Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Values of Blood Variables in Calves

Haematological and biochemical variables are most widely used medical decision making tool. Haematological and biochemical analyses of blood are very useful to get an insight in metabolic and health status of animal. During diagnostic procedure it is very useful to compare the values obtained from ill animal with normal values in healthy animals. Therefore specific reference intervals are needed for each animal species for appropriate interpretation of results of haematological and biochemical analyses. The reference values of different blood variables are well established for adult cattle, but for calves there is not a lot of data available. The values of different blood variables in calves and other young animals are changing with age. The values of haematological variables change after birth because of colostrums intake, short life time of erythrocyte and decrease of concentration of foetal haemoglobin. In growing calves the feeding and rearing system has an important influence on the values of different blood variables. Influence of feeding becomes more apparent after 5th week when consummation of dry food (hay, starter) increases
Investigation of Interstice Collapse for Hollow-Core Photonic Bandgap Fiber Fabrication

Hollow-core photonic bandgap fibers (PBGF) have low loss in theory; hence, they have great potential for many applications, such as high-speed big-data fiber communication and fiber sensors. They are fabricated using a two-step fiber drawing method. For PBGF optical properties, fabrication is an important factor. Most studies for microstructure fiber fabrication consider gas pressure, tension, and temperature control in the fiber drawing progress without considering the hexagon fillet in the honeycomb cladding, which could have a significant effect on the bandgap width. This letter focuses on the interstice’s impacts among capillaries in the hexagon fillet forming process via the hydrodynamic mode. Research shows that small interstices could collapse totally when the heating temperature is high enough, and the collapse of interstice can help the honeycomb holes restrain collapse slightly. Interstices might be advantageous for controlling the honeycomb holes and hexagon fillets.
Cognitive Rehabilitation for Military Service Members With Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Objective: To compare cognitive rehabilitation (CR) interventions for mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) with standard of care management, including psychoeducation and medical care for noncognitive symptoms. Setting: Military medical center. Participants: A total of 126 service members who received mTBI from 3 to 24 months before baseline evaluation and reported ongoing cognitive difficulties. Interventions: Randomized clinical trial with treatment outcomes assessed at baseline, 3-week, 6-week, 12-week, and 18-week follow-ups. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four 6-week treatment arms: (1) psychoeducation, (2) computer-based CR, (3) therapist-directed manualized CR, and (4) integrated therapist-directed CR combined with cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy (CBT). Treatment dosage was constant (10 h/wk) for intervention arms 2 to 4. Measures: Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT); Symptom Checklist–90 Revised (SCL-90-R); Key Behaviors Change Inventory (KBCI). Results: No differences were noted between treatment arms on demographics, injury-related characteristics, or psychiatric comorbidity apart from education, with participants assigned to the computer arm having less education. Using mixed-model analysis of variance, all 4 treatment groups showed a significant improvement over time on the 3 primary outcome measures. Treatment groups showed equivalent improvement on the PASAT. The therapist-directed CR and integrated CR treatment groups had better KBCI outcomes compared with the psychoeducation group. Improvements on primary outcome measures during treatment were maintained at follow-up with no differences among arms. Conclusions: Both therapist-directed CR and integrated CR with CBT reduced functional cognitive symptoms in service members after mTBI beyond psychoeducation and medical management alone.
A Morphological Analyzer for Akkadian Verbal Forms with a Model of Phonetic Transformations

The paper describes a first attempt to design a morphological analyzer for Akkadian verbal forms. Akkadian is a semitic dead language which was used in the ancient Mesopotamia. The analyzer described has two levels: the first one is a deterministic and unique paradigm that describes the flexion of Akkadian verbs. The second level is a non deterministic rewriting system which describes possible phonetic transformations of the forms. The results obtained so far are encouraging.
Uniaxial creep as a control on mercury intrusion capillary pressure in consolidating rock salt

The nature of geologic disposal of nuclear waste in salt formations requires validated and verified two - phase flow models of transport of brine and gas through intact, damaged, and consolidating crushed salt. Such models exist in oth er realms of subsurface engineering for other lithologic classes (oil and gas, carbon sequestration etc. for clastics and carbonates) but have never been experimentally validated and parameterized for salt repository scenarios or performance assessment. Mo dels for waste release scenarios in salt back - fill require phenomenological expressions for capillary pressure and relative permeability that are expected to change with degree of consolidation, and require experimental measurement to parameterize and vali date. This report describes a preliminary assessment of the influence of consolidation (i.e. volume strain or porosity) on capillary entry pressure in two phase systems using mercury injection capillary pressure (MICP). This is to both determine the potent ial usefulness of the mercury intrusion porosimetry method, but also to enable a better experimental design for these tests. Salt consolidation experiments are performed using novel titanium oedometers, or uniaxial compression cells often used in soil mech anics, using sieved run - of - mine salt from the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP)more » as starting material. Twelve tests are performed with various starting amounts of brine pore saturation, with axial stresses up to 6.2 MPa (%7E900 psi) and temperatures to 90 o C. This corresponds to UFD Work Package 15SN08180211 milestone "FY:15 Transport Properties of Run - of - Mine Salt Backfill - Unconsolidated to Consolidated". Samples exposed to uniaxial compression undergo time - dependent consolidation, or creep, to various deg rees. Creep volume strain - time relations obey simple log - time behavior through the range of porosities (%7E50 to 2% as measured); creep strain rate increases with temperature and applied stress as expected. Mercury porosimetry is used to determine characteri stic capillary pressure curves from a series of consolidation tests and show characteristic saturation - capillary pressure curves that follow the common van Genuchten (1978, 1980) formulation at low stresses. Higher capillary pressure data are suspect due t o the large potential for sample damage, including fluid inclusion decrepitation and pore collapse. Data are supportive of use of the Leverett "J" function (Leverett, 1941) to use for scaling characteristic curves at different degrees of consolidation, but better permeability determinations are needed to support this hypothesis. Recommendations for further and refined testing are made with the goal of developing a self - consistent set of constitutive laws for granular salt consolidation and multiphase (brin e - air) flow. « less
Transcriptional profiling and flux measurements of polyhydroxybutyrate production in Synechocystis

The metabolism of Synechocystis PCC6803 cells has been investigated using fullgenome DNA micro-arrays and C14 tracer techniques. Full-genome (3169 genes) DNA microarrays were used to probe transcript levels of Synechocystis cells grown under a variety of medium conditions. Canonical discriminant analysis was used to identify transcript levels that allowed discrimination between growth media conditions, and allowed predictions of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) levels. Phosphate-related genes were found to alter in response to phosphate limitation and were found to include differentially regulated multi-gene families. Nitrogen-related genes were not found to be substantially reflective of nitrogen limitation under the conditions studied. Finally, transcription of PHA biosynthetic pathway genes were found to reflect the media conditions of greatest PHB accumulation, suggesting that constitutive overexpression of the PHA biosynthetic genes may lead to greater PHB accumulation levels. A methodology using C14 tracers was developed for the accurate measurement of CO2 uptake rates and the partitioning of the fixed carbon into different biosynthetic fractions. These techniques were applied to the characterization of WT Synechocystis cells in late exponential phase. A stoichiometric model of Synechocystis metabolism was used to determine constraints between the measurements. A balance on C14 counts was obtained and significant levels of secreted compounds were not detected. The measured carbon fixation rates were found to be consistent with the observed growth rates, but inconsistent with measurements of oxygen evolution in the light and uptake in the dark made using a Clarke Electrode apparatus. These techniques may be used in future studies to determine the CO2 uptake rates and PHB production rates of strains engineered for enhanced CO2 fixation and PHB production respectively. Thesis Supervisor: Gregory Stephanopoulos Title: Bayer Professor of Chemical Engineering
New controllers and new designs for continuous-time Takagi-Sugeno models

This work presents a new non-PDC controller design based on different Lyapunov functions for continuous-time Takagi-Sugeno models. Based on this new control law and on Finsler's lemma a new way to derive LMI constraints problems is presented. Both quadratic and non quadratic Lyapunov functions are under consideration. Some examples show the capability of outperforming existing results without increasing significantly the LMI problems.
High Antibody Responses against Plasmodium falciparum in Immigrants after Extended Periods of Interrupted Exposure to Malaria

Background Malaria immunity is commonly believed to wane in the absence of Plasmodium falciparum exposure, based on limited epidemiological data and short-lived antibody responses in some longitudinal studies in endemic areas. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among sub-Saharan African adults residing in Spain for 1 up to 38 years (immigrants) with clinical malaria (n=55) or without malaria (n=37), naïve adults (travelers) with a first clinical malaria episode (n=20) and life-long malaria exposed adults from Mozambique (semi-immune adults) without malaria (n=27) or with clinical malaria (n=50). Blood samples were collected and IgG levels against the erythrocytic antigens AMA-1 and MSP-142 (3D7 and FVO strains), EBA-175 and DBL-α were determined by Luminex. IgG levels against antigens on the surface of infected erythrocytes (IEs) were measured by flow cytometry. Results Immigrants without malaria had lower IgG levels than healthy semi-immune adults regardless of the antigen tested (P≤0.026), but no correlation was found between IgG levels and time since migration. Upon reinfection, immigrants with malaria had higher levels of IgG against all antigens than immigrants without malaria. However, the magnitude of the response compared to semi-immune adults with malaria depended on the antigen tested. Thus, immigrants had higher IgG levels against AMA-1 and MSP-142 (P≤0.015), similar levels against EBA-175 and DBL-α, and lower levels against IEs (P≤0.016). Immigrants had higher IgG levels against all antigens tested compared to travelers (P≤0.001), both with malaria. Conclusions Upon cessation of malaria exposure, IgG responses to malaria-specific antigens were maintained to a large extent, although the conservation and the magnitude of the recall response depended on the nature of the antigen. Studies on immigrant populations can shed light on the factors that determine the duration of malaria specific antibody responses and its effect on protection, with important implications for future vaccine design and public health control measures.
Thermal models based power module temperature monitoring in AC drives

This paper addresses the development of electro-thermal models able to accurately predict the thermal behavior of power modules used in AC drives. The model would be implemented in the digital signal processor used to control the drive, operating therefore on line. FEM used for the design and calibration of the models. The performance of the proposed methods validated experimentally.
A novel ionic liquid degumming process for Apocynum venetum

A novel degumming process for Apocynum venetum was presented using ionic liquid (IL)–water mixture in the paper. Optimum performance for the degumming of Apocynum venetum fiber was obtained in 80% (m/m) 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([BMIM][Ac]) at a temperature of 130 °C for 6 h, and the solution was maintained at the liquor ratio 1:20. The Apocynum venetum fibers before and after degumming were characterized by Scanning electron micrographs, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The result showed that the Apocynum venetum fibers degummed with IL were longer than traditional chemical method, and the breaking strength of fiber with IL degumming process was significantly improved in comparison with traditional chemical method. Therefore, the IL–water degumming for Apocynum venetum fibers could dissolve the gum of fibers, and improve the spinnability of Apocynum venetum distinctly.
Application of CRISPR-Cas9 Based Genome-Wide Screening Approaches to Study Cellular Signalling Mechanisms

The cellular signalling process is a highly complex mechanism, involving multiple players, which together orchestrate the cell’s response to environmental changes and perturbations. Given the multitude of genes that participate in the process of cellular signalling, its study in a genome-wide manner has proven challenging. Recent advances in gene editing technologies, including clustered regularly-interspaced short palindromic repeats/Cas9 (CRISPR/Cas9) approaches, have opened new opportunities to investigate global regulatory signalling programs of cells in an unbiased manner. In this review, we focus on how the application of pooled genetic screening approaches using the CRISPR/Cas9 system has contributed to a systematic understanding of cellular signalling processes in normal and disease contexts.
Lamb Wave Propagation in Laminated Composite Structures

Damage detection using guided Lamb waves is an important tool in Structural health Monitoring. In this paper, we outline a method of obtaining Lamb wave modes in composite structures using two dimensional Spectral Finite Elements. Using this approach, Lamb wave dispersion curves are obtained for laminated composite structures with different fibre orientation. These propagating Lamb wave modes are pictorially captured using tone burst signal.
Effect of Basal Conditions on the Magnitude and Dynamics of the Blood Oxygenation Level-Dependent fMRI Response

The effect of the basal cerebral blood flow (CBF) on both the magnitude and dynamics of the functional hemodynamic response in humans has not been fully investigated. Thus, the hemodynamic response to visual stimulation was measured using blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in human subjects in a 7-T magnetic field under different basal conditions: hypocapnia, normocapnia, and hypercapnia. Hypercapnia was induced by inhalation of a 5% carbon dioxide gas mixture and hypocapnia was produced by hyperventilation. As the fMRI baseline signal increased linearly with expired CO2 from hypocapnic to hypercapnic levels, the magnitude of the BOLD response to visual stimulation decreased linearly. Measures of the dynamics of the visually evoked BOLD response (onset time, full-width-at-half-maximum, and time-to-peak) increased linearly with the basal fMRI signal and the end-tidal CO2 level. The basal CBF level, modulated by the arterial partial pressure of CO2, significantly affects both the magnitude and dynamics of the BOLD response induced by neural activity. These results suggest that caution should be exercised when comparing stimulus-induced fMRI responses under different physiologic or pharmacologic states.
Aberrant expression of miR-141 and nuclear receptor small heterodimer partner in clinical samples of prostate cancer.

BACKGROUND Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second most common cancer in men worldwide. Currently, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test and digital rectal exam are the main screening tests used for PCa diagnosis. However, due to the low specificity of these tests, new alternative biomarkers such as deregulated RNAs and microRNAs have been implemented. OBJECTIVES Aberrant expressions of small heterodimer partner gene (SHP, NR0B2) and mir-141 are reported in various cancers. The aim of this study was to investigate the SHP and miR-141 expression level in tissue samples of prostate cancer. METHODS The expression level of SHP gene and miR-141 was assessed by real time PCR and their relative amounts were calculated by the Δ⁢ΔCT method. Also, IHC technique was used to determine the expression level of SHP protein. RESULTS The miR-141 was significantly up-regulated in the samples of metastatic tumors compared to localized tumor samples (P< 0.001, 31.17-fold change). Tumor samples showed lower SHP mRNA expression levels than BPH samples (p= 0.014, 4.7-fold change). The results of paired t-test analysis showed there was no significant difference between the SHP gene expression in PCa samples and their matched tumor-adjacent normal tissue (p= 0.5). CONCLUSIONS The data obtained in our study confirm the involvement of miR-141 in PCa progression and metastasis. These effects could be mediated by AR via down-regulation of its co-repressor protein, i.e., SHP.
Invariant Feature Extraction Method Based on Smoothed Local Binary Pattern for Strip Steel Surface Defect

Feature extraction is an important step for strip steel surface defect detection because it is the premise of defect classification and recognition. In order to realize defect feature extraction, effective and separable feature description is needed. There are many features used to describe steel surface defect, such as geometric features,1) one-dimensional histogram features,1) two-dimensional histogram features2,3) and HU invariant moment features.4) Geometric features can describe the shape of defect. One-dimensional histogram features can describe statistic distribution of gray values in region of defect. Two-dimensional histogram features describe the texture in region of defect by using gray-level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM). And HU invariant moment features also belong to geometric features but with rotation, translation and scale invariance. Local binary pattern (LBP)5,6) is an effective description operator of gray changes in local neighborhood. It is invariant in rotation and illumination, which can describe the texture of detection region. Though its theory is simple, it is powerful in texture recognition. In recent years, LBP is used widely in texture analysis,7) face recognition8,9) and image matching.10) However, it still has shortcomings in specific application. So, many scholars have improved it and achieved satisfactory results. Reference8) adopts scalable oval to be local neighborhood. And LBP value is outputted by comparing neighboring pixels on that oval. This method can capture anisotropic information, which is more general than standard LBP. Reference9) introduces new parameters: Invariant Feature Extraction Method Based on Smoothed Local Binary Pattern for Strip Steel Surface Defect
On the Dynamical Evidence of the Molecular Constitution of Bodies

WHEN any phenomenon can be described as an example of some general principle which is applicable to other phenomena, that phenomenon is said to be explained. Explanations, however, are of very various orders, according to the degree of generality of the principle which is made use of. Thus the person who first observed the effect of throwing water into a fire would feel a certain amount of mental satisfaction when he found that the results were always similar, and that they did not depend on any temporary and capricious antipathy between the water and the fire. This is an explanation of the lowest order, in which the class to which the phenomenon is referred consists of other phenomena which can only be distinguished from it by the place and time of their occurrence, and the principle involved is the very general one that place and time are not among the conditions which determine natural processes. On the other hand, when a physical phenomenon can be completely described as a change in the configuration and motion of a material system, the dynamical explanation of that phenomenon is said to be complete. We cannot conceive any further explanation to be either necessary, desirable, or possible, for as soon as we know what is meant by the words configuration, motion, mass, and force, we see that the ideas which they represent are so elementary that they cannot be explained by means of anything else.
Seasonal cycling in the gut microbiome of the Hadza hunter-gatherers of Tanzania

Seasonal diets, seasonal microbiota Among the Hadza of western Tanzania, a few hundred people still live in small groups as hunter-gatherers, reliant solely on the wild environment for food. Smits et al. found that the microbiota of these people reflects the seasonal availability of different types of food (see the Perspective by Peddada). Between seasons, striking differences were observed in their gut microbial communities, with some taxa apparently disappearing, only to reappear when the seasons turned. Further comparison of the Hadza microbiota with that of diverse urbanized peoples revealed distinctly different patterns of microbial community composition. Science, this issue p. 802; see also p. 754 The composition of microbes in the guts of the Hadza hunter-gatherers undergoes an annual cyclic reconfiguration. Although humans have cospeciated with their gut-resident microbes, it is difficult to infer features of our ancestral microbiome. Here, we examine the microbiome profile of 350 stool samples collected longitudinally for more than a year from the Hadza hunter-gatherers of Tanzania. The data reveal annual cyclic reconfiguration of the microbiome, in which some taxa become undetectable only to reappear in a subsequent season. Comparison of the Hadza data set with data collected from 18 populations in 16 countries with varying lifestyles reveals that gut community membership corresponds to modernization: Notably, the taxa within the Hadza that are the most seasonally volatile similarly differentiate industrialized and traditional populations. These data indicate that some dynamic lineages of microbes have decreased in prevalence and abundance in modernized populations.