Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Small bowel transit of a bran meal residue in humans: sieving of solids from liquids and response to feeding

Background—Ileal motor patterns are adapted to the propulsion of viscous meal residue, such as bran, which accumulates in the distal ileum postprandially. Aims—To examine the effects of a second liquid/solid meal on ileal emptying. Subjects and methods—Eleven healthy fasting subjects consumed a 1.47 MJ pancake containing 15 g bran and 5 MBq Technetium-99m labelled amberlite resin (meal A). Gastric emptying and transit through the left upper quadrant (proximal) and right lower quadrant (distal) small bowel regions and colon were assessed scintigraphically. Transit was compared with and without a second Indium-111 liquid/solid DTPA labelled 2.28 MJ meal (B) given three hours after the first meal. Results—Gastric emptying of meal A was slower than meal B (the time for 50% of the activity to leave the stomach (T50) being 113 (11) minutes versus 48 (3) minutes respectively, p<0.01, n=11). Both meals passed rapidly through the proximal small bowel (T50 meal A = 57 (14) minutes versus T50 meal B = 42 (11) minutes). Transit of meal A through the distal small bowel was much slower (T50 more than 390 minutes versus 176 (29) minutes for meal B, p<0.01), resulting in meal B overtaking meal A and entering the colon earlier. Ingestion of the second meal (B) resulted in significantly less meal A marker entering the colon (5 (3)%) at 11 hours than when meal A was taken alone (18 (4)%) (p<0.05, n=8). Conclusions—The distal small bowel selectively retains bran, allowing liquid phase markers through to the colon. Consuming a second liquid/solid meal does not stimulate ileal transit of bran which seems to be propelled quicker by fasting motor patterns.
The effect of energy reserves and food availability on optimal immune defence

In order to avoid both starvation and disease, animals must allocate resources between energy reserves and immune defence. We investigate the optimal allocation. We find that animals with low reserves choose to allocate less to defence than animals with higher reserves because when reserves are low it is more important to increase reserves to reduce the risk of starvation in the future. In general, investment in immune defence increases monotonically with energy reserves. An exception is when the animal can reduce its probability of death from disease by reducing its foraging rate. In this case, allocation to immune defence can peak at intermediate reserves. When food changes over time, the optimal response depends on the frequency of changes. If the environment is relatively stable, animals forage most intensively when the food is scarce and invest more in immune defence when the food is abundant than when it is scarce. If the environment changes quickly, animals forage at low intensity when the food is scarce, but at high intensity when the food is abundant. As the rate of environmental change increases, immune defence becomes less dependent on food availability. We show that the strength of selection on reserve-dependent immune defence depends on how foraging intensity and immune defence determine the probability of death from disease.
TASK COMPLEXITY IN MULTI-ATTRIBUTE STATED CHOICE ENVIRONMENTAL VALUATION

This study aims to investigate task complexity problems in stated choice valuation of non-market environmental goods. Data from a web-based survey on the valuation of the environmental impacts of motor-vehicle use in Metro Mania were used for this purpose. Two factors leading to task complexity problems were considered: (1) non-linearity in the utility function indicating uncertainty in preferences, and (2) parameterization of the scale of the stochastic error of the utility indicating decision complexity. The results of empirical investigations show strong suggestions that degree of complexity of the choice problem is affected by not only by the number of alternatives but also by the range and the description of the attribute.
Helicobacter hepaticus, a new pathogenic species of the Helicobacter genus: Similarities and differences with H. pylori

Helicobacter hepaticus was discovered in 1992 as a cause of liver cancer in the A/JCr mouse model. In susceptible mice, infection by H. hepaticus causes chronic gastrointestinal inflammation leading to neoplasia. It can also cause morphological changes in breast-glands leading to neoplasm and adenocarcinoma in mouse models. Studies performed on humans have revealed that H. hepaticus may also be a human pathogen since infection by H. hepaticus can be associated with cholecystitis, cholelithiasis and gallbladder cancer. H. hepaticus is a close relative of H. pylori, but it lacks the major virulence factors of H. pylori including vacoulating cytotoxin A (VacA) and cytotoxin associated gene (cagA). Moreover, SabA, AlpA, and BabA, three important adhesin proteins of H. pylori, are absent in its genome. In contrast, the genome of H. hepaticus contains genes encoding some orthologus virulence factors of Campylobacter jejuni such as cytolethal distending toxin (CDT), and PebI adhesin factor. Other genes including 16S rRNA, 18 KDa immunogenic protein, and urease structural subunits are related to H. pylori. Its genome contains a small island consisting of 71 Kbp named HHGI1, which probably encodes a secretion system type IV (T4SS), and some other virulence factors. As far as the immunogenic antigens are concerned, the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and flagellin of H. hepaticus are weak stimulants of the immune system, while pro-inflammatory responses are mainly induced by its lipoproteins and most likely by the peptidoglycan. Concerning the multidrug efflux pumps, a homologue of H. pylori TolC, HefA, has been observed in H. hepaticus which contributes to resistance to amoxicillin and bile acids.
A Bayesian methodology for soil parameters retrieval from SAR images

Soil moisture retrieval from SAR data presents two main sources of uncertainty: terrain heterogeneity and speckle noise. In this paper, these issues will be addressed by using a Bayesian approach. Such a Bayesian approach (1) needs only a forward model (no retrieval model required), (2) gives the optimal unbiased estimator for the soil moisture and its error and (3) can include as many error sources as required. Through numerical simulations, a standard Oh retrieval procedure and the Bayesian approach were tested for different number of looks (n = 3 and n = 64). The results indicate that for a large number of looks the region of validity of both approaches are similar. Furthermore, contrary to the Oh model retrieval procedure which is only valid in a bounded region of the (hh, vv, hv)-space, the Bayesian approach gives an estimation of soil moisture and its error for any combination of hh, vv and hv, so enlarging the region where the retrieval is possible.
Face-direction estimating system using stereo vision

We developed the system which can estimate the face-direction of a person with two cameras using stereo vision. In this system, the eyes and the mouth are extracted in each image for measurement of their 3D position by matching each feature in the one image with the other. Then, face direction is obtained from the normal of the plane which is determined by the 3D coordinates of the features. This system can track face-direction in semi-real time.
Rule Extraction from Training Data Using Neural Network

Data Mining is a powerful technology to help organization to concentrate on most important data by extracting useful information from large database. One of the most commonly used techniques in data mining is Artificial Neural Network due to its high performance in many application domains. Despite many advantages of Artificial Neural Network, one of its main drawbacks is its inherent black box nature which is the main problem of using Artificial Neural Network in data mining. Therefore, this paper proposes a rule extraction algorithm from neural network using classified and misclassified data to convert the black box nature of Artificial Neural Network into a white box. The proposed algorithm is a modification of the existing algorithm, Rule Extraction by Reverse Engineering (RxREN). The proposed algorithm extracts rules from trained neural network for datasets with mixed mode attributes using pedagogical approach. The proposed algorithm uses both classified as well as misclassified data to find out the .
On the dynamics of action.

No wonder you activities are, reading will be always needed. It is not only to fulfil the duties that you need to finish in deadline time. Reading will encourage your mind and thoughts. Of course, reading will greatly develop your experiences about everything. Reading dynamics of action is also a way as one of the collective books that gives many advantages. The advantages are not only for you, but for the other peoples with those meaningful benefits.
Ein Ansatz zu Opinion Mining und Themenverfolgung für eine Medienresonanzanalyse

Heutzutage gibt es eine unuberschaubare Anzahl von Medien mit enorm vielen Artikeln und Beitragen. Da in ihnen neben vielen anderen potenziell nutzlichen Informationen wertvolle Meinungen zu Themen enthalten sind, ist eine automatische Beobachtung dieser Medien sehr interessant, birgt aber zwei grose Herausforderungen: eine automatisierte Tonalitatsbestimmung (Opinion Mining) kombiniert mit einer Themenverfolgung. Diese zwei Aufgaben sind Teilgebiete des Text Minings, auch Text Data Mining oder Knowledge Discovery in Texten genannt. Diese Arbeit beschreibt einen Ansatz fur Opinion Mining und Themenverfolgung basierend auf einer Information Extraction Architektur. In der Evaluation wird gezeigt, wie dieser Ansatz fur Opinion Mining oder eine Themenverfolgung eingesetzt werden kann.
Operation-based Interface Testing on Different Abstraction Levels 1

Tests for Operation-based Interfaces can be implemented with concrete programming languages like C++ or Java. To have test system independent test descriptions and to gain better test reusability, in many companies more abstract test specifications are applied in this context. This paper discusses our experiences from a test suite development project for the OMG CORBA specification. In particular, the applicability of two major techniques ADL and TTCN has been investigated. This paper reports on the experiences and gives engineers some help to decide between the approaches for test development for operation-based interfaces.
Short- and long-range synchronous activities in dimming detectors of the frog retina

In the visual system, nearby neurons of similar functional type have a tendency to fire synchronously. Cross-correlation analysis of spike discharges recorded from pairs of neurons has revealed that the synchronized activity is frequently associated with oscillatory firing patterns. However, the underlying neural mechanisms and functions of synchronization and oscillations are not well understood. In the present study, we simultaneously recorded spike discharges from multiple OFF-sustained type ganglion cells with no antagonistic surround (the dimming detectors) of the frog retina using a planar multi-electrode array and analyzed the temporal properties of light-evoked spike discharges. With full-field, temporally modulated diffuse illumination, cross-correlation analysis revealed the presence of the synchronous oscillatory pattern. The strength of the synchronized activity decreased slightly with increased intercellular distance. Synchronized spike discharges were detected even in cell pairs more than 2 mm apart. The frequency of oscillations peaked at approximately 30 Hz. The shuffled cross-correlogram was nearly flat, indicating that the synchronous oscillatory activities are most probably of neural origin. When GABAA antagonists were applied to the retina, oscillations were suppressed almost completely and the strength of the synchronized activity decreased with increased intercellular distance more sharply than control. When small spot illumination was applied to the overlapping receptive fields of an adjacent cell pair, a weak synchronized activity was evoked without accompanying oscillations. The same cell pair generated a strong synchronized activity accompanied with oscillations with full-field illumination. Our results suggest that local synchronous activities are generated via short-range neural interactions, and that the oscillatory activities are induced by long-range neural interactions and may contribute to the establishment of synchrony between widely separated neuronal populations.
New Algorithms for Encoding, Learning and Classification of fMRI Data in a Spiking Neural Network Architecture: A Case on Modeling and Understanding of Dynamic Cognitive Processes

This paper argues that, the third generation of neural networks—the spiking neural networks (SNNs), can be used to model dynamic, spatio-temporal, cognitive brain processes measured as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data. This paper proposes a novel method based on the NeuCube SNN architecture for which the following new algorithms are introduced: fMRI data encoding into spike sequences; deep unsupervised learning of fMRI data in a 3-D SNN reservoir; classification of cognitive states; and connectivity visualization and analysis for the purpose of understanding cognitive dynamics. The method is illustrated on two case studies of cognitive data modeling from a benchmark fMRI data set of seeing a picture versus reading a sentence.
A method for improving consistency in photometric databases

Building photometric databases usually requires the gathering of images of a still object under different light source directions. During this process, unexpected artifacts such as noise, shadows, inter-reflections and other unwanted effects introduced by the sensibility of the camera may appear along the database, diminishing its consistency as a whole and therefore its suitability for the purposes of photometric analysis. This paper describes a method for improving photometric consistency in image databases acquired under photometric rigs. The main idea of our approach is to build and analyze a luminance matrix storing the reflectance behavior of each pixel under the different light source directions. To this end, we propose to fit sinusoidal functions to the singular vectors of this luminance matrix in order to improve its agreement with Lambertian reflectance. Experiments demonstrate that our method improves the photometric consistency of the database, providing stability for the purposes of photometric analysis of the database and surface shape recovery.
SNR Estimation in Linear Systems With Gaussian Matrices

This letter proposes a highly accurate algorithm to estimate the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for a linear system from a single realization of the received signal. We assume that the linear system has a Gaussian matrix with one sided left correlation. The unknown entries of the signal and the noise are assumed to be independent and identically distributed with zero mean and can be drawn from any distribution. We use the ridge regression function of this linear model in company with tools and techniques adapted from random matrix theory to achieve, in closed form, accurate estimation of the SNR without prior statistical knowledge on the signal or the noise. Simulation results show that the proposed method is very accurate.
The other-race effect in face perception and recognition : contributions of social categorisation and processing strategy

The other-race effect refers to the impoverished individuation and recognition of other-race faces relative to own-race faces. The aim of this thesis was to investigate non-racial ingroup/outgroup categorisation, inter-/intra-racial context, and encoding conditions as signalling cues that affect own- and other-race face processing. Across eight experiments using both behavioural and neuroimaging methods, I demonstrated (1) that the context in which own- and other-race faces are encountered can determine the salience of racial category membership, with implications for how (and how much) non-racial ingroup/outgroup status influences own- and other-race face perception, (2) that task demands can lead perceivers toward more or less configural processing regardless of target ingroup/outgroup status, with implications for the influence of non-racial ingroup/outgroup status, and (3) that both racial and non-racial ingroup/outgroup status have the potential to influence the early stages of face perception. These findings both support and extend the Categorisation–Individuation Model, yielding a more comprehensive insight into the other-race effect.
Mobile devices in the classroom: Emirati students' perceptions of usage and policies

This paper presents preliminary results based on a survey administrated to students enrolled in an undergraduate course offered at a Higher Education Institution in the United Arab Emirates. The survey is part of larger project that sought to investigate student and instructor perceptions of mobile devices use in the classroom and policies to help minimize disruptions caused by those devices during class teaching. Findings reported in the paper focus on students' perceptions only. Eighteen Emiratis completed and returned the survey. Main results show an overall tendency to rare use of mobile devices during class time to perform both content and non-content related activities; however, none of the students had their mobile devices turned off. Results suggest that students' opinions need be taken into account when developing policies for mobile device usage in the classroom due to students' personal needs and expectations. Turning off mobile devices during class time does not seem an appropriate policy for this particular group of students.
Orbital formulation for electronic-structure calculations with linear system-size scaling.

A novel energy functional for total-energy and molecular-dynamics calculations is introduced, and proven to have the Kohn-Sham ground-state energy as its absolute minimum. The use of this functional within a localized orbital formulation leads to an algorithm for electronic structure calculations whose computational work load grows linearly with the system size. The foundations and accuracy of the approach and the performances of the algorithm are first discussed analytically and then illustrated with several numerical examples
The 2011 WPATH Standards of Care and Penile Reconstruction in Female-to-Male Transsexual Individuals

The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) currently publishes the Standards of Care (SOC), to provide clinical guidelines for health care of transsexual, transgender and gender non-conforming persons in order to maximize health and well-being by revealing gender dysphoria. An updated version (7th version, 2011) of the WPATH SOC is currently available. Differences between the 6th and the 7th versions of the SOC are shown; the SOC relevant to penile reconstruction in female-to-male (FtM) persons are emphasized, and we analyze how the 2011 WPATH SOC is influencing the daily practice of physicians involved in performing a penile reconstruction procedure for these patients. Depending by an individual's goals and expectations, the most appropriate surgical technique should be performed: the clinic performing penile reconstruction should be able to offer the whole range of techniques, such as: metoidioplasty, pedicle and free flaps phalloplasty procedures. The goals that physicians and health care institutions should achieve in the next years, in order to improve the care of female-to-male persons, consist in: informing in details the individuals applying for penile reconstruction about all the implications; referring specific individuals to centers capable to deliver a particular surgical technique; implementing the surgery with the most updated refinements.
ECG based biometric for doubly secure authentication

This paper presents a new ECG based biometric system that has a doubly secure characteristic when applied to authentication. In this system the parameters of the new underlying pulse active ratio (PAR) feature vector process are represented by a 4 digit security personal identification number (PIN). An authentication is achieved by firstly using the correct PIN and, secondly, by obtaining a positive ECG feature vector matches. The proposed method is validated by experiments on 113 subjects recorded over wide time duration. It is shown that the PAR parameters can be used to generate different set of features with similar high authentication performance in a doubly secure fashion.
The Caulobacter crescentus flagellar gene, fliX, encodes a novel trans‐acting factor that couples flagellar assembly to transcription

The first flagellar assembly checkpoint of Caulobacter crescentus couples assembly of the early class II components of the basal body complex to the expression of class III and IV genes, which encode extracytoplasmic structures of the flagellum. The transcription of class III/IV flagellar genes is activated by the response regulator factor, FlbD. Gain of function mutations in flbD, termed bfa, can bypass the transcriptional requirement for the assembly of class II flagellar structures. Here we show that the class II flagellar gene fliX encodes a trans‐acting factor that couples flagellar assembly to FlbD‐dependent transcription. We show that the overexpression of fliX can suppress class III/IV gene expression in both wild‐type and flbD‐bfa cells. Introduction of a bfa allele of flbD into cells possessing a deletion in fliX restores motility indicating that FliX is not a structural component of the flagellum, but rather a trans‐acting factor. Furthermore, extragenic motile suppressors which arise in ΔfliX cells map to the flbD locus. These results indicate that FlbD functions downstream of FliX in activating class III/IV transcription. β‐Lactamase fusions to FliX and analysis of cellular fractions demonstrate that FliX is a cytosolic protein that demonstrates some peripheral association with the cytoplasmic membrane. In addition, we have isolated a mutant allele of fliX that exhibits a bfa‐like phenotype, restoring flbD‐dependent class III/IV transcription in strains that contain mutations in class II flagellar structural genes. Taken together, these results indicated both a positive and negative regulatory function for FliX in coupling the assembly of class II basal body components to gene expression.
Erythropoiesis. II. Assay of Erythropoietin in Hypophysectomized Rats.∗

Summary and Conclusions Using incorporation of Fe59 into newly-formed red cells as index of red cell production, it has been shown that erythropoiesis is gradually reduced, reaching a minimum in rats at 8 to 13 days after hypophysectomy. A factor of 10 exists between incorporation of Fe59 into red cells of normal control (37 ± 4) and the hypophysectomized rat (4 ± 2) at this interval. We have also found that the hypophysectomized rat is an extremely sensitive preparation for assay of factor(s) in anemic plasma that stimulates or mediates erythropoiesis. Our observations may be summarized as follows: 1. Administration of anemic plasma to hypophysectomized assay animal increases incorporation of Fe59 3- to 7-fold. 2. Plasma from hypophysectomized animals and un-operated controls made anemic by repeated phlebotomy increases Fe59 red cell incorporation to the same extent when administered to the hypophysectomized assay animal. 3. A single injection of 2 ml of anemic plasma to the hypophysectomized assay animal elicits a 2- to 3-fold increase in Fe59 incorporation. The mechanism of rapid reduction of erythropoiesis that follows hypophysectomy in rats and its relationship to increased sensitivity of the hypophysectomized animal to anemic plasma are discussed briefly.