Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Investigation of the Effect of Intra-Cavity Propagation Delay in Secure Optical Communication Using Chaotic Semiconductor Lasers

The influence of intra-cavity propagation delay in message encoding and decoding using chaotic semiconductor lasers is numerically investigated. A message is encoded at the transmitter laser by a chaos shift keying scheme and is decoded at the receiver by comparing its output with the transmitter laser. The requisite intra-cavity propagation delay in achieving synchronization of optical chaos is estimated by cross-correlation analysis between the transmitter and receiver lasers’ output. The effect of intra-cavity propagation delay on the message recovery has been analyzed from the bit error rate performance. It is found that despite the intra-cavity propagation delay magnitude being less, it has an impact on the quality of message recovery. We also examine the dependency of injection rate, frequency detuning, modulation depth and bit rate on intra-cavity propagation delay and associated message recovery quality. We found that the communication performance has been adequately improved after incorporating intra-cavity propagation delay correction in the synchronization system.
D2-like dopamine receptor density in Tourette syndrome measured by PET.

UNLABELLED Tourette syndrome (TS) is a chronic neurologic disorder characterized by the presence of involuntary motor and phonic tics. There is evidence that TS is associated with an abnormality of the dopaminergic system, involving postsynaptic D2 receptors. We tested the hypothesis that D2-like dopamine receptors are elevated in TS. METHODS Twenty-nine adult patients with TS were studied by PET imaging with [11C]3-N-methylspiperone ([11C]NMSP). Two methods of data analysis were used. The first was a caudate-to-cerebellar ratio, measured at 45 min. The second method, applied in 20 subjects, was a two-PET scan procedure. Both used high specific activity [11C]NMSP, but the second scan was preceded by a dose of unlabeled haloperidol, which partially occupied the D2-like dopamine receptors. This was done to provide an absolute measure of receptor density (Bmax). All patients were compared to age- and sex-matched controls. RESULTS Neither group showed significant differences from their control group in caudate-to-cerebellar ratio. However, the two-PET scan Bmax measurement demonstrated that 4 of the 20 patients had significantly elevated D2-like receptors. In this group of 20 patients, multiple linear regression analysis revealed a trend between the severity of vocal tics and Bmax values. This Bmax measure also revealed a significant (p < 0.05) association with performance on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. CONCLUSION These findings suggest that not all patients with TS have an abnormality of D2-like receptors, but a subgroup of TS subjects has a significant D2-like dopamine receptor elevation. These findings also support the importance of applying a more quantitative method for Bmax determination to PET imaging analysis. The Bmax findings in the subgroup do not exclude an effect of intrasynaptic dopamine competition, but this effect may be less likely due to the high affinity of [11C]NMSP.
Urban Aboriginal health: Examining inequalities between Aboriginal and non‐Aboriginal populations in Canada

This article contributes to the nascent literature on the health of urban Aboriginal people by comparing the health status and determinants of health of the urban Aboriginal and urban non-Aboriginal population in Canada. Data for the research were taken from the 2001 Aboriginal Peoples Survey (APS) and the 2000–2001 Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) Cycle 1.1. Framed within a population health approach, we explore the extent to which health status and determinants of health differ between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal populations living in urban areas. Health status is measured by three variables—self-assessed health status, chronic conditions, and activity limitations. While disparities in health exist between the urban Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal population, they are not as large as those between the Aboriginal population living on a reserve and non-Aboriginal people. The social determinants of health are quite similar between the two populations but the results also reveal the significance of cultural factors in shaping health among the urban Aboriginal population. The research demonstrates a need for future research to focus on culturally specific determinants of health as one potential explanation for disparities in health between urban Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. La sante des Autochtones en milieu urbain : une exploration des inegalites entre les Canadiens autochtones et non autochtones Cet article a pour but de contribuer a la litterature en emergence portant sur la sante des Autochtones en milieu urbain, en comparant l’etat de sante et les determinants de la sante de la population autochtone et non-autochtone en milieu urbain au Canada. L’etude s’appuie sur des donnees tirees de l’Enquete aupres des peuples autochtones (EPA) de 2001 et de l’Enquete sur la sante dans les communautes canadiennes (ESCC), cycle 1.1. Preconisant une approche axee sur la sante de la population, nous explorons les differences de l’etat de sante et des determinants de la sante entre les populations autochtones et non-autochtones en milieu urbain. Trois variables sont utilisees pour decrire l’etat de sante : l’auto-evaluation de l’etat de sante, les maladies chroniques et la limitation d’activites. Si l’existence de disparites en matiere de sante entre la population autochtone et non-autochtone en milieu urbain est demontree, celles-ci ne sont pas aussi importantes que les disparites qui caracterisent la population non-autochtone et autochtone vivant dans une reserve. Les determinants sociaux de la sante sont comparables pour les deux populations, mais les resultats illustrent a quel point des facteurs culturels peuvent egalement intervenir en faveur ou au detriment de la sante parmi la population autochtone en milieu urbain. Cette etude exploratoire fait ressortir la necessite de tenir compte des facteurs culturels propres aux determinants de la sante dans les recherches ulterieures afin d’identifier des pistes d’explication des disparites en matiere de sante entre les individus autochtones et non-autochtones en milieu urbain.
Increased work-load associated with faecal incontinence among home care patients in 11 European countries.

UNLABELLED The plurality of definition of faecal incontinence (FI) complicates the cross-national comparisons between studies conducted in the area. The aim of the study was to investigate work-load and subjective care-giver burden associated with FI, among home-care patients, in Europe. DESIGN AND METHODS In this cross-sectional retrospective study, a random sample of 4010 RAI-HC assessments were collected during 2001-02 from home care patients aged 65 years and over (74% females; age 82.8 +/- 7.2 years) in Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and United Kingdom. RESULTS Of the 4010 individuals, 411 (10.3%) suffered from FI (range 1.1-30.8% from site to site). The factors significantly associated with faecal incontinence were diarrhoea [odds ratio (OR) 10.3, 95% confidence interval (CI) 6.590-15.96], urinary incontinence (OR 3.99, 95% CI 2.991-5.309) and pressure ulcers (OR 3.15, 95% CI 2.196-4.512) together with severe impairments in physical (OR 4.25, 95% CI 2.872-6.295) and cognitive (OR 3.76, 95% CI 2.663-5.304) functions. High use of working hours of the visiting nurses (OR 2.04, 95% CI 1.221-3.414) and home health carers (OR 2.40, 95% CI 1.289-4.470) were additionally associated with faecal incontinence. Use of five or more medications was an inversely associated with FI (OR 0.62, 95% CI 0.473-0.820). CONCLUSIONS The additional work load associated with faecal incontinence comprises considerable numbers of formal health care hours and should be taken into account when planning home health services for the older in home care patients.
Particulate Matter at Surface: Northern Italy Monitoring Based on Satellite Remote Sensing, Meteorological Fields, and in-situ Samplings

Growing attention has been paid over recent years to the possibility of monitoring surface particulate matter (PM) concentrations through the use of satellite observations. Satellite remote sensing of both aerosol and trace gas constituents can be usefully employed in air quality monitoring (AQ). The MODIS (Terra-Aqua/NASA platforms) aerosol optical properties were used here in a semi-empirical approach to estimate PM2.5 content at ground level. PM2.5 samplings were employed to convert aerosol optical depth AOD into PM estimates, considering meteorological fields simulated by MM5. Thus, daily maps of satellite-based PM2.5 concentrations over Northern Italy were derived. Comparison with daily PM2.5, sampled on the ground during the QUITSAT project over six validation sites of the Po valley, showed good agreement (R2 ¿ 0.68 and R2 ¿ 0.59 for MODIS/Terra and MODIS/Aqua, respectively), with the satellite-based concentrations tending to underestimate the values by at most ~20%. Monthly averaged values were also compared providing good agreement, with R2 ¿ 0.7 for each platform.
Effects of Prefix and Contextual Information on Japanese EFL Lexical Inferencing: A Think-Aloud Study

The present study investigated the effects of morphological and contextual clues and L2 reading proficiency on Japanese EFL learners’ lexical inferencing. Previous studies have revealed that lexical inferencing is conducted based on a combination of clues such as morphology, context, general knowledge, and so on. However, the interaction of these factors remains to be examined. In an experiment, 20 Japanese university students engaged in a lexical inferencing task consisting of 2 (prefix availability: +prefix/–prefix) × 2 (context: +informative/–informative) conditions and an L2 reading proficiency test. During this think-aloud study, L2 learners reported aloud what they were thinking as they inferred a word’s meaning. The results of statistical analyses indicate significant differences depending on prefix availability in the lexical inferencing task. Also, analyses of verbal protocols revealed that a lack of prefix availability in an unknown word prompted L2 learners to use different strategies such as repeating, using prior knowledge, and paraphrasing. Taken together, these results indicate that L2 learners with university-level L2 proficiency are sensitive to morphological clues in an unknown word and that these clues change their strategies for inferring a word’s meaning. After discussion of the results, implications of the study’s findings for the teaching of lexical inferencing are mentioned.
Thrombocytopenia in patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome (review)

Abstract Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) has been recognized as a new human infectious disease caused by a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV). Hematological changes in patients with SARS were common, including notably lymphopenia and thrombocytopenia. While the former is the result of decreases in CD4+ or CD8+ T-lymphocytes related to the onset of disease or use of glucocorticoids, the latter may involve a number of potential mechanisms. Although the development of autoimmune antibodies or immune complexes triggered by viral infection may play a significant role in inducing thrombocytopenia, SARS-CoV may also directly infect hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells, megakaryocytes and platelets inducing their growth inhibition and apoptosis. Moreover, the increased consumption of platelets and/or the decreased production of platelets in the damaged lungs are a potential alternative mechanism that can contribute to thrombocytopenia in severe critical pulmonary conditions, which has been rarely revealed and will be discussed.
The LuxM Homologue VanM from Vibrio anguillarumDirects the Synthesis of N-(3-Hydroxyhexanoyl)homoserine Lactone and N-Hexanoylhomoserine Lactone

ABSTRACT Vibrio anguillarum, which causes terminal hemorrhagic septicemia in fish, was previously shown to possess a LuxRI-type quorum-sensing system (vanRI) and to produceN-(3-oxodecanoyl)homoserine lactone (3-oxo-C10-HSL). However, a vanI null mutant still activatedN-acylhomoserine lactone (AHL) biosensors, indicating the presence of an additional quorum-sensing circuit in V. anguillarum. In this study, we have characterized this second system. Using high-pressure liquid chromatography in conjunction with mass spectrometry and chemical analysis, we identified two additional AHLs as N-hexanoylhomoserine lactone (C6-HSL) andN-(3-hydroxyhexanoyl)homoserine lactone (3-hydroxy-C6-HSL). Quantification of each AHL present in stationary-phase V. anguillarum spent culture supernatants indicated that 3-oxo-C10-HSL, 3-hydroxy-C6-HSL, and C6-HSL are present at approximately 8.5, 9.5, and 0.3 nM, respectively. Furthermore,vanM, the gene responsible for the synthesis of these AHLs, was characterized and shown to be homologous to the luxLand luxM genes, which are required for the production ofN-(3-hydroxybutanoyl)homoserine lactone in Vibrio harveyi. However, resequencing of the V. harveyi luxL/luxM junction revealed a sequencing error present in the published sequence, which when corrected resulted in a single open reading frame (termed luxM). Downstream ofvanM, we identified a homologue of luxN(vanN) that encodes a hybrid sensor kinase which forms part of a phosphorelay cascade involved in the regulation of bioluminescence in V. harveyi. A mutation in vanM abolished the production of C6-HSL and 3-hydroxy-C6-HSL. In addition, production of 3-oxo-C10-HSL was abolished in the vanM mutant, suggesting that 3-hydroxy-C6-HSL and C6-HSL regulate the production of 3-oxo-C10-HSL via vanRI. However, a vanN mutant displayed a wild-type AHL profile. Neither mutation affected either the production of proteases or virulence in a fish infection model. These data indicate that V. anguillarum possesses a hierarchical quorum sensing system consisting of regulatory elements homologous to those found in both V. fischeri (the LuxRI homologues VanRI) and V. harveyi (the LuxMN homologues, VanMN).
Hydrophobic surface protein masking by the opportunistic fungal pathogen Candida albicans

Ultrastructural and biochemical analyses of hydrophobic and hydrophilic yeast cell surface proteins of Candida albicans were performed. Hydrophobic and hydrophilic yeast cells were obtained by growth at 23 and 37 degrees C, respectively. In addition, hydrophilic yeast cells were converted to surface hydrophobicity by treatment with tunicamycin and dithiothreitol. When freeze-etched cells were examined, the temperature-induced hydrophilic cells had long (0.198 micron), compact, evenly distributed fibrils while temperature-induced hydrophobic cells had short (0.085 micron), blunt fibrils. Hydrophobic microsphere attachment to the hydrophobic cells occurred at the basement of and within the short fibril layer. Dithiothreitol-induced hydrophobic cells had the long fibrils removed; tunicamycin-induced hydrophobic cells retained some of the long fibrils, but the fibrils were less compact and more aggregated than the untreated controls. These results suggest that the long fibrils prevent hydrophobic microsphere attachment to the hydrophobic area of the cell surface. This was confirmed by assessing the hydrophobic avidity of hydrophobic yeast cell populations differing in fibril density and arrangement. 125I-labelled surface proteins from hydrophobic and hydrophilic cells were compared after separation by hydrophobic interaction chromatography-high-performance liquid chromatography and analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and autoradiography. The yeast cell populations had hydrophilic proteins of similar molecular masses (greater than 200 kDa), but the hydrophilic cells possessed at least two additional proteins (ca. 63 and 69 to 71 kDa). Hydrophobic surface proteins appeared to be similar. However, the amount of total radiolabelled hydrophobic proteins was approximately 10-fold higher for the hydrophobic cells than for the hydrophilic cells. This result agrees with the ultrastructural observations which showed that yeast cell surface hydrophobic proteins are masked by hydrophilic high-molecular-mass surface fibrils. Taken together, the data indicate that yeast cell hydrophobicity is not determined by differences in surface hydrophobic proteins but by the presence of hydrophilic, surface fibrils.
Field evaluations of safety and efficacy of an Australian Marek's disease vaccine.

OBJECTIVE To demonstrate the safety and efficacy of the Marek's Disease Virus-1 vaccine (strain BH 16) from field studies in comparison with the CVI 988 Rispens vaccine currently available in Australia. STUDY DESIGN A small field trial was carried out on nine breeder flocks and a larger trial on 21 breeder flocks. All chickens were obtained from a commercial hatchery and each was vaccinated at hatch with cell-associated Herpes Virus of Turkeys vaccine. A group of chickens vaccinated with BH 16 vaccine was placed in one shed per property and the remainder were vaccinated with the Rispens vaccine and placed in the remaining sheds. At 25, 30, 35, and 40 weeks after hatch, the field veterinarian or farm manager examined all birds dying on two consecutive days in the designated placement sheds. RESULTS In the small trial there was a significantly lower incidence of MD in birds vaccinated with the MDV-1 vaccine compared with the Rispens vaccine (P < 0.001). In a larger trial there was no difference in the incidence of MD between the treatment groups, due possibly to a lower rate of natural challenge. Egg production results and average weekly mortality results for both groups were similar. CONCLUSION The present study describes an attenuated type 1 MD vaccine which is at least equivalent to a vaccine derived from the CVI 988 Rispens strain in terms of safety and efficacy when used in combination with HVT vaccine.
Testicular lymphomas: A clinicopathologic study of 35 cases

Thirty‐five patients with malignant lymphoma of the testis were reviewed. The lymphomas were classified by the Rappaport criteria and the recently introduced Working Formulation of non‐Hodgkin's Lymphomas. The great majority of cases were diffuse histiocytic lymphoma (Rappaport), and these could be further subclassified by the Working Formulation. Significant differences in survival were observed between histologic subgroups of the Working Formulation and this effect was independent of stage, which also had a significant effect on survival. Of 23 clinically evaluable patients who presented with testicular lymphoma, eight of 17 patients with intermediate‐grade lymphomas are alive and well, in contrast to none of six patients with high‐grade lesions. The recognition of histologic subtype as a prognostic factor independent of clinical stage is important for postorchiectomy management of these patients.
Christophe Nicolle, Tell Mohammed Diyab 3. Travaux de 1992‑2000 sur les buttes A et B.

Le troisieme rapport definitif sur Tell Mohammed Diyab apparait quatorze ans apres le deuxieme. Il ne s’agit plus, comme pour les rapports precedents, du rassemblement des contributions de differents archeologues presentant leurs recherches. C’est en revanche l’œuvre d’un seul auteur, celui qui est devenu depuis 2005 le nouveau directeur, Christophe Nicolle. La redaction par un seul chercheur donne une plus grande homogeneite a l’ouvrage. Et la publication rapide des rapports des fouilles est.
Effect of dietary purine restriction, allupurinol, and oxipurinol on urinary excretion of ultraviolet-absorbing compounds.

We demonstrate that purine restriction is associated with a decreased excretion of a number of uv-absorbing compounds—including uric acid, hypoxanthine, xanthine, adenine, pseudouridine, and 5-acetylamino-6-amino-3-methyluracil—indicating that these compounds originate, at least partly, exogenously. Administration of allopurinol and oxipurinol is associated with a decreased excretion of uric acid and an increased excretion of hypoxanthine and xanthine, as well as the excretion of the previously identified products of allopurinol and oxipurinol metabolism. Moreover, these drugs further decrease excretion of 5-acetylamino-6-amino-3-methyluracil, increase uracil excretion slightly, and strikingly increase orotic acid and orotidine excretion. No change in pseudouridine excretion was observed. The ultraviolet-analyzer is a valuable tool for detecting qualitative changes in the excretion of ultraviolet-absorbing compounds in the urine; with it, identified peaks can be semiquantitated.
Factors Influencing the Level of Accounting Conservatism in the Financial Statements

This study aims to evaluate the role of the public sector in regulating Accounting Standards in Kuwait through examining its ability to oblige those companies listed in Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) to present a reasonable level of accounting conservatism when preparing financial statements. In addition, the study examines the factors that affect the level of accounting conservatism in those companies with regard to company size, debt contracts, and the type of sector the company belongs to. To achieve these goals, two different methods were used to measure conservatism level and the factors influencing it. The methods are: Basu (1997) model and Book-to-Market approach. The sample of the study comprises of (225) companies listed in (KSE). Findings of the study showed that the public sector of regulating accounting standards succeeded in forcing Kuwait companies to present a reasonable level of accounting conservatism. The study also found out that the financial statements of small companies were conservative, while those of the big ones were not. In addition, the debt contracts left an impact upon financial reports of accounting conservatism. Thus, companies with lower debts were more conservative than those of higher ones. Moreover, the financial statements of the financial sector in Kuwait Stock Exchange were the most conservative. The findings of the study showed how significant the accounting information in Kuwait was.
HKDS: A Hierarchical Key Distribution Scheme for Wireless Ad Hoc Network

Wireless ad hoc networks are very popular in many areas such as border area protection, rescue operations etc. These networks suﬀer security problems due to their infrastructure less architecture. Attacks like passive eaves-dropping, impersonation, replay etc. can be easily performed in such networks. Also the devices used in such networks are mostly resource constrained devices. Hence highly secured complex cryptographic algorithm cannot implement in such devices. This paper proposes a two level hierarchical key distribution scheme (HKDS) for wireless ad hoc networks. In the ﬁrst level the secret key is distributed among the cluster heads using knap-sack algorithm. In the second level, the secret shares generated by cluster head using Chinese Remainder Theorem (CRT) scheme is distributed among the nodes of the cluster. After that a mutual authentication scheme is introduced through which the node and the cluster head will mutually authenticate themselves and generate the secret session key for communication.
Investor Competition and the Pricing of Information Asymmetry

Whether the information environment affects the cost of capital is a fundamental question in accounting and finance research. In this paper, we study the role of competition among informed investors on the pricing of information asymmetry and its implications for the pricing of information quality. Relying on theories on competition among informed investors and on the pricing of information asymmetry, we hypothesize and find that the pricing of information asymmetry and the pricing information quality decrease with more competition among informed investors. Our results suggest that competition among informed investors has an important effect on how the information environment affects the cost of capital.