Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of Bacillus Subtilis-based Direct-fed Microbials on Immune Status in Broiler Chickens Raised on Fresh or Used Litter

Type of dietary direct-fed microbials (DFMs) or poultry litter could directly influence the composition of gut microbiota. Gut microbiota plays an important role in shaping the developing immune system and maintaining the homeostasis of the mature immune system in mammal and chickens. The present study was carried out to investigate the interaction among litter, DFMs and immunity in broiler chickens exposed to a field-simulated environment. Immune status of broiler chickens was assessed by serum antibodies against Eimeria spp. and Clostridium spp. and intestinal cytokine mRNA expression. The current experimental design had a 3 ×2 factorial arrangement of treatments with three types of litter, i.e., fresh litter or used litter that was obtained from a farm with no disease outbreak (used litter) or a farm with history of a gangrenous dermatitis outbreak (GD litter), and two dietary treatments with or without DFMs. It was found that either DFM addition or type of litter significantly affected anticoccidial antibody levels of broiler chickens at d 42. In general, dietary DFMs increased the anticoccidial antibodies in the fresh-litter raised chickens, but lowered the levels in the GD-litter raised chickens. Serum antibodies against Clostridium perfringens α-toxin were significantly (p<0.05) higher in chickens raised on GD litter compared with those raised on fresh litter. Cytokine mRNA expression was significantly (p<0.05) altered by either the type of litter or DFMs. Of interest, dietary DFMs lowered interferon-γ, interleukin 1beta, and CXCLi2 cytokine mRNA expression in chickens raised on fresh litter but increased them in GD-litter raised chickens. In conclusion, dietary DFMs modulate various immune parameters of broiler chickens, but the DFM-mediated effects were dependent upon the type of litter on which chickens were raised.
Follow the Force: Steering the Index Finger towards Targets using EMS

In mobile contexts guidance towards objects is usually done through the visual channel. Sometimes this channel is overloaded or not appropriate. A practicable form of haptic feedback is challenging. Electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) can generate mobile force feedback but has a number of drawbacks. For complex movements several muscles need to be actuated in concert and a feedback loop is necessary to control movements. We present an approach that only requires the actuation of six muscles with four pairs of electrodes to guide the index finger to a 2D point and let the user perform mid-air disambiguation gestures. In our user study participants found invisible, static target positions on top of a physical box with a mean 2D deviation of 1.44 cm from the intended target.
Multicolor chromosome bar codes

Chromosome bar codes are multicolor banding patterns produced by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with differentially labeled and pooled sub-regional DNA probes. These molecular cytogenetic tools facilitate chromosome identification and the delineation of both inter- and intra-chromosomal rearrangements. We present an overview of the various conceptual approaches which can be largely divided into two classes: Simple bar codes designed for chromosome identification and complex bar codes for high resolution aberration screening of entire karyotypes. We address the issue of color redundancy and how to overcome this limitation by complementation of bar codes with whole chromosome painting probes.
An extensible architecture for robust multimodal human-robot communication

Human safety and effective human-robot communication are main concerns in HRI applications. In order to achieve such goals, a system should be very robust, allowing little chance for misunderstanding the user's commands. Moreover, the system should permit natural interaction reducing the time and the effort needed to achieve tasks. The main purpose of this work is to develop a general framework for flexible and multimodal human-robot communication. The proposed architecture should be easy to modify and expand, adding or modifying input channels and changing the multimodal fusion strategies. In this paper, we introduce our general approach and provide a case study with two modalities (gesture and speech).
GENERALIZED SAMPLING WITH STRUCTURAL CONSTRAINTS

We consider a generalized sampling scheme, for finite-dimensional sampling and reconstruction spaces where the correcting transformation must satisfy certain structural constraints. Several criteria are considered, which aim to minimize the squared error norm between the input signal and its approximation within the reconstruction space. By restricting the correcting transformation to a desired form, it is possible to obtain efficient implementations of the correction stage which may be vital in real time applications.
Suitability of Extreme Programming and RUP Software Development Methodologies for SOA Applications

Because of the recent importance given to Service­Oriented Architecture (SOA), a document review investigation has taken place with the objective to compare SOA development with two highly used agile software development methods: Extreme Programming (XP) and Relational Unified Process (RUP). The motor behind this investigation is to see if this agile development methods are capable enough to design effectively and efficiently SOA­type applications. The investigation concluded that both methodologies are not exactly suited to create SOA applications, but RUP has a greater chance to provide SOA­type applications if the proper adjustments are made, specially on the design side of the methodology.
Advanced Modelling and Control Using a Laboratory Plant with Hybrid Processes

Abstract Advanced control theory is usually associated with the use of abstract mathematical tools. It requires much time and a good theoretical background to understand and explain these tools. In ordinary university courses or in continuing professional education organized by employers, it is not easy to meet these requirements. Widely used system simulation and virtual experiments can be a good aid to increase clarity, but they cannot fully demonstrate the problems that a control designer or user may encounter in practical implementation. A laboratory scale plant has been designed for this purpose in the framework of research activities focused on hybrid systems. It exhibits most of the hybrid phenomena typical of process control applications. The plant is also equipped with industrial control hardware, so that educational (as well as research) experiments can be carried out implementing advanced hybrid control algorithms in conditions close to real world applications. The instrumentation provides a remote web access facility. A mathematical and technical description of the pilot plant is included here, and this will enable readers to consider whether a similar device could be useful for their own educational and/or research purposes. Some examples of experimental results are also given.
Recording in the Cerebellar Slice

This unit describes techniques for the preparation of mouse cerebellar slices and electrophysiological recording from neurons in the slice. The cerebellum provides a model of motor learning that can be correlated with alterations in synaptic function. In addition, the architecture and well‐defined synaptic pathways in the cerebellar slice make this preparation a useful model for exploring general principles of synaptic transmission.
FRET-based genetically encoded sensors allow high-resolution live cell imaging of Ca²⁺ dynamics.

Temporally and spatially defined calcium signatures are integral parts of numerous signalling pathways. Monitoring calcium dynamics with high spatial and temporal resolution is therefore critically important to understand how this ubiquitous second messenger can control diverse cellular responses. Yellow cameleons (YCs) are fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based genetically encoded Ca(2+) -sensors that provide a powerful tool to monitor the spatio-temporal dynamics of Ca(2+) fluxes. Here we present an advanced set of vectors and transgenic lines for live cell Ca(2+) imaging in plants. Transgene silencing mediated by the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S promoter has severely limited the application of nanosensors for ions and metabolites and we have thus used the UBQ10 promoter from Arabidopsis and show here that this results in constitutive and stable expression of YCs in transgenic plants. To improve the spatial resolution, our vector repertoire includes versions of YCs that can be targeted to defined locations. Using this toolkit, we identified temporally distinct responses to external ATP at the plasma membrane, in the cytosol and in the nucleus of neighbouring root cells. Moreover analysis of Ca(2+) dynamics in Lotus japonicus revealed distinct Nod factor induced Ca(2+) spiking patterns in the nucleus and the cytosol. Consequently, the constructs and transgenic lines introduced here enable a detailed analysis of Ca(2+) dynamics in different cellular compartments and in different plant species and will foster novel approaches to decipher the temporal and spatial characteristics of calcium signatures.
Cooperative Strategies for Wireless Relay Networks With Cochannel Interference Over Time-Correlated Fading Channels

Practical mobile communication systems suffer from time-variant channel fading and cochannel interference, both of which give rise to challenges concerning strategy design and performance analysis in wireless relay networks. Although these two aspects have attracted concerns in recent studies, most researchers still focused on dealing with a single problem and avoided intricate joint considerations. In this paper, we investigate the cooperative strategies for the communications of two cochannel pairs over time-correlated Rayleigh channels, and the system consists of a relay-assisted pair (Pair 1) along with a direct transmission pair (Pair 2). We begin with a theoretical evaluation on a conventional relay selection (RS) algorithm that maximizes outdated signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (M-SINR), and then develop a more sophisticated method that involves extra statistical and interference information based on the concept of minimizing outage probability (MOP). Closed-form outage probability expressions are derived for both pairs with each RS algorithm, and the MOP-type selection is confirmed to outperform M-SINR in robustness against channel fluctuation when the network operates on medium-to-high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Implementation issues of the RS methods are discussed to clarify their overhead and to support their practicability. Further, an interference control scheme is proposed to guarantee Pair 2 communication quality under either RS algorithm by disqualifying the relays that probably cause severe cochannel interference to Pair 2. The interference control mechanism is carried out via a novel threshold parameter ε that represents the tolerance of outage performance degradation of Pair 2 resulting from interference. The closed-form analysis validates that the given ε is rational for an arbitrary network scenario, and it can balance the two pairs' outage behavior under a proper configuration. We reveal the influence of factors such as average SNR, transmit rate, and network topology on system performance to make a comprehensive comparison between diverse cooperative strategies.
Subset Selection for Gaussian Markov Random Fields

Given a Gaussian Markov random field, we consider the problem of selecting a subset of variables to observe which minimizes the total expected squared prediction error of the unobserved variables. We first show that finding an exact solution is NP-hard even for a restricted class of Gaussian Markov random fields, called Gaussian free fields, which arise in semi-supervised learning and computer vision. We then give a simple greedy approximation algorithm for Gaussian free fields on arbitrary graphs. Finally, we give a message passing algorithm for general Gaussian Markov random fields on bounded tree-width graphs.
Observation of Hybrid Guarded Command Programs

We consider the problem of estimating the internal state (hidden variables) of a class of hybrid guarded-command programs. Such programs model dynamical systems that have both continuous and discrete states. For these systems we supply a definition of weak observability and for the case where a given system is weakly observable we construct an observer that takes advantage of the special guarded-command structure of the program. We then focus on a particular example, the “RoboFlag Drill” wherein two teams of robots compete in a simplified capture-the-flag-like game. For this system, the state is large enough and complex enough that the simple observer is not practical. Thus we propose an efficient observer that takes advantage of the particular structure of the RoboFlag Drill.
Accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging in predicting residual disease in patients treated for stage IB2/II cervical carcinoma with chemoradiation therapy

The evaluation of residual disease (RD) after chemoradiation therapy (CRT) in stage IB2/II cervical carcinoma conventionally is based on a clinical examination and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) performed 3 to 8 weeks after the end of treatment. Very few studies have correlated MRI and histologic findings specifically in cervix cancer. This was the objective of the current study.
Serotype prevalence in adults hospitalised with pneumococcal non-invasive community-acquired pneumonia

Background The distribution of pneumococcal serotypes implicated in non-invasive community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in adults is currently unknown. Methods A prospective observational cohort study was conducted over 2 years in a large UK teaching hospital trust. Urine samples, in addition to routine blood and sputum samples, were obtained from consecutive adults admitted to the hospital with CAP. Pneumococcal serotype was determined from urine samples using a validated multiplex immunoassay which detects 14 serotypes. Results Of 920 patients with CAP, 366 had pneumococcal CAP; 242 had a serotype determined. Thirty-day mortality was 10% for all-cause CAP and 9.6% for pneumococcal CAP. Annual incidence of pneumococcal CAP was 36.5 per 100 000, increasing from 12.1 to 274.1 per 100 000 for ages 16–44 years and ≥85 years, respectively. The most prevalent serotypes were 14, 1, 8, 3 and 19A. Less invasive serotypes were significantly associated with increasing age (OR per increasing age group: 1.5, 95% CI 1.2 to 1.9, p<0.001) and co-morbidity (OR per increasing Charlson index group: 1.4, 95% CI 1.0 to 2.0, p=0.036), and with higher 30-day mortality (OR adjusted for age and co-morbidity: 5.5, 95% CI 1.2 to 25.3, p=0.028) compared with highly invasive serotypes. The proportion of patients in whom serotypes contained within the seven-valent childhood pneumococcal conjugate vaccine was identified increased with age (15.6% for patients aged 16–44 years, 41.0% for patients aged ≥85 years; p<0.05). Conclusions In adult invasive and non-invasive pneumococcal CAP, the most common serotypes implicated were 14, 1, 8, 3 and 19A. Age and co-morbidity were associated with the distribution of serotypes identified.
Same Difference: Detecting Collusion by Finding Unusual Shared Elements

Pam Green, Peter Lane, Austen Rainer, Sven-Bodo Scholz, Steve Bennett, ‘Same Difference: Detecting Collusion by Finding Unusual Shared Elements’, paper presented at the 5th International Plagiarism Conference, Sage Gateshead, Newcastle, UK, 17-18 July, 2012.
Co-Creation Experiences: Attention and Memorability

ABSTRACT This study examines the on-site co-creation experience from a tourist perspective. A review of the literature and in-depth interviews with tourists who participated in a ‘swimming with dolphins’ experience are used to explore the importance of co-creation in enhancing attention and the memorability of the experience. Findings suggest that the co-creation experience influences memorability by focusing the tourist’s attention. This study contributes to the conceptualization of co-creation in the field of tourism by substantiating the usefulness of a psychologically based approach to experience design.
A DNA Vaccine Coding for the Brucella Outer Membrane Protein 31 Confers Protection against B. melitensis and B. ovis Infection by Eliciting a Specific Cytotoxic Response

ABSTRACT The development of an effective subunit vaccine against brucellosis is a research area of intense interest. The outer membrane proteins (Omps) of Brucella spp. have been extensively characterized as potential immunogenic and protective antigens. This study was conducted to evaluate the immunogenicity and protective efficacy of the B. melitensis Omp31 gene cloned in the pCI plasmid (pCIOmp31). Immunization of BALB/c mice with pCIOmp31 conferred protection against B. ovis and B. melitensis infection. Mice vaccinated with pCIOmp31 developed a very weak humoral response, and in vitro stimulation of their splenocytes with recombinant Omp31 did not induced the secretion of gamma interferon. Splenocytes from Omp31-vaccinated animals induced a specific cytotoxic-T-lymphocyte activity, which leads to the in vitro lysis of Brucella-infected macrophages. pCIOmp31 immunization elicited mainly CD8+ T cells, which mediate cytotoxicity via perforins, but also CD4+ T cells, which mediate lysis via the Fas-FasL pathway. In vivo depletion of T-cell subsets showed that the pCIOmp31-induced protection against Brucella infection is mediated predominantly by CD8+ T cells, although CD4+T cells also contribute. Our results demonstrate that the Omp31 DNA vaccine induces cytotoxic responses that have the potential to contribute to protection against Brucella infection. The protective response could be related to the induction of CD8+ T cells that eliminate Brucella-infected cells via the perforin pathway.
Structure and function of the T‐loop structural motif in noncoding RNAs

The T‐loop is a frequently occurring five‐nucleotide motif found in the structure of noncoding RNAs where it is commonly assumed to play an important role in stabilizing the tertiary RNA structure by facilitating long‐range interactions between different regions of the molecule. T‐loops were first identified in tRNAPhe and a formal consensus sequence for this motif was formulated and later revised based on analyses of the crystal structures of prokaryotic ribosomal RNAs and RNase P and the corresponding primary sequence of their orthologues. In the past decade, several new structures of large RNA molecules have been added to the RCSB Protein Data Bank, including the eukaryotic ribosome, a self‐splicing group II intron, numerous synthetases in complex with their cognate transfer RNAs (tRNAs), transfer‐messenger RNA (tmRNA) in complex with SmpB, several riboswitches, and a complex of bacterial RNase P bound to its tRNA substrate. In this review, the search for T‐loops is extended to these new RNA molecules based on the previously established structure‐based criteria. The review highlights and discusses the function and additional roles of T‐loops in four broad categories of RNA molecules, namely tRNAs, ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs), P RNAs, and RNA genetic elements. Additionally, the potential application for T‐loops as interaction modules is also discussed. WIREs RNA 2013, 4:507–522. doi: 10.1002/wrna.1175
Semi-Supervised Lexicon Mining from Parenthetical Expressions in Monolingual Web Pages

This paper presents a semi-supervised learning framework for mining Chinese-English lexicons from large amount of Chinese Web pages. The issue is motivated by the observation that many Chinese neologisms are accompanied by their English translations in the form of parenthesis. We classify parenthetical translations into bilingual abbreviations, transliterations, and translations. A frequency-based term recognition approach is applied for extracting bilingual abbreviations. A self-training algorithm is proposed for mining transliteration and translation lexicons. In which, we employ available lexicons in terms of morpheme levels, i.e., phoneme correspondences in transliteration and grapheme (e.g., suffix, stem, and prefix) correspondences in translation. The experimental results verified the effectiveness of our approaches.
Some Photographs of the Tracks of Penetrating Radiation

We have recently developed a method by which the high speed particles associated with penetrating radiation can be made to take their own cloud photographs. By this means it is possible to obtain these photographs very much more speedily than by the usual method of making expansions at random. For when this latter method is used it is only on a small fraction of the photographs that a track will be found. The average number of photographs required to obtain one track will depend on the size and orientation of the chamber and on the effective time of expansion. The latter is not likely to be more than 1/20 second. From measurements with counters it is known that about 1·5 fast particles fall, from all directions, on 1 sq. cm. per second. Roughly consistent with these figures are the results found with cloud chambers. Skobelzyn has obtained as many as one track every ten expansions, but in the work of Anderson the number of tracks which were long enough to be suitable for energy measurements was only about 1 in 50 photographs. By our method, tracks are found on 80 per cent, of the photographs. We intend to give a full account of the technique of this method of photography in a separate paper, confining ourselves here to a rough outline only. A cloud chamber of diameter 13 cm. and depth 3 cm. is arranged with its plane vertical and two Geiger-Muller counters, each 10 cm. by 2 cm. are placed one above and one below the chamber so that any ray which passes straight through both counters will also pass through the illuminated part of the chamber, fig 2. An alternative arrangement is described on p. 719. The counters are connected to a valve circuit arranged to record only simultaneous discharges of the two counters.
Exploring ‘lost childhood’: A study of the narratives of Palestinians who grew up during the First Intifada

Analysis of life narratives of 20 West Bank Palestinians who grew up during First Intifada revealed an experience of having ‘lost childhood’. This experience included various aspects categorized into ‘lost child-friendliness’ and ‘lost childlikeness’. Participants attributed their sense of lost childhood to having grown up in the context of large-scale, unavoidable, inescapable, harsh and instrumental political violence. The author suggests that the Palestinian participants’ understanding that they lost their childhood when still children biologically and legally might best be accounted for within a theoretical framework seeing childhood as subjective in the ontological sense, but objective in the epistemic sense.