Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The “organic” path to obesity? Organic claims influence calorie judgments
 and exercise recommendations

Labeling a food as “organic” entails a claim about its production but is silent on its calorie content. Nevertheless, people infer that organic cookies are lower in calories and can be eaten more often than conventional cookies (Study 1). These inferences are observed even when the nutrition label conveys identical calorie content and are more pronounced among perceivers high on pro-environmentalism. Moreover, when evaluating a person with a weight-loss goal, forgoing exercise is deemed more acceptable when the person has just chosen organic rather than conventional dessert (Study 2). These results reflect an “organic/natural”-“healthy” association that is capable of biasing everyday judgments about diet and exercise.
Climate Change and Watershed Hydrology: Part I - Recent and Projected Changes in British Columbia

Introduction The cli mate of Brit ish Colum bia is chang ing, and with these changes come many adjust ments in water shed hydrol ogy and ulti mately in our use of water-related resources. For exam ple, declin ing snowpacks are a con cern because they affect many aspects of water resources, from instream flows for fish to com mu nity water sup plies to soil mois ture, ground wa ter, and aqui fer recharge (BCMOE 2007). Because Brit ish Colum bia is hydrologically diverse, the local responses to the antic i pated changes in pre cip i ta tion and tem per a ture will dif fer. As a guide to what might hap pen in the future, this arti cle (Part I) sum ma rizes his tor i cal tem per a ture and pre cip i ta tion trends and future cli mate sce nar ios for Brit ish Colum bia. The accom pa ny ing arti cle (Part II) dis cusses eight broad hydrologic implications of climate change in British Columbia.
One year follow up study of primary and transitional progressive multiple sclerosis

OBJECTIVE To document clinical and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) characteristics of a large cohort of primary and transitional progressive multiple sclerosis (PP and TP MS) patients over one year. INTRODUCTION Patients with PP or TP MS have been shown to have low brain T2 and T1 lesion loads and slow rates of new lesion formation with minimal gadolinium enhancement, despite their accumulating disability. Serial evaluation of these patients is needed to elucidate the pathological processes responsible for disease progression and to identify clinical and MRI measures which can monitor these processes in treatment trials. METHOD Patients, recruited from six European centres, underwent two assessments on the expanded disability status scale (EDSS) and MRI of the brain and spinal cord, 1 year apart. RESULTS Of the 167 patients studied (137 with PP MS and 30 with TP MS), 41 (25%; 35 PP and six TP) showed a one step increase in the EDSS. The mean number of new brain lesions seen was 0.88 in the PP group and 0.47 in the TP MS group. Both groups demonstrated change in T2 lesion load over the year (p⩽0.002), with median percentage changes of 7.3% in the PP group and 10.8% in the TP MS group. The PP group also showed a significant change in T1 load (p< 0.001, median change 12.6%). The number of new cord lesions seen was small (mean of 0.14 in the PP group and no new cord lesions in the TP group). Both groups demonstrated a decrease in cord cross sectional area (p< 0.001, median changes; PP 3.8%, TP 4.9%), but only the PP group showed evidence of significant brain atrophy (p< 0.001, 0.95%). CONCLUSION Although the monitoring of disease progression in this patient group is difficult, this study demonstrates changes in both lesion load and atrophy, which, if shown to correlate with clinical change over a longer time will facilitate therapeutic trial design.
Comparison of the effect of multimedia and illustrated booklet educational methods on women's knowledge of prenatal care

Background: E-learning can increase knowledge in patients and provide an efficient way to enhance the personnel–patient interaction as well as patient-specific education materials. So, the aim of this study was to compare the effects of two methods, multimedia and illustrated booklet educational method, on primigravida women's knowledge of prenatal care. Materials and Methods: This was a quasi-experimental study based on pre- and post-tests carried out on 100 primigravida women (50 in electronic and 50 in illustrated booklet groups) referring to Navabsafavi Health Center of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences in 2012. Subjects were randomly divided into two groups of learning interventions, including multimedia and illustrated booklet. Subjects’ knowledge scores were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire with 50 questions. Results: Before training, the mean scores (out of 50) of knowledge in e-learning and illustrated booklet education groups were 29.21 ± 7.4 and 30.01 ± 6.4, respectively. The difference between the mean scores was not significant 4-6 weeks after education. The score was 44.74 ± 3.4 in the e-learning group and 40.74 ± 6.4 in the illustrated booklet group, which showed a statistically significant difference (P < 0.01). Also, the level of knowledge increased in e-learning and illustrated booklet groups as 61% and 37%, respectively. Conclusion: This study showed that the courses of e-learning training improved the knowledge of pregnant women to a higher extent compared to illustrated booklet education. Therefore, different aspects of e-learning, including computer literacy and infrastructure of telecommunications, should be revised.
Remote Sensing Contributions to Prediction and Risk Assessment of Natural Disasters Caused by Large-Scale Rift Valley Fever Outbreaks

Remotely sensed vegetation measurements for the last 30 years combined with other climate data sets such as rainfall and sea surface temperatures have come to play an important role in the study of the ecology of arthropod-borne diseases. We show that epidemics and epizootics of previously unpredictable Rift Valley fever (RVF) are directly influenced by large-scale flooding associated with the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO). This flooding affects the ecology of disease transmitting arthropod vectors through vegetation development and other bioclimatic factors. This information is now utilized to monitor, model, and map areas of potential RVF outbreaks and is used as an early warning system for risk reduction of outbreaks to human and animal health, trade, and associated economic impacts. The continuation of such satellite measurements is critical to anticipating, preventing, and managing disease epidemics and epizootics and other climate-related disasters.
Analysis of Bayes, Neural Network and Tree Classifier of Classification Technique in Data Mining using WEKA

In today’s world, gigantic amount of data is available in science, industry, business and many other areas. This data can provide valuable information which can be used by management for making important decisions. But problem is that how can find valuable information. The answer is data mining. Data Mining is popular topic among researchers. There is lot of work that cannot be explored till now. But, this paper focuses on the fundamental concept of the Data mining i.e. Classification Techniques. In this paper BayesNet, NavieBayes, NavieBayes Uptable, Multilayer perceptron, Voted perceptron and J48 classifiers are used for the classification of data set. The performance of these classifiers analyzed with the help of Mean Absolute Error, Root Mean-Squared Error and Time Taken to build the model and the result can be shown statistical as well as graphically. For this purpose the WEKA data mining tool is used. KEY TERM’S BayesNet, J48, Mean Absolute Error, NavieBayes, Root Mean-Squared Error
Neonatal Diabetes Caused by Activating Mutations in the Sulphonylurea Receptor

Adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-sensitive potassium (KATP) channels in pancreatic β-cells play a crucial role in insulin secretion and glucose homeostasis. These channels are composed of two subunits: a pore-forming subunit (Kir6.2) and a regulatory subunit (sulphonylurea receptor-1). Recent studies identified large number of gain of function mutations in the regulatory subunit of the channel which cause neonatal diabetes. Majority of mutations cause neonatal diabetes alone, however some lead to a severe form of neonatal diabetes with associated neurological complications. This review focuses on the functional effects of these mutations as well as the implications for treatment.
Relational joins on graphics processors

We present a novel design and implementation of relational join algorithms for new-generation graphics processing units (GPUs). The most recent GPU features include support for writing to random memory locations, efficient inter-processor communication, and a programming model for general-purpose computing. Taking advantage of these new features, we design a set of data-parallel primitives such as split and sort, and use these primitives to implement indexed or non-indexed nested-loop, sort-merge and hash joins. Our algorithms utilize the high parallelism as well as the high memory bandwidth of the GPU, and use parallel computation and memory optimizations to effectively reduce memory stalls. We have implemented our algorithms on a PC with an NVIDIA G80 GPU and an Intel quad-core CPU. Our GPU-based join algorithms are able to achieve a performance improvement of 2-7X over their optimized CPU-based counterparts.
A New Supervised Method for Blood Vessel Segmentation in Retinal Images by Using Gray-Level and Moment Invariants-Based Features

This paper presents a new supervised method for blood vessel detection in digital retinal images. This method uses a neural network (NN) scheme for pixel classification and computes a 7-D vector composed of gray-level and moment invariants-based features for pixel representation. The method was evaluated on the publicly available DRIVE and STARE databases, widely used for this purpose, since they contain retinal images where the vascular structure has been precisely marked by experts. Method performance on both sets of test images is better than other existing solutions in literature. The method proves especially accurate for vessel detection in STARE images. Its application to this database (even when the NN was trained on the DRIVE database) outperforms all analyzed segmentation approaches. Its effectiveness and robustness with different image conditions, together with its simplicity and fast implementation, make this blood vessel segmentation proposal suitable for retinal image computer analyses such as automated screening for early diabetic retinopathy detection.
State-ofthe art and future in-car navigation systems – a survey

A survey of the information sources and information fusion technologies used in the current in-car navigation systems is presented. The pros and cons of the four commonly used information sources GNSS/RF-based positioning, vehicle motion sensors, vehicle models and map information are described. Common filters to combine the information from the various sources are discussed. A prediction of possible tracks in the further development of in-car navigation systems concludes the survey.
Isolation and Identification of Fungi Associated with the Spoilage of Sweet Orange (Citrus Sinensis) Fruits In Sokoto State

This study was carried out in Sokoto Metropolis to isolate and identify fungi associated with the deterioration of sweet orange fruits. A total of one hundred samples of fresh sweet Oranges (Citrus sinensis L) were used. First, a total of seventy samples were obtained from the three selected marketing centres in Sokoto metropolis (Central market, Kasuwar daji and Old market respectively), and transported immediately to mycology laboratory Usmanu Danfodio University, Sokoto for analysis. The oranges were kept under room temperature and observed after two weeks for spoilage. Each of the orange was cut and the liquid content inoculated on potato Dextrose Agar and incubated at 250c and observed for 3-28 days after which the different colonies obtained were identified using the slide culture technique. The fungal analysis shows that Apergillus fumigatus, Apergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus and Rhizopus stolonifer are associated with the spoilt sweet orange fruit (Citrus sinensis) with frequencies of occurrence of 22%, 17 %, 25 % 36% respectively. Fresh sweet orange fruits (thirty samples: ten each from the three markets respectively) were obtained, and the isolated culture for each of the identified fungi specie inoculated on each of the freshly purchased oranges and incubated to check for their spoilage ability. The result shows that R. stolonifer and A. flavus were the most active with rots diameter of 45 mm and 35 mm, respectively. And the least active fungus was A. niger having a rots diameter of 25mm.
Novel Radiofrequency Ablation Strategies for Terminating Atrial Fibrillation in the Left Atrium: A Simulation Study

Pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) with radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is the cornerstone of atrial fibrillation (AF) therapy, but few strategies exist for when it fails. To guide RFA, phase singularity (PS) mapping locates reentrant electrical waves (rotors) that perpetuate AF. The goal of this study was to test existing and develop new RFA strategies for terminating rotors identified with PS mapping. It is unsafe to test experimental RFA strategies in patients, so they were evaluated in silico using a bilayer computer model of the human atria with persistent AF (pAF) electrical (ionic) and structural (fibrosis) remodeling. pAF was initiated by rapidly pacing the right (RSPV) and left (LSPV) superior pulmonary veins during sinus rhythm, and rotor dynamics quantified by PS analysis. Three RFA strategies were studied: (i) PVI, roof, and mitral lines; (ii) circles, perforated circles, lines, and crosses 0.5–1.5 cm in diameter/length administered near rotor locations/pathways identified by PS mapping; and (iii) 4–8 lines streamlining the sequence of electrical activation during sinus rhythm. As in pAF patients, 2 ± 1 rotors with cycle length 185 ± 4 ms and short PS duration 452 ± 401 ms perpetuated simulated pAF. Spatially, PS density had weak to moderate positive correlations with fibrosis density (RSPV: r = 0.38, p = 0.35, LSPV: r = 0.77, p = 0.02). RFA PVI, mitral, and roof lines failed to terminate pAF, but RFA perforated circles and lines 1.5 cm in diameter/length terminated meandering rotors from RSPV pacing when placed at locations with high PS density. Similarly, RFA circles, perforated circles, and crosses 1.5 cm in diameter/length terminated stationary rotors from LSPV pacing. The most effective strategy for terminating pAF was to streamline the sequence of activation during sinus rhythm with >4 RFA lines. These results demonstrate that co-localizing 1.5 cm RFA lesions with locations of high PS density is a promising strategy for terminating pAF rotors. For patients immune to PVI, roof, mitral, and PS guided RFA strategies, streamlining patient-specific activation sequences during sinus rhythm is a robust but challenging alternative.
The development of stochastic based transport models to predict the advection and diffusion of bed-load sediment

Many morphological and environmental problems in rivers are associated with the transport of sediment, in particular with the movement of material along the stream bed. The complex nature of turbulent flow and the variability inherent within granular beds, along with the mutual influence one plays on the other, can only be described using the concepts of probability. It follows that the intermittent motion of bed-load particles can be termed by random variables. The stochasticity of key variables has been recently identified as a source of diffusion, i.e. suggesting that a plume of bed-load grains tends to spread while moving in the main flow direction. In this study the application of a Lagrangian analysis to existing high-frequency measurements of moving natural gravel particles contained in a tracking database helped to identify and scale the diffusive regimes related to different stages of grains' motion. Lagrangian tracking data allowed for an in-depth, study of the stochasticity of the particle step length, i.e. the single longitudinal distance computed by a grain from the entrainment to the deposition. The information on the distributed step lengths is then incorporated into a modified version of the Exner mass balance equation which has been developed to model the experimental advective and diffusive transport observed in long duration flume experiments with graded bed deposits comprised of natural sand and crashed marble gravel that have been previously reported. The modelling results indicate that the relative size of bed roughness, together with the thickness of the mixing surficial layer of the bed, play a major role in dictating the pattern of behaviour of particle motion. As the time-dependent burial depth of grains influences the vertical mixing and therefore the downstream diffusion of particles, concentrating the research only on the surficial motion of particles appears restrictive. In order to attain an insight view of the bed and to overcome the previous experimental limitations in terms of the description of the particle step distribution, a non-intrusive technique has been implemented in an annular flume to track the time history of tracing grains subject to intermittent motion in a bed made of transparent glass beads. In the light of the new information on particle transport, a more general Exner-based model incorporates the idea that tracer particles arriving at position x at time t started their random hops r at many different times. Its application to the latest sediment tracer concentration data has proven to be promising in that convincing detailed descriptions of the observed advective and diffusive behaviour of bed-load transport were obtained.
Finger detection and hand posture recognition based on depth information

In this work, we propose a novel framework for automatic finger detection and hand posture recognition, based mainly on depth information. Our method locates apex-shaped structures in a hand contour and deals efficiently with the challenging problem of partially merged fingers. Hand posture recognition is achieved using Fourier Descriptors of the contour, while global information about the fingers helps reducing the size of the search space. Our experiments on a dataset obtained from a Kinect device confirm the high recognition accuracy of our approach.
Competitive and Strategic Effects in the Timing of Patch Release

The relationship between quality and market concentration has long been of interest to both policy makers and economists. In our application, we focus on the effect of competition on one aspect of software quality – time taken by software vendors to release patches that fix vulnerabilities. We empirically estimate how the extent of competition affects the timing of patch release using a novel dataset assembled for the purposes of this research. Competition in the context of information security has two separate effects: First is the disclosure threat effect - the possibility of any of the other vendors that are also affected by the same vulnerability, releasing patch earlier, thereby implicitly disclosing the vulnerability. Second is the competition effect, which is the effect of end users penalizing laggards, by comparing responses of vendors that also sell a similar product. Our results suggest disclosure threat hastens the arrival of a patch by about 24 days, whereas competition effect hastens patch release by 52 days on average. Further, firms with larger sales (of the product) patch faster: a 10% increase in firm sales is associated with an earlier patch release by about 2.5 days. Therefore, our results support the notion that greater competition results in better ex-post service quality. Further, to the extent that earlier patch release minimizes consumer loss, our results suggest that when higher number vendors are affected by the same vulnerability end user losses are lower, thereby leading to better social outcomes.
Pulmonary Hyperinflation and Left Ventricular Mass: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis COPD Study

Background— Left ventricular (LV) mass is an important predictor of heart failure and cardiovascular mortality, yet determinants of LV mass are incompletely understood. Pulmonary hyperinflation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) may contribute to changes in intrathoracic pressure that increase LV wall stress. We therefore hypothesized that residual lung volume in COPD would be associated with greater LV mass. Methods and Results— The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) COPD Study recruited smokers 50 to 79 years of age who were free of clinical cardiovascular disease. LV mass was measured by cardiac magnetic resonance. Pulmonary function testing was performed according to guidelines. Regression models were used to adjust for age, sex, body size, blood pressure, and other cardiac risk factors. Among 119 MESA COPD Study participants, the mean age was 69±6 years, 55% were male, and 65% had COPD, mostly of mild or moderate severity. Mean LV mass was 128±34 g. Residual lung volume was independently associated with greater LV mass (7.2 g per 1-SD increase in residual volume; 95% confidence interval, 2.2–12; P=0.004) and was similar in magnitude to that of systolic blood pressure (7.6 g per 1-SD increase in systolic blood pressure; 95% confidence interval, 4.3–11; P<0.001). Similar results were observed for the ratio of LV mass to end-diastolic volume (P=0.02) and with hyperinflation measured as residual volume to total lung capacity ratio (P=0.009). Conclusions— Pulmonary hyperinflation, as measured by residual lung volume or residual lung volume to total lung capacity ratio, is associated with greater LV mass.
Heart attacks and lower-limb function in master endurance athletes.

PURPOSE Whether very vigorous physical activity bestows on the participant more health benefits or more adverse effects is unclear: we investigated whether men participating in competitive endurance sports in middle and old age are at increased risk of heart attacks as well as of lower-limb osteoarthritis and disability. METHODS In our cohort study with an 11-yr follow-up, we studied 269 male orienteering runners (mean age 48.6 yr at baseline; range 37-61), who in 1984 were placed among the 60 best in their master orienteer age-class in Finland, and 188 male nonsmoking controls (mean age 50.4 yr; range 39-61) classified as healthy at 20 yr of age and without overt ischemic heart disease up until 1985. We followed mortality and studied the prevalence of questionnaire-reported physician-diagnosed diseases and disabilities at the end of the follow-up in late 1995. RESULTS Two (0.7%) of the 269 runners and 10 (5.3%) of the 188 controls had suffered myocardial infarctions during the follow-up, the age-adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence interval) being 0.15 (0.03-0.67) in runners compared with controls (P = 0.0059). At follow-up, orienteering runners reported knee osteoarthritis and knee pain more often than did the controls, whereas the occurrence of hip osteoarthritis and hip pain did not differ. Disability due to hip or knee pain after the same everyday activities tended to be less in the runners. CONCLUSION In top-level master endurance athletes having a long-term training background and participating in competitive endurance sports, the risk both of heart attack and of lower-limb disability is low.