Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The role of cobalt and nickel in biogas production from anaerobic digestion of acetate

While the individual need for dosage of nickel and cobalt in anaerobic digesters has been established, together with the biochemistry underpinning such need; their co-requisite in anaerobic digestion of acetate has not been extensively studied. In addition, the balance between the catalytic and toxic concentrations of nickel and cobalt in anaerobic acetate digesters is not well documented. The aim of this study was to examine and evaluate the effects of individual and combined dosage of nickel and cobalt on biogas production as well as on methanogenic population balance of a mesophilic (37°C) anaerobic acetate digester so as to determine their catalytic and toxic concentrations. Four semi-CSTR digesters were daily fed acetate at a loading rate of 1.8 g L-1 d-1 and were operated at a HRT of 10 days for this investigation. Co-dosage of nickel and cobalt in anaerobic acetate digesters were found to lead to increased biogas production in an additive manner, with the sole dosage of nickel resulting in more biogas production than that of cobalt. At a large enough concentration, these elements were found to inhibit biogas production.
RegularRoute: an efficient detailed router with regular routing patterns

Detailed routing is an important phase of realizing exact routing paths for optimizing various design objectives and satisfying increasingly complicated design rules. In this paper, we propose RegularRoute, a fast detailed router trying to use regular routing patterns in a correct-by-construction strategy for better routability and design rule satisfaction. Given a 2-D global routing solution and the underlying routing tracks, we generate a detailed routing solution in a bottom-up layer-by-layer manner. For each layer, the routing tracks are partitioned into a number of panels. We formulate the problem of assigning global segments into different tracks of each panel as a Maximum Weighted Independent Set (MWIS) problem. We propose a fast and effective heuristic to solve the MWIS problem. Then unassigned segments after MWIS are partially routed by a greedy technique. For the unrouted portion of each segment, its terminals are promoted so that the assignment is deferred to upper layers. At top layers, we apply panel merging and maze routing techniques to achieve better routability. Due to the unavailability of academic detailed routing benchmarks, we proposed two sets of detailed routing testcases derived from ISPD98 [1] and ISPD05 [2] placement benchmark suites respectively. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of RegularRoute.
Effects of dietary supplementation with EPA and/or &agr;‐lipoic acid on adipose tissue transcriptomic profile of healthy overweight/obese women following a hypocaloric diet

In obesity, the increment of adiposity levels disrupts the whole body homeostasis, promoting an over production of oxidants and inflammatory mediators. The current study aimed to characterize the transcriptomic changes promoted by supplementation with eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 1.3 g/day), α-lipoic acid (0.3 g/day), or both (EPA + α-lipoic acid, 1.3 g/day + 0.3 g/day) in subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue from overweight/obese healthy women, who followed a hypocaloric diet (30% of total energy expenditure) during ten weeks, by using a microarray approach. At the end of the intervention, a total of 33,297 genes were analyzed using Affymetrix GeneChip arrays. EPA promoted changes in extracellular matrix remodeling gene expression, besides a rise of genes associated with either chemotaxis or wound repair. α-Lipoic acid decreased expression of genes related with cell adhesion and inflammation. Furthermore, α-lipoic acid, especially in combination with EPA, upregulated the expression of genes associated with lipid catabolism while downregulated genes involved in lipids storage. Together, all these data suggest that some of the metabolic effects of EPA and α-lipoic acid could be related to their regulatory actions on adipose tissue metabolism. © 2016 BioFactors, 43(1):117-131, 2017.
Rigid Registration : The Iterative Closest Point Algorithm

This lecture continues the subject of point based rigid registration. An important aspect of the algorithms previously presented was the assumption that the pairing between point coordinates in the two coordinate systems is known. In this lecture we present an algorithm which will not require this assumption and furthermore does not require a full pairing between data sets. Problem Definition Given the coordinates of points measured in two cartesian coordinate systems, without a known pairing, find the rigid transformation between the two systems. The summary is divided into four sections: (1) Iterative closest point algorithm (ICP). (2) k-D Trees (3) Accelerated ICP (4) Algorithm initialization and local minima. In our previous lecture we described algorithms which performed rigid registration given two point sets {R i } and {L i } with a known pairing between them. A similar problem arises when we want to perform rigid registration using two point sets without specifying the pairing. An iterative approach to this problem was presented in [3] and [17]. Essentially both articles describe the same algorithm 1. Given two point sets {R i } and {L i } without a known pairing between them we want to compute the rigid transformation between them. If we somehow obtain the missing pairing then we already have a closed form solution to the problem by minimizing the following objective function (details in previous lecture): f (R, t) = 1 N N i=1 p r,i − R(p l,i) − t , where N is the number of paired points. The question is how do we find the pairing?
Combining Low Price, Low Climate Impact and High Nutritional Value in One Shopping Basket through Diet Optimization by Linear Programming

Background: This study aims to find diets with low price and low climate impact, yet fulfilling all nutritional requirements. Methods: Optimization by linear programming. The program constrains 33 nutrients to fulfill Dutch dietary requirements. In a second cycle, the upper boundary for climate impact through greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) is set to 1.6 kg carbon dioxide equivalents/day (CO 2 eq). In a third cycle, the costs are set on €2.50 as a constraint. The objective function of the optimization maximized the most consumed food products ( n = 206) for male and female adults separately (age 31–50). Results: A diet of 63 popular and low priced basic products was found to deliver all required nutrients at an adequate level for both male and female adults. This plant-based, carbohydrate and fiber-rich diet consists mainly of wholegrain bread, potatoes, muesli, open-field vegetables and fruits. The climate impact of this diet is very low (1.59 kg CO 2 eq/day) compared to the average Dutch diet. By constraining costs, a low carbon diet of €2.59/day is possible. Conclusions: A two-person diet consisting of 63 products and costing €37 per week can simultaneously be healthy and yet have half the average climate impact. Linear programming is a promising tool to combine health and sustainability on both societal and individual levels.
ADJUNCTIVE TREATMENT FOR DEPRESSION 1 Evaluating an e-mental health program ( “ deprexis “ ) as adjunctive treatment tool in psychotherapy for depression : design of a pragmatic randomized controlled trial

Background: Major depressive disorder (MDD) places a significant disease burden on individuals as well as on societies. Several web-based interventions for MDD have s hown to be effective in reducing depressive symptoms. However, it is not known whether web-ba sed interventions, when used as adjunctive treatment tools to regular psychotherapy, have an additional effect compared to regular psychotherapy for depression. Methods/Design: This study is a currently recruiting pragmatic randomized controlled trial (RCT) that compares regular psychotherapy plus a web-based depression program ("deprexis") with a control condition exclusively receiving regular psychotherapy. Adults wi th a depressive disorder (N = 800) will be recruited in routine secondary care from therapists over the course of their initial sessions and will then be randomized within therapists to one of the two condi tions. The primary outcome is depressive symptoms measured with the Beck Depressi on Inventory (BDI-II) at three months post randomization. Secondary outcomes include changes on var ious indicators such as anxiety, somatic symptoms and quality of life. All outcomes are again assessed at the secondary endpoint six months post randomization. In addition, the working alliance and feasibility/acceptability of the treatment condition will be explored. Discussion: This is first randomized controlled trial to examine the feasibility/acce ptability and the effectiveness of a combination of traditional face-to-face psychother apy and web-based depression program compared to regular psychotherapeutic treatment in depresse outpatients in routine care. Trial registration : ISRCTN20165665
Influence of Background Patterns on Coincidence-Anticipation Performance

15 boys and 15 girls, 6 yr. old, participated in a study assessing the influence of visual background patterns and object speed on coincidence-anticipation. The Bassin Anticipation Timer, utilizing light-emitting diodes in the lighted runway and pushbutton, was used to determine the subjects' accuracy of anticipation of the dynamic target light. The two object speeds were 1.45 and 2.90 kilometers per hour, and the two background conditions were a solid black background and red vertical stripes on a black background. Absolute and constant temporal errors were recorded for a total of 24 trials utilizing a random order of 6 replications of the 4 conditions. Analysis of variance indicated only speed of the object, and not visual background patterns, influenced coincidence-anticipation performance.
From Intervals to ? Towards a GeneralDescription of Validated

In many real-life situations, we are interested in the physical quantities that are diicult or even impossible to measure directly. To estimate the value of such quantity y, we measure the values of auxiliary quantities x1; : : : ; xn that are related to y by a known functional relation y = f (x1; : : : ; xn), and we then use the results e xi of measuring xi to nd the desired estimate e y = f (e x1 ; : : : ; e xn). Due to measurement errors, the measured values e xi are slightly diierent from the actual (unknown) values xi; as a result, our estimate e y is diierent from the actual value y = f (x1; : : : ; xn) of the desired quantity. When xi and y are numbers, then the measurement accuracy can be usually represented in interval terms, and interval computations can be used to estimate the resulting uncertainty in y. In some real-life problems, what we are interested in is more complex than a number. For example, we may be interested in the dependence of the one physical quantity x1 on another one x2: we may be interested in how the material strain depends on the applied stress, or in how the temperature depends on a point in 3-D space; in all such cases, what we are interested in is a function. We may be interested in even more complex structures: e.g., in quantum mechanics, measuring instruments are described by operators in a Hilbert space, so if we want to have a precise description of an actual (imperfect) measuring 1
Pediatric Continuous Brachial Plexus Catheter for a Case of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)

Introduction: Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a disorder characterized by pain as well as a myriad of sensory, autonomic, and motor disturbances. We are reporting a case of child diagnosed with CRPS and successfully treated with supraclavicular brachial plexus catheter infusion of local anesthetic. Case Report: An eight-year-old male underwent a left thoracotomy, repair of esophageal vascular ring, and translocation of the left subclavian to the left carotid artery. Post-operative course was relevant for severe intractable left shoulder and left arm pain associated with allodynia and hyperalgesia. A supraclavicular catheter was inserted, and an infusion of ropivacaine 0.2% was started. The child was sent for physical therapy as he gradually regained all functions of his left arm and resumed his regular activities. Conclusion: Continuous supraclavicular brachial plexus catheter infusion of local anesthetic is a valuable method of reducing pain in severe cases of upper extremity pediatric CRPS and may be safer and more effective than other invasive measures such as sympathetic blocks and epidural catheterization. Further research surrounding the diagnosis and treatment of pediatric CRPS is needed to allow early diagnosis and treatment and to improve outcome.
Learning optimal controllers in human-robot cooperative transportation tasks with position and force constraints

Human-robot collaboration seeks to have humans and robots closely interacting in everyday situations. For some tasks, physical contact between the user and the robot may occur, originating significant challenges at safety, cognition, perception and control levels, among others. This paper focuses on robot motion adaptation to parameters of a collaborative task, extraction of the desired robot behavior, and variable impedance control for human-safe interaction. We propose to teach a robot cooperative behaviors from demonstrations, which are probabilistically encoded by a task-parametrized formulation of a Gaussian mixture model. Such encoding is later used for specifying both the desired state of the robot, and an optimal feedback control law that exploits the variability in position, velocity and force spaces observed during the demonstrations. The whole framework allows the robot to modify its movements as a function of parameters of the task, while showing different impedance behaviors. Tests were successfully carried out in a scenario where a 7 DOF backdrivable manipulator learns to cooperate with a human to transport an object.
Inter‐specific interactions linking predation and scavenging in terrestrial vertebrate assemblages

Predation and scavenging have been classically understood as independent processes, with predator–prey interactions and scavenger–carrion relationships occurring separately. However, the mere recognition that most predators also scavenge at variable rates, which has been traditionally ignored in food‐web and community ecology, leads to a number of emergent interaction routes linking predation and scavenging. The general goal of this review is to draw attention to the main inter‐specific interactions connecting predators (particularly, large mammalian carnivores), their live prey (mainly ungulates), vultures and carrion production in terrestrial assemblages of vertebrates. Overall, we report an intricate network of both direct (competition, facilitation) and indirect (hyperpredation, hypopredation) processes, and provide a conceptual framework for the future development of this promising topic in ecological, evolutionary and biodiversity conservation research. The classic view that scavenging does not affect the population dynamics of consumed organisms is questioned, as multiple indirect top‐down effects emerge when considering carrion and its facultative consumption by predators as fundamental and dynamic components of food webs. Stimulating although challenging research opportunities arise from the study of the interactions among living and detrital or non‐living resource pools in food webs.
NLTE determination of the aluminium abundance in a homogeneous sample of extremely metal-poor stars

Aims. Aluminium is a key element to constrain the models of the chemical enrichment and the yields of the first supernovae. But obtaining precise Al abundances in extremely metal-poor (EMP) stars requires that the non-LTE effects be carefully taken into account. Methods. The NLTE profiles of the blue resonance aluminium lines have been computed in a sample of 53 extremely metal-poor stars with a modified version of the program MULTI applied to an atomic model of the Al atom with 78 levels of Al I and 13 levels of Al II, and compared to the observations. Results. With these new determinations, all the stars of the sample show a ratio Al/Fe close to the solar value: [Al/Fe] = −0.06 ± 0.10 with a very small scatter. These results are compared to the models of the chemical evolution of the halo using different models of SN II and are compatible with recent computations. The sodium-rich giants are not found to be also aluminium-rich and thus, as expected, the convection in these giants only brings to the surface the products of the Ne-Na cycle.
Experimental discovery of small RNAs in Staphylococcus aureus reveals a riboregulator of central metabolism

Using an experimental approach, we investigated the RNome of the pathogen Staphylococcus aureus to identify 30 small RNAs (sRNAs) including 14 that are newly confirmed. Among the latter, 10 are encoded in intergenic regions, three are generated by premature transcription termination associated with riboswitch activities, and one is expressed from the complementary strand of a transposase gene. The expression of four sRNAs increases during the transition from exponential to stationary phase. We focused our study on RsaE, an sRNA that is highly conserved in the bacillales order and is deleterious when over-expressed. We show that RsaE interacts in vitro with the 5′ region of opp3A mRNA, encoding an ABC transporter component, to prevent formation of the ribosomal initiation complex. A previous report showed that RsaE targets opp3B which is co-transcribed with opp3A. Thus, our results identify an unusual case of riboregulation where the same sRNA controls an operon mRNA by targeting two of its cistrons. A combination of biocomputational and transcriptional analyses revealed a remarkably coordinated RsaE-dependent downregulation of numerous metabolic enzymes involved in the citrate cycle and the folate-dependent one-carbon metabolism. As we observed that RsaE accumulates transiently in late exponential growth, we propose that RsaE functions to ensure a coordinate downregulation of the central metabolism when carbon sources become scarce.
Insights into the Complex Associations Between MHC Class II DRB Polymorphism and Multiple Gastrointestinal Parasite Infestations in the Striped Mouse

Differences in host susceptibility to different parasite types are largely based on the degree of matching between immune genes and parasite antigens. Specifically the variable genes of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) play a major role in the defence of parasites. However, underlying genetic mechanisms in wild populations are still not well understood because there is a lack of studies which deal with multiple parasite infections and their competition within. To gain insights into these complex associations, we implemented the full record of gastrointestinal nematodes from 439 genotyped individuals of the striped mouse, Rhabdomys pumilio. We used two different multivariate approaches to test for associations between MHC class II DRB genotype and multiple nematodes with regard to the main pathogen-driven selection hypotheses maintaining MHC diversity and parasite species-specific co-evolutionary effects. The former includes investigations of a ‘heterozygote advantage’, or its specific form a ‘divergent-allele advantage’ caused by highly dissimilar alleles as well as possible effects of specific MHC-alleles selected by a ‘rare allele advantage’ ( = negative ‘frequency-dependent selection’). A combination of generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) and co-inertia (COIA) analyses made it possible to consider multiple parasite species despite the risk of type I errors on the population and on the individual level. We could not find any evidence for a ‘heterozygote’ advantage but support for ‘divergent-allele’ advantage and infection intensity. In addition, both approaches demonstrated high concordance of positive as well as negative associations between specific MHC alleles and certain parasite species. Furthermore, certain MHC alleles were associated with more than one parasite species, suggesting a many-to-many gene-parasite co-evolution. The most frequent allele Rhpu-DRB*38 revealed a pleiotropic effect, involving three nematode species. Our study demonstrates the co-existence of specialist and generalist MHC alleles in terms of parasite detection which may be an important feature in the maintenance of MHC polymorphism.
Buffer occupancy asymptotics in rate proportional sharing networks with heterogeneous long-tailed inputs

In this paper, we consider a network of rate proportional processor sharing servers in which sessions with long-tailed duration arrive as Poisson processes. In particular, we assume that a session of type $n$ transmits at a rate $r_n$ bits per unit time and lasts for a random time $\tau_n$ with a generalized Pareto distribution given by $P \{\tau_n > x\} \sim \alpha_n x^{-(1+\beta_n)}$ for large $x$, where $\alpha_n, \beta_n > 0$. The weights are taken to be the rates of the flows. The network is assumed to be loop-free with respect to source-destination routes. We characterize the order $O-$asymptotics of the complementary buffer occupancy distribution at each node in terms of the input characteristics of the sessions. In particular, we show that the distributions obey a power law whose exponent can be calculated via solving a fixed point and deterministic knapsack problem. The paper concludes with some canonical examples.
The Operational Space Formulation implementation to aircraft canopy polishing using a mobile manipulator

The Operational Space Formulation provides a framework for the analysis and control of manipulator systems with respect to the behavior of their end-effectors. Its application to aircraft canopy polishing is shown using a mobile manipulator. The mobile manipulator end-effector maintains a desired force normal to the canopy surface of unknown geometry in doing a compliant polishing motion, while, at the same time, its mobile base moves around the shop floor, effectively increasing the mobile manipulator's workspace. The mobile manipulator consists of a PUMA 560 mounted on top of a Nomad XR4000. Implementation issues are discussed and simultaneous motion and force regulation results are shown.
Innate Immunity and Immune Evasion by Enterovirus 71

Enterovirus 71 (EV71) is a major infectious disease affecting millions of people worldwide and it is the main etiological agent for outbreaks of hand foot and mouth disease (HFMD). Infection is often associated with severe gastroenterological, pulmonary, and neurological diseases that are most prevalent in children. Currently, no effective vaccine or antiviral drugs exist against EV71 infection. A lack of knowledge on the molecular mechanisms of EV71 infection in the host and the virus-host interactions is a major constraint to developing specific antiviral strategies against this infection. Previous studies have identified and characterized the function of several viral proteins produced by EV71 that interact with the host innate immune proteins, including type I interferon signaling and microRNAs. These interactions eventually promote efficient viral replication and increased susceptibility to the disease. In this review we discuss the functions of EV71 viral proteins in the modulation of host innate immune responses to facilitate viral replication.