Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Factors associated with smoking, quit attempts and attitudes towards total smoking bans at university: a survey of seven universities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

OBJECTIVES This study assessed the associations between socio-demographic, health and wellbeing variables (independent variables) and daily smoking, attempts to quit smoking, and agreement with smoking ban (dependent variables). METHODS Data from 3,706 undergraduate students were collected from seven universities in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland using a standardised questionnaire. RESULTS About 15.8% of the whole sample reported daily smoking, while 12% were occasional smokers. Smoking was significantly more prevalent among males, but the difference was due to a higher rate of occasional smokers. About every second smoker (55%) had attempted to quit smoking. Almost 45% of the whole sample agreed or strongly agreed with implementing a total smoking ban on campus. Daily smoking was more likely among students with not sufficient income, students whose fathers had at least a bachelor degree; and, students who reported binge drinking. Conversely, daily smoking was less likely among students who rated their health as very good/excellent, those who ate ≥5 portions of fruit or vegetables, and those who had never taken illicit drugs. Previous attempt/s to quit smoking were more likely among students who have never taken illicit drugs and those who agreed with a total smoking ban; and less likely among those with not sufficient income. Daily smokers were less likely to report quit attempts as compared to occasional smokers. An agreement with smoking ban was more likely among students who rated their health as very good/excellent, those who ate ≥5 portions of fruit or vegetables daily, and those who had never taken illicit drugs, but less likely among daily smokers. CONCLUSION Favourable health practices and positive attitudes towards smoking ban were associated with each other. Interventions would need to comprise multi-component programmes that do not solely focus on smoking prevention/cessation, but also on other health promoting practices as well.
Direct synthesis of high-density lead sulfide nanowires on metal thin films towards efficient infrared light conversion

We report chemical-vapor-deposition (CVD) synthesis of high-density lead sulfide (PbS) nanowire arrays and nano pine trees directly on Ti thin films, and the fabrication of photovoltaic devices based upon the PbS nanowires. The as-grown nanowire arrays are largely vertically aligned to the substrates and are uniformly distributed over a relatively large area. Field effect transistors incorporating single PbS nanowires show p-type conduction and high mobilities. These catalytic metal thin films also serve as photocarrier collection electrodes and greatly facilitate device integration. For the first time, we have fabricated Schottky junction photovoltaic devices incorporating PbS nanowires, which demonstrate the capability of converting near-infrared light to electricity. The PbS nanowire devices are stable in air and their external quantum efficiency shows no significant decrease over a period of 3 months in air. We have also compared the photocurrent direction and quantum efficiencies of photovoltaic devices made with different metal electrodes, and the results are explained by band bending at the Schottky junction. Our research shows that PbS nanowires are promising building blocks for collecting near-infrared solar energy.
The anterior approach to the stellate ganglion use without a serious complication in two thousand blocks.

• Injection of a local anesthetic such as tetracaine about the stellate ganglion aids the diagnosis and relieves the symptoms of many functional disturbances in the upper extremity, chest, head, and neck. An anterior, paratracheal approach to the ganglion, here described, has been used in more than 2,000 cases. It is more easily mastered by the physician than are the older anterolateral and posterior approaches. The criteria for a satisfactory block are ptosis, enophthalmos, miosis, and localized vasodilation, increase in skin temperature, and anhidrosis. All blocks in this study were satisfactory, and no severe complications occurred.
Reovirus infection in two species of Psittaciformes recently imported into Italy

An outbreak of reovirus infection with high mortality in two groups of recently imported psittacine birds is reported. The disease in the two species involved, African grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus erithacus) and Australian king parrots (Alisterus scapularis), had differences in clinical presentation and gross lesions. Reovirus particles were observed by electron microscopy and ultrastructural examination of tissues, and two viruses were isolated in cell culture, one from each bird species. Both isolates were studied by cross-neutralization with antisera against reference avian reoviruses isolated from chickens and parrots, and were found to have the greatest similarity to viruses isolated from a budgerigar and a southern screamer.
Effects of sulfhydryl inhibitors on depolarizations-contraction coupling in frog skeletal muscle fibers

We have studied the effects of the sulfhydryl reagents on contractile responses, using either electrically stimulated single muscle fibers or short muscle fibers that were voltage-clamped with a two-microelectrode voltage-clamp technique that allows the fiber tension in response to membrane depolarization to be recorded. The sulfhydryl inhibitors para- chloromercuribenzoic acid (PCMB) and parahydroximercuriphenyl sulfonic acid (PHMPS), at concentrations from 0.5 to 2 mM, cause loss of the contractile ability; however, before this effect is completed, they change the fiber contractile behavior in a complex way. After relatively short exposure to the compounds, < 20 min, before the fibers lose their contractile capacity, secondary tension responses may appear after electrically elicited twitches or tetani. After losing their ability to contract in response to electrical stimulation, the fibers maintain their capacity to develop caffeine contractures, even after prolonged periods (120 min) of exposure to PHMPS. In fibers under voltage-clamp conditions, contractility is also lost; however, before this happens, long-lasting (i.e., minutes) episodes of spontaneous contractile activity may occur with the membrane polarized at -100 mV. After more prolonged exposure (> 30 min), the responses to membrane depolarization are reduced and eventually disappear. The agent DTT at a concentration of 2 mM appears to protect the fibers from the effects of PCMB and PHMPS. Furthermore, after loss of the contractile responses by the action of PCMB or PHMPS, addition of 2 mM DTT causes recovery of tension development capacity.
Superior Mechanical Properties of Double-Network Hydrogels Reinforced by Carbon Nanotubes without Organic Modification

A facile method is developed to fabricate nanocomposite double-network (DN) gels with excellent mechanical properties, which do not fracture upon loading up to 78 MPa and a strain above 0.98, by compositing of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) without organic modification. Investigations of swelling behaviors, and compressive and tensile properties indicate that equilibrium swelling ratio, compressive modulus and stress, fracture stress, Young’s modulus, and yield stress are significantly improved in the presence of CNTs. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) reveals that the pore size of nanocomposite DN gels is decreased and some embedded micro-network structures are observed on the fracture surface in comparison to DN gels without CNTs, which leads to the enhancement of mechanical properties. The compressive loading-unloading behaviors show that the area of hysteresis loop, dissipated energy, for the first compressive cycle, increases with addition of CNTs, which is much higher than that for the successive cycles. Furthermore, the energy dissipation mechanism, similar to the Mullins effect observed in filled rubbers, is demonstrated for better understanding the nanocomposite DN polymer gels with CNTs.
MiR-34a in Age and Tissue Related Radio-Sensitivity and Serum miR-34a as a Novel Indicator of Radiation Injury

MiR-34a, a direct target of p53, has shown to exert potent anti-proliferative effects. It has also been found that miR-34a can be induced by irradiation in vitro and in vivo. However, the relationship between miR-34a and radio-sensitivity, and its potential diagnostic significance in radiation biology, remain unclear. This study found that differing responses to ionizing radiation (IR) of young and adult mice were related to miR-34a. First, we found that miR-34a could be induced in many organs by radiation of both young and adult mice. However, the level of miR-34a induced by young mice was much higher when compared to adult mice. Next, we found that miR-34a played a critical role in radio-sensitivity variations of different tissues by enhancing cell apoptosis and decreasing cell viability. We also found that the induction of miR-34a by radiation was in a p53 dependent manner and that one possible downstream target of miR-34a that lead to different radio-sensitivity was the anti-apoptosis molecular Bcl-2. However, over-expression of miR-34a and knockdown of Bcl-2 could significantly enhance the radio-sensitivity of different cells while inhibition of miR-34a could protect cells from radiation injury. Finally, we concluded that miR-34a could be stable in serum after IR and serve as a novel indicator of radiation injury. Taken together, this data strongly suggests that miR-34a may be a novel indicator, mediator and target of radiation injury, radio-sensitivity and radioprotection.
Alternate Site Biventricular Pacing:

The benefit of biventricular pacing in appropriate patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) now has been established in terms of both morbidity and mortality.1−5 Current criteria for implantation of a biventricular pacing system include CHF despite maximal tolerated medical therapy, NYHA functional Class III or IV, bundle branch block with conduction delay of ≥130 ms, and left ventricular ejection fraction of ≤0.35. In addition, patients at risk for sudden cardiac death may merit a biventricular internal cardioverter defibrillator (ICD). Successful implantation of a biventricular system is dependent not only on the skill of the implanting physician but also on the anatomic limitations of the individual patient. Failure to successfully implant an electrode in a branch vein of the coronary sinus (CS) includes the following situations: (1) failure to find the CS or advance the electrode in a dilated right atrium distorted by cardiomegaly, and pressure/volume overload; (2) failure to enter the CS os due to a Thebesian valve; (3) absence of suitable branch veins, either absent, too small to accept an electrode, or too large to allow a stable position; (4) phrenic nerve stimulation; and (5) failure to pace or sense due to scarred myocardium. In these situations, physicians either abandon the procedure (often after a prolonged procedure time lasting hours) or find an alternative location for pacing. Epicardial left ventricular (LV) implantation of an active fixation or steroid eluting electrode has been used but requires minithoracotomy or a laparoscopic approach. Another alternative has been described 6−8 but is not widely known, recognized, or utilized. Its discovery as a surrogate for traditional biventricular pacing was serendipitously observed during an implant in which CS branch vein location always resulted in phrenic nerve stimulation, no matter how low the pacing amplitude. Since the existing right ventricular (RV) apical electrode had failed, the system was reconfigured with an electrode in the RV outflow tract (RVOT). Remarkably the patient improved markedly and CHF resolved.
Fast Approximate Spoken Term Detection from Sequence of Phonemes

We investigate the detection of spoken terms in conversational speech using phoneme recognition with the objective of achieving smaller index size as well as faster search speed. Speech is processed and indexed as a sequence of one best phoneme sequence. We propose the use of a probabilistic pronunciation model for the search term to compensate for the errors in the recognition of phonemes. This model is derived using the pronunciation of the word and the phoneme confusion matrix. Experiments are performed on the conversational telephone speech database distributed by NIST for the 2006 spoken term detection. We achieve about 1500 times smaller index size and 14 times faster search speed compared to the state-of-the-art system using phoneme lattice at the cost of relatively lower detection performance.
Host and habitat specialization of avian malaria in Africa

Studies of both vertebrates and invertebrates have suggested that specialists, as compared to generalists, are likely to suffer more serious declines in response to environmental change. Less is known about the effects of environmental conditions on specialist versus generalist parasites. Here, we study the evolutionary strategies of malaria parasites (Plasmodium spp.) among different bird host communities. We determined the parasite diversity and prevalence of avian malaria in three bird communities in the lowland forests in Cameroon, highland forests in East Africa and fynbos in South Africa. We calculated the host specificity index of parasites to examine the range of hosts parasitized as a function of the habitat and investigated the phylogenetic relationships of parasites. First, using phylogenetic and ancestral reconstruction analyses, we found an evolutionary tendency for generalist malaria parasites to become specialists. The transition rate at which generalists become specialists was nearly four times as great as the rate at which specialists become generalists. We also found more specialist parasites and greater parasite diversity in African lowland rainforests as compared to the more climatically variable habitats of the fynbos and the highland forests. Thus, with environmental changes, we anticipate a change in the distribution of both specialist and generalist parasites with potential impacts on bird communities.
Temporal constraints on the potential role of fry odors as cues of past reproductive success for spawning lake trout

Abstract Deciding where to reproduce is a major challenge for most animals. Many select habitats based upon cues of successful reproduction by conspecifics, such as the presence of offspring from past reproductive events. For example, some fishes select spawning habitat following odors released by juveniles whose rearing habitat overlaps with spawning habitat. However, juveniles may emigrate before adults begin to search for spawning habitat; hence, the efficacy of juvenile cues could be constrained by degradation or dissipation rates. In lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush), odors deposited by the previous year's offspring have been hypothesized to guide adults to spawning reefs. However, in most extant populations, lake trout fry emigrate from spawning reefs during the spring and adults spawn during the fall. Therefore, we postulated that the role of fry odors in guiding habitat selection might be constrained by the time between fry emigration and adult spawning. Time course chemical, physiological, and behavioral assays indicated that the odors deposited by fry likely degrade or dissipate before adults select spawning habitats. Furthermore, fry feces did not attract wild lake trout to constructed spawning reefs in Lake Huron. Taken together, our results indicate fry odors are unlikely to act as cues for lake trout searching for spawning reefs in populations whose juveniles emigrate before the spawning season, and underscore the importance of environmental constraints on social cues.
Energy gaps of Nd1.85Ce0.15CuO4-y and Nd1.85Th0.15CuO4-y determined by far-infrared spectroscopy.

Les spectres en reflexion presentent des caracteristiques independantes de la temperature et attribuees aux vibrations reticulaires des excitations de porteurs libres. La transition vers l'etat supraconducteur provoque un deplacement du spectre de 50 cm −1 . Les bandes interdites determinees a partir de ces mesures sont en accord avec la theorie BCS
Self-Reported Data on Spontaneous Abortions Compared with Data Obtained by Computer Linkage with the Hospital Registry

In a study of occupational causes of spontaneous abortions, based upon self-reported data and data from the hospital registry, evidence of differential misclassification was noted. Among those exposed a larger proportion of the self-reported spontaneous abortions were identified in the hospital registry, compared with what was found in the control group. This could be due to recall bias of the questionnaire data masking an effect of exposure, or a lower threshold for hospitalization among those exposed vis-à-vis controls, which would exaggerate the effect of exposure, if any. The analysis tended to support the idea of a less accurate recall of spontaneous abortions among controls, especially for abortion that occurred more than 3 years before the questionnaires were sent out. A second questionnaire was sent out to a subset of the participants 3 1/2 years after the first questionnaire. 17% reported fewer spontaneous abortions in this second questionnaire compared with the situation in the first questionnaire, for the period 1973 to 1980.
A continuum mechanics characterization of damage in composite materials

The mechanical response of a composite material damaged in fatigue, or in any other loading mode, is characterized by a set of vector fields, each representing a damage mode. Constitutive equations are derived for isothermal small-deformation behaviour following attainment of a damage state. For small damage, the elastic constants of a damage state are related to those of the undamaged state. The usefulness of these relations in characterizing the development of damage, for instance during fatigue, is discussed.
A Coupled Field Finite Element Modeling Procedure for Design of a Synthetic-Jet Actuators

The development and validation of a modeling procedure used for design of piezoceramic-driven, SJAs, which is based on ANSYSTM FE software, is described. This approach holds the advantage over others in that it fully couples the complex physical interactions among the structure of the actuator, the working fluid, and the driving piezoelectric actuation. The procedure employed was two FEMs: one used a fully coupled acoustic-structural-piezoelectric, while the other used a fully coupled fluid-structure-piezoelectric field formulation. The acoustic-structural-piezoelectric model was useful in that it was used to predict quickly the acoustic and structural resonant frequencies of the actuator device for rapid design. While the fluid-structural-piezoelectric model was more computationally expensive than the acoustic-structural-piezoelectric model, it was superior in that it provided insight into transient synthetic-jet output velocity time and spatial dependence, displacement, and structural stress time histories. This procedure allows investigation of actuator design and of fluid dynamics of synthetic-jets. The models’ predictions were compared to experimental data obtained for a sample actuator configuration and good agreement was found. Both FEMs were defined for an axisymmetric, single-diaphragm piezoelectric actuator, but the procedure may be extended to other actuator geometries.
Intermediate mass black holes in accreting binaries: formation, evolution and observational appearance

We study the origin of the ultraluminous X-ray source M82 X-1 in the nearby starburst galaxy M82. This X-ray source is of particular interest as it is currently the best candidate for an intermediate mass black hole; it is associated with a 54mHz quasi-periodic oscillation with a relatively low (~1 keV) blackbody temperature. We perform detailed binary evolution calculations of 2-15 Msolar stars which transfer mass to a 100-2000 Msolar black hole and present an empirical model for the X-ray characteristics expected for such binaries. Based on the binary evolution calculations and the assumption in our simulations we conclude that the most likely candidate for the bright X-ray source M82 X-1 is a 10-15 Msolar star near the end of its main sequence or slightly evolved, which transfers mass to a ~1000 Msolar black hole. We expect the system to be in the high/soft state. In that case the binary will not be visible as a source of gravitational wave radiation, but other transient X-ray binaries with lower mass donors way be rather bright sources of gravitational wave radiation.
Cell wall features with regard to mechanical performance. A review COST Action E35 2004–2008: Wood machining – micromechanics and fracture

Abstract The mechanical performance of wood and wood products is highly dependent on the structural arrangement and properties of the polymers within the fibre cell wall. To improve utilisation and manufacture of wood materials, there is an increasing need for a more detailed knowledge regarding structure/property relations at the micro- or nanostructural level. In this article, recent developments regarding our understanding of the wood cell wall structure and its mechanical performance are summarised. The new results are interpreted in relation to property performances of wood fibres and wood tissues. Suggestions are made for future requirements for research in this field.
Barbiturate Protection in Acute Focal Cerebral Ischemia

We have found that anesthetic technique modifies the neurological and pathological sequelae of unilateral middle cerebral artery and internal carotid artery occlusion in dogs. Occlusion was performed in seven groups of six dogs during each of the following anesthetic regimens: light (0.8%) halothane, “awake,” deep (1.9%) halothane, deep halothane with mean arterial pressure reduced to 55 torr, pentobarbital (56 mg per kilogram), light halothane plus 40 mg per kilogram thiopental begun just before cerebral artery occlusion, and light halothane plus 40 mg per kilogram thiopental begun 15 minutes after occlusion. Body temperature, arterial Pco2 Po2 pH, and blood pressure (except as noted above) were maintained normal. Neurological examinations were performed daily. On the seventh day the dogs were killed and their brains removed for pathological study. Hemiparesis occurred in five of six dogs under light halothane and five of six awake dogs; a mean of 10.8% and 9.6%, respectively, of their right hemispheres were infarcted. In the deep halothane groups, all of the normotensive and five of the six hypotensive dogs became severely hemiplegic; mean infarction size was 28.2% and 34.1%, respectively. Only one of the 18 dogs who received a barbiturate sustained a neurological deficit — a transient unilateral weakness. Means of 1.4%, 2.7%, and 0.1% of the right hemisphere were infarcted in the barbiturate animals. The protective action of barbiturates in canine acute focal cerebral ischemia suggests that they should be considered for anesthesia in surgery requiring cerebral vessel occlusion and perhaps even for treatment of acute stroke.