Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nonthermal Hard X-Ray Excess in the Coma Cluster: Resolving the Discrepancy between the Results of Different PDS Data Analyses

The detection of a nonthermal excess in the Coma Cluster spectrum by two BeppoSAX observations analyzed with the XAS package (Fusco-Femiano et al.) has been disavowed by an analysis (Rossetti & Molendi) performed with a different software package (SAXDAS) for the extraction of the spectrum. To resolve this discrepancy we reanalyze the PDS data considering the same software used by Rossetti & Molendi. A correct selection of the data and the exclusion of contaminating sources in the background determination show that the SAXDAS analysis also reports a nonthermal excess with respect to the thermal emission at about the same confidence level of that obtained with the XAS package (~4.8 σ). In addition, we report the lack of the systematic errors investigated by Rossetti & Molendi and Nevalainen et al., taking into account the whole sample of the PDS observations off the Galactic plane, as already shown in our data analysis of Abell 2256 (Fusco-Femiano, Landi, & Orlandini). All this eliminates any ambiguity and confirms the presence of a hard tail in the spectrum of the Coma Cluster.
Evaluation of Two PCR Tests for Coxiella burnetii Detection in Dairy Cattle Farms Using Latent Class Analysis

Different tests performed on bulk tank milk samples (BTM) are available to determine the C. burnetii status of herds. However, these tests, which are based on the detection of either antibodies directed against C. burnetii (ELISA) or bacterial DNA (PCR), have limitations. A currently disease-free herd infected in the past may continue to test positive with ELISA due to the persistence of antibodies in animals that were infected and that subsequently cleared the infection. Infectious herds can also be misclassified using PCR because of the absence of bacteria in the BTM when the test is performed. Recently, PCR has been used for bacterial DNA detection in the farm environment, which constitutes the main reservoir of C. burnetii. The objectives of this study were to assess and compare the sensitivities and specificities of one commonly used PCR test in BTM (PCR BTM) and of a PCR applied to environmental samples (PCR DUST) in dairy cattle farms. BTM and dust samples were collected (using environmental swabs) in 95 herds. The evaluation of the performance of the 2 tests was conducted using latent class models accounting for within herd disease dynamics. Parameter estimation was carried out using MCMC, within a Bayesian framework. Two types of priors were used for the specificity of PCR DUST. A model with a uniform prior on 0–1 fitted the data better than a model with a uniform prior on 0.95–1. With the best model PCR DUST had a lower sensitivity than PCR BTM (0.75 versus 0.83) and a specificity of 0.72. The moderately low value for the specificity of PCR DUST suggests that the presence of bacteria on farm is not always associated with persistent infections and shedding of bacteria in milk.
Fura-2 measurement of cytosolic free Ca2+ in monolayers and suspensions of various types of animal cells

The fluorescent indicator fura-2 has been applied to a variety of cell types in order to set up appropriate conditions for measurements of the cytosolic concentration of free ionized Ca2+ [( Ca2+]i) in both cell suspensions and single cells analyzed in a conventional fluorimeter or in a fluorescence microscope equipped for quantitative analyses (with or without computerized image analyses), respectively. When the usual procedure for fluorescence dye loading (i.e., incubation at 37 degrees C with fura-2 acetoxy-methyl ester) was used, cells often exhibited a nonhomogeneous distribution of the dye, with marked concentration in multiple small spots located preferentially in the perinuclear area. These spots (studied in detail in human skin fibroblasts), were much more frequent in attached than in suspended cells, and were due to the accumulation (most probably by endocytosis) of the dye within acidic organelles after hydrolysis by lysosomal enzyme(s). When loading with fura-2 was performed at low (15 degrees C) temperature, no spots appeared, and cells remained diffusely labeled even after subsequent incubation at 32-37 degrees C for up to 2 h. Homogeneous distribution of the dye is a prerequisite for appropriate [Ca2+]i measurement. In fact, comparison of the results obtained in human skin fibroblasts labeled at either 37 or 15 degrees C demonstrated in spotty cells a marked apparent blunting of Ca2+ transients evoked by application of bradykinin. Additional problems were encountered when using fura-2. Leakage of the dye from loaded cells to the extracellular medium markedly affected the measurements in cell suspensions. This phenomenon was found to depend on the cell type, and to markedly decrease when temperature was lowered, suggesting the involvement of a facilitated transport. Calibration of fluorescence signals in terms of absolute [Ca2+]i was complicated by the increased fluorescence of fura-2 in the intracellular environment. To solve this problem we propose an in situ calibration procedure based on measurements carried out on cells in which [Ca2+]i was massively lowered (by loading the probe in a Ca2+- free medium) or increased (by treatment with the Ca2+ ionophore ionomycin, applied in a medium containing 3 mM Ca2+). These results provide explanations and, at least partial, solutions to the major problems encountered when using fura-2, and should thus be of help in clarifying the proper usage of the dye in [Ca2+]i measurements.
Tyneside Neighbourhoods: Deprivation, Social Life and Social Behaviour in One British City

Tyneside Neighbourhoods uses multiple research methods to explore social relationships and social behaviour, attempting to understand whether the experience of deprivation fosters social solidarity, or undermines it. The book is distinctive in its development of novel quantitative methods for ethnography: systematic social observation, economic games, household surveys, crime statistics, and field experiments.
Elucidation of the assembly events required for the recruitment of Utp20, Imp4 and Bms1 onto nascent pre-ribosomes

The 90S pre-ribosome, also known as the small subunit (SSU) processome, is a large multisubunit particle required for the production of the 18S rRNA from a pre-rRNA precursor. Recently, it has been shown that the formation of this particle entails the initial association of the tUTP subunit with the nascent pre-RNA and, subsequently, the binding of Rrp5/UTP-C and U3 snoRNP/UTP-B subunits in two independent assembly branches. However, the mode of assembly of other 90S pre-ribosome components remains obscure as yet. In this study, we have investigated the assembly of three proteins (Utp20, Imp4 and Bms1) previously regarded as potential nucleating factors of the 90S particle. Here, we demonstrate that the loading of those three proteins onto the pre-rRNA takes place independently of Rrp5/UTP-C and, instead, occurs downstream of the tUTP and U3/UTP-B subcomplexes. We also demonstrate that Bms1 and Utp20 are required for the recruitment of a subset of proteins to nascent pre-ribosomes. Finally, we show that proteins associated through secondary steps condition the stability of the two assembly branches in partially assembled pre-ribosomes. These results provide new information about the functional relationships among 90S particle components and the events that are required for their stepwise incorporation onto the primary pre-rRNA.
Unified external torque-sensing algorithm for flexible-joint robot based on Kalman filter

The external torque estimation problem in a flexible-joint robot system with joint torque sensors is revisited. A flexible-joint robot has two dynamics, motor dynamics and manipulator dynamics, resulting undesirable sensor torques reflecting neither the external link torques nor the actuating motor torques. A unified external torque-sensing algorithm for a flexible-joint robot is proposed, which estimates all the external torques by full utilizing the flexible-joint robot dynamics, regardless of the flexible-joint robot system condition. The basic structure of the proposed algorithm is illustrated, and the performance verification is briefly discussed.
Spatio-temporal variations in hand movement trajectory based brain activation patterns

The neuro engineering research over the past decades has established Electroencephalography based Brain Computer Interface (EEG-BCI) systems as an efficient means of decoding brain activity. Motor control BCI is a category of BCI that analyzes neural activity recorded over sensory motor area to classify or decode intended motor tasks. For a BCI system, it is desired to have defined and independent output control commands. Decoding movement trajectory parameters such as instantaneous position, speed coordinates from non-invasive brain recordings can thus be a key contribution in motor control BCI applications. In this study, we use Multiple Linear Regressor to estimate the hand movement trajectory from spectrally localized multi-sensor EEG. The algorithm is validated using data collected from subjects as they perform 2-dimensional center-out hand movement towards pre-defined targets at varying speeds. The spatio-temporal variations in motor activity based neural activation patterns using metrics derived from MLR estimator is investigated. The contribution of the predictors to the regression equation and decoding performance at various stages of movement are also studied. An average correlation of 0.63 (p<;0.005) between recorded and estimated trajectory is obtained using the method. The temporally varying involvement of motor, pre-motor and parietal areas; movement task dependent activations and time-varying sensor contribution in reconstruction are further demonstrated.
A REAL TIME EMBEDDED SYSTEM OF VEIN USED FOR AUTHENTICATION IN TELLER MACHINE

In this project, a real-time embedded finger-vein recognition system for authentication on teller machine being developed. This system is implemented on an embedded platform and equipped with a novel finger-vein recognition algorithm, so this system is an intelligent security system. Based on this a teller machine concept is developed. Wherein, the transaction is successful, If and only if the finger vein matched via GSM technology.
Applicability of Algebraic Transductions to Data-Flow Analysis

Parallelization of recursive programs is still an open problem today, lacking suitable and precise static analyses. This article presents a novel data ow analysis framework based on push-down (a.k.a. algebraic) transducers. This technique achieves a global and precise description of the data ow and discovers important semantic properties of the programs. Future fruitful research, at the crossroad of program analysis and formal language theory, is also hinted to.
Subjectivity of Lighting Perception and Comfort: The Role of Preferences and Expectations

Lighting in passenger rail cars is designed according to defined standards to implement a safe and healthy as well as comfortable lighting situation for the passengers. However, not every passenger’s demands are met by average lighting conditions; individual preferences are well-known to influence participants’ comfort sensations. To further explain the role of individual preferences and expectations regarded as stable dispositions, sensations of 40 participants were analyzed in a mock-up of a passenger rail car of the Next Generation Train (NGT) using an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) luminaire. Two lighting scenarios (100 lx and 150 lx) were used as levels of the independent variable. Results confirm that individual preferences and expectations have an influence on the perception and evaluation of the lighting situation. Moreover, positive expectations were found to have a somewhat higher impact for subjective reactions than illuminance had and should thus be considered in future lighting research and design.
Building a 4D statistical model of the left ventricle from cardiac MR images using Kernel PCA

In this paper, we construct a 4D statistical model of the left ventricle using human cardiac short-axis MR images. The initial atlas in natural coordinate system is built for the end-diastolic frame. The landmarks extracted from it are propagated to all frames of all datasets. Kernel PCA is utilized to explore the nonlinear variation of landmarks. The distribution of the landmarks is divided into the inter- and intra-subject subspaces. The results of kernel PCA are compared to linear PCA for each of these subspaces by calculating the compactness capacity, specificity and generalization ability measures. We investigate the behavior of the nonlinear model for different values of the kernel parameter. The results show that the model built by PCA is more compact. For a constant number of modes the reconstruction error is approximately equal for both models. KPCA produces a statistical model with substantially better specificity.
Automatic Music Recommendation Systems: Do Demographic, Profiling, and Contextual Features Improve Their Performance?

Traditional automatic music recommendation systems’ performance typically rely on the accuracy of statistical models learned from past preferences of users on music items. However, additional sources of data such as demographic attributes of listeners, their listening behaviour, and their listening contexts encode information about listeners, and their listening habits, that may be used to improve the accuracy of music recommendation models. In this paper we introduce a large dataset of music listening histories with listeners’ demographic information, and a set of features to characterize aspects of people’s listening behaviour. The longevity of the collected listening histories, covering over two years, allows the retrieval of basic forms of listening context. We use this dataset in the evaluation of accuracy of a music artist recommendation model learned from past preferences of listeners on music items and their interaction with several combinations of people’s demographic, proﬁling, and contextual features. Our results indicate that using listeners’ self-declared age , country , and gender improve the recommendation accuracy by 8 percent. When a new proﬁling feature termed exploratoryness was added, the accuracy of the model increased by 12 percent.
Accounting for uncertainty when mapping species distributions: The need for maps of ignorance

Accurate mapping of species distributions is a fundamental goal of modern biogeography, both for basic and applied purposes. This is commonly done by plotting known species occurrences, expert-drawn range maps or geographical estimations derived from species distribution models. However, all three kinds of maps are implicitly subject to uncertainty, due to the quality and bias of raw distributional data, the process of map building, and the dynamic nature of species distributions themselves. Here we review the main sources of uncertainty suggesting a code of good practices in order to minimize their effects. Specifically, we claim that uncertainty should be always explicitly taken into account and we propose the creation of maps of ignorance to provide information on where the mapped distributions are reliable and where they are uncertain.
Single versus Multiple Sorting in All Pairs Similarity Search

To save memory and improve speed, vectorial data such as images and signals are often represented as strings of discrete symbols (i.e., sketches). Charikar (2002) proposed a fast approximate method for finding neighbor pairs of strings by sorting and scanning with a small window. This method, which we shall call “single sorting”, is applied to locality sensitive codes and prevalently used in speed-demanding web-related applications. To improve on single sorting, we propose a novel method that employs blockwise masked sorting. Our method can dramatically reduce the number of candidate pairs which have to be verified by distance calculation in exchange with an increased amount of sorting operations. So it is especially attractive for high dimensional dense data, where distance calculation is expensive. Empirical results show the efficiency of our method in comparison to single sorting and recent fast nearest neighbor methods.
A MEM-Based Analysis of Volatility Spillovers in East Asian Financial Markets

Transmission mechanisms in financial markets reflect the degree of integration of capital markets, as well as the relative importance of real economies. Market volatility has components which may behave differently across quiet and turbulent periods, but appear to behave in similar ways from market to market. In this paper we suggest a Multiplicative Error Model (MEM) approach to study volatility spillovers among a set of markets, using as a proxy, the market daily range. We model the dynamics of the expected volatility of one market including interactions with the past daily ranges of other markets, building a fully interdependent model. We analyze eight East Asian markets in the period 1995-2006, devoting particular attention to the treatment of the 1997-1998 turbulence period. We find no evidence of independent markets while several interdependence relationships can be stressed. Hong Kong turns out to be the most important market while Taiwan seems to have suffered quite limited effects from the crisis. Impulse response functions and multiperiod forecast profiles are developed and suggest a build-up in the spillover effects.
Enhanced Heterologous Expression of Two Streptomyces griseolus Cytochrome P450s and Streptomyces coelicolor Ferredoxin Reductase as Potentially Efficient Hydroxylation Catalysts

ABSTRACT The herbicide-inducible, soluble cytochrome P450s CYP105A1 and CYP105B1 and their adjacent ferredoxins, Fd1 and Fd2, of Streptomyces griseolus were expressed in Escherichia coli to high levels. Conditions for high-level expression of active enzyme able to catalyze hydroxylation have been developed. Analysis of the expression levels of the P450 proteins in several different E. coli expression hosts identified E. coli BL21 Star(DE3)pLysS as the optimal host cell to express CYP105B1 as judged by CO difference spectra. Examination of the codons used in the CYP1051A1 sequence indicated that it contains a number of codons corresponding to rare E. coli tRNA species. The level of its expression was improved in the modified forms of E. coli BL21(DE3), which contain extra copies of rare codon E. coli tRNA genes. The activity of correctly folded cytochrome P450s was further enhanced by cloning a ferredoxin reductase from Streptomyces coelicolor downstream of CYP105A1 and CYP105B1 and their adjacent ferredoxins. Expression of CYP105A1 and CYP105B1 was also achieved in Streptomyces lividans 1326 by cloning the P450 genes and their ferredoxins into the expression vector pBW160. S. lividans 1326 cells containing CYP105A1 or CYP105B1 were able efficiently to dealkylate 7-ethoxycoumarin.
Cognitive styles: Web portal acceptance items measurement

The central intention of the paper was to establish a conceptual valid assessment framework and sound instruments for the measurement of cognitive styles in predicting academician and non-academician staff use and acceptance of technology. The latest technology acceptance model, unified theory of acceptance and use of technology, along with psychology—cognitive styles was tested to examine the role of cognitive styles in influencing the usage of I-Staff portal. A stratified random sampling method was used in this paper and 72 respondents participated. The instrument development and validation were adopted using the Rasch measurement paradigm, framework and model. Rasch analysis confirmed the cognitive styles among academician and non-academician staff. Instruments were developed: a 15-item to measure system acceptance including performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence and facilitating conditions and items measuring the experienced using the portal and cognitive styles respectively. The findings were discussed in relation to the theoretical perspective underpinning this paper. Besides, findings from this paper helped to identify several salient categories that affect the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology variables. Results of this paper also confirm the robustness of the Venkatesh's model on unified theory of acceptance and use of technology.
Using the beta-binomial distribution for the analysis of biometric identification

In this paper we presented a method which could be used in the testing process of biometric devices on the side of users and costumers. The failed events during the biometrical identification are more common than the literature data, however there isn't any standard or widely accepted manual for the examinations. The conventional statistical methods use the binomial distribution to estimate the expected number of failure, but in the field of the biometrics the probability parameter can't be constant which means that it is necessary to describe a process. Our results have shown that the probability is characterized with two parameters of the beta distribution, and these are predictable from a smaller sample of the investigated population with the maximum-likelihood method.
Associations of Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D3 Levels with Visceral Adipose Tissue in Chinese Men with Normal Glucose Tolerance

Objective Decreased serum vitamin D level is a common observation in obese adults. Since no Chinese population-based study has yet evaluated the relationship between serum vitamin D levels and the accurate adiposity variables, this study investigated the association of serum vitamin D (assessed by 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 [25(OH)D3]) levels with precise body fat content and distribution in a cohort of Chinese men. Methods Serum samples were collected from a total of 567 men with normal glucose tolerance (NGT) for assessment by electrochemiluminescence immunoassay to measure 25(OH)D3 levels. In addition, each participant underwent bioelectrical impedance analysis to quantify total body fat and magnetic resonance imaging to measure visceral fat area (VFA) and subcutaneous fat area (SFA). Results Overweight/obese (BMI ≥25 kg/m2) subjects had significantly lower serum 25(OH)D3 levels than non-overweight/non-obese (BMI <25 kg/m2) subjects (P = 0.029). Greater fat mass and VFA were accompanied by a downward trend in serum 25(OH)D3 levels (P for trend <0.01). Among overweight/obese subjects, those with body fat percent ≥25% also had significantly lower serum 25(OH)D3 levels (P <0.05). Moreover, participants with VFA ≥80 cm2 had significantly lower serum 25(OH)D3 (P <0.05), regardless of BMI value. VFA was independently correlated with serum 25(OH)D3 levels (β = −0.023, P <0.001), even after adjustments for confounding factors. In addition, serum 25(OH)D3 levels were found to decrease by 0.26 ng/mL per 10 cm2 increment of VFA. Conclusions Serum 25(OH)D3 levels were inversely associated with VFA in Chinese men with NGT.
Providing Performance Feedback to Individual Physicians: Current Practice and Emerging Lessons Final Report

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