Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prediction of digestibility of nutrients and energy values of pig diets from chemical analysis.

The DE and ME values and digestible nutrient contents of 114 diets were measured in 45-kg growing pigs (four to five animals per diet) fed approximately 500 kcal of ME/kg BW.60. Diets differed widely with regard to their chemical characteristics and their ingredients. Chemical composition of each diet was measured by at least four laboratories. The results were used to establish prediction equations of DE or ME values, digestible nutrient contents, and digestibility coefficients of energy and nutrients from chemical characteristics. Digestibility coefficients of energy (range: 65 to 95%) and CP (range: 64 to 94%) were highly dependent on dietary fiber and mineral contents. The digestibility coefficient of ether extract increased curvilinearly (from 2 to 84%) with the dietary fat content. The digestibility of fiber was lower (45% for NDF) than for the other chemical constituents. The ME:DE ratio averaged 96.3% and was negatively correlated to the dietary protein content. The DE and ME values could be accurately predicted (R2 > .90 and CV < 2%) from chemical characteristics; the best equations were obtained when the following predictors were combined in a linear model: ash, ether extract, crude protein, and an estimate of dietary fiber. The accuracy of the prediction was higher with NDF than with ADF or Weende crude fiber. The results suggest that even a rather large proportion of dietary fiber (approximately 50%) is degraded in the digestive tract, the amount of available energy from fiber digestion is negligible in connection with increased endogenous protein and fat losses. The equations obtained in the present study represent a basis for the prediction of the energy values of mixed diets with a composition of unknown ingredients.
IL-33 Is Produced by Mast Cells and Regulates IgE-Dependent Inflammation

Background IL-33 is a recently characterized IL-1 family cytokine and found to be expressed in inflammatory diseases, including severe asthma and inflammatory bowl disease. Recombinant IL-33 has been shown to enhance Th2-associated immune responses and potently increase mast cell proliferation and cytokine production. While IL-33 is constitutively expressed in endothelial and epithelial cells, where it may function as a transcriptional regulator, cellular sources of IL-33 and its role in inflammation remain unclear. Methodology/Principal Findings Here, we identify mast cells as IL-33 producing cells. IgE/antigen activation of bone marrow-derived mast cells or a murine mast cell line (MC/9) significantly enhanced IL-33. Conversely, recombinant IL-33 directly activated mast cells to produce several cytokines including IL-4, IL-5 and IL-6 but not IL-33. We show that expression of IL-33 in response to IgE-activation required calcium and that ionomycin was sufficient to induce IL-33. In vivo, peritoneal mast cells expressed IL-33 and IL-33 levels were significantly lower within the skin of mast cell deficient mice, compared to littermate controls. Local activation of mast cells promotes edema, followed by the recruitment of inflammatory cells. We demonstrate using passive cutaneous anaphylaxis, a mast cell-dependent model, that deficiency in ST2 or antibody blockage of ST2 or IL-33 ablated the late phase inflammatory response but that the immediate phase response was unaffected. IL-33 levels in the skin were significantly elevated only during the late phase. Conclusions/Significance Our findings demonstrate that mast cells produce IL-33 after IgE-mediated activation and that the IL-33/ST2 pathway is critical for the progression of IgE-dependent inflammation.
Constraint-driven system partitioning

This paper describes how optimization techniques can be applied to efficiently solve the constrained co-design problem. This is performed by the formulation of different cost functions which will drive the hardware-software partitioning process. The use of complex cost functions allows us to capture more aspects of the design. Besides, the appropriate formulation of this kind of functions has a great impact on the results that can be obtained regarding both quality and algorithm convergence rate. A strong point of the proposed formulation is its generality. Therefore, it does not depend on the problem and can be easily extended for considering new design constraints.
Domain-Polymorphic Programming of Privacy-Preserving Applications

Secure Multi-party Computation (SMC) is seen as one of the main enablers for secure outsourcing of computation. Currently, there are many different SMC techniques (garbled circuits, secret sharing, homomorphic encryption, etc.) and none of them is clearly superior to others in terms of efficiency, security guarantees, ease of implementation, etc. For maximum efficiency, and for obeying the trust policies, a privacy-preserving application may wish to use several different SMC techniques for different operations it performs. A straightforward implementation of this application may result in a program that (i) contains a lot of duplicated code, differing only in the used SMC technique; (ii) is difficult to maintain, if policies or SMC implementations change; and (iii) is difficult to reuse in similar applications using different SMC techniques. In this paper, we propose a programming language called SecreC with associated compilation techniques for simple orchestration of multiple SMC techniques and multiple protection domains. It is a simple imperative language with function calls where the types of data items are annotated with protection domains and where the function declarations may be domain-polymorphic. This allows most of the program code working with private data to be written in a SMC-technique-agnostic manner. It also allows rapid deployment of new SMC techniques and implementations in existing applications. We have implemented the compiler for the language, integrated it with Sharemind SMC framework, and are currently using it for new privacy-preserving applications.
Usability Perspective of an Authoring Solution to Assist Pedagogical Decision-Making

There is a quest to provide education from anywhere, at any time and for anyone, using digital information and communication technologies, but there is no equivalent increase in support for the instructors responsible for maintaining such courses, evidenced by the large number of dropouts and failures. We propose an authoring solution to guide pedagogical decision-making in on-line learning environments to help instructors (1) to discover pedagogical situations occurring in their courses; (2) understand these situation; (3) make decisions to address them; (4) monitor and evaluate the impact from decisions made. However, instructors do not master these abilities, nor is it practical/appropriate to ask them to do so. We developed a proof-of-concept version of an authoring solution, named T-Partner, that guides instructors through these 4 steps. We conducted an experiment to evaluate whether it is perceived as useful and easy to use. The results show that its usefulness and ease of use were positively perceived by the instructors.
Regulation of human EGF receptor by lipids

The human epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a key representative of tyrosine kinase receptors, ubiquitous actors in cell signaling, proliferation, differentiation, and migration. Although the receptor is well-studied, a central issue remains: How does the compositional diversity and functional diversity of the surrounding membrane modulate receptor function? Reconstituting human EGFR into proteoliposomes of well-defined and controlled lipid compositions represents a minimal synthetic approach to systematically address this question. We show that lipid composition has little effect on ligand-binding properties of the EGFR but rather exerts a profound regulatory effect on kinase domain activation. Here, the ganglioside GM3 but not other related lipids strongly inhibited the autophosphorylation of the EGFR kinase domain. This inhibitory action of GM3 was only seen in liposomes compositionally poised to phase separate into coexisting liquid domains. The inhibition by GM3 was released by either removing the neuraminic acid of the GM3 headgroup or by mutating a membrane proximal lysine of EGFR (K642G). Our results demonstrate that GM3 exhibits the potential to regulate the allosteric structural transition from inactive to a signaling EGFR dimer, by preventing the autophosphorylation of the intracellular kinase domain in response to ligand binding.
Is the mind really modular

When Fodor titled his (1983) book the Modularity of Mind, he overstated his position. His actual view is that the mind divides into systems some of which are modular and others of which are not. The book would have been more aptly, if less provocatively, called The Modularity of Low-Level Peripheral Systems. High-level perception and cognitive systems are non-modular on Fodor’s theory. In recent years, modularity has found more zealous defenders, who claim that the entire mind divides into highly specialized modules. This view has been especially popular among Evolutionary Psychologists. They claim that the mind is massively modular (Cosmides and Tooby, 1994; Sperber, 1994; Pinker, 1997; see also Samuels, 1998). Like a Swiss Army Knife, the mind is an assembly of specialized tools, each of which has been designed for some particular purpose. My goal here is to raise doubts about both peripheral modularity and massive modularity. To do that, I will rely on the criteria for modularity laid out by Fodor (1983). I will argue that neither input systems, nor central systems are modular on any of these criteria. Some defenders of modularity have dropped parts of Fodor’s definition and defined modularity with reference to a more restricted list of features. Carruthers (this volume) makes such a move. My arguments against modularity threaten these accounts as well. My claim is not just that Fodor’s criteria are not jointly satisfied by subsystems within the mind, but they are rarely satisfied individually. When we draw boundaries around subsystems that satisfy any one of Fodor’s criteria for modularity, we find, at best, scattered islands of modularity. If modules exist, they are few and far between. The kinds of systems that have been labeled modular by defenders of both peripheral and massive modularity probably don’t qualify. Thus, modularity is not a very useful construct in doing mental cartography.
Angiogenic Functions of Voltage-gated Na+ Channels in Human Endothelial Cells

Voltage-gated sodium channel (VGSC) activity has previously been reported in endothelial cells (ECs). However, the exact isoforms of VGSCs present, their mode(s) of action, and potential role(s) in angiogenesis have not been investigated. The main aims of this study were to determine the role of VGSC activity in angiogenic functions and to elucidate the potentially associated signaling mechanisms using human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) as a model system. Real-time PCR showed that the primary functional VGSC α- and β-subunit isoforms in HUVECs were Nav1.5, Nav1.7, VGSCβ1, and VGSCβ3. Western blots verified that VGSCα proteins were expressed in HUVECs, and immunohistochemistry revealed VGSCα expression in mouse aortic ECs in vivo. Electrophysiological recordings showed that the channels were functional and suppressed by tetrodotoxin (TTX). VGSC activity modulated the following angiogenic properties of HUVECs: VEGF-induced proliferation or chemotaxis, tubular differentiation, and substrate adhesion. Interestingly, different aspects of angiogenesis were controlled by the different VGSC isoforms based on TTX sensitivity and effects of siRNA-mediated gene silencing. Additionally, we show for the first time that TTX-resistant (TTX-R) VGSCs (Nav1.5) potentiate VEGF-induced ERK1/2 activation through the PKCα-B-RAF signaling axis. We postulate that this potentiation occurs through modulation of VEGF-induced HUVEC depolarization and [Ca2+]i. We conclude that VGSCs regulate multiple angiogenic functions and VEGF signaling in HUVECs. Our results imply that targeting VGSC expression/activity could be a novel strategy for controlling angiogenesis.
IT Services Offshoring: Opportunities and Critical Factors from a Strategic Perspective

In the era of globalization, offshoring IT services aim to improve economic conditions and organizational systems to carry out activities or processes previously performed within the company. Since the nineties, there has been a remarkable global expansion of high-level IT skills, taking place mainly in countries with emerging economies. These countries have been able to reap the benefits of a considerable amount of research and development investment and human resources training in the IT field, thereby developing their own economies and GNP, and in turn attracting foreign investment, thereby increasing their own competitive position in respect to the U.S.A. and European countries (Leonard, 2006). Consequently, India, the Philippines, China, Canada, Brazil, Ireland, and many eastern European countries have become the real protagonists ABSTRACT
Three-parameter Sequential Minimal Optimization for Support Vector Classification

The well-known (two-parameter) sequential minimal optimization (2PSMO) algorithm for support vector classification is generalized to three-parameter sequential minimal optimization (3PSMO) algorithm in this paper. This new algorithm retains all the good properties of the former one. The main difference between these two algorithms is that the optimization is performed in each iteration of the 2PSMO algorithm on a line segment, whilst that of the 3PSMO algorithm on a region consisting of infinitely many line segments. Four public data sets are used to show the performance of both algorithms.
Symmetries of Multiagent Systems and Formation Stability

This work is part of a larger research effort investigating the role of symmetries in control of large-scale cyberphysical-systems (CPS). Most prior efforts have considered discrete symmetries, and the work in this paper reflects our initial efforts directed toward investigating continuous symmetries. Specifically, we consider a formation control problem, limited for now to only two agents, and determine all the point transformation symmetries associated with that system. We also determine a reduced description of the dynamics of the system particularly important for formation control and show stability of the system in those coordinates.
Local non-negative component representation for human action recognition

The Bag of Words (BOW) method with spatio-temporal interest points has achieved great performance in human action recognition. However the traditional BOW methods based on vector quantization (VQ) suffer serious quantization error and lose masses of information. There are two main reasons leading these: the first is the codebook obtained by k-means has no obvious visual interpretation and second, each input data is combined with only one label. In this paper, we apply non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) to learn codebook for actions, which provides intuitive non-negative components for actions. And then, Locality-constrained linear coding (LLC) method is applied to get the parts-based encodings for videos, which greatly alleviates the quantization error and considers the locality among bases and input samples. Our method is verified on the challenging database (KTH) and achieves commendable result.
Scale Space for Camera Invariant Features

In this paper we propose a new approach to compute the scale space of any central projection system, such as catadioptric, fisheye or conventional cameras. Since these systems can be explained using a unified model, the single parameter that defines each type of system is used to automatically compute the corresponding Riemannian metric. This metric, is combined with the partial differential equations framework on manifolds, allows us to compute the Laplace-Beltrami (LB) operator, enabling the computation of the scale space of any central projection system. Scale space is essential for the intrinsic scale selection and neighborhood description in features like SIFT. We perform experiments with synthetic and real images to validate the generalization of our approach to any central projection system. We compare our approach with the best-existing methods showing competitive results in all type of cameras: catadioptric, fisheye, and perspective.
E-Voting and Biometric Systems

As e-Voting gains more importance while practicable solutions are being implemented, more questions arise concerning alternative possibilities for a secure and feasible authentication. The specific peculiarities of secure authentication to a system are various and for a sensitive area like e-Voting also challenging. In this paper we evaluate biometric systems in order to prove their capabilities for e-Voting systems.
Catchment topography and wetland geomorphology drive macroinvertebrate community structure and juvenile salmonid distributions in south-central Alaska headwater streams

Abstract. Conservation and management of headwater streams amid rapid global change require an understanding of the spatial and environmental factors that drive species distributions and associated ecosystem processes. We used a hierarchical analytical framework to model effects of catchment-scale topography and wetland geomorphic classes on stream physical habitat, chemistry, and macroinvertebrate and fish communities in 30 headwater streams across the Kenai Lowlands, southcentral Alaska, USA. We identified 135 macroinvertebrate taxa, 122 of which were aquatic insects, of which 79 were dipterans. We collected only 6 species of fish, but juvenile coho salmon and Dolly Varden were collected in 17 and 25 of the 30 streams and reached densities >500 and 1300/km, respectively. Flow-weighted slope, an indicator of water residence time and gradient, was the best catchment-scale correlate of macroinvertebrate and fish community structure, and its effect was mediated by wetland geomorphic classes and numerous water chemistry, substrate composition, and channel geomorphology variables measured at the reach scale. Many macroinvertebrate taxa showed high fidelity to different levels of the topographic gradient, resulting in high &bgr; diversity but relatively similar levels of &agr; diversity across the gradient. Juvenile salmonids were segregated among streams by both species and age classes. Coho salmon fry and parr (<10 cm total length [TL]) had significant unimodal distributions that peaked in streams with intermediate slopes and gravel substrate, whereas presmolts (≥10 cm) were found only in lowest-sloping streams with mostly peat substrate and deep, slow channels. Large Dolly Varden (≥8 cm) were found across the entire gradient but were most abundant in high-sloping catchments, whereas small Dolly Varden (<8 cm) followed a similar distribution but were absent from the lowest-gradient sites with low flow velocity, dissolved O2, and gravel substrate. Predictive modeling indicated that all of the 547 km of headwater streams in the study area might serve as potential habitat for ≥1 species and age class of salmonids. Our study should assist in development of catchment management tools for identifying and prioritizing conservation efforts in the region and may serve as a framework for other studies concerning biodiversity and focal species conservation in headwater streams.
Type Theory and Programming

This paper gives an introduction to type theory, focusing on its recent use as a logical framework for proofs and programs. The rst two sections give a background to type theory intended for the reader who is new to the subject. The following presents Martin-L of's monomorphic type theory and an implementation, ALF, of this theory. Finally, a few small tutorial examples in ALF are given.
Using environmental distractors in the diagnosis of ADHD

This study examined the effect of the incorporation of environmental distractors in computerized continuous performance test (CPT) on the ability of the test in distinguishing ADHD from non-ADHD children. It was hypothesized that children with ADHD would display more distractibility than controls while performing CPT as measured by omission errors in the presence of pure visual, pure auditory, and a combination of visual and auditory distracting stimuli. Participants were 663 children aged 7–12 years, of them 345 diagnosed with ADHD and 318 without ADHD. Results showed that ADHD children demonstrated more omission errors than their healthy peers in all CPT conditions (no distractors, pure visual or auditory distractors and combined distractors). However, ADHD and non-ADHD children differed in their reaction to distracting stimuli; while all types of distracting stimuli increased the rate of omission errors in ADHD children, only combined visual and auditory distractors increased it in non-ADHD children. Given the low ecological validity of many CPT, these findings suggest that incorporating distractors in CPT improves the ability to distinguish ADHD from non-ADHD children.
Better operating system features for faster network servers

Widely-used operating systems provide inadequate support for large-scale Internet server applications. Their algorithms and interfaces fail to efficiently support either event-driven or multi-threaded servers. They provide poor control over the scheduling and management of machine resources, making it difficult to provide robust and controlled service. We propose new UNIX interfaces to improve scalability, and to provide fine-grained scheduling and resource management.
Differential Phosphorylation of GluN1-MAPKs in Rat Brain Reward Circuits following Long-Term Alcohol Exposure

The effects of long-term alcohol consumption on the mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) pathway and N-methyl-D-aspartate-type glutamate receptor 1 (GluN1) subunits in the mesocorticolimbic system remain unclear. In the present study, rats were allowed to consume 6% (v/v) alcohol solution for 28 consecutive days. Locomotor activity and behavioral signs of withdrawal were observed. Phosphorylation and expression of extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK), c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), p38 protein kinase and GluN1 in the nucleus accumbens, caudate putamen, amygdala, hippocampus and prefrontal cortex of these rats were also measured. Phosphorylation of ERK, but not JNK or p38, was decreased in all five brain regions studied in alcohol-drinking rats. The ratio of phospho/total-GluN1 subunit was reduced in all five brain regions studied. Those results suggest that the long-term alcohol consumption can inhibits GluN1 and ERK phosphorylation, but not JNK or p38 in the mesocorticolimbic system, and these changes may be relevant to alcohol dependence. To differentiate alcohol-induced changes in ERK and GluN1 between acute and chronic alcohol exposure, we have determined levels of phospho-ERK, phospho-GluN1 and total levels of GluN1 after acute alcohol exposure. Our data show that 30 min following a 2.5 g/kg dose of alcohol (administered intragastrically), levels of phospho-ERK are decreased while those of phospho-GluN1 are elevated with no change in total GluN1 levels. At 24 h following the single alcohol dose, levels of phospho-ERK are elevated in several brain regions while there are no differences between controls and alcohol treated animals in phospho-GluN1 or total GluN1. Those results suggest that alcohol may differentially regulate GluN1 function and ERK activation depending on alcohol dose and exposure time in the central nervous system.