Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Randomised Controlled Trial of a Probiotic Lactobacillus Strain in Healthy Adults: Assessment of its Delivery, Transit and Influence on Microbial Flora and Enteric Immunity

In several intestinal disease states, altered microflora, impaired gut barrier and/or intestinal inflammation offer a rationale for the effective therapeutic use of probiotic microorganisms. However, for most candidate probiotic organisms there is a lack of evidence detailing their characterisation and effects on host flora and immunity. We have previously reported the isolation and characterisation, from surgically resected segments of the human gastrointestinal tract (GIT), of potential probiotic lactic acid bacteria (LAB). We have also described subsequent animal experiments that evaluated the establishment, persistence and localisation of specific probiotic Lactobacillus strains within the murine intestinal tract, in addition to their ability to influence the development of murine inflammatory disorders. In these studies, transit and survival of Lactobacillus salivarius UCC118 at the ileum was demonstrated using enteral tube sampling of six healthy volunteers following consumption of a single dose (150 ml) of fermented milk-borne probiotic (10 8 colony forming units per ml (CFU/ml)). Subsequently, we performed a randomised controlled trial of 80 volunteers fed strain UCC118 (10 8 CFU/day for 21 d), using two oral delivery vehicles (fresh milk, n = 20 vs. fermented milk, n = 20; controls, n = 20 for each). Throughout this feeding period, and for up to 100 days following cessation of feeding, the numbers of total culturable lactobacilli and of the administered Lactobacillus UCC118 present in faeces were monitored. Five subjects (5/40; fresh milk, four; fermented milk, one) were still excreting the probiotic lactobacilli 21 days post-cessation of feeding, while one subject (fermented milk) was still colonised up to 100 days after feeding. Consumption of fermented milk-borne UCC118 cells resulted in significantly increased levels of faecal-borne enterococci and lactobacilli. Numbers of bifidobacteria, coliforms and bacteroides were not significantly altered. In addition, changes in salivary IgA levels against UCC118 cells and increased granulocyte phagocytic activity were observed following consumption of the fermented milk-borne probiotic. In summary, Lactobacillus UCC118 was found to effectively transit (and persist within) the human intestinal tract, to modify the faecal flora and to engage the immune system.
Possibilities of Mediation in Republic of Serbia in Cases of Domestic Violence

Purpose: This paper analyses the theoretical, legislative and practical advantages and limitations of mediation as an alternative way of resolving the conflict between perpetrator and victim of domestic violence in Serbia. Starting from the premise that mediation in lighter cases of domestic violence is more preferred form of social reaction from the initiation of criminal proceedings; the authors analyse the legislation of the Republic of Serbia and point out that the mutual incompatibility of laws disables use of mediation in practice.
Ndm-500: Optical Tracking of Debris in Extreme Hydrodynamic Conditions

Debris impact on structures have been reported and shown to be a major reason for structural failure in many postmortem site assessments of tsunami devastated communities. However, due to the random nature of the debris motion, determining areas at-risk for debris impact is difficult. This paper presents a novel camera-based object tracking algorithm which allows for the quick and accurate tracking of debris trajectory in highly turbulent flows. The algorithm was used to determine debris motion observed during an experimental program on the displacement of scaled-down shipping containers (debris), carried out by the authors in the Tsunami Wave Basin at Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan. This study evaluated the effect of the initial orientation and number of debris on the time histories of their trajectory, orientation and velocity. The study found that, while random in nature, the motion of the debris was highly repeatable through the various tests conducted. An increase in the number of debris resulted in a higher peak debris velocity. Setting the initial orientation of the long-axis of the debris perpendicular to the flow direction resulted in an earlier and higher peak velocity than in the case of the debris initially oriented parallel to the direction of the flow.
Data-driven density derivative estimation, with applications to nonparametric clustering and bump hunting

Important information concerning a multivariate data set, such as clusters and modal regions, is contained in the derivatives of the probability density function. Despite this importance, nonparametric estimation of higher order derivatives of the density functions have received only relatively scant attention. Kernel estimators of density functions are widely used as they exhibit excellent theoretical and practical properties, though their generalization to density derivatives has progressed more slowly due to the mathematical intractabilities encountered in the crucial problem of bandwidth (or smoothing parameter) selection. This paper presents the first fully automatic, data-based bandwidth selectors for multivariate kernel density derivative estimators. This is achieved by synthesizing recent advances in matrix analytic theory which allow mathematically and computationally tractable representations of higher order derivatives of multivariate vector valued functions. The theoretical asymptotic properties as well as the finite sample behaviour of the proposed selectors are studied. {In addition, we explore in detail the applications of the new data-driven methods for two other statistical problems: clustering and bump hunting. The introduced techniques are combined with the mean shift algorithm to develop novel automatic, nonparametric clustering procedures which are shown to outperform mixture-model cluster analysis and other recent nonparametric approaches in practice. Furthermore, the advantage of the use of smoothing parameters designed for density derivative estimation for feature significance analysis for bump hunting is illustrated with a real data example.
Anomalies Calculation and Detection in Fuel Expense through Data Mining

In organizations having large vehicle fleet a reasonable portion of the fuel budget is misused by malpractices of drivers and fuel providers. An optimal usage of this fuel amount could be of big advantages to the organization. We proposed a novel anomaly %age calculation algorithm to determine the misuse of the fuel of the vehicles. This algorithm will reduce the efforts for anomaly detection in clustering process. The results reflect that this algorithm could be used to implement an effective check on the misuse of the fuel in big organizations with less effort.
Visual search for musical performances and endoscopic videos

[ANGLES] This project explores the potential of LIRE, an en existing Content-Based Image Retrieval (CBIR) system, when used to retrieve medical videos. These videos are recording of the live streams used by surgeons during the endoscopic procedures, captured from inside of the subject. The growth of such video content stored in servers requires search engines capable to assist surgeons in their management and retrieval. In our tool, queries are formulated by visual examples and those allow surgeons to re-find shots taken during the procedure. This thesis presents an extension and adaptation of Lire for video retrieval based on visual features and late fusion. The results are assessed from two perspectives: a quantitative and qualitative one. While the quantitative one follows the standard practices and metrics for video retrieval, the qualitative assessment has been based on an empirical social study using a semi-interactive web-interface. In particular, a thinking aloud test was applied to analyze if the user expectations and requirements were fulfilled. Due to the scarcity of surgeons available for the qualitative tests, a second domain was also addressed: videos captured at musical performances. These type of videos has also experienced an exponential growth with the advent of affordable multimedia smart phones, available to a large audience. Analogously to the endoscopic videos, searching in a large data set of such videos is a challenging topic.
Weed control revegetation systems for big sagebrush downy brome rangelands.

Highlight: Chemical weed control systems integrating 2,4-D or picloram spraying for brush control and atrazine fallow for downy brome control were investigated in a series of rangeland communities. Application of both weed control techniques greatly enhanced seedling growth and increased yield of perennial grasses seeded the year after the fallow. Added nitrogen either had negligible effects or tended to negate the benefits of the weed control systems on establishment of perennial grasses. The 2,4-D/ atrazine-fallow system also allowed establishment of the browse species, cliffrose, in a big sagebrush/downy brome community. Increased soil moisture available during the growing period of the Eallow and seedling years, because of decreased weed competition, was the major factor for the better stands of grass and browse that resulted from chemical weed control systems.
Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting in Banking Industry: An Analysis of Disclosure Levels in Botswana

This study intended to determine the disclosure levels of the CSR activities by banks in Botswana, to identify the types of information disclosed, and to determine the factors that influence the level of disclosure. The study used secondary data from the annual reports of the surveyed banks. The content analysis technique was employed and sentences that carried information relating to CSR were counted to arrive at the total of CSR reporting. Four themes of CSR, namely human resources, community involvement, environmental and ethical matters formed the bases for measuring level of CSR disclosure. The study found that a significant number of banks in Botswana are involved in CSR activities and report such engagements in annual reports. The findings of the study also suggest that the majority of banks engage extensively in and report their participation in community involvement and human resources activities. The results revealed that about two-thirds of variations in the CSR reporting levels could be explained by the combination of size, age and listing status. However, only size was found to have a positive significant relationship with CSR reporting levels. The implications of the study are that policy framework that addresses all CSR activities should be developed, and at micro level banks should come up with strategies for sustainable engagement in CSR and its disclosure.
Simulating tidal turbines with mesh optimisation and RANS turbulence models

A versatile numerical model for the simulation of flow past horizontal axis tidal turbines has been developed. Currently most large-scale marine models employed to study marine energy use the shallow water equations and therefore can fail to account for important turbulent physics. The model presented here is based on actuator disc momentum (ADM) theory, uses a RANS model to account for turbulence and utilises mesh optimisation in order to address the multi-scale nature of the problem. Furthermore, a series of laboratory experiments were carried out in the hydrodynamics laboratory of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at Imperial College London which were used to help validate the numerical model. Turbulence correction terms have been used to capture the short circuiting of the turbulence cascade due to the presence of the disc and thereby improve the match with the experimental data. This model has been developed with the aim that it will be seamlessly combined with larger numerical models simulating tidal flows in realistic domains, e.g. the Inner Sound of the Pentland Firth. This is where the adaptive meshing capability is a major advantage as it enables the mesh to be refined only in the locations required, thus making optimal use of limited computational resources.
Design of a Li-Fi Transceiver

The latest uproar in this era is about a technology termed as Light Fidelity or more commonly known as Li-Fi. There are currently two trends being seen: First, the extension or enrichment of wireless services and other being increased in user demand for these services, but the available RF spectrum for usage is very limited. So the new technology of Li-Fi came into picture, which uses visible light as a source of communication. Li-Fi is the most recent development which is resourceful. In this technology, LEDs are used to transmit data in the visible light spectrum. This technology can be compared with that of Wi-Fi and offers advantages like increased accessible spectrum, efficiency, security, low latency and much higher speed. This research paper aims at designing a Li-Fi transceiver using Arduino that is able to transmit digital data. The hardware has been designed using Eagle CAD (version 7.1.0) tool and Proteus design tool (version 8). The software coding is done by using Java (version 8). Successful transmission and reception of text, image and video signals is carried out on the transceiver. Hence this research work gives an innovative way of designing a transceiver which works by using off the shelf low cost components and using visible light spectrum.
The use of the power law for designing wireless networks

The paper concerns the use of the scale-free networks theory and the power law in designing wireless networks. An approach based on generating random networks as well as on the classic Barabasi-Albert algorithm were presented. The paper presents a new approach taking the limited resources for wireless networks into account, such as available bandwidth. In addition, thanks to the introduction of opportunities for dynamic node removal it was possible to realign processes occurring in wireless networks. After introduction of these modifications, the obtained results were analyzed in terms of a power law and the degree distribution of each node.
Asymptotic defectiveness of manufacturing plants: An estimate based on process learning curves

The paper describes a method for a preliminary estimation of asymptotic defectiveness of a manufacturing plant based on the prediction of its learning curve estimated during a p -chart setting up. The proposed approach provides process managers with the possibility of estimating the asymptotic variability of the process and the period of revision of p -chart control limits. An application of the method is also provided.
AZAPEPTDES AS CD36 BINDING COMPOUNDS

Proulx et al., “AZapeptide Analogues of the Growth Hormone Releasing Peptide 6 as Cluster of Differentiation 36 Receptor Ligands with Reduced Affinity for the Growth Hormone Secretagogue Receptor la'. J. Med. Chem., 2012, 55, 6502-6511. Adams, J.H. ; etal. A Reinvestigation of the Preparation, Properties, and Applications of Aminomethyl and 4-Methylbenzhydrylamine Polystyrene Resins. J. Org. Chem. 1998, 63, 3706-3716. Ambati J. Ambati BK. Yoo SH et al. Age-related macular degeneration:etiology, pathogenesis , and therapeutic strategies. Sury Opthalmo. 2003:48:2572-93. Amburad N. Harmon C, Ibrahimi A. Membrane transport of long chain fatty acids: evidence for a facilitated process. J. lipid Res 1998; 39: 2309-2318. Andersen et al. Alternative promoter usage of the membrane of glycoprotein CD36, Molecular Biology, 2006, 7:8. Arrowsmith, J. E. ; Cook, M. J.; Hardstone, D. J. Reactions of anions of N-benzylidenebenzylamines and related compounds. A simple route to O-substituted benzylamines. J. Chem. Soc. , Perkin Trans, 1 1979, 2364-2368. Asai, T. , Aoyama, T. , Shioiri, T. New methods and reagents in organic synthesis. 7. O. -Alkylation of benzylamine under phase transfer catalyzed conditions. Synthesis 1980, 811-812. Augustin AJ. Schmidt-Erfurth U. Verteporfin therapy combined with intravitreal triamcinolone in all types of choroidal neovascularisation due to age-related macular degeneration. Opthalmology 2006; 113:14-22. Avalone R. Demers A. Rodrigue-Way A et al. A growth hormone releasing peptide that binds Scavenger receptor CD36 and ghrelin receptor upregulates ABC sterol transporters and cholesterol efflux in macrophages through PPARy-dependent pathway. Mol. Endocrinol2006, 20012):3165-3178. Bodart V, Febbraio M. Demers A. et al. CD36 mediates the cardiovascular action of growth hormone-releasing peptides in the heart. Circ. Res 2002:90:844-849. Boeglin, D. ; Lubell, W. D. Aza-Amino Acid Scanning of Secondary Structure Suited for Solid-Phase Peptide Synthesis with Fmoc Chemistry and Aza-Amino Acids with Heteroatomic Side chain. J. Comb. Chem 2005; 7(6): 864-868. Boeglin, D. ; Xiang, Z. ; Sorenson, N.B et al. Aza-scan of the Potent Melanocortin Receptor Agonist. Chem. Biol. Drug Des. 2006; 67: 275-283.
PARTICULAR INHIBITORY ACTION OF LOW CONCENTRATIONS OF METHADONE ON PERIPHERAL T LYMPHOCYTES

We investigated the in vitro effects of methadone on the activation/proliferation capacity of mononuclear cells from healthy subjects, heroin addicts on methadone substitution therapy and rheumatoid arthritis patients, in order to reveal new aspects regarding immune ‐ nervous systems interaction. Lymphocyte activation/proliferation was measured as uridine uptake by the resting and polyclonally activated lymphocytes and constitutively proliferating cells with immune characteristics. We showed that low concentrations of methadone (20ng/mL) exerted in vitro an immunomodulatory action on T lymphocytes from healthy subjects and from heroin addicts, whilst being immunosuppressive for T cells from rheumatoid arthritis patients. A particular in vitro inhibitory action of 20ng/mL methadone on B lymphocytes was noticed only in methadone-treated addicts. Results suggested that T lymphocytes are particularly sensitive to low concentrations of methadone and that desensitization is not traceable. Results might be further translated to inflammatory diseases aiming to control pain and inflammation simultaneously.
The Impact of Servant Leadership Behaviors on Trust and Organizational Citizenship Behavior

The premise of this study is that the behavior of the organizational leader affects employee outcomes. More specifically, I seek to examine the relationship between Servant Leadership behaviors and employee organizational citizenship behaviors – both OCB-I (behaviors targeted towards an individual, such as altruism) and OCB-O (behaviors that directly affect the organization as a whole, such as civic virtue). I propose that this relationship is mediated by employees’ trust in their leader. This study adopts McAllister’s (1995) theoretical construct of trust, which distinguishes between the two dimensions of affect-based trust (rooted in emotion) and cognition-based trust (rooted in reason). Moreover, I propose that the link between trust in the leader and employee organizational citizenship behavior is moderated by the well-being of the employees. In the present research, the well-being of the employees will be assessed on three dimensions: emotional exhaustion (also referred to as burnout), life satisfaction as well as job satisfaction. The results revealed that Servant Leadership is positively and significantly correlated with employee organizational citizenship behavior. Additionally, only cognitive-based trust partially mediated that relationship. Contrary to expectations, employee well-being was not found to significantly moderate the relationship between trust in the leader and organizational citizenship behavior. Overall, the present study contributes to the leadership literature by establishing a link between servant leadership and employee OCB through the medium of trust. From a practical standpoint, the results of this study would benefit companies as a whole by raising the awareness the managers regarding the employee outcomes that their behaviors may cause, as trust and OCB are related to many positive employee outcomes (such as lower transaction cost, decreased turnover, increased motivation and commitment etc…) that can grant companies a competitive advantage.
GUARANTEED INITIALIZATION OF DISTRIBUTED SPACECRAFT FORMATIONS

In this paper we present a solution to the formation initialization (FI) problem for N distributed spacecraft located in deep space. Our solution to the FI problem is based on a three-stage sky search procedure that reduces the FI problem for N spacecraft to the simpler problem of initializing a set of sub-formations. An analytical proof demonstrating that our algorithm guarantees formation initialization for N spacecraft constrained to a single plane is presented. An upper bound on the time to initialize a planar formation is also provided. We then demonstrate our FI algorithm in simulation using NASA’s v e-spacecraft Terrestrial Planet Finder mission as an example.
Demography of adults of the Marsh fritillary butterfly, Euphydryas aurinia (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) in the Czech Republic: Patterns across sites and seasons

The Marsh fritillary (Euphydryas aurinia) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) has declined across Europe, including the Czech Republic. Current conservation strategies rely on prevention of habitat loss and degradation, and increase in habitat quality and connectivity via promoting traditional grassland management. The population structure and adult demography parameters of a single population was investigated for eight years (single system), and of all the known Czech populations (multiple populations) for a single year, using mark-recapture. There was substantial variation in the patterns of adult demography, both among years in the single system and among the multiple populations in a single year. In the single system, the date of the first flight of an adult varied by 18 days over the 8 years and total annual numbers varied with a coefficient of variation of 0.40 (females fluctuating more than males). The average density was ca 80 adults/ha. The population size displayed density-dependence, i.e. decreased following years with high adult numbers, with an equilibrium density of 90 individuals/ha. The average density of the multiple populations was ca 120 individuals/ha. The estimated total population for the Czech Republic was 25,000 individuals (17,000 males / 8,000 females) in 2007, which does not indicate an imminent threat of extinction. The regional persistence of E. aurinia is likely to depend on re-colonisation of temporarily vacant sites by dispersing individuals, facilitated by local shifts in adult flight phenology to that better adapted to local conditions.
Texture Classification Using Complete Texton Matrix

This paper presents a complete image feature representation, based on texton theory proposed by Julesz’s, called as a complete texton matrix (CTM)for texture image classification. The present descriptor can be viewed as an improved version of texton cooccurrence matrix (TCM) [1] and Multi-texton histogram (MTH) [2]. It is specially designed for natural image analysis and can achieve higher classification rate. TheCTM can express the spatial correlation of textons and can be considered as a generalized visual attribute descriptor. This paper initially quantized the original textures into 256 colors and computed color gradient from RGB vector space. Then the statistical information of eleven derived textons, on a 2 x 2 grid in a nonoverlapped manner are computed to describe image features more precisely. To reduce the dimensionality the present paper extended the concept of present descriptor and derived a compact CTM (CCTM). The proposed CTM and CCTM methods are extensively tested on the Brodtaz, Outex and UIUC natural images. The results demonstrate the superiority of the present descriptor over the state-of-art representative schemes such as uniform LBP (ULBP), local ternary pattern (LTP), complete – LBP (CLBP), TCM and MTH.