Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Salt Reduction Initiatives around the World – A Systematic Review of Progress towards the Global Target

Objective To quantify progress with the initiation of salt reduction strategies around the world in the context of the global target to reduce population salt intake by 30% by 2025. Methods A systematic review of the published and grey literature was supplemented by questionnaires sent to country program leaders. Core characteristics of strategies were extracted and categorised according to a pre-defined framework. Results A total of 75 countries now have a national salt reduction strategy, more than double the number reported in a similar review done in 2010. The majority of programs are multifaceted and include industry engagement to reformulate products (n = 61), establishment of sodium content targets for foods (39), consumer education (71), front-of-pack labelling schemes (31), taxation on high-salt foods (3) and interventions in public institutions (54). Legislative action related to salt reduction such as mandatory targets, front of pack labelling, food procurement policies and taxation have been implemented in 33 countries. 12 countries have reported reductions in population salt intake, 19 reduced salt content in foods and 6 improvements in consumer knowledge, attitudes or behaviours relating to salt. Conclusion The large and increasing number of countries with salt reduction strategies in place is encouraging although activity remains limited in low- and middle-income regions. The absence of a consistent approach to implementation highlights uncertainty about the elements most important to success. Rigorous evaluation of ongoing programs and initiation of salt reduction programs, particularly in low- and middle- income countries, will be vital to achieving the targeted 30% reduction in salt intake.
The relationships between alcohol, wine and cardiovascular diseases –A review

The relationship between alcohol consumption and the risk of cardiovascular disease has now been studied for over fifty years, and confirmed in multiples case-controlled and cohort studies, and subsequent meta-analyses of these studies. Sound experimental and clinical studies of plausible biological mechanisms support that there is a causal relationship between alcoholic beverages and cardiovascular disease. While beer, wine and spirits all contain alcohol, they are not necessarily equal in their effects on cardiovascular health, such as the incidence and mortality of coronary heart disease, stroke and all-cause mortality. Hence this review evaluates the available evidence, and details the biological mechanisms and attributes a percentage reduction in harm where possible.
Expression of Different Types of Inward Rectifier Currents Confers Specificity of Light and Dark Responses in Type A and B Photoreceptors of Hermissenda

Each eye of the mollusc Hermissenda consists of five photoreceptors, two type A and three type B cells. Type A cells are quiescent, whereas B cells are spontaneously active in the dark. Differences in the intrinsic membrane properties of type A and B photoreceptors were studied using voltage- and current-clamp techniques. The current density of a Ni2+-sensitive, low-voltage activated Ca2+ current was similar in the two cell types. However, type B cells express an inward rectifier current (Ih ) that has different permeation and pharmacological properties from the inward rectifier current in type A cells. The current in the B cells was time-dependent and was blocked by Cs+. Na+ and K+ were the charge carriers forIh . The inward rectifier current in A cells (IK1) was time-independent, was selectively permeable to K+, and was blocked by Ba2+. Ni2+ reduced the spontaneous spike activities of type A and B cells, whereas Cs+ produced membrane hyperpolarization and reduced the spike activities of dark-adapted B cells. The application of both Cs+ and Ni2+ completely blocked dark-adapted spontaneous activities of B cells. Moreover, Ba2+ increased the excitability of type A cells but not B cells. Hence, differential expression of the two distinct inward rectifiers found in type A and B cells contributes to differences in their intrinsic membrane properties. Because changes in the excitability of the two cell types are correlates of conditioning inHermissenda, modulation of these underlying currents may play a major role during conditioning-induced plasticity.
Ultrasonic characterisation of rolled aluminium and steel sheet correlated with electron backscatter diffraction measurements

This thesis is based on the characterization of material properties of interest in rolled aluminium and steel sheet, both popular materials used across a wide-range of applications. The forming processes involved in producing rolled sheet metal depend on plastic deformation, inducing elastic anisotropy as a consequence. These changes result in a variation from the simple isotropic and cubic symmetry systems possessed by steel and aluminium prior to cold-working. The most significant changes include the introduction of crystallographic texture and the morphology of the crystallographic grains in size and shape to accommodate the plastic deformation. It is desirable in industries that use rolled product for manufacturing components to quantify such changes. The literature has postulated links between plastic and elastic properties, and hence any quantification of the elasticity, crystallographic texture and grain morphology can aid in the prediction of future formability behaviour. This thesis presents non-destructive, rapid ultrasonic measurements to characterize some of the changes that are evident in rolled aluminium and steel sheet. These ultrasonic results have then been correlated to crystallographic orientation measurements generated from using a microscopic technique called electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). The level of agreement between the two contrasting methods has been analysed and is presented here. The non-destructive ultrasonic measurements include quantifying crystallographic texture utilising theory linking the S0 Lamb wave velocity and the direction of propagation in a rolled sheet with respect to the rolling direction. This leads to the determination of texture coefficients known as orientation distribution coefficients (ODC). Through-thickness linearly polarized SH waves have then been used to analyse grain morphology using attenuation data, and elasticity measurements from velocity data. EBSD datasets have been manipulated to produce predictions of the effective elastic stiffness constants, which in turn can be used to generate comparable S0 Lamb wave velocity predictions to be directly compared to the ultrasonic measurements. This process has required a novel method to generate such ultrasonic velocity predictions as a function of angle, together with predictions for the nine effective elastic stiffness constants inherent to rolled orthorhombic sheet. The facility to measure grain size and shape accurately from EBSD data has been utilized. The thesis starts with a general introduction in non-destructive testing and microscopy, with focussed discussion on ultrasound, electromagnetic acoustic transducers (EMATs), EBSD and metallurgy in the subsequent chapters. Chapter 6 introduces the development of correlation methods between the ultrasound and EBSD results, with chapters 7 and 8 displaying the empirical ultrasound and EBSD data respectively. Chapter 9 compares the data from the two methods, with the final conclusions given in chapter 10.
Optical MEMS for Telecommunications: Some Reliability Issues

Constant demand for mobility, interconnectivity and bandwidth is causing rapid expansion of the telecommunication infrastructure across the world. World-wide installation of optical fibre-based telecommunication systems has given rise to a promising optically-related sub segment of MEMS technology called micro-opto-electro-mechanical systems (MOEMS), commonly known as optical MEMS. MEMS telecommunications applications can be roughly divided into two key classes: optoelectronic packaging and functional optical devices. When functional optical devices are in question, optical MEMS devices that integrate optical, mechanical, and electrical components on a single wafer are allowing the implementation of various key optical-network elements in a compact, low-cost form. They usually involve small moving optical parts in order to obtain more advanced functionality. In optoelectronic packaging, MEMS are providing low-cost accurate optical alignment. At the moment, fabri‐ cation of complex optical MEMS devices and micro-electro-mechanical alignment devices is based on micromachining techniques combined with IC-based processing methods. Such manufacturing techniques have enabled low cost, mass production of optical MEMS compo‐ nents and devices. However, successful commercialization of optical MEMS technology that is being driven by the progress in optical communications strongly depends on device reliability. Optical MEMS device reliability is significantly more complex than silicon IC reliability, partly because optical MEMS failures can be either electrical or mechanical, and partly because there is a vast diversity of device designs, materials and functions. It is of the greatest importance that design and realization of optical MEMS device must include all levels of reliability issues from the onset of the project. For that reason, this chapter focuses on the identification and understanding of main mechanisms that cause failure of optical MEMS devices that are being used in telecommunications. First, the commonly used MEMS process‐
Vaccination has minimal impact on the intrahost diversity of H3N2 influenza viruses

While influenza virus diversity and antigenic drift have been well characterized on a global scale, the factors that influence the virus’ rapid evolution within and between human hosts are less clear. Given the modest effectiveness of seasonal vaccination, vaccine-induced antibody responses could serve as a potent selective pressure for novel influenza variants at the individual or community level. We used next generation sequencing of patient-derived viruses from a randomized, placebo-controlled trial of vaccine efficacy to characterize the diversity of influenza A virus and to define the impact of vaccine-induced immunity on within-host populations. Importantly, this study design allowed us to isolate the impact of vaccination while still studying natural infection. We used pre-season hemagglutination inhibition and neuraminidase inhibition titers to quantify vaccine-induced immunity directly and to assess its impact on intrahost populations. We identified 166 cases of H3N2 influenza over 3 seasons and 5119 person-years. We obtained whole genome sequence data for 119 samples and used a stringent and empirically validated analysis pipeline to identify intrahost single nucleotide variants at ≥1% frequency. Phylogenetic analysis of consensus hemagglutinin and neuraminidase sequences showed no stratification by pre-season HAI and NAI titer, respectively. In our study population, we found that the vast majority of intrahost single nucleotide variants were rare and that very few were found in more than one individual. Most samples had fewer than 15 single nucleotide variants across the entire genome, and the level of diversity did not significantly vary with day of sampling, vaccination status, or pre-season antibody titer. Contrary to what has been suggested in experimental systems, our data indicate that seasonal influenza vaccination has little impact on intrahost diversity in natural infection and that vaccine-induced immunity may be only a minor contributor to antigenic drift at local scales.
Polytope codes against adversaries in networks

Network coding is studied when an unknown subset of nodes in the network is controlled by an adversary. To solve this problem, a new class of codes called Polytope Codes is introduced. Polytope Codes are linear codes operating over bounded polytopes in real vector fields. The polytope structure creates additional complexity, but it induces properties on marginal distributions of code vectors so that validities of codewords can be checked by internal nodes of the network. It is shown that a cut-set bound for a class planar networks can be achieved using Polytope Codes. It is also shown that this cut-set bound is not always tight, and a tighter bound is given for an example network.
MirZ: an integrated microRNA expression atlas and target prediction resource

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short RNAs that act as guides for the degradation and translational repression of protein-coding mRNAs. A large body of work showed that miRNAs are involved in the regulation of a broad range of biological functions, from development to cardiac and immune system function, to metabolism, to cancer. For most of the over 500 miRNAs that are encoded in the human genome the functions still remain to be uncovered. Identifying miRNAs whose expression changes between cell types or between normal and pathological conditions is an important step towards characterizing their function as is the prediction of mRNAs that could be targeted by these miRNAs. To provide the community the possibility of exploring interactively miRNA expression patterns and the candidate targets of miRNAs in an integrated environment, we developed the MirZ web server, which is accessible at www.mirz. unibas.ch. The server provides experimental and computational biologists with statistical analysis and data mining tools operating on up-to-date databases of sequencing-based miRNA expression profiles and of predicted miRNA target sites in species ranging from Caenorhabditis elegans to Homo sapiens.
Streptococcal M6 protein expressed in Escherichia coli. Localization, purification, and comparison with streptococcal-derived M protein

Type 6 streptococcal M protein produced by E. coli bearing plasmid pJRS42.13 (ColiM6) accumulates in the periplasmic space of this new host. No immunoreactive M protein was found either on the surface of the organism or in the culture medium. The ColiM6 protein was purified from the periplasm and the final preparation consisted of three protein bands of apparent molecular weight 55,000, 57,000, and 59,000. These three bands were identical in migration in SDS PAGE to that of the M protein present in freshly prepared crude periplasm. The amino acid composition of the ColiM6 protein was nearly identical to that of M protein isolated from streptococci with phage lysin (LysM6). Furthermore, except for the amino terminal residue of the LysM6 molecule, the amino terminal sequence of the ColiM6 molecule was identical to those of both LysM6 and M protein released from the streptococcus by limited peptic digestion (PepM6). These results reveal that the molecule produced in the E. coli and transported into the periplasm may be the complete M protein as it exists on the streptococcus. The results also indicate that the systems that process M protein for transport through the cytoplasmic membrane are similar in the streptococcus and E. coli. The purified ColiM6 protein was able to remove opsonic antibodies from both human and rabbit serum, as well as to stimulate the production of opsonic antibodies in rabbits, indicating that the immunodeterminants on this molecule are the same as those found on streptococcal-derived M molecules.
FPGA implementation of spiking neural networks - an initial step towards building tangible collaborative autonomous agents

This work contains the results of an initial study into the FPGA implementation of a spiking neural network. This work was undertaken as a task in a project that aims to design and develop a new kind of tangible collaborative autonomous agent. The project intends to exploit/investigate methods for engineering emergent collective behaviour in large societies of actual miniature agents that can learn and evolve. Such multi-agent systems could be used to detect and collectively repair faults in a variety of applications where it is difficult for humans to gain access, such as fluidic environments found in critical components of material/industrial systems. The initial achievement of implementation of a spiking neural network on a FPGA hardware platform and results of a robotic wall following task are discussed by comparison with software driven robots and simulations.
A geography-aware service overlay network for managing moving objects

As the proliferation of mobile devices and positioning systems continues unabated, the need to provide more robust location-based services becomes more pressing. In this context, we examine the problem of efficiently handling queries over moving objects and propose a location-aware overlay network that helps monitoring such objects while traversing contained geographic extends. We use a triangulation structure to divide a geographic area using fixed service nodes as anchors based on their geographic position. Triangulation inherently contains each moving object within an area designated by three service nodes. We introduce a method for monitoring moving objects and we present an algorithm for processing nearest-neighbor queries while restricting the amount of resources and, subsequently, the volume of transmitted messages. Through simulation, we evaluate the suggested approach and show that our nearest-neighbor query processing method provides always accurate results while it uses invariantly a constant number of service nodes. We finally show that the average physical distance between service and roaming nodes remains limited; this yields a significant number of physical connections that avoid conventional Internet routing altogether.
Pedestrian activity detection in a multi-floor environment by a smart phone

Indoor localization has attracted considerable attention recently. One approach is to use inertial sensors mounted on pedestrians to characterize the users' motions. However, few studies have focused on a multi floor environment where users' activities may include walking, running, and going up/down stairs. This paper proposes a lightweight activity detection system using inertial sensors on a smart phone to detect the behaviors of a pedestrian in the multi-floor indoor environment. The system first identifies strides using the accelerations values. It then uses the displacement, duration, and acceleration to classify their types. Our experimental results show that the stride detection accuracy is about 99%. In addition, the types of strides, namely walking, running, going upstairs, and going downstairs, can be detected with the accuracy of 94%, 91%, 95%, and 92%, respectively.
Persian Word Sense Disambiguation Corpus Extraction Based on Web Crawler Method

Finding an appropriate dataset for natural language processing applications is one of the main challenges for researches of this field. This issue is more problematic in Non-Latin languages especially Persian language. Access to an appropriate dataset that can be used in development of practical programs in language processing field, helps us to validate the obtained results and provide the feasibility for comparison and precise analysis of the research studies in this field. This paper presents the procedure for extracting a standard dataset in Persian language. This dataset can only be used for research studies in the field of word-sense disambiguation in Persian language. The required documents that include the ambiguous words of interest are collected by a crawling robot; then these words are processed and registered in Persian dataset for ambiguous words. In this research, three prevalent Persian ambiguous word are used for extracting appropriate phrases that included these words. Finally, a framework for creating the proper configuration for application in word-sense disambiguation problems is presented. By using of this method, we have a solution for absence of suitable word sense disambiguation corpus in Persian language.
A CASE STUDY FOR THE PRACTICAL USE OF 3 D DIGITAL ARCHIVE OF CULTURAL PROPERTIES

A scanning device generally referred to as a "laser scanner", used to obtain 3D data of objects by irradiating laser beams, is used in the field of cultural properties, and is starting to achieve significant results. The technique to record complex 3D data with high accuracy and speed, without touching or destructing an object, makes it an essential tool in the field of cultural properties, as well as arousing interest in the displaying of such data on a computer, and in the various possible usage of the obtained 3D images. The authors have implemented this laser scanning technique to obtain data for such various fields as architecture, fine arts, monuments, and historic sites, with good results. This paper is written to consider application of this technique for efficient conservation of cultural properties, referring to the 3D laser scanning activities performed by authors up to the present. The 3D digital archive making with laser scanner requires two steps, which are actual measurement works and digital processing of the data acquired. The acquired point clouds in three dimensions can be displayed on a computer by using the exclusive software and we have to process (align, merge and so on) these data considering subsequent works also. Up to the present, the authors have performed many practical applications using 3D digital archives of cultural properties measured by laser scanner. These are valuable records for various purposes: handing over to future generations, creating 2D information, investigating inclinations, preparing basic data for examination of a restoration plan, visualizing CG animations and others. In this paper, the authors wish to introduce the method of measurement using laser scanner, and the subsequent processing of the obtained data, in order to clarify the validity and possibility of application for creating efficient and valuable digital archives.
CYP1A1 Genetic Polymorphisms in Ecuador, South America

A total of 108 individuals from the Ecuadorian population from rural and urban places were analyzed for two CYP1A1 gene polymorphisms. The frequency of the val allele at codon 462 was 0.50, while the frequency of the Msp I restriction site, m2 allele at the T6235C position was 0.70. These polymorphisms in Ecuador have higher frequencies if we compare with others around the world, with the exception of some South American population in Brazil and Chile.
The effect of atmospheric pressure helium plasma treatment on the surface and mechanical properties of ultrahigh-modulus polyethylene fibers

Ultrahigh-modulus polyethylene fibers were treated with atmospheric pressure He plasma on a capacitively coupled device at a frequency of 7.5 kHz and a He partial vapor pressure of 3.43 × 103 Pa. The fibers were treated for 0, 1, and 2 min. Microscopic analysis showed that the surfaces of the fibers treated with He plasma were etched and that the 2-min He plasma-treated group had rougher surfaces than the 1-min He plasma-treated group. XPS analysis showed a 200% increase in the oxygen content and a 200% increase in the concentration of C—O bonds (from 11.4% to 31%) and the appearance of C=O bonds (from 0% to 7.6%) on the surface of plasma-treated fibers for the 2-min He plasma-treated group. In the microbond test, the 2-min He plasma-treated group had a 100% increase of interfacial shear strength over that of the control group, while the 1-min He plasma-treated group did not show a significant difference from the control group. The 2-min He plasma-treated group also showed a 14% higher single-fiber tensile strength than the control group.