Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
New multiplex PCR methods for rapid screening of genetically modified organisms in foods

We present novel multiplex PCR methods for rapid and reliable screening of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). New designed PCR primers targeting four frequently used GMO specific sequences permitted identification of new DNA markers, in particular 141 bp fragment of cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S promoter, 224 bp fragment of Agrobacterium tumefaciens nopaline synthase (NOS) terminator, 256 bp fragment of 5-enolppyruvylshikimate-phosphate synthase (epsps) gene and 258 bp fragment of Cry1Ab delta-endotoxin (cry1Ab) gene for GMO screening. The certified reference materials containing Roundup Ready soybean (RRS) and maize MON 810 were applied for the development and optimization of uniplex and multiplex PCR systems. Evaluation of amplification products by agarose gel electrophoresis using negative and positive controls confirmed high specificity and sensitivity at 0.1% GMO for both RRS and MON 810. The fourplex PCR was developed and optimized that allows simultaneous detection of three common transgenic elements, such as: CaMV 35S promoter, NOS terminator, epsps gene together with soybean-specific lectin gene. The triplex PCR developed enables simultaneous identification of transgenic elements, such as: 35S promoter and cry1Ab gene together with maize zein gene. The analysis of different processed foods demonstrated that multiplex PCR methods developed in this study are useful for accurate and fast screening of GM food products.
A Landscape Analysis of Constraint Satisfaction Problems

We discuss an analysis of constraint satisfaction problems, such as sphere packing, K-SAT, and graph coloring, in terms of an effective energy landscape. Several intriguing geometrical properties of the solution space become in this light familiar in terms of the well-studied ones of rugged (glassy) energy landscapes. A benchmark algorithm naturally suggested by this construction finds solutions in polynomial time up to a point beyond the clustering and in some cases even the thermodynamic transitions. This point has a simple geometric meaning and can be in principle determined with standard statistical mechanical methods, thus pushing the analytic bound up to which problems are guaranteed to be easy. We illustrate this for the graph 3- and 4-coloring problem. For packing problems the present discussion allows to better characterize the J-point, proposed as a systematic definition of random close packing, and to place it in the context of other theories of glasses.
A Coding Theorem for a Class of Stationary Channels with Feedback

A coding theorem is proved for a class of stationary channels with 'feedback in which the output Y<sub>n</sub> = f(X<sub>n-m</sub> <sup>n</sup>, Z<sub>n-m</sub> <sup>n</sup>) is the function of the current and past m symbols from the channel input X<sub>n</sub> and the stationary ergodic channel noise Z<sub>n</sub>. In particular, it is shown that the feedback capacity is equal to where I(X<sup>n</sup> rarr Y<sup>n</sup>) = Sigma<sub>i=1</sub> <sup>n</sup> I(X<sup>i</sup>;Y<sub>i</sub>|Y<sup>i-1</sup>) denotes the Massey directed information from the channel input to the output, and the supremum is taken over all causally conditioned distributions p(x<sup>n</sup>pary<sup>n-1</sup>) = Pi<sub>i=1</sub> <sup>n</sup>p(x<sub>i</sub>|x<sup>i-1</sup>,y<sup>i-1</sup>)- The main ideas of the proof are the Shannon strategy for coding with side information and a new elementary coding technique for the given channel model without feedback, which is in a sense dual to Gallager's lossy coding of stationary ergodic sources. A similar approach gives a simple alternative proof of coding theorems for finite state channels by Yang-Kavcic-Tatikonda, Chen-Berger, and Permuter-Weissman-Goldsmith.
When parenting fails: alexithymia and attachment states of mind in mothers of female patients with eating disorders

Introduction: In recent years alexithymia and attachment theory have been recognized as two parallel research lines trying to improve the information on the development and maintenance of eating disorders (EDs). However, no research has analyzed these constructs among patients’ families. In this study we compared alexithymia and attachment in mothers of patients with EDs and a control group. Further, we hypothesized that mothers of daughters with EDs with insecure and unresolved states of mind will reported high levels of alexithymia. Lastly, we explored the daughters’ evaluations of maternal alexithymia. Methods: 45 mothers of ED women and 48 mothers of healthy controls (N = 93) matched for age and socio-demographic variables were administered by the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 (TAS-20) (S), while two sub-groups of “ED” mothers (n = 20) and “non-ED” ones (n = 22) were assessed by the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI). Moreover, the Observer Alexithymia Scale (OAS) was administered to the daughters for evaluating maternal alexithymia. Results: Regarding alexithymia, no differences were found between ED and non-ED mothers according to the TAS-20, while ED mothers showed more unresolved AAI classifications than non-ED mothers. No correlations were found between the TAS-20 and the AAI. Lastly, ED mothers were evaluated more alexithymic by their daughters with the OAS than those in the control group, and their alexithymic traits were significantly correlated with dismissing states of mind (idealization and lack of memory) in the AAIs. Discussion: Our results highlighted an interesting discrepancy among mothers with ED daughters between the low level of alexithymia provided by their self-reports and the high level of alexithymia observed by their daughters, although the OAS showed severe methodological limitations. Maternal attachment states of mind characterized by the lack of resolution of past losses could be connected to a confusing and incoherent quality of parenting.
High Nutrient Transport and Cycling Potential Revealed in the Microbial Metagenome of Australian Sea Lion (Neophoca cinerea) Faeces

Metagenomic analysis was used to examine the taxonomic diversity and metabolic potential of an Australian sea lion (Neophoca cinerea) gut microbiome. Bacteria comprised 98% of classifiable sequences and of these matches to Firmicutes (80%) were dominant, with Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria representing 8% and 2% of matches respectively. The relative proportion of Firmicutes (80%) to Bacteriodetes (2%) is similar to that in previous studies of obese humans and obese mice, suggesting the gut microbiome may confer a predisposition towards the excess body fat that is needed for thermoregulation within the cold oceanic habitats foraged by Australian sea lions. Core metabolic functions, including carbohydrate utilisation (14%), protein metabolism (9%) and DNA metabolism (7%) dominated the metagenome, but in comparison to human and fish gut microbiomes there was a significantly higher proportion of genes involved in phosphorus metabolism (2.4%) and iron scavenging mechanisms (1%). When sea lions defecate at sea, the relatively high nutrient metabolism potential of bacteria in their faeces may accelerate the dissolution of nutrients from faecal particles, enhancing their persistence in the euphotic zone where they are available to stimulate marine production.
A characterization of flnite sets that tile the integers

We say that a flnite set of integers A tiles Z by translations if Z can be written as a disjoint union of translates of A. Coven and Meyerowitz (J. Algebra 212 (1999), 161{174) found necessary and su‐cient conditions for A to tile Z if jAj has at most two distinct prime factors. The purpose of this paper is to extend their result to certain three-prime cases. Mathematics Subject Classiflcation: 11B75.
Distance function wavelets - Part III: "Exotic" transforms and series

Part III of the reports consists of various unconventional distance function wavelets (DFW). The dimension and the order of partial differential equation (PDE) are first used as a substitute of the scale parameter in the DFW transforms and series, especially with the space and time-space potential problems. It is noted that the recursive multiple reciprocity formulation is the DFW series. The Green second identity is used to avoid the singularity of the zero-order fundamental solution in creating the DFW series. The fundamental solutions of various composite PDEs are found very flexible and efficient to handle a borad range of problems. We also discuss the underlying connections between the crucial concepts of dimension, scale and the order of PDE through the analysis of dissipative acoustic wave propagation. The shape parameter of the potential problems is also employed as the "scale parameter" to create the non-orthogonal DFW. This paper also briefly discusses and conjectures the DFW correspondences of a variety of coordinate variable transforms and series. Practically important, the anisotropic and inhomogeneous DFW's are developed by using the geodesic distance variable. The DFW and the related basis functions are also used in making the kernel distance sigmoidal functions, which are potentially useful in the artificial neural network and machine learning. As or even worse than the preceding two reports, this study scarifies mathematical rigor and in turn unfetter imagination. Most results are intuitively obtained without rigorous analysis. Follow-up research is still under way. The paper is intended to inspire more research into this promising area.
Large n Analysis of Amplify-and-Forward MIMO Relay Channels With Correlated Rayleigh Fading

In this correspondence, the cumulants of the mutual information of the flat Rayleigh fading two-hop amplify-and-forward multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) relay channel under independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) Gaussian input vectors are derived in the large array limit. The analysis is based on the replica trick and covers both spatially independent and Kronecker correlated fading. Beamforming at all terminals is restricted to weight matrices that are independent of the channel realization and constant over time. Expressions for mean and variance of the mutual information are obtained. Their parameters are determined by a nonlinear equation system. All higher cumulants are shown to vanish as the number of antennas per terminal, n, grows to infinity. In conclusion, the distribution of the mutual information I becomes Gaussian in the large n limit. In this asymptotic regime, it is completely characterized by the expressions obtained for mean and variance of I, which are in Theta(n) and O(1), respectively. Comparisons with simulation results show that the asymptotic results serve as excellent approximations for systems with only few antennas at each terminal.
Guidelines for Epidemiologic Studies on Epilepsy

Epidemiologic research on epilepsy has been developed relatively recently. Several studies have been performed in industrialized as well as in developing countries. The published results are often discordant, even in simple descriptive studies, because of lack of agreement regarding the most basic concepts. Definitions of epilepsy, seizures, and independent variables often are not elaborated. The classifications of seizures (Commission, 198 1) and epileptic syndromes (Commission, 1989) proposed by the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) are either not used or are used incorrectly. Analysis of risk factors is also a source of confusion, and basic epidemiologic measures are frequently misstated. For these reasons, The Commission of Epidemiology and Prognosis, created in 1990 by President H. Meinardi, decided to give priority to elaboration of a set of guidelines for future epidemiologic research. The Commission met three times: once in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (September 1991) and, thanks to special grants from the Neuroepidemiology Branch, National lnstitutes of Health, twice in Bethesda, Maryland, U.S.A. (April and December 1992). The members of the Commission who participated were P. Jallon (Geneva, Switzerland), Chairman; A Hauser (New York, NY, U.S.A.); G. C. Roman (Bethesda, MD, U.S.A.); J.W. A.S. Sander (London, England); J . Manelis (Tel Aviv, Israel); M. Sillanpaa (Turku, Finland); B. 0. Osuntokun (Ibadan); and J. Overweg (Heemstede, The Netherlands). Consultants who contributed to the work of the Commission included P. Loiseau (Bordeaux, France); K. Nelson (Bethesda); J . Cereghino (Bethesda); R. Ottman (New York); S. Emery (Burlington, VT, U.S.A.); J. Sheller (Bethesda); S. Shinnar (New York). The proposed guidelines represent a consensus between epileptologists and epidemiologists. These guidelines are presented in four parts: (a) Definition of seizures and epilepsy, (b) seizure type classification, (c) risk factors; and (d) recommended measurement indexes. Three appendices have been developed to help define the different situations and risk factors. BASIC PRINCIPLES FOR EPIDEMIOLOGIC STUDIES OF EPILEPSY
Body movements affect Counting

Body movements affect Counting Luisa Lugli (l.lugli@unibo.it) Department of Philosophy and Communication Studies, University of Bologna,Via A. Gardino 23, 40122 Bologna, Italy Department of Communication and Economics, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, via Allegri 9, 42121 Reggio Emilia, Italy Giulia Baroni (giulia.baroni4@unibo.it) Department of Philosophy and Communication Studies, University of Bologna,Via A. Gardino 23, 40122 Bologna, Italy Filomena Anelli (filomena.anelli@unibo.it) Department of Philosophy and Communication Studies, University of Bologna,Via A. Gardino 23, 40122 Bologna, Italy Department of Education Sciences, University of Bologna,Via Filippo Re 6, 40126 Bologna, Italy Anna M. Borghi (annamaria.borghi@unibo.it) Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Viale Berti Pichat 5, 40127 Bologna, Italy Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council, Via S. Martino della Battaglia, 44 00185 Roma, Italy Roberto Nicoletti (roberto.nicoletti@unibo.it) Department of Philosophy and Communication Studies, University of Bologna,Via A. Gardino 23, 40122 Bologna, Italy
An Efficient Reduction of Ranking to Classification

This paper describes an efficient reduction of the learning problem of ranking to binary classification. The reduction is randomized and guarantees a pairwise misranking regret bounded by that of the binary classifier, improving on a recent result of Balcan et al. (2007) which ensures only twice that upper-bound. Moreover, our reduction applies to a broader class of ranking loss functions, admits a simple proof, and the expected time complexity of our algorithm in terms of number of calls to a classifier or preference function is also improved from Ω(n) to O(n log n). In addition, when the top k ranked elements only are required (k n), as in many applications in information extraction or search engine design, the time complexity of our algorithm can be further reduced toO(k log k+n). Our reduction and algorithm are thus practical for realistic applications where the number of points to rank exceeds several thousands. Much of our results also extend beyond the bipartite case previously studied. To further complement them, we also derive lower bounds for any deterministic reduction of ranking to binary classification, proving that randomization is necessary to achieve our reduction guarantees.
Stacking Classifiers for Anti-Spam Filtering of E-Mail

We evaluate empirically a scheme for combining classifiers, known as stacked generalization, in the context of anti-spam filtering, a novel cost-sensitive application of text categorization. Unsolicited commercial e- mail, or "spam", floods mailboxes, causing frustration, wasting bandwidth, and exposing minors to unsuitable content. Using a public corpus, we show that stacking can improve the efficiency of automatically induced anti-spam filters, and that such filters can be used in real- life applications.
Performance of Hot Mix Asphalt Concrete Produced with Coarse Recycled Concrete Aggregate

AbstractThis paper evaluates the replacement of natural aggregate coarse fraction for recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) in hot mix asphalt (HMA) concrete production, an area in which studies are recent and scarce. Crushed stone coarse aggregates (CSCA) were replaced by RCA with a 30 MPa compressive strength in the following percentages: 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100%, and mixed with asphalt cement (AC) 50-70. Volumetric and mechanical properties resulting from the Marshall mix design method, along with permanent deformation and durability by the moisture-induced damage test (Lottman), were analyzed. The results indicate that, although RCA shows higher absorption, higher Los Angeles abrasion, and lower density than the crushed stone aggregates, the mixtures showed satisfactory results for use as an asphalt concrete surface layer on low-volume roads. Wheel tracking tests presented permanent deformations ranging between 4.4 and 9.3%. It was also perceived as an adhesiveness improvement in the RCA mixture. The resul.
Quiescent crystallization of natural fibers-polypropylene composites

The effect of natural fibers (vetiver grass and rossells) on quiescent crystallization of polypropylene (PP) composites was analyzed in this study. Also, equilib- rium melting temperature (T 0 ) of the composites was eluci- dated. Natural fiber-PP composites showed lower T 0 when compared to neat PP. Thermal analysis was performed via differential scanning calorimeter to study the crystallization kinetics. Natural fiber-PP composites exhibited higher rate of crystallization than that of neat PP. Furthermore, spheru- litic growth rate and transcrystallinity of the composites were investigated under a polarized light optical micro- scope. It was found that the growth rates of the composites were lower than that of neat PP. The spherulitic growth rates combined with the crystallization rates were used to calculate number of effective nuclei. It was shown that the number of effective nuclei of the composites was higher than that of neat PP. This suggested that natural fibers could act as a nucleating agent in the composite. 2007
Normative Influences on Network Structure in the Evolution of the Children’s Rights NGO Network, 1977-2004

This study examines the impact of legitimacy on the dynamics of interorganizational networks within the nongovernmental organizations’ children’s rights community. The 27-year period of analysis included a critical community event: the ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). Building on theories of organizational evolution, hypotheses proposed that (1) ratification of the UNCRC served to codify and more broadly communicate the legitimate norms of the community, and (2) dissemination of normative information made it easier (a) for less experienced organizations to form and maintain partnerships, and (b) for organizations to form partnerships without reference to shared third-party contacts or dominant organizations. Data analysis via a longitudinal network model supported the hypotheses. Further investigation via an event history analysis suggested that these effects were largely confined to links among organizations in the children’s rights community and not to links made by these organizations to more general others.
Face Experience and the Attentional Bias for Fearful Expressions in 6- and 9-Month-Old Infants

Infants demonstrate an attentional bias toward fearful facial expressions that emerges in the first year of life. The current study investigated whether this attentional bias is influenced by experience with particular face types. Six-month-old (n = 33) and 9-month-old (n = 31) Caucasian infants' spontaneous preference for fearful facial expressions when expressed by own-race (Caucasian) or other-race (East Asian) faces was examined. Six-month-old infants showed a preference for fearful expressions when expressed by own-race faces, but not when expressed by other-race faces. Nine-month-old infants showed a preference for fearful expressions when expressed by both own-race faces and other-race faces. These results suggest that how infants deploy their attention to different emotional expressions is shaped by experience: Attentional biases might initially be restricted to faces with which infants have the most experience, and later be extended to faces with which they have less experience.
Partial-Observation Stochastic Games: How to Win When Belief Fails

We consider two-player stochastic games played on finite graphs with reachability objectives where the first player tries to ensure a target state to be visited almost-surely (i.e., with probability 1), or positively (i.e., with positive probability), no matter the strategy of the second player. We classify such games according to the information and the power of randomization available to the players. On the basis of information, the game can be one-sided with either (a) player 1, or (b) player 2 having partial observation (and the other player has perfect observation), or two-sided with (c) both players having partial observation. On the basis of randomization, the players (a) may not be allowed to use randomization (pure strategies), or (b) may choose a probability distribution over actions but the actual random choice is external and not visible to the player (actions invisible), or (c) may use full randomization. Our main results for pure strategies are as follows. (1) For one-sided games with player 1 having partial observation we show that (in contrast to full randomized strategies) belief-based (subset-construction based) strategies are not sufficient, and we present an exponential upper bound on memory both for almost-sure and positive winning strategies; we show that the problem of deciding the existence of almost-sure and positive winning strategies for player 1 is EXPTIME-complete. (2) For one-sided games with player 2 having partial observation we show that non-elementary memory is both necessary and sufficient for both almost-sure and positive winning strategies. (3) We show that for the general (two-sided) case finite-memory strategies are sufficient for both positive and almost-sure winning, and at least non-elementary memory is required. We establish the equivalence of the almost-sure winning problems for pure strategies and for randomized strategies with actions invisible. Our equivalence result exhibits serious flaws in previous results of the literature: we show a non-elementary memory lower bound for almost-sure winning whereas an exponential upper bound was previously claimed.