Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
What Is Typical Is Good

The role of face typicality in face recognition is well established, but it is unclear whether face typicality is important for face evaluation. Prior studies have focused mainly on typicality’s influence on attractiveness, although recent studies have cast doubt on its importance for attractiveness judgments. Here, we argue that face typicality is an important factor for social perception because it affects trustworthiness judgments, which approximate the basic evaluation of faces. This effect has been overlooked because trustworthiness and attractiveness judgments have a high level of shared variance for most face samples. We show that for a continuum of faces that vary on a typicality-attractiveness dimension, trustworthiness judgments peak around the typical face. In contrast, perceived attractiveness increases monotonically past the typical face, as faces become more like the most attractive face. These findings suggest that face typicality is an important determinant of face evaluation.
Infectious Prions in Pre-Clinical Deer and Transmission of Chronic Wasting Disease Solely by Environmental Exposure

Key to understanding the epidemiology and pathogenesis of prion diseases, including chronic wasting disease (CWD) of cervids, is determining the mode of transmission from one individual to another. We have previously reported that saliva and blood from CWD-infected deer contain sufficient infectious prions to transmit disease upon passage into naïve deer. Here we again use bioassays in deer to show that blood and saliva of pre-symptomatic deer contain infectious prions capable of infecting naïve deer and that naïve deer exposed only to environmental fomites from the suites of CWD-infected deer acquired CWD infection after a period of 15 months post initial exposure. These results help to further explain the basis for the facile transmission of CWD, highlight the complexities associated with CWD transmission among cervids in their natural environment, emphasize the potential utility of blood-based testing to detect pre-clinical CWD infection, and could augur similar transmission dynamics in other prion infections.
Rational design and investigation of polypeptide multilayer films and capsules

Three major concerns in the science of materials today are control over structure and function at the molecular level, biodegradability, and scalability o f production. Polymeric materials, notably polyelectrolyte multilayer films, have shown considerable promise in all these areas, and for rational development o f multifunctionality. Polypeptides constitute an especially interesting class o f polyelectrolyte, given their inherent biodegradability, means of control over structure, methods of large-scale synthesis, and ability to encode biological information. Relatively little is known, however, about polypeptide multilayer films, despite recent advances in the general area. In this dissertation, ten heteropolypeptides were designed and synthesized by Fmoc chemistry. These peptides and homopolypeptides available from a commercial source have been used to carry out a systematic study o f the physical basis o f polypeptide multilayer film assembly, structure, and stability, in order to gain a greater grasp o f the roles o f different kinds o f non-covalent interaction, degree o f polymerization, and polydispersity. The data show that amino acid composition, sequence, and specific combination o f anionic and cationic polypeptides together determine film growth behavior, secondary structure content, overall density, surface morphology, and susceptibility to environmental perturbations. The peptides are largely unstructured in solution but tend to form /3 sheets in a multilayer film at neutral pH. Electrostatic interactions dominate polypeptide adsorption and film stability, but hydrophobic
Dynamic Adaptation of Temporal Event Correlation for QoS Management in Distributed Systems

Temporal event correlation is essential to managing quality of service in distributed systems, especially correlating events from multiple components to detect problems with availability, performance, and denial of service attacks. Two challenges in temporal event correlation are: (1) handling lost events and (2) dealing with inaccurate clocks. We show that both challenges are related to event propagation delays that result from contention for network and server resources. We develop an approach to adjusting the timer values of event correlation rules based on propagation delays in order to reduce missed alarms and false alarms. Our approach has three parts: an infrastructure for real-time measurement of propagation delay, a statistical approach to estimating propagation delays, and a controller that uses estimates of propagation delays to update timer values in temporal rules. Our approach eliminates the need for manual adjustments of timer values. Further, studies of a prototype implementation suggest that our approach produces results that are at least as good as an optimal fixed adjustment in timer values
Promising new vaccine candidates against Campylobacter in broilers

Campylobacter is the leading cause of human bacterial gastroenteritis in the European Union. Birds represent the main reservoir of the bacteria, and human campylobacteriosis mainly occurs after consuming and/or handling poultry meat. Reducing avian intestinal Campylobacter loads should impact the incidence of human diseases. At the primary production level, several measures have been identified to reach this goal, including vaccination of poultry. Despite many studies, however, no efficient vaccine is currently available. We have recently identified new vaccine candidates using the reverse vaccinology strategy. This study assessed the in vivo immune and protective potential of six newly-identified vaccine antigens. Among the candidates tested on Ross broiler chickens, four (YP_001000437.1, YP_001000562.1, YP_999817.1, and YP_999838.1) significantly reduced cecal Campylobacter loads by between 2 and 4.2 log10 CFU/g, with the concomitant development of a specific humoral immune response. In a second trial, cecal load reductions results were not statistically confirmed despite the induction of a strong immune response. These vaccine candidates need to be further investigated since they present promising features.
Characterization Of Nucleation And Ultrafine Particle Growth In Rural Continental Environments

Aerosols are ubiquitous throughout Earth’s atmosphere and their size, chemical composition, and concentration cause varying degrees of impact on climate and human health. Atmospheric aerosols can affect climate by their varied interactions with incoming solar radiation and their role in cloud formation and microphysics. Nucleation of fresh particles plays a significant role in the number of boundary layer cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). Elevated sulfuric acid concentration from power production has long been shown to contribute to new particle formation, but is not present in all instances where nucleation is observed. A third component has long been hypothesized and different studies in different locations have shown evidence of either ammonia, amines, or organics acting in conjunction with sulfuric acid and water to initiate new particle formation under certain meteorological conditions. While atmospheric nucleation has been examined world-wide in many urban as well as remote forested locations, it has not been studied extensively in the non-forested Midwestern United States, where sulfuric acid from coal-fired power plants and ammonia from agricultural activity are prevalent. For this doctoral dissertation work, instruments were designed, built, and tested for the purpose of investigating the concentration, size distribution, and volatility of atmospheric aerosols in non-forested rural continental environments in the Midwestern United States. An impact assessment of the University of Iowa Power Plant on air quality in Johnson County, IA highlights the ability to field test the emission ratios of fine particulates emissions to other gaseous
Noise Conditions for Prespecified Convergence Rates of Stochastic Approximation Algorithms

We develop deterministic necessary and sufficient conditions on individual noise sequences of a stochastic approximation algorithm for the error of the iterates to converge at a given rate. Specifically, suppose {/spl rho//sub n/} is a given positive sequence converging monotonically to zero. Consider a stochastic approximation algorithm x/sub n+1/=x/sub n/-a/sub n/(A/sub n/x/sub n/-b/sub n/)+a/sub n/e/sub n/, where {x/sub n/} is the iterate sequence, {a/sub n/} is the step size sequence, {e/sub n/} is the noise sequence, and x* is the desired zero of the function f(x)=Ax-b. Then, under appropriate assumptions, we show that x/sub n/-x*=o(/spl rho//sub n/) if and only if the sequence {e/sub n/} satisfies one of five equivalent conditions. These conditions are based on well-known formulas for noise sequences: Kushner and Clark's (1978) condition, Chen's (see Proc. IFAC World Congr., p.375-80, 1996) condition, Kulkarni and Horn's (see IEEE Trails Automat. Contr., vol.41, p.419-24, 1996) condition, a decomposition condition, and a weighted averaging condition. Our necessary and sufficient condition on {e/sub n/} to achieve a convergence rate of {/spl rho//sub n/} is basically that the sequence {e/sub n///spl rho//sub n/} satisfies any one of the above five well-known conditions. We provide examples to illustrate our result. In particular, we easily recover the familiar result that if a/sub n/=a/n and {e/sub n/} is a martingale difference process with bounded variance, then x/sub n/-x*=o(n/sup -1/2/(log(n))/sup /spl beta//) for any /spl beta/>1/2.
Systematic and intestinal antibody-secreting cell responses and correlates of protective immunity to human rotavirus in a gnotobiotic pig model of disease

Neonatal gnotobiotic pigs orally inoculated with virulent (intestinal-suspension) Wa strain human rotavirus (which mimics human natural infection) developed diarrhea, and most pigs which recovered (87% protection rate) were immune to disease upon homologous virulent virus challenge at postinoculation day (PID) 21. Pigs inoculated with cell culture-attenuated Wa rotavirus (which mimics live oral vaccines) developed subclinical infections and seroconverted but were only partially protected against challenge (33% protection rate). Isotype-specific antibody-secreting cells (ASC were enumerated at selected PID in intestinal (duodenal and ileal lamina propria and mesenteric lymph node [MLN]) and systemic (spleen and blood) lymphoid tissues by using enzyme-linked immunospot assays. At challenge (PID 21), the numbers of virus-specific immunoglobulin A (IgA) ASC, but not IgG ASC, in intestines and blood were significantly greater in virulent-Wa rotavirus-inoculated pigs than in attenuated-Wa rotavirus-inoculated pigs and were correlated (correlation coefficients: for duodenum and ileum, 0.9; for MLN, 0.8; for blood, 0.6) with the degree of protection induced. After challenge, the numbers of IgA and IgG virus-specific ASC and serum-neutralizing antibodies increased significantly in the attenuated-Wa rotavirus-inoculated pigs but not in the virulent-Wa rotavirus-inoculated pigs (except in the spleen and except for IgA ASC in the duodenum). The transient appearance of IgA ASC in the blood mirrored the IgA ASC responses in the gut, albeit at a lower level, suggesting that IgA ASC in the blood of humans could serve as an indicator for IgA ASC responses in the intestine after rotavirus infection. To our knowledge, this is the first report to study and identify intestinal IgA ASC as a correlate of protective active immunity in an animal model of human-rotavirus-induced disease.
Cloning, expression, and primary structure of a Chlamydia trachomatis binding protein

The gene encoding an 18,000-dalton eucaryotic cell-binding protein of Chlamydia trachomatis serovar L2 was cloned into Escherichia coli, and the nucleotide sequence of a 1,658-base-pair PstI restriction endonuclease fragment encoding this protein was determined. The recombinant chlamydial gene consists of a 486-base-pair open reading frame encoding a polypeptide of molecular weight 18,314. The resultant polypeptide, comprising 162 amino acids, possesses a highly charged carboxy-terminal end. The expression of this recombinant protein is under the control of a vector promoter. The recombinant 18,000-dalton protein possessed the same eucaryotic cell-binding characteristics as did the native chlamydial 18,000-dalton protein when electrophoresed and transferred to nitrocellulose. Polyclonal antibodies to the recombinant protein exhibited neutralizing activity.
Brain Infiltration of Leukocytes Contributes to the Pathophysiology of Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

Clinical and experimental evidence indicates that inflammatory processes contribute to the pathophysiology of epilepsy, but underlying mechanisms remain mostly unknown. Using immunohistochemistry for CD45 (common leukocyte antigen) and CD3 (T-lymphocytes), we show here microglial activation and infiltration of leukocytes in sclerotic tissue from patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), as well as in a model of TLE (intrahippocampal kainic acid injection), characterized by spontaneous, nonconvulsive focal seizures. Using specific markers of lymphocytes, microglia, macrophages, and neutrophils in kainate-treated mice, we investigated with pharmacological and genetic approaches the contribution of innate and adaptive immunity to kainate-induced inflammation and neurodegeneration. Furthermore, we used EEG analysis in mutant mice lacking specific subsets of lymphocytes to explore the significance of inflammatory processes for epileptogenesis. Blood–brain barrier disruption and neurodegeneration in the kainate-lesioned hippocampus were accompanied by sustained ICAM-1 upregulation, microglial cell activation, and infiltration of CD3+ T-cells. Moreover, macrophage infiltration was observed, selectively in the dentate gyrus where prominent granule cell dispersion was evident. Unexpectedly, depletion of peripheral macrophages by systemic clodronate liposome administration affected granule cell survival. Neurodegeneration was aggravated in kainate-lesioned mice lacking T- and B-cells (RAG1-knock-out), because of delayed invasion by Gr-1+ neutrophils. Most strikingly, these mutant mice exhibited early onset of spontaneous recurrent seizures, suggesting a strong impact of immune-mediated responses on network excitability. Together, the concerted action of adaptive and innate immunity triggered locally by intrahippocampal kainate injection contributes seizure-suppressant and neuroprotective effects, shedding new light on neuroimmune interactions in temporal lobe epilepsy.
Two lines Iranian license plate detection and recognition using subspace learning

License plate detection and recognition has become high-priority research because of its many applications such as electronic payment systems, traffic monitoring and security control. This subject is divided into 2 main parts: license plate detection and character recognition. Although, there have been many studies in detection, two lines license plates such as Iranian motorcycle is less studied. Detection of this kind of license plates is more complicated because of background clutter. In order to solve this problem, this paper uses vertical edge detection and template matching. The following step is character recognition. There are many challenges such as skew, pose variations, blurriness, being dirty, illumination changes and some other distortions in real scenes. Our approach uses subspace learning to have proper performance under these conditions. To show the efficiency of our approach, the database including 60101 digits images is collected and the recognition algorithm is tested on it.
Dynamic Recrystallization of Austenite in 18-8 Stainless Steel and 18 Ni Maraging Steel

The dynamic recrystallization behavior of austenite in an 18-8 stainless steel and an 18 Ni maraging steel was studied mainly by microstructural observations of the specimens which were water-quenched immediately after the tensile deformation to various strains at temperatures ranging from 800 to 1200 °C and at strain rates of 10'3 10-~ s-1, The changes in austenite grain size and hardness at room temperature due to the dynamic recrystallization were also studied. The deformation conditions for the occurrence of dynamic recrystallization in both steels were made clear as a function of deformation temperature
Pseudorandom generators for group products: extended abstract

We prove that the pseudorandom generator introduced by Impagliazzo et al. (1994) with proper choice of parameters fools group products of a given finite group G. The seed length is O((|G|O(1) + log 1/δ)log n), where n is the length of the word and δ is the allowed error. The result implies that the pseudorandom generator with seed length O((2O(w log w) + log 1/δ)log n) fools read-once permutation branching programs of width w. As an application of the pseudorandom generator one obtains small-bias spaces for products over all finite groups Meka and Zuckerman (2009).
Finding more null pointer bugs, but not too many

In the summer of 2006, the FindBugs project was challenged to improve the null pointer analysis in FindBugs so that we could find more null pointer bugs. In particular, we were challenged to try to do as well as a publicly available analysis by Reasoning, Inc on version 4.1. 24 of Apache Tomcat. Reasoning's report is a result of running their own static analysis tool and using manual auditing to remove false positives. Reasoning reported a total of 9 null pointer warnings in Tomcat 4.1. 24, of which only 2 were reported by FindBugs 1.0. While we wanted to improve the analysis in FindBugs, we wanted to retain our current low level of false positives. As of result of the work presented in this paper, FindBugs now reports 4 of the 9 warnings in Tomcat, shows that one of the warnings reported by Reasoning is a false positive, and classifies the remaining 4 as being dependent on the feasibility of a particular path, which cannot be easier ascertained by a local examination of the source code. Moreover, we found 24 additional null pointer bugs in Tomcat that had been missed by Reasoning, and overall doubled the number of null pointer bugs found by FindBugs while improving the quality and significance of reported defects.
Cold-Inducible RNA-Binding Protein Regulates Cardiac Repolarization by Targeting Transient Outward Potassium Channels.

RATIONALE Cold-inducible RNA-binding protein (CIRP) is constitutively expressed at low levels across various tissues. It is rapidly upregulated by multiple stresses, underlying a general role for CIRP in organic adaptations to pathophysiological conditions. However, the role of CIRP in the heart remains unclear. OBJECTIVE To examine the biofunctions of CIRP in the mammalian heart. METHODS AND RESULTS Rats with targeted disruption of Cirp were generated using the TALEN (transcription activator-like effector nucleases)-based genome editing technique. The Cirp-knockout rats had structurally and functionally normal hearts. Resting ECG recordings revealed a short rate-corrected QT (QTc) interval in Cirp-null rats without any abnormalities in PR interval, RR interval or QRS waves as compared to wild-type animals. The shortened QTc interval from Cirp ablation was tightly linked to an abbreviated action potential duration in cardiac myocytes, which was attributable to increased transient outward potassium current (Ito). Furthermore, our findings uncovered that CIRP protein selectively bonded to KCND2 and KCND3 mRNAs encoding the functional α-subunits of Ito channel proteins. CIRP deficiency did not change the transcriptional activity of KCND2 or KCND3, but it facilitated their translation. Cirp knockout had no effect on the functional expression of ion channels other than Ito channels. CONCLUSIONS CIRP modulates cardiac repolarization by negatively adjusting the expression and function of Ito channels. Our study may open a window to decipher the potential function of RNA-binding proteins in bioelectric activity.
Malnutrition as an underlying cause of childhood deaths associated with infectious diseases in developing countries.

INTRODUCTION Recent estimates suggest that malnutrition (measured as poor anthropometric status) is associated with about 50% of all deaths among children. Although the association between malnutrition and all-cause mortality is well documented, the malnutrition-related risk of death associated with specific diseases is less well described. We reviewed published literature to examine the evidence for a relation between malnutrition and child mortality from diarrhoea, acute respiratory illness, malaria and measles, conditions that account for over 50% of deaths in children worldwide. METHODS MEDLINE was searched for suitable review articles and original reports of community-based and hospital-based studies. Findings from cohort studies and case-control studies were reviewed and summarized. RESULTS The strongest and most consistent relation between malnutrition and an increased risk of death was observed for diarrhoea and acute respiratory infection. The evidence, although limited, also suggests a potentially increased risk for death from malaria. A less consistent association was observed between nutritional status and death from measles. Although some hospital-based studies and case-control studies reported an increased risk of mortality from measles, few community-based studies reported any association. DISCUSSION The risk of malnutrition-related mortality seems to vary for different diseases. These findings have important implications for the evaluation of nutritional intervention programmes and child survival programmes being implemented in settings with different disease profiles.
Structural and Biochemical Insight into the Mechanism of Rv2837c from Mycobacterium tuberculosis as a c-di-NMP Phosphodiesterase*

The intracellular infections of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which is the causative agent of tuberculosis, are regulated by many cyclic dinucleotide signaling. Rv2837c from M. tuberculosis is a soluble, stand-alone DHH-DHHA1 domain phosphodiesterase that down-regulates c-di-AMP through catalytic degradation and plays an important role in M. tuberculosis infections. Here, we report the crystal structure of Rv2837c (2.0 Å), and its complex with hydrolysis intermediate 5′-pApA (2.35 Å). Our structures indicate that both DHH and DHHA1 domains are essential for c-di-AMP degradation. Further structural analysis shows that Rv2837c does not distinguish adenine from guanine, which explains why Rv2837c hydrolyzes all linear dinucleotides with almost the same efficiency. We observed that Rv2837c degraded other c-di-NMPs at a lower rate than it did on c-di-AMP. Nevertheless, our data also showed that Rv2837c significantly decreases concentrations of both c-di-AMP and c-di-GMP in vivo. Our results suggest that beside its major role in c-di-AMP degradation Rv2837c could also regulate c-di-GMP signaling pathways in bacterial cell.
A Robust Obstacle Detection Method in Highly Textured Environments Using Stereo Vision

Stereo vision based obstacle detection is an algorithm that aims to detect and compute obstacle depth using stereo matching and disparity map. This paper presents a robust method to detect positive obstacles including staircases in highly textured environments. The proposed method is easy to implement and fast enough for obstacle avoidance. This work is partly inspired by the work of Nicholas Molton et al [1]. The algorithm consists of several steps including calibration, pre processing, obstacle detection, analysis of disparity map and depth computation. This method works well in highly textured environments and ideal for real applications. An adaptive thresholding is also applied for better noise and texture removal. Experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed method.