Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Microbiological and Parasitological Quality of Local Beef Retailed in Accra and Radiation Sensitivity of Salmonella sp

*Corresponding author A B S T R A C T Microbiological and parasitological quality of raw beef from some retail outlets (local markets, supermarkets, abattoirs) in Accra was assessed and the radiation sensitivity of Salmonella sp was determined. Pour plate method, morphological characteristics and biochemical tests were used for enumeration and identification of microorganisms while the muscle digestion method was used to identify the larvae of Trichinella spiralis. Radiation sensitivity of Salmonella sp isolated from the beef was determined. Total viable counts (TVC) for the local markets, supermarkets and abattoir ranged from 6.36 to 8.47, 5.01 to 8.32 and 5.43 to 8.06(log10 cfu/g) respectively. Coliform counts (CC) for the local markets, supermarkets and abattoirs ranged from 6.14 to 8.35, 2.28 to 8.12 and 1.90 to 5.97(log10 cfu/g) respectively. TVC and CC for the local markets were significantly higher (P 0.05) from the abattoir. Staphylococcus aureus and E. coli counts were not significantly different (P>0.05) for the retail outlets. Salmonella sp was detected in raw beef from one out of nine retail out-lets. None of Trichinella spiralis larvae was detected in any sample. Microbiological quality of raw beef from retail outlets are unsatisfactory especially at the local markets due to the high levels of aerobic mesophiles, coliforms, Staphylococcus aureus, E. coli and isolated cases of Salmonella sp contamination. Calculated D10 value of 0.43 kGy suggests susceptibility of Salmonella sp to medium dose gamma irradiation. Radiation processing of raw beef would enhance hygienic quality of beef in Ghana.
Optimal deep brain stimulation site and target connectivity for chronic cluster headache

Objective: To investigate the mechanism of action of deep brain stimulation for refractory chronic cluster headache and the optimal target within the ventral tegmental area. Methods: Seven patients with refractory chronic cluster headache underwent high spatial and angular resolution diffusion MRI preoperatively. MRI-guided and MRI-verified electrode implantation was performed unilaterally in 5 patients and bilaterally in 2. Volumes of tissue activation were generated around active lead contacts with a finite-element model. Twelve months after surgery, voxel-based morphometry was used to identify voxels associated with higher reduction in headache load. Probabilistic tractography was used to identify the brain connectivity of the activation volumes in responders, defined as patients with a reduction of ≥30% in headache load. Results: There was no surgical morbidity. Average follow-up was 34 ± 14 months. Patients showed reductions of 76 ± 33% in headache load, 46 ± 41% in attack severity, 58 ± 41% in headache frequency, and 51 ± 46% in attack duration at the last follow-up. Six patients responded to treatment. Greatest reduction in headache load was associated with activation in an area cantered at 6 mm lateral, 2 mm posterior, and 1 mm inferior to the midcommissural point of the third ventricle. Average responders' activation volume lay on the trigeminohypothalamic tract, connecting the trigeminal system and other brainstem nuclei associated with nociception and pain modulation with the hypothalamus, and the prefrontal and mesial temporal areas. Conclusions: We identify the optimal stimulation site and structural connectivity of the deep brain stimulation target for cluster headache, explicating possible mechanisms of action and disease pathophysiology.
List Stack Detection with Reduced Search Space for MIMO Communication Systems

The interest in near-ML detection algorithms for multiple-input/multiple-output (MIMO) systems have always been high due to their drastic performance gain over suboptimal algorithms. Algorithms such as the M algorithm and the stack algorithm yields near-ML performance while only requiring a fraction of the computational complexity of an ML receiver. While the stack algorithm is computationally less intensive than the M algorithm for uncoded systems and hard decision decoding, the reverse is true for soft decision decoding as a candidate list is required to compute the soft metric. The M algorithm can easily generate a candidate list at no extra cost, the stack algorithm, on the other hand, would require more iterations to generate the list. In this paper, we propose a modified stack algorithm which have a lower computational complexity than a conventional one without sacrificing much of the performance of the algorithm
Transient Floral Change and Rapid Global Warming at the Paleocene-Eocene Boundary

Rapid global warming of 5° to 10°C during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) coincided with major turnover in vertebrate faunas, but previous studies have found little floral change. Plant fossils discovered in Wyoming, United States, show that PETM floras were a mixture of native and migrant lineages and that plant range shifts were large and rapid (occurring within 10,000 years). Floral composition and leaf shape and size suggest that climate warmed by ∼5°C during the PETM and that precipitation was low early in the event and increased later. Floral response to warming and/or increased atmospheric CO2 during the PETM was comparable in rate and magnitude to that seen in postglacial floras and to the predicted effects of anthropogenic carbon release and climate change on future vegetation.
Supporting positive pupil relationships: Research to practice

Positive peer relationships at school are linked to many positive and desirable pupil outcomes such as sound levels of academic performance, optimal levels of well-being and adult mental health. On the other hand social isolation or rejection at school are linked to a range of negative pupil outcomes such as lack of engagement, disconnection to school, absenteeism, being bullied, behavioural difficulties, drug usage, depression and anxiety and social difficulties as an adult. This paper provides an overview of the research literature about the importance of peer relationships for pupil well-being and reports on research conducted in 11 Australian Government schools with low incidences of bullying. In these 11 schools the four common factors that contributed to the development of a safe, caring and inclusive school culture were: (i) making pupil well-being a high priority; (ii) planning for a ‘relationship culture’ that focuses on the development of positive peer relationships; (iii) having an effective school leadership team that focused on whole school wellbeing and the personal growth of pupils; and (iv) incorporating an effective whole school behaviour management programme. This paper also provides a comprehensive discussion of a range of practical evidence-based whole-school approaches, classroom practices and individual support strategies that can facilitate the work of educational psychologists in helping school communities to build positive relationships.
A systematic review of the predictors of health service utilisation by adults with mental disorders in the UK

Objectives To identify variables that predict health service utilisation (HSU) by adults with mental disorders in the UK, and to determine the evidence level for these predictors. Design A narrative synthesis of peer-reviewed studies published after the year 2000. The search was conducted using four databases (ie, PsycINFO, CINAHL Plus with full text, MEDLINE and EMBASE) and completed on 25 March 2014. Setting The majority of included studies were set in health services across primary, secondary, specialist and inpatient care. Some studies used data from household and postal surveys. Participants Included were UK-based studies that predicted HSU by adults with mental disorders. Participants had a range of mental disorders including psychotic disorders, personality disorders, depression, anxiety disorders, eating disorders and dementia. Primary outcome A wide range of HSU outcomes were examined, including general practitioner (GP) contacts, medication usage, psychiatrist contacts, psychotherapy attendances, inpatient days, accident and emergency admissions and ‘total HSU’. Results Taking into account study quality, 28 studies identified a range of variables with good preliminary evidence supporting their ability to predict HSU. Of these variables, comorbidity, personality disorder, age (heterogeneous age ranges), neurotic symptoms, female gender, a marital status of divorced, separated or widowed, non-white ethnicity, high previous HSU and activities of daily living, were associated with increased HSU. Moreover, good preliminary evidence was found for associations of accessing a primary care psychological treatment service and medication use with decreased HSU. Conclusions The findings can inform decisions about which variables might be used to derive mental health clusters in ‘payment by results’ systems in the UK. The findings also support the need to investigate whether combining broad diagnoses with care pathways is an effective method for mental health clustering, and the need for research to further examine the association between mental health clusters and HSU.
Reliability assessment tool for radial and loop distribution systems using DIgSILENT PowerFactory

This paper presents a simple and practical method for determining reliability indices of radial and loop electrical distribution systems by using an automatic tool. This tool is developed by writing DIgSILENT Programing Language (DPL) script for determining reliability indices of each load point and the whole systems. By using this tool, a large existing distribution system can be easily analyzed. Moreover, it can decrease time to configure components in the system. The developed tool is tested by using Roy Billinton Test System (RBTS) Bus 2 and Bus 4 as case study. The test results demonstrate the correctness of reliability assessment process. In addition, the practical rearrangement from a radial to a closed loop of the 115 kV distribution system in Chiang Mai province is used as another case study to show the effect of installing protective devices for reliability improvement.
The Action Similarity Labeling Challenge

Recognizing actions in videos is rapidly becoming a topic of much research. To facilitate the development of methods for action recognition, several video collections, along with benchmark protocols, have previously been proposed. In this paper, we present a novel video database, the “Action Similarity LAbeliNg” (ASLAN) database, along with benchmark protocols. The ASLAN set includes thousands of videos collected from the web, in over 400 complex action classes. Our benchmark protocols focus on action similarity (same/not-same), rather than action classification, and testing is performed on never-before-seen actions. We propose this data set and benchmark as a means for gaining a more principled understanding of what makes actions different or similar, rather than learning the properties of particular action classes. We present baseline results on our benchmark, and compare them to human performance. To promote further study of action similarity techniques, we make the ASLAN database, benchmarks, and descriptor encodings publicly available to the research community.
Regulation of plasma fatty acid oxidation during low- and high-intensity exercise.

In the present study we examined the hypothesis that fatty acid oxidation is less during high-intensity exercise than during moderate-intensity exercise because of inhibition of long-chain fatty acid entry into the mitochondria. Six volunteers exercised at 40% peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak) for 60 min and at 80% VO2peak for 30 min on two different occasions. [1-13C]oleate, a long-chain fatty acid, and [1-14C]octanoate, a medium-chain fatty acid, were infused for the duration of the studies. Lipids and heparin were infused during exercise at 80% VO2peak to prevent the expected decrease in plasma free fatty acid (FFA) concentration. Plasma oleate and total FFA availability were similar in the two experiments. Oleate oxidation decreased from 2.8 +/- 0.6 (40% VO2peak) to 1.8 +/- 0.2 mumol.kg-1.min-1 (80% VO2peak, P < 0.05), whereas octanoate oxidation increased from 1.0e-05 +/- 1.0e-06 (40% VO2peak) to 1.3e-05 +/- 5.1e-06 mumol.kg-1.min-1 (80% VO2peak, P < 0.05). Furthermore, the percentage of oleate uptake oxidized decreased from 67.7 +/- 2.8% (40% VO2peak) to 51.8 +/- 4.6% (80% VO2peak, P < 0.05), whereas the percentage of octanoate oxidized was similar during exercise at 40 and 80% VO2peak (84.8 +/- 2.7 vs. 89.3 +/- 2.7%, respectively). Our data suggest that, in addition to suboptimal FFA availability, fatty acid oxidation is likely limited during high-intensity exercise because of direct inhibition of long-chain fatty acid entry into mitochondria.
Social Influences as Explanations for Substance Use Differences Among Asian-American and European-American Adolescents

Abstract The present study examines the social influences in the Asian-American and European-American adolescent environment to provide a greater understanding of effect of ethnic differences on the prevalence of substance abuse. Participants were 957 Asialn-American and 3705 European-American seventh grade adolescents. It was found that Asian-American students were less likely to use alcohol and cigarettes, and had a more abstinence-promoting environment than European-American adolescents. This difference in Asian-American adolescents appeared to be the result of less adult and peer influence to use alcohol or cigarettes, less offers of alcohol, and an increased likelihood of having an intact family when compared to European-American adolescents. Additionally, Asian-American adolescents reported having fewer friends and spending less time with their friends than European-American adolescents. It was concluded that social influences play an important role in explaining why Asian-American adolescents have lower rates of substance use.
A survey of molecular hydrogen in the central galaxies of cooling flows

We present a large sample of H- and K-band spectra of 32 optically line-luminous central cluster galaxies. We find significant rovibrational H2 emission in 23 of these galaxies as well as H recombination and/or (FeII) emission in another 5. This represents a fourfold increase in the number of molecular line detections known. A number of the detections are of extended emission (5-20 kpc). In several objects we find significant (SiVI) emission that appears to correlate with the strength of high ionization lines in the optical (e.g. (OIII)). This comprehensive sample builds on previous work and confirms that warm (1000-2500 K) molecular hydrogen is present wherever there is ionized material in the cores of cooling flows and in most cases it also coincides with CO molecular line emission.
Reemergence of Gentamicin-Susceptible Strains of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in France: a Phylogenetic Approach

ABSTRACT The reemergence of gentamicin-susceptible (Gens) methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates in France between 1992 and 1996 was investigated using a phylogenetic approach (multiprimer randomly amplified polymorphic DNA typing). Eighty-six percent (65 of 85) of the French strains were grouped into one phylogenetic cluster within which all but one Gensstrain were grouped into a subcluster. Thus, the reemergence of Gens MRSA strains in France was likely due to the spread of one specific clone which belonged to a cluster comprising most French gentamicin-resistant (Genr) strains. This suggests that the Gens clone has emerged from a Genr strain of this cluster.
Comprehensive survey of deep learning in remote sensing: theories, tools, and challenges for the community

Abstract. In recent years, deep learning (DL), a rebranding of neural networks (NNs), has risen to the top in numerous areas, namely computer vision (CV), speech recognition, and natural language processing. Whereas remote sensing (RS) possesses a number of unique challenges, primarily related to sensors and applications, inevitably RS draws from many of the same theories as CV, e.g., statistics, fusion, and machine learning, to name a few. This means that the RS community should not only be aware of advancements such as DL, but also be leading researchers in this area. Herein, we provide the most comprehensive survey of state-of-the-art RS DL research. We also review recent new developments in the DL field that can be used in DL for RS. Namely, we focus on theories, tools, and challenges for the RS community. Specifically, we focus on unsolved challenges and opportunities as they relate to (i) inadequate data sets, (ii) human-understandable solutions for modeling physical phenomena, (iii) big data, (iv) nontraditional heterogeneous data sources, (v) DL architectures and learning algorithms for spectral, spatial, and temporal data, (vi) transfer learning, (vii) an improved theoretical understanding of DL systems, (viii) high barriers to entry, and (ix) training and optimizing the DL.
Inoculation of Treixadura musts with autochthonous Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains: Fermentative performance and influence on the wine characteristics

The fermentative ability of five autochthonous Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains (XG1, XG2, XG3, XG4 and XG5) and their influence on the chemical composition and sensory properties of Treixadura wines were evaluated. The inoculated strains have successfully led and completed the fermentations. Wines obtained from different yeasts showed significant differences in total and volatile acidity. Regarding volatile compounds, significant differences among wines were found for acetates, ethyl esters, acetoin, 1-hexanol, and fatty acids. Wines from spontaneous fermentation and those made with yeasts XG3 and XG4 were clearly separated through principal component analysis. Chemical composition influenced sensory properties of wines, especially at the olfactory level. Different connotations of fruity notes predominated depending on the strain. The wine from strain XG4 was the most appreciated by panelists. Our results confirmed that autochthonous S. cerevisiae strains are useful tools in winemaking because they allow obtaining singular wines from a given variety.
Case-Based Reasoning: Foundational Issues, Methodological Variations, and System Approaches

Case-based reasoning is a recent approach to problem solving and learning that has got a lot of attention over the last few years. Originating in the US, the basic idea and underlying theories have spread to other continents, and we are now within a period of highly active research in case-based reasoning in Europe, as well. This paper gives an overview of the foundational issues related to case-based reasoning, describes some of the leading methodological approaches within the field, and exemplifies the current state through pointers to some systems. Initially, a general framework is defined, to which the subsequent descriptions and discussions will refer. The framework is influenced by recent methodologies for knowledge level descriptions of intelligent systems. The methods for case retrieval, reuse, solution testing, and learning are summarized, and their actual realization is discussed in the light of a few example systems that represent different CBR approaches. We also discuss the role of case-based methods as one type of reasoning and learning method within an integrated system architecture.
Undercover: authentication usable in front of prying eyes

A number of recent scams and security attacks (phishing, spyware, fake terminals, .) hinge on a crook's ability to observe user behavior. In this paper, we describe the design, implementation, and evaluation of a novel class of user authentication systems that are resilient to observation attacks. Our proposal is the first to rely on the human ability to simultaneously process multiple sensory inputs to authenticate, and is resilient to most observation attacks. We build a prototype based on user feedback gained through low fidelity tests. We conduct a within-subjects usability study of the prototype with 38 participants, which we complement with a security analysis. Our results show that users can authenticate within times comparable to that of graphical password schemes, with relatively low error rates, while being considerably better protected against observation attacks. Our design and evaluation process allows us to outline design principles for observation-resilient authentication systems.
Slash and burn or nip and tuck? Downsizing, innovation and human resources

Workforce downsizing has become a popular human resource practice by management over the last few decades. But surprisingly its impact on a number of organizational outcomes remains ambiguous. In this study we examine the link between different types of employee downsizing and organizational innovativeness. Our results, based on a survey of UK firms, indicate that the impact of workforce downsizing on innovation is contingent on the speed of implementation and the motive for downsizing. Contrary to expectations, the results reveal that the size of the workforce reduction has no significant impact on innovation.
Self-views of African-American Youth are Related to the Gender Stereotypes and Ability Attributions of Their Parents

We examined relations among African-American parents' (N = 196) stereotypes about gender differences in mathematics, science, and reading performance, parents' attributions about their children's academic successes and failures, and their seventh and eighth grade children's academic self-views (domain-specific ability attributions and self-concept). Parents' stereotypes about gender differences in abilities were related to their ability attributions for their children's successes and failures within academic domains. Parents' attributions, in turn, were related to children's attributions, particularly among girls. Parents' attributions of literacy failures to lack of ability were negatively related to boys' literacy self-concepts, and parents' ability attributions for success in math/science were positively related to girls' math/science self-concepts. The influences of parents' beliefs on young adolescents' identity beliefs are discussed.
Characterization of White Matter Injury in a Rat Model of Chronic Cerebral Hypoperfusion

Background and Purpose— Chronic cerebral hypoperfusion can lead to ischemic white matter injury resulting in vascular dementia. To characterize white matter injury in vascular dementia, we investigated disintegration of diverse white matter components using a rat model of chronic cerebral hypoperfusion. Methods— Chronic cerebral hypoperfusion was modeled in Wistar rats by permanent occlusion of the bilateral common carotid arteries. We performed cognitive behavioral tests, including the water maze task, odor discrimination task, and novel object test; histological investigation of neuroinflammation, oligodendrocytes, myelin basic protein, and nodal or paranodal proteins at the nodes of Ranvier; and serial diffusion tensor imaging. Cilostazol was administered to protect against white matter injury. Results— Diverse cognitive impairments were induced by chronic cerebral hypoperfusion. Disintegration of white matter was characterized by neuroinflammation, loss of oligodendrocytes, attenuation of myelin density, structural derangement at the nodes of Ranvier, and disintegration of white matter tracts. Cilostazol protected against cognitive impairments and white matter disintegration. Conclusions— White matter injury induced by chronic cerebral hypoperfusion can be characterized by disintegration of diverse white matter components. Cilostazol might be a therapeutic strategy against white matter disintegration in patients with vascular dementia.