Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Climate and fluid intake.

NUMEROUS investigators have studied the physiological reaction of adults to specific temperature,. humidity, and other variable climatic conditions (1, 2). These studies, initiated primarily by the U. S. Armed Forces, have been concerned largely with man's comfort, efficiency, or survival in the desert, arctic, or other places with severe climatic conditions. There have been a few investigations of the physiological response of children to heat stress under laboratory (3) and normal living conditions (4, 5), but data are too limited to describe adequately the influence of climatic factors on the amount and kind of fluid consumed by this group. Interest in the physiological response of children to climate increased markedly with the advent of community water fluoridation. Epidemiological studies in natural fluoride areas have shown that 1 p.p.m. fluoride represents the optimum level for dental caries con-
Analysis of Current Waveforms of Induction Motors with Short Circuit Faults

Short circuit of a stator winding is one of the most probable faults of induction motors, resulting in huge economical loss by stopping of production lines in industrial plants and factories. Establishment of an easy and effective fault diagnosis method has been strongly required to assure motors for operation with high reliability. This paper reports the results of analysis of current waveforms of motors with short-circuit turns in stator windings. It was confirmed that magnitude and phase of current changed depending on the degree of short circuit of the stator winding under both no load and load-connected conditions. It is suggested that current waveform is suitable for detection of short circuit fault of induction motors.
Diffusion‐weighted MRI of the abdomen: Current value in clinical routine

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides high tissue contrast without ionizing radiation exposure and unenhanced images are often diagnostic. Therefore, MRI is especially an attractive tool for patients with allergies for gadolinium‐based contrast agents or renal failure. Technical advantages have led to the increasing use of diffusion‐weighted (DW) MRI in abdominal imaging, which provides qualitative and quantitative information of tissue cellularity and the integrity of cellular membranes. This review article presents the current status of noncontrast MRI with the focus of DW‐MRI. Technical background and clinical applications are explained and discussed. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2013;37:35–47. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Does One Size Fit All? Investigating Heterogeneity in Men’s Preferences for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia Treatment Using Mixed Logit Analysis

In this study, the authors demonstrate how mixed logit analysis of discrete choice experiment (DCE) data can provide information about unobserved preference heterogeneity. Their application investigates unobserved heterogeneity in men’s preferences for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) treatment. They use a DCE to elicit preferences for seven characteristics of BPH treatment: time to symptom improvement, sexual and nonsexual treatment side effects, risks of acute urinary retention and surgery, cost of treatment, and reduction in prostate size. They investigate the importance of these characteristics and the trade-offs men are willing to make between them. Preferences are elicited from a sample of 100 men attending an outpatient clinic in Ireland. The authors find all treatment characteristics are significant determinants of treatment choice. There is significant preference heterogeneity in the population for four treatment characteristics: time to symptom improvement, treatment reducing prostate size, risk of surgery, and sexual side effects. The importance of preference heterogeneity at the policy level within the context of shared decision making is discussed.
Investing in Low-Trust Countries: Trust in the Global Mutual Fund Industry

We hypothesize that trust plays an important role in affecting the activeness and effectiveness of the global mutual fund industry. Empirically, trust is positively associated with the activeness of domestic funds, whereas for internationals mutual funds conducting cross-border investments activeness is bounded by the trust of low-trust countries. In both cases, trust-related active share delivers superior performance, whereas the economic magnitude is larger for cross-border investments (around 2% per year). Our results suggest that trust, including both trust in managers and trust in the market, may significantly affect the development of financial intermediaries and the efficiency of global investment.
Does Gender Difference Impact Investment Decisions? Evidence from Oman

Humans are believed to be rational decision makers and documentary evidence proves a signifi cant heterogeneity across individuals when it comes to investment decision making and risk bearing. The study is an attempt to explore and understand the heterogeneity of investment decision when it comes to gender behavior with focus on women. The aim of this research is to explore role of gender in investment decision making and to identify the points of difference between the two genders with respect to their vulnerability towards various behavioral bias in their pursuit for prospective fi nancial gains. The research attempts to understand the susceptibility of genders to normative infl uences and herd tendencies in the context of Oman
Cyclic ADP-Ribose Contributes to Contraction and Ca2+ Release by M1 Muscarinic Receptor Activation in Coronary Arterial Smooth Muscle

The present study determined the role of cyclic ADP-ribose (cADPR) in mediating vasoconstriction and Ca2+ release in response to the activation of muscarinic receptors. Endothelium-denuded small bovine coronary arteries were microperfused under transmural pressure of 60 mm Hg. Both acetylcholine (ACh; 1 nmol/L to 1 µmol/L) and oxotremorine (OXO; 2.5–80 µmol/L) produced a concentration-dependent contraction. The vasoconstrictor responses to both ACh and OXO were significantly attenuated by nicotinamide (Nicot; an ADP-ribosyl cyclase inhibitor), 8-bromo-cADPR (8-Br-cADPR; a cADPR antagonist) or ryanodine (Ry; an Ry receptor antagonist). Intracellular Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) was determined by fluorescence spectrometry using fura-2 as a fluorescence indicator. OXO produced a rapid increase in [Ca2+]i in freshly isolated single coronary arterial smooth muscle cells (CASMCs) bathed with Ca2+-free Hanks’ solution. This OXO-induced rise in [Ca2+]i was significantly reduced by pirenzepine (PIR; an M1 receptor-specific blocker), Nicot, 8-Br-cADPR or Ry. The effects of OXO on the activity of ADP-ribosyl cyclase (cADPR synthase) were examined in cultured CASMCs by measuring the rate of cyclic GDP- ribose (cGDPR) formation from β-nicotinamide guanine dinucleotide. It was found that OXO produced a concentration-dependent increase in the production of cGDPR. The stimulatory effect of OXO on ADP-ribosyl cyclase was inhibited by both PIR and Nicot. These results suggest that the cADPR signaling pathway participates in the contraction of small coronary arterial smooth muscle and Ca2+ release induced by activation of M1 muscarinic receptors.
Fyn kinase activity is required for normal organization and functional polarity of the mouse oocyte cortex

The objective of the present study was to determine whether Fyn kinase participated in signaling events during sperm–egg interactions, sperm incorporation, and meiosis II. The functional requirement of Fyn kinase activity in these events was tested through the use of the protein kinase inhibitor SKI‐606 (Bosutinib) and by analysis of Fyn‐null oocytes. Suppression of Fyn kinase signaling prior to fertilization caused disruption of the functional polarity of the oocyte with the result that sperm were able to fuse with the oocyte in the immediate vicinity of the meiotic spindle, a region that normally does not allow sperm fusion. The loss of functional polarity was accompanied by disruption of the microvilli and cortical granule‐free zone that normally overlie the meiotic spindle. Changes in the distribution of cortical granules and filamentous actin provided further evidence of disorganization of the oocyte cortex. Rho B, a molecular marker for oocyte polarity, was unaffected by suppression of Fyn activity; however, the polarized association of Par‐3 with the cortex overlying the meiotic spindle was completely disrupted. The defects in oocyte polarity in Fyn‐null oocytes correlated with a failure of the MII chromosomes to maintain a position close to the oocyte cortex which seemed to underlie the above defects in oocyte polarity. This was associated with a delay in completion of meiosis II. Pronuclei, however, eventually formed and subsequent mitotic cleavages and blastocyst formation occurred normally. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 76: 819–831, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
QuantiFERON®-TB Gold in the Diagnosis of Active Tuberculosis

QuantiFERON®-TB Gold (QFT) is an indirect diagnostic test for latent tuberculosis (TB) infection and active TB. This study aimed to evaluate and compare QFT and the tuberculin skin test (TST) for the diagnosis of active TB disease, not bacteriologically verified at the time of therapy initiation. Seventy-three patients with suspected active TB were examined. Further diagnostic steps confirmed the diagnosis of active TB in 53 persons. QFT was positive in 43 persons (81%), negative in seven (13%), and indeterminate results were found in three (6%). The sensitivity of the test was 86% in those with valid results, significantly higher than that for the TST (62%), and the correlation between the two tests was not high (55%). The QFT test is a useful addition to existing methods for the diagnosis of active TB.
Targeting of the Akt-Nuclear Factor-κB Signaling Network by [1-(4-Chloro-3-nitrobenzenesulfonyl)-1H-indol-3-yl]-methanol (OSU-A9), a Novel Indole-3-Carbinol Derivative, in a Mouse Model of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Constitutive activation of Akt and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) represents major cellular abnormalities associated with the development and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Based on the structure of indole-3-carbinol, a chemopreventive phytochemical, we developed a novel derivative, [1-(4-chloro-3-nitrobenzenesulfonyl)-1H-indol-3-yl]-methanol (OSU-A9), that exhibits higher potency in inducing apoptosis by targeting the Akt-NF-κB signaling network. This study was aimed at assessing the antitumor activity of OSU-A9 using both in vitro and in vivo models of HCC, a malignancy in which the Akt-NF-κB signaling network plays major roles in pathogenesis and therapeutic resistance. Our data show that OSU-A9 was 100 times more potent than indole-3-carbinol in suppressing the viability of Hep3B, Huh7, and PLC5 HCC cells with IC50 values ranging from 2.8 to 3.2 μM. OSU-A9 interfered with the interplay between Akt- and NF-κB-mediated oncogenic signaling, leading to changes in the functional status of diverse signaling effectors involved in cell cycle progression, apoptosis, angiogenesis, and metastasis. The in vivo efficacy of OSU-A9 was assessed in nude mice bearing luciferase-expressing Hep3B xenograft tumors. Daily oral treatments with OSU-A9 at 25 or 50 mg/kg for 56 days suppressed tumor growth by 67 and 80%, respectively, which was correlated with changes in intratumoral biomarkers pertinent to Akt-NF-κB signaling, and without apparent toxicity or evidence of hepatic biotransformation enzyme induction. Together, these findings indicate that OSU-A9 is a potent, orally bioavailable inhibitor of the Akt-NF-κB signaling network with a broad spectrum of antitumor activity that includes targets regulating multiple aspects of HCC pathogenesis and progression.
FD4C: Automatic Fault Diagnosis Framework for Web Applications in Cloud Computing

The large-scale dynamic cloud computing environment has raised great challenges for fault diagnosis in Web applications: First, fluctuating workloads cause traditional application models to change over time; second, modeling the behaviors of complex applications usually requires domain knowledge which is difficult to obtain; third, managing large-scale applications manually is impractical for operators. To address these issues, this paper proposes an automatic fault (F) diagnosis (D) framework for (4) Web applications in cloud (C) computing (FD4C). In this paper, we propose an online incremental clustering method to recognize access behavior patterns. We also use correlation analysis to model the correlations between the workloads and application performance/resource utilization metrics in a specific access behavior pattern. FD4C detects faults by discovering the abrupt changes of correlation coefficients with control charts. Then, FD4C identifies the fault-related metrics using a feature selection method. To evaluate our proposal, we inject typical faults into TPC-W benchmark and apply FD4C to diagnose the injected faults. The experimental results show that FD4C can effectively detect the typical faults and accurately locate the metrics related to the faults.
Is OmpK35 Specific for Ceftazadime Penetration?

In a recent article, Rasheed et al. postulated that OmpK35 in Klebsiella pneumoniae is specific for ceftazadime penetration ([2][1]). The conclusion is based on kinetic data from their study and an observation from a previous study by Martinez-Martinez et al. ([1][2]). According to the
Relationship Between Axial and Bending Behaviors of the Human Thoracolumbar Vertebra

Study Design. The authors studied the mechanical behavior of vertebrae through the use of finite element analyses. Objectives. To determine the relation between axial and bending rigidity, and to determine the geometric and densitometric factors that affect this relation. Summary of Background Data. Metrics of vertebral body mechanical properties in bending have not been established despite evidence that anterior bending loads play a significant role in osteoporotic vertebral fracture. Methods. Voxel-based finite element models were generated using quantitative computed tomography (QCT) scans of 18 human cadaveric vertebral bodies, and both axial and bending rigidities of the vertebra were computed. Both rigidity measures and their ratio were correlated with vertebral geometric and densitometric factors obtained from the QCT scans. Results. Bending rigidity was moderately correlated with axial rigidity (r2 = 0.69) and strongly correlated with the product of axial rigidity and vertebral anteroposterior depth squared (r2 = 0.88). The ratio of bending to axial rigidity was independent of bone mineral density (P = 0.20) but was moderately correlated with the square of vertebral depth (r2 = 0.69). Conclusions. Vertebral anteroposterior depth plays an important role in bending rigidity. The scatter in the correlation between bending and axial rigidity suggests that some individuals can have vertebrae with a normal axial stiffness but an abnormally low bending stiffness. Because whole-bone stiffness is indicative of bone strength, these results support the concept that use of more than one metric of vertebral strength, for example, compression and bending strengths, may improve osteoporotic fracture risk prediction.
24‐Hour, Weekly, and Annual Patterns in Traumatic and Non‐Traumatic Surgical Pediatric Emergencies

24 h patterns with high frequency components in the incidence of pediatric trauma were validated and quantified in one of our earlier studies. Herein, we further explored the temporal—high frequency, 24 h, weekly (7 d), hemi‐weekly (3.5 d), and annual – patterns in traumatic (1990–1997; n=15,110 events) and non‐traumatic pediatric surgical emergencies (PSE) (1992–2001; n=5,593 events) as well as automobile accidents (AA) (1990–1997; n=67,712) in the County of Vaud, Switzerland. The latter served as a reference system of human adult activity and risk. Two‐way ANOVA, χ2, correlation, and cosinor analyses were used as statistical tools. A 24 h pattern, reproducible from year to year, was validated in traumatic and non‐traumatic PSE and AA. The 24 h patterns were not correlated and differed from one another in terms of their acrophase (peak time) and amplitude. A gender‐related difference was found only in the non‐traumatic time series for weekly (7 d) and hemi‐weekly (3.5 d) patterns. The latter were detected in boys but not girls. No statistically significant difference was found in the acrophase and amplitude between boys and girls in the temporal patterns of other periods. An annual pattern was validated in automobile accidents (acrophase: 4th of September ±37 d (SD)) and pediatric trauma (acrophase: 14th of June ±10 d), but not in non‐traumatic PSE. These results suggest that environmental modulations differ between the incidence of traumatic and non‐traumatic PSE. Presumably, the two phenomena involve different aspects of the temporal organization and/or different levels of susceptibility of a set of biological rhythms to environmental factors.
Acute toxicity, mutagenicity, and estrogenicity of bisphenol‐A and other bisphenols

Although abundant data are available on the toxicity of bisphenol‐A (2,2‐bis (4‐hydroxydiphenyl)propane; BPA), little is known about the toxicities of the structurally similar compounds, namely bisphenols (BPs). A variety of BPs were examined for their acute toxicity against Daphnia magna, mutagenicity, and estrogenic activity using the Daphtoxkit (Creasel Ltd.), the umu test system, and the yeast two‐hybrid system, respectively, in comparison with BPA. BPA was moderately toxic to D. magna (48‐h EC50 was 10 mg/l) according to the current U.S. EPA acute toxicity evaluation standard, and it was weakly estrogenic with 5 orders of magnitude lower activity than that of the natural estrogen 17β‐estradiol in the yeast screen, while no mutagenicity was observed. All seven BPs tested here showed moderate to slight acute toxicity, no mutagenicity, and weak estrogenic activity as well as BPA. Some of the BPs showed considerably higher estrogenic activity than BPA, and others exhibited much lower activity. Among the tested BPs, two compounds, i.e., bisphenol‐S (bis(4‐hydroxydiphenyl)sulfone) and bis(4‐hydroxyphenyl)sulfide, have never been reported for their estrogenic activity previously. © 2002 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 17: 80–86, 2002
Pilot study investigating the utility of a specialized online symptom management program for individuals with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome as compared to an online meditation program

Background Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a long-term, debilitating condition that impacts numerous areas of individuals’ lives. The two predominant treatment options for ME/CFS are cognitive behavioral therapy and graded exercise therapy; however, many people have found these techniques unacceptable or even damaging. This pilot study aimed to evaluate the utility of a specialized online symptom management program for ME/CFS in comparison to an online meditation program in an effort to ascertain whether this tool could be a further option for those with ME/CFS. Methods This experimental design consisted of two interventions: a specialized online symptoms management program (N=19) and a control intervention based on an online meditation website (N=9). A battery of questionnaires, including measures of multidimensional fatigue, illness-specific symptoms, perceived control, and mindful awareness, were completed before the participants commenced use of the programs and following 8 weeks’ use. Results Significant differences were found in the areas of chance and powerful others’ locus of control, and sleeping difficulties, but not in ME/CFS symptomatology overall. Conclusion The specialized online program described in this study warrants further investigation, as it appears to influence perceived control and key ME/CFS symptoms over time.
I Am off Then: Drivers of Travellers' Intentions to Book Trips Online - An Integrated Study on Technology Acceptance and Satisfaction

The tourism industry has undergone a substantial transformation since the emergence of electronic commerce. Especially travel agencies that are faced with growing online competition are increasingly dependent on achieving online sales. This study investigates antecedents of consumers’ intention to book a trip online at a travel agency’s website. The research draws on an integrated research model based on the technology acceptance model and customer satisfaction as introduced in the DeLone and McNeal model on information system success. An online survey among 292 consumers largely supports the hypothesized impact factors. Information quality serves as a significant object-based belief that influences satisfaction as an object-based attitude. In contrast, system quality has no impact on satisfaction. Satisfaction influences perceived usefulness, a key driver of online booking intention and perceived ease of use. The study provides several scholarly and managerial implications for the online distribution of tourism services.
Calculation of Ruin Probabilities when the Claim Distribution is Lognormal

In this paper some ruin probabilities are calculated for an example of a lognormal claim distribution. For that purpose it is shown that the lognormal distribution function, Λ(y), may be written in the form where V(x) is absolutely continuous and without being a distribution function preserves some useful properties of such a function. An attempt is also made to give an approximant Λα(y) to Λ(y) such that Λα(y) is a linear combination of a low number of exponential distributions. For comparison, ruin probabilities are also calculated for two examples of Λα(y). In the considered numerical cases it is assumed that the occurrence of claims follows a Poisson process.
Data intensive, computing and network aware (DCN) cloud VMs scheduling algorithm

The emergence of cloud computing technology aims at sharing resources such as storage, knowledge, computation and information for scientific research at an expanded scale. The application about associated data are deployed by the cloud users as paying the bills when they get due. Such data-intensive applications are normally commanded by the virtual machines (VMs). Data at a large scale are analyzed by data intensive applications and their replications are made for diffusing them among various geographical sites. In case the very spot of execution of a job gets no data replication, then data are streamed from a distant site. The overall execution of the job will deteriorate with such data transfer from remote sites. The decisive factors in the performance of these applications are workload volume, network status between storage nodes SNs and CNs, workload types I/O computation or I/O data-intensive and CPU attributes into computing node CN. Thus, the completion time differs according to the application jobs in workload on the basis of retrieval of vast data and decision of VM placement. Our proposal for obtaining elevated performance in the completion time of overall jobs along with alleviating the throughput of cloud links is VMs placement that takes both the I/O data and computation resources into consideration. This algorithm tries to diminish the completion time of overall jobs (including both time for data transfer and computing time). The CloudSim Simulator results show that our algorithm with the ability of significantly increasing and decreasing the performance of overall performance and the completion time of average jobs respectively instead of earlier proposal for VMs placement in literature review.