Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Multivariate Birnbaum-Saunders Distribution Based on the Multivariate Skew Normal Distribution

Birnbaum-Saunders distribution has received some attention in the statistical literature since its inception. Univariate Birnbaum-Saunders distribution has been used quite effectively in analyzing positively skewed data. Recently, bivariate and multivariate Birnbaum-Saunders distributions have been introduced in the literature. In this paper we propose a new generalization of the multivariate (p-variate) Birnbaum-Saunders distribution based on the multivariate skew normal distribution. It is observed that the proposed distribution is more flexible than the multivariate Birnbaum-Saunders distribution, and the multivariate Birnbaum-Saunders distribution can be obtained as a special case of the proposed model. We obtain the marginal, reciprocal and conditional distributions, and also discuss some other properties. The proposed p-variate distribution has total 3p+ ( p 2 ) parameters. We use the EM algorithm to compute the maximum likelihood estimators of the unknown parameters. One data analysis has been performed for illustrative purposes.
Effects of a Social Norm Feedback Campaign on the Drinking Norms and Behavior of Division I Student-Athletes

Social norm feedback is a promising strategy for reducing alcohol misuse on college campuses. However, little is known about the impact of these interventions on at-risk populations, such as student-athletes. This study examined the effects of a campus-wide media campaign on Division I student-athletes at three universities. A discriminant function analysis revealed that a composite measure of perceived campus drinking norms distinguished between two campaign exposure groups. With the exception of one perceived norm measure (closest friends), the campaign-exposed group reported more conservative estimates of alcohol use in peers. However, there was no evidence that the campaign had reduced alcohol use. The inability of the campaign to reduce perceptions of alcohol use among one's closest friends may have accounted for the lack of change in drinking behavior. Discussion is directed to the potential limitations of using social norm feedback campaigns to reduce alcohol misuse in high-risk groups, such as student-athletes.
Oxygen Microelectrode That Is Insensitive to Medium Chemical Composition: Use in an Acid Microbial Mat Dominated by Cyanidium caldarium

A novel oxygen microelectrode with a tip diameter of 2 to 20 μm was constructed which could function satisfactorily under a variety of environmental conditions and in a variety of media, including human blood serum, citric acid at pH 2.5, moist air, and paraffin oil. Measurement of oxygen by this electrode does not require stirring of the medium. Electrodes could be made so that the 90% response time necessary to detect changes in oxygen concentration was less than 0.2 s, and response was linear with oxygen concentration. To demonstrate the performance of the electrode, oxygen and photosynthesis profiles of an acid microbial mat (pH 2.8) dominated by the eucaryotic alga Cyanidium caldarium were made. Photosynthetic rates as high as 95 mmol of O2 dm−3 h−1 were measured within the most active 0.1-mm layer, which was ca. 0.2 mm below the surface of the microbial mat. The total photosynthetic activity was 47 mmol of O2 m−2 h−1. Vertical profiles of photosynthesis at different light intensities showed that the microalgae within the mat were not photoinhibited at bright sunlight (2,090 μEinsteins m−2 s−1).
Impact of Distribution Feeder Reconfiguration for Loss Reduction on Bus Voltages – A Perspective

A huge power is dissipated in distribution systems as power losses. The loss reduction and bus voltage improvement are the critical parameters of effective distribution feeder power flow. There are several techniques followed for power loss reduction and voltage profile improvement in distribution systems. Specifically, Distribution Feeder Reconfiguration (DFR) method is employed for the proposed system. The most important criterion of Distribution Feeder Reconfiguration is loss reduction, voltage profile improvement and relieving of the power lines from overloading. The proposed method is tested on a 3-Feeder distribution network and IEEE 33-Bus system. Genetic Algorithm (GA) optimization approach is applied to get the optimal switching scheme for feeder reconfiguration. Simulation results from load flow analysis and GA methodology have shown that the implementation of this method leads to a significant enhancement in voltage profile and reduction in the real power loss. Finally, results of system loss reduction and voltage stability enhancement with a brief overview of approached model are revealed in this paper.
The interplay of matching and non-matching job demands and resources on emotional exhaustion among teachers.

BACKGROUND We investigated how matching and non-matching demands and resources are related to emotional exhaustion (EE) in teachers. Theoretically, we draw on the Demand-Induced Strain Compensation (DISC) model that proposes that demands, resources, and strains are multidimensional and comprise emotional, cognitive, and physical components. We first tested whether resources compensate aversive effects of demands. Second, as proposed by the triple-match principle, we tested whether interaction effects between job demands and resources are most likely if demands, resources, and outcomes relate to the same dimension. METHODS We retrieved data from 177 school teachers; a subsample was re-examined after a time lag of about 21 month (N = 56). RESULTS Linear regression analyses reveal concurrent and longitudinal main and interaction effects of teacher-specific emotional and cognitive job demands and resources on EE. CONCLUSION Results support the compensation principle and triple-match principle. Therefore, the DISC model seems to provide a valuable framework for the study of interaction effects in job stress research and, in particular, for interventions to reduce job strain in teachers.
Chikungunya-induced genital ulcers.

Sir, Chikungunya fever, which is caused by a togavirus (arboviral infection), manifests as an acute illness of fever, headache, arthralgia, vomiting, abdominal pain, sore throat, conjunctivitis and lymphadenopathy. [1] The chikungunya virus was first isolated from patients and Aedes aegypti mosquitoes from Tanzania in 1952. The virus first appeared in India in 1963 when along with dengue, it caused very extensive epidemics in Calcutta, Madras and other areas. This current outbreak had started in June-July in 2006. It presents as a fever of sudden onset, crippling joint pains, lymphadenopathy and conjunctivitis. A total of 60098 suspected cases were reported, out of which 70 cases were confirmed by serum ELISA test. [2]
Organizational Considerations for Advanced Manufacturing Technology.

Editorial Consultants Nancy Hoose Seth A. Streichler Office Manager Susan Pickens Art & Layout Knape Designs The Journal of Technology Studies (JTS) (ISSN 1071-6048) is the flagship, peerreviewed journal of Epsilon Pi Tau, Inc, a nonprofit, academic and professional honor society. Headquarters and editorial offices are located at the Technology Building, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH 43403-0305. Use this address or jots@bgnet.bgsu. edu for subscription matters or purchases.
The NIDDK Central Repository at 8 years—Ambition, Revision, Use and Impact

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) Central Repository makes data and biospecimens from NIDDK-funded research available to the broader scientific community. It thereby facilitates: the testing of new hypotheses without new data or biospecimen collection; pooling data across several studies to increase statistical power; and informative genetic analyses using the Repository’s well-curated phenotypic data. This article describes the initial database plan for the Repository and its revision using a simpler model. Among the lessons learned were the trade-offs between the complexity of a database design and the costs in time and money of implementation; the importance of integrating consent documents into the basic design; the crucial need for linkage files that associate biospecimen IDs with the masked subject IDs used in deposited data sets; and the importance of standardized procedures to test the integrity data sets prior to distribution. The Repository is currently tracking 111 ongoing NIDDK-funded studies many of which include genotype data, and it houses over 5 million biospecimens of more than 25 types including serum, plasma, stool, urine, DNA, red blood cells, buffy coat and tissue. Repository resources have supported a range of biochemical, clinical, statistical and genetic research (188 external requests for clinical data and 31 for biospecimens have been approved or are pending). Genetic research has included GWAS, validation studies, development of methods to improve statistical power of GWAS and testing of new statistical methods for genetic research. We anticipate that the future impact of the Repository’s resources on biomedical research will be enhanced by (i) cross-listing of Repository biospecimens in additional searchable databases and biobank catalogs; (ii) ongoing deployment of new applications for querying the contents of the Repository; and (iii) increased harmonization of procedures, data collection strategies, questionnaires etc. across both research studies and within the vocabularies used by different repositories. Database URL: http://www.niddkrepository. org
A Brief Review of Initial Data Engineering

We review the recently developed program for constructing and studying solutions of the Einstein constraint equations using gluing techniques. We discuss what we believe are sharp conditions sufficient for a pair of solutions to admit gluing via a connected sum or “wormhole”, and describe how one carries out the gluing. We also discuss a number of useful applications.
Beclomethasone Dipropionate and Oropharyngeal Candidiasis

A survey of 936 patients attending a respiratory diseases unit outpatient department was performed to assess the incidence of oropharyngeal candidiasis in patients inhaling beclomethasone dipropionate in daily doses of 400 μg or less. Throat swabs from 209 (41%) patients treated with beclomethasone were positive on culture for yeasts compared with positive swabs from 77 (27·2%) patients not receiving corticosteroid therapy either orally or by inhalation. Clinical oropharyngeal thrush, confirmed by culture, was detected in 28 (5·5%) patients inhaling beclomethasone, one (0·7%) patient receiving treatment with oral prednisolone, and two (0·7%) patients not being treated with corticosteroids.
ABA crosstalk with ethylene and nitric oxide in seed dormancy and germination

Dormancy is an adaptive trait that enables seed germination to coincide with favorable environmental conditions. It has been clearly demonstrated that dormancy is induced by abscisic acid (ABA) during seed development on the mother plant. After seed dispersal, germination is preceded by a decline in ABA in imbibed seeds, which results from ABA catabolism through 8′-hydroxylation. The hormonal balance between ABA and gibberellins (GAs) has been shown to act as an integrator of environmental cues to maintain dormancy or activate germination. The interplay of ABA with other endogenous signals is however less documented. In numerous species, ethylene counteracts ABA signaling pathways and induces germination. In Brassicaceae seeds, ethylene prevents the inhibitory effects of ABA on endosperm cap weakening, thereby facilitating endosperm rupture and radicle emergence. Moreover, enhanced seed dormancy in Arabidopsis ethylene-insensitive mutants results from greater ABA sensitivity. Conversely, ABA limits ethylene action by down-regulating its biosynthesis. Nitric oxide (NO) has been proposed as a common actor in the ABA and ethylene crosstalk in seed. Indeed, convergent evidence indicates that NO is produced rapidly after seed imbibition and promotes germination by inducing the expression of the ABA 8′-hydroxylase gene, CYP707A2, and stimulating ethylene production. The role of NO and other nitrogen-containing compounds, such as nitrate, in seed dormancy breakage and germination stimulation has been reported in several species. This review will describe our current knowledge of ABA crosstalk with ethylene and NO, both volatile compounds that have been shown to counteract ABA action in seeds and to improve dormancy release and germination.
Fast parallel surface and solid voxelization on GPUs

This paper presents data-parallel algorithms for surface and solid voxelization on graphics hardware. First, a novel conservative surface voxelization technique, setting all voxels overlapped by a mesh's triangles, is introduced, which is up to one order of magnitude faster than previous solutions leveraging the standard rasterization pipeline. We then show how the involved new triangle/box overlap test can be adapted to yield a 6-separating surface voxelization, which is thinner but still connected and gap-free. Complementing these algorithms, both a triangle-parallel and a tile-based technique for solid voxelization are subsequently presented. Finally, addressing the high memory consumption of high-resolution voxel grids, we introduce a novel octree-based sparse solid voxelization approach, where only close to the solid's boundary finest-level voxels are stored, whereas uniform interior and exterior regions are represented by coarser-level voxels. This representation is created directly from a mesh without requiring a full intermediate solid voxelization, enabling GPU-based voxelizations of unprecedented size.
Blood flow through limb muscles during heavy rhythmic exercise.

The effect of rhythmically performed muscle contractions on blood flow through muscles was investigated in the calf of cat. During a series of contractions, which had led to maximal dilatation of the resistance vessels, a considerable lowering of the pressure in a small vein from the contracting muscles could be demonstrated between contractions, despite the huge inflow. An optimal effect was obtained when the muscle nerve was stimulated with a short (200–300 msec) impulse train once per sec, a pattern mimicking that during running. Rhythmic contractions of this type led to a characteristic blood flow pattern through the muscles. Arterial inflow to the muscle vascular bed occurred only in between contractions, whereas nearly all the venous outflow from the muscles occurred during the contractions. The venous pressure reduction occurring between contractions implies a gain in effective perfusion pressure and a corresponding augmentation in blood flow through the muscles. Such an effect was found to be considerable in dependent limbs. Here average blood flow through the rhythmically contracting calf muscles could be as great as, or even greater than, the “free” flow in the immediate post-exercise period. This effect of the “muscle pump” may be of great importance also in the dependent limbs of man.
Effect of obesity on sinonasal disease in asthma

ABSTRACT Objective: Sinonasal disease can contribute to poor asthma control. There are reports that link obesity with an increased prevalence of sinonasal disease, but no studies evaluating the severity of sinonasal disease in obese asthmatics, and how this impacts asthma control. The purpose of the current study was to determine if obesity is associated with increased severity of sinonasal disease, and/or affects response to nasal corticosteroid treatment in asthma. Methods: This study included 236 adults participating in a 24-week randomized, double-masked, placebo-controlled study of nasal mometasone for the treatment of poorly controlled asthma. Sinonasal disease severity was assessed using validated questionnaires, and compared in participants of differing BMIs. Eosinophilic inflammation was assessed using markers in nasal lavage, serum and exhaled nitric oxide. Response to treatment was compared in different BMI groups. Results: Obesity had no effect on the severity of sinonasal disease symptoms in asthmatics (Sino-Nasal Outcome Test 22 (SNOT 22) score [mean ± SD] 35.4 ± 18.5, 40.2 ± 22.8, and 39.1 ± 21.7, p = 0.43, in lean, overweight and obese participants), nor on nasal, bronchial or systemic markers of allergic inflammation. Nasal steroids had some limited effects on symptoms, lung function and inflammatory markers in lean participants, but no detectable effect was found in obese patients. Conclusions: Obesity does not affect severity of sinonasal disease in patients with asthma; the association of sinonasal disease symptoms with increased asthma severity and markers of Type 2 inflammation are consistent across all BMI groups. The response of obese patients to nasal corticosteroids requires further study.
Topographical analysis of proliferation ([3H]thymidine labelling index and mitotic index) as compared with tumour growth and tumour weight in xenotransplanted melanoma. Changes due to local and systemic application of azelaic acid.

Xenotransplanted human melanoma was investigated by measuring the increase in tumour volume and in final tumour weight (macroscopical parameters) and histomorphological parameters of cell proliferation: Mitotic index (MI) and autoradiographic [3H]thymidine labelling index (LI). A total of 87 tumours, derived from a human melanoma metastasis and a primary nodular melanoma respectively, were analysed by these methods in two series. Topical treatment of the tumours with azelaic acid cream resulted in a statistically significant reduction in the increase in tumour volume and, in the first series, in a clear decrease in final tumour weight and in the MI, as compared with controls. The LI was decreased only in the superficial region of the tumours, i.e. at the site of treatment. Subtumoral injection of azelaic acid (disodium salt solution) was the second route of local therapy. It was followed by a significant reduction in the increase in tumour volume, of final tumour weight (first series) and in the MI. The average LI was clearly smaller than in the controls, especially at the tumour base, which was the site of injection (local effect). Systemic (intravenous) injection of azelaic acid (same concentration of the disodium salt solution) had no negative effect on the increase in tumour volume or final tumour weight, but was followed by a clear reduction of the MI. The average LI of this group was significantly smaller than in the controls as well. This effect was most impressive in the perivascular regions of large and small vessels, which fact can be interpreted as a sort of local effect via the blood stream after systemic application of azelaic acid. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
A Review of Enrofloxacin for Veterinary Use

This review outlines the current knowledge on the use of enrofloxacin in veterinary medicine from biochemical mechanisms to the use in the field conditions and even resistance and ecotoxicity. The basics of biochemistry, the mechanisms of action and resistance and pharmacokinetics are presented. Then an overview of available veterinary products, their efficacy and their toxicity against target species, human and environment is provided.
Stability of Individual Differences in Cellular Immune Responses to Acute Psychological Stress

To determine the stability of individual differences in cellular immune reactions to acute mental stress, we correlated enumerative and functional lymphocyte responses to an evaluative speech task across two experimental sessions scheduled 2 weeks apart in 30 young men.Relative to pretask baseline measurements, the speech stressor elicited a diminished proliferative response to phytohemagglutinin and concanavalin A, a decrease in circulating CD19 lymphocytes, and an increase in both CD8 and CD56 lymphocytes across the two occasions of testing. Test-retest correlations were significant for the magnitude of change in proliferative response to PHA (r =.50, p <.005) and in numbers of circulating CD8 and CD56 cells (r =.53, and.42, respectively; p's <.02). Concomitant cardiovascular responses also correlated significantly over the two experimental sessions (heart rate: r =.78, p <.0001; systolic and diastolic blood pressure: r =.79 and.48, p <.0001 and.007). These data provide initial evidence that interindividual variability of cellular immune responses to acute psychological stress is moderately reproducible on retesting and may therefore denote a stable dimension of individual differences.
A little help from our friends: what an epidemiologic study teaches us about autoinflammation, granuloma and proteinase-3-specific antineutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibodies.

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NOX2 mediates apoptotic death induced by staurosporine but not by potassium deprivation in cerebellar granule neurons

Neuronal apoptotic death involves the participation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), but their sources have not been completely elucidated. Previous studies have demonstrated that the ROS‐producing enzyme NADPH oxidase is present in neuronal cells and that this enzyme could participate in the apoptotic neuronal death. Cerebellar granule neurons (CGN) undergo apoptosis when cells are transferred from a medium with 25 mM KCl (K25) to a 5 mM KCl (K5) medium or when they are treated with staurosporine (ST). Under these conditions, apoptotic death of CGN is dependent on ROS production. In this study, we evaluated the role of NOX2, an NADPH oxidase homolog, in the apoptotic death of CGN induced by two different conditions. In CGN from NOX2‐deficient (ko) mice, a significantly lower rate of apoptotic death occurs compared with wild‐type (wt) CGN. Also, caspase‐3 activation, NADPH oxidase activity, and superoxide anion production induced by ST were markedly lower in ko neurons than in wt CGN. In contrast to the case with ST, when CGN were treated with K5, no differences were observed between ko and wt cells in any of the parameters measured. However, all NADPH oxidase inhibitors tested noticeably reduced cell death and apoptotic parameters induced by K5 in both wt and ko CGN. These results suggest that NOX2 could be necessary for apoptotic death induced by ST, but not by K5, which could require other member of the NOX family in the apoptotic process. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.