Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Automatic oestrus detection by modelling eating behaviour of group-housed sows in electronic sow feeding systems

In recent years much attention has been paid to animal welfare in Denmark, resulting in extension of production systems for group-housed sows. These new production systems combined with constrains in production have emphasized the need for improving management routines in group-housing systems. Normally daily management is focused on physical condition, general health and oestrus detection. In electronic sow feeding systems, especially the daily management of general health and oestrus detection is complicated due to the difficulty in monitoring individual sows. Reports of decreased voluntary feed intake during the week of oestrus seem to suggest the existence of a correlation between oestrus and appetite, caused by increased blood level of oestrogens prior to standing oestrus. By modeling eating behaviour of individual sows in electronic sow feeding (ESF) systems, it is investigated whether deviations in eating behaviour can be used in oestrus detection, in order to improve management routines concerning oestrus detection. Since sows in ESF systems normally are fed restrictive, a decreased appetite does not necessarily affect daily feed intake, and it seems more appropriate that a decreased appetite might affect the over all eating behaviour. However modeling eating behaviour is complicated since eating behaviour can be described by several properties, and is additionally affected by external factors. In this study eating behaviour is described by two properties, the time of first feeding visit and daily feed intake in each feeding cycle. In modeling of eating behaviour the model have to be able to handle random noise as well as abrupt and gradual changes in eating behaviour. Two MultiProcess Dynamic Linear Models (MP-DLMs), consisting of two Dynamic Linear Models describing a normal and an outlying observation respectively, are used in modeling each of the properties of eating behaviour. The combining is effected by discrete probability mixture, that directly specifies the probability of deviations in eating behaviour in each feeding cycle. In order to increase certainty of the identified deviations, a back step filtering is applied to the MP-DLMs. In using eating behaviour to identify oestrus it seems possible that oestrus affects eating behaviour by decreasing appetite and causes deviations in both time of first visit and daily feed intake. However individual variability in sows’ eating behaviour might be responsible for deviations occurring independently of oestrus. The applied models seems unreliable in identifying oestrus which is thought to be caused by model insufficiencies as well as individual variability in sows’ eating behaviour.
They Are What You Hear in Media Reports: The Racial Stereotypes toward Uyghurs Activated by Media

Stereotypes from the major nationality toward minorities constitute a widely concerning problem in many countries. As reported by previous studies, stereotypes can be activated by media information that portrays the negative aspects of the target group. The current study focused on the neural basis of the modulation of negative media information on Han Chinese stereotypes toward Uyghurs by using event-related potentials. We employed the lexical decision task, in which participants were asked to categorize the presented word as positive or negative. Behavioral result showed that participants had a shorter reaction time to positive adjectives than to negative adjectives. The data of brain activity showed that compared with the Han condition, the Uyghurs condition elicited smaller N400 differences in the media priming group, whereas there was no significant N400 deflection difference between Han Chinese and Uyghurs in the control group. The current results suggested that the negative media information might influence their judgments toward other groups reflected in the deflection of N400 amplitude. Therefore, in order to mitigate or even eliminate stereotypes about national minorities, the effort of the media is important.
Assessing the Accuracy of Computational Tools for thePrediction of Amyloid Fibril forming Motifs: An Overview

Identifying amyloidogenic regions in protein sequences is useful in understanding the underlying cause of several human diseases and finding potential therapeutic targets. Given the laborious nature of experimental validation of segments most prone to form fibrils, it was essential that computational approaches be developed that could produce reliable, affordable and testable in silico predictions. In this paper, we present and assess some of the recently developed computational tools for predicting amyloid fibril forming motifs that remain as one of the key means used to decipher the role of such regions in disease diagnosis, prognosis and drug discovery.
Corticocortical Feedback Contributes to Surround Suppression in V1 of the Alert Primate

Feedback connections are prevalent throughout the cerebral cortex, yet their function remains poorly understood. Previous studies in anesthetized monkeys found that inactivating feedback from extrastriate visual cortex produced effects in striate cortex that were relatively weak, generally suppressive, largest for visual stimuli confined to the receptive field center, and detectable only at low stimulus contrast. We studied the influence of corticocortical feedback in alert monkeys using cortical cooling to reversibly inactivate visual areas 2 (V2) and 3 (V3) while characterizing receptive field properties in primary visual cortex (V1). We show that inactivation of feedback from areas V2 and V3 results in both response suppression and facilitation for stimuli restricted to the receptive field center, in most cases leading to a small reduction in the degree of orientation selectivity but no change in orientation preference. For larger-diameter stimuli that engage regions beyond the center of the receptive field, eliminating feedback from V2 and V3 results in strong and consistent response facilitation, effectively reducing the strength of surround suppression in V1 for stimuli of both low and high contrast. For extended contours, eliminating feedback had the effect of reducing end stopping. Inactivation effects were largest for neurons that exhibited strong surround suppression before inactivation, and their timing matched the dynamics of surround suppression under control conditions. Our results provide direct evidence that feedback contributes to surround suppression, which is an important source of contextual influences essential to vision.
Evaluation of factors associated with development of calcium oxalate urolithiasis in cats.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate dietary and environmental factors as potential risk factors for calcium oxalate urolithiasis in cats. DESIGN Case-control study. ANIMALS 84 cats with uroliths composed of at least 90% calcium oxalate and 258 age- and gender-matched control cats. PROCEDURE Owners of cats with calcium oxalate urolithiasis and control cats were surveyed between November 1990 and August 1992. Owners completed a standard questionnaire administered during a single telephone interview. Data collected included information regarding signalment, environment, urination and defecation, diet, and medical history. RESULTS Calcium oxalate uroliths tended to develop in middle- to older-aged, domestic shorthair cats of typical weight. A gender predilection was not detected. Factors associated with an increase in the risk of calcium oxalate urolithiasis in cats were feeding urine-acidifying diets, feeding a single brand of cat food without providing additional foods or table scraps, maintaining cats in an indoor-only environment, and being of the Persian breed. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS Control of diet and environment may help prevent calcium oxalate urolithiasis.
Fuzzy clustering optimized with genetic algorithms: Application for hybrid speech recognition system

In this paper, we report experimental results of hybrid system using Hidden Markov Models/Multi-Layer Perceptron (HMM/MLP) model as acoustic model and based on the Fuzzy C-Means (FCM) clustering with optimization with Genetic Algorithm (GA). In this context, we use the result of FCM clustering as initial population of GA, this allows training the GA with a population of empirically generated chromosomes and not randomly initialized. Our results on speech recognition tasks show an increase in the estimates of the posterior probabilities of the correct words after training. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed clustering approach in large-vocabulary speaker-independent continuous speech recognition with regard to the three baseline systems : Discrete HMM, hybrid HMM/MLP with K-Means and FCM clustering.
Prognostic indicators including DNA histogram type, receptor content, and staging related to human breast cancer patient survival.

Primary tumors from breast cancer patients were evaluated for the biochemical presence of three steroid cytosolic receptors and by DNA histogram analysis using flow cytometry. These parameters were compared with the histological and staging diagnoses and the patients' survival over a 36-month period. A total of 74 patients with primary breast tumors were evaluated. The breast samples invariably demonstrated a peak population of diploid G0/1 cells which contained 2C amounts of DNA, as determined by mixing experiments using normal human breast tissues or trout erythrocytes as fixed standards. The tumors were classified into five DNA histogram types based on their DNA index distributions established by flow cytometry. These results showed that 21% of the tumors were diploid and indistinguishable from the diploid population of normal breast cells, 8% were hypodiploid, 11% were hypertetraploid, 8% were multiploid, and the remaining 52% were hyperdiploid. The DNA index values varied from 0.78 (hypodiploid) to 2.60 (hypertetraploid). The percentages of S-phase cells were lowest in the diploid and hypertetraploid tumors and highest in the hypodiploid tumors. Among the 24 patients who died during the 36-month follow-up, 92% (22 of 24) were classified in one of the aneuploid groups. Three high-risk groups identified on the basis of survival after 36 months were distinguished: hypodiploid (50% survival); multiploid (43% survival); and hyperdiploid (50% survival). Rates of survival in the diploid and hyperdiploid groups were 87 and 71%, respectively. The hypodiploid group was distinguished by having the lowest mean estrogen cytosolic receptor value [26 +/- 13 (S.D.) fmol/mg], progesterone cytosolic receptor value (13 +/- 15 fmol/ mg), and androgen cytosolic receptor value (less than 1 +/- 1 fmol/mg). In contrast, the diploid tumors had some of the highest receptor values, with mean estrogen cytosolic receptor value equal to 102 +/- 114 fmol/mg, progesterone cytosolic receptor value equal to 74 +/- 110 fmol/mg, and androgen cytosolic receptor value equal to 65 +/- 80 fmol/mg. The lowest survival rates (17% after 36 months) occurred in patients over 67 years of age who had aneuploid tumors, compared to 100% survival in patients over 67 years of age with diploid tumors. Our results demonstrate the value of using flow cytometry and steroid receptor values as supplements to histopathology for the characterization of subgroups of mammary cancer patients. The ability to identify patients with a good prognosis compared to those at high risk of recurrence and death will be valuable in the design of future prospective treatment studies.
Distributed Service-Based Cooperation in Aerial/Ground Robot Teams Applied to Fire Detection and Extinguishing Missions

This paper presents a system for the coordination of aerial and ground robots for applications such as surveillance and intervention in emergency management. The overall system architecture is described. An important part for the coordination between robots is the task allocation strategy. A distributed market-based algorithm, called S + T, has been developed to solve the multi-robot task allocation problem in applications that require cooperation among the robots to accomplish all the tasks. Using this algorithm, robots can provide transport and communication relay services dynamically to other robots during the missions. Moreover, the paper presents a demonstration with a team of heterogeneous robots (aerial and ground) cooperating in a mission of fire detection and extinguishing.
Locality Characteristics of Web Streams Revisited

This paper studies locality of reference proper- ties of Web streams using a recently proposed Aggregation- Disaggregation-Filtering framework. Two primary research ques- tions are addressed: 1) What impact does locality of reference have on caching performance? and 2) What are the locality characteristics of streams that result from aggregation of filtered streams? Trace-driven simulations are used to answer these questions. The simulation results show which caching policies are adept at exploiting locality characteristics. The results also illustrate the locality properties of the resulting filtered streams.
Dual Actuation for High Speed Atomic Force Microscopy

Abstract In atomic force microscopy (AFM) the imaging speed is strongly limited by the bandwidth of the feedback loop that controls the interaction between the measurement tip and the sample. A significant increase in closed-loop bandwidth can be achieved by combining a long-range, low-bandwidth actuator with a short-range, high-bandwidth actuator, forming a dual actuated system. This contribution discusses the design of a model-based feedback controller that controls the tip-sample interaction in dual actuated AFM. In order to guarantee closed-loop stability, the dynamic uncertainties of the system are identified and taken into account in the controller design. Two different design cases are discussed, showing the trade-off between the positioning range at lower frequencies and the positioning range at higher frequencies. The designed feedback controller is implemented on the prototype AFM system and demonstrates a disturbance rejection bandwidth of 20 kHz.
Towards autonomous tracking and landing on moving target

The battery capacity of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is the main limitation, but with the rapid growth of UAV deployment in both military and civilian application, there is an urgent need to development the reliable and automated landing procedure. This paper is aim to propose a basic framework for autonomous landing on moving target for the Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL) UAVs. The VTOL vehicle is assumed to equip with a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) system and a stereo vision system which could generate the point cloud within 20 meters. We applied a particle filter based Visual Servo in the UAV vision system to detect and track the moving the target at real time. We also combine the inertial measurement unit (IMU) data with the stereo vision based visual odometry to make the relative accurate pose estimation. The relative position, orientation and velocity to the landing area on the moving carrier is obtained by a modified optical flow method. The control method used in this framework combined tracking and approaching base on the range distance. We has applied our proposed framework on both simulation and landing task on a moving vehicle, and the result shows the efficiency and extended ability of our framework.
In Vitro and In Vivo Bacteriolytic Activities of Escherichia coli Phages: Implications for Phage Therapy

ABSTRACT Four T4-like coliphages with broad host ranges for diarrhea-associated Escherichia coli serotypes were isolated from stool specimens from pediatric diarrhea patients and from environmental water samples. All four phages showed a highly efficient gastrointestinal passage in adult mice when added to drinking water. Viable phages were recovered from the feces in a dose-dependent way. The minimal oral dose for consistent fecal recovery was as low as 103 PFU of phage per ml of drinking water. In conventional mice, the orally applied phage remained restricted to the gut lumen, and as expected for a noninvasive phage, no histopathological changes of the gut mucosa were detected in the phage-exposed animals. E. coli strains recently introduced into the intestines of conventional mice and traced as ampicillin-resistant colonies were efficiently lysed in vivo by phage added to the drinking water. Likewise, an in vitro phage-susceptible E. coli strain freshly inoculated into axenic mice was lysed in vivo by an orally applied phage, while an in vitro-resistant E. coli strain was not lysed. In contrast, the normal E. coli gut flora of conventional mice was only minimally affected by oral phage application despite the fact that in vitro the majority of the murine intestinal E. coli colonies were susceptible to the given phage cocktail. Apparently, the resident E. coli gut flora is physically or physiologically protected against phage infection.
Guillain-Barré Syndrome

Abstract Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is an acute inflammatory polyradiculoneuropathy, which has various clinical presentations and both axonal and demyelinating forms. The original description of “ascending paralysis” encompasses the most common varieties: the primary demyelinating form, acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (AIDP), and some of the axonal forms, acute motor axonal neuropathy (AMAN) and acute motor and sensory axonal neuropathy (AMSAN). However, there are now well-documented acute “monophasic” polyneuropathies that have a different clinical phenomenology than that described originally by Guillain, Barré, and Strohl: Miller Fisher syndrome, pure sensory neuropathy/neuronopathy, pandysautonomia, and oropharyngeal variant. Here the authors review both typical GBS (AIDP, AMAN, and AMSAN), and variant syndromes with a focus on clinical and diagnostic features, pathologic findings, pathogenesis, and treatment.
Evaluation of Local Mechanical Properties of Thin Coatings Prepared by PVD Evaporation

The contribution deals with evaluation of mechanical properties of thin hard coatings prepared by ARC evaporation on steel substrate K110. In this paper TiN and AlTiCrN are comparatively studied. The thickness of TiN and AlTiCrN coatings was evaluated using the calotest, GDOES and nanohardness was also measured. The results show that AlTiCrN coatings posses higher hardness and Young´s modulus than simple monolayer TiN coatings. The substrate-coating interface was without failures, which confirmed excellent adhesion properties of the system. Due to their specific properties, the coatings appear suitable for use in practical operations.
Standard Rubbers for Chemical Defense Research. Volume 1. Formulation and Properties

Abstract : There is need to establish a systematic materials data base, regarding interaction with chemical warfare (CW) liquids, to facilitate development of advanced materiel and to permit better understanding of basic interaction phenomena. Accordingly, the U.S. Army Materials Technology Laboratory (MTL) has conducted detailed CW liquid interaction studies with two sets of rubber materials obtained from commercial sources and designated by MTL as standard rubbers. Volume I of this series of reports deals with the composition and properties of these rubbers, all of them having the many ingredients typical of commercial materials. Keywords: Rubber; Synthetic rubber; Hardness; Glass transition temperature; Fillers; Rubber recipes; Infrared spectra; Thermogravimetry.
Knowing What Others Know, Feeling What Others Feel: A Controlled Study of Empathy in Psychotherapists

There has been considerable interest in assessing whether psychotherapists have enhanced abilities in empathy and whether those abilities influence treatment outcomes. However, to date, studies have been hindered by inconsistent definitions of empathy and a reliance on assessment via self-report. The unique aim of this study was to ascertain the empathic abilities of psychotherapists using a multidimensional battery consisting of objective and self-report measures. We compared 19 therapists and 19 well-matched control subjects on several measures of empathy. On tests emphasizing the cognitive aspects of empathy, therapists were no different from controls when making inferences based on facial expressions but were significantly better when making inferences based on language. On a test emphasizing the emotional aspects of empathy, therapists did not report to be more empathically concerned than controls; however, on a test of emotion regulation, they reported less personal distress in response to the distress of others. In sum, therapists were better able to interpret the verbal cues of others and described themselves as more emotionally controlled in response to tense interpersonal situations.
Effect of Functionalization of Graphene Nanoplatelets on the Mechanical and Thermal Properties of Silicone Rubber Composites

This study investigated the effect of silane and surfactant treatments of graphene nanoplatelets (GnPs) on the mechanical and thermal properties of silicone rubber (SR) composites. GnPs were modified with aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES), vinyltrimethoxysilane (VTMS), and Triton X-100, and then the pristine GnPs and functionalized GnPs were individually incorporated into the SR. Compared with the pristine GnP/SR composite, the composites reinforced with modified GnP showed better tensile strength, elongation at break, and thermal conductivity properties due to better dispersion of modified GnPs and stronger interfacial interactions between the modified GnPs and matrix. The mechanical properties and thermal conductivity of the VTMS-GnP/SR composite were comparable to the properties of the Triton-GnP counterpart, but better than that of the APTES-GnP/SR composite. In addition, the VTMS-GnP/SR composite demonstrated the highest thermal stability and crystallization temperature among the four types of composites. The remarkable improvement of mechanical and thermal properties of the VTMS-GnP/SR composite was mainly due to the covalent linkage of VTMS-GnP with SR. The VTMS treatment was a more appropriate modification of GnP particles to improve the multifunctional properties of SR.
Effects of rosuvastatin on cardiovascular morphology and function in an ApoE-knockout mouse model of atherosclerosis.

This study investigated the effects of rosuvastatin on plaque progression and in vivo coronary artery function in apolipoprotein E-knockout (ApoE-KO) mice, using noninvasive high-resolution ultrasound techniques. Eight-week-old male ApoE-KO mice (n = 20) were fed a high-fat diet with or without rosuvastatin (10 micromol.kg(-1). day(-1)) for 16 wk. When compared with control, rosuvastatin reduced total cholesterol levels (P < 0.05) and caused significant retardation of lesion progression in the brachiocephalic artery, as visualized in vivo using an ultrasound biomicroscope (P < 0.05). Histological analysis confirmed the reduction of brachiocephalic atherosclerosis and also revealed an increase in collagen content in the statin-treated group (P < 0.05). Coronary volumetric flow was measured by simultaneous recording of Doppler velocity signals and left coronary artery morphology before and during adenosine infusion. The hyperemic flow in response to adenosine was significantly greater in left coronary artery following 16 wk of rosuvastatin treatment (P < 0.001), whereas the baseline flow was similar in both groups. In conclusion, rosuvastatin reduced brachiocephalic artery atherosclerotic plaques in ApoE-KO mice. Coronary artery function assessed using recently developed in vivo ultrasound-based protocols, also improved.