Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Standardized Environmental Enrichment Supports Enhanced Brain Plasticity in Healthy Rats and Prevents Cognitive Impairment in Epileptic Rats

Environmental enrichment of laboratory animals influences brain plasticity, stimulates neurogenesis, increases neurotrophic factor expression, and protects against the effects of brain insult. However, these positive effects are not constantly observed, probably because standardized procedures of environmental enrichment are lacking. Therefore, we engineered an enriched cage (the Marlau™ cage), which offers: (1) minimally stressful social interactions; (2) increased voluntary exercise; (3) multiple entertaining activities; (4) cognitive stimulation (maze exploration), and (5) novelty (maze configuration changed three times a week). The maze, which separates food pellet and water bottle compartments, guarantees cognitive stimulation for all animals. Compared to rats raised in groups in conventional cages, rats housed in Marlau™ cages exhibited increased cortical thickness, hippocampal neurogenesis and hippocampal levels of transcripts encoding various genes involved in tissue plasticity and remodeling. In addition, rats housed in Marlau™ cages exhibited better performances in learning and memory, decreased anxiety-associated behaviors, and better recovery of basal plasma corticosterone level after acute restraint stress. Marlau™ cages also insure inter-experiment reproducibility in spatial learning and brain gene expression assays. Finally, housing rats in Marlau™ cages after severe status epilepticus at weaning prevents the cognitive impairment observed in rats subjected to the same insult and then housed in conventional cages. By providing a standardized enriched environment for rodents during housing, the Marlau™ cage should facilitate the uniformity of environmental enrichment across laboratories.
Planning groundwater development in coastal aquifers / Planification du développement de la ressource en eau souterraine des aquifères côtiers

Abstract Abstract This study examines an approach for planning groundwater development in coastal aquifers. The seawater intrusion is controlled through a series of barrier extraction wells. The multi-objective management problem is cast as a nonlinear, nonconvex combinatorial model and is solved using a coupled simulation–optimization approach. A density-dependent groundwater flow and transport model, SEAWAT is used for simulating the dynamics of seawater intrusion. The Simulated Annealing algorithm is used for solving the optimization problem. The idea of replacing the SEAWAT model with a trained artificial neural network (ANN) to manage the computational burden within practical time frames on a desktop computer is explored. The utility of the study is demonstrated through a trade-off curve between prioritizing groundwater development and controlling seawater intrusion at desired levels.
Cyclospora cayetanensis: a description of clinical aspects of an outbreak in Quebec, Canada

SUMMARY Cyclospora cayetanensis is an emerging infectious agent. The aim of this study was to describe an outbreak that occurred in 250 adults exposed to contaminated food, focusing on the duration and relapses of symptoms, complications and evidence of local transmission. This outbreak affected workers who ate in a restaurant in June 2005. Cyclospora sp. was observed in the stools of 20 cases and 122 probable cases were identified. The attack rate was estimated at 89%. Main symptoms were diarrhoea (96%), nausea (88%), fatigue (87%), abdominal cramps (85%), fever (52%) and headaches (45%). Contaminated fresh basil originating from a Mexican farm, used to prepare an uncooked appetizer, was identified as the source. In this non-endemic population of immunocompetent adults, Cyclospora infection presents with watery diarrhoea lasting from 4 to 18 days and fatigue lasting from 11 to 42 days. For a small proportion of affected persons, recovery can be delayed.
Simultaneous quantification of morphine and cocaine in hair samples from drug addicts by GC-EI/MS.

The development of analytical techniques that enable the use of hair as an alternative matrix for the analysis of drugs of abuse is useful for confirming the exposure in a larger time window (weeks to months, depending on the length of the hair shaft). In the present study a methodology aimed at the simultaneous quantification of cocaine and morphine in human hair was developed and validated. After decontamination, hair samples (20 mg) were incubated with a mixture of methanol/hydrochloric acid (2:1) at 65 °C overnight (~16 h) in order to extract the drugs of the matrix. Purification was performed by solid-phase extraction using mixed-mode extraction cartridges. After derivatization with N-methyl-N-(trimethylsilyl) trifluoroacetamide, blank, standards and samples were analyzed by gas chromatography/electron impact-mass spectrometry (GC-EI/MS). The method proved to be selective, as there were no interferences of endogenous compounds with the same retention time as cocaine, morphine and ethylmorphine (internal standard). The regression analysis for both analytes showed linearity in the range 0.25-10.00 ng/mg with correlation coefficients ranging from 0.9989 to 0.9991. The coefficients of variation oscillated between 0.83 and 14.60%. The limits of detection were 0.01 and 0.02 ng/mg, and the limits of quantification were 0.03 and 0.06 ng/mg for cocaine and morphine, respectively. The proposed GC-EI/MS method provided an accurate and simple assay with adequate precision and recovery for the quantification of cocaine and morphine in hair samples. The proof of applicability was performed in hair samples obtained from drug addicts enrolled in a Regional Detoxification Treatment Center. The importance of hair samples is highlighted, since positives results were obtained when urine immunoassay analyses were negative.
Faster detection and prediction of DDoS attacks using MapReduce and time series analysis

Security in the Internet is gradually becoming a paramount aspect as large numbers of servers are being deployed over the Internet to provide various automated services. A very prominent attack on the web is Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack which is also being considered as one of the major threats to the recent development in the field of computing such as Cloud Computing and Internet of Things. Despite various attempts to handle a DDoS attack, the problem of the fast detection and prevention of this attack still persists due to the huge amount of processing required on very large sized log files generated for every request and packet sent by a source. The datasets generated during a DDoS attack are voluminous and analyzing them for a possible attack can take hours which could lead to a denial of service to legitimate users and impair system resources adversely. In this paper, we use the Hadoop architecture to facilitate the faster processing of these log files by dividing a log file into multiple smaller chunks and processing each chunk separately over a cluster node in parallel. In addition to the faster detection of a DDoS attack from the log file, we also propose a method for the prediction of abnormal behavior of those sources that are generating packets erratically. The proposed method of prediction is based on time series analysis and further speeds up the process of detecting and blocking of the potential attackers. The proposed approach helps in faster identification of DDoS attacks and blocking of suspicious IPs thereby significantly decreasing the traffic from malicious users. The simulation results obtained reflect the fact that we can detect a DDoS attack in durations as short as five minutes and also block the IPs that could be potentially malicious thereby decreasing the traffic on the server significantly.
The quarter that changed the world

Background The California Department of Public Health (CDPH), California Tobacco Control Program (CTCP) is one of the longest-running comprehensive tobacco control programmes in the USA, resulting from a 1988 ballot initiative that added a 25-cent tax on each pack of cigarettes and a proportional tax increase on other tobacco products. This programme used a social norm change approach to reduce tobacco use. Methods The operation, structure, evolution, programme dissemination and results are reviewed. Results The sustained programme implementation has reduced adult per capita cigarette consumption by over 60% and adult smoking prevalence by 35%, from 22.7% in 1988 to 13.8% in 2007. From 1988 to 2004, lung and bronchus cancer rates in California declined at nearly four times the rate of decline seen in the rest of the USA and the programme is associated with an $86 billion savings in healthcare costs. Youth smoking rates among 12–17 years olds are the second lowest in the nation. Conclusions The social norm change approach is effective at reducing tobacco consumption, adult smoking and youth uptake. This approach resulted in declines in tobacco-related diseases and is associated with savings in healthcare expenditures. In considering CTCP's effectiveness, the takeaway message is that it should be viewed as a unified programme rather than a collection of independent interventions. The programme was designed and implemented as one where the parts complement and reinforce each other. Its effectiveness is dependent on its comprehensive strategy rather than any one part of the intervention.
Goal Achievement Failure Drives Corticospinal Modulation in Promotion and Prevention Contexts

When making decisions, people are typically differently sensitive to gains and losses according to the motivational context in which the choice is performed. As hypothesized by Regulatory Focus Theory (RFT), indeed, goals are supposed to change in relation to the set of possible outcomes. In particular, in a promotion context, the goal is achieving the maximal gain, whereas in a prevention context it turns into avoiding the greatest loss. We explored the neurophysiological counterpart of this phenomenon, by applying Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) and recording the motor evoked potentials (MEPs) in participants taking part in an economic game, in which they observed actions conveying different goal attainment levels, framed in different motivational contexts. More than the actual value of the economic exchange involved in the game, what affected motor cortex excitability was the goal attainment failure, corresponding to not achieving the maximal payoff in a promotion context and not avoiding the greatest snatch in a prevention context. Therefore, the results provide support for the key predictions of RFT, identifying a neural signature for the goal attainment failure.
Regulation of Flowering Time and Floral Organ Identity by a MicroRNA and Its APETALA2-Like Target Genes Article, publication date, and citation information can be found at www.plantcell.org/cgi/doi/10.1105/tpc.016238.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are ∼21-nucleotide noncoding RNAs that have been identified in both animals and plants. Although in animals there is direct evidence implicating particular miRNAs in the control of developmental timing, to date it is not known whether plant miRNAs also play a role in regulating temporal transitions. Through an activation-tagging approach, we demonstrate that miRNA 172 (miR172) causes early flowering and disrupts the specification of floral organ identity when overexpressed in Arabidopsis. miR172 normally is expressed in a temporal manner, consistent with its proposed role in flowering time control. The regulatory target of miR172 is a subfamily of APETALA2 (AP2) transcription factor genes. We present evidence that miR172 downregulates these target genes by a translational mechanism rather than by RNA cleavage. Gain-of-function and loss-of-function analyses indicate that two of the AP2-like target genes normally act as floral repressors, supporting the notion that miR172 regulates flowering time by downregulating AP2-like target genes.
Study of Stimulus-Induced Plasticity in Neural Networks Cultured in Microfluidic Chips

A.A. Gladkov, Junior Researcher, Laboratory of Neuroengineering, Center for Translational Technologies1; Junior Researcher, Molecular and Cellular Technologies Department, Central Research Laboratory2; V.N. Kolpakov, Research Assistant, Laboratory of Neuroengineering, Center for Translational Technologies1; Y.I. Pigareva, Junior Researcher, Laboratory of Neuroengineering, Center for Translational Technologies1; A.S. Bukatin, PhD, Researcher, Laboratory for Nanobiotechnologies3; V.B. Kazantsev, DSc, Vice-Rector for Research1; Head of the Department of Neurotechnologies, Institute of Biology and Biomedicine1; Head of the Laboratory for the Development of Intellectual Biomechatronic Technologies, Center for Translational Technologies1; I.V. Mukhina, DSc, Professor, Head of the Center for Translational Technologies1; Head of the Central Research Laboratory2; Head of the Department of Normal Physiology named after N.Y. Belenkov2; Professor, Neurotechnology Department, Institute of Biology and Biomedicine1; A.S. Pimashkin, PhD, Head of the Laboratory of Neuroengineering, Center for Translational Technologies1
Task-oriented Evaluation of Syntactic Parsers and Their Representations

This paper presents a comparative evaluation of several state-of-the-art English parsers based on different frameworks. Our approach is to measure the impact of each parser when it is used as a component of an information extraction system that performs protein-protein interaction (PPI) identification in biomedical papers. We evaluate eight parsers (based on dependency parsing, phrase structure parsing, or deep parsing) using five different parse representations. We run a PPI system with several combinations of parser and parse representation, and examine their impact on PPI identification accuracy. Our experiments show that the levels of accuracy obtained with these different parsers are similar, but that accuracy improvements vary when the parsers are retrained with domain-specific data.
Remote controlled human navigational assistance for the blind using intelligent computing

The smart walking stick helps visually challenged people to reach their destination with the help of humans, guiding them remotely. A lot of work and research is being done to find ways to improve life for visually challenged people. There are multiple walking sticks and devices which help the user to move around- indoor and outdoor locations, but none of them provide run time autonomous navigation with direct human assistance. Blind Assistance through Remote Control (BARC) is a device which provides aid to the visually challenged, by humans, through a web platform from anywhere. An image sensor mounted on the BARC transmits live video to the volunteer's phone which helps the volunteer to control the stick remotely and navigate the blind to the destination. A web platform is an intermediary between the visually challenged and the volunteers. It is used by the blind to send requests and find volunteers willing to help them navigate to their destination. BARC is a passive intelligent stick which combines mobile computing along with hardware support such as micro controller, image sensor, and ultrasonic sensors to navigate the visually challenged to their destination.
HomeFinder Revisited: Finding Ideal Homes with Reachability-Centric Multi-Criteria Decision Making

Finding an ideal home is a difficult and laborious process. One of the most crucial factors in this process is the reachability between the home location and the concerned points of interest, such as places of work and recreational facilities. However, such importance is unrecognized in the extant real estate systems. By characterizing user requirements and analytical tasks in the context of finding ideal homes, we designed ReACH, a novel visual analytics system that assists people in finding, evaluating, and choosing a home based on multiple criteria, including reachability. In addition, we developed an improved data-driven model for approximating reachability with massive taxi trajectories. This model enables users to interactively integrate their knowledge and preferences to make judicious and informed decisions. We show the improvements in our model by comparing the theoretical complexities with the prior study and demonstrate the usability and effectiveness of the proposed system with task-based evaluation.
Protein bioinformatics - an algorithmic approach to sequence and structure analysis

Description: Genomics and bioinformatics play an increasingly important and transformative role in medicine, society and agriculture. The mapping of the human genome has revealed 35,000 or so genes which might code for more than one protein, resulting in 100,000 proteins for the humans alone. Since proteins are attractive targets for developing drugs, efforts are now underway to map sequences and assign functions to many novel proteins. This book takes the novel approach to cover both the sequence and structure analysis of proteins in one volume and from an algorithmic perspective. Key features of the book include: Provides a comprehensive introduction to the analysis of protein sequence and structure analysis. Takes an algorithmic approach, relying on computational methods rather than theoretical. Provides an integrated presentation of theory, examples, exercises and applications. Includes coverage of both protein structure, and sequence, analysis. Accessible enough for biologists, yet rigorous enough for computer scientists and mathematicians. Supported by a Web site featuring exercises, solutions, images, and computer programs. Visit this website for exercises with solutions, computer programs, errata and additional material: company website
On-line RF built-in self-test using noise injection and transmitter signal modulation by phase shifter

For on-chip self-test of radar ICs, loopback test using a signal feedback path from transmitter to receiver is state-of-the-art. Usually, such a loopback test is performed periodically after a number of application-mode chirps. The traditional loopback test has two drawbacks: it is performed intermittent to the application mode, not within the application mode. Moreover, it cannot detect the case that the attenuation from transmitter to receiver becomes too low due to defects on the IC, or due to targets very near to the antennas. This paper proposes an advanced loopback test not intermittent to the application, but during application mode. That way, spurious defects like transient faults (also known as Single Event Upsets) can be detected; moreover, an error-prone plausibility check of the received signal is avoided. To detect receiver saturation due to near targets, modulating the transmitter output signal using a phase shifter is proposed.
Mechatronics, Design, and Modeling of a Motorcycle Riding Simulator

This paper describes a new motorcycle riding simulator whose purpose is twofold: 1) it can be used as a training tool for new riders in different scenarios, such as a normal traffic environments or in dangerous riding situations (avoidance, emergency braking, nearly failing or slipping situations, and bad weather conditions) and 2) it can be used to study motor cyclist behavior in such situations and rider-motorcycle interaction. Our studies have led to the development of an original five DOF mechanical platform including double haptic feedback on the handlebar. The remaining components are the basic movements consisting of pitch, roll, and yaw. These components are gathered in a parallel kinematics-type platform to enhance the movement bandwidth of the two-wheeled riding simulator. Despite its simplicity, the particular appeal of this simulator lies in the possibility of reproducing important motorcycle movements and inertial effects, which allow for the perception of sensations close to reality. The motivation behind the choice of platform movements and system actuation are described. Also, theoretical issues (modeling, identification, and control aspects) and performance results are provided.
An Analysis of the Efficiency of the Mauritian Banking Sector Using the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA)

The purpose of this study is to analyse the efficiency of banks operating in the Mauritian economy through the Data Envelopment Analysis. The DEA methodology has been applied and scores were generated to assess the efficiency levels of Mauritian banks. The study concentrates on 10 sampled banks out of the 22 banks operating in the economy for the period 2011 to 2015.
Meta‐analysis of safety for low event‐rate binomial trials

This article focuses on meta‐analysis of low event‐rate binomial trials. We introduce two forms of random effects: (1) ‘studies at random’ (SR), where we assume no more than independence between studies; and (2) ‘effects at random’ (ER), which forces the effect size distribution to be independent of the study design. On the basis of the summary estimates of proportions, we present both unweighted and study‐size weighted methods, which, under SR, target different population parameters. We demonstrate mechanistically that the popular DerSimonian–Laird (DL) method, as DL actually warned in their paper, should never be used in this setting. We conducted a survey of the major cardiovascular literature on low event‐rate studies and found that DL using odds ratios or relative risks to be the clear method of choice. We looked at two high profile examples from diabetes and cancer, respectively, where the choice of weighted versus unweighted methods makes a large difference. A large simulation study supports the accuracy of the coverage of our approximate confidence intervals. We recommend that before looking at their data, users should prespecify which target parameter they intend to estimate (weighted vs. unweighted) but estimate the other as a secondary analysis. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Microwave Torrefaction of Moist Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Pellets with the Addition of Char from Agricultural Residues

An investigation of the effect of the addition of char from agricultural residues on the torrefaction of moist municipal solid waste (MSW) pellets (40 wt.% moisture) was carried out in a microwave oven (500-800 W for 4-12 minutes). Char from agricultural residues, including corncob, palm shell, straw, and bagasse, was used as the microwave absorbers to enhance the absorption of microwave irradiation. It was found that the addition of char from bagasse yielded the lowest remaining mass (or mass yield) and volatile matter (VM) content, but the highest temperature and heating value, of the torrefied MSW pellet. Moisture in the MSW pellet with or without the addition of microwave absorber was completely removed after being torrefied for 8-12 minutes. The VM contents remained in the MSW pellets with the addition of microwave absorbers were lower than that in the MSW pellet without the addition of microwave absorber. The addition of microwave absorbers led to an increase in carbon (C) content but a decrease in oxygen (O) content of the torrefied MSW pellets, compared to those of the raw MSW pellet. The heating values of the torrefied MSW pellets with the addition of microwave absorbers were equivalent to that of sub-bituminous coal, enhanced from that of the raw MSW pellet, which was lower than that of lignite.