Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Validity and reliability of the Japanese version of the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire evaluated from actigraphy

The purposes of this study were to investigate the validity and reliability of the Japanese version of Horne and Östberg’s Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ) and the characteristics of chronotype using other questionnaires and wrist actigraphy in healthy young subjects. The participants were 102 university student volunteers. The participants were instructed to continue normal life activities and habitual sleep-wake rhythms without extraordinary events for a study period of eight consecutive days, including 7 nights. Actual sleep-wake patterns were recorded by wrist actigraphy. The participants completed four questionnaires: MEQ, Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). From the actigraphy data, sleep parameters such as bedtime, waketime, midtime, time in bed, sleep onset latency, wake episodes, wake after sleep onset, total sleep time, and sleep efficiency were derived. Cronbach’s α coefficient for internal consistency of the total MEQ score was 0.815, indicating high reliability. One-way analyses of variance showed that there were significant differences among the three chronotypes for bedtime, waketime, midtime, ESS, PSQI, and CES-D. Pearson’s correlation coefficients revealed that there were moderate negative correlations between MEQ scores and bedtime, waketime, and midtime, and that there were weak negative correlations between MEQ scores and ESS scores, PSQI scores, and CES-D scores. The results of this study demonstrated the validity and reliability of the Japanese version of the MEQ. In addition, the findings of this study showed that evening chronotypes were associated with greater daytime sleepiness, poorer sleep quality, and a depressive tendency.
Using Part-Time Fostering as a Family Support Service: Advantages, Challenges and Contradictions

This paper examines the use of part-time fostering as a means to support families with social care support needs. It is based on a qualitative case study of the support care service. Support care is a supportive intervention for families at risk of breakdown and long-term separation. The service attempts to forge positive relationships with parents and provides short breaks for children and young people. The service aims to be flexible and responsive to individual needs, but is time-limited, with typical intervention periods lasting between six and twelve months. Three support care schemes participated in the research and ten placements were followed for their duration. Eighty-two individual interviews were conducted and data were collected from twenty-two participant observation sessions. The aim of the research was to examine the ‘doing’ of support care. This included exploring stakeholder experiences, the aims and outcomes associated with the service, together with attempts to facilitate family change. The paper considers the advantages and contradictions inherent in this form of family support. Key aspects are related to broader considerations of family support services including the effectiveness of time-limited interventions and competing social work demands to support families as well as safeguard children.
Crystal structure of 1,3-bis(4-methylbenzyl)-1H-1,3-benzimidazol-3-ium bromide monohydrate

In the title hydrated symetrically substituted 1,3-bis(4-methylbenzyl)benzimidazolium salt, C23H23N2 +·Br−·H2O, the dihedral angles between the benzimidazole ring system (r.m.s. deviation = 0.003 Å) and the pendant benzene rings are 73.18 (16) and 77.52 (16)°. Both benzene rings lie to the same side of the benzimidazole ring system, giving the cation an overall U-shape. In the crystal, the cation is linked to the water molecule by a short C—H⋯O hydrogen bond and the water molecule forms O—H⋯Br hydrogen bonds. Together, these interactions lead to [010] chains. The packing is consolidated by C—H⋯Br hydrogen bonds and aromatic π–π stacking interactions [centroid–centroid distances = 3.5401 (17) and 3.8815 (18) Å], generating a three-dimensional network.
Compact wideband CMOS receiver frontends for wireless communication

There is an increasing demand for wideband receiver frontends. This is due to the emerge of wideband wireless standards (UWB) and due to the desire for flexible radios (SDR), which can comply with multiple existing and future communication standards. Existing receiver topologies are generally narrowband and not suited for wideband operation, consequently there is a need for new wideband receiver topologies. For low cost solutions, compact receiver topologies implemented in main¬stream CMOS technology are preferred. For wideband receivers the required gain, input impedance and noise figure are in the same order as for traditional narrowband receivers. The challenge in wideband receivers is to meet all these specifications across its entire bandwidth. Due to the wideband nature there are many interferer combinations that lead to in-band distortion in wideband receivers, resulting in challenging linearity requirements. At the start of this research project, the noise canceling technique was identified as a suitable candidate to implement wideband receiver frontends. One particular noise canceling topology, the CG-CS topology, is especially useful as it implements two basic receiver frontend functions, low noise amplification and single-ended to differential conversion. Three designs are implemented during this research project. The CG autotrafo-CS design, based on the CG-CS topology, yields a low-power, wideband, low-noise amplifier (LNA) and uses an on-chip transformer. The second design, the Balun-LNA is also based on the CG-CS topology. This is a wideband LNA design that simultaneously achieves noise canceling, distortion canceling and a well-balanced output signal. The BLIXER topology is a further evolution of the CG-CS topology. Next to balun and LNA-functionality complex frequency down-conversion is realized, all in a single wideband circuit core. Only two circuit techniques found in literature are suitable to implement compact wideband LNAs: negative feedback and noise canceling. From the two LNAs described in this thesis especially the Balun-LNA compares favorably to designs found in literature. The BLIXER stands out on area and RF-bandwidth when compared with other wideband receiver frontends, while other characteristics are competitive. The BLIXER topology is very suitable for the implementation of compact wideband receiver frontends for wireless communication.
A new symmetry-based method for mid-sagittal plane extraction in neuroimages

The estimation of the mid-sagittal plane (MSP) is a known problem with several applications in neuroimage analysis. As advance to the state-of-the-art, we present a considerably better approach for MSP extraction based on bilateral symmetry maximization and a more suitable error metric to compare MSP estimation methods. The proposed method was quantitatively evaluated using three other state-of-the-art approaches as baselines and a heterogeneous dataset with 164 clinical images. It outperformed the others in accuracy and precision, being well succeeded on all images. Besides, it does not present limitations with respect to the imaging protocol and initial position of the head, and it is one of the fastest methods in the literature, taking around 30 seconds on a regular workstation.
Short and Long Term Evaluations of Public Employment Services in Italy

In this paper we evaluate the efficacy of Public Employment Services in Italy (PESs) in increasing the unemployment to employment transition probabilities, through matching techniques. Exploiting the longitudinal dimension of the LFS data we design an evaluation structure that allows observing outcomes in both the short (at most 3 months) and the long run (at most 12 and 15 months). In this framework, PES users show a lower probability of finding a job in the short term, because of a lock-in effect, while in the long term this probability turns out to be positive. Similar results are derived when considering as outcome a proxy for the quality of the job, i.e. having found a permanent job. Robustness checks and sensitivity analysis confirm this evidence, suggesting also that our estimates are to be considered as lower bound in the eventuality of unobserved negative selection into treatment.
Usability Testing of a Web-based Tool for Managing Open Shifts on Nursing Units

Using observational and interview approaches, we evaluated the usability of a web-based communication tool that allows managers to announce open work shifts and staff to request work shifts. We used Morae software to record screen shots and study participants' (4 Nurse Managers, 3 Registered Nurses and 3 Patient Care Technicians) utterances during system use. Although features and functions used and patterns of use varied by role and individual, all participants found the system easy to use. Use of a particular function depended upon how effective the user perceived the function to be for the task that they wished to accomplish. User satisfaction was achieved when an effective function also allowed them to meet their task goal efficiently.
Carbon availability triggers fungal nitrogen uptake and transport in arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis

The arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis, formed between the majority of land plants and ubiquitous soil fungi of the phylum Glomeromycota, is responsible for massive nutrient transfer and global carbon sequestration. AM fungi take up nutrients from the soil and exchange them against photosynthetically fixed carbon (C) from the host. Recent studies have demonstrated that reciprocal reward strategies by plant and fungal partners guarantee a “fair trade” of phosphorus against C between partners [Kiers ET, et al. (2011) Science 333:880–882], but whether a similar reward mechanism also controls nitrogen (N) flux in the AM symbiosis is not known. Using mycorrhizal root organ cultures, we manipulated the C supply to the host and fungus and followed the uptake and transport of N sources in the AM symbiosis, the enzymatic activities of arginase and urease, and fungal gene expression in the extraradical and intraradical mycelium. We found that the C supply of the host plant triggers the uptake and transport of N in the symbiosis, and that the increase in N transport is orchestrated by changes in fungal gene expression. N transport in the symbiosis is stimulated only when the C is delivered by the host across the mycorrhizal interface, not when C is supplied directly to the fungal extraradical mycelium in the form of acetate. These findings support the importance of C flux from the root to the fungus as a key trigger for N uptake and transport and provide insight into the N transport regulation in the AM symbiosis.
Word Learning in the Developing Brain: ERP Dynamics of Learning Word-Object Associations

This dissertation investigated electrophysiological measures of individual differences in toddlers’ ability to learn novel object labels and process familiar object words and their referents. The studies measured both visual and auditory event-related potentials (ERPs) in response to pictures of objects and words in a longitudinal sample of 20- to 24-month-olds, an age of dynamic vocabulary development. These ERP measures were related to the children’s productive vocabulary size as well as behavioral measures of word comprehension and object recognition.Study I aimed to test children’s ability to map familiar words to versions of their referents displaying reduced visual information (only overall shape or isolated parts), and whether this ability correlated with vocabulary size. Children with larger vocabularies showed a stronger N400 incongruity effect in response to words paired with correct vs. incorrect shape referents specifically, and the N400 effect in the shape condition also correlated with the children’s ability to overtly identify objects from their overall shape in a behavioral test. These results are discussed in relation to previous research demonstrating the emergence of a shape bias in children’s Word extension, as well as improvements in object shape recognition, during the second year of life.Study II investigated individual differences in novel word-object mapping andchanges with age in this ability. The overall sample showed ERP evidence of novel word learning (an N400 semantic incongruity effect) after five consistent word-object pairings at 24 months but not at 20 months. Children with large vocabularies demonstrated the same linear attenuation of N400 amplitude during novel word repetition as is commonly seen in adults, while children with smaller vocabularies did not show such attenuation until the end of the learning phase.Study III focused on the 20 month data set and explored how visual ERPs weremodulated as object-word pairs were presented repeatedly, and how these measures of visual object processing related to successful fast mapping of the novel words to the objects. A larger attenuation of the Nc component (associated with attention) predicted successful word learning, measured as a larger N400 incongruity effect to the novel words after training. Furthermore, better initial recognition of familiar objects correlated with a stronger N400 effect to the words for those objects. The results present novel evidence for a link between efficient visual processing of objects and word learning ability.Taken together, these findings demonstrate that the rapid vocabulary growth and striking individual differences in productive vocabulary development seen during children’s second year are linked to the dynamics of specific brain mechanisms involved in semantic processing of words and their referents.
Altered Levels of Histone Deacetylase OsHDT1 Affect Differential Gene Expression Patterns in Hybrid Rice

Hybrids between different inbred varieties display novel patterns of gene expression resulted from parental variation in allelic nucleotide sequences. To study the function of chromatin regulators in hybrid gene expression, the histone deacetylase gene OsHDT1 whose expression displayed a circadian rhythm was over-expressed or inactivated by RNAi in an elite rice parent. Increased OsHDT1 expression did not affect plant growth in the parent but led to early flowering in the hybrid. Nonadditive up-regulation of key flowering time genes was found to be related to flowering time of the hybrid. Over-expression of OsHDT1 repressed the nonadditive expression of the key flowering repressors in the hybrid (i.e. OsGI and Hd1) inducing early flowering. Analysis of histone acetylation suggested that OsHDT1 over-expression might promote deacetylation on OsGI and Hd1 chromatin during the peak expression phase. High throughput differential gene expression analysis revealed that altered OsHDT1 levels affected nonadditive expression of many genes in the hybrid. These data demonstrate that nonadditive gene expression was involved in flowering time control in the hybrid rice and that OsHDT1 level was important for nonadditive or differential expression of many genes including the flowering time genes, suggesting that OsHDT1 may be involved in epigenetic control of parental genome interaction for differential gene expression.
Cellular uptake, retention and bioabsorption of HO-3867, a fluorinated curcumin analog with potential antitumor properties

Curcumin, a naturally-occurring compound found in the rhizome of Curcuma longa plant, is known for its antitumor activities. However, its clinical efficacy is limited due to poor bioabsorption. A new class of synthetic analogs of curcumin, namely diarylidenylpiperidone (DAP), has been developed with substantially higher anticancer activity than curcumin. However, its cellular uptake and bioabsorption have not been evaluated. In this study we have determined the absorption of a representative DAP compound, HO-3867, using optical and electron paramagnetic resonance spectrometry. The cellular uptake of HO-3867 was measured in a variety of cancer cell lines. HO-3867 was taken in cells within 15 minutes of exposure and its uptake was more than 100-fold higher than curcumin. HO-3867 was also retained in cells in an active form for 72 hours and possibly longer. HO-3867 was substantially cytotoxic to all the cancer cells tested. However, there was no direct correlation between cellular uptake and cytotoxicity suggesting that the cytotoxic mechanisms could be cell-type specific. When administered to rats by intraperitoneal injection, significantly high levels of HO-3867 were found in the liver, kidney, stomach, and blood after 3 hours. Also, significant accumulation of HO-3867 was found in murine tumor xenografts with a dose-dependent inhibition of tumor growth. The results suggest that the curcumin analog has substantially higher bioabsorption when compared to curcumin.
OR/MS models for supply chain disruptions: a review

ABSTRACT We review the Operations Research/Management Science (OR/MS) literature on supply chain disruptions in order to take stock of the research to date and to provide an overview of the research questions that have been addressed. We first place disruptions in the context of other forms of supply uncertainty and discuss common modeling approaches. We then discuss 180 scholarly works on the topic, organized into six categories: evaluating supply disruptions; strategic decisions; sourcing decisions; contracts and incentives; inventory; and facility location. We conclude with a discussion of future research directions.
Being “a Good Animal”

This article examines the potential contribution of the work of Theodor Adorno to the development of a posthuman analysis of international relations. Despite a recent blossoming of “Adorno studies,” his writings on nature, particularly his concerns regarding human relations with other species, have received comparatively little attention. This article argues that many of the central concerns driving the recent development of posthuman analyses of international relations overlap with some of Adorno’s core preoccupations. In Dialectic of Enlightenment in particular, much concern is directed at the perceived disenchantment with nature and the impacts of this disenchantment both on human relations with the rest of nature and with interhuman relations. Adorno’s focus on the attention to suffering being the “condition for all truth” is not restricted simply to the human and coincides with the ethical concerns of posthuman approaches. Finally, while it has been claimed that Adorno’s work, especially his notion of the totally administered society, leads to a political impasse, it will be suggested here that recent work by Fabian Freyenhagen on the practical elements of Adorno’s philosophy suggest that our priority, rather than living rightly, should be on “living less wrongly. ”
An eserine-like action of chloral hydrate.

The intra-arterial injection of chloral hydrate potentiated the transmission of nerve impulses through the cat superior cervical ganglion, antagonized the ganglionblocking action of hexamethonium, and greatly enhanced the ganglion-stimulant action of acetylcholine. Effects on the ganglion-stimulant actions of carbachol, nicotine, tetramethylammonium and potassium chloride were slight or absent. Chloral hydrate itself usually had no direct stimulant action. The neuromuscular-blocking action of tubocurarine on the isolated rat diaphragm preparation was completely and rapidly reversed by chloral hydrate. This reversal was prevented by previoustreatment of the muscle with neostigmine. Chloral hydrate potentiated the actions of acetylcholine and nicotine on the isolated rabbit duodenum, and, in concentrations exceeding 1 mg/ml. , produced a spasm which was abolished by hyoscine but not by mepyramine. It was concluded that these eserine-like effects were manifestations of an anticholinesterase action of chloral hydrate. Neither chloralose nor trichlorethanol showed evidence of this property.
Exploring the utility of GRE-MRI signal compartments for temporal susceptibility mapping and investigation of neural microstructure

2 Declarations . 4 Chapter 1: Background. 12 1.1 Principles of signal behaviour in magnetic resonance imaging 1.1.1 Nuclear induction/magnetization & classical theory of relaxation in H-nuclear magnetic resonance 1.2 Establishing signal acquisition – gradient recalled echo magnetic resonance imaging 1.2. 1 The gradient echo pulse sequence 1.2. 2 The Utility GRE-MRI in susceptibility imaging 1.3 Decoding the GRE-MRI signal through compartmentalization 1.4 Characterizing signal compartments using tissue susceptibility 1.4. 1 The challenges of tissue phase 1.4. 2 The benefits of tissue susceptibility Chapter 2: Frequency shifts in multi-echo GRE-MRI signal compartments . 28 reflect underlying tissue microstructure in the brain 2.
Characterization of the Differences in Strength and Power Between Different Levels of Competition in Rugby Union Athletes

Abstract Argus, CK, Gill, ND, and Keogh, JWL. Characterization of the differences in strength and power between different levels of competition in rugby union athletes. J Strength Cond Res 26(10): 2698–2704, 2012—Levels of strength and power have been used to effectively discriminate between different levels of competition; however, there is limited literature in rugby union athletes. To assess the difference in strength and power between levels of competition, 112 rugby union players, including 43 professionals, 19 semiprofessionals, 32 academy level, and 18 high school level athletes, were assessed for bench press and box squat strength, and bench throw, and jump squat power. High school athletes were not assessed for jump squat power. Raw data along with data normalized to body mass with a derived power exponent were log transformed and analyzed. With the exception of box squat and bench press strength between professional and semiprofessional athletes, higher level athletes produced greater absolute and relative strength and power outputs than did lower level athletes (4–51%; small to very large effect sizes). Lower level athletes should strive to attain greater levels of strength and power in an attempt to reach or to be physically prepared for the next level of competition. Furthermore, the ability to produce high levels of power, rather than strength, may be a better determinate of playing ability between professional and semiprofessional athletes.
Serum nuclear magnetic resonance-based metabolomics and outcome in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma patients – a pilot study

Abstract The prognosis for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) patients with early relapse or refractory disease is dismal. To determine if clinical outcome correlated to diverse serum metabolomic profiles, we used 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and compared two groups of DLBCL patients treated with immunochemotherapy: i) refractory/early relapse (REF/REL; n=27) and ii) long-term progression-free (CURED; n = 60). A supervised multivariate analysis showed a separation between the groups. Among discriminating metabolites higher in the REF/REL group were the amino acids lysine and arginine, the degradation product cadaverine and a compound in oxidative stress (2-hydroxybutyrate). In contrast, the amino acids aspartate, valine and ornithine, and a metabolite in the glutathione cycle, pyroglutamate, were higher in CURED patients. Together, our data indicate that NMR-based serum metabolomics can identify a signature for DLBCL patients with high-risk of failing immunochemotherapy, prompting for larger validating studies which could lead to more individualized treatment of this disease.