Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prophylactic Bacteriophage Administration More Effective than Post-infection Administration in Reducing Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis Shedding in Quail

Infections caused by Salmonella bacteria, often through poultry products, are a serious public health issue. Because of drawbacks associated with antibiotic prophylaxis, alternative treatments are sought. Bacterial viruses (bacteriophages) may provide an effective alternative, but concerns remain with respect to bacteriophage stability and effectiveness. To this end, we assessed the stability of a novel bacteriophage isolated from poultry excreta, siphovirus PSE, and its effectiveness in reducing Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis colonization in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, we sought to determine how the timing (prophylactic or therapeutic) and route (oral gavage or vent lip) of PSE administration impacted its effectiveness. Here we report that significant quantities of viable PSE bacteriophages were recovered following exposure to high and low pH, high temperatures, and bile salts, testifying to its ability to survive extreme conditions. In addition, we found that ileal lactic acid bacteria and Streptococcus spp. counts increased, but colibacilli and total aerobe counts decreased, in quail receiving phage PSE through both oral gavage and vent lip routes. In other experiments, we assessed the efficiency of PSE administration, in both prophylactic and therapeutic contexts, via either oral gavage or vent lip administration, on S. Enteritidis colonization of quail cecal tonsils. Our results demonstrate that administration of PSE as a preventive agent could reduce the S. Enteritidis colonization more effectively than post-challenge administration. Furthermore, oral administration of PSE phage is a more effective prophylactic tool for reduction of S. Enteritidis shedding in poultry than is vent lip administration.
Adrift In Auditing Class

In 2011, Arum and Roksa challenged the higher education community to examine its practices and improve its performance in Academically Adrift. While recognizing the near universal accessibility achieved by American colleges and universities, the study suggested that students are not learning as well as they should. They measured academic rigor by considering the amount of reading and writing required of students and questioned whether courses are appropriately rigorous. Considering auditing as the accounting course most likely to require writing as well as reading, this study explored the auditing course for the condition of “academic rigor” as defined in the challenge.
Review of intelligent tutoring systems using bayesian approach

With advancement in computer science research on artificial intelligence and in cognitive psychology research on human learning and performance, the next generation of computer-based tutoring systems moved beyond the simple presentation of pages of text or graphics. These new intelligent tutoring systems (ITSs) called cognitive tutors; incorporated model-tracing technology which is a cognitive model of student problem solving that captures students multiple strategies and common misconceptions. Such Intelligent tutoring systems or Knowledge Based Tutoring Systems can guide learners to progress in the learning process at their best. This paper deals with the review of various Intelligent tutoring systems using Bayesian Networks and how Bayesian Networks can be used for efficient decision making.
Optimizing preprocessing method of recursive-BKZ lattice reduction algorithm

Lattice problems are considered as the key elements in many areas of computer science as well as in cryptography; the most important of which is the shortest vector problem (called SVP in short) and its approximate variants. Algorithms for this problem are known as lattice reduction algorithms. Currently, the most practical lattice reduction algorithm for such problems is the Block-Korkine-Zolotarev (BKZ) algorithm and its variants. Preprocessing is a technique that can be applied to certain lattice reduction algorithms (such as BKZ variants) to reduce the search time in the enumeration tree for a shortest vector. We optimize both the pruning and the preprocessing parameters of the recursive (aborted, extreme pruned) preprocessing of the BKZ lattice reduction algorithm and improve the results from Asiacrypt'11 by Chen and Nguyen.
Serological investigation of Mycoplasma genitalium in infertile women.

BACKGROUND The role of Mycoplasma genitalium in the pathogenesis of pelvic inflammatory disease has not been characterized. METHODS Sera from 308 infertile women were investigated for antibodies to M. genitalium by immunoblotting. Women with tubal factor infertility (TFI) made up 132 of the patients, 67 of the women had an infertile male partner and 109 were infertile for unknown reasons. RESULTS Of the TFI patients 29 (22.0%) were seropositive to the major adhesin, MgPa, of M. genitalium versus 11 (6.3%) in the group of women with normal tubes. No cross-reactions between MgPa and P1 of the related Mycoplasma pneumoniae were found. Besides, MgPa positive sera were confirmed by immunoblotting using a cloned fragment of the C-terminal part of MgPa specific to M. genitalium. Chlamydia trachomatis is known to be able to cause infertility as a result of salpingitis. Therefore, the sera were tested against C. trachomatis using a commercial ELISA test. Seventy-five (56.8%) of the TFI patients were seropositive to C. trachomatis. Eight (27.6%) TFI patients seropositive to MgPa were negative to C. trachomatis. CONCLUSIONS This study indicates that M. genitalium may be an independent risk factor in the development of an inflammatory process leading to scarring of the uterine tubes in women and thereby causing infertility.
Collaboration between child welfare and substance-abuse fields: combined treatment programs for mothers.

OBJECTIVE To review collaboration between child welfare and drug-abuse fields in providing treatment to mothers who abuse drugs and maltreat their children. METHODS Literature review of studies examining effects of maternal drug abuse on parenting skills and outcomes of interventions for both maternal drug abuse and parenting skills. RESULTS Parenting skills differ between mothers who do and do not abuse drugs, but these studies are primarily limited to mothers of infants and preschoolers. The evidence base for interventions to address both substance use and parenting in these mothers is growing, but more well-controlled studies are needed. Opportunities for improved collaboration between fields are presented. CONCLUSION Progress has been made toward collaboration to address drug abuse and parenting skills of mothers who abuse drugs, but more integrated strategies are needed, especially for mothers who use drugs and maltreat their children.
Suppression of Heave-Induced Pressure Fluctuations in MPD ?

Abstract A model describing the flow and pressure fluctuations in the bore-hole due to drillstring movement has been presented. It consists of a pair of coupled nonlinear partial differential equations modelling the distributed pressure and flow in the well, and a superposition of multiple sine waves for the disturbance. Considering only top-side flow and pressure as measurements, it is shown that the model can be represented by a linear time invariant finite-dimensional system with output delay. This result is achieved by linearization and de-coupling using Riemann invariants. An infinite-dimensional observer is designed that estimates the disturbance, and the estimate is used in a controller that rejects the effect of the disturbance on the down-hole pressure. A model reduction technique based on the Laguerre series representation of the transfer function is used to derive a finite-dimensional, rational transfer function for the controller. The performance of the full-order and reduced-order controllers are compared in simulations, which show satisfactory attenuation of the heave disturbance for both controllers.
An Inchworm-like Locomotion Mechanism Based on Magnetic Actuator for Active Capsule Endoscope

Locomotion mechanism is a necessity for development of an active capsule endoscope. In this paper, we propose an inchworm-like locomotion mechanism, which is composed of a permanent magnet, a plunger, a solenoid and a cone-shaped polymer. When an alternating current is applied to the solenoid, the magnet will make a reciprocating movement under the electromagnetic force. With the friction difference produced by the polymer, the actuator could propel itself forward on a 2D surface. The working principle and kinetic model of the mechanism are analyzed. A prototype with a size of Phi12*37 mm were fabricated to study the feasibility of the mechanism. Experiments were carried out on the surfaces of various frictional coefficients. The results show that the actuator works more efficiently on the surface of the glass than on the paper, because the polymer has better clamping effect on the former. The velocity changes with the frequency and amplitude of the current. The mechanism consumes a low power and it can work under a relatively low voltage (less than 20 V). It has the potential for actuation of an active capsule endoscope
Optimal training and redundant precoding for block transmissions with application to wireless OFDM

The adoption of orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) by wireless local area networks and audio/video broadcasting standards testifies to the importance of recovering block precoded transmissions propagating through frequency-selective FIR channels. Existing block transmission standards invoke bandwidth-consuming error control codes to mitigate channel fades and training sequences to identify the FIR channels. To enable low-complexity block-by-block receiver processing, we design redundant precoders with cyclic prefix (CP) and superimposed training sequences for optimal channel estimation and guaranteed symbol recovery regardless of the underlying FIR frequency-selective channels. Numerical results axe presented to access the performance of the designed training and precoding schemes.
Factored Displays: Improving resolution, dynamic range, color reproduction, and light field characteristics with advanced signal processing

Today, direct-view displays constitute the primary means by which humans visually interact with computers. These displays come in many forms: mobile phones, laptops, workstations, digital projectors, and digital signage; while ubiquitous, our two-dimensional (2-D) displays still pale in comparison to the three-dimensional (3-D) physical world. Gabriel Lippmann, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist and an early photographic innovator, lamented on the similar limitations of photography.
Persistence, Invariants, and Constraints

Recent work on reasoning about action has shown that there exist interesting connections among frame axioms, action invariants, state constraints and action speciications. In this paper, we address the problem of generating action invariants and generalizing action invariants into state constraints. We rst propose a persistence-based formalism of actions, and show that the generation of action invariants is achieved from action speciications by reasoning with persistence. We then investigate the generalization of action invariants into state constraints. Blocks world examples illustrate the general procedure throughout.
Right time for Africa.

Africa has come a long way. For decades after independence countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) suffered from civil strife and "stop-go" economic policies that led to macroeconomic instability and high inflation. Roads railways ports and electricity systems fell into disrepair. Nor was the external environment always cooperative: countries were exposed to droughts and commodity prices fluctuated. Countries that were rich in natural resources such as oil gold copper and diamonds were often subject to the "resource curse" that left large numbers of their people worse off. External donors while supporting the continent did not always finance projects that would have adequate economic returns or that responded to local development needs. In country after country debt mounted until it became unsustainable. On top of all that Africa was besieged by malaria and HIV/AIDS which had devastating economic as well as human effects. Yet things seem to be changing for the better throughout the subcontinent. In most African countries leaders are now selected through democratic elections. The decision-making process is becoming more participatory and involving greater segments of civil society. The number of countries in crisis has declined although conflict persists in some countries and regions. The pursuit of strong macroeconomic policies and economic reforms is bearing fruit: economies are growing faster and more steadily than before and inflation is falling. (excerpt)
Compact oracles for reachability and approximate distances in planar digraphs

It is shown that a planar digraph can be preprocessed in near-linear time, producing a near-linear space distance oracle that can answer reachability queries in constant time. The oracle can be distributed as an O(log n) space label for each vertex and then we can determine if one vertex can reach another considering their two labels only. The approach generalizes to approximate distances in weighted planar digraphs where we can then get a (1+/spl epsi/) approximation distance in O(log log /spl Delta/+1//spl epsi/) time where /spl Delta/ is the longest finite distance in the graph and weights are assumed to be non-negative integers. Our scheme can be extended to find and route along the short dipaths. Our technique is based on a novel dipath decomposition of planar digraphs that instead of using the standard separator with O(/spl radic/n) vertices, in effect finds a separator using a constant number of dipaths.
Privacy-Aware Access Control and Authorization in Passive Network Monitoring Infrastructures

Despite the usefulness of passive network monitoring for the operation, maintenance, control and protection of communication networks, as well as law enforcement, network monitoring activities are surrounded by serious privacy implications. In this paper, an innovative approach for privacy-preserving authorization and access control to data originating from passive network monitoring is described. The proposed framework relies on an ontological model for the specification of the access control policies, which are evaluated and enforced on a two-phase and two-stage basis by a system that intercedes between the network link and the monitoring applications. The two stages refer to controlled access regarding both the data that are disclosed to the monitoring application from the mediating system and the raw data that the mediator retrieves from the network link. On the other hand, the two phases concern respectively the execution of “static” and “dynamic” control; the former enforces the rules that are a priori applicable, grounded on the data, role and purpose semantics, while the latter evaluates the real-time contextual parameters for the adaptation of the access control procedures to the particular conditions underlying a request.
Glial cells modulate the synaptic transmission of NTS neurons sending projections to ventral medulla of Wistar rats

There is evidence that sympathoexcitatory and respiratory responses to chemoreflex activation involve ventrolateral medulla‐projecting nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) neurons (NTS‐VLM neurons) and also that ATP modulates this neurotransmission. Here, we evaluated whether or not astrocytes is the source of endogenous ATP modulating the synaptic transmission in NTS‐VLM neurons. Synaptic activities of putative astrocytes or NTS‐VLM neurons were recorded using whole cell patch clamp. Tractus solitarius (TS) stimulation induced TS‐evoked excitatory postsynaptic currents (TS‐eEPSCs) in NTS‐VLM neurons as well in NTS putative astrocytes, which were also identified by previous labeling. Fluoracetate (FAC), an inhibitor of glial metabolism, reduced TS‐eEPSCs amplitude (−85.6 ± 16 vs. −39 ± 7.1 pA, n = 12) and sEPSCs frequency (2.8 ± 0.5 vs. 1.8 ± 0.46 Hz, n = 10) in recorded NTS‐VLM neurons, indicating a gliomodulation of glutamatergic currents. To verify the involvement of endogenous ATP a purinergic antagonist was used, which reduced the TS‐eEPSCs amplitude (−207 ± 50 vs. −149 ± 50 pA, n = 6), the sEPSCs frequency (1.19 ± 0.2 vs. 0.62 ± 0.11 Hz, n = 6), and increased the paired‐pulse ratio (PPR) values (~20%) in NTS‐VLM neurons. Simultaneous perfusion of Pyridoxalphosphate‐6‐azophenyl‐2′,5′‐disulfonic acid (iso‐PPADS) and FAC produced reduction in TS‐eEPSCs similar to that observed with iso‐PPADS or FAC alone, indicating that glial cells are the source of ATP released after TS stimulation. Extracellular ATP measurement showed that FAC reduced evoked and spontaneous ATP release. All together these data show that putative astrocytes are the source of endogenous ATP, which via activation of presynaptic P2X receptors, facilitates the evoked glutamate release and increases the synaptic transmission efficacy in the NTS‐VLM neurons probably involved with the peripheral chemoreflex pathways.
Effects of the Changing U.S. Age Distribution on Macroeconomic Equations

The effects of the changing U.S. age distribution on various macroeconomic equations are examined in this paper. The equations include consumption, money demand, housing investment, and labor force participation equations. Seven age groups are analyzed: 16-19, 20-24, 25-29, 30-39, 40- 54, 55-64, and 65+. There seems to be enough variance in the age distribution data to allow reasonably precise estimates of the effects of a number of age categories on the macro variables. The results show that, other things being equal, age groups 30-39 and 40-54 consume less than average, invest less in housing than average, and demand more money than average. Age group 55-64 consumes more and demands more money. If these estimates are right, they imply, other things being equal, that consumption and housing investment will be negatively affected in the future as more and more baby boomers enter the 30-54 age group. The demand for money will be positively affected. If, as Easterlin argues, the average wage that an age group faces is negatively affected by the percent of the population in that group, then the labor force participation rate of a group should depend on the relative size of the group. If the substitution effect dominates, people in a large group should work less than average, and if the income effect dominates, they should work more than average. The results indicate that the substitution effect dominates for women 25-54 and that the income effect dominates for men 25-54.
Reasoning about Spatial Consistency

The consistency of spatial descriptions is relevant to tasks ranging from navigation to architecture. In contrast to studies of deduction in which a conclusion is drawn from premises, there have been only a few investigations into how human reasoners decide whether or not a description is consistent. We report results corroborating the theory that reasoners make such judgments usually relying on a single initial mental model of the description. As a result, the task is difficult if it calls for an alternative model of the assertions that must be revised. Especially the model construction process and the way of how information is integrated into a model can explain errors in evaluating problems as consistent. Implications for other theories of reasoning are discussed.
HEC: improving endurance of high performance flash-based cache devices

Flash memory is widely used for its fast random I/O access performance in a gamut of enterprise storage applications. However, due to the limited endurance and asymmetric write performance of flash memory, minimizing writes to a flash device is critical for both performance and endurance. Previous studies have focused on flash memory as a candidate for primary storage devices; little is known about its behavior as a Solid State Cache (SSC) device. In this paper, we propose HEC, a High Endurance Cache that aims to improve overall device endurance via reduced media writes and erases while maximizing cache hit rate performance. We analyze the added write pressures that cache workloads place on flash devices and propose optimizations at both the cache and flash management layers to improve endurance while maintaining or increasing cache hit rate. We demonstrate the individual and cumulative contributions of cache admission policy, cache eviction policy, flash garbage collection policy, and flash device configuration on a) hit rate, b) overall writes, and c) erases as seen by the SSC device. Through our improved cache and flash optimizations, 83% of the analyzed workload ensembles achieved increased or maintained hit rate with write reductions up to 20x, and erase count reductions up to 6x.
The economics of technology and employment : theory and empirical evidence

Part I The economic theory the economics of technical change and employment technology and employment in the history of economic thought - towards a comprehensive taxonomy the recent debate - the neoclassical approach the recent debate alternative approaches. Part II The empirical evidence the empirical studies - a critical survey a testable model the econometric tests based on Italian data the econometric tests based on US data conclusions and policy implications.
Measuring the Visual Complexities of Web Pages

Visual complexities (VisComs) of Web pages significantly affect user experience, and automatic evaluation can facilitate a large number of Web-based applications. The construction of a model for measuring the VisComs of Web pages requires the extraction of typical features and learning based on labeled Web pages. However, as far as the authors are aware, little headway has been made on measuring VisCom in Web mining and machine learning. The present article provides a new approach combining Web mining techniques and machine learning algorithms for measuring the VisComs of Web pages. The structure of a Web page is first analyzed, and the layout is then extracted. Using a Web page as a semistructured image, three classes of features are extracted to construct a feature vector. The feature vector is fed into a learned measuring function to calculate the VisCom of the page. In the proposed approach of the present study, the type of the measuring function and its learning depend on the quantification strategy for VisCom. Aside from using a category and a score to represent VisCom as existing work, this study presents a new strategy utilizing a distribution to quantify the VisCom of a Web page. Empirical evaluation suggests the effectiveness of the proposed approach in terms of both features and learning algorithms.
The Meaning of Modality

This paper describes a semantics for modal terms such as can and may that is intended to model the mental representation of their meaning. The basic assumption of the theory is that the evaluation of a modal assertion involves an attempted mental construction of a specified alternative to a given situation rather than the separate evaluation of each member of a set of possible alternatives as would be required by a “possible worlds” semantics. The theory leads to the conclusion that, contrary to what is often assumed, modal auxiliary verbs are unambiguous.