Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Thymic Stromal Lymphopoietin Attenuates the Development of Atherosclerosis in ApoE−/− Mice

Background Thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) is a cytokine with multiple effects on the body. For one thing, TSLP induces Th2 immunoreaction and facilitates allergic reaction; for another, it promotes the differentiation of naturally occurring CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ regulatory T cells (nTregs) and maintains immune tolerance. However, the exact role of TSLP in atherosclerosis remains unknown. Methods and Results In vitro, we examined the phenotype of TSLP‐conditioned bone marrow dendritic cells (TSLP‐DCs) of apolipoprotein E–deficient (ApoE−/−) mice and their capacity to induce the differentiation of Tregs. Our results indicated that TSLP‐DCs obtained the characteristics of tolerogenic dendritic cells and increased a generation of CD4+ latency‐associated peptide (LAP)+ Tregs and nTregs when cocultured with naive T cells. In addition, the functional relevance of TSLP and TSLP‐DCs in the development of atherosclerosis was also determined. Interestingly, we found that TSLP was almost absent in cardiovascular tissue of ApoE−/− mice, and TSLP administration increased the levels of antioxidized low‐density lipoprotein IgM and IgG1, but decreased the levels of IgG2a in plasma. Furthermore, mice treated with TSLP and TSLP‐DCs developed significantly fewer (32.6% and 28.2%, respectively) atherosclerotic plaques in the aortic root compared with controls, along with increased numbers of CD4+LAP+ Tregs and nTregs in the spleen and decreased inflammation in the aorta, which could be abrogated by anti‐TGF‐β antibody. Conclusions Our results revealed a protective role for TSLP in atherosclerosis that is possibly mediated by reestablishing a tolerogenic immune response, which may represent a novel possibility for treatment or prevention of atherosclerosis.
FIELD AND FORAGE CROPS Development and Feeding of Fall Armyworm on Miscanthus giganteus and Switchgrass

Observations of fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), larvae infesting plots of Miscanthus giganteus Greef and Deuter ex Hodkinson and Renvoize prompted laboratory-based tests of survival, development, and feeding preferences on leaf tissue fromM. giganteus and switchgrass, Panicum virgatum L. Survival from hatch to pupation was 70 and 50% for fall armyworms reared on switchgrass and M. giganteus, respectively, although survival of the S. frugiperda rice strain was signiÞcantly greater than the corn strain on both crops. Developmental times from hatch to pupation or adult emergence showed effects of crop and S. frugiperda host strain, but analysis of an interaction revealed developmental times for the rice strain were similar on both crops, whereas corn strain larvae showed delayed development onM. giganteus relative to switchgrass. Analysis of larval (10 d) and pupal masses showed a similar pattern, with effects of crop and an interaction (at 10 d), but only the mass of corn strain larvae feeding onM. giganteus was reduced relative to the other crop and strain combinations. In choice tests, neonates of both corn and rice strains showed a strong preference for feeding on young tissues rather than mature leaves of M. giganteus or switchgrass, but they also clearly favored corn, Zea mays L. , leaves over either of the perennial grasses. Results indicate both plants are potential hosts for S. frugiperda, but additional information is needed to understand under which scenarios and to what degree fall armyworms may damage perennial grasses grown for biofuel production.
Psychometrische Prüfung einer Hocharabischen Übersetzung des PHQ-4 anhand einer repräsentativen Befragung syrischer Geflüchteter

Zusammenfassung Hintergrund: Diese Studie befasst sich mit der Evaluierung eines Kurzfragebogens zur Diagnostik psychischer Belastung (PHQ-4) in einer Stichprobe syrischer Flüchtlinge. Methode: Insgesamt 864 syrische Flüchtlinge (68% männlich, Alter: M=31,5 Jahre, SD=9,3 Jahre, Range: 16–93 Jahre) füllten den PHQ-4 aus. Der Fragebogen wurde von einem professionellen Übersetzungsbüro ins Hocharabische übersetzt. Auf Basis bevölkerungsrepräsentativer Daten wurden Prävalenzraten von Depressionen und Angststörungen unter Flüchtlingen geschätzt. Ergebnisse: Die interne Konsistenz war zufriedenstellend (PHQ-2/GAD-2: α=0,76/0,83; Frauen α=0,76/0,83; Männer: α=0,76/0,83). Konfirmatorische Faktorenanalysen zeigten eine gute bis exzellente Modellanpassung: RMSEA=0,068 [95%-KI: 0,028, 0,117], TLI=0,971, CFI=0,995. Messinvarianz konnte für die Variable Geschlecht gezeigt werden. Die Prävalenz von Depressionen lag bei 20%. Dieser Wert ist vergleichbar mit Daten, die für die deutsche Bevölkerung berichtet wurden. Symptome einer generalisierten Angststörung waren etwas erhöht in der syrischen Stichprobe verglichen mit der deutschen Bevölkerung (19,3 vs. 15,2%). Diskussion: Die hocharabische Version des PHQ-4 ist ein sehr kurzes und valides Screening-Instrument, das als geeignet für die Untersuchung von Flüchtlingen aus arabischen Ländern angesehen werden kann. Dass die Prävalenz von Depressionen und Angstsymptomen nur etwas höher war als in Studien der deutschen Bevölkerung, mag mit der Zusammensetzung der Stichprobe zusammenhängen, welche hauptsächlich aus jungen männlichen Flüchtlingen bestand. In Anbetracht der häufig traumatischen Erlebnisse, denen Menschen auf der Flucht ausgesetzt sind, kann davon ausgegangen werden, dass die untersuchte Stichprobe noch eine Reihe weiterer Symptome (besonders PTBS) aufweist, die im Rahmen dieser Studie nicht untersucht werden konnten.
CSF and Brain Structural Imaging Markers of the Alzheimer's Pathological Cascade

Cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) and structural imaging markers are suggested as biomarkers amended to existing diagnostic criteria of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). But there is no clear instruction on which markers should be used at which stage of dementia. This study aimed to first investigate associations of the CSF markers as well as volumes and shapes of the hippocampus and lateral ventricles with MCI and AD at the baseline and secondly apply these baseline markers to predict MCI conversion in a two-year time using the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) cohort. Our results suggested that the CSF markers, including Aβ42, t-tau, and p-tau, distinguished MCI or AD from NC, while the Aβ42 CSF marker contributed to the differentiation between MCI and AD. The hippocampal shapes performed better than the hippocampal volumes in classifying NC and MCI, NC and AD, as well as MCI and AD. Interestingly, the ventricular volumes were better than the ventricular shapes to distinguish MCI or AD from NC, while the ventricular shapes showed better accuracy than the ventricular volumes in classifying MCI and AD. As the CSF markers and the structural markers are complementary, the combination of them showed great improvements in the classification accuracies of MCI and AD. Moreover, the combination of these markers showed high sensitivity but low specificity for predicting conversion from MCI to AD in two years. Hence, it is feasible to employ a cross-sectional sample to investigate dynamic associations of the CSF and imaging markers with MCI and AD and to predict future MCI conversion. In particular, the volumetric information may be good for the early stage of AD, while morphological shapes should be considered as markers in the prediction of MCI conversion to AD together with the CSF markers.
Hybrid SVM classification technique to detect mental stress in human beings using ECG signals

In recent years, stress has become ingrained part of our life, being stressed by our financial worries, our job, etc. Stress causes physical illnesses, such as heart attacks, arthritis, and chronic headaches or psychological diseases like mental illness, anger, anxiety, and depression. There are several research works coming up to resolve the limitations on measuring, analyzing and identifying the human stress levels Amongst the many stress monitoring methods the more reliable method to determine the human stress level is to use physiological signals. In this work, Heart Rate Variability (HRV) determined from ECG signal, an efficient parameter to detect the stress level is used. The features extracted from HRV are given as input, to the two stage classifier, to classify the stress into one of the four levels as no stress, low stress, medium stress and high stress. In the first stage of the classifier, Self Organizing Map is used to classify the stress into two classes as `stress level 1'(no stress & low stress) and `stress level 2' (medium stress & high stress). In the second stage Support Vector Machine is used with RBF kernel to subdivide the `stress level 1' into two classes `No Stress' and `Low Stress'. The stress level 2 is subdivided into twoclasses `Medium Stress' and `High Stress'. The performance of this hybrid structure is better and the efficiency of classification is 91%.
A cooperative development system for an interactive introductory programming course

We present a system for the cooperative development of computer programs that was created for the lab sessions of an introductory programming course at University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. The system has relieved the students from the tedious task of retyping programs developed by the teaching assistant and enabled them to cooperate with the teaching assistant in solving programming problems. We have thus made the lab sessions more efficient and interactive and brought them closer to the spirit of active learning approaches.
Source counting in real-time sound source localization using a circular microphone array

Recently, we proposed an approach inspired by Sparse Component Analysis for real-time localization of multiple sound sources using a circular microphone array. The method was based on identifying time-frequency zones where only one source is active, reducing the problem to single-source localization for these zones. A histogram of estimated Directions of Arrival (DOAs) was formed and then processed to obtain improved DOA estimates, assuming that the number of sources was known. In this paper, we extend our previous work by proposing three different methods for counting the number of sources by looking for prominent peaks in the derived histogram based on: (a) performing a peak search, (b) processing an LPC-smoothed version of the histogram, (c) employing a matching pursuit-based approach. The third approach is shown to perform very accurately in simulated reverberant conditions and additive noise, and its computational requirements are very small.
Na+/Ca2+ exchanger contributes to stool transport in mice with experimental diarrhea

The Na+/Ca2+ exchanger (NCX) is a bidirectional transporter that is controlled by membrane potential and transmembrane gradients of Na+ and Ca2+. To reveal the functional role of NCX on gastrointestinal motility, we have previously used NCX1 and NCX2 heterozygote knockout mice (HET). We found that NCX1 and NCX2 play important roles in the motility of the gastric fundus, ileum and distal colon. Therefore, we believed that NCX1 and NCX2 play an important role in transport of intestinal contents. Here, we investigated the role of NCX in a mouse model of drug-induced diarrhea. The fecal consistencies in NCX1 HET and NCX2 HET were assessed using a diarrhea induced by magnesium sulfate, 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). NCX2 HET, but not NCX1 HET, exacerbated magnesium sulfate-induced diarrhea by increasing watery fecals. Likewise, 5-HT-induced diarrheas were exacerbated in NCX2 HET, but not NCX1 HET. However, NCX1 HET and NCX2 HET demonstrated PGE2 induced diarrhea similar to those of wild-type mice (WT). As well as the result of the distal colon shown previously, in the proximal and transverse colons of WT, the myenteric plexus layers and the longitudinal and circular muscle layers were strongly immunoreactive to NCX1 and NCX2. In this study, we demonstrate that NCX2 has important roles in development of diarrhea.
Wiping Away the “Veneer of Democracy” to Expose the School-Level Effects of Arizona’s Language Policy

ABSTRACT Despite scant empirical support, Arizona’s restrictive language policy (Proposition 203, 2000) sustains as a result of the veneer of democracy (a political strategy that projects equitable inclinations while shielding inequitable ideologies). This article compares findings from an ethnographic study of one linguistically diverse Arizona high school with a critical analysis of the policy’s text to show how the policy’s veneer of democracy includes discourses of morality, opportunity, and rationality. These discourses conflict with and subjugate the microlevel realities of schools. The illustration of this tension implies a need to reexamine democracy in education from political and school levels.
EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COGNITIVE STRUCTURE OUTCOMES AND TEST ACHIEVEMENTS OF PRE-SERVICE SCIENCE TEACHERS ON CHEMICAL BONDING VIA FLOW MAPPING

The relationship between cognitive structure outcomes of students and their test achievement was examined in this study. A question form and two types of tests (a multiple-choice test (MCT) and a true-false test (TFT)) were used to gather the research data. According to the results of this study, extend, richness and integratedness of students’ statements significantly correlated to their scores in TFT. Also, richness of students’ statements was significantly correlated to their MCT scores. Describing and comparing were significantly correlated with MCT scores, while describing, comparing and inferring were significantly correlated with the students’ TFT scores. Therefore, it can be said that tests reflect students’ cognitive structures. Furthermore, students with higher order thinking skills can be identified by TFT rather than with MCT. Students’ misconceptions about the research topic were also examined, and they were generally on the classification and types of chemical bonds. Key words: chemical bonding, cognitive structure, flow map, pre-service science teachers, test achievement.
Computer vision guidance system for indoor navigation of visually impaired people

Visually Impaired (VI) and blind people suffer from reduced mobility, as they cannot detect the terrain and their environment. They always need assistance and walking support systems in their daily life. Solutions have been proposed many decades ago and are rapidly improving nowadays due to the technology evolution and integration. A large number of assistance aids have been deployed in real life situations whereas other concepts remained as research ideas. This paper describes a new approach of an ambient navigation system that would help the visually impaired or blind person to move freely indoor (house, office, etc.) without the assistance of anyone. The system is composed of IP cameras attached to the ceiling of each room and the smart phone of the subject is used as human machine interface (HMI). Frames are sent to a computer that analyzes the environment, detects and recognizes objects. A computer vision guidance algorithm is designed to help the user reach his destination (or his personal item) with obstacle detection. The system is commanded by voice messages via a simple mobile application. Feedbacks (alerts, route) are voice messages returns by the application to the user. This system provides a reliable solution to assist those users in their indoor navigation providing them a correct route with obstacle avoidance.
A new family of Cayley expanders (?)

We assume that for some <i>fixed</i> large enough integer d, the symmetric group S<inf>d</inf> can be generated as an expander using d<sup>1/30</sup> generators. Under this assumption, we explicitly construct an infinite family of groups G<inf>n</inf>, and explicit sets of generators Y<inf>n</inf> ⊂ G<inf>n</inf>, such that all generating sets have bounded size (at most d<sup>1/7</sup>), and the associated Cayley graphs are all expanders. The groups G<inf>n</inf> above are very simple, and completely different from previous known examples of expanding groups. Indeed, G<inf>n</inf> is (essentially) all symmetries of the d-regular tree of depth n. The proof is completely elementary, using only simple combinatorics and linear algebra. The recursive structure of the groups G<inf>n</inf> (iterated wreath products of the alternating group A<inf>d</inf>) allows for an inductive proof of expansion, using the group theoretic analogue [4] of the zig-zag graph product of [38]. The explicit construction of the generating sets Y<inf>n</inf> uses an efficient algorithm for solving certain equations over these groups, which relies on the work of [33] on the commutator width of perfect groups.We stress that our assumption above on <i>weak</i> expansion in the symmetric group is an open problem. We conjecture that it holds for all d. We discuss known results related to its likelihood in the paper.
A unified approach for online and offline estimation of sensor platform energy consumption

To minimize the power consumption of energy-constrained systems, energy-models are used to make design decisions and to optimize program code. Usually, energy models for design- or compile-time decisions, which we call offline models, can become very complex. In this article we describe a method to create offline models, which can be simplified in a way that allows the models to be used even at run-time. This allows dynamic resource management, by postponing decisions about resource utilization to the running system. The simplified models remain exact for the pre-defined usage and software scenarios. This makes it possible to create components that are self-describing in their resource consumption for different environmental situations, while the complex offline models stay reusable.
On the use of don't cares during symbolic reachability analysis

We present a new symbolic algorithm for reachability analysis in sequential circuits. Using don't cares from the computed reachable states, we introduce flexibility in choosing the transition relation, which can be used to minimize its Binary Decision Diagram (BDD). This can reduce the time-consuming image computation step. The technique is implemented and integrated in our equivalence checking system M-CHECK and its efficiency is shown on the ISCAS-89 benchmark circuits.
Cooperative robotic teams for supervision and management of large logistic spaces: Methodology and applications

Robots and automated systems can be employed in the logistic field to efficiently perform common tasks like building and updating maps of indoor and outdoor logistic spaces, locating specific goods on the map, tracing the product flow in the area, while assuring the surveillance of the environment. This paper reports and discusses the already achieved results of the on-going research project MACP4Log (Mobile Autonomous and Cooperating robotic Platforms for supervision and monitoring of large LOGistic surfaces), aimed at the study and development of a prototype of a mobile robotic platform, with on-board vision systems and sensors, integrating a flexible wireless communication solution, able to move autonomously in large logistic spaces, and to communicate with a supervisor and other similar platforms in order to achieve a coordinated action to carry out specific tasks.
Effect of Feeding a Mixed Microbial Culture Fortified with Trace Minerals on the Performance and Carcass Characteristics of Late-fattening Hanwoo Steers: A Field Study

This study was conducted to determine the effects of feeding a trace minerals-fortified microbial culture (TMC) on the performance and carcass characteristics of late-fattening Hanwoo steers. A mixture of microbes (0.6% [v/w] of Enterobacter sp., Bacillus sp., Lactobacillus sp., and Saccharomyces sp.) was cultured with 99% feedstuff for ensiling and 0.4% trace minerals (zinc, selenium, copper, and cobalt). Sixteen late-fattening steers (mean age, 21.8 months) were allocated to two diets: a control diet (concentrate mix and rice straw) and a treated diet (control diet+3.3% TMC). At a mean age of 31.1 months, all the steers were slaughtered. The addition of TMC to the diet did not affect the average daily weight gain of the late fattening steers, compared with that of control steers. Moreover, consuming the TMC-supplemented diet did not affect cold carcass weight, yield traits such as back fat thickness, longissimus muscle area, yield index or yield grade, or quality traits such as meat color, fat color, texture, maturity, marbling score, or quality grade. However, consumption of a TMC-supplemented diet increased the concentrations of zinc, selenium, and sulfur (p<0.05) in the longissimus muscle. With respect to amino acids, animals consuming TMC showed increased (p<0.05) concentrations of lysine, leucine, and valine among essential amino acids and a decreased (p<0.05) concentration of proline among non-essential amino acids. In conclusion, the consumption of a TMC-supplemented diet during the late-fattening period elevated the concentrations of certain trace minerals and essential amino acids in the longissimus muscle, without any deleterious effects on performance and other carcass characteristics of Hanwoo steers.
Eye movement analysis for depression detection

Depression is a common and disabling mental health disorder, which impacts not only on the sufferer but also on their families, friends and the economy overall. Despite its high prevalence, current diagnosis relies almost exclusively on patient self-report and clinical opinion, leading to a number of subjective biases. Our aim is to develop an objective affective sensing system that supports clinicians in their diagnosis and monitoring of clinical depression. In this paper, we analyse the performance of eye movement features extracted from face videos using Active Appearance Models for a binary classification task (depressed vs. non-depressed). We find that eye movement low-level features gave 70% accuracy using a hybrid classifier of Gaussian Mixture Models and Support Vector Machines, and 75% accuracy when using statistical measures with SVM classifiers over the entire interview. We also investigate differences while expressing positive and negative emotions, as well as the classification performance in gender-dependent versus gender-independent modes. Interestingly, even though the blinking rate was not significantly different between depressed and healthy controls, we find that the average distance between the eyelids (`eye opening') was significantly smaller and the average duration of blinks significantly longer in depressed subjects, which might be an indication of fatigue or eye contact avoidance.
Causal Inference by Direction of Information

We focus on data-driven causal inference. In particular, we propose a new principle for causal inference based on algorithmic information theory, i.e. Kolmogorov complexity. In a nutshell, we determine how much information one data object gives about the other, and vice versa, and identify the most likely causal direction by the strongest direction of information. To apply this principle in practice, we propose ERGO, an efficient instantiation for inferring the causal direction between multivariate real-valued data pairs. ERGO is based on cumulative and Shannon entropy. Therewith, we do not have to assume distributions, nor have to restrict the type of correlation. Extensive empirical evaluation on synthetic, benchmark, and real-world data shows that ERGO is robust against both noise and dimensionality, efficient, and outperforms the state of the art by a wide margin.