Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Myoinositol and D-Chiro Inositol in Improving Insulin Resistance in Obese Male Children: Preliminary Data

Myoinositol and D-chiro inositol, which are inositol isomers, have been shown to possess insulin-mimetic properties and to improve insulin resistance, especially in women with polycystic ovary syndrome. However, it has not been determined if this relationship exists also in children. Based on these previous findings, we hypothesized that inositol could be effective in improving insulin sensitivity in children with insulin resistance. To evaluate this hypothesis, we administered both inositol formulations before carrying out an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) in a group of obese insulin-resistant male children with high basal insulin levels and compared the values obtained with an OGTT previously conducted without inositol, in the same group, with unchanged BMI. Our results confirm that myoinositol and D-chiro inositol acutely reduce insulin increase after glucose intake mainly in children with high basal insulin level.
Design and Demonstration of High Power Density Inverter for Aircraft Applications

This paper presents a design methodology for a high power density converter, which emphasizes weight minimization. The design methodology considers various inverter topologies and semiconductor devices with application of cold plate cooling and LCL filter. Design for a high-power inverter is evaluated with demonstration of a 50 kVA 2-level 3-phase SiC inverter operating at 60 kHz switching frequency. The prototype achieves high gravimetric power density of 6.49 kW/kg.
Managing and measuring relational equity in the network economy

The Internet is emerging as a powerful connecting force, allowing firms to serve customers, collaborate with partners and suppliers, and empower employees more effectively than ever before. In the network economy, relationships with key stakeholders are becoming valuable assets of the firm, but few firms manage relationships effectively. The authors propose that firms need to take a more holistic approach to understanding where their relational equity resides and how it should be managed and measured. They also propose that relational equity is not limited to relationships with customers but also includes relationships with partners, suppliers, and employees. Effective management of relational equity requires firms to think in an integrative manner along several dimensions: strategy, process, technology, organization design, and metrics. The authors develop conceptual frameworks for each of these dimensions. Taken together, these frameworks offer a conceptual foundation for research and managerial practice on managing relational equity.
Validation of the doubly-labelled water technique in the domestic dog (Canis familiaris)

We validated doubly-labelled water (DLW) by comparison to indirect calorimetry and food intake–mass balance in eight Labrador dogs (24–32 kg) over 4 d. We used several alternative equations for calculating CO2 production, based on the single- and two-pool models and used two alternative methods for evaluating the elimination constants: two-sample and multiple-sampling. In all cases the DLW technique overestimated the direct estimate of CO2 production. The greatest overestimates occurred with the single-pool model. Using two samples, rather than multiple samples, to derive the elimination constants produced slightly more discrepant results. Discrepancies greatly exceeded the measured analytical precision of the DLW estimates. The higher values with DLW probably occurred because the dogs were extremely active during the 1 h in each 24 spent outside the chamber. Estimates of CO2 production from food intake–mass balance, which include this activity, produced a much closer comparison to DLW (lowest mean discrepancy 0·3 % using the observed group mean dilution space ratio and an assumption that the mass changes reflected changes in hydration for all except one animal). We recommend an equilibration time of 6 h and use of the two-pool model based on the observed population dilution space for future studies of energy demands in dogs of this body mass.
Performance of opportunistic content distribution under different levels of cooperation

In this paper, we study the performance of opportunistic content distribution in a delay-tolerant network (DTN). Our primary interest is the benefit of node cooperation on the content dissemination and we investigate thoroughly how different levels of cooperation affect the content delivery delay. The evaluation is based on two complementary approaches, analytical stochastic models (Markov chains) and simulations that use real-world contact traces with high time resolution. These two independent approaches show agreeing results on the qualitative behavior of the system. Our major finding is that node collaboration - even if limited - dramatically improves performance compared to non-cooperation. In particular, we find that limiting the number of times a node shares a content item gives only a slightly worse performance than under unlimited cooperation. Besides, we find that a critical number of nodes is necessary to disseminate content efficiently. Eventually, based on the analytic model we also find that the details of the mobility show little effect on the delivery time when the nodes cooperate.
The rise of resilience after the financial crises: a case of neoliberalism rebooted?

Abstract This article critically examines recent works on resilience. In so doing, it argues that rather than representing some radical rupture with current practices heralding the dawn of a new era, as David Chandler claims, the emphasis on individuals as resilient subjects simply represents a new phase in the neoliberal shift from the state as provider to state as enabler and promoter of self-reliance. Indeed, our present preoccupation with complexity, uncertainty, and resilience can best be understood as reflecting the consequences of neoliberal policies Moreover, the article further argues that there is an attendant danger that resilience thinking may further promote neoliberal forms of governmentality and encourage a degree of political passivity. The emphasis on resilience is in danger of depoliticising highly political choices, shifting attention toward ex-post policies of survival and recovery rather than challenging the current economic order and resisting the further imposition of neoliberal policies on already beleaguered populations. This article therefore argues for shifting our emphasis towards a Foucauldian analysis of power and resistance.
Distributed Cognition and Embodiment in Text Planning: A Situated Study of Collaborative Writing in the Workplace

Through a study of collaborative writing at a student advocacy nonprofit, this article explores how writers distribute their text planning across tools, artifacts, and gestures, with a particular focus on how embodied representations of texts are present in text planning. Findings indicate that these and other representations generated by the writers move through a spectrum of durability, from provisional to more persistent representations. The author argues that these findings offer useful insights into the relationships among distributed cognition, materiality, embodiment, and text planning and have implications for practitioners and students of writing. Additionally, the author recommends that scholars further investigate the ways in which embodied representations of texts are generated through lived experiences with the materials of writing.
Ovariectomy shortens the life span of female mice

This study shows that lack of ovarian activity has a negative impact on the life span of female mice. The extent to which this phenomenon could be associated with the anti-inflammatory effect of estrogens was analyzed in metabolic organs and aorta, by quantitative analysis of mRNAs encoding proteins in the inflammatory cascade. We demonstrate that the TNFα, IL-1β, MCP-1, MIP-2 and IL-6 mRNA contents are increased in the liver, adipose tissue and aorta 7 months after ovariectomy (ovx) and this increased basal inflammation is maintained as the mice aged. In contrast, the extent of inflammatory gene expression is directly proportional to age in sham-operated mice. As a consequence, at 22 months, most of the inflammatory parameters examined were higher in the sham-operated group compared with the ovx group. These observations led us to propose that the decreased longevity of ovx mice may be due to an acceleration of the basal state of inflammation in metabolic organs, which is likely driven by the combination of a lack of estrogen-mediated anti-inflammatory activity and the loss of gonadal control of energy metabolism.
Association of affect with vertical position in L1 but not in L2 in unbalanced bilinguals

After judging the valence of the positive (e.g., happy) and the negative words (e.g., sad), the participants' response to the letter (q or p) was faster and slower, respectively, when the letter appeared at the upper end than at the lower end of the screen in Meier and Robinson's (2004) second experiment. To compare this metaphorical association of affect with vertical position in Chinese-English bilinguals' first language (L1) and second language (L2) (language), we conducted four experiments in an affective priming task. The targets were one set of positive or negative words (valence), which were shown vertically above or below the center of the screen (position). The primes, presented at the center of the screen, were affective words that were semantically related to the targets, affective words that were not semantically related to the targets, affective icon-pictures, and neutral strings in Experiment 1–4, respectively. In judging the targets' valence, the participants showed different patterns of interactions between language, valence, and position in reaction times across the experiments. We concluded that metaphorical association between affect and vertical position works in L1 but not in L2 for unbalanced bilinguals.
An experimental determination of sufficient mutant operators

Mutation testing is a technique for unit-testing software that, although powerful, is computationally expensive, The principal expense of mutation is that many variants of the test program, called mutants, must be repeatedly executed. This article quantifies the expense of mutation in terms of the number of mutants that are created, then proposes and evaluates a technique that reduces the number of mutants by an order of magnitude. Selective mutation reduces. the cost of mutation testing by reducing the number of mutants, This article reports experimental results that compare selective mutation testing with standard, or nonselective, mutation testing, and results that quantify the savings achieved by selective mutation testing, The results support the hypothesis that selective mutation is almost as strong as nonselective mutation: in experimental trials selective mutation provides almost the same coverage as nonselective mutation. with a four-fold or more reduction in the number of mutants.
Effects of low-dose human atrial natriuretic peptide for preventing post-operative cardiopulmonary complications in elderly patients undergoing pulmonary resection for lung cancer.

OBJECTIVES The objective of the present study was to evaluate the clinical effects of human atrial natriuretic peptide (hANP) on post-operative cardiopulmonary complications in elderly patients undergoing pulmonary resection for lung cancer. METHODS A retrospective study involving 44 consecutive patients aged ≥75 years who had elevated pre-operative B-type natriuretic peptide levels (≥30 pg/ml) and underwent a scheduled pulmonary resection for lung cancer in two specialized thoracic centres between April 2008 and March 2010. Results were compared between the patients who did and did not receive hANP during the perioperative period. The primary endpoint was the incidence of post-operative cardiopulmonary complications. Post-operative haemodynamics, white blood cell (WBC) counts and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were also examined. RESULTS The incidence of post-operative cardiopulmonary complications was significantly lower in the hANP group than that in the control group (26 vs. 86%, P < 0.0001). Patients in the hANP group showed significantly lower WBC counts and serum CRP levels post-operatively. CONCLUSIONS Continuous infusion of low-dose hANP during lung cancer surgery had a prophylactic effect on post-operative cardiopulmonary complications in elderly lung cancer patients. ( TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER JPRN-UMIN000003631).
The Evolution and Determinants of Emerging Market Credit Spreads in the 1990s

This paper develops measures of emerging market credit spreads for the 1990s, based on data on new bond issues and bank loans, that cover a broader range of borrowers than the Brady bond spreads most commonly used to date. These measures are used to identify the impacts of credit ratings, maturity and currency denomination on spreads. We find important regional differences in spreads across the developing world, even after controlling for risk and maturity. We also identify the evolution of spreads during the 1990s up until the advent of the Asian financial crisis, holding other determinants constant, and find that emerging market spreads declined by more than can be explained by improvements in risk. However, for emerging market instruments with relatively favourable credit ratings, trends in spreads differed considerably from those experienced by Brady bonds. Finally, and in contrast to much market commentary, we find that variations in industrial country short-term interest rates explain relatively little of the decline in emerging market bond spreads. Longer-term trends, perhaps reflecting globalisation, along with the temporary impact of the Mexican financial crisis, may have been more important factors in the behaviour of emerging market spreads.
Setting for English and Maths: 11-year-olds’ characteristics and teacher perceptions of school attitudes

Abstract As a way to raise attainment, schools are encouraged to form ability groups across classes for particular subjects. There is limited evidence however about the relationship between setting and primary school children’s characteristics and how teachers perceive them. The aim of this study was to investigate associations between set positioning for English and Maths and teachers’ perceptions about 11-year-olds’ behaviour and school attitudes and future education goals, and children’s psychosocial and cognitive characteristics and background through secondary data analyses of the fifth sweep of the Millennium Cohort Study. The study employed binary logistic regression analyses and revealed strong associations between set positioning and teacher perceptions of 11-year-olds’ behaviour and attitudes and future education goals. Associations between set position and teacher perceptions of children’s identity as learners were stronger than those for children’s self- reported attitudes and behaviour. Also, family income and gender emerged as strong predictors of children’s position in sets. Set positioning is not a neutral act; it has implications about children’s personal agency and their identity as learners.
Comparison of the Pharmacokinetic Properties of Hemoglobin-Based Oxygen Carriers

Hemoglobin (Hb) is an ideal material for use in the development of an oxygen carrier in view of its innate biological properties. However, the vascular retention of free Hb is too short to permit a full therapeutic effect because Hb is rapidly cleared from the kidney via glomerular filtration or from the liver via the haptogloblin-CD 163 pathway when free Hb is administered in the blood circulation. Attempts have been made to develop alternate acellular and cellular types of Hb based oxygen carriers (HBOCs), in which Hb is processed via various routes in order to regulate its pharmacokinetic properties. These HBOCs have been demonstrated to have superior pharmacokinetic properties including a longer half-life than the Hb molecule in preclinical and clinical trials. The present review summarizes and compares the pharmacokinetic properties of acellular and cellular type HBOCs that have been developed through different approaches, such as polymerization, PEGylation, cross-linking, and encapsulation.
Generational change and how we conceptualize and measure multiracial people and “mixture”

ABSTRACT Until relatively recently, in countries such as the U.S.A. and U.K., individuals could only opt for “single race” categories with which they identified. However, in the 2000 decennial census, respondents in the U.S. were able to choose more than one racial category, while in 2001, a “Mixed” box (with further subcategories) was provided in the England and Wales census for the first time. But the very success of this racial project in these countries has spawned a number of questions for policy-makers and academics who theorize, enumerate and study the experiences of multiracial people. With demographic changes such as generational change, who counts as multiracial or mixed race? This question has yet to receive significant attention. Although mixing is becoming more commonplace, the question of who counts as multiracial is far from straightforward, especially as we look down the generational pipeline.
COMEL: A Formal Model for COM

This paper presents an approach to formalize COM (Component Object Model). Despite its importance, COM still does not have a formal speciication. In order to understand the COM's informal rules better, the COMEL language is being introduced. We formalized some of the important COM's rules and present COMEL's abstract syntax, type system, operational semantics and type soundness.
Investigation of Newtonian Fluid Flow through a Two-dimensional Sudden Expansion and Sudden Contraction Flow Passage

–The importance of flow through sudden change in flow passages lies in the numerous industrial applications such as, polymer processing, injection molding, biomedical instruments, extrusion, thermoforming etc. In this work, fluid flow through an axi-symmetric sudden contraction flow passages has been carried out using commercial CFD tools. Flow in the inverse direction, which represents flow through a sudden expansion, has also been simulated for the same conditions. A comparison has been established between the two flows occurring in the opposite direction. A twodimensional computational domain has been chosen for the analysis considering steady, laminar flow and Newtonian fluid. The effects of flow rates are investigated with constant diameter ratios to understand the flow characteristics for sudden expansion and sudden contraction geometry. The size of the recirculation zone, flow reattachment length, redevelopment of flow, recirculating flow strength depends on several parameters, primarily on flow rate i.e. Reynolds number, expansion/contraction ratio and flow direction. Flow tends to become unstable at lower Reynolds number for high expansion ratio. Keywords––Sudden Contraction, Sudden expansion, Recirculation, Flow Separation, Flow Reattachment.
Washington State Department of Health Wastewater Management Program -type 1a Soil Issues – Doh Staff Researcher(s): John Eliasson Type 1 a Soil Issues -type 1a Soil Issues –

This report summarizes the literature on the topic of Type 1 Soil issues for on-site sewage systems. Numerous studies have demonstrated that bacteria, viral, and nutrient movement presents a potential problem in excessively permeable soils. The rapid flow of effluent through macropores decreases treatment because of reduced soil surface area and retention time. In this situation, inadequate treatment in the unsaturated zone might allow wastewater contaminants to enter the ground water if no mitigating measures are taken. There is little research that has clearly demonstrated at what point the percent gravel fraction of the native soil results in a treatment problem.
Clinical Interventions in Aging Dovepress Depression Influences the Quality of Diabetes-related Self-management Activities in Elderly Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: a Cross-sectional Study

hereby accept the Terms. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. For permission for commercial use of this work, please see paragraphs 4.2 and 5 of our Terms Purpose: To evaluate the prevalence of depression and its impact on the quality of diabetes-related self-care activities in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes. Patients and methods: In this cross-sectional study, 184 patients with type 2 diabetes were enrolled. Depression was evaluated using Patient Health Questionnaire-9 while the quality of diabetes-related self-care activities was assessed using the Summary of Diabetes-Related Self Care Activities Questionnaire. Results: In our study group, 53.3% of the patients had moderate depression, 17.9% had severe depression, and 28.8% had no depression symptoms. Patient's age (P=0.024), presence of diabetic neuropathy (P0.001), and body mass index (P=0.037) proved to be independent and significant predictors for developing depression in patients with type 2 diabetes. The severity of depression was reverse correlated with the quality of self-care activities for all the studied components: global score (r=-0.305), diet intervention score (r=-0.297), exercise score (r=-0.388), glycemic monitoring score (r=-0.055), and feet care score (r=-0.180). The presence of severe depression was associated with an increased prevalence of diabetes complications such as diabetic neuropathy and chronic kidney disease. Conclusion: The prevalence of depression is higher in patients with type 2 diabetes compared to general population. Depression has a major negative impact on the quality of diabetes-related self-care activities and, being a treatable condition, proactive screening followed in case of a positive diagnosis by adequate treatment should be performed in all patients with diabetes.
Collision detection by four-dimensional intersection testing

The collision-detection problem is to decide, given two objects and desired motions, whether the objects will come into collision over a given time span. The solution of this problem is useful, both in robotics and in other problem domains. A method is described for solving collision detection that involves transforming the problem into an intersection-detection problem over space time. The theoretical basis for the solution is given and an efficient implementation described based on describing the objects and motions constructively. The related problems of describing the collision region and detecting collisions when there are more than two moving objects are also described. >
Rigid Formations with Leader-Follower Architecture

This paper is concerned with information structures used in rigid formations of autonomous agents that have leader- follower architecture. The focus of this paper is on sensor/network topologies to secure control of rigidity. We extend our previous approach for formations with symmetric neighbor relations to include formations with leader-follower architecture. Necessary and sufficient conditions for stably rigid directed formations are given including both cyclic and acyclic directed formations. Some useful steps for creating topologies of directed rigid formations are developed. An algorithm to determine the directions of links to create stably rigid directed formations from rigid undirected formations is presented. It is shown that k-cycles (k ‚ 3) do not cause inconsistencies when measurements are noisy, while 2- cycles do. Simulation results are presented for (i) a rigid acyclic formation, (i) a flexible formation, and (iii) a rigid formation with cycles.