Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Deep Learning Based BCI Control of a Robotic Service Assistant Using Intelligent Goal Formulation

As autonomous service robots become more affordable and thus available for the general public, there is a growing need for user-friendly interfaces to control these systems. Control interfaces typically get more complicated with increasing complexity of the robotic tasks and the environment. Traditional control modalities as touch, speech or gesture commands are not necessarily suited for all users. While non-expert users can make the effort to familiarize themselves with a robotic system, paralyzed users may not be capable of controlling such systems even though they need robotic assistance most. In this paper, we present a novel framework, that allows these users to interact with a robotic service assistant in a closed-loop fashion, using only thoughts. The system is composed of several interacting components: non-invasive neuronal signal recording and co-adaptive deep learning which form the brain-computer interface (BCI), high-level task planning based on referring expressions, navigation and manipulation planning as well as environmental perception. We extensively evaluate the BCI in various tasks, determine the performance of the goal formulation user interface and investigate its intuitiveness in a user study. Furthermore, we demonstrate the applicability and robustness of the system in real world scenarios, considering fetch-and-carry tasks and tasks involving human-robot interaction. As our results show, the system is capable of adapting to frequent changes in the environment and reliably accomplishes given tasks within a reasonable amount of time. Combined with high-level planning using referring expressions and autonomous robotic systems, interesting new perspectives open up for non-invasive BCI-based human-robot interactions.
Nesting of avian diversity in relation to indigenous trees

The main objective of the present study was to find out the nesting preference of avian species in relation to indigenous trees at two different locations i.e. Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana and village Machaki Mal Singh, Faridkot from April 2016April 2017. Nesting of 8 bird species was observed on seven tree species. Five bird species were observed nesting at location I while only three were observed at location II. Selection of nesting site, nesting materials and nesting structures were monitored and studied. Total 40 nests (Four on Pipal tree, 3 on Banyan tree, 2 on Mulberry, 4 on Jamun, 2 on Neem, 24 on Kikar and 1 on Sheesham) were recorded. Out of these, three nests were of Black Kite, 6 of House Crow, 1 of Spotted Owlet, 1 of Little Brown Dove, 1 of Oriental Magpie Robin, 1 of Asian Pied Myna, 14 of Cattle Egret and 13 of Baya weaver bird. Breeding of all the 8 bird species was noticed from beginning of April to end of November.
Use of an acoustic telemetry array for fine scale fish behaviour assessment of captive Paiche, Arapaima gigas, breeders

Institut de Recherche pour le D eveloppement (IRD), Unit e Mixte de Recherche Biologie des Organismes et Ecosyst emes Aquatiques (UMR BOREA MNHN, CNRS-7208, UPMC, UCBN, IRD207), Montpellier, France Laboratoire Mixte International Evolution et Domestication de l’Ichtyofaune Amazonienne (LMI EDIA), Montpellier, France Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazon ıa Peruana (IIAP), Pucallpa, Per u DYNAM, IRSTEA, Villeurbanne, France RECOVER, IRSTEA, Aix-en-Provence, France
Multifunctional RNA-binding proteins mediate ecdysone-dependent germline stem cell self-renewal in Drosophila

Steroid hormones promote stem cell self-renewal in many tissues; however, the molecular mechanisms by which hormone signaling is integrated with niche-derived signals are largely uncharacterized. In the Drosophila ovary, the steroid hormone ecdysone promotes germline stem cell (GSC) self-renewal. Despite strong evidence that ecdysone modulates the reception of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signals in GSCs, transcriptional targets of ecdysone signaling that facilitate BMP reception are unknown. Here, we report that ecdysone signaling promotes the expression of distinct, multifunctional RNA-binding proteins in GSCs to support their self-renewal. We demonstrate that a group of heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins (hnRNPs), which regulate splicing, maturation, and localization of nascent mRNAs, are highly expressed in GSCs. In the absence of ecdysone signaling, expression of at least four hnRNPs (squid, hephaestus, Hrb27C, and Hrb87F) is decreased. HnRNPs are intrinsically required for proper GSC self-renewal, and functionally interact with both ecdysone signaling and BMP signaling to maintain GSC number. Our findings support the model that stem cells coordinate local and long-range signals at the transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels to maintain self-renewal in response to physiological demand. SUMMARY STATEMENT Ecdysone signaling promotes expression of heterogeneous ribonucleoproteins to modulate BMP-dependent germline stem cell self-renewal in the Drosophila ovary.
The Role of Local Adaptation on Biting Performance in Trinidadian Guppies

Divergent selection pressures in populations that occupy different environments can result in phenotypic differentiation in traits that provide a local fitness advantage. Trinidadian guppy (Poecilia reticulata) populations are separated by physical barriers such as waterfalls which result in repeated shifts in selective pressures from predator avoidance in high predation environments towards resource competition in low predation environments. Such shifts in selection pressures have previously shown that a range of locally adapted morphological and behavioral traits are changed. However, the role of local adaptation on biting behaviors remains unclear. I analyzed morphological differences such as body length, jaw position, eye area and body depth to validate known differences between populations. I then filmed adult females from replicate high/low predation pairs while they used biting behaviors to feed on an agar substrate. I did not find divergence in either morphological or kinematic traits, suggesting a general lack of local adaptation, contrary to previous findings. A lack of divergence could be due to less pronounced morphological divergence in females, perhaps as a constraint of bearing young, and the absence of divergent selection on prey capture performance. In female guppies, morphology and performance are not locally adapted, and divergence may exist primarily in behavioral traits (consumption rates) as a result of competition in low predation environments. INDEX WORDS: Poecilia reticulata, Kinematics, Local adaptation, Predator/Prey interactions THE ROLE OF LOCAL ADAPTATION ON BITING PERFORMANCE IN TRINIDADIAN GUPPIES by HANNAH E. COHEN B.S., University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, 2014 A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Georgia Southern University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF SCIENCE STATESBORO, GEORGIA
Environmental policy in Europe : the Europeanization of national environmental policy

1. The Europeanization of National Environment Policy 2. Europeanization & Patterns of National Environmental Policy Change 3. Austria 4. Ireland 5. Finland 6. France 7. Germany 8. Greece 9. The Netherlands 10. Norway 11. Spain 12. Sweden 13. UK 14. Europeanization and convergence: Comparative Conclusions
A New Combination of Substrates: Biogas Production and Diversity of the Methanogenic Microorganisms

Abstract Agriculture, food industry, and manufacturing are just some of the areas where anaerobic technology can be used. Currently, anaerobic technologies are mainly used for wastewater treatment, solid waste treatment, or for the production of electrical and thermal energy from energy crops processing. However, a clear trend is towards more intensive use of this technology in biomass and biodegradable waste processing and hydrogen or biomethane production. An enormous number of anaerobic digesters are operating worldwide but there is very little information about the effect of different substrate combinations on the methanogens community. This is due to the fact that each of the anaerobic digesters has its own unique microbial community. For the most effective management of anaerobic processes it would be important to know the composition of a consortium of anaerobic microorganisms present in anaerobic digesters processing different input combinations of raw material. This paper characterizes the effect of the input raw materials on the diversity of the methanogen community. Two predominant microorganisms in anaerobic digesters were found to be 99% identity by the sequences of the 16S rRNA gene to the Methanoculleus and Thermogymnomonas genera deposited in GenBank.
The addition of hydrolyzed whey protein fractions to raw pork patties with subsequent chilled storage and its effect on oxidation and gel properties

ABSTRACT This experiment was conducted to elucidate the protein oxidation and gel properties of whey protein hydrolysates that were mixed into raw pork patties with subsequent chilled storage. Whey protein polypeptides of different size classes (Fraction I, MW > 10 k; Fraction II, MW 3–10 k; Fraction III, MW < 3 k) were separated by ultraﬁltration and the pork patties were stored for 0, 2, 4, 6, and 8 days at 4°C. The contents of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS), carbonyl groups, and gel textural properties were determined. The results showed that there was no significant difference at the beginning of the storage period between the treatment groups that contained whey polypeptides or BHA and the control group (P > 0.05). After 2 days of storage, Fraction III (F3) was superior to Fraction I (F1), Fraction II (F2), and the control in inhibiting the oxidation of pork patties and improving gel quality. In addition, F3 also had a higher water-holding capacity and storage modulus, which was similar to the 0.02% butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) group. The amino acid compositions showed that F3 had relatively higher contents of histidine, arginine, and proline, demonstrating a strong potential for F3 to be used as a natural antioxidant in raw pork preservation.
Growth Performance, Bone Quality, and Phosphorus Availability in Broilers Given Phosphorus-Deficient Diets Containing Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum)

To determine whether buckwheat phytase can be used as an alternative phytase source, growth performance, bone quality and P retention were measured in broilers given non-phytate P-deficient diets. Non-germinated (BU) and germinated (GBU) buckwheat were used: they were ground and sieved to remove hulls before use. A total of 120 male broiler chicks (8 d of age) were divided into 8 groups (15 birds each) and given one of the following 8 diets until 42 d of age: positive control (PC) diet satisfying recommended level of all nutrients, negative control (NC) diet formulated to contain 0.16% lower non-phytate P than PC diet, and six other diets, formulated by replacing maize in NC diet with BU or GBU at 10%, 15% and 20% concentrations. Starter diets contained 23.5% crude protein (CP) and 3,200 kcal of ME/kg, and were used for 8–21 d of age. Then, grower diets with 20.5% CP and 3,250 kcal of ME/kg, and were provided for 22–42 d of age. Compared with the PC group, NC group showed impaired growth performance (BW gain, FI, and FCR), and bone quality (dry weight, breaking strength and contents of ash and P in tibia). However, in most cases, these impairments were ameliorated dose-dependently by the addition of BU and GBU in diets, and the restoration magnitude was greater in GBU than in BU treatment. Total P excretion decreased in NC group and further decreased dose-dependently with increasing levels of BU and GBU. Except for the values in PC group, total P retention increased as the total P excretion decreased. In conclusion, dietary BU and GBU restored the growth performance and bone quality impaired by the P deficiency, and improved P retention in broilers, which suggested that buckwheat, especially when germinated, can be used as an alternative phytase source in broiler diets.
Deep Bidirectional Recurrent Neural Networks as End-To-End Models for Smoking Status Extraction from Clinical Notes in Spanish

Introduction Although natural language processing (NLP) tools have been available in English for quite some time, this is not the case for many other languages, particularly for texts from specific contexts such as clinical texts. This poses a challenge for tasks such as classifying text in languages other than English. In the absence of basic NLP tools, the development of statistical models that include manually designed variables that capture the semantic information of the documents is a potential solution. However, this process is expensive and slow. Deep recurrent neural networks (RNNs) have been proposed as “end-to-end” models that learn both variables and parameters jointly, thus avoiding manual feature engineering and saving development time. Methods We compared the performance of two strategies for labeling clinical notes of an electronic medical record in Spanish according to the patient’s smoking status (current smoker, current non-smoker, text without information on tobacco): 1. A traditional approach using two classifiers (a multilayer perceptron (MLP) and a support vector machine (SVM)) together with a ‘bag-of-words’ text representation that involves intensive manual development of features and, 2. an ’end-to-end’ model which uses a Short-Long-Term Memory bidirectional deep RNN with GloVe word embeddings. The classifiers were trained in the training set (n = 11775 clinical texts) and were evaluated in the test set (n = 2943) by means of macro-averaged recall, precision and F1 score. Results The RNN scored high values of all three metrics in the test set (sensitivity [95% CI]: 0.965 [0.96, 0.97], PPV: 0.963 [0.96, 0.97], F1 score: 0.964 [0.96, 0.97]). It also showed to be slightly superior to the MLP (difference in recall: 0.009 [95% CI: -0.0007, 0.017], precision: 0.007 [95% CI: -0.0015, 0.019] and F1 score: 0.009 [95% CI: 0.0018, 0.016]); comparing the RNN with the SVM, the latter has a better performance in general (recall difference [95% CI]: -0.007 [-0.016, 0.0018], precision: -0.009 [-0.018, 0.00015] and score F1: -0.008 [-0.014, -0.0017]). In both cases only the confidence interval for the F1 score difference excludes zero. In turn, the RNN consumed 80% less overall development time. Conclusion In our work, the deep bidirectional RNN as end-to-end model, reached similar levels of performance in the classification of clinical texts in Spanish that models with a great manual engineering of variables, although in less than 20% of the development time. This makes them an important tool to streamline text processing in languages where the development of NLP tools has not progressed as much as in English. Areas such as research or public health management could clearly benefit from ’end-to-end’ models that facilitate the exploitation of already available data sources, such as electronic clinical records.
Discovery of Heterocyclic Analogs of Diaminopimelic Acid as Promising Antibacterial Agents through Enzyme Targeted Inhibition of Lysine Biosynthesis

Presently there is a developing interest towards new antibiotics from last decades due to exposure of newer pathogenic bacterial strains with better resistance to powerful antibiotics of last resort. This has caused reduce in research for developing newer antibacterial agents. The study of heterocyclic analogs of diaminopimelic acid as describing antibacterial agents’ because of enzyme targeted inhibition of lysine biosynthesis.
Differential gene expression and gene-set enrichment analysis in Caco-2 monolayers during a 30-day timeline with Dexamethasone exposure

ABSTRACT Glucocorticoid hormones affect gene expression via activation of glucocorticoid receptor NR3C1, causing modulation of inflammation and autoimmune activation. The glucocorticoid Dexamethasone is an important pharmaceutical for the treatment of colitis and other inflammatory bowel diseases. While suppressive effects of glucocorticoids on activated immune cells is significant, their effects upon epithelial cells are less well studied. Previous research shows that the effects of Dexamethasone treatment on polarized Caco-2 cell layer permeability is delayed for >10 treatment days (as measured by transepithelial electrical resistance). In vivo intestinal epithelial cells turn over every 3–5 days; we therefore hypothesized that culture age may produce marked effects on gene expression, potentially acting as a confounding variable. To investigate this issue, we cultured polarized Caco-2 monolayers during a 30-day timecourse with ~15 days of continuous Dexamethasone exposure. We collected samples during the timecourse and tested differential expression using a 250-plex gene expression panel and Nanostring nCounter® system. Our custom panel was selectively enriched for KEGG annotations for tight-junction, actin cytoskeleton regulation, and colorectal cancer-associated genes, allowing for focused gene ontology-based pathway enrichment analyses. To test for confounding effects of time and Dexamethasone variables, we used the Nanostring nSolver differential expression data model which includes a mixturenegative binomial modelwith optimization. We identified a time-associated “EMT-like” signature with differential expression seen in important actomyosin cytoskeleton, tight junction, integrin, and cell cycle pathway genes. Dexamethasone treatment resulted in a subtle yet significant counter-signal showing suppression of actomyosin genes and differential expression of various growth factor receptors.
Factors Related to Unhealthy Eating Habits and to Physical Inactivity among Moroccan University Students

Several studies in the Arab world have reported that the dietary habits of the people have become more westernized. We aimed to identify prevalence of unhealthy eating habits and to physical inactivity among university students of Rabat (Morocco) and to search possible factors associated with eating habits and to physical inactivity. A study of 223 healthy Moroccan students aged 20-25 years was conducted. Height, weight and waist circumference were measured, using standardized equipment and procedures. Skinfold thickness was measured using a Harpenden skinfold caliper. Eating habits and physical activity were examined using a questionnaire. Sixteen point six percent of students were overweight or obese, 24.7% had an abdominal obesity and 34.1% had excess of fat. Students feeding included a high consumption of animal products and not enough fruits and vegetables. This reflects the remoteness of the Mediterranean diet in favor of the Western diet. One in three student skipped breakfast and more than 7/10 students nibbled between meals. These imbalances appeared more significant amongst women. A sedentary lifestyle, with no practice of regular physical activity, concerned 2/3 of the surveyed students and was associated with female sex and higher fat thickness. Precautionary measures must be urgently set in place to control the growing overweight and obesity frequencies. A protocol to make students aware of the harm of physical inactivity and an imbalanced diet, and of the necessity to follow a well-balanced diet and to increase physical activity for better health surveillance.
Coronacoccus hengyangensis gen. et sp. nov., a new member of Chlorellaceae (Trebouxiophyceae, Chlorophyta) with radiococcacean morphology

Abstract: The Chlorellaceae is a family in the order Chlorellales that includes mostly coccoid algae of minute sizes, and a portion of this family was separated into two sister groups (the Chlorella clade and the Parachlorella clade) according to molecular phylogenetic analyses. To date, the Parachlorella clade comprises 11 genera that exhibit a range of morphological variation. In this study, we discovered from China a strain marked as FACHB-2137; we use a polyphasic approach, including phylogenetic analyses of SSU+ITS rDNA, an ITS2/CBC (compensatory base changes) approach, light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy, to characterise the strain. Molecular analyses revealed that the strain was nested within the Parachlorella clade (Chlorellaceae, Trebouxiophyceae), forming an independent lineage separated from other genera. The new strain's morphology has the characteristic autospores that release by rupturing or splitting of the cell wall into several (two to four) portions; this strain differs from other members of the Parachlorella clade in that the mother cell wall remains rather distinct, and the daughter cells remain as cup-shaped in the colonial mucilage for an extended period. Morphologically, this new strain closely resembles members of the Radiococcaceae. This indicates that inferring family-level relationships based exclusively on morphology can be problematic. We describe this alga as a new genus and species, Coronacoccus hengyangensis gen. et sp. nov. This morphotype is described for the first time in the Parachlorella clade.
Anticaries activity of mangiferin isolated from Mangifera indica leaves in Vietnam

Mangiferin ( 1 ) was isolated from Vietnamese Mangifera indica leaves . Its antimicrobial activities against the oral bacterium Streptococcus mutans GS-5 were evaluated in terms of inhibition of acid production and biofilm formation. The obtained results indicated that mangiferin at the concentration of 0.5 mM clearly inhibited acid production by this organism with a final pH value of 5.2 compared to 3.9 of the control. The reduction in biofilm biomass was found up to 92 % when it was treated with 1.0 mM mangiferin. Thus, mangiferin possesses moderate anticaries activity against S. mutans GS-5 . Keywords. Mangifera indica, mangiferin , Streptococcus mutans, anticaries activity.
First grammatical encoding of Japanese Politeness (17th century)

We analyze the description of the polite language in the early 17th century Japanese grammars, mainly the ‘large’ grammar (1604–1608) by the missionaries João Rodrigues ‘Tçuzu’ [the interpreter], S.J. (1562–1633), and the Japanese grammar (1632) by Diego Collado, O.P. (late 16th century–1638). Over 350 years of the Pragmatics established as a linguistic domain, one of the first Japanese dictionaries (1603–1604) introduced the designation of honorific particles and honored verbs. Rodrigues developed this terminology considerably, having analyzed accurately social and linguistic relationships and ways of Japanese reverence and politeness. He proposed an innovative linguistic terminology, inexistent in former European grammars and dictionaries, of which a part was followed by Collado: honorific and humble or humiliative particles, honored and humble verbs, honorable or honorific and low pronouns. Rodrigues also paid special attention to the women’s specific forms of address, describing their own ‘particles’. To sum up, the earlier 17th century Japanese grammars described pioneeringly what nowadays has been called as the Politeness Principle of Japanese or the honorific language of Japanese, termed as Keigo (respect language) or, academically, Taigū Hyōgen (treatment expressions).