Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Contribution to the study of collagen degradation

The rate and morphology of collagen degradation were comparatively analyzed in rats with "early" and "late" carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatic fibrosis, during three different periods after discontinuation of the drug. Treatment with CCl4 lasted for eight weeks for the group of early fibrosis and 12 weeks for the late fibrosis group. Fibrosis gradually disappeared, but when quantitative methods were applied, the amount of collagen degradation and removal in early and late fibrosis did not reach statistical significance. The light microscope and ultrastructural changes were also qualitatively similar in both cases. Probably some long-lasting effects to the liver, induced by the drug, prevented early hepatic fibrosis from undergoing the characteristic ultrastructural changes seen during "acute" collagen degradation, as compared to other experimental models of hepatic fibrosis, after the causal agent is totally removed. Present findings suggest that not only the age of fibrosis but also the overall damage inflicted to the organ are limiting factors in the process of collagen degradation and removal.
Dietary maifanite supplementation did not affect the apparent total tract digestibility of calcium and phosphorus in growing pigs

Objective This study was conducted to determine the effects of dietary maifanite supplementation and fecal collection method on the apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) and blood parameters in growing pigs. Methods Thirty-six growing barrows (Duroc×Landrace×Yorkshire; 27.0±2.6 kg) were allotted to six dietary treatments with 6 pigs per treatment according to body weight in a completely randomized design. The experimental treatments were: i) Low Ca+cornstarch (2.25%), ii) Low Ca+maifanite (2.25%), iii) Medium Ca+cornstarch (1.42%), iv) Medium Ca+maifanite (1.42%), v) High Ca+cornstarch (0.64%), and vi) High Ca+maifanite (0.64%). Feces were collected by the total collection (TC) and indicator method (IM). At the beginning and the end of the experiment, blood samples were collected from each pig. Results For the TC method, there were no difference in Ca intake, fecal Ca output, Ca retention and the ATTD of Ca between cornstarch and maifanite diets at the same dietary Ca level. However, urinary Ca excretion was lower (p = 0.01) in pigs fed low Ca diets without maifanite supplementation compared with other dietary treatments. Dietary maifanite supplementation had no effect on the P metabolism in growing pigs. For the IM method, there was no difference in Ca digestibility between cornstarch and maifanite diets at the same dietary Ca level. The ATTD of P was greater (p<0.01) in pigs fed the high Ca diet with maifanite supplementation compared with the high Ca diet with cornstarch treatment. Dietary inclusion of maifanite had no effect on blood parameters in growing pigs. Conclusion Dietary maifanite supplementation had no effect on the ATTD of Ca and P and serum parameters in growing pigs. The IM resulted in lower digestibility values than the TC method.
Calcium Mitigates Arsenic Toxicity in Rice Seedlings by Reducing Arsenic Uptake and Modulating the Antioxidant Defense and Glyoxalase Systems and Stress Markers

The effect of exogenous calcium (Ca) on hydroponically grown rice seedlings was studied under arsenic (As) stress by investigating the antioxidant and glyoxalase systems. Fourteen-day-old rice (Oryza sativa L. cv. BRRI dhan29) seedlings were exposed to 0.5 and 1 mM Na2HAsO4 alone and in combination with 10 mM CaCl2 (Ca) for 5 days. Both levels of As caused growth inhibition, chlorosis, reduced leaf RWC, and increased As accumulation in the rice seedlings. Both doses of As in growth medium induced oxidative stress through overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by disrupting the antioxidant defense and glyoxalase systems. Exogenous application of Ca along with both levels of As significantly decreased As accumulation and restored plant growth and water loss. Calcium supplementation in the As-exposed rice seedlings reduced ROS production, increased ascorbate (AsA) content, and increased the activities of monodehydroascorbate reductase (MDHAR), dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and the glyoxalase I (Gly I) and glyoxalase II (Gly II) enzymes compared with seedlings exposed to As only. These results suggest that Ca supplementation improves rice seedlings tolerance to As-induced oxidative stress by reducing As uptake, enhancing their antioxidant defense and glyoxalase systems, and also improving growth and physiological condition.
Context generalization and occasion setting in Drosophila visual learning

In a permanently changing environment, it is by no means an easy task to distinguish potentially important events from negligible ones. Yet, to survive, every animal has to continuously face that challenge. How does the brain accomplish this feat? Building on previous work in Drosophila melanogaster visual learning, we have developed an experimental methodology in which combinations of visual stimuli (colors and patterns) can be arranged such that the same stimuli can either be directly predictive, indirectly predictive, or nonpredictive of punishment. Varying this relationship, we found that wild-type flies can establish different memory templates for the same contextual color cues. The colors can either leave no trace in the pattern memory template, leading to context-independent pattern memory (context generalization), or be learned as a higher-order cue indicating the nature of the pattern-heat contingency leading to context-dependent memory (occasion setting) or serve as a conditioned stimulus predicting the punishment directly (simple conditioning). In transgenic flies with compromised mushroom-body function, the sensitivity to these subtle variations is altered. Our methodology constitutes a new concept for designing learning experiments. Our findings suggest that the insect mushroom bodies stabilize visual memories against context changes and are not required for cognition-like higher-order learning.
Postpartum physical activity in overweight and obese women.

BACKGROUND Low physical activity (PA) during the postpartum period is associated with weight retention. While patterns of PA have been examined in normal weight women during this period, little is known about PA among overweight and obese women. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate PA and determine the proportion of women meeting recommendations for PA. METHODS Women (n = 491), with a body mass index (BMI) ≥ 25 kg/m² were enrolled in a behavioral intervention. PA was assessed at six weeks postpartum using the Seven-Day PA Recall. RESULTS Women averaged 923 ± 100 minutes/day of sedentary/ light and 33 ± 56 minutes/day of combined moderate, hard, and very hard daily activity. Women with a BMI ≥ 40 kg/m² reported more time in sedentary/light activities and less hours of sleep than those with a lower BMI. Only 34% met national PA guidelines; this proportion was significantly lower among blacks (OR 0.5, CI 0.3-0.9). CONCLUSIONS These overweight and obese postpartum women reported a large percentage of time spent in sedentary/light activity, and a high proportion failed to meet minimal guidelines for PA. Promotion of PA in the postpartum period should focus on reducing sedentary behaviors and increasing moderate PA.
Word Reordering and a Dynamic Programming Beam Search Algorithm for Statistical Machine Translation

In this article, we describe an efficient beam search algorithm for statistical machine translation based on dynamic programming (DP). The search algorithm uses the translation model presented in Brown et al. (1993). Starting from a DP-based solution to the traveling-salesman problem, we present a novel technique to restrict the possible word reorderings between source and target language in order to achieve an efficient search algorithm. Word reordering restrictions especially useful for the translation direction German to English are presented. The restrictions are generalized, and a set of four parameters to control the word reordering is introduced, which then can easily be adopted to new translation directions. The beam search procedure has been successfully tested on the Verbmobil task (German to English, 8,000-word vocabulary) and on the Canadian Hansards task (French to English, 100,000-word vocabulary). For the medium-sized Verbmobil task, a sentence can be translated in a few seconds, only a small number of search errors occur, and there is no performance degradation as measured by the word error criterion used in this article.
Can capital grants help microenterprises reach the productivity level of SMEs ? Evidence from an experiment in Sri Lanka . ∗

Using data from a randomized control trial in Sri Lanka, this paper explores whether cash and in-kind grants helped microenterprises approach the productivity level of SMEs. The paper first estimates production functions and subsequently treatment effects on TFP levels. Most significantly, more able and more risk-averse owners benefit from the larger in-kind grant. Also, the larger in-kind grants allowed for increases in productivity to the least productive firms. The paper then uses data from a representative sample of formal firms to put the TFP levels and treatment effects in the microenterprises into perspective. The results suggest that the least productive firms where able to catch up with the average microenterprise and formal SMEs, while a gap remains with large firms. This finding encourages a positive view of the potential for productivity growth in microenterprises. JEL classification: L25, O12, O14, O17, O33
Interferon‐inducible protein‐10 and lymphotactin induce the chemotaxis and mobilization of intracellular calcium in natural killer cells through pertussis toxin‐sensitive and ‐insensitive heterotrimeric G‐proteins

We show here that interferon‐inducible protein‐10 (IP‐10), an ELR lacking CXC chemokine, and the C chemokine lymphotactin (Ltn) induce the chemotaxis and calcium mobilization in IL‐2‐activated NK (IANK) and CC chemokine‐activated NK (CHAK) cells. Cross‐desensitization experiments show that IP‐10 or Ltn use receptors not shared by other C, CC, or CXC chemokines. The chemotaxis induced by either IP‐10 or Ltn for both cell types is inhibited upon pretreatment of these cells with pertussis toxin (PT). Also, Ltn‐induced [Ca2+]i in IANK but not in CHAK cells is inhibited upon pretreatment with PT, whereas IP‐10‐induced [Ca2+]i in IANK and CHAK cells is inhibited upon pretreatment with this toxin. These results suggest important roles for PT‐sensitive and ‐insensitive G‐proteins in IP‐10‐induced and Ltn‐induced chemotaxis and calcium fluxes in activated NK cells. This was further implicated after streptolysin O permeabilization of CHAK and IANK cells and after introduction of inhibitory antibodies to the PT‐sensitive Gi and Go or the PT‐insensitive Gq. Our results suggest that IP‐10 and Ltn receptors are coupled to Gi, Go, and Gq in IANK cells and to Gi and Gq in CHAK cells, with a possible low coupling of IP‐10, but not of Ltn, receptors to Go in these cells. Together, these results show that IP‐10 and Ltn‐dependent chemotaxis and calcium mobilization may differentiate at the level of receptor coupling to the heterotrimeric G‐proteins. —Maghazachi, A. A. , Skålhegg, B. S. , Rolstad, B. , Al‐Aoukaty, A. Interferon‐inducible protein‐10 and lymphotactin induce the chemotaxis and mobilization of intracellular calcium in natural killer cells through pertussis toxin‐sensitive and ‐insensitive heterotrimeric G‐proteins. FASEB J. 765–774 (1997)
Self-destructive behaviour among Taiwanese young people

This research aims to find out the factors as well as the mechanism of young people’s self-destructive behaviour in Taiwan. The research employed a mixed methodology- both quantitative and qualitative research methods. In the quantitative study, a self-reported questionnaire survey was carried out to investigate the individual and social factors that affected suicidality and self-harm among young people (N= 1043) aged 14-18. In the qualitative study, 20 semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with professionals to find out the mechanism of self-destructive behaviour. The results show that females are more vulnerable to self-destructive behaviours than males, but male suicide attempt is increasing. Self-destructive behaviour is shaped by a range of social, cultural and individual factors. General mental health and beliefs about death are the two individual factors that are highly related to young people’s self-destructive behaviour. Better general health and positive belief about death indicate lower risk of self-destructive behaviour. Social factors such as family interaction, peer relationship, traditional value, economic optimism and social-political security are five important factors to affect young people’s self-destructive behaviour. Close and supportive family interactions help reduce the risk of self-destructive behaviour. However, closer peer relationship may increase the likelihood of self-destructive behaviour because of copycat behaviour, imitation or altruistic behaviour. Holding more traditional values, young people may result in bearing many pressures during the current economic recession period.
The effects of emotional labour on wellbeing: Contrasts between health care settings

The purpose of this research is to examine the emotional labour requirements of nurses and clerks with different interaction requirements to assess whether the context or the perceived role identity affects the conduct, and/or outcomes of, emotional labour. Emotional labour has become an important focus for researchers since Hochschild‟s (1983) ground breaking research. Emotional labour has been associated with mainly poor outcomes for employees; however, there is still uncertainty as to the components and consequences of emotional labour. The health industry is one field where emotional interactions between employees and clients are often typified as an important part of the various roles. Study 1 involved interviews with 21 nurses from three distinct nursing groups (emergency, renal dialysis, and palliative care) as well as emergency clerical workers to explore the dimensions and associations of emotional labour. Study 2 sought to generalise findings from Study 1. Three hundred and twenty five employees from the same groups were surveyed. The main findings were as follows; Emotional Labour: The management of natural emotion is a distinct and prominent emotional labour strategy. Outcomes of Emotional Labour: The management of natural emotion and deep acting are preferable to surface acting due to more favourable well-being associations. Social Support: Organisational sources of support are crucial for the well-being of employees engaged in emotional labour. Emotional Engagement: Employees who perceive the emotional engagement in their role as high, may be better prepared for emotional interactions and have better well-being outcomes. Emotional Intelligence and Display Rules: Employees from all groups used emotional intelligence to guide their emotional interactions with clients. Non-expressive Emotional Management: In addition to emotional labour, employees from all groups used non-expressive means of emotional management such as the use of information, and space and proximity to control the emotion of themselves and clients. Emotionally Relevant Interactions: Employees found clients that held some emotional relevance as the most emotionally difficult to deal with. Together the results show that the management of natural emotion should be included as an emotional labour strategy and, along with deep acting, should be considered preferable to surface acting for the well-being of employees and for organisational outcomes such as turnover intention. Employers can assist employees by preparing employees for interactions and by ensuring adequate support.
Comparison between laser scanning tomography and computerised image analysis of the optic disc

AIMS To study the interchangeability of the measurements of the optic disc topography obtained by one computerised image analyser and one confocal laser tomographic scanner. METHODS One eye of 28 patients with glaucoma or glaucoma suspects was studied. All cases had simultaneous stereoscopic disc photographs taken with the fundus camera Topcon TRC-SS and optic disc examination with the Heidelberg retina tomograph (HRT) during the same visit. The optic disc photographs were digitised and analysed with the Topcon ImageNet (TI) system. Three variables of the optic disc topography provided by the TI and the HRT were compared—cup volume (CV), rim area (RA), and cup area to disc area ratio (CA/DA). RESULTS The mean values of CV and RA provided by the TI (0.52 (SD 0.32) mm3and 1.58 (0.39) mm2, respectively) were greater (p<0.01) than the mean values of CV and RA determined by the HRT (0.32 (0.25) mm3, and 1.33 (0.47) mm2, respectively). The mean value of CA/DA provided by the TI (0.42 (0.14)) and the HRT (0.42 (0.18)) was similar (p=0.93). Correlation coefficients between measurements obtained by the two methods ranged from 0.53 to 0.73. CONCLUSION There was a significant discrepancy in the measurements of rim area and cup volume of the optic disc obtained by a computerised image analyser and a laser scanning tomograph.
Lexical modeling for Arabic ASR: a systematic approach

Arabic has an ambiguous mapping between words and pronunciations, making it a deep orthographic system. This ambiguity can be resolved through diacritics, which if displayed, would compose 30% of characters in a text. We investigate the different dimensions of lexical modeling, covering diacritics, pronunciation rules, and acoustic based pronunciation modeling. We show the impact of explicitly modeling the different classes of diacritics (short vowels, geminates, nunnations). We further show that a phonetic lexicon, derived by applying simple pronunciation rules to diacritized words, offers the best gains in ASR performance. Finally, deriving pronunciations from acoustics, yields improvements, beyond a canonical lexicon. Index Terms: automatic speech recognition, Arabic, diacritics, pronunciation rules, language model, lexical model, joint sequence model, pronunciation mixture model.
Study of Apolipoprotein E Polymorphism in Normal Healthy Controls from Northern India

S. Chhabraa, D.P. Agarwalb, S. Vasishtc, K. Luthraa, R. Narangc, S.C. Manchandac, L.M. Srivastavad and N. Dasa,∗ Department of Biochemistry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India Institute of Human Genetics, University of Hamburg, Germany Department of Cardiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India Department of Biochemistry, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi, India
Isomorphic regression testing: executing uncovered branches without test augmentation

In software testing, it is very hard to achieve high coverage with the program under test, leaving many behaviors unexplored. To alleviate this problem, various automated test generation and augmentation approaches have been proposed, among which symbolic execution and search-based techniques are the most competitive, while each has key challenges to be solved. Different from prior work, we present a new methodology for regression testing --Isomorphic Regression Testing,which explores the behaviors of the program under test by creating its variants (i.e., modified programs) instead of generating tests. In this paper, we make the first implementation of isomorphic regression testing through an approach named ISON, which creates program variants by negating branch conditions. The results show that ISON is able to additionally execute 5.3% to 80.0% branches that are originally uncovered. Furthermore, ISON also detects a number of faults not detected by a popular automated test generation tool (i.e., EvoSuite) under the scenario of regression testing.
Stereoscopic Visualization and 3-D Technologies in Medical Endoscopic Teleoperation

Stereoscopic 3-D visualization (S3D) provides a user with higher comprehension of remote environments in teleoperation when compared to 2-D viewing. Studies in the literature have shown how stereo vision may contribute to improving perception of some depth cues, but it is hard to find work assessing stereoscopic 3-D viewing in telenavigation tasks involving medical flexible endoscopes. Nonetheless, the increased level of depth awareness provided by stereo viewing is remarkable, which facilitates endoscope teleguide, teleexploration, and teleintervention, leading to accurate navigation and faster decision-making. This paper assesses S3D in medical endoscopic teleoperation. We evaluate the usability of a flexible stereoscopic bronchoscope. Twenty test users are asked to teleguide a virtual endoscope, which operates in a realistically simulated bronchus environment under different viewing conditions and displays. The evaluation involves seven systems (from laptops to wall screen and head-mounted display), four approaches to stereo viewing (colored Anaglyph, polarized filters, shutter glasses, and separated displays), and five types of display technologies (digital light processing, cathode ray tube, liquid crystal display, light-emitting diode (LED), and organic LED). The results show a strong improvement in users' performance when the endoscope-camera view is (depth-) enhanced by stereo viewing. Users' performance and appreciation may vary in different systems, which is also commented in this paper. This study supports system designers in making informed decisions.
Neuromyths in Music Education: Prevalence and Predictors of Misconceptions among Teachers and Students

In the last decade, educational neuroscience has become increasingly important in the context of instruction, and its applications have been transformed into new teaching methods. Although teachers are interested in educational neuroscience, communication between scientists and teachers is not always straightforward. Thus, misunderstandings of neuroscientific research results can evolve into so-called neuromyths. The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of such music-related neuromyths among music teachers and music students. Based on an extensive literature research, 26 theses were compiled and subsequently evaluated by four experts. Fourteen theses were selected, of which seven were designated as scientifically substantiated and seven as scientifically unsubstantiated (hereafter labeled as “neuromyths”). One group of adult music teachers (n = 91) and one group of music education students (n = 125) evaluated the theses (forced-choice discrimination task) in two separate online surveys. Additionally, in both surveys person-characteristic variables were gathered to determine possible predictors for the discrimination performance. As a result, identification rates of the seven scientifically substantiated theses were similar for teachers (76%) and students (78%). Teachers and students correctly rejected 60 and 59%, respectively, of the seven neuromyths as scientifically unsubstantiated statements. Sensitivity analysis by signal detection theory revealed a discrimination performance of d' = 1.25 (SD = 1.12) for the group of teachers and d' = 1.48 (SD = 1.22) for the students. Both groups showed a general tendency to evaluate the theses as scientifically substantiated (teachers: c = −0.35, students: c = −0.41). Specifically, buzz words such as “brain hemisphere” or “cognitive enhancement” were often classified as correct. For the group of teachers, the best predictor of discrimination performance was having read a large number of media about educational neuroscience and related topics (R2 = 0.06). For the group of students, the best predictors for discrimination performance were a high number of read media and the hitherto completed number of semesters (R2 = 0.14). Our findings make clear that both teachers and students are far from being experts on topics related to educational neuroscience in music and would therefore benefit from current education-related research in psychology and neuroscience.