Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Software communication platform architecture for robots group management in autonomous mission

This paper presents the software communication platform architecture for the management of a group of robots in autonomous mission running in an advance uncertain environment. The concept of management of autonomous missions, such as observation missions provided by submarine robots, is considered. A brief description of communication in conditions of disruptions and disconnections based on delay-tolerant networking architecture as well as abstraction layers of the platform for the expansion of the application software are provided.
Desire to father a child and condom use: a study of young black men at risk of sexually transmitted infections

To determine whether men’s reported desire to father a child or their perception that someone wanted to have their child was associated with elevated rates of unprotected vaginal sex, we studied a sample of young Black men at high risk of sexually transmitted infection acquisition. Data were collected in clinics treating sexually transmitted infections in three southern U.S. cities. Men 15–23 years of age who identified as Black/African American and reported recent (past two months) penile–vaginal sex were eligible (N = 578). Logistic regression was used to examine whether desire to conceive a child (self and perception of partners’ desire) predicted condom use, adjusting for age and whether they had previously impregnated someone. Their own level of desire to conceive a child was not significantly associated with unprotected vaginal sex or the proportion of times a condom was used. However, those who perceived higher level of someone wanting to conceive their child were 1.73 times more likely to report unprotected vaginal sex (P = .006) and 1.62 times more likely to report a lower proportion of times condoms were used (P = .019). Young Black men attending sexually transmitted infection clinics in the USA may forego condom use based on a perceived desire of their partners to become pregnant, putting themselves at risk for sexually transmitted infection acquisition and unplanned pregnancy. Findings provide initial support for the relevance of the idea that perceptions of women partners’ desire to conceive may be a critical determinant of condomless sex.
Body glucose as fuel for thermogenesis in the white rat exposed to cold.

Various parameters of glucose metabolism were measured with C14-glucose in unanesthetized warm- and cold-acclimated rats at 30° and 6°C. Exposure of warm-acclimated rats to cold was associated with a decrease in turnover time of plasma glucose, no change in glucose pool size and space, an increase in rates of turnover and oxidation of body glucose, an increase in the ratio of the oxidation rate to the turnover rate, no change in percentage of respiratory CO2 derived from glucose oxidation, and a decrease in liver glycogen content. Approximately reversed changes were observed in cold-acclimated rats transferred from a cold to a warm environment except in the values of turnover time of plasma glucose and terminal liver glycogen content which underwent smaller changes. It is concluded that cold-induced thermogenesis in white rats, whether acclimated to warm or cold environments, is associated with an increase in carbohydrate catabolism proportionate to the increase in energy metabolism.
Isolation, characterization and molecular 3D model of human GDE4, a novel membrane protein containing glycerophosphodiester phosphodiesterase domain

As a transmembrane protein family, glycerophosphodiester phosphodiesterase (GDPD/GDE) catalyzes the hydrolysis of deacylated glycerophospholipids to glycerol phosphate and alcohol. To date, seven mammalian GDEs have been virtually cloned or predicted by bioinformatics analysis, however, GDE4 has not been molecular isolated and characterized in mammal. Here we report molecular cloning of human GDE4 encoding cDNA sequence, which is 945 base pairs long encoding a 314-amino acid protein with 2 transmembrane regions and a GDE motif. The human GDE1 gene is located on chromosome 19q22 and contains ten exons and nine introns. A molecular 3-D model provides the first structural information of human GDE4 and suggests a triose-phosphate-isomerase barrel core as typically found in bacterial GDPDs. Furthermore, a model of the putative catalytic residues highlights that the individual core residues Glu72, Asp74, and His87 are crucial to maintaining GDE4 catalytic activity. Western blotting shows that human GDE4 is a 36 kDa protein. Subcellular localization of GDE4 tagged with enhanced green fluorescence protein is in the cytoplasm, especially accumulated in the perinuclear region and the cell periphery. Moreover, over-expression of GDE4 did not induce neurite formation or change cell morphology. These results indicate GDE4 protein is a member of the GDE family and suggest it may play different roles from other members of GDE family.
Final Research

This paper presents a novel memory acquisition algorithm for cold boot attacks to compress the RAM of a system in the boot loader, before the operating system is loaded. This makes eﬃcient memory acquisition possible using minimal, but fully featured Linux based operating systems. The ben-eﬁt of this approach is that the acquisition of the memory during a forensic investigation can be combined with the collection of other evidence from for example connected storage devices and other media. This project was initiated as part of a larger project of the Netherlands Forensics Institute that is currently developing a custom solution for automated evidence collection and network based transmission. As part of this project an extensive data compression algorithm comparison has been conducted to select the optimal algorithm for this project. The compression algorithms have been tested with RAM dumps generated from scenarios that have been created to have samples of the wide spectrum of possibilities regarding the content of the RAM and found entropy. Based on the challenges identiﬁed in this project a new acquisition algorithm has been developed that should recover the majority of the RAM even under the most diﬃcult conditions. The memory acquisition algorithm has been realized in a proof of concept and the results are compared against the current state-of-the-art solutions. The amount of data that is overwritten before it can be secured is (slightly) increased compared to the existing solutions. However, a signiﬁcant improvement has been realised compared with booting an unmodiﬁed operating sys-tem.
Poly-3-Hydroxybutyrate in Legionella pneumophila, an Energy Source for Survival in Low-Nutrient Environments

ABSTRACT Chloroform-soluble material was extracted from two strains ofL. pneumophila serogroup 1 following growth in continuous culture. The purified material was identified as poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. PHB yields of up to 16% of cell dry weight were extracted from culture samples. The PHB was located in electron-dense intracellular inclusions, which fluoresced bright yellow when stained with the lipophilic dye Nile red. A Nile red spectrofluorometric assay provided a more accurate and reliable determination of the PHB content. PHB accumulation increased threefold during iron-limited culture and was inversely related to the concentration of iron metabolized. Chemostat-grown cells survived in a culturable state for at least 600 days when incubated at 24°C in a low-nutrient tap water environment. Nile red spectrofluorometry and flow cytometry demonstrated that PHB reserves were utilized during starvation. PHB utilization, as revealed by the decline in mean cellular fluorescence and cell complexity, correlated with loss of culturability. Fluorescence microscopy provided visual evidence of PHB utilization, with a marked reduction in the number of Nile red-stained granules during starvation. Heat shock treatment failed to resuscitate nonculturable cells. This study demonstrates that L. pneumophila accumulates significant intracellular reserves of PHB, which promote its long-term survival under conditions of starvation.
Flexural strength of heat-polymerized polymethyl methacrylate denture resin reinforced with glass, aramid, or nylon fibers.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM Despite the favorable properties of conventional PMMA used as a denture base material, its fracture resistance could be improved. PURPOSE This in vitro study was performed to determine whether the flexural strength of a commercially available, heat-polymerized acrylic denture base material could be improved through reinforcement with 3 types of fibers. MATERIAL AND METHODS Ten specimens of similar dimensions were prepared for each of the 4 experimental groups: conventional acrylic resin and the same resin reinforced with glass, aramid, or nylon fibers. Flexural strength was evaluated with a 3-point bending test. The results were analyzed with a 1-way analysis of variance. RESULTS All reinforced specimens showed better flexural strength than the conventional acrylic resin. Specimens reinforced with glass fibers showed the highest flexural strength, followed by aramid and nylon. CONCLUSION Within the limitations of this study, the flexural strength of heat-polymerized PMMA denture resin was improved after reinforcement with glass or aramid fibers. It may be possible to apply these results to distal extension partial denture bases and provisional fixed partial dentures.
Anti-fatigue effects of dietary nucleotides in mice

ABSTRACT As the building blocks of nucleic acids, nucleotides are conditionally essential nutrients that exhibit multifaceted activities. The present study aimed to evaluate the anti-fatigue effects of dietary nucleotides (NTs) on mice and explore the possible underlying mechanism. Mice were randomly divided into four experimental sets to detect different indicators. Each set of mice was then divided into four groups: (i) one control group and (ii) three NTs groups, which were fed diets supplemented with NTs at concentrations of 0%, 0.04%, 0.16%, and 0.64% (wt/wt). NTs could significantly increase the forced swimming time, enhance lactate dehydrogenase activity and hepatic glycogen levels, as well as delay the accumulation of blood urea nitrogen and blood lactic acid in mice after 30 days of treatment. NTs also markedly improved fatigue-induced alterations in oxidative stress biomarkers and antioxidant enzymes. Notably, NTs increased the mitochondrial energy metabolic enzyme activities in the skeletal muscles of mice. These results suggest that NTs exert anti-fatigue effects, which may be attributed to the inhibition of oxidative stress and the improvement of mitochondrial function in skeletal muscles. NTs could be used as a novel natural agent for relieving exercise fatigue. Abbreviations: ATP: adenosine triphosphate; BLA: blood lactic acid; GSH-Px: glutathione peroxidase; LDH: lactate dehydrogenase; MDA: malondialdehyde; NTs: dietary nucleotides; SDH: succinate dehydrogenase; SOD: superoxide dismutase; BUN: blood urea nitrogen
D-Shaped Optical Fiber Microwire Devices

D-shaped optical fiber microwire (OFM) devices are investigated theoretically. They can be fabricated by wrapping the OFM on a removable rod or substrate. Optical wave guiding properties of these devices are discussed with numerical simulations. Dispersion properties of OFMs with different radius are studied as well. A grating based D-shaped OFM is proposed for sensing applications. The corresponding sensitive could reach 1100 nm/RIU (Refractive Index Unit) due to its large outside evanescent field.
Nonparametric estimation algorithms based on input quantization

The estimation of a parameter of a white discrete-time process with arbitrary statistical distribution is considered, using quantized samples. Because of the quantization the necessary statistical modeling is simplified to the measurement of a few parameters. Under the assumption that the parameter space is a small interval, a locally optimum estimator (LOE) is derived. It is shown that this estimator has a desirable parallel structure for implementation by simple digital hardware. The idea is then extended to the case of a large parameter space for which a G -estimator consisting of an array of identical LOE's is presented. To analyze the performance of this scheme, the estimation of the location parameter of a continuous, unimodal, and symmetric distribution is studied. In this case it is proved that the G -estimator extends the optimality of a single LOE to the larger parameter space.
Hippocampal volume, brain atrophy, and APOE genotype after traumatic brain injury

Objective: To examine the association between hippocampal volumes, general brain atrophy, and apolipoprotein E (APOE) polymorphism in patients with a remote traumatic brain injury (TBI). Methods: MRI-based volumetric analyses of the hippocampus and lateral ventricles were performed in 58 patients with TBI of varying severity on average 31.3 years after the trauma. The APOE genotype was determined using standard methods and correlated with the MRI volumetric measurements. Results: Hippocampal or lateral ventricle volumes did not differ significantly in those patients with the APOE-ε4 allele (APOE4) vs those without this allele. Conclusions: The APOE-ε4 allele was not associated with the development of hippocampal or ventricular atrophy after traumatic brain injury. If the APOE-ε4 allele is associated with an unfavorable outcome after traumatic brain injury as proposed, this association may involve mechanisms other than those responsible for the development of brain atrophy.
On Resource Allocation and Consumption Trend of Higher Education

With the construction and perfection of china's market economy, higher education in china has developed fast and correspondingly resource distributing of higher education has changed a lot. China has transferred its economic mechanism from plan system to market economy, in which market has been a main resource distribution method. Market is the most effective way and has its advantage in distributing educational resource, however market also has its inherent flaws to which should be paid attention in resource distribution. With the changes in distributing educational resource, china's consumption tendency of higher education will show some new characteristics. This paper firstly gives the introduction to the concepts of scarcity and distribution methods of higher education, and then analyzes the current condition of china's resource distribution of higher education. On the base of putting forward some countermeasures, the paper lastly points out the consumption tendency of higher education in china.
Ultrastructure of the digestive tract in Acarus siro (Acari: Acaridida)

The gut of the mite Acarus siro is characterized on the ultrastructural level. It consists of the foregut (pharynx, esophagus), midgut (ventriculus, caeca, colon, intercolon, postcolonic diverticula, postcolon), and hindgut (anal atrium). The gut wall is formed by a single‐layered epithelium; only regenerative cells are located basally and these have no contact with the lumen. Eight cell types form the whole gut: (i) simple epithelial cells forming fore‐ and hindgut; (ii) cells that probably produce the peritrophic membrane; (iii) regenerative cells occurring in the ventriculus, caeca, colon, and intercolon; (iv) spherite cells and (v) digestive cells forming the ventriculus and caeca; (vi) colonic cells and (vii) intercolonic cells; and (viii) cells forming the walls of postcolonic diverticula and postcolon. Spherite and digestive cells change in structure during secretory cycles, which are described and discussed. The cycle of spherite, colonic, and intercolonic cells is terminated by apoptosis. Ingested food is packed into a food bolus surrounded by a single homogeneous peritrophic membrane formed by addition of lamellae that subsequently fuse together. The postcolonic diverticula serve as a shelter for filamentous bacteria, which also are abundant in the intercolon. J. Morphol. , 2008. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A Distributed Raman Amplifier Based on the Backward-Pumped Random Fiber Laser

For the first time, a backward-pumped random distributed feedback fiber laser is applied to the conventional distributed Raman amplification (DRA). A new asymmetric DRA scheme for improving the signal power variation (SPV) performance was achieved. The scheme was studied numerically and was shown to effectively reduce the SPV of all signals to less than 1.2 dB, whilst maintaining a flat ON–OFF gain over 40 nm bandwidth for a 61.5 km fiber span. Moreover, the nonlinear Fourier transform technique, which is utilized to deal with the nonlinear noise, could be realized on the proposed scheme with such a low SPV.
Creating specifications from code: Reverse-engineering techniques

Reverse-engineering application codes back to the design and specification stage may entail the recreation of lost information for an application, or the extraction of new information. We describe techniques which produce abstractions in object-oriented and functional notations, thus aiding the comprehension of the essential structure and operations of the application, and providing formal design information which may make the code much more maintainable and certainly more respectable. The two types of application considered here are (1) data processing applications written in COBOL — of primary importance owing to their predominance in present computing practice — and (2) scientific applications written in FORTRAN. These two require somewhat different abstraction approaches.
Microbial degradation of phloroglucinol and other polyphenolic compounds

Biodegradation of phloroglucinol (1,3,5‐trihydroxybenzene) and other polyphenolic compounds by microbes may occur by aerobic and anaerobic metabolic pathways. Aerobic microbes may initiate the mineralization of phloroglucinol or other polyphenolics by either a reductive pathway, epoxide formation, or a specific hydroxylating mechanism. Cleavage of the various intermediates of phloroglucinol and polyphenolic degradation may occur by intradiol and extradiol mechanisms. The reductive pathway in contrast to other mechanisms utilized by aerobic microbes, seems both cumbersome and energy wasteful. The degradation of lignin and its associated phenolics follows an enzymatic combustion process which resembles a nonspecific enzyme‐catalyzed burning. Anaerobic mineralization of phloroglucinol and its associated polyphenolics by several microbes seems to favour the reductive formation of a dihydrophloroglucinol (1,3‐dioxo‐5‐hydroxycyclohexane), which is cleaved by a specific hydrolase. Mineralization of numerous other polyphenolic compounds by anaerobes seems to utilize phloroglucinol as a central metabolite.
Cochlear Implant Speech Processor Frequency Allocations May Influence Pitch Perception

Objective: To investigate the effects of assigning cochlear implant speech processor frequencies normally associated with more apical cochlear locations to the shallow insertion depths of the Iowa/Nucleus Hybrid electrode. Study Design: Subjects using the Hybrid implant for more than 1 year were tested on speech recognition with Consonant-Nucleus-Consonant words and consonant stimuli. Pitch sensations of individual electrodes were also measured electrically through the implant and acoustically in the contralateral ear. Setting: Tertiary care center. Results: Most subjects showed large improvements in speech recognition within 12 months after implantation. Furthermore, after longer periods of 24-plus months, some individuals were able to achieve high levels of consonant discrimination with electric-only processing comparable to long-electrode patients with deeper electrode insertions. Pitch perceptions obtained from individual electrodes in these subjects were closer to the frequency map assigned an electrode than the place-frequency predicted from cochlear location. Conclusion: These results suggest that over time, pitch sensations may be determined more by the implant map than by cochlear location. In other words, the brain may adapt to spectral mismatches by remapping pitch. Furthermore, patients can perform well with shifted frequency allocations for speech recognition. The successful application of shifted frequency allocations also supports the idea of shallower insertions and greater preservation of residual hearing for all cochlear implants, regardless of the patient's frequency range of usable residual hearing.
Corporate identity and corporate communications: creating a competitive advantage

Recent environmental trends are forcing senior managers to give greater import to corporate identity and corporate communications. They are discovering that conventional methods of redressing identity problems are becoming progressively less effective because, in our opinion, the traditional focus has viewed corporate identity and corporate communications as functional rather than as strategic. We suggest a much broadened view that looks at corporate communications as a three‐part system process – primary, secondary, and tertiary. In many companies these three are out of balance. Primary communication should present a positive image of the company and set the stage for a strong reputation. Secondary communication should be designed to support and reinforce primary communication. Tertiary communications should be positive and result in a superior reputation if the other two stages of corporate communication are properly conceived. The authors postulate that senior managers who implement this can invest the.
Antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of the lichens Anaptychya ciliaris, Nephroma parile, Ochrolechia tartarea and Parmelia centrifuga

The aim of this study was to characterize the antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of the methanol extracts of: Anaptychya ciliaris, Nephroma parile, Ochrolechia tartarea and Parmelia centrifuga. The methanol extract of the P. centrifuga showed a strong antioxidant activity, in comparison to the extracts from A. ciliaris, O. tartarea and N. parile which were relatively weaker. Furthermore, the methanol extract of the lichen P. centrifuga was shown to contain the highest total phenol content (54.19 mg/g of the dry extract). Interestingly, a statistically significant positive relationship between the antioxidant activity and the total phenol content was observed. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against six bacterial and eleven fungi was established for the methanol extracts from each of species of lichens. The methanol extracts of the lichens P. centrifuga and O. tartarea showed the strongest both antibacterial and antifungal activity. Taken together, the results from this study suggest that the lichens P. centrifuga and O. tartarea may be used as a natural source of antioxidants in addition to providing certain antimicrobial features.
Journal of neuroscience research policy on addressing sex as a biological variable: Comments, clarifications, and elaborations

Gina Rippon,* Rebecca Jordan-Young, Anelis Kaiser, Daphna Joel, and Cordelia Fine Aston Brain Centre, Aston University, Birmingham, UK* Barnard College, Columbia University, New York, USA Social Psychology and Social Neuroscience, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland School of Psychological Sciences and Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel History & Philosophy of Science Program, School of Historical & Philosophical Studies, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia