Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A clinical trial to evaluate the effectiveness of antibiotic treatment of lactating cows with high somatic cell counts in their milk.

OBJECTIVE To determine the effectiveness of treatment of lactating cows with high somatic cell counts in milk. DESIGN Randomised clinical trial. METHODS Single pooled quarter samples of milk were obtained from cows with somatic cell counts above 500,000 cells/mL on fifty farms. Milk samples were cultured for known mastitis bacterial pathogens. Cows were randomly allocated to treated and untreated groups. Treated cows received both intramammary cloxacillin and parenteral erythromycin. Single pooled quarter milk samples were obtained at 6 weeks after treatment and were cultured for the presence of pathogenic bacteria. The percentage of samples with no growth at the post-treatment culture was used as an estimate of the bacteriological cures for each pathogen type and for each treatment group. Somatic cell counts of cows were compared between treatment groups and within pathogen group. The number of cows that completed a full lactation were compared between each treatment group and within each pathogen group. RESULTS Treatment had no effect upon bacteriological cures, irrespective of pathogen present or the presence of bacteria during the previous lactation. There was no effect of treatment upon somatic cell count except for cows infected with Streptococcus dysgalactiae in which treatment caused a significant lowering of cell counts. This effect was not present in the subsequent lactation. Treatment of chronically infected cows did not alter the probability of a cow completing a full lactation but did improve the probability of newly infected cows being retained for the next lactation. Twenty-eight of 214 treated cows developed clinical mastitis in more than one quarter after treatment, thus indicating a poor technique by farmers for the insertion of intramammary antibiotics. CONCLUSIONS Treatment during lactation of cows with high somatic cell counts in milk is ineffective in reducing bacterial infections and in reducing somatic cell counts to acceptable numbers.
THE "POWER" OF TEXT PRODUCTION ACTIVITY IN COLLABORATIVE MODELING : NINE RECOMMENDATIONS TO MAKE A COMPUTER SUPPORTED SITUATION WORK

Language is not a direct translation of a speaker’s or writer’s knowledge or intentions. Various complex processes and strategies are involved in serving the needs of the audience: planning the message, describing some features of a model and not others, organizing an argument, adapting to the knowledge of the reader, meeting linguistic constraints, etc. As a consequence, when communicating about a model, or about knowledge, there is a complex interaction between knowledge and language. In this contribution, we address the question of the role of language in modeling, in the specific case of collaboration over a distance, via electronic exchange of written textual information. What are the problems/dimensions a language user has to deal with when communicating a (mental) model? What is the relationship between the nature of the knowledge to be communicated and linguistic production? What is the relationship between representations and produced text? In what sense can interactive learning systems serve as mediators or as obstacles to these processes?
Acclimatization and tolerance to extreme altitude

During the last ten years, two major experiments have elucidated the factors determining acclimatization and tolerance to extreme altitude (over 7000 m). These were the American Medical Research Expedition to Everest, and the low pressure chamber simulation, Operation Everest II. Extreme hyperventilation is one of the most important responses to extreme altitude. Its chief value is that it allows the climber to maintain an alveolar PO2 which keeps the arterial PO2 above dangerously low levels. Even so, there is evidence of residual impairment of central nervous system function after ascents to extreme altitude, and maximal oxygen consumption falls precipitously above 7000 m. The term ‘acclimatization’ is probably not appropriate for altitudes above 8000 m, because the body steadily deteriorates at these altitudes. Tolerance to extreme altitude is critically dependent on barometric pressure, and even seasonal changes in pressure probably affect climbing performance near the summit of Mt Everest. Supplementary oxygen always improves exercise tolerance at extreme altitudes, and rescue oxygen should be available on climbing expeditions to 8000 m peaks.
Capturing Data Uncertainty in High-Volume Stream Processing

We present the design and development of a data stream system that captures data uncertainty from data collection to query processing to final result generation. Our system focuses on data that is naturally modeled as continuous random variables such as many types of sensor data. To provide an end-to-end solution, our system employs probabilistic modeling and inference to generate uncertainty description for raw data, and then a suite of statistical techniques to capture changes of uncertainty as data propagates through query operators. To cope with high-volume streams, we explore advanced approximation techniques for both space and time efficiency. We are currently working with a group of scientists to evaluate our system using traces collected from real-world applications for hazardous weather monitoring and for object tracking and monitoring.
Mitigation of climate change in terms of the use of renewable energy sources in Bosnia and Herzegovina and mitigation scenarios defined

Many projects that were done in Bosnia and Herzegovina are evident and they aimed at defining mitigation scenarios with measures that will lead to CO2 reduction by 2025, and by 2040 already defined. Those are as follows: Scenario I (business as usual) In this scenario, it is defined that GHG emissions are growing in proportion to the increase in production / energy consumption (with the implementation of energy efficiency measures). This is the most destructive environmental scenario, where there is no inclusion of renewable energy sources (biogas, geothermal energy, solar energy) Next is Scenario II (reference scenario) This scenario implies the implementation of projects from entity strategies for the development of the electricity sector, with the increase of energy efficiency. And next Scenario III (advanced scenario). This scenario implies the reduction of energy consumption, with the emphasis on the following: increasing the efficiency of (power) plants, next intensive exploitation of the potential of renewable energy sources, and intensive using renewable energy sources; all RES have been taken into account, especially the use of solar energy.
On Global Costs and Nyquist's Theorem in Random Variate Generation

We consider a large class of densities defined in terms of smoothness and tail conditions. Assume that we want to generate n iid random variables from a given density f in this class, and that the global cost of the generator is equal to the total number of evaluations of f. We demonstrate with the help of several examples how one can proceed to make the expected cost grow at a sublinear (o(n)) rate. Examples include the class of Lipschitz densities on [0, 1] with known Lipschitz constant, the class of bounded monotone densities on [0, 1], and the class of all densities with a characteristic function of bounded support and kth moment bounded by a given constant. In the last example, we proceed to show how Nyquist's theorem can be exploited to yield a generator with O(n1/(k−1)) expected cost.
The future of space exploration and human development

As a scientist, who has been a part of the growth process of space science and technology in India, I find this field of human endeavour has, in the last 50 years, made an unprecedented impact on the life of the human race. It has been easy to see the aspirations and pain of the people of India and the great expectations they have for further improving their quality of life using technology including space. It is critical to continue researching how space technology can enhance further the quality of life of world citizens, while examining many innovative ideas for space exploration, including exciting aspects like space colonies, search for extra terrestrial intelligence and planetary exploration. We have to understand our planet more completely, and evolve and adapt our life to its environment and ecology.
Seismic triggering of landslides and turbidity currents offshore Portugal

Sediments in deep water basins often include turbidites that record sediment input from adjacent continental margins. In seismically active areas, where turbidity currents are triggered by earthquakes, the basinal turbidite sequence may thus contain a record of palaeoseismicity, which can be used to infer the frequency of earthquakes affecting the margins of the basin. This is particularly useful where large earthquakes have a recurrence interval than is greater than the historical record. However, turbidity currents can be triggered by several processes, and it is often difficult to trace individual turbidites to their precise source areas and to assign a definite trigger to a particular turbidite. Here, we demonstrate that turbidites emplaced at ∼6600 and ∼8300 Cal yr BP in the Tagus Abyssal Plain, off Portugal, correlate with erosional hiatuses in two submarine canyons on the continental margin. The turbidites are sourced from simultaneous landsliding in both canyons, requiring regional triggers interpreted as earthquakes. An earthquake recurrence interval for the continental margin of ∼4000 years is estimated by extrapolation to deeper turbidites in the basin sequence. However, the example of the 1755 earthquake, which caused widespread devastation in southwest Iberia, shows that palaeoseismic interpretations must be made with caution. The 1755 earthquake had a magnitude >8.5 and yet the associated turbidite in the abyssal plain is typically ∼5 cm thick, while older turbidites can be >1 m thick. Given the large 1755 earthquake magnitude, the difference in turbidite thickness is unlikely to be related to the relative size of triggering earthquakes. Instead, we suggest that the offshore location of the 1755 earthquake, coupled with low sedimentation rates during the Holocene, may have limited the size of the associated turbidite.
Adaptive Robust Posture Control of a Pneumatic Muscles Driven Parallel Manipulator with Redundancy

This paper presents an adaptive robust posture controller for a pneumatic muscles driven parallel manipulator with a redundant degree-of-freedom (DOF). The symmetric geometric structure of the parallel manipulator driven by identical pneumatic muscles studied in this paper makes the rotation angle of the manipulator along its axial direction negligible and a non-factor in using the manipulator. As such, the axial rotation angle is normally not measured and controlled when these types of manipulator are used in practice, leading to a single DOF redundancy in synthesizing the precise posture controller for rotation angles along other axes. To make full use of this redundancy as well as effectively tackle severe uncertainties in the system dynamics, an equivalent average-stiffness-like desired constraint is introduced in the development of adaptive robust posture controller to achieve precise posture tracking while reducing control chattering due to measurement noise. Experimental results are obtained to verify the validity of the proposed controller for the pneumatic muscles driven redundant parallel manipulator.
The Future of Atrial Fibrillation Therapy

Today management of atrial fibrillation (AF) centers on restoration and maintenance of normal sinus rhythm or control of the ventricular rate response to AF. Current guidelines state that rhythm and rate control strategies should be considered therapeutically equivalent, but recognize that no “one size fits all,” an approach consistent with growing recognition of the heterogeneity of AF. As data from the Sotalol Amiodarone Atrial Fibrillation Efficacy Trial clearly demonstrate, conventional antiarrhythmics have a role in highly symptomatic AF accompanied by decreased quality of life. However, for many AF patients such drugs lack efficacy, have potentially serious side effects, and are poorly tolerated. In parallel with the development of more effective and safer antiarrhythmics, nontraditional approaches to prevention and treatment of AF are being explored. Treatments not considered “antiarrhythmic” that may prevent or forestall AF include aggressive antihypertensive therapy with angiotensin‐converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers, and some, but not all, beta‐blockers and calcium channel antagonists, especially when used as adjunctive therapy. Other approaches include statins, steroids, and fish oil to reduce atrial fibrosis and inflammation, and pacemakers to prevent bradycardia‐mediated AF and as a pacing preventive strategy in selected patients. Ablative techniques with potential to cure AF are gaining popularity, but are not yet simple, straightforward, and risk‐free procedures. In the future, treatment of AF will progress beyond today's focus on AF as a purely electrocardiographic disease toward a patient and context‐specific management strategy involving multiple treatment modalities.
Savant Memory for Digits in a Case of Synaesthesia and Asperger Syndrome is Related to Hyperactivity in the Lateral Prefrontal Cortex

Single case: DT is a savant with exceptional abilities in numerical memory and mathematical calculations. DT also has an elaborate form of synaesthesia for visually presented digits. Further more, DT also has Asperger syndrome (AS). We carried out two preliminary investigations to establish whether these conditions may contribute to his savant abilities. Neuroimaging: In an fMRI digit span study, DT showed hyperactivity in lateral prefrontal cortex when encoding digits, compared with controls. In addition, while controls showed raised lateral prefrontal activation in response to structured (compared to unstructured) sequences of digits, DT's neural activity did not differ between these two conditions. In addition, controls showed a significant performance advantage for structured, compared with unstructured sequences whereas no such pattern was found for DT. We suggest that this performance pattern reflects that DT focuses less on external mathematical structure, since for him all digit sequences have internal structure linked to his synaesthesia. Finally, DT did not activate extra-striate regions normally associated with synaesthesia, suggesting that he has an unusual and more abstract and conceptual form of synaesthesia. This appears to generate structured, highly-chunked content that enhances encoding of digits and aids both recall and calculation. Neuropsychology: People with AS preferentially attend to local features of stimuli. To test this in DT, we administered the Navon task. Relative to controls, DT was faster at finding a target at the local level, and was less distracted by interference from the global level. Discussion: The propensity to focus on local detail, in concert with a form of synaesthesia that provides structure to all digits, may account for DT's exceptional numerical memory and calculation ability. This neural and cognitive pattern needs to be tested in a series of similar cases, and with more constrained control groups, to confirm the significance of this association.
Hyperpolarized Functional Magnetic Resonance of Murine Skeletal Muscle Enabled by Multiple Tracer-Paradigm Synchronizations

Measuring metabolism's time- and space-dependent responses upon stimulation lies at the core of functional magnetic resonance imaging. While focusing on water's sole resonance, further insight could arise from monitoring the temporal responses arising from the metabolites themselves, in what is known as functional magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Performing these measurements in real time, however, is severely challenged by the short functional timescales and low concentrations of natural metabolites. Dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization is an emerging technique that can potentially alleviate this, as it provides a massive sensitivity enhancement allowing one to probe low-concentration tracers and products in a single-scan. Still, conventional implementations of this hyperpolarization approach are not immediately amenable to the repeated acquisitions needed in real-time functional settings. This work proposes a strategy for functional magnetic resonance of hyperpolarized metabolites that bypasses this limitation, and enables the observation of real-time metabolic changes through the synchronization of stimuli-triggered, multiple-bolus injections of the metabolic tracer 13C1-pyruvate. This new approach is demonstrated with paradigms tailored to reveal in vivo thresholds of murine hind-limb skeletal muscle activation, involving the conversion of 13C1-pyruvate to 13C1-lactate and 13C1-alanine. These functional hind-limb studies revealed that graded skeletal muscle stimulation causes commensurate increases in glycolytic metabolism in a frequency- and amplitude-dependent fashion, that can be monitored on the seconds/minutes timescale using dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization. Spectroscopic imaging further allowed the in vivo visualization of uptake, transformation and distribution of the tracer and products, in fast-twitch glycolytic and in slow-twitch oxidative muscle fiber groups. While these studies open vistas in time and sensitivity for metabolic functional magnetic resonance studies in muscle, the simplicity of our approach makes this technique amenable to a wide range of functional metabolic tracer studies.
Charge in Long-Lasting El Niño Events by Convection-Induced Wind Anomalies over the Western Pacific in Boreal Spring

AbstractIn this study, El Nino events are classified as long El Nino (LE) events and short El Nino (SE) events based on their durations, and the characteristics of the early stages of these events are investigated. Results indicate that LE events tend to start earlier compared to SE events, initiating in boreal spring and peaking in winter. Their early occurrence is attributed to the western equatorial Pacific (WEP) sea surface wind anomalies that benefit the eastward propagation of warm water by forcing the downwelling Kelvin waves. It is also found that the wind anomalies are potentially induced by the convection anomalies over the WEP in spring. Experiments with a fully coupled climate model forced by convection heating anomalies over the WEP show that El Nino events become stronger and longer after introducing anomalous convection heating. The convection anomalies induce an extensive anomalous westerly belt over the WEP, which charges El Nino by eastward-propagating Kelvin waves. Moreover, induced by .
The Economic Burden of Self-Reported and Undiagnosed Cardiovascular Diseases and Diabetes on Indonesian Households

Objectives The goal of this study is: (1) to estimate the current direct out-of-pocket (OOP) and indirect non-communicable diseases (NCD) burden on Indonesian households and (2) to project NCD prevalence and burden in 2020 focusing specifically on hypertension, diabetes, heart problems and stroke. Methods This study relies on econometric analyses based on four waves of the Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS). Results In aggregate, of the NCDs studied, heart problems exert the greatest economic burden on households, costing Int$1.56 billion in OOP and indirect burden in 2010. This was followed by hypertension (Int$1.36 billion), diabetes (Int$0.81 billion) and stroke (Int$0.29 billion). The OOP and indirect burden of these conditions is estimated to be Int$4.02 billion. Diabetes and stroke are expected to have the largest proportional increases in burden by 2020; 56.0% for diabetes and 56.9% for stroke to total Int$1.27 billion and Int$0.45 billion respectively. The burden of heart problems in 2020 is expected to increase by 34.4% to total Int$2.09 billion and hypertension burden will increase by 46.1% to Int$1.99 billion. In 2020, these conditions are expected to impose an economic burden of Int$5.80 billion. Conclusion In conclusion, this study demonstrates the significant burden of 4 primary NCDs on Indonesian households. In addition to the indirect burden, hypertension, diabetes, heart problems and stroke account for 8% of the nation's OOP healthcare expenditure, and due to rising disease prevalence and an aging population, this figure is expected to increase to 12% by 2020 without a significant health intervention.
Brief Report: Does Most Mortality in Patients on ART Occur in Care or After Lost to Follow-Up? Evidence From the Themba Lethu Clinic, South Africa

Abstract:In resource-limited settings, early mortality on antiretroviral therapy (ART) is approximately 10%; yet, it is unclear how much of that mortality occurs in care or after lost to follow-up. We assessed mortality rates and predictors of death among 12,222 nonpregnant ART-naive adults initiating first-line ART between April 2004 and May 2012 in South Africa, stratified by person-years in care and lost. We found 14.6% of patients died and being lost accounted for a minority of deaths across multiple definitions of loss (population attributable-risk percent ranged from 10.4% to 42.5%). Although mortality rates in patients lost were much higher than in care, most ART-related mortality occurred on treatment.
Reconfiguring Replicated Atomic Storage: A Tutorial

We live in a world of Internet services such as email, social networks, web searching, and more, which must store increasingly larger volumes of data. These services must run on cheap infrastructure, hence they must use distributed storage systems; and they have to provide reliability of data for long periods as well as availability, hence they must support online reconfiguration to remove failed nodes and add healthy ones. The knowledge needed to implement online reconfiguration is subtle and simple techniques often fail to work well. This tutorial provides an introductory overview of this topic, including a description of the main technical challenges, as well as the various approaches that are used to address these challenges.
Developing cycle-accurate contract specifications for synchronous parallel-pipeline hardware: Application to verification

The paper describes a methodology for formal cycle-accurate specification of synchronous parallel-pipeline hardware. The main application of the methodology is simulation-based verification of control-intensive digital designs. Its key features are as follows: (1) resources of a design under verification (buffers, arbiters, data transfer channels, etc.) are specified by means of reusable cycle-accurate models; (2) operations of a design (pipeline control flows) are described by defining contracts (i.e. pre- and post-conditions) for all operation stages (functional units of a pipeline). Formal specifications of that kind can be easily applied to automate simulation-based verification. The suggested solution is aimed at achieving technological effectiveness of specifications development.