Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Large-Scale Cosmic-Ray Anisotropy with KASCADE

We present the results of an analysis of the large-scale anisotropy of cosmic rays in the PeV range. The Rayleigh formalism is applied to the right ascension distribution of extensive air showers measured by the KASCADE (Karlsruhe Shower Core and Array Detector) experiment. The data set contains about 108 extensive air showers in the energy range 0.7-6 PeV. No hints of anisotropy are visible in the right ascension distributions in this energy range. This accounts for all showers, as well as for subsets containing showers induced by predominantly light or heavy primary particles, respectively. Upper flux limits for Rayleigh amplitudes are determined to be between 10-3 at a primary energy of 0.7 PeV and 10-2 at 6 PeV.
Mechanical tuning of mammalian sperm behaviour by hyperactivation, rheology and substrate adhesion: a numerical exploration

The great mammalian sperm race encounters numerous microenvironments to which sperm must adapt and a fundamental sperm response is the change in its waveform owing to both fluid rheology and capacitation, with the latter associated with a hyperactivated beat pattern. Hence, in this modelling study, we examine the effect of different flagellar waveforms for sperm behaviour near adhesive substrates, which are representative of epithelia in female tract sperm reservoirs and the zona pellucida (ZP), which surrounds the mammalian egg. On contact with an adhesive surface, virtual sperm rotate to become nearly tangential with the surface, as generally observed. Hyperactivation also induces many effects: sperm exert greater forces on the substrate and periodically tug way from adhesions under circumstances reflecting binding at sperm reservoirs, but with extensive fluid elasticity, as found in the cumulus surrounding the ZP, sperm instead continually push into the substrate. Furthermore, with weak adhesion, rheological media increase the duration hyperactivated sperm remain in the proximity of a substrate. More generally, such results predict that changes owing to both hyperactivation of the flagellar waveform and the rheology of the surrounding medium provide a means of tuning sperm behaviour near, or attached to, adhesive substrates.
Automatic techniques to analyze connectives 1 Running head : Automatic techniques to analyze connectives Towards automatic determination of the semantics of connectives in large newspaper corpora

In this paper we explore the possibility of using automatic techniques to analyze the use of backward causal connectives in large Dutch newspaper corpora. With the help of two techniques, Latent Semantic Analysis and Thematic Text Analysis , the contexts of more than 14,000 connectives were studied. The method of analysis is described. It is found that differences that have been suggested in the literature via hand-based analyses between these type of connectives (for instance on dimensions like subjectivity, change in perspective and factuality of the connected segments) also show up in our corpus of 16.5 million words. Automatic techniques to analyze connectives 3 Towards automatic determination of the semantics of connectives in large newspaper corpora
A Comparative Study of PCA, ICA AND LDA

Different statistical methods for face recognition have been proposed in recent years and different research groups have reported contradictory results when comparing them. The goal of this paper is to present an independent, comparative study of three most popular appearance-based face recognition algorithms (PCA, ICA and LDA) in completely equal working conditions. The motivation was the lack of direct and detailed independent comparisons in all possible algorithm implementations (e.g. all algorithm-metric combinations). FERET data set will be used for consistency with other studies. It will be shown that no particular algorithm-metric combination is the optimal across all standard FERET tests and that choice of appropriate algorithm-metric combination can only be made for a specific task.
NATIONAL CULTURE AND TECHNOLOGY ACCEPTANCE: THE IMPACT OF UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE

This study combined the results from 95 TAM articles to examine the impact of uncertainty avoidance on national culture and technology acceptance. This meta-analysis was based on 342 reviewed TAM articles, of which 95 met the selection criteria of both reported statistics and national culture. Each article was coded for national culture based on the rankings from the works of Hofstede and GLOBE. Overall, hypotheses about uncertainly avoidance practices (UAP) were supported for each correlation. Highlevel UAP confidence intervals were significantly lower than for the medium-level and low-level UAP groups for each of the TAM construct correlations.
The mediating role of organizational commitment of job performance: The Impacts of Leadership, job competency and organizational culture

The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role of organizational commitment of job performance: The Impacts of leadership, job competency and organizational culture. Data were gathered through questionnaires. Data collected from 254 employees working on the eight work units on the Southeast Sulawesi regional government office. The structural equation modeling (SEM) results indicate that: (1) leadership, job competence, and organizational culture partially have a direct effect on organizational commitment, (2) leadership, job competence, and organizational culture partially have a direct effect on job performance, (3) leadership, job competence, and organizational culture partially have a direct effect on job performance, with the mediating role of organizational commitment.
Chronic Gastritis in Dermatitis Herpetiformis: A Controlled Study

Background and Objective. Previous small studies suggest that chronic atrophic gastritis is common in dermatitis herpetiformis (DH). We here examined the frequency and topography of chronic gastritis in 93 untreated DH subjects and in 186 controls with dyspepsia. Methods. Specimens were drawn from the gastric corpus and antrum and examined for atrophy, intestinal metaplasia, and Helicobacter pylori. Duodenal biopsies were taken. Results. Atrophic corpus gastritis was more frequent in DH than in controls (16.0% and 2.7%, resp., P < 0.001); atrophy in the antrum was rare in both groups (3.2% and 1.1%, P = 0.34). Intestinal metaplasia was present in 13 (14.0%) DH and 12 (6.5%) control patients (P = 0.038) and H. pylori in 17 (18.3%) and 17 (9.3%) (P = 0.028), respectively. Small-bowel villous atrophy was seen in 76% of the DH patients, equally in patients with and without chronic gastritis. One DH patient with atrophic gastritis developed gastric cancer. Conclusion. In DH, chronic atrophic gastritis was common in the corpus, but not in the antrum. H. pylori will partly explain this, but corpus atrophy is suggestive of an autoimmune etiology. Atrophic gastritis may increase the risk of gastric cancer. We advocate performing upper endoscopy with sufficient histologic samples in DH.
Biometric Recognition Using Three-Dimensional Ear Shape

Previous works have shown that the ear is a promising candida te for biometric identification. However, in prior work, the pre-processing of ear images has had manua l steps, and algorithms have not necessarily handled problems caused by hair and earrings. We pres ent a complete system for ear biometrics, including automated segmentation of the ear in a profile view image and 3D shape matching for recognition. We evaluated this system with the largest experimen tal study to date in ear biometrics, achieving a rank-one recognition rate of 97.6%. Our algorithm also sho ws good scalability of recognition rate with size of dataset. Keyword: biometrics, ear biometrics, 3-D shape, skin detection, cur vat e estimation, active contour, iterative closest point.
Statistical and visual quality assessment of nearly-global and continental digital elevation models of Trentino, Italy

ABSTRACT Nearly-global digital elevation models (DEMs) – Shuttle Radar Topography Mission DEM (SRTM1 DEM), Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer Global DEM (ASTER GDEM), and Advanced Land Observing Satellite World 3D digital surface model (AW3D30 DSM) – are widely used in geosciences. A nearly-continental European DEM (EU-DEM) is also publicly available. We assess statistical accuracy and artefact occurrence of the latest versions of these models for Trentino, Italian Alps. We used a set of 111 geodetic network points and a lidar-based reference DEM. Statistically, AW3D30 DSM has the highest accuracy, while EU-DEM is marked by the worst characteristics. To visualize the spatial distribution of errors, we calculated residuals between the reference and validated DEMs. Voids abound in SRTM1 DEM that makes problematic its application in the Alpine region. Randomly distributed, grain-like artefacts are common for ASTER GDEM. AW3D30 DSM includes artefacts caused by to the Gibbs phenomenon. Retaining defects of SRTM1 DEM and ASTER GDEM, EU-DEM has artefacts caused by its hydrological correction. Usual statistical evaluation of DEM accuracy is not capable to describe completely DEM quality. A robust spatial analysis, including interactive visual inspection, should be adopted for a quality control of DEMs.
Serum gamma-glutamyl transferase levels and in-hospital mortality in patients with acute heart failure.

BACKGROUND Acute heart failure (AHF) is a major cause of hospitalisation, morbidity and mortality worldwide. Gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) is an enzyme responsible for the extracellular catabolism of antioxidant glutathione and a potential risk indicator of cardiac mortality. Limited data exists on the prognostic value of circulating levels of GGT in patients hospitalized due to AHF. AIM To study the association between baseline GGT activity and in-hospital mortality in AHF patients. METHODS The study cohort consisted of 183 AHF patients with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) < 50%. The primary endpoint was in-hospital mortality. Patients were divided into two groups according to in-hospital mortality. The relationship between GGT activity and in-hospital mortality was tested using logistic regression models, adjusting for clinical characteristics and echocardiographic findings. RESULTS After adjustment for possible confounders, GGT level was significantly related (OR 1.056, 95% CI 1.018-1.096, p = 0.04) to in-hospital mortality. CONCLUSIONS Elevated GGT activity is an independent predictor of short-term mortality in patients with AHF and reduced LVEF.
Price discounts significantly enhance fruit and vegetable purchases when combined with nutrition education: a randomized controlled supermarket trial.

BACKGROUND Reducing fruit and vegetable (F&V) prices is a frequently considered policy to improve dietary habits in the context of health promotion. However, evidence on the effectiveness of this intervention is limited. OBJECTIVE The objective was to examine the effects of a 50% price discount on F&Vs or nutrition education or a combination of both on supermarket purchases. DESIGN A 6-mo randomized controlled trial within Dutch supermarkets was conducted. Regular supermarket shoppers were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 conditions: 50% price discounts on F&Vs, nutrition education, 50% price discounts plus nutrition education, or no intervention. A total of 199 participants provided baseline data; 151 (76%) were included in the final analysis. F&V purchases were measured by using supermarket register receipts at baseline, at 1 mo after the start of the intervention, at 3 mo, at 6 mo (end of the intervention period), and 3 mo after the intervention ended (9 mo). RESULTS Adjusted multilevel models showed significantly higher F&V purchases (per household/2 wk) as a result of the price discount (+3.9 kg; 95% CI: 1.5, 6.3 kg) and the discount plus education intervention (+5.6 kg; 95% CI: 3.2, 7.9 kg) at 6 mo compared with control. Moreover, the percentage of participants who consumed recommended amounts of F&Vs (≥400 g/d) increased from 42.5% at baseline to 61.3% at 6 mo in both discount groups (P = 0.03). Education alone had no significant effect. CONCLUSIONS Discounting F&Vs is a promising intervention strategy because it resulted in substantially higher F&V purchases, and no adverse effects were observed. Therefore, pricing strategies form an important focus for future interventions or policy. However, the long-term effects and the ultimate health outcomes require further investigation. This trial was registered at the ISRCTN Trial Register as number ISRCTN56596945 and at the Dutch Trial Register (http://www.trialregister.nl/trialreg/index.asp) as number NL22568.029. 08.
TNF-α-induced NF-κB activation upregulates microRNA-150-3p and inhibits osteogenesis of mesenchymal stem cells by targeting β-catenin

Although systemic or local inflammation, commonly featured by cytokine activation, is implicated in patients with bone loss, the underlying mechanisms are still elusive. As microRNAs (miR), a class of small non-coding RNAs involved in essential physiological processes, have been found in bone cells, we aimed to investigate the role of miR for modulating osteogenesis in inflammatory milieu using human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBM-MSCs). Induced by proinflammatory cytokine TNF-α, miR-150-3p was identified as a key player in suppressing osteogenic differentiation through downregulating β-catenin, a transcriptional co-activator promoting bone formation. TNF-α treatment increased the levels of miR-150-3p, which directly targeted the 3′-UTR of β-catenin mRNA and in turn repressed its expression. In addition, we observed that miR-150-3p expression was increased by TNF-α via IKK-dependent NF-κB signalling. There are three putative NF-κB binding sites in the promoter region of miR-150, and we identified −686 region as the major NF-κB binding site for stimulation of miR-150 expression by TNF-α. Finally, the osteogenic differentiation of hBM-MSCs was inhibited by either miR-150-3p overexpression or TNF-α treatment, which was prevented by anti-miR-150-3p oligonucleotides. Taken together, our data suggested that miR-150-3p integrated inflammation signalling and osteogenic differentiation and may contribute to the inhibition effects of inflammation on bone formation, thus expanding the pathophysiological functions of microRNAs in bone diseases.
Anticancer and Antimicrobial Activities of Some Antioxidant-Rich Cameroonian Medicinal Plants

Traditional remedies have a long-standing history in Cameroon and continue to provide useful and applicable tools for treating ailments. Here, the anticancer, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of ten antioxidant-rich Cameroonian medicinal plants and of some of their isolated compounds are evaluated.The plant extracts were prepared by maceration in organic solvents. Fractionation of plant extract was performed by column chromatography and the structures of isolated compounds (emodin, 3-geranyloxyemodin, 2-geranylemodin) were confirmed spectroscopically. The antioxidant activity (AOA) was determined using the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) bleaching method, the trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC), and the hemoglobin ascorbate peroxidase activity inhibition (HAPX) assays. The anticancer activity was evaluated against A431 squamous epidermal carcinoma, WM35 melanoma, A2780 ovary carcinoma and cisplatin-resistant A2780cis cells, using a direct colorimetric assay. The total phenolic content in the extracts was determined spectrophotometrically by the Folin–Ciocalteu method. Rumex abyssinicus showed the best AOA among the three assays employed. The AOA of emodin was significantly higher than that of 3-geranyloxyemodin and 2-geranylemodin for both TEAC and HAPX methods. The lowest IC50 values (i.e., highest cytotoxicity) were found for the extracts of Vismia laurentii, Psorospermum febrifugum, Pentadesma butyracea and Ficus asperifolia. The Ficus asperifolia and Psorospermum febrifugum extracts are selective against A2780cis ovary cells, a cell line which is resistant to the standard anticancer drug cisplatin. Emodin is more toxic compared to the whole extract, 3-geranyloxyemodin and 2-geranylemodin. Its selectivity against the platinum-resistant A2780cis cell line is highest. All of the extracts display antimicrobial activity, in some cases comparable to that of gentamycin.
A Defect in NIPAL4 Is Associated with Autosomal Recessive Congenital Ichthyosis in American Bulldogs

Autosomal recessive congenital ichthyosis in the American bulldog is characterized by generalized scaling and erythema with adherent scale on the glabrous skin. We had previously linked this disorder to NIPAL4, which encodes the protein ichthyin. Sequencing of NIPAL4 revealed a homozygous single base deletion (CanFam3.1 canine reference genome sequence NC_06586.3 g.52737379del), the 157th base (cytosine) in exon 6 of NIPAL4 as the most likely causative variant in affected dogs. This frameshift deletion results in a premature stop codon producing a truncated and defective NIPAL4 (ichthyin) protein of 248 amino acids instead of the wild-type length of 404. Obligate carriers were confirmed to be heterozygous for this variant, and 150 clinically non-affected dogs of other breeds were homozygous for the wild-type gene. Among 800 American bulldogs tested, 34% of clinically healthy dogs were discovered to be heterozygous for the defective allele. More importantly, the development of this canine model of autosomal recessive congenital ichthyosis will provide insight into the development of new treatments across species.
Vibrotactile sensory substitution in multi-fingered hand prostheses: Evaluation studies

This paper presents a vibrotactile sensory substitution system that could be used to deliver sensory feedback to transradial amputees wearing a myoelectric hand prosthesis. The novelty is an architecture that allows simultaneous variation of both amplitude and frequency using low-cost components and traditional techniques. The small dimension of the system allows to place it on different target points of the residual limb of an amputee (e.g. corresponding to phantom fingers). Experiments to evaluate the human capability to discriminate differently modulated stimulations and stimulation sites were carried out on healthy volunteers. Subjects were able to properly discriminate the different force amplitudes exerted by the device at different fixed frequencies. The effect of amplitude on the frequency discrimination was also studied and for most subjects it was easier to discriminate a lower frequency when its amplitude was lower than the amplitude of the reference signal. The distance of the stimulation sites for an optimal discrimination was also identified.
Fictitious Fluid Approach and Anomalous Blow-up of the Dissipation Rate in a 2D Model of Concentrated Suspensions

We present a two-dimensional (2D) mathematical model of a highly concentrated suspension or a thin film of the rigid inclusions in an incompressible Newtonian fluid. Our objectives are two-fold: (i) to obtain all singular terms in the asymptotics of the overall viscous dissipation rate as the interparticle distance parameter $\delta$ tends to zero, (ii) to obtain a qualitative description of a microflow between neighboring inclusions in the suspension.
Nutritional Status and Dietary Diversity of Households in Vijayapura district of Karnataka

The recommendation to eat diverse types of foodstuffs is an internationally accepted recommendation for a healthy life. In this way, the study was conducted to assess the nutritional status and dietary diversity of the 160 rural and urban households in Vijayapur district of Karnataka using 24 hours recall method with a view to understanding the heterogeneity in food habits, quality of diet intake and the socioeconomic and demographic determinants of the dietary diversity in study area. There was significant disparity among the rural and urban areas in terms of food intake level across the income groups. The MPC consumption was higher in rural areas as compare to urban areas. However, the energy intake was higher in urban areas as against rural areas, since consumption of high value nutritious foods. By overall, the intake of energy and other nutrients was lower than ICMR- Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA). Dietary diversity result indicates, urban households consume more diversed food items as compare to rural households. From a policy perspective, it is therefore important to focus interventions on improving dietary diversity and nutrition security with proper understanding of the socio-economic setting of the target area and its population.
Effectiveness of peer educators on the uptake of mobile X-ray tuberculosis screening at homeless hostels: a cluster randomised controlled trial

Trial design Cluster randomised controlled trial. Objective To compare current practice for encouraging homeless people to be screened for tuberculosis on a mobile digital X-ray unit in London, UK, with the additional use of volunteer peer educators who have direct experience of tuberculosis, homelessness or both. Participants 46 hostels took part in the study, with a total of 2342 residents eligible for screening. The study took place between February 2012 and October 2013 at homeless hostels in London, UK. Intervention At intervention sites, volunteer peer educators agreed to a work plan that involved moving around the hostel in conjunction with the hostel staff, and speaking to residents in order to encourage them to attend the screening. Randomisation Cluster randomisation (by hostel) was performed using an internet-based service to ensure allocation concealment, with minimisation by hostel size and historical screening uptake. Blinding Only the study statistician was blinded to the allocation of intervention or control arms. Primary outcome The primary outcome was the number of eligible clients at a hostel venue screened for active pulmonary tuberculosis by the mobile X-ray unit. Results A total of 59 hostels were considered for eligibility and 46 were randomised. Control sites had a total of 1192 residents, with a median uptake of 45% (IQR 33–55). Intervention sites had 1150 eligible residents with a median uptake of 40% (IQR 25–61). Using Poisson regression to account for the clustered study design, hostel size and historical screening levels, there was no evidence that peer educators increased uptake (adjusted risk ratio 0.98; 95% CIs 0.80 to 1.20). The study team noted no adverse events. Conclusions This study found no evidence that volunteer peer educators increased client uptake of mobile X-ray unit screening for tuberculosis. Further qualitative work should be undertaken to explore the possible ancillary benefits to peer volunteers. Trial registration number ISRCTN17270334.
SNAP: A Software Package for User-Guided Geodesic Snake Segmentation

We present a new software package for interactive segmen- tation of 3D images by geodesic snakes, with manual editing. Several variants of level set snakes are incorporated, including both gradient- magnitude based snakes as well as region-competition snakes. A complete segmentation pipeline, including image preprocessing, bubble initializa- tion and parameter control, is provided in an intuitive user interface. Slice-based overpainting is also provided in the same framework, for man- ual editing of the automatic snake segmentation. This tool is already in daily use by clinicians and oers a vast improvement in speed over tradi- tional manual segmentation. We present examples from several clinical studies, as well as validation results comparing the automatic geodesic snakes segmentation with manual expert rater segmentation.