Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Supplemental effects of dietary nucleotides on intestinal health and growth performance of newly weaned pigs.

Intestinal challenges upon weaning would increase the needs of nucleotides for enterocyte proliferation whereas de novo synthesis maybe insufficient. This study aimed to evaluate supplemental effects of dietary nucleotides on intestinal health and growth performance in newly weaned pigs. Fifty newly weaned pigs (19-d-old, 25 barrows and 25 gilts, 4.76 ± 0.42 kg BW) were individually housed and allotted to 5 treatments with increasing nucleotide supplementation (0, 50, 150, 250, and 500 mg/kg) based on a randomized complete block design with the initial BW and sex as blocks. Dietary nucleotides were provided from YT500 (Hinabiotech, Guangzhou, China). Pigs were fed for 21 d based on 2 phases (Phase 1: 11 d and Phase 2: 10 d) and experimental diets were formulated to meet or exceed nutrient requirements suggested by NRC (2012). Feed intake and BW were recorded. Titanium oxide (0.4%) was added as an indigestible marker from d 17. Plasma collected on d 18 was used to measure tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), Interleukin-6 (IL-6), and malondialdehyde (MDA). Pigs were euthanized on d 21 to collect tissues to evaluate TNF-α, IL-6, MDA, morphology, and crypt cell proliferation rate in the jejunum. Ileal digesta were collected to measure ileal nutrient digestibility. Data were analyzed using contrasts in the MIXED procedure of SAS. Nucleotide supplementation increased (P < 0.05) ADFI in phase 1. Nucleotide supplementation at 50 and 150 mg/kg increased (P < 0.05) ADG in Phase 1, whereas increased (P < 0.05) ADFI and tended to increase (P = 0.082) ADG in overall. Increasing nucleotide supplementation changed (quadratic, P < 0.05) villus height-crypt ratio (at 247 mg/kg) and decreased (linear, P < 0.05) crypt cell proliferation rate in the jejunum. Increasing nucleotide supplementation reduced (P < 0.05) jejunal IL-6 (at 50 and 150 mg/kg) and tended to change (quadratic, P = 0.074) plasma MDA (at 231 mg/kg). Nucleotide supplementation at 50 and 150 mg/kg increased (P < 0.05) ileal digestibility of energy and ether extract. In conclusion, nucleotide supplementation at a range of 50 to 250 mg/kg in the diets seems to be beneficial to newly weaned pigs by enhancing growth performance possibly due to reduced intestinal inflammation and oxidative stress as well as improved intestinal villi structure and energy digestibility.
Communication of students with ASD: A self-regulation of learning based
 intervention

Difficulties in communication/socialization skills represent one of the main barriers to the inclusion of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). As a target audience of the special education, students with ASD must attend the common classroom and can receive Specialized Educational Assistance (SEA) support during the after-school activity. This study investigated whether an intervention based on the self-regulation of learning in SEA contributes to the increase in communication of ASD students in this context and the classroom. An experimental multiple baseline design was used across three autistic participants. The results showed an increase in the frequency of non-verbal initiatives and the use of eye contact in response to the communication partners in the SEA. There was no generalization of these gains to the context of the common classroom. Implications and relevance of the results for the inclusion of students with ASD are discussed.
The Demand for Preventive Activities Among Older Adults and its Association With Medicare Expenditures

In recent years, certain health policy makers have emphasized the need for an increase in preventive services interventions as means to improve health outcomes and cut health care costs. Oftentimes, the debate around the purported benefits of prevention centers on the need to cut the costs of highly costly systems such as Medicare. However, little is known about the factors that might actually influence the demand for preventive services among older adults, neither do we know much about how the dynamic for the demand for prevention plays out among older adults within the context of a household. Moreover, there is little evidence to support the belief that all preventive activities necessarily translate in cost savings. This dissertation examines the theoretical and empirical factors that influence the demand for prevention at the individual and household level. It also analyzes the associations between a diverse set of preventive services and Medicare expenditures in older adults. Using a panel data set from the Health and Retirement study linked to Medicare claims data, I find evidence that while lifestyle prevention such as physical activity, non-smoking and normal weight status maintenance are negatively associated with Medicare expenditures at ages 65-69, clinical preventive activities such as flu shot, cholesterol screening, mammography, Pap smears test and prostate cancer screening have at best no effect on expenditures, at worst they are positively associated; yet these findings may be biased due to uncontrolled unobservables. Also, I find that education, risk aversion, and long term planning are significantly associated with a higher demand for all preventive services. Finally, I find large bargaining effects between household members whereby spouses initiate and terminate preventive activities together. This result leaves room for policy makers to take advantage of spillover effects in the design of interventions designed with the purpose of increasing the demand for prevention. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Managerial Science and Applied Economics First Advisor Mark Pauly Second Advisor Daniel Polsky Third Advisor Scott Harrington This dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn. edu/edissertations/281
Comparing Observation and Action Representations for Deep Reinforcement Learning in MicroRTS

This paper presents a preliminary study comparing different observation and action space representations for Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) in the context of Real-time Strategy (RTS) games. Specifically, we compare two representations: (1) a global representation where the observation represents the whole game state, and the RL agent needs to choose which unit to issue actions to, and which actions to execute; and (2) a local representation where the observation is represented from the point of view of an individual unit, and the RL agent picks actions for each unit independently. We evaluate these representations in $\mu$RTS showing that the local representation seems to outperform the global representation when training agents with the task of harvesting resources.
Searching for z > 6.5 Analogs Near the Peak of Cosmic Star Formation

Strong [O iii]λλ4959,5007 + Hβ emission appears to be typical in star-forming galaxies at z > 6.5. As likely contributors to cosmic reionization, these galaxies and the physical conditions within them are of great interest. At z > 6.5, where Lyα is greatly attenuated by the intergalactic medium, rest-UV metal emission lines provide an alternative measure of redshift and constraints on the physical properties of star-forming regions and massive stars. We present the first statistical sample of rest-UV line measurements in z ∼ 2 galaxies selected as analogs of those in the reionization era based on [O iii]λλ4959,5007 equivalent width (EW) or rest-frame U − B color. Our sample is drawn from the 3D-HST Survey and spans the redshift range . We find that the median Lyα and C iii]λλ1907,1909 EWs of our sample are significantly greater than those of z ∼ 2 UV-continuum-selected star-forming galaxies. Measurements from both individual and composite spectra indicate a monotonic, positive correlation between C iii] and [O iii], while a lack of trend is observed between Lyα and [O iii] at EW[O iii] ≲ 1000 Å. At higher EW[O iii], extreme Lyα emission starts to emerge. Using stacked spectra, we find that Lyα and C iii] are significantly enhanced in galaxies with lower metallicity. Two objects in our sample appear comparable to z > 6.5 galaxies with exceptionally strong rest-UV metal line emission. These objects have significant C ivλλ1548,1550, He iiλ1640, and O iii]λλ1661,1665 emission in addition to intense Lyα or C iii]. Detailed characterization of these lower-redshift analogs provides unique insights into the physical conditions in z > 6.5 star-forming regions, motivating future observations of reionization-era analogs at lower redshifts.
Cusp or core? Revisiting the globular cluster timing problem in Fornax

We use N-body simulations to revisit the globular cluster (GC) ‘timing problem’ in the Fornax dwarf spheroidal (dSph). In agreement with earlier work, we find that, due to dynamical friction, GCs sink to the centre of dark matter haloes with a cuspy inner density profile but ‘stall’ at roughly 1/3 of the core radius (rcore) in haloes with constant-density cores. The time-scales to sink or stall depend strongly on the mass of the GC and on the initial orbital radius, but are essentially the same for either cuspy (Navarro–Frenk–White) or cored haloes normalized to have the same total mass within rcore. Arguing against a cusp on the basis that GCs have not sunk to the centre is thus no different from arguing against a core, unless all clusters are today at $\sim(1/3)\,r_{\rm core}$. This would imply a core radius exceeding ∼3 kpc, much larger than seems plausible in any core-formation scenario. (The average projected distance of Fornax GCs is 〈RGC, Fnx〉 ∼ 1 kpc and its effective radius is ∼700 pc.) A simpler explanation is that Fornax GCs have only been modestly affected by dynamical friction, as expected if clusters started orbiting at initial radii of the order of ∼1–2 kpc, just outside Fornax’s present-day half-light radius but well within the tidal radius imprinted by Galactic tides. This is not entirely unexpected. Fornax GCs are significantly older and more metal-poor than most Fornax stars, and such populations in dSphs tend to be more spatially extended than their younger and more metal-rich counterparts. Contrary to some earlier claims, our simulations further suggest that GCs do not truly ‘stall’ at $\sim 0.3\, r_{\rm core}$, but rather continue decaying towards the centre, albeit at reduced rates. We conclude that dismissing the presence of a cusp in Fornax based on the spatial distribution of its GC population is unwarranted.
Hyponatremia in pneumonia: hospital based cross sectional study

Every year Acute respiratory infections in young children is responsible for an estimate 3.9 million deaths worldwide. It is estimated that Bangladesh, India, Indonesia and Nepal together account for 40 per cent of the global Acute respiratory infection mortality. About 90 per cent of the Acute respiratory infections deaths are due to pneumonia which is usually bacterial in origin. Childhood pneumonia is an important cause of morbidity in the developed world, and morbidity and mortality in the developing world. (1,2,3). The World Health Organization estimates that 156 million cases of pneumonia occur each year in children younger than five years, with nearly 20 million cases severe enough to require hospital admission(4). Among the electrolyte disorders in the hospitalized patients,hyponatremia is the most common electrolyte disorder and has been associated with increased mortality. Hyponatremia is usually defined as a serum sodium concentration of less than 135 mEq/L(3). It is established already that hyponatremia frequently accompanies pulmonary diseases, both infectious and neoplastic(6,12)With respect to pneumonia, a single-center cohort study found the incidence of hyponatremia at hospital admission among Community acquired pneumonia (CAP) patients to be 28%(8), which was associated with not only prolongation of hospitalization, but also an increase in mortality.
THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Growing Up in Ireland is a major government-funded study on children and young people. The purpose of the study is to improve our understanding of all aspects of children and their development. It examines how children develop over time and identifies which factors affect a child’s development and make for a healthy and happy childhood or for a less happy one. The results of the study are being used by government to develop policies and interventions to support children and their families.
D S ] 1 0 N ov 2 01 5 Sorting Under 1-∞ Cost Model

In this paper we study the problem of sorting under non-uniform comparison costs, where costs are either 1 or ∞. If comparing a pair has an associated cost of ∞ then we say that such a pair cannot be compared (forbidden pairs). Along with the set of elements V the input to our problem is a graph G(V,E), whose edges represents the pairs that we can compare incurring an unit of cost. Given a graph with n vertices and q forbidden edges we propose the first non-trivial deterministic algorithm which makes O((q + n) log n) comparisons with a total complexity of O(n + q), where ω is the exponent in the complexity of matrix multiplication. We also propose a simple randomized algorithm for the problem which makes Õ(n/ √ q + n+n √ q) probes with high probability. When the input graph is random we show that Õ(min (n, pn)) probes suffice, where p is the edge probability.
Insert Your Title Here

We present two experiments comparing selection techniques for low-cost mobile VR devices, such as Google Cardboard. Our objective was to assess the feasibility of computer vision tracking on mobile devices as an alternative to common head-ray selection methods. In the first experiment, we compared three selection techniques: air touch, head ray, and finger ray. Overall, handbased selection (air touch) performed much worse than ray-based selection. In the second experiment, we compared different combinations of selection techniques and selection indication methods. The built-in Cardboard button worked well with the head ray technique. Using a hand gesture (air tap) with ray-based techniques resulted in slower selection times, but comparable accuracy. Our results suggest that camera-based mobile tracking is best used with ray-based techniques, but selection indication mechanisms remain problematic.
N ov 2 00 3 Complex folding pathways in a simple β-hairpin

Guanghong Wei, Normand Mousseau, ∗ and Philippe Derreumaux 3 Département de physique et GCM, Université de Montréal, C.P. 6128, succ. centre-ville, Montréal (Québec) Canada Information Genomique et Structurale, CNRS-UMR 1889, 31 Chemin Joseph Aiguier, 13402 Marseille Cedex 20, France Laboratoire de Biochimie Theorique, UPR 9080 CNRS, Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique, 13 rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75005 Paris, France (Dated: February 9, 2008)
Interpretation of Helioseismic Traveltimes Sensitivity to sound speed , pressure , density , and flows

Time-distance helioseismology uses cross-covariances of wave motions on the solar surface to determine the travel times of wave packets m oving from one surface location to another. We review the methodology to interpret trav el-time measurements in terms of small, localized perturbations to a horizontally homoge neous reference solar model. Using the first Born approximation, we derive and compute 3D tra vel-time sensitivity (Fréchet) kernels for perturbations in sound-speed, density, pressu , and vector flows. While kernels for sound speed and flows had been computed previously, here w e extend the calculation to kernels for density and pressure, hence providing a complet e d scription of the effects of solar dynamics and structure on travel times. We treat three t ermodynamic quantities as independent and do not assume hydrostatic equilibrium. We pre sent a convenient approach to computing damped Green’s functions using a normal-mode sum mation. The Green’s function must be computed on a wavenumber grid that has sufficient resolution to resolve the longest lived modes. The typical kernel calculations used i n th s paper are computer intensive and require on the order of 600 CPU hours per kernel. K ernels are validated by computing the travel-time perturbation that results from h orizontally-invariant perturbations using two independent approaches. At fixed sound-speed, the ensity and pressure kernels are approximately related through a negative multiplicati ve factor, therefore implying that perturbations in density and pressure are difficult to disen tangle. Mean travel-times are not only sensitive to sound-speed, density and pressure pertur bations, but also to flows, especially vertical flows. Accurate sensitivity kernels are nee d d to interpret complex flow patterns such as convection.
An Exploration of Physiotherapy Students’ Perceptions of Older Adult Rehabilitation

ABSTRACT Research suggests that healthcare professionals, including students, can demonstrate negative attitudes toward older patients. Effective education is proposed as the way to change negative attitudes, but evidence is conflicting. This study explored physiotherapy students’ perceptions of older people and their rehabilitation. Data were collected utilizing semistructured, focus group interviews with the United Kingdom's physiotherapy students aged between 20 and 40 years. A thematic analysis was undertaken. Two themes from the main study pertinent to clinical education are presented. Issues identified as adversely affecting care for older adults included organizational intransigence, lack of resources, lack of motivation and activity on wards, and stereotypical attitudes. These findings suggest that clinical placements clearly influenced participants’ perceptions. While more negative experiences had the potential to adversely influence perceptions, they engendered in the participants a sense of injustice and increased their determination to be proactive in the rehabilitation of older people.
Partial Weight Bearing: Long-term monitoring of load in patients with a total hip arthroplasty during postoperative recovery

textabstractPartial weight bearing (PWB) is a central aspect within the postoperative physical therapy of orthopedic and trauma patients with pathologies of the lower extremity. Restriction in weight bearing of the operated leg during standing and walking is needed to avoid complications during the postoperative recovery. The task of the physical therapist (PT) is to instruct the patient how to unload the lower extremity during recovery, so that the patient can safely and independently perform activities of daily living. Restriction of the amount of load on the operated leg not only has to take place during the relatively short supervision periods with the PT, but also during the longer and, therefore, more relevant recovery periods without supervision during the hospital stay as well as after discharge. Although PWB is commonly used, few data are available on the assessment of actual load on the operated leg of the patient during activities of daily living. One reason for this could be the lack of valid and reliable portable instruments which can objectively measure the amount of weight bearing over a period of several hours. In this thesis the PWB performance of total hip patients with a trochanteric osteotomy is evaluated during their postoperative recovery. For this, a portable insole pressure system was adapted and validated to measure the vertical ground reaction force both in and outside the hospital setting.
Cryptanalysis and Improvement of a Privacy-Preserving Three-Factor Authentication Protocol for Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are of prominent use in unmanned surveillance applications. This peculiar trait of WSNs is actually the underlying technology of various applications of the Internet of Things (IoT) such as smart homes, smart cities, smart shopping complexes, smart traffic, smart health, and much more. Over time, WSNs have evolved as a strong base for laying the foundations of IoT infrastructure. In order to address the scenario in which a user wants to access the real-time data directly from the sensor node in wireless sensor networks (WSNs), Das recently proposed an anonymity-preserving three-factor authentication protocol. Das’s protocol is suitable for resource-constrained sensor nodes because it only uses lightweight cryptographic primitives such as hash functions and symmetric encryption schemes as building blocks. Das’s protocol is claimed to be secure against different known attacks by providing formal security proof and security verification using the Automated Validation of Internet Security Protocols and Applications tool. However, we find that Das’s protocol has the following security loopholes: (1) By using a captured sensor node, an adversary can impersonate a legal user to the gateway node, impersonate other sensor nodes to deceive the user, and the adversary can also decrypt all the cipher-texts of the user; (2) the gateway node has a heavy computational cost due to user anonymity and thus the protocol is vulnerable to denial of service (DoS) attacks. We overcome the shortcomings of Das’s protocol and propose an improved protocol. We also prove the security of the proposed protocol in the random oracle model. Compared with the other related protocols, the improved protocol enjoys better functionality without much enhancement in the computation and communication costs. Consequently, it is more suitable for applications in WSNs
Large‐scale genomic sequence data resolve the deepest divergences in the legume phylogeny and support a near‐simultaneous evolutionary origin of all six subfamilies

Summary Phylogenomics is increasingly used to infer deep‐branching relationships while revealing the complexity of evolutionary processes such as incomplete lineage sorting, hybridization/introgression and polyploidization. We investigate the deep‐branching relationships among subfamilies of the Leguminosae (or Fabaceae), the third largest angiosperm family. Despite their ecological and economic importance, a robust phylogenetic framework for legumes based on genome‐scale sequence data is lacking. We generated alignments of 72 chloroplast genes and 7621 homologous nuclear‐encoded proteins, for 157 and 76 taxa, respectively. We analysed these with maximum likelihood, Bayesian inference, and a multispecies coalescent summary method, and evaluated support for alternative topologies across gene trees. We resolve the deepest divergences in the legume phylogeny despite lack of phylogenetic signal across all chloroplast genes and the majority of nuclear genes. Strongly supported conflict in the remainder of nuclear genes is suggestive of incomplete lineage sorting. All six subfamilies originated nearly simultaneously, suggesting that the prevailing view of some subfamilies as ‘basal’ or ‘early‐diverging’ with respect to others should be abandoned, which has important implications for understanding the evolution of legume diversity and traits. Our study highlights the limits of phylogenetic resolution in relation to rapid successive speciation.