Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Computational analysis of distributive mixing

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Aversion to nitrogen and carbon dioxide mixtures for stunning pigs

Inhalation of concentrations greater than 30% of carbon dioxide (CO2) by volume in atmospheric air causes aversion in pigs. The objective of this study was to assess, using aversion learning techniques and behavioural studies, the aversion to three alternative gas mixtures of nitrogen (N2) and CO2: 70% N2 and 30% CO2 (70N30C), 80% N2 and 20% CO2 (80N20C) and 85% N2 and 15% CO2 (85N15C). The experiment consisted of two trials of three groups of ten pigs each. Pigs were placed individually at the starting point of the test facility and allowed to enter the crate of a dip-lift stunning system during one control session with atmospheric air and three treatment sessions with one of the gas treatments in each group. When the pit contained any of the three gas mixtures, the time taken to cross the raceway and enter the crate did not increase compared to the control session. However, when exposed to the gas mixtures, the majority (85.80%) of pigs performed attempted retreats in the crate, 22.22% exhibited escape attempts, and 7.91% vocalised, without differences between gas mixtures. The percentage of pigs gasping was higher when exposed to 70N30C compared to 80N20C and 85N15C. The results suggest that pigs show signs of aversion to the inhalation of 15 to 30% CO2 in nitrogen atmosphere compared to atmospheric air but the aversion response did not increase in consecutive sessions.
Binding of pregnancy‐specific glycoprotein 17 to CD9 on macrophages induces secretion of IL‐10, IL‐6, PGE2, and TGF‐β1

Pregnancy‐specific glycoproteins (PSGs) are a family of secreted proteins produced by the placenta, which are believed to have a critical role in pregnancy success. Treatment of monocytes with three members of the human PSGs induces interleukin (IL)‐10, IL‐6, and transforming growth factor‐β1 (TGF‐β1) secretion. To determine whether human and murine PSGs have similar functions and use the same receptor, we treated wild‐type and CD9‐deficient macrophages with murine PSG17N and human PSG1 and ‐11. Our data show that murine PSG17N induced secretion of IL‐10, IL‐6, prostaglandin E2, and TGF‐β1 and that CD9 expression is required for the observed induction of cytokines. Therefore, the ability of PSG17 to induce anti‐inflammatory cytokines parallels that of members of the human PSG family, albeit human and murine PSGs use different receptors, as CD9‐deficient and wild‐type macrophages responded equally to human PSGs. We then proceeded to examine the signaling mechanisms responsible for the CD9‐mediated response to PSG17. Inhibition of cyclooxygenase 2 significantly reduced the PSG17N‐mediated increase in IL‐10 and IL‐6. Further characterization of the response to PSG17 indicated that cyclic adenosine monophosphate‐dependent protein kinase A (PKA) is involved in the up‐regulation of IL‐10 and IL‐6, and it is not required for the induction of TGF‐β1. Conversely, treatment of macrophages with a PKC inhibitor reduced the PSG17‐mediated induction of TGF‐β1, IL‐6, and IL‐10 significantly. The induction of anti‐inflammatory cytokines by various PSGs supports the hypothesis that these glycoproteins have an essential role in the regulation of the maternal immune response in species with hemochorial placentation.
Profile of guanfacine extended release and its potential in the treatment of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder

The α2-adrenergic receptor agonist guanfacine, in its extended-release formulation (GXR), is the most recent nonstimulant medication approved in several countries for the treatment of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as monotherapy and as adjunctive pharmacotherapy to stimulants in children and adolescents. The present paper aims to review comprehensively and critically the pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic characteristics and the published evidence on the efficacy and safety profile of GXR in the treatment of ADHD. A comprehensive search of relevant databases (PubMed, Embase, and PsycInfo) was conducted to identify studies published in peer-reviewed journals until January 15, 2015. Though the precise mechanism of action of guanfacine in the treatment of ADHD is not fully understood, it is thought to act directly by enhancing noradrenaline functioning via α2A-adrenoceptors in the prefrontal cortex. Weight-adjusted doses should be used, with a dosing regime on a milligram per kilogram basis, starting at doses in the range 0.05–0.08 mg/kg/day, up to 0.12 mg/kg/day. As evidenced in short-term randomized controlled trials and in long-term open-label extension studies, GXR has been shown to be effective as monotherapy in the treatment of ADHD. Furthermore, GXR has also been found to be effective as adjunctive therapy to stimulant medications in patients with suboptimal responses to stimulants. Many of the adverse reactions associated with GXR, particularly sedation-related effects, were dose-related, transient, mild to moderate in severity, and did not interfere with attention or overall efficacy. There are no reports of serious cardiovascular adverse events associated with GXR alone or in combination with psychostimulants.
Elevated Levels of Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 3β in Mouse Hepatocytes Influence Expression of Genes Involved in Bile Acid and Glucose Homeostasis

ABSTRACT The winged helix transcription factor, hepatocyte nuclear factor-3β (HNF-3β), mediates the hepatocyte-specific transcription of numerous genes important for liver function. However, the in vivo role of HNF-3β in regulating these genes remains unknown because homozygous null HNF3β mouse embryos die in utero prior to liver formation. In order to examine the regulatory function of HNF-3β, we created transgenic mice in which the −3-kb transthyretin promoter functions to increase hepatocyte expression of the rat HNF-3β protein. Postnatal transgenic mice exhibit growth retardation, depletion of hepatocyte glycogen storage, and elevated levels of bile acids in serum. The retarded growth phenotype is likely due to a 20-fold increase in hepatic expression of insulin-like growth factor binding protein 1 (IGFBP-1), which results in elevated levels in serum of IGFBP-1 and limits the biological availability of IGFs required for postnatal growth. The defects in glycogen storage and serum bile acids coincide with diminished postnatal expression of hepatocyte genes involved in gluconeogenesis (phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase and glycogen synthase) and sinusoidal bile acid uptake (Ntcp), respectively. These changes in gene transcription may result from the disruptive effect of HNF-3β on the hepatic expression of the endogenous mouse HNF-3α,-3β, -3γ, and -6 transcription factors. Furthermore, adult transgenic livers lack expression of the canalicular phospholipid transporter, mdr2, which is consistent with ultrastructure evidence of damage to transgenic hepatocytes and bile canaliculi. These transgenic studies represent the first in vivo demonstration that the HNF-3β transcriptional network regulates expression of hepatocyte-specific genes required for bile acid and glucose homeostasis, as well as postnatal growth.
QuantMiner: A Genetic Algorithm for Mining Quantitative Association Rules

In this paper, we propose QUANTMINER, a mining quantitative association rules system. This system is based on a genetic algorithm that dynamically discovers "good" intervals in association rules by optimizing both the support and the confidence. The experiments on real and artificial databases have shown the usefulness of QUANTMINER as an interactive data mining tool.
Composition and Applications of Aloe vera Leaf Gel

Many of the health benefits associated with Aloe vera have been attributed to the polysaccharides contained in the gel of the leaves. These biological activities include promotion of wound healing, antifungal activity, hypoglycemic or antidiabetic effects anti-inflammatory, anticancer, immunomodulatory and gastroprotective properties. While the known biological activities of A. vera will be briefly discussed, it is the aim of this review to further highlight recently discovered effects and applications of the leaf gel. These effects include the potential of whole leaf or inner fillet gel liquid preparations of A. vera to enhance the intestinal absorption and bioavailability of co-administered compounds as well as enhancement of skin permeation. In addition, important pharmaceutical applications such as the use of the dried A. vera gel powder as an excipient in sustained release pharmaceutical dosage forms will be outlined.
Association between genetically elevated levels of inflammatory biomarkers and risk of schizophrenia: a two-sample Mendelian randomisation study

Background Positive associations between inflammatory biomarkers and risk of psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia, have been reported in observational studies. However, conventional observational studies are prone to bias such as reverse causation and residual confounding. Methods In this study, we used summary data to evaluate the association of genetically elevated C reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) and soluble interleukin-6 receptor (IL-6R) levels with schizophrenia in a two-sample Mendelian randomisation design. Results The pooled odds ratio estimate using 18 CRP genetic instruments was 0.90 (95% CI: 0.84; 0.97) per two-fold increment in CRP levels; consistent results were obtained using different Mendelian randomisation methods and a more conservative set of instruments. The odds ratio for soluble IL-6R was 1.06 (95% CI: 1.01; 1.12) per two-fold increment. Estimates for IL-1Ra were inconsistent among instruments and pooled estimates were imprecise and centred on the null. Conclusion Under Mendelian randomisation assumptions, our findings suggest a protective causal effect of CRP and a risk-increasing causal effect of soluble IL-6R (potentially mediated at least in part by CRP) on schizophrenia risk.
Manipulation action tree bank: A knowledge resource for humanoids

Our premise is that actions of manipulation are represented at multiple levels of abstraction. At the high level a grammatical structure represents symbolic information (objects, actions, tools, body parts) and their interaction in a temporal sequence, and at lower levels the symbolic quantities are grounded in perception. In this paper we create symbolic high-level representations in the form of manipulation action tree banks, which are parsed from annotated action corpora. A context free grammar provides the grammatical description for the creation of the semantic trees. Experiments conducted on the tree banks show that they allow to 1) generate so-called visual semantic graphs (VSGs), 2) compare the semantic distance between steps of activities and 3) discover the underlying semantic space of an activity. We believe that tree banks are an effective and practical way to organize semantic structures of manipulation actions for humanoids applications. They could be used as basis for 1) automatic manipulation action understanding and execution and 2) reasoning and prediction during both observation and execution. The knowledge resource follows the widely used Penn Tree Bank format.
Fibre Reinforced Cementitious Composites

1. Introduction Part I: Behaviour of Fibre Reinforced Cementitious Materials 2. Structure of Fibre Reinforced Cementitious Materials 3. Fibre-Cement Interactions: Stress Transfer, Bond and Pull-Out 4. Mechanics of Fibre Reinforced Cementitious Composites 5. Long Term Performance 6. Test Methods Part II: Cementitious Composites with Different Fibres 7. Steel Fibres 8. Glass Fibres 9. Asbestos Fibres 10. Synthetic Fibres 11. Natural Fibres 12. High Performance Systems 13. Continuous Reinforcement 14. Applications of Fibre Reinforced Concrete
MAGE-A 3 is highly expressed in a subset of colorectal cancer patients

1Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery, Department of Surgery, St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center, New York, NY 10019, USA 2Ludwig Collaborative Laboratory for Cancer Biology and Therapy, Department of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA 3Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA 4Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, New York Branch of Human Cancer Immunology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA 5Section of Colon and Rectal Surgery, Department of Surgery, New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA December 2012) Vol. 12, p. 16 ichard L. Whelan
Prevalence of Cryptosporidia, Eimeria, Giardia, and Strongyloides in pre-weaned calves on smallholder dairy farms in Mukurwe-ini district, Kenya

Aim: Gastrointestinal diseases are among the leading causes of calf morbidity and mortality in Kenya and elsewhere. This study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of Cryptosporidia, Eimeria, Giardia, and Strongyloides in calves on smallholder dairy farms (SDF) in Mukurwe-ini District, Nyeri County, Kenya. These infections have been associated with economic losses by decreased growth rates, decreased productivity, and increased susceptibility to other diseases. Materials and Methods: An observational study was conducted on 109 farms in Mukurwe-ini District, Nyeri County, Kenya, where 220 calf fecal samples (each calf at 4 and 6 weeks of age) from 110 calves (1 set of twins) were collected and analyzed for Cryptosporidia, Eimeria, Giardia, and helminth parasites. Results: Eimeria oocysts, Cryptosporidia oocysts, and Strongyloides eggs were detected in the fecal samples examined, but no Giardia cysts were found. The overall period prevalence of Eimeria, Cryptosporidia, and Strongyloides was 42.7% (47/110), 13.6% (15/110), and 5.4% (6/110), respectively. The prevalence at 4 weeks of age for Eimeria, Cryptosporidia, and Strongyloides was 30.0% (33/110), 8.2% (9/110), and 3.7% (4/109), respectively, while the prevalence at 6 weeks of age was 20.2% (22/109), 6.5% (7/107), and 2.7% (3/110), respectively. There was, however, no significant difference in the prevalence at 4 and 6 weeks (p>0.05). Conclusion: Findings from this study show that Eimeria, Cryptosporidia, and Strongyloides, are prevalent in the study area and indicate the need to adopt optimal management practices to control infections in calves.
Effects of Glutamate Receptor Agonists on the P13 Auditory Evoked Potential and Startle Response in the Rat

The P13 potential is the rodent equivalent of the P50 potential, which is an evoked response recorded at the vertex (Vx) 50 ms following an auditory stimulus in humans. Both the P13 and P50 potentials are only present during waking and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, and are considered to be measures of level of arousal. The source of the P13 and P50 potentials appears to be the pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN), a brainstem nucleus with indirect ascending projections to the cortex through the intralaminar thalamus, mediating arousal, and descending inhibitory projections to the caudal pontine reticular formation (CPRF), which mediates the auditory startle response (SR). We tested the hypothesis that intracranial microinjection (ICM) of glutamate (GLU) or GLU receptor agonists will increase the activity of PPN neurons, resulting in an increased P13 potential response, and decreased SR due to inhibitory projections from the PPN to the CPRF, in freely moving animals. Cannulae were inserted into the PPN to inject neuroactive agents, screws were inserted into the Vx in order to record the P13 potential, and electrodes inserted into the dorsal nuchal muscle to record electromyograms and SR amplitude. Our results showed that ICM of GLU into the PPN dose-dependently increased the amplitude of the P13 potential and decreased the amplitude of the SR. Similarly, ICM of N-methyl-d-aspartic acid or kainate into the PPN increased the amplitude of the P13 potential. These findings indicate that glutamatergic input to the PPN plays a role in arousal control in vivo, and changes in glutamatergic input, or excitability of PPN neurons, could be implicated in a number of neuropsychiatric disorders with the common symptoms of hyperarousal and REM sleep dysregulation.
No . 08-02 How Successful Have Trade Unions Been ? : A Utility-Based Indicator of Union Well-Being

Can conventional economic analysis help in defining and measuring the success of labor unions? In this paper, a general indicator of union welfare is proposed and particular expressions for the wage and employment objectives of unions are rearranged to derive measures of union success or welfare. These indicators combine two measures: union density and the relative union-nonunion wage gap. The indicators are applied to describe the movement of union welfare in the United States over the past eighty years, the differences in union success among groups of U.S. workers, and the variation in union well-being across countries. The results suggest that U.S. unions’ success peaked in the 1950s and 1960s; they have tended to benefit Black workers especially Black men, more than other groups; and, in recent decades, a very low unionization rate has contributed to make them less successful, overall, than unions in other countries with similar labor markets.
The impact of previous HBV infection on the course of chronic hepatitis C

OBJECTIVE:Individuals with chronic hepatitis C who are anti-HBc positive may carry an occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection that can affect their response to antiviral therapy.METHODS:In this study the prevalence of anti-HBc and HBV–DNA positivity was assessed in the serum and liver of 285 HCV–RNA-positive subjects treated with interferon-α at 5 mU/day for 12 months. The response to interferon (normal ALT and undetectable serum HCV–RNA) was evaluated at three different endpoints: 1) after 6 months; 2) at the end of treatment; and 3) 6 months after interferon discontinuation.RESULTS:Ninety individuals were anti-HBc positive (32%), 2 of these were HBV–DNA positive in serum and 7 in liver (8%). None of the anti-HBc-negative individuals was HBV–DNA positive in serum or liver. The prevalence of cirrhosis was greater in the anti-HBc-positive group than in the anti-HBc-negative group (p < 0.05), whereas HCV–RNA levels were lower. Anti-HBc-positive individuals had a lower response rate to interferon at 6 months and at the end of treatment as compared to anti-HBc-negative subjects (respectively 42% vs 66%, p < 0.01; and 32% vs 57%, p < 0.01). No difference between the two groups in terms of sustained response was detected 6 months after interferon discontinuation.CONCLUSIONS:The prevalence of anti-HBc is high among HCV-positive individuals. HCV-positive individuals who are anti-HBc positive have: 1) a higher prevalence of cirrhosis; 2) lower HCV–RNA levels; and 3) an impaired ability to respond to interferon treatment.
Successive convex approximation for simultaneous linear TX/RX design in MIMO BC

Weighted sum rate maximizing beamformer design is considered for MIMO broadcast channel. As opposed to the conventional alternating beamformer design, the transmit and receive beamformers are jointly optimized using successive semidefinite programming. The weighted sum rate maximization is approached via the corresponding mean-squared error minimization problem, which is further approximated to formulate a sequence of convex subproblems. The algorithm is shown to provide a monotonic improvement of the system performance objective in each iteration. Furthermore, the algorithm is shown to have an improved rate of convergence when compared to recently published weighted mean-squared error minimization algorithms with alternating transceiver design.
Competition and subsidies in the deregulated US local telephone industry

type="main"> The 1996 Telecommunications Act opened the monopolistic US local telephone industry to new entrants. However, substantial entry costs have prevented some markets from becoming competitive. We study various subsidy policies designed to encourage entry. We estimate a dynamic entry game using data on potential and actual entrants, allowing for heterogeneous option values of waiting. We find that subsidies to smaller markets are more cost effective in reducing monopoly markets, but subsidies to only lower-cost firms are less cost effective than a nondiscriminatory policy. Subsidies in only early periods reduce the option value of waiting and accelerate the arrival of competition.
A digital forensic model for providing better data provenance in the cloud

The cloud has made digital forensic investigations exceedingly difficult due to the fact that data may be spread over an ever-changing set of hosts and data centres. The normal search and seizure approach that digital forensic investigators tend to follow does not scale well in the cloud because it is difficult to identify the physical devices that data resides on. In addition, the location of these devices is often unknown or unreachable. A solution to identifying the physical device can be found in data provenance. Similar to the tags included in an email header, indicating where the email originated, a tag added to data, as it is passed on by nodes in the cloud, identifies where the data came from. If such a trace can be provided for data in the cloud it may ease the investigating process by indicating where the data can be found. In this research the authors propose a model that aims to identify the physical location of data, both where it originated and where it has been as it passes through the cloud. This is done through the use of data provenance. The data provenance records will provide digital investigators with a clear record of where the data has been and where it can be found in the cloud.
Structural Anisotropy, Failure Criterion, and Shear Strength of Woven Fabrics

For structural and load-carrying applications, more detailed information about woven fabrics, which are increasingly used as reinforcements for composites, is desirable for design purposes. This paper investigates the issues related to woven fabric strength. First, the direction dependence or anisotropy of tensile strength as well as the breaking strain and initial modulus of the fabrics are examined experimentally. A harmonic expression is then adopted to approximate the experimental results so that this tensile strength anisotropy can be expressed analytically. Moreover, the Tsai-Wu failure cri terion is used, assuming it is valid for woven fabrics, at least at the first quadrant where failure stresses are all tensile. Unknown coefficients in the failure criterion are deter mined based on the experimental results. Fabric shear strength is then predicted based on the measured uniaxial tensile strengths of the fabric at the principal and off-axial directions. Influences of various directions of the off-axial tensile test on predictions of fabric shear strength are also studied.