Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Integrative Approach for the Reliable Detection and Specific Identification of the Microsporidium Loma morhua in Atlantic Cod (Gadus morhua)

Microsporidia are fungal parasites that infect diverse invertebrate and vertebrate hosts. Finfish aquaculture supports epizootics due to high host density and the high biotic potential of these parasites. Reliable methods for parasite detection and identification are a necessary precursor to empirical assessment of strategies to mitigate the effects of these pathogens during aquaculture. We developed an integrative approach to detect and identify Loma morhua infecting Atlantic cod. We show that the spleen is more reliable than the commonly presumed gills as best organ for parasite detection in spite of substantial morphological plasticity in xenoma complexes. We developed rDNA primers with 100% sensitivity in detecting L. morhua and with utility in distinguishing some congeneric Loma species. ITS sequencing is necessary to distinguish L. morhua from other congeneric microsporidia due to intraspecific nucleotide variation. 64% of L. morhua ITS variants from Atlantic cod have a 9‐nucleotide motif that distinguishes it from Loma spp. infecting non‐Gadus hosts. The remaining 36% of ITS variants from Atlantic cod are distinguished from currently represented Loma spp. , particularly those infecting Gadus hosts, based on a 14‐nucleotide motif. This research approach is amenable to developing templates in support of reliable detection and identification of other microsporidian parasites in fishes.
Detection of Antibodies to the Biofilm Exopolysaccharide of Histophilus somni following Infection in Cattle by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay

ABSTRACT An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed to detect bovine antibodies to Histophilus somni exopolysaccharide (EPS), which is created during biofilm formation. When an index value of 0.268 was used, the sensitivity of the assay for infected calves was 90.5% at 3 weeks postinfection, but the number of positive animals increased by week 4. The specificity of the assay for healthy calves was 92.5%. The EPS ELISA may aid in identifying calves with H. somni diseases.
Openness to Experience as a Moderator of the Relationship between Intelligence and Creative Thinking: A Study of Chinese Children in Urban and Rural Areas

Using testing and questionnaire methods, this study investigated the relationships among openness to experience, intelligence and creative thinking. This study focused on the moderating effects of openness to experience on the relationship between intelligence and creative thinking in a sample of 831 primary school students in China. The findings showed significant positive relationships among openness to experience, intelligence and creative thinking. In relation to the focus of this study, openness to experience moderated the relationship between intelligence and creative thinking. However, the correlation between openness to experience and creative thinking was stronger for urban children than for rural children, and the moderating effect existed only in urban settings.
Groupspace: a 3D workspace supporting user awareness

Real-time distributed groupware must support awareness of other users if collaborators are to work together effectively. Several techniques have been developed for enhancing awareness in two-dimensional shared workspaces, but less is known about how to support awareness in 3D workspaces. The Groupspace system incorporates several types of awareness techniques (embodiment enhancements, participant list enhancements, and the Grand Tour) to help users maintain awareness of others' locations and perspectives, even when they are distant or out of view.
Gender Recognize and Reconstruction of Face using Eigen Values and Eigen Vector

Automatic gender classification has become relevant to an increasing amount of applications, particularly since the rise of social platforms and social media have gained more attraction. Nevertheless, performance of existing methods on real-world images is still significantly lacking, especially when compared to the tremendous leaps in performance recently reported for the related task of face recognition. In this paper we show that by learning representations through the use of feed forward neural networks, a significant increase in performance can be obtained on these tasks. To this end, we reconstruct the face image using the Eigen values and vectors. We evaluate our method gender estimation and show it to dramatically outperform current state-of-the-art methods. Keywords—Gender prediction, Eigen values, Eigen Vectors, Feed forward Neural Network (FNN), image processing.
Is Choice-Induced Preference Change Long Lasting?

The idea that decisions alter preferences has had a considerable influence on the field of psychology and underpins cognitive dissonance theory. Yet it is unknown whether choice-induced changes in preferences are long lasting or are transient manifestations seen in the immediate aftermath of decisions. In the research reported here, we investigated whether these changes in preferences are fleeting or stable. Participants rated vacation destinations before making hypothetical choices between destinations, immediately afterward, and 2.5 to 3 years later. We found that choices altered preferences both immediately after being made and after the delay. These changes could not be accounted for by participants’ preexisting preferences, and they occurred only when participants made the choices themselves. Our findings provide evidence that making a decision can lead to enduring change in preferences.
Equation of State of NaCl and Its Use as a Pressure Gauge in High-Pressure Research

The pressure as a function of lattice parameter and temperature has been calculated for NaCl over a pressure range of 0 to 500 kbar for temperatures between 0° and 1500°C. The calculation used the Mie‐Gruneisen equation of state with Born‐Mayer type repulsion terms between first and second nearest neighbors. The Gruneisen constant was expanded about its value at room temperature and atmospheric pressure; the first coefficient in the expansion being evaluated by forcing the calculated thermal expansion at atmospheric pressure to fit the experimental results of Enck. The two empirical parameters in the repulsion terms were evaluated using the experimental lattice parameter and isothermal compressibility at atmospheric pressure. The calculated pressure vs volume agrees with Bridgman's room‐temperature measurements in NaCl below 100 kbar to within 3% and with high‐pressure high‐temperature shock data to better than 2%. It is proposed to use the numerical results to calibrate the pressure in high‐pressure high.
People perception from RGB-D cameras for mobile robots

Understanding how humans move through the scene is a key issue of decision-making for an autonomous mobile robot in crown people zones. So accurately detecting and tracking people from a mobile platform can help improve interaction effective and efficient. In this paper, we proposed a people detection and tracking system using combination of a several new techniques for mobile robots, plan-view maps, depth weighted histograms, and GNN data association. We proposed a spatial region of interest based plan-view maps to detect human candidates. Firstly, point cloud sub-clusters were segmented for candidate detection. Two different plan-view maps, named occupancy map and height map, were employed to identify human candidates from point cloud sub-clusters. Meanwhile, a depth weighted histogram was extracted to feature a human candidate. Then, a particle filter algorithm was adopted to track human's motion. Finally, data association was set up to re-identify humans which were tracked. Extensive experiments demonstrated the effectiveness and robustness of our human detection and tracking system.
Credit Spreads and Real Activity ⁄ Job Market Paper

This paper explores the transmission of credit conditions into the real economy. Speciflcally, I examine the forecasting power of the term structure of credit spreads for future GDP growth. I flnd that the whole term structure of credit spreads has predictive power, even though the term structure of Treasury yields has none. Using a parsimonious macro-flnance term structure model that captures the joint dynamics of GDP, in∞ation, Treasury yields and credit spreads, I decompose the spreads and identify what drives the relationship between credit spreads and the real economy. I show that there is a pure credit component orthogonal to macroeconomic information that accounts for a large part of the forecasting power of credit spreads. The macro factors themselves also contribute to the predictive power, especially for long maturity spreads. Taken together, credit and macro factors capture virtually all predictability inherent in the actual spreads, while additional factors afiecting Treasury yields and credit spreads are irrelevant. The credit factor is highly correlated with the index of tighter loan standards, thus lending support to the existence of a transmission channel from borrowing conditions to the economy.
End-user Satisfaction as an Impact of the System Quality, Information Quality, and Top Management Support, upon the Perceived Usefulness of Technology Utilization

The utilization of Accounting Information System (AIS) by the small, medium, and micro enterprises (SMEs) at present is apparently at the minimum level if not to mention the integrated operation. This study attempts to fathom and analyse, first, the impact of subsequently the system quality, the information quality, the top management support upon the perceived usefulness. Second, the effect of the system quality, the information quality, and the top management support on the end-user information satisfaction. Third, how the perceived usefulness affect the end-user information satisfaction. Fourth, to analyze the effect of the system quality, the information quality, and the top management support on end-user information satisfaction via the perceived usefulness. The study observed the designated SMEs managers in a chosen area of targeted location in East Java, Indonesia. The structural equation modelling was employed to study the effect of those variables under study, namely the system quality, information quality, top management support on the end-user information satisfaction through the perceived usefulness. The results revealed that the system quality, the information quality, as well as the top management support proven to be affecting the designated SMEs perceived usefulness. Among those variables under study, it was proved that the system quality, information quality, top management support influence on the end-user information satisfaction. However, the perceived usefulness is an intervening variable that can mediate the effect of system quality, the information quality, the top management support on the end-user information satisfaction.
Reconstruction of aggregation tree in spite of faulty nodes in wireless sensor networks

Recent advances in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have led to many new promissing applications. However data communication between nodes consumes a large portion of the total energy of WSNs. Consequently efficient data aggregation technique can help greatly to reduce power consumption. Data aggregation has emerged as a basic approach in WSNs in order to reduce the number of transmissions of sensor nodes over aggregation tree and hence minimizing the overall power consumption in the network. If a sensor node fails during data aggregation then the aggregation tree is disconnected. Hence the WSNs rely on in-network aggregation for efficiency but a single faulty node can severely influence the outcome by contributing an arbitrary partial aggregate value. In this paper we have presented a distributed algorithm that reconstruct the aggregation tree from the initial aggregation tree excluding the faulty sensor node. This is a synchronous model, completed in several rounds. Our proposed scheme can handle multiple number of faulty nodes as well.
A New Multi-task Learning Method for Personalized Activity Recognition

Personalized activity recognition usually faces the problem of data sparseness. We aim at improving accuracy of personalized activity recognition by incorporating the information from other persons. We propose a new online multi-task learning method for personalized activity recognition. The proposed online multi-task learning method automatically learns the ``transfer-factors" (similarities) among different tasks (i.e., among different persons in our case). Experiments demonstrate that the proposed method significantly outperforms existing methods. The novelty of this paper is twofold: (1) A new multi-task learning framework, which can naturally learn similarities among tasks, (2) To our knowledge, this is the first study of large-scale personalized activity recognition.
A fast bilateral filter with application to artefact reduction

Elastography in medical ultrasound is an imaging technique that displays information about tissue stiffness. However, elastography suffers from artefact noise that may come from two dominant sources: decorrelation error and amplitude modulation error. In order to reduce artefact and improve the quality of ultrasonic elastography, a fast bilateral filter is proposed in this study based on local histogram. The presented filter is derived from a conventional bilateral filter, and a local histogram is introduced to speed up the filter. The proposed algorithm can reduce artefact noise and, at the same time, maintain the tissue structure. Both simulation and phantom testing show that the proposed method can improve the quality of ultrasonic elastography in terms of tissue elastographic signal-to-noise ratio and elastographic contrast-to-noise ratio values.
Fast Mobile Component Location Method for Cable-driven Parallel Robots Based on YOLO Model

： Aiming at the problem of real-time mobile component localization of cable-driven parallel robot, a fast mobile component location method based on YOLO object detection model is proposed. Firstly, the deep convolution neural network structure is designed, a data set is constructed in PASCAL VOC format, and the model is trained and tested on that data set. Then the image data collected by the industrial camera are inputted into the model to detect the target, record the category and position of the target, analyze the color characteristics of the target and binarization. The precise position of the mobile component of the cable-driven parallel robot is further calculated. The experimental results show that the method can classify and locate the target accurately. The positioning error is less than 1°, and the frame rate of image processing can reach 33 frames, which can meet the real-time requirements. At the same time, the algorithm has good accuracy and effectiveness.
A Vignetting Model for Light Field Cameras With an Application to Light Field Microscopy

In standard photography, vignetting is considered mainly as a radiometric effect because it results in a darkening of the edges of the captured image. In this paper, we demonstrate that for light field cameras, vignetting is more than just a radiometric effect. It modifies the properties of the acquired light field and renders most of the calibration procedures from the literature inadequate. We address the problem by describing a model and camera-agnostic method to evaluate vignetting in phase space. This enables the synthesis of vignetted pixel values, which applied to a range of pixels yield images corresponding to the white images that are customarily recorded for calibrating light field cameras. We show that the commonly assumed reference points for microlens-based systems are incorrect approximations to the true optical reference, i.e., the image of the center of the exit pupil. We introduce a novel calibration procedure to determine this optically correct reference point from experimental white images. We describe the changes vignetting imposes on the light field sampling patterns and, therefore, the optical properties of the corresponding virtual cameras using the equivalent camera array model [L. Mignard-Debise, J. Restrepo, and I. Ihrke, “A unifying first-order model for light-field cameras: The equivalent camera array,” IEEE Trans. Comput. Imag. , vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 798–810, Dec. 2017] and apply these insights to a custom-built light field microscope.
Deficiency of telomerase activity aggravates the blood–brain barrier disruption and neuroinflammatory responses in a model of experimental stroke

Epidemiology and genetic studies indicate that patients with telomere length shorter than average are at higher risk of dying from heart disease or stroke. Telomeres are located at the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes, which demonstrate progressive length reduction in most somatic cells during aging. The enzyme telomerase can compensate for telomere loss during cell replication. The present study sought to investigate the contribution of telomerase to stroke and blood–brain barrier (BBB) dysfunction. Telomerase reverse transcriptase knockout (TERT−/−) mice and littermate controls with normal TERT expression were subjected to a 24‐hr permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (pMCAO). The stroke outcomes were assessed in terms of neurological scores and infarct volumes. In addition, we evaluated oxidative stress, permeability across the BBB, and integrity of tight junctions in brain microvessels. Neurological testing revealed that TERT−/− mice showed enhanced deficits compared with controls. These changes were associated with a greater infarct volume. The expression of tight junction protein ZO‐1 decreased markedly in ischemic hemispheres of TERT−/− mice. The brain microvessels of TERT−/− mice also were more susceptible to oxidative stress, revealing higher superoxide and lower glutathione levels compared with mice with normal TERT expression. Importantly, TERT deficiency potentiated the production of inflammatory mediators, such as tumor necrosis factor‐α, interleukin‐1β, and intercellular adhesion molecule‐1, in the ischemic hemispheres of mice with pMCAO. Our study suggests that TERT deficiency can predispose to the development of stroke in an experimental model of this disease. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Role of MicroRNAs 99b, 181a, and 181b in the Differentiation of Human Embryonic Stem Cells to Vascular Endothelial Cells

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short noncoding RNAs, which post‐transcriptionally regulate gene expression. miRNAs are transcribed as precursors and matured to active forms by a series of enzymes, including Dicer. miRNAs are important in governing cell differentiation, development, and disease. We have recently developed a feeder‐ and serum‐free protocol for direct derivation of endothelial cells (ECs) from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and provided evidence of increases in angiogenesis‐associated miRNAs (miR‐126 and ‐210) during the process. However, the functional role of miRNAs in hESC differentiation to vascular EC remains to be fully interrogated. Here, we show that the reduction of miRNA maturation induced by Dicer knockdown suppressed hES‐EC differentiation. A miRNA microarray was performed to quantify hES‐EC miRNA profiles during defined stages of endothelial differentiation. miR‐99b, ‐181a, and ‐181b were identified as increasing in a time‐ and differentiation‐dependent manner to peak in mature hESC‐ECs and adult ECs. Augmentation of miR‐99b, ‐181a, and ‐181b levels by lentiviral‐mediated transfer potentiated the mRNA and protein expression of EC‐specific markers, Pecam1 and VE Cadherin, increased nitric oxide production, and improved hES‐EC‐induced therapeutic neovascularization in vivo. Conversely, knockdown did not impact endothelial differentiation. Our results suggest that miR‐99b, ‐181a, and ‐181b comprise a component of an endothelial‐miRNA signature and are capable of potentiating EC differentiation from pluripotent hESCs. STEM CELLS 2012; 30:643–654
A Logic-based Approach to Dynamic Programming

We present a first-order value iteration algorithm that addresses the scalability problem of classical dynamic programming techniques bylogically partitioning the state space. An MDP is represented in the Probabilistic Fluent Calculus, that is a first-order language for reasoning about actions. Moreover, we develop a normalization algorithm that discovers and prunes redundant states. We have implemented our approach and describe some experimental results.
Readthrough of Premature Termination Codons in the Adenomatous Polyposis Coli Gene Restores Its Biological Activity in Human Cancer Cells

The APC tumor suppressor gene is frequently mutated in human colorectal cancer, with nonsense mutations accounting for 30% of all mutations in this gene. Reintroduction of the WT APC gene into cancer cells generally reduces tumorigenicity or induces apoptosis. In this study, we explored the possibility of using drugs to induce premature termination codon (PTC) readthrough (aminoglycosides, negamycin), as a means of reactivating endogenous APC. By quantifying the readthrough of 11 nonsense mutations in APC, we were able to identify those giving the highest levels of readthrough after treatment. For these mutations, we demonstrated that aminoglycoside or negamycin treatment led to a recovery of the biological activity of APC in cancer cell lines, and showed that the level of APC activity was proportional to the level of induced readthrough. These findings show that treatment with readthrough inducers should be considered as a potential strategy for treating cancers caused by nonsense mutations APC gene. They also provide a rational basis for identifying mutations responsive to readthrough inducers.
Detection of Yersinia ruckeri in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) fry tissues, using bacterial culture, simple PCR and nested PCR

In this study the efficacy of bacterial culture, simple PCR and nested-PCR techniques for the detection of Yersinia ruckeri in tissues of naturally and experimentally infected rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) fry was compared. In order to detect Y. ruckeri in naturally infected rainbow trout tissues, 30 fish suspected of enteric redmouth disease were randomly collected from 6 rainbow trout farms with a history of exposure to Y. ruckeri, the causative agent of enteric redmouth disease. Also experimental challenges were performed by immersing 30 healthy fish in a bacterial suspension contained 4×10 8 CFU/ml Y. ruckeri. Results, from naturally and experimentally infected tissues respectively, showed that the culture method detected Y. ruckeri in 33.3% and 80% cases, simple PCR detected Y. ruckeri in 37% and 80% cases and nested PCR detected Y. ruckeri in 67% and 100% cases. Nested PCR using 2 species-specific sets of primers against the 16S ribosomal DNA gave more positive results (detection limit of 7×10 3 CFU/ml) and did not cross-react with other microorganisms commonly found in haemorrhagic septicemic cases in rainbow trout. Nested PCR assay could be suggested as a powerful method for early detection of Y. ruckeri from tissue samples of asymptomatic carrier fry fish.