Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Blood lead levels in children from lower socioeconomic communities in Denver, Colorado.

We measured blood lead levels and inquired about environmental exposure pathways in 443 children aged 6 mo to 6 y in four lower socioeconomic Denver, Colorado, neighborhoods. Two neighborhoods were adjacent to a cadmium refinery. Eight percent of the children had blood lead levels > or = 10 micrograms/dl and 45% were below the detection limit of 4 micrograms/dl. Statistical analyses specific to the problem of below-detection values (i.e., dichotomization of variables, the probability plot method of estimation, and the bootstrap estimate of the standard error) were conducted to detect neighborhood differences. A child who lived in Globeville, the neighborhood surrounding the refinery, had a slightly higher probability of having a blood lead level > or = 5 micrograms/dl. Yet, the results as a whole documented the striking decline in blood lead levels in urban children after the deleading of gasoline.
Fractionating the unitary notion of dissociation: disembodied but not embodied dissociative experiences are associated with exocentric perspective-taking

It has been argued that hallucinations which appear to involve shifts in egocentric perspective (e.g., the out-of-body experience, OBE) reflect specific biases in exocentric perspective-taking processes. Via a newly devised perspective-taking task, we examined whether such biases in perspective-taking were present in relation to specific dissociative anomalous body experiences (ABE) – namely the OBE. Participants also completed the Cambridge Depersonalization Scale (CDS; Sierra and Berrios, 2000) which provided measures of additional embodied ABE (unreality of self) and measures of derealization (unreality of surroundings). There were no reliable differences in the level of ABE, emotional numbing, and anomalies in sensory recall reported between the OBE and control group as measured by the corresponding CDS subscales. In contrast, the OBE group did provide significantly elevated measures of derealization (“alienation from surroundings” CDS subscale) relative to the control group. At the same time we also found that the OBE group was significantly more efficient at completing all aspects of the perspective-taking task relative to controls. Collectively, the current findings support fractionating the typically unitary notion of dissociation by proposing a distinction between embodied dissociative experiences and disembodied dissociative experiences – with only the latter being associated with exocentric perspective-taking mechanisms. Our findings – obtained with an ecologically valid task and a homogeneous OBE group – also call for a re-evaluation of the relationship between OBEs and perspective-taking in terms of facilitated disembodied experiences.
Investigation on Structural, Morphological and Relaxometric Properties of Lamellar Zrp Modified with Long Chain Amine

In order to search nanofiller for controlling release of drugs lamellar α-zirconium phosphate (α-ZrP) was modified with ether-amine oligomer (E-A). Synthesis and chemical modification followed specific reaction conditions and different EA:ZrP ratios. Infrared spectra showed strong interaction between P-OH and NH2 groups. Thermogravimetric curves showed that ether-amine oligomer was incorporated by ZrP. Interlamellar space of α-ZrP increased at least four times indicating intercalation. The relaxometry analysis indicated that α-ZrP molecular mobility changed according to the etheramine amount. The scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive analysis revealed the presence of octadecylamine inside the α-ZrP galleries. The results showed that P-OH group (Brønsted acid) and amine group (Brønsted base) reacted to each other, resulting in an ionic bond PO3HN-[-(CH2-CH2-O) m-(CH2-C-H(CH3)-O)n-]. Partially intercalated nanofiller were achieved.
Robust Accurate Statistical Annotation of General Text

We describe a robust accurate domain-independent approach to statistical parsing incorporated into the new release of the ANLT toolkit, and publicly available as a research tool. The system has been used to parse many well known corpora in order to produce data for lexical acquisition efforts; it has also been used as a component in an open-domain question answering project. The performance of the system is competitive with that of statistical parsers using highly lexicalised parse selection models. However, we plan to extend the system to improve parse coverage, depth and accuracy.
Delft University of Technology Effect of resin-rich bond line thickness and fibre migration on the toughness of unidirectional Carbon/PEEK joints

15 It is a common practice in fusion bonding of thermoplastic composites to add a matrix 16 layer between the two substrates to be joined. The aim is to ensure proper wetting of 17 the two parts. The effect of this additional matrix layer on the mechanical performance 18 was studied by mode I fracture toughness measurements. The additional matrix was 19 inserted at the interface in the form of films of various thicknesses. Three different 20 manufacturing techniques, namely autoclave consolidation, press consolidation and 21 stamp forming, were used to prepare different sets of specimens with varying resin-rich 22 bond line thickness. The occurrence of fibre migration towards the matrix rich 23 interface was induced by the manufacturing techniques used due to their different 24 processing times. The interlaminar fracture toughness was observed to increase with 25 increasing amount of extra-matrix at the interface, while no effects of the fibre 26 migration on the fracture toughness were observed. 27
Differential regulation of renal sodium-phosphate transporter by glucocorticoids during rat ontogeny

Guner, Yigit S. , Pawel R. Kiela, Hua Xu, James F. Collins, and Fayez K. Ghishan. Differential regulation of renal sodium-phosphate transporter by glucocorticoids during rat ontogeny. Am. J. Physiol. 277 (Cell Physiol. 46): C884–C890, 1999. —The effects of chronic administration of methylprednisolone (MP) were studied on the ontogeny of the renal type II Na-Pi transporter (NaPi-2). Immunoblot analysis showed that MP did not alter the expression of NaPi-2 protein levels in suckling and weanling rats; however, there was an ,50% decrease in adolescent and adult rats. There was no change in Na-dependent Pi uptake in brush-border membrane vesicles in suckling rats, but there was an almost twofold decrease in adolescent rats induced by MP treatment. MP administration did not alter mRNA levels in suckling or adolescent rats. Dual injections with the glucocorticoid receptor blocker RU-486 (mifepristone) and MP did not reverse the downregulation of NaPi-2 immunoreactive protein levels in adolescent rats. To control for RU-486 antagonism efficiency, Na/H exchanger isoform 3 (NHE3) protein levels were also assayed after injection with RU-486 and MP. As expected, NHE3 protein levels increased after MP injection; however, the increase was blocked in adolescent rats by RU-486. We conclude that there is an age-dependent responsiveness to glucocorticoids and that the marked decrease in NaPi-2 immunoreactive protein levels and activity in adolescent rats is due to posttranscriptional mechanisms.
Classification of Rubber Tree Leaf Diseases Using Multilayer Perceptron Neural Network

This paper presents about classification of rubber tree leaf diseases through automation and utilizing primary RGB color model. Several rubber tree leaf diseases are been studied for digital RGB color extraction where three sets of rubber tree leaf diseases image are digitally captured under standard and control environment. The identified regions of interest (ROI) of these diseases images are then processed to quantify the normalized indices from the RGB color distribution. This system involved the process of image classification by using artificial neural network where 600 samples were used as training while another 200 samples were for testing. The optimized ANN model in this work has two method which based only on the dominant pixel RGB (mean) and applying principle component analysis (PCA) on the pixel gradation values of each image. The optimized model was evaluated and validated through analysis of the performance indicators. Findings in this work have shown that both models have produced about 70% in diagnostic accuracy with more than 80% achievement for sensitivity. However, model with the applied PCA has lower network size.
Clustering of under-five mortality in the Navrongo HDSS in the Kassena-Nankana District of northern Ghana

Background: Under-five mortality is a major public health problem and one of the health indicators of health care in sub-Saharan Africa. In order to address inefficient health systems, there is a need to identify the spatial distribution of under-five mortality, especially areas of high mortality clustering. This study aimed to explore spatial and temporal clustering in under-five mortality in the Kassena-Nankana1 1In 2008, the Kassena-Nankana District was split into two districts: Kassena-Nankana West District and Kassena-Nankana East District. District of the Upper East region. Methods: We used data from the Navrongo Health and Demographic Surveillance System in the Kassena- Nankana District of northern Ghana, which had an average population of 140,000 of which about 18,400 were under five years of age. We analysed under-five mortality in 49 villages during the period 1997–2006. We calculated total under-five mortality rates and investigated their geographical distributions. A spatial scan statistic was used to test for clustering of the mortality in both space and time. Results: Under-five mortality has been declining during the period. However, the data show a persistently higher than average clustering of mortality over the period among villages mainly in the north-eastern parts of the district. Conclusion: There is a higher than average under-five mortality clustering in the villages in the north-east of the district and this may suggest a relatively poor health care system despite the many health interventions that took place over time in the district, including the Community Health and Family Planning Project, whose impact may not have been felt in these parts of the district between 1995 and 2004.
Validation of 1-methyl-2-phenylindole method for estimating lipid peroxidation in the third instar larvae of transgenic Drosophila melanogaster (hsp70-lacZ)Bg9

Background: A method using 1-methyl-2-phenylindole was developed for the estimation of lipid peroxidation in third instar larvae of transgenic Drosophila melanogaster (hsp70-lacZ)Bg9. The method is specific for the estimation of malonaldehyde. Materials and Methods: The larvae were exposed to 0.0025, 0.025, 0.050, and 0.100 μl/ml of cyclophosphamide for 24 and 48 h. The homogenate was prepared of the larvae tissue explant and the absorbance was noted at 586 nm. Results: A significant dose-dependent increase in the mean absorbance values was observed for both 24 and 48 h of exposure as compared to the untreated group. Conclusions: On the basis of results obtained, it is suggested that the present method is more precise, accurate, and robust for the estimation of lipid peroxidation in the third instar larvae of transgenic D. melanogaster (hsp70-lacZ)Bg9.
DYNAMIC SLIP TRANSFER FROM THE DENALI TO TOTSCHUNDA FAULTS, ALASKA: TESTING THEORY FOR FAULT BRANCHING

We analyze the observed dynamic slip transfer from the Denali to Totschunda faults during the Mw 7.9 3 November 2002 Denali fault earthquake, Alaska. This study adopts the theory and methodology of Poliakov et al. (2002) and Kame et al. (2003), in which it was shown that the propensity of the rupture path to follow a fault branch is determined by the preexisting stress state, branch angle, and incoming rupture velocity at the branch location. Here we check that theory on the DenaliTotschunda rupture process using 2D numerical simulations of processes in the vicinity of the branch junction. The maximum compression direction with respect to the strike of the Denali fault near the junction has been estimated to range from approximately 73 to 80. We use the values of 70 and 80 in our numerical simulations. The rupture velocity at branching is not well constrained but has been estimated to average about 0.8 cs throughout the event. We use 0.6 cs, 0.8 cs, 0.9 cs, and even 1.4 cs as parameters in our simulations. We simulate slip transfer by a 2D elastodynamic boundary integral equation model of mode II slip-weakening rupture with self-chosen path along the branched fault system. All our simulations except for 70 and 0.9 cs predict that the rupture path branches off along the Totschunda fault without continuation along the Denali fault. In that exceptional case there is also continuation of rupture along the Denali fault at a speed slower than that along the Totschunda fault and with smaller slip.
How Much of Corporate-Treasury Yield Spread is Due to Credit Risk?

We show that credit risk accounts for only a small fraction of yield spreads for investment-grade bonds of all maturities, with the fraction lower for bonds of shorter maturities, and that it accounts for a much higher fraction of yield spreads for high-yield bonds. This conclusion is shown to be robust across a wide class of structural models. We obtain such results by calibrating each of the models to be consistent with data on the historical default loss experience and equity risk premia, and demonstrating that different models predict similar credit risk premia under empirically reasonable parameter choices.
PVDF-based dielectric polymers and their applications in electronic materials

The attractive dielectric poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and its copolymers are well confirmed possessing the highest electroactive response including dielectric constant, piezoelectric and ferroelectric effects, which have increasingly wide range of applications such as in energy transfer, energy generation and storage, monitoring and control, and include the development of capacitors, sensors, actuators and so on. In this study, by clarifying the reliability of dielectric performances on their crystal phase structure of various PVDF polymers, the different physical and chemical fabricating ways to achieve different forms of PVDF samples such as linear polymers, ferroelectrics, and relaxor ferroelectrics were identified and quantified. In addition, many recent advances in the PVDF-based polymer dielectrics and some developed applications of these polymers are presented, which gives a reference in academic and engineering area to select an appropriate PVDF series dielectric polymer.
Storage and Retrieval

The letter and/or sound combinations that make up a human language are limited by the human's ability to pronounce tnese sounds° Therefore, the standard library search, which as a rule looks for all possible combinations of letters to find a word, is wasteful. Certain letters simply cannot be followed by certain other letters and a search for them is senseless. Following this same line of reasoning, letters very frequently occur in the combinations that are germane to the particular language. The growing amount of alphanumeric information presently being stored on magnetic tape presents increasingly difficult problems in both the number of tape reels used and the time necessary to search this mass of information in order to extract pertinent literature. At the present time most of this literature on tape utilizes the standard IBM 6-bit code to express alphanumeric symbols. ~t is entirely feasible to record standard English literature on tape -be it professional abstracts or novels -using only approximately two-thirds of the binary bits utilized to represent the same piece of written material in the conventional code. This can be accomplished by setting up, in a 9-bit code, the 400-odd letter combinations occurring most frequently. A 9-bit representation allows the programmer to set up as many as 512 symbols, thus leaving sufficient leeway to assign symbols to the most frequentlyused words, mathematical symbols, professional expressions, that are expected to be encountered in the literature to be recorded. In addition, these relatively short 9-bit symbols can be assigned to all key words that it may be necessary to look for later, thereby accelerating any future library search.
Working Memory Demands of Aided Augmentative and Alternative Communication for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities

Abstract When speech is not functional to meet some or all of an individual's communication needs, aided augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems are often implemented. Although aided AAC systems offer some advantages over speech, they also impose some unique demands, especially on working memory, which is commonly defined as the cognitive system by which individuals maintain and manipulate information while completing tasks. For instance, the presence of an external aided AAC device containing arrays of symbols, not all of which are visible simultaneously, presents multiple working memory demands: individuals must maintain the target concepts in mind, all the while (a) navigating through multiple pages, (b) remembering the appropriate or most efficient navigation path, (c) locating the target symbols within the array once the host page has been located, and (d) inhibiting responses to potentially interesting distracters throughout the process. Each of these task demands involves one or more working memory operations that have been identified and studied extensively in research in the cognitive sciences. Failure to acknowledge or understand how working memory might interact with AAC use may place unintentional barriers to effective AAC interventions. This paper explores current information about working memory operations and highlights some of the most relevant issues that warrant further direct study.
A Localisation-Segmentation Approach for Multi-label Annotation of Lumbar Vertebrae using Deep Nets

Multi-class segmentation of vertebrae is a non-trivial task mainly due to the high correlation in the appearance of adjacent vertebrae. Hence, such a task calls for the consideration of both global and local context. Based on this motivation, we propose a two-staged approach that, given a computed tomography dataset of the spine, segments the five lumbar vertebrae and simultaneously labels them. The first stage employs a multi-layered perceptron performing non-linear regression for locating the lumbar region using the global context. The second stage, comprised of a fully-convolutional deep network, exploits the local context in the localised lumbar region to segment and label the lumbar vertebrae in one go. Aided with practical data augmentation for training, our approach is highly generalisable, capable of successfully segmenting both healthy and abnormal vertebrae (fractured and scoliotic spines). We consistently achieve an average Dice coefficient of over 90 percent on a publicly available dataset of the xVertSeg segmentation challenge of MICCAI 2016. This is particularly noteworthy because the xVertSeg dataset is beset with severe deformities in the form of vertebral fractures and scoliosis.
A study of dual polymer conditioning of aluminum-based drinking water treatment residual

Conditioning of an aluminum-based water treatment sludge by single and dual polymers was investigated in this study. Capillary suction time (CST), specific resistance to filtration (SRF) and settling rate were used to evaluate the sludge dewatering characteristics. Sludge dewaterability resulting from single and dual polymer conditioning were compared for the purpose of exploring the validity and effectiveness of dual polymer conditioning strategy. Unlike activated sludge derived from wastewater treatment, results from this study have demonstrated that conditioning of the alum sludge by the combined use of an cationic polymer (FO-4140) followed by an anionic polymer (LT-25) does not exhibit considerable advantage in further improvement of sludge dewaterability with comparison of single polymer conditioning. This study supports the view that for aluminum-based water treatment sludge, inter particle bridging seems to be the dominative mechanism and the charge neutralization plays a less important role in the conditioning process. In addition, an intrinsic relationship between CST and SRF was deducted and tested via the experimental data obtained from the study.
Reprogramming events of mammalian somatic cells induced by Xenopus laevis egg extracts

It is known that differentiated cells can be reprogrammed to an undifferentiated state in oocyte cytoplasm after nuclear transfer. Recently, some reports suggested that Xenopus egg extracts have the ability to reprogram mammalian somatic cells. Reprogramming events of mammalian cells after Xenopus egg extract treatment and after cell culture of extract‐treated cells have not been elucidated. In this experiment, we examined reprogramming events in reversibly permeabilized or nonpermeabilized porcine fibroblast cells after Xenopus egg extract treatment. The Xenopus egg‐specific histone B4 was assembled on porcine chromatin and nuclear lamin LIII was incorporated into nuclei. Deacetylation of histone H3 at lysine 9 in extract‐treated cells was detected in nonpermeabilized cells, suggesting that a part of reprogramming may be induced even in nonpermeabilized cells. Following culture of extract‐treated cells, the cells began to express the pluripotent marker genes such as POU5F1 (OCT4) and SOX2 and to form colonies. Reactivation of the OCT4 gene in extract‐treated cells was also confirmed in bovine fibroblasts transformed with an OCT4‐EGFP construct. These results suggest that nuclei of mammalian cells can be partially reprogrammed to an embryonic state by Xenopus egg extracts and the remodeled cells partly dedifferentiate after cell culture. A system using egg extracts may be useful for understanding the mechanisms and processes of dedifferentiation and reprogramming of mammalian somatic cells after nuclear transfer. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 74: 1268–1277, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Sliding Mode Based Behavior Control

In this work, we suggested a new approach for the control of a mobile robot capable of being a building block of an intelligent agent. This approach includes obstacle avoidance and goal tracking implemented as two different sliding mode controllers. A geometry based behavior arbitration is proposed for fusing the two outputs. Proposed structure is tested on simulations and real robot. Results have confirmed the high performance of the method.