Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Photosynthetic Pod Wall of Pea (Pisum sativum L.): Distribution of Carbon Dioxide-fixing Enzymes in Relation to Pod Structure.

The pod wall of pea (Pisum sativum L.) was shown to contain two distinct photosynthetic layers. The outer, comprising chlorenchyma of the mesocarp, captured CO(2) from the outside atmosphere; the inner, a chloroplast-containing epidermis lining the pod gas cavity, was involved in photoassimilation of the CO(2) released from respiring seeds.Structural features of the pod included the thick cuticle and stomata of the outer epidermis, the inward projecting veinlets of the vascular network in the mesocarp, the sparsity of air spaces, the fiber and parenchyma layers of the endocarp, and the abundant chloroplasts, thin cuticle, and rounded outer contours of cells of the inner epidermis.The inner epidermis showed high specific activities of ribulose 1,5-diphosphate (RuDP) carboxylase (EC 4.1.1.39) and phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) carboxylase (EC 4.1.1.31), contained up to 20% of the pod's chlorophyll, and was capable of fixing 66% of the CO(2) released during the photoperiod to the pod gas space by the seeds of a fully grown fruit.The in vitro carboxylation capacity of the pod exceeded the estimated gross photosynthesis of the fruit for all but the last few days of development. Chlorophyll content and carboxylation activity declined more markedly in the outer photosynthetic layers than in the inner epidermis.The ratio of activities of RuDP carboxylase to PEP carboxylase in pod extracts varied from 2.4:1 to 12:1 as against 48:1 to 156:1 in extracts of leaves.Structural and physiological properties of the pod were related to its capacity to conserve respired CO(2) and provide photosynthate to developing seeds.
Long-term outcomes following a single corticosteroid injection for trigger finger.

BACKGROUND The outcomes of corticosteroid injection for trigger finger are well documented only with short-term follow-up. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the long-term effectiveness of a single injection and to examine predictors of success up to ten years after injection. METHODS This case series analyzed 366 first-time corticosteroid injections in flexor tendon sheaths from January 2000 to December 2007 with a minimum follow-up duration of five years. Two hundred and forty patients (66%) were female, 161 patients (44%) had multiple trigger fingers, and eighty-eight patients (24%) had diabetes at the time of injection. The primary outcome of treatment failure was defined as subsequent injection or surgical trigger finger release of the affected digit. Medical records were reviewed, and any patients without documented failure or a return office visit in 2012 to 2013 were contacted by telephone regarding symptom recurrence and the need for additional treatment. Kaplan-Meier analyses with log-rank test and Cox regression analysis assessed the effect of baseline patient and disease characteristics on injection success. RESULTS Forty-five percent of patients demonstrated long-term treatment success after a single injection. In the final regression model, the interaction of sex and the number of trigger fingers was the single predictor of treatment success. Exploring this association revealed a ten-year success rate of 56% for female patients presenting for the first time with a trigger finger compared with 35% in male patients presenting for the first time with a trigger finger, 39% in female patients with multiple trigger fingers, and 37% in male patients with multiple trigger fingers. Eighty-four percent of treatment failures occurred within the first two years following injection. Patient age, symptom type, and undifferentiated diabetes status were not predictive of treatment success. CONCLUSIONS Female patients presenting with their first trigger finger have the highest rate of long-term treatment success after a single corticosteroid injection. Patients who continue to experience symptom relief two years after injection are likely to maintain long-term success.
Anatomic Fat Depots and Coronary Plaque Among Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected and Uninfected Men in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study

Methods. In a cross-sectional substudy of the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study, noncontrast cardiac computed tomography (CT) scanning for coronary artery calcium (CAC) scoring was performed on all men, and, for men with normal renal function, coronary CT angiography (CTA) was performed. Associations between fat depots (visceral adipose tissue [VAT], abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue [aSAT], and thigh subcutaneous adipose tissue [tSAT]) with coronary plaque presence and extent were assessed with logistic and linear regression adjusted for age, race, cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors, body mass index (BMI), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) parameters. Results. Among HIV-infected men (n = 597) but not HIV-uninfected men (n = 343), having greater VAT was positively associated with noncalcified plaque presence (odds ratio [OR] = 1.04, P < .05), with a significant interaction (P < .05) by HIV serostatus. Human immunodeficiency virus-infected men had lower median aSAT and tSAT and greater median VAT among men with BMI <25 and 25–29.9 kg/m2. Among HIV-infected men, VAT was positively associated with presence of coronary plaque on CTA after adjustment for CVD risk factors (OR = 1.04, P < .05), but not after additional adjustment for BMI. There was an inverse association between aSAT and extent of total plaque among HIV-infected men, but not among HIV-uninfected men. Lower tSAT was associated with greater CAC and total plaque score extent regardless of HIV serostatus. Conclusions. The presence of greater amounts of VAT and lower SAT may contribute to increased risk for coronary artery disease among HIV-infected persons.
The Effect of Liquid Crystalline Structures on Antiseizure Properties of Aqueous Solutions of Ethoxylated Alcohols

Aqueous solutions of ethoxylated alcohols which form lyotropic liquid crystals at high concentrations (40–80%) were selected as model lubricating substances. Microscopic studies under polarized light and viscosity measurements were carried out in order to confirm the presence of liquid crystalline structures in the case of alcohol solutions with ethoxylation degrees of 3, 5, 7 and 10. Microscopic images and viscosity coefficient values characteristic of various mesophases were obtained. As expected, the viscosity of LLCs decreases considerably with an increase in shearing rate which is characteristic of liquid crystals being non-Newtonian liquids. Antiseizure properties were determined by means of a four-ball machine (T-02 Tester) and characterized by scuffing load (Pt), seizure load (Poz) and limiting pressure of seizure (poz). Alcohol ethoxylates forming mesophases in aqueous solutions have the strongest effect on the Pt values which are several times higher than those measured in the presence of water. Ethoxylates with higher degrees of ethoxylation exhibit higher values of scuffing load. Those changes have been interpreted as a result of higher cloud points at which those compounds lose their amphiphilic properties. In general, the presence of mesophases in the bulk phase and particularly in the surface phase may lead to the formation of a lubricant film which separates the frictionally cooperating elements of a friction pair. The antiseizure efficiency of alcohol solutions is highest up to the load value which does not exceed the scuffing load value.
Moisture Diffusion in Asphalt Binders and Fine Aggregate Mixtures

Moisture Diffusion in Asphalt Binders and Fine Aggregate Mixtures. (May 2010) Kamilla Lima Vasconcelos, B.E. , Universidade Federal do Ceará, (Fortaleza, Brazil); M.Sc., Universidade Federal do Ceará (Fortaleza, Brazil) Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Dallas N. Little Moisture damage in asphalt mixtures is a complex phenomenon that involves mechanical, chemical, physical and thermodynamic processes. This damage contributes significantly to the premature deterioration of asphalt pavements, which leads to extra cost in highway maintenance and vehicle operations. One key mechanism of how moisture reaches the asphalt-aggregate interface is by its permeation or diffusion through the asphalt binder or mastic. Different techniques are available for diffusion coefficient measurement of a wide variety of polymersolvent systems. For the asphalt-water system studied, the focus is on two techniques: (i) Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) – Attenuated Total Reflectance (ATR) spectrometry and (ii) Gravimetric Sorption Measurements. In the FTIR-ATR experiments, asphalt binders are under investigation. Water shows strong absorption in the infrared region and the FTIR-ATR technique has the ability to monitor both the kinetics of moisture ingress as well as any chemical changes occurring during the test. The changes in concentration can be directly related to change in the absorbance measured during the experiment. The hysteresis of water diffusion in asphalt binders is also monitored through this technique. In the gravimetric sorption experiments, cylindrical Fine Aggregate Mixtures (FAM) were investigated. The gravimetric techniques, which directly follow mass change with time, are among the most used techniques probably because of their simplicity. In this experiment, the Saturated Surface-Dry (SSD) weight of FAM samples at room temperature and at 100°F is monitored until it reaches the equilibrium. The measurements of: (i) water uptake and (ii) the diffusion coefficient were made at both temperatures. A dual mode diffusion model was shown to better represent the diffusion of water through asphalt binders. The rate of moisture diffusion in asphalt binders was proved to be dependent on the history of
Extracting Business Value from IT: A Sensemaking Perspective of Post-Adoptive Use

How can firms extract value from already-implemented information technologies (IT) that support the work processes of employees? One approach is to stimulate employees to engage in post-adoptive extended use, i.e., to learn and apply more of the available functions of the implemented technologies to support their work. Such learning behavior of extending functions in use is ingrained in a process by which users make sense of the technologies in the context of their work system. This study draws on sensemaking theory to develop a model to understand the antecedents, contingencies, and consequences of customer service employees' extended use of customer relationship management (CRM) technologies. The model is tested using multisource longitudinal data collected through a field study of one of the world's largest telecommunications service providers. Our results suggest that employees engage in post-adoptive sensemaking at two levels: technology and work system. We found that sensemaking at both of these levels impacts the extended use of CRM technologies. Employees' sensemaking at the technology level is influenced by employees' assessment of technology quality, whereas employees' sensemaking at the work system level is influenced by customers' assessment of service quality. Moreover, in the case of low technology quality and low service quality, specific mechanisms for employee feedback should be conceptualized and aligned at two levels: through employee participation at the technology level and through work system coordination at the work system level. Such alignment can mitigate the undesirable effect of low technology quality and low service quality, thereby facilitating extended use. Importantly, we found that extended use amplifies employees' service capacity, leading to better objective performance. Put together, our findings highlight the critical role of employees' sensemaking about the implemented technologies in promoting their extended use of IT and improving their work performance. This paper was accepted by Sandra Slaughter, information systems.
The hard X-ray view of the low-luminosity blazar in the radio galaxy NGC 6251

We present results from a BeppoSAX (July 2001) observation of the FR I radio galaxy NGC 6251, together with a re-analysis of archival ASCA (October 1994) and Chandra (September 2000) data. The weak detection above 10 keV and the lack of iron fluorescent K α emission lines in the BeppoSAX spectrum rule out that the bulk of the X-ray emission is due to an obscured Seyfert nucleus. The study of the multiwavelength spectral energy distribution suggests instead that X-rays probably originate as inverse-Compton of synchrotron seed photons in a relativistic jet, indicating that NGC 6251 hosts a low radio luminosity ($L_{{\rm 5 \ GHz}} \sim 10^{40}$ erg s -1 ) blazar. The BeppoSAX spectrum is flatter than in the earlier ASCA observation. This might be due to the emergence of a different spectral component during phases of lower X-ray flux. In this context, we discuss some possible explanations for the intense and mildly-ionized fluorescent iron line measured by ASCA.
Characterizing Knowledge on the Semantic Web with Watson

Watson is a gateway to the Semantic Web: it collects, analyzes and gives access to ontologies and semantic data available online with the objective of supporting their dynamic exploitation by semantic applications. We report on the analysis of 25 500 ontologies and semantic documents collected by Watson, giving an account about the way semantic technologies are used to publish knowledge on the Web, about the characteristics of the published knowledge, and about the networked aspects of the Semantic Web. Our main conclusions are 1that the Semantic Web is characterized by a large number of small, lightweight ontologies and a small number of large-scale, heavyweight ontologies, and 2that important efforts still need to be spent on improving the published ontologies (coverage of different topic domains, connectedness of the semantic data, etc.) and the tools that produce and manipulate them.
Risk factors associated with methamphetamine use and heart failure among Native Hawaiians and other Paci ﬁ c Island peoples

Objective: Heart failure (HF), a long term outcome of chronic methamphetamine use (MU), occurs more frequently in racial and ethnic minority populations at high risk for cardiovascular disparities. This study examined the association of socio-demographic and clinical risk factors with MU among heart failure patients who are Native Hawaiians (NH) or other Paciﬁ c Island peoples (PIP). Design/Setting/Patient population: Cross-sectional study of NHs and PIPs with advanced heart failure enrolled in the Malama Pu’uwai Study, a randomized control trial to test an educational intervention to reduce re-hospitalization and/or death. A total of 82 participants were enrolled between 6/1/06 to 12/31/07 and met the following eligibility criteria: 1) self-identiﬁ ed NH or PIP, 2) Left ventricular systolic ejection fraction (cid:2) 45%, 3) Age of 21 years or older. Data were analyzed by odds ratios (OR), 95% conﬁ dence intervals (CI), and multiple logistic regression analysis. Main outcome measure: Methamphetamine use. Results: Twenty-two percent of HF participants were identiﬁ ed as being current or prior methamphetamine users. Younger age and non-married status (combined never married or divorced/separated) were independently associated with MU after adjustment for sex, education, and other co-morbidities associated with HF (ie, age (cid:3) 50 years, OR = 0.16, 95% CI, 0.03–0.84; non-married status combined as never married OR = 8.5, CI, 1.5–47; divorced/separated OR = 11, CI 1.8–75). Conclusions: Risk factors associated with MU in NH and PIPs with heart failure include: younger age and being divorced/separated or never married. Health care providers should be aware of MU as a contributing factor in the approach and treatment of HF in NHs and PIPs.
A 10 Bit 40-MS/s Pipelined Analog-to-Digital Converter for WLAN Systems

This paper proposes a 10-bit, 40MS/s CMOS pipelined analog-to-digital converter (ADC) which applied to IEEE 802.11a/g/n Wireless LAN (WLAN) communication system. We proposed the structures and component designs of the pipelined ADC which is implemented in TSMC 0. 18μm CMOS process and operating at a 3.3V supply voltage with a total power dissipation of 74.85mW. Owing to using Switched-capacitor Common Mode Feedback and Digital-Error-Correction technique, we design this ADC by using less-sensitive fully-differential dynamic comparator. The great merits are no static power consumption and better noise-immunity. Operational Transduction Amplifier (OTA) of the each stage consumes only 7mW. The ADC achieves a signal-to-noise-and-distortion ratio (SNDR) of 60.34 dB and ENOB of 9.73 bits with a full-scale sinusoidal input at 1MHz. The chip size is 1.408um*1.208um. Keyword: Pipelined, Analog to digital converter、Digital error correction、Switched-capacitor Common Mode Feedback
OF THE EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF BEHAVIOR WITHIN-SESSION MEAL-SIZE EFFECTS ON INDUCED DRINKING

As a control for the effects of session duration and hunger on the relation between food magnitude and induced drinking, four food-deprived rats were exposed to a variable-time 50-s schedule of food delivery in which the size of each food delivery varied randomly within sessions. Food-related behavior and schedule-induced drinking per opportunity were examined as functions of meal size and postfood time. All rats showed an inverted-U-shaped relation between drinking per opportunity and meal size. This relation was caused by variation in the percentage of intervals that contained drinking and by variation in the number of drinking bouts per interval, rather than by bout duration or by the amount of drinking within those intervals that actually contained drinking. Head-in-feeder time increased linearly with meal size. Schedule-induced drinking was entrained by food delivery in 3 of 4 subjects; the entrainment was due to regulation of the starting time of each drinking bout rather than to regulation of bout duration.
Tissue analysis by dual-energy computed tomography.

In a recent paper, Hawkes et al (1986) suggest a method of characterising body tissues using hypothetical mixtures of water and calcium chloride. They state that characterisations using electron density and effective atomic number are inaccurate and should be abandoned. It is well recognised that there are inaccuracies involved in measuring the properties of internal organs using a computed tomography (CT) scanner. These include statistical noise on the CT numbers, partial-volume effects, patient movement, the presence of image artefacts and uncertainty about the X-ray spectrum at the point of interest as a result of beam hardening. Despite the implication in the paper of Hawkes et al, that their method is immune to the latter, this is not so since their factor Φc is dependent on the X-ray spectrum and will therefore vary with position in the body. They claim that in addition to these errors, there are fundamental inaccuracies in the effective atomic number (Z*) method which render it ineffective for tiss.
Single-site Bachmann's bundle pacing is beneficial while coronary sinus pacing results in echocardiographic right heart pacemaker syndrome in brady-tachycardia patients.

BACKGROUND It has been proposed that multisite atrial pacing (MSAp) restores atrial electrical activation and prevents atrial fibrillation recurrence; however, single-site Bachmann's bundle pacing (BBp) has also been reported as providing effective atrial resynchronization. Coronary sinus pacing (CSp) leads to reversed impulse propagation within the atria. METHODS AND RESULTS Acute echocardiographic examination was performed in 15 healthy subjects, and in 25 patients with sinus node dysfunction and recurrent atrial fibrillation during MSAp (atrial leads in the BB area and CS ostium), and single-site BBp and CSp. Regional atrial synchrony was assessed by tissue Doppler echocardiography. Pacing mode had no effect on stroke volume. CSp resulted in right atrial filling diminution, shortened mechanical atrioventricular delay in the right heart and diminished right ventricular inflow. The magnitude of reversion of the physiological right-to-left atrial contraction sequence was most prominent during CSp (15+/-11, 12+/-23, 3+/-21, 42+/-23 ms; control, MSAp, BBp, CSp respectively, P<0.0001). BBp provided the best atrial contraction synchrony, and had a comparable effect on global cardiac function to MSAp. CONCLUSIONS Single-site BBp provides comparable hemodynamics to MSAp and is sufficient to restore atrial contraction synchrony. Single-site CSp induced echocardiographic pacemaker syndrome in the right heart.
Radiation dose from single-heartbeat coronary CT angiography performed with a 320-detector row volume scanner.

PURPOSE To determine radiation doses from coronary computed tomographic (CT) angiography performed by using a 320-detector row volume scanner and evaluate how the effective dose depends on scan mode and the calculation method used. MATERIALS AND METHODS Radiation doses from coronary CT angiography performed by using a volume scanner were determined by using metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor detectors positioned in an anthropomorphic phantom physically and radiographically simulating a male or female human. Organ and effective doses were determined for six scan modes, including both 64-row helical and 280-row volume scans. Effective doses were compared with estimates based on the method most commonly used in clinical literature: multiplying dose-length product (DLP) by a general conversion coefficient (0.017 or 0.014 mSv.mGy(-1). cm(-1)), determined from Monte Carlo simulations of chest CT by using single-section scanners and previous tissue-weighting factors. RESULTS Effective dose was reduced by up to 91% with volume scanning relative to helical scanning, with similar image noise. Effective dose, determined by using International Commission on Radiological Protection publication 103 tissue-weighting factors, was 8.2 mSv, using volume scanning with exposure permitting a wide reconstruction window, 5.8 mSv with optimized exposure and 4.4 mSv for optimized 100-kVp scanning. Estimating effective dose with a chest conversion coefficient resulted in a dose as low as 1.8 mSv, substantially underestimating effective dose for both volume and helical coronary CT angiography. CONCLUSION Volume scanning markedly decreases coronary CT angiography radiation doses compared with those at helical scanning. When conversion coefficients are used to estimate effective dose from DLP, they should be appropriate for the scanner and scan mode used and reflect current tissue-weighting factors. (c) RSNA, 2010.
Colour Constancy: Influence of Viewing Behaviour on Grey Settings

In numerous studies on colour constancy or colour induction subjects have to adjust a test field so that it looks achromatic. Their viewing behaviour during these settings is often not controlled or reported. Here I show that the results of grey settings depend on whether subjects visually explore the stimulus by looking around or fixate their gaze exclusively on the test field. Two different viewing instructions are compared with regard to the degree of constancy as measured by the shift of grey settings in coloured surrounds. In variegated surrounds (but not in uniform surrounds) there is a robust effect of viewing condition for all subjects and all surround chromaticities tested, in that exploration increases colour constancy compared to fixating the test field. Values of a colour constancy index are increased by as much as 20% (where 100% colour constancy means that the subject chooses as grey the mean chromaticity of the surround) with an average across all subjects and surrounds of 12.6%. Thus, if this factor is not experimentally controlled, it could inflate variance, reduce comparability between different studies, and even lead to unwarranted conclusions if viewing behaviour unpredictably differs between experimental conditions.