Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Increased F-18 FDG Intestinal Uptake in Diabetic Patients on Metformin: A Matched Case–Control Analysis

Purpose: A matched case–control study was performed to assess the relationship between metformin use and the degree of F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) bowel activity in diabetic patients. Materials and Methods: Seventy-seven diabetic patients referred to our department for a positron emission tomography/computed tomography study, including 45 on metformin, were compared with nondiabetic controls matched for sex, age, and body mass index. Positron emission tomography studies were obtained in a standard manner and reviewed in a blinded fashion. F-18 FDG uptake in the GI tract was evaluated quantitatively using maximal standardized uptake values and visually using a previously published semiquantitative scale. Results: F-18 FDG uptake in small and large bowel was significantly increased in metformin patients compared with nondiabetic controls both visually and quantitatively (all P < 0.0001), as well as compared with nonmetformin patients with diabetes. Control sites (liver, fat, muscle) showed similar uptake. Multiple regression analysis confirmed that metformin was the variable most strongly associated with bowel uptake. Conclusion: Physiologic accumulation of F-18 FDG in bowel is increased in diabetic patients maintained on metformin.
Aerial Prefeeding Followed by Ground Based Toxic Baiting for More Efficient and Acceptable Poisoning of Invasive Small Mammalian Pests

Introduced brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) and rat species (Rattus spp.) are major vertebrate pests in New Zealand, with impacts on conservation and agriculture being managed largely through poisoning operations. Aerial distribution of baits containing sodium fluoroacetate (1080) has been refined to maximise cost effectiveness and minimise environmental impact, but this method is strongly opposed by some as it is perceived as being indiscriminate. Although ground based control enables precise placement of baits, operations are often more than twice as costly as aerial control, mainly due to the high labour costs. We investigated a new approach to ground based control that combined aerial distribution of non-toxic ‘prefeed’ baits followed by sparse distribution of toxic baits at regular intervals along the GPS tracked prefeeding flight paths. This approach was tested in two field trials in which both 1080 baits and cholecalciferol baits were used in separate areas. Effectiveness of the approach, assessed primarily using ‘chewcards’, was compared with that of scheduled aerial 1080 operations that were conducted in outlying areas of both trials. Contractors carrying out ground based control were able to follow the GPS tracks of aerial prefeeding flight lines very accurately, and with 1080 baits achieved very high levels of kill of possums and rats similar to those achieved by aerial 1080 baiting. Cholecalciferol was less effective in the first trial, but by doubling the amount of cholecalciferol bait used in the second trial, few possums or rats survived. By measuring the time taken to complete ground baiting from GPS tracks, we predicted that the method (using 1080 baits) would be similarly cost effective to aerial 1080 operations for controlling possums and rats, and considerably less expensive than typical current costs of ground based control. The main limitations to the use of the method will be access to, and size of, the operational site, along with topography and vegetation density.
Cluster Analysis of Typhoon Tracks. Part II: Large-Scale Circulation and ENSO

Abstract A new probabilistic clustering method, based on a regression mixture model, is used to describe tropical cyclone (TC) propagation in the western North Pacific (WNP). Seven clusters were obtained and described in Part I of this two-part study. In Part II, the present paper, the large-scale patterns of atmospheric circulation and sea surface temperature associated with each of the clusters are investigated, as well as associations with the phase of the El Nino–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Composite wind field maps over the WNP provide a physically consistent picture of each TC type, and of its seasonality. Anomalous vorticity and outgoing longwave radiation indicate changes in the monsoon trough associated with different types of TC genesis and trajectory. The steering winds at 500 hPa are more zonal in the straight-moving clusters, with larger meridional components in the recurving ones. Higher values of vertical wind shear in the midlatitudes also accompany the straight-moving tracks, compared to.
The ‘Underdog’ as ‘Ideal Victim’? The Attribution of Victimhood in the 2007 Pet Food Recall

Despite the increasing attention being paid to harm perpetrated against the environment and nonhuman animals within criminology, largely under the banner of ‘green criminology’, there has been little engagement with the victimology literature in researching and theorizing these forms of victimization. This paper uses the case of the 2007 pet food recall to demonstrate that an examination of harm perpetrated against nonhuman animals will require engaging with both the green criminological and victimological literatures. The findings of this study indicate that despite the popular cultural conceptualization of nonhuman animals as the ultimate ‘underdogs’ or ‘ideal victims’, their extreme level of vulnerability does not translate into the ascription of victimhood in newsprint media. This paper demonstrates that the bridging of green criminology and victimology provides a conceptual space to take seriously and theorize the ways in which animals are victimized and to illustrate how conceptualizations of victim and victimhood are socially, historically, and certainly species specific.
Minority Members' Implicit Attitudes: Automatic Ingroup Bias As A Function Of Group Status

Abstract We compared implicit and explicit ingroup bias across four minority groups who ranged in status from high (Jews and Asians) to medium (overweight people) to low (poor people). Minorities relatively high in status showed more implicit ingroup bias than minorities relatively low in status. In fact, overweight and poor people showed automatic preference for the dominant outgroup (i.e., own group devaluation). The relationship between ingroup bias and perceived status was reliably positive whether based on category membership (r = .54) or minority members' own perceptions of their status (r = .36), but only at the implicit level. By contrast, explicit attitudes were negligibly correlated with status differences. In addition, dominant group members showed stronger possession of implicit ingroup bias than did minorities, but particularly as their relative status increased. In concert, the findings support system justification theory (Jost & Banaji, 1994) by showing that minorities with the least status.
Self-Adjoint Operators and Cones

Suppose that K is a cone in a real Hilbert space H with K ? = f0g and that A : H ! H is a self-adjoint operator which maps K into itself. If kAk is an eigenvalue of A, it is shown that it has an eigenvector in the cone. As a corollary it follows that if k A k n is an eigenvalue of A n then k A k is an eigenvalue of A which has an eigenvector in K. The role of the support-boundary of K in the simplicity of the principal eigenvalue kAk is investigated. If H is a separable Hilbert space it is shown that k A k2 (A); i.e. the spectral radius of A lies in the spectrum of A. When A is compact we obtain a very elementary proof of the Krein-Rutman Theorem in the self-adjoint case without assuming that K ? = f0g.
The complex evolutionary history of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases

Abstract Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (AARSs) are a superfamily of enzymes responsible for the faithful translation of the genetic code and have lately become a prominent target for synthetic biologists. Our large-scale analysis of >2500 prokaryotic genomes reveals the complex evolutionary history of these enzymes and their paralogs, in which horizontal gene transfer played an important role. These results show that a widespread belief in the evolutionary stability of this superfamily is misconceived. Although AlaRS, GlyRS, LeuRS, IleRS, ValRS are the most stable members of the family, GluRS, LysRS and CysRS often have paralogs, whereas AsnRS, GlnRS, PylRS and SepRS are often absent from many genomes. In the course of this analysis, highly conserved protein motifs and domains within each of the AARS loci were identified and used to build a web-based computational tool for the genome-wide detection of AARS coding sequences. This is based on hidden Markov models (HMMs) and is available together with a cognate database that may be used for specific analyses. The bioinformatics tools that we have developed may also help to identify new antibiotic agents and targets using these essential enzymes. These tools also may help to identify organisms with alternative pathways that are involved in maintaining the fidelity of the genetic code.
Parents Can Test Preschool Children's Language: the Parent-Administered Language (PAL)

This paper investigates the concurrent validity of the Parent Administered Language (PAL) test, a 10-minute test of preschool-aged children’s articulation, lexical access, receptive vocabulary, and syntactic abilities. Parents of 122 racially and socio-economically (SES) diverse children administered the PAL test to their child and an experimenter administered the Denver Articulation Screening Examination and the three core subtests of the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals- Preschool 2 (CELF). These data suggest that PAL test scores are valid measures of the linguistic abilities of boys, girls, African American children, non-Hispanic white children, low SES children, and high SES children (composite PAL- CELF score r’s > .70) for all group). PAL test scores were also excellent at discriminating between children who were and were not language impaired (area under Receiver Operating Characteristic curve > .90). Thus, the PAL test may fill an important niche in the language assessment tools available to researchers and clinicians.
Unusual Suicide in Italy: Criminological and Medico‐Legal Observations—A Proposed Definition of “Atypical Suicide” Suitable for International Application

This work is the result of a kind of categorization of suicidal conduct based on an empirical–phenomenological approach, with integrated assessment of certain criteria, such as the dynamics, correlation of types of injury and how they were produced, evidence gathered during official inspections in loco, and case history findings about “suicide. ” This categorization is an attempt to provide a nosographic definition of atypical suicide, that is, cases in which the parameters of “typical” suicide are missing. Case studies are described, taken from a systematic exploration mainly of the Italian specialized literature of the 20th century, supplemented by earlier references when deemed significant. In‐depth analysis of atypical suicide can supply additional interpretations of the problem of differential diagnosis of suicide, homicide, and accidental death, that is, the real punctum dolens in overall medico‐legal determination of the cause of death in scenarios in which death cannot be definitely traced to a deliberate act.
Modified SVPWM Algorithm for Three Level VSI With Synchronized and Symmetrical Waveforms

The objective of the present work is to improve the output waveform of three level inverters used in high-power applications, where the switching frequency is very low. This is achieved by maintaining the synchronization, half-wave symmetry, quarter-wave symmetry, and three-phase symmetry in the pulsewidth modulation (PWM) waveforms. The principles of achieving synchronization and symmetries in terms of space vectors for three level inverters are presented. A novel synchronized space vector pulsewidth modulation (SVPWM) algorithms is proposed and verified experimentally. The experimental waveforms of the inverter output voltage and motor no load current for different operating conditions of the drive are presented. The performance measure in terms of the weighted total harmonic distortion (THD) of the line voltage is computed for the linear modulation region of the drive for the proposed algorithm and compared with that of synchronized SVPWM and synchronized sine-triangle pulsewidth modulation (SPWM) technique. The comparative results show that consideration of synchronization and symmetry results in improved THD. Another significant feature of the proposed algorithm is that the symmetry and synchronization leads to self-balancing of the direct current (dc) bus capacitor voltages over every one third cycle of the fundamental
Peering through the barriers in GPs' explanations for declining to participate in research: the role of professional autonomy and the economy of time.

BACKGROUND The level of participation in research by GPs is low internationally. Previous reports of the reasons why practitioners decline opportunities for research participation have tended to recount the barriers that they describe as if they are objective accounts. OBJECTIVE By theoretical sampling of practitioners who had declined to participate in a research trial, we sought to interpret the functional significance and interrelationship of the barriers that they reported. METHODS Twenty-three GPs who had declined to participate in a trial of training to manage medically unexplained symptoms were interviewed and their accounts analysed interpretatively. RESULTS The practitioners described general practice and research as alien fields. Research lacked intrinsic, clinical or professional value and was linked to evidence-based medicine which they rejected as incompatible with person-centered care. Every doctor described a lack of time for research, but time was an elastic resource that payment could release from the reservoir of their 'own time'. CONCLUSION The findings should inform the design and interpretation of future quantitative surveys to identify how common the attitudes that we report are. Doctors with the attitudes of those whom we interviewed will not be drawn into research by measures predicated on the assumption that it is intrinsically, clinically or professionally valuable. If they cannot be convinced of its utility, value could be conferred by payment for participation.
Diferenças de gênero e valores relativos ao trabalho

This study investigates the differences in establishing axiological work priorities and satisfaction with work-related goals in relation to gender. The participants were 178 undergraduate students from different programs who fi lled out the instruments in classroom. Two scales of work-related values were used: one about the level of priority given to work-related motivational goals (alphas between 0.81 and 0.88), and the other about the level of satisfaction of such goals (alphas between 0.86 and 0.95). Data analyzed through the statistic technique ANOVA revealed that women give priority to work values such as intellectual autonomy and creativity, and more than men, they give priority to security and order in life. Signifi cant differences were not found between gender and satisfaction of work values. These results are discussed highlighting the idea of a specifi c characterization of gender in the world of work, which enables the co-existence of paradoxical principles and motivational goals.
Stability conditions for multiclass uid queueing networksDimitris

We introduce a new method to investigate stability of work-conserving policies in multiclass queueing networks. The method decomposes feasible trajectories and uses linear programming to test stability. We show that this linear program is a necessary and suucient condition for the stability of all work-conserving policies for multiclass uid queueing networks with two stations. Furthermore, we nd new suucient conditions for the stability of multiclass queueing networks involving any number of stations and conjecture that these conditions are also necessary. Previous research had identiied suucient conditions through the use of a particular class (monotone piecewise linear convex) Lyapunov functions. Using linear programming duality, we show that for two-station systems the Lyapunov function approach is equivalent to ours and therefore characterizes stability exactly.
STUDIES ON GONOCOCCUS INFECTION

Comparable numbers of types 1, 2, 3, and 4 gonococci were placed on the intact chorioallantoic membrane of 236, 10-day old chick embryos. Types 1 and 2 organisms produced infection and could be cultured from chorioallantoic fluid 2 days later significantly more often (69%) than types 3 and 4 organisms (12%, P < 0.001). This confirms in an animal model the same correlation between colony types and infectivity observed in human volunteers and suggests that types 1 and 2 gonococci possess a fundamental virulence characteristic which is absent from types 3 and 4 organisms. Gonococcal infection of the chick embryo chorioallantoic cavity remains a useful model somewhat analogous to localized gonococcal infection in man.
Exploring Connections Between Global Integration and Political Mobilization

With the end of the Cold War, military security issues declined on the international agenda as environmental, economic, and social issues rose. As superpower con? ict faded from the international agenda, space was created for new attempts at multilateral problem-solving. How have these changes a? ected the prospects for transnational organizing? Using data from the Yearbook of International Associations this paper explores changes in the size, issue focus, geographic makeup, and organizational structure of the population of transnational social movement organizations (TSMOs) in recent decades. While not the only form of transna-tional cooperation, these formal organizations provide important infrastructures for sustained transnational political work. Key ? ndings are that while the transnational social movement sector has continued to grow since the mid-20th century, its rate of growth has slowed in the 1990s. Also, human rights and environment predominate on TSMO issue-agendas, but during the 1990s more groups emphasized economic issues and adopted multi-issue organizing frames over single-issue focuses. Newer groups were more likely to be organized regionally, that is within the global North or South, which may re? ect e? orts to develop structures to better connect local settings with global networks.
Metabolomic Profiling of the Effects of Melittin on Cisplatin Resistant and Cisplatin Sensitive Ovarian Cancer Cells Using Mass Spectrometry and Biolog Microarray Technology

In the present study, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) was employed to characterise the metabolic profiles of two human ovarian cancer cell lines A2780 (cisplatin-sensitive) and A2780CR (cisplatin-resistant) in response to their exposure to melittin, a cytotoxic peptide from bee venom. In addition, the metabolomics data were supported by application of Biolog microarray technology to examine the utilisation of carbon sources by the two cell lines. Data extraction with MZmine 2.14 and database searching were applied to provide metabolite lists. Principal component analysis (PCA) gave clear separation between the cisplatin-sensitive and resistant strains and their respective controls. The cisplatin-resistant cells were slightly more sensitive to melittin than the sensitive cells with IC50 values of 4.5 and 6.8 μg/mL respectively, although the latter cell line exhibited the greatest metabolic perturbation upon treatment. The changes induced by melittin in the cisplatin-sensitive cells led mostly to reduced levels of amino acids in the proline/glutamine/arginine pathway, as well as to decreased levels of carnitines, polyamines, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+). The effects on energy metabolism were supported by the data from the Biolog assays. The lipid compositions of the two cell lines were quite different with the A2780 cells having higher levels of several ether lipids than the A2780CR cells. Melittin also had some effect on the lipid composition of the cells. Overall, this study suggests that melittin might have some potential as an adjuvant therapy in cancer treatment.
Attitudes Toward Capital Punishment: Preference for the Penalty or Mere Acceptance?

Recent reports of general favorability toward capital punishment suggest that there is tremendous support for the penalty. Research also suggests, however, that people prefer meaningful alternative sentences and that there is a reluctance to endorse capital punishment for juveniles and defendants who are mentally retarded. Using a quota sampling procedure, 514 Indiana citizens were asked about these specific circumstances surrounding capital punishment and about their support for various goals of sentencing. The results suggest that although general favorability toward capital punishment is quite high (76%), such a result is misleading. Only 9% of general proponents of capital punishment maintain their support for the penalty under all circumstances questioned. Moreover, gender of respondents and support for inmates' right to rehabilitation consistently distinguish between degrees of support for capital punishment. The findings have important implications for practical legal issues, such as the selection of capital jurors, as well as for theoretical issues related to the determinants of punitiveness toward lawbreakers.
Dasycladalean alga Furcoporella diplopora Pia (1918) from the type-locality (upper Paleocene–Eocene, Radstadt, Austria): new remarks and taxonomic implications

Abstract The dasycladalean green alga Furcoporella diplopora Pia (1918) exhibits a peculiar structure comprising pairs of diverging and rather indistinct pores. Because of such structure, the genus Furcoporella has been a matter of debate. Currently, there is still no agreement on its taxonomic position within Dasycladales. This paper provides a re-description of the type-species F. diplopora Pia (1918), based on Pia’s type material from the upper Paleocene to Eocene reworked carbonates of Radstadt/Pongau, Austria. New observations carried out on this material allowed the acquisition of additional and more complete data on this quite neglected alga. Some morphological characteristics of the thallus, specifically of the laterals are discussed and a suite of potential taxonomic implications are evaluated. Finally, according to interpretations the genus Furcoporella is ascribed to the Family Triploporellaceae and more specifically it should be placed within the tribe Thyrsoporelleae.
The Effect of Different Learning Styles on Developing Writing Skills of EFl Saudi Learners

The major objective of the present study is to investigate the effectiveness of using different learning styles on developing EFL Saudi students' writing skills. Exploring the specific needs of those students, it was found that they experienced some writing difficulties. They were taught regardless to their different learning styles. A group of students were randomly chosen and divided into a control and an experimental group. Accordingly, a learning style inventory was given to the experimental group to help them as well as their teacher be aware of their learning styles. They were divided into small heterogeneous groups according to their learning styles. The activities utilized in teaching were based on their learning styles. A writing test was used as a pre-post test. The findings of the study showed that the performance of the experimental group was far better than that of the control one in the writing skills.