Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
User Adoption of Cell Phones for Smoking Cessation: Does Attitude Towards Smoking Matter?

The objective of this study is to investigate the role of attitude towards the activity targeted by the technology in a perceived risk-motivation information technology adoption model. A theoretical model was developed and tested empirically with 170 respondents from the UK for the case of using cell phones in smoking cessation interventions. Results show attitude towards smoking had a negative effect on the perceived risk and no significant effect on motivation.
Distributed MAC and rate adaptation for ultrasonically networked implantable sensors

The use of miniaturized biomedical devices implanted in the human body and wirelessly internetworked is promising a significant leap forward in medical treatment of many pervasive diseases. Recognizing the well-understood limitations of traditional radio-frequency wireless communications in interconnecting devices within the human body, in this paper we propose to develop network protocols for implantable devices based on ultrasonic transmissions. We start off by assessing the feasibility of using ultrasonic propagation in human body tissues and by deriving an accurate channel model for ultrasonic intra-body communications. Then, we propose a new ultrasonic transmission and multiple access technique, which we refer to as Ultrasonic WideBand (UsWB). UsWB is based on the idea of transmitting information bits spread over very short pulses following a time-hopping pattern. The short impulse duration results in limited reflection and scattering effects, and its low duty cycle reduces the thermal and mechanical effects, which are detrimental for human health. We then develop a multiple access technique with distributed control to enable efficient simultaneous access by interfering devices based on minimal and localized information exchange and on measurements at the receiver only. Finally, we demonstrate the performance of UsWB through a multi-scale simulator that models the proposed communication system at the acoustic wave level, at the physical (bit) level, and at the network (packet) level.
Nonlinear mechanical response of high density polyethylene. Part II: Uniaxial constitutive modeling

Based on the experimental data presented in Part I, two uniaxial constitutive models are constructed. The first, a nonlinear viscoelastic (NVE) model, is formulated using the mechanical analogy consisting of one independent spring and six Kelvin elements in series. Creep data are used to determine the model parameters. The second model, a viscoplastic (VP) formulation, is developed using the viscoplastic theory proposed by Bodner to characterize the uniaxial viscoplastic behavior of metals. Inelastic strain rate is introduced into the state variable in addition to inelastic work to depict the strong rate dependent behavior of HDPE. Experimental data from constant strain rate tests are employed to construct the material functions of the model. Limitations in the application of each model are discussed in conjunction with possibilities for future work.
Prevalence and potential link between E. coli O157:H7 isolated from drinking water, meat and vegetables and stools of diarrhoeic confirmed and non‐confirmed HIV/AIDS patients in the Amathole District – South Africa

Aim: The current study investigated the prevalence and molecular relatedness between Escherichia coli O157:H7 isolated from water, meat and meat products and vegetables and from stools of confirmed and non‐confirmed Human Immune Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) patients with diarrhoea.
Kinetic and spatiotemporal gait analysis system using instrumented insoles and laser range sensor

Kinetic and spatiotemporal gait analysis provides important information for the treatment and rehabilitation of patients with gait disorders. Although motion analysis laboratories with infrared motion capture cameras and force plates are the gold standard measurement technologies for analysis, they are, in most cases, impractical for community health centers or general clinical settings because of their cost, scale, and usability. This paper presents an accessible gait analysis system that uses simultaneous measurements of instrumented insoles and a laser range sensor (LRS). In the proposed system, GRF and COP are estimated by sensor analysis taken from the insoles. Strides step width, cadence, and walking speed are measured by the LRS. In addition, stance durations including single limb support and double stance are detected at the insoles from accurate measurements of initial and end foot contact time. The GRF estimation method derived from the insole sensors and the integrated system with the LRS have been validated by measuring straight walking and comparing results with data obtained from motion analysis laboratories.
Household sanitation and personal hygiene practices are associated with child stunting in rural India: a cross-sectional analysis of surveys

Objectives Increasing evidence suggests that water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) practices affect linear growth in early childhood. We determined the association between household access to water, sanitation and personal hygiene practices with stunting among children aged 0–23 months in rural India. Setting India. Participants A total of 10 364, 34 639 and 1282 under-2s who participated in the 2005–2006 National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3), the 2011 Hunger and Malnutrition Survey (HUNGaMA) and the 2012 Comprehensive Nutrition Survey in Maharashtra (CNSM), respectively, were included in the analysis. Primary outcome measures The association between WASH indicators and child stunting was assessed using logistic regression models. Results The prevalence of stunting ranged from 25% to 50% across the three studies. Compared with open defecation, household access to toilet facility was associated with a 16–39% reduced odds of stunting among children aged 0–23 months, after adjusting for all potential confounders (NHFS-3 (OR=0.84, 95% CI 0.71 to 0.99); HUNGaMA (OR=0.84, 95% CI 0.78 to 0.91); CNSM (OR=0.61, 95% CI 0.44 to 0.85)). Household access to improved water supply or piped water was not in itself associated with stunting. The caregiver's self-reported practices of washing hands with soap before meals (OR=0.85, 95% CI 0.76 to 0.94) or after defecation (OR=0.86, 95% CI 0.80 to 0.93) were inversely associated with child stunting. However, the inverse association between reported personal hygiene practices and stunting was stronger among households with access to toilet facility or piped water (all interaction terms, p<0.05). Conclusions Improved conditions of sanitation and hygiene practices are associated with reduced prevalence of stunting in rural India. Policies and programming aiming to address child stunting should encompass WASH interventions, thus shifting the emphasis from nutrition-specific to nutrition-sensitive programming. Future randomised trials are warranted to validate the causal association.
Mutual Information in Learning Feature Transformations

We present feature transformations useful for exploratory data analysis or for pattern recognition. Transformations are learned from example data sets by maximizing the mutual information between transformed data and their class labels. We make use of Renyi’s quadratic entropy, and we extend the work of Principe et al. to mutual information between continuous multidimensional variables and discrete-valued class labels.
Multiyear dual nitrate isotope signatures suggest that N‐saturated subtropical forested catchments can act as robust N sinks

In forests of the humid subtropics of China, chronically elevated nitrogen (N) deposition, predominantly as ammonium (NH4+), causes significant nitrate (NO3−) leaching from well‐drained acid forest soils on hill slopes (HS), whereas significant retention of NO3− occurs in near‐stream environments (groundwater discharge zones, GDZ). To aid our understanding of N transformations on the catchment level, we studied spatial and temporal variabilities of concentration and natural abundance (δ15N and δ18O) of nitrate (NO3−) in soil pore water along a hydrological continuum in the N‐saturated Tieshanping (TSP) catchment, southwest China. Our data show that effective removal of atmogenic NH4+ and production of NO3− in soils on HS were associated with a significant decrease in δ15N‐NO3−, suggesting efficient nitrification despite low soil pH. The concentration of NO3− declined sharply along the hydrological flow path in the GDZ. This decline was associated with a significant increase in both δ15N and δ18O of residual NO3−, providing evidence that the GDZ acts as an N sink due to denitrification. The observed apparent 15N enrichment factor (ε) of NO3− of about −5‰ in the GDZ is similar to values previously reported for efficient denitrification in riparian and groundwater systems. Episode studies in the summers of 2009, 2010 and 2013 revealed that the spatial pattern of δ15N and δ18O‐NO3− in soil water was remarkably similar from year to year. The importance of denitrification as a major N sink was also seen at the catchment scale, as largest δ15N‐NO3− values in stream water were observed at lowest discharge, confirming the importance of the relatively small GDZ for N removal under base flow conditions. This study, explicitly recognizing hydrologically connected landscape elements, reveals an overlooked but robust N sink in N‐saturated, subtropical forests with important implications for regional N budgets.
Early Exposure to Traumatic Stressors Impairs Emotional Brain Circuitry

Exposure to early life trauma (ELT) is known to have a profound impact on mental development, leading to a higher risk for depression and anxiety. Our aim was to use multiple structural imaging methods to systematically investigate how traumatic stressors early in life impact the emotional brain circuits, typically found impaired with clinical diagnosis of depression and anxiety, across the lifespan in an otherwise healthy cohort. MRI data and self-reported histories of ELT from 352 healthy individuals screened for no psychiatric disorders were analyzed in this study. The volume and cortical thickness of the limbic and cingulate regions were assessed for all participants. A large subset of the cohort also had diffusion tensor imaging data, which was used to quantify white matter structural integrity of these regions. We found a significantly smaller amygdala volume and cortical thickness in the rostral anterior cingulate cortex associated with higher ELT exposure only for the adolescence group. White matter integrity of these regions was not affected. These findings demonstrate that exposure to early life trauma is associated with alterations in the gray matter of cingulate-limbic regions during adolescence in an otherwise healthy sample. These findings are interesting in the context that the affected regions are central neuroanatomical components in the psychopathology of depression, and adolescence is a peak period for risk and onset of the disorder.
SBCDDB: Sleeping Beauty Cancer Driver Database for gene discovery in mouse models of human cancers

Abstract Large-scale oncogenomic studies have identified few frequently mutated cancer drivers and hundreds of infrequently mutated drivers. Defining the biological context for rare driving events is fundamentally important to increasing our understanding of the druggable pathways in cancer. Sleeping Beauty (SB) insertional mutagenesis is a powerful gene discovery tool used to model human cancers in mice. Our lab and others have published a number of studies that identify cancer drivers from these models using various statistical and computational approaches. Here, we have integrated SB data from primary tumor models into an analysis and reporting framework, the Sleeping Beauty Cancer Driver DataBase (SBCDDB, http://sbcddb.moffitt.org), which identifies drivers in individual tumors or tumor populations. Unique to this effort, the SBCDDB utilizes a single, scalable, statistical analysis method that enables data to be grouped by different biological properties. This allows for SB drivers to be evaluated (and re-evaluated) under different contexts. The SBCDDB provides visual representations highlighting the spatial attributes of transposon mutagenesis and couples this functionality with analysis of gene sets, enabling users to interrogate relationships between drivers. The SBCDDB is a powerful resource for comparative oncogenomic analyses with human cancer genomics datasets for driver prioritization.
Ice clouds and Asian dust studied with lidar measurements of particle extinction-to-backscatter ratio, particle depolarization, and water-vapor mixing ratio over Tsukuba.

The tropospheric particle extinction-to-backscatter ratio, the depolarization ratio, and the water-vapor mixing ratio were measured by use of a Raman lidar and a polarization lidar during the Asian dust seasons in 2001 and 2002 in Tsukuba, Japan. The apparent (not corrected for multiple-scattering effects) extinction-to-backscatter ratios (Sp) showed a dependence on the relative humidity with respect to ice (RHice) obtained from the lidar-derived water-vapor mixing ratio and radiosonde-derived temperature; they were mostly higher than 30 sr in dry air (RHice < 50%), whereas they were mostly lower than 30 sr in ice-supersaturated air (RHice > or = 100%), where the apparent extinction coefficients were larger than 0.036 km(-1). Both regions showed mean particle depolarization ratios of 20%-22%. Comparisons with theoretical calculations and the previous experiments suggest that the observed dependence of Sp on RHice is attributed to the difference in the predominant particles: nonspherical aerosols (mainly the Asian dust) in dry air and cloud particles in ice-supersaturated air.
Klepaczko for his pioneering contributions in the areas of Dynamic Behavior of Materials and Experimental Mechanics . ”

A recently developed specimen geometry, the shear compression specimen (SCS) [1,2] has been used in the seamless characterization of the large strain behavior of α-iron over a range of strain rates, 10 to 2x10 s. In addition to the mechanical response (stress-strain) obtained using the split Hopkinson (Kolsky) pressure bar, the in-situ temperature rise during dynamic deformation is measured using a high-speed infrared detector. The stress-strain response of the material at low and intermediate strain rates compares well with prior experiments on as received α-iron [3,4]. However, the response of the material deformed at very high strain rates coincides with that of the pre-shocked material [5]. The fraction of the conversion of plastic work into heat is calculated using experimental measurements of temperature during dynamic deformation. The material in the gage section is found to exhibit limited twinning at high-strain-rates and the hardness is comparable to that of pre-shocked α-iron [6].
Antibacterial potential of streptomycete strains from Antarctic soils

The exploration of habitats with unusual environment and poorly explored areas such as Antarctica is one of the strategies for discovery of new biologically active substances and/or new producers. The aim of this study was to identify the actinomycetes isolated from the soils of the island Livingston – Antarctica and to investigate their potential to synthesize antibacterial agents against phytopathogens. Twenty-three actinomycete strains were the object of this study. Using PCR (polymerase chain reaction) amplification all strains were affiliated to genus Streptomyces. The sequencing of the 16S rRNA for three of the strains showed greatest similarity to Streptomyces tendae for one of them, and revealed that the other strains had closest relations to streptomycetes isolated from anthropogenically unaltered regions including Antarctica. The isolates were studied for production of antibacterial substances both by molecular and culture methods. PCR targeting specific biosynthetic genes involved in the production of some groups of antibiotics was performed. The screening showed that all strains possessed the gene for Type-II polyketide synthase, 11 strains – for non-ribosomal peptide synthetase; 6 strains – for polyene antibiotics; and 4 strains – for glycopeptide antibiotics. The production of antibacterial substances by the strains was tested in vitro against phytopathogenic bacteria. The strains differed in the number of inhibited test – bacteria and in their spectrum of action. Four strains showed a wide range of activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative phytopathogens. The results obtained revealed that the Antarctic soils are potential source for isolation of streptomycetes producing antibiotics from different groups.
Data Availability and Durability with the Hadoop Distributed File System

The Hadoop Distributed File System at Yahoo! stores 40 petabytes of application data across 30,000 nodes . The most conventional strategy for data protection—just make a copy somewhere else—is not practical for such large data sets . To be a good custodian of this much data, HDFS must continuously manage the number of replicas for each block, test the integrity of blocks, balance the usage of resources as the hardware infrastructure changes, report status to administrators, and be on guard for the unexpected . Furthermore, the system administrators must ensure that thousands of hosts are operational, have network connectivity, and are executing the HDFS Name Node and Data Node applications . How well has this worked in practice? HDFS is (almost) always available and (almost) never loses data .
Prediction of Equivalent-Circuit Parameters for Double-Layer Capacitors Module

Although low energy density and low voltage tolerance limit the effectiveness of double-layer capacitors (DLCs) as a storage unit, many different lumped-parameter equivalent circuits have been recently proposed for the DLC. The purpose of this work is to predict equivalent-circuit parameters for DLC modules consisting of a single supercapacitor product of Maxwell BCAP3000-P270-T04 with a capacitance of 3000 F and NessCap ESHSR-1600C0-002R7A5T with a capacitance of 1600 F in series, in parallel, or the combination of the both. The equivalent circuit model for the single DLC consists of three RC branches, one of them with a voltage-dependent capacitance. The parameters for the DLC module are identified by charging it from zero to the rated voltage and by measuring its terminal voltage during the internal charge redistribution over the time of 30 min. The simulation and experiment results indicate the prediction of equivalent-circuit parameters concluded in this paper are feasible and effective.
Exploring femtosecond laser ablation in single-particle aerosol mass spectrometry

Abstract. Size, composition, and mixing state of individual aerosol particles can be analysed in real time using single-particle mass spectrometry (SPMS). In SPMS, laser ablation is the most widely used method for desorption and ionization of particle components, often realizing both in one single step. Excimer lasers are well suited for this task due to their relatively high power density (107–1010 W cm−2) in nanosecond (ns) pulses at ultraviolet (UV) wavelengths and short triggering times. However, varying particle optical properties and matrix effects make a quantitative interpretation of this analytical approach challenging. In atmospheric SPMS applications, this influences both the mass fraction of an individual particle that is ablated, as well as the resulting mass spectral fragmentation pattern of the ablated material. The present study explores the use of shorter (femtosecond, fs) laser pulses for atmospheric SPMS. Its objective is to assess whether the higher laser power density of the fs laser leads to a more complete ionization of the entire particle and higher ion signal and thus improvement in the quantitative abilities of SPMS. We systematically investigate the influence of power density and pulse duration on airborne particle (polystyrene latex, SiO2, NH4NO3, NaCl, and custom-made core-shell particles) ablation and reproducibility of mass spectral signatures. We used a laser ablation aerosol time-of-flight single-particle mass spectrometer (LAAPTOF, AeroMegt GmbH), originally equipped with an excimer laser (wavelength 193 nm, pulse width 8 ns, pulse energy 4 mJ), and coupled it to an fs laser (Spectra Physics Solstice-100F ultrafast laser) with similar pulse energy but longer wavelengths (266 nm with 100 fs and 0.2 mJ, 800 nm with 100 fs and 3.2 mJ). We successfully coupled the free-firing fs laser with the single-particle mass spectrometer employing the fs laser light scattered by the particle to trigger mass spectra acquisition. Generally, mass spectra exhibit an increase in ion intensities (factor 1 to 5) with increasing laser power density (∼ 109 to ∼ 1013 W cm−2) from ns to fs laser. At the same time, fs-laser ablation produces spectra with larger ion fragments and ion clusters as well as clusters with oxygen, which does not render spectra interpretation more simple compared to ns-laser ablation. The idea that the higher power density of the fs laser leads to a more complete particle ablation and ionization could not be substantiated in this study. Quantification of ablated material remains difficult due to incomplete ionization of the particle. Furthermore, the fs-laser application still suffers from limitations in triggering it in a useful time frame. Further studies are needed to test potential advantages of fs- over ns-laser ablation in SPMS.
Vancomycin-induced histamine release and "red man syndrome": comparison of 1- and 2-hour infusions

Vancomycin-induced "red man syndrome" (RMS) is mediated in part by histamine release, and its severity is correlated with the area under the plasma histamine concentration-time curve. Ten adult male volunteers participated in a randomized, double-blind, two-way crossover trial (1-week washout interval between regimens) to determine the effect of 1- and 2-h infusions of vancomycin (1.0 g) on histamine release and on the frequency and severity of RMS. The severity of RMS was classified a priori as mild, moderate, or severe from a combined score of pruritus and extent of erythema. Serial concentrations of histamine in plasma and concentrations of vancomycin in serum were measured at baseline and during and after each infusion. Of 10 subjects, 8 had evidence of RMS during the 1-h infusion (3 mild, 3 moderate, and 2 severe), whereas only 3 of the 10 subjects (all mild) had RMS during the 2-h infusion (P less than 0.05). The 1-h infusion was associated with a significantly greater peak concentration of histamine in plasma (1.8 +/- 0.7 versus 1.0 +/- 0.3 ng/ml, P = 0.004) and a greater total release of histamine (74.3 +/- 54.1 versus 36.4 +/- 22.6 ng.min/ml, P = 0.017) than was the 2-h infusion. These data suggest that administration of vancomycin over 2 h reduces the frequency and severity of RMS and the amount of histamine released compared with those after a 1-h infusion in healthy volunteers.