Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The effects of exclusive versus non-exclusive breastfeeding on specific infant morbidities in Conakry

Background This study examines the effect of exclusive versus non-exclusive breastfeeding on specific infant morbidities from birth to nine months, in Conakry (Guinea). Method A cross-sectional study was conducted on 1,167 mother-infant pairs who visited one of 20 immunization centres in Conakry for vaccination between the 45th and 270th days of the child’s life. Two data sources were used: the infant health book and an orally administered questionnaire completed with the mother. Data analyses included univariate cross-tabulations and multivariate logistic regression models to estimate the effect of breastfeeding on infant morbidity. Results Exclusive breastfeeding decreased with the infant’s age. At six months of age, the proportion of infants who were exclusively breastfed was only 15.5%. After adjusting for the infant’s age, and the interaction between the type of breastfeeding and the infant’s age, exclusive breastfeeding significantly protected the infants against many of the studied morbidities (OR: 0.28, CI: 0.15–0.51) and specifically against diarrhoea (OR: 0.38; 95% CI: 0.17 – 0.86), respiratory infections (OR: 0.27; 95% CI: 0.14 – 0.50), and low growth rate (OR: 0.11; 95% CI: 0.02 – 0.46), but not for otitis, urinary infection, or meningitis. Conclusion This investigation confirmed the protective effects of exclusive breastfeeding on some specific infant’s morbidities during the first nine months of life. The results of this study are of great importance for the development of an information program designed to encourage the exclusive breastfeeding among the mothers of Conakry, Guinea.
A new repeat-masking method enables specific detection of homologous sequences

Biological sequences are often analyzed by detecting homologous regions between them. Homology search is confounded by simple repeats, which give rise to strong similarities that are not homologies. Standard repeat-masking methods fail to eliminate this problem, and they are especially ill-suited to AT-rich DNA such as malaria and slime-mould genomes. We present a new repeat-masking method, tantan, which is motivated by the mechanisms that create simple repeats. This method thoroughly eliminates spurious homology predictions for DNA–DNA, protein–protein and DNA–protein comparisons. Moreover, it enables accurate homology search for non-coding DNA with extreme A + T composition.
Limits of highly oscillatory controls and the approximation of general paths by admissible trajectories

The authors describe sufficient conditions, extending earlier work by J. Kurzweil and J. Jarnik (Results in Mathematics, vol.14, p.125-137, (1988)), for a sequence of inputs to be such that, for every m-tuple of smooth vector fields, the trajectories of the time derivative of x(t) converge to those of an extended system, where the new vector fields are Lie brackets of the original m-tuples. Using these conditions, the inverse problem is solved, wherein given a trajectory gamma of the extended system, one must find trajectories of the original system that converge to gamma . This is done by means of a universal construction that only involves knowledge of the coefficients of the extended system. These results can be applied to solve the problem of approximate tracking for a controllable system without drift. <<ETX>>
Network-Based Marketing: Identifying Likely Adopters Via Consumer Networks

Network-based marketing refers to a collection of marketing techniques that take advantage of links between consumers to increase sales. We concentrate on the consumer networks formed using direct interactions (e.g., communications) between consumers. We survey the diverse literature on such marketing with an emphasis on the statistical methods used and the data to which these methods have been applied. We also provide a discussion of challenges and opportunities for this burgeoning research topic. Our survey highlights a gap in the literature. Because of inadequate data, prior studies have not been able to provide direct, statistical support for the hypothesis that network linkage can directly affect product/service adoption. Using a new data set that represents the adoption of a new telecommunications service, we show very strong support for the hypothesis. Specifically, we show three main results: (1) “Network neighbors”—those consumers linked to a prior customer—adopt the service at a rate 3–5 times greater than baseline groups selected by the best practices of the firm’s marketing team. In addition, analyzing the network allows the firm to acquire new customers who otherwise would have fallen through the cracks, because they would not have been identified based on traditional attributes. (2) Statistical models, built with a very large amount of geographic, demographic and prior purchase data, are significantly and substantially improved by including network information. (3) More detailed network information allows the ranking of the network neighbors so as to permit the selection of small sets of individuals with very high probabilities of adoption.
miRNA Regulons Associated with Synaptic Function

Differential RNA localization and local protein synthesis regulate synapse function and plasticity in neurons. MicroRNAs are a conserved class of regulatory RNAs that control mRNA stability and translation in tissues. They are abundant in the brain but the extent into which they are involved in synaptic mRNA regulation is poorly known. Herein, a computational analysis of the coding and 3′UTR regions of 242 presynaptic and 304 postsynaptic proteins revealed that 91% of them are predicted to be microRNA targets. Analysis of the longest 3′UTR isoform of synaptic transcripts showed that presynaptic mRNAs have significantly longer 3′UTR than control and postsynaptic mRNAs. In contrast, the shortest 3′UTR isoform of postsynaptic mRNAs is significantly shorter than control and presynaptic mRNAs, indicating they avert microRNA regulation under specific conditions. Examination of microRNA binding site density of synaptic 3′UTRs revealed that they are twice as dense as the rest of protein-coding transcripts and that approximately 50% of synaptic transcripts are predicted to have more than five different microRNA sites. An interaction map exploring the association of microRNAs and their targets revealed that a small set of ten microRNAs is predicted to regulate 77% and 80% of presynaptic and postsynaptic transcripts, respectively. Intriguingly, many of these microRNAs have yet to be identified outside primate mammals, implicating them in cognition differences observed between high-level primates and non-primate mammals. Importantly, the identified miRNAs have been previously associated with psychotic disorders that are characterized by neural circuitry dysfunction, such as schizophrenia. Finally, molecular dissection of their KEGG pathways showed enrichment for neuronal and synaptic processes. Adding on current knowledge, this investigation revealed the extent of miRNA regulation at the synapse and predicted critical microRNAs that would aid future research on the control of neuronal plasticity and etiology of psychiatric diseases.
Modeling of Zinc Bromide Energy Storage for Vehicular Applications

Energy storage devices such as lithium-ion and nickel-metal hydrate batteries and ultracapacitors have been considered for utilization in plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and HEVs to improve efficiency and performance and reduce gas mileage. In this paper, we analyze and model an advanced energy storage device, namely, zinc bromide, for vehicular applications. This system has high energy and power density, high efficiency, and long life. A series of tests has been conducted on the storage to create an electrical model of the system. The modeling results show that the open-circuit voltage of the battery is a direct function of the battery's state of charge (SOC). In addition, the battery internal resistance is also a function of SOC at constant temperature. A Kalman filtering technique is also designed to adjust the estimated SOC according to battery current.
P ERFORMANCE C OMPARISON OF T WO ON -D EMANDS R OUTING P ROTOCOLS FOR M OBILE A D - HOC N ETWORKS

Mobile Ad-hoc networks are the collection of mobile nodes connected by a wireless link, where each node acts as a router. Ad-hoc networks are characterized by a lack of infrastructure, and by a random and quickly changing network topology: thus the need for a robust dynamic routing protocol that can accommodate such an environment. In addition to this routing protocols face many challenges like short battery backup, limited processing capability. Two protocols AODV and DSR have compared in terms of number of routes selected, number of hop counts, number of RREQ packets and number of RREP packets. Simulation results shows that AODV compared with DSR reduces the number of hop count nodes, we will also see that AODV has less number of routes as compare to DSR, which helps AODV to be more efficient and less bulky. While comparing route request packets AODV is again better with good some of packets which made it more efficient in finding a new route and each time in replacing a stale link.
The Effects of Perceptual Priming on 4-Year-Olds' Haptic-to-Visual Cross-Modal Transfer

Four-year-old children often have difficulty visually recognizing objects that were previously experienced only haptically. This experiment attempts to improve their performance in these haptic-to-visual transfer tasks. Sixty-two 4-year-old children participated in priming trials in which they explored eight unfamiliar objects visually, haptically, or visually and haptically together. Subsequently, all children participated in the same haptic-to-visual cross-modal transfer task. In this task, children haptically explored the objects that were presented in the priming phase and then visually identified a match from among three test objects, each matching the object on only one dimension (shape, texture, or color). Children in all priming conditions predominantly made shape-based matches; however, the most shape-based matches were made in the Visual and Haptic condition. All kinds of priming provided the necessary memory traces upon which subsequent haptic exploration could build a strong enough representation to enable subsequent visual recognition. Haptic exploration patterns during the cross-modal transfer task are discussed and the detailed analyses provide a unique contribution to our understanding of the development of haptic exploratory procedures.
O2 Sensing in the Human Ductus Arteriosus: Regulation of Voltage-Gated K+ Channels in Smooth Muscle Cells by a Mitochondrial Redox Sensor

Abstract— Functional closure of the human ductus arteriosus (DA) is initiated within minutes of birth by O2 constriction. It occurs by an incompletely understood mechanism that is intrinsic to the DA smooth muscle cell (DASMC). We hypothesized that O2 alters the function of an O2 sensor (the mitochondrial electron transport chain, ETC) thereby increasing production of a diffusible redox-mediator (H2O2), thus triggering an effector mechanism (inhibition of DASMC voltage-gated K+ channels, Kv). O2 constriction was evaluated in 26 human DAs (12 female, aged 9±2 days) studied in their normal hypoxic state or after normoxic tissue culture. In fresh, hypoxic DAs, 4-aminopyridine (4-AP), a Kv inhibitor, and O2 cause similar constriction and K+ current inhibition (IK). Tissue culture for 72 hours, particularly in normoxia, causes ionic remodeling, characterized by decreased O2 and 4-AP constriction in DA rings and reduced O2- and 4-AP–sensitive IK in DASMCs. Remodeled DAMSCs are depolarized and express less O2-sensitive channels (including Kv2.1, Kv1.5, Kv9.3, Kv4.3, and BKCa). Kv2.1 adenoviral gene-transfer significantly reverses ionic remodeling, partially restoring both the electrophysiological and tone responses to 4-AP and O2. In fresh DASMCs, ETC inhibitors (rotenone and antimycin) mimic hypoxia, increasing IK and reversing constriction to O2, but not phenylephrine. O2 increases, whereas hypoxia and ETC inhibitors decrease H2O2 production by altering mitochondrial membrane potential (&Dgr;&PSgr;m). H2O2, like O2, inhibits IK and depolarizes DASMCs. We conclude that O2 controls human DA tone by modulating the function of the mitochondrial ETC thereby varying &Dgr;&PSgr;m and the production of H2O2, which regulates DASMC Kv channel activity and DA tone.
Simultaneous Prompting: A Review of the Literature

Published literature pertaining to the simultaneous prompting teaching procedure is reviewed. Purposes of this review are to (a) present an initial analysis of effectiveness of this emerging response prompting procedure, (b) discuss work that has been conducted to date, and (c) provide directions for future research. Data from all published investigations (18 articles) in which effectiveness of this procedure was reported are included in this review. Demographic, procedural, and outcome variables are summarized and examined. Simultaneous prompting was reported to be an effective teaching procedure in each investigation. Individuals with and without disabilities have been taught discrete and chained tasks with the procedure. Participants in investi- gations have included preschool, elementary, middle school, and high school students, as well as adults. High rates of procedural and dependent variable reliability data were reported across investigations. Additionally, positive measures of maintenance and generalization were reported in most investigations.
Bacterial secretome: the assembly manual and operating instructions (Review)

Bacterial protein secretion is a complex multi-stage reaction that is central to membrane and cell wall biosynthesis and essential for cell viability. An impressive array of experimental tools have been used to dissect this reaction into discreet sub-reactions. Synthesis of these data reveals a fascinating cascade of inter- and intra-molecular interactions that select, sort and target secretory polypeptides to the membrane and then spend metabolic energy to bias their vectorial movement across the membrane plane through a lipid-inaccessible proteinaceous environment. Transmembrane crossing is catalyzed by protein translocase, an astonishingly dynamic molecular machine. The unusual molecular features of the Sec pathway components allows a handful of proteins to catalyze the export of hundreds of secretory polypeptide substrates with astonishing fidelity. Knowledge of the molecular details of the secretion pathway allows us to rationally exploit these features in heterologous protein production biotechnologies and in the development of novel antibiotics.
Analysis of an Ordered, Comprehensive STM Mutant Library in Infectious Borrelia burgdorferi: Insights into the Genes Required for Mouse Infectivity

The identification of genes important in the pathogenesis of Lyme disease Borrelia has been hampered by exceedingly low transformation rates in low-passage, infectious organisms. Using the infectious, moderately transformable B. burgdorferi derivative 5A18NP1 and signature-tagged versions of the Himar1 transposon vector pGKT, we have constructed a defined transposon library for the efficient genome-wide investigation of genes required for wild-type pathogenesis, in vitro growth, physiology, morphology, and plasmid replication. To facilitate analysis, the insertion sites of 4,479 transposon mutants were determined by sequencing. The transposon insertions were widely distributed across the entire B. burgdorferi genome, with an average of 2.68 unique insertion sites per kb DNA. The 10 linear plasmids and 9 circular plasmids had insertions in 33 to 100 percent of their predicted genes. In contrast, only 35% of genes in the 910 kb linear chromosome had incapacitating insertions; therefore, the remaining 601 chromosomal genes may represent essential gene candidates. In initial signature-tagged mutagenesis (STM) analyses, 434 mutants were examined at multiple tissue sites for infectivity in mice using a semi-quantitative, Luminex-based DNA detection method. Examples of genes found to be important in mouse infectivity included those involved in motility, chemotaxis, the phosphoenolpyruvate phosphotransferase system, and other transporters, as well as putative plasmid maintenance genes. Availability of this ordered STM library and a high-throughput screening method is expected to lead to efficient assessment of the roles of B. burgdorferi genes in the infectious cycle and pathogenesis of Lyme disease.
A generalized proportionate variable step-size algorithm for fast changing acoustic environments

This paper proposes a generalized proportionate variable step-size algorithm based on affine projection. It controls the step size for each tap individually based on the gradient approximated by the difference between the current coefficient and an averaged filter coefficient with delay. This step-size control is specifically effective for tracking fast changing acoustic environments. It is shown that the P-NLMS family and the ES algorithm are special cases of the proposed algorithm in terms of step-size control. Simulation results in the context of echo cancellation in artificial and real environments demonstrate that this step-size control combined with the affine projection algorithm (APA) reduces the echo by up to 5 dB compared to the standard APA. The best tracking performance, without a priori knowledge on the acoustic environment, among the same family of algorithms is obtained.
Human microRNAs profiling in response to influenza A viruses (subtypes pH1N1, H3N2, and H5N1)

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play an important role in regulation of gene silencing and are involved in many cellular processes including inhibition of infected viral replication. This study investigated cellular miRNA expression profiles operating in response to influenza virus in early stage of infection which might be useful for understanding and control of viral infection. A549 cells were infected with different subtypes of influenza virus (pH1N1, H3N2 and H5N1). After 24 h post-infection, miRNAs were extracted and then used for DNA library construction. All DNA libraries with different indexes were pooled together with equal concentration, followed by high-throughput sequencing based on MiSeq platform. The miRNAs were identified and counted from sequencing data by using MiSeq reporter software. The miRNAs expressions were classified into up and downregulated miRNAs compared to those found in non-infected cells. Mostly, each subtype of influenza A virus triggered the upregulated responses in miRNA expression profiles. Hsa-miR-101, hsa-miR-193b, hsa-miR-23b, and hsa-miR-30e* were upregulated when infected with all three subtypes of influenza A virus. Target prediction results showed that virus infection can trigger genes in cellular process, metabolic process, developmental process and biological regulation. This study provided some insights into the cellular miRNA profiling in response to various subtypes of influenza A viruses in circulation and which have caused outbreaks in human population. The regulated miRNAs might be involved in virus–host interaction or host defense mechanism, which should be investigated for effective antiviral therapeutic interventions.
Postmitotic Specification of Drosophila Insulinergic Neurons from Pioneer Neurons

Insulin and related peptides play important and conserved functions in growth and metabolism. Although Drosophila has proved useful for the genetic analysis of insulin functions, little is known about the transcription factors and cell lineages involved in insulin production. Within the embryonic central nervous system, the MP2 neuroblast divides once to generate a dMP2 neuron that initially functions as a pioneer, guiding the axons of other later-born embryonic neurons. Later during development, dMP2 neurons in anterior segments undergo apoptosis but their posterior counterparts persist. We show here that surviving posterior dMP2 neurons no longer function in axonal scaffolding but differentiate into neuroendocrine cells that express insulin-like peptide 7 (Ilp7) and innervate the hindgut. We find that the postmitotic transition from pioneer to insulin-producing neuron is a multistep process requiring retrograde bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signalling and four transcription factors: Abdominal-B, Hb9, Fork Head, and Dimmed. These five inputs contribute in a partially overlapping manner to combinatorial codes for dMP2 apoptosis, survival, and insulinergic differentiation. Ectopic reconstitution of this code is sufficient to activate Ilp7 expression in other postmitotic neurons. These studies reveal striking similarities between the transcription factors regulating insulin expression in insect neurons and mammalian pancreatic β-cells.
Multiphysics Modeling of a Lorentz Force-Based Meander Coil Electromagnetic Acoustic Transducer via Steady-State and Transient Analyses

Electromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT) is a kind of non-contact ultrasonic transducer, and during its operation, no liquid coupling is required. Despite this advantage, EMAT has low transduction efficiency and its performance depends on the tested object, thus further research of its complex multiphysics transduction mechanism involving both electromagnetic and elastodynamic phenomena is paramount. In this paper, an approach to solve directly the underlying integro-differential equations involved in the eddy current model was proposed, for both steady-state and transient analyses. Skin effect and proximity effect were observed in a generalized multi-conductor electromagnetic model, both for the complete and incomplete equations. Time-varying distributions of the Lorentz force vector were solved from the static bias magnetic field and sinusoidal current density waveforms converted from the corresponding complex phasors of the frequency-domain solution for a meander coil EMAT. For a plate model without any defect and a plate model with a slot defect, the waveforms of displacement component at two points from transient analyses were recorded. The simulated traveling velocities of the wave packets were calculated to compare with the theoretical group velocities of S0 and mode-converted A0 modes of Lamb waves.
Telecommunications Entrepreneurial Orientation (TELEO): An Empirical Study Measuring the Significance of Entrepreneurial Orientation on Business Performance of Small-to-Medium Enterprises (SME) in the Telecommunications Industry

The purpose of this research was to study the significance of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) on business performance of small to medium enterprises (SME) in the telecommunications industry. This study utilized the EO scales with a web-based survey to question executives in the telecommunications industry. The test results with the variables pro-activeness and risk-taking did not show significance. No levels of innovativeness were significant for evaluating business performance. The results demonstrate evidence that testing for pro-activeness and risk taking may be an indicator for testing for entrepreneurial success for small to medium businesses in the telecommunications industry. The key findings suggest trends for utilizing EO scales for testing entrepreneurial ventures in the telecommunications industry. This research proves beneficial to industry practitioners, board members, and venture capitalists seeking tools for evaluating the success of telecommunications companies.
A Comparison of Criteria for Maximum Entropy/ Minimum Divergence Feature Selection

In this paper we study the gain, a naturally-arising statistic from the theory of MEMD modeling [2], as a figure of merit for selecting features for an MEMD language model. We compare the gain with two popular alternatives-empirical activation and mutual information-and argue that the gain is the preferred statistic, on the grounds that it directly measures a fea ture's contribution to improving upon the base modeL