Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Characterization of a 3D defect using the expected improvement algorithm

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a new methodology for the characterization of a defect by eddy‐current testing (ECT). The defect is embedded in a conductive non‐magnetic plate and the measured data are the impedance variation of an air‐cored probe coil scanning above the top of the plate.Design/methodology/approach – The inverse problem of defect characterization is solved by an iterative global optimization process. The strategy of the iterations is the kriging‐based expected improvement (EI) global optimization algorithm. The forward problem is solved numerically, using a volume integral approach.Findings – The proposed method seems to be efficient in the light of the presented numerical results. Further investigation and comparison to other methods are still needed.Originality/value – This is believed to be the first time when the EI algorithm has been used to solve an inverse problem related to the ECT.
Repressive Adaptive Style in Children With Chronic Illness

Objective The primary objectives of this study were 1) To assess whether previously reported findings of high levels of repressive adaptation in children with cancer are unique to the cancer population or are generally characteristic of children with serious chronic illness and 2) to assess the utility of including a new measure of anger expression in the adaptive style measurement paradigm. Methods Measures of defensiveness, trait anxiety, and anger expression were obtained from three groups of children: those with cancer (N = 130), those with chronic illnesses (diabetes, cystic fibrosis, and juvenile rheumatoid disorders;N = 121), and healthy control participants (N = 368). Based on their self-reports, participants were categorized according to the adaptive style paradigm as either high anxious, low anxious, defensive high anxious, or repressor. The prevalence of these categories was compared across groups. Results Children in the cancer and chronic illness groups both reported significantly higher levels of defensiveness and lower levels of anxiety than did the healthy control participants. Application of the adaptive style paradigm produced a significantly higher percentage of children identified as repressors in the both cancer and chronic illness groups relative to healthy children. Children classified as repressors also reported significantly less expression of anger than did nonrepressors. Conclusions An increased prevalence of repressive adaptation is not unique to children with cancer, but may be generally characteristic of children with serious chronic illness. Use of anger in place of anxiety as the repressed affect produced a similar distribution of adaptive styles in the study populations.
Exploiting cryptographic architectures over hardware vs. software implementations: advantages and trade-offs

Cryptographic modules can be implemented in both hardware and software. Although software cryptographic implementations are cost-effective and more flexible, they seem to provide a much lower level of security in relation to their hardware equivalents. The uncontrolled memory access, the vulnerabilities imposed by the OS and the facility of modifying software implementations are some of the security barriers of software cryptographic modules. This works deals with the exploitation of security architectures via software and hardware implementations. Especially it is centers in the advantages and the trade-offs of each one of the two alternatives integration approaches.
Bonsai Trees (or, Arboriculture in Lattice-Based Cryptography)

We introduce bonsai trees, a lattice-based cryptographic primitive that we apply to resolve some important open problems in the area. Applications of bonsai trees include: • An efficient, stateless ‘hash-and-sign’ signature scheme in the standard model (i.e., no random oracles), and • The first hierarchical identity-based encryption (HIBE) scheme (also in the standard model) that does not rely on bilinear pairings. Interestingly, the abstract properties of bonsai trees seem to have no known realization in conventional number-theoretic cryptography.
Poverty and tuberculosis: is it truly a simple inverse linear correlation?

To the Editors : Janssens and Rieder 1 recently reported an inverse linear association between tuberculosis (TB) incidence and per capita gross domestic product, after analysing data from 171 World Health Organization (WHO) member states with paired data. We are in full agreement with the “take home” message that poverty alleviation must be an integral component of global TB control efforts. However, from an epidemiological perspective, additional factors may need to be considered to better understand the complex host–pathogen …
Severity Analysis of Accidents in Forest Operations

This paper deals with the severity of accidents in forest operations in Slovenian state forests in the period 1990–2005. A total of 846 accidents were analyzed. Most accidents happened in felling (68% and 20 lost days), and somewhat less during skidding (24% and 19 lost days). Most injuries were caused by direct contact of the tree parts (60% and 20 lost days) with stones, rocks and surface (24% and 21 days lost days). Power saw only caused 6% of injuries (17 lost days). Contusion was the most frequent type of injury in accidents due to stroke (56%), open sore (19%) and sprain with muscle strain (11%). Severity of injuries of extremities (20.5 lost days) seems to be different from face injuries (11.6 lost days). It can be concluded that the results are useful for implementation in everyday forest operations based on safety and accident prevention.
Flow cytometry in primary breast carcinomas: Prognostic impact of S‐phase fraction according to different analysis patterns

The aim of the present work was to study the prognostic impact of ploidy and S‐phase fraction (SPF) assessed according to recently described methods. These methods of analysis combine different ploidy groups and separate euploid (good) prognostic groups from noneuploid (bad) prognostic groups. The definition of euploidy varied according to the author; some of them even included aneuploid peaks with few events. A comparison was also drawn to the average SPF and the diploid peak SPF observed in aneuploid histograms.
Improved local pdf estimation in the wavelet domain for Generalized Lifting

Generalized Lifting (GL) has been studied for lossy image compression in [2,3]. It has been demonstrated that the method leads to a significant reduction of the wavelet coefficients energy and entropy. The definition of the GL relies on an estimation of the pdf of the pixel to encode conditioned to a surrounding context. The objective of this paper is to present an improved method for the estimation of the pdf at the local level. Rather than assuming that the local pdf is monomodal, symmetric, and centered at the central value of the best context match within a neighborhood, as in [3], we follow the idea of self similarity proposed in [1] for denoising, and propose to estimate the pdf using all the causal contexts within a window. Therefore, all the available knowledge about the neighborhood is incorporated. No assumptions about the characteristics of the pdf are made. A generalized lifting operator that minimizes the energy is applied to each context during the encoding process. Experimental results show an important increment in the energy and entropy gains when compared to previous strategies [2,3].
Working Paper Number 75 Society Culture and Environmental Adaptability in Central and South America

This paper constitutes an in-depth and comparative review of three recent anthropological studies of environmental adaptability in Central and South America. In an attempt to overcome the dualism of former ecological anthropology, Arizpe, Paz and Velßzquez (1996), Wilbert (1998), and Santos-Graneros and Barclay (1998) bring nature and society into a common framework aimed at understanding human adaptation, as well as the changing relations of human societies to natural environments. The paper discusses the ideas and arguments contained in these three books by focusing on the cultural dimensions of human adaptation to the environment. It then examines the local and global patterns of resource management. The paper concludes with a few remarks on how to link anthropological research on indigenous survival in the context of deforestation and modernization with policy recommendations.
The reactive oxygen species–Src–Stat3 pathway provokes negative feedback inhibition of apoptosis induced by high‐fluence low‐power laser irradiation

High‐fluence low‐power laser irradiation (HF‐LPLI) can induce apoptosis by triggering mitochondrial oxidative stress. Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (Stat3) is an important transcription factor in the modulation of cell proliferation and apoptosis. Here, using real‐time single‐cell analysis and western blotting analysis, we investigated the changes in activities of Stat3 in COS‐7 cells upon HF‐LPLI (633 nm, 80 and 120 J·cm−2) and the underlying mechanisms involved. We found that Stat3 was significantly activated by HF‐LPLI in a time‐dependent and dose‐dependent manner. Stat3 activation attenuated HF‐LPLI‐induced apoptosis, as shown by the fact that both dominant negative Stat3 (Y705F) and Stat3 small interfering RNA expression enhanced cellular apoptosis induced by HF‐LPLI. Moreover, we also found that Src kinase was the major positive regulator of Stat3 activation induced by HF‐LPLI. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation was essential for Stat3 and Src activation upon HF‐LPLI, because scavenging of ROS by vitamin C or N‐acetylcysteine totally abrogated the activation of Stat3 and Src. Taken together, these findings show that the ROS–Src–Stat3 pathway mediates a negative feedback inhibition of apoptosis induced by HF‐LPLI in COS‐7 cells. Our research will provide new insights into the mechanism of apoptosis caused by HF‐LPLI, and also extend the functional study of Stat3.
Automatic calibration of a single-projector catadioptric display system

We describe the calibration of a catadioptric omnidirectional video projection system that adjusts its projection to the geometry of any scene by means of a rotating camera. Correction of geometric distortions requires 3D reconstruction of the scene. A camera is used to detect projected point features and calibration is performed in three successive steps: precalibration of camera assuming pure rotation, precalibration of catadioptric projector under central approximation and calibration of the global system, by minimizing the squared distance between the reflected and perceived rays, and by relaxing previous constraints, to refine values of extrinsic parameters. Simulation is used to validate estimated values of parameters and distance between the 3D reconstruction of the projection room and its expected geometry. Influence of noise in detected point coordinates is studied and preliminary results for the reconstruction and projection in real conditions are reported.
Changes in action potential duration alter reliance of excitatory synaptic transmission on multiple types of Ca2+ channels in rat hippocampus

It has been established that multiple types of Ca2+ channels participate in triggering neurotransmitter release at central synapses, but there is uncertainty about the nature of their combined actions. We investigated synaptic transmission at CA3-CA1 synapses of rat hippocampal slices and asked whether the dependence on omega-CTx-GVIA- sensitive N-type channels and omega-Aga-IVA-sensitive P/Q-type Ca2+ channels can be altered by physiological mechanisms. The reliance on multiple types of Ca2+ channels was not absolute but depended strongly on the amount of Ca2+ influx through individual channels, which was manipulated by prolonging the presynaptic action potential with the K+ channel blocker 4-aminopyridine (4-AP) and by varying the extracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]o). We quantified the influence of spike broadening on Ca2+ influx through various Ca2+ channels by imposing mock action potentials on voltage-clamped cerebellar granule neurons. In field recordings of the EPSP in hippocampal slices, action potential prolongation increased the EPSP slope by 2-fold and decreased its reliance on either N-type or P/Q-type Ca2+ channels. The inhibition of synaptic transmission by N-type channel blockade was virtually eliminated in the presence of 4-AP, but it could be restored by lowering [Ca2+]o. These results rule out a scenario in which a significant fraction of presynaptic terminals rely solely on N-type channels to trigger transmission. The change in sensitivity to the neurotoxins with 4-AP could be explained in terms of a nonlinear relationship between Ca2+ entry and synaptic strength, which rises steeply at low [Ca2+]o, but approaches saturation at high [Ca2+]o. This relationship was evaluated experimentally by varying [CA2+]o in the absence and presence of 4-AP. One consequence of this relationship is that down-modulation of presynaptic Ca2+ channels by various modulators would increase the relative impact of spike broadening greatly.
‘What Will We Be without Them?’ Rural Intellectuals in the State and NGOs in Zimbabwe’s Crisis-Ridden Countryside

Research on NGOs in rural Zimbabwe suggests that ideas of automatic opposition between ‘civil society’ and/or non-governmental organizations and authoritarian states are too simple. Rather, relations between state and non-state organizations such as those referenced in this article, in the rural district of Mangwe about 200 kilometres south-west of Zimbabwe’s Bulawayo, are symbiotic. This contrasts with urban areas where political histories have led to more contested state-civil society relations in the last two decades, during which social movements with a degree of counter-hegemonic (or counter-regime) aspirations were allied with many NGOs and opposition political parties. Gramsci’s idea of ‘rural intellectuals’ could complement the widely used notion of ‘organic intellectuals’ to examine the members of the intelligentsia appearing to be at one with subordinate groups in the countryside and at odds with the state. Likewise state workers distant from the centre and close to their class peers in NGOs as well as their ‘subjects’ may operate with autonomy from their masters in ruling parties and states to assist, rather than repress, citizens and also to co-operate with NGO workers. This research indicates that discerning how hegemony works across whole state-society complexes is more complicated than usually perceived, given the many regional variations therein.
Protein Kinase D1 Phosphorylates HDAC7 and Induces Its Nuclear Export after T-cell Receptor Activation*

HDAC7, a class II histone deacetylase that is highly expressed in thymocytes, inhibits both transcription of the orphan steroid nuclear receptor Nur77 and induction of apoptosis in response to activation of the T-cell receptor (TCR). Here, we report that HDAC7 is exported to the cytoplasm by a calcium-independent signaling pathway after TCR activation. Protein kinase D1 (PKD1) was activated after TCR engagement, interacted with HDAC7, and phosphorylated three serines (Ser155, Ser318, and Ser448) at its N terminus, leading to its export from the nucleus. Mutation of Ser155, Ser318, and Ser448 blocked the nucleocytoplasmic shuttling of HDAC7 in response to TCR activation, as did overexpression of a kinase-inactive form of PKD1. Consistent with the regulatory role of HDAC7 in Nur77 expression, PKD1 activation led to the transcriptional activation of Nur77 via myocyte enhancer factor 2-binding sites in its promoter. In a mouse model of negative selection, PKD1 was activated during thymocyte activation. These observations indicate that PKD1 regulates the expression of Nur77 during thymocyte activation at least in part by phosphorylating HDAC7.
CAPILLARY PRESSURE AND PORE SIZE DISTRIBUTION FROM WATER INJECTION : A FEASIBILITY STUDY

MICP (Mercury Injection Capillary Pressure) is a standard procedure for core analysis. However, the use of mercury is forbidden in some environments and so far there are no alternative methods. NMR provides information on pore distribution but is not directly related to the capillary pressure. This paper presents a feasibility study for replacing mercury by water or brine (BICP: Brine Injection Capillary Pressure). The principle is to change the wettability of the rock in order to have a surface not wetted by water in the presence of air. We present experimental results realized with a siliconate treatment that has the advantage to be safe and water soluble (no solvent). The samples are 100% saturated with a siliconate solution and then dried. This treatment phase is also used to determine the porosity of the sample from the difference of mass before and after drying (assuming a known grain density). The experiment is conducted similar to mercury injection in a penetrometer with brine instead of mercury. Initially, the sample is not evacuated under vacuum and air compressibility is taken into account in the interpretation. So far, the pressure is limited to 30 bars, but there is no technical limitation. Cycles of injection/withdrawal are also performed like for mercury. The first important result is that the spontaneous imbibition when the treated sample is put into brine is limited to around 10% of the pore volume. The second point is that we are able to build capillary pressure curves, with volume stabilization at each step, in both injection and withdrawal. Results on samples with a wide range of permeabilities show a qualitative agreement with results obtained with mercury injection. In conclusion, we do not claim the same accuracy as with mercury but the method can be useful for safe and quick rock-typing measurements. INTRODUCTION MICP (Mercury Injection Capillary Pressure) is a standard procedure for core analysis. The advantage of mercury is that it is a non-wetting fluid for any type of surface and that the contact angle does not depend on the nature of the surface. However, the use of mercury is forbidden in some environments and so far no alternative methods are available. NMR provides information on pore distribution but is not directly related to the capillary pressure.
Comparison of breast cancer screening rates between Korean women in America versus Korea.

BACKGROUND Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among Korean American women and among Korean women in Korea. However, many Asian women are not aware of the importance of screening mammography. This study compares breast cancer screening in Korean women in California and in Korea. METHODS The 2005 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) and 2005 Korean National Cancer Screening Survey (KNCSS) were used to examine breast cancer screening and related factors. The sample included 252 Korean American women in California and 889 Korean women aged > or = 40 years. Logistic regression was used to predict the odds of having had a screening mammography in the past 2 years. For CHIS data, SUDAAN software (Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, NC) was used to take into account the design of the complex and multistage samples. RESULTS Korean women reported a lower rate than Korean American women of ever having had a screening mammography (50.8% vs. 77.8%). Korean women also had lower rates of having had a screening mammography in the past 2 years than Korean American women (39.5% vs. 57.2%). Korean Americans were less likely to undergo screening mammography if they were older. Korean women were less likely to undergo screening mammography if they were older, unemployed, lacked private cancer insurance, lacked health checkups, did not exercise, had poor health status, or currently smoked. CONCLUSIONS We found significant differences in cancer screening behavior in Korean women depending on where they lived. These differences may indicate an important influence of social factors on preventive health behavior.
Learning from agriculture: understanding low-dose antimicrobials as drivers of resistome expansion

Antimicrobial resistance is a growing public health challenge worldwide, with agricultural use of antimicrobials being one major contributor to the emergence and dissemination of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Globally, most antimicrobials are used in industrial food animal production, a major context for microbiomes encountering low-doses or subtherapeutic-levels of antimicrobial agents from all mechanistic classes. This modern practice exerts broad eco-evolutionary effects on the gut microbiome of food animals, which is subsequently transferred to animal waste. This waste contains complex constituents that are challenging to treat, including AMR determinants and low-dose antimicrobials. Unconfined storage or land deposition of a large volume of animal waste causes its wide contact with the environment and drives the expansion of the environmental resistome through mobilome facilitated horizontal genet transfer. The expanded environmental resistome, which encompasses both natural constituents and anthropogenic inputs, can persist under multiple stressors from agriculture and may re-enter humans, thus posing a public health risk to humans. For these reasons, this review focuses on agricultural antimicrobial use as a laboratory for understanding low-dose antimicrobials as drivers of resistome expansion, briefly summarizes current knowledge on this topic, highlights the importance of research specifically on environmental microbial ecosystems considering AMR as environmental pollution, and calls attention to the needs for longitudinal studies at the systems level.
Molecular Detection of Leishmania infantum in Naturally Infected Phlebotomus perfiliewi transcaucasicus in Bilesavar District, Northwestern Iran

Background: Visceral leishmaniasis is caused by Leishmania infantum, transmitted to humans by bites of phlebotomine sand flies and is one of the most important public health problems in Iran. To identify the vector(s), an investigation was carried out in Bilesavar District, one of the important foci of the disease in Ardebil Province in northwestern Iran, during July–September 2008. Methods: Using sticky papers, 2,110 sand flies were collected from indoors (bedroom, guestroom, toilet and stable) and outdoors (wall cracks, crevices and animal burrows) and identified morphologically. Species-specific amplification of promastigotes revealed specific PCR products of L. infantum DNA. Results: Six sand fly species were found in the district, including: Phlebotomus perfiliewi transcaucasicus, P. papatasi, P. tobbi, P. sergenti, Sergentomyia dentata and S. sintoni. Phlebotomus perfiliewi transcaucasicus was the dominant species of the genus Phlebotomus (62.8%). Of 270 female dissected P. perfiliewi transcuacasicus, 4 (1.5%) were found naturally infected with promastigotes. Conclusion: Based on natural infections of P. perfiliewi transcaucasicus with L. infantum and the fact that it was the only species found infected with L. infantum, it seems, this sand fly could be the principal vector of visceral leishmaniasis in the region.