Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Preparation of Cell Cultures and Vaccinia Virus Stocks

This unit describes the maintenance of cell lines used with vaccinia virus, both in monolayer cultures and in suspension. The suspended cell culture is then used in the preparation of vaccinia virus stocks. The preparation of chick embryo fibroblasts (CEF) is also presented for use in the production of the highly attenuated and host range‐restricted modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA) strain of vaccinia virus. Additionally, support protocols are presented for the titration of standard and MVA vaccinia virus stocks.
Spectral-domain optical coherence tomography with a white light developed for optical device fabrication

We developed a spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) with a white light source for high-resolution, non-destructive profile imaging. By using a 625-nm-centered white light (260 nm bandwidth), 0.69 /nm of axial resolution was achieved. This resolution is suitable for the inspection of thin photoresists (e.g., 1-2 μm) coated semiconductor wafers, which are used for optical device fabrication.
Accounts Receivable Seamless Prediction for Companies by Using Multiclass Data Mining Model

Most companies find themselves in highly competitive markets nowadays. As a result, many companies struggle to manage their financial obligation to pay their supplier on time. Delayed payments to suppliers can create all kinds of issue with the supplier's cash flow. Finding a way to reduce or avoid any potential losses because of this delay is needed. Currently, data mining techniques have been widely applied to the assessment or prediction of credit scores for customers in the banking industry (credit scoring), and the most commonly used method is classification. Based on previous studies, research has been conducted to develop a data mining model to produce the best classification model to predict a customer’s payment capabilities. With the application of data mining approaches using oversampling, feature selection (FS) algorithm, including Relief, Information Gain Ratio, PCA, and multiclass algorithm, including Random Forest, SVM, One-versus-all, All-versus-all and Error Correcting Output Coding (ECOC), is expected to produce good accuracy to predict the ability of these payments. As a result of this research, the model proposed can provide the best classification model with 84.24% accuracy and AUC value of 95.3% using sample dataset of manufacturing industry within three years period
Robust visual tracking based on L1 expanded template

Most video tracking algorithms including L1 tracker often fail to track correctly under adverse conditions such as object occlusion, disappearance, etc. To address this issue, we propose an improved L1 tracker algorithm called Tracker-2, based on what we call the expanded template which includes the reference template and trail template. The reference template keeps the original features of the target and prevents errors from being introduced by false tracking results with the template update, which leads to the deviation of the target. The trail template records the trail tracking results to avoid massive use of trivial templates which may result in the false detection of occlusion. The experimental results on a number of standard data sets have proved that our Tracker-2 approach is able to deal with the occlusion problem effectively while maintaining the advantages of L1 tracker.
Preschoolers use intentional and pedagogical cues to guide inductive inferences and exploration.

Children are judicious social learners. They may be particularly sensitive to communicative actions done pedagogically for their benefit, as such actions may mark important, generalizable information. Three experiments (N = 224) found striking differences in preschoolers' inductive generalization and exploration of a novel functional property, depending on whether identical evidence for the property was produced accidentally, intentionally, or pedagogically and communicatively. Results also revealed that although 4-year-olds reserved strong generalizations for a property that is pedagogically demonstrated, 3-year-olds made such inferences when it was produced either intentionally or pedagogically. These findings suggest that by age 4 children assess whether evidence is produced for their benefit in gauging generalizability, giving them a powerful tool for acquiring important kind-relevant, generic knowledge.
Characterising and understanding trends and variability in African rainfall seasonality

Seasonal rainfall over Africa is critical for rain-fed agriculture, domestic water use, energy production and health. Thus, variability and change in precipitation patterns can potentially inflict socio-economic damage, exacerbated by the low adaptive capacity in many countries. This thesis aims to characterise and interpret the seasonality of rainfall over Africa and its changes over time to improve capability for robust, societally relevant projections of future climatic change over Africa. An objective methodology is developed to quantify the seasonal regime and timing across continental Africa, applicable to both models and observations. Compatibility with known physical drivers of African rainfall, consistency with indigenous methods, and generally strong agreement between satellite-based rainfall datasets confirm that the method realistically captures the seasonal progression of rainfall. Present day seasonality and the role of the El Ni˜no Southern Oscillation are characterised. Examination of the representation of African rainfall seasonality in the CMIP5 climate models reveals deficiencies in some regions. These include timing biases over the Horn of Africa (long rains 20 days late on average) and an unrealistic seasonal regime over the southern West African coastline, with a failure to capture the agriculturally important Little Dry Season. Further analysis using targeted climate model simulations indicates that the misrepresentation of the biannual regime is related to Atlantic sea surface temperature biases. Over much of the continent it is found that the CMIP5 models accurately capture the seasonal cycle in rainfall, which adds credence for future projected changes in seasonality. Assessment of future changes in wet season characteristics under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios indicates significant projected changes in several regions of Africa. A delay in the wet season over West Africa and the Sahel of over 5-10 days on average and later onset of the wet season over Southern Africa is identified. This is linked with increasing strength of the Saharan Heat Low in late boreal summer and a northward shift in the rain belt over August-December. Average rainfall per rainy day is projected to increase, while the number of rainy days in the wet season declines in regions of stable or declining rainfall (West and Southern Africa) while remaining unchanged in Central Africa where rainfall is projected to increase. Identified changes in seasonal rainfall characteristics over Africa have implications for crop yields, water supplies, and urban flooding, requiring adaptation strategies to reduce potentially detrimental consequences.
Interlaboratory Histopathologic Assessment of Alzheimer Neuropathology: Different Methodologies Yield Comparable Diagnostic Results

Three investigators have applied different histopathologic methods (modified Bielschowsky silver methods, Congo red-gallocyanin) to differentiate Alzheimer's disease (AD) (n = 7 subjects; four with very mild dementia and three with moderate to advanced dementia) neuropathology from brain changes associated with aging in three nondemented individuals who had been evaluated using a validated dementia severity staging instrument [Washington University Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR)] generally within a year of death. The presence of elevated numbers of neocortical (frontal and temporal) diffuse, mature, and total senile plaques (SP) was strongly correlated with the presence of clinical AD but did not equate with CDR dementia severity. Neocortical neurofibrillary tangle (NFT) density as well as hippocampal NFT and SP density in this small series did not differentiate statistically between AD and controls. NFT density appeared to correlate with CDR better than SP density. Quantitative histopathologic assessment of AD markers in only a few brain regions can accurately predict the presence of clinical AD, including the very mild form of the disease. This is especially true for SP in the neocortex.
Intestinal absorption of peptide drugs: advances in our understanding and clinical implications.

The route of administration of most drugs, including antibiotics, is often decided empirically based on bioavailability data from animal studies. Increasing knowledge, however, of the transport mechanisms participating in solute uptake from the human intestine has improved our understanding of the absorption of peptide drugs (including a number of antibiotics). This article will briefly discuss dipeptide transport in humans and then focus on the intestinal absorption ofpeptide drugs, in particular f-lactam antibiotics, and the therapeutic implications ofresearch in this field. f-lactam compounds are weakly acidic peptides and thus expected to be poorly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. Some ofthe drugs in this group, however, have surprisingly good oral bioavailability because of the utilisation of carrier mediated transport systems for small peptides within the brush border. Peptide compounds, particularly hormones and their analogues, are increasingly used therapeutically, although oral bioavailability is often a problem. Specific pharmacological design to facilitate intestinal absorption is potentially of great benefit. Design ofdrugs specifically to exploit carrier systems is important as the clinical usefulness of a compound is greatly enhanced if it is well absorbed when given by mouth.
Assessment of radiological risk factors in the Zonguldak coal mines, Turkey

Radon concentrations in the working sections of the Zonguldak coal mines were determined and activity concentration measurements of natural 226Ra, 232Th and 40K radionuclides were performed with high resolution passive gamma-ray spectrometry for coal samples collected from these sections. The 222Rn concentration was found to be between 15 and 78 Bq m−3, well below the action limit of 1000 Bq m−3 according to ICRP65. The annual effective dose to miners due to inhalation of radon was determined to be between 60 and 312 µSv. Activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K in the coal samples were found to be 13–164, 13–215 and 344–1100 Bq kg−1, respectively. Radium equivalent activity, dose rate in air and average annual effective dose equivalents were calculated in the range of 66–602 Bq kg−1, 32–265 nGy h−1 and 30–244 µSv, respectively. The resultant total annual effective doses can be used to minimise the radiological risk to the coal miners.
Blue Dye and Red Light, a Dynamic Combination for Prophylaxis and Treatment of Cutaneous Candida albicans Infections in Mice

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to investigate photodynamic therapy (PDT), using blue dye and red light, for prophylaxis and treatment of cutaneous Candida albicans infections in mice. A mouse model of skin abrasion infected with C. albicans was developed by inoculating wounds measuring 1.2 cm by 1.2 cm with 106 or 107 CFU. The use of a luciferase-expressing strain of C. albicans allowed real-time monitoring of the extent of infection in mice noninvasively through bioluminescence imaging. The phenothiazinium salts toluidine blue O (TBO), methylene blue (MB), and new methylene blue (NMB) were compared as photosensitizers (PS) for the photodynamic inactivation of C. albicans in vitro. PDT in vivo was initiated either at 30 min or at 24 h after fungal inoculation to investigate the efficacies of PDT for both prophylaxis and treatment of infections. Light at 635 ± 15 nm or 660 ± 15 nm was delivered with a light dose of 78 J/cm2 (for PDT at 30 min postinfection) or 120 J/cm2 (for PDT at 24 h postinfection) in multiple exposures with bioluminescence imaging taking place after each exposure of light. In vitro studies showed that NMB was superior to TBO and MB as the PS in the photodynamic inactivation of C. albicans. The efficacy of PDT was related to the ratio of PS concentration to fungal cell density. PDT in vivo initiated either at 30 min or at 24 h postinfection significantly reduced C. albicans burden in the infected mouse skin abrasion wounds. These data suggest that PDT is a viable approach for prophylaxis and treatment of cutaneous C. albicans infections.
An Artificial Noise Scheme for Secure Communication in Heterogeneous D2D and Cellular Networks

In this paper, we investigate the physical layer security scheme in heterogeneous Device-to-Device (D2D) and cellular networks. More specifically, we aim to optimize the secrecy capacity of D2D users in a single cell where the D2D users share downlink resource with cellular users. We assume that base station is equipped with multiple antennas while other nodes are equipped with single antenna, and the eavesdropper is intending to wiretap the information of D2D user. Base station transmits artificial noise as the jamming-aided signal to degrade the wiretap channel such that the security capacity of D2D user could be improved. First, we design the precoding matrix of artificial noise to make sure that the wiretap channel would be degraded while D2D link and cellular link are not influenced. Second, the precoding matrix of desired information signal of cellular link is designed in order to satisfy the quality demand of cellular link. In this part, we propose three schemes according to different criteria. Finally, the optimal power allocation algorithm is provided. Simulation results demonstrate that our scheme could efficiently improve the secrecy capacity of D2D user while the quality demand of cellular user is satisfied.
ynthesis and gas sensing characteristics of highly crystalline ZnO – SnO 2 ore – shell nanowires

The ZnO–SnO2 core–shell nanowires (NWs) were synthesized by a continuous two-step vapor growth method at different synthesis temperatures. A crystalline 15–20 nm-thick, SnO2 shell layer was pseudoepitaxially coated on ZnO NWs with a diameter of 50–80 nm. The gas response of the ZnO–SnO2 core–shell NW sensor to 10 ppm NO2 reached ∼33 times enhancement compared to that of the ZnO NWs at 200 ◦C. vailable online 27 May 2010
Polymorphisms in DNA damage response genes and head and neck cancer risk

Background: Polymorphisms in DNA repair genes have been reported contributing factors in head and neck cancer risk but studies have shown conflicting results. Objective: To clarify the impact of DNA repair gene polymorphisms in head and neck cancer risk. Method: A meta-analysis including 30 case–control studies was performed. Results: Marginally statistically significant association was found for XRCC1 codon 399 (for Caucasians only), XPD Asp312Asn and XRCC1 codon 194 variants and head and neck cancer. Conclusion: Assessments of the effects of smoking, alcohol, human papillomavirus and race/ethnicity on the association between DNA repair gene polymorphisms and head and neck cancer are needed.
Grid-Free Modelling Based on the Finite Particle Method for Incompressible Viscous Flow Problems

In this paper, we present a grid-free modelling based on the finite particle method for the numerical simulation of incompressible viscous flows. Numerical methods of interest are meshless Lagrangian finite point scheme by the application of the projection method for the incompressibility of the Navier–Stokes flow equations. The moving least squares method is introduced for approximating spatial derivatives in a meshless context. The pressure Poisson equation with Neumann boundary condition is solved by the finite particle method in which the fluid domain is discretized by a finite number of particles. Also, a continuous particle management has to be done to prevent particles from moving into configurations problematic for a numerical approximation. With the proposed finite particle technique, problems associated with the viscous free surface flow which contains the study on the liquid sloshing in tanks with low volumetric fluid type, solitary waves movement, and interaction with a vertical wall in numerical flume as well as the vortex patterns of the ship rolling damping are circumvented. These numerical models are investigated to validate the presented grid-free methodology. The results have revealed the efficiency and stability of the finite particle method which could be well handled with the incompressible viscous flow problems.
Sichere Wearable Systeme zur Kommissionierung industrieller Güter sowie für Diagnose, Wartung und Reparatur

Das Vorhaben SiWear zielt auf einen Durchbruch fur den Einsatz der mobilen ‚Wearable’ IuK Technologien in produzierenden Unternehmen und dem nachgelagerten After-Sales Bereich. Computersysteme, die wahrend der Nutzung, vergleichbar mit einer Armbanduhr, am Korper getragen werden, bieten die Moglichkeit, Informationstechnologien tiefer in Arbeitsprozesse dringen zu lassen und sie ohne Bruche in die vorhandene Infrastruktur und Prozessunterstutzung zu integrieren. „Wearable und Mobile Computing“ folgt dem Paradigma, Informationen und Geschaftsprozesse an jedem Ort und zu jeder Zeit verfugbar zu machen, ohne dass die primare Aufmerksamkeit der Benutzer dem Computersystem gilt (Analogie: Fahrzeugnavigation gestutzt auf GPS Signalen im Gegensatz zur stationaren Routenplanung).
Ruin Probability Minimization and Dividend Distribution Optimization in Diffusion Models

We consider a model of an insurance companies with different modes of risk and financial control. Different types of reinsurance correspond to the risk reduction techniques of the insurance, while financial control corresponds to a more familiar portfolio rebalancing. There are different objective which the company may pursue. One is the classical minimization of the ruin probabilities. Another one is the dividend pay-out maximization. The later merges with the classical finance issue of utility optimization by a small investor, pioneered by Merton. Diffusion approximation enables one to get a closed form solution to many problems and see the structure of the optimal policy. Mathematically, the problem becomes a mixed singular/regular control of a diffusion process, whose analytical portion corresponds to a solution of nonlinear ordinary or partial differential equations
Longitudinal evaluation of the pharmacokinetics of cyclosporin microemulsion (Neoral®) in pediatric renal transplant recipients and assessment of C2 level as a marker for absorption

Abstract: Background: There are important differences in CsA pharmacokinetics between adult and pediatric patients, such that pharmacokinetic data can not necessarily be extrapolated from the adult to the pediatric setting. Research in adult renal transplant patients has shown that adequate cyclosporin exposure (AUC0−4) in the first week post‐transplant is important for successful clinical outcome, and that cyclosporin concentration at 2 h post‐dose (C2) provides the optimal single‐time point marker for AUC0−4. Clinically, dose management based on C2 level results in a low incidence of acute rejection in the adult renal transplant population. The study reported here undertook pharmacokinetic profiling in de novo renal transplant patients over a period of 6 months and retrospectively assessed alternative monitoring strategies based on pharmacokinetic findings and clinical outcomes.
Electrochemical Control of the Enzymatic Polymerization of PEG Hydrogels: Formation of Spatially Controlled Biological Microenvironments

Control of pH gradient profile at the electrode-electrolyte interfaces allows the control of the enzymatic PEG-hydrogel polymerization. By tuning the solution pH, buffer capacity, and the applied current, the extent of the local inhibition and confinement of the Factor XIII-mediated polymerization of PEG are controlled. This technology opens new perspectives for the production of 3D-structured biological microenvironments.
What patients and relatives expect from an intensivist--the Swiss side of a European survey.

BACKGROUND Until recently, patients' and families' expectations of specialists in intensive care medicine were largely unknown. This paper reports the results from the Swiss subgroup of a recently performed European multicentre study addressing this question. METHODS Purposeful sample of adult ICUs in Switzerland. A questionnaire was distributed to ICU patients and relatives. It included 21 statements in the domains "medical knowledge", "communication with patients", "communication with relatives". Statements were rated for importance on a four-point Likert scale. RESULTS All addressed ICUs participated; there were two from the French and eight from the German speaking part of Switzerland. 197 questionnaires were returned (46%). Overall, the majority of characteristics were rated as important. As in the other participating countries, patients and relatives ranked, "medical knowledge" as most essential, followed by, "communication with patients" and, "communication with relatives". This remained unchanged when analysed for German or French language, female or male, age >65 years. Female responders rated "communication" as more important than male responders. For French speaking participants "treating patients as individuals" was the most important statement. CONCLUSIONS In accordance to respondents from other countries, Swiss patients and their families with experience of intensive care rate medical knowledge as most essential for specialists in intensive care medicine. However, communication with patients and with relatives is considered important, too. Accordingly, developing and ensuring medical knowledge and skills, as well as competence in communication must remain top priorities for the institutions responsible for training ICU physicians.