Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Determining the refractivity at the bottom of the atmosphere using radio occultation

High accuracy of impact height is important to get reliable Radio Occultation (RO) measurements of the atmosphere refractivity. We have made an investigation on how accurately we can measure the impact height at ground level using wave optics simulations, realistic refractivity profiles, a realistic simulator for an advanced RO instrument including noise, and using phase matching for the inversion. The idea of the investigation is to increase the measurement accuracy of impact height at low altitudes and to give reliable measurements even in cases of super-refractive layers. We present statistics on the accuracy and precision of the determination of the impact height at ground, as well as the resulting accuracy and precision in the measured refractivity.
Maturation of Oral Microbiota in Children with or without Dental Caries

Background The aim of this longitudinal study was to evaluate the oral microbiota in children from age 3 months to 3 years, and to determine the association of the presence of caries at 3 years of age. Methods and findings Oral biofilms and saliva were sampled from children at 3 months (n = 207) and 3 years (n = 155) of age, and dental caries was scored at 3 years of age. Oral microbiota was assessed by culturing of total lactobacilli and mutans streptococci, PCR detection of Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus sobrinus, 454 pyrosequencing and HOMIM (Human Oral Microbe Identification Microarray) microarray detection of more then 300 species/ phylotypes. Species richness and taxa diversity significantly increased from 3 months to 3 years. Three bacterial genera, present in all the 3-month-old infants, persisted at 3 years of age, whereas three other genera had disappeared by this age. A large number of new taxa were also observed in the 3-year-olds. The microbiota at 3 months of age, except for lactobacilli, was unrelated to caries development at a later age. In contrast, several taxa in the oral biofilms of the 3-year-olds were linked with the presence or absence of caries. The main species/phylotypes associated with caries in 3-year-olds belonged to the Actinobaculum, Atopobium, Aggregatibacter, and Streptococcus genera, whereas those influencing the absence of caries belonged to the Actinomyces, Bergeyella, Campylobacter, Granulicatella, Kingella, Leptotrichia, and Streptococcus genera. Conclusions Thus, during the first years of life, species richness and taxa diversity in the mouth increase significantly. Besides the more prevalent colonization of lactobacilli, the composition of the overall microbiota at 3 months of age was unrelated to caries development at a later age. Several taxa within the oral biofilms of the 3-year-olds could be linked to the presence or absence of caries.
Homogeneous accelerometer-based sensor networks for game interaction

We have created and tested a wearable sensor network that detects a user's body position and motion as input for interactive applications. It is envisioned to take game experiences such as Dance Dance Revolution, Wii Fit, and other active play scenarios to a whole new level, augmenting or replacing the binary foot-pad and balance board with a more immersive, full-body input system. We describe the design and functionality of the sensor network to characterize and verify body pose and position, perform experiments, and report on the capabilities and limitations of such a system. Our experience shows that a distributed set of sensors around the body prevents the player from cheating the system by using motion of the device alone to trick the system. In this work we show that a relatively simple sensor network configuration can enforce proper form and ensure that the player is actively participating in the game context, while a larger configuration can be used in training applications.
Analogical Dialogue Acts: Supporting Learning by Reading Analogies

Analogy is heavily used in instructional texts. We introduce the concept of analogical dialogue acts (ADAs), which represent the roles utterances play in instructional analogies. We describe a catalog of such acts, based on ideas from structure-mapping theory. We focus on the operations that these acts lead to while understanding instructional texts, using the Structure-Mapping Engine (SME) and dynamic case construction in a computational model. We test this model on a small corpus of instructional analogies expressed in simplified English, which were understood via a semi-automatic natural language system using analogical dialogue acts. The model enabled a system to answer questions after understanding the analogies that it was not able to answer without them.
Non-adaptive group testing: Explicit bounds and novel algorithms

We present computationally efficient and provably correct algorithms with near-optimal sample-complexity for noisy non-adaptive group testing. Group testing involves grouping arbitrary subsets of items into pools. Each pool is then tested to identify the defective items, which are usually assumed to be sparsely distributed. We consider random non-adaptive pooling where pools are selected randomly and independently of the test outcomes. Our noisy scenario accounts for both false negatives and false positives for the test outcomes. Inspired by compressive sensing algorithms we introduce four novel computationally efficient decoding algorithms for group testing, CBP via Linear Programming (CBP-LP), NCBP-LP (Noisy CBP-LP), and the two related algorithms NCBP-SLP+ and NCBP-SLP- (“Simple” NCBP-LP). The first of these algorithms deals with the noiseless measurement scenario, and the next three with the noisy measurement scenario. We derive explicit sample-complexity bounds - with all constants made explicit - for these algorithms as a function of the desired error probability; the noise parameters; the number of items; and the size of the defective set (or an upper bound on it). We show that the sample-complexities of our algorithms are near-optimal with respect to known information-theoretic bounds.
Phosphorylation and Putative ER Retention Signals Are Required for Protein Kinase A-Mediated Potentiation of Cardiac Sodium Current

Abstract— Activation of protein kinase A (PKA) increases Na+ current derived from the human cardiac Na+ channel, hH1, in a slow, nonsaturable manner. This effect is prevented by compounds that disrupt plasma membrane recycling, implying enhanced trafficking of channels to the cell membrane as the mechanism responsible for Na+ current potentiation. To investigate the molecular basis of this effect, preferred consensus sites (serines 483, 571, and 593) and alternative sites phosphorylated by PKA in the rat heart isoform (serines 525 and 528) were removed in the I-II interdomain linker, a region in the channel previously implicated in the PKA response. Our results demonstrate that the presence of either serine 525 or 528 is required for Na+ current potentiation. The role of amino acid sequences that can mediate channel-protein interactions was also examined. Removal of a PDZ domain-binding motif at the carboxy terminus of hH1 did not alter the PKA response. The I-II interdomain linker of the channel contains 3 sites (479RKR481, 533RRR535, and 659RQR661) with the sequence RXR, a motif known to mediate retention of proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). The PKA-mediated increase in Na+ current was abolished when all 3 sites were eliminated, with RRR at position 533 to 535 primarily responsible for this effect. These results demonstrate that both &agr;-subunit phosphorylation and the presence of putative ER retention signals are required for the PKA-mediated increase in cardiac Na+ current, an effect that likely involves interaction of the I-II interdomain linker with other proteins or regions of the channel.
Neural dialog state tracker for large ontologies by attention mechanism

This paper presents a dialog state tracker submitted to Dialog State Tracking Challenge 5 (DSTC 5) with details. To tackle the challenging cross-language human-human dialog state tracking task with limited training data, we propose a tracker that focuses on words with meaningful context based on attention mechanism and bi-directional long short term memory (LSTM). The vocabulary including a plenty of proper nouns is vectorized with a sufficient amount of related texts crawled from web to learn a good embedding for words not existent in training dialogs. Despite its simplicity, our proposed tracker succeeded to achieve high accuracy without sophisticated pre- and post-processing.
Structural Characterization of Campylobacter jejuni Lipooligosaccharide Outer Cores Associated with Guillain-Barré and Miller Fisher Syndromes

ABSTRACT Molecular mimicry between lipooligosaccharides (LOS) of Campylobacter jejuni and gangliosides in peripheral nerves plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of C. jejuni-related Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). We have analyzed the LOS outer core structures of 26 C. jejuni strains associated with GBS and its variant, Miller Fisher syndrome (MFS), by capillary electrophoresis coupled with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. Sixteen out of 22 (73%) GBS-associated and all 4 (100%) MFS-associated strains expressed LOS with ganglioside mimics. GM1a was the most prevalent ganglioside mimic in GBS-associated strains (10/22, 45%), and in eight of these strains, GM1a was found in combination with GD1a mimics. All seven strains isolated from patients with ophthalmoplegia (GBS or MFS) expressed disialylated (GD3 or GD1c) mimics. Three out of 22 GBS-associated strains (14%) did not express sialylated ganglioside mimics because their LOS locus lacked the genes necessary for sialylation. Three other strains (14%) did not express ganglioside mimics because of frameshift mutations in either the cstII sialyltransferase gene or the cgtB galactosyltransferase gene. It is not possible to determine if these mutations were already present during C. jejuni infection. This is the first report in which mass spectrometry combined with DNA sequence data were used to infer the LOS outer core structures of a large number of neuropathy-associated C. jejuni strains. We conclude that molecular mimicry between gangliosides and C. jejuni LOS is the presumable pathogenic mechanism in most cases of C. jejuni-related GBS. However, our findings suggest that in some cases, other mechanisms may play a role. Further examination of the disease etiology in these patients is mandatory.
Vertical organization of the division of labor within nests of the Florida harvester ant, Pogonomyrmex badius

In the Florida harvester ant, Pogonomyrmex badius, foragers occur only in the top 15 cm of the nest, whereas brood and brood-care workers reside mostly in the deepest regions, yet the food and seeds foragers collect must be transported downward 30 to 80 cm to seed chambers and up to 2 m to brood chambers. Using mark-recapture techniques with fluorescent printer's ink, we identified a class of workers that ranges widely within the vertical structure of the nest, rapidly moving materials dropped by foragers in the upper regions downward, and excavated soil from deeper upward. Within the nest, only 5% of foragers were recovered below 20 cm depth, but about 30% of transfer workers and 82% of unmarked workers were found there. Below 70 cm depth, 90% of workers were unmarked, and were probably involved mostly in brood care. During the summer, the transfer workers comprise about a quarter of the nest population, while foragers make up about 40%. Workers marked as transfer workers later appear as foragers, while those marked as foragers die and disappear from the foraging population, suggesting that transfer workers are younger, and age into foraging. The importance of these findings for laboratory studies of division of labor are discussed. The efficient allocation of labor is a key component of superorganismal fitness.
Structural Basis for Ether-a-go-go-Related Gene K+ Channel Subtype-Dependent Activation by Niflumic Acid

Niflumic acid [2-((3-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)amino)-3-pyridinecarboxylic acid, NFA] is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug that also blocks or modulates the gating of a wide spectrum of ion channels. Here we investigated the mechanism of channel activation by NFA on ether-a-go-go-related gene (ERG) K+ channel subtypes expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes using two-electrode voltage-clamp techniques. NFA acted from the extracellular side of the membrane to differentially enhance ERG channel currents independent of channel state. At 1 mM, NFA shifted the half-point for activation by -6, -18, and -11 mV for ERG1, ERG2, and ERG3 channels, respectively. The half-point for channel inactivation was shifted by +5 to +9 mV by NFA. The structural basis for the ERG subtype-specific response to NFA was explored with chimeric channels and site-directed mutagenesis. The molecular determinants of enhanced sensitivity of ERG2 channels to NFA were isolated to an Arg and a Thr triplet in the extracellular S3-S4 linker.
A Bag of Features Approach to Ambient Fall Detection for Domestic Eldercare

Falls in the home are a major source of injury for the elderly. The affordability of commodity video cameras is prompting the development of ambient intelligent environments to monitor the occurence of falls in the home. This paper describes an automated fall detection system, capable of tracking movement and detecting falls in real-time. In particular we explore the application of the Bag of Features paradigm, frequently applied to general activity recognition in Computer Vision, to the domestic fall detection problem. We show that fall detection is feasible using such a framework, evaluted our approach in both controlled test scenarios and domestic scenarios exhibiting uncontrolled fall direction and visually cluttered environments. Keywords-Ambient domestic monitoring, fall detection, activity recognition, bag of features.
Virtual Subspace Method for Robust Face Recognition Independent of Lighting Conditions

A concept of virtual subspace is introduced for realizing a robust face recognition independent of the lighting conditions. The virtual subspace is a paradoxical concept because it can be constructed even if only one image is taken. Furthermore, the virtual subspace is gradually converged to the real subspace when face images are subsequently taken. The virtual subspace is defined as an eigenspace composed from a synthesized image set which are supposed t o be taken in a variety of lighting conditions. -4n integration algorithm is also proposed for updating the virtual subspace when additional images are available. In the experiments, we show the effectiveness of the virtual subspace method in comparison with both the conventional subspace method and the nearest neighbor discrimination.
A role for the endocannabinoid system in exercise‐induced spatial memory enhancement in mice

It is well known that physical exercise has positive effects on cognitive functions and hippocampal plasticity. However, the underlying mechanisms have remained to be further investigated. Here we investigated the hypothesis that the memory‐enhancement promoted by physical exercise relies on facilitation of the endocannabinoid system. We observed that the spatial memory tested in the object location paradigm did not persist in sedentary mice, but could be improved by 1 week of treadmill running. In addition, exercise up‐regulated CB1 receptor and BDNF expression in the hippocampus. To verify if these changes required CB1 activation, we treated the mice with the selective antagonist, AM251, before each period of physical activity. In line with our hypothesis, this drug prevented the exercise‐induced memory enhancement and BDNF expression. Furthermore, AM251 reduced CB1 expression. To test if facilitating the endocannabinoid system signaling would mimic the alterations observed after exercise, we treated sedentary animals during 1 week with the anandamide‐hydrolysis inhibitor, URB597. Mice treated with this drug recognized the object in a new location and have increased levels of CB1 and BDNF expression in the hippocampus, showing that potentiating the endocanabinoid system equally benefits memory. In conclusion, the favorable effects of exercise upon spatial memory and BDNF expression depend on facilitation of CB1 receptor signaling, which can be mimic by inhibition of anandamide hydrolysis in sedentary animals. Our results suggest that, at least in part, the promnesic effect of the exercise is dependent of CB1 receptor activation and is mediated by BDNF. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Socio-spatial organization and kin structure in ocelots from integration of camera trapping and noninvasive genetics

Kin selection theory predicts that under certain conditions animals will tolerate related individuals in their home ranges. We examined the relationship between spatiotemporal overlap and genetic relatedness in ocelots (Leopardus pardalis) to determine if kin selection plays a role in structuring ocelot populations. We used 3 years of camera trapping to examine the spatial organization of an ocelot population on Barro Colorado Island in Panama. We also placed camera traps on ocelot latrines to match photographs of individual ocelots with microsatellite genotypes from feces. Strengths of spatiotemporal overlap between individual ocelots were calculated using a half-weight association index based on how often individuals were photographed at the same camera within 30 days of one another. We calculated relatedness between individuals based on 11 variable microsatellite loci. Male ocelots overlapped with ≤ 11 females, and females overlapped with ≤ 7 males. We detected no clear evidence of strict intersexual territoriality in either sex. Mean overlap among males was more than 5 times greater than overlap among females; however, spatiotemporal overlap was strong between some female pairs. Overall, overlapping individuals were more related to one another than was the sample population as a whole, consistent with the hypothesis that kin selection influences ocelot spatial organization. This finding was driven by relatedness among overlapping females, and by relatedness among overlapping individuals of opposite sex, but not by overlapping males.
Perspectives on How to Drug an Ion Channel

Andersen 2008. J. Gen. Physiol. doi:10.1085/jgp.200810012 [OpenUrl][1][FREE Full Text][2] [1]: {openurl}? query=rft_id%253Dinfo%253Adoi%252F10.1085%252Fjgp.200810012%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Apmid%252F18411334%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%
Nutritional status of lactating women in Bogor district, Indonesia: cross-sectional dietary intake in three economic quintiles and comparison with pre-pregnant women

Abstract The way in which women accommodate for their increased nutritional needs during the lactation period is poorly investigated. In a cross-sectional study involving 220 lactating women (LW), equally distributed in economic quintiles (Q2, Q3, Q4), we investigated whether habitual dietary intake of LW differed from that of 200 pre-pregnant women (PPW) studied using the same methodology. Differences in dietary intake and nutrition sufficiency according to economic status were also investigated. Dietary intake data were collected using 2×24-h dietary recalls and FFQ. Energy, protein, Fe, Ca, Zn and vitamins A and C intakes were calculated utilising local food composition tables and were compared against Indonesian recommendations for adequacy. Energy and protein intakes <70 % of the recommendation and Fe, Ca, Zn and vitamins A and C intakes <77 % of the recommendation were considered insufficient. Except for Zn, dietary intakes of all studied nutrients were higher in LW compared with PPW. However, for all studied nutrients, dietary intake was insufficient in >25 % of LW. For Q2-LW, this proportion was >50 %, except for protein. LW across all studied economic quintiles approximately doubled their vegetable intake, and 71 % of LW indicated a belief that this enhances lactation performance. Biochemical status parameters were analysed in a subset of forty-five women. Anaemia as well as Fe, Zn and Se deficiencies were prevalent among LW, supporting the nutrient intake deficiency data. Despite increasing intakes in LW compared with PPW, habitual diets in the study area do not provide for daily nutrient requirements in substantial proportions for both LW and PPW across all investigated economic groups.
Trends in Antifungal Susceptibility among SwedishCandida Species Bloodstream Isolates from 1994 to 1998: Comparison of the E-test and the Sensititre YeastOne Colorimetric Antifungal Panel with the NCCLS M27-A Reference Method

ABSTRACT A comparative evaluation of the NCCLS macrodilution method, the E-test, and the Sensititre YeastOne Colorimetric Antifungal Panel for the susceptibility testing of fluconazole, itraconazole, amphotericin B, and flucytosine was conducted with 233 blood isolates ofCandida species collected between 1994 and 1998 in Sweden. Antifungal susceptibility profiles of Candida albicans and non-C.albicans Candida species remained essentially unchanged within the 5-year study period. The overall agreement rates for the E-test and the NCCLS MICs and for the YeastOne and the NCCLS MICs were ≥86 and ≥87%, respectively, within ±1 dilution for fluconazole, amphotericin B, and flucytosine, and ≥66 and ≥57%, respectively, for itraconazole. The E-test and the YeastOne panels are equivalent, and both are convenient methods for routine use.
Modeling and analysis of machining parameters for surface roughness in powder mixed EDM using RSM approach

Electrical discharge machining (EDM) is one of the most successful and widely accepted non-conventional machining processes for production of complex shapes with high accuracy irrespective to its hardness by removing material through electrically discharges in the presence of dielectric fluid. The paper presents the state of the art technology of high-performance machining of advanced materials i.e. Powder mixed EDM. In this article, parametric optimization of Surface Roughness (SR) study on the powder mixed electrical discharge machining (PMEDM) of H11 steel has been carried out. Response surface methodology (RSM) has been used for developing, improving and optimizing the experiments. Central composite experimental design was used to estimate the model coefficients of the process parameters. Pulse time on, discharge current and concentration of Aluminum powder added into dielectric fluid of EDM were chosen as process parameters to study the PMEDM performance. Experiments have been performed on newly designed experimental setup and the analysis of variance revealed that the factors peak current and concentration are most influential parameters affecting SR. Keywords: Powder EDM, H11 steel, Modeling, Surface roughness, Response Surface Methodology (RSM).
Characterization of Polymeric Microneedle Arrays for Transdermal Drug Delivery

Microfabrication of dissolvable, swellable, and biodegradable polymeric microneedle arrays (MNs) were extensively investigated based in a nano sensitive fabrication style known as micromilling that is then combined with conventional micromolding technique. The aim of this study was to describe the polymer selection, and optimize formulation compounding parameters for various polymeric MNs. Inverse replication of micromilled master MNs reproduced with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), where solid out of plane polymeric MNs were subsequently assembled, and physicochemically characterized. Dissolvable, swellable, and biodegradable MNs were constructed to depth of less than 1 mm with an aspect ratio of 3.6, and 1/2 mm of both inter needle tip and base spacing. Micromolding step also enabled to replicate the MNs very precisely and accurate. Polymeric microneedles (MN) precision was ranging from ±0.18 to ±1.82% for microneedle height, ±0.45 to ±1.42% for base diameter, and ±0.22 to ±0.95% for interbase spacing. Although dissolvable sodium alginate MN showed less physical robustness than biodegradable polylactic-co-glycolic acid MN, their thermogravimetric analysis is of promise for constructing these polymeric types of matrix devices.