Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modal Rayleigh-like streaming in layered acoustofluidic devices

Classical Rayleigh streaming is well known and can be modelled using Nyborg’s limiting velocity method as driven by fluid velocities adjacent to the walls parallel to the axis of the main acoustic resonance. We have demonstrated previously the existence and the mechanism of four-quadrant transducer plane streaming patterns in thin-layered acoustofluidic devices which are driven by the limiting velocities on the walls perpendicular to the axis of the main acoustic propagation. We have recently found experimentally that there is a third case which resembles Rayleigh streaming but is a more complex pattern related to three-dimensional cavity modes of an enclosure. This streaming has vortex sizes related to the effective wavelength in each cavity axis of the modes which can be much larger than those found in the one-dimensional case with Rayleigh streaming. We will call this here modal Rayleigh-like streaming and show that it can be important in layered acoustofluidic manipulation devices. This paper seeks to establish the conditions under which each of these is dominant and shows how the limiting velocity field for each relates to different parts of the complex acoustic intensity patterns at the driving boundaries.
Close Correlation between Season of Birth and the Prevalence of Bronchial Asthma in a Taiwanese Population

Background Bronchial asthma (BA), atopic dermatitis (AD), and allergic rhinitis (AR) are common allergic diseases. Environmental factors were indicated to influence the development of allergic diseases. Objective To evaluate the correlation between the month of birth and the prevalence of allergic diseases in Taiwan. Methods Data from 104,455 children were collected from the National Insurance Research Database of Taiwan. Subjects were identified by at least two service claims for ambulatory care or one claim for inpatient care. All of the enrolled patients were aged 7∼15 years in 2010. In a bio-clinical data analysis, total immunoglobulin E (IgE) and ImmunoCAP™ allergen data (CAP) from mothers and infants were collected in a medical center in Taiwan. Correlations between children's allergic factors and the season of birth were assessed. Results A significant difference in the prevalence of BA according to the month of birth (Χ2 = 18.2, p<0.001) was found in the Taiwanese population. The fewest schoolchildren with were born in May (7.21%), and the most were born in October (10.59%). However, no tendency for the prevalence of AD (Χ2 = 4.6, P = 0.204) or AR (Χ2 = 4.3 P = 0.229) was found. In addition, we found that children born in autumn (August to October) had a higher prevalence of BA compared to those born in spring (February to April) (odds ratio: 1.13; 95% confidence interval: 1.05∼1.21). In a bio-clinical data study, markers of maternal and childhood allergies including IgE and CAP were detected in a risk analysis section. Children who were born in autumn had higher levels of CAP and total IgE. Conclusions The findings of this study showed that the month of birth was closely correlated with the prevalence of BA and higher levels of CAP and IgE.
Copeptin: a new predictor for severe obstructive sleep apnea

Introduction Copeptin which is the C-terminal fragment of antidiuretic hormone (ADH), is a biomarker that has been reported to be increased in various cardiovascular disorders, cerebrovascular diseases and associated with prognosis. Patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) have a tendency to develop coronary and cerebral atherosclerotic diseases. Objectives The aim of the present study was to study copeptin levels in patients with obstructive sleep apnea and in a control group in order to determine whether copeptin could be used as a biomarker predicting the severity of OSAS and possible complications in this group. Methods A total of 116 patients with OSAS, diagnosed by polysomnography, and 27 controls were included in the study. Blood samples were collected after overnight fasting, and copeptin levels were measured with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results Copeptin levels were significantly higher in the OSAS group compared to control group (2,156±502; 1,845±500 pg/mL, respectively, P=0.004). Mean copeptin level of the patients having apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) ≥30 was significantly higher than that of the patients having AHI <30 (2,392±415; 2,017±500 pg/mL, respectively, P<0.001). A multivariate regression analysis showed that copeptin level, (hazard ratio: 1.58; 95% confidence interval: 1.09–2.30) was a predictor of severe OSAS (P=0.016). Copeptin levels showed significant positive correlation with AHI (r=0.32; P<0.001), desaturation index (r=0.23; P=0.012), arousal index (r=0.24; P=0.010) and CRP (r=0.26; P=0.011) respectively. Conclusion Copeptin levels are high in OSAS patients and copeptin is a potential marker for identifying patients with a high risk of early cardiovascular complications of OSAS. Copeptin has modest sensitivity (84%) for discriminating severe OSAS patients who are candidates for severe cardiovascular complications.
Analyse des performances techniques des producteurs de la pomme de terre en Tunisie. Une approche non paramétrique

EnglishDespite the outstanding development of the potato sector, Tunisian growers still run significant risks raised by the input price increase and the market price fluctuation. Therefore, the improvement of their technical performance would allow mitigating these risks. A DEA model was applied to analyze the technical efficiency of a sample of growers in the region of Bizerte. The results reveal a resource use inefficiency of 19% on average under VRS assumption and of 31% under CRS assumption. Hence, there is considerable scope for progress. In order to explain the variability of the technical efficiency scores, the estimation of the Tobit model, shows that the growers� age, the land tenure, the water source and the irrigation system are some determinants which have to be taken into account when providing guidance for policy measures aimed at improving the farms� technical performance. francaisMalgre le developpement remarquable du secteur de la pomme de terre, les producteurs tunisiens encourent toujours des risques importants stimules par l'encherissement des prix des intrants et la fluctuation des prix a l'ecoulement. C'est ainsi qu'une amelioration des performances techniques permet d'attenuer ces risques. Dans ce contexte, l'approche DEA a permis d'analyser l'efficacite technique d'un echantillon de producteurs de la region de Bizerte. Les resultats revelent une inefficacite d'usage des ressources estimee a une moyenne de 19% sous l'hypothese CRS et a 31% sous l'hypothese VRS. Ainsi, les producteurs disposent d'une importante marge de progres a conquerir. En vue d'expliquer la variabilite des scores d'efficacite technique, l'estimation d'un modele Tobit montre que l'âge des producteurs, le mode de faire-valoir, la nature de la source d'eau et le systeme d'irrigation constituent des determinants a considerer dans l'orientation des mesures de politique dans une perspective d'amelioration des performances techniques des exploitations.
Reading Performance Is Enhanced by Visual Texture Discrimination Training in Chinese-Speaking Children with Developmental Dyslexia

Background High order cognitive processing and learning, such as reading, interact with lower-level sensory processing and learning. Previous studies have reported that visual perceptual training enlarges visual span and, consequently, improves reading speed in young and old people with amblyopia. Recently, a visual perceptual training study in Chinese-speaking children with dyslexia found that the visual texture discrimination thresholds of these children in visual perceptual training significantly correlated with their performance in Chinese character recognition, suggesting that deficits in visual perceptual processing/learning might partly underpin the difficulty in reading Chinese. Methodology/Principal Findings To further clarify whether visual perceptual training improves the measures of reading performance, eighteen children with dyslexia and eighteen typically developed readers that were age- and IQ-matched completed a series of reading measures before and after visual texture discrimination task (TDT) training. Prior to the TDT training, each group of children was split into two equivalent training and non-training groups in terms of all reading measures, IQ, and TDT. The results revealed that the discrimination threshold SOAs of TDT were significantly higher for the children with dyslexia than for the control children before training. Interestingly, training significantly decreased the discrimination threshold SOAs of TDT for both the typically developed readers and the children with dyslexia. More importantly, the training group with dyslexia exhibited significant enhancement in reading fluency, while the non-training group with dyslexia did not show this improvement. Additional follow-up tests showed that the improvement in reading fluency is a long-lasting effect and could be maintained for up to two months in the training group with dyslexia. Conclusion/Significance These results suggest that basic visual perceptual processing/learning and reading ability in Chinese might at least partially rely on overlapping mechanisms.
Changes in the mitochondrial network during ectromelia virus infection of permissive L929 cells.

Mitochondria are extremely important organelles in the life of a cell. Recent studies indicate that mitochondria also play a fundamental role in the cellular innate immune mechanisms against viral infections. Moreover, mitochondria are able to alter their shape continuously through fusion and fission. These tightly regulated processes are activated or inhibited under physiological or pathological (e.g. viral infection) conditions to help restore homeostasis. However, many types of viruses, such as orthopoxviruses, have developed various strategies to evade the mitochondrial-mediated antiviral innate immune responses. Moreover, orthopoxviruses exploit the mitochondria for their survival. Such viral activity has been reported during vaccinia virus (VACV) infection. Our study shows that the Moscow strain of ectromelia virus (ECTV-MOS), an orthopoxvirus, alters the mitochondrial network in permissive L929 cells. Upon infection, the branching structure of the mitochondrial network collapses and becomes disorganized followed by destruction of mitochondrial tubules during the late stage of infection. Small, discrete mitochondria co-localize with progeny virions, close to the cell membrane. Furthermore, clustering of mitochondria is observed around viral factories, particularly between the nucleus and viroplasm. Our findings suggest that ECTV-MOS modulates mitochondrial cellular distribution during later stages of the replication cycle, probably enabling viral replication and/or assembly as well as transport of progeny virions inside the cell. However, this requires further investigation.
A Discrete-Continuous Choice Model of Climate Change Impacts on Energy

This paper estimates a discrete-continuous fuel choice model in order to explore climate impacts on the energy sector. The model is estimated on a national data set of firms and households. The results reveal that actors switch from oil in cold climates to electricity and natural gas in warm climates and that fuel-specific expenditures follow a U-shaped relationship with respect to temperature. The model implies that warming will increase American energy expenditures, reflecting a sizable welfare damage.
Measurement and Analysis of the Radio Channel in the Frequency Domain in the Standard IEEE802.11a's Band.

There were do measurements in the frequency domain in the band of 5150 MHz to the 5350 MHz, using the vector network analyzer (VNA) HP8753D, for the characterizing of radio channel at indoor and outdoor environments. The measurements came true at different places of the University of the Andes and the form of obtained data himself is calculating the in parameter for different places of measurement, which permitted finding the model Path Loss for each place of measurement. There were do measurements in Electronic engineering laboratories, the fourth floor of Lleras Building, Lleras Place and surrounding. That mentioned buildings are recent constructions, and that affect the transmission of signals to a large extent.
Regulatory and Stakeholders Influences on Corporate Environmental Behavior in Costa Rica

This study aims to identify how institutional forces, such as regulatory and stakeholder pressures, are related to voluntary environmental behavior by hotel facilities participating in the Certification for Sustainable Tourism, a voluntary environmental program established by the Costa Rican government. This program is among the first third-party performance-based voluntary initiatives implemented in the developing world. Findings suggest that voluntary environmental programs that include performance-based standards and third-party certification may be effective in promoting beyond-compliance environmental behavior when they are complemented by isomorphic institutional pressures exerted by government environmental monitoring, and trade association membership. These results are consistent with institutional theory from the organizational sociology literature. Surprisingly, findings also indicate that foreign owned and multinational subsidiary facilities do not seem to be significantly correlated with higher participation and superior environmental performance in the Certification for Sustainable Tourism.
Surface Cyclolysis in the North Pacific Ocean. Part II: Piecewise Potential Vorticity Diagnosis of a Rapid Cyclolysis Event

Abstract Employing output from a successful numerical simulation, piecewise potential vorticity inversion is used to diagnose a rapid surface cyclolysis event that occurred south of the Aleutian Islands in late October 1996. The sea level pressure minimum of the decaying cyclone rose 35 hPa in 36 h as its associated upper-tropospheric wave quickly acquired a positive tilt while undergoing a rapid transformation from a nearly circular to a linear morphology. The inversion results demonstrate that the upper-tropospheric potential vorticity (PV) anomaly exerted the greatest control over the evolution of the lower-tropospheric height field associated with the cyclone. A portion of the significant height rises that characterized this event was directly associated with a diminution of the upper-tropospheric PV anomaly that resulted from negative PV advection by the full wind. This forcing has a clear parallel in more traditional synoptic/dynamic perspectives on lower-tropospheric development, which emphasize di.
Entity Matching: How Similar Is Similar

Entity matching that finds records referring to the same entity is an important operation in data cleaning and integration. Existing studies usually use a given similarity function to quantify the similarity of records, and focus on devising index structures and algorithms for efficient entity matching. However it is a big challenge to define "how similar is similar" for real applications, since it is rather hard to automatically select appropriate similarity functions. In this paper we attempt to address this problem. As there are a large number of similarity functions, and even worse thresholds may have infinite values, it is rather expensive to find appropriate similarity functions and thresholds. Fortunately, we have an observation that different similarity functions and thresholds have redundancy, and we have an opportunity to prune inappropriate similarity functions. To this end, we propose effective optimization techniques to eliminate such redundancy, and devise efficient algorithms to find the best similarity functions. The experimental results on both real and synthetic datasets show that our method achieves high accuracy and outperforms the baseline algorithms.
Stability results for random discrete structures

Two years ago, Conlon and Gowers, and Schacht proved general theorems that allow one to transfer a large class of extremal combinatorial results from the deterministic to the probabilistic setting. Even though the two papers solve the same set of long‐standing open problems in probabilistic combinatorics, the methods used in them vary significantly and therefore yield results that are not comparable in certain aspects. In particular, the theorem of Schacht yields stronger probability estimates, whereas the one of Conlon and Gowers also implies random versions of some structural statements such as the famous stability theorem of Erdős and Simonovits. In this paper, we bridge the gap between these two transference theorems. Building on the approach of Schacht, we prove a general theorem that allows one to transfer deterministic stability results to the probabilistic setting. We then use this theorem to derive several new results, among them a random version of the Erdős‐Simonovits stability theorem for arbitrary graphs, extending the result of Conlon and Gowers, who proved such a statement for so‐called strictly 2‐balanced graphs. The main new idea, a refined approach to multiple exposure when considering subsets of binomial random sets, may be of independent interest.Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Random Struct. Alg. , 44, 269‐289, 2014
Crowding in public transport: a review of objective and subjective measures

In order to capture the user benefits associated with reduced crowding from improved public transport (converted to dollars via willingness to pay estimates), it is necessary to identify the relevant dimensions of crowding that are meaningful measures of what crowding means to travellers. There are a number of objective and subjective measures of crowding promoted in the literature, with some objective measures (e.g., passenger density) being used as the basis of a standard of acceptable levels of practice in specific public transport systems. Violation of the standard is typically used to establish unacceptable levels of crowding. A major limitation of existing crowding measures, especially when a user-related measure of willingness to pay to reduce levels of crowding is important in economic appraisal, is the absence of measures that represent the subjective perception of crowding. There is a disconnection between objective measures and subjective measures, the latter representing what matters to users. This study reveals the significant gap between objective and subjective measures of crowding. The paper promotes the case for efforts to quantify user perceptions of crowding in a way that enables a link to behaviourally meaningful estimates of willingness to pay to reduce crowding, so that the changes in crowding linked to objective measures (e.g., passenger density), can be translated into appropriate subjective levels of crowding reduction benefit.
Organizational Characteristics and MIS Success in the Context of Small Business

Information systems research on implementation success has always posited the importance of organizational context factors. This implies that previous results, obtained almost exclusively from studies of large organizations, cannot necessarily be generalized to small organizations. This article presents an empirical investigation designed to study the relationship between organizational characteristics and the success of MIS in the context of small business. Several hypotheses were tested using data collected from 464 small manufacturing firms in the province of Quebec. The results show that several organizational computer-usage characteristics are significantly associated to MIS success. It was also found that most of these characteristics are related to the length of a firm's EDP experience.
National Sentiment and Consumer Choice: The Iraq War and Sales of US Products in Arab Countries

Did the rise in anti-American sentiment caused by the Iraq war affect sales of US goods abroad? We address this question using data on soft drink and fabric detergent sales in nine Arab countries. We find a statistically significant negative impact of the war on sales of US soft drinks in seven countries. The impact dissipates after a few months in two countries but persists in the other five. In the case of detergents we only find a significant negative impact in one country. We conclude that international politics can sometimes affect consumer behavior and impact market outcomes.
Contact force mapping during catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation: procedural data and one-year follow-up

Introduction Pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) is the state-of-the-art treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF). Pulmonary vein reconnection is one of the main mechanisms of AF recurrence after ablation. Catheter-tissue contact is essential for effective ablation lesions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of catheter contact monitoring during PVI on AF recurrence rate. Material and methods One hundred and forty-three patients who underwent PVI were analysed. In 31 patients, PVI was performed by monitoring the catheter-tissue contact with a contact force (CF) sensing catheter. One hundred and twelve patients in whom conventional PVI was performed without CF information served as the control group. Procedural data and recurrence rate within 12-month follow-up were compared. Results A significant reduction in procedure duration was seen in the CF mapping group (128.4 ±29 min vs. 157.7 ±30.8 min, p = 0.001). Complete pulmonary vein isolation was achieved in 100% of the patients. Rate of AF recurrence within 12 months after ablation was significantly lower in the contact force group (16.1%) when compared to the standard ablation group (36.6%) (p = 0.031). Conclusions Pulmonary vein isolation with the use of contact force information results in a shorter procedure duration and a lower rate of AF recurrence after 12 months compared to conventional PVI without this information. Catheter-tissue contact monitoring may have a beneficial effect on mid-term and long-term results of PVI procedures.
Modulation of post‐movement beta rebound by contraction force and rate of force development

Movement induced modulation of the beta rhythm is one of the most robust neural oscillatory phenomena in the brain. In the preparation and execution phases of movement, a loss in beta amplitude is observed [movement related beta decrease (MRBD)]. This is followed by a rebound above baseline on movement cessation [post movement beta rebound (PMBR)]. These effects have been measured widely, and recent work suggests that they may have significant importance. Specifically, they have potential to form the basis of biomarkers for disease, and have been used in neuroscience applications ranging from brain computer interfaces to markers of neural plasticity. However, despite the robust nature of both MRBD and PMBR, the phenomena themselves are poorly understood. In this study, we characterise MRBD and PMBR during a carefully controlled isometric wrist flexion paradigm, isolating two fundamental movement parameters; force output, and the rate of force development (RFD). Our results show that neither altered force output nor RFD has a significant effect on MRBD. In contrast, PMBR was altered by both parameters. Higher force output results in greater PMBR amplitude, and greater RFD results in a PMBR which is higher in amplitude and shorter in duration. These findings demonstrate that careful control of movement parameters can systematically change PMBR. Further, for temporally protracted movements, the PMBR can be over 7 s in duration. This means accurate control of movement and judicious selection of paradigm parameters are critical in future clinical and basic neuroscientific studies of sensorimotor beta oscillations. Hum Brain Mapp 37:2493–2511, 2016. © 2016 The Authors Human Brain Mapping Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc