Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Iris Recognition Based on the Barycenter Distance Vector of New Non-Separable Wavelet

This paper makes an attempt to analyze the local feature structure of iris texture information based on the barycenter distance of new non-separable wavelet. When preprocessed, the annular iris is normalized into a rectangular block. Several non-separable wavelet filters are used to capture the iris texture. In every filtered subband coefficients, we extract a certain number of largest positive coefficients and smallest negative coefficients that can represent the local texture most effectively in each subband. The barycenter of these positive coefficients in each subband is called positive barycenter, and the barycenter of negative coefficients is called negative barycenter. Then, the vector from negative barycenter to positive one is called barycenter distance vector, which is regarded as the iris feature vector. Iris feature matching is based on the similarity of the vectors. Experimental results on public databases show that the performance of the proposed method is as good as Daugman's method, and our method is more robust than Daugman's method to rotation transform in small scale.
Antimicrobial susceptibility of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates from dogs with otitis externa

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a common cause of otitis externa in dogs, and treatment of these infections is becoming problematic because of the increasing number of multiresistant strains. The aim of the present study was to compare the in vitro activities of cefepime, ceftazidime, enrofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, gentamicin and ticarcillin/clavulanic acid against 104 strains of P aeruginosa isolated from dogs with otitis externa. Antimicrobial susceptibility and minimum inhibitory concentrations, in µg/ml, were evaluated by the E test (bioMérieux). The most active compound was ceftazidime, with 100 per cent efficiency. The majority of tested strains were susceptible to ticarcillin/clavulanic acid (89.4 per cent), followed by ciprofloxacin (88.5 per cent) and cefepime (60.6 per cent). The highest resistance was observed to enrofloxacin (51.9 per cent) and gentamicin (43.3 per cent). Large numbers of strains were intermediately susceptible to antibiotics registered for use in veterinary medicine in Croatia – enrofloxacin (47.1 per cent) and gentamicin (41.3 per cent).
The effect of vitamin E and L-carnitine against methotrexate-induced injury in rat testis.

BACKGROUND/AIM Methotrexate (MTX), used commonly as an antimetabolite drug in cancer therapy, leads to acute toxic side effects in tissues or organs containing rapidly dividing cells, such as bone marrow, gastrointestinal mucosa, and seminiferous tubules. In this study, we investigated the protective effects of vitamin E and L-carnitine against MTX-induced injury in rat testis. MATERIALS AND METHODS Rats were divided into 4 groups, including the control group. The study took 17 days and the animals received daily doses of 0.5 mL/kg saline, 250 mg/kg vitamin E, or 500 mg/kg L-carnitine intraperitoneally. The experimental groups received 20 mg/kg methotrexate intraperitoneally on days 3 and 10. RESULTS Weight loss, testicular weight loss and marked histological injuries, increased malondialdehyde levels, and decreased superoxide dismutase levels were only observed in the MTX-treated groups. Vitamin E and L-carnitine treatments did not affect MTX-induced weight loss or testicular weight loss, but they inhibited MTX-induced testicular histological injuries. Vitamin E and L-carnitine treatments suppressed the increases in malondialdehyde levels and the decreases in superoxide dismutase levels. CONCLUSION Vitamin E and L-carnitine treatments decreased MTX-induced testicular histological injuries, and these results were supported by biochemical measurements.
Risk Factors and Sib Correlation in Physiological Neonatal Jaundice

ABSTRACT. The effect of a number of explanatory variables on the degree of physiological jaundice in mature infants was evaluated by multiple regression analysis. The sampling was designed so that comparisons could be made between siblings. We found an effect of gestational age, gender, infant nutrition, ABO incompatibility and induction of labour. Taking these factors into account we still found a highly significant correlation between the peak bilirubin levels of siblings. Whether this correlation is genetically or environmentally determined is not clear.
A Lack of Material Resources Causes Harsher Moral Judgments

In the research presented here, we tested the idea that a lack of material resources (e.g., low income) causes people to make harsher moral judgments because a lack of material resources is associated with a lower ability to cope with the effects of others’ harmful behavior. Consistent with this idea, results from a large cross-cultural survey (Study 1) showed that both a chronic (due to low income) and a situational (due to inflation) lack of material resources were associated with harsher moral judgments. The effect of inflation was stronger for low-income individuals, whom inflation renders relatively more vulnerable. In a follow-up experiment (Study 2), we manipulated whether participants perceived themselves as lacking material resources by employing different anchors on the scale they used to report their income. The manipulation led participants in the material-resources-lacking condition to make harsher judgments of harmful, but not of nonharmful, transgressions, and this effect was explained by a sense of vulnerability. Alternative explanations were excluded. These results demonstrate a functional and contextually situated nature of moral psychology.
Electron tunnelling in self-assembled monolayers

A review on the mechanisms and characterization methods of electronic transport through self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) is presented. Using SAMs of alkanethiols in a nanometre scale device structure, tunnelling is unambiguously demonstrated as the main intrinsic conduction mechanism for defect-free large bandgap SAMs, exhibiting well-known temperature and length dependences. Inelastic electron tunnelling spectroscopy exhibits clear vibrational modes of the molecules in the device, presenting direct evidence of the presence of molecules in the device.
Reasons for not using family planning methods in Eastern Turkey

Objective: The reasons for not using family planning methods among women aged 15-45 years were investigated in the Eastern region of Turkey. Methods: A total of 518 randomly selected women were interviewed with a questionnaire. Information was collected on women's fertility behavior and intentions, sources of knowledge and practice of contraception and sociodemographic characteristics. Results: The rate of women who were not using any form of family planning was 45.2%. The reasons for not using any form of family planning were: not having the approval of the husband or family leaders (38%); believing that it was a sin to use a family planning method (32.5%); believing that it could cause abnormal bleeding (14.1%); believing that it could cause infertility (7.3%); believing that it could cause cancer (4.7%); and believing that it could cause pelvic pain (3.4%). Conclusion: Efforts should be directed towards education of family members and religious leaders to increase the usage of family planning methods.
Adolescent Empathy and Prosocial Behavior in the Multidimensional Context of School Culture

The authors investigated whether students' positive perceptions of their high school's culture were associated with higher levels of empathy and prosocial behavior. The authors collected information from 2 samples to ensure a wide range of school culture perceptions. As expected, empathy and prosocial behavior were correlated. As evidence of the validity of the measure of school culture, students in a small alternative school perceived their school culture as more positive than did students in the companion large, traditional high school. More positive perceptions of school culture were associated with higher levels of empathy but not with prosocial behavior. Results were moderated by gender but not by age. Male students with higher levels of emotional concern (one aspect of empathy) perceived peer relationships (one aspect of school culture) to be more positive than did those with lower levels of emotional concern. This study highlights the importance of using multidimensional constructs for school culture and empathy to understand the effects of schooling on youth.
Immunohistochemical Profile of Acute Cellular Rejection in Renal Allograft

Background : We wanted to find an adjunctive marker(s) in renal allograft biopsies for predicting acute cellular rejection (ACR), and so the expression patterns of immune-related molecules were compared between ACR, borderline ACR and non-ACR cases. Methods : The expression patterns of Fas ligand (FasL), HLA-DR, granzyme B, caspase-3, CD56, interferon stimulated growth factor-3 (ISGF-3), and CD53 were assessed via immunohistochemical study in 75 allograft biopsies from patients with ACR (n=19), borderline ACR (n=22), and non-ACR (n=34). Results : Compared to those of the non-ACR group, the ACR group revealed an elevated number of FasL positive interstitial inflammatory cells, HLA-DR positive tubular inflammatory cells, cytoplasmic caspase-3 positive tubular epithelial cells, granzyme B positive interstitial mononuclear inflammatory cells and CD53 positive interstitial inflammatory cells. The expression patterns of the borderline ACR group were similar to those of non-ACR group, except for the intensity of FasL in the tubular epithelial cells. Conclusions : Immunohistochemical investigations of the adjunctive markers FasL, HLA-DR, granzyme B, caspase-3 and CD56 can be useful for making the diagnosis of ACR.
Release of Free DNA by Membrane-Impaired Bacterial Aerosols Due to Aerosolization and Air Sampling

ABSTRACT We report here that stress experienced by bacteria due to aerosolization and air sampling can result in severe membrane impairment, leading to the release of DNA as free molecules. Escherichia coli and Bacillus atrophaeus bacteria were aerosolized and then either collected directly into liquid or collected using other collection media and then transferred into liquid. The amount of DNA released was quantified as the cell membrane damage index (ID ), i.e., the number of 16S rRNA gene copies in the supernatant liquid relative to the total number in the bioaerosol sample. During aerosolization by a Collison nebulizer, the ID of E. coli and B. atrophaeus in the nebulizer suspension gradually increased during 60 min of continuous aerosolization. We found that the ID of bacteria during aerosolization was statistically significantly affected by the material of the Collison jar (glass > polycarbonate; P < 0.001) and by the bacterial species (E. coli > B. atrophaeus; P < 0.001). When E. coli was collected for 5 min by filtration, impaction, and impingement, its ID values were within the following ranges: 0.051 to 0.085, 0.16 to 0.37, and 0.068 to 0.23, respectively; when it was collected by electrostatic precipitation, the ID values (0.011 to 0.034) were significantly lower (P < 0.05) than those with other sampling methods. Air samples collected inside an equine facility for 2 h by filtration and impingement exhibited ID values in the range of 0.30 to 0.54. The data indicate that the amount of cell damage during bioaerosol sampling and the resulting release of DNA can be substantial and that this should be taken into account when analyzing bioaerosol samples.
[Neurotoxicity of allyl chloride in rats. Dose-effect relationship following long-term exposure].

To elucidate the dose-effect relationship of neurotoxicity of allyl chloride (AC) in Donryu rats, 5 animals each were exposed to 10, 50 and 100 ppm AC for 8 h/d and 5 d/wk for a period of 34 wk. Nerve conduction velocities of the tail nerve in rats were determined before and after 4, 8, 12, 16, 22, 28 and 34 wk of exposure, and the width of landing foot-spread after 8, 12, 16, 28 and 34 wk. Animals subjected to 100 ppm AC showed significant (p less than 0.01) reduction of motor and sensory nerve conduction velocities and nerve action potentials (NAP) after 28 wk when clinical signs of neuropathy were observed, i.e., weakness of hindlimbs and significantly (p less than 0.01) extended landing foot-spreads. Motor distal latency was retarded in rats exposed to 100 ppm AC at the last period of exposure. In rats exposed to 50 and 100 ppm AC, no remarkable electrophysiological findings or abnormal clinical signs were observed except for depressed amplitude of NAP in 50 ppm-exposed rats when compared with those exposed to 10 ppm.
Lifting motion simulation using a hybrid approach

In this study, a hybrid dynamic model for lifting motion simulation is presented. The human body is represented by a two-dimensional (2D) five-segment model. The lifting motions are predicted by solving a nonlinear optimisation problem, the objective function of which is defined based on a minimal-effort performance criterion. In the optimisation procedure, the joint angular velocities are bounded by time-functional constraints that are determined by actual motions. Symmetric lifting motions performed by younger and older adults under varied task conditions were simulated. Comparisons between the simulation results and actual motion data were made for model evaluation. The results showed that the mean and median joint angle errors were less than 10°, which suggests the proposed model is able to accurately simulate 2D lifting motions. The proposed model is also comparable with the existing motion simulation models in terms of the prediction accuracy. Strengths and limitations of this hybrid model are discussed. Practitioner Summary: Human motion simulation is a useful tool in assessing the risks of occupational injuries. Lifting motions are associated with low-back pain. A hybrid model for lifting motion simulation was constructed. The model was able to accurately simulate 2D lifting motions in varied task scenarios for younger and older subjects.
Valuing Money and Things: Why a $20 Item Can be Worth More and Less than $20

The study of risky decision making has long used monetary gambles to study choice, but many everyday decisions do not involve the prospect of winning or losing money. Monetary gambles, as it turns out, may be processed and evaluated differently than gambles with nonmonetary outcomes. Whereas monetary gambles involve numeric amounts that can be straightforwardly combined with probabilities to yield at least an approximate “expectation” of value, nonmonetary outcomes are typically not numeric and do not lend themselves to easy combination with the associated probabilities. Compared with monetary gambles, the evaluation of nonmonetary prospects typically proves less sensitive to changes in the probability range (inside the extremes of certainty and impossibility), which, among other things, can yield preference reversals. Generalizing on earlier work that attributed similar findings to the role of affect in the evaluation process (Rottenstreich, Y., C. K. Hsee. 2001. Money, kisses, and electric shocks: An affective psychology of risk. Psych. Sci.12(3) 185--190), we attribute the observed patterns to a fundamental difference in the evaluation of monetary versus nonmonetary outcomes. Potential pitfalls in the use of monetary gambles to study choice are highlighted, and implications and future directions are discussed.
Radiofrequency ablation for the treatment of bone metastases from hepatocellular carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE The objective of our study was to retrospectively evaluate the clinical utility of bone radiofrequency ablation in patients with bone metastases from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). MATERIALS AND METHODS At three institutions, 40 consecutive HCC patients with 54 bone metastases received radiofrequency ablation. The mean maximum diameter of the bone metastases was 4.8 +/- 2.3 (SD) cm (range, 1.0-12.0 cm). The feasibility and safety of the procedure and the pain relief achieved from the procedure were reviewed. Technical success was defined as correct placement of the radiofrequency electrode into the tumor target and completion of the planned ablation protocol. Survival and prognostic factors were evaluated. RESULTS Technical success was 100%. No major complication occurred aside from transient nerve injury in one patient (2.5%, 1/40). Pain relief was achieved in all patients with painful bone metastases except one (96.6%, 28/29). The respective 1-, 2-, and 3-year survival rates were 34.2% (95% CI, 19.2-49.1), 19.9% (95% CI, 7.0-32.8), and 10.0% (95% CI, 0-20.2), with a median survival time of 7.1 months. Complete ablation of bone metastases, a single bone lesion, negative alpha-fetoprotein levels, and the absence of viable intrahepatic lesions were significant factors for a better prognosis. The median survival time was, respectively, 12.5 months in 16 patients with negative alpha-fetoprotein levels, 16.8 months in 12 patients with complete tumor ablation, 16.8 months in 16 patients with a single bone metastasis, and 21.9 months in 17 patients with no viable intrahepatic HCCs. CONCLUSION Bone radiofrequency ablation is a safe, useful, and feasible therapeutic option for relieving pain in patients with HCC bone metastases. Prognostic factors reported herein can facilitate stratification of patients with HCC bone metastases.
Stemness and Osteogenic and Adipogenic Potential are Differently Impaired in Subcutaneous and Visceral Adipose Derived Stem Cells (ASCs) Isolated from Obese Donors

Today adipose tissue is not just considered as the primary energy storage organ, but it is also recognized as an important endocrine tissue and an abundant source of mesenchymal stem cells (adipose-derived stem cells, ASCs). During the last decade, several studies have provided preclinical data on the safety and efficacy of ASCs, supporting their use in cell-based therapy for regenerative medicine purposes. Little is known about the effect of obesity on ASCs properties. Since ASCs differentiation and proliferation are determined by their niche, the differences in body fat distribution and the obesity-related co-morbidities may have several consequences. In this study we compared ASCs of subcutaneous adipose tissue from obese (obS-ASCs) and non-obese (nS-ASCs) donors in order to compare their immunophenotype and osteogenic and adipogenic potential. Moreover, in order to evaluate the possible difference between subcutaneous and visceral fat, obS-ASCs were also compared to ASCs derived from visceral adipose tissue of the same obese donors (obV-ASCs). Our results show that subcutaneous and visceral ASCs derived from obese donors have an impaired cell proliferation, clonogenic ability and immunophenotype. Nevertheless, obS-ASCs are able to differentiate toward osteogenic and adipogenic lineages, although to a small extent with respect to non-obese donors, whereas obV-ASCs lose most of their stem cell characteristics, including multi-differentiation potential. Taken together our findings confirm that not all ASCs present the same behavior, most likely due to their biological microenvironment in vivo. The specific stimuli which can play a key role in ASCs impairment, including the effects of the obesity-related inflammation, should be further investigated to have a complete picture of the phenomenon.
Influence of the Topical Application of Fluoride on the in Vitro Adhesion of Fissure Sealants

The adhesion of four polymeric sealant materials to enamel treated with a topical application of fluoride has been assessed by tensile bond strength tests. The ultraviolet light-activated resin, Nuva Seal, was found to bond adequately to stannous fluoride-treated teeth. The tensile bond strength of Espe 71730, Alpha Seal, and Epoxylite 9075 to enamel was reduced by treatment of the enamel with stannous fluoride. Treatment of the etched enamel with acidulated phosphate fluoride reduced the bond strength of all four fissure sealants.
Reducing social inequalities in health: work-related strategies

Despite reduced health risks in terms of physical and chemical hazards current trends in occupational life continue to contribute to ill health and disease among economically active people. Stress at work plays a crucial role in this respect, as evidenced by recent scientifi c progress. This paper discusses two leading theoretical models of work-related stress, the demand-control model and the model of effort-reward imbalance, and it summarizes available evidence on adverse health effects. As work stress in terms of these models is more prevalent among lower socioeconomic status groups, these conditions contribute to the explanation of socially graded risks of morbidity and mortality in midlife. Implications of this new knowledge for the design and implementation of worksite health-promotion measures are elaborated. In conclusion, it is argued that workplace strategies deserve high priority on any agenda that aims at reducing social inequalities in health.
Insulin Action and Age: European Group for the Study of Insulin Resistance (EGIR)

Evidence that age is associated with insulin resistance is discordant. We analyzed euglycemic insulin clamp (1 mU · min−1 · kg−1) data collected at 20 centers throughout Europe from 1,146 men and women with normal glucose tolerance, ranging in age from 18 to 85 years. In the whole group, insulin action (as the M value) declined slightly with age (at a rate of 0.9 micromol · min−1 · kg−1 per decade of life, 95% CI = 0.4–1.3, P = 0.0002). When adjusted for BMI, this relationship was no longer statistically significant. The same result was obtained whether insulin action was expressed per kilogram of body weight or per kilogram of fat-free mass, expressed as the M:I ratio, or estimated from fasting plasma insulin concentrations. Subgroup analysis showed that a significant BMI-adjusted decrease in insulin action with age was present only in lean (BMI <25 kg/m2) women (a rate of 1.6 micromol · min−1 · kg−1 per decade, 95% CI = 0.6–2.5, P = 0.001), in whom percentage fat mass also increased with age (by 0.38% body weight per decade, P = 0.0007). Insulin action was positively associated with insulin suppression of circulating free fatty acids (FFAs) (+1.5 micromol · min−1 · kg−1 for each 10% increase in FFA suppression, P < 0.0001) in a multivariate model accounting for sex, BMI, age, and fasting FFA levels. Furthermore, insulin suppression of FFAs improved with age in men (2% per decade, P < 0.0001) but not in women. In the subgroup of lean women in whom insulin action declined with age, adding FFA suppression to a multiple regression equation canceled the association between age and insulin action. Thus, the small effect of age on insulin action could be adequately explained on the basis of age-related changes in body composition and substrate competition. We conclude that in healthy Europeans, age per se is not a significant cause of insulin resistance of glucose metabolism or lipolysis.