Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Influence of Instruction on Color/Form Classification Strategies and Longterm Memory: A Developmental Study

Methods children use to categorize visual stimuli offer a starting point in the investigation of the psychological effects works of art have on individuals. Children's use of color or form as classification dimensions is one focus of categorization studies. Such studies seek to define the processes involved in classifying visual stimuli. Employing this approach, this study was designed to clarify the role of development and the influence of instruction on children's performance in classifying nonrepresentational paintings. Specifically, this study was undertaken to determine the effects of instruction on performance of a color /form classification task, and to examine the effects of time (a 2-week period) on retention of the instructed material. Additionally, performance differences between three developmental levels (grades 1, 4, and 7) were observed. This study casts light on the issue of which components of paintings are attended to by different developmental levels, building on the work of Hill and Kuiken (1975), Hardiman and Zernich (1982), and Phillips (1985). The following hypotheses were tested: Hypothesis I. Untrained (i.e., control group) seventh graders will classify novel stimuli along the form dimension significantly more than will
Standardising the Lactulose Mannitol Test of Gut Permeability to Minimise Error and Promote Comparability

Background Lactulose mannitol ratio tests are clinically useful for assessing disorders characterised by changes in gut permeability and for assessing mixing in the intestinal lumen. Variations between currently used test protocols preclude meaningful comparisons between studies. We determined the optimal sampling period and related this to intestinal residence. Methods Half-hourly lactulose and mannitol urinary excretions were determined over 6 hours in 40 healthy female volunteers after administration of either 600 mg aspirin or placebo, in randomised order at weekly intervals. Gastric and small intestinal transit times were assessed by the SmartPill in 6 subjects from the same population. Half-hourly percentage recoveries of lactulose and mannitol were grouped on a basis of compartment transit time. The rate of increase or decrease of each sugar within each group was explored by simple linear regression to assess the optimal period of sampling. Key Results The between subject standard errors for each half-hourly lactulose and mannitol excretion were lowest, the correlation of the quantity of each sugar excreted with time was optimal and the difference between the two sugars in this temporal relationship maximal during the period from 2½-4 h after ingestion. Half-hourly lactulose excretions were generally increased after dosage with aspirin whilst those of mannitol were unchanged as was the temporal pattern and period of lowest between subject standard error for both sugars. Conclusion The results indicate that between subject variation in the percentage excretion of the two sugars would be minimised and the differences in the temporal patterns of excretion would be maximised if the period of collection of urine used in clinical tests of small intestinal permeability were restricted to 2½-4 h post dosage. This period corresponds to a period when the column of digesta column containing the probes is passing from the small to the large intestine.
Integral complete multipartite graphs K a 1 · p 1 , a 2

A graph is called integral if all the eigenvalues of its adjacency matrix are integers. In our recent work, we have studied integral complete r-partite graphs Kp1,p2,. ,pr = Ka1·p1,a2·p2,. ,as·ps with s = 3, 4 (also see, L.G. Wang, X.D. Liu, Integral complete multipartite graphs, DiscreteMath. 308 (2008) 3860–3870). In this paper, we continue thework on such integral graphs, we investigate integral completemultipartite graphs Ka1·p1,a2·p2,. ,as·ps with s = 5, 6 for the first time by computer search. Thenwe construct infinitemany new classes of such integral graphs by solving some certain Diophantine equations. These results are different from those in the existing literature. For s = 5, 6, we give a positive answer to a question of Wang et al. [L.G. Wang, X.L. Li, C. Hoede, Integral complete r-partite graphs, Discrete Math. 283 (2004) 231–241]. The problem of the existence of integral complete multipartite graphs Ka1·p1,a2·p2,. ,as·ps with arbitrarily large number s remains open. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Placental Expression of miR-517a/b and miR-517c Contributes to Trophoblast Dysfunction and Preeclampsia

Preeclampsia is a pregnancy specific hypertensive disease that confers significant maternal and fetal risks. While the exact pathophysiology of preeclampsia is unknown, it is widely accepted that placental dysfunction is mechanistically involved. Recent studies reported aberrant expression of placenta-specific microRNAs (miRNAs) in preeclampsia including miR-517a/b and miR-517c. Using placental biopsies from a preeclampsia case-control study, we found increased expression of miR-517a/b in term and preterm preeclampsia vs controls, while, miR-517c was increased only in preterm preeclampsia vs controls. To determine if miR-517a/b and miR-517c are regulated by hypoxia, we treated first trimester primary extravillous trophoblast cells (EVTs) with a hypoxia mimetic and found both were induced. To test for a mechanistic role in placental function, we overexpressed miR-517a/b or miR-517c in EVTs which resulted in decreased trophoblast invasion. Additionally, we found that miR-517a/b and miR-517c overexpression increased expression of the anti-angiogenic protein, sFLT1. The regulation of sFLT1 is mostly unknown, however, TNFSF15, a cytokine involved in FLT1 splicing, was also increased by miR-517a/b and miR-517c in EVTs. In summary, we demonstrate that miR-517a/b and miR-517c contribute to the development of preeclampsia and suggest that these miRNAs play a critical role in regulating trophoblast and placental function.
MAS for automated black start of multi-microgrids

Current methods for performing microgrid black start require a series of steps to be performed where loads are connected and disconnected, making a fully-automated procedure unfeasible. This paper presents a novel method to perform a microgrid black start in a single step, enabling the procedure to be automatically carried out. Microgrids started in this way can then synchronise with each other and with the HV grid to expand the restored grid. The microgrid black start procedure is prepared during normal grid operation and requires only minimal communication in the microgrid to be executed during the blackout, relying on the DERs and storages in the microgrid being equipped with battery packs. Co-ordination in the multi-microgrid is performed with a multi-agent system. Inverter control algorithms are presented with results verifying the concept.
Crystal formation and growth by slow cooling for recovery of magnetite particles from copper smelting slag

Copper smelting produces large amounts of slag and new methods of handling this by-product are required. Considering copper smelting slag as metal resource, we studied the effects of a slow cooling process on the crystal growth of magnetite in smelting slag and the applicability of magnetic separation techniques. As the cooling rate was lowered, the weight fraction of magnetite increased together with the average magnetite grain size. Furthermore, slow cooling in an oxidising atmosphere and temperature holding during the slow cooling process promoted magnetite crystal growth. Magnetic separation tests showed that high separation efficiency was possible when the slow cooled slag was ground to a particle size of ≤20 μm owing to the high magnetite liberation ratio. Consequently, slow cooling was shown to effectively promote crystal growth of magnetite and improve magnetic recovery of magnetite. Abbreviations: EDS: Energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer; MLA: Mineral Liberation Analyzer; SEM: Scanning electron microscope; XRD: X-ray diffraction
Effects of Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs on Anticonvulsant Activity of Diazepam in Mice

As a result of the chronic nature of epilepsy, patients often need concurrent therapy for other diseases. The benzodiazepines are frequently prescribed as anxiolytics, sedatives and hypnotics and these agents may interact with other drugs. Non- steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are commonly used as anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antipyretic agents. They prescribed and used with diazepam in many clinical cases. In this study, convulsions were chemically induced in Albino mice by given picrotoxin (6 mg/kg). The animals were divided into several groups as following: picrotoxin, diazepam (1 mg/kg), aspirin (10, 100 & 200 mg/kg), diclofenac (10 & 20 mg/kg) and Celecoxib 20 mg/kg. All drugs were given intra peritoneally 30 minute before picrotoxin intake. In combination treatment, the NSAIDs were administrated 30 minute before diazepam; the latter was given 30 minute before picrotoxin. The following parameters were recorded: onset time in minutes, number of seizures (attacks) in each group and death occurrence within 24 hours after treatments. Administration of NSAIDs with diazepam showed that aspirin 200 mg/kg, diclofenac (in both doses) and celecoxib potentiated the effect of diazepam (p ≤ 0.001) while aspirin 10 mg/kg showed no effect on diazepam but aspirin 100 mg/kg reduced the anticonvulsant's effect of diazepam (p ≤ 0.05). Thus, these findings may suggest that acute use of NSAIDs, of selective COX-2 inhibitors, but not nonselective COX inhibitors potentiate the effect of diazepam's anticonvulsant effect and this interaction could be of pharmacodynamic type.
Critical Thinking vs. Critical Consciousness

This article explores four kinds of critical thinking. The first is found in Socratic dialogues, which employ critical thinking mainly to reveal logical fallacies in common opinions, thus cleansing superior minds of error and leaving philosophers free to contemplate universal verities. The second is critical interpretation (hermeneutics) which began as the attempt to reveal the hidden meanings of pagan oracles and the sacred texts of the Abrahamic religions, and evolved through sociology into contemporary literary criticism and semiotics. Third are the analytical techniques that comprise a set of instructions about “how to think” in accordance with the scientific method and technological rationality. Finally, there is radical criticism that interrogates every kind of inquiry and knowledge (including science) to reveal the human interests that they serve. Of the distinctively modern kinds of critical thinking, analytical techniques serve as the unofficial ideology of contemporary education. In the alternative, radical criticism – commonly but not inevitably associated with the Marxist tradition – questions that ideology, and produces a critical consciousness that dissents from the dominant pedagogy and politics of college life. All four – Socratic dialogues, hermeneutics, critical analysis and critical consciousness – are important precursors to, or examples of, critical thinking.
Mapping Forest Fuels through Vegetation Phenology: The Role of Coarse-Resolution Satellite Time-Series

Traditionally fuel maps are built in terms of ‘fuel types’, thus considering the structural characteristics of vegetation only. The aim of this work is to derive a phenological fuel map based on the functional attributes of coarse-scale vegetation phenology, such as seasonality and productivity. MODIS NDVI 250m images of Sardinia (Italy), a large Mediterranean island with high frequency of fire incidence, were acquired for the period 2000–2012 to construct a mean annual NDVI profile of the vegetation at the pixel-level. Next, the following procedure was used to develop the phenological fuel map: (i) image segmentation on the Fourier components of the NDVI profiles to identify phenologically homogeneous landscape units, (ii) cluster analysis of the phenological units and post-hoc analysis of the fire-proneness of the phenological fuel classes (PFCs) obtained, (iii) environmental characterization (in terms of land cover and climate) of the PFCs. Our results showed the ability of coarse-resolution satellite time-series to characterize the fire-proneness of Sardinia with an adequate level of accuracy. The remotely sensed phenological framework presented may represent a suitable basis for the development of fire distribution prediction models, coarse-scale fuel maps and for various biogeographic studies.
Activity of raltitrexed and gemcitabine in advanced pancreatic cancer.

BACKGROUND Gemcitabine has evolved as standard therapy in advanced pancreatic cancer since the demonstration of a significant clinical benefit. Phase II trials have shown that gemcitabine can be successfully combined with thymidylate synthase (TS) inhibitors such as continuous-infusion 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). However, continuous-infusion 5-FU is inconvenient because of the need for a central venous access. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of gemcitabine in combination with raltitrexed (Tomudex), a novel and selective TS inhibitor that has the advantage of a 3-weekly treatment interval and manageable toxicity. PATIENTS AND METHODS Chemotherapy-naïve patients with measurable advanced pancreatic cancer were treated with raltitrexed 3 mg/m(2) as a 15-min infusion on day 1 and gemcitabine 1000 mg/m(2) on days 1 and 8, every 21 days. RESULTS Twenty-five eligible patients (17 male, eight female) with metastatic (21 patients) or locally advanced (four patients) disease entered the study. The median number of courses per patient was four (range 1-14). One patient was not evaluable for response. There were three partial remissions [12%; 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.6% to 31.2%] and nine stable disease situations (36%; 95% CI 18.0% to 57.5%), while the tumours of 12 patients (48%; 95% CI 27.8% to 68.7%) showed progressive disease after three treatment cycles. WHO grade 3/4 toxicity was rare and symptomatic in only one patient, who experienced grade 4 diarrhoea and grade 3 nausea and vomiting. Symptomatic benefit was seen in 12 patients. Median survival was 185 days (95% CI 129-241) with six patients still alive. CONCLUSIONS The efficacy of raltitrexed plus gemcitabine is limited, but compares well with other chemotherapy treatment options in advanced pancreatic cancer. However, this combination is convenient and symptomatic toxicity is rare. Thus, raltitrexed and gemcitabine should be investigated further in combination with drugs interfering with specific molecular targets.
Reliability Improvements in AlGaN/GaN Schottky Barrier Diodes With a Gated Edge Termination

This paper focuses on the time-dependent breakdown of the AlGaN/GaN Schottky barrier diodes with a gated edge termination (GET) submitted to high-voltage stress. The impact of the GET structure, the passivation layer thickness, and a preclean process (sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide mixture + ammonia and hydrogen peroxide mixture) before the GET layer deposition on the time to breakdown <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${t}_{\text {BD}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> is analyzed. Initially, a reference structure with a single-GET structure, a thick passivation layer and excellent performance under dc, and pulse characterization is submitted to stress. The results show that the time to failure follows a Weibull distribution with high shape parameter values (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\beta \sim \text {3}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> and/or <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\beta \sim \text {5}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) related to intrinsic failure mechanisms. The exponential dependence of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${t}_{\text {BD}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> on the stress voltage suggests a degradation driven by the electric field, while lower thermal activation energies indicate that temperature acts as a weak acceleration factor. A more uniform distribution of the electric field—by adding an additional peak (double-GET structure) or with more equilibrated peaks (thin passivation structure)—and a more aggressive preclean process before the GET layer deposition improves the breakdown voltage and prolongs the device lifetime.
Flexural and impact behaviour of carbon/basalt fibers hybrid laminates

Basalt and E-glass fibers fabrics were combined with carbon fiber fabrics in order to prepare epoxy-based interlaminar hybrid composites and to investigate the hybridization effect on the flexural and impact properties of the resulting laminates. The flexural modulus of the composites depended on their composition according to a rule of mixture, while an important synergistic effect was detected for the ultimate flexural properties. Charpy impact tests evidenced a strength increase as basalt and glass fibers content increased. Interestingly, hybridization with basalt fibers promoted an increase of the adsorbed impact energy due to an enhancement of the fracture propagation component.
RNA Sequencing of Populus x canadensis Roots Identifies Key Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Physiological Adaption to Excess Zinc

Populus x canadensis clone I-214 exhibits a general indicator phenotype in response to excess Zn, and a higher metal uptake in roots than in shoots with a reduced translocation to aerial parts under hydroponic conditions. This physiological adaptation seems mainly regulated by roots, although the molecular mechanisms that underlie these processes are still poorly understood. Here, differential expression analysis using RNA-sequencing technology was used to identify the molecular mechanisms involved in the response to excess Zn in root. In order to maximize specificity of detection of differentially expressed (DE) genes, we consider the intersection of genes identified by three distinct statistical approaches (61 up- and 19 down-regulated) and validate them by RT-qPCR, yielding an agreement of 93% between the two experimental techniques. Gene Ontology (GO) terms related to oxidation-reduction processes, transport and cellular iron ion homeostasis were enriched among DE genes, highlighting the importance of metal homeostasis in adaptation to excess Zn by P. x canadensis clone I-214. We identified the up-regulation of two Populus metal transporters (ZIP2 and NRAMP1) probably involved in metal uptake, and the down-regulation of a NAS4 gene involved in metal translocation. We identified also four Fe-homeostasis transcription factors (two bHLH38 genes, FIT and BTS) that were differentially expressed, probably for reducing Zn-induced Fe-deficiency. In particular, we suggest that the down-regulation of FIT transcription factor could be a mechanism to cope with Zn-induced Fe-deficiency in Populus. These results provide insight into the molecular mechanisms involved in adaption to excess Zn in Populus spp. , but could also constitute a starting point for the identification and characterization of molecular markers or biotechnological targets for possible improvement of phytoremediation performances of poplar trees.
An Augmented User Model for Personalized Search in Collaborative Social Tagging Systems

Alongside the enormous volume of user-generated content posted to World Wide Web, there exists a thriving demand for search personalization services. To provide personalized services, a user model is usually required. We address the setting adopted by the majority of previous work, where a user model consists solely of the user’s past information. We construct an augmented user model from a number of tags and documents. These resources are further processed according to the user’s past information by exploring external knowledge base. A novel generative model is proposed for user model generation. This model utilizes recent advances in neural language models such as Word Embeddings with latent semantic models such as Latent Dirichlet Allocation. We further present a new query expansion method to facilitate the desired personalized retrieval. Experiments conducted on two real-world collaborative social tagging datasets show that our proposed methods outperform state-of-the-art methods.
Role of Doppler Velocimetry of Uterine Artery in Obstetrics: Review Article

Uterine artery Doppler studies detect the pathological increase in the placental vascular resistance. In highrisk patients, abnormal studies of Uterine artery Doppler can identify the adverse outcomes during pregnancy. Well timed interventions in these patients may improve the maternal and the neonatal outcome. Uterine artery Doppler in combination with maternal characteristics for the screening of low-risk patients is useful to predict the hypertensive disorders.
Burden of Disease from Toxic Waste Sites in India, Indonesia, and the Philippines in 2010

Background: Prior calculations of the burden of disease from toxic exposures have not included estimates of the burden from toxic waste sites due to the absence of exposure data. Objective: We developed a disability-adjusted life year (DALY)-based estimate of the disease burden attributable to toxic waste sites. We focused on three low- and middle-income countries (LMICs): India, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Methods: Sites were identified through the Blacksmith Institute’s Toxic Sites Identification Program, a global effort to identify waste sites in LMICs. At least one of eight toxic chemicals was sampled in environmental media at each site, and the population at risk estimated. By combining estimates of disease incidence from these exposures with population data, we calculated the DALYs attributable to exposures at each site. Results: We estimated that in 2010, 8,629,750 persons were at risk of exposure to industrial pollutants at 373 toxic waste sites in the three countries, and that these exposures resulted in 828,722 DALYs, with a range of 814,934–1,557,121 DALYs, depending on the weighting factor used. This disease burden is comparable to estimated burdens for outdoor air pollution (1,448,612 DALYs) and malaria (725,000 DALYs) in these countries. Lead and hexavalent chromium collectively accounted for 99.2% of the total DALYs for the chemicals evaluated. Conclusions: Toxic waste sites are responsible for a significant burden of disease in LMICs. Although some factors, such as unidentified and unscreened sites, may cause our estimate to be an underestimate of the actual burden of disease, other factors, such as extrapolation of environmental sampling to the entire exposed population, may result in an overestimate of the burden of disease attributable to these sites. Toxic waste sites are a major, and heretofore underrecognized, global health problem.
Pharmacokinetic comparisons of S-oxiracetam and R-oxiracetam in beagle dogs

Abstract A pharmacokinetic comparison and conformational stability study of S-oxiracetam (S-ORT) and R-oxiracetam (R-ORT) in beagle dogs was used to investigate the possible mechanism of different effects of two oxiracetam enantiomers through a random crossover design. After drug administration to beagle dogs, blood samples were collected at different time points for pharmacokinetic analysis using the UPLC-ESI-MS/MS method. Parts of plasma samples were used for conformation transformation studies using a normal phase high performance liquid chromatographic (NP HPLC) method. The study showed that oxiracetam enantiomers maintained their original conformation when administered orally to beagle dogs. Concentrations of S-ORT were significantly higher than R-ORT 1.5 and 2 h after administration; the AUC0-∞ of S-ORT after oral administration tended to be higher than that of R-ORT, which showed that the different effects between S-ORT and R-ORT may be partly associated with their distinctive absorption at least.