Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dextrous telerobotics with force feedback — An overview part 2: control and implementation

SUMMARY The control stategy for a dextrous masters is different from the general case of bilateral teleoperation since it models the human hand in much more detail. Such a model is discussed together with the selection of actuators used for force feedback control. Existing prototypes of dextrous masters with force feedback are then reviewed. These are the Servo Controlled Manipulator Device, the Portable Dextrous Force Feedback Master (P.D.M.F.F.), the Remote Handler, and the Advanced Multiple DOF Force Reflective Hand/Wrist Master.
Pathogenicity by Parenteral Injection of Fowl Adenovirus Isolated from Gizzard Erosion and Resistance to Reinfection in Adenoviral Gizzard Erosion in Chickens

The pathogenicity of a serotype-1 fowl adenovirus (FAV-99ZH), which causes adenoviral gizzard erosion by oral inoculation in chickens, was investigated in specific pathogen-free white leghorn chickens. In trial 1, 14 chickens were inoculated intravenously with the virus at 21 days of age and euthanatized for necropsy within 1–14 days of inoculation. Gizzard erosion was grossly observed from day 7 postinoculation (PI), and histologically, FAV-99ZH antigen-positive, basophilic intranuclear inclusion bodies were seen in the gizzard lesions from day 7 to 11 PI. Necrotizing pancreatitis, and cholecystitis and cholangitis associated with the inclusions were observed from day 3 to 14 PI (pancreatitis) and from day 5 to 9 PI (cholecystitis and cholangitis), respectively. The inclusions were also observed in the epithelial cells of the cecal tonsils from day 3 to 5 PI. The virus was recovered from samples of the lesions. It was revealed that FAV-99ZH causes not only gizzard erosion but also pancreatitis, cholecystitis, and cholangitis by intravenous inoculation in chickens. In trial 2, 10 chickens were inoculated orally with the virus twice, at 13 and 36 days of age, and euthanatized for necropsy within 4–17 days after reinfection. Macroscopically, focal gizzard lesions were observed; however, neither necrosis nor inclusions were observed by microscopy. Moreover, FAV was not recovered from the gizzard or rectum of any of the chickens at necropsy. This suggests that the gizzard lesions occurred as a result of the primary infection, and that the chickens were able to resist reinfection.
The safety and efficacy of adalimumab in patients with Crohn's disease: the experience of a single Canadian tertiary care centre

Abstract Background. Adalimumab (ADA), an antitumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) monoclonal antibody, is effective in treating moderate-to-severely active Crohn's disease (CD). ADA has been associated with a variety of adverse events (AE). The purpose of this study is to determine the safety and efficacy of ADA in CD patients in clinical practice. Methods. A retrospective analysis was performed on CD patients treated with ADA. Data extracted and analyzed included patient and CD demographics, remission and response rates with ADA, and safety and tolerability of ADA. Results. A total of 149 ADA-treated CD patients were included. The mean duration of therapy with ADA was 20 months with 32% of patients discontinuing treatment. Anti-TNF-naïve and anti-TNF-exposed patients on ADA achieved clinical remission in 45% and 32%, had a clinical response in 23% and 23%, and had no clinical response in 32% and 45%, respectively. Anti-TNF-naïve and anti-TNF-exposed patients maintained remission in 82% and 67%, respectively. Fistulas healed in 19% and improved in 19%. AE occurred in 38% of patients with infection being the most common (20%). Serious infections lead to death in one (<1%). Logistic regression of AE did not identify statistically significant predictors except for colonic disease location (odds ratio [OR] = 0.31, 95% CI = 0.12–0.82, p = 0.018) and the rate of ADA discontinuation (OR = 3.24, 95% CI = 1.58–6.64, p = 0.0013). Conclusion. ADA is an effective treatment for CD. AE can occur commonly leading to discontinuation of medication and may be influenced by disease location. Although serious complications are rare, close monitoring of all patients on ADA is needed.
GPU-based Bio-inspired Model for Solving Association Rules Mining Problem

We explore in this paper the application of bioinspired approaches to the association rules mining (ARM) problem for the purpose of accelerating the process of extracting the correlations between items in sizeable data instances. A new bio-inspired GPU-based model is proposed, which benefits from the massively GPU threading by evaluating multiple rules in parallel on GPU. To validate the proposed model, the most used bio-inspired approaches (GA, PSO, and BSO) have been executed on GPU to solve wellknown large ARM instances. Real experiments have been carried out on an Intel Xeon 64 bit quad-core processor E5520 coupled to an Nvidia Tesla C2075 GPU device. The results show that the genetic algorithm outperforms PSO and BSO. Moreover, it outperforms the state-of-the-art GPUbased ARM approaches when dealing with the challenging Webdocs instance.
The growth and resistance to sodium hypochlorite of Listeria monocytogenes in a steady‐state multispecies biofilm

A constant‐depth film fermenter (CDFF) was used to culture a steady‐state multispecies biofilm consisting of one strain each of Listeria monocytogenes, Pseudomonas fragi and Staphylococcus xylosus. These bacteria were initially grown together in a conventional chemostat to achieve a steady state before being inoculated into the CDFF over an 18‐h period. A dilute tryptone soya broth (TSB) medium was supplied to the CDFF and the biofilm allowed to develop over a 28‐d period. This mature biofilm was then subjected to increasing levels of sodium hypochlorite solution to measure any antimicrobial effect. The three organisms were seen to reach a steady state after 6 d in the chemostat before being transferred to the CDFF where the mature multispecies biofilm reached steady state at 17 d. Listeria monocytogenes in both planktonic and biofilm growth stabilized at 1·8 and 1·5%, respectively, of the total plate counts, while Ps. fragi and Staph. xylosus were the predominant organisms in the biofilm at 59% and 39·5%, respectively, of the total microbial population. Steady‐state biofilms in the CDFF were exposed to increasing strengths of sodium hypochlorite; 200, 500 and 1000 p.p.m. free chlorine, but a substantial two‐log cycle drop in bacterial numbers was only achieved at 1000 p.p.m. free chlorine. In planktonic culture all three organisms were completely eliminated when exposed to 10 p.p.m. free chlorine for a 30‐s period.
Speech Repetition Abilities in Children Who Differ in Reading Skill

A previous study (Brady, Shankweiler, and Mann, 1983) demonstrated inferior speech repetition abilities for poor readers with degraded stimuli. The present study, in contrast, used clear listening conditions. Third-grade average and below-average readers were tested on a word repetition task with monosyllabic, multisyllabic, and pseudoword stimuli. No group differences were obtained on speed of responding, and the lack of reaction time differences between reading groups was corroborated on a control task which measured verbal response time to nonspeech stimuli. However, below average readers were significantly less accurate at repeating the multisyllabic and pseudoword stimuli. This evidence is compatible with the hypothesis that encoding difficulties contribute to the memory deficits characteristic of poor readers.
REFRACTORY PERIOD AND CONDUCTION VELOCITY OF THE STRIATED MUSCLE FIBRE.

Buchthal, F. and L. Engbaeek, Refractory Period and conduclion velocity of the striated muscle fibre. Acta physiol. scand. 1963. 59. 199–220. —Refractory period and conduction velocity of transmembrane potentials were determined in single frog muscle fibres by intracellular stimulation and recording at 14, 20 and 25° C. At the end of the absolutely refractory period the latency of the potential evoked by the second stimulus was substantially increased mainly due to a reduction in conduction velocity, delayed firing causing at most 10 per cent of the total delay. The absolutely refractory period terminated at the onset of the negative after potential, recovery in excitability, amplitude and conduction velocity in the relatively refractory period occurred within a time interval in which the membrane potential did not change more than about 3 mV. At 2–3 times the absolutely refractory period excitability and conduction velocity had a supernormal phase. At the absolutely refractory period the level of depolarization required to initiate a propagated response had increased from 40 to more than 60 mV (recorded 0.25–0.6 mm from the stimulating electrode). A local response appeared at a time interval of 70–80 per cent of the absolutely refractory period of the propagated response.
Plant KT/KUP/HAK potassium transporters: single family - multiple functions.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Potassium transporters belonging to the KT/KUP/HAK family are important for various aspects of plant life including mineral nutrition and the regulation of development. Genes encoding these transporters are present in the genomes of all plants, but have not been found in the genomes of Protista or Animalia. The aim of this Botanical Briefing is to analyse the function of KT/KUP/HAK transporters from evolutionary, molecular and physiological perspectives. SCOPE This Briefing covers the phylogeny and evolution of KT/KUP/HAK transporters, the role of transporters in plant mineral nutrition and potassium homeostasis, and the role of KT/KUP/HAK transporters in plant development.
Ovarian Cancer Recurrence: Role of Ovarian Stem Cells and Epithelial-to- Mesenchymal Transition

Despite the remarkable progress made in delineating the pathogenesis of ovarian tumor during the last two decades, the 5 years survival of these patients is very low, with 80% of them succumbing to their resistant disease. Understanding the key determinants of this resistance is of paramount importance if the prognosis of this tumor has to be improved. Here are summarized the role of cancer stem cells and epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) in determining tumor recurrence in ovarian cancer. Indeed, the existence, and more importantly the acquisition of stem-cell traits by tumor cells both during tumor progression and during treatment might explain the ability of these cells to give rise to tumor recurrence and to be resistant to treatment.
Adrenocortical carcinoma in a 12-year-old mare

A 12-year-old Dutch warmblood mare was examined because it had suffered colic intermittently for a few years and had lost weight in the previous two months. Palpation per rectum revealed a large firm mass in the left sublumbar region; the mass was classified post mortem as an adrenocortical carcinoma. The basal plasma cortisol concentration (at 10.00) of the mare was 94 nmol/litre, within the normal range. As in another case of adrenocortical neoplasm, a functional tumour could not be demonstrated. Only one of the 21 horses with a neoplasm of the pituitary-adrenocortical axis examined by the authors, had the tumour in the adrenal gland.
Approaches to better engage parent–child in health home-visiting programmes

Home visiting is an evidence-based strategy used to enhance child and family health outcomes. Such primary healthcare endeavours demand the full participation of individual and families. We conducted a review to identify approaches to planning, executing and assessing home-visiting health promotion interventions to determine how parents and children can be best engaged. A structured search (2000–2015) was undertaken using a defined search protocol. The quality of the papers was assessed using standard appraisal tools. Sixteen studies were retrieved. A content analysis of the findings sections of the papers was undertaken and guided by the eight phases of the PRECEDE-PROCEED health promotion planning framework. The analysis found that while all the PRECEDE assessment areas were represented no studies included all phases. Parents and children did not appear to be actively involved in undertaking the assessments and evaluation of the home-visiting health promotion programmes. The findings suggest that there is a need to develop a consistent home-visiting approach that includes comprehensive assessments in the planning phases and parent and child involvement at each step of programme development, implementation and evaluation. This approach enables the development of tailored and sustainable health promotion intervention in order to achieve optimal child health outcomes.
Web Survey Gamification - Increasing Data Quality in Web Surveys by using Game Design Elements

Researchers and survey designers face the challenge of low data quality as web surveys are often not compelling. Thus, participants’ engagement declines while completing a survey resulting in partici-pants tend to apply satisficing behavior (e.g. speeding, straightlining)in order to complete the questionnaire or even break-off the completion of the questionnaire. Due to satisficing behavior, researchers are faced with the challenge of low data quality. Addressing this challenge, survey gamification promises to make web survey participation enjoyable, which might also engage participants to complete questionnaires by providing high-quality data. However, the research on the effects of gamifying web surveys (in particular on behavioral outcomes) is still inconclusive. Addressing this short-coming, we propose to examine the effects of two common game design elements – badges and a meaningful story – in an experimental study. Based on the theoretical background of gamification and the theory of cognitive absorption, we derive hypotheses and outline in detail our experimental design in this research-in-progress paper. Our proposed research study will contribute to research and practice by addressing an important challenge when conducting online surveys: the motivation to process surveys accurately.
Polyglutamine Domains Are Substrates of Tissue Transglutaminase: Does Transglutaminase Play a Role in Expanded CAG/Poly‐Q Neurodegenerative Diseases?

Abstract: Huntington's disease and six other neurodegenerative diseases are associated with abnormal gene products containing expanded polyglutamine (poly‐Q; Qn) domains (n ≥ 40). In the present work, we show that glutathione S‐transferase (GST) fusion proteins containing a small, physiological‐length poly‐Q domain (GSTQ10) or a large, pathological‐length poly‐Q domain (GSTQ62) are excellent substrates of guinea pig liver (tissue) transglutaminase and that both GSTQ10 and GSTQ62 are activators of tissue transglutaminase‐catalyzed hydroxaminolysis of N‐α‐carbobenzoxyglutaminylglycine. The present findings have implications for understanding the pathophysiological mechanisms of expanded CAG/poly‐Q domain diseases.
Peptidoglycan‐induced T helper 2 immune response in mice involves interleukin‐10 secretion from Langerhans cells

Patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) have superficial skin colonization with Staphylococcus aureus and an increased number of T helper (Th)2 cells in their peripheral blood. The purpose of this study was to clarify the involvement of interleukin (IL)‐10 secretion from Langerhans cells (LCs) in staphylococcal peptidoglycan (PEG)‐induced Th2 immune responses in mice. Mice were primed with LCs pulsed with PEG (or LPS) and ovalbumin (OVA) and then given a booster OVA injection 2 days later in the hind footpad. Five days after the OVA injection, cytokine responses in the draining popliteal lymph nodes were investigated by RT‐PCR and ELISA. Production of both IL‐10 and IL‐12 by cultured LCs was detected by ELISA. Administration of PEG‐ or LPS‐stimulated LCs into the hind footpads of the mice induced Th2‐prone and Th1‐prone immune responses, respectively, as represented by expression of IL‐4 and interferon‐γ. In vitro experiments showed that PEG induced greater production of IL‐12 p40 from LCs than did LPS, whereas LPS induced greater production of IL‐12 p70 from LCs than did PEG. Furthermore, it was found that PEG‐stimulated LCs induced greater production of IL‐10 than did LPS‐stimulated LCs, and that neutralization of IL‐10 augmented IL‐12 p70 production and inhibited Th2 development by PEG‐stimulated LCs. These results suggest that PEG can induce Th2 development through down‐regulation of IL‐12 p70 production by LCs in an IL‐10 production‐dependent manner and would explain the role of S. aureus colonization in patients with AD.
Combined Approach for Characterization of Uncultivated Magnetotactic Bacteria from Various Aquatic Environments

ABSTRACT Both magnetic collection and “race track” purification techniques were highly effective for selective enrichment of magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) from complex communities, as suggested by amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis combined with sequence analysis of 16S rRNA genes. Using these purification methods, the occurrence and diversity of MTB in microcosms from various marine and freshwater environments were assayed by using a combined microscopic, molecular, and cultivation approach. Most microcosms were dominated by magnetotactic cocci. Consistently, the majority of retrieved 16S RNA sequences were affiliated with a distinct cluster in the Alphaproteobacteria. Within this lineage the levels of sequence divergence were <1 to 11%, indicating genus-level diversity between magnetotactic cocci from various microcosms, as well as between MTB from different stages of succession of the same microcosms. The community composition in microscosms underwent drastic succession during incubation, and significant heterogeneities were observed between microcosms from the same environmental sources. A novel magnetotactic rod (MHB-1) was detected in a sediment sample from a lake in northern Germany by fluorescence in situ hybridization. MHB-1 falls into the Nitrospira phylum, displaying 91% 16S rRNA sequence similarity to “Magnetobacterium bavaricum. ” In extensive cultivation attempts, we failed to isolate MHB-1, as well as most other MTB present in our samples. However, although magnetotactic spirilla were not frequently observed in the enrichments, 10 novel isolates of the genus Magnetospirillum which had not routinely been isolated in pure culture before were obtained.
Contribution à la compréhension du comportement d'une coque d'aéroréfrigérant vieilli

Les nombreuses etudes realisees concernant le vieillissement des aerorefrigerants et l'analyse des retours d'experience en matiere d'auscultation d'ouvrage ont mis en evidence la necessite de determiner un etat d'endommagement initial a la mise en service. Dans ce contexte, la mise en place d'un modele numerique capable de decrire le comportement mecanique du beton fissure et integrant les deformations de retrait et de fluage pouvant etre generees par la technique particuliere de fabrication et les conditions de fonctionnement a fait l'objet de cette recherche. Les transferts d'humidite au sein du beton sont decrits a l'aide d'une equation de diffusion non lineaire. Le retrait de dessiccation est suppose proportionnel a la variation d'humidite et peut ainsi etre localement evalue. Afin de prendre en compte les deformations de fluage, un modele de comportement visco-elastique couple a un modele de plasticite a ete developpe. Celui-ci a ete mis en œuvre dans le cadre de l'analyse d'eprouvettes en beton et de structures en beton arme soumises a la dessiccation. Les resultats des simulations effectuees ont ete compares avec l'experience et ont montre la capacite du modele a fournir une prediction fiable du comportement des specimens etudies. L'outil numerique developpe est finalement utilise pour l'etude du comportement des refrigerants atmospheriques afin d'apporter des elements de reponse a la problematique industrielle posee. L'ensemble des resultats de calcul obtenus dans le cadre des modelisations effectuees permet de conclure que les deformations de retrait dues au sechage du beton sont un facteur potentiel de degradation des coques d'aerorefrigerant. D'autre part, dans le cadre des scenarios de chargement envisages, la prise en compte d'un etat initial endommage nous apparait pertinente pour l'etude du comportement mecanique de l'ouvrage puisqu'elle permet de mettre en evidence une poursuite de la degradation du materiau au niveau des zones pre-endommagees.
Is schizophrenia a progressive neurodevelopmental disorder? Toward a unitary pathogenetic mechanism.

OBJECTIVE The author 1) reassesses the case against a neuronal degeneration hypothesis for schizophrenia; 2) demonstrates that the hypothesis that schizophrenia is a disorder caused by early (i.e., pre- or perinatal) and static (i.e., fixed, nonprogressive) damage to the brain is unsatisfactory because it cannot readily account for brain imaging results from schizophrenic patients and lacks both satisfactory clinical examples and experimental models of early, static developmental disorders resulting in the late spontaneous functional deterioration that characterizes schizophrenia; and 3) offers an alternative pathogenetic hypothesis for schizophrenia that is consistent with the available imaging and neuropathological data. METHOD Published data on schizophrenia and relevant clinical and experimental studies of neurodevelopment and its disorders are reviewed. RESULTS The neuropathological studies provide strong evidence against a classic neurodegenerative pathogenesis of schizophrenia and moderate support for prenatal developmental abnormalities. The imaging data provide strong evidence that excessive brain volume loss occurs after maximum brain volume expansion and equivocal evidence that it continues after onset of overt illness. The available clinical and experimental models of late deterioration after static, early brain lesions are unconvincing. A progressive developmental mechanism can reconcile the neuropathological and imaging data, while being compatible with both early onset and late deterioration. CONCLUSIONS It matters whether the pathogenetic agent in schizophrenia is static or progressive, since if it is the latter it is worthwhile to search not only for means of prevention but also for interventions that will arrest progression as early as possible.
Foreign Market Entry Under Incomplete Contracts

I show in this paper that incomplete contracts affect a firm’s decision about serving foreign customers through exports or local sales from an affiliated plant. When contracts between two agents within a firm are too costly to write, the share of multinational firms may be higher or lower compared to a world without contractual frictions. Incomplete contracts also provide a novel explanation for why horizontal multinational activity may increase when trade costs fall - a result that is at odds with the proximity-concentration trade-off.