Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Phage typing of Salmonella enteritidis in the United States

The number of reported isolates of Salmonella enteritidis has increased dramatically in the last 10 years. For many years phage typing has been a useful epidemiologic tool for studying outbreaks of S. typhi and S. typhimurium. In 1987, Ward et al. (L. R. Ward, J. De Sa, and B. Rowe, Epidemiol. Infect. 99:291-294, 1987) described a phage typing scheme for S. enteritidis. This system differentiated 27 phage types by use of 10 typing phages. With these phages, we typed 573 strains of S. enteritidis from humans (42 outbreaks), animals, food, and the environment. Ninety-six percent of the strains were typeable. The most common phage types were 8 (48.2%), 13a (20.1%), 13 (7.8%), and 14b (7.8%). Most of the strains were specifically collected from egg-related outbreaks in the northeastern United States in 1988 and 1989, probably accounting for the distribution of the four most common types in this sample. This system was particularly useful for differentiating a group of animal strains that had a number of diverse phage types. For 49 animal strains typed, 16 different patterns were obtained. Phage type 8 represented 32% of these strains, but no other phage type represented more than 8% of these strains. One-half of the 16 animal strains that were phage type 8 were from poultry. This phage typing system will be useful for comparing phage types found in the United States with those types encountered worldwide and for determining whether virulent strains of phage type 4 are entering the United States. Additional phage typing systems as well as molecular techniques are being studied to determine whether they can differentiate strains of phage types 8 and 13a.
Increased skills usage statistically mediates symptom reduction in self-guided internet-delivered cognitive–behavioural therapy for depression and anxiety: a randomised controlled trial

Abstract Cognitive–behavioural therapy (CBT) is an effective treatment for clinical and subclinical symptoms of depression and general anxiety, and increases life satisfaction. Patients’ usage of CBT skills is a core aspect of treatment but there is insufficient empirical evidence suggesting that skills usage behaviours are a mechanism of clinical change. This study investigated if an internet-delivered CBT (iCBT) intervention increased the frequency of CBT skills usage behaviours and if this statistically mediated reductions in symptoms and increased life satisfaction. A two-group randomised controlled trial was conducted comparing internet-delivered CBT (n = 65) with a waitlist control group (n = 75). Participants were individuals experiencing clinically significant symptoms of depression or general anxiety. Mixed-linear models analyses revealed that the treatment group reported a significantly higher frequency of skills usage, lower symptoms, and higher life satisfaction by the end of treatment compared with the control group. Results from bootstrapping mediation analyses revealed that the increased skills usage behaviours statistically mediated symptom reductions and increased life satisfaction. Although skills usage and symptom outcomes were assessed concurrently, these findings support the notion that iCBT increases the frequency of skills usage behaviours and suggest that this may be an important mechanism of change.
Second order iterative CDMA receivers: performance analysis and parameter optimisation

We derive an expression for the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) of a second order iterative receiver. We focus on a second order linear iterative receiver which converges to the linear minimum mean squared error receiver as the number of stages increases. The SINR is given in terms of the system loading, the two receiver parameters, the number of stages and the signal-to-noise ratio. We can now estimate the bit error rate performance of iterative receivers. Finally, we perform a numerical optimisation of the SINR with respect to the parameters of the resulting second order linear iterative receiver. Within this iterative framework we can achieve performance close to the optimal linear multistage receiver.
Discharge Home From Hospital: How DIRE Can It Be?

Aim: An easy-to-use “DIRE” questionnaire tool was developed to predict an adverse event (AE) within 30 days following discharge from a hospital to the community, among frail elderly individuals aged 65+ years. Methods: Hospital-administered RAI-HC (Residential Assessment Instrument for Home Care) assessment data from 1,433 individuals were used to develop the tool. Results: The DIRE tool outperformed two other instruments that have been used to predict risk in similar populations. Furthermore, the DIRE index was validated on a hold-out sample and in a bootstrapping analysis. Discussion: In addition to its effectiveness in predicting an AE, the added advantages of the DIRE assessment is that only a small amount of data is required and the data are readily available to clinicians at the point of hospital discharge.
A biologically plausible learning method for neurorobotic systems

This paper introduces an incremental local learning algorithm inspired by learning in neurobiological systems. This algorithm has no training phase and learns the world during operation, in a lifetime manner. It is a semi-supervised algorithm which combines soft competitive learning in input space and linear regression with recursive update in output space. This method is also robust to negative interference and compromises bias-variance dilemma. These qualities make the learning method a good nonlinear function approximator having possible applications in neuro-robotic systems. Some simulations illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm in function approximation, time-series prediction, and motor control problems.
A Context-aware Fuzzy Linguistic Consensus Model supporting Innovation Processes

Nowadays, many research works are moving toward the definition of models for human decision support systems within business process executions. Existing solutions, in general, do not take into account the context in which such processes run but they provide rigid models that could erroneously support decision-making activities when a different context needs to be considered. This work focuses on the definition of a framework to support and trace human decision-making activities, in business processes, when more heterogeneous decision-makers have to find a consensus to select one alternative among the others. One class of such processes is that of Innovation Processes. In particular, the main result described here is a Context-aware Fuzzy Linguistic Consensus Model, based on Fuzzy Logic, Semantic Web technologies and Reinforcement Learning, that considers heterogeneous decision makers with different levels of influence (assigned by considering their past decisions) in the context where the decision activity takes place.
The Neural Substrate and Functional Integration of Uncertainty in Decision Making: An Information Theory Approach

Decision making can be regarded as the outcome of cognitive processes leading to the selection of a course of action among several alternatives. Borrowing a central measurement from information theory, Shannon entropy, we quantified the uncertainties produced by decisions of participants within an economic decision task under different configurations of reward probability and time. These descriptors were used to obtain blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal correlates of uncertainty and two clusters codifying the Shannon entropy of task configurations were identified: a large cluster including parts of the right middle cingulate cortex (MCC) and left and right pre-supplementary motor areas (pre-SMA) and a small cluster at the left anterior thalamus. Subsequent functional connectivity analyses using the psycho-physiological interactions model identified areas involved in the functional integration of uncertainty. Results indicate that clusters mostly located at frontal and temporal cortices experienced an increased connectivity with the right MCC and left and right pre-SMA as the uncertainty was higher. Furthermore, pre-SMA was also functionally connected to a rich set of areas, most of them associative areas located at occipital and parietal lobes. This study provides a map of the human brain segregation and integration (i.e., neural substrate and functional connectivity respectively) of the uncertainty associated to an economic decision making paradigm.
Reconstruction Parameters for 111In-Pentetreotide SPECT: Variability with Respect to Body Weight and Body Region

This study, which was based on a large series of consecutive patients imaged by 111In-pentetreotide SPECT for a neuroendocrine tumor, evaluated variability in reconstruction parameters in relation to patient body weight and the body region imaged, looking for the possibility of standardizing such parameters. Methods: One hundred twenty-four patients underwent 111In-pentetreotide scintigraphy: 4- and 24-h whole-body and planar scans and a 24-h SPECT examination. All patients were injected with 140–150 MBq of 111In-pentetreotide at least 1 wk after somatostatin analogs had been discontinued. SPECT images were systematically acquired at the levels of the head, chest, and abdomen. SPECT was performed using a dual-head γ-camera with medium-energy collimators, step-and-shoot method, no circular orbit, a 64 × 64 matrix, and 30 s per view for a total of 64 views. Two reconstruction procedures were compared: the iterative method using 10 iterations and the filtered backprojection method using a Butterworth filter with different cutoffs and orders. Results: Optimal SPECT images were obtained by applying the Butterworth filter. The reconstruction parameters could be standardized for the head and chest but were more variable for the abdomen, mainly because 111In-pentetreotide is physiologically trapped in different intestinal areas and varies over time, especially in the liver, spleen, bowel, and urinary tract. Conclusion: Filtered backprojection using a Butterworth filter appears adequate for standardizing the reconstruction parameters for 111In-pentetreotide SPECT of the head and chest. Processing of abdominal images is more operator-dependent. A 150-MBq dose of 111In-pentetreotide is recommended when planning multiple SPECT acquisitions in the same patient.
Does Chronic Hypercapnia Entail an Adaptive Improvement of Extra‐Cellular Space Buffering against Acute PCO2 Changes?*

Abstract. Schwartz and coworkers have shown recently that chronic hypercapnia entails a marked decrease of the d(H+)/dPCO2 ratio in plasma, in response to acute PCO2 changes in vivo. They have interpreted this finding as an indication of improved CO2 buffering performance by the extracellular space, mediated by an unidentified mechanism. This hypothesis is reviewed in the light of a theoretical treatment of CO2‐titration regarding extracellular space as an isolated buffered solution. – It is concluded here that renal compensation during chronic hypercapnia without changes in the buffering properties can account for much if not all of the observed effect through the quantitative relationships governing CO2 equilibrium. Reasons for the use of Van Slyke's “buffer value” rather than the d(H+)/dPCO2 ratio as an analytical parameter of extracellular CO2‐buffering performance are presented by reference to the general theory of titration.
A cryogenic SiGe low noise amplifier developed for radio astronomy

A two stages cryogenic Silicon-Germanium heterojunction-bipolar-transistor (SiGe HBT) low-nose-amplifier (LNA) for 0.2-4GHz frequency range has been designed, fabricated and measured with the temperature range from 300K to 4K. Both of the stages of the amplifier utilize the commercially available plastic packaged SiGe transistors NXP BFU725F. The temperature dependent DC characteristics, namely β and gm of the SiGe transistor have been investigated. This amplifier achieves an averaged noise temperature as low as about 10K with a gain over 30 dB for the frequencies in the range of 0.2-4GHz at physical temperature of 4K. To verify the feasibility of the cryogenic SiGe LNA for astronomy observation, we embedded the amplifier into a Superconductor-Insulator-Superconductor (SIS) receiver as the first stage IF amplifier and measured the performance of the receiver. We found that the receiver exhibited low noise without bringing any unexpected effect to the SIS mixer. In addition, the measurement result of receiver stability in term of Allan variance verified stable operation at cryogenic temperature. Above results indicated that the SiGe LNAs based on the commercially available transistors are applicable to radio astronomy observation.
Anti-Inflammatory Treatment Influences Neuronal Apoptotic Cell Death in the Dentate Gyms in Experimental Pneumococcal Meningitis

Apoptotic neuronal death and the increase of neuron-specific enolase (NSE) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were studied in a rabbit model of experimental pneumococcal meningitis after treatment with antimicrobial (ceftriaxone) and antiinflammatory agents (dexamethasone, monoclonal antibodies against the β-subunit of β2-integrins [anti-CD18 mAb]). Twenty-four hours after infection, apoptotic cell death was found solely in the granular cell layer of the dentate gyrus. Neurons with DNA fragmentation were quantified with the in situ tailing (IST) reaction. Dexamethasone and anti-CD18 mAb inhibited the NSE increase in CSF significantly (p=0.003, p=0.011). After administration of dexamethasone the density of apoptotic neurons was significantly higher than in control animals receiving only ceftriaxone (p=0.044). The median of the density of apoptotic neurons was lower in the dentate gyrus in animals receiving anti-CD18 mAb and ceftriaxone vs those receiving only ceftriaxone, although the difference did not reach statistic significance (p=0.058). In conclusion, apoptotic cell death occurs in the dentate gyrus during the early phase of bacterial meningitis. The extent was influenced by antiinflammatory therapy. The systemic administration of glucocorticoids increased the quantity of apoptotic neurons in the dentate gyrus but reduced overall neuronal damage as indicated by low levels of NSE concentration in CSF.
Fuzzy Logic Based Spectrum Sensing Technique for Cognitive Radio

A cognitive radio is a type of intelligent radio system. It automatically detects available spectrum in a given frequency band. It automatically and intelligently changes its parameters. These parameters include transmission and reception. Therefore, frequent wireless communication is achieved for a given frequency band at specific location. There are multiple techniques used to sense and avail the spectrum in a cognitive radio. Most important among them are spectrum sensing, spectrum mobility, spectrum management and spectrum sharing. Many regulatory bodies in world have found that most radio frequency spectrum is utilized in efficiently. we all know that Cellular network bands are overloaded due excessive use but other bands (like for military and paging frequencies) are insufficiently utilized. Basically utilization of spectrum is dependent on two factors which are time and place. The crux of this research is to design and simulate a controller in MATLAB for SS using FLT. We chose two inputs one is mobility of SU and transmit power. Output is Saa. We defined membership functions for inputs and output. Analyze system and calculate outputs to get minimum percentage error difference between calculated and simulation end results.
Cerebral white matter lesions are not associated with apoE genotype but with age and female sex in Alzheimer's disease

Cerebral white matter lesions, such as leukoaraiosis, may be a result of damage from cerebral ischaemia, and may also be associated with the degenerative process in Alzheimer's disease. The apolipoprotein ε4 (apoε4) genotype is a genetic risk factor for both Alzheimer's disease and ischaemic brain damage through acceleration of atherosclerosis. The aim was to determine whether apoε4 may be related to the formation of cerebral white matter lesions in Alzheimer's disease. The association of apoE genotype, sex, age, and the presence of several vascular risk factors, with the presence of white matter lesions in 55 patients clinically diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease was investigated. The cerebral white matter lesions were identified by T2 weighted MRI and classified on a 4 grade scale from no lesion to diffuse lesion. The odds ratio (OR) of the factors mentioned above to the presence of white matter lesions was determined and tested by Fisher's exact test. The association of the lesion grades with these factors was analysed by non-parametric tests. The apoE 4 genotype was strongly associated with Alzheimer's disease (p=0.0001), but not associated with the presence or the degree of cerebral white matter lesions in Alzheimer's disease (OR=1.09, p>0.99). Aging (>70 years old) was a significant risk factor for white matter lesions (OR=7.2, p=0.0006) and age was significantly correlated with the lesion (p=0.0075). The OR of female sex to the lesion grades was 2.89 (p=0.084) and the lesion grade of female sex was significantly higher than that of the male sex (p=0.047). Other vascular risk factors were not significantly associated with the presence of white matter lesions. These findings suggest that there is a sex difference in white matter pathology in Alzheimer's disease.
Schottky barrier behavior of metallic multi-wall carbon nanotube-on-metal systems

The integration of carbon nanotubes (CNT) into state-of-the-art microelectronic systems as interconnects has thus far proven to be difficult from a processing standpoint. Minimizing contact resistance between the macro-scale metal contact and nano-scale tube continues to be a barrier for the implementation of CNTs into silicon-based technology. This work demonstrates fundamental electrical measurements of side-contacted carbon nanotubes showing Schottky barrier (SB) characteristics in metallic multi-wall nanotube (MWNT) systems. The measurement and insight provided here prove useful in understanding interfacial effects of CNTs and enable us to develop useful methods for integrating these structures into interconnect designs.
Emotional Consequences of Collective Action Participation

The present research examines the emotional and behavioral consequences of collective action participation. It demonstrates that “positive” and “negative” emotions can be experienced simultaneously as a result of collective action participation, yet it is important to distinguish outgroup-directed from self-directed emotions. Results of two experiments (N = 71 and N = 101) that manipulated participation in collective action illustrate that whereas collective action participants experience more outgroup-directed anger and contempt, they feel more self-directed positive affect. Furthermore, collective action participation predicted willingness to engage in moderate and radical collective actions in the future. These relations were mediated by outgroup-directed, but not by self-directed, emotions, suggesting that outgroup-directed rather than self-directed emotions play a crucial role in the maintenance of protest behavior. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.
Self-Objectification and Well-Being in Women's Daily Lives

Laboratory experiments and surveys show that self-objectification increases body shame, disrupts attention, and negatively predicts well-being. Using experience sampling methodology, the authors investigated self-objectification in the daily lives of 49 female college students. Building on the predictions of objectification theory, they examined associations between internalizing an observer's perspective on the self and psychological well-being, and examined the moderating roles of trait self-esteem and appearance-contingent self-worth. Within-person increases in self-objectification predicted decreased well-being, but this association was moderated by trait self-esteem and trait appearance-contingent self-worth; high self-esteem, highly appearance-contingent participants reported increased well-being when they self-objectified. Furthermore, perceived unattractiveness partially mediated the main effect and the three-way interaction: high self-esteem, highly contingent participants experienced smaller drops in well-being when they self-objectified, in part because they felt less unattractive. These results suggest that in daily life, some women receive a boost from self-objectification, although most women experience decreases in well-being when self-objectifying.
Productivity and Export Intensity to High-Income and Low-Income Countries∗

We use a sample of Italian manufacturing firms to study the relationship between productivity (proxied by Total Factor Productivity) and the intensity of firm participation in heterogeneous foreign markets (proxied by the ratio of exports to total sales, i.e., export intensity). We find that firm productivity is strongly negatively correlated with export intensity to low-income countries and unrelated to export intensity to high-income countries. To account for these facts, we formulate a simple model that builds on two plausible assumptions: first, the preference for high-quality goods is higher in high-income countries and, second, high-productivity firms produce higher-quality goods. The two assumptions jointly imply that export intensity is higher the higher is foreign income (relative to domestic income) and the higher is firm productivity. We test this implication using a panel of export intensities to different geographic areas. Our data strongly supports this prediction. JEL Numbers: F1.
Interactive Rigging with Intuitive Tools

Rigging is a core element in the process of bringing a 3D character to life. The rig defines and delimits the motions of the character and provides an interface for an animator with which to interact with the 3D character. The quality of the rig has a key impact on the expressiveness of the character. Creating a usable, rich, production ready rig is a laborious task requiring direct intervention by a trained professional because the goal is difficult to achieve with fully automatic methods. We propose a semi‐automatic rigging editing framework which eases the need for manual intervention while maintaining an important degree of control over the final rig. Starting by automatically generated base rig, we provide interactive operations which efficiently configure the skeleton structure and mesh skinning.
Estimates of work-related cancers in workers exposed to carcinogens.

AIM To evaluate the proportion of work-related cancers. METHODS A descriptive study of incident cases of cancer during 3 years in a French county. All people with cancer having a current or past working history were included in the studied population which was recruited from local hospitals. A working history was obtained from each subject by interview. The different organ cancers were linked using well-defined criteria, to specific occupational carcinogenic exposures. The results obtained were compared to international data on work-related cancer incidences. RESULTS A total of 2009 cases were included and 3.18% (64) met the criteria for work-related cancer as defined. Asbestos and polycyclic hydrocarbons were the main occupational carcinogens identified. Construction and fabricated metal products sectors were linked to almost two-thirds of work-related cancers. The percentage of the studied population with attributable risk for occupational cancer was relatively close to international data (mean 4%) and organ cancer distribution percentages did not vary significantly from international published validated data. CONCLUSION Work-related cancers tend to be concentrated in relatively small groups of people among whom the risk of developing the disease may be quite large. The detection of occupational hazards should therefore have a higher priority in any programme of cancer prevention. Well-defined criteria to identify specifically cancers with an occupational origin should be specified by the scientific international community.