Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
In situ enrichment of ocean crust microbes on igneous minerals and glasses using an osmotic flow‐through device

The Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Hole 1301A on the eastern flank of Juan de Fuca Ridge was used in the first long‐term deployment of microbial enrichment flow cells using osmotically driven pumps in a subseafloor borehole. Three novel osmotically driven colonization systems with unidirectional flow were deployed in the borehole and incubated for 4 years to determine the microbial colonization preferences for 12 minerals and glasses present in igneous rocks. Following recovery of the colonization systems, we measured cell density on the minerals and glasses by fluorescent staining and direct counting and found some significant differences between mineral samples. We also determined the abundance of mesophilic and thermophilic culturable organotrophs grown on marine R2A medium and identified isolates by partial 16S or 18S rDNA sequencing. We found that nine distinct phylotypes of culturable mesophilic oligotrophs were present on the minerals and glasses and that eight of the nine can reduce nitrate and oxidize iron. Fe(II)‐rich olivine minerals had the highest density of total countable cells and culturable organotrophic mesophiles, as well as the only culturable organotrophic thermophiles. These results suggest that olivine (a common igneous mineral) in seawater‐recharged ocean crust is capable of supporting microbial communities, that iron oxidation and nitrate reduction may be important physiological characteristics of ocean crust microbes, and that heterogeneously distributed minerals in marine igneous rocks likely influence the distribution of microbial communities in the ocean crust.
Reliability Generalization of Perceived Ease of Use, Perceived Usefulness, and Behavioral Intentions

A reliability generalization study (a meta-analysis of reliability coefficients) was conducted on three widely studied information systems constructs from the technology acceptance model (TAM): perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and behavioral intentions. This form of meta-analysis summarizes the reliability coefficients of the scores on a specified scale across studies and identifies the study characteristics that influence the reliability of these scores. Reliability is a critical issue in conducting empirical research as the reliability of the scores on well-established scales can vary with study characteristics, attenuating effect sizes. In conducting this study, an extensive literature search was conducted, with 380 articles reviewed and coded to perform reliability generalization. Study characteristics, including technology, sample, and measurement characteristics, for these articles were recorded along with effect size data for the relationships among these variables. After controlling for number of items, sample size, and sampling error, differences in reliability coefficients were found with several study characteristics for the three technology acceptance constructs. The reliability coefficients of PEOU and PU were lower in hedonic contexts than in utilitarian contexts, and were higher when the originally validated scales were used as compared to when other items were substituted. Only 27 percent of the studies that provided the measurement items used the original PEOU items, while 39 percent used the original PU items. Scales that were administered in English had higher reliability coefficients for PU and BI, with a marginal effect for PEOU. Reliability differences were also found for other study characteristics, including reliability type, subject experience, and gender composition. While average reliability coefficients were high, the results show that, on average, relationships among these constructs are attenuated by 12 percent with maximum attenuation in the range of 35 to 43 percent. Implications for technology acceptance research are discussed and suggestions for addressing variation in reliability coefficients across studies are provided.
Equihash: Asymmetric Proof-of-Work Based on the Generalized Birthday Problem

The proof-of-work is a central concept in modern cryptocurrencies, but the requirement for fast verification so far made it an easy prey for GPU-, ASIC-, and botnet-equipped users. The attempts to rely on memory-intensive computations in order to remedy the disparity between architectures have resulted in slow or broken schemes. In this paper we solve this open problem and show how to construct an asymmetric proof-of-work (PoW) based on a computationally hard problem, which requires a lot of memory to generate a proof (called ”memory-hardness” feature) but is instant to verify. Our primary proposal is a PoW based on the generalized birthday problem and enhanced Wagner’s algorithm for it. We introduce the new technique of algorithm binding to prevent cost amortization and demonstrate that possible parallel implementations are constrained by memory bandwidth. Our scheme has tunable and steep time-space tradeoffs, which impose large computational penalties if less memory is used. Our solution is practical and ready to deploy: a reference implementation of a proof-of-work requiring 700 MB of RAM runs in 30 seconds on a 1.8 GHz CPU, increases the computations by the factor of 1000 if memory is halved, and presents a proof of just 148 bytes long.
Increased Prevalence of Symptoms of Rhinitis but Not of Asthma between 1990 and 2008 in Swedish Adults: Comparisons of the ECRHS and GA2LEN Surveys

Background The increase in asthma prevalence until 1990 has been well described. Thereafter, time trends are poorly known, due to the low number of high quality studies. The preferred method for studying time trends in prevalence is repeated surveys of similar populations. This study aimed to compare the prevalence of asthma symptoms and their major determinants, rhinitis and smoking, in Swedish young adults in 1990 and 2008. Methods In 1990 the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS) studied respiratory symptoms, asthma, rhinitis and smoking in a population-based sample (86% participation) in Sweden. In 2008 the same symptom questions were included in the Global Allergy and Asthma European Network (GA2LEN) survey (60% participation). Smoking questions were however differently worded. The regions (Gothenburg, Uppsala, Umeå) and age interval (20–44 years) surveyed both in 1990 (n = 8,982) and 2008 (n = 9,156) were analysed. Results The prevalence of any wheeze last 12 months decreased from 20% to 16% (p<0.001), and the prevalence of “asthma-related symptoms” was unchanged at 7%. However, either having asthma attacks or using asthma medications increased from 6% to 8% (p<0.001), and their major risk factor, rhinitis, increased from 22% to 31%. Past and present smoking decreased. Conclusion From 1990 to 2008 the prevalence of obstructive airway symptoms common in asthma did not increase in Swedish young adults. This supports the few available international findings suggesting the previous upward trend in asthma has recently reached a plateau. The fact that wheeze did not increase despite the significant increment in rhinitis, may at least in part be due to the decrease in smoking.
Proof verification and hardness of approximation problems

The class PCP(f(n),g(n)) consists of all languages L for which there exists a polynomial-time probabilistic oracle machine that used O(f(n)) random bits, queries O(g(n)) bits of its oracle and behaves as follows: If x in L then there exists an oracle y such that the machine accepts for all random choices but if x not in L then for every oracle y the machine rejects with high probability. Arora and Safra (1992) characterized NP as PCP(log n, (loglogn)/sup O(1)/). The authors improve on their result by showing that NP=PCP(logn, 1). The result has the following consequences: (1) MAXSNP-hard problems (e.g. metric TSP, MAX-SAT, MAX-CUT) do not have polynomial time approximation schemes unless P=NP; and (2) for some epsilon >0 the size of the maximal clique in a graph cannot be approximated within a factor of n/sup epsilon / unless P=NP. <<ETX>>
Electronic transport properties of carbon and boron nitride chain heterojunctions

Long, stable, and free-standing linear atomic carbon chains and boron nitride (BN) chains have been carved out from their 2D sheets recently [Meyer et al., Nature, 2008, 454(7202), 319; Jin et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. , 2009, 102(20), 205501; Cretu et al., ACS Nano, 2014, 8(12), 11950], which could be used as transport channels or on-chip interconnects for field-effect transistors. Herein, the transport properties of carbon and BN chains and their heterojunctions are investigated using the nonequilibrium Green's functions in combination with density functional theory. All the atomic chains exhibit even–odd behavior and the transport property is limited for longer lengths. The current rectifying effect is observed in the even-numbered configurations except pure carbon chains, which originates from the atomic structure induced by the asymmetric electronic structure. Moreover, the transmission probability of the double chain channel is enhanced two times. Importantly, the DOS of the chain channel dominates the transmission spectrum and current–voltage characteristics of devices. For the carbon and boron nitride chain heterojunctions, their electronic properties could be modulated by changing the position and number of carbon or boron nitride atoms. Particularly, the structures with carbon atoms at the junction show better electron transport properties, where the current and rectification ratio are enhanced evidently. When spin polarization is considered, they are magnetic semiconductor and show an even–odd spin filtering effect. Moreover, the spin filtering effect is enhanced in the cases with carbon chains on one side. This study may provide a new pathway for the exploration of nano-electronics.
Complaints of Poor Sleep and Risk of Traffic Accidents: A Population-Based Case-Control Study

Introduction This study aimed to determine the sleepiness-related factors associated with road traffic accidents. Methods A population based case-control study was conducted in 2 French agglomerations. 272 road accident cases hospitalized in emergency units and 272 control drivers matched by time of day and randomly stopped by police forces were included in the study. Odds ratios were calculated for the risk of road traffic accidents. Results As expected, the main predictive factor for road traffic accidents was having a sleep episode at the wheel just before the accident (OR 9.97, CI 95%: 1.57–63.50, p<0.05). The increased risk of traffic accidents was 3.35 times higher in subjects who reported very poor quality sleep during the last 3 months (CI 95%: 1.30–8.63, p<0.05), 1.69 times higher in subjects reporting sleeping 6 hours or fewer per night during the last 3 months (CI 95%: 1.00–2.85, p<0.05), 2.02 times higher in subjects reporting symptoms of anxiety or nervousness in the previous day (CI 95%: 1.03–3.97, p<0.05), and 3.29 times higher in subjects reporting taking more than 2 medications in the last 24 h (CI 95%: 1.14–9.44, p<0.05). Chronic daytime sleepiness measured by the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, expressed heavy snoring and nocturnal leg movements did not explain traffic accidents. Conclusion Physicians should be attentive to complaints of poor sleep quality and quantity, symptoms of anxiety-nervousness and/or drug consumption in regular car drivers.
Cardiac sympathetic afferent reflex response to intermedin microinjection into paraventricular nucleus is mediated by nitric oxide and γ-amino butyric acid in hypertensive rats

Intermedin (IMD) is a member of calcitonin/calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and involves in the regulation of cardiovascular function in both peripheral tissues and central nervous system (CNS). Paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of hypothalamus is an important site in the control of cardiac sympathetic afferent reflex (CSAR) which participates in sympathetic over-excitation of hypertension. The aim of this study is to investigate whether IMD in the PVN is involved in the inhibition of CSAR and its related mechanism in hypertension. Rats were subjected to two-kidney one-clip (2K1C) surgery to induce renovascular hypertension or sham-operation (Sham). Acute experiments were carried out four weeks later under anesthesia. The CSAR was evaluated with the renal sympathetic nerve activity (RSNA) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) responses to the epicardial application of capsaicin. The RSNA and MAP were recorded in sinoaortic-denervated, cervical-vagotomized and anesthetized rats. Bilateral PVN microinjection of IMD (25 pmol) caused greater decrease in the CSAR in 2K1C rats than in Sham rats, which was prevented by pretreatment with adrenomedullin (AM) receptor antagonist AM22-52, non-selective nitric oxide (NO) synthase (NOS) inhibitor l-NAME or γ-amino butyric acid (GABA)B receptor blocker CGP-35348. PVN pretreatment with CGRP receptor antagonist CGRP8-37 or GABAA receptor blocker gabazine had no significant effect on the CSAR response to IMD. AM22-52, l-NAME and CGP-35348 in the PVN could increase CSAR in Sham and 2K1C rats. These data indicate that IMD in the PVN inhibits CSAR via AM receptor, and both NO and GABA in the PVN involve in the effect of IMD on CSAR in Sham and renovascular hypertensive rats.
Thyroplasty as a new phonosurgical technique.

In an attempt to examine the surgical possibility of changing the vocal cord position and tension by reforming the thyroid cartilage, an experimental study was made using 10 adult dogs. Hoarseness produced by section of the recurrent laryngeal nerve was generally much improved by vertical incision on the thyroid ala and slipping in of the lateral cartilage segment. Four types of thyroplasty were proposed from the functional viewpoint. Their effects on the vocal cord are (1) lateral compression, (2) lateral expansion, (3) relaxation (shortening) and (4) stretching (lengthening) respectively. Possible indications for each type of thyroplasty were described with reference to specific laryngeal diseases. The advantages of thyroplasty were emphasized namely, that the intervention inside the thyroid cartilage is minimal and therefore fine and reliable adjustment is possible during surgery. Thyroplasty thus offers a new possibility in phonosurgery.
Dendritic cells in the mucosa of the human trachea are not regularly found in the first year of life

BACKGROUND Dendritic cells (DCs) in the mucosa of the respiratory tract might be involved in the early development of pulmonary allergy or tolerance. To date, little is known about when the first DCs occur in human airways. METHODS Specimens of the distal trachea from patients who had died from sudden death in the first year of life (n=29) and in older age groups (n=59) as well as from those who had died from respiratory tract infections in the first year of life (n=8) were examined by immunohistochemistry. Transmission electron microscopy was performed in additional samples from two adults. RESULTS In the sudden death subgroup DCs were absent in 76% of those who died in the first year of life but were present in 53 of the 59 older cases. All infants who had died of respiratory infectious diseases had DCs in the tracheal mucosa. CONCLUSIONS Mature DCs are not constitutively present in the human tracheobronchial mucosa in the first year of life, but their occurrence seems to be triggered by infectious stimuli. These data support the hypothesis that DCs play a crucial role in immunoregulation in early childhood.
The Effects of Consumer's Psychological Characteristics on Domain-Specific Deal-Proneness

Most west studies have emphasized the psychological profile of the deal-prone consumer. However, consumers with different culture background and under different market environment would show different responses to promotions. In this paper, taking Chinese women clothing consumers as research object, structural equation model is applied to analyze the effects of consumer's psychological characteristics on three kinds of domain-specific deal-proneness, namely, coupon redemption schemes, discount and points. The findings confirm that the impact of psychographics on different types of promotion has obvious differences. And through comparative analysis, some useful suggestions are given to marketers to develop promotion strategies.
Deficiency of Acid Esterase Activity in Wolman's Disease

Liver, spleen, and leucocytes from patients with acid triglyceride lipase deficiency (Wolman's disease and its clinical variants) were also found to possess greatly reduced activity of an acid esterase acting on fatty acid esters of p-nitrophenol, thereby substantiating the view that a single enzyme is responsible for these different activities. The acid esterase was resistant to the microsomal esterase inhibitor, E600, and showed broad specificity with respect to fatty acid chain length of the p-nitrophenyl esters. Other lysosomal hydrolase activities were increased non-specifically in liver from patients, thus providing further support for the classification of acid lipase deficiency as an inborn lysosomal disease. The highly sensitive leucocyte assay provides a convenient method for the diagnosis of clinical variants of Wolman's disease; it might therefore prove particularly useful in the early detection of affected infants, and also possibly in the differentiation of heterozygotes.
A systematic review and critical appraisal of qualitative metasynthetic practice in public health to develop a taxonomy of operations of reciprocal translation

Reciprocal translation, the understanding of one study's findings in terms of another's, is the foundation of most qualitative metasynthetic methods. In light of the proliferation of metasynthesis methods, the current review sought to create a taxonomy of operations of reciprocal translation using recently published qualitative metasyntheses.
Predicting Chroma from Luma in AV1

Chroma from luma (CfL) prediction is a new and promising chroma-only intra predictor that models chroma pixels as a linear function of the coincident reconstructed luma pixels. In this paper, we present the CfL predictor adopted in Alliance Video 1 (AV1), a royalty-free video codec developed by the Alliance for Open Media (AOM). The proposed CfL distinguishes itself from prior art not only by reducing decoder complexity, but also by producing more accurate predictions. On average, CfL reduces the BD-rate, when measured with CIEDE2000, by 4.87% for still images and 2.41% for video sequences.
On the differences between localization and lateralization.

In recent years, it has become common use to distinguish between localization and lateralization, i.e., in the first case, we hear the sound as “out there” [outside‐head localization (OHL)], and in the second as inside the head [inside‐head localization (IHL)]. This paper deals with the assumption of a basic difference between OHL when listening to sound coming from an external source and IHL which, as generally reported, occurs when listening to sounds coming through earphones. Results of two experiments give evidence that OHL also occurs when the signals at both ears simulate an external source sufficiently alike, although these sound events are conveyed by earphones. These results prove that the question of whether OHL or IHL occurs does not depend on any kind of electroacoustic transmission.
SAR raw signal simulation for urban structures

A synthetic aperture radar (SAR) raw signal simulator for urban scenes is presented along with models it employs to compute the backscattered field and to account for the imaging radar sensor characteristics. Urban areas are represented as a set of dielectric buildings placed over a random rough nonflat dielectric terrain. The adopted models allow evaluation of the raw signal on a sound physical and mathematical background: the scattering model employs the Kirchhoff approach appropriately extended to include multiple-reflection effects, and the radar model operates in the two-dimensional Fourier transformed domain. Details to assess how and why the simulator is also efficient with respect to the computational time are provided. In addition, relevant examples are discussed to show the simulator potentialities and assess the validity of the main results. It is shown that the simulator is able to quantitatively assess performances of SAR sensors over urban structures. The proposed simulator turns out to be also useful to train numerical schemes devoted to feature extraction, and to test any specific SAR processing technique. Comments for further developments of the simulation tool are presented.
A program logic for higher-order procedural variables and non-local jumps

Relying on the formulae-as-types paradigm for classical logic, we define a program logic for an imperative language with higher-order procedural variables and non-local jumps. Then, we show how to derive a sound program logic for this programming language. As a by-product, we obtain a non-dependent type system which is more permissive than what is usually found in statically typed imperative languages. As a generic example, we encode imperative versions of delimited continuations operators shift and reset.
Nerve Injury Complicating Multiligament Knee Injury: Current Concepts and Treatment Algorithm

&NA; Multiligament knee injuries account for <0.02% of all orthopaedic injuries, and 16% to 40% of these patients suffer associated injury to the common peroneal nerve (CPN). The proximity of the CPN to the proximal fibula predisposes the nerve to injury during local trauma and dislocation; the nerve is highly vulnerable to stretch injury during varus stress, particularly in posterolateral corner injuries. CPN injuries have a poor prognosis compared with that of other peripheral nerve injuries. Management is determined based on the severity and location of nerve injury, timing of presentation, associated injuries requiring surgical management, and the results of serial clinical evaluations and electrodiagnostic studies. Nonsurgical treatment options include orthosis wear and physical therapy. Surgical management includes one or more of the following: neurolysis, primary nerve repair, intercalary nerve grafting, tendon transfer, and nerve transfer. Limited evidence supports the use of early one‐stage nerve reconstruction combined with tendon transfer; however, optimal management of these rare injuries continues to change, and treatment should be individualized.
Maternal and Perinatal Factors Influencing the Duration of Exclusive Breastfeeding During the First 6 Months of Life

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of certain factors on the duration of exclusive breastfeeding during the first 6 months of life. In 597 mothers, 26 variables were assessed during the postpartum period. The mothers were interviewed monthly by telephone about how they were feeding their babies. In 539 mothers (92.2%), complete data were obtained until the sixth month. At discharge, 1 month, 4 months, and 6 months, the frequency of exclusive breastfeeding was 97%, 83%, 56%, and 19%, respectively. The median duration was 4 months. A longer duration of exclusive breastfeeding was significantly associated with positive maternal attitudes toward breastfeeding, adequate family support, good mother-infant bonding, appropriate suckling technique, and no nipple problems. These associations persisted after controlling for maternal education and other confounding variables. Certain maternal factors related to a longer duration of exclusive breastfeeding can be identified in the maternity ward and might contribute to the development of more effective breastfeeding policies. J Hum Lact. 19(2):136-144.