Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of dietary β1–4 mannobiose in the prevention of Salmonella enteritidis infection in broilers

1. This study investigated the effects of β1–4 Mannobiose (MNB)-supplemented feeds on the kinetics of Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis (SE) in broilers and the ensuing histopathological changes. D-Mannose (MAN) was used for comparison. The diets supplemented with MNB or MAN were fed during the first two weeks after hatching to investigate any protection against SE infection in growing birds and any immunomodulatory functions in the gut. 2. MNB-supplementation reduced SE organ colonisation, caecal carriage and faecal shedding in a time-dependent manner. The high concentrations and persistency of the SE-specific IgA response in those birds given rations supplemented with MNB or MAN were associated with a decline in SE shedding and caecal carriage in the later stages of infection. MNB was more effective against SE infection than MAN. 3. Histological examination of the caecal wall and caecal tonsils at 23 d post-infection indicated a lesser degree of intestinal pathology. An increased number of intra-epithelial mononuclear cells (mature lymphocytes and macrophages) in the lining epithelium of birds fed on the diet supplemented with MNB was accompanied by an increased number of lamina propria cells. 4. The present study indicates that feeding a diet supplemented with MNB during the first two weeks after hatching reduced susceptibility to SE infection. Supplementing the diet with MNB or MAN increased IgA production and improved SE clearance by acting as immunomodulatory agents that prevented intestinal pathology. Feeding a MNB-supplemented diet to broilers could be used as an alternative to antibiotics, because it has no adverse effects on mortality or weight gain.
Contributive Channel Bindings for Compound Authentication

Compound authentication protocols, such as EAP in IKEv2 or SASL over TLS, bind application-level authentication to a transport-level authenticated channel in order to obtain strong composite authentication under weak trust assumptions. Despite their wide deployment, these protocols remain poorly understood, leading to several credential forwarding man-in-themiddle attacks. We present formal models for several compound authentication protocols, and analyze them against a rich threat model that includes compromised certificates, leaked session keys, and Diffie-Hellman small subgroup confinement. Our analysis uncovers new compound authentication attacks on TLS renegotiation, SSH re-exchange, IKEv2 resumption, and a number of other channel binding proposals. We propose new channel bindings and formally evaluate their effectiveness using the automated symbolic cryptographic protocol verifier, ProVerif. In particular, we present the first formal models that can reconstruct the recently published triple handshake attacks on TLS, and the first automated analysis of its proposed countermeasure. I. COMPOUND AUTHENTICATION Mutual authentication of clients and servers is an important security goal of any distributed system architecture. To this end, cryptographic protocols such as Transport Layer Security (TLS), Secure Shell (SSH), and Internet Protocol Security (IPsec) offer several mutual authentication modes based on well-studied cryptographic constructions called Authenticated Key Exchanges (AKEs). However, a common deployment scenario for these protocols, as depicted in Figure 1, does not use mutual authentication. Instead the transport-level protocol authenticates only the server and establishes a unilaterally-authenticated secure channel where the client is anonymous. The client (or user) is authenticated by a subsequent application-level authentication protocol that is tunneled within the transport channel. The composition of these two protocols aims to provide compound authentication: a guarantee that the same two participants engaged in both protocols, and hence both agree upon the identities of each other (and other session parameters). Examples of such compound authentication protocols are widespread, and we list some that use TLS as the transportlevel protocol. TLS servers almost universally use only server User u
Sequencing of a tet(Q) gene isolated from Bacteroides fragilis 1126

Recently, Tet Q, a tetracycline resistance determinant that confers resistance by a ribosome protection mechanism, was described and added to the two previously described classes, Tet M and Tet O. The first representative of this class, tetA(Q)1, was isolated from Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron DOT. We report the sequencing of a gene isolated from B. fragilis 1126 which also confers tetracycline resistance. Because of its high degree of identity (97%) with the tetA(Q)1 gene, we defined it as tetA(Q)2. MIC studies revealed that tetA(Q)2 provides a low level of resistance to tetracycline when cloned into Escherichia coli. The extensive homology between tetA(Q)1 and tetA(Q)2 supports the idea of a recent horizontal transfer of tet(Q) genes among Bacteroides spp.
Changes of temperature and bio‐optical properties in the South China Sea in response to Typhoon Lingling, 2001

A large patch of enhanced chlorophyll a concentration (Chla), lower sea surface temperature (SST), and lower sea surface height (SSH) was revealed in the central South China Sea (SCS) in November 2001 after the passage of typhoon Lingling. Maximum SST reduction of 11°C occurred one day after Lingling's passage on 11/11. Subsequently, against a background level of 0.08 mg/m3, average Chla within the area of 12.60–16.49°N, 112.17–117.05°E increased to 0.14 mg/m3 on 11/12 and then to 0.37 mg/m3 on 11/14. Dissolved organic matter and detritus were differentiated from Chla using a recent bio‐optical algorithm. They contributed 64% to the increase of total absorption immediately after Lingling, while most of the changes later (74%) were due to phytoplankton. The area under Lingling's impact covered ca. 3° latitude and 4° longitude, which is much greater than the two summer cases previously observed in the northern SCS. This event lasted for ca.15 days, and resulted in carbon fixation in the order of 0.4 Mt. Such a drastic response was attributed to the coupling of typhoon‐induced nutrient pumping with the pre‐established cyclonic gyre in the central SCS driven by the prevailing northeast monsoon.
Structures of the atlastin GTPase provide insight into homotypic fusion of endoplasmic reticulum membranes

The generation of the tubular network of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) requires homotypic membrane fusion that is mediated by the dynamin-like, membrane-bound GTPase atlastin (ATL). Here, we have determined crystal structures of the cytosolic segment of human ATL1, which give insight into the mechanism of membrane fusion. The structures reveal a GTPase domain and athree-helix bundle, connected by a linker region. One structure corresponds to a prefusion state, in which ATL molecules in apposing membranes interact through their GTPase domains to form a dimer with the nucleotides bound at the interface. The other structure corresponds to a postfusion state generated after GTP hydrolysis and phosphate release. Compared with the prefusion structure, the three-helix bundles of the two ATL molecules undergo a major conformational change relative to the GTPase domains, which could pull the membranes together. The proposed fusion mechanism is supported by biochemical experiments and fusion assays with wild-type and mutant full-length Drosophila ATL. These experiments also show that membrane fusion is facilitated by the C-terminal cytosolic tails following the two transmembrane segments. Finally, our results show that mutations in ATL1 causing hereditary spastic paraplegia compromise homotypic ER fusion.
State of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry in India: Current status and vision for future

Over the years Consultation-Liaison (C-L) psychiatry has contributed significantly to the growth of the psychiatry and has brought psychiatry very close to the advances in the medicine. It has also led to changes in the medical education and in the providing comprehensive management to the physically ill. In India, although the General Hospital Psychiatric units were established in 1930s, C-L Psychiatry has never been the main focus of training and research. Hence there is an urgent need to improve C-L Psychiatry services and training to provide best and optimal care to the patients and provide best education to the trainees.
Wilderness Canoeing in Ontario: Using Cumulative Results to Update Dichotomous Choice Contingent Valuation Offer Amounts

This study used cumulative results to update the distributions from which offer amounts were drawn in a dichotomous choice contingent valuation of user benefits from wilderness canoeing in Ontario’s wilderness parks. An empirical model demonstrates the efficiency gains from using this procedure. Results allow comparison of variation in average daily willingness to pay (WTP) by trip length, indicating decreasing average benefits per trip-day. Two payment vehicles were used. Canoeists indicated ranges of WTPs which conformed to expected hypotheses when the payment vehicle was an increase in general trip costs. However, the same respondents indicated an upper bound on WTP when the payment vehicle was an increase in the provincial park backcountry permit price. Cette etude s’appuie sur les resultats cumulatifs d’une valuation contingente a choix dichotomique pour mettre a jour les distributions parmi lesquelles ont ete etablies les benefices pour les usagers du canoeing sauvage dans les parcs de l’Ontario. Un modele empirique demontre les gains efficients de l’application de ce processus. Les resultats permettent de comparer la variation des sommes moyennes qu’on veut bien payer selon la longueur du voyage, et indiquent des benefices moyens decroissants par journee de voyage. Deux vehicules de paiement ont ete utilises. Les canoeurs ont indique une gamme de sommes qu’ils voulaient bien payer conforme aux hypotheses lorsque le vehicule de paiement etait une augmentation du cout total du voyage. Toutefois, les memes repondants indiquaient une limite superieure dans les sommes qu’ils voulaient bien payer quand le vehicule de paiement representait une augmentation du prix du permis de camping sauvage du parc provincial.
BRICS, developing countries and global governance

Abstract This article analyses the implications and consequences of the rise of BRICS for the developing world and for global governance. In doing so, it examines BRICS’ increasing importance among developing countries and their growing significance in the world economy, situated in historical perspective, and considers the factors underlying the evolution of the group as an economic and political formation. This is followed by an analysis of the possible economic impact of future growth in BRICS on other developing countries, which could be complementary or competitive, positive or negative. In conclusion it discusses the potential influence of BRICS, extending beyond economics to politics, in the wider global context, with reference to international institutions and cooperation among developing countries.
Probability of early pregnancy loss in women with vaginal bleeding and a singleton live fetus at ultrasound scan

Summary Bleeding is a common feature of early pregnancy affecting about one-fifth of pregnant women in the first trimester. The chance of miscarriage after bleeding and a live fetus at scan has not previously been defined precisely. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the outcome of early pregnancies with a viable singleton fetus that had been complicated by bleeding. A prospective study was performed on 370 women with a singleton live fetus who had presented to the early pregnancy assessment clinic (EPAC) with vaginal bleeding. Women were grouped into light, moderate and heavy loss according to the self-assessed degree of vaginal bleeding. The women were also categorised according to the presence or absence of an intrauterine haematoma. The overall spontaneous miscarriage rate in the study was 11.1%; almost 90% of pregnancies continued to viability. Women with moderate or heavy bleeding had more than twice the rate of miscarriage compared with those with light bleeding. A total of 14% of the women had an intrauterine haematoma and those women were 2.6 times more likely to miscarry than those without (23% vs 9%). This relationship appeared to hold true even after controlling for blood loss. The data presented can be used to guide women with a live fetus about the chance of miscarriage after an episode of vaginal bleeding. We propose that a large multi-centre study should be undertaken to define precisely the risk miscarriage for each gestational week according to a range of clinical and ultrasound characteristics.
Staphylococcal Enterotoxin Synthesis During the Exponential, Transitional, and Stationary Growth Phases

Small inocula (1 to 10 colony-forming units per ml of broth) of Staphylococcus aureus strains S-6, S-6R, and FRI-100 were employed to study growth and enterotoxin synthesis in 4% protein hydrolysate powder broths. For each strain, the exponential growth phase ended once the population approached 109 to 2 × 109 colony-forming units per ml. By that time, the concentrations of enterotoxins A and B reached the minimal level (1 to 2 μg/ml) at which the single gel diffusion tube method becomes applicable. By microslides and reverse passive hemagglutination, enterotoxins A and B were found to be synthesized during the exponential growth phase, but at different exponential rates.
A competitividade na cadeia de suprimento da indústria de petróleo no Brasil

O fim do monopolio da Petrobras, ocorrido em 1997, tem, por um lado, atraido um significativo volume de investimentos para a industria de petroleo brasileira e, por outro, provocado uma reducao da participacao dos supridores nacionais nas encomendas de bens e servicos para o setor. Neste artigo procura-se demonstrar que essa reducao decorre de efetivas vantagens competitivas detidas pelos fornecedores estrangeiros. Alem disto, identificam-se algumas acoes, nos campos empresarial, estrutural, e sistemico, que estao sendo adotadas para reverter esse quadro. Caso se deseje maximizar os impactos positivos do grande volume de investimentos previstos, e necessaria uma explicita politica setorial que de a tais acoes mais agressividade e um maior nivel de articulacao.
The Greek Debt: An Analysis of the Composing Data for the Period 2004–2010

The financial crisis in Greece and other countries has resulted in an increasing concern over public debt and its viability throughout the world. The debt crisis in the Eurozone is still unfolding, as other European countries after Greece (such as Ireland) seek financial support from the rescue mechanism set by the EU/IMF and is gradually expanding in Portugal, Spain etc., thus increasing the concern for a potential domino effect in the Eurozone. The present study focuses on the diachronic change of the public debt of Greece during the 2004- 2010 period, while it also attempts an analysis of the accounts that compose it, in an effort to detect the factors that led to its expansion in the last years. Furthermore, the study analyses the accounts that compose the Greek debt and their potential correlation in a percentage scale and over time.
Sequential action of two GTPases to promote vacuole docking and fusion

Homotypic vacuole fusion occurs by sequential priming, docking and fusion reactions. Priming frees the HOPS complex (Vps 11, 16, 18, 33, 39 and 41) to activate Ypt7p for docking. Here we explore the roles of the GDP and GTP states of Ypt7p using Gdi1p (which extracts Ypt7:GDP), Gyp7p (a GTPase‐activating protein for Ypt7p:GTP), GTPγS or GppNHp (non‐hydrolyzable nucleotides), and mutant forms of Ypt7p that favor either GTP or GDP states. GDP‐bound Ypt7p on isolated vacuoles can be extracted by Gdi1p, although only the GTP‐bound state allows docking. Ypt7p is converted to the GTP‐bound state after priming and stably associates with HOPS. Gyp7p can cause Ypt7p to hydrolyze bound GTP to GDP, driving HOPS release and accelerating Gdi1p‐mediated release of Ypt7p. Ypt7p extraction does not inhibit the Ca2+‐triggered cascade that leads to fusion. However, in the absence of Ypt7p, fusion is still sensitive to GTPγS and GppNHp, indicating that there is a second specific GTPase that regulates the calcium flux and hence fusion. Thus, two GTPases sequentially govern vacuole docking and fusion.
A Game-theoretic Framework to Investigate Conditions for Cooperation between Wind Power Producers and Energy Storage Operators

Game theory has its applications in various domains, but has only recently been applied to study open problems in smart microgrids. A simple microgrid system with a small wind farm, a storage facility and an aggregate load entity is studied here using a non-cooperative game-theoretic framework. The framework developed is used to study the behavior of rational market participants (players), namely wind power producer and energy storage. The framework is implemented to find the existence of any Nash equilibria and see if cooperation is a natural outcome of the game. If cooperation is not self-enforcing then usefulness of the framework to find the conditions for cooperation is presented. It must be noted that cooperation is not automatically guaranteed as the payoff of the energy storage operator is dependent on the strategy employed by the wind power producer. Similarly, the payoff for the wind power producer is highly intertwined with the strategy employed by the energy storage operator. Historical weather and market data is used to calculate expected payoffs for each possible combination of strategies. The results are presented in the form of payoff matrices and the best response algorithm and/or elimination of dominated strategies is used to find the Nash equilibrium. Sensitivity of the Nash equilibrium to various storage parameters like storage size, charging/discharging limits, charging/discharging efficiency, and other market parameters like energy imbalance penalties, efficiency of up/down regulation, and electricity market prices is studied and necessary conditions for cooperation are presented.
The Party's Primary: The Influence of the Party Hill Committees in Primary Elections for the House and Senate

Scholarship on candidate emergence has largely ignored the role of political parties and their ability to affect the decisions of primary candidates. Instead, scholars have focused on the nature and experience of the candidate as well as the political environment as determining factors in the emergence of candidates for political office. In this dissertation I argue that parties are influential in the primary process. Because political parties do not publicize decisions to support or oppose candidates during the primary election, I design a measure of candidate connectedness from publicly available fundraising data that measures the strength of a party organization's support of a candidate. I validate this measure using actual endorsements by interest groups. Using information about the fundraising networks of Senatorial candidates from 1990 to 2010 and House candidates from 2004 to 2010 I show that candidates who are less connected to the national senatorial campaign committees are less likely to remain a candidate in the primary, even when controlling for overall fundraising numbers. Those that do remain in the race without party support are also less likely to win. While the process may appear undemocratic, I also provide evidence that the targeted influence of parties benefits moderate candidates who are more representative of the district's median voter
Monitor color sensing using low-cost filter array spectrum sensor

We aim to use 12 channel filter array spectrum sensor for monitor's CIE tristimulus color sensing. Although low-cost RGB color sensors are available for monitor's color sensing, however their spectral response functions are usually different from the CIE XYZ color matching functions, and hence cannot deliver an accurate color sensing. Alternatively, our proposed filter array spectrum sensor using plasmonic filter technology can supply a low-cost and highly accurate solution. In this work, partial least squares (PLS) and nonlinear iterative partial least squares (NIPLS) are adopted to associate 12 sensor outputs to the CIE XYZ values. Preliminary experimental results show Δxy = 0.0023 has been achieved by this proposed approach.
Multi-Criteria server selection for over-the-top video streaming

A video streaming system with over-the-top delivery has to select the servers that handle the service requests such that the content is delivered with the desired quality and system resources are efficiently used. Server selection can be formulated as a multi-criteria optimization problem, but solving this problem requires dynamic information about system resources. In this paper, we study the performance achieved by service providers that deploy a resource monitoring infrastructure and optimize server selection using a Multi-Criteria Decision Algorithm (MCDA), and the performance achieved by lightweight service providers, using only static information and simpler selection methods. We implemented these methods in a simulator and compared their performance. The results show that MCDA offers important performance gains, justifying the costs of resource monitoring. Moreover, they motivate the search for server selection methods that could achieve similar performance with lower costs, by involving the clients in the selection process, using MCDA.
Design and simulation of a CMOS image sensor with a built-in edge detection for tactile vision sensory substitution

Tactile Vision Sensory Substitution (TVSS) systems are used to convert scene images captured by the image sensors to tactile patterns that can be used to stimulate the skin sensory of the blind users. These types of devices needed to be wearable, small size, low power consumption, lightweight, and affordable cost. This paper presents the integration of an edge detection scheme inside a CMOS image sensor forming an Edge Detection CMOS Image Sensor (EDIS). The design is simulated using LTSPICE and MATLAB, performing three ways of simulation, giving accepted edge images having very few fine edges but keeping the main edges. The proposed way is simple, low component-count, doesn’t reduce the fill factor, use no analog to digital converter, presents adaptable comparator-reference-voltage, and make a step towards an integrated all-in-one tactile vision sensory substitution device.
Development of the central and peripheral nervous systems in the lamprey

Vertebrate brains are highly organized structures that show remarkable diversity throughout the animal groups. Among the vertebrates, the agnathan animals, which diverged from the gnathostomes early in the evolution of the vertebrates, occupy a key phylogenetic position in order to clarify the origin and evolution of the brain. We found that the lamprey brain has the basic molecular mechanisms necessary to form brain compartments. Conversely, the telencephalon and cerebellum display gnathostome‐specific developmental mechanisms. We also propose that, in contrast to those of gnathostomes, the maxillary ramus of the trigeminal nerve and buccal ramus of the nerve on the anterior lateral line are not fused in the developing lamprey. Thus, the development of the central nervous system and the framework of the peripheral nerve around the oral region are thought to have improved in the course of the agnathan–gnathostome transition.