Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Changing from regular-fat to low-fat dairy foods reduces saturated fat intake but not energy intake in 4-13-y-old children.

BACKGROUND Dairy foods are nutrient rich but also a source of saturated fat in the diets of children. OBJECTIVE We assessed effects on dietary intakes and health outcomes of changing dairy foods consumed by children from regular- to reduced-fat varieties. DESIGN This study was a 24-wk cluster randomized controlled trial in 93 families with 4-13-y-olds who were randomly allocated to parental education regarding changing to reduced-fat dairy foods (n = 76 children) or reducing screen time (n = 69 children). Study outcomes, which were measured at weeks 0, 12 (end of the intervention), and 24, included saturated fat, energy, and nutrient intakes; pentadecanoic acid and blood lipid concentrations; body mass index z score; and waist circumference. Multilevel analyses were used with adjustment for child- and family-level covariates. RESULTS There were no group differences in overall dairy intakes (-45 g dairy; 95% CI: -141, 51 g dairy; P = 0.356). Saturated fat intakes were 3.3 percentage points lower (P < 0.0001) in the intervention group at week 24 than in the comparison group. Pentadecanoic acid concentrations were lower at week 12 (0.03%; P = 0.012) but not at week 24. LDL-cholesterol concentrations were not different at week 12, but LDL-cholesterol concentration was 0.15 mmol/L lower in the intervention group at week 24 than in the comparison group (P = 0.037). There were no significant group differences in total energy or adiposity measures. Regular-fat dairy foods decreased from 88% to 14% of dairy intake in the intervention group. Calcium, magnesium, and carbohydrate (percentage of energy) intakes were higher in the intervention group than in the comparison group; retinol intakes were lower in the intervention group than in the comparison group; and overall vitamin A intakes were similar between groups. CONCLUSION Advice to parents to change to reduced-fat products was effective in reducing children's saturated fat intakes but did not alter energy intakes or measures of adiposity. This trial was registered in the Australia New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry as ACTRN12609000453280.
The Battle to Imprint Citizens for the 21st Century.

Race and sex bias in basal reading textbooks have been scrutinized by both liberals and conservatives for 15 years. The reason for concern is evident; 85 to 90% of U.S. public school classrooms use reading series as the basis for reading instruction in the first eight grades. Textbooks are a major influence in shaping attitudes. Subliminally and overtly, they teach attitudes about self, career options, ethnic group, the elderly and society's sex role expecta tions. Repetitious exposure to reading texts can influence children at an impressionable age. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to be alert to the values being imprinted on today's school children, the citizens of the
Image separation using iterated posterior point estimation

In this study, we introduce a new method for image separation problem using Monte Carlo (MC) integration method. The proposed method stands between Gibbs sampling and deterministic optimization based Iterated Conditional Mode (ICM) methods. In this sense, it incorporates the better of the two paradigms, in that it is 2 to 3 times faster than Gibbs sampling and shows better performance compared to ICM. The novelty of the method consists in the use of the conditional expectation of some robust error function as a cost function for pixels. The point estimate, that is the minimum of the robust error function, is found iteratively using a gradient descent algorithm. The stochastic gradient itself is computed using importance sampling since the posterior is not integrable analytically. Furthermore at each iteration, only the point estimates are saved, in contrast to sequential MC methods which save all of the particles (samples) of a single variable and evaluate them sequentially. The mixing matrix is estimated by the the Mean Square Error (MSE) algorithm, and the source images are modelled via Markov Random Fields (MRF).
Interactions between metals and α‐synuclein − function or artefact?

α‐synuclein is one of a family of proteins whose function remains unknown. This protein has become linked to a number of neurodegenerative disease although its potential causative role in these diseases remains mysterious. In diseases such as Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementias, α‐synuclein becomes deposited in aggregates termed Lewy bodies. Also, some inherited forms of Parkinson's diseases are linked to mutations in the gene for α‐synuclein. Studies have mostly focussed on what causes the aggregation of the protein but, like many amyloidogenic proteins associated with a neurodegenerative disorder, this protein has now been suggested to bind copper. This finding is currently controversial. This review examines the evidence that α‐synuclein is a copper binding protein and discusses whether this has any significance in determining the function of the protein or whether copper binding is at all necessary for aggregation.
Regulation by GH of insulin-like growth factor-I mRNA expression in rat epiphyseal growth plate as studied with in-situ hybridization.

Expression of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) mRNA and its dependence on GH was studied in rat epiphyseal growth plate by in-situ hybridization. Methodological aspects of the technique were first evaluated on fixed sagittal cryosections from 28-day-old rat epiphyseal growth plates to ascertain specific hybridization. In-situ hybridization was compared on sections from 10- and 28-day-old rats and the GH-dependence was studied in 35-day-old hypophysectomized rats. Expression of IGF-I mRNA was apparent in chondrocytes of the proliferative, hypertrophic and early degenerative zones of the growth plate of 28-day-old rats. The epiphyseal growth plate from 10-day-old rats showed a weak hybridization signal compared with 28-day-old rats. In contrast, the mesenchymal cells of the periosteum of 10-day-old rats showed a rather strong hybridization signal. Hypophysectomy resulted in a reduction in hybridization signal and cell number of the growth plate compared with 35-day-old age-matched normal rats. GH-Replacement therapy (200 micrograms GH s.c. every 4 h for 24 h) resulted in partially restored expression of IGF-I mRNA. The present study has shown that the IGF-I gene is expressed in the rat epiphyseal growth plate chondrocytes and that the expression is dependent on GH. The results support a paracrine/autocrine role of IGF-I for the expression of the stimulatory effect of GH on longitudinal bone growth.
English-German translation system for IWSLT 2015

We describe Heidelberg University’s system for Englishto-German translation of transcribed TED talks. Our system follows the hierarchical phrase-based paradigm [1]. We only used data allowed within the constrained track. Consistent gains were found using our in-house implementation of automatic source-side reordering, as well as large-scale tuning with a large, lexicalized feature set. We also confirm the success of large class-based language-models.
The Open University ’ s repository of research publications and other research outputs Potentialities of customer relationship management in the building of government reputation Book Chapter

This paper aims to configure out the potentialities of CRM in the building of government reputation by raising key aspects of Corporate Reputation theory that can be strengthened by similar CRM strategic orientations and supported by the deployment of CRM solutions. Initially we address aspects of public cynicism towards government. In the sequence, we describe the main characteristics of CRM systems and point out some functionalities that may act as enablers of positive corporate reputation. We conclude providing examples of CRM applicability for enhancing government reputation.
The Effect of Informational Stimuli on Instrumental Response Rate: Signalling Reward versus Signalling the Availability of Reward

Rats were trained to press a lever for food on an interval schedule and were given a brief cue (0.5 sec) between the operative response and the reward (C condition). Some control subjects in Experiments 1, 2 and 4 were given their cue either following the end of the temporal interval during which reward had been unavailable (SD condition), or randomly with respect to food (R condition). Other control subjects in Experiments 2 and 4 received both the food-correlated cue and the temporal-interval stimulus (B condition). In all experiments, rate of responding was lowest for the C subjects and for B animals when the two cues were from different modalities. Food-correlated and temporal-interval cues did not interact, suggesting that a reward-correlated signal does not affect response rate simply by enhancing the salience of the temporal interval offset.
Effects of PWM chopper drive on the torque-speed characteristic of DC motor

This paper describes a MATLAB/Simulink realization of the DC motor speed control method by controlling the voltage applied to the armature circuit using a pulse width modulated (PWM) chopper drive. Torque-speed characteristics are obtained for different values of switching frequency to demonstrate its effect on the linearity of the characteristic. The proposed simulation model is developed as a part of a software laboratory to support and enhance undergraduate electric machinery courses at Nigde University, Nigde, Turkey.
The RNA recognition motif protein RBM11 is a novel tissue-specific splicing regulator

Mammalian tissues display a remarkable complexity of splicing patterns. Nevertheless, only few examples of tissue-specific splicing regulators are known. Herein, we characterize a novel splicing regulator named RBM11, which contains an RNA Recognition Motif (RRM) at the amino terminus and a region lacking known homology at the carboxyl terminus. RBM11 is selectively expressed in brain, cerebellum and testis, and to a lower extent in kidney. RBM11 mRNA levels fluctuate in a developmentally regulated manner, peaking perinatally in brain and cerebellum, and at puberty in testis, in concomitance with differentiation events occurring in neurons and germ cells. Deletion analysis indicated that the RRM of RBM11 is required for RNA binding, whereas the carboxyl terminal region permits nuclear localization and homodimerization. RBM11 is localized in the nucleoplasm and enriched in SRSF2-containing splicing speckles. Transcription inhibition/release experiments and exposure of cells to stress revealed a dynamic movement of RBM11 between nucleoplasm and speckles, suggesting that its localization is affected by the transcriptional status of the cell. Splicing assays revealed a role for RBM11 in the modulation of alternative splicing. In particular, RBM11 affected the choice of alternative 5′ splice sites in BCL-X by binding to specific sequences in exon 2 and antagonizing the SR protein SRSF1. Thus, our findings identify RBM11 as a novel tissue-specific splicing factor with potential implication in the regulation of alternative splicing during neuron and germ cell differentiation.
A Distributed Content Independent Method for Spam Detection

The amount of spam has skyrocketed in the recent past. Traditionally, spam was sent by single source mass mailers (spammers), making it relatively easy to screen out through the use of blacklists. Recently spammers started using botnets to send out the spam, rendering the blacklists ineffective. Although, content-based spam filters provide temporary relief, this is a never-ending cat-and-mouse game between spammers and filter developers. We propose a distributed, content independent, spam classification system that is specifically aimed at botnet generated spam and can be used in combination with existing spam classifiers. Our proposed system uses source identification in combination with a peer-to-peer based distributed database to identify e-mails that are likely to have originated from botnets. The system is distributed in order to provide a robust defense against denial-of-service attacks from the very same botnets. Lastly, our system is specifically designed to be used within the existing e-mail infrastructure. It does not require special hardware, changes to the underlying protocols, or changes to the mail transfer agents.
Folate and Homocysteine in the Cerebrospinal Fluid of Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease or Dementia: A Case Control Study

Background: Amyloid deposition in the brain is an early event in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), but a dysfunction of the blood-brain barrier or a disturbance in the metabolism of folate and homocysteine (Hcy) may affect the development of dementia. We investigated if the concentrations of folate and Hcy would be modified in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of clinically diagnosed AD patients. Methods: We included 70 AD patients, 33 patients with another type of dementia (nAD) and 30 age-matched control subjects. Plasma Hcy was assayed as well as Hcy, folate, Aβ1-42 and T-tau in CSF. We used ANOVAs for comparison between groups, and then pairwise comparisons by Wilcoxon tests with Bonferroni-corrected p values. Correlations were tested with the Spearman’s rank test. Results: Levels of Aβ1-42, T-tau and folates in CSF were significantly different between groups, but not Hcy. In addition, the average folate in CSF was lower in AD patients compared with controls (18.7 ± 2.4 vs. 20.3 ± 1.7 nmol/l, Bonferroni-corrected p value < 0.02). There was no correlation between Aβ1-42 or T-tau and folate or Hcy in CSF, regardless of the group. In the AD group, there was a significant inverse correlation between Hcy and folate in CSF (ρ = –0.63, p < 0.0001), whereas in the nAD group, a significant correlation was found for Hcy between plasma and CSF (ρ = 0.59, p < 0.0005). Conclusion: The concentration of folate in CSF was found to be decreased in AD patients. These findings support the hypothesis of a possible role of folate in the onset or worsening of AD.
The economics of regional clusters : networks, technology and policy

Contents:1. The Starting PointUwe Blien and Gunther Maier2. Innovation Dynamics and the Structure and Evolution of Industrial ClustersSimona Iammarino and Philip McCann3. First Steps towards a Critical Appraisal of ClustersAndre Torre4. A Network Based Approach Towards Industry ClusteringJuan C. Duque and Sergio J. Rey5. Industry-specific Spatial Agglomerations in GermanyThomas Brenner6. Sectoral Concentration, Business Networks and Innovative Competences in East Germany - An Empirical Approach to Identify Economic ClustersMartin T.W. Rosenfeld, Peter Franz and Gerhard Heimpold7. Clusters and the Spatial Structure of Wages in Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil): A Multilevel ApproachLeonardo Monteiro Monasterio8. Measuring Specialisation and Concentration in Regional Clusters - An Empirical Analysis for Eastern BavariaJoachim Moller and Nicole Litzel9. Inter-Firm Relations and Economic Clustering in the Dutch Randstad RegionFrank G. van Oort, Martijn J. Burger and Otto Raspe10. The Contribution of New and Young Firms to the Economic Development of Clusters in Germany: Comparative Analysis of a Growing, a Mature and a Declining ClusterAnne Otto and Stefan Kohler11. On Building Clusters versus Leveraging Synergies in the Design of Innovation Policy for Developing EconomiesEdward Feser12. Geographic Concentration of Sectors in the German Economy: Some Unpleasant Macroeconomic Evidence for Regional Cluster PolicyBjorn Alecke, Christoph Alsleben, Frank Scharr and Gerhard Untiedt13. Clusters and Networks: Their Spell Has By No Means Been Broken! Martin Wrobel14. Cluster Approaches to Local Economic Development: Conceptual Remarks and Case Studies from Lower Saxony, Germany Matthias Kiese
Vanishing Point Detection by Line Clustering

This paper presents a new method for the detection of vanishing points based on sub-pixel line descriptions which recognizes the existence of errors in feature detection and which does not rely on supervision or the arbitrary specification of thresholds. Image processing and image analysis are integrated into a coherent scheme which extracts straight line structure from images, develops a measure of line quality for each line, estimates the number of vanishing points and their approximate orientations, and then computes optimal vanishing point estimates through combined clustering and numerical optimization. Both qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the algorithms performance is included in the presentation. >
Compensation of impedance meters, when using an external front-end amplifier

Four-terminal impedance meters based on pseudo-bridges yield unexpected uncertainties when using high-contact-impedance electrodes. Adding a front-end amplifier to the impedance meter and rearranging the connection of the meter terminals overcome the contact impedance problem. However, because the compensation provisions in the instrument are meant to compensate only impedance residuals of test fixtures, by either an open/short or an open/short/load correction procedure, the external front-end increases the inaccuracy of the measurement setup. This paper shows that an open/short/load correction can also compensate complicated impedance residuals such as those from external amplifiers. The paper details the correction procedure and provides the equations to calculate the impedance under test from the readings of the impedance meter.
On the synthesis of variable structure observers for LPV systems

In this paper, an analysis and synthesis framework for a class of robust variable structure observers for linear parameter varying (LPV) systems is proposed. Instead of satisfying passivity-like conditions, the variable structure observer is created by ensuring a small gain condition is satisfied, formulated via loop transformations. The transformation of the problem into a small gain formulation allows a number of existing techniques from the literature to be conveniently exploited to synthesize the observer gains. The observer gains are computed by solving a set of linear matrix inequalities based on using an affine parameter-dependent Lyapunov function that helps reduce any design conservatism. The scheme is applied to an LPV model of the short period dynamics of a commercial aircraft to demonstrate its robustness.
Programmable Abstraction of Datapath

Despite continuous developments in this area, Software Defined Networking (SDN) still seeks for a flexible way of defining a network device behaviour. The control plane needs to be able to fully utilize growing capabilities of modern networking hardware and its diversity. In this paper we propose a new hardware abstraction for various network devices (network processors, optical devices and access devices). The first goal of this proposal is to expose advanced programmability capabilities of network processors and software switches. The second goal of our proposal is to extend the concept of the network node programmability by giving a possibility to dynamically check capabilities supported by a particular network device. The third goal of this paper is to introduce programming language which use new-defined API to Programmable Abstraction of Datapath (PAD) for different kind of network devices. The presented solution ensures therefore flexibility and adaptability of the new programmable functions to specific requirements of a device. The proposed solution creates a unified way of controlling and configuring a variety of families of network devices from optical switches to x86-based appliances.
Decentralized Service Deployment for Collaborative Environments

In this paper we present the design of a system which allows service deployment in a small-sized group of computers distributed through the Internet. These groups are formed by users who share a common interest, and voluntarily yield their own resources for the achievement of the collaborative activities of the group. Having enough resources contributed by the members of the group, our system guarantees service availability and the fact that the deployment and execution of the services is carried out using only the resources of the group. This management is done in a completely decentralized manner, and the system is self-organized in the presence of component connections, disconnections and failures. We demonstrate its validity through the implementation of a prototype and the execution of some tests, which allow us to guarantee that the system is self-organized, always reaching a consistent state
A Method for Obtaining a Three-Dimensional Geometric Model of Dental Implants for Analysis via the Finite Element Method

Purpose: The aim of the study was to present a methodology of development of a virtual 3-dimensional dental implant model for analyses via the finite element method. Materials and Methods: A set, consisting of a dental implant and abutment, was embedded in acrylic resin for subsequent metallographic grinding and polishing. After the evidentiation of the internal geometry of the implant, the specimen was treated in a sputter for observation using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The SEM image was transported to computer-aided design software by which all details of the implant were measured. With the measures obtained, the geometry was reproduced with 3-dimensional modeling software. Finally, the model was imported into finite element method analysis software with which it was discretized, generating a mesh. Results: A model with the accurate geometry of the implant was developed. A mesh of 297,600 elements and 490,045 nodes was generated. An aleatory acceleration simulation was performed to test the mesh, and no errors were identified. Conclusion: The developed methodology generated a precise dental implant model, which can be applied in different finite element method simulations.
Empirical Scoring Functions for Advanced Protein-Ligand Docking with PLANTS

In this paper we present two empirical scoring functions, PLANTS(CHEMPLP) and PLANTS(PLP), designed for our docking algorithm PLANTS (Protein-Ligand ANT System), which is based on ant colony optimization (ACO). They are related, regarding their functional form, to parts of already published scoring functions and force fields. The parametrization procedure described here was able to identify several parameter settings showing an excellent performance for the task of pose prediction on two test sets comprising 298 complexes in total. Up to 87% of the complexes of the Astex diverse set and 77% of the CCDC/Astex clean listnc (noncovalently bound complexes of the clean list) could be reproduced with root-mean-square deviations of less than 2 A with respect to the experimentally determined structures. A comparison with the state-of-the-art docking tool GOLD clearly shows that this is, especially for the druglike Astex diverse set, an improvement in pose prediction performance. Additionally, optimized parameter settings for the search algorithm were identified, which can be used to balance pose prediction reliability and search speed.