Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Surface Type Estimation from GPS Tracked Bicycle Activities

Road conditions affect both machine and human powered modes of transportation. In the case of human powered transportation, poor road conditions increase the work for the individual to travel. Previous estimates for these parameters have used computationally expensive analysis of satellite images. In this work, we use a computationally inexpensive and simple method by using only GPS data from a human powered cyclist. By estimating if the road taken by the user has high or low variations in their directional vector, we classify if the user is on a paved road or on an unpaved trail. In order to do this, three methods were adopted, changes in frequency of the direction of slope in a given path segment, fitting segments of the path, and finding the first derivative and the number of points of zero crossings of each segment. Machine learning models such as support vector machines, K-nearest neighbors, and decision trees were used for the classification of the path. We show in our methods, the decision trees performed the best with an accuracy of 86\%. Estimation of the type of surface can be used for many applications such as understanding rolling resistance for power estimation estimation or building exercise recommendation systems by user profiling as described in detail in the paper.
Comparison of the Immunogenicities and Cross-Lineage Efficacies of Live Attenuated Peste des Petits Ruminants Virus Vaccines PPRV/Nigeria/75/1 and PPRV/Sungri/96

Despite the widespread use of live attenuated PPRV vaccines, this is the first systematic analysis of the immune response elicited in small ruminants. These data will help in the establishment of the immunological determinants of protection, an important step in the development of new vaccines, especially DIVA vaccines using alternative vaccination vectors. This study is also the first controlled test of the ability of the two major vaccines used against virulent PPRV strains from all genetic lineages of the virus, showing conclusively the complete cross-protective ability of these vaccines. ABSTRACT Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is a severe disease of goats and sheep that is widespread in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Several effective vaccines exist for the disease, based on attenuated strains of the virus (PPRV) that causes PPR. While the efficacy of these vaccines has been established by use in the field, the nature of the protective immune response has not been determined. In addition, while the vaccine derived from PPRV/Nigeria/75/1 (N75) is used in many countries, those developed in India have never been tested for their efficacy outside that country. We have studied the immune response in goats to vaccination with either N75 or the main Indian vaccine, which is based on isolate PPRV/India/Sungri/96 (S96). In addition, we compared the ability of these two vaccines, in parallel, to protect animals against challenge with pathogenic viruses from the four known genetic lineages of PPRV, representing viruses from different parts of Africa, as well as Asia. These studies showed that, while N75 elicited a stronger antibody response than S96, as measured by both enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and virus neutralization, S96 resulted in more pronounced cellular immune responses, as measured by virus antigen-induced proliferation and interferon gamma production. While both vaccines induced comparable numbers of PPRV-specific CD8+ T cells, S96 induced a higher number of CD4+ T cells specifically responding to virus. Despite these quantitative and qualitative differences in the immune responses following vaccination, both vaccines gave complete clinical protection against challenge with all four lineages of PPRV. IMPORTANCE Despite the widespread use of live attenuated PPRV vaccines, this is the first systematic analysis of the immune response elicited in small ruminants. These data will help in the establishment of the immunological determinants of protection, an important step in the development of new vaccines, especially DIVA vaccines using alternative vaccination vectors. This study is also the first controlled test of the ability of the two major vaccines used against virulent PPRV strains from all genetic lineages of the virus, showing conclusively the complete cross-protective ability of these vaccines.
Influence of early-life nutritional stress on songbird memory formation

In birds, vocal learning enables the production of sexually selected complex songs, dialects and song copy matching. But stressful conditions during development have been shown to affect song production and complexity, mediated by changes in neural development. However, to date, no studies have tested whether early-life stress affects the neural processes underlying vocal learning, in contrast to song production. Here, we hypothesized that developmental stress alters auditory memory formation and neural processing of song stimuli. We experimentally stressed male nestling zebra finches and, in two separate experiments, tested their neural responses to song playbacks as adults, using either immediate early gene (IEG) expression or electrophysiological response. Once adult, nutritionally stressed males exhibited a reduced response to tutor song playback, as demonstrated by reduced expressions of two IEGs (Arc and ZENK) and reduced neuronal response, in both the caudomedial nidopallium (NCM) and mesopallium (CMM). Furthermore, nutritionally stressed males also showed impaired neuronal memory for novel songs heard in adulthood. These findings demonstrate, for the first time, that developmental conditions affect auditory memories that subserve vocal learning. Although the fitness consequences of such memory impairments remain to be determined, this study highlights the lasting impact early-life experiences can have on cognitive abilities.
Carcass Quality, Meat Quality and Sensory Properties of the Dual-Purpose Chicken Lohmann Dual

Over 40 million day-old layer line cockerels are culled in Germany each year, due to economic reasons, leading to a recently instigated research focus on the potential of dual-purpose breeds as an alternative to conventional poultry husbandry, especially the practice of culling. This paper aims to explore and assess the dual-purpose chicken breed “Lohmann Dual” (LD) performance (n = 30) and sensory characteristics (n = 48). Carcass and meat quality traits are evaluated, and descriptive sensory analysis of breast muscles is conducted. To define the scope of characteristics, a market sample of “Ross” Line (n = 35) is adducted. LD carcasses are characterized by higher leg than breast yield; carcass, breast and leg weights are higher in Ross. LD meat has a lower pH, differs in color, has higher drip and thawing losses, but lower cooking loss. LD breast muscles are firmer as indicated by shear force measurements, which is confirmed through the sensory analysis. Appearance, odor and flavor differ between the lines. Overall, distinguishable differences are found between both breeds. Further research should focus on the marketing aspect of the dual-purpose line, as some characteristics could draw consumers to this product. Animal welfare and ethical concerns should further be considered when considering dual-purpose breeds as a feasible alternative to culling.
Corchorus olitorius and Urtica pilulifera Extracts Alleviate Copper Induced Oxidative Damage and Genotoxicity in Tomato

Copper cause oxidative damage in plant cells, and plant extracts are the sources of free radical scavengers. We tested the hypothesis that whether Corchorus olitorius (jute) and Urtica pilulifera (Roman nettle) seed extract treatments of germinated seeds affect copper induced oxidative and genotoxic damage or antioxidant response in tomato. Seedlings were exposed to toxic copper concentration (30 ppm) for 7 days. In one experimental group (treatment 1), extract (100 μg mL^−1) was added to media. In the other group (treatment 2), tomato seeds were pre-soaked by the extract (100 μg mL^−1) prior to germination and copper application. Malondialdehyde and endogenous H_2O_2 levels in the groups treated with extract and copper were significantly lower than that of the untreated groups. Pre-soaking seeds with the nettle extract solution significantly enhanced catalase activity under unstressed condition. Jute treatment also enhanced catalase activity under copper stress. Ascorbate peroxidase activity remained at unstressed level in copper treated groups. Extract treatments significantly decreased copper induced DNA damage in root nuclei. Jute seed extract contained salicylic acid and quercetin which can be correlated with the evoked effects. We demonstrated protective effect of plant extract treatments against copper stress of tomato seedlings prior to germination or during seedling development.
Artemisinin attenuates tubulointerstitial inflammation and fibrosis via the NF‐κB/NLRP3 pathway in rats with 5/6 subtotal nephrectomy

Artemisinin (Art) is isolated from Artemisia annua L. and known as the most effective antimalaria drugs. Previous studies demonstrated that it could exert an immune‐regulatory effect on autoimmune diseases. In this study, we first investigated its potential role in tubulointerstitial inflammation and fibrosis in rats with 5/6 nephrectomy. Subtotal nephrectomized (SNx) rats were orally administered Art (100 mg·kg −1·d −1) for 16 weeks. Blood and urine samples were collected for biochemical examination. Kidney tissues were collected for immunohistochemistry and Western blot analyses. Ang II‐induced injury of the human kidney 2 (HK‐2) cells was used for in vitro study. It was shown that Art could significantly attenuate the renal function decline in SNx rats compared with control. More importantly, Art treatment significantly reduced the tubulointerstitial inflammation and fibrosis, as demonstrated by the evaluation of renal pathology. Furthermore, Art inhibited the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome and NF‐κB in the kidneys. In in vitro study, Art pretreatment could significantly prevent the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome and NF‐κB in Ang II‐treated HK‐2 cells, while BAY11‐7082 (an inhibitor of NF‐κB) significantly inhibited Ang II‐induced NLRP3 inflammasome activation. This study suggested that Art could provide renoprotective role by attenuating the tubulointerstitial inflammation and fibrosis in SNx rats by downregulating the NF‐κB/NLRP3 signaling pathway.
Fast and Continuous Foothold Adaptation for Dynamic Locomotion Through CNNs

Legged robots can outperform wheeled machines for most navigation tasks across unknown and rough terrains. For such tasks, visual feedback is a fundamental asset to provide robots with terrain awareness. However, robust dynamic locomotion on difficult terrains with real-time performance guarantees remains a challenge. We present here a real-time, dynamic foothold adaptation strategy based on visual feedback. Our method adjusts the landing position of the feet in a fully reactive manner, using only on-board computers and sensors. The correction is computed and executed continuously along the swing phase trajectory of each leg. To efficiently adapt the landing position, we implement a self-supervised foothold classifier based on a convolutional neural network. Our method results in an up to 200 times faster computation with respect to the full-blown heuristics. Our goal is to react to visual stimuli from the environment, bridging the gap between blind reactive locomotion and purely vision-based planning strategies. We assess the performance of our method on the dynamic quadruped robot HyQ, executing static and dynamic gaits (at speeds up to 0.5 m/s) in both simulated and real scenarios; the benefit of safe foothold adaptation is clearly demonstrated by the overall robot behavior.
Neurocognitive effects of six ketamine infusions and the association with antidepressant response in patients with unipolar and bipolar depression

Background: Ketamine has proven to have rapid, robust antidepressant effects on treatment-resistant depression. However, whether repeated ketamine infusions would cause short-and long-term neurocognitive impairments was not clear. Our aims were to investigate the neurocognitive effects of six ketamine infusions and to examine the association between these infusions and the antidepressant response in patients with unipolar and bipolar depression. Methods: Six intravenous infusions of ketamine (0.5 mg/kg) over a 12-day period were administered to 84 patients with unipolar and bipolar depression. Severity of depressive symptoms and four domains of neurocognition, including speed of processing, working memory, visual learning and verbal learning, were assessed at baseline, one day following the last infusion and again two weeks post-infusion. Results: Significant improvements were found on speed of processing (F=9.344, p<0.001) and verbal learning (F=5.647, p=0.004) in a linear mixed model. The Sobel test showed significant indirect effects between time and improvement in speed of processing (Sobel test=3.573, p<0.001) as well as improvement in verbal learning (Sobel test=6.649, p<0.001), which were both significantly mediated by change in depressive symptoms. Logistic regression analysis showed ketamine responders had better visual learning at baseline than non-responders (B=0.118, p<0.001). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that neurocognitive function would not deteriorate after six ketamine infusions, while verbal learning and speed of processing improved over 13 days and 26 days of observation, respectively. However, this change was mainly accounted for by improvements in severity of depressive symptoms over time. Greater baseline visual learning predicted an antidepressant response over six ketamine infusions.
High Order Formation and Evolution of Hornerin in Primates

Abstract Genomic duplication or loss can accelerate evolution because the number of repeats could affect molecular pathways and phenotypes. We have previously reported that the repeated region of filaggrin (FLG), a crucial component of the outer layers of mammalian skin, had high levels of nucleotide diversity with species-specific divergence and expansion and that it evolved under the birth-and-death model. We focused on hornerin (HRNR), a member of the same gene family that harbor similar tandem repeats as FLG, and examined the formation process of repeated regions and the evolutional model that best fit the HRNR repeated region in the crab-eating macaque (Macaca fascicularis), orangutan (Pongo abelii), gorilla (Gorilla gorilla), and chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) and compared them with the human (Homo sapiens) sequence. Paar et al. (2011) and Takaishi et al. (2005) have different theories as to the formation of the repeated region of HRNR; both groups share the longest repeat length of 1,404 bp (quartic or longest unit), but they differed in the process. We identified the formation described by Paar et al. {[(“39 bp (primary) × 9” × 2 (secondary)) × 2 (tertiary)] × 5 (quartic)} to be conserved in all species except the crab-eating macaque. We detected high nucleotide diversities between the longest repeats, which fits the birth-and-death model. We concluded that the high order repeat formation of HRNR was conserved in primates except the crab-eating macaque. As previously identified in FLG, the longest repeats have high levels of nucleotide diversity, which could contribute to phenotypic differences between closely related species.
Examining Young Children’s Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviors in an Exergaming Program Using Accelerometry

Exergaming has been observed to be a viable supplemental approach in promoting physical activity (PA) among children. However, whether sex differences in PA and sedentary behaviors exist during exergaming is inconsistent. Thus, this study aimed to quantify, via accelerometry, young children’s PA and sedentary behaviors during exergaming as well as examine sex differences in these PA and sedentary behaviors during gameplay. In total, 121 first- and second-grade children (mean age = 6.89 ± 0.9 years; 73 girls) were included in the analysis. Children were a part of a large 18-week parent study. Children wore ActiGraph GT1M accelerometers during exergaming play, with four measurements purposively selected from the 28 total exergaming sessions to capture children’s PA and sedentary behaviors during exergaming play. Outcome variables included mean percentages of time spent in moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA), light PA (LPA), and sedentary behavior during each exergaming session. One-way ANOVA was performed to determine whether there were differences in the percentage of time engaged in MVPA, LPA, and sedentary behavior during exergaming by sex. Accelerometry data indicated that children’s mean percentage of exergaming time spent in MVPA, LPA, and sedentary behavior were 19.9%, 32.9%, and 47.2%, respectively. However, no sex differences were present. Observations in this study indicated that boys and girls have similar PA levels during exergaming and suggests that features inherent to exergaming may assist in PA promotion among both sexes.
Evidentiary needs of US public health departments with a mission to advance equity and health: a qualitative analysis

Objectives We sought the perspectives of lead public health officials working to improve health equity in the USA regarding the drivers of scientific evidence use, the supply of scientific evidence and the gap between their evidentiary needs and the available scientific evidence. Design We conducted 25 semistructured qualitative interviews (April 2017 to June 2017) with lead public health officials and their designees. All interviews were transcribed and thematically analysed. Setting Public health departments from all geographical regions in the USA. Participants Participants included lead public health officials (20) and their designees (5) from public health departments that were either accredited or part of the Big Cities Health Coalition. Results Many respondents were using scientific evidence in the context of grant writing. Professional organisations and government agencies, rather than specific researchers or research journals, were the primary sources of scientific evidence. Respondents wanted to see more locally tailored cost-effectiveness research and often desired to participate in the planning phase of research projects. In addition to the scientific content recommendations, respondents felt the usefulness of scientific evidence could be improved by simplifying it and framing it for diverse audiences including elected officials and community stakeholders. Conclusions Respondents are eager to use scientific evidence but also need to have it designed and packaged in ways that meet their needs.
Higher divorce risk when mates are plentiful? Evidence from Denmark

Work from social and biological sciences has shown that adult sex ratios are associated with relationship behaviours. When partners are abundant, opportunities for mate switching may increase and relationship stability decrease. To date, most of the human literature has used regional areas at various levels of aggregation to define partner markets. But, in developed countries, many individuals of reproductive age spend a considerable amount of time outside their residential areas, and other measures may better capture the opportunities to meet a (new) partner. Here, we use Danish register data to test whether the sex ratio of the occupational sector is linked to divorce. Our data cover individuals in Denmark who married during 1981–2002 and we control for age at and duration of marriage, education and parity. Results support the prediction that a higher proportion of opposite-sex individuals in one's occupational sector is associated with higher divorce risk. This holds for both men and women, but associations are somewhat stronger for men and vary by education. Our results highlight the need to study demographic behaviours of men and women simultaneously, and to consider partner markets beyond geographical areas so that differing strategies for males and females may be examined.
GPU-Accelerated Similarity Self-Join for Multi-Dimensional Data

The similarity self-join finds all objects in a dataset that are within a search distance, ∈, of each other. As such, the self-join is a building block of many algorithms. In high dimensions, indexing structures become increasingly ineffective at pruning the search, making the self-join challenging to compute efficiently. We advance a GPU-accelerated self-join algorithm targeted towards high dimensional data. The massive parallelism afforded by the GPU and high aggregate memory bandwidth makes the architecture well-suited for data-intensive workloads. We leverage a grid-based GPU-tailored index to perform range queries, and propose the following optimizations: (i) a trade-off between candidate set filtering and index search overhead by exploiting properties of the index; (ii) reordering the data based on variance in each dimension to improve the filtering power of the index; and (iii) a pruning method for reducing the number of expensive distance calculations. Our algorithm generally outperforms a parallel CPU state-of-the-art approach.
Fudp: an SDN-based Mechanism for Controlling UDP flows

It is always a complicated problem to eﬀectively manage and control UDP traﬃc on the Internet. As UDP traﬃc is still the chief component of the Internet, the Internet would become diﬃcult to operate stably once network congestion had occurred. Therefore, it is necessary to explore eﬀective control mechanisms for UDP traﬃc under the current IP framework. This paper introduces the concept of friendly-UDP (FUDP), which aims to give UDP ﬂows quasi-TCP-friendly characteristics. A FUDP mechanism is designed based on software-deﬁned networking (SDN), which controls UDP traﬃc through ﬂows in a closed-loop manner. The experimental results on the test bed and real Internet trace-driven analysis show that the FUDP mechanism enables UDP to have FUDP features, which avoids network congestion in bottlenecks and allows the whole network to achieve higher throughput and greater bandwidth fairness.
Clinical Mimickers of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis-Conditions We Cannot Afford to Miss

Giving a diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis to a patient is akin to handing out a death certificate. However, not all patients presenting with the classical dysphagia, wasting, and weakness may have motor neuron diseases. In these cases, it is extremely important not to miss little cues which can suggest an alternative diagnosis and in many cases a lease of life in terms of a treatment option. In this review, we consider some clinical scenarios that can present with the same symptom complex as diseases involving motor neurons but have a different anatomical or etiopathological basis and in many cases even a therapeutic option.