Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Contrast and laryngeal states in Tz ’ utujil

This paper investigates the phonetics and phonology of stop consonant allophony in the Mayan language Tz’utujil (Guatemala; ∼ 70,000 speakers). Tz’utujil, like Mayan languages more generally, contrasts plain voiceless stops with a glottalized stop series. The allophonic realization of this laryngeal state contrast varies dramatically by context, with prevocalic stops showing starkly different phonetic characteristics than preconsonantal or word-final stops. This paper argues that these allophonic processes are rooted in contrast preservation: allophonic variation serves to enhance both place of articulation and laryngeal state contrasts, exactly in those positions where the phonetic cues to such contrasts are jeopardized. Acoustic evidence is adduced in support of this claim, and the stop system of Tz’utujil is modeled in Dispersion Theory (Flemming 1995, Padgett 2003, Flemming 2004). 1 Background Tz’utujil is a Quichean-branch Mayan language spoken in the highlands of Guatemala. Like Mayan languages more generally, Tz’utujil has a phonological contrast between plain and glottalized stops. Stop phonemes Plain stops / p t k q > ts > tS P / Glottalized stops / p’ t’ k’ q’ > ts’ > tS ’ / Figure 1: Underlying Tz’utujil stops (Dayley 1985) Dayley (1985) discusses a number of allophonic processes that apply to the system of stops in Tz’utujil. First, Dayley (1985:14) reports that plain stops are aspirated before consonants and word-finally. UCSC Linguistics Research Center
THRESHOLD CRACK GROWTH IN A36 STEEL

Objectives of the study were to investigate the regions of high cycle and threshold fatigue crack propagation and to correlate the findings with observed results from tests of welded structural details. The crack propagation phase focused on cycling plate specimens at low ranges of stress to determine levels of stress for which no crack extension appeared. Results indicated a definite trend towards a threshold for fatigue crack propagation. Through a fracture mechanics analysis this threshold region of cyclic stress was described in terms of the range of the stress intensity factor for the plate specimens. The crack growth and threshold value were used to predict stress ranges which would not cause failure at the weld toe of cover plates fillet-welded to beam flanges. A mathematical model was used to relate the stress conditions existing at the weld toe to the stress applied on the detail. Using the threshold value of the stress intensity factor range found in the crack growth studies, a runout stress range was derived which agreed well with results of coverplated beam studies.
A Three-Axis Magnetic Field Microsensor Fabricated Utilizing a CMOS Process

This study develops a three-axis magnetic field (MF) microsensor manufactured by a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process. The MF microsensor contains a ring emitter, four bases, and eight collectors. Sentaurus TCAD was used to simulate the microsensor characterization. The STI (shallow trench isolation) oxide in the process was used to limit the current direction and reduce leakage current. The microsensor produces a voltage difference once it senses a magnetic field. An amplifier circuitry magnifies voltage difference into a voltage output. Experiments reveals that the MF microsensor has a sensitivity of 1.45 V/T along the x-axis and a sensitivity of 1.37 V/T along the y-axis.
El Consejo Nacional Electoral y los dilemas de la competencia electoral en Venezuela

En este trabajo se expone de manera descriptiva el comportamiento del Consejo Nacional Electoral (CNE) en la Venezuela chavista. En ese sentido, se analizan las actuaciones de este organismo electoral en un contexto politico, que para el caso venezolano, como minimo, puede ser clasificado como semidemocratico. Se destaca que el CNE no es un arbitro imparcial, no porque no lo quieran sus miembros, sino porque ello no es posible en el escenario politico e institucional actual en el pais, por lo que la calidad de este organismo electoral no puede medirse empleando los mismos criterios que pudieran ser usados para evaluar a otros organismos electorales en democracias electorales
The morphology of galaxies in the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey

We study the morphology and size of the luminous and massive galaxies at 0.3 2.35 is able to select a sub-sample of BOSS galaxies with ≥90 per cent early-type morphology and thus more comparable to the earlier Luminous Red Galaxy (LRG) samples of Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS)-I/II. The remaining ≃10 per cent of galaxies above this (g−i) cut have a late-type morphology and may be analogous to the ‘passive spirals’ found at lower redshift. We find that 23 ± 4 per cent of the early-type BOSS galaxies are unresolved multiple systems in the SDSS imaging. We estimate that at least 50 per cent of these multiples are likely real associations and not projection effects and may represent a significant ‘dry merger’ fraction. We study the SDSS pipeline sizes of BOSS galaxies which we find to be systematically larger (by 40 per cent) than those measured from HST images, and provide a statistical correction for the difference. These details of the BOSS galaxies will help users of the BOSS data fine-tune their selection criteria, dependent on their science applications. For example, the main goal of BOSS is to measure the cosmic distance scale and expansion rate of the Universe to per cent level precision – a point where systematic effects due to the details of target selection may become important.
Examining the Impact of a Crude Oil Spill on the Permittivity Profile and Normalized Radar Cross Section of Young Sea Ice

An oil-in-sea ice mesocosm experiment was conducted at the University of Manitoba Sea-Ice Environmental Research Facility from January to March 2016 in which geophysical and electromagnetic parameters of the ice were measured, and general observations about the oil-contaminated ice were made. From the experimental measurements, the presence of crude oil appears to affect the temperature and bulk salinity profiles as well as the normalized radar cross section (NRCS) of the contaminated young sea ice. The measured temperature and bulk salinity profiles of the ice, as well as the crude oil distribution within the ice, were used to model the permittivity profile of the oil-contaminated ice by adapting two mixture models commonly used to describe sea ice to account for the presence of oil. Permittivity modeling results were used to simulate the NRCS of the oil-contaminated sea ice in an effort to determine the accuracy of the models. In addition, the application of X-ray microtomography in modeling the dielectric profile of oil-contaminated sea ice was examined. The sensitivity of the permittivity models for oil-contaminated sea ice to changes in temperature, frequency, and oil volume fraction was also examined.
Outpatient Office Wait Times And Quality Of Care For Medicaid Patients.

The time patients spend in a doctor's waiting room prior to a scheduled appointment is an important component of the quality of the overall health care experience. We analyzed data on twenty-one million outpatient visits obtained from electronic health record systems, which allowed us to measure time spent in the waiting room beyond the scheduled appointment time. Median wait time was a little more than four minutes. Almost one-fifth of visits had waits longer than twenty minutes, and 10 percent were more than thirty minutes. Waits were shorter for early-morning appointments, for younger patients, and at larger practices. Median wait time was 4.1 minutes for privately insured patients and 4.6 minutes for Medicaid patients. After adjustment for patient and appointment characteristics, Medicaid patients were 20 percent more likely than the privately insured patients to wait longer than twenty minutes, with most of this disparity explained by differences in practices and providers they saw. Wait times for Medicaid patients relative to privately insured patients were longer in states with relatively lower Medicaid reimbursement rates. The study complements other work that suggests that Medicaid patients face some additional barriers in the receipt of care.
Detection of Multiple Genotypes of Calicivirus Infection in Asymptomatic Swine in Taiwan

Noroviruses (NoVs) and sapoviruses (SaVs) of the family Caliciviridae are emerging enteric pathogens in humans and animals. Recent detection of genogroup II norovirus (GII NoV) RNA from swine raises public health concerns about zoonotic transmission of porcine NoVs to humans. However, few papers reported genotype distributions and epidemiological features in swine farms and their genetic relationship to human strains, which was the objective of our study. This study investigated the epidemiological features and genotypes of caliciviruses in swine farms using 533 pig faecal samples from six farms in central and southern Taiwan, tested for viral RNA using RT‐PCR targeting the conserved polymerase gene. NoVs and SaVs were detected with a positive rate of 7.1% and 0.6%, respectively. To confirm the positive rate of NoVs, 255 pig faecal samples from two farms in central Taiwan were tested with primer pairs targeting the partial capsid gene of GII, and 32.3% of the positive rate was found. Furthermore, the results from the capsid region suggested a higher positive rate of 41.7% in winter than 26.4% in summer with statistical significance (P < 0.05). Sequence analysis showed 29 strains belonging to GII.4 (human) and nine strains belonging to GII.11 (swine) identified based on the partial polymerase gene. Additional genotypes clustered with GII.2 (human) and GII.18 (swine) were also characterized based on the partial capsid gene. SaVs detected in porcine faecal samples belonged to genogroup III (GIII), which clustered with the PEC‐Cowden strain. Our study demonstrated the presence of multiple genotypes of both human and porcine NoVs infecting swine of various ages asymptomatically. Although the zoonotic potential of detected human NoVs in swine was not conclusive owing to the lack of local human faecal samples, our study revealed the importance of monitoring emerging strains in swine to mitigate the potential impact of recombinant NoVs infecting the human population.
N2DLOF: A New Local Density-Based Outlier Detection Approach for Scattered Data

Since the Local Outlier Factor (LOF) was first proposed, there is a large family of approaches that is derived from it. For the reason that the existing local outliers detection approaches only focus on the extent of overall separation between an object and its neighbors, and do not pay attention to the degree of dispersion between them, the precision of these approaches will be seriously affected in the scattered data sets for outlier detection. In this paper, we redefine the local outliers by combining the degree of dispersion of the object and its neighbors, and propose a new local outlier detection approach (N2DLOF). Compared to conventional approaches, the outliers obtained by N2DLOF are more sensitive to the degree of anomaly of the scattered data sets. Experiments show that our approach has a significant improvement on outlier detection precision in the case of scattered datasets with similar time complexity. In short, we extend the ecosystem of the local outlier detection approaches from a new perspective.
Fluoride content in human enamel after fluoride application and washing - an in vitro study.

The purpose of this study was to compare the F–– acquisition of enamel of APF solutions, NH4F containing solutions, organic fluoride solutions and a urethane lacquer-containing silane fluoride. The F–– content as a function of the distance from the anatomical surface was studied after one application, after 24 h of washing in tap water and after 1 week of washing. The results indicate that one treatment with the F–– containing lacquer introduces an amount of permanently deposited fluoride comparable to that of a great number of applications by the other solutions mentioned. The silane fluoride-containing lacquer introduces about 2,000 ppm of permanently bonded F–– in an average surface of 8 μm thickness.
An investigation of the MC‐SIMEX method with application to measurement error in periodontal outcomes

Measurement error is pervasive in medical research. In periodontal research studies, one measure of disease status is the probed pocket depth (PPD), the depth of the space between a tooth and the surrounding gum. In larger studies, these assessments are made by multiple examiners, each having distinct measurement error characteristics. Because PPD is recorded in whole millimeters, it may be regarded as discrete and its associated error as misclassification error. This study investigates the impact of this measurement error when evaluating the effect of periodontal disease status on levels of inflammatory markers in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF). The marker readings are either left or right censored, due to quantities that are either too small to be reliably quantified or so large that they saturate the detector. Additionally, marker readings from multiple periodontal sites within a subject's mouth are correlated. These considerations give rise to a clustered survival model for the marker readings in which the discrete predictor of interest is misclassified. Associations between the GCF markers and periodontal assessments are corrected for misclassification error using the MC‐SIMEX method. Simulation studies reveal the impact of varying degrees of misclassification error on associations of interest. Analysis of pilot data from a periodontal study, for which examiner misclassification rates are estimated from calibration studies, further illustrates the approach. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Conditional ablation of the RFX4 isoform 1 transcription factor: Allele dosage effects on brain phenotype

Regulatory factor X4 (RFX4) isoform 1 is a recently discovered isoform of the winged helix transcription factor RFX4, which can bind to X-box consensus sequences that are enriched in the promoters of cilia-related genes. Early insertional mutagenesis studies in mice first identified this isoform, and demonstrated that it was crucial for mouse brain development. RFX4 isoform 1 is the only RFX4 isoform significantly expressed in the mouse fetal and adult brain. In this study, we evaluated conditional knock-out (KO) mice in which one or two floxed alleles of Rfx4 were deleted early in development through the use of a Sox2-Cre transgene. Heterozygous deletion of Rfx4 resulted in severe, non-communicating congenital hydrocephalus associated with hypoplasia of the subcommissural organ. Homozygous deletion of Rfx4 resulted in formation of a single ventricle in the forebrain, and severe dorsoventral patterning defects in the telencephalon and midbrain at embryonic day 12.5, a collection of phenotypes that resembled human holoprosencephaly. No anatomical abnormalities were noted outside the brain in either case. At the molecular level, transcripts encoded by the cilia-related gene Foxj1 were significantly decreased, and Foxj1 was identified as a direct gene target of RFX4 isoform 1. The phenotypes were similar to those observed in the previous Rfx4 insertional mutagenesis studies. Thus, we provide a novel conditional KO animal model in which to investigate the downstream genes directly and/or indirectly regulated by RFX4 isoform 1. This model could provide new insights into the pathogenesis of obstructive hydrocephalus and holoprosencephaly in humans, both relatively common and disabling birth defects.
Comparison of different methods to assess alveolar cleft defects in cone beam CT images.

OBJECTIVES This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of three different methods for assessing the volume of cleft defects in CBCT images. The influence of field of view (FOV) and voxel sizes was also assessed. METHODS Using three radio-opaque plastic skulls, unilateral defects were created to mimic alveolar clefts and were filled with wax following the contralateral side contours. They were scanned in a CBCT unit using four different acquisition protocols, varying FOV and voxel sizes. Using three different methods, the defect/wax volume was evaluated on the images by defining: (1) the width, height and facial-palatal length of the defect in maximum intensity projection; (2) the areas of the defect on axial slices; and (3) the threshold and segmentation of the region of interest. The values obtained from each method using different acquisition protocols were compared with the real volume of the wax (gold standard) using ANOVA and Tukey's test. RESULTS Methods 2 and 3 did not differ from the gold standard (p > 0.05). Conversely, Method 1 presented statistically significant overestimated values (p < 0.01). No differences were found among the different FOV and voxel sizes (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS CBCT volumes proved reliable for the volumetric assessment of alveolar cleft defects, when using Methods 2 and 3 regardless of FOV and voxel sizes. It may be possible to improve surgical planning and outcomes by knowing the exact volume of grafting material needed prior to the surgical intervention.
Family care of people with severe mental disorders: an integrative review

OBJECTIVE: to analyze the scientific literature on home-based family care of people with severe mental illness. METHOD: integrative review of 14 databases (CINALH, Cochrane Plus, Cuidatge, CUIDEN, Eric, IBECS, EMI, ISOC, JBI COnNECT, LILACS, PsycINFO, PubMed, SciELO, and Scopus) searched with the key words "family caregivers", "severe mental illness", and "home" between 2003 and 2013. RESULTS: of 787 articles retrieved, only 85 met the inclusion criteria. The articles appeared in 61 journals from different areas and disciplines, mainly from nursing (36%). The countries producing the most scientific literature on nursing were Brazil, the UK, and the US, and authorship predominantly belonged to university centers. A total of 54.12% of the studies presented quantitative designs, with descriptive ones standing out. Work overload, subjective perspectives, and resources were the main topics of these papers. CONCLUSIONS: the international scientific literature on home-based, informal family care of people with severe mental disorder is limited. Nursing research stands out in this field. The prevalent topics coincide with the evolution of the mental health system. The expansion of the scientific approach to family care is promoted to create evidence-based guidelines for family caregivers and for the clinical practice of professional caregivers.
Seasonal and elevational variations of black carbon and dust in snow and ice in the Solu-Khumbu, Nepal and estimated radiative forcings

Abstract. Black carbon (BC) and dust deposited on snow and glacier surfaces can reduce the surface albedo, accelerate snow and ice melt, and trigger albedo feedback. Assessing BC and dust concentrations in snow and ice in the Himalaya is of interest because this region borders large BC and dust sources, and seasonal snow and glacier ice in this region are an important source of water resources. Snow and ice samples were collected from crevasse profiles and snow pits at elevations between 5400 and 6400 m a.s. l. from Mera glacier located in the Solu-Khumbu region of Nepal during spring and fall 2009, providing the first observational data of BC concentrations in snow and ice from the southern slope of the Himalaya. The samples were measured for Fe concentrations (used as a dust proxy) via ICP-MS, total impurity content gravimetrically, and BC concentrations using a Single Particle Soot Photometer (SP2). Measured BC concentrations underestimate actual BC concentrations due to changes to the sample during storage and loss of BC particles in the ultrasonic nebulizer; thus, we correct for the underestimated BC mass. BC and Fe concentrations are substantially higher at elevations
TPD52L2 impacts proliferation, invasiveness and apoptosis of glioblastoma cells via modulation of wnt/&bgr;-catenin/snail signaling

Intratumoral heterogeneity greatly hinders efficiency of target therapy in glioblastoma (GBM). To decipher the underlying mechanisms of heterogeneity, patient-derived adult GBM cells were separately isolated from margins of T1 gadolinium enhancing tumor lesions (PNCs) and T1 gadolinium enhancing core lesions (ECs). Single clone culture was conducted in ECs and U87MG cell line to screen clones with distinct biological phenotypes. Single cell clones with diverse phenotypes were simultaneously separated from ECs and U87 cell line. PNCs, GCs(H) and U87(H) exhibited longer cellular protrusion than ECs, GCs(L) and U87(L), respectively. Cell strains with longer protrusion exhibited higher invasive ability and lower sensitivity to temozolomide (TMZ) and radiation. Subsequently, TPD52L2 was verified as the functional protein to regulate the cellular heterogeneity by the proteomics analysis. Downregulation of TPD52L2 enhanced cell invasion whereas inhibited cell proliferation rate and sensitivity to chemotherapy in vivo and in vitro, this condition was reversed when TPD52L2 was overexpressed. The invasiveness was facilitated by up-regulating CTNNB1/β-catenin and SNAI1/Snail mediated EMT process. In addition, the clinical data of 88 GBM cases in our neurosurgery center was analyzed to reveal the influence of TPD52L2 in the prognosis of GBM. Low expression of TPD52L2 exacerbated prognosis of GBM patients received standard radiotherapy plus concomitant and adjuvant TMZ (Stupp strategy). Taken together, TPD52L2 is an important biomarker influencing GBM prognosis.
Attenuation of Biochemical Parameters in Streptozotocin-induced Diabetic Rats by Oral Administration of Extracts and Fractions of Cephalotaxus sinensis

Cephalotaxus sinensis (C. sinensis) large size, evergreen tree common in China and utilized for numerous effective pharmacological applications in Chinese traditional medicine. The hepato-renal effects of C. sinensis were evaluated in vivo using Streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats as an tentative model. Animals were orally treated with 80% EtOH extract (aq.EE), H2O extract (WtE) and ethylacetate (EaF)/butanol fractions (BtF) of C. sinensis (200 mg/kg, b.w.) for 28 days whereas control received vehicle merely. The degree of fortification was measured by using biochemical parameters like serum transaminases (ALT and AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), creatinine, urea and urine sugar. Meanwhile, the histopathological studies were conducted out to support the above parameters. Administration of C. sinensis aq.EE/BtF (p<0.05) and EaF (p<0.01) patently prevented STZ-induced elevation levels of serum ALT, AST, ALP, creatinine, urea, urine sugar and increase body weight respectively, which were comparable with the standard drug tolbutamide, while WtE did not show any significant effect (p>0.05). Phytochemical studies revealed the presence of saponins, terpenes, sterols and flavonoids in C. sinensis which could be responsible for the possible hepato-renal protective action. The results sustain the fact that the extract/fractions of C. sinensis have an immense potential to be developed further into a phytomedicine.
Myocardial damage in patients with sarcoidosis and preserved left ventricular systolic function: an observational study

Late gadolinium enhanced cardiovascular magnetic resonance (LGE‐CMR) is a valuable test to detect myocardial damage in patients with sarcoidosis; however, the clinical significance of LGE in sarcoidosis patients with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) is not defined. We aim to characterize the prevalence of LGE, its associated cardiac findings, and its clinical implications in sarcoidosis patients with preserved LVEF.