Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Oxygen Sensing in Health and Disease Whole-body hypoxic preconditioning protects mice against acute hypoxia by improving lung function

Zhang, Shelley XL. , James J. Miller, David Gozal, and Yang Wang. Whole-body hypoxic preconditioning protects mice against acute hypoxia by improving lung function. J Appl Physiol 96: 392–397, 2004; 10.1152/japplphysiol.00829. 2003. —Survival in severe hypoxia such as occurs in high altitude requires previous acclimatization, which is acquired over a period of days to weeks. It was unknown whether intrinsic mechanisms existed that could be rapidly induced and could exert immediate protection on unacclimatized individuals against acute hypoxia. We found that mice pretreated with whole-body hypoxic preconditioning (WHPC, 6 cycles of 10-min hypoxia-10-min normoxia) survived significantly longer than control animals when exposed to lethal hypoxia (5% O2, survival time of 33.2 6.1 min vs. controls at 13.8 1.2 min, n 10, P 0.005). This protective mechanism became operative shortly after WHPC and remained effective for at least 8 h. Accordingly, mice subjected to WHPC demonstrated improved gas exchange when exposed to sublethal hypoxia (7% O2, arterial blood PO2 of 49.9 4.2 vs. controls at 39.7 3.6 Torr, n 6, P 0.05), reduced formation of pulmonary edema (increase in lung water of 0.491 0.111 vs. controls at 0.894 0.113 mg/mg dry tissue, n 10, P 0.02), and decreased pulmonary vascular permeability (lung lavage albumin of 7.63 0.63 vs. controls at 18.24 3.39 mg/dl, n 6–10, P 0.025). In addition, the severity of cerebral edema caused by exposure to sublethal hypoxia was also reduced after WHPC (increase in brain water of 0.254 0.052 vs. controls at 0.491 0.034 mg/mg dry tissue, n 10, P 0.01). Thus WHPC protects unacclimatized mice against acute and otherwise lethal hypoxia, and this protection involves preservation of vital organ functions.
Efficient modular-robotic structures to increase the force-to-weight ratio of scalable collective actuators

A collective actuator is a self-reconfigurable modular-robotic structure which produces useful mechanical work through simultaneous reconfiguration of its constituent units. An actuator is additionally called scalable if its force-to-weight ratio does not depend on the number of its member modules. In this work, we consider scalable collective actuators built from spherical catoms with two connection types: strong but fixed and weak but mobile. We investigate how to construct these actuators in such a way, as to maximize their force-to-weight ratio. We present a number of designs of high strength, whose force capacities significantly exceed those of similar actuators reported previously.
The value relevance and information content of cash and stock dividends in China

Due to their unique institutional features, the Chinese stock markets provide an interesting experimental setting in which to examine how cash and stock dividends convey value-relevant information about future performance and future cash dividends. Applying market valuation equations and prediction models to a large sample of Chinese firms from 2003 to 2011 produces several interesting results. When cash dividends are not paid, then stock dividends are positively associated with firm value, and convey information about future cash dividends and future earnings. When cash dividends are paid, however, it is these that convey information about future cash dividends. Following the share tradability reform and convergence with International Financial Reporting Standards, the value relevance and information content of cash dividends are predicted and found to be stronger, while the value relevance of stock dividends weakens over the same time period. Our evidence suggests that, in a weak information environment, where management have limited control over cash dividend distributions, stock dividends play an important role as information conduits.
Knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) towards sleep among medical students Of International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM)

Objective: To determine the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of sleep among medical students of IIUM towards and to determine the impact of socio-demographic data on the knowledge, attitude and practice. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 106 students from first, second and third year medical students of IIUM. Verbal consent was taken from the students who were willing to take part in this study. Student knowledge about sleep was studied using a questionnaire. Results: A total of 106 medical students completed the survey, there were 54 female and 52 male. The mean age of the students was 20 ± 0.56 and ranged from 18 to 22 years. In terms of their sleep knowledge, the mean ± SD knowledge, attitude and practice scores were 81.8 ± 16.8, 65.9 ±15.3 and 176 ± 26.3 respectively. In univariate analysis, there was a significant difference between parents’ marital status regarding knowledge of the students (p = 0.03). There was a significant difference between gender regarding attitude of the students (p=0.05). In multivariate analysis, gender and smoking status were significantly affected the overall KAP. Conclusion: This study showed that sleep medicine knowledge was generally low among medical students. Therefore, educational strategies to improve knowledge regarding sleep-related problems and the development of proper sleep practices among medical students are needed.
Large-Scale Query-by-Image Video Retrieval Using Bloom Filters

We consider the problem of using image queries to retrieve videos from a database. Our focus is on large-scale applications, where it is infeasible to index each database video frame independently. Our main contribution is a framework based on Bloom filters, which can be used to index long video segments, enabling efficient image-to-video comparisons. Using this framework, we investigate several retrieval architectures, by considering different types of aggregation and different functions to encode visual information -- these play a crucial role in achieving high performance. Extensive experiments show that the proposed technique improves mean average precision by 24% on a public dataset, while being 4X faster, compared to the previous state-of-the-art.
Sovereign credit spreads and the composition of the government budget

This paper investigates the relationship between sovereign credit spreads and the composition of the government budget. To the extent that sovereign credit risk depends on . scal policy, a government may be able to lower the yield on its long-term debt by altering the balance between government consumption, government investment, social security expenditure and tax receipts. The key result of this paper is that governments that invest more and spend less on consumption have signi.cantly lower sovereign credit spreads. This . nding is in accordance with the endogenous growth theory which predicts a positive impact of government investment and a negative impact of government consumption on the long-term growth rate. While social security expenditure and subsidies are expected to have a relatively small e¤ect on long-term economic growth, they do appear to signi.cantly increase sovereign credit spreads. Finally, a broader tax base signi.cantly reduces sovereign credit spreads. A possible explanation may be that governments with more tax receipts are less likely to have liquidity problems to . nance their debt charges. The credit risk model is estimated on a panel data set of 7 EMUcountries using a one-way and a two-way . xed and random e¤ects model. JEL: C23, G15, H30
Directional Antennas for Convergecast in Wireless Sensor Networks: Are They a Good Idea?

Directional antennas improve network performance by increasing the communication range and alleviating contention as proven, e.g., in cellular and ad-hoc networks. In principle, one may reap similar benefits in wireless sensor networks (WSNs), where energy concerns and reliability requirements make this antenna technology even more desirable. However, it is unclear how the shortcomings of directional antennas, e.g., increased likelihood of hidden terminals, affect WSNs. We quantitatively study these aspects for convergecast, a staple network functionality popular in WSN applications, e.g., for data collection. The integration of directional communication in convergecast protocols is non-trivial: probing wireless links between neighboring nodes is no longer feasible with single broadcast transmissions, as the antenna configuration depends on the target neighbor. This bears a great impact on the efficiency in building and maintaining the routing topology. We perform our study in simulation, based on an empirical model of an existing antenna prototype. This allows us to explore the parameter space efficiently yet realistically, a goal otherwise impossible without several antenna prototypes that, unlike WSN motes, are not readily available. Our results point to a negative answer, directional antennas, when used for WSN convergecast, provide limited benefits, appreciable only when certain specific conditions are met.
Understanding the Impact of Perceived Customer Power on Motives and Outcomes of Emotional Labour

The article aims to measure the influence of employee perception of customer power on motives of emotional labour and its impact on outcome of emotional labour. Employee perception about customer power was measured on a 5-point Likert scale from high to low, wherein motives of emotional labour were measured under three categories, namely, prevention motive, instrumental motive and pleasure motive. The study analyses the response of 320 service executives from 5 different type of organizations such as airlines, hotels, nursing homes, insurance companies and banks. The study finds that employee perception about customer power significantly impacts the selection of motive of emotional labour, which in turn was significantly related to the consequences of emotional labour, that is, ‘job burnout’ and ‘job satisfaction’. The study also observes that customer reciprocation towards the display of emotional labour moderates the outcome variables significantly. This study identifies the possible outcomes of emotional labour after taking into consideration the perceived customer power and the moderating role of customer reciprocation. The findings have managerial implications at multiple levels. First of all, organizations may utilize the findings of the reported study to define the display rules that may increase job satisfaction and at the same time reduce job burnout. The study may also be used to provide autonomy to the employees in selecting the motives of emotional labour based on their perception of customer power.
Phylogenetic Analysis of Local-Scale Tree Soil Associations in a Lowland Moist Tropical Forest

Background Local plant-soil associations are commonly studied at the species-level, while associations at the level of nodes within a phylogeny have been less well explored. Understanding associations within a phylogenetic context, however, can improve our ability to make predictions across systems and can advance our understanding of the role of evolutionary history in structuring communities. Methodology/Principal Findings Here we quantified evolutionary signal in plant-soil associations using a DNA sequence-based community phylogeny and several soil variables (e.g., extractable phosphorus, aluminum and manganese, pH, and slope as a proxy for soil water). We used published plant distributional data from the 50-ha plot on Barro Colorado Island (BCI), Republic of Panamá. Our results suggest some groups of closely related species do share similar soil associations. Most notably, the node shared by Myrtaceae and Vochysiaceae was associated with high levels of aluminum, a potentially toxic element. The node shared by Apocynaceae was associated with high extractable phosphorus, a nutrient that could be limiting on a taxon specific level. The node shared by the large group of Laurales and Magnoliales was associated with both low extractable phosphorus and with steeper slope. Despite significant node-specific associations, this study detected little to no phylogeny-wide signal. We consider the majority of the ‘traits’ (i.e., soil variables) evaluated to fall within the category of ecological traits. We suggest that, given this category of traits, phylogeny-wide signal might not be expected while node-specific signals can still indicate phylogenetic structure with respect to the variable of interest. Conclusions Within the BCI forest dynamics plot, distributions of some plant taxa are associated with local-scale differences in soil variables when evaluated at individual nodes within the phylogenetic tree, but they are not detectable by phylogeny-wide signal. Trends highlighted in this analysis suggest how plant-soil associations may drive plant distributions and diversity at the local-scale.
Household trends in access to improved water sources and sanitation facilities in Vietnam and associated factors: findings from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys, 2000–2011

Background Despite progress made by the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) number 7.C, Vietnam still faces challenges with regard to the provision of access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation. Objective This paper describes household trends in access to improved water sources and sanitation facilities separately, and analyses factors associated with access to improved water sources and sanitation facilities in combination. Design Secondary data from the Vietnam Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey in 2000, 2006, and 2011 were analyzed. Descriptive statistics and tests of significance describe trends over time in access to water and sanitation by location, demographic and socio-economic factors. Binary logistic regressions (2000, 2006, and 2011) describe associations between access to water and sanitation, and geographic, demographic, and socio-economic factors. Results There have been some outstanding developments in access to improved water sources and sanitation facilities from 2000 to 2011. In 2011, the proportion of households with access to improved water sources and sanitation facilities reached 90% and 77%, respectively, meeting the 2015 MDG targets for safe drinking water and basic sanitation set at 88% and 75%, respectively. However, despite these achievements, in 2011, only 74% of households overall had access to combined improved drinking water and sanitation facilities. There were also stark differences between regions. In 2011, only 47% of households had access to both improved water and sanitation facilities in the Mekong River Delta compared with 94% in the Red River Delta. In 2011, households in urban compared to rural areas were more than twice as likely (odds ratio [OR]: 2.2; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.9–2.5) to have access to improved water and sanitation facilities in combination, and households in the highest compared with the lowest wealth quintile were over 40 times more likely (OR: 42.3; 95% CI: 29.8–60.0). Conclusions More efforts are required to increase household access to both improved water and sanitation facilities in the Mekong River Delta, South East and Central Highlands regions of Vietnam. There is also a need to address socio-economic factors associated with inadequate access to improved sanitation facilities.
Long Swings in Exchange Rates: Are They Really in the Data?

The random walk is often used to model exchange rates. According to the Lucas critique, however, policy shifts may lead to breaks in the trend of exchange rates and hence to long swings. We use a Markov regime-switching model to allow for such swings and we reject the random walk in favor of the regime-switching model. Earlier papers report this result too, but the authors are concerned about the reliability of their Wald based tests in the strongly nonlinear regime-switching model. We show that these tests are indeed not very robust. Hence, we use a likelihood ratio test for which the (non-standard) critical values have been computed recently.
Macroeconomic Fluctuations in Developing Countries: Some Stylized Facts

This paper documents the main stylized features of macroeconomic fluctuations and business cycle regularities for a group of 12 developing countries. Cross-correlations between domestic industrial output and a large group of macroeconomic time series (including government revenue and expenditure, wages, inflation, money, velocity, private sector credit, international trade, and exchange rates) are presented. The effects of industrial country economic conditions on output fluctuations in these countries are also analyzed. The robustness of the results is examined using three detrending procedures: a modified Hodrick-Prescott filter, the Baxter-King band-pass filter, and a nonparametric technique. Overall, the results show some similarities between macroeconomic fluctuations in developing and industrial countries (e.g., procyclical real wages and counter cyclical variation in government expenditure), but also some important differences in business cycle characteristics (e.g., countercyclical variation in the velocity of monetary aggregates).
GARCH-Type Models and Performance of Information Criteria

This article discusses the ability of information criteria toward the correct selection of different especially higher-order generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (GARCH) processes, based on their probability of correct selection as a measure of performance. Each of the considered GARCH processes is further simulated at different parameter combinations to study the possible effect of different volatility structures on these information criteria. We notice an impact from the volatility structure of time series on the performance of these criteria. Moreover, the influence of sample size, having an impact on the performance of these criteria toward correct selection, is observed.
Some Wild Edible Plants and Their Dietary Fiber Contents

Wild plants are important in terms of human nutrition and folk medicine in Turkey. Especially the ones collected from rural areas and sold in the market are rich sources of dietary fiber important for human health. In this study, the dietary fiber contents of 13 different plants consumed frequently were determined by enzymatic-gravimetric method. The lowest amounts of insoluble fiber was found in Trachystemon orientalis L. and Nasturdium officinale and the highest was found in Polygonum cognatum. Nasturdium officinale was determined to have the lowest amount of soluble fiber, whereas Trachystemon orientalis L. had the highest. The lowest amount of total dietary fiber was found in Nasturdium officinale and Chenopodium album L. and the highest was found in Polygonum cognatum Meisn. and Trachystemon orientalis L. Overall, it was shown in this study that edible wild plants are rich sources of both soluble and insoluble fibers which have been proven to have positive health effects and help prevent many frequently seen diseases. These results suggest that besides their current use, edible wild plants can also be utilized as ingredients in developing new functional food products.
Quantification of Ligand Binding to G-Protein Coupled Receptors on Cell Membranes by Ellipsometry

G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are prime drug targets and targeted by approximately 60% of current therapeutic drugs such as β-blockers, antipsychotics and analgesics. However, no biophysical methods are available to quantify their interactions with ligand binding in a native environment. Here, we use ellipsometry to quantify specific interactions of receptors within native cell membranes. As a model system, the GPCR-ligand CXCL12α and its receptor CXCR4 are used. Human-derived Ishikawa cells were deposited onto gold coated slides via Langmuir-Schaefer film deposition and interactions between the receptor CXCR4 on these cells and its ligand CXCL12α were detected via total internal reflection ellipsometry (TIRE). This interaction could be inhibited by application of the CXCR4-binding drug AMD3100. Advantages of this approach are that it allows measurement of interactions in a lipid environment without the need for labelling, protein purification or reconstitution of membrane proteins. This technique is potentially applicable to a wide variety of cell types and their membrane receptors, providing a novel method to determine ligand or drug interactions targeting GPCRs and other membrane proteins.
Quantum interference between nuclear excitation by electron capture and radiative recombination

We investigate the quantum interference between the resonant process of nuclear excitation by electron capture (NEEC) followed by the radiative decay of the excited nucleus, and radiative recombination (RR). In order to derive the interference cross section, a Feshbach projection operator formalism is used. The electromagnetic field is considered by means of multipole fields. The nucleus is described by a phenomenological collective model and by making use of experimental data. The Fano profile parameters as well as the interference cross section for electric and magnetic multipole transitions in various heavy ions are presented. We discuss the experimental possibility of discerning NEEC from the RR background.
How Do Students Measure Service Quality in e-Learning? A Case Study regarding an Internet-Based University.

This article discusses the importance of measuring how students perceive quality of service in online higher education. The article also reviews the existing literature on measuring users’ perceptions about quality in e-services. Even when there are a lot of articles on this matter, none of them focuses on e-learning services, so this paper tries to fill that gap. The article proposes using the Critical Incident Technique to perform a qualitative analysis, which contributes to identify the main dimensions and categories that contribute to students’ perception of service quality. A case study, regarding a completely online university, is presented and the proposed model is used to obtain some preliminary research results. Among these, key quality dimensions from a student point of view are identified. Some of these dimensions are: learning process, administrative processes, teaching materials and resources, etc. After discussing the research results, a list of recommendations for university managers is formulated. We believe that both the proposed methodology and the case-study recommendations can be of potential interest for managers of several universities offering online higher-education worldwide.
Evaluation of Pachymetric Measurements with Scheimpflug Photography-Based System and Optical Coherence Tomography Pachymetry at Different Stages of Keratoconus

The aim of this study was to compare the central and peripheral pachymetric measurements determined with Sirius system and Visante OCT and evaluate the agreement between them at different stages of keratoconus. Measurements were not significantly different in all patients and subgroups and showed high correlation for the corneal thicknesses of the entire cornea in different stages of keratoconus.
Tiebout Economies with Differential Genetic Types and Endogenously Chosen Crowding Characteristics

Abstract We consider a Tiebout economy with differential crowding and public projects in which agents are distinguished by their tastes and genetic endowments. Agents choose which crowding characteristic, for example, a skill, they wish to express, and this affects their value to other members of their jurisdiction, club, firm, etc. An agent's choice is influenced both by his genetic endowment, which affects his cost of acquiring crowding characteristics, and by his preferences over which crowding characteristic he expresses. We show that if small groups are strictly effective, the core is equivalent to the set of anonymous competitive equilibrium outcomes, but that the core generally contains taste-homogeneous jurisdictions. Journal of Economic Literature Classification Numbers: H41, H72.