Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The prenatal gut microbiome: are we colonized with bacteria in utero?

The colonization of the gut with microbes in early life is critical to the developing newborn immune system, metabolic function and potentially future health. Maternal microbes are transmitted to offspring during childbirth, representing a key step in the colonization of the infant gut. Studies of infant meconium suggest that bacteria are present in the foetal gut prior to birth, meaning that colonization could occur prenatally. Animal studies have shown that prenatal transmission of microbes to the foetus is possible, and physiological changes observed in pregnant mothers indicate that in utero transfer is likely in humans as well. However, direct evidence of in utero transfer of bacteria in humans is lacking. Understanding the timing and mechanisms involved in the first colonization of the human gut is critical to a comprehensive understanding of the early life gut microbiome. This review will discuss the evidence supporting in utero transmission of microbes from mother to infants. We also review sources of transferred bacteria, physiological mechanisms of transfer and modifiers of maternal microbiomes and their potential role in early life infant health. Well‐designed longitudinal birth studies that account for established modifiers of the gut microbiome are challenging, but will be necessary to confirm in utero transfer and further our knowledge of the prenatal microbiome.
Evaluation of Formal posterior distributions via Markov chain arguments

We consider evaluation of proper posterior distributions obtained from improper prior distributions. Our context is estimating a bounded function Φ of a parameter when the loss is quadratic. If the posterior mean of 0 is admissible for all bounded Φ, the posterior is strongly admissible. We give sufficient conditions for strong admissibility. These conditions involve the recurrence of a Markov chain associated with the estimation problem. We develop general sufficient conditions for recurrence of general state space Markov chains that are also of independent interest. Our main example concerns the p-dimensional multivariate normal distribution with mean vector 0 when the prior distribution has the form g(∥6∥ 2 ) dθ on the parameter space R p . Conditions on g for strong admissibility of the posterior are provided.
The GNSS-R Eddy Experiment II: L-band and Optical Speculometry for Directional Sea-Roughness Retrieval from Low Altitude Aircraft

We report on the retrieval of directional sea-roughness (the full directional mean square slope, including MSS, direction and isotropy) through inversion of Global Navigation Satellite System Reflections (GNSS-R) and SOlar REflectance Speculometry (SORES)data collected during an experimental flight at 1000 m. The emphasis is on the utilization of the entire Delay-Doppler Map (for GNSS-R) or Tilt Azimuth Map (for SORES) in order to infer these directional parameters. Obtained estimations are analyzed and compared to Jason-1 measurements and the ECMWF numerical weather model.
The half-filled Landau level: The case for Dirac composite fermions

All is well with particle-hole symmetry In an external magnetic field, the energy of an electron in a two-dimensional system takes discrete values, called Landau levels. At high enough fields, all electrons in a solid can fit in the lowest Landau level. If exactly half of that level is filled with electrons, standard theory predicts that a special fermion liquid phase will form that makes a distinction between the filled and empty states (particles and holes). A recent conjecture, in contrast, predicted a liquid consisting of massless Dirac particles that respects the symmetry between particles and holes. Geraedts et al. used sophisticated numerical methods to provide strong evidence for this conjecture. Science, this issue p. 197 Density matrix renormalization group calculations show that particle-hole symmetry is preserved in a half-filled Landau level. In a two-dimensional electron gas under a strong magnetic field, correlations generate emergent excitations distinct from electrons. It has been predicted that “composite fermions”—bound states of an electron with two magnetic flux quanta—can experience zero net magnetic field and form a Fermi sea. Using infinite-cylinder density matrix renormalization group numerical simulations, we verify the existence of this exotic Fermi sea, but find that the phase exhibits particle-hole symmetry. This is self-consistent only if composite fermions are massless Dirac particles, similar to the surface of a topological insulator. Exploiting this analogy, we observe the suppression of 2kF backscattering, a characteristic of Dirac particles. Thus, the phenomenology of Dirac fermions is also relevant to two-dimensional electron gases in the quantum Hall regime.
Modeling and Validation of Channel Idleness and Spectrum Availability for Cognitive Networks

The potential of successful cognitive radio networks operating in TV White Spaces (and other future bands re-allocated for unlicensed operation) has led to significant upsurge of interest in their design optimization - particularly those that are cross-layer in nature, involving both MAC protocols as well as physical layer aspects such as channel sensing. Typically, these seek to optimize a network-level metric (notably, aggregate throughput) of secondary (cognitive) network subject to interference constraints on the primary. In turn, this requires suitable sensing by cognitive users to detect availability of primary channels (currently unused by the protected incumbents) for opportunistic usage. To date, most studies have used largely hypothetical assumptions regarding channel idleness and resulting spectrum availability due to primary user dynamics. For example, idleness of channels over any spectrum are typically assumed to be an independent and identically distributed Bernoulli sequence. In contrast, nearly all real-time measurements suggest that channel idleness is frequency dependent, i.e., the probability that a channel is idle depends on the channel location. Cognitive radio research thus increasingly needs more realistic and validated models for channel idleness as the foundation of credible cross-layer analysis; this is the primary contribution of our work. We use two sets of real-time measurements conducted in disparate geographic locations over four distinct time intervals to show that channel idleness is appropriately modeled as independent but non-identical (i.n.i.d.) Bernoulli variables characterized by p_i, the probability of idleness for the i-th channel. We validate that Beta distribution can be used for modeling the variations in channel idleness probabilities; the Beta distribution parameters are estimated from the data to produce the best model fit. Based on the validated i.n. i.d. model, we build a predictive model by computing the availability probability of k channels, i.e, P{N_{idle} = k}, where N_{idle} denotes the number of idle channels over the spectrum of N channels. However, the combinatorial complexity inherent in the computation of P{N_{idle} = k} suggests the need for efficient approximations. We accomplish this by classifying idleness of channels based on the magnitude of p_i, and propose a novel Poisson-normal approximation for computing P{N_{idle} = k}. For validation, the distribution obtained from our technique is compared with the exact distribution and normal approximation using the approximation error criterion.
Enhancement of chromatic contrast increases predation risk for striped butterflies

Many prey species have evolved defensive colour patterns to avoid attacks. One type of camouflage, disruptive coloration, relies on contrasting patterns that hinder predators' ability to recognize an object. While high contrasts are used to facilitate detection in many visual communication systems, they are thought to provide misleading information about prey appearance in disruptive patterns. A fundamental tenet in disruptive coloration theory is the principle of ‘maximum disruptive contrast’, i.e. disruptive patterns are more effective when higher contrasts are involved. We tested this principle in highly contrasting stripes that have often been described as disruptive patterns. Varying the strength of chromatic contrast between stripes and adjacent pattern elements in artificial butterflies, we found a strong negative correlation between survival probability and chromatic contrast strength. We conclude that too high a contrast leads to increased conspicuousness rather than to effective camouflage. However, artificial butterflies that sported contrasts similar to those of the model species Limenitis camilla survived equally well as background-matching butterflies without these stripes. Contrasting stripes do thus not necessarily increase predation rates. This result may provide new insights into the design and characteristics of a range of colour patterns such as sexual, mimetic and aposematic signals.
Effect of cross-link density on the morphology, thermal and mechanical properties of flexible molded polyurea/urethane foams and films

The effect of cross-link density on the morphology and properties of two flexible molded foam samples was studied. Film samples based on the same foam formulations were also fabricated to study the feasibility of using them for the characterization of complex foam products. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) data show that films and foam samples have entirely different hard domain ordering. The results of the study of morphology indicate that an increase in cross-link density appears to increases phase mixing in film and foam samples. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) studies indicate that the soft segment glass transition temperature (Tg) is independent of cross-link density (at levels studied). But for both film and foam samples, morphology clearly dicates the manner in which moisture interacts with the hard domains. Results of the stress-strain behavior indicate that an increase in cross-link density increases the modulus and decreases the elongation at break. Mooney-Rivilin modeling of the stress-elongation behavior of film shows that the higher cross-link density sample gives more nonaffine behavior, possibly due to a heterogeneous distribution of hard domains. Similar modeling of the foams was not possible because of their linear stress response to surprisingly high elongation. The results of the power law modeling of stress relaxation response indicates that with an increase in cross-link density (covalent and virtual), the power law exponent decreases as expected. At levels of cross-linking and hard segment content studied, stroke-controlled equilibrium hysteresis was independent of cross-link density. Normalized dynamic mechanical spectra (DMS) show that the film samples have higher rubbery plateau modulus. The magnitude of the area under the tan δ curve at Tg indicates greater flexibility of polymer segments in foam sample. Structure-property relationships of cellular materials can be established by characterizing film samples because a parallel trend exists between each group. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Transfusion medicine in trauma patients: an update

In 2008, we reviewed the practical interface between transfusion medicine and the surgery and critical care of severely injured patients. Reviewed topics ranged from epidemiology of trauma to patterns of resuscitation to the problems of transfusion reactions. In the interim, trauma specialists have adopted damage control resuscitation and become much more knowledgeable and thoughtful about the use of blood products. This new understanding and the resulting changes in clinical practice have raised new concerns. In this update, we focus on which patients need damage control resuscitation, current views on the optimal form of damage control resuscitation with blood products, the roles of newer blood products, and appropriate transfusion triggers in the postinjury setting. We will also review the role of new technology in patient assessment, therapy and monitoring.
Research of polymer fibers for the terahertz frequency range

Terahertz radiation, with wavelengths from 30 to 3000 microns, has big potential for applications such as biomedical sensing, noninvasive imaging and spectroscopy. Current researches on photonic crystal fibers as THz waveguide has been widely presented, but the sorts of waveguide usually need special fabrication technique and always be difficult to get perfect structure. We report on a new type of polymer photonic crystal fibers for low-loss guidance of THz radiation with general fabrication technique. The use of the cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) Topas, results in THz fibers with relatively low loss and low material dispersion in the THz range. We manufactured a class of THz waveguides with different structures. Then we use a THz time-domain spectroscopy system (THz- TDS) to characterize the Material loss and index of refractive of the waveguides.
The Untold Story Behind the Recommendation in Micro-blogging Network

Celebrity recommendation is widely-adopted by many micro-blogging services as an important way to enhance users' experience and the visibility of contents submitted. It is critically important for celebrity recommendation to understand which factors and how these factors affect the probability that the recommended celebrities will be accepted. In this paper, taking the Tecent Weibo as a case, we try to empirically tackle the untold story behind the celebrity recommendation in micro-blogging network. We studied the three potential factors, namely the popularity of the recommended celebrities, the structural similarity and the topical similarity between the recommend celebrity and the target user. As shown by experimental results, the popularity of the celebrity and the structural similarity well reflect whether the recommended celebrity is accepted by the target user, whereas the topical similarity is not a good indicator as commonly expected.
A simple algorithmically reasoned characterization of wait-free computation (extended abstract)

This paper introduces two new novel tools for the study of distributed computing and shows their utility by using them to exhibit a simple derivation of the Herlihy and Shavit characterization of wait-free shared-memory computation. The first tool is the notion of the iterated version of a given model. We show that the topological structure that corresponds to an iterated model has a nice recursive structure, and that the iterated version of the atomic snapshot memory solves any task solvable by the non-iterated model. The second tool is an iterated explicit simple convergence algorithm. In the Ph.D. Thesis oft he first author these tool were used to characterize models more complex than read-write shared-memory.
JAGUAR PROCEDURES FOR DETONATION BEHAVIOR OF SILICON CONTAINING EXPLOSIVES

Improved relationships were developed in this study for the thermodynamic properties of solid and liquid silicon and silicon dioxide for use with JAGUAR thermo‐chemical equation of state routines. Analyses of experimental melting temperature curves for silicon and silicon dioxide indicated complex phase behavior and that improved coefficients were required for solid and liquid thermodynamic properties. Advanced optimization routines were utilized in conjunction with the experimental melting point data to establish volumetric coefficients for these substances. The new property libraries resulted in agreement with available experimental values, including Hugoniot data at elevated pressures.
Single-element based ultra-wideband antenna array concepts for wireless high-precision 2-D local positioning

Abstract. We generally categorize the approaches for ultra-wideband antenna array design, and consequently propose simplified concepts for antenna arrays for a high-precision, ultra-wideband FMCW radar 2-D local positioning system to obtain robustness against multi path interference, perform angle of arrival analysis, as well as instantaneous heading estimation. We focus on low-cost and mechanical robust, industrial-application ready antennas. The antenna arrays are optimized for operation in the 5 GHz to 8 GHz frequency range and are designed towards supporting full omnidirectional 360° as well as partial half-plane direction of arrival estimation. Two different concepts for vehicle- as well as wall-mounted antenna array systems are proposed and discussed. We propose a wideband unidirectional bow-tie antenna array element having 97% impedance and 37% pattern bandwidth and a robust vehicle mounted omnidirectional antenna element having more than 85% impedance and pattern bandwidth.
Visible Light Photocatalytic Degradation PVC/B-F Co-Doped TiO2 Composite

The B-F codoped nano-TiO2 powders were prepared by the sol-gel method. The surface of powders was modified by stearic acid. The visible light photodegradable PVC/B-F codoped nano-TiO2 composite films were prepared by tape casting processing. Solid-phase visible light photocatalytic degradation of the films were investigated with a 1000W xenon lamp and a ZJB 420 filter glass was used to cut off light of wavelength <420 nm. The weight-loss measurement, SEM, DSC of films were detected. Results showed that the weight loss of PVC/B-F codoped nano-TiO2 composite film (2%TiO2 w/w) is 16.9% after 120h UV irradiation, which is notably higher than that of both the pure PVC film and the PVC/nano-TiO2 composite film. Glass transition (Tg) is appeared for samples after 72h irradiation, and the Tg of PVC/B-F codoped nano-TiO2 composite film is the lowest of all samples. The surface of PVC/B-F codoped nano-TiO2 composite film was destroyed obviously by SEM photo.
Self-management education for adults with type 2 diabetes: a meta-analysis of the effect on glycemic control.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy of self-management education on GHb in adults with type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We searched for English language trials in Medline (1980-1999), Cinahl (1982-1999), and the Educational Resources Information Center database (ERIC) (1980-1999), and we manually searched review articles, journals with highest topic relevance, and reference lists of included articles. Studies were included if they were randomized controlled trials that were published in the English language, tested the effect of self-management education on adults with type 2 diabetes, and reported extractable data on the effect of treatment on GHb. A total of 31 studies of 463 initially identified articles met selection criteria. We computed net change in GHb, stratified by follow-up interval, tested for trial heterogeneity, and calculated pooled effects sizes using random effects models. We examined the effect of baseline GHb, follow-up interval, and intervention characteristics on GHb. RESULTS On average, the intervention decreased GHb by 0.76% (95% CI 0.34-1.18) more than the control group at immediate follow-up; by 0.26% (0.21% increase - 0.73% decrease) at 1-3 months of follow-up; and by 0.26% (0.05-0.48) at > or = 4 months of follow-up. GHb decreased more with additional contact time between participant and educator; a decrease of 1% was noted for every additional 23.6 h (13.3-105.4) of contact. CONCLUSIONS Self-management education improves GHb levels at immediate follow-up, and increased contact time increases the effect. The benefit declines 1-3 months after the intervention ceases, however, suggesting that learned behaviors change over time. Further research is needed to develop interventions effective in maintaining long-term glycemic control.
Two-layer rateless codes over lattices for Gaussian broadcast channels

In this paper, we present a class of rateless coset codes, which consists of two layers. The first layer is protected by a systematic lattice-Kite code, which takes as input a sequence of coset leaders and delivers as output a sequence of coset leaders with redundancy. The second layer is for shaping, which can be implemented by using a (possibly coded) binary sequence to select lattice points from each coset. Based on the presented two-layer lattice-Kite code, we propose a rateless transmission scheme for two-user Gaussian broadcast channels (TU-GBC), where the common information and the private information are carried by the first layer and the second layer, respectively. The proposed scheme allows the user with good channel conditions to collect more private information. Simulation results are given to show the effectiveness of the proposed rateless transmission scheme.
A UAV system for autonomous target detection and gas sensing

Monitoring of environmental gases is a demanding task that can require long periods of observation and large numbers of sensors. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) presently represent a suitable alternative to monitor large, remote, and difficult to access areas. Due to the wide range and diversity of shape and size, UAVs now possess the capability of carrying specialized sensor modules that can accurately monitor gas-concentrations. This paper describes the design and flight testing of a UAV which carries an on-board camera and a carbon dioxide gas sensor and is capable of autonomous gas sensing while simultaneously visually detecting predefined targets placed at locations inside a room. The detection system autonomously navigates around the flight area using a waypoint navigation system and hovers for 10 seconds once the target has been visually identified taking Air Quality (AQ) samples as it does so. Laboratory, bench and field test results demonstrate the capability of the UAV to detect targets placed in a room and analyse the air quality of samples taken during flight above the target. The data collected during the flight is transmitted, in real time, back to a Ground Control Station (GCS) for visualisation and analysis, where 3D mapping of the target location and gas concentration is presented via a web interface. Test cases verify the capability of the subsystem's integration and the operation of the UAV system as a whole. The image processing algorithm used for the target detection, based on a cascade method, proved to be dependent on the frame transmission rates, which can make the software considerably slower. The developed system provides an effective monitoring system and can be used in a wide range of applications such as gas leaks, fires, and mining applications and if converted for use in an outdoor environment, applications such as agriculture biomass burning emissions and chemical and biological agent detection studies. The system could be used in conjunction with ground sensors and integrated into an extensive gas monitoring system.
CONCEPT BASED USER PROFILE ON SEARCH ENGINE

: In the present days the search engines return the same results for the same query, regardless of the user’s interest. So in order to avoid that we introduce new concept called personalization. The Personalized Search aims to customize search results according to each individual user for him to find the most relevant documents to him on the top by considering his idiosyncrasies. This could possibly satisfy them and help in finding relevant information easily and quickly. User profile is a component of any personalization applications. Most existing user profiling strategies are based on objects that users like, but not the objects that users dislike. In this paper, we focus on search engine personalization and develop concept-based user profiling methods that are based on both preferences. Users can be mined from the concept-based user profiles to perform mutual filtering. Browsers with same idea and can share their knowledge