Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Perceptions of animal-assisted interventions: The influence of attitudes toward companion animals.

OBJECTIVE We tested whether people are prone toward positive perceptions of Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAIs). We additionally evaluated whether this effect is stronger for people who have positive attitudes toward companion animals. METHOD We presented 210 participants with fictitious news reports, each describing a study of an AAI or a control intervention. Participants rated the news reports on their credibility, acceptability, and general appeal and completed a measure of attitudes toward companion animals. RESULTS Individuals with positive attitudes toward companion animals evaluated AAIs as more credible, acceptable, and positive than did individuals with negative attitudes toward companion animals. There was no difference in how people with positive and negative attitudes toward companion animals evaluated control treatments. CONCLUSION We found that individuals with positive attitudes toward companion animals perceived AAIs as more credible, acceptable, and positive, relative to individuals with more negative attitudes toward companion animals.
Performance analysis and optimization for energy-efficient cooperative transmission in random wireless sensor network

In this paper, we consider a random wireless sensor network where the sensor nodes are distributed randomly and form clusters to cooperatively transmit data packets using cooperative multi-input-multi-output (CMIMO) technique. We focus on analyzing the overall system performance in terms of packet error rate (PER). And then propose a new node sleep strategy to minimize the overall energy consumption. We take the random distribution of sensor nodes into consideration and get a closed form of overall PER expression that simplifies the overall energy consumption optimization. We analyze the tradeoff between the overall energy consumption and sensor nodes sleep rate. The simulation results corroborate our analysis and show that the proposed sensor node sleep strategy has significant energy saving compared with other transmission schemes.
Attitude intensity, importance, and certainty and susceptibility to response effects.

Changes in attitude question form, wording, and context have repeatedly been shown to produce change in responses. It is often assumed that such response effects are less pronounced among individuals whose attitudes are intense, personally important, or held with great certainty. We report the results of 27 experiments conducted in national surveys designed to evaluate this hypothesis. Measures of attitude intensity, importance, and certainty were found not to differentiate individuals who show response effects from those who do not. We discuss possible explanations for these counterintuitive findings. It is now well documented that people's reports of their own attitudes are influenced by a host of factors in addition to the attitudes themselves. Variations in the wording of an attitude question, the formal properties of its structure, or the context in which it is asked all alter responses in systematic ways (Schuman & Kalton, 1985). Such variations in attitude reports are referred to in the survey methodology literature as
Reduced reward‐related neural response to mimicry in individuals with autism

Mimicry is a facilitator of social bonds in humans, from infancy. This facilitation is made possible through changing the reward value of social stimuli; for example, we like and affiliate more with people who mimic us. Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are marked by difficulties in forming social bonds. In this study, we investigate whether the reward‐related neural response to being mimicked is altered in individuals with ASD, using a simple conditioning paradigm. Multiple studies in humans and nonhuman primates have established a crucial role for the ventral striatal (VS) region in responding to rewards. In this study, adults with ASD and matched controls first underwent a conditioning task outside the scanner, where they were mimicked by one face and ‘anti‐mimicked’ by another. In the second part, participants passively viewed the conditioned faces in a 3T MRI scanner using a multi‐echo sequence. The differential neural response towards mimicking vs. anti‐mimicking faces in the VS was tested for group differences as well as an association with self‐reported autistic traits. Multiple regression analysis revealed lower left VS response to mimicry (mimicking > anti‐mimicking faces) in the ASD group compared to controls. The VS response to mimicry was negatively correlated with autistic traits across the whole sample. Our results suggest that for individuals with ASD and high autistic traits, being mimicked is associated with lower reward‐related neural response. This result points to a potential mechanism underlying the difficulties reported by many of individuals with ASD in building social rapport.
Specific substitutions of light‐harvesting complex I proteins associated with photosystem I are required for supercomplex formation with chloroplast NADH dehydrogenase‐like complex

In Arabidopsis, the chloroplast NADH-dehydrogenase-like (NDH) complex is sandwiched between two copies of photosystem I (PSI) supercomplex, consisting of a PSI core and four light-harvesting complex I (LHCI) proteins (PSI-LHCI) to form the NDH-PSI supercomplex. Two minor LHCI proteins, Lhca5 and Lhca6, contribute to the interaction of each PSI-LHCI copy with the NDH complex. Here, large-pore blue-native gel electrophoresis revealed that, in addition to this complex, there were at least two types of higher-order association of more LHCI copies with the NDH complex. In single-particle images, this higher-order association of PSI-LHCI preferentially occurs at the left side of the NDH complex when viewed from the stromal side, placing subcomplex A at the top (Yadav et al., Biochim. Biophys. Acta - Bioenerg., 1858, 2017, 12). The association was impaired in the lhca6 mutant but not in the lhca5 mutant, suggesting that the left copy of PSI-LHCI was linked to the NDH complex via Lhca6. From an analysis of subunit compositions of the NDH-PSI supercomplex in lhca5 and lhca6 mutants, we propose that Lhca6 substitutes for Lhca2 in the left copy of PSI-LHCI, whereas Lhca5 substitutes for Lhca4 in the right copy. In the lhca2 mutant, Lhca3 was specifically stabilized in the NDH-PSI supercomplex through heterodimer formation with Lhca6. In the left copy of PSI-LHCI, subcomplex B, Lhca6 and NdhD likely formed the core of the supercomplex interaction. In contrast, a larger protein complex, including at least subcomplexes B and L and NdhB, was needed to form the contact site with Lhca5 in the right copy of PSI-LHCI.
Carcass Characteristic and Physico-chemical Properties of Broiler Chicken Meat Supplemented with Azolla pinnata

An experiment was conducted on 110, day old commercial poultry broiler birds which were divided into 5 groups (1 control and 4 treatments) within 2 replicates having 11 chicks in each replicate. Four levels of Azolla were included in the diet i.e. 2.5 percent Azolla, 2.5 percent Azolla with carbohydrase and phytase enzymes, 5.0 percent Azolla and 5.0 percent Azolla with carbohydrase and phytase enzymes served as components of treatment T1, T2, T3 and T4, respectively, where as T0 served as standard control diet. These dietary treatments were arranged in complete randomized block design and analyzed for the carcass, physico-chemical and sensory quality of meat. Results revealed that the overall acceptability of cooked meat was significantly higher (P<0.05) in broilers offered Azolla meal at 5 percent substitution. The breast meat yield and cooking yield value was significantly (P<0.05) higher in Azolla fed groups. There was significantly (P<0.05) higher gizzard weight in treatment T1 and treatment T2 offered 2.5 percent Azolla substituted feed as compared to the control T0. The results may be attributed to improved digestibility of nutrients because of better gizzard functioning owing to increased thickness and increased gastro-duodenal reflexes facilitating the contact between nutrients and digestive enzymes. Based on the findings it can be concluded that dried Azolla meal can be safely administered as unconventional feed ingredient in commercial poultry broiler feed up to 5 per cent level without affecting the organoleptic parameters.
Phylogenetic group-specific oligodeoxynucleotide probes for identification of single microbial cells

Examination of collections of 16S rRNA sequences revealed sequence domains that were unique to (and invariant within) the three primary lines of cellular descent: the archaebacteria, the eubacteria, and the eucaryotes. Oligodeoxynucleotides complementary to these conserved sequence domains were synthesized and used as hybridization probes. Each of the radiolabeled probes specifically hybridized to nylon membrane-bound 16S rRNA from the targeted kingdom. A probe complementary to a universally conserved sequence in 16S rRNAs was used as a positive control, while its complement provided a negative control for nonspecific binding. The abilities of the probes to bind specifically to whole, fixed cells representing a broad array of phylogenetic diversity were tested in whole-cell dot blot assays. Again, all of the probes specifically bound the targeted groups. By microautoradiography, the method was extended to permit phylogenetic identification of single cells microscopically.
Use of Allograft in Skeletally Immature Patients for Calcaneal Neck Lengthening Osteotomy

Purpose To date, there have been no studies evaluating the usefulness of allograft as a substitute for autograft in calcaneal neck lengthening osteotomy. This retrospective study examined the results of calcaneal neck lengthening osteotomy using allograft for pathologic flatfoot deformity in children and adolescents with various neuromuscular diseases. Materials and Methods 118 feet in 79 children treated surgically between Mar 2000 and July 2005 were reviewed. The mean age at the time of the operation was 9 + 3 years (range, 3 - 17 years) and follow-up averaged 15.4 months (range, 13 - 21 months) postoperatively. Talo-1st metatarsal angle, talo-calcaneal angle, calcaneal pitch were measured before and after operation and bony union was estimated. Results Bony union was noted at the latest follow-up and there were no postoperative complications such as reduction loss, infection, nonunion, delayed union or graft loss during the follow-up period in all but one foot. All radiographic indices were improved postoperatively in all cases. Conclusion Our results indicate that use of allograft in calcaneal neck lengthening osteotomy is a useful option for correction of the planovalgus deformity in skeletally immature patients whose enough autobone can not be obtained.
The Effects of Writing Anxiety and Motivation on EFL College Students’ Self-Evaluative Judgments of Corrective Feedback

Feedback is regarded as a way to foster students’ motivation and to ensure linguistic accuracy. However, mixed findings are reported in the research on written corrective feedback because of its multifaceted nature and its correlations with learners’ individual differences. It is necessary, therefore, to conduct further research on corrective feedback from the student’s perspective and to examine how individual differences in terms of factors such as writing anxiety and motivation predict learners’ self-evaluative judgments of both teacher-corrected and peer-corrected feedback. For this study, 158 Taiwanese college sophomores participated in a survey that comprised three questionnaires. Results demonstrated that intrinsic motivation and different types of writing anxiety predicted English as foreign language learners’ evaluative judgments of teacher and peer feedback. The findings have implications for English-writing instruction.
Filial obligation in contemporary China: Evolution of the culture-system

Family obligation, which has an exceptionally high salience in traditional Chinese society, continues to be significant in contemporary China. In family relations in particular sentiments and practices morphologically similar to those associated with xiao (filial piety) remains intact in so far as an enduring set of expectations concerning age-based obligation continues to structure behavior toward others. Researchers pursuing the theme of “individualization” in Chinese society, on the other hand, argue that family obligations and filial sentiments have substantially weakened. The present paper will show that under conditions of cultural and social change in China filial behavior through family obligation continues to play an important role even though the conventions associated with the relevant expectations, attitudes and emotions have undergone significant change. The paper argues that the culture-system develops not merely through an internal dynamic and that family obligation must be understood in terms of the social and material context in which it operates and the nature of the motivations and imagery of the people that practice it.
Cumulenic and heterocumulenic anions: potential interstellar species?

A recent theoretical investigation by Terzieva & Herbst of linear carbon chains, Cn where n ≥ 6, in the interstellar medium has shown that these species can undergo efficient radiative association to form the corresponding anions. An experimental study by Barckholtz, Snow & Bierbaum of these anions has demonstrated that they do not react efficiently with molecular hydrogen, leading to the possibility of detectable abundances of cumulene-type anions in dense interstellar and circumstellar environments. Here we present a series of electronic structure calculations which examine possible anionic candidates for detection in these media, namely the anion analogues of the previously identified interstellar cumulenes CnH and Cn−1CH2 and heterocumulenes CnO (where n = 2–10). The extraordinary electron affinities calculated for these molecules suggest that efficient radiative electron attachment could occur, and the large dipole moments of these simple (generally) linear molecules point to the possibility of detection by radio astronomy.
Antiadhesive and antibacterial polysaccharide multilayer as IOL coating for prevention of postoperative infectious endophthalmitis

ABSTRACT Infectious endophthalmitis is an uncommon yet disastrous complication in cataract surgery in which bacterial attachment and proliferation onto intraocular lens (IOL) is a prominent etiological factor in the pathogenesis. Herein, hyaluronic acid and chitosan polyelectrolyte multilayer was coated onto IOL. The viscoelastic property analysis of the surface coating indicates that a soft and hydrated coating was obtained on the IOL surface. The in vitro antibacterial activity test results indicate that such coating present excellent antiadhesion and antibacterial properties. Intraocular implantation results show that the IOL with anti-infective modification has potential effects on preventing acute infectious endophthalmitis development. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT
The acute toxicity of major ion salts to Ceriodaphnia dubia: I. influence of background water chemistry

The ions Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Cl−, SO42−, and HCO3−/CO32− (referred to in the present study as “major ions”) are present in all freshwaters and physiologically required by aquatic organisms but can increase to harmful levels from a variety of anthropogenic activities. It is also known that the toxicities of major ion salts can vary depending on the concentrations of other ions, and understanding these relationships is key to establishing appropriate environmental limits. The authors present a series of experiments with Ceriodaphnia dubia to evaluate the acute toxicity of 12 major ion salts and to determine how toxicity of these salts varies as a function of background water chemistry. All salts except CaSO4 and CaCO3 were acutely toxic below saturation, with the lowest median lethal concentrations found for K salts. All 10 salts that showed toxicity also showed some degree of reduced toxicity as the ionic content of the background water increased. Experiments that independently varied Ca:Mg ratio, Na:K ratio, Cl:SO4 ratio, and alkalinity/pH demonstrated that Ca concentration was the primary factor influencing the toxicities of Na and Mg salts, whereas the toxicities of K salts were primarily influenced by the concentration of Na. These experiments also indicated multiple mechanisms of toxicity and suggested important aspects of dosimetry; the toxicities of K, Mg, and Ca salts were best related to the chemical activity of the cation, whereas the toxicities of Na salts also reflected an influence of the anions and were well correlated with osmolarity. Understanding these relationships between major ion toxicity and background water chemistry should aid in the development of sensible risk‐assessments and regulatory standards. Environ Toxicol Chem 2016;35:3039–3057. Published 2016 Wiley Periodicals Inc. on behalf of SETAC. This article is a US government work and, as such, is in the public domain in the United States of America.
Influence of Freeze Concentration Technique on Aromatic and Phenolic Compounds, Color Attributes, and Sensory Properties of Cabernet Sauvignon Wine

Red wines produced in the Xinjiang region of China possess poor color density, and lack fruity notes and elegance. The freeze concentration technique, as a well-established concentration method for liquid food systems, was applied to the Cabernet Sauvignon (Vitis vinifera L.) wine-making process, aiming to investigate its effect on wine quality improvement. Results showed that the freeze concentration treatment did not significantly alter the physicochemical properties of the wine, except for an increase of glycerol and alcoholic content. This technique increased ester contents, as well as decreasing the amount of volatile acids. Higher alcohol contents were also increased, but within an acceptable content range. All taken into consideration, the freeze concentration treated wine showed better fragrance characters according to sensory evaluation. The non-anthocyanin composition was altered by this application, however, the difference disappeared after the aging process. Fortunately, sensory evaluation showed that the treated wine possessed better mouthfeel properties. Anthocyanin contents were enhanced, and effectively stabilized the fresh wine color attributes, resulting in an improvement in appearance of the treated wine. All results considered, it can be concluded that freeze concentration treatment could be a good choice to improve wine quality.
Maternal Thyroid Function During Pregnancy and the Child’s Linguistic and Sensory Development in the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986

Background Maternal hypothyroidism and hypothyroxinemia are associated with poor neuropsychological development in children. Previous research is lacking on whether maternal thyroid dysfunction affects sensory and linguistic development in childhood. Methods The Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 included all births within a year (9,362 women, 9,479 children) from the two northernmost Finnish provinces. Maternal serum samples (n = 5,791) were obtained in early pregnancy and analyzed for TSH, free T4, and thyroid peroxidase antibodies (TPO-Abs). Five thousand three hundred and ninety-one parents evaluated their child’s sensory and linguistic development at 7 years old via a questionnaire (excluding children with an intelligence quotient ≤85). The prevalence of sensory and linguistic impairments was compared between mothers with and without thyroid dysfunction. Results There were no statistically significant differences in the prevalence of sensory or linguistic impairment between children of mothers with and without thyroid dysfunction. Children of hypothyroid and hypothyroxinemic mothers had an increased prevalence of vision impairment compared with those of euthyroid mothers (10.8 and 11.7%, respectively, versus 6.5%), but the difference was not significant. All results remained similar after excluding TPO-Ab-positive mothers and premature children. Conclusion We did not find an association between maternal thyroid dysfunction during pregnancy and sensory and linguistic development impairment in childhood. A somewhat higher prevalence of vision impairment was seen in children of hypothyroid and hypothyroxinemic mothers, which merits further research.
Parsimonious Tomography: Optimizing Cost-Identifiability Trade-off for Probing-based Network Monitoring

Network tomography using end-to-end probes provides a powerful tool for monitoring the performance of internal network elements. However, active probing can generate tremendous traffic, which degrades the overall network performance. Meanwhile, not all the probing paths contain useful information for identifying the link metrics of interest. This observation motivates us to study the optimal selection of monitoring paths to balance identifiability and probing cost. Assuming additive link metrics (e.g., delays), we consider four closely-related optimization problems: 1) Max-ILCost that maximizes the number of identifiable links under a probing budget, 2) Max-Rank-Cost that maximizes the rank of selected paths under a probing budget, 3) Min-Cost-IL that minimizes the probing cost while preserving identifiability, and 4) Min-Cost-Rank that minimizes the probing cost while preserving rank. While (1) and (3) are hard to solve, (2) and (4) are easy to solve, and the solutions give a good approximation for (1) and (3). Specifically, we provide an optimal algorithm for (4) and a (1? 1/e)-approximation algorithm for (2). We prove that the solution for (4) provides tight upper/lower bounds on the minimum cost of (3), and the solution for (2) provides upper/lower bounds on the maximum identifiability of (1). Our evaluations on real topologies show that solutions to the rank-based optimization (2, 4) have superior performance in terms of the objectives of the identifiability-based optimization (1, 3), and our solutions can reduce the total probing cost by an order of magnitude while achieving the same monitoring performance.
Techniques to Analyze Underdeposit Corrosion

13 Chapter 1 OBJECTIVE OF RESEARCH 14 Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 17 2.1 Overview of Corrosion Mechanisms in Pipelines 17 2.1. 1 External Corrosion 17 2.1. 2 Internal Corrosion 18 2.2 Underdeposit Corrosion 20 2.3 Review of Work done on Underdeposit Corrosion 24 Chapter 3 EXPERIMENTAL MATERIALS AND METHODS 32 3.1 Materials 32 3.2 Specimen geometries and sample preparation 32 3.2.1 Linear Polarization Resistance and Galvanic Corrosion 33 3.2.2 Rotating Disc Electrode 34 3.2.3 Parallel multi‐plate assembly 35 3.2. 4 Multi‐ring electrode assembly: 37 3.3 Test environment: solutions, temperatures and test matrix 39