Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Experimental infection of pregnant sheep with attenuated Salmonella typhimurium

Salmonellosis occurs in many animal species including sheep, and may cause pathology of the gut and possible abortion. If attenuated strains were to be used for future control, their establishment in the host and shedding pattern needs to be determined. Fifty-one pregnant ewes were obtained from the Lincoln University Research Farm and assigned randomly to five treatment groups. At approximately 1 month before lambing, the groups were given attenuated S. typhimurium (cya, crp) by different routes and doses as follows: 10 10 colony-forming units (cfu) intranasally (i.n.), 10 9 cfu i.n. , 10 cfu subcutaneously (s.c.), 10 9 cfu s.c. , and control (saline i.n. and s.c.). Selected animals were slaughtered at days 4 and 14 post infection for bacteriological culture from the mesenteric and retropharyngeal lymph nodes, intestinal contents and lamb stomach contents. The experimental organisms were isolated using selective cultures and identified by latex agglutination test and fermentation reactions. Following infection there were no changes in rectal temperature or significant clinical signs except two cases of abortion in the 10 10 cfu s.c. group. The number of animals shedding organisms in their faeces decreased with time from 12 ewes at day 1 to one ewe at day 4 and day 7. Most of them were from the 10 10 i.n. group. Subcutaneous injection of 10 10 cfu induced abortion in two of 11 ewes, as organisms were detected in their faeces and the aborted lambs. However, no organisms were detected in faeces, intestinal contents or the lamb stomach contents of the ewes that were killed at days 4 or 14. In the two ewes that had received 10 10 cfu i.n. and were killed at day 4, organisms were detected in the mesenteric and retropharyngeal lymph nodes. In summary, the administration of the attenuated S. typhimurium (cya, crp) at 10 cfu caused asymptomatic short-term faecal shedding and abortion when given i.n. and s.c. , respectively.
Hazai szárazföldi ászkarákfajok (Isopoda, Oniscidea) tipizálása két nagyváros, Budapest és Baltimore (ÉK Amerika) összehasonlításának példájával

Munkankban kiserletet tettunk az aszkarakfajok termeszetvedelmi szempontu felosztasara jellemző előhelyuk es elterjedesi adataik alapjan. Kategoriaink: termeszetkozeli előhelyeken elő NR („natural-rare”), kis abundanciaval jellemezhető fajok; NF („natural-frequent”) termeszetkozeli előhelyeken, gyakori fajok; DR („disturbed-rare”) – zavart előhelyeken, kis egyedszamban előfordulok; DF („disturbed- frequent”) – antropogen habitatok nagy abundanciaju, rendszerint szunantrop fajai; G („generalist”) – minden tipusu előhelyen előfordulhato fajok; U („uncertain”) – keves adat miatt nem tipizalhatoak. Ezen beosztas alapjan az utobbi evekben faunankra ujkent kimutatott fajok ketharmada a DR kategoriaba tartozik, ami az idegen faunaelemek felgyorsult betelepuleset, a biodiverzitas homogenizalodo tendenciajat igazolja. Baltimore (EK Amerika) es Budapest Isopoda faunajat osszevető esettanulmanyunkban kimutattuk, hogy mig a vizsgalt tengeren tuli fauna 11 behurcolt fajbol all, addig Budapesten osszesen 27 fajbol, aminek 33%-a betelepult.
Does Practice Make Perfect? The Contrasting Effects of Repeated Practice on Creativity

Could repeatedly “exercising” the creativity muscle help build up creative performance over time? To answer this question, we conducted three longitudinal studies with a total of 830 participants, resulting in the generation of 17,652 creative solutions and 39,211 unique product names. In study 1 (and its replication), we uncovered contrasting effects of practice on creativity. While daily practice fostered convergent creativity, divergent creativity showed mixed effects—the number of unique ideas generated remained stagnant, and the average novelty of ideas decreased with practice. In study 2, we found that repeated practice affected divergent creativity through two opposing forces: practice hindered the activation of less routinized routes (and thus hurt the number of unique ideas generated) but also positively affected the fluency of the routinized routes (and thus increased the number of unique ideas generated). Interestingly, the vast majority of participants inaccurately predicted that repeated practice would uniformly facilitate both types of creativity.
Design of Overlapped Subarrays Based on Aperture Reactive Loading

A novel technique is presented for the design and optimization of waveguide antenna arrays based on overlapping subarrays for limited field-of-view (FoV) applications. Each subarray consists of one directly fed antenna element and several passive reactive-loaded elements. The proposed overlapping scheme exploits a free-space reactive coupling instead of more conventional schemes based on complex beamforming networks. This results in a drastic reduction in the number of waveguide components required in the feeding network. The optimization of the considered class of array structures using a full-wave electromagnetic (EM) solver is extremely time-consuming even in the presence of subarrays with a reduced number of passive elements. To overcome this limitation, an effective semi-analytical design algorithm has been specifically developed. Using this algorithm, a novel subarray structure with a predefined pulse-shaped radiation pattern was synthesized. The designed subarray is inherently matched and features reduced spurious EM coupling level with adjacent subarray elements. In particular, the analysis of an array consisting of 38 such subarray elements has been carried out with the main goal of illustrating the effect of the subarray pattern on the total array characteristics. To validate the subarray overlapping scheme, an array composed of three contiguous subarrays has been realized and measured experimentally. In this way, a scan range in the FoV [−4°; 4°] with 15 dB grating lobe suppression has been demonstrated.
Effects of cross-linking by MgCl2 as an initiator on the properties of EVOH

Ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH) with excellent barrier properties has insufficient thermomechanical properties. The introduction of magnesium chloride (MgCl2) as an initiator in EVOH blends improved its properties by cross-linking. Torque behavior and gel experiment analysis indicated that a cross-linking in EVOH was formed. The cross-linking mechanism was confirmed through 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (13C NMR) and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometry. In 13C NMR spectra, the splitting peaks of CH carbon and CH2 carbon tended to disappear, and the stretching vibration peak of –C=C– was observed in the FTIR spectra. The formation of hydrogen bond between MgCl2 and EVOH destroyed the intramolecular and intermolecular hydrogen bonds of EVOH, which contributed to the dehydration of –OH to form –C=C–, and –C=C– was the basis for a cross-linking reaction. The thermal analysis of blends demonstrated that the melting temperature and crystallization temperature decreased, and the crystallinity gradually disappeared when the MgCl2 content increased. Glass transition temperature significantly increased as the intermolecular force enhanced. Thermogravimetric analysis showed that a cross-linked structure could improve the thermostability of EVOH with an increase in the MgCl2 content. Mechanical test results revealed a remarkable increase in the tensile strength of EVOH as the MgCl2 content increased.
INHIBITION OF ARACHIDONIC ACID-INDUCED EAR EDEMA, MAST-CELL STABILIZING AND FREE RADICAL EFFECT OF DICHLOROMETHANE CRUDE EXTRACTS FROM THE LEAVES OF LABISIA PUMILA

Objective: To evaluate the ability of dichloromethane leave extract of labisia pumila (DELP) to inhibit arachidonic acid - induced ear oedema, mast cell stabilizing effect and determination of DPPH, TPC, hydroxyl, nitric oxide and superoxide radical-scavenging activity of the extract. Material and method: The leaf extract was prepared with dichloromethane filter and rotary evaporated and stored in desiccator . The effect of DELP on arachidonic acid - induced ear oedema, mast cell stabilizing was evaluated. DPPH, TPC, hydroxyl, nitric oxide and superoxide radical-scavenging activity of the extract was also studied. Result: DELP was able to inhibit arachidonic acid induced ear edema in the mice. The concentration of DELP (mg/ml) needed for 50% inhibition (IC50) of superoxide radicals, DPPH and NO were 1, 1.5, and 1.5 respectively. Total Phenolic Content was 25μg GAE/mg.
Fast Truss Decomposition in Large-scale Probabilistic Graphs

Truss decomposition is popular for finding dense substructures in graphs. Discovering trusses in deterministic graphs has been widely discussed in the literature. However, with the intrinsic uncertainty in many networks such as social, biological, and communication networks, it is of great importance to study truss decomposition in a probabilistic context, but this has received much less attention till now. Furthermore, due to computation challenges of truss decomposition in probabilistic graphs, the state-of-the-art approaches are not scalable to large graphs. Given a user-defined threshold, we are interested in finding all the maximal subgraphs which are a k-truss with high probability. The most important challenge, which distinguishes truss decomposition in probabilistic graphs from deterministic graphs, is computing tail probabilities of edge supports. We employ a special version of the Central Limit Theorem (CLT) to obtain the tail probabilities efficiently. Based on our CLT approach we propose a peeling algorithm for truss decomposition of a probabilistic graph that scales to very large graphs and offers significant improvement over state-of-the-art. Our extensive experimental results confirm the scalability and efficiency of our approach.
Individual Employee Factors Affecting Emotional Labor and Job Outcomes: A Case Study of Hotel Frontline Employees in Phuket

Despite the rapid evolution and high competition in the accommodation sector, there are still pressing questions regarding the attitudes, job performance, and behavior of frontline employees within such organizations, which are affected by factors of the individual employees. This study aimed to examine such factors, specifically how gender, age, length of work experience, and marital status, affect emotional labor and job outcomes. Questionnaires were distributed to 325 frontline employees of hotels in Phuket. The study utilized observed variables to examine the latent variables, applying an MIMIC (multiple indicators multiple causes) analysis through structural equation modeling. The results revealed that age, experience and marital status had both positive and negative effects regarding emotional labor and job outcomes, but gender did not have any significant impact. Managerial implications from the results of the study could have beneficial outcomes for the hospitality and service industry, particularly regarding the human resource management process in terms of dealing with employees’ emotional labor, and also in terms of the custom treatment of different groups of hotel frontline employees.
Beyond the qualitative description of complex magnetic nanoparticle arrays using FORC measurement

First-order reversal curve (FORC) measurements are broadly used for the characterization of complex magnetic nanostructures, but they can be inconclusive when quantifying the amount of different magnetic phases present in a sample. In this paper, we first establish a framework for extracting quantitative parameters from FORC measurements conducted on samples composed of a single type of magnetic nanostructure to interpret their magnetic properties. We then generalize our framework for the quantitative characterization of samples that are composed of 2–4 types of FeCo magnetic nanowires to determine the most reliable and reproducible parameters for a detailed analysis of samples. Finally, we conclude that the parameter with the best quantification potential, backfield remanence coercivity, does not require the full FORC measurement. Our approach provides an insightful path for fast, quantitative analysis of complex magnetic nanostructures, especially determination of the ratios of magnetic subcomponents present in multi-phase samples.
Continuous Monitoring of Cotton Stem Water Potential using Sentinel-2 Imagery

Monitoring cotton status during the growing season is critical in increasing production efficiency. The water status in cotton is a key factor for yield and cotton quality. Stem water potential (SWP) is a precise indicator for assessing cotton water status. Satellite remote sensing is an effective approach for monitoring cotton growth at a large scale. The aim of this study is to estimate cotton water stress at a high temporal frequency and at a large scale. In this study, we measured midday SWP samples according to the acquisition dates of Sentinel-2 images and used them to build linear-regression-based and machine-learning-based models to estimate cotton water stress during the growing season (June to August, 2018). For the linear-regression-based method, we estimated SWP based on different Sentinel-2 spectral bands and vegetation indices, where the normalized difference index 45 (NDI45) achieved the best performance (R2 = 0.6269; RMSE = 3.6802 (-1*swp (bars))). For the machine-learning-based method, we used random forest regression to estimate SWP and received even better results (R2 = 0.6709; RMSE = 3.3742 (-1*swp (bars))). To find the best selection of input variables for the machine-learning-based approach, we tried three different data input datasets, including (1) 9 original spectral bands (e.g., blue, green, red, red edge, near infrared (NIR), and shortwave infrared (SWIR)), (2) 21 vegetation indices, and (3) a combination of original Sentinel-2 spectral bands and vegetation indices. The highest accuracy was achieved when only the original spectral bands were used. We also found the SWIR and red edge band were the most important spectral bands, and the vegetation indices based on red edge and NIR bands were particularly helpful. Finally, we applied the best approach for the linear-regression-based and the machine-learning-based methods to generate cotton water potential maps at a large scale and high temporal frequency. Results suggests that the methods developed here has the potential for continuous monitoring of SWP at large scales and the machine-learning-based method is preferred.
BB-Tree: A practical and efficient main-memory index structure for multidimensional workloads

We present the BB-Tree, a fast and space-efficient index structure for processing multidimensional read/write workloads in main memory. The BB-Tree uses a k-ary search tree for pruning and searching while keeping all data in leaf nodes. It linearizes the inner search tree and manages it in a cache-optimized array, creating the need for occasional re-organizations when data changes. To reduce the frequency of such re-organizations, the BB-Tree introduces a novel architecture for leaf nodes, called bubble buckets, which can automatically morph between different representations depending on their fill degree and are thus able to buffer a large number of insertions or deletions in-place. We compare the BB-Tree to scanning, main-memory variants of the R∗-tree, the kd-tree, and the VA-file, and the recent PHtree using different multidimensional workloads over real and synthetic data sets. The BB-Tree is the fastest access method for range queries up to a selectivity of around 20% (after which it is only beaten by scanning), the fastest method in read/write workloads, and achieves an exact-match query performance similar to that of the best point access method. In addition, it is the most space-efficient method of all considered index structures. We also describe a parallel range query operator and show that it scales with the number of physical cores.
Discovering Order Dependencies through Order Compatibility

A relevant task in the exploration and understanding of large datasets is the discovery of hidden relationships in the data. In particular, functional dependencies have received considerable attention in the past. However, there are other kinds of relationships that are significant both for understanding the data and for performing query optimization. Order dependencies belong to this category. An order dependency states that if a table is ordered on a list of attributes, then it is also ordered on another list of attributes. The discovery of order dependencies has been only recently studied. In this paper, we propose a novel approach for discovering order dependencies in a given dataset. Our approach leverages the observation that discovering order dependencies can be guided by the discovery of a more specific form of dependencies called order compatibility dependencies. We show that our algorithm outperforms existing approaches on real datasets. Furthermore, our algorithm can be parallelized leading to further improvements when it is executed on multiple threads. We present several experiments that illustrate the effectiveness and efficiency of our proposal and discuss our findings.
Multi-Dimensional Busy-Tone Arbitration for OFDMA Random Access in IEEE 802.11ax

IEEE 802.11ax has adopted orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) to support multi-user (MU) transmissions. There exist two uplink MU OFDMA access methods in IEEE 802.11ax. The first one is uplink OFDMA random access (UORA) in which stations randomly select resource units (RUs) to send physical protocol data units (PPDUs), so its access efficiency is low. The second one is uplink OFDMA nonrandom access (UONRA) in which the access point (AP) schedules MU transmissions based on buffer status reports (BSR) from stations. However, stations usually rely on UORA to send BSRs, so the low efficiency of UORA can be a bottleneck of UONRA. Thus, UORA needs to be renovated to improve the performance of itself and UONRA. To this end, a multi-dimensional busy-tone arbitration (MBTA) mechanism is developed in this paper to reduce collisions among stations contending the same RU. Since there lacks an algorithm in IEEE 802.11ax to support coexistence of UORA and UONRA, a dynamic access-method selection (DAMS) algorithm is designed for the AP and stations to choose an optimal access method. Both MBTA and DAMS are analyzed rigorously and are further validated via simulations. The analytical and simulation results show that: 1) The MBTA dramatically improves the access efficiency of UORA; 2) DAMS always achieves a higher throughput than both UORA and UONRA.
Enterovirus A71 Phenotypes Causing Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease, Vietnam

We investigated enterovirus A71–associated hand, foot and mouth disease in Vietnam and found that, after replacing subgenogroup C4 in 2013, B5 remained the leading cause of this disease. In contrast with previous observations, this switch did not result in an explosive outbreak, and B5 evolution was driven by negative selection.
Reconfigurability Evaluation of Multifunctional Intelligent Boom Sprayer Based on Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation

Multifunctional intelligent boom sprayer is a development direction of boom sprayers, and it could satisfy needs of precision and variable spraying and achieve aims of sustainable development of pesticide spraying, ecological protection, and efficient plant protection by reconfiguring its structures. Therefore, the evaluation of multifunctional intelligent boom sprayer reconfigurability has a role in improving product reconfigurability while reducing product function redundancy and production costs and reducing product function redundancy and production cost. In order to comprehensively evaluate the reconfigurability of a multifunctional intelligent boom sprayer, this paper established an evaluation index system and realized the evaluation process by using fuzzy comprehensive evaluation, analytic hierarchy process, and validity test. The evaluation result would avail to directly and effectively guide product optimization and upgrade process in accordance with quantitatively analyzed evaluation indexes of intelligent boom sprayer reconfigurability by using mathematical methods such as analytic hierarchy process and validity test in evaluation process. The index system was formed from six components, which were key design information, quality, cost, efficiency, intelligence, and operational capability. Index weights were calculated by the analytic hierarchy process. Finally, a multifunctional shiftable boom intelligent sprayer was evaluated for product reconfigurability improvements by using the evaluation method. Reconfigurability evaluation result of the multifunctional shiftable boom intelligent sprayer belonged to "good" evaluation interval by the calculation of formulas. There was further room to improve product reconfigurability, as the membership degree in the “good” evaluation interval was below 0.5. The study could provide a scientific basis for improving the reconfigurability, technical performance, and operation quality of products in intelligent boom sprayer design. In addition, it may be possible to decrease the arbitrary nature of subjective design factors and support economic and ecological goals when businesses upgrade products.
Validation of pneumococcal iron acquisition (piaA) gene for accurate identification of Streptococcus pneumoniae

Purpose: The pneumococcal iron acquisition (piaA) gene is found to be highly specific and hence proposed as a diagnostic marker for identification of pneumococci. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the piaA gene as a genetic marker for the identification of pneumococci. Methods: Twenty isolates were initially sequenced for lytA gene using published primers. PiaA-PCR (piaA polymerase chain reaction) was performed using in-house primers and protocol. Based on the sensitivity and specificity results, a final sample of 30 pneumococcal isolates and 11 non-pneumococcal isolates confirmed with lytA- sequencing were selected. Statistical analyses were performed using OpenEpi v3.01 and GraphPad Quickcalc at P < 0.05 as the level of statistical significance. Results: Of the initial 20 samples tested, piaA PCR was positive in only 71.43% (10/14) of the pneumococcal isolates but was 100% specific (0/6 non-pneumococcal isolates) P = 0.011. When the PCR was performed on 41 samples, the sensitivity increased to 73.33% (95% of confidence interval [CI] = 55.55–85.82) and specificity remained the same P < 0.001. The level of agreement between the PCR and lytA-sequencing was found to be moderate (κ = 0.694; 95% CI = 0.432–0.955). Conclusions: PiaA-PCR can be used as a specific marker for the identification of pneumococcus, though it is less sensitive. As the level of agreement was moderate, further analyses on a large number of samples can give conclusive evidence for its use as a diagnostic marker for pneumococcus.
Microstructural and Corrosion Properties of PEO Coated Zinc-Aluminized (ZA) Steel

Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation (PEO) is a surface treatment, similar to anodizing, that produces thick oxide films on the surface of metals. In the present work, PEO coatings were obtained on zinc-aluminized (ZA) carbon steel using a solution containing sodium silicate and potassium hydroxide as electrolyte, and working with high current densities and short treatment times in Direct Current (DC) mode. The thickness of the coating, as well as the surface morphology, were strongly influenced by the process parameters, with different dissolution grades of the ZA layer depending on the current density and treatment time. A compromise between thickness and porosity of the coating was found with low current density/long treatment time or high current density/short treatment time. The PEO layer was mainly composed of aluminum oxides and silicon compounds. The corrosion resistance increased remarkably in the samples with the PEO coating. These PEO coated samples are suitable for sealing treatments that further increase their corrosion properties or will be also an ideal substrate for commercial painting, assuring improved mechanical adhesion and protection even in the presence of damages.