Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Measuring Physical Activity During Pregnancy

Few studies exist that identify a useful self-report measure of physical activity for pregnant women. The purpose of this study was to compare the self-report exercise diary with the pedometer and determine if self-report measurement provided useful physical activity measures during pregnancy. The pregnant women’s sleep, parity, and related demographic factors were further analyzed for relationships to the physical activity measures. Physical activity was assessed in a sample of 94 pregnant midwestern U.S. women ages 18 to 38 years. The women wore a pedometer during all waking hours for 3 consecutive days at 14 and 28 weeks of pregnancy for a total of 6 days. During the same 6 days of monitoring, the women kept a diary account of the minutes they exercised per day. The pedometer and self-report exercise diary results correlated significantly (r = 49, p = .02). When examining for usefulness in measuring physical activity, a comparison of the women’s occupational categories revealed no significant differences in self-reported minutes of exercise or pedometer counts per day.
Applications of cumulants to array processing - I. Aperture extension and array calibration

An interpretation for the use of cumulants in nar- rowband array processing problems is proposed. It is shown how fourth-order cumulants of multichannel observations increase the directional information compared with second-order statistics. Based on the interpretation, it is shown how cumulants can be used to increase the effective aperture of an arbitrary antenna array. The amount of partial information necessary to jointly calibrate an arbitrary array and estimate the directions of far- field sources is also investigated. It is proven that the presence of a doublet and use of fourth-order cumulants is sdcient to accomplish this task. The proposed approach is computationally efficient and more general than covariance-based algorithms that have addressed the calibration problem under constraints. A class of beamforming techniques is proposed to recover the source waveforms. Proposed estimation procedures are based on cumulants, which bring insensitivity to the spatial correlation structure of additive Gaussian measurement noise. Simulations are provided to illustrate the use of the proposed algorithms.
Effect of Chronic Heat Stress and Long-Term Feed Restriction on Broiler Performance

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of long-term feed restriction on alleviating the effects of chronic heat stress on the performance of 4-8-wk old ISA Vedette broiler birds. Environmental temperatures were constant 25, and 35±2 C in controlled environmental rooms and variable-natural o temperature ranged between 21 and 30±2 C in an open-sided poultry house. At 4 weeks of age, Daily feed o consumption in all experimental rooms was restricted to 75% and 50% of the daily ad libitum consumption recommended in the management guide for this strain. At the end of experiment, a representative sample of 8-wk-old broilers from each treatment was selected and placed randomly in controlled-environmental chambers set at 40±1 C for heat tolerance test. The results showed that, rearing temperature of 35±2 C in o o closed environment and variable-natural temperature of 21-30 ± 2 C in the open-sided environment had a o significant (p<0.05) negatively effects on broiler performance. Long-term feed restriction to 75% or 50% reduced significantly (p<0.05) the growth rate and body gain of 4-8-wk old broilers. The body weight gain of birds reared at 35 C and fed 50% of ad libitum was higher than their counterparts reared at constant 25 C o o or variable-natural temperature (21-30 C). Feed conversion ratio and survivability were significantly (p< 0.05) o improved with increasing feed restriction at high ambient temperature of 35± C. However, feed restriction o at lower ambient temperature of 25 C had negative effects on feed conversion ratio. On the other hand, heat o tolerance test showed that, feed restriction improved heat tolerance and increased the heat resistance of 8wk old broilers when exposed to 40 C. Lower mortality rate and lower rate of increase of rectal temperature o of feed restricted birds indicated this. From the results of this experiment, it could be concluded that, ambient temperature and long-term feed restriction significantly affect broiler performance. Moreover, long-term feed restriction at high ambient temperature increase heat resistance and improve the heat tolerance of growing broilers, when exposed to heat waves in summer season.
Incidence of Urinary Tract Infection among Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Clinic at Federal Medical Centre, Bida, Niger-State, North Central Nigeria

OBJECTIVE: To determine the bacteriological aetiology and incidence of Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) and antibacterial susceptibility patterns among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics at Federal Medical Centre, Bida, Niger-State, using the gold standard of culture. STUDY DESIGN: Data were obtained from the Medical Microbiology Department Registry from Ante-natal women coming for routine ante natal clinic between January 2010 and December 2012. Mid-stream urine samples were collected from a total of 1242 pregnant women between the ages of 15 and 54 years. Samples were collected inside sterile disposable universal bottles from pregnant women suspected to have UTIs at first antenatal booking. Data was coded, computed and analysed using SPSS version 16.0 and p values ≤0.05 were considered to be statistically significant. RESULT: Out of 1242 pregnant women with in the age bracket 15 and 54years in this study, our research showed that the incidence of UTI in this population was 46.1%, statistically significant (p = 0.046, with mean age of 30.92 years and standard deviation of ± 5.46). Escherichia coli were the most prevalence uropathogen (60%), followed by Staphylococcus aureus (28.3%). Escherichia coli was susceptible to Nitrofurantoin and Gentamycin (61.4%) and (51.5%) respectfully. CONCLUSION: The incidence of urinary tract infection of 46.1% uropathogen in this study is of public concern. Therefore, periodic screening should be carried out on pregnant women during antenatal clinics for symptomatic or asymptomatic UTIs.
Major trauma enhances store-operated calcium influx in human neutrophils.

PURPOSE Chemotaxins from inflammatory sites prime or activate neutrophils (PMN) by using cytosolic calcium ([Ca2+]i) fluxes as second messengers. [Ca2+]i can be mobilized rapidly by receptor-mediated entry or store-release, or more slowly by store-operated calcium influx (SOCI). We studied [Ca2+]i mobilization by chemotaxins and how trauma impacts the calcium entry mechanisms used by chemotaxins. METHODS [Ca2+]i flux was studied by spectrofluorometry. The contributions of early and late [Ca2+]i currents to net calcium flux were compared after stimulation by more potent (fMLP, C5a, PAF) or less potent (IL-8, GRO-alpha, and LTB4) agonists. Store operated [Ca2+]i mobilization was reflected by the ratio of area under the [Ca2+]i efflux curve to peak [Ca2+]i (efflux curve). PMN from trauma patients (ISS > 25) and pair-matched volunteer (n = 7 pairs) were then primed and stimulated with thapsigargin to compare cell calcium stores and SOCI. RESULTS Late [Ca2+]i mobilization made more important contributions to fMLP, PAF, and C5a signals than to IL-8, GRO-alpha, or LTB4 (p < 0.01 all comparisons). Calcium stores and store release were only marginally lower after injury (p = not significant), but trauma PMN showed far higher [Ca2+]i influx after thapsigargin (p = 0.007), and greater net SOCI (p = 0.034). CONCLUSIONS SOCI may play an important role in PMN activation, and trauma increases PMN SOCI. Prolonged elevations of [Ca2+]i due to enhanced SOCI may alter stimulus-response coupling to chemotaxins and contribute to PMN dysfunction after injury.
Influence of Music Therapy on Coping Skills and Anger Management in Forensic Psychiatric Patients

The effect of music therapy on anger management and coping skills is an innovative subject in the field of forensic psychiatry. This study explores the following research question: Can music therapy treatment contribute to positive changes in coping skills, anger management, and dysfunctional behavior of forensic psychiatric patients? To investigate this question, first a literature review is offered on music therapy and anger management in forensic psychiatry. Then, an explorative study is presented. In the study, a pre- and post-test design was used with a random assignment of patients to either treatment or control condition. Fourteen participants’ complete datasets were collected. All participants received “treatment as usual. ” Nine of the participants received a standardized, music therapy anger management program; the five controls received, unplanned, an aggression management program. Results suggested that anger management skills improved for all participants. The improvement of positive coping skills and diminishing of avoidance as a coping skill were measured to show greater changes in music therapy participants. When controlling for the exact number of treatment hours, the outcomes suggested that music therapy might accelerate the process of behavioral changes.
Anomaly Detection Based on Zone Partition for Security Protection of Industrial Cyber-Physical Systems

A developing trend of traditional industrial systems is the integration of the cyber and physical domain to improve flexibility and the efficiency of supervision, management, and control. But, the deep integration of these industrial cyber-physical systems (ICPSs), increases the potential for security threats. Attack detection, which forms initial protective barrier, plays an important role in overall security protection. However, most traditional methods focused on cyber information and ignored any limitations that might arise from the characteristics of the physical domain. In this paper, an anomaly detection approach based on zone partition is designed for ICPSs. In detail, initially an automated zone partition method, ensuring crucial system states can be observed in more than one zone, is designed. Then, methods of building zone function model, which do not require any prior knowledge of the physical system are presented before analyzing the anomaly based on zone information. Finally, an experimental rig is constructed to verify the effectiveness of the proposed approach. The results demonstrate that the approach presents a high-accuracy solution, which also performs effectively in real time.
The Pulmonary Microbiome, Mechanical Ventilation, and Trauma

Recent advances in molecular technology have facilitated a more thorough investigation of the human microbiome. These developments have allowed examination of associations between disease states and a person’s microbiome. While the majority of scientific literature has been focused on the microbial flora in the intestines, attention has recently been directed at the pulmonary microbiome and chronic disease states. Of particular interest is the microbiome’s effect on mechanical ventilation in trauma patients, where ventilator-associated pneumonia leads to significantly increased mortality rates. However, within the trauma population, many patients that exhibit the clinical symptoms of a pulmonary infection fail to culture or exhibit only “normal respiratory tract flora. ” Herein, we discuss the current state of pulmonary microbiome research, risk factors, and future avenues of research involving the pulmonary microbiome as it relates to trauma patients.
Dimensions of Quality of Life in Germany: Measured by Plain Text Responses in a Representative Survey (SOEP)

This paper demonstrates how quality of life can be measured by plain text in a representative survey, the German Socio Economic Panel Study (SOEP). Furthermore, the paper shows that problems that are difficult to monitor, especially problems like the state of the European Union, long-term climate change but also the national debt or problems with the quality of consumer goods (like food) and services (like medical treatment), are not issues of particular importance to the majority of people. Developments and risks that are difficult to monitor and only have long-term effects should be left primarily to the discourse conducted by experts and the politically-minded "elites", the avant garde. And in representative democracies it is ultimately the parliamentarians who must decide. Parliamentarians are likely able to make somewhat better decisions using modern representative surveys and national dialogues than they would be without these instruments of civic participation. Nevertheless, improved civic participation cannot replace parliaments.
OBSERVATION ON THE FREQUENCY OF A.B.O. AND RH BLOOD GROUPS IN LEPROSY AND NON-LEPROSY PEOPLE IN GHANA.

As early as the middle of the last century, leprologists believed that leprosy might have a hereditary basis . This theory derived its support from the wri tings of Daniels son and Boeck ( 1 848) . These investigators regarded family group­ incidence of leprosy shown on records, not as a result of intrafamily infection, but as a result of a hereditary disease, transmitted from one human being to another.
PDGF and Microvessel Wall Remodeling in Adult Lung: Imaging PDGF-Rβ and PDGF-BB Molecules in Progenitor Smooth Muscle Cells Developing in Pulmonary Hypertension

Smooth muscle cells are relatively rare cells in the microvessels of the normal adult lung but develop in high numbers in the clinical pulmonary hypertensions (PHs). Understanding this cellular response has profound implications for determining the pathogenesis of PH, and for the development of therapeutic strategies, yet little is known of the angiogenic molecules responsible. The authors have previously shown that interstitial fibroblasts, and intermediate cells, are the progenitors of smooth muscle cells developing in adult lung microvessels in an in vivo model of experimental PH. The present study evaluates PDGF-Rβ/PDGF-BB, an important angiogenic signaling pathway, using antibodies linked to protein A-gold (pA-AU) and quantitative high-resolution imaging techniques to detect expression by these cells. Each progenitor cell type in the control lung expressed PDGF-Rβ and PDGF-BB. In the hypertensive lung, PDGF-Rβ was highly expressed by fibroblasts developing as perivascular cells, the mean number of pA-AU labeled antigenic sites per cell profile, and their density (μm−2), increasing with time: in intermediate cells the mean number of sites per cell profile, although not their density (μm−2), also increased with time but less so than in the fibroblasts. In clear contrast to the RTK, constitutive expression levels of PDGF-BB were low in each progenitor cell type and remained restricted in the hypertensive lung.
2010 AGU Fall Meeting 参加報告

A Cyber-Infrastructure for a Virtual Observatory and Ecological Informatics System – VOEIS C. Izurieta1; G. Poole2; B. L. McGlynn2; W. F. Cross2; L. A. Marshall2; G. A. Jacobs3; S. Cleveland3; I. Judson3; F. R. Hauer4; B. Kucera5 1. Computer Science, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, United States. 2. Land Resources and Environmental Sciences, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, United States. 3. Center for Computational Biology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, United States. 4. Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, United States. 5. Center for Computational Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States.
Feasibility, effectiveness, and perceptions of an Internet- and incentive-based behavioral weight loss intervention for overweight and obese college freshmen: A mixed methods approach

Challenges inherent with the transition to college are often accompanied by weight gain among college freshmen. Weight gain and duration of obesity increase metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease risk in young adulthood, which supports the need for weight loss interventions tailored to college students. The purpose of this investigation was to conduct a mixed methods pilot trial to determine the efficacy and acceptability of a semester long Internet-and incentive-based weight loss intervention for overweight/obese college freshmen. Participants (n = 27, aged >18 yrs, BMI >25) were randomly assigned to a 12-week social cognitive theory (SCT)-based intervention (Fit Freshmen [FF]) or a health information control group. The FF intervention also included modest financial incentives for weight loss. Primary outcomes included body weight/composition, dietary and physical activity (PA) behaviors, and psychosocial measures (i.e. self-efficacy, self-regulation) associated with diet, PA, and weight loss. Students in the FF intervention participated in focus groups to provide qualitative feedback on program structure and design. FF participants demonstrated significant reductions (all group differences p < 0.10) in body weight (﹣1.2 kg), fat mass (﹣0.6 kg), dietary energy (﹣673 kcal/d), fat (﹣37 g/d) and added sugar intake (﹣41 g/d), and increases in diet and PA-related self-regulatory skills at week 12 compared to control participants (+1.0 kg, +1.1 kg, ﹣334 kcal/d, ﹣15 g/d, ﹣13 g/d, respectively). No changes in PA were noted, but FF participants demonstrated increases in self-efficacy to overcome barriers to PA relative to control participants. Themes for content improvement from focus groups included reducing email contact and increasing in-person interacttions. Program characteristics that were positively evaluated included incentives for weight loss and access to an onsite weigh station kiosk. Overall, this efficacious SCT Internet-and incentive-based weight loss intervention was well received and can be adapted for larger-scale use in the college population.
Differential expression of lysophosphatidic acid receptors between benign and malignant tissues in humans

This study is aimed to simultaneously investigate the systemic distribution, subcellular localization, and differences in the expression level between human benign and malignant tissues for LPAR1, LPAR2, and LPAR3. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was performed for LPAR1, LPAR2, and LPAR3 on 384 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded human tissues from 33 organs/systems in tissue microarrays. All three LPARs were found to be widely expressed in major organs/systems of humans. The IHC signals for studied LPARs were mainly localized in the nucleus and cytoplasm, but rarely seen on cellular membranes. All three LPARs have higher nuclear IHC scores in overall malignancy compared to those in benign tissues. Of the three LPARs, LPAR1 exhibited the highest expression level in both benign and malignant tissues. Liver is the only organ that exhibited significant differences in expression levels of all three LPARs in nucleus between benign hepatocytes and hepatocellular carcinoma. Seven organs (bladder, brain, colon, kidney, lung, ovary and pancreas) exhibited significant differences in IHC scores for a single LPAR (cytoplasmic or nuclear), and twenty-six organs/tissues show no significant difference in expression of LPAR1, LPAR2 or LPAR3 (cytoplasmic or nuclear) between benign and malignant tissues. It is concluded that the expression of LPARs in human organs/tissues is varied, depending on the type of organ and pathological status. This is the first study to simultaneously investigate the systemic distribution, subcellular localization and differences in expression of multiple LPARS in human benign and malignant tissues.
Ownership structure, independent directors and firm performance

The paper examined the moderating role of independent directors in the relationship between ownership structure and firm performance. Using a sample of 37 finance companies listed on the main market of Bursa Malaysia from 2007 to 2011, the result indicates a significant positive moderating effect of independent directors in the relationship between director ownership and ROA but a negative relationship based on Tobinâ€™s Q. The result means that in a company where directors have controlling shares, having independent directors on the board will enhance performance since there will be alignment of interest of board and shareholders. On the other hand, the independent directors influence firm performance negatively in firms with majority ownership by directors since the directors who are the majority shareholders will promote their interest over the interest of the shareholders. The study has provided evidence on the moderating role of independent directors in the relationship between ownership structure and firm performance. This suggests that independent directors influence the strength and direction of the relationship between ownership structure and firm performance.
Cytotoxicity screening and cytokine profiling of nineteen nanomaterials enables hazard ranking and grouping based on inflammogenic potential

Abstract Engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) are being produced for an increasing number of applications. Therefore, it is important to assess and categorize ENMs on the basis of their hazard potential. The immune system is the foremost defence against foreign bodies. Here we performed cytokine profiling of a panel of nineteen representative ENMs procured from the Joint Research Centre (JRC) and commercial sources. Physicochemical characterization was performed using dynamic light scattering. The ENMs were all shown to be endotoxin content free. The human macrophage-differentiated THP.1 cell line was employed for cytotoxicity screening and based on the calculated IC50 values, the multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), ZnO, Ag and SiO2 NMs were found to be the most cytotoxic while single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), TiO2, BaSO4 and CeO2 NMs, as well as the nanocellulose materials, were non-cytotoxic (at doses up to 100 µg/mL). Multiplex profiling of cytokine and chemokine secretion indicated that the TiO2, SiO2, BaSO4, CeO2 and nanocellulose materials induced potent inflammatory responses at sub-cytotoxic doses. Hierarchical clustering of cytokine responses coupled with pathway analysis demonstrated that the panel of ENMs could be segregated into two distinct groups characterized by activation and deactivation, respectively, of PPAR (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor)/LXR (liver X receptor/retinoid X receptor) nuclear receptor pathways (NRPs). Furthermore, using rosiglitazone, a selective PPAR-γ agonist, we could show that PPAR-γ played an important role in the activation of inflammatory responses in cells exposed to TiO2 and SiO2 NMs. These studies show that ENMs of diverse chemical compositions can be grouped according to their inflammatory potential.
Broadband Single-Pumped Fiber-Optic Parametric Amplifiers

We analyze the impact of pump phase modulation (PM) on the bandwidth of single-pumped fiber-optic parametric amplifiers. The measured values and the calculations show that the impact on bandwidth by pump PM is small compared to the impact from the dispersion curvature. A bandwidth of 100 nm with a gain of 11.5plusmn2 dB is achieved. This is also used to build a widely tunable fiber ring laser