Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
'Pataphysical Software: (Ridiculous) Technological Solutions for Imaginary Problems

These days, whether the problem is climate change or boredom, there is an app for that. The rhetoric of problem and solution, accelerated by commercial needs and salvific tech gurus, implies that software can save the world. This paper wants to start a movement/rebellion against the ubiquitous equation of P(problem) + S(software) = S(solution) as a rational approach to the ailments of this world. We question the technological effort to "playfully" afford order and control to humans through the provision of computational rules. Instead, we propose an alternative approach: designing 'pataphysical software to address familiar but ultimately imaginary problems. Defined by poet Alfred Jarry, 'pataphysics is the science of imaginary problems. Adopting the methods of 'pataphysics, we have developed mobile applications that explore invented problems and provide no solutions for them. We demonstrate how such an approach allows us to ask design questions through an aesthetic 'pataphysical practice of software development.
Rapid and Simple Amplification of Genomic DNA Sequences Flanking Transposon

A rapid and simple method to amplify genomic DNA sequences flanking mini-Tn 5 transposon insertion was developed. This technique can be used to determine the location and orientation of the transposon insertion within genomic DNA of the bacteria. Based on the mini-Tn 5 Km1 transposon sequence, PCR primers can be designed to specifically amplify the DNA sequences flanking mini-Tn 5 transposon by inverse polymerase chain reaction (inverse PCR) directly, upstream and downstream of the transposon insertion. The method involves: (i) digestion with a restriction enzyme that does not cut mini-Tn 5 Km1 sequence; (ii) self-ligation under conditions favoring the production of monomeric circles; and (iii) inverse PCR reaction using primers designed from mini-Tn 5 Km1 sequence to amplify the DNA sequences flanking mini-Tn 5 Km1 transposon insertion. Feasibility and reliability of this method were demonstrated with mini-Tn 5 Km1 mutants of the microaerobic magnetic bacterium Magnetospirillum magneticum AMB-1 which are defective in magnetosomes synthesis. The inverse PCR products amplified from these mutant genomes showed the correct fragments as determined through Southern hybridization and DNA sequence analysis.
Kisspeptin and Gynecological Cancer

Background: Kisspeptin was identified in 1996 and it was known as a suppressor of metastatic malignant tumors. Kisspeptin and its receptor KISS1R have been identified as potential prognostic or therapeutic markers in cancers. Recent study suggested that kisspeptin plays an important role in gynecological cancer, including breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and endometrium cancer. Method: a systematic search of database was conducted in PubMed, Google scholar, and Embase. Studies investigating the role of kisspeptin in gynecological cancer were included. Results: Kisspeptin and KISS1R expression is related to breast cancer, ovarian cancer as well as endometrium cancer status and prognosis. KISS1R expression is regulated by sex hormones in breast cancer. Moreover, Kisspeptin and its receptor KISS1R can be applicated as a potential therapy for these cancers. More well-designed clinical studies should be performed to confirm the safety for the use of this peptide and the derived anti-tumor drugs.
Moving for the Movement: Applying Viewpoints and Composition Techniques to the Design of Online Social Justice Campaigns

By leveraging approaches from other disciplines, designers can expand the boundaries of interaction design to tackle complex socio-technical problems. To address the challenges of networked social justice movements, we developed a workshop for designers and social justice activists based in Viewpoints and Composition, a philosophy and set of techniques for the theatre. Building on other experience prototyping and somatic methods, the workshop leads participants through the design of a hypothetical internet-enabled social justice campaign, encouraging them to imagine the felt-experience of networked social justice movement building in a socio-spatial context. We conclude with insights from the workshop and plans to further develop these techniques.
InsTime: A Case Study on the Co-design of Interactive Installations on Deep Time

New technologies and practices are constantly transforming our interaction with computational systems. These transformations bring challenges to the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) field, along with a constant need to better understand and describe how the design of interactive systems is changing. Currently, movements and theories such as speculative design and embodied cognition present unconventional perspectives and bring debate into the field. We investigate what kind of artifacts and attitude towards the design of interactive systems emerged in the InsTime project, in which 9 interactive installations were co-designed addressing the concept of deep time. Our discussion draws on a juxtaposition of backgrounds in philosophy of science, speculative design, and embodied cognition to analyze and characterize the empirical data from the InsTime project. As contributions, besides presenting the 9 interactive installations from InsTime and their co-design process, our discussion leads to a characterization of an attitude towards design that we named socioenactive design.
Roles of 5HT1A receptor in CNS neurogenesis and ADAM21 in spinal cord injury

ROLES OF 5HT1A RECEPTOR IN CNS NEUROGENESIS AND ADAM21 IN SPINAL CORD INJURY Sheila Ann Arnold July 21, 2011 These studies set out to identify strategies to rescue and repair the adult nervous system. First, we investigated the role of ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) in SHT1A receptor-induced neurogenesis in the rodent brain. Systemic treatment with an agonist, 8-0H-DPAT, increased neurogenesis only in rats and not mice, and only in one of the two neurogenic regions. This increase was not mediated by CNTF. These data suggest that translation of SHT1A-based studies to human cell replacement therapies should be reconsidered. Secondly, the role of the plasticity-associated metalloprotease ADAM21 after spinal cord injury was investigated by comparing ADAM21-deficient mice to their wildtype littermates. No differences in behavioral or histology were found. However, a comprehensive metalloproteinase gene array revealed that ADAM21 regulates a cluster of inflammatory genes following injury. This leaves a potential for discovery of specific pharmaceutical ADAM21 inhibitors to reduce detrimental inflammatory processes following spinal cord injury.
Robustness in laying hens

The aim of the project ‘The genetics of robustness in laying hens’ was to investigate nature and regulation of robustness in laying hens under sub-optimal conditions and the possibility to increase robustness by using animal breeding without loss of production. At the start of the project, a robust animal was defined as ‘an animal under a normal physical condition that has the potential to keep functioning and take short periods to recover under varying environmental conditions’. Next, parameters or traits were selected that could give an indication of robustness, and that could be implemented into a breeding goal for robustness. The experiments described in this thesis investigated parameters of interest for robustness in laying hens, where the influence of genetic background, environmental conditions, and early-life experiences was used as framework. The first experiment aimed at genetic differences in innate (natural) humoral immune components between 12 purebred layer Lines. Levels of innate and specific immune competence depended on genotype. Within layer lines, however, innate immune competence was related with survival. The second experiment aimed at influence of, or response to, environmental conditions, i.e., climatic stress (high temperature) and microbial challenge (lipopolysaccharide). Comparable response patterns to climatic stress and microbial challenge were found within lines, but lines differed in response levels towards these stressors. The third experiment aimed at improvement of robustness by early-life experiences to climatic stress and microbial challenge. The data did not reveal improvement of robustness by early-life experiences. Results from these studies indicate that robustness mainly depends on genetic background and environmental circumstances and to a minor extent on early-life experiences. The basic elements for robustness are survival, reproduction, and responsiveness towards environmental stressors, where a robust laying hen is a hen with a high survival rate, high production level, and low responsiveness towards environmental stressors. We have established a predictive value for the level of NAb binding to KLH for survival of the laying period of laying hens. Besides, NAb have a moderate heritability, giving opportunity for selection towards this trait. Performance parameters and innate immune parameters are most likely not related and selection on innate immune parameters will probably not be on the expense of hen-day egg production. Implementation of selection for NAb into a breeding goal might, therefore, improve robustness of laying hens.
Cell‐mediated immune response in vitro: Independent differentiation of thymocytes into cytotoxic lymphocytes

Differentiation of dispersed mouse thymus cells into cytotoxic lymphocytes has been shown for the first time to occur in an in vitro allograft system. It is concluded that the generation of cell‐mediated cytotoxicity is a T cell phenomenon with no thymus‐bone marrow synergism being required.
ATHEROSCLEROSIS AND METABOLIC DISORDERS

Indians demonstrate high coronary cardiovascular disease mortality, for the most part unexplained by typical risk factors and unidentified by risk stratification tools. Developments in technology permit us to analyse coronary arteriosclerosis non-invasively, so offering the potential to spot presence of coronary arteriosclerosis before it manifests clinically. Arteria coronaria calcification is closely related with total plaque burden and provides an assessment of coronary plaque burden. Cardiac muscle perfusion scintigraphy provides an estimate of cardiac muscle blood flow and so, severity of artery malady. Enhanced artery calcification and silent cardiac muscle ischaemia predict future risk of coronary cardiovascular disease mortality, autonomous of standard factors. Inflammation could be a key factor in initiation and development of arteriosclerosis. Excessive sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP) is an important marker of energetic infection and is taken into thought an impartial predictor of future vessel activities. Therefore, markers of subclinical atherosclerosis and inflammation may offer us with a tool for early identification of Indians in danger of coronary events, unidentified by traditional means that. However, majority of the info for such markers is from North yank and European populations, with no information evaluating the role of artery calcification, cardiac muscle perfusion scintigraphy and C-reactive protein in assessing the coronary cardiovascular disease risk in Indians.
Gaussian Doubling Times and Reproduction Factors of the COVID-19 Pandemic Disease

The Gauss model for the time evolution of the first corona pandemic wave is rendered useful in the estimation of peak times, amount of required equipment, and the forecasting of fade out times. At the same time, it is probably the simplest analytically tractable model that allows us to quantitatively forecast the time evolution of infections and fatalities during a pandemic wave. In light of the various descriptors, such as doubling times and reproduction factors, currently in use to judge the lockdowns and other measures that aim to prevent spreading of the virus, we hereby provide both exact and simple approximate relationships between the two relevant parameters of the Gauss model (peak time and width), the transient behavior of two versions of doubling times, and three variants of reproduction factors, including basic reproduction numbers.
Design Card Sets: Systematic Literature Survey and Card Sorting Study

Design cards are a popular way for designers to encode and communicate design knowledge. Aiming to inform the designers of such design tools we set out to characterize the design space of design cards in a two-pronged approach involving a) a systematic literature survey on the use of design cards and b) card sorting interviews, which were carried out in order to characterize the first impressions of design cards from design students, for different formal qualities and content of design cards. Our results point towards a need to develop more abstract and evocative presentations, that are visually attractive while supporting a flexible application of cards. Future research could explore whether such preferences are consistent with how card sets are used during design processes in practice.
Analyse d’une zone de contact entre deux formes parapatriques : le cas des pouillots véloces Phylloscopus c. collybita et P. c. Brehmii

The populations of Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita brehmii (Homeyer, 1871) which breed in a large part of the lberian Peninsula, are a parapatric form of Ph. c. collybita. These birds are known to have songs and calls that are very different from the vocalizations of the nominal race living in central and western Europe. The obj ective of the present study is to find out whether or not reproductive isolating mechanisms exist between the two forms. To better tackle this problem of parapatric speciation, we had first to devise a method to define as acurately and obj ectively as possible the areas of allopatry and sympatry, and we were led to propose a new mathematical model to interpret our field data. Although this model needs to be further refined, it already provides us with basic equations that allow us to accept or rej ect intergradation. It also leads us to consider a number of other traits of the biology of the species which might be influential in parapatric speciation. One can already assert that, under our model's hypothesis, there is no intergradation between brehmii and collybita. The so called « hybrids » (i.e. birds which have songs and calls intermediate between the two forms) are actually scarcer, and the « pure » forms more numerous, than expected by the model. Under the same hypothesis, one can assert than panmictic mating does not take place, either in the sympatric zone or in the « fifty-fifty percent » zone. A tendency to assortative mating was found in the contact zone. Most pairs were homogamic. Among heterogamie pairs , those made up of an Iberian male and an European female were more often observed than those made up of an European male and an Iberian female. In the « fifty-fifty percent » zone, most of the pairs are homogamie, or made up of an Iberian male and a European female, most of the breeding birds being brehmii. These observations support the view that some isolating mechanisms are already in operation before mating ; they may differ according to sex and form. No postmating isolating mechanisms apparently exist ; most of the heterogamie pairs observed raised their chicks normally. The climatic environment of brehmii is milder in winter, and moister all the year round (higher rainfall, larger number of rainy days, less frosts . P. collybita apparently replaces brehmii when one of these conditions is not fulfilled. Although more observations are obviously needed, we can nevertheless conclude that the differences between collybita and brehmii are larger than those existing between most subspecies
Evening emergence of two nursery colonies of Leisler's bat ( Nyctalus leisleri ) in Ireland

At one nursery roost of Leisler's bat Nyctalus leisleri , the first bat often, and over half of the colony exceptionally, left before sunset. Departure was earlier during the period of lactation, when energy demands were highest. Consequently emergence data had to be standardized to allow for this before investigating possible associations with light intensity and meteorological factors. The importance of such standardization in general is emphasized. Emergence was earlier on overcast nights and was delayed with increased light intensity. The bats in a neighbouring roost, from which fewer data were obtained, also left earlier on overcast evenings, but departure was generally later than in the first roost, and there was no evidence of its being earlier during lactation. These differences between the roosts may be at least partially explained by the difference in size of the exit holes. At both roosts departure was mainly as a series of outbursts, and this was more marked during the first half of emergence. Rate of emergence increased with colony size. It was unusual for the first bat to leave more than 30 min, or for any bat to leave over 60 min, after sunset. Heavy rain inhibited or disrupted emergence.
Making Air Quality Data Meaningful: Coupling Objective Measurement with Subjective Experience through Narration

Air pollution causes several million deaths every year. Increasing public awareness through the deployment of devices that sense air quality may be a promising step in addressing the problem; however, these wholly objective device measurements may not capture the nuanced and lived experiences people have with the air, which are often colored by perceptions, histories, imaginations, and the sociopolitical context in which people live. The gap between objective environmental realities and individuals' subjective experiences of the environment may make it difficult to form meaning from data, hindering the positive policy outcomes that they are intended to produce. To bridge this gap, we conducted a two-phase design fieldwork to obtain an empirical understanding of the rich contours of experiences people have with the air and outline design strategies in making air quality data meaningful.
Exploration of Hardware Architectures for String Matching Algorithms in Network Intrusion Detection Systems

An intrusion detection system monitors and analyzes all the incoming packets, on a given network, to detect any corresponding vulnerabilities and intrusions. It consists of four major modules: packet capturing, packet decoding, packet preprocessing and string/pattern matching. Among these, the string matching is computationally the most intensive part and a number of hardware architectures/designs have already been proposed to accelerate its performance. Consequently, an exploration of existing hardware architectures for string matching algorithms is critical. This paper identifies the most frequently used string matching algorithms and techniques, utilized for the hardware implementation. Subsequently, an exploration of various hardware architectures is provided for the identified algorithms and techniques. Finally, the implementation details of explored architectures are discussed in terms of the used device, consumed hardware resources, operational clock frequency and throughput.
IFN-γ Induction by SCG, 1,3-β-D-Glucan from Sparassis crispa, in DBA/2 Mice In Vitro

Sparassis crispa Fr. in an edible mushroom recently cultivable in Japan. A branched β-glucan from S. crispa (SCG) is a major 6-branched 1,3-β-D-glucan showing antitumor activity. In this study, we examined interferon-γ (IFN-γ) induction by SCG from splenocytes in DBA/2 mice in vitro. In the splenocytes derived from almost all inbred strains of mice except for DBA/1 and DBA/2 mice, IFN-γ production was not induced by SCG. The breeder and genders of DBA/2 mice showed no influence on IFN-γ induction by SCG. On the other hand, the magnitude of IFN-γ induction was lower in young mice than in their older counterparts. IFN-γ was induced by SCG in adherent splenocytes, but IFN-γ production was most significantly increased by SCG in instances involving coexistence of adherent and nonadherent splenocytes. In fact, inhibition of cell-cell contact reduced IFN-γ induction by SCG. In addition, interleukin-12 p70 (IL-12p70) was induced by SCG in DBA/2 mice. It was suggested that soluble factors and cell-cell contact med.
Enriched Social Translucence in Medical Crowdfunding

Social translucence theory argues that online collaboration systems should make contributors' activities visible to better achieve a common goal. Currently in medical crowdfunding sites, various non-monetary contributions integral to the success of a campaign, such as campaign promotions and offline support, are less visible than monetary contributions. Our work investigates ways to enrich social translucence in medical crowdfunding by aggregating and visualizing non-monetary contributions that reside outside of the current crowdfunding space. Three different styles of interactive visualizations were built and evaluated with medical crowdfunding beneficiaries and contributors. Our results reveal the perceived benefits and challenges of making the previously invisible non-monetary contributions visible using various design features in the visualizations. We discuss our findings based on the social translucence framework--visibility, awareness, and accountability--and suggest design guidelines for crowdfunding platform designers.
An Improved MRI Reconstruction Algorithm Combining Partial Fourier and Parallel Imaging

The relatively long duration of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) limited its application in many important clinical and research scenarios, and many methods have been proposed to reduce the scan time of MRI, such as partial Fourier imaging(PF), parallel imaging and compressed sensing(CS). In order to obtain higher acceleration factors, several reconstruction methods combining half Fourier and parallel imaging have been proposed in recent years. In these methods, PF_POCSENSE is a very effective method, which apply the phase constraining to reconstruct partial Fourier and parallel sampling data. Compared with partial Fourier imaging and parallel imaging, the SNR of reconstructed image is obviously improved. However, the traditional PF_POCSENSE method converges slowly and spends longer reconstruction time, because the initial image has less information. In this paper, an iterative partial Fourier parallel imaging (PFPI) method is proposed. Firstly, the amplitude of low resolution image is used as the initial guess image. Secondly, both phase constraint and region of interest (ROI) constraint are added into the iterative process to improve image quality. Moreover, the data convex sets projection operators are optimized. More priori information is included in reconstruction process and the data projection operations also are improved, so the number of iterations is greatly reduced, and the reconstruction speed is obviously improved. The reconstruction results of phantom and in vivo data showed that the proposed algorithm can reconstruct the image with higher SNR and faster reconstruction speed than the traditional algorithm under the same acceleration factor.