vilenkin's boundary condition. By contrast, the Hartle-Hawking no-boundary wavefunction can be consistently defined within these models, independently of operator ordering. The significance of this result is discussed within the context of the debate about the predictions of semiclassical quantum cosmology. In particular, it is argued that inflation cannot be confidently regarded as a "prediction" of the tunneling wavefunction, for reasons similar to those previously invoked in the case of the no-boundary wavefunction. A synthesis of the no-boundary and tunneling approaches is argued for.
Recent Changes in Eastern Mediterranean Deep Waters

Results from a recent hydrographic survey show that an influx of Aegean Sea water has replaced 20 percent of the deep and bottom waters of the eastern Mediterranean. Previously, the only source of such waters was the Adriatic Sea, and the waters of the eastern Mediterranean were in near-steady state. The flux changed the water characteristics and displaced older waters upward. Its cause was increasing Aegean Sea salinity, resulting from changes in either the circulation pattern or the large-scale freshwater balance. Current deepwater studies may be affected by the intrusion, but effects might be found also at shallower depths and over a larger region.
Broadband Beamforming of Focal Plane Array (FPA) Signals Using Real-Time Spatio-Temporal 3D FIR Frustum Digital Filters

A real-time spatio-temporal (ST) 3D FIR Frustum filter is proposed for improving the SNR of broadband focal plane array (FPA) signals. The 3D stop band of the proposed filter attenuates non-reflected off-dish signals, such as radio frequency interference (RFI), and also attenuates noise due to local thermal sources (e.g., ground) as well as receiver noise. The frustum-shaped 3D pass band transmits, with low distortion, desired broadband reflected celestial signals, as received by the focal plane array (FPA) of receiving elements. It is shown that, for pulsar-timing and pulsar-profile studies, the pre-processing of FPA signals using the proposed 3D ST Frustum filter-based beamforming method, prior to coherent de-dispersion, yields lower distortion than the 3D conjugate field matching (CFM) method (when appropriately extended from 2D to 3D) and also lower distortion than the conventional 2D spatial-only beamforming method.
Studies on Power System Load Flow Equivalencing

This paper reviews the principles and main methods for load-flow equivalencing, with due emphasis given to on-line applications. Unreduced Load Flow, Ward, REI, Linearization, and Identification methods are covered, introducing a number of new ideas and versions. A critical analysis of the properties of the different methods is made, to assist in choosing the most suitable ones for practical application.
Predictive Biomarkers and Personalized Medicine Tumor Engraftment in Nude Mice and Enrichment in Stroma-Related Gene Pathways Predict Poor Survival and Resistance to Gemcitabine in Patients with Pancreatic Cancer

Purpose: The goal of this study was to evaluate prospectively the engraftment rate, factors influencing engraftment, and predictability of clinical outcome of low-passage xenografts from patients with resectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) and to establish a bank of PDA xenografts. Experimental Design: Patients with resectable PDA scheduled for resection at the Johns Hopkins Hospitalwere eligible. Representativepiecesof tumorwere implanted innudemice. The statusof theSMAD4 gene and content of tumor-generating cells were determined by immunohistochemistry. Gene expression was carried out by using a U133 Plus 2.0 array. Patients were followed for progression and survival. Results: A total of 94 patients with PDAwere resected, 69 tumors implanted in nudemice, and 42 (61%) engrafted. Engrafted carcinomas were more often SMAD4 mutant, and had a metastatic gene expression signature and worse prognosis. Tumors from patients resistant to gemcitabine were enriched in stromarelated gene pathways. Tumors sensitive to gemcitabine were enriched in cell cycle and pyrimidine gene pathways. The time to progression for patients who received treatment with gemcitabine for metastatic disease (n 1⁄4 7) was double in patients with xenografts sensitive to gemcitabine. Conclusion: A successful xenograft was generated in 61% of patients attempted, generating a pool of 42 PDA xenografts with significant biological information and annotated clinical data. Patients with PDA and SMAD4 inactivation have a better engraftment rate. Engraftment is a poor prognosis factor, and engrafted tumors have a metastatic gene expression signature. Tumors from gemcitabine-resistant patients were enriched in stromal pathways. Clin Cancer Res; 17(17); 5793–800. 2011 AACR.
A fast low-light multi-image fusion with online image restoration

This paper presents a new low-light multi-frame fusion algorithm to get a bright and clear shot even under dark conditions. To this end, using multiple short-exposure images and one proper-exposure blurry image as an input, a new hierarchical block-wise temporal noise filtering is done. Finally, an online image restoration of the denoising result is conducted along with the blurry image input. Test results on real low-light scene show its effectiveness like fast processing speed and satisfactory visual quality.
Combined Low-Pass and Bandpass Filter Response Using Microstrip Dual-Mode Resonators

A novel type of dual band low-pass/bandpass filter LPBPF using microstrip dual-mode resonator is proposed. The proposed filter combines the attractive features of dual-mode filters, such as the small size and the elliptical bandpass response, and provides a fair low-pass response. A parametric study of such a filter is presented in this contribution. A modified version of the LPBPF is proposed for better control of the reject-band. The designed and fabricated filters have very compact size with a very sharp transition and sufficient rejection between the low-pass response and the bandpass response
Distance Measures and Smoothing Methodology for Imputing Features of Documents

We suggest a new class of metrics for measuring distances between documents, generalizing the well-known resemblance distance. We then show how to combine distance measures with statistical smoothing to develop techniques for imputing missing features of documents. We treat in detail the case where these features are continuous variates, but we note that our methods can be adapted to settings where the features are ordered or unordered categorical variates (e.g., the names of potential authors of the documents). The results of applying our ideas to the dating of medieval manuscripts are briefly summarized.
InGaAs MOSFET source structures toward high speed/low power applications

High on-currents (Ion) and low off-currents (I<sub>off</sub>) under low supply voltage are important for logic applications. A heavily doped InP source was introduced to demonstrate the existence of high Ion in InGaAs MOSFETs, and I<sub>D</sub> = 2.4 mA/μm at V<sub>D</sub> = 0.5 V was observed. GaAsSb source was introduced in InGaAs tunnel FET to realize low I<sub>off</sub>. Narrow channel body was found to be essential for steep sub-threshold (SS) dependence, and a fabricated GaAsSb/InGaAs vertical tunnel FET with a 26 nm wide body showed steep SS. In addition, an InGaAs/InP super-lattice source was studied to consider the possibility of simultaneous high I<sub>on</sub> and low I<sub>off</sub> realization.
Proposal and Fundamental Analysis of Cylindrical Type Magnetic Flux Pump for High Field Magnet

We have proposed a new type superconducting power supply, cylindrical type magnetic flux pump (CTMFP) for high field magnet. This paper describes the structure and operating principle based on pumping equations, and also presents its fundamental characteristics by the finite element method (FEM). Since the proposed CTMFP that consists of three phase armature coils, an LTS Nb foil and a cylindrical permanent magnet can easily produce homopolar traveling fields, a pumping current can be generated in the closed superconducting loop. Due to its simplicity structure, the CTMFP has more efficient operation compared with already developed magnetic flux pumps. From the simulation results, appropriately combined conditions of AC current and intensity of the permanent magnet to realize the homopolar traveling magnetic field were obtained.
Using The Pictorial Structures in 3D Human Body Pose Estimation

The processing of estimating the configuration and location of human body from the image, is called human pose estimation. If this pose determined in image space, the 2D pose estimation is done. If the images of human be available from at least two camera views, then the pose of body can be obtained in 3D. Using the pictorial structures in two dimensional estimation of human body is so popular. However during the recent years using the pictorial structures in three dimensional estimation of human body has been interested by the researchers and various methods have been presented. Due to aforementioned sentences, these novel methods have been surveyed and compared in present study.
High-speed model of system with modular multilevel inverter

Models of the modular multilevel voltage inverter (MMI) were developed. A quantity of series half-bridge transistor cells with capacitors in each arm is arbitrary. Modeling was implemented in MatLab and in the environment of in-house design ComSim. In ComSim the model was developed by the methodology of system modeling by interconnected subsystems, which allowed small machine time losses for calculations.
Impacts of Returning Unsold Products in Retail Outsourcing Fashion Supply Chain: A Sustainability Analysis

l outsourcing with a return policy is quite commonly adopted in the fashion supply chain. Under the return policy, the supplier as a brand owner may focus on production, and then outsource retailing to the retailer. In the meanwhile, the retailer may receive some support money from the supplier for subsidizing the loss of unsold products at the end of the selling season and be asked for shipping back. Motivated by this real practice in the fashion industry, we examine a two-echelon supply chain with one supplier and one retailer under the return policy. Several interesting findings are obtained from our analysis. First, we find that when the supply chain achieves channel coordination, the cost of physical return is at least partially borne by the supplier, no matter who is responsible for it in reality. Second, we find that the cost of physical return is significantly affecting the sustainability factors such as the expected amount leftover (which represents environmental friendliness), the expected sales to expected goods leftover ratio (which implies both environmental friendliness and economic sustainability), and the rate of return on investment (which indicates economic sustainability). Third, from a sustainability perspective, we find that the pure wholesale price contract is more sustainable than the coordinating return policy. A numerical study by the real company data is conducted and managerial insights from analysis are discussed.
What Does Physics Bias : A Comparison of Model Priors for Robot Manipulation

We explore robot object manipulation as a Bayesian model-based reinforcement learning problem under a collection of different model priors. Our main contribution is to highlight the limitations of classical non-parametric regression approaches in the context of online learning, and to introduce an alternative approach based on monolithic physical inference. The primary motivation for this line of research is to incorporate physical system identification into the RL model, where it can be integrated with modern approaches to Bayesian structure learning. Overall, our results support the idea that modern physical simulation tools provide a model space with an appropriate inductive bias for manipulation problems in natural environments.