Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Web searching behaviour for academic resources

This paper aims to investigate Web-searching behaviour for academic resources, the usability issues encountered, and the affect of user education levels on the search process. This experimental study used pre- and post-test questionnaires, Think Aloud Protocol (TAP), and observation methods at the University of East Anglia (UEA). The students engaged in recorded video, audio, and screen session as they searched academic resources. They had a free choice of search tool(s) on the topic of their study, specific to their needs. The study also used questionnaires and interviews with UEA faculty. A total of 64 subjects participated in the research. Forty-eight students were classified into three groups (undergraduates, masters, and PhD students) composed of 16 participants each; an additional 16 faculty members participated in the questionnaires and interviews. Participants were selected from all UEA faculties and included a mix of nationalities and genders. Results showed that user needs, skills, and persistence differ with respect to academic searching-they increase as education levels increase. In addition, results showed that users generally prefer using search tools because of their overall usability rather than dealing with online databases, even though such databases may be more effective. The study concludes that education level plays an important role-given the complex nature of huge amounts of information on the Web-in adopting different techniques and advanced search tools.
Safety and efficacy of image-guided enzyme-targeting radiosensitization and intraoperative radiotherapy for locally advanced unresectable pancreatic cancer

A novel radiosensitization treatment involving the injection of hydrogen peroxide and sodium hyaluronate, using ultrasonic guidance, into a tumor immediately prior to intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT) was established for patients with stage IVa locally advanced unresectable pancreatic cancer. The aim of the present study was to assess the safety and efficacy of this novel treatment, termed Kochi Oxydol-Radiation Therapy for Unresectable Carcinomas-IORT (KORTUC and IORT). In total, 12 patients were treated with KORTUC-IORT, external-beam radiotherapy and systemic chemotherapy using gemcitabine hydrochloride and S-1. For evaluation of the therapeutic and adverse effects, contrast-enhanced computed tomography was conducted prior to the treatment, and one and six months following KORTUC-IORT. Medical examinations were performed every month at the regularly scheduled follow-up visits. The one- and two-year survival rates were 75 and 25%, respectively, and the median survival time was 16 months. All treatments associated with KORTUC-IORT were well-tolerated by the patients, with a small number of adverse effects and no serious complications. It was identified that the delivery of KORTUC-IORT is safe and effective, in combination with external-beam radiotherapy and systemic chemotherapy, for patients with locally advanced unresectable pancreatic cancer.
Breathing Better Through Bugs: Asthma and the Microbiome

Asthma is a highly heterogeneous disease characterized by inflammation of the airways, which invokes symptoms such as wheeze, dyspnea, and chest tightness. Asthma is the product of multiple interconnected immunological processes and represents a constellation of related, but distinct, disease phenotypes. The prevalence of asthma has more than doubled since the 1980s, and efforts to understand this increase have inspired consideration of the microbiome as a key player in the pathophysiology and regulation of this disease. While recent years have seen an explosion of new research in this area, researchers are only beginning to untangle to mechanisms by which the microbiome may influence asthma. This review will focus on the relationship between the microbiome and the immune system and how this influences development of asthma. This review will also highlight evidence that may point the way toward new therapies and potential cures for this ancient respiratory foe.
The Older Adult Positivity Effect in Evaluations of Trustworthiness: Emotion Regulation or Cognitive Capacity?

An older adult positivity effect, i.e., the tendency for older adults to favor positive over negative stimulus information more than do younger adults, has been previously shown in attention, memory, and evaluations. This effect has been attributed to greater emotion regulation in older adults. In the case of attention and memory, this explanation has been supported by some evidence that the older adult positivity effect is most pronounced for negative stimuli, which would motivate emotion regulation, and that it is reduced by cognitive load, which would impede emotion regulation. We investigated whether greater older adult positivity in the case of evaluative responses to faces is also enhanced for negative stimuli and attenuated by cognitive load, as an emotion regulation explanation would predict. In two studies, younger and older adults rated trustworthiness of faces that varied in valence both under low and high cognitive load, with the latter manipulated by a distracting backwards counting task. In Study 1, face valence was manipulated by attractiveness (low /disfigured faces, medium, high/fashion models’ faces). In Study 2, face valence was manipulated by trustworthiness (low, medium, high). Both studies revealed a significant older adult positivity effect. However, contrary to an emotion regulation account, this effect was not stronger for more negative faces, and cognitive load increased rather than decreased the rated trustworthiness of negatively valenced faces. Although inconsistent with emotion regulation, the latter effect is consistent with theory and research arguing that more cognitive resources are required to process negative stimuli, because they are more cognitively elaborated than positive ones. The finding that increased age and increased cognitive load both enhanced the positivity of trustworthy ratings suggests that the older adult positivity effect in evaluative ratings of faces may reflect age-related declines in cognitive capacity rather than increases in the regulation of negative emotions.
Hospital-based case series of 175 cases of serologically confirmed brucellosis in Bikaner.

OBJECTIVE To study the clinical spectrum of brucellosis in Bikaner (Northwest India). METHODS A total of 175 cases were diagnosed as brucellosis during the period of six year (June 1997 to May 2003). They were studied for clinical profile and treated by rifampicin and doxycyclin and additionally streptomycin for initial 14 days in patients of neurobrucellosis. These patients were followed up to 3 months. RESULTS Patients of brucellosis presented with a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations. Out of 175 cases 155 were from rural area. Age ranged between 12-60 years (124 males, 51 females). Analysis of risk factors revealed history of raw milk ingestion (86.86%), occupational contact with animals (81.14%), handling of infected material (62.28%), household contact (16%) and 2 patients were veterinarian. Joint pain (83.43%) and fever (77.71%) were the commonest presenting feature. Sacroiliac joint was most commonly involved (46.86%). 31 cases had involvement of multiple joints. Other mode of presentation were neurobrucellosis (18.86%), manifested as polyradiculoneuropathy, myeloradiculopathy, meningoencephalopathy and polyradiculomyeloencephalopathy; predominant pulmonary involvement (4.0%) presented as bronchitis, pneumonia and pleural effusion; epididymoorchitis, infective endocarditis, nephrotic syndrome and recurrent abortion. All patients responded well to the treatment. CONCLUSION Brucellosis is an important emerging zoonotic disease but it is often under-diagnosed due to lack of suspicion and diagnostic facilities despite the fact that cattle farming (an important high risk group) is one of the main occupation in rural area. This report should infuse the awareness about this reemerging disease specifically in high-risk group.
Students' Willingness to Accept Virtual Lecturing Systems: An Empirical Study by Extending the UTAUT Model

The explosion of the World Wide Web and the electronic trend of university teaching have transformed the learning style to become more learner-centred, which has popularized the digital delivery of mediated lectures as an alternative or an adjunct to traditional lectures. Despite its potential and popularity, virtual lectures have not been adopted yet in Jordanian universities. This research aimed to fill this gap by studying the factors that influence students’ willingness to accept virtual lectures in one Jordanian University. A quantitative approach was followed, by obtaining 216 survey responses and statistically applying the UTAUT model with some modifications. Results revealed that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influences, and self-efficacy could significantly influence students’ attitudes towards virtual lectures. Additionally, Facilitating conditions and attitudes towards virtual lectures were found with significant influence on students’ intention to take virtual lectures. Research implications and future work were specified afterwards.
Prediction of turbulent flow in curved pipes

A finite-difference procedure is employed to predict the development of turbulent flow in curved pipes. The turbulence model used involves the solution of two differential equations, one for the kinetic energy of the turbulence and the other for its dissipation rate. The predicted total-velocity contours for the developing flow in a 180° bend are compared with the experimental data. Predictions of fully developed velocity profiles for long helically wound pipes are also presented and compared with experimental measurements.
Constraints on the global structure of magnetic clouds: Transverse size and curvature

We present direct evidence that magnetic clouds (MCs) have highly flattened and curved cross section resulting from their interaction with the ambient solar wind. Lower limits on the transverse size are obtained for three MCs observed by ACE and Ulysses from the latitudinal separation between the two spacecraft, ranging from 40 degrees to 70 degrees. The cross-section aspect ratio of the MCs is estimated to be no smaller than 6:1. We offer a simple model to extract the radius of curvature of the cross section, based on the elevation angle of the MC normal distributed over latitude. Application of the model to Wind observations from 1995 to 1997 (close to solar minimum) shows that the cross section is bent concavely outward by a structured solar wind with a radius of curvature of similar to 0.3 AU. Near solar maximum, MCs tend to be convex outward in the solar wind with a uniform speed; the radius of curvature is proportional to the heliographic distance of MCs, as demonstrated by Ulysses observations between 1999 and 2003. These results improve our knowledge of the global morphology of MCs in the pre-Stereo era, which is crucial for space weather prediction and heliosphere studies.
Research review: Social motivation and oxytocin in autism--implications for joint attention development and intervention.

BACKGROUND AND SCOPE The social motivation hypothesis (SMH) suggests that individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are less intrinsically rewarded by social stimuli than their neurotypical peers. This difference in social motivation has been posited as a factor contributing to social deficits in ASD. Social motivation is thought to involve the neuropeptide oxytocin. Here, we review the evidence for oxytocin effects in ASD, and discuss its potential role in one important social cognitive behavior. METHODS Systematic searches were conducted using the PsychINFO and MEDLINE databases and the search terms 'oxytocin' and 'autism'; the same databases were used for separate searches for 'joint attention', 'intervention', and 'autism', using the same inclusion criteria as an earlier 2011 review but updating it for the period 2010 to October 2012. FINDINGS Several studies suggest that giving oxytocin to both individuals with ASD and neurotypical individuals can enhance performance on social cognitive tasks. Studies that have attempted to intervene in joint attention in ASD suggest that social motivation may be a particular obstacle to lasting effects. CONCLUSIONS The review of the evidence for the SMH suggests a potential role for oxytocin in social motivation deficits in ASD. Because of its importance for later communicative and social development, the focus here is on implications of oxytocin and social motivation in the development of and interventions in joint attention. Joint attention is a central impairment in ASD, and as a result is the focus of several behavioral interventions. In describing this previous research on joint attention interventions in ASD, we pay particular attention to problems encountered in such studies, and propose ways that oxytocin may facilitate behavioral intervention in this area. For future research, integrating behavioral and pharmacological interventions (oxytocin administration) would be a worthwhile experimental direction to improve understanding of the role of oxytocin in ASD and help optimize outcomes for children with ASD.
Modular first-order ontologies via repositories

From its inception, the focus of ontological engineering has been to support the reusability and shareability of ontologies, as well as interoperability of ontology-based software systems. Among the approaches employed to address these challenges have been ontology repositories and the modularization of ontologies. In this paper we combine these approaches and use the relationships between first-order ontologies within a repository (such as non-conservative extension and relative interpretation) to characterize the criteria for modularity. In particular, we introduce the notion of core hierarchies, which are sets of theories with the same non-logical lexicons and which are all non-conservative extensions of a unique root theory. The technique of relative interpretation leads to the notion of reducibility of a theory to a set of theories in different core hierarchies. We show how these relationships support a semi-automated procedure that decomposes an ontology into irreducible modules. We also propose a semi-automated procedure that can use the relationships between modules to characterize which modules can be shared and reused among different ontologies.
The role of feedback in channels with information embedding on actions

The noiseless feedback is introduced in channels with information embedding on actions. Two channel models are considered. One is wiretap channel with information embedding on actions and noiseless feedback (WT-IEANF), the other is degraded broadcast channel with noncausal action-dependent states and noiseless feedback (DBC-NADSNF). For the WT-IEANF, we characterize both inner and outer bounds on the capacity-equivocation region. For the DBC-NADSNF, an inner bound on the capacity-equivocation region is obtained, and a proper coding scheme is constructed, in which the noiseless feedback plays the role of a shared secret key between the transmitter and legal receiver. We find that the feedback does help increase the secure information transmission rates of the two models, but, at the same time, it enables the illegal receiver to get another chance to eavesdrop the private message. Besides, when secrecy constraint condition is removed, it is found that feedback is not useful for enhancing the capacity of the channel with information embedding on actions.
HvFT1 polymorphism and effect—survey of barley germplasm and expression analysis

Flowering time in plants is a tightly regulated process. In barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), HvFT1, ortholog of FLOWERING LOCUS T, is the main integrator of the photoperiod and vernalization signals leading to the transition from vegetative to reproductive state of the plant. This gene presents sequence polymorphisms affecting flowering time in the first intron and in the promoter. Recently, copy number variation (CNV) has been described for this gene. An allele with more than one copy was linked to higher gene expression, earlier flowering, and an overriding effect of the vernalization mechanism. This study aims at (1) surveying the distribution of HvFT1 polymorphisms across barley germplasm and (2) assessing gene expression and phenotypic effects of HvFT1 alleles. We analyzed HvFT1 CNV in 109 winter, spring, and facultative barley lines. There was more than one copy of the gene (2–5) only in spring or facultative barleys without a functional vernalization VrnH2 allele. CNV was investigated in several regions inside and around HvFT1. Two models of the gene were found: one with the same number of promoters and transcribed regions, and another with one promoter and variable number of transcribed regions. This last model was found in Nordic barleys only. Analysis of HvFT1 expression showed that association between known polymorphisms at the HvFT1 locus and the expression of the gene was highly dependent on the genetic background. Under long day conditions the earliest flowering lines carried a sensitive PpdH1 allele. Among spring cultivars with different number of copies, no clear relation was found between CNV, gene expression and flowering time. This was confirmed in a set of doubled haploid lines of a population segregating for HvFT1 CNV. Earlier flowering in the presence of several copies of HvFT1 was only seen in cultivar Tammi, which carries one promoter, suggesting a relation of gene structure with its regulation. HvCEN also affected to a large extent flowering time.
Crystal Structure of Fad35R from Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv in the Apo-State

Fad35R from Mycobacterium tuberculosis binds to the promoter site of Fad35 operon and its DNA binding activities are reduced in the presence of tetracycline and palmitoyl-CoA. We resolved the crystal structure of Fad35R using single-wavelength anomalous diffraction method (SAD). Fad35R comprises canonical DNA binding domain (DBD) and ligand binding domain (LBD), but displays several distinct structural features. Two recognition helices of two monomers in the homodimer are separated by ~ 48 Å and two core triangle-shaped ligand binding cavities are well exposed to solvent. Structural comparison with DesT and QacR structures suggests that ligand binding-induced movement of α7, which adopts a straight conformation in the Fad35R, may be crucial to switch the conformational states between repressive and derepressive forms. Two DBDs are packed asymmetrically, creating an alternative dimer interface which coincides with the possible tetramer interface that connects the two canonical dimers. Quaternary state of alternative dimer mimics a closed-state structure in which two recognition helices are distanced at ~ 35 Å and ligand binding pockets are inaccessible. Results of biophysical studies indicate that Fad35R has the propensity to oligomerize in solution in the presence of tetracycline. We present the first structure of a FadR homologue from mycobacterium and the structure reveals DNA and ligand binding features of Fad35R and also provides a view on alternative quaternary states that mimic open and closed forms of the regulator.
The pathogenesis of miliaria.

To the Editor:— In his paper on the pathogenesis of miliaria rubra, Dr. Loewenthal 1 agrees that the sweat pore is blocked in the lesion of the established disease. However, his paper aims to show that a very early histologic phase exists during which the pore is not blocked. Because the etiology of miliaria has so many implications for temperate as well as tropical physiology, Dr. Loewenthal's evidence for patency deserves thorough examination and comment. In a purely theoretical sense, Dr. Loewenthal can argue from a position of advantage. For clearly, when a tube becomes blocked, a time factor is involved and a hypothetical stage thus exists during which the lumen is neither truly open nor truly closed. Therefore, whatever is said about its state of patency at this time has some truth. But this is the only concession that should be made to Loewenthal's case because much of his
OMF-MAC: An Opportunistic Matched Filter-Based MAC in Cognitive Radio Networks

Opportunistic spectrum access (OSA) in cognitive radio has been proposed to improve spectrum efficiency in which secondary users (SUs) can access the unused portion of the primary users' (PUs) spectrum temporally or spatially. OSA by multiple SUs is controlled by the medium access control (MAC) protocol. OSA MAC protocols have to avoid or prevent collisions during transmission. In addition, OSA MAC protocols have to deal with the interference between the primary and secondary systems. The key challenge is to provide service to the secondary system while not causing interruption to the primary system. In this paper, we propose an opportunistic matched filter-based (OMF) MAC protocol to jointly consider spectrum access of the idle portion of the spectrum and coordination among SUs. We first model the channel as an on-off process and then apply renewal theory to deal with spectrum access and derive the expression for the expected accumulated interference interval in terms of the transmission time. Using this expression for interference interval, we model the coordination and competition among SUs as a discrete-time Markov chain. We then perform throughput and delay analysis to derive the closed-form expressions for the aggregate secondary system throughput and average secondary packet delay. Finally, we present simulation results to verify our analysis.
Review of Antibacterial Activity of Titanium-based Implants Surfaces Fabricated by Micro-arc Oxidation

Ti and its alloys are the most commonly-used materials for biomedical applications. However, bacterial infection after implant placement is still one of the significant rising complications. Therefore, the application of the antimicrobial agents into implant surfaces to prevent implant-associated infection has attracted much attention. Scientific papers have shown that inorganic antibacterial metal elements (e.g., Ag, Cu, Zn) can be introduced into implant surfaces with the addition of metal nanoparticles or metallic compounds into an electrolyte via micro-arc oxidation (MAO) technology. In this review, the effects of the composition and concentration of electrolyte and process parameters (e.g., voltage, current density, oxidation time) on the morphological characteristics (e.g., surface morphology, bonding strength), antibacterial ability and biocompatibility of MAO antimicrobial coatings are discussed in detail. Anti-infection and osseointegration can be simultaneously accomplished with the selection of the proper antibacterial elements and operating parameters. Besides, MAO assisted by magnetron sputtering (MS) to endow Ti-based implant materials with superior antibacterial ability and biocompatibility is also discussed. Finally, the development trend of MAO technology in the future is forecasted.
Exploitation, Exploration, and Firm Performance: The Case of Small Manufacturing Firms in Japan

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between technological capabilities and firm performance. We divide technological capabilities into two types – exploitation, which refers to refinement, production and execution, and exploration, which refers to searching, flexibility, and innovation. Based on a sample of 302 small and medium-sized manufacturing firms in Japan, our analysis reveals that exploitation relates more positively to operational efficiency than exploration, and conversely, exploration relates more positively to strategic performance, such as technological innovation and new product development, than exploitation. Moreover, firms with superior exploitation capabilities tend to possess superior exploration skills. Our findings show that exploitation and exploration have different effects on firm performance, and that neither activity is independent or mutually exclusive, although exploration tends to be enhanced by exploitation.