Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Probiotic Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 Suppresses Allergen-Induced Th2 Responses in the Airways

Background: Recent clinical trials, epidemiological studies and animal experiments have suggested that probiotics may help suppress the development of allergic responses. Objective: To investigate whether the application of the probiotic Escherichia coli strain Nissle 1917 (EcN) protects mice from developing ovalbumin (OVA)-specific T helper-2 responses in the airways. Methods: OVA-specific Th2 responses were induced by 2 intraperitoneal (i.p.) injections with OVA/alum followed by 1 intranasal (i.n.) challenge with OVA. EcN was given orally during the entire sensitization and challenge period, together with OVA/alum during the i.p. sensitizations, or i.n. before or during the airway challenge with OVA. Results: We found that when the bacteria were given together with OVA/alum airway eosinophilia, airway hyper-reactivity, goblet cell metaplasia and IL-5 levels in the bronchoalveolar lavage and mediastinal lymph node cell cultures were reduced. This effect was associated with increased numbers of IFN-γ producing T helper-1 cells and IFN-γ levels in the airways and strongly increased OVA-specific IgG2a titers in the serum. The suppressive effect on airway eosinophilia was dependent on IFN-γ but not TLR-4. Applying EcN i.n. or orally did not reduce the development of allergen-specific Th2 responses. Conclusions: Our results suggest that EcN can inhibit the development of allergic responses when the bacteria are present at the site of Th2 cell priming and that this immunomodulatory effect is due to a shift from Th2 to Th1 response. The data support the hypothesis that probiotics may help reduce allergic responses and that EcN may also be used as adjuvant therapy to induce allergen-specific Th1 responses.
Soil Microbial Community Structure across a Thermal Gradient following a Geothermal Heating Event

ABSTRACT In this study microbial species diversity was assessed across a landscape in Yellowstone National Park, where an abrupt increase in soil temperature had occurred due to recent geothermal activity. Soil temperatures were measured, and samples were taken across a temperature gradient (35 to 65°C at a 15-cm depth) that spanned geothermally disturbed and unimpacted soils; thermally perturbed soils were visually apparent by the occurrence of dead or dying lodgepole pine trees. Changes in soil microbial diversity across the temperature gradient were qualitatively assessed based on 16S rRNA sequence variation as detected by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) using both ribosomal DNA (rDNA) and rRNA as PCR templates and primers specific for the Bacteria or Archaea domain. The impact of the major heating disturbance was apparent in that DGGE profiles from heated soils appeared less complex than those from the unaffected soils. Phylogenetic analysis of a bacterial 16S rDNA PCR clone library from a recently heated soil showed that a majority of the clones belonged to the Acidobacterium (51%) and Planctomyces (18%) divisions. Agar plate counts of soil suspensions cultured on dilute yeast extract and R2A agar media incubated at 25 or 50°C revealed that thermophile populations were two to three orders of magnitude greater in the recently heated soil. A soil microcosm laboratory experiment simulated the geothermal heating event. As determined by both RNA- and DNA-based PCR coupled with DGGE, changes in community structure (marked change in the DGGE profile) of soils incubated at 50°C occurred within 1 week and appeared to stabilize after 3 weeks. The results of our molecular and culture data suggest that thermophiles or thermotolerant species are randomly distributed in this area within Yellowstone National Park and that localized thermal activity selects for them.
Kill Two Birds with One Stone: Weakly-Supervised Neural Network for Image Annotation and Tag Refinement

The number of social images has exploded by the wide adoption of social networks, and people like to share their comments about them. These comments can be a description of the image, or some objects, attributes, scenes in it, which are normally used as the user-provided tags. However, it is well-known that user-provided tags are incomplete and imprecise to some extent. Directly using them can damage the performance of related applications, such as the image annotation and retrieval. In this paper, we propose to learn an image annotation model and refine the user-provided tags simultaneously in a weakly-supervised manner. The deep neural network is utilized as the image feature learning and backbone annotation model, while visual consistency, semantic dependency, and user-error sparsity are introduced as the constraints at the batch level to alleviate the tag noise. Therefore, our model is highly flexible and stable to handle large-scale image sets. Experimental results on two benchmark datasets indicate that our proposed model achieves the best performance compared to the state-of-the-art methods.
Review of Prediction Market Research: Guidelines for Information Systems Research

This paper presents an analysis of prediction market (PM) research relevant to information systems. Prediction markets are (online) markets are usually not traded on existing exchanges but on future events. As an emerging research area, prediction markets have received considerable attention from several disciplines, including economics, politics, marketing, computer science, electronic commerce and etc. In information systems research, however, they have been largely ignored. This study reviewed 93 academic articles concerning prediction markets. The analysis reveals that an increasing volume of PM research has been conducted, and that research themes of these studies can be categorized into three groups, namely general introduction, theoretical work, and PM applications. Building upon this work, we argue for the importance of future prediction market research and suggest potential research targets for IS researchers.
Detection and diagnosis of rice-infecting viruses

Rice-infecting viruses have caused serious damage to rice production in Asian, American, and African countries, where about 30 rice viruses and diseases have been reported. To control these diseases, developing accurate, quick methods to detect and diagnose the viruses in the host plants and any insect vectors of the viruses is very important. Based on an antigen–antibody reaction, serological methods such as latex agglutination reaction and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay have advanced to detect viral particles or major proteins derived from viruses. They aid in forecasting disease and surveying disease spread and are widely used for virus detection at plant protection stations and research laboratories. From the early 2000s, based on sequence information for the target virus, several other methods such as reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and reverse transcription-loop-mediated isothermal amplification have been developed that are sensitive, rapid, and able to differentiate closely related viruses. Recent techniques such as real-time RT-PCR can be used to quantify the pathogen in target samples and monitor population dynamics of a virus, and metagenomic analyses using next-generation sequencing and microarrays show potential for use in the diagnosis of rice diseases.
Comparing Human and Automatic Face Recognition Performance

Face recognition technologies have seen dramatic improvements in performance over the past decade, and such systems are now widely used for security and commercial applications. Since recognizing faces is a task that humans are understood to be very good at, it is common to want to compare automatic face recognition (AFR) and human face recognition (HFR) in terms of biometric performance. This paper addresses this question by: 1) conducting verification tests on volunteers (HFR) and commercial AFR systems and 2) developing statistical methods to support comparison of the performance of different biometric systems. HFR was tested by presenting face-image pairs and asking subjects to classify them on a scale of ldquoSame,rdquo ldquoProbably Same,rdquo ldquoNot sure,rdquo ldquoProbably Different,rdquo and ldquoDifferentrdquo; the same image pairs were presented to AFR systems, and the biometric match score was measured. To evaluate these results, two new statistical evaluation techniques are developed. The first is a new way to normalize match-score distributions, where a normalized match score is calculated as a function of the angle from a representation of [false match rate, false nonmatch rate] values in polar coordinates from some center. Using this normalization, we develop a second methodology to calculate an average detection error tradeoff (DET) curve and show that this method is equivalent to direct averaging of DET data along each angle from the center. This procedure is then applied to compare the performance of the best AFR algorithms available to us in the years 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, and 2006, in comparison to human scores. Results show that algorithms have dramatically improved in performance over that time. In comparison to the performance of the best AFR system of 2006, 29.2% of human subjects performed better, while 37.5% performed worse.
Fast Modifications of the SpikeProp Algorithm

In this paper we develop and analyze spiking neural network (SNN) versions of resilient propagation (RProp) and QuickProp, both training methods used to speed up training in artificial neural networks (ANNs) by making certain assumptions about the data and the error surface. Modifications are made to both algorithms to adapt them to SNNs. Results generated on standard XOR and Fisher Iris data sets using the QuickProp and RProp versions of SpikeProp are shown to converge to a final error of 0.5 -an average of 80% faster than using SpikeProp on its own.
Strategic Planning As an Effective Tool of Strategic Management in Public Sector Organizations

This study determines the effectiveness of strategic planning as an effective tool of strategic management in public transit agencies. It finds that an effective strategic planning requires top managers’ active roles in defining the strategic direction of the organization and creating an environment that recognizes strategic planning as a tool of strategic management. Also, it requires good working relationships between the strategic planning staff, unit or division managers, and the top management team; the location of the strategic planning staff close to top management; integration of unit or division plans into an organization-wide strategic plan; and a planning process that is not too rigid or mechanical. Finally, the article finds that the strategic planning process of an organization must be responsive to environmental changes and challenges.
Protein Translocation into the Intermembrane Space and Matrix of Mitochondria: Mechanisms and Driving Forces

Mitochondria contain two aqueous subcompartments, the matrix and the intermembrane space (IMS). The matrix is enclosed by both the inner and outer mitochondrial membranes, whilst the IMS is sandwiched between the two. Proteins of the matrix are synthesized in the cytosol as preproteins, which contain amino-terminal matrix targeting sequences that mediate their translocation through translocases embedded in the outer and inner membrane. For these proteins, the translocation reaction is driven by the import motor which is part of the inner membrane translocase. The import motor employs matrix Hsp70 molecules and ATP hydrolysis to ratchet proteins into the mitochondrial matrix. Most IMS proteins lack presequences and instead utilize the IMS receptor Mia40, which facilitates their translocation across the outer membrane in a reaction that is coupled to the formation of disulfide bonds within the protein. This process requires neither ATP nor the mitochondrial membrane potential. Mia40 fulfills two roles: First, it acts as a holdase, which is crucial in the import of IMS proteins and second, it functions as a foldase, introducing disulfide bonds into newly imported proteins, which induces and stabilizes their natively folded state. For several Mia40 substrates, oxidative folding is an essential prerequisite for their assembly into oligomeric complexes. Interestingly, recent studies have shown that the two functions of Mia40 can be experimentally separated from each other by the use of specific mutants, hence providing a powerful new way to dissect the different physiological roles of Mia40. In this review we summarize the current knowledge relating to the mitochondrial matrix-targeting and the IMS-targeting/Mia40 pathway. Moreover, we discuss the mechanistic properties by which the mitochondrial import motor on the one hand and Mia40 on the other, drive the translocation of their substrates into the organelle. We propose that the lateral diffusion of Mia40 in the inner membrane and the oxidation-mediated folding of incoming polypeptides supports IMS import.
PMS2 endonuclease activity has distinct biological functions and is essential for genome maintenance

The DNA mismatch repair protein PMS2 was recently found to encode a novel endonuclease activity. To determine the biological functions of this activity in mammals, we generated endonuclease-deficient Pms2E702K knock-in mice. Pms2EK/EK mice displayed increased genomic mutation rates and a strong cancer predisposition. In addition, class switch recombination, but not somatic hypermutation, was impaired in Pms2EK/EK B cells, indicating a specific role in Ig diversity. In contrast to Pms2−/− mice, Pms2EK/EK male mice were fertile, indicating that this activity is dispensable in spermatogenesis. Therefore, the PMS2 endonuclease activity has distinct biological functions and is essential for genome maintenance and tumor suppression.
Prospective cohort study of factors influencing the relative weights of the placenta and the newborn infant

Abstract Objectives: To determine the demographic, environmental, and medical factors that influence the relative weights of the newborn infant and the placenta and compare this ratio with other factors known to predispose to adult ill health. Design: Prospective cohort study. Setting: The tertiary referral centre for perinatal care in Perth, Western Australia. Subjects: 2507 pregnant women who delivered a single live infant at term. Main outcome measures: Placental weight, birth weight, and the ratio of placental weight to birth weight. Results: By multiple regression analysis the placental weight to birthweight ratio was significantly and positively associated with gestational age, female sex, Asian parentage, increasing maternal body mass index, increased maternal weight at booking, lower socioeconomic status, maternal anaemia, and increasing number of cigarettes smoked daily. There were no consistent relations between the placental weight to birthweight ratio and measures of newborn size. Conclusions: The ratio of placental weight to birth weight is not an accurate marker of fetal growth. In its role as a predictor of adult disease the ratio may be acting as a surrogate for other factors which are already known to influence health and may act before or after birth. Determining the role that relative growth rates of the fetus and placenta have in predisposing to adult disease requires prospective study to account for the many confounding variables which complicate this hypothesis. Key messages Retrospective analyses have identified an association between a raised placental weight to birthweight ratio and hypertension in adulthood Accurate estimation of gestational age is crucial when interpreting the placental weight to birthweight ratio Environmental factors associated with alterations in the placental weight to birthweight ratio may not exert their effects exclusively in the antenatal period As a marker of fetal growth the potential usefulness of the placental weight to birthweight ratio is diminished because the ratio is influenced by a multiplicity of factors Prospective study is required to clarify the role of intrauterine programming in the genesis of adult disease
The Scope for Inflation Targeting in Developing Countries

A gas generator for generating a large volume of gases at moderate temperature in an extremely short time comprises a central combustion chamber containing a solid pyrotechnic charge and an ignition device therefor. The combustion chamber is laterally surrounded by a cooling chamber with which it communicates by means of apertures. In the cooling chamber combustion gases formed on ignition of the pyrotechnic charge are cooled by contact with at least one solid coolant material. The cooled combustion gases are discharged from the generator through apertures in the side wall of the generator which are disposed symmetrically with respect to the axis of the generator, so that when the combustion gases leave the generator they exert substantially no propulsive force on the generator.
XPM- and XGM-Based Optical RAM Memories: Frequency and Time Domain Theoretical Analysis

We demonstrate a frequency and time domain analysis for optical random access memory (RAM) cells that rely on semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA)-based switches but employ different switching mechanisms. The first RAM cell utilizes SOA cross gain modulation (XGM) switches both for the access gate as well as latching mechanism, whereas the second RAM cell configuration utilizes SOA-Mach-Zehnder interferometer cross phase modulation (XPM) switches. The frequency domain analysis exploits first-order perturbation theory approximations towards deriving the RAM cell frequency response, which is shown to exhibit in both RAM cell layouts a comb like resonant behavior. The free spectral range is dictated by the coupling length between the coupled switches that form the latching element, whereas the finesse depends on the temporal response of the switching mechanism employed. The qualitative speed and signal quality results obtained in the frequency domain are confirmed by a respective time-domain analysis carried out for both RAM cell layouts, using an experimentally validated time-domain SOA simulation model that relies on the transfer matrix method. Performance analysis in the time domain reveals in addition important quantitative RAM output signal measures like the extinction ratio and its dependence on the coupling length and the operational speed, as well as the input power dynamic range for successful RAM operation. Our holistic frequency- and time-domain analysis framework provides an in-depth understanding of performance-critical design parameters and their relationship to expected RAM cell performance characteristics. This is then utilized for a one-by-one system level comparison between the two RAM cell layouts in terms of readout extinction ratio, maximum speed, footprint, and power consumption concluding that the SOA-XGM-based RAM cell offers certain advantages when operational speeds not higher than 10 Gb/s are targeted, and the SOA-XPM-based RAM cell setup dominating when higher RAM serial speeds even up to 40 GHz are targeted.
Oxytocin: A Potential Novel Therapeutic Agent in Treatment of Autism

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by varying deficits in social interactions, communication, and learning, as well as stereotypic behaviors. Despite the significant increasing rates of ASD during the last two decades, there are few clues for its exact pathogenesis, delaying early detection and effective intervention. Thus, identifying causes and treatments is imperative. So far, there are no known efficacious treatments for the core social symptoms, although effects on repetitive behaviors are indicated with some data. During the past decade oxytocin (OT) research has shown a major upsurge. The beneficial roles of OT on social functioning raise the question regarding its potential usefulness in ASD management. If clinical application of OT in the treatment of ASD proves successful then it may introduce a new hope for afflicted individuals and their families. Fortunately pioneering clinical studies support this notion; however, more research should go on to resolve issues concerning clear mechanisms by which OT modulates social behavior before its real introduction for clinical application. Also probable adverse affects must be thoroughly investigated to ensure safe treatment outcomes.
Cancer of corpus uteri in Tunisia: epidemiological and clinicopathological features.

INTRODUCTION The aim of this study was to survey for the first time the burden and characteristics of corpus uteri cancers in Central Tunisia. DESIGN Characteristics of all cancer cases diagnosed during a 15-year period were analyzed based on the data of the Cancer Registry of the Center of Tunisia. Five-year age-specific rates, crude incidence rates, world age-standardized rates (ASR), and annual percent change (APC) were calculated using annual data on population size and its estimated age structure. RESULTS A total of 218 new cases of corpus uteri cancer were recorded. The ASR was 3.1 per 100,000 with a significant increase over time (APC: +7.1%; 95% CI: 3.1%, 11.1%). The median age at diagnosis was 60 years and only 20.6% of patients were less than 50 years old. The tumor size was higher than 2 cm in 83.5% of cases. Stage I was the most frequent (59.9%) followed by advanced stages (23.2%). Endometrial adenocarcinoma was the most frequent histological type (62.8%) with grade II accounting for 48.5% of cases. CONCLUSION Corpus uteri cancer is an important female cancer with increasing trend over time. These findings justify the need to plan and develop effective programs aiming at the control of the spread of cancer in Tunisia.
A heuristic wavelength assignment algorithm for multihop WDM networks with wavelength routing and wavelength reuse

The authors present a heuristic algorithm for effectively assigning a limited number of wavelengths among the access stations of a multihop network wherein the physical medium consists of optical fiber segments which interconnect wavelength-selective optical switches. Such a physical medium permits the limited number of wavelengths to be re-used among the various fiber links, thereby offering very high aggregate capacity. Although the optical connectivity among the access station can be altered by changing the states of the various optical switches, the resulting optical connectivity pattern is constrained by the limitation imposed at the physical level. They also present and study two admission control schemes, used to admit or reject requests for virtual connections. The heuristic is tested on a realistic traffic model, and the call blocking performance of new requests for virtual connections is studied through extensive simulations and compared against the blocking performance of an ideal infinite capacity centralized switch (lowest possible call blocking caused exclusively by congestion on the finite capacity user input/output links, never by the switch fabric itself). Surprisingly, they find that, for a wide range of parameters, the blocking performance of the lightwave network is almost the same as that of the ideal centralized switch. From these results, they conclude that the heuristic algorithm is effective and the admission control scheme is efficient. <<ETX>>