Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Size of snow particles in a powder-snow avalanche

Abstract Little quantitative information is available concerning the size of ice particles in the turbulent clouds of powder-snow avalanches. To quantify particle size distributions, we have developed an experimental device that collects particles in real-scale powder avalanches. The device was placed on the concrete bunker of the Swiss Vallée de la Sionne avalanche dynamics test site. On 31 January 2003, a large powder-snow avalanche struck the bunker and we were able to collect particle samples. The collected particles have been photographed and the pictures digitized. An image analysis tool allows us to determine an equivalent particle radius. The captured particles have a geometric mean of 0.16 mm; the largest particles were 0.8 mm in size and the smallest particles 0.03 mm.
Asynchronous breathing during sleep

BACKGROUND Children rarely complain of symptoms associated with sleep disordered breathing (SDB). Paradoxical inward rib cage movement (PIRCM) during sleep might prove useful for detecting SDB. AIMS (1) To determine the correlation between the degree of PIRCM and other measures of disordered breathing during sleep. PIRCM occurs physiologically throughout rapid eye movement sleep in neonates, while no PIRCM has been reported during sleep in adolescents. (2) To determine the chronological changes in the degree of PIRCM. METHODS PIRCM was quantified by means of the laboured breathing index (LBI). LBI was determined by respiratory inductive plethysmography; PIRCM accompanies a high LBI. Sleep recordings obtained for 101 subjects for various reasons (aged from 3.5 months to 19 years) were analysed. RESULTS In 22 records, the minimum Sao2 value was 90% or more and no obstructive apnoea of more than 10 seconds was observed. In these 22 records, LBI during rapid eye movement sleep decreased significantly with age, reaching the mature low level at 3.3 years of age. In the other 79 records, LBI correlated well with measures of obstructed breathing during sleep. CONCLUSIONS By paying more attention to PIRCM, more obstructed breathing during sleep might be found among children aged 3 years or more.
Concurrent Hearing and Visual Impairment and Morbidity in Community-Residing Adults

Objective: To examine the association between the presence and severity of concurrent hearing and visual impairment (HI+VI) and morbidity. Methods: Data for adults 45 years and older were obtained from the National Health Interview Survey, 1986 to 1996 (n = 60,997). Covariate-adjusted logistic regression analyses were used to examine associations between HI+VI and five morbidity indicators: restricted activity days, bed rest days, doctor visits, hospitalizations and self-rated health. Results: Associations with morbidity indicators tended to be stronger in adults with HI+VI, and in particular, among adults with more severe HI+VI, relative to adults reporting no impairment. These associations were somewhat stronger in adults 45 to 64 years versus older adults. Discussion: HI+VI is associated with morbidity, although the strength of these associations varies across subgroups. Findings indicate that an increased focus on the provision of hearing and eye care services is required. Insurance coverage for these services should also be pursued by health policy makers.
Tissue P Systems With Channel States Working in the Flat Maximally Parallel Way

Tissue P systems with channel states are a class of bio-inspired parallel computational models, where rules are used in a sequential manner (on each channel, at most one rule can be used at each step). In this work, tissue P systems with channel states working in a flat maximally parallel way are considered, where at each step, on each channel, a maximal set of applicable rules that pass from a given state to a unique next state, is chosen and each rule in the set is applied once. The computational power of such P systems is investigated. Specifically, it is proved that tissue P systems with channel states and antiport rules of length two are able to compute Parikh sets of finite languages, and such P systems with one cell and noncooperative symport rules can compute at least all Parikh sets of matrix languages. Some Turing universality results are also provided. Moreover, the NP-complete problem SAT is solved by tissue P systems with channel states, cell division and noncooperative symport rules working in the flat maximally parallel way; nevertheless, if channel states are not used, then such P systems working in the flat maximally parallel way can solve only tractable problems. These results show that channel states provide a frontier of tractability between efficiency and non-efficiency in the framework of tissue P systems with cell division (assuming P ≠ NP).
Causal Systems Categories: Differences in Novice and Expert Categorization of Causal Phenomena

We investigated the understanding of causal systems categories--categories defined by common causal structure rather than by common domain content--among college students. We asked students who were either novices or experts in the physical sciences to sort descriptions of real-world phenomena that varied in their causal structure (e.g., negative feedback vs. causal chain) and in their content domain (e.g., economics vs. biology). Our hypothesis was that there would be a shift from domain-based sorting to causal sorting with increasing expertise in the relevant domains. This prediction was borne out: the novice groups sorted primarily by domain and the expert group sorted by causal category. These results suggest that science training facilitates insight about causal structures.
The Effects of Plyometric, Tennis-Drills, and Combined Training on Reaction, Lateral and Linear Speed, Power, and Strength in Novice Tennis Players

Reaction time, first-step quickness, lateral (side steps), and forward speed over short distances are important parameters for tennis performance. The aims of this study were: (i) to diagnose the presence of laterality in tennis lateral movements and (ii) to compare the effects of plyometric training (PT), tennis-specific drills training (TDT), and combined training (CT) on performance in tennis-specific movements and power/strength of lower limbs. Sixty-four novice tennis players (21.1 ± 1.3 years) were equally (n = 16) assigned to a control (C), PT, TDT, or CT. Training was performed 3 times/week for 9 weeks. Testing was conducted before and after training for the evaluation of reaction time (single lateral step), 4-m lateral and forward sprints, 12-m forward sprints with and without turn, reactive ability, power, and strength. There was a significant difference in lateral speed (side-steps) between the 2 sides (P < 0.05). PT, TDT, or CT improved the 4m lateral and forward sprints (P < 0.05). PT and CT improved also the reaction time of the “slow” side (P < 0.05), whereas TDT and CT improved the 12-m sprint performances with and without turn (P < 0.05). Power and strength improved in most tests after PT and CT. Lateral and forward sprints were correlated (r = −0.50 to −0.75; P < 0.05) with power/strength. In conclusion, PT improved fitness characteristics that rely more on reactive strength and powerful push-off of legs such as, lateral reaction time, 4-m lateral and forward sprints, drop jump and maximal force. TDT improved all 4-m and 12-m sprint performances, whereas CT appeared to incorporate the advantage of both programs and improved most tests items. Tennis coaches should be aware that each training regimen may induce more favorable changes to different aspects of fitness.
Alopecia areata incognita: a comment

I feel entitled to present my dissentingopinion with respect to some of statements made by Dr.Molina et al.The case Dr. Molina et al. described and successfully curedis not a case of AAI but rather of diffuse alopecia areata (AA). Contrary to the claims of Dr. Molina et al., AA is not‘‘identical’’ to AAI but is a different entity. Of course, thedistinction between AAI and AA is a matter of minutedifferences that, nonetheless, should matter to dermatologists.AAI has a typical clinical presentation: it looks like anacute telogen effluvium with an intensely positive pull testand trichodynia. There is no rarefaction of hair, unless thehair is shed for months or years, and there are rarelyexclamation point hairs. More than 350 hairs are usuallycollected with the modified wash test (MWT),
Disseminating active map information to mobile hosts

The article describes an active map service (AMS) that supports context-aware computing by providing clients with information about located-objects and how those objects change over time. The authors focus on the communication issues of disseminating information from an active map server to its clients, and in particular, address how to deal with various overload situations that can occur. Simple unicast callbacks to interested clients work well enough if only a few located-objects are moving at any given time and only a few clients wish to know about any given move. However, if many people are moving about in the same region and many clients are interested in their motion, then the AMS may experience overload due to the quadratic nature of the communications involved. This overload affects both the server as well as any slow communications links being used. Mobile distributed computing enables users to interact with many different mobile and stationary computers over the course of the day. Navigating a mobile environment can be aided by active maps that describe the location and characteristics of objects within some region as they change over time. <<ETX>>
Prenatal and postnatal maternal smoking as risk factors for preschool children's mental health

Aim: To identify maternal prenatal and postnatal smoking as risk factors for psychosocial behaviour problems in Swedish preschool children. Methods: This prospective, longitudinal population study compared mothers’ self‐reported smoking during pregnancy and when the child was 3 mo old with behaviour problems according to Achenbach's Child Behavior Checklist at 3 y (1428 children) and 5.5 y of age (677 of the children). Results: 16% of the mothers smoked during pregnancy and the same number after the birth of the child. Controlling for possible confounding variables, maternal smoking was significantly related to externalizing problems, aggressive behaviour, and destructive/delinquent behaviour both at 3 y and 5.5 y. The effect was as strong for girls as for boys. Length and weight were lower for children of smoking mothers than for children of non‐smoking mothers.
An FPGA-Based Web Server for High Performance Biological Sequence Alignment

This paper presents the design and implementation of the FPGA-based web server for biological sequence alignment. Central to this web-server is a set of highly parameterisable, scalable, and platform-independent FPGA cores for biological sequence alignment. The web server consists of an HTML–based interface, a MySQL database which holds user queries and results, a set of biological databases, a library of FPGA configurations, a host application servicing user requests, and an FPGA coprocessor for the acceleration of the sequence alignment operation. The paper presents a real implementation of this server on an HP ProLiant DL145 server with a Celoxica RCHTX FPGA board. Compared to an optimized pure software implementation, our FPGA-based web server achieved a two order of magnitude speed-up for a pairwise protein sequence alignment application based on the Smith-Waterman algorithm. The FPGA-based implementation has the added advantage of being over 100x more energy efficient.
Knowledge in and out of contrast

We report and discuss the results of a series of experiments that address a contrast effect exhibited by folk judgments about knowledge ascriptions. The contrast effect, which was first reported by Schaffer and Knobe (2012), is an important aspect of our folk epistemology. However, there are competing theoretical accounts of it. We shed light on the various accounts by providing novel empirical data and theoretical considerations. Our key findings are, firstly, that belief ascriptions exhibit a similar contrast effect and, secondly, that the contrast effect is systematically sensitive to the content of what is in contrast. We argue that these data pose significant challenges to contrastivist accounts of the contrast effect. Furthermore, some of the data set provides, in conjunction with some non-empirical epistemological arguments, some limited evidence for what we call a focal bias account of the data (Gerken 2012, 2013). According to the focal bias account, the contrast effects arise at least in part because epistemically relevant facts are not always adequately processed when they are presented in certain ways.
Quality analysis for 3D video using 2D video quality models

The 3D (3-dimensional) video technologies are emerging to provide more immersive media content compared to conventional 2D (2-dimensional) video applications. More often 3D video quality is measured using rigorous and time-consuming subjective evaluation test campaigns. This is due to the fact that 3D video quality can be described as a combination of several perceptual attributes such as overall image quality, perceived depth, presence, naturalness and eye strain, etc. Hence this paper investigates the relationship between subjective quality measures and several objective quality measures like PSNR, SSIM, and VQM for 3D video content. The 3D video content captured using both stereo camera pair (two cameras for left and right views) and colour-and-depth special range cameras are considered in this study. The results show that, VQM quality measures of individual left and right views (rendered left and right views for colour-and-depth sequences) can be effectively used in predicting the overall image quality and statistical measures like PSNR and SSIM of left and right views illustrate good correlations with depth perception of 3D video.
Joint Subcarrier Pairing and Power Allocation for OFDM Transmission With Decode-and-Forward Relaying

In this paper, a point-to-point orthogonal-frequency- division multiplexing (OFDM) system with a decode-and- forward (DF) relay is considered. The transmission consists of two hops. The source transmits in the first hop, and the relay transmits in the second hop. Each hop occupies one time slot. The relay is half-duplex, and capable of decoding the message on a particular subcarrier in one time slot, and re-encoding and forwarding it on a different subcarrier in the next time slot. Thus, each message is transmitted on a pair of subcarriers in two hops. It is assumed that the destination is capable of combining the signals from the source and the relay pertaining to the same message. The goal is to maximize the weighted sum rate of the system by jointly optimizing subcarrier pairing and power allocation on each subcarrier in each hop. The weighting of the rates is to take into account the fact that different subcarriers may carry signals for different services. Both total and individual power constraints for the source and the relay are investigated. For the situations where the relay does not transmit on some subcarriers because doing so does not improve the weighted sum rate, we further allow the source to transmit new messages on these idle subcarriers. To the best of our knowledge, such a joint optimization inclusive of the destination combining has not been discussed in the literature. The problem is first formulated as a mixed integer programming problem. It is then transformed to a convex optimization problem by continuous relaxation, and solved in the dual domain. Based on the optimization results, algorithms to achieve feasible solutions are also proposed. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithms almost achieve the optimal weighted sum rate and outperform the existing methods in various channel conditions.
Evaluation of the implementation of the directly observed treatment strategy for tuberculosis in a large city.

OBJECTIVE To assess the degree of implementation of the Directly Observed Treatment, Short-course - DOTS for tuberculosis (TB) in a large city. METHOD Assessment of the implementation of the logic model, whose new cases of infectious pulmonary TB were recruited from specialized clinics and followed-up in basic health units. The judgment matrix covering the five components of the DOTS strategy were used. RESULTS The result of the logic model indicates DOTS was partially implemented. In external, organizational and implementation contexts, the DOTS strategy was partially implemented; and, the effectiveness was not implemented. CONCLUSION The partial implementation of the DOTS strategy in the city of Manaus did not reflect in TB control compliance, leading to low effectiveness of the program. OBJETIVO Avaliar o grau de implantação da estratégia de tratamento diretamente observado (Directly Observed Treatment, Short-course - DOTS) para tuberculose (TB) em um município de grande porte. MÉTODO Avaliação de implantação por meio de modelo lógico, cujos casos novos de TB pulmonar bacilífera foram recrutados em ambulatórios especializados e acompanhados nas unidades básicas de saúde. Utilizou-se matriz de julgamento que abrange os cinco componentes da estratégia DOTS. RESULTADOS O resultado do modelo lógico indica DOTS implantada parcialmente. Nos contextos externo, organizacional e de implantação, a estratégia DOTS está implantada parcialmente; e, na efetividade não está implantada. CONCLUSÃO A implantação parcial da estratégia DOTS, na cidade de Manaus, reflete na não conformidade do controle da TB, levando à baixa efetividade do programa.
Coevolution in Action: Disruptive Selection on Egg Colour in an Avian Brood Parasite and Its Host

Background Trait polymorphism can evolve as a consequence of frequency-dependent selection. Coevolutionary interactions between hosts and parasites may lead to selection on both to evolve extreme phenotypes deviating from the norm, through disruptive selection. Methodology/Principal finding Here, we show through detailed field studies and experimental procedures that the ashy-throated parrotbill (Paradoxornis alphonsianus) and its avian brood parasite, the common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus), have both evolved egg polymorphism manifested in discrete immaculate white, pale blue, and blue egg phenotypes within a single population. In this host-parasite system the most common egg colours were white and blue, with no significant difference in parasitism rates between hosts laying eggs of either colour. Furthermore, selection on parasites for countering the evolution of host egg types appears to be strong, since ashy-throated parrotbills have evolved rejection abilities for even partially mimetic eggs. Conclusions/Significance The parrotbill-cuckoo system constitutes a clear outcome of disruptive selection on both host and parasite egg phenotypes driven by coevolution, due to the cost of parasitism in the host and by host defences in the parasite. The present study is to our knowledge the first to report the influence of disruptive selection on evolution of discrete phenotypes in both parasite and host traits in an avian brood parasitism system.
Inositol-requiring enzyme 1α is a key regulator of angiogenesis and invasion in malignant glioma

Inositol-requiring enzyme 1 (IRE1) is a proximal endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress sensor and a central mediator of the unfolded protein response. In a human glioma model, inhibition of IRE1α correlated with down-regulation of prevalent proangiogenic factors such as VEGF-A, IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-8. Significant up-regulation of antiangiogenic gene transcripts was also apparent. These transcripts encode SPARC, decorin, thrombospondin-1, and other matrix proteins functionally linked to mesenchymal differentiation and glioma invasiveness. In vivo, using both the chick chorio-allantoic membrane assay and a mouse orthotopic brain model, we observed in tumors underexpressing IRE1: (i) reduction of angiogenesis and blood perfusion, (ii) a decreased growth rate, and (iii) extensive invasiveness and blood vessel cooption. This phenotypic change was consistently associated with increased overall survival in glioma-implanted recipient mice. Ectopic expression of IL-6 in IRE1-deficient tumors restored angiogenesis and neutralized vessel cooption but did not reverse the mesenchymal/infiltrative cell phenotype. The ischemia-responsive IRE1 protein is thus identified as a key regulator of tumor neovascularization and invasiveness.
Dickinson Tissues in Health and Disease Cysteine Peptidases of Mammals : Their Biological Roles and Potential Effects in the Oral Cavity and Other

Cysteine peptidases (CPs) are phylogenetically ubiquitous enzymes that can be classified into clans of evolutionarily independent proteins based on the structural organization of the active site. In mammals, two of the major clans represented in the genome are: the CA clan, whose members share a structure and evolutionary history with papain; and the CD clan, which includes the legumains and caspases. This review focuses on the properties of these enzymes, with an emphasis on their potential roles in the oral cavity. The human genome encodes at least (but possibly no more than) 11 distinct enzymes, called cathepsins, that are members of the papain family C1A. Ten of these are present in rodents, which also carry additional genes encoding other cathepsins and cathepsin-like proteins. Human cathepsins are best known from the ubiquitously expressed lysosomal cathepsins B, H, and L, and dipeptidyl peptidase I (DPP I), which until recently were considered to mediate primarily “housekeeping” functions in the cell. However, mutations in DPP I have now been shown to underlie Papillon-Lefèvre syndrome and pre-pubertal periodontitis. Other cathepsins are involved in tissue-specific functions such as bone remodeling, but relatively little is known about the functions of several recently discovered enzymes. Collectively, CPs participate in multiple host systems that are active in health and in disease. They are involved in tissue remodeling and turnover of the extracellular matrix, immune system function, and modulation and alteration of cell function. Intracellularly, CPs function in diverse processes including normal protein turnover, antigen and proprotein processing, and apoptosis. Extracellularly, they can contribute directly to the degradation of foreign proteins and the extracellular matrix. However, CPs can also participate in proteolytic cascades that amplify the degradative capacity, potentially leading to pathological damage, and facilitating the penetration of tissues by cancer cells. We know relatively little regarding the role of human CPs in the oral cavity in health or disease. Most studies to date have focused on the potential use of the lysosomal enzymes as markers for periodontal disease activity. Human saliva contains high levels of cystatins, which are potent CP inhibitors. Although these proteins are presumed to serve a protective function, their in vivo targets are unknown, and it remains to be discovered whether they serve to control any human CP activity.
A Bayesian technique for the detection of point sources in CMB maps

The detection and flux estimation of point sources in cosmic microwave background (CMB) maps is a very important task in order to clean the maps and also to obtain relevant astrophysical information. In this paper we propose a maximum a posteriori (MAP) approach detection method in a Bayesian scheme which incorporates prior information about the source flux distribution, the locations and the number of sources. We apply this method to CMB simulations with the characteristics of the Planck satellite channels at 30, 44, 70 and 100 GHz. With a similar level of spurious sources, our method yields more complete catalogues than the matched filter with a 5 sigma threshold. Besides, the new technique allows us to fix the number of detected sources in a non-arbitrary way.