Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of Contact Lens Multipurpose Solutions on Bacterial Biofilm Development

Objectives: No sooner are contact lenses (CLs) inserted into the eyes than lipids, proteins, and glycoproteins rapidly accumulate on their surface, thus favoring the adhesion of commensal bacteria and biofilm formation. Infections may be caused by the proliferation of indigenous flora or other opportunistic pathogens. Our purpose was to evaluate the activity and the capacity of different CL solutions to interfere with the mechanisms of biofilm formation and stability and use of a system to study dynamically biofilm development. Methods: We evaluated the antibiofilm activity of three different multipurpose solutions (MPSs): Regard, Biotrue, and OPTI-FREE PureMoist on four bacterial species (Serratia marcescens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Staphylococcus aureus). Static biofilm assay was first performed to analyze the effect of MPSs. Dynamic assays were performed with the BioFlux system to analyze the effect of the OxyChlorite solution Regard on the biofilm formation. Results: Our studies show that MPSs are able to completely inhibit biofilm formation of Staphylococcus species and of S. marcescens after only 4 hr of incubation. Moreover, a reduction of biofilm formation by Pseudomonas was noted. Best results on P. aeruginosa were obtained with Regard. Regard was also used for dynamic assay, revealing its ability to disaggregate the mature biofilm. Regard completely inhibited biofilm formation by S. epidermidis and slowed down biofilm development by P. aeruginosa. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that the CL solutions tested were all able to reduce biofilm formation. Furthermore, the BioFlux system was proven to be useful for the evaluation of the effectiveness of CL solutions against microbial biofilm formation.
Alpha‐drenergic inhibition of calcium‐dependent potentials in rat sympathetic neurones.

1. Post‐ganglionic neurones of the rat superior cervical ganglion were studied in vitro (21‐26 degrees C) using single intracellular micro‐electrode methods. 2. Three Ca2+‐dependent potentials were studied: the shoulder on the normal action potential, the hyperpolarizing afterpotential (h.a.p.), and th Ca2+ spike. 3. Bath‐applied noradrenaline reversibly inhibited these Ca2+‐dependent potentials. The EC50 for inhibition of peak h.a. p. amplitude was about 1 microM. The order of catetholamine potency was: L‐adrenaline > L‐noradrenaline > D‐noradrenaline congruent to dopamine > DL‐isoprenaline. Phentolamine (10 microM), an alpha‐blocker, but not MJ‐1999 (10 microM), a beta‐blocker, antagonized the action of noradrenaline. 4. Noradrenaline (10 microM) hyperpolarized most neurones (1‐6 mV) studied, with no detectable change in resting membrane conductance. 5. Superfusion with low external Ca2+ and high Mg2+ mimicked the effect of noradrenaline. Either procedure alone antagonized the h.a. p. conductance increase but did not alter the h.a. p. reversal potential. However, in the presence of low Ca2+, high Mg2+, the remaining action potential and h.a. p. were not further reduced by noradrenaline. 6. The Ca2+‐dependent shoulder of the action potential did not appear dependent upon GK. Noradrenaline and low Ca2+ antagonized the shoulder when enhanced by TEA+ or Ba2+. 7. Both the rate of rise and amplitude of the Ca2+ spike were antagonized by noradrenaline. 8. We propose that activation of an alpha‐adrenoceptor inhibits a voltage‐sensitive Ca2+ conductance (GCa(V)), thereby reducing the inward Ca2+ current which may generate the noraml action potential shoulder and the rising phase of the Ca2+ spike. Reduction of Ca2+ current would also reduce the Ca2+‐dependent portion of outward K+ current underlying the h.a. p.
Expression of infectious woodchuck hepatitis virus in murine and avian fibroblasts

The liver is the primary site for replication of the hepadnavirus genome. We asked whether the posttranscriptional phase of the viral replication cycle would depend on hepatocyte-specific functions. For this purpose, we assayed a previously constructed chimera between sequences of the cytomegalovirus immediate-early promoter-enhancer region and woodchuck hepatitis virus (WHV) (C. Seeger and J. Maragos, J. Virol. 63:1907-1915, 1989) for its ability to direct the synthesis of infectious WHV in hepatoma cells and in murine and avian fibroblast cells. Viruslike particles containing WHV DNA were produced transiently in transfected hepatoma cells and in fibroblasts. Inoculation of woodchucks with culture medium from hepatoma cells or fibroblasts transfected with viral DNA led to productive WHV infection, as observed following infection of woodchucks with serum from WHV-infected animals. These results demonstrate that posttranscriptional events of the hepadnavirus replication cycle are not dependent on hepatocyte-specific functions.
X Design and Analysis of Social Computation Mechanisms

The goal of my research is to design mechanisms which combine computer power and human effort together to solve problems which cannot be solved by computers or humans alone. My research broadly spans and draws from the fields of machine learning, game theory, online optimization, and human-computer interaction. I am particularly interested in the design and analysis of social computation mechanisms, which leverage human effort on social platforms to solve machine-intractable problems. My work combines theoretical analysis with empirical experiments. In particular, I developed theoretical models and designed algorithms to address the problems of learning users’ skills to optimize system performance and designing incentives to motivate high quality contributions from users. I also conducted empirical experiments to help develop user behavior models, which play a crucial role in theoretical analysis. My vision is to work towards better social computation mechanisms by bridging the gap between theory and practice in this area.
Family meals and disordered eating in adolescents: longitudinal findings from project EAT.

OBJECTIVE To examine 5-year longitudinal associations between family meal frequency and disordered eating behaviors in adolescents. DESIGN Longitudinal study. SETTING Participants from 31 Minnesota schools completed in-class assessments in 1999 (time 1) and mailed surveys in 2004 (time 2). PARTICIPANTS Adolescents (N=2516) who completed Project EAT (Eating Among Teens)-I (time 1) and -II (time 2) assessments. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Time 1 family meal frequency and time 2 disordered eating behaviors, including extreme weight control behaviors (self-induced vomiting and use of laxatives, diet pills, or diuretics), less extreme unhealthy weight control behaviors (eating very little, fasting, using food substitutes, skipping meals, or smoking), binge eating, and chronic dieting. RESULTS Among adolescent girls, time 1 regular family meals (> or = 5 meals/wk) were associated with lower prevalences of time 2 extreme weight control behaviors (odds ratio, 0.71; 95% confidence interval, 0.52-0.97), even after adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, body mass index, family connectedness, parental encouragement to diet, and extreme weight control behaviors at time 1. Associations with other disordered eating behaviors were also suggestive of a protective effect of family meals in unadjusted analyses but were not statistically significant in adjusted analyses. Among adolescent boys, regular family meals did not predict lower levels of disordered eating behaviors. CONCLUSIONS The high prevalence of disordered eating behaviors among adolescent girls and the protective role of family meals suggest a need for interventions aimed at promoting family meals. Further exploration of predictors of disordered eating behaviors in adolescent boys and the role of family meals is warranted.
Cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4) dimorphism in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

OBJECTIVE Genetic susceptibility to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is conferred not only by various genes within the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) region, but also by several other non-MHC linked genes. The negatively signalling molecule CTLA-4 is involved in establishing and maintaining of peripheral T cell tolerance, which controls T cell activation and reactivity. Its attenuating action helps to prevent an inappropriate initiation of T cell responses to self antigens and to terminate ongoing T cell responses. We tested if there was an association between CTLA-4 and SLE, a disease with B and T cell hyperreactivity and impaired peripheral T cell tolerance. METHODS Using the polymerase chain reaction--restriction fragment length polymorphism method with Bbv I digestion, we assessed an exon 1 transition dimorphism (49 A/G) of the CTLA-4 gene in 102 SLE patients and in 76 healthy controls. RESULTS The distribution of CTLA-4 exon 1 genotypes in the SLE group was significantly different from that in the controls (chi 2 = 6.178, p < 0.05). 17.6% of the SLE patients were G/G homozygotes compared to 5.3% of the controls; 36.3% were A/G heterozygotes vs 40.8% of controls; and 46.1% were A/A homozygotes vs 53.9% of the controls. The frequency of the G allele was significantly higher in SLE patients (35.8%) than in controls (25.7%; chi 2 = 4.142, p = 0.042). CONCLUSION Our results indicate that the non-MHC linked CTLA-4 gene could confer susceptibility in SLE, as it does in various other autoimmune diseases (Hashimoto thyroiditis, Graves' disease, IDDM).
Design of a concurrent quad-band GaN-HEMT Doherty power amplifier for wireless applications

This paper presents the design and measurement results of a quad-band Doherty power amplifier (DPA) for concurrent operation in the 900 MHz, 1.5 GHz, 2.1 GHz and 2.6 GHz frequency bands. In principle, a quad-band DPA requires that all passive structures involving the DPA, but especially the impedance inverter network (IIN), be either broad-or multiband to cover the desired number of frequency bands. In this work, a newly developed multiband IIN is introduced, enabling the realisation of multiband symmetric and asymmetric DPAs. The design concept can theoretically be applied for a large number of frequency bands. The approach has been validated in hybrid technology using a 10 W and 25 W GaN-HEMT as carrier and peaking devices, respectively. The measured results show peak drain efficiencies of 58.12 %, 60.52 %, 52.74 %, and 43.3 %, associated with output powers of greater than 41.75 dBm in all four bands. The corresponding drain efficiencies at 6 dB output power back-off are measured to be 48 %, 56 %, 47 % and 31.8 % for the first, second, third, and fourth band, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time a quad-band concurrent DPA has been successfully designed and implemented.
A study and analysis of various techniques to match sketches to Mugshot photos

Identification and apprehension of criminals by matching facial sketches with photographic faces is one of the major law enforcement applications of the modern world. Majority of the crime occur where there will not be any information available regarding the suspect. In such situation, forensic sketch artist who usually deals with the eyewitness of the crime or victim in order to draw the sketch that resembles criminal face according to the verbal description given by the eyewitness. These sketches are termed as ‘forensic sketches’ and can be matched manually against gallery of criminal mug shot photos. By developing an automatic system for matching these sketches to the criminal database would reduce many person-hours. A lot of research is done in this regard. This research paper provides an overview of different forensic sketch matching technique and their analysis.
The construction of logical circular chain for industrial wireless sensor networks

Wireless sensor network in industrial environment (denoted IWSN) has data delivery timing constraint. Due to the dynamic routing and transmission collision, the data delivery time is unpredictable. In this paper, a proactive routing which constructs the sensor nodes into a logical circular chain (i.e., ring topology) with token-based transmission is developed to avoid data collision and to provide bounded transmission delay. A traveling salesman problem (TSP) with heuristic algorithm and linear programming modeling with simulated anneal algorithm are applied to construct a load-balanced logical circular chain in IWSN. A ping-pong token-pass scheme is applied to prolong the network lifetime. The simulation results reveal that the linear programming with Ping-Pong token-pass scheme has the best performance in load balance and network lifetime.
The highly compact structure of the mitochondrial DNA polymerase genomic region of Drosophila melanogaster: functional and evolutionary implications

The structure of a Drosophila melanogaster genomic region containing five tightly clustered genes has been determined and evaluated with regard to its functional and evolutionary relationships. In addition to the genes encoding the two subunits (α and β) of the DNA polymerase γ holoenzyme, the key enzyme for mitochondrial DNA replication, other genes contained in the cluster may be also involved in the cellular distribution of mitochondria and in the coordination of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA replication. The gene cluster is extremely compact, with very little intergenic space. It contains two bidirectional promoter regions, and particularly notable is the 5′ end overlap detected in two of its genes, an exceptional situation in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic genome organization.
Adaptive bat algorithm for coverage of wireless sensor network

Bat algorithm is a novel swarm intelligent algorithm inspired by the echolocation behaviour of bats. Pulse rate of emission is one important parameter, which is adjusted in an exponential manner in the standard version, however, this manner provides a fast convergent behaviour in the first several generations. With this manner, the exploitation capability is limited. In this paper, a new linear adjusted manner is employed to enhance the local search capability. To test the performance, it is applied to solve the optimal coverage problem of Wireless Sensor Network WSN. Simulation results show it is effective when compared with the standard version of bat algorithm.
Error diagnosis and classi fication of errors in two Hebrew state-ofthe-art automatic speech recognition systems

In this research we diagnose two commercial automatic speech recognizers (ASRs) on a corpus of academic lectures in Hebrew. Our goal is not only to measure the engines' performance but to find out if current Hebrew ASRs' transcription can be a reasonable replacement to human transcription, or at least a significant bootstrapping for a manual post-processing of the automatic output. We performed a word error rate (WER) diagnosis and a linguistic error classification on two automatic transcriptions – Nuance's and Google's, and compared it to a real-time (RT) stenographer's records, as well as to an exact transcription that reflects excatly the speaker's speech. Results show that the ASRs‘ WER is caused by massive substitutions, while the RT transcription's errors were caused mainly due to deletions. This research provides an opportunity to explore cost/benefit aspects of automatic vs. manual audio transcriptions.
An independent determination of Fomalhaut b’s orbit and the dynamical effects on the outer dust belt

The nearby star Fomalhaut harbours a cold, moderately eccentric dust belt with a sharp inner edge near 133 au. A low-mass, common proper motion companion (Fom b), was discovered near the inner edge and was identified as a planet candidate that could account for the belt morphology. However, the most recent orbit determination based on four epochs of astrometry over eight years reveals a highly eccentric orbit that appears to cross the belt in the sky plane projection. We perform here a full orbital determination based on the available astrometric data to independently validate the orbit estimates previously presented. Adopting our values for the orbital elements and their associated uncertainties, we then study the dynamical interaction between the planet and the dust ring, to check whether the proposed disk sculpting scenario by Fom b is plausible. We used a dedicated MCMC code to derive the statistical distributions of the orbital elements of Fom b. Then we used symplectic N-body integration to investigate the dynamics of the dust belt, as perturbed by a single planet. Different attempts were made assuming different masses for Fom b. We also performed a semi-analytical study to explain our results. Our results are in good agreement with others regarding the orbit of Fom b. We find that the orbit is highly eccentric, is close to apsidally aligned with the belt, and has a moderate mutual inclination relative to the belt plane of. If coplanar, this orbit crosses the disk. Our dynamical study then reveals that the observed planet could sculpt a transient belt configuration with a similar eccentricity to what is observed, but it would not be simultaneously apsidally aligned with the planet. This transient configuration only occurs a short time after the planet is placed on such an orbit (assuming an initially circular disk), a time that is inversely proportional to the planet's mass, and that is in any case much less than the 440 Myr age of the star. We constrain how long the observed dust belt could have survived with Fom b on its current orbit, as a function of its possible mass. This analysis leads us to conclude that Fom b is likely to have low mass, that it is unlikely to be responsible for the sculpting of the belt, and that it supports the hypothesis of a more massive, less eccentric planet companion Fom c.
The effect of nonylphenol on spermiogram , hematological properties and reproductive ability of comet goldfish ( Carassius auratus )

The degradation product of nonylphenoletoxilate (NPEO), nonylphenol (NP), had adverse effects on the reproduction of several species of male fish. In this study, spermatological properties of comet goldfish (Carrasius auratus) after a 30 day exposure with 0.03-0.30 mg NP L were investigated. Mature C. auratus (weight: ~6.87 g; length: ~10.06 cm) were reared in 15 pairs of glass tank. Thirty days after exposure, significant dose-dependent effects of NP in the treated male fish groups were observed such as reduction in number of sperm, change in semen parameters, and suppressed reproductive behavior. High number of sperm was microscopically founded present in the semen control fish and fish treated by 0.03 mg NP/L, but was scarce in the 0.12 mg NP L or higher concentration. Change of semen parameters (pH, color and sperm motility) were observed from fish treated by NP compared to control specimens. A breeding test of treated male fish paired with female matured normal fish revealed that NP suppressed reproductive behavior of male individuals. There were female normal fish spawned and egg hatched when paired with control male fish and treated by 0.03 mg NP L but were remarkably no female fish spawned when paired with male fish treated by 0.12 mg NP L or higher concentration. The result of this study provided the evidence that NP was suppressed male reproduction, as indicated by the reduced quantity and quality of sperm, and suppressed reproductive ability of male C. auratus.
Mechanism of Resistance, Phenotyping and Genotyping of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus: A Review

Staphylococcus aureus causes a variety of suppurative (pus-forming) infections and toxinoses in humans. It causes superficial skin lesions such as boils, styes and furuncules; more serious infections such as pneumonia, mastitis, phlebitis, meningitis, and urinary tract infections; and deep-seated infections, such as osteomyelitis and endocarditis. S. aureus is a major cause of hospital acquired (nosocomial) infection of surgical wounds and infections associated with indwelling medical devices. Although methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) have been entrenched in hospital settings for several decades, MRSA strains have recently emerged outside the hospital becoming known as community associatedMRSA( (CA-MRSA) or superbug strains of the organism, which now account for the majority of staphylococcal infections. ( Todar, 2012)
Recognition of Easily-confused TCM Herbs Using Deep Learning

Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) plays an important role of treatment in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Traditionally, CHM is used to restore the balance of the body for sick people and maintain health for common people. However, lack of the knowledge of the herbs may cause misuse of the herbs. In this demo, we will present a real-time smartphone application, which can not only recognize easily-confused herb based on Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), but also provide relevant information about the detected herbs. Our Chinese herb recognition system is implemented on a cloud server and can be used by the client user via smartphone. The recognition system is evaluated by 5-fold cross validation method and the accuracy is around 96%, which is adequate for real-world use.
Preliminary Observations Regarding Angiographic Pattern of Restenosis After Rapamycin-Eluting Stent Implantation

Background—Restenosis after implantation of drug-eluting stents (DES) is a rare phenomenon, occurring more frequently peri-stent. Methods and Results—We evaluated the pattern of restenosis occurring after implantation of DES in unselected lesions. From April 15 to December 6, 2002, we treated 368 patients with 735 lesions by using 841 rapamycin-eluting stents (Cypher, Cordis, a Johnson & Johnson Company). Mean baseline lesion length was 17.48±12.19 mm, and mean stent length was 27.59±14.02 mm. Follow-up ischemia-driven angiography was performed in 24 patients. Eleven patients had angiographic restenosis (≥50% diameter stenosis) in 14 stented segments (stent and 5 mm proximal and distal to the stent). The pattern of restenosis in all 14 stented segments was focal, and in 6 of them it was multifocal, occurring inside the stents. Mean length of restenotic lesions was 5.62±1.90 mm, with a range from 2.54 to 8.44 mm. One multifocal restenosis involved also the distal stent margin. Intravascular ultrasound evaluation at follow-up, performed in 2 patients, showed significant lumen obstruction attributable to in-stent hyperplasia in both cases. Individual cases can be viewed in the Data Supplement. Conclusions—The pattern of restenotic lesions after rapamycin-eluting stent implantation was focal and mostly inside the stent.
Quality Analysis of Indian Basmati Rice Grains using Top-Hat Transformation

is one of the most important cereal grains. Rice is a good source of complex carbohydrates and is rich in several other essential nutrients. The paper presents a solution for quality analysis of Indian Basmati rice grains using Top-hat Transformation. In this paper the problem of Non-uniform Illumination for quality assessment is defined which show their effects in the process of extracting objects from the background and cause segmentation errors. The proposed method for quality assessment of Indian Basmati rice grains using Top-hat Transformation which achieves high degree of accuracy in correcting the effects of the Non-uniform Illumination than Computer Vision Inspection. The proposed method based on Morphological features is developed for counting the number of Indian Basmati rice grains with Normal grains, Long grains and Small grains. Keywords-hat Transformation, Quality, Morphological operations, Basmati rice grains, Parameters