Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dynamic Strain Mapping and Real-time Damage State Estimation Under Biaxial Random Fatigue Loading

Fatigue damage and its prediction is one of the foremost concerns of structural integrity research community. The current research in structural health monitoring (SHM) is to provide continuous (or on demand) information about the state of a structure. The SHM system can be based on either active or passive sensor measurements. Though the current research on ultrasonic wave propagation based active sensing approach has the potential to estimate very small damage, it has severe drawbacks in terms of low sensing radius and external power requirements. To alleviate these disadvantages passive sensing based SHM techniques can be used. Currently, few efforts have been made towards, time-series fatigue damage state estimation over the entire fatigue life (stage-I, II & III). A majority of the available literature on passive sensing SHM techniques demonstrates the clear trend in damage growth during the final failure regime (stage-III regime) or during when the damage is comparatively large enough. The present paper proposes a passive sensing technique that demonstrates a clear trend in damage growth almost over the entire stage-II and III damage growth regime. A strain gauge measurement based passive SHM frameworks that can estimate the time-series fatigue damage state under random loading is proposed. For this purpose, a Bayesian Gaussian process nonlinear dynamic model is developed to map the reference condition dynamic strain at a given instant of time. The predicted strains are compared with the actual sensor measurements to estimate the corresponding error signals. The error signals estimated at two different locations are correlated to estimate the corresponding fatigue damage state. The approach is demonstrated for an Al-2434 complex cruciform structure applied with biaxial random loading.
Molecular Analysis of Geographic Patterns of Eukaryotic Diversity in Antarctic Soils

ABSTRACT We describe the application of molecular biological techniques to estimate eukaryotic diversity (primarily fungi, algae, and protists) in Antarctic soils across a latitudinal and environmental gradient between approximately 60 and 87°S. The data were used to (i) test the hypothesis that diversity would decrease with increasing southerly latitude and environmental severity, as is generally claimed for “higher” faunal and plant groups, and (ii) investigate the level of endemicity displayed in different taxonomic groups. Only limited support was obtained for a systematic decrease in diversity with latitude, and then only at the level of a gross comparison between maritime (Antarctic Peninsula/Scotia Arc) and continental Antarctic sites. While the most southerly continental Antarctic site was three to four times less diverse than all maritime sites, there was no evidence for a trend of decreasing diversity across the entire range of the maritime Antarctic (60 to 72°S). Rather, we found the reverse pattern, with highest diversity at sites on Alexander Island (ca. 72°S), at the southern limit of the maritime Antarctic. The very limited overlap found between the eukaryotic biota of the different study sites, combined with their generally low relatedness to existing sequence databases, indicates a high level of Antarctic site isolation and possibly endemicity, a pattern not consistent with similar studies on other continents.
IMMOBILIZATION OF FREE-RANGING HOFFMANN'S TWO-TOED AND BROWN-THROATED THREE-TOED SLOTHS USING KETAMINE AND MEDETOMIDINE: A COMPARASION OF PHYSIOLOGIC PARAMETERS

Free-ranging Hoffmann's two-toed sloths (Choloepus hoffmanni; n=26) and brown-throated three-toed sloths (Bradypus variegatus; nequals;15) were manually captured and immobilized with 2.5 mg/kg ketamine + 0.02 mg/kg medetomidine administered intramuscularly. Physical examinations were conducted on each sloth 10 min after initial injection, and blood, fecal, and ectoparasite samples were collected. Heart rate, respiratory rate, body temperature, indirect systolic blood pressure, and indirect peripheral oxygen saturation were monitored every 5 min for the duration of anesthesia. After 45 min, atipamazole (0.1 mg/kg) was administered intramuscularly, as an antagonist to medetomidine, in order to facilitate recovery. All recoveries were smooth, rapid, and uneventful. Physiologic parameters were compared across time, gender, and species. All sloths, regardless of species and gender, demonstrated a time-dependent decrease in heart rate and blood pressure, and an increase in respiratory rate, during the course of anesthesia. Peripheral oxygen saturation was similar for all sloths over time. There were significant species differences for heart rate (Choloepus > Bradypus), respiratory rate (Choloepus > Bradypus), and systolic blood pressure (Bradypus > Choloepus), while there were significant gender differences for body temperature (males > females) and blood pressure (males > females). Results of this study suggest that the ketamine–medetomidine mixture, as described above, is a safe and effective anesthetic combination in free-ranging two- and three-toed sloths, although peripheral blood pressure should be monitored during anesthesia.
The sharp decline of beta estrogen receptors expression in long-lasting ulcerative-associated carcinoma

Abstract Objective. Colorectal carcinoma is an important cause of death in inflammatory bowel diseases, thus requiring surveillance for dysplasia in long-standing ulcerative colitis (UC). Females show a lower incidence probably related to hormonal factors; therefore, a role of estrogen receptors (ERs) has been supposed in carcinoma-associated colitis (CAC) development. Our aim was to identify ER beta/alpha expression in long-lasting pancolitis through each grade of dysplasia to carcinoma and, furthermore, to investigate the simultaneous epithelial apoptosis/proliferation. Materials and methods. Forty-eight patients affected by long-lasting pancolitis were retrospectively investigated. Samples were divided into four groups: UC, low-grade dysplasia/high-grade dysplasia (UC-HGD), and CAC. Normal colon samples were used as controls. ER-beta, ER-alpha, Ki-67, and TUNEL expression (labeling/H index) were evaluated by immunohistochemistry. Results. ER-beta expression revealed an impressive reduction in CAC (10.4 ± 5.1; p < 0.001) compared to controls and UC (34.3 ± 3.1 and 26.8 ± 7.8, respectively), meanwhile ER-beta level in LGD (29.4 ± 3.7) was comparable to UC. As far ER-beta/ER-alpha mean value ratio revealed a progressive reduction. Ki67 demonstrated a progressive significant increase from UC until CAC (37.9 ± 6.4 < 45.7 ± 6.2 < 60.6 ± 5.2 < 71.1 ± 5.1; p < 0.001). Apoptotic index (TUNEL) revealed a strong fall in UC-HGD and CAC. Conclusions. ER-beta fall could be considered as a biomarker of UC-dysplasia progression. It occurs in HGD and overt neoplasia, while in LGD shows a normal expression. At the moment, we are unable to use this tool in the clinical practice to predict tumor progression, but it would be appropriate to encourage ER expression investigations in large samples for the interesting perspectives of application.
Replacement of Fishmeal with Plant Protein Ingredients in Diets to Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) – Effects on Weight Gain and Accretion

Farming of fish and especially farming of carnivorous fish depends on high protein diets. Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) generally require 55-60% of dietary protein in juvenile stages thereafter the protein requirement declines (NRC, 1993). Historically the protein source has been fishmeal, produced from wild caught fish, while the lipid source has been the fish oil from the same source. Production of farmed Atlantic salmon in Norway has increased steadily during the last decade (from 440061 tons in year 2000 to 927876 metric tons in year 2010) while the wild fish catch has been stable during the same period of time (statistics from Directorate of Fisheries, Norway; www.fiskeridir.no). This also holds for the worldwide wild caught fish and aquaculture production (FAO; www.fao.org/fishery; Tacon, 1995; FAO, 2006; Tacon & Metian, 2008). Therefore if a continued increase of farmed fish is to occur, both alternative protein ingredients as well as lipid sources need to be assessed as feed ingredients. This is to be done by supporting both the growth and at the same time not compromising the health of the farmed fish. In future aquaculture these novel ingredients have to constitute the main protein and lipid sources in the fish diets. The main such sources are likely to be of plant origin but some animalby-products and microbiologically produced proteins might be allowed by national and/or international legislation as well. Such animal-by-products may arrive from processing of poultry and swine (Sugiura et al., 1998; Yanik et al., 2003; Rahnema et al., 2005) and microbiological produced protein sources as single cell proteins (Storebakken et al., 2004; Ozyurt & Deveci, 2004; Berge et al., 2005). Plant proteins are the most likely candidates because of their abundance and relatively low cost. However, upon substituting the fishmeal with plant protein ingredients reduced growth performance generally occurs in Atlantic salmon (Olli et al., 1995; Refstie et al., 1998; 2000; Storebakken et al., 1998; Carter & Hauler, 2000; Krogdahl et al., 2003; Opstvedt et al., 2003) as well as in other fish species of commercial interest such as Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua (von der Decken & Lied, 1993; Hansen et al., 2007), sea bream, Sparus aurata (Robaina et al., 1995; Gomez-Requeni et al., 2004), rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss (Pongmaneerat & Watanabe, 1992; Gomes et al., 1995; Kaushik et al., 1995) and turbot, Psetta maxima (Regost et al., 1999; Fournier et al., 2004). Increased feed conversion ratio (FCR) and reduced protein utilization are of major concern when fishmeal is replaced
L Dwarfs Found in Sloan Digital Sky Survey Commissioning Data. II. Hobby-Eberly Telescope Observations

Low-dispersion optical spectra have been obtained with the Hobby-Eberly Telescope of 22 very red objects found in early imaging data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). The objects are assigned spectral types on the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) system and are found to range from late M to late L. The red and near-infrared colors from SDSS and 2MASS correlate closely with each other, and most of the colors are closely related to spectral type in this range; the exception is the i*-z* color, which appears to be independent of spectral type between about M7 and L4. The spectra suggest that this independence is due to the disappearance of the TiO and VO absorption in the i band for later spectral types, the presence of strong Na I and K I absorption in the i band, and the gradual disappearance of the 8400 Å absorption of TiO and FeH in the z band.
Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy in an italian family with spinocerebellar ataxia type 1

Linkage and DNA analysis, magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, and single‐voxel proton MR spectroscopy were obtained in 10 members of an Italian kindred with spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA1). The size of the basis pontis, cerebellar hemispheres, middle cerebellar peduncles, and medulla oblongata were decreased in 4 members carrying the SCA1 gene, compared with 6 unaffected subjects. Diffuse signal changes in the pons and cerebellum were observed only in the carrier with the longest disease duration and greatest disability. The N‐acetylaspartate/creatine ratio and the choline/creatine ratio in the basis points were markedly decreased in 2 symptomatic SCA1 carriers and moderately decreased in 2 asymptomatic SCA1 carriers, compared with the unaffected family members and a control group of 10 healthy volunteers. Minor decreases in the N‐acetylaspartate/creatine ratio and the normal choline/creatine ratio, demonstrated by MR spectroscopy in the pons, is likely to reflect a loss of neuronal viability and might represent a biochemical marker of SCA1 more sensitive than brainstem and cerebellum atrophy and signal changes shown by MR imaging.
Risk factors for drug addiction and its outcome. A follow-up study over 25 years

The aim of the study was to investigate factors related to initiation and abandonment of illegal drugs. A follow-up study on 53 drug addicts originally hospitalized because of parenterally acquired hepatitis was performed using questionnaires. The majority stated that curiosity and peer pressure were the main reasons for starting drug use. Family conflicts, school and mental problems were each reported by about 40% of the subjects. Thirty-nine patients (74%) had abandoned addictive drugs during the approximately 25 years that had elapsed since the hospital stay. All of these thought that own efforts had been most important in this achievement. Other important factors were help and support from family and friends, establishing a family or experiencing acute hepatitis or an overdose.
Dual-fisheye omnidirectional stereo

We propose a novel omnidirectional stereo camera setup that is formed by two ultra-wide field-of-view (FOV) fisheye cameras. The proposed configuration is formed by two 245-degree FOV fisheye cameras, facing opposite directions, that are rigidly mounted on two sides of a rod. The overlapping view in the two fisheye images forms a ring-shaped spatial stereo setup. Our system provides stereo observations with full 360-degree FOV in horizontal directions and 65-degree FOV in the vertical direction. In addition, the two fisheye cameras altogether also provide full spherical monocular coverage of the surrounding environment. We address challenges in camera modeling, fisheye intrinsic calibration, stereo self-calibration, and depth estimation. We develop a lens-specific fisheye camera calibration method that uses manufacturer data for the optical lens to assist with the intrinsic calibration and develop an online self-calibration approach for estimating stereo extrinsic parameters. The overlapping camera views are rectified into stereo image pairs, from which a spatial stereo matching pipeline is developed for depth estimation in all horizontal directions. We show both qualitative and quantitative analysis to validate our approach.
Organ‐Specific Autoimmunity: A 1986 Overview

The normally functioning immune system is subject to intricate networks of regulatory mechanisms: it is therefore not surprising to find that autoimmune diseases present a complex pathogenic picture in which the relative contributions of various factors probably determine the precise nature and course of disease. This is particularly evident in the effector mechanisms of organ-specific autoimmunity which are described in this chapter. These ultimately give rise to the disease symptoms, and can be directly cytotoxic, or may either stimulate or block functional activity or growth of the target cells. Their various contributions to human diseases are becoming more firmly established, as in Type I diabetes, or are only now being described, as in the case of EC-Ab in protracted diarrhea of infancy and as evidenced by the growing lists of receptor-stimulating or -blocking antibodies. The nature and precise location of relevant autoantigens is also coming under closer scrutiny. The answers to the question of why these diseases arise in the first place remain more elusive. However, it is again likely that a variety of factors can contribute. The attractive possibility of a role for idiotypic interactions is gaining ground, particularly within the context of antibodies to hormones and their receptors. Another potential mechanism which we believe may be of central importance, particularly in the development of organ-specific destructive autoimmunity, and which we have discussed here in detail, is the aberrant expression of HLA Class II molecules by target cells. Whether this is actually an initiating factor is presently not known, but its potential for promoting pathogenesis both early and late in the process is clear. Furthermore, the complex nature of the regulation of epithelial Class II expression may help to explain the heterogeneity of features and course of disease in different patients with the same underlying pathology. All these advances in our basic understanding of the disease processes should ultimately lead to more effective and specific means of therapeutic intervention.
Computer simulations of protein folding

Computer simulations of biological systems provide novel data while both supporting and challenging traditional experimental methods. However, continued innovation is required to ensure that these technologies are able to work with increasingly complex systems. Coarse–grained approximations of protein structure have been studied using a lattice model designed to find low–energy conformations. A hydrogen–bonding term has been introduced. The ability to form β–sheet has been demonstrated, and the intricacies of reproducing the more complex α–helix on a lattice have been considered. An alternative strategy, that of better utilising computing power through the technique of milestoning, has shown good agreement with previous experimental and computational work. The increased efficiency allows significantly less extreme simulation conditions to be applied than those used in alternative simulation methods, and allows more simulation repeats. Finally, the principles of Least Action Dynamics have been employed to combine the two approaches described above. By splitting a simulation trajectory into a number of smaller components, and using the lattice model to optimise the path from a start structure to an end structure, it has been possible to efficiently generate dynamical information using an alternative method to traditional molecular dynamics.
Transplantation of the LGR6+ Epithelial Stem Cell into Full-Thickness Cutaneous Wounds Results in Enhanced Healing, Nascent Hair Follicle Development, and Augmentation of Angiogenic Analytes

Background: The recently discovered leucine-rich repeat-containing G-protein coupled receptor 6 (LGR6+) epithelial stem cell located within the follicular bulge of the adnexal compartment is capable of producing all cellular lineages of the skin. In this study, the authors sought to determine whether these cells can be transplanted for use as a type of cellular therapy for the repair of full-thickness wounds in which the native stem cell niche has been obliterated. Methods: Full-thickness murine skin was harvested and LGR6+GFP epithelial stem cells were isolated using fluorescence-activated cell sorting. This enriched epithelial stem cell population was then transplanted by means of local injection into wound beds on the dorsum of nude mice. Viability, migration, healing, the development of nascent hair follicles, and gene and proteomic expression studies were performed to determine whether the engraftment of LGR6+GFP epithelial stem cells enhanced healing when compared with controls. Results: Wound beds receiving LGR6+GFP epithelial stem cells showed enhanced healing; nascent follicle growth; and augmentation of the Wnt, vascular endothelial growth factor, epidermal growth factor, and platelet-derived growth factor pathways when compared with controls. Conclusions: The LGR6+ epithelial stem cells appear to hold great promise for the development of a clinically useful stem cell–based therapy for the repair of full-thickness wounds and hair regeneration. These results indicate that transplantation of LGR6+ epithelial stem cells promotes epithelialization, hair growth, and angiogenesis in tissues destined for scar formation.
Tongue verification with manifold learning

As an important human organ, tongue carries abundant individual features and has been considered as a novel biometrics. However, hitherto little work has been done it. The main reason is that it is difficult to capture the features of human tongue. This paper presents a novel framework for modeling and recognizing human tongue based on image sequences. This method exploits manifold learning dimensionality reduction, leading to a low-dimensional embedding of tongue image sequence for verification. To match the embedded manifolds, the Hausdorff distance is used for similarity measures. Classification is then achieved in a nearest neighbor framework. Based on the tongue images database, the promising experimental results demonstrate that not only the validity of tongue biometric but also the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed method.
Robust detection and mitigation of mutual interference in automotive radar

Active safety functions are being integrated into more and more cars. Many of these rely on radar sensors as a source of information about surrounding objects. Based on this information, for example, emergency braking maneuvers are initiated. This requires a very high reliability of the provided data. In the long term, these requirements will become even stricter as highly automated driving comes into play. In the near future, this will result in a high density of radar sensors operating simultaneously and in close proximity. This constellation generates mutual car-to-car interference if no precautions are taken. At present, efforts in measures to mitigate the interference concentrate on time-frequency signal processing. Spatial filtering using digital beamforming is another powerful method. This paper aims to cover the chain of interference, from the basic principles of waveform interaction in a radar sensor's receiver stage, up to mitigation techniques and consequences for signal processing in the presence of interference.
Checkpoint/Restart of Virtual Machines Based on Xen

System level virtualization provides several advantages: (i) customization is eased since virtual machines may be based on different systems; (ii) virtual machines are isolated from hardware, subsequently applications are isolated via the virtual machines; (iii) basic fault tolerance mechanisms -- pro-active fault tolerance through virtual machine migration and virtual machine snapshot/restore; and (iv) basic load balancing mechanisms -- the capability to move and stop virtual machines running in the system. However, the current Xen implementation does not natively provide mechanisms for virtual machine checkpoint/restart. This document presents the design of a reactive fault tolerant system, based on a checkpoint/restart mechanism for Xen virtual machines. We present the infrastructure for the management of virtual machines' checkpoint data as well as challenges for the implementation of a virtual machine checkpoint/restart mechanism based on Xen.
Escherichia coli O157:H7 and O157:H−Strains That Do Not Produce Shiga Toxin: Phenotypic and Genetic Characterization of Isolates Associated with Diarrhea and Hemolytic-Uremic Syndrome

ABSTRACT We have isolated one sorbitol-nonfermenting (SNF) Escherichia coli O157:H7 isolate and five sorbitol-fermenting (SF) E. coli O157:H− isolates that do not contain Shiga toxin (Stx) genes (stx). Isolates originated from patients with diarrhea (n = 4) and hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS) (n = 2). All isolates harbored a chromosomaleae gene encoding gamma-intimin as well as the plasmid genes E-hly and etp. The E. coliO157:H7 isolate was katP and espP positive. Respective sera obtained from the patient with HUS contained antibodies to the O157 lipopolysaccharide antigen. Thestx-negative E. coli O157:H7 isolate is genetically related to stx-positive SNF E. coliO157:H7. All stx-negative SF E. coliO157:H− isolates belong to the same genetic cluster and are closely related to stx-positive SF E. coliO157:H− isolates. Our data indicate thatstx-negative E. coli O157:H7/H−variants may occur at a low frequency and cannot be recognized by diagnostic methods that target Stx.