Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
EVALUATION OF ZINC PHOSPHIDE BAIT FOR POCKET GOPHER CONTROL ON FOREST LAND

: Laboratory bioassays and field tests were conducted to determine if zinc phosphide baits would control pocket gophers in forest plantations. Zinc phosphide baits generally were less effective than the strychnine alkaloid-oat bait commonly used by forest managers to control gophers. However, a carrot bait with 0.75% zinc phosphide showed potential as a substitute for strychnine. Size of carrot bait and grooming activity of gophers were identified as important factors affecting efficacy of baits. glycol, and fasted 2 hours after gavaging. They were observed 7 days post-treatment or until death. Rodent laboratory chow, carrots, and natural vegetation were available at all times except during pre- and post-treatment fasting. Results indicated an LD 50 for ZnP of 14.7 mg/kg (CL 95 8.3 - 26.1) for males and 14.7 mg/kg (CL 95 10.0 - 21.5) for females. These values differed significantly from the LD50 of 6.8 mg/kg reported by Hood (1972) for T. talpoides. their pouches.
Scattering of Surface Water Waves by a Floating Elastic Plate in Two Dimensions

A new method is developed to study the problem of water wave scattering by a thin elastic plate of arbitrary width floating in deep water assuming linear theory. Using Havelock's expansion of water wave potentials, the boundary value problem describing the potentials is reduced to solving singular integral equations of Carleman type. With the introduction of some integral operators the problem is further reduced to twelve Fredholm integral equations of second kind with regular kernels, and the numerical solutions of these integral equations are used to compute the reflection and transmission coefficients. The numerical estimates for the reflection coefficient are presented in a number of figures given varying different physical parameters. It is shown that the present analysis produces known results for the reflection coefficient.
Design Thinking as an Effort to Enhance Critical Thinking and Science Literacy in Chemistry Learning: A Systematic Review

Critical thinking skills and science literacy represent two pivotal aspects within education, seeking to cultivate students into knowledgeable, analytical individuals proficient in critical thinking when confronting diverse challenges and life circumstances. In the pursuit of enhancing critical thinking abilities, four fundamental aspects come into play, encompassing the capacity for problem-solving, decision-making, assumption analysis, as well as evaluation and inquiry skills. On the other hand, the literacy aspect comprises the articulation of phenomena through the application of chemical concepts, the resolution of problems through the utilization of chemical comprehension, and the critical analysis of strategies and benefits derived from chemistry education. The primary objective of this study are to analyze research trends on the influence of design thinking strategies in improving students' critical thinking and literacy skills through bibliometric analysis and to ascertain the impact of design thinking strategies on the augmentation of students' critical thinking skills and literacy. The data sources used came from reputable journals from 2017-2023. The data obtained is secondary data analyzed with VOSviewer on research trends in critical thinking skills and scientific literacy, the number of publications, the type of research, and the samples used. The data analysis technique employed is Miles and Huberman's method, which consists of four stages: data collection, data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing. The findings of this research indicate that the utilization of design thinking strategies exerts a significant influence on students' critical thinking skills and literacy, employing 13 aspects applicable during the implementation of chemistry learning processes
Durable Goods Monopoly with Network Externalities with Application to the Pc Operating Systems Market

We analyze a model of multi-period monopoly in durable goods. Taking into consideration the special conditions of software markets, we assume that there are no used software markets and that manufacturers stop selling older software when they introduce a replacement model. We show that nominal as well as discounted (real) prices decrease over time but are above costs, thereby violating the Coase conjecture.
Familial dysalbuminemic hyperthyroxinemia: a persistent diagnostic challenge.

Familial dysalbuminemic hyperthyroxinemia (FDH)1 is a well-characterized condition associated with increased circulating total thyroxine (T4) concentrations and normal physiological thyroid function. It is caused by mutations in the ALB (albumin) gene that increase the affinity of albumin for T4 by approximately 60-fold. When measured by a technique that minimally disturbs the equilibria between T4 and its serum binding proteins, such as equilibrium or symmetric dialysis (SyD) performed in a near-physiological medium, the free T4 (FT4) value is characteristically within the reference interval. Assays that rely on the competition of a T4 analog with unbound T4 in the sample can give spuriously high results in FDH patients, because albumin binding of the T4 analog is enhanced by the FDH mutation. “Two step” methods, in which the T4 analog never comes into contact with serum albumin owing to a wash step immediately after capture, avoid this problem. Such assay methods are expected to give FT4 results within the reference interval in FDH patients, but this expectation has been questioned (1)(2). Thyroid-function tests, including 1- and 2-step methodologies, were examined in 4 affected individuals from different families who had their FDH diagnoses proved genetically …
Differential Effects of Military Training on Fat-Free Mass and Plasma Amino Acid Adaptations in Men and Women

Fat-free mass (FFM) adaptations to physical training may differ between sexes based on disparities in fitness level, dietary intake, and levels of plasma amino acids (AA). This investigation aimed to determine FFM and plasma AA responses to military training, examine whether adaptations differ between male and female recruits, and explore potential associations between FFM and AA responses to training. Body composition and plasma AA levels were assessed in US Army recruits (n = 209, 118 males, 91 females) before (baseline) and every three weeks during basic combat training (BCT), a 10-week military training course. Body weight decreased in men but remained stable in women during BCT (sex-by-time interaction, P < 0.05). Fifty-eight percent of recruits gained FFM during BCT, with more (P < 0.05) females (88%) gaining FFM than males (36%). Total plasma AA increased (P < 0.05) during BCT, with greater (P < 0.05) increases observed in females (17%) then in males (4%). Essential amino acids (EAA) and branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) were increased (P < 0.05) in females but did not change in males (sex-by-time interaction, P < 0.05). Independent of sex, changes in EAA (r = 0.34) and BCAA (r = 0.27) from baseline were associated with changes in FFM (P < 0.05); greater (P < 0.05) increases in AA concentrations were observed for those who gained FFM. Increases in FFM and plasma AA suggest that BCT elicits a more pronounced anabolic response in women compared to men, which may reflect sex-specific differences in the relative intensity of the combined training and physiological stimulus associated with BCT.
On power-law relationships of the Internet topology

Despite the apparent randomness of the Internet, we discover some surprisingly simple power-laws of the Internet topology. These power-laws hold for three snapshots of the Internet, between November 1997 and December 1998, despite a 45% growth of its size during that period. We show that our power-laws fit the real data very well resulting in correlation coefficients of 96% or higher.Our observations provide a novel perspective of the structure of the Internet. The power-laws describe concisely skewed distributions of graph properties such as the node outdegree. In addition, these power-laws can be used to estimate important parameters such as the average neighborhood size, and facilitate the design and the performance analysis of protocols. Furthermore, we can use them to generate and select realistic topologies for simulation purposes.
Evidence for cross-adaptation between s-triazine herbicides resulting in reduced efficacy under field conditions.

BACKGROUND Enhanced atrazine degradation has been observed in agricultural soils from around the globe. Soils exhibiting enhanced atrazine degradation may be cross-adapted with other s-triazine herbicides, thereby reducing their control of sensitive weed species. The aims of this study were (1) to determine the field persistence of simazine in atrazine-adapted and non-adapted soils, (2) to compare mineralization of ring-labeled (14)C-simazine and (14)C-atrazine between atrazine-adapted and non-adapted soils and (3) to evaluate prickly sida control with simazine in atrazine-adapted and non-adapted soils. RESULTS Pooled over two pre-emergent (PRE) application dates, simazine field persistence was 1.4-fold lower in atrazine-adapted than in non-adapted soils. For both simazine and atrazine, the mineralization lag phase was 4.3-fold shorter and the mineralization rate constant was 3.5-fold higher in atrazine-adapted than in non-adapted soils. Collectively, the persistence and mineralization data confirm cross-adaptation between these s-triazine herbicides. In non-adapted soils, simazine PRE at the 15 March and 17 April planting dates reduced prickly sida density at least 5.4-fold compared with the no simazine PRE treatment. Conversely, in atrazine-adapted soils, prickly sida densities were not statistically different between simazine PRE and no simazine PRE at either planting date, thereby indicating reduced simazine efficacy in atrazine-adapted soils. CONCLUSIONS Results demonstrate the potential for cross-adaptation among s-triazine herbicides and the subsequent reduction in the control of otherwise sensitive weed species.
A note on Striemer and Danckert's theory of prism adaptation in unilateral neglect

The nature of the therapeutic effects of prism adaptation (PA; see Striemer and Danckert, 2010a for a description) is a major point of controversy in clinical and neurocognitive psychology (e.g., Saevarsson et al., 2009, 2010). A detailed understanding of these effects could greatly advance the treatment and assessment of unilateral neglect. Many authors have concluded that perceptual aspects of neglect, such as visual perception and higher-order visuospatial cognition, improve following PA (e.g., Pisella et al., 2006; Redding and Wallace, 2006; Serino et al., 2006; Saevarsson et al., 2009, 2011; Nijboer et al., 2010, 2011). In contrast to this mainstream view, Striemer and Danckert (2010a) recently proposed that PA produces beneficial effects on spatial and premotor neglect (PMN; defined as the bias of movement from the ipsilesional to the contralesional side, most commonly reported for hand movements; Watson et al., 1978; Bisiach et al., 1990). For example, patients may have difficulties with initiating contralesional directional movements (directional hypokinesia; see Saevarsson, in press for an overview). Striemer and Danckert (2010b) argued that PA has little or no effect on perceptual biases and that only a few PA studies do, in fact, address perceptual neglect directly. Those that do, they claim, show only limited improvement following PA, especially in tasks requiring more explicit perceptual judgments than standard clinical neglect tests. Striemer and Danckert (2010a) also support their view by referring to plasticity changes in areas in the dorsal visual stream that are sometimes spared in neglect, such as the superior parietal lobule and the intraparietal sulcus. These areas are responsible for visuomotor behavior and attention, but are not involved in “more explicit perceptual judgments” (Striemer and Danckert, 2010a, p. 308), and are believed to play a major role in PA. In line with this, they also refer to studies where PA has been found to improve pointing and eye movements (Dijkerman et al., 2003; Ferber et al., 2003; Angeli et al., 2004; Serino et al., 2006).
The Nature of Natural

In the modern Western world, consumers prefer natural foods, medicines, and personal care products and have a desire to connect with the natural world. Despite evident consumer demand for natural products, little research has been devoted to the psychological underpinnings of the natural preference. The present dissertation will examine the psychology of the natural preference and its implications in three chapters. Chapter 1 will expand the scope of explanations of opposition to genetically modified food by applying established theories about naturalness, sacred values and the law of contagion. Chapter 2 will examine how inferences about safety and efficacy of natural products cause natural to be more strongly preferred when preventing as opposed to curing an ailment. Chapter 3 will explore how naturalness operates as a trustworthiness cue and is more strongly preferred in the absence of other trustworthiness cues (e.g., brand familiarity). Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Psychology First Advisor Paul Rozin Second Advisor Deborah A. Small
Parallel Full Space SQP Lagrange-Newton-Krylov-Schwarz Algorithms for PDE-Constrained Optimization Problems

Optimization problems constrained by nonlinear partial differential equations have been the focus of intense research in scientific computing lately. Current methods for the parallel numerical solution of such problems involve sequential quadratic programming (SQP), with either reduced or full space approaches. In this paper we propose and investigate a class of parallel full space SQP Lagrange--Newton--Krylov--Schwarz (LNKSz) algorithms. In LNKSz, a Lagrangian functional is formed and differentiated to obtain a Karush--Kuhn--Tucker (KKT) system of nonlinear equations. An inexact Newton method with line search is then applied. At each Newton iteration the linearized KKT system is solved with a Schwarz preconditioned Krylov subspace method. We apply LNKSz to the parallel numerical solution of some boundary control problems of two-dimensional incompressible Navier--Stokes equations. Numerical results are reported for different combinations of Reynolds number, mesh size, and number of parallel processors. We also compare the application of the LNKSz method to flow control problems against the application of the Newton--Krylov--Schwarz (NKSz) method to flow simulation problems.
Two novel multiway circuit partitioning algorithms using relaxed locking

All the previous Kernighan-Lin-based (KL-based) circuit partitioning algorithms employ the locking mechanism, which enforces each cell to move exactly once per pass. In this paper, we propose two novel approaches for multiway circuit partitioning to overcome this limitation. Our approaches allow each cell to move more than once. Our first approach still uses the locking mechanism but in a relaxed way. It introduces the phase concept such that each pass can include more than one phase, and a phase can include at most one move of each cell. Our second approach does not use the locking mechanism at all. It introduces the mobility concept such that each cell can move as freely as allowed by its mobility. Each approach leads to KL-based generic algorithms whose parameters can be set to obtain algorithms with different performance characteristics. We generated three versions of each generic algorithm and evaluated them on a subset of common benchmark circuits in comparison with Sanchis' algorithm (FMS) and the simulated annealing algorithm (SA). Experimental results show that our algorithms are efficient, they outperform FMS significantly, and they perform comparably to SA. Our algorithms perform relatively better as the number of parts in the partition increases as well as the density of the circuit decreases. This paper also provides guidelines for good parameter settings for the generic algorithms.
Randomized Pharmacokinetic Study Comparing Subcutaneous and Intravenous Palonosetron in Cancer Patients Treated with Platinum Based Chemotherapy

Background Palonosetron is a potent second generation 5- hydroxytryptamine-3 selective antagonist which can be administered by either intravenous (IV) or oral routes, but subcutaneous (SC) administration of palonosetron has never been studied, even though it could have useful clinical applications. In this study, we evaluate the bioavailability of SC palonosetron. Patients and Methods Patients treated with platinum-based chemotherapy were randomized to receive SC or IV palonosetron, followed by the alternative route in a crossover manner, during the first two cycles of chemotherapy. Blood samples were collected at baseline and 10, 15, 30, 45, 60, 90 minutes and 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12 and 24 h after palonosetron administration. Urine was collected during 12 hours following palonosetron. We compared pharmacokinetic parameters including AUC0–24h, t1/2, and Cmax observed with each route of administration by analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results From October 2009 to July 2010, 25 evaluable patients were included. AUC0–24h for IV and SC palonosetron were respectively 14.1 and 12.7 ng × h/ml (p = 0.160). Bioavalability of SC palonosetron was 118% (95% IC: 69–168). Cmax was lower with SC than with IV route and was reached 15 minutes following SC administration. Conclusions Palonosetron bioavailability was similar when administered by either SC or IV route. This new route of administration might be specially useful for outpatient management of emesis and for administration of oral chemotherapy. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01046240
After-effects of TFT-LCD display polarity and display colour on the detection of low-contrast objects

Participants performed a word–non-word discrimination task within a car control display emulated on a thin film transistor liquid-crystal display (TFT-LCD). The task simulated an information read-out from a TFT-LCD-based instrument panel. Subsequently, participants performed a low-contrast object detection task that simulated the detection of objects during night-time driving. In experiment 1, words/non-words were presented black-on-white (positive polarity) or white-on-black (negative polarity). In experiments 2 and 3, display colour was additionally manipulated. A positive polarity advantage in the discrimination task was consistently observed. In contrast, positive displays interfered more than negative displays with subsequent detection. The detrimental after-effect of positive polarity displays was strong with white and blue, reduced with amber and absent with red displays. Subjective measures showed a preference for blue over red, but a slight advantage for amber over blue. Implications for TFT-LCD design are derived from the results. Statement of Relevance: When using TFT-LCDs as car instrument panels, positive polarity red TFT-LCDs are very likely to lead to good instrument readability while at the same time minimising – relative to other colours – the negative effects of an illuminated display on low-contrast object detection during night-time driving.
Something old, something new: recent developments in hospital-physician relationships.

OBJECTIVE To describe recent developments in hospital-physician relationships in 12 metropolitan areas. METHODS We analyze qualitative data from a third round of biannual site visit interviews conducted in 12 randomly selected metropolitan areas from 1996 to 2001. The study interviewed 895 respondents during the third round of site visits, conducted in 2000 and 2001. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS As HMO enrollment and capitation contracting has failed to grow in local markets, hospital executives have returned to a strategic focus on improving relationships with specialists in pursuit of fee-for-service revenue. Yet, 65 percent of hospitals interviewed in 2000 and 2001 continued to own primary care physician practices, with ownership more prevalent in highly concentrated hospital markets. A majority (55 percent) of hospitals have decreased the size of these practices in the past two years. CONCLUSIONS Interest in forming integrated delivery systems has waned. The potential for quality improvement through these organizations systems--by emphasizing primary care and coordinating hospital and physician services--has not been realized. The new emphasis on hospital-specialist partnerships may improve the financial status of hospitals and participating specialists in local markets, and may improve quality of care in selected service areas, but it may also increase health care costs incurred by employers and consumers.
Growth of the C4 dicot Flaveria bidentis: photosynthetic acclimation to low light through shifts in leaf anatomy and biochemistry

In C4 plants, acclimation to growth at low irradiance by means of anatomical and biochemical changes to leaf tissue is considered to be limited by the need for a close interaction and coordination between bundle sheath and mesophyll cells. Here differences in relative growth rate (RGR), gas exchange, carbon isotope discrimination, photosynthetic enzyme activity, and leaf anatomy in the C4 dicot Flaveria bidentis grown at a low (LI; 150 μmol quanta m2 s−1) and medium (MI; 500 μmol quanta m2 s−1) irradiance and with a 12 h photoperiod over 36 d were examined. RGRs measured using a 3D non-destructive imaging technique were consistently higher in MI plants. Rates of CO2 assimilation per leaf area measured at 1500 μmmol quanta m2 s−1 were higher for MI than LI plants but did not differ on a mass basis. LI plants had lower Rubisco and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase activities and chlorophyll content on a leaf area basis. Bundle sheath leakiness of CO2 (ϕ) calculated from real-time carbon isotope discrimination was similar for MI and LI plants at high irradiance. ϕ increased at lower irradiances, but more so in MI plants, reflecting acclimation to low growth irradiance. Leaf thickness and vein density were greater in MI plants, and mesophyll surface area exposed to intercellular airspace (Sm) and bundle sheath surface area per unit leaf area (Sb) measured from leaf cross-sections were also both significantly greater in MI compared with LI leaves. Both mesophyll and bundle sheath conductance to CO2 diffusion were greater in MI compared with LI plants. Despite being a C4 species, F. bidentis is very plastic with respect to growth irradiance.
Exploring the role of the interprofessional mentor

This paper describes the articulation of a model of interprofessional mentorship derived from qualitative interviews with students and health and social care professionals who support students in practice settings. The findings describe three core components within the data: the facilitation of interprofessional learning; supervision of students and assessment of their learning. These components interact with the aim of developing interprofessional capability in students. It is suggested that the articulation of this model has the potential to inform future practice and development around interprofessional mentorship.