Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Skeletal muscle as the major site of nonshivering thermogenesis in cold-acclimated ducklings.

Despite their lack of brown adipose tissue, 6-wk-old cold-acclimated muscovy ducklings (4 degrees C; CA) exhibit nonshivering thermogenesis (NST) in the cold. To determine the site of this NST, the regional distribution of blood flow was measured by the microsphere method in the thermoneutral zone (25 degrees C) and during acute exposure to cold (8 degrees C). Ducklings reared at thermal neutrality (TN), which use shivering to produce extra heat in the cold, were compared with CA ducklings, which substitute NST for shivering. Further, the contribution of skeletal muscle thermogenesis to the increased heat production in the cold was estimated by measuring leg muscle blood flow and arteriovenous difference in oxygen content [(a-v)O2] across the leg, enabling an estimation of muscle O2 consumption. During cold exposure, a similar increase in total leg muscle blood flow occurred in TN and CA ducklings (+127 and +130% respectively), while hepatic arterial blood flow increased less (+56 to +37%, respectively). This rise in blood flow was accounted for by an increase in cardiac output, which was smaller in CA than in TN ducklings, and in both groups by a redistribution of blood flow to the most thermogenic organs (skeletal muscles and liver). The (a-v)O2 across the leg was not changed by cold exposure, indicating that the increase in leg muscle O2 consumption resulted mainly from the increase in blood flow. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Histogram of Oriented Gradients for writer's gender, handedness and age prediction

This work focuses on automatic prediction of the writer's biometrics including gender, handedness and age information. The proposed prediction system is based on the use of Histogram of Oriented Gradients (HOG), which aims to extract gradient directions from the handwritten text. The prediction task is achieved using SVM classifier. Experiments performed on IAM and KHATT datasets, reveal promising results. Precisely, the comparison with the state of the art shows that, the proposed prediction system provides quite encouraging performance.
Multi-Stage Adjustable Robust Mixed-Integer Optimization via Iterative Splitting of the Uncertainty Set

In this paper we propose a methodology for constructing decision rules for integer and continuous decision variables in multiperiod robust linear optimization problems. This type of problem finds application in, for example, inventory management, lot sizing, and manpower management. We show that by iteratively splitting the uncertainty set into subsets, one can differentiate the later-period decisions based on the revealed uncertain parameters. At the same time, the problem’s computational complexity stays at the same level, as for the static robust problem. This also holds in the nonfixed recourse situation. In the fixed recourse situation our approach can be combined with linear decision rules for the continuous decision variables. We provide theoretical results on splitting the uncertainty set by identifying sets of uncertain parameter scenarios to be divided for an improvement in the worst-case objective value. Based on this theory, we propose several splitting heuristics. Numerical examples entailing.
The Influence of a Peer‐Pairing Program on International Students' First Year Experience and Use of Student Services

ABSTRACT Newly‐arrived first year undergraduate international students were paired with host national students who had received brief training in intercultural communication and information on campus services. The hosts were asked to keep a twice‐monthly contact with their students during first year. At the end of the year, all first year international students were surveyed and the responses of 41 students who had been in the peer‐pairing program were compared with a matched sample of those who had not participated. The academic results of a smaller sample of participants were compared with a group of non‐participants matched precisely for course of enrolment. The results support a view that structured contact between host and international students can have beneficial effects on international students' experience. Participants were more likely than non‐participants to choose positive descriptors of their year, to have used campus services and to report gains in language fluency. There were no significan.
INNOVATING ‘DIFFUSION OF INNOVATION’ THEORY: INNOVATION CHARACTERISTICS AND THE INTENTION OF UTILITY COMPANIES TO ADOPT ENERGY CONSERVATION INTERVENTIONS

The main purpose of the study presented here was to assess the capacity of the innovation attributes proposed in Rogers' diffusion theory (1995) to predict the intention to adopt energy conservation interventions. It also provided a first test of some refinements to Rogers' theory, proposed by Darley and Beniger (1981). Furthermore, as an elaboration of diffusion theory, this study examined whether the assessment of innovation attributes is a stepwise process. Questionnaires and face-to-face interviews were used to collect data. Results indicate that perceived compatibility is a general and important predictor of the intention to adopt energy conservation interventions. Support was found for some of the refinements to diffusion theory proposed by Darley and Beniger (1981). Moreover, the study partly confirmed the idea that the evaluation of an innovation on its attributes is a stepwise process. For two of the four energy conservation interventions it was found that the intervention was first of all judged on its advantage. If the perceived advantage was minor, a potential adopter often decided to reject an innovation solely on the basis of this assessment. If the perceived advantage was high, the evaluation process usually continued; perceived compatibility then became the second evaluation criterion. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.
Hypervascular hepatocellular carcinoma: evaluation of hemodynamics with dynamic CT during hepatic arteriography.

PURPOSE To assess the hemodynamics and the main drainage vessel of hypervascular hepatocellular carcinoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS Single-level dynamic computed tomography during hepatic arteriography (CTHA) was performed in 32 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. Carcinoma was confirmed with histologic (n = 9) or clinical (n = 23) examination results. Single-level CTHA findings were retrospectively analyzed. Histologic specimens from 40 livers with hepatocellular carcinoma were also examined, with special attention to vessels along the rim of the lesion. RESULTS Contrast material enhancement on single-level CTHA images occurred in four phases: (a) inflow of the contrast material into tumor, (b) tumor enhancement, (c) inflow of the contrast material into adjacent liver, and (d) corona enhancement of adjacent liver. Corona enhancement was seen in all lesions. A bright branching structure in the corona enhancement area, suggestive of a portal venule, was visible at the start of adjacent liver staining in 21 lesions. Continuity between a tumor sinusoid and a tiny vessel in the inner layer of the pseudocapsule was histologically confirmed in 10 of 40 specimens. Continuity between a tiny vessel in the inner layer and a portal vein in the outer layer of the pseudocapsule was confirmed with findings on serial sections from one liver. CONCLUSION The main drainage of hepatocellular carcinoma lesions may be a protal venule.
The proactive brain: memory for predictions

It is proposed that the human brain is proactive in that it continuously generates predictions that anticipate the relevant future. In this proposal, analogies are derived from elementary information that is extracted rapidly from the input, to link that input with the representations that exist in memory. Finding an analogical link results in the generation of focused predictions via associative activation of representations that are relevant to this analogy, in the given context. Predictions in complex circumstances, such as social interactions, combine multiple analogies. Such predictions need not be created afresh in new situations, but rather rely on existing scripts in memory, which are the result of real as well as of previously imagined experiences. This cognitive neuroscience framework provides a new hypothesis with which to consider the purpose of memory, and can help explain a variety of phenomena, ranging from recognition to first impressions, and from the brain's ‘default mode’ to a host of mental disorders.
Reading, phonological skills and short‐term memory: interactive tributaries of development

Short-term memory, phonological processing and reading are associated abilities, but the causal relationships between them are yet to be determined. A longitudinal study of 40 children as they develop from 5 to 7 years old is analysed to investigate the interactive development of these skills. In children who have not yet begun to read it appears that phonological skills promote the acquisition of letter knowledge and that these two abilities, together with visual STM, lead the development of reading. The pattern changes once reading acquisition begins. LISREL analyses demonstrate that reading now promotes further growth of phonological skills and auditory STM, and these phonological skills in turn lead to the development of visual STM. The acquisition of reading makes relevant active phonological processing in short-term memory and thus stimulates the development of these skills.
Real-World Performance of Cryptographic Accumulators

Cryptographic accumulators have often been proposed for use in security protocols, and the theoretical runtimes of algorithms using them have been shown to be reasonably eﬃcient, but their performance in the real world has rarely been measured. In this paper I analyze the performance diﬀerences between two cryptographic accumulator constructions, RSA accumulators and bilinear-map accumulators, based on a realistic practical implementation in C++. I ﬁrst discuss the theoretical diﬀerences between the constructions and their runtimes, showing that both algorithms present the opportunity for parallel computation. Then I describe an experiment that measures the actual running time of these algorithms on current commodity hardware, and discuss the optimizations I was actually able to make in their code. Finally, I present and analyze the experimental results, which show that the bilinear-map accumulator performs faster than the RSA accumulator in almost all cases, and should be the preferred implementation for practical security systems as long as the size of the set to be accumulated can be given a reasonable upper bound.
Detection of out-of-vocabulary words in posterior based ASR

Over the years, sophisticated techniques for utilizing the prior knowledge in the form of text-derived language model and in pronunciation lexicon evolved. However, their use has an undesirable effect: unexpected lexical items (words) in the phrase are replaced by acoustically acceptable in-vocabulary items [1]. This is the major source of error since the replacement often introduces additional errors [2, 3]. Improving the machine ability to handle these unexpected words would considerably increase the utility of speech recognition technology.
Effects of Temperature, Sulfide, and Food Abundance on Growth and Feeding of Anaerobic Ciliates

The trophic role of ciliates in anaerobic food webs has not been assessed experimentally. In order to obtain basic information necessary to interpret field situations, we studied the effects of temperature, sulfide concentration, and food abundance on the growth and feeding activities of two anaerobic ciliates, Plagiopyla nasuta and Metopus es. The growth rate of P. nasuta increased with temperature from 8 to 18°C (Q10 = 2.0) and remained constant in the range between 18 and 24°C (0.22 day-1). Sulfide concentrations of between 0 and 1 mM did not affect the feeding activities, but concentrations greater than 2 mM were inhibitory. The functional response of P. nasuta feeding on fluorescently labeled heterotrophic and phototrophic bacteria was investigated. In both cases, the parameters of the functional response were almost identical when expressed in terms of biovolume: the maximal uptake rate (Um) was 1,800 μm3 ciliate-1 h-1 and the half-saturation constant for ingestion (k) was 1.5 × 107 μm3 ml-1. The functional response of M. es feeding on heterotrophic bacteria was found to be similar to that of P. nasuta. These ciliates needed high bacterial abundances in order to maintain their growth (k of about 4 × 107 bacteria ml-1), implying that they will frequently be food limited in planktonic environments. Both the maximal uptake rates and the maximal clearance rates were comparable to those of aerobic ciliates. By combining the growth and feeding data, we estimated gross growth efficiencies of 12 and 13% for P. nasuta and M. es, respectively. These results indicate that the feeding rates of anaerobic ciliates are similar to those of aerobic ciliates. Their slower growth must, therefore, be due to the lower gross growth efficiency (likely due to anaerobic metabolism).
Evaluation of the Cardiotoxicity of Mitragynine and Its Analogues Using Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomyocytes

Introduction Mitragynine is a major bioactive compound of Kratom, which is derived from the leave extracts of Mitragyna speciosa Korth or Mitragyna speciosa (M. speciosa), a medicinal plant from South East Asia used legally in many countries as stimulant with opioid-like effects for the treatment of chronic pain and opioid-withdrawal symptoms. Fatal incidents with Mitragynine have been associated with cardiac arrest. In this study, we determined the cardiotoxicity of Mitragynine and other chemical constituents isolated using human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs). Methods and Results The rapid delayed rectifier potassium current (I Kr), L-type Ca2+ current (I Ca,L) and action potential duration (APD) were measured by whole cell patch-clamp. The expression of KCNH2 and cytotoxicity was determined by real-time PCR and Caspase activity measurements. After significant I Kr suppression by Mitragynine (10 µM) was confirmed in hERG-HEK cells, we systematically examined the effects of Mitragynine and other chemical constituents in hiPSC-CMs. Mitragynine, Paynantheine, Speciogynine and Speciociliatine, dosage-dependently (0.1∼100 µM) suppressed I Kr in hiPSC-CMs by 67% ∼84% with IC50 ranged from 0.91 to 2.47 µM. Moreover, Mitragynine (10 µM) significantly prolonged APD at 50 and 90% repolarization (APD50 and APD90) (439.0±11.6 vs. 585.2±45.5 ms and 536.0±22.6 vs. 705.9±46.1 ms, respectively) and induced arrhythmia, without altering the L-type Ca2+ current. Neither the expression,and intracellular distribution of KCNH2/Kv11.1, nor the Caspase 3 activity were significantly affected by Mitragynine. Conclusions Our study indicates that Mitragynine and its analogues may potentiate Torsade de Pointes through inhibition of I Kr in human cardiomyocytes.
Human cytomegalovirus is present in odontogenic cysts.

INTRODUCTION Recent studies suggest that some viruses, including human cytomegalovirus (CMV), may be involved in the pathogenesis of periapical lesions. Since periapical cysts (PCs) represent the next stage in the evolution of periapical granuloma, it seemed reasonable to investigate the presence of CMV in PCs and any possible relationship between its presence and the clinical features of those cysts, as well as to compare the results obtained with corresponding findings in non-inflammatory lesions, like odontogenic keratocysts (OKCs). METHODS Samples of 33 PCs and 10 OKCs, obtained at the time of surgery, were used for the detection of CMV DNA by polymerase chain reaction. Presence of the virus was correlated with clinical and radiographic features of the cysts. RESULTS CMV was detected in 18 PCs (54.5%) and six OKCs (60%). The presence of CMV was more frequent in cyst samples collected from patients who reported previous episodes of acute infection. The presence of sinus tract was more frequent in CMV-positive cysts and CMV presence was less frequent in a group of cysts showing signs of acute inflammation at the time of sample collection. The mean sizes of CMV-positive and CMV-negative PCs were almost the same; CMV-positive OKCs were slightly larger than CMV-negative OKCs. None of these results proved to be statistically significant. CONCLUSION The presence of CMV in the cystic wall is a common feature of both inflammatory and non-inflammatory odontogenic cysts. Although this study has not proved that CMV affects pathogenesis of odontogenic cysts, such a possibility could not be ruled out.
Decennial diphtheria-tetanus adult boosters: are they really necessary?

Summary Available epidemiological data shows that an average number of 59 cases of tetanus per year are still reported in Italy. Most of cases (80.2%) occur in subjects > 64 years-old. Furthermore, the proportion of females among subjects ≥ 65 years-old is significantly higher than males (87.7% vs. 64.4%, p < 0.0001). Seroprevalence data show that the percentage of subjects with protective tetanus antibody levels (> 0.1 IU/ml) decreases with increasing age. Most people aged ≥ 65 years are unprotected. The antibody levels are higher in males than females (p < 0.001) in subjects > 25 years-old. Conversely, extensive childhood immunization and adequate boosting vaccination of adults led to the near-elimination of diphtheria in Western countries. The current Italian National Immunization Prevention Plan 2012- 2014 recommends the administration of a primary vaccine course in the first year of life and booster at the preschool age, in adolescents and in adults every 10 years. Nevertheless, the need for decennial booster doses is debated by some experts, who state that the best time to offer a single dose of vaccine against tetanus and diphtheria is the age of 50, since low levels of antibody titers are observed. Considering the availability of combined vaccines against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTaP or dTaP), and the increasing incidence of pertussis in infants, who are at highest risk of serious complications, in adolescents and in adults, some countries have introduced decennial dTaP in the adults immunization schedule. It is desirable that this recommendation is also introduced in the future Italian Immunization Prevention Plan. The present review overviews the epidemiological data and the immunization strategies against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis in Italy, discussing the rationale not only of decennial dT booster but also of the dTaP booster.
Positive psychology at work: A conceptual review, state-of-practice assessment, and a look ahead

Positive psychological principles have become increasingly prevalent in the workplace in recent years. However, the field still lacks a comprehensive and practice-based overview of this important trend. The present article focuses on reviewing recent research in positive psychology as it relates to the workplace, including research regarding constructs such as resilience, appreciative inquiry, empowerment, gratitude, psychological capital, work engagement, supervisor and organizational support, positive teamwork and co-worker relations, and positive leadership. For each, we synthesize research examining the nature of the construct itself, its nomological network, individual- and organizational-level outcomes, and how organizations can enhance each within their employees for increased organizational success and enhanced employee experience. Finally, we discuss gaps in the relevant literature and make specific recommendations regarding how to ameliorate such oversights in order to enhance the rigor of positive workplace research as well as the frequency and efficacy of relevant organizational interventions.
Transforming Curves on Surfaces Redux

Almost exactly 100 years ago, Max Dehn described the first combinatorial algorithm to determine whether two given cycles on a compact surface are homotopic, meaning one cycle can be continuously deformed into the other without leaving the surface. We describe a simple variant of Dehn's algorithm that runs in linear time, with no hidden dependence on the genus of the surface. Specifically, given two closed vertex-edge walks of length at most e in a combinatorial surface of complexity n, our algorithm determines whether the walks are homotopic in O(n + e) time. Our algorithm simplifies and corrects a similar algorithm of Dey and Guha [JCSS 1999] and simplifies the more recent algorithm of Lazarus and Rivaud [FOCS 2012], who identified a subtle flaw in Dey and Guha's results. Our algorithm combines components of these earlier algorithms, classical results in small cancellation theory by Gersten and Short [Inventiones 1990], and simple run-length encoding.
Extragenic suppressors of a dominant masculinizing her‐1 mutation in C. elegans identify two new genes that affect sex determination in different ways

Summary: The her‐1 regulatory switch gene in C. elegans sex determination is normally active in XO animals, resulting in male development, and inactive in XX animals, allowing hermaphrodite development. The her‐1(n695gf) mutation results in the incomplete transformation of XX animals into phenotypic males. We describe four extragenic mutations that suppress the masculinized phenotype of her‐1(n695gf) XX. They define two previously undescribed genes, sup‐26 and sup‐27. All four mutations exhibit semidominance of suppression and by themselves have no visible effects on sex determination in otherwise genotypically wild‐type XX or XO animals. Analysis of interactions with mutations in the major sex‐determining genes show that sup‐26 and sup‐27 influence sex determination in fundamentally different ways. sup‐26 appears to act independently of her‐1 to negatively modulate synthesis or function of tra‐2 in both XX and XO animals. sup‐27 may play a role in X‐chromosome dosage compensation and influence sex determination indirectly. genesis 34:184–195, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Negative Interspike Interval Correlations Increase the Neuronal Capacity for Encoding Time-Dependent Stimuli

Accurate detection of sensory input is essential for the survival of a species. Weakly electric fish use amplitude modulations of their self-generated electric field to probe their environment. P-type electroreceptors convert these modulations into trains of action potentials. Cumulative relative refractoriness in these afferents leads to negatively correlated successive interspike intervals (ISIs). We use simple and accurate models of P-unit firing to show that these refractory effects lead to a substantial increase in the animal's ability to detect sensory stimuli. This assessment is based on two approaches, signal detection theory and information theory. The former is appropriate for low-frequency stimuli, and the latter for high-frequency stimuli. For low frequencies, we find that signal detection is dependent on differences in mean firing rate and is optimal for a counting time at which spike train variability is minimal. Furthermore, we demonstrate that this minimum arises from the presence of negative ISI correlations at short lags and of positive ISI correlations that extend out to long lags. Although ISI correlations might be expected to reduce information transfer, in fact we find that they improve information transmission about time-varying stimuli. This is attributable to the differential effect that these correlations have on the noise and baseline entropies. Furthermore, the gain in information transmission rate attributable to correlations exhibits a resonance as a function of stimulus bandwidth; the maximum occurs when the inverse of the cutoff frequency of the stimulus is of the order of the decay time constant of refractory effects. Finally, we show that the loss of potential information caused by a decrease in spike-timing resolution is smaller for low stimulus cutoff frequencies than for high ones. This suggests that a rate code is used for the encoding of low-frequency stimuli, whereas spike timing is important for the encoding of high-frequency stimuli.