Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Micronutrient-Fortified Rice Can Increase Hookworm Infection Risk: A Cluster Randomized Trial

Background Fortification of staple foods is considered an effective and safe strategy to combat micronutrient deficiencies, thereby improving health. While improving micronutrient status might be expected to have positive effects on immunity, some studies have reported increases in infections or inflammation after iron supplementation. Objective To study effects of micronutrient-fortified rice on hookworm infection in Cambodian schoolchildren. Methods A double-blinded, cluster-randomized trial was conducted in 16 Cambodian primary schools partaking in the World Food Program school meal program. Three types of multi-micronutrient fortified rice were tested against placebo rice within the school meal program: UltraRice_original, UltraRice_improved and NutriRice. Four schools were randomly assigned to each study group (placebo n = 492, UltraRice_original n = 479, UltraRice_improved n = 500, NutriRice n = 506). Intestinal parasite infection was measured in fecal samples by Kato-Katz method at baseline and after three and seven months. In a subgroup (N = 330), fecal calprotectin was measured by ELISA as a marker for intestinal inflammation. Results Baseline prevalence of hookworm infection was 18.6%, but differed considerably among schools (range 0%- 48.1%). Micronutrient-fortified rice significantly increased risk of new hookworm infection. This effect was modified by baseline hookworm prevalence at the school; hookworm infection risk was increased by all three types of fortified rice in schools where baseline prevalence was high (>15%), and only by UltraRice_original in schools with low baseline prevalence. Neither hookworm infection nor fortified rice was related to fecal calprotectin. Conclusions Consumption of rice fortified with micronutrients can increase hookworm prevalence, especially in environments with high infection pressure. When considering fortification of staple foods, a careful risk-benefit analysis is warranted, taking into account severity of micronutrient deficiencies and local prevalence of parasitic infections. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01706419
A Wavelet-Based Progressive Compression Scheme For Triangle Meshes : Wavemesh

—This paper proposes a new lossy to lossless progressive compression scheme for triangular meshes, based on a wavelet multiresolution theory for irregular 3D meshes. Although remeshing techniques obtain better compression ratios for geometry compression, this approach can be very effective when one wants to keep the connectivity and geometry of the processed mesh completely unchanged. The simpliﬁcation is based on the solving of an inverse problem. Optimization of both connectivity and geometry of the processed mesh improves the approximation quality and the compression ratio of the scheme at each resolution level. We show why this algorithm provides an efﬁcient means of compression for both connectivity and geometry of 3D meshes and it is illustrated by experimental results on a various set of reference meshes, where our algorithm performs better than previously published approaches for both lossless and progressive compression.
Dynamics in Copy Numbers of Five Plasmids of a Dairy Lactococcus lactis Strain under Dairy-Related Conditions Including Near-Zero Growth Rates

ABSTRACT Lactic acid bacteria can carry multiple plasmids affecting their performance in dairy fermentations. The expression of plasmid-borne genes and the activity of the corresponding proteins are severely affected by changes in the numbers of plasmid copies. We studied the impact of growth rate on the dynamics of plasmid copy numbers at high growth rates in chemostat cultures and down to near-zero growth rates in retentostat cultures. Five plasmids of the dairy strain Lactococcus lactis FM03-V1 were selected, and these varied in size (3 to 39 kb), in replication mechanism (theta or rolling circle), and in putative (dairy-associated) functions. The copy numbers ranged from 1.5 to 40.5, and the copy number of theta-type replicating plasmids was negatively correlated to the plasmid size. Despite the extremely wide range of growth rates (0.0003 h−1 to 0.6 h−1), the copy numbers of the five plasmids were stable and only slightly increased at near-zero growth rates, showing that the plasmid replication rate was strictly controlled. One low-copy-number plasmid, carrying a large exopolysaccharide gene cluster, was segregationally unstable during retentostat cultivations, reflected in a complete loss of the plasmid in one of the retentostat cultures. The copy number of the five plasmids was also hardly affected by varying the pH value, nutrient limitation, or the presence of citrate (maximum 2.2-fold), signifying the stability in copy number of the plasmids. IMPORTANCE Lactococcus lactis is extensively used in starter cultures for dairy fermentations. Important traits for the growth and survival of L. lactis in dairy fermentations are encoded by genes located on plasmids, such as genes involved in lactose and citrate metabolism, protein degradation, oligopeptide uptake, and bacteriophage resistance. Because the number of plasmid copies could affect the expression of plasmid-borne genes, it is important to know the factors that influence the plasmid copy numbers. We monitored the plasmid copy numbers of L. lactis at near-zero growth rates, characteristic for cheese ripening. Moreover, we analyzed the effects of pH, nutrient limitation, and the presence of citrate. This showed that the plasmid copy numbers were stable, giving insight into plasmid copy number dynamics in dairy fermentations.
JavaParty - Transparent Remote Objects in Java

Java’s threads offer appropriate means either for parallel programming of SMPs or as target constructs when compiling add-on features (e.g. forall constructs, automatic parallelization, etc.) Unfortunately, Java does not provide elegant and straightforward mechanisms for parallel programming on distributed memory machines, like clusters of workstations. JavaParty transparently adds remote objects to Java purely by declaration while avoiding disadvantages of explicit socket communication, the programming overhead of RMI, and many disadvantages of the message-passing approach in general. JavaParty is specifically targeted towards and implemented on clusters of workstations. It hence combines Java-like programming and the concepts of distributed shared memory in heterogeneous networks.
Providing OS Support for Wireless Sensor Networks: Challenges and Approaches

Recently, wireless sensor networks (WSNs) attract a great deal of research attention, and are envisioned to support a variety of applications, including military surveillance, habitat monitoring, and infrastructure protection, etc. Operating system (OS) support for WSNs plays a central role in building scalable distributed applications that are efficient and reliable. Over the years, we have seen a variety of OSes emerging in the sensornet community to facilitate developing WSN applications. Aside from the basic system implementations, there is also a large body of work devoted to improving OS capabilities in different dimensions. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive review of existing work in sensornet OS design. We first examine the challenges in the OS design space. We then introduce the major components of a sensornet OS. Next, we provide an overview of existing work, present a taxonomy of state-of-the-art OSes, and discuss various approaches to address the design challenges. Finally we discuss evaluations of a sensornet OS and present some recommendations from the perspectives of OS developers and OS users. We have also identified several open problems that need further investigation to make the OS provide stronger support for WSNs.
Distributed workflow management for large-scale grid environments

Workflow management in large-scale grid environments is a very challenging task centralized management systems are not able to cover sufficiently. Therefore, we present our workflow on-line resource management (WORM) architecture built on top of active network technology. The approach integrates a peer-to-peer like organized workflow management system with existing or newly built management systems for the resources building the grid. In our approach, each workflow is represented by a mobile autonomous entity which uses the active network infrastructure to move through the grid, which is represented by an active overlay network on top of existing network infrastructure. Thus, control of the workflow execution is handed over to the autonomous code without requiring a central system to be in charge of the computation and cope with reservation, failures, etc. The WORM architecture is presented together with a classification into the taxonomy of workflow management systems.
Recent advances in quantitative high throughput and high content data analysis

ABSTRACT Introduction: High throughput screening has become a basic technique with which to explore biological systems. Advances in technology, including increased screening capacity, as well as methods that generate multiparametric readouts, are driving the need for improvements in the analysis of data sets derived from such screens. Areas covered: This article covers the recent advances in the analysis of high throughput screening data sets from arrayed samples, as well as the recent advances in the analysis of cell-by-cell data sets derived from image or flow cytometry application. Screening multiple genomic reagents targeting any given gene creates additional challenges and so methods that prioritize individual gene targets have been developed. The article reviews many of the open source data analysis methods that are now available and which are helping to define a consensus on the best practices to use when analyzing screening data. Expert opinion: As data sets become larger, and more complex, the need for easily accessible data analysis tools will continue to grow. The presentation of such complex data sets, to facilitate quality control monitoring and interpretation of the results will require the development of novel visualizations. In addition, advanced statistical and machine learning algorithms that can help identify patterns, correlations and the best features in massive data sets will be required. The ease of use for these tools will be important, as they will need to be used iteratively by laboratory scientists to improve the outcomes of complex analyses.
The university-industry knowledge relationship: Analyzing patents and the science base of technologies

Via the Internet, information scientists can obtain cost-free access to large databases in the "hidden" or "deep Web. " These databases are often structured far more than the Internet domains themselves. The patent database of the U.S. Patent and Trade Office is used in this study to examine the science base of patents in terms of the literature references in these patents. University-based patents at the global level are compared with results when using the national economy of the Netherlands as a system of reference. Methods for accessing the online databases and for the visualization of the results are specified. The conclusion is that "biotechnology" has historically generated a model for theorizing about university-industry relations that cannot easily be generalized to other sectors and disciplines.
Measurement and Determinants of Supply Chain Collaboration

Supply chain management and inter-firm collaboration is a growing field of study for the researcher and a hot topic for the supply chain manager. Despite this unanimous interest, the measurement of supply chain collaboration has received little attention to date. This paper proposes a reliable and valid measurement model of supply chain collaboration based on data from 321 companies from the Quebec forest products industry using structural equations modeling. In spite of the general low level of collaboration in this traditional industry, a first order measurement model followed by a second order confirmatory factor analysis suggest that collaboration in the forest products industry can be defined by four indicators shared by both customer and supplier sides and 2 indicators specific to each side.
Enhanced information regarding exercise training as treatment is needed. An interview study in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Abstract Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe thoughts and attitudes of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) when talking about exercise training as treatment. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were performed and analyzed with the grounded theory method. Four men and six women were interviewed (ages 66–84 years), with moderate to severe COPD, and no experience of organized exercise training as treatment for COPD. Results: The analysis resulted in one core category, unknown territory, and three categories, good for those who can, but not for me; fear of future; and mastering. Exercise training as treatment was perceived by the participants as something unknown. It was also described as important for others but not for them. Their perceptions were that they could not perform exercise training, and did not have the knowledge of what or how to perform exercise that was good for them. Conclusions: Patients with COPD, with no previous experience of exercise training as treatment for their disease, describe exercise training as something unknown and unimportant for them. The results provide important knowledge for healthcare professionals regarding how to educate patients with COPD about the content and benefits of exercise training as treatment. Implications for Rehabilitation Exercise training is effective for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with regard to dyspnea, physical capacity, health-related quality of life, and health care use. Patients with COPD perceive a lack of information regarding exercise training as treatment. The information and the presentation of exercise training as treatment might be of importance to get better adherence to this treatment.
Alanine‐scanning mutagenesis of the β‐sheet region of phage T4 lysozyme suggests that tertiary context has a dominant effect on β‐sheet formation

In general, α‐helical conformations in proteins depend in large part on the amino acid residues within the helix and their proximal interactions. For example, an alanine residue has a high propensity to adopt an α‐helical conformation, whereas that of a glycine residue is low. The sequence preferences for β‐sheet formation are less obvious. To identify the factors that influence β‐sheet conformation, a series of scanning polyalanine mutations were made within the strands and associated turns of the β‐sheet region in T4 lysozyme. For each construct the stability of the folded protein was reduced substantially, consistent with removal of native packing interactions. However, the crystal structures showed that each of the mutants retained the β‐sheet conformation. These results suggest that the structure of the β‐sheet region of T4 lysozyme is maintained to a substantial extent by tertiary interactions with the surrounding parts of the protein. Such tertiary interactions may be important in determining the structures of β‐sheets in general.
A digital ecosystem for boosting user-driven service business

In recent years, we have seen the rise of Web 2.0, where users become co-creators and software turns into services. While Web 2.0 technologies and concepts have been studied separately, we suggest that the digital ecosystem they form together and the ways in which users interact with it in social contexts have not been made explicit. In this paper, we provide a conceptual model of a community and a digital ecosystem for boosting user-driven service business. To construct such a model, we first identify the key actors and their interactions by applying use case modelling. Based on that, conceptual modelling is used to sketch an illustrative model of the overall ecosystem. Finally, we use the field of bioinformatics to evaluate the model and to propose ideas for boosting user-driven service business in that field as well.
Floating-point fused multiply-add: reduced latency for floating-point addition

In this paper we propose an architecture for the computation of the double-precision floating-point multiply-add fused (MAF) operation A+(B/spl times/C) that permits to compute the floating-point addition with lower latency than floating-point multiplication and MAF. While previous MAF architectures compute the three operations with the same latency, the proposed architecture permits to skip the first pipeline stages, those related with the multiplication B/spl times/C, in case of an addition. For instance, for a MAF unit pipelined into three or five stages, the latency of the floating-point addition is reduced to two or three cycles, respectively. To achieve the latency reduction for floating-point addition, the alignment shifter, which in previous organizations is in parallel with the multiplication, is moved so that the multiplication can be bypassed. To avoid that this modification increases the critical path, a double-datapath organization is used, in which the alignment and normalization are in separate paths. Moreover, we use the techniques developed previously of combining the addition and the rounding and of performing the normalization before the addition.
A Recommendation System for Travel Services Based on Cyber-Anima

In recent years, recommendation systems have developed greatly, and is so widely used in online systems such as book, movie or friend recommendation. Current recommendation systems have problems with cold start and new entry. Cyber-Anima is a cyber-image of a user's anima, and we can derive one's cyber-anima by its user input and other observations of the user. With Cyber-Anima, we can build a recommendation system. The system take the concepts in cyber-anima into consideration and build relations between these concepts and user behavior to make further recommendations. We do some experiment with the dataset from travelhub.cn, which is a platform for travel services and is sponsored by the national technology plan. From the experiment, our implementation is better than FISM and Item-based collaborative and the time cost is reasonable.
Efficient Similarity Retrieval In Music Databases

Audio music is increasingly becoming available in digital form, and the digital music collections of individuals continue to grow. Addressing the need for efiective means of retrieving music from such collections, this paper proposes new techniques for contentbased similarity search. Each music object is modeled as a time sequence of high-dimensional feature vectors, and dynamic time warping (DTW) is used as the similarity measure. To accomplish this, the paper extends techniques for time-series-length reduction and lower bounding of DTW distance to the multidimensional case. Further, the Vector Approximation flle is adapted to the indexing of time sequences and to use a lower bound on the DTW distance. Using these techniques, the paper exploits the lack of a ground truth for queries to e‐ciently compute query results that difier only slightly from results that may be more accurate, but also are much more expensive, to compute. In particular, the paper demonstrates that aggressive use of time-series length reduction together with query expansion results in signiflcant performance improvements while providing good, approximative query results.
A systematic literature review of how mutation testing supports test activities

Mutation testing has been very actively investigated by researchers since the 1970s and remarkable advances have been achieved in its concepts, theory, technology and empirical evidence. While the latest realisations have been summarised by existing literature review, we lack insight into how mutation testing is actually applied. Our goal is to identify and classify the main applications of mutation testing and analyse the level of replicability of empirical studies related to mutation testing. To this aim, this paper provides a systematic literature review on the application perspective of mutation testing based on a collection of 159 papers published between 1981 and 2015. In particular, we analysed in which testing activities mutation testing is used, which mutation tools and which mutation operators are employed. Additionally, we also investigated how the core inherent problems of mutation testing, i.e. the equivalent mutant problem and the high computational cost, are addressed during the actual usage. The results show that most studies use mutation testing as an assessment tool targeting unit tests, and many of the supporting techniques for making mutation testing applicable in practice are still underdeveloped. Based on our observations, we made nine recommendations for the future work, including an important suggestion on how to report mutation testing in testing experiments in an appropriate manner.
Overcoming the Cutaneous Barrier with Microemulsions

Microemulsions are fluid and isotropic formulations that have been widely studied as delivery systems for a variety of routes, including the skin. In spite of what the name suggests, microemulsions are nanocarriers, and their use as topical delivery systems derives from their multiple advantages compared to other dermatological formulations, such as ease of preparation, thermodynamic stability and penetration-enhancing properties. Composition, charge and internal structure have been reported as determinant factors for the modulation of drug release and cutaneous and transdermal transport. This manuscript aims at reviewing how these and other characteristics affect delivery and make microemulsions appealing for topical and transdermal administration, as well as how they can be modulated during the formulation design to improve the potential and efficacy of the final system.
[Nutritional and psychological habits in people who practice exercise].

INTRODUCTION The distorted body image has become a global problem. The thinness as a standard of beauty for women, and fitness for men, has been linked to an increase in eating behavior disorders. The physical exercise with aesthetic or addictive purposes has increased, as well as the popularity of gyms. AIM To analyze the orthorexics behavior, to know the influence of gender on psychological behavior and to analyze eating habits in a sample practicing physical activity. METHODS Observational, descriptive and retrospective study in which an ad hoc questionnaire was performed, incorporating Adherence to Mediterranean diet test, the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI-2), Emotional Eater Questionnaire (EEQ) and adapted the Spanish version of the Multidimensional Body Self Relations Questionnaire (MBSRQ). Besides, anthropometric assessment was performed in each participant. RESULTS 264 subjects were included in the study (156 men), 35.9 years (± 11.1 years). With mean BMI of 23.8 kg/m2 (± 3.1 kg/m2) and total body fat percentage 20.8 (± 8.7%). The average score Adherence to the Mediterranean diet was 5.9 (± 2.4). Orthorexic and obsessive behaviors were found, and between genders for some markers studied. CONCLUSION The habits analyzed show a tendency to body worship, closer to a pathological condition rather than to a healthy aspect, causing alterations on perception, that result in dieting and alterations such as eating disorders.