Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Use of Optical Remote Sensing For Mapping Flooded Areas

Flood maps are a crucial tool to support emergency management, disaster recovery and risk reduction planning. Traditional flood mapping methods are time-consuming, labor intensive, and costly. Our goal in this paper is to introduce a novel technique to aggregate knowledge and information to map coastal flooded areas. We proposed a Difference of Normalized Difference Water Indices (DNDWI) derived from two LANDSAT-5/TM surface reflectance product acquired before and after the passage of Hurricane Ike, for Upper Texas in September of 2008. The reference flooded area was delineated interpolating the maximum surge in each location using a spline with barriers method with high tension and a 30 meter Digital Elevation Model (DEM). It was noticed that NDWI values decreased after the hurricane landfall on average from 0.226 to 0.122 for flooded area. However for the non-flooded areas it increased from 0.292 to 0.300. Results from the Monte Carlo simulation showed that mapping flooded areas with DNDWI got an accuracy of 85.68% while the non-flooded areas got an accuracy of 92.13%. Thus, DNDWI is promising tool for mapping flooded areas since it is a cheaper and simple technique which can be applied rapidly for several areas of the planet.
Endurance and Speed Capacity of the Korea Republic Football National Team During the World Cup of 2010

Endurance and Speed Capacity of the Korea Republic Football National Team During the World Cup of 2010 The aim of the study was to characterize selected indices of endurance and speed of the Korea Republic team with reference to the four best teams during the World Cup of 2010. Five hundred and ninety-nine football players from thirty-two teams participated in the study. All teams played in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. For the assessment of the players' motor activity during matches common kinematic test results were recorded using the Castrol Performance Index. The following variables were analysed: total distance covered by the team, distance covered by individual players, maximum running speed and average match running speed for the team and individual players, as well as with division with regard to playing position: defenders, midfielders, strikers. In comparison to the four best teams at the football World Cup of 2010, the Korea Republic players achieved the highest running speed (p≤0.05), and similar levels of covered distance and average match running speed.
Cell-Free DNA, High-Mobility Group Box-1, and Procalcitonin Concentrations in Dogs With Gastric Dilatation–Volvulus Syndrome

Canine gastric dilatation–volvulus (GDV) is a life-threatening disease characterized by extensive tissue ischemia, tissue hypoperfusion, and systemic inflammation. Biomarkers that better reflect the severity of gastric necrosis and systemic inflammation would aid clinicians in the management of these patients. This study aimed to investigate the prognostic significance of cell-free DNA (cfDNA), high-mobility group box-1 (HMGB1), and procalcitonin (PCT) in dogs with GDV. Concentrations of cfDNA, HMGB1, and PCT were measured in citrated plasma samples collected from 29 dogs with GDV at hospital admission. Additional data collected included baseline lactate concentrations, APPLEfast score, evidence of gastric necrosis, occurrence of postoperative complications, and outcome. Twenty-four healthy dogs were sampled as controls. Continuous variables between groups were compared with the Mann–Whitney U and correlations between continuous variables were assessed by calculation of Spearman’s correlation coefficient. Alpha was set at 0.05. Dogs with GDV had significantly greater concentrations of cfDNA, HMGB1, and PCT compared to controls (P = 0.0009, P = 0.004, and P = 0.009, respectively). PCT concentrations were significantly higher in non-survivors compared to survivors (P = 0.008). Dogs with gastric necrosis had significantly greater lactate concentrations compared to dogs without gastric necrosis (P = 0.0005). The APPLEfast score was not prognostic. Lactate and PCT concentrations were moderately, positively correlated (rs 0.51, P = 0.0005). Concentrations of the inflammatory biomarkers cfDNA, HMGB1, and PCT are increased in canine GDV. Only lactate and PCT concentrations were prognostic in this population of GDV dogs and were predictive of the presence of gastric necrosis and of non-survival to hospital discharge, respectively.
Effect of complex stimuli of shear stress and surface modification on proliferation and phenotype of chondrocyte

Articular cartilage has a poor ability to regenerate and repair itself. To restore cartilage defects, a method has been developed by culturing autologous chondrocytes to create a three dimensional tissue and then implanting the cultured tissue. However, articular chondrocytes easily leads to dedifferentiation state and loses their ability to synthesize the functional cartilaginous matrixes during in vitro culture. Therefore, it is important to maintain their differentiated phenotype during the expansion culture of chondrocytes. The objective of this study is to develop a novel culturing methodology combined surface modification and mechanical stimuli on articular cartilage. To develop a surfacemodified substrate, a SUS316L stainless plate was treated by Fine Particle Peening (FPP) technique using alumina particles. The chondrocytes were cultured on the modified stainless plate and stimulated by fluidinduced shear stress using a custommade flow culture system. As a result, proliferation rate was increased and phenotypicchange of chondrocytes was also observed by culturing the chondrocytes on physically modified surface combined with fluidinduced shear stress. In addition, the synergetic effect on proliferation rate was observed by applying the surface modification and flow shear stress simultaneously. [doi:10.2320/jinstmet.J2015009]
Reading words hurts: the impact of pain sensitivity on people’s ratings of pain-related words*

abstract This study explores the relation between pain sensitivity and the cognitive processing of words. 130 participants evaluated the pain-relatedness of a total of 600 two-syllabic nouns, and subsequently reported on their own pain sensitivity. The results demonstrate that pain-sensitive people associate words more strongly with pain than less sensitive people. In particular, concrete nouns like ‘syringe’, ‘wound’, ‘knife’, and ‘cactus’ are considered to be more pain-related for those who are more pain-sensitive. These findings dovetail with recent studies suggesting that certain bodily characteristics influence the way people form mental representations (Casasanto, 2009). We discuss three mechanisms which could potentially account for our findings: attention and memory bias, prototype analysis, and embodied cognition. We argue that, whereas none of these three accounts can be ruled out, the embodied cognition hypothesis provides a particularly promising view to accommodate our data.
HIV-Associated JC Virus-Granule-Cell Neuronopathy (JCV-GCN) with the Hot-Cross-Bun Sign

Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy has long been described as the sole feature of JC virus (JCV) infection of the central nervous system. Over the past decade, its spectrum has extended to new forms of encephalopathy, notably affecting neurons. We describe an HIV-infected patient with worsening cerebellar symptoms, progressive cerebellar atrophy and a hot-cross-bun sign attributed to JCV–granule-cell neuronopathy (GCN), and 20 years of follow-up.
erent salting and smoking processes on the microstructure , the texture and yield of Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar ) ® llets

The eect of dierent conditions during the salting and smoking process on the microstructure and the texture of salmon ®llets was studied in interaction with dierent raw salmon material; ocean-ranched Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) from Iceland and two groups of farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) from Norway, one from Northern Norway and one from Western Norway. The ocean-ranched salmon was found to have signi®cantly smaller ®ber diameters and higher shear force compared to the farmed ®sh. The cross-sectional area of the muscle ®bers decreased during the salting and smoking process. Small dierences were noted in the cross-sectional area between smoked ®llets processed by dierent salting and smoking methods. However, the cross-sectional area of ®bers in dry salted ®sh ®llets from the farmed groups were signi®cantly smaller than in the brine salted ®llets, as the ®bers shrunk more during dry salting than brine salting. The force required to shear the smoked ®llets was signi®cantly higher than for the unprocessed ®llets, but was not found to be related to the dierent salting and smoking processes. Yield during smoking was not related to the initial cross-sectional area or the shear force of the unprocessed muscle. # 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Generating Code for Mapping UML Associations Into C

Object-oriented programming languages do not contain syntax or semantics to express associations directly. Therefore, UML associations have to be implemented by an adequate combination of classes, attributes and methods. This paper presents some principles for the implementation a UML binary associations in CSharp (C#), paying special attention to multiplicity and navigability. Our implementation has some specification for bidirectional associations. These principles have been used to write a series of code patterns that we use in combination with using tools which generating code for associations, such as Poseidon for UML and Enterprise Architect. These Tools are read from a UML model stored in XMI (XML Metadata Interchange) format.
Influence of Washing and Cold Storage on Lipid and Protein Oxidation in Catfish (Clarias lazera) Surimi

ABSTRACT Lipid and protein oxidation in catfish (Clarias lazera) surimi during processing and storage were assessed. Catfish surimi were washed in deionized water: M0 (no washing step), M1 (one washing step), and M2 (two washing steps). Lipid, protein, water, and iron contents were determined. M0, M1, and M2 were stored for 0, 1, 4, 7, or 10 days at 4 ± 1°C; at each time point, samples were removed for analyses. Lipid oxidation was assessed by measuring malondialdehyde content. Protein oxidation was assessed by measuring protein solubility and protein sulfhydryl and carbonyl group contents. Based on the results, lipid content, L* and a* (color parameters), and fatty acid content in M1 and M2 were significantly reduced. Lipid oxidation development was faster in M1, and the ranking was as follows: M1 > M2 > M0, with M0 being significantly less oxidized than M1. Increasing the number of washes increased protein oxidation, and the ranking was follows: M2 > M1 > M0. Altogether, lipid and protein oxidation and physicochemical changes occurred simultaneously to different degrees in surimi during various processing and storage conditions.
Low Concentrations of Silver Nanoparticles in Biosolids Cause Adverse Ecosystem Responses under Realistic Field Scenario

A large fraction of engineered nanomaterials in consumer and commercial products will reach natural ecosystems. To date, research on the biological impacts of environmental nanomaterial exposures has largely focused on high-concentration exposures in mechanistic lab studies with single strains of model organisms. These results are difficult to extrapolate to ecosystems, where exposures will likely be at low-concentrations and which are inhabited by a diversity of organisms. Here we show adverse responses of plants and microorganisms in a replicated long-term terrestrial mesocosm field experiment following a single low dose of silver nanoparticles (0.14 mg Ag kg−1 soil) applied via a likely route of exposure, sewage biosolid application. While total aboveground plant biomass did not differ between treatments receiving biosolids, one plant species, Microstegium vimeneum, had 32 % less biomass in the Slurry+AgNP treatment relative to the Slurry only treatment. Microorganisms were also affected by AgNP treatment, which gave a significantly different community composition of bacteria in the Slurry+AgNPs as opposed to the Slurry treatment one day after addition as analyzed by T-RFLP analysis of 16S-rRNA genes. After eight days, N2O flux was 4.5 fold higher in the Slurry+AgNPs treatment than the Slurry treatment. After fifty days, community composition and N2O flux of the Slurry+AgNPs treatment converged with the Slurry. However, the soil microbial extracellular enzymes leucine amino peptidase and phosphatase had 52 and 27% lower activities, respectively, while microbial biomass was 35% lower than the Slurry. We also show that the magnitude of these responses was in all cases as large as or larger than the positive control, AgNO3, added at 4-fold the Ag concentration of the silver nanoparticles.
Mouse Strain Determines Cardiac Growth Potential

Rationale The extent of heart disease varies from person to person, suggesting that genetic background is important in pathology. Genetic background is also important when selecting appropriate mouse models to study heart disease. This study examines heart growth as a function of strain, specifically C57BL/6 and DBA/2 mouse strains. Objective In this study, we test the hypothesis that two strains of mice, C57BL/6 and DBA/2, will produce varying degrees of heart growth in both physiological and pathological settings. Methods and Results Differences in heart dimensions are detectable by echocardiography at 8 weeks of age. Percentages of cardiac progenitor cells (c-kit+ cells) and mononucleated cells were found to be in a higher percentage in DBA/2 mice, and more tri- and quad-nucleated cells were in C57BL/6 mice. Cardiomyocyte turnover shows no significant changes in mitotic activity, however, there is more apoptotic activity in DBA/2 mice. Cardiomyocyte cell size increased with age, but increased more in DBA/2 mice, although percentages of nucleated cells remained the same in both strains. Two-week isoproterenol stimulation showed an increase in heart growth in DBA/2 mice, both at cardiomyocyte and whole heart level. In isoproterenol-treated DBA/2 mice, there was also a greater expression level of the hypertrophy marker, ANF, compared to C57BL/6 mice. Conclusion We conclude that the DBA/2 mouse strain has a more immature cardiac phenotype, which correlates to a cardiac protective response to hypertrophy in both physiological and pathological stimulations.
Bearing Health Condition Prediction Using Deep Belief Network

Bearings play a critical role in maintaining safety and reliability of rotating machinery. Bearings health condition prediction aims to prevent unexpected failures and minimize overall maintenance costs since it provides decision making information for condition-based maintenance. This paper proposes a Deep Belief Network (DBN)-based data-driven health condition prediction method for bearings. In this prediction method, a DBN is used as the predictor, which includes stacked RBMs and regression output. Our main contributions include development of a deep leaning-based data-driven prognosis solution that does not rely on explicit model equations and prognostic expertise, and providing comprehensive prediction results on five representative run-to-failure bearings. The IEEE PHM 2012 challenge dataset is used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method, and the results are compared with two existing methods. The results show that the proposed method has promising performance in terms of short-term health condition prediction and remaining useful life prediction for bearings.
Perception of Caesarean Section among Pregnant Women in a Rural Missionary Hospital

Introduction: Caesarean section is the delivery of a foetus through an incision made on the uterus. It is useful in situations where vaginal delivery is not feasible. Women in our setting usually see it as a reproductive failure and a sign of weakness. Our aim was to evaluate the perception of caesarean section among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic in a rural missionary hospital. Methodology: This was a cross-sectional study conducted at Mile 4 missionary hospital, Abakaliki among women attending routine antenatal clinic. Information was obtained from respondents with the aid of a questionnaire. Ethical clearance was obtained for the study. Data was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21. Results: A total of 209 pregnant women participated in this study. Their age ranged from 14 to 43 with a mean age of 27 ± 5 years. One hundred and seventy two women (82.3%) have heard of caesarean section in the past. Eighteen (8.6%) have had caesarean section in the past while 5 were not willing to undergo the procedure again. Sixty (28.7%) are not willing to undergo caesarean section even when it is indicated. Conclusion: Despite awareness of caesarean section, women do not appear to have a positive attitude towards the procedure.
Second-line treatments for advanced gastric cancer: Interpreting outcomes by network meta-analysis.

AIM To study the effectiveness of second-line treatments for advancer gastric cancer by application of Bayesian network meta-analysis. METHODS Our search covered the literature up to February 2015. The following 6 treatments were evaluated: (1) irinotecan (camptothecins); (2) paclitaxel (taxanes class); (3) docetaxel (taxanes); (4) everolimus (mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitors); (5) ramucirumab (vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 inhibitors); (6) ramucirumab + paclitaxel. Our methodology was based on standard models of Bayesian network meta-analysis. The reference treatment was best supportive care (BSC). The end-point was overall survival. Median survival was the outcome measure along with 95% credible intervals. RESULTS Our search identified a total of 7 randomized controlled trials. These trials included 2298 patients (in 15 treatment arms) in whom a total of 6 active treatments were evaluated as well as BSC. There were 21 head-to-head comparisons (6 direct, 15 indirect). The difference in survival between each of two active treatments (paclitaxel and ramucirumab + paclitaxel) vs BSC was statistically significant, while the other 4 showed no statistical difference. In the 6 head-to-head comparisons between active treatments, no significant survival difference was demonstrated. CONCLUSION Our results indicate that both paclitaxel monotherapy and ramucirumab + paclitaxel determine a significant prolongation in survival as compared with BSC.
Is Gene Transcription Involved in Seed Dry After-Ripening?

Orthodox seeds are living organisms that survive anhydrobiosis and may display dormancy, an inability to germinate at harvest. Seed germination potential can be acquired during a prolonged period of dry storage called after-ripening. The aim of this work was to determine if gene transcription is an underlying regulatory mechanism for dormancy alleviation during after-ripening. To identify changes in gene transcription strictly associated with the acquisition of germination potential but not with storage, we used seed storage at low relative humidity that maintains dormancy as control. Transcriptome profiling was performed using DNA microarray to compare change in gene transcript abundance between dormant (D), after-ripened non-dormant (ND) and after-ripened dormant seeds (control, C). Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was used to confirm gene expression. Comparison between D and ND showed the differential expression of 115 probesets at cut-off values of two-fold change (p<0.05). Comparisons between both D and C with ND in transcript abundance showed that only 13 transcripts, among 115, could be specific to dormancy alleviation. qPCR confirms the expression pattern of these transcripts but without significant variation between conditions. Here we show that sunflower seed dormancy alleviation in the dry state is not related to regulated changes in gene expression.
Using Walk-over-Weighing technology for parturition date determination in beef cattle

The northern Australian beef industry is dominated by cow-calf operations where reproductive efficiency is a major profit driver. The postpartum anoestrus interval is a major contributor to an animal’s reproductive efficiency and is influenced by genetic selection. The genetic trait that measures an animal’s postpartum anoestrus interval is the days to calving estimated breeding value and a key requirement is knowledge of the cow’s calving date. Traditionally calving date is recorded using laborious and costly methods that are impeding the recording and hence the accuracy of genetic predictions for this trait by the northern Australian seedstock industry. The present experiment used Walk-over-Weighing technology to automatically record animal weights as cattle enter a restricted area where they access water. With the use of a novel method to accurately assess weights, the growth paths of cows were tracked from late gestation to post-calving. The calving date was visualised in the growth paths of most cows (78.3%) and a custom algorithm was able to automatically detect the calving date within 10 days of the observed calving period for 63% of cows. The use of Walk-over-Weighing to record calving date provides the opportunity to increase the recording of the days to calving estimated breeding value in the northern seedstock industry, thereby increasing reproductive efficiency and improving the profitability of northern beef producers.
Impact of Different Electrical Time-Based Activations on NiTi Shape Memory Alloys

The use of NiTi shape-memory alloys (SMA) in actuators bears significant advantages for designing robust, simple and lightweight applications. The SMA effect is based on a phase transformation of the atomic lattice in response to stress, strain and temperature. The resulting crystallographic configurations lead to a complex behavior revealing different electrical and mechanical characteristics. In view of the impact of thermo-mechanical cyclization on the operational lifetime, this paper investigates the influences of different types of electrical activation. For this purpose, six current curves with six samples each are compared to a reference activation with regard to the operational lifetime. The chosen time of activation is 1 second in accordance with an industrially relevant cycle of technical actuators. Based on the results of these investigations, recommendations of the activation type shall be developed for the operational lifetime of NiTi-SMA.
VEGFA and tumour angiogenesis

In this review we summarize the current understanding of signal transduction downstream of vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) and its receptor VEGFR2, and the relationship between these signal transduction pathways and the hallmark responses of VEGFA, angiogenesis and vascular permeability. These physiological responses involve a number of effectors, including extracellular signal‐regulated kinases (ERKs), Src, phosphoinositide 3 kinase (PI3K)/Akt, focal adhesion kinase (FAK), Rho family GTPases, endothelial NO and p38 mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK). Several of these factors are involved in the regulation of both angiogenesis and vascular permeability. Tumour angiogenesis primarily relies on VEGFA‐driven responses, which to a large extent result in a dysfunctional vasculature. The reason for this remains unclear, although it appears that certain aspects of the VEGFA‐stimulated angiogenic milieu (high level of microvascular density and permeability) promote tumour expansion. The high degree of redundancy and complexity of VEGFA‐driven tumour angiogenesis may explain why tumours commonly develop resistance to anti‐angiogenic therapy targeting VEGFA signal transduction.