Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dispersal and Transmission of Avian Paramyxovirus Serotype 4 among Wild Birds and Domestic Poultry

Avian paramyxovirus serotype 4 (APMV-4) is found sporadically in wild birds worldwide, and it is an economically important poultry pathogen. Despite the existence of several published strains, very little is known about the distribution, host species, and transmission of APMV-4 strains. To better understand the relationships among these factors, we conducted an APMV-4 surveillance of wild birds and domestic poultry in six provinces of China suspected of being intercontinental flyways and sites of interspecies transmission. APMV-4 surveillance was conducted in 9,160 wild birds representing seven species, and 1,461 domestic poultry in live bird markets (LMBs) from December 2013 to June 2016. The rate of APMV-4 isolation was 0.10% (11/10,621), and viruses were isolated from swan geese, bean geese, cormorants, mallards, and chickens. Sequencing and phylogenetic analyses of the 11 isolated viruses indicated that all the isolates belonging to genotype I were epidemiologically connected with wild bird-origin viruses from the Ukraine and Italy. Moreover, chicken-origin APMV-4 strains isolated from the LBMs were highly similar to wild bird-origin viruses from nearby lakes with free-living wild birds. In additional, a hemagglutination-negative APMV-4 virus was identified. These findings, together with recent APMV-4 studies, suggest potential virus interspecies transmission between wild birds and domestic poultry, and reveal possible epidemiological intercontinental connections between APMV-4 transmission by wild birds.
Nanocharacterization of interface between natural fiber and polymer matrix: an overview

Abstract Detailed description and exploitation of materials in nanoscale have become an obvious part of polymer-based composites with the speedy progression of nanotechnology. This review will focus on some of the nanocharacterization techniques that are most frequently used in current research of composite structures with an emphasis on the interface zone of natural fiber and polymer matrix. The fiber-polymer interface is a transition region, which extends nanometers to micrometers over which the mechanical and physical properties change from the bulk properties of fiber to the bulk properties of the polymer. Therefore, a better understanding of interfacial properties and characteristics will be helpful in estimating the ultimate properties of fiber-reinforced polymer composites. A number of case studies related to interface and its impact on the macroscale performance of the composites from the published literature are discussed.
Content‐based citation analysis: The next generation of citation analysis

Traditional citation analysis has been widely applied to detect patterns of scientific collaboration, map the landscapes of scholarly disciplines, assess the impact of research outputs, and observe knowledge transfer across domains. It is, however, limited, as it assumes all citations are of similar value and weights each equally. Content‐based citation analysis (CCA) addresses a citation's value by interpreting each one based on its context at both the syntactic and semantic levels. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of CAA research in terms of its theoretical foundations, methodical approaches, and example applications. In addition, we highlight how increased computational capabilities and publicly available full‐text resources have opened this area of research to vast possibilities, which enable deeper citation analysis, more accurate citation prediction, and increased knowledge discovery.
Development and Evaluation of Control Strategies for Reduction of Ambient PM 10 Levels in Urban Environment : Application of GIS and Dispersion Modeling

Geographic information system (GIS) based emission inventory of particulate matter of aerodynamic diameter less than 10 μm (PM10) for the base, 5 th and 10 th year was developed for Kanpur, an urban area in India. It has been observed that the 5 th and 10 th year will experience increased emission by factors of 1.5 and 2.2 of the base year. Twenty one control options (e.g. introduction of Euro 6 to vehicles, banning of 15 year old private vehicles, use of natural gases as fuels for industries etc.) were considered for evaluation. The effectiveness of each control option was assessed in terms of PM10 reduction potential using Industrial Source Complex Short Term (ISCST3) model. A total of four control scenarios were developed as combination of several control options and these scenarios were evaluated for their effectiveness. The evaluation process through air quality modeling revealed that the control scenario comprising control options of: (i) implementation of Euro 6 for vehicles, (ii) compressed natural gas (CNG) to commercial and public vehicles, (iii) banning of 15 year old private vehicles, (iv) particulate control systems in industries etc., was found to be most effective in reducing the ambient PM10 levels that could attain 24 hr average air quality standard.
Pricing of options on assets with level dependent stochastic volatility

Many asset classes, such as interest rates, exchange rates, commodities, and equities, often exhibit a strong relationship between asset prices and asset volatilities. This paper examines an analytical model that takes into account this level dependence of volatility. We demonstrate how prices of European options under stochastic volatility can be calculated analytically via inverse Laplace transformations. We also examine a Hull-White stochastic volatility expansion. While a success of this expansion in approximate computation of option prices has already been established empirically, the question of convergence has been left unanswered. We demonstrate, in this paper, that this expansion diverges essentially for all possible stochastic volatility processes. In contrast to a majority of volatility expansion models reported in the literature, we construct expansions that explicitly show the contribution of all of the variance moments. Such complete expansions are very useful in analyzing properties of option prices, as we demonstrate by examining why empirical volatility surfaces plotted as a function of the rescaled strike can sometimes exhibit striking time invariance.
Planning and motion control in lifelike gesture: a refined approach

In this paper an operational model for the automatic generation of lifelike gestures of an anthropomorphic virtual agent is described. The biologically motivated approach to controlling the movements of a highly articulated figure provides a transformation of spatiotemporal gesture specifications into an analog representation of the movement from which the animations are directly rendered. To this end, knowledge-based computer animation techniques are combined with appropriate methods for trajectory formation and articulated figure animation.
Learning Impedance Control for Robotic Manipulators

Learning control is a concept for controlling dynamic systems in an iterative manner. It arises from the recognition that robotic manipulators are usually used to perform repetitive tasks. Most researches on the iterative learning control of robots have been focused on the problem of free motion control and hybrid position/force control where the learning controllers are designed to track the desired motion and force trajectories. The iterative learning impedance control of robotic manipulators, however, has been studied recently. In this paper, an iterative learning impedance control problem for robotic manipulators is formulated and solved. A target impedance is specified and a learning controller is designed such that the system follows the desired response specified by the target model as the actions are repeated. A design method for analyzing the convergence of the learning impedance system is developed. A sufficient condition for guaranteeing the convergence of the system is also derived. The proposed learning impedance control scheme is implemented on an industrial selective compliance assembly robot arm (SCARA) robot, SEIKO TT3000. Experimental results verify the theory and confirm the effectiveness of the learning impedance controller.
Healthy Foundations Study: a randomised controlled trial to evaluate biological embedding of early-life experiences

Introduction Adverse early experiences are associated with long-lasting disruptions in physiology, development and health. These experiences may be ‘biologically embedded’ into molecular and genomic systems that determine later expressions of vulnerability. Most studies to date have not examined whether preventive interventions can potentially reverse biological embedding. The Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) is an evidence-based intervention with demonstrated efficacy in improving prenatal health, parenting and child functioning. The Healthy Foundations Study is an innovative birth cohort which will evaluate the impact of the NFP on biological outcomes of mothers and their infants. Methods and analysis Starting in 2013, up to 400 pregnant mothers and their newborns were recruited from the British Columbia Healthy Connections Project—a randomised controlled trial of the NFP, and will be followed to child aged 2 years. Women were recruited prior to 28 weeks’ gestation and then individually randomised to receive existing services (comparison group) or NFP plus existing services (intervention group). Hair samples are collected from mothers at baseline and 2 months post partum to measure physiological stress. Saliva samples are collected from infants during all visits for analyses of stress and immune function. Buccal swabs are collected from infants at 2 and 24 months to assess DNA methylation. Biological samples will be related to child outcome measures at age 2 years. Ethics and dissemination The study received ethical approval from seven research ethics boards. Findings from this study will be shared broadly with the research community through peer-reviewed publications, and conference presentations, as well as seminars with our policy partners and relevant healthcare providers. The outcomes of this study will provide all stakeholders with important information regarding how early adversity may lead to health and behavioural disparities and how these may be altered through early interventions. Trial registration number NCT01672060; Pre-results.
Tri-nucleotide consortium of androgen receptor is associated with low serum FSH and testosterone in asthenospermic men

ABSTRACT Androgen mediating signaling is implicated in regulating the expression of reproductive related genes. Any deviation in the gene expression might be the ignitable precursor for genomic instability that inflames the genomic rearrangements and a leading cause of cancer. The main goal of this study was to determine the relationships between trinucleotide repeats of androgen receptor (AR), sex steroids, and sexual function in men presenting with reduced sperm motility. We investigated the singleton or combinatorial effects of the length of trinucleotide repeats of AR on reproductive hormones, clinical parameters, semen analyses, as well as sexual assessment function of 210 asthenospermic outpatients along with 125 normal subjects. Sexual assessment was executed using the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-15 score) which measures erectile function (EF), orgasmic function (OR), sexual desire (SD), intercourse satisfaction (IS), and overall satisfaction. Our findings suggest that long (>26 CAG)n repeats have an inverse correlation with circulatory FSH and T, whereas long (>25 GGC)n repeats have moderated affiliation with reduced sperm concentration. The study revealed a novel finding by exploring the negative correlation between elongated (CAG)n repeats and the cumulative IIEF-15 score, orgasm function (OR), and erectile function (EF) in asthenospermic men. This study examines the tri-nucleotide correlation with sexual function in Punjabi men enhancing our understanding of the regulatory mechanisms of sexual performance. Abbreviations: AR: androgen receptor; IIEF-15 score: International Index of Erectile Function; EF: erectile function; OR: orgasmic function; SD: sexual desire; IS: intercourse satisfaction; FSH: follicular stimulating hormone; T: testosterone; NTD: N-terminal transactivation domain; DBD: DNA-binding domain; LBD: ligand binding domain; TNR: tri-nucleotide repeat
Interferon regulatory factor 3 mediates Poly(I:C)-induced innate immune response and apoptosis in non‑small cell lung cancer.

Immunotherapy is considered one of the most promising treatments for lung cancer. The cell signalling molecules melanoma differentiation-associated protein 5 (MDA5) and retinoic acid-inducible gene I protein (RIG‑I) are essential receptors that recognise intracellular pathogen-associated nucleic acids, whereas interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF3) controls the expression of innate immunity-associated genes in macrophages. However, the innate immune response to polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid [Poly(I:C)] in lung cancer remains to be elucidated. In the present study, western blot analysis, reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction, RNA interference, IRF3 plasmid construction, ELISA and apoptosis analysis were employed to study the innate immune response and apoptosis of non‑small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells. Poly(I:C) transfection in NSCLC cells triggered apoptosis via the extrinsic apoptotic pathway, and activated the innate immune response by promoting interferon-β and C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 10 expression. Treatment with the IκB kinase ε/tumour necrosis factor receptor-associated factor family member-associated nuclear factor-κB activator-binding kinase 1 inhibitor BX795, which inhibits IRF3 phosphorylation, or transfection with small interfering RNA/short hairpin RNA to downregulate MDA5, RIG‑I or IRF3, prior to Poly(I:C) transfection inhibited the innate immune response and apoptotic pathway. Conversely, IRF3 overexpression promoted activation of the apoptotic pathway, thus indicating that the MDA5/RIG‑I/IRF3 axis may mediate responses to Poly(I:C) transfection. Furthermore, phosphorylation of the transcription factor signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1) was associated with the alterations in IRF3 phosphorylation and apoptosis, thus suggesting that STAT1 may be involved in Poly(I:C)-induced apoptosis. In NSCLC surgical samples, MDA5, RIG‑I and IRF3 were highly expressed, whereas the expression levels of phosphorylated‑IRF3 were reduced. These findings indicated that the function of the MDA5/RIG‑I/IRF3 axis may be impaired in some lung cancers. In conclusion, the present findings suggested that the MDA5/RIG‑I/IRF3 axis, which is associated with innate immunity, is intact in NSCLC cells, and IRF3 is involved in regulating the apoptotic pathway in NSCLC cells.
Effect of Processing Temperature on Radiative Properties of Polypropylene and Heat Transfer in the Pure and Glassfibre Reinforced Polymer

Polypropylene is considered as an appropriate polymer matrix for advanced thermoplastic composite materials which have some advantages in various engineering applications. Wide-range infrared radiative properties of polypropylene are important for combined heat transfer modeling in these composite materials. Five samples of polypropylene obtained at various processing temperatures from 40 to 120 o C are studied using the measurements of both the normal-hemispherical reflectance and normal-hemispherical transmittance of the samples in the wavelength range from 0.67 to 16.7 μm. The analysis of radiative properties of polypropylene takes into account its specific morphology formed during processing at elevated temperatures. It appears that both morphology and short-wave (visible and near-infrared) radiative properties of polypropylene are sensitive to the processing temperature and there is a significant scattering of radiation in this range. A theoretical analysis based on the Mie theory showed that numerous thin lamellas are responsible for predominant scattering in this range. A considerable resonance scattering is also observed in the local spectral ranges of near-infrared absorption peaks. An example 1-D transient heat transfer problem is solved using the P1 approximation for radiative transfer in the infrared sub-ranges of semi-transparency. A comparison of calculated temperature fields in the layers of pure polypropylene and polypropylene reinforced by glass fibers showed the predominant role of the increase in thermal conductivity as compared with partial transparency of pure polypropylene in the infrared.
Effect of a thin customized insole on pain and walking ability in rheumatoid arthritis: A randomized study

OBJECTIVE The aim of the study was to investigate the immediate effects of a thin, easily customizable insole on pain and walking ability in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who have forefoot pain, and to determine whether the insoles were in use 1 year afterwards. DESIGN An experimental, assessor-blinded design was applied to compare the immediate effects when walking with or without insoles in random order. After 1 year, a structured telephone interview was conducted. PARTICIPANTS Twenty-one subjects with RA and foot pain in at least one forefoot when walking and in response to the Gänslen test were recruited consecutively from the outpatient clinic and the inpatient ward at a hospital for people with rheumatic disease. INTERVENTION Each subject was given a 4-mm thin individually customized insole of a malleable plastic material (CI-Core®) with synthetic textile material on the upper side. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The 6-min walk test (6MWT) was used to assess the ability to walk, and a 10-cm visual analogue scale to measure the intensity of foot pain induced by walking with and without the insole. A standardized questionnaire with five items was used to determine the use of, and degree of satisfaction with, insoles after 1 year. RESULTS The median (interquartile range) foot pain intensity was 19 (15) with and 36 (27) without insoles (p < 0.001; effect size = 0.6). No statistically significant differences in 6MWT were found between the presence or absence of insoles (p = 0.07). After 1 year, 90% of the participants were still using the insoles. CONCLUSIONS The use of thin, easily customizable insoles resulted in immediate clinically relevant relief in walking-induced forefoot pain. Most of the patients were still using the insoles after 1 year.
Application of Latent Semantic Analysis to Clustering of Cardiovascular Gene Ontology

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is group of diseases of the heart and blood vessels and a major global cause of death, with more people dying every year from CVDs than from any other cause. Therefore, controlling and preventing CVDs and their complex pathogenesis (i.e., influenced by genetic and lifestyle factors) has gained considerable attention. In this study, we use the LSA algorithm to cluster highly related CVD association genes. The LSA can further explore each functional gene cluster including listing of the consensus terms shared by the genes in the cluster. A comprehensive network biology analysis can integrates clustered genes in the CVD genes with pathway information by building a network of interconnected pathways. Based on LSA, the CVD association genes from the GAD database are divided into 5 clusters (k=5). The gene set enrichment analysis reveals 25 significantly pathways. Further analysis to integrate pathway analysis and to combine miRNA and Drugbank data to gain more insights in the interplay can be useful to suggest drug repositioning.
Early changes in the knee of healer and non‐healer mice following non‐invasive mechanical injury

In this study, we examined early time‐dependent changes in articular cartilage and synovium in response to tibial compression and sought the plausible origin of cells that respond to compression in the healer (LGXSM‐6) and non‐healer (LGXSM‐33) recombinant inbred mouse strains. The right knee of 13‐week old male mice was subjected to tibial compression using 9N axial loading. The contralateral left knee served as a control. Knees were harvested at 5, 9, and 14 days post‐injury. Histological changes in cartilage and synovium, immunofluorescence pattern of CD44, aggrecan, type‐II collagen, cartilage oligomeric matrix protein and the aggrecan neo‐epitope NITEGE, and cell apoptosis (by TUNEL) were examined. We used a double nucleoside analog cell‐labeling strategy to trace cells responsive to injury. We showed that tibial compression resulted in rupture of anterior cruciate ligament, cartilage matrix loss and chondrocyte apoptosis at the injury site. LGXSM‐33 showed higher synovitis and ectopic synovial chondrogenesis than LGXSM‐6 with no differences for articular cartilage lesions. With loading, an altered pattern of CD44 and NITEGE was observed: cells in the impacted area underwent apoptosis, cells closely surrounding the injured area expressed CD44, and cells in the intact area expressed NITEGE. Cells responding to injury were found in the synovium, subchondral bone marrow and the Groove of Ranvier. Taken together, we found no strain differences in chondrocytes in the early response to injury. However, the synovial response was greater in LGXSM‐33 indicating that, at early time points, there is a genetic difference in synovial cell reaction to injury. © 2016 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 35:524–536, 2017.
Handling Sparse Data by Successive Abstraction

A general, practical method for handling sparse data that avoids held-out data and iterative reestimation is derived from first principles. It has been tested on a part-of-speech tagging task and out-performed (deleted) interpolation with context-independent weights, even when the latter used a globally optimal parameter setting determined a posteriori.
Investigations of a Robotic Test Bed With Viscoelastic Liquid Cooled Actuators

We design, build, and thoroughly test a new type of actuator-dubbed viscoelastic liquid cooled actuator (VLCA) for robotic applications. VLCAs excel in the following five critical axes of performance: energy efficiency, torque density, impact resistance, joint position, and force controllability. We first study the design objectives and choices of the VLCA to enhance the performance on the above-mentioned criteria. We follow this study by an investigation on viscoelastic materials in terms of their damping, viscous, and hysteresis properties as well as their long-term performance. As part of the actuator design, we devise a disturbance observer to provide high-fidelity force control for a wide range of impedance control capabilities. We proceed to design a robotic system capable to lift large payloads with high output power. In addition, we experiment with quick trajectory control while carrying moderate payloads. Finally, we perform experiments on impedance control capabilities and mechanical robustness by studying the response of the robot to impacts produced by a hammer and human-induced external forces. Overall the main contribution of this paper is on the invention of a VLCA using elastomers with a pistonlike ball screw drive for multidof robots and the thorough investigation of its robotics performance.