Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of the Mast ID and API 50CH systems for identification of Listeria spp

A multipoint inoculation technique (Mast ID) for the identification and species determination of Listeria monocytogenes (sensu strictu) and six other species of the genus Listeria was evaluated. This was compared with the commercially available API 50CH system. Both methods successfully identified all 123 strains tested. The Mast ID system is inexpensive and utilizing a multipoint inoculation technique permits the screening of up to 21 isolates per 9-cm petri dish. The API 50CH system was more expensive and time consuming and is therefore suitable only for the examination of smaller numbers of strains.
The Local Food Environment and Fruit and Vegetable Intake: A Geographically Weighted Regression Approach in the ORiEL Study.

Studies that explore associations between the local food environment and diet routinely use global regression models, which assume that relationships are invariant across space, yet such stationarity assumptions have been little tested. We used global and geographically weighted regression models to explore associations between the residential food environment and fruit and vegetable intake. Analyses were performed in 4 boroughs of London, United Kingdom, using data collected between April 2012 and July 2012 from 969 adults in the Olympic Regeneration in East London Study. Exposures were assessed both as absolute densities of healthy and unhealthy outlets, taken separately, and as a relative measure (proportion of total outlets classified as healthy). Overall, local models performed better than global models (lower Akaike information criterion). Locally estimated coefficients varied across space, regardless of the type of exposure measure, although changes of sign were observed only when absolute measures were used. Despite findings from global models showing significant associations between the relative measure and fruit and vegetable intake (β = 0.022; P < 0.01) only, geographically weighted regression models using absolute measures outperformed models using relative measures. This study suggests that greater attention should be given to nonstationary relationships between the food environment and diet. It further challenges the idea that a single measure of exposure, whether relative or absolute, can reflect the many ways the food environment may shape health behaviors.
An improved mel-wiener filter for mel-LPC based speech recognition

We previously proposed a Mel-Wiener ﬁlter to enhance Mel-LPC spectra in presence of additive noise. The proposed ﬁlter was estimated based on minimization of sum of square error on the linear frequency scale and efﬁciently implemented in the autocorrelation domain without denoising input speech. In the previously proposed system we segregated speech and noise using an energy based VAD and a very simple ﬂooring technique were used for noise segment. In this present work, we improve the VAD us-ing autoregressive (AR) model of noise and ﬂooring technique as well. In addition, a lag window is applied to the estimated noise autocorrelation function to smooth the ﬁne spectra of high order autocorrelation coefﬁcients. As a result, substantial improvement is obtained over previous result.
Haplotype and functional analysis of four flavin-containing monooxygenase isoform 2 (FMO2) polymorphisms in Hispanics

Objectives Previous work defined two flavin-containing monooxygenase 2 (FMO2) alleles. The major allele, FMO2*2 (g.23,238C>T), encodes truncated inactive protein (p.X472) whereas the minor allele, FMO2*1, present in African- and Hispanic-American populations, encodes active protein (p.Q472). Recently, four common (27 to 51% incidence) FMO2 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were detected in African-Americans (N=50); they encode the following protein variants: p.71Ddup, p.V113fs, p.S195L and p.N413 K. Our objectives were to: (1) determine the incidence of these SNPs in 29 Hispanic individuals previously genotyped as g.23,238C (p.Q472) and 124 previously genotyped as homozygous g.23,238 T (p.X472); (2) determine FMO2 haplotypes in this population; and (3) assess the functional impact of SNPs in expressed proteins. Methods SNPs were detected via allele-specific oligonucleotide amplification coupled with real-time or electrophoretic product detection, or single strand conformation polymorphism. Results The g.7,700_7,702dupGAC SNP (p.71Ddup) was absent. The remaining SNPs were present but, except for g.13,732C>T (p.S195L), were less common in the current Hispanic study population versus the previously described African-Americans. Only expressed p.N413 K was as active as p.Q472, as determined by methimazole- and ethylenethiourea-dependent oxidation. Haplotype determination demonstrated that the g.10,951delG (p.V113fs), g.13,732C>T (p.S195L) and g.22,060T>G (p.N413 K) variants segregated with g.23,238C>T (p.X472). Conclusions SNPs would not alter FMO2 activity in individuals possessing at least one FMO2*1 allele. It is likely that these SNPs will segregate similarly in African-American populations. Therefore, estimates that 26% of African-Americans and 2–7% of Hispanic-Americans have at least one FMO2*1 allele should closely reflect the percentages producing active FMO2 protein.
Personality Characteristics of MIS Project Teams: An Empirical Study and Action-Research Design

Information systems for large firms are typically designed by a team comprised of both users and systems personnel. The Management Information System (MIS) literature discusses a communication gap between the organization oriented users and the more technical systems staff. It is often hypothesized that systems personnel and users are different in terms of personality and behavior characteristics and that these differences are one of the primary reasons for the existence of a communication gap. This article summarizes a two-phased study. The first phase investigated personality characteristics of respondents from thirty-two large organizations who worked on design teams. The second phase examines, in detail, a system success and failure in one organization. Analysis was performed to see if there are significant differences on personality dimensions between users and systems personnel and to explore the relationship between these differences and system success. An operationalization of Jung's personality typology (Myers-Briggs Type indicator) was employed. The results show that the users involved in the systems design are very similar to their systems counterparts. Even more surprising is that the characteristics of these users are closer to the popular descriptions of systems staff than the analysts are. They also suggest that these similarities in personality types may have an impact on system success. The general implications of these findings in terms of the management of project teams and the MIS designs they create are discussed.
Skyrme crystal in a two-dimensional electron gas.

The ground state of a two-dimensional electron gas at Landau level filling factors near $\nu =1$ is a Skyrme crystal with long range order in the positions and orientations of the topologically and electrically charged elementary excitations of the $\nu=1$ ferromagnetic ground state. The lowest energy Skyrme crystal is a square lattice with opposing postures for topological excitations on opposite sublattices. The filling factor dependence of the electron spin-polarization, calculated for the square lattice Skyrme crystal, is in excellent agreement with recent experiments.
Muscle Carnitine Palmityltransferase Deficiency and Myoglobinuria

Muscle carnitine palmityltransferase activity, measured by three different methods, was very low (0 to 20 percent of controls) in a patient with a familial syndrome of recurrent myoglobinuria. Long-chain fatty acyl CoA synthetase activity was normal; acetylcarnitine transferase activity was decreased by 40 percent, and carnitine content was 1.7 times higher than the mean control value. Utilization of palmitate by isolated mitochondria was more impaired than utilization of palmitylcarnitine, suggesting a more severe defect of carnitine palmityltransferase I than transferase II. Thus, myoglobinuria may be due to a genetic defect of lipid metabolism in skeletal muscle.
Impaired glial glutamate transport in a mouse tuberous sclerosis epilepsy model

Excessive astrocytosis in cortical tubers in tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) suggests that astrocytes may be important for epileptogenesis in TSC. We previously demonstrated that astrocyte‐specific Tsc1 gene inactivation in mice (Tsc1 cKO mice) results in progressive epilepsy. Here, we report that glutamate transporter expression and function is impaired in Tsc1 cKO astrocytes. Tsc1 cKO mice exhibit decreased GLT‐1 and GLAST protein expression. Electrophysiological assays demonstrate a functional decrease in glutamate transport currents of Tsc1 cKO astrocytes in hippocampal slices and astrocyte cultures. These findings suggest that Tsc1 inactivation in astrocytes causes dysfunctional glutamate homeostasis, leading to seizure development in TSC. Ann Neurol 2003
Genomic science provides new insights into the biology of forest trees.

Forest biology is undergoing a fundamental change fostered by the application of genomic science to longstanding questions surrounding the evolution, adaptive traits, development, and environmental interactions of tree species. Genomic science has made major technical leaps in recent years, most notably with the advent of 'next generation sequencing' but translating these technical advances into new biological insights can be challenging, especially in long-lived perennial forest trees. In a meeting of 80 delegates from around the world, the 35th New Phytologist Symposium co-organized by Andrew Groover (US Forest Service and University of California Davis, USA) and William Friedman (Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA) showcased examples of both technical feats such as the sequencing of massive conifer genomes as well as important new insights into the biology of trees. Excitingly, genomics-based research is being extended beyond the handful of traditional model forest tree species, to encompass the amazing diversity of species we call trees. Additionally, delegates participated in discussion groups, which were challenged with questions concerning the scientific advancement of forest biology research as well as questions surrounding practical issues ranging from funding to career advancement for young researchers in this field. Here, highlights are presented both from the scientific presentations, as well as opinions shared by delegates regarding the needs and opportunities facing the forest biology community.
WASp and WAVE Proteins: From Structure, Through Function, to Clinical Aspects

T cells play a pivotal role in adoptive immunity, both in cell mediated cytotoxicity and in the activation of the humoral immune response. In order to perform their effector function, T cells undergo dramatic morphological changes upon activation. These changes enable their binding to and extravasation through the vascular endothelium into the neighboring tissue, the formation of an immunological synapse (IS) with an antigen-presenting cell (APC), and subsequently, the polarized secretion of cytokines and/or cytolytic granules, leading to the execution of effector functions. The actin cytoskeleton is directly involved in all these processes. Thus, it is crucial for T cell mediated immune responses, providing a dynamic and flexible platform for signal transduction, cellular and subcellular remodeling, and for driving effector functions. The actin-regulatory proteins, Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein (WASp) and WASp family Verprolin-homologous protein (WAVE) play key roles in T cell biology. In this review, we will focus on these two proteins, describing their structure, recruitment, activation and function. Finally, we will address pathological aspects related to defects in these actin regulators.
Habitat fragmentation and genetic diversity of an endangered, migratory songbird, the golden‐cheeked warbler (Dendroica chrysoparia)

Landscape genetic approaches offer the promise of increasing our understanding of the influence of habitat features on genetic structure. We assessed the genetic diversity of the endangered golden‐cheeked warbler (Dendroica chrysoparia) across their breeding range in central Texas and evaluated the role of habitat loss and fragmentation in shaping the population structure of the species. We determined genotypes across nine microsatellite loci of 109 individuals from seven sites representing the major breeding concentrations of the species. No evidence of a recent population bottleneck was found. Differences in allele frequencies were highly significant among sites. The sampled sites do not appear to represent isolated lineages requiring protection as separate management units, although the amount of current gene flow is insufficient to prevent genetic differentiation. Measures of genetic differentiation were negatively associated with habitat connectivity and the percentage of forest cover between sites, and positively associated with geographic distance and the percentage of agricultural land between sites. The northernmost site was the most genetically differentiated and was isolated from other sites by agricultural lands. Fragmentation of breeding habitat may represent barriers to dispersal of birds which would pose no barrier to movement during other activities such as migration.
Autonomous industrial mobile manipulation (AIMM): past, present and future

– The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of the interdisciplinary research field, autonomous industrial mobile manipulation (AIMM), with an emphasis on physical implementations and applications. , – Following an introduction to AIMM, this paper investigates the missing links and gaps between the research and developments efforts and the real‐world application requirements, in order to bring the AIMM technology from laboratories to manufacturing environments. The investigation is based on 12 general application requirements for robotics: sustainability, configuration, adaptation, autonomy, positioning, manipulation and grasping, robot‐robot interaction, human‐robot interaction, process quality, dependability, and physical properties. , – The concise yet comprehensive review provides both researchers (academia) and practitioners (industry) with a quick and gentle overview of AIMM. Furthermore, the paper identifies key open issues and promising research directions to realize real‐world integration and maturation of the AIMM technology. , – This paper reviews the interdisciplinary research field, autonomous industrial mobile manipulation (AIMM).
Tyr612 and Tyr632 in Human Insulin Receptor Substrate-1 Are Important for Full Activation of Insulin-Stimulated Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase Activity and Translocation of GLUT4 in Adipose Cells.

To examine contributions of specific YXXM motifs in human insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1) to mediating the metabolic actions of insulin, we studied IRS-1 mutants containing various substitutions of Phe for Tyr. In transfected NIH-3T3(IR) cells, insulin stimulation caused a 5-fold increase in phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) activity coimmunoprecipitated with wild-type IRS-1. No PI3K activity was associated with IRS1-F6 (Phe substituted for Tyr at positions 465, 612, 632, 662, 941, and 989). Adding back both Tyr(612) and Tyr(632) fully restored IRS-1-associated PI3K activity, whereas adding back either Tyr(612) or Tyr(632) alone was associated with intermediate PI3K activity. In rat adipose cells transfected with epitope-tagged GLUT4, insulin stimulation caused a 2-fold increase in cell surface GLUT4-HA. Cotransfection of cells with GLUT4-HA and either wild-type IRS-1 or IRS1-Y612/Y632 increased basal cell surface GLUT4-HA (in the absence of insulin) to approximately 80% of the levels seen in insulin-stimulated control cells, whereas overexpression of IRS1-F6 had no effect on the insulin dose-response curve. Overexpression of IRS1-Y612 or IRS1-Y632 caused intermediate effects. Thus, both Tyr(612) and Tyr(632) are important for IRS-1 to fully activate PI3K and mediate translocation of GLUT4 in response to insulin.
Predicting Sexual and Nonsexual Recidivism in a Consecutive Sample of Juveniles Convicted of Sexual Offences

Reliable and valid risk assessments are essential for responding adequately to juveniles who have sexually offended (JSO). Given the lack of specific research focusing on the JSO population, the present study aims at confirming and expanding previous findings based on clinical samples dealing with risk assessments of JSO. The predictive power of the Juvenile Sex Offender Assessment Protocol (J-SOAP-II) and the Sexual Offence Severity (SOS) Scale are evaluated retrospectively by analyzing forensic, police, and judicial files in a consecutive sample of 223 adolescents (mean age of 15.7 years, SD = 2.1 years) who had been convicted of a sexual crime in the Canton of Zurich, Switzerland, between 2000 and 2008. Based on local official recidivism data (mean follow-up period = 4.3 years; SD = 2.5 years), univariate and multivariate predictions of sexual and nonsexual recidivism are tested by use of the J-SOAP-II and the SOS Scale in logistic regression and receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analyses. Sexual recidivism (n = 7, 3.1%) is best predicted by a multivariate model, including the J-SOAP-II Adjustment Scale and the SOS Scale (ROC: Area under the curve [AUC] = .818). Nonsexual violent (n = 37, 16.6%) and general recidivism (n = 100, 44.8%) are only moderately predicted by the J-SOAP-II impulsive/antisocial behavior scale (AUC = .677 and .662, respectively). In conclusion, the J-SOAP-II adjustment scale, the J-SOAP-II impulsive/antisocial behavior scale, and the SOS Scale may be helpful for screening purposes in JSO, but additional risk assessment seems necessary. Overall, further research is necessary for a comprehensive understanding of risk factors in JSO.
White matter hyperintensities and neuropsychological outcome following carbon monoxide poisoning

BackgroundCarbon monoxide (CO) poisoning may result in white matter hyperintensities (WMH) and neurocognitive impairments. ObjectiveTo assess in a prospective study WMH in CO-poisoned patients and their relationship to cognitive functioning. MethodsSeventy-three consecutive CO-poisoned patients were studied. MR scans and neurocognitive tests were administered on day 1 (within 36 hours after CO poisoning), 2 weeks, and 6 months. Age- and sex-matched control subjects for white matter analyses only were obtained from the authors’ normative imaging database. MR scans were rated for WMH in the periventricular and centrum semiovale regions, using a 4-point rating scale. Two independent raters rated the scans, and a consensus was reached. ResultsThirty percent of CO-poisoned patients had cognitive sequelae. Twelve percent of the CO-poisoned patients had WMH, with significantly more periventricular, but not centrum semiovale, WMH than control subjects. The WMH in CO-poisoned patients did not change from day 1 to 6 months. Centrum semiovale hyperintensities were related to worse cognitive performance. Duration of loss of consciousness correlated with cognitive impairment at all three times. Initial carboxyhemoglobin levels correlated with loss of consciousness but not with WMH or cognitive sequelae. ConclusionsCO poisoning can result in brain injury manifested by WMH and cognitive sequelae. The WMH were not related to CO poisoning severity. The WMH occurred in both the periventricular and the centrum semiovale regions; however, only those in the centrum semiovale were significantly associated with cognitive impairments.
Bounds and Tradeoffs for Cooperative DoA-Only Localization of Primary Users

Direction-of-arrival (DoA)-based localization is a suitable approach for estimating the position of primary users in cognitive radio networks, as it does not require knowledge of transmission power or propagation channel. In this paper we consider a scenario where secondary users obtain DoA estimates by multiple antennas or virtual antenna arrays. We express the Cramer Rao bound of the localization error as a function of the problem geometry and of array-specific parameters. Then, we investigate how the bound scales with the number of sensors and the number of antennas per sensor, and we address the following question: is it better to have more sensors with fewer antennas, or fewer sensors with more antennas?
Learning Traversability From Point Clouds in Challenging Scenarios

This paper aims at evaluating the capabilities to detect road traversability in urban and extra-urban scenarios of support vector machine-based classifiers that use local descriptors extracted from point cloud data. The evaluation of the proposed classifiers is carried out by using four different kernels and comparing five point descriptors obtained from geometric and appearance-based features. A comparison among the performance of descriptors individually has demonstrated that the normal vector-based descriptor achieves an accuracy of 88%, outperforming by about 6%–15% all the other considered ones. To further improve the interpretation capabilities, the space of features is augmented by merging the components of each point descriptor, reaching 92% classification accuracy. A set of test scenarios have been acquired during an extensive experimental campaign using an all-terrain vehicle. Tests on real data show high classification performance for road scenarios and rural environments; the generality of the method makes it applicable for different types of mobile robots including, but not limited to, autonomous vehicles.
Satisfacción de la función sexual y su relación con factores clínicos, hormonales y sociales en mujeres de edad mediana

Se realiza un estudio descriptivo transversal en mujeres de edad mediana para caracterizar la funcion sexual de las mismas, en relacion con algunos factores clinicos y sociales durante el periodo enero - mayo de 2008. El universo esta constituido por 200 mujeres de las cuales: 50, proceden de la consulta especializada de climaterio y osteoporosis del Instituto Nacional de Endocrinologia y, 150, de la atencion primaria de salud (APS), procedentes del Policlinico Universitario “4 de Agosto” de la provincia Guantanamo. e La recoleccion de los datos primarios se realiza mediante entrevista estructurada. El sindrome climaterico severo y disfuncion sexual de la pareja son factores negativos predominantes sobre la funcion sexual, dominio mas afectado: perdida o disminucion del orgasmo y finalmente se demuestra que no siempre un indice global satisfactorio coincide con el criterio personal de satisfaccion sexual.