Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sex and age influence intestinal parasite burden in three boreal grouse species

Parasite infections are often more common in male vertebrates than in females. Sexual selection leading to dimorphism can cause sexual differences in immune defence, behaviour or body size. Possible proximate explanations for male bias in parasitism are the immunosuppressive effect of male sex hormones and the large body size of males which increases the likelihood of being parasitized. To evaluate these hypotheses, we studied the prevalence and abundance of intestinal helminth parasites in three boreal grouse species, the capercaillie Tetrao urogallus, the black grouse Tetrao tetrix, and the hazel grouse Bonasa bonasia. The first two are sexually dimorphic polygynous species while the latter species is sexually monomorphic and monogamous. We found a male-bias in the prevalence and abundance of the nematode Ascaridia compar. The bias was most pronounced in the polygynous black grouse and capercaillie. In the monogamous hazel grouse, there was a slight male-bias in occurrence of ascarids, but no bias in abundance. In juvenile grouse, the male-bias was larger than in adult grouse. No sexual bias was found in regard to the cestodes (Skrjabinia cesticillus, Paroniella urogalli and Hymenolepis spp.). However, age was a factor in cestode prevalence: juvenile grouse were more commonly infected than adults. Differences in growth rates and body size are potential factors that may lead to male-biased parasitism in these grouse species, and their impact requires further studies.
PLS-VIO: Stereo Vision-inertial Odometry Based on Point and Line Features

Traditional point feature-based vision SLAMs are difficult to find reliable point features to estimate camera pose in a weakly textured long corridor environment. Visual only SLAMs easily lose point features in weak texture or fast motion situations, causing the system to crash. And monocular VIOs have unobservable IMU scales under uniform motion. In view of the above, we propose PLS-VIO, an optimized Stereo vision-inertial odometry system using tight fusion of point and line features in this paper. PLS- VIO is divided into two threads: front-end point-line features tracking and back-end pose optimization. We use Plücker coordinates and orthonormal representation to represent line features, and optimize the 6-D pose by minimizing the objective function (including IMU error, reprojection error of point and line features, and prior error). We also improved the matching filtering strategy for line features. Our method is validated on the currently most popular public dataset (EuRoC), and shows superiority over the state of arts such as VINS-Mono, VINS-Fusion, OKVIS, MSCKF-Line, PL-VIO (no loop detection) etc. In the actual low texture and long corridor environment, the accuracy is improved by more than 50% compared with point feature-based methods.
Effect of Feeding Lactating Ewes with Moringa oleifera Leaf Extract on Milk Yield, Milk Composition and Preweaning Performance of Ewe/Lamb Pair

Simple Summary The use of plant extracts as supplemental additives in ruminant diets shows beneficial effects. This study evaluated the effects of different doses of Moringa oleifera leaf extract (MOE) on milk production and milk composition in ewes and on preweaning performance of their lambs. At different doses, MOE supplementation did not affect overall productive traits in ewes and lambs and did not have negative effects on milk production and milk quality. Abstract The objective this study was to evaluate the effect of different doses of Moringa oleifera leaf extract (MOE) on milk production and milk composition in ewes and on preweaning performance of their lambs. Twenty-four lactating ewes were housed individually with their lambs and assigned to four groups in a completely randomized design. The treatments included a basal diet without MOE (MOE0) or a basal diet supplemented with either 20 mL MOE per ewe per day (MOE20), 40 mL MOE per ewe per day (MOE40) or 60 mL MOE per ewe per day (MOE60). Over 45 days, milk production was recorded weekly and individual milk samples were collected for chemical analysis. Milk yield, fat-corrected milk and daily yields were similar among the four treatments. The supply of MOE did not affect ewe weaning efficiency and average daily gain or litter weaning weight of the lambs. Overall, the results from this study showed that dietary supplementation of hydroalcoholic extracts of Moringa oleifera leaves at doses of 20, 40 or 60 mL/ewes/d in lactating ewes does not have negative effects on milk yield, milk composition or lamb performance.
Cangrelor dose titration using platelet function testing during cerebrovascular stent placement

Background Optimal antiplatelet inhibition is vital during cerebrovascular stenting procedures, yet no standardized recommendation exists for antithrombotic therapy in these scenarios. Cangrelor is an intravenous P2Y12 inhibitor with a favorable pharmacokinetic profile for use during neuroendovascular stenting. Methods A retrospective review of all neuroendovascular patients who underwent stenting between 1 January 2019 and 22 March 2020 and were treated with cangrelor was conducted. Thirty-seven patients met inclusion criteria. Results All patients were administered a bolus of 5 mcg/kg of cangrelor followed by a maintenance infusion. Antiplatelet effects of cangrelor were monitored using platelet reactivity units (PRU). Based on the initial PRU, seven patients’ doses were adjusted with subsequent PRUs in or near the goal range of 50–150. One patient experienced an acute intraprocedural occlusion likely related to a subtherapeutic PRU which subsequently resolved with cangrelor dose adjustment and intra-arterial tirofiban administration, and one patient experienced a post-procedure stent occlusion which required a thrombectomy and intra-arterial tirofiban administration. No hemorrhagic complications occurred. Discussion Cangrelor utilization during neuroendovascular stenting with maintenance doses of <2 mcg/kg/min with dose adjustments based on platelet function testing has not been previously described. Cangrelor presents many advantages compared to standard therapy in patients undergoing stent placement related to its pharmacokinetic profile, rapid onset of action, ease of transition to oral P2Y12 antiplatelet agents, and measurability. Conclusion Cangrelor is a promising alternative to currently available therapies, especially in patients with a high hemorrhagic risk.
Disease-Inducing Secretions of Plant-Parasitic Nematodes

Plant-parasitic nematodes are frequently separated into three general groups according to feeding habit. The amount of tissue destruction and the degree of plant response is often related to the feeding relationship. The unspecialized ectoparasites, which have a primitive mode of parasitism, remain outside the root and use their stylet to feed either on epidermal cells or on cells deeper within the root. With the exception of a few species that feed at root tips, nematodes with this type of feeding habit generally cause little obvious tissue damage. Migratory endoparasites enter and migrate within roots, feeding on various tissues and generally causing considerable destruction of root tissue. The advanced sedentary endoparasitic species have evolved highly special­ ized feeding relationships with their hosts. These nematodes enter roots as vermiform juveniles and after feeding commences, their bodies swell and they become immobile. Further development depends on nourishment from a few root cells adjacent to the nematode's head. These cells are modified into specialized nutritive cells that become the permanent feeding site for the parasite. Tissue destruction is limited to a few cells around the nematode. Plant-parasitic nematodes inject secretions via a stylet into plant cells when feeding. Little is known about the nature or purpose of these secretions. They may participate only in extracorporeal digestion to facilitate ingestion of the cytoplasm of the recipient cell, as observed for the ectoparasites (65), or may elicit the formation of the elaborate feeding sites induced by the sedentary endoparasitic nematodes (40). Disease development in infected plants may be (a) directly related to the cellular responses to nematode secretions, (b) a consequence of an imbalance in growth processes from a systemic reaction by the whole plant to the parasitic activity of the nematode (25, 62), or, perhaps
Bias in evaluating the effects of marine protected areas: the importance of baseline data for the Galapagos Marine Reserve

Analysis of ecological baseline data collected for key resource species within the Galapagos Marine Reserve indicates that variation in animal density associated with the location of fully protected zones can be comparable to protected area effects. Even with a high level of interspersion between conservation, tourism and fishing management zones, major differences in densities of economically important species were evident between zone types prior to enforcement of fishing restrictions. Densities of the most valuable fishery resource, sea cucumbers, were three times higher in zones that remained open to fishing compared to ‘no-take’ conservation zones, and densities of sharks were five times higher in tourism zones than fishing or conservation zones. These results highlight bias in the socio-political processes that can accompany selection of marine protected areas, where fishers attempt to minimize perceived impacts on their livelihood by locating large protected zones in resource-poor areas, and tourism operators and sport divers argue for protection of areas containing atypically-interesting features. Bias in the location of fully protected zones can seriously confound ‘control-impact’ field investigations when data prior to prohibitions on fishing are lacking, including meta-analyses, which are dominated by such potentially systematically biased studies.
Two Millimeter-Wave Base Station Cooperation Technologies in High-Mobility Environments for 5G Evolution

Commercial services in 5G have already started all over the world. The initial 5G introduces analog beamforming (BF) by Massive MIMO (M-MIMO) to compensate for the larger path-loss in millimeter-wave (mmW) bands such as 28 GHz. In 5G Evolution (5GE) that is expected to be realized for around 2025, the analog BF will be replaced with hybrid or fully digital BF to improve mmW-band downlink/uplink transmission performances. In addition, new radio access technologies are required for 5GE to provide stable and reliable cell-edge transmission in the mmW bands, even when mobile stations (MSs) travel in high mobility. This paper proposes two mmW base station cooperation technologies that are inter-baseband unit (inter-BBU) and intra-BBU cooperation for the hybrid BF. The former exploits two M-MIMO antennas in two BBUs connected to one central unit by limited-bandwidth fronthaul, and the latter cooperates two M-MIMO antennas connected to one BBU with Doppler frequency shift compensation. Computer simulations verify that the intra-BBU cooperation can achieve an excellent transmission performance in cases of two and four MSs moving at a velocity of 90 km/h.
Physical studies of the alimentary tract of grazing cattle

Abstract Three pairs of rumen-fistulated monozygous twin dairy cows, each set containing one milking and one dry twin, were used to record seasonal changes in the amount of digesta in and the capacity of the reticulo-rumen. The wet and dry weights of digesta were generally greater in the milking than in the dry cows. They reachcd their maxima in the milking cows after peak milk production had been reached and remained near these levels while milk production was falling. In the dry cows, seasonal changes in these amounts were small. The capacity of the reticulo-rumen was measured as the volume of water it would accommodate and also as the volume of air in a large balloon when inflated inside the empty reticulo-rumen. These water-filled and air-filled capacities of the reticulo-rumen followed similar trends to those shown by the wet and dry weights of digesta. The volume of the digesta was related to both the water-filled and air-filled capacities. It is suggested that although diurnal variation may occur i.
Anticorpo recombinante anti-intimina: uma ferramenta para o diagnóstico rápido de Escherichia coli enteropatogênica e de Escherichia coli enterohemorrágica

CARAVELLI, A. Anti-intimin recombinant antibody: a tool for a rapid diagnosis of enteropathogenic and enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli. 2013. 147 p. Masters thesis (Biotechnology) Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, 2013. Intimin is the main virulence factor involved in the attaching/effacing lesion of enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) and enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC), which are responsible for infantile diarrhea and hemorrhagic colitis/hemolytic uremic syndrome, respectively. In developing countries, their diagnosis is either time-consuming and expensive or is not done in the routine laboratory. Nevertheless, their detection is essential in defining the infection treatment. The aim of the study was to define the most suitable expression vector and evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of the scFv-intimin obtained. The scFv-intimin gene previously obtained was cloned into pAE and pSMT3 expression vectors and transformed into an E. coli BL21 (DE3) strain. Expression was induced with 1 mM IPTG. In both vectors, recombinant protein was expressed as inclusion bodies, so pAE was chosen as the expression vector for nickel affinity chromatography. Once purified, scFv-intimin was employed in an indirect immunofluorescence assay to define a rapid and reliable assay testing 199 E. coli strains and other Enterobacteriaceae isolates, of which 132 isolates were eaepositive and 67 isolates were eae-negative. The immunofluorescence assay showed the detection of 132 eae-positive isolates (100% sensitive) and no detection in the 67 eae-negative isolates (100% specific). Thus, immunofluorescence is an effective and rapid method and scFv-intimin an excellent tool for the immunodiagnosis of EPEC and EHEC.
An End-To-End Dehazing Method Using Deep Learning

: The appearance of ambient haze impairs the image grade produced by camera sensors. The elimination of haze is called dehazing, which is usually done by the physical deterioration model, which involves a process to an unplaced inverse issue. Recently, the dark channel prior(DCP) was introduced to alleviate the complexity of the inverse problem and has gained much caution. The DCP obtained from the characteristic of natural outside pictures, that the intensity value inside a local window of at least one color channel is close to zero. The dehazing can be achieved through four major steps based on the DCP: (1) estimation of ambient light, (2) estimation of transmission map, (3) refinement of transmission map and (4) restoration of images. This four step dehazing method allows a progressive approach to technical solution of the unplaced problem to be presented. It also helps us by providing some clarity about the progressive contributions of recent DCP-related work for each phase of the dehazing method. Our comprehensive survey and experimental study on DCP-based methods will help readers understand the efficacy of each phase of the dehazing process and will encourage the development of advanced dehazing algorithms. Before doing the dehazing, we classify our images first as haze based on percentage. Once the image is dehazed, we test it by running algorithms for text detection and object detection.
Analysis of transit quality of service through segmentation and classification tree techniques

Perceptions about the quality of service are very different among public transport (PT) users. Users’ perceptions are heterogeneous for many reasons: the qualitative aspects of PT service, users’ socio-economic characteristics, and the diversity of tastes and attitudes towards PT. By analysing different groups of users who share a common characteristic (e.g. socio-economic or travel behaviour), it is possible to homogenise user opinions about the quality of service. This paper studies quality as perceived by users of the metropolitan transit system of Granada (Spain) through a classification tree technique (classification and regression trees (CART)) based on five market segmentations (gender, age, frequency of use, reason for travelling, and type of ticket). CART is a non-parametric method that has a number of advantages compared to other methods that require a predefined underlying relationship between dependent and independent variables. The study is based on data gathered in several customer satisfaction surveys (non-research-oriented) conducted in the Granada metropolitan transit system. The models' outcomes show that some attributes are very important for almost all the market segments (punctuality and information), while others are not very relevant for any of the segments – most notably fare, despite the fact that fare was stated as very important by most of the passengers during the interview.
Authors’ Reply: Search for Predictors of Exceptional Human Longevity: Using Computerized Genealogies and Internet Resources for Human Longevity Studies - Discussion by Bert Kestenbaum

HILL, MARK E. , SAMUEL H. PRESTON, AND IRA ROSENWAIKE. 2000a. Age Reporting among White Americans Aged 85 : Results of a Record Linkage Study. Demography 37: 175–86. HILL, MARK E. , SAMUEL H. PRESTON, IRA ROSENWAIKE, AND J. F. DUNAGAN. 2000b. Childhood Conditions Predicting Survival to Advanced Ages among White Americans. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Population Association of America, Los Angeles, CA. KESTENBAUM, BERTRAM, AND B. RENEÉ FERGUSON. 2002. Mortality of the Extreme Aged in the United States in the 1990s, Based on Improved Medicare Data. North American Actuarial Journal 6(3): 38–44. ———. 2006. The Number of Centenarians in the United States on January 1, 1990, 2000, and 2010 Based on Improved Medicare Data. North American Actuarial Journal 10(3): 1–6.
Effects of 2-hydroxy-4(methylthio) butanoic acid isopropyl ester on rumen fermentation in cashmere goats

The impact of dietary 2-hydroxy-4-(methylthio) butyric acid isopropyl ester (HMBi) on rumen fermentation in cashmere goats was investigated to determine the effect of this ester on cashmere production. Four healthy castrated Liaoning cashmere goats with permanent rumen cannulas were assayed for four periods. In each period, goats were fed a different diet: control diet (containing 0% MetaSmart (an HMBi product)), diet I (containing 0.85% MetaSmart), diet II (containing 1.27% MetaSmart) or diet III (containing 1.70% MetaSmart). Rumen pH, ammonia-N concentration, volatile fatty acid (VFA) concentrations and total protein concentration were determined after feeding in each period. Results showed that rumen pH significantly increased and rumen ammonia-N concentration significantly decreased when the diet was supplemented with 0.85%, 1.27% and 1.70% MetaSmart. Diets with 1.27% and 1.70% MetaSmart increased rumen total VFA concentration, and 3 hours post feeding all three HMBi diets increased acetic acid concentration. Rumen total protein concentration significantly increased in the goats fed 1.27% or 1.70% MetaSmart. Thus, diets supplemented with HMBi significantly affected rumen pH, ammonia-N concentration, VFA concentrations and total protein content. Dietary HMBi can promote rumen fermentation in cashmere goats.
Application of "Flipped Classroom" in the Teaching of "Morphology Composition"

The implementation of the "Morphology Composition" has expanded the new field of plastic arts and opened up students' creativity and imagination in terms of visual language and modeling methods. It is of great significance for students to go beyond the constraints of inherent experience, seek multiple expressions of the modeling language, and cultivate the creative thinking of the visual art image. At the same time, some domestic colleges and universities have gradually tried the "Morphology Composition" teaching mode based on the flipped classroom, and this innovative teaching form may get more results with less effort. Based on this, this work first analyzed the development and advantages of flipped classrooms, then discussed problems in the teaching of "Morphology Composition", and finally proposed the application path of flipped classroom teaching mode in the teaching of "Morphology
Combined Impact of Voltage Transformer and Estimation Algorithm on Harmonic Synchrophasors Measurements

Nowadays the increased diffusion of nonlinear power electronics based devices in electric distribution grids has raised the interests towards power quality monitoring. In this respect, the use of synchronized harmonic phasors can be a powerful tool that allows identifying the sources of power quality issues such as harmonic disturbances. However, the impact of the uncertainty due to the employed voltage transformers and to the other devices that compose the measurement chain has to be analyzed. The aim of this work is investigating, through numerical simulations, the combined impact of the inductive instrument transformer and of the estimation algorithm on harmonic synchrophasor measurement. In particular, a detailed model of the voltage transformer considering core hysteresis has been employed.
InP HEMTs for Sub-mW Cryogenic Low-Noise Amplifiers

This paper reports on a 100-nm gate length InP high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT) technology for cryogenic low-noise amplifiers (LNAs) with ultra-low power dissipation of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$112~\mu \text{W}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>. This result was obtained by using 100-nm gate length InP HEMTs with improved transconductance at low drain current through a scaled-down gate-channel distance while maintaining a low gate leakage current with the use of an InP etch stop layer and Pt gate metal. The noise performance of InP HEMTs was demonstrated in a 4–8 GHz (C–band) three-stage hybrid LNA at the ambient temperature of 5 K. At a dc power dissipation of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$300~\mu \text{W}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, the average noise temperature was 2.8 K with 27 dB gain. At a dc power dissipation of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$112~\mu \text{W}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, the LNA exhibited an average noise temperature of 4.1 K with a gain of 20 dB. The presented results demonstrate the large potential of InP HEMT technology for sub-mW cryogenic LNA design.
A Programmable Subthreshold Capacitance Scaler for Medical Signal Conditioning

Noise and artifact rejection is a key requirement in biomedical engineering applications. The power and voltage efficient implementation of frequency selective analog front ends is conditioned by supporting large time constants while consuming very little power. MOS transistors biased in weak inversion have been successfully employed to design Gm-C filters. One solution proposed in the literature for realizing large time constants is to use capacitance multipliers at the expense of some additional power consumption. The parasitic series and parallel resistances of scaled capacitors can significantly degrade the frequency range and parameters of integrator cells. This paper proposes an improved architecture for a wide frequency range, programmable current mirror based capacitance multiplier featuring reduced sensitivity to changing programming bits. The enhanced circuit is using a folded cascode current buffer to isolate the programmable current mirror output stage from the multiplier input nodes and to obtain lower sensitivities with the programmed multiplication ratio.