Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prevalence and Phylogeny of Coronaviruses in Wild Birds from the Bering Strait Area (Beringia)

Coronaviruses (CoVs) can cause mild to severe disease in humans and animals, their host range and environmental spread seem to have been largely underestimated, and they are currently being investigated for their potential medical relevance. Infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) belongs to gamma-coronaviruses and causes a costly respiratory viral disease in chickens. The role of wild birds in the epidemiology of IBV is poorly understood. In the present study, we examined 1,002 cloacal and faecal samples collected from 26 wild bird species in the Beringia area for the presence of CoVs, and then we performed statistical and phylogenetic analyses. We detected diverse CoVs by RT-PCR in wild birds in the Beringia area. Sequence analysis showed that the detected viruses are gamma-coronaviruses related to IBV. These findings suggest that wild birds are able to carry gamma-coronaviruses asymptomatically. We concluded that CoVs are widespread among wild birds in Beringia, and their geographic spread and frequency is higher than previously realised. Thus, Avian CoV can be efficiently disseminated over large distances and could be a genetic reservoir for future emerging pathogenic CoVs. Considering the great animal health and economic impact of IBV as well as the recent emergence of novel coronaviruses such as SARS-coronavirus, it is important to investigate the role of wildlife reservoirs in CoV infection biology and epidemiology.
Nasal Mucoadhesive in situ Gel of Ondansetron Hydrochloride

Ondansetron is a serotonin receptor antagonist used in the management of nausea and vomiting that is associated with cancer chemotherapy. There is a need for intranasal delivery due to poor bioavailability of drug because of first pass effect. The objective of this study was to develop an intranasal delivery system of ondansetron hydrochloride using thermo-sensitive polymer PF127 and mucoadhesive polymer hydroxypropylcellulose. Due to increase in bioadhesive polymer concentration, there was increase in bioadhesion strength, at the same time there was decrease in the spredability. An in vitro diffusion study revealed that viscosity of the vehicle has an influence on drug. The release of ondansetron hydrochloride from the gel matrix showed diffusion- controlled.
Framing effects reveal discrete lexical-semantic and sublexical procedures in reading: an fMRI study

According to the dual-route model, a printed string of letters can be processed by either a grapheme-to-phoneme conversion (GPC) route or a lexical-semantic route. Although meta-analyses of the imaging literature support the existence of distinct but interacting reading procedures, individual neuroimaging studies that explored neural correlates of reading yielded inconclusive results. We used a list-manipulation paradigm to provide a fresh empirical look at this issue and to isolate specific areas that underlie the two reading procedures. In a lexical condition, we embedded disyllabic Italian words (target stimuli) in lists of either loanwords or trisyllabic Italian words with unpredictable stress position. In a GPC condition, similar target stimuli were included within lists of pseudowords. The procedure was designed to induce participants to emphasize either the lexical-semantic or the GPC reading procedure, while controlling for possible linguistic confounds and keeping the reading task requirements stable across the two conditions. Thirty-three adults participated in the behavioral study, and 20 further adult participants were included in the fMRI study. At the behavioral level, we found sizeable effects of the framing manipulations that included slower voice onset times for stimuli in the pseudoword frames. At the functional anatomical level, the occipital and temporal regions, and the intraparietal sulcus were specifically activated when subjects were reading target words in a lexical frame. The inferior parietal and anterior fusiform cortex were specifically activated in the GPC condition. These patterns of activation represented a valid classifying model of fMRI images associated with target reading in both frames in the multi-voxel pattern analyses. Further activations were shared by the two procedures in the occipital and inferior parietal areas, in the premotor cortex, in the frontal regions and the left supplementary motor area. These regions are most likely involved in either early input or late output processes.
Benchmarking big data for trip recommendation

The availability of massive trajectory data collected from GPS devices has received significant attentions in recent years. A hot topic is trip recommendation, which focuses on searching trajectories that connect (or are close to) a set of query locations, e.g., several sightseeing places specified by a traveller, from a collection of historic trajectories made by other travellers. However, if we know little about the sample coverage of trajectory data when developing an application of trip recommendation, it is difficult for us to answer many practical questions, such as 1) how many (future) queries can be supported with a given set of raw trajectories? 2) how many trajectories are required to achieve a good-enough result? 3) how frequent the update operations need to be performed on trajectory data to keep it long-term effective? In this paper, we focus on studying the overall quality of trajectory data from both spatial and temporal domains and evaluate proposed methods with a real big trajectory dataset. Our results should be useful for both the development of trip recommendation systems and the improvement of trajectory-searching algorithms.
Visceral Fat Adipokine Secretion Is Associated With Systemic Inflammation in Obese Humans

Although excess visceral fat is associated with noninfectious inflammation, it is not clear whether visceral fat is simply associated with or actually causes metabolic disease in humans. To evaluate the hypothesis that visceral fat promotes systemic inflammation by secreting inflammatory adipokines into the portal circulation that drains visceral fat, we determined adipokine arteriovenous concentration differences across visceral fat, by obtaining portal vein and radial artery blood samples, in 25 extremely obese subjects (mean ± SD BMI 54.7 ± 12.6 kg/m2) during gastric bypass surgery at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri. Mean plasma interleukin (IL)-6 concentration was ∼50% greater in the portal vein than in the radial artery in obese subjects (P = 0.007). Portal vein IL-6 concentration correlated directly with systemic C-reactive protein concentrations (r = 0.544, P = 0.005). Mean plasma leptin concentration was ∼20% lower in the portal vein than in the radial artery in obese subjects (P = 0.0002). Plasma tumor necrosis factor-α, resistin, macrophage chemoattractant protein-1, and adiponectin concentrations were similar in the portal vein and radial artery in obese subjects. These data suggest that visceral fat is an important site for IL-6 secretion and provide a potential mechanistic link between visceral fat and systemic inflammation in people with abdominal obesity.
Construct Validity of Beery's Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration for Taiwanese Children

The purpose of this study was to examine the construct validity of Beery's Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration (VMI test) and its hierarchical structure of item difficulties for Taiwanese children. The VMI test was administered to 314 Taiwanese children aged from 3.3 to 13.3 years. The Rasch model of measurement was chosen to investigate the goodness-of-fit of individual items within the VMI test and the sequence of item difficulty. The results revealed that the 24 items of the VMI test measure a unidimensional construct. The difficulty levels of the items were spread widely and evenly across the age range tested. A person separation reliability of . 92 and an item separation reliability of . 99 indicated that the VMI test had good discriminatory power. However, the different sequence of item difficulty preliminarily found in this study indicates that the item order or the scoring criteria should be revised for Taiwanese children. Further studies of the standardization and validity of the VMI test and revision of the sequence for the Taiwanese population are necessary.
III. Yeast sequencing reports. Nucleotide sequence of 9·2 kb left of CRY1 on yeast chromosome III from strain ab972: Evidence for a ty insertion and functional analysis of open reading frame YCR28

We report the 9210 bp sequence from a segment of yeat chromosome III cloned from strain AB972 in λPM3270. Analysis of this sequence and its comparison with the one derived from the corresponding segment of strain XJ24‐24A revealed that the AB972 region contains a duplication of about 2 kb and a Ty element, which are not found in XJ24‐24A and cause a quite significant rearrangement of the whole region. We performed analysis of YCR28, the largest open reading frame we found in both AB972 and XJ24‐24A. YCR28 encodes a putative protein of 512 amino acids with some similarities to yeast allontoate permease. Its disruption does not cause any detectable phenotype on rich medium or on allantoate medium, while we observed a strain‐dependent effect on senstivity to amino acid balance and to 3‐aminotriazole, when cells were grown in synthetic medium.
A THEORETICAL-STUDY OF ELASTIC X-RAY-SCATTERING

Bragg X-ray scattering intensities are defined as scattering by the thermodynamic average electron-charge density. Purely elastic, kinematic X-ray scattering by a target in thermal equilibrium is always larger than Bragg scattering. At low temperatures, the elastic scattering becomes Bragg scattering. For large molecules, such as a crystal, at ordinary temperatures the elastic and Bragg scattering differ in a relative sense by O(N-1), where N is the number of vibrational degrees of freedom. For most practical cases the Bragg scattering is essentially the same as purely elastic scattering of X-rays.
Approximate MAP Detection With Ordering and Successive Processing for Iterative Detection and Decoding in MIMO Systems

For iterative detection and decoding (IDD) in multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems, the MIMO detector needs to provide soft-decisions. Since the complexity of the maximum a posteriori probability (MAP) detector grows exponentially with the number of transmit antennas, various suboptimal detectors are proposed to exploit the tradeoff between complexity and performance. Among them, the minimum mean square error (MMSE)-soft cancellation (SC) detector has an excellent tradeoff. In this paper, by noting that the MMSE-SC detector is an approximate MAP detector, another approximate MAP detector that uses successive processing is proposed. The proposed successive detector can provide a better performance than the MMSE-SC detector, while its complexity is comparable with that of the MMSE-SC detector. An interesting feature of the proposed successive detector is that the tradeoff between complexity and performance can be exploited by a single parameter, which could be an important control parameter in practical implementations.
WiFi positioning with propagation-based calibration

Synthetic fingerprint generation using propagation models has been proposed as a cost-effective way to reduce the deployment cost of WiFi positioning systems. Contrary to traditional WiFi positioning systems, which require recording WiFi fingerprints together with ground truth locations, fingerprint generation attempts to automatically populate the radio map using theoretical properties of radio signals. Current solutions for fingerprint generation, however, are extremely complex, requiring complicated modeling of both the signal characteristics and the environment. The present paper contributes by demonstrating that simpler modeling, where only the path-loss exponent is learned from empirical measurements, is sufficient for practical purposes reaching accuracy comparable to carrying out a detailed survey.
The functional guts of the Kleisli query system

Kleisli is a modern data integration system that has made a significant impact on bioinformatics data integration. The primary query language provided by Kleisli is called CPL, which is a functional query language whose surface syntax is based on the comprehension syntax. Kleisli is itself implemented using the functional language SML. This paper describes the influence of functional programming research that benefits the Kleisli system, especially the less obvious ones at the implementation level.
Improving speech-to-speech translation using word posterior probabilities

Nowadays, speech translation is a research problem in machi ne translation. The problem arises as to how to combine speech recognition and machine translation in a suitable wa y. Some authors have shown that the speech translation can be improved by using word lattices as input of the translation s ystem. The acoustic recognition scores from the word lattic e are used for improving the translation quality. However, word l attices do not consider word co-occurrences between differ ent hypothesis and those probabilities are not real probabilit ies but merely Viterbi approximations. In this work, we prop ose an improved word lattice representation for using posterio r pr babilities instead of acoustic scores. We present prel iminary results of this approach compared against other common appr o ches on two different corpora. Although the results are no t strongly conclusive, they show that this approach is worth e xploring more deeply.
Bandwidth Management for Distributed Control of Highly Articulated Robots

An optimal bandwidth allocation policy for axis distributed control using networked control systems (NCS) is presented. First, the benefits of structuring highly articulated robots using networked control systems are discussed. Afterwards, an optimal bandwidth allocation policy for axes distributed control that allows to enhance robot tracking within the available bandwidth is introduced. It will be shown that axes control performance and thus tracking can be significantly improved by using feedback to dynamically allocate bandwidth to axis controllers as a function of the current state of each axis. Simulation results on a multiple axes robot corroborate our approach.
Who decides? Tanzanian women's narratives on educational advancement and agency

ABSTRACT One of the critical issues deliberated amongst researchers on gender and education is that of choosing and decision-making. Often, the focus of analysis is framed through the concept of agency. In this paper, the analytical focus is on educational advancement and agency. The paper is based on narratives of 10 highly educated Tanzanian women. Employing the human development and capabilities approach, the paper aims to elaborate to what extent the women had the freedom to exercise educational agency, in what ways their beings and doings were in accordance with ‘the idea of Tanzanian woman’, including the hegemonic idea of adequate and appropriate education for girls and women, and how they aimed to become something else. By listening to the women's narratives and analysing their choices and decision-making processes, four kinds of agency freedoms were identified. In the paper, these agency notions are re-presented.
Production of a Sialylated N‐Linked Glycoprotein in Insect Cells

Under High Aspect Ratio Vessel (HARV) bioreactor culture conditions designed to simulate the microgravity of orbital space flight, insect tissue culture cells infected with a baculovirus expression vector produced a human glycoprotein with tri‐ and tetra‐antennary complex N‐linked oligosaccharides containing terminal sialic acid residues. The oligosaccharide structures were similar to those produced in human placental cells. Insect cells cultured in T‐flasks only performed incomplete oligosaccharide processing. The mechanism of HARV‐mediated changes in the eukaryotic N‐linked glycosylation pathway was investigated and could be mimicked under T‐flask growth conditions with the addition of N‐acetylmannosamine to the culture medium. The significance of these investigations is discussed with respect to the production of recombinant therapeutic glycoproteins, insect physiology, and orbital space flight.
Impact of higher hemoglobin targets on blood pressure and clinical outcomes: a secondary analysis of CHOIR.

BACKGROUND Targeting a higher hemoglobin in patients with chronic kidney disease leads to adverse cardiovascular outcomes, yet the reasons remain unclear. Herein, we sought to determine whether changes in erythropoiesis-stimulating agent (ESA) dose and in hemoglobin were predictive of changes in blood pressure (BP) and whether these changes were associated with cardiovascular outcomes. METHODS In this secondary analysis of 1421 Correction of Hemoglobin and Outcomes in Renal Disease (CHOIR) participants, mixed model analyses were used to describe monthly changes in ESA dose and hemoglobin with changes in diastolic BP (DBP) and systolic BP (SBP). Poisson modeling was performed to determine whether changes in hemoglobin and BP were associated with the composite end point of death or cardiovascular outcomes. RESULTS Monthly average DBP, but not SBP, was higher in participants in the higher hemoglobin arm. Increases in ESA doses and in hemoglobin were significantly associated with linear increases in DBP, but not consistently with increases in SBP. In models adjusted for demographics and comorbid conditions, increases in ESA dose (>0 U) and larger increases in hemoglobin (>1.0 g/dL/month) were associated with poorer outcomes [event rate ratio per 1000 U weekly dose per month increase 1.05, (1.02-1.08), P = 0.002 and event rate ratio 1.70 (1.02-2.85), P = 0.05, respectively]. However, increasing DBP was not associated with adverse outcomes [event rate ratio 1.01 (0.98-1.03), P = 0.7]. CONCLUSION Among CHOIR participants, higher hemoglobin targets, increases in ESA dose and in hemoglobin were associated both with increases in DBP and with higher event rates; however, increasing DBP was not associated with adverse outcomes.
Reinforcing a Claim in Commonsense Reasoning

Formalizations of commonsense knowledge rely on highly simplied representations of the world. After a conclusion is justied on the basis of one such representation in a nonmonotonic logic, it may not remain valid when additional relevant facts are taken into account to bring the formalization to a closer approximation of reality. However, if the conclusion continues to hold in the enriched theory, we can consider it to be reinforced. An argument in support of a claim can be represented by a sequence of nonmonotonic theories, each containing and enhancing the previous theory in the sequence and each entailing the claim. This idea is illustrated here by a sequence of formalizations of iSam’s Calculusioan example of commonsense reasoning due to Ernie Davisoin the language of the Causal Calculator.
A robust computational test for overlap of two arbitrary-dimensional ellipsoids in fault-detection of Kalman filters

On-line fault-detection in uncertain measurement and estimation systems is of particular interest in many applications. In certain systems based on the Kalman filter, this test can be performed by checking whether hyperellipsoids overlap. This test can be applied to detecting failure in the system itself or in the sensors used to determine the system state. To facilitate the practical application of such tests, we describe a simple condition for overlap of two ellipsoids and propose an efficient algorithmic implementation for testing this condition. There are applications in many other areas, such as collision avoidance or computer graphics. Our proposal makes use of Leverriere's algorithm and Sturm's theorem, a result of algebraic geometry. Thus, no approximative methods, such as root finding or minimization are needed. Furthermore, the complexity of the algorithm is fixed for a fixed problem dimension.
Bayesian statistical models for HIV evolution

BAYESIAN STATISTICAL MODELS FOR HIV EVOLUTION Alexander Fredric Braunstein Shane T. Jensen (Advisor) Statistical models provide an important mechanism for describing and understanding sequence evolution, such as the escape response of a viral population under a particular therapy. We present a new hierarchical Bayesian model that incorporates spatially varying mutation and recombination rates into a coalescent framework for sequence evolution. Focusing on evolutionary responses to therapy, we maintain separate parameters for treatment and control groups, which allows us to estimate treatment effects explicitly. Our approach is used to investigate sequence evolution at the nucleotide level of HIV populations exposed to a recently developed antisense gene therapy, as well as a more conventional drug therapy. Detection of biologically relevant signals in both studies and recovery of true mutation and recombination rates in extensive simulation studies demonstrate the effectiveness of our method.
Business or Cause? Gendered Institutional Logics in Women’s Professional Soccer

Despite women’s increased participation in sport, women’s team sport leagues have yet to find a lasting toehold at the professional level. Using ethnographic data collected with U.S. women’s professional soccer in 2011-2012, I situate the work of selling women’s soccer in the complex institutional environment of contemporary women’s sports organizations. League owners and employees were dually influenced by the hypercommercialized model of success presented by men’s professional sports and an institutionalized, depoliticized feminist model of sport promoting empowerment and role modeling for girls and women. As a result, “business” and “cause” institutional logics presented different organizational goals. These logics contained divergent assumptions about the extent of gender (in)equality facing women’s professional sports. They were also understood somewhat differently along gender lines, with men perceiving empowerment and profit to be compatible goals more often than women. Implications for the viability of women’s professional sports leagues are discussed.
Molecular Characterization of the Sigma Class Gutathione S-Transferase from Chilo suppressalis and Expression Analysis Upon Bacterial and Insecticidal Challenge

ABSTRACT The insect glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) play an important role in the detoxification of xenobiotic compounds and are related to insecticides resistance. The full-length cDNA sequences encoding the sigma class GST protein (CsGSTsigma) was cloned from the Asiatic rice borer, Chilo suppressalis (Walker), one of the most important rice pests in Asia. The comparison of amino acid sequences showed that CsGSTsigma is highly similar to the sigma GST isolated from the domestic silkworm, Bombyx mori (L.). A homology model of CsGSTsigma was constructed and its binding environment for GSH is identical to that in the equivalent site of sigma GST from the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster Meigen. The developmental changes of the relative mRNA expression levels of CsGSTsigma were examined in Asiatic rice borer, and the highest expression level of this gene is in adult followed by the third-instar larvae stage. Furthermore, one gram-positive bacterium and two chemical insecticides were found to be able to induce the increasing expression of CsGSTsigma, suggesting that CsGSTsigma might work as an antioxidant enzyme to against the negative effects caused by both pathogens and xenobiotics.