Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Level of Feeding and Season on Rectal Temperature and Blood Metabolites in Desert Rams (Ovisaries)

The effects of feeding three levels of chopped lucerne hay (high, medium and low) and season (winter vs summer) on the diurnal change of rectal temperature (DTr) and blood metabolites were investigated. Nine adult Desert rams aged 2-3 years and weighing 39.0-46.5 kg were randomly assigned to 3 groups (n=3) which represented each level of feeding. Throughout the experiment rectal temperature (Tr) measurements were performed twice daily in the morning and afternoon and blood samples were collected once weekly and analyzed. All animals showed a significantly higher afternoon Tr values during summer compared to winter. Food restriction significantly lowered serum total protein (STP) and albumin (SAB) levels during winter and in both seasons respectively compared to the control. However, all experimental groups had a significantly lower SAB level during summer compared to winter. During summer the group fed low level of lucerne hay had a significantly higher serum urea (SU) level compared to summer values. In conclusion, feed restriction and seasonal changes influenced the DTr and blood metabolites of rams.
Decision Behaviour, Analysis and Support

Decision Behaviour, Analysis and Support seeks to explore the interplay between the perspectives of many different disciplines in understanding how we may help decision makers to deliberate and decide better. The book is virtually unique in both its breadth and its recognition that the characteristics of decision making situations vary greatly and hence that the form of support required varies too. The study considers both the use of computers and databases to support decisions as well as human aids to building analyses and some fast and frugal tricks to aid more consistent decision making. In its exploration of decision support it draws together results and observations from, inter alia, decision theory, behavioural and psychological studies, artificial intelligence and information systems, philosophy, operational research and organisational studies. It spans the range of decision contexts from individual choice through decision making in groups and organisations to societal choice. One strength is in its discussion of the manner in which unaided intuitive decision making may be flawed and using this to drive the development of prescriptive support help real decision makers towards more rational decisions. The style is accessible to a wide range of disciplines, assuming little more than everyday knowledge of the many disciplines on which it draws.
Differential effect of beta-adrenergic stimulation on the frequency-dependent electrophysiologic actions of the new class III antiarrhythmics dofetilide, ambasilide, and chromanol 293B.

INTRODUCTION Blockade of the rapid delayed rectifier potassium current (IKr) as an important mechanism for current Class III antiarrhythmics is less effective in action potential prolongation during beta-adrenergic activation. We hypothesized that blockade of the increased slow IK (IKs) current during beta-adrenergic stimulation could improve action potential prolongation and tested this hypothesis by comparison of three different IK blockers: dofetilide, a selective blocker of IKr; ambasilide, a nonselective blocker of IK; and chromanol 293B, a selective blocker of IKs. METHODS AND RESULTS Transmembrane action potential duration was determined in guinea pig papillary muscles. After equilibration with the potassium channel blockers (dofetilide 10 nM, ambasilide 10 microM, chromanol 293B 10 microM), isoproterenol (10 and 100 nM) was added. The action potential prolonging effect of dofetilide was reduced in the presence of increasing concentrations of isoproterenol whereas the effect of ambasilide was much less reduced. In contrast, the effect of chromanol 293B clearly was increased in the presence of both concentrations of isoproterenol. No afterdepolarizations were observed after application of isoproterenol in control. Following isoproterenol, but not before, dofetilide and chromanol 293B induced early afterdepolarizations in 20% and 17% of the papillary muscles, whereas ambasilide and chromanol 293B induced delayed afterdepolarizations in 27% and 33%, respectively. CONCLUSION In contrast to dofetilide, the Class III effect of ambasilide is less reduced and the effect of chromanol 293B is enhanced during beta-adrenergic stimulation. Our data support the hypothesis that IKs blockade improves the efficacy of antiarrhythmics in action potential prolongation during beta-adrenergic activation; however, this effect may increase the risk of afterdepolarizations.
Evaluation of SMT in localization to under-resourced inflected language

Although Machine Translation is very popular for personal tasks, its use in localization and other business applications is still very limited. The paper presents an experiment on the evaluation of an English-Latvian SMT system integrated into SDL Trados which has been used in an actual localization assignment by a professional localization company. We show that such an integrated localization environment can increase the productivity of localization by 32.9% without a critical reduction in quality.
Sertraline versus paroxetine in the treatment of panic disorder: an acute, double-blind noninferiority comparison.

OBJECTIVE Several classes of medications have demonstrated efficacy in panic disorder, but direct comparison of 2 proven treatments is still uncommon. The purpose of this study was to compare sertraline and paroxetine in the acute treatment of panic disorder. METHOD Adult outpatients with panic disorder with or without agoraphobia (DSM-IV and ICD-10 criteria) were randomly assigned in double-blind fashion to 12 weeks of treatment with flexible doses of sertraline (titrated up to 50-150 mg/day; N = 112) or paroxetine (titrated up to 40-60 mg/day; N = 113). Patients were then tapered off medication over 3 weeks. The primary analysis was a noninferiority analysis of Panic and Agoraphobia Scale (PAS) scores. Secondary measures included panic attack frequency and the Clinical Global Impressions-Improvement scale (CGI-I) (with responders defined as those with a CGI-I score < or = 2). Data were collected from January 2000 to June 2001. RESULTS Sertraline and paroxetine were associated with equivalent levels of improvement on the PAS total score, as well as on all secondary outcome measures. Eighty-two percent of patients taking sertraline versus 78% of those taking paroxetine were CGI-I responders at endpoint. Numerically more patients on paroxetine treatment compared with sertraline treatment discontinued due to adverse events (18% vs. 12%; NS), and a significantly higher proportion of paroxetine patients showed > or = 7% weight gain (7% vs. < 1%; p <.05). During the taper period, the proportion of panic-free patients increased by 4% with sertraline but decreased by 11% with paroxetine (p <.05). CONCLUSION Sertraline and paroxetine had equivalent efficacy in panic disorder, but sertraline was significantly better tolerated and was associated with significantly less clinical worsening during taper than paroxetine.
Race and mental illness: an epidemiologic update.

This paper presentsf/inidings otn the relatiotns/ip between race aid metntal health extracted from aI m(jor fize year epidemiologic study conducted in the southeastern United States. Mental health scores on five separate psychiltric scales are compared for blacks antd whites. These comparisons are made inl two Ways. First, . imple correlabtins ulsig T tests atid atnalysts of'variantce are computed; theni the variable race is itncluded with age, sex and socioecotnomic statlLt ini a stepwise multiple regressiotn equationl. The results show, that blacks had higher meani scores thant whites otn all the scales: the difference. (ire
Delayed Onset of Epidural Anesthesia in Patients with Back Pain

Onset and completeness of anesthesia were compared in 15 patients with back pain or sciatica and in 10 patients without back pain given lumbar epidural anesthesia with 20 to 25 ml of 1.5% mepivacaine, 80 mg of methylprednisolone, and 1:200,000 epinephrine. Sensory block was complete within 30 minutes in patients without back pain. Eleven of 15 (73%) patients with back pain had delayed onset of anesthesia ranging from 35 to 95 minutes. The difference between the two groups was statistically significant (p < 0.001). When there was a delay, the affected nerve roots were blocked 10 to 70 minutes after the contralateral unaffected roots. Differences in time of onset between affected nerves and contralateral nerves were also significant (p < 0.01). The nerve roots involved, as determined from the myelogram or the electromyogram, or those adjacent to them, were the roots with delayed onset of block. Any effect of the steroid on nerve blockade was ruled out as there was solid anesthesia in patients without back pain.
A Seven-and-a-half-year Survival Study of Resin-bonded Bridges

A clinical trial, concerning 203 resin-bonded bridges (RBBs), was performed for investigation of the influence of retainer-type and cementation materials on the survival of these restorations. The survival rates after a 7.5-year follow-up were 75% for anterior RBBs and 44% for posterior bridges. Etched metal RBBs (E-bridges) were significantly more retentive than perforated RBBs (P-bridges); the survival rates were 78% and 63%, respectively. With respect to the cementation materials, Clearfil F, in combination with E-bridges, had the best overall survival (89%, anterior and posterior). Maxillary anterior RBBs were more susceptible to failure than mandibular anterior RBBs.
Effectiveness of Using GeoGebra on Students' Understanding in Learning Circles.

The use of technology in the pedagogical process is growing at a phenomenal rate due to the vast availability of gadgets. As a result, educationists see the urgent need for integrating technology in students’ mathematical activities. Therefore, the purpose of this quasi experimental study was to investigate students’ understanding in learning circles using GeoGebra. Fifty-three Year 9 (Form 3) students from two intact classes participated in this study with one class assigned as the experimental group and the other as the control. Findings of this study showed a significant difference existed in the mean scores between these two groups. The result indicated that students in the experimental group outperformed those in the control group. In addition, a survey instrument was used to elicit students' perception on the use of GeoGebra. Analysis of the questionnaire responses indicated a positive overall perception of using GeoGebra in learning about circles.
Information Systems Risks and Risk Factors: Are They Mostly About Information Systems?

This article is the second of two whose goal is to advance the discussion of IS risk by addressing limitations of the current IS risk literature. The first article [Alter and Sherer, 2004] presented a general, but broadly adaptable model of system-related risk that addressed the limited usefulness of existing IS risk models for business managers. In this article, we focus on organizing risk factors to make them more useful and meaningful for business managers. This article shows how the nine elements of the work system framework can be used to organize the hundreds of risk factors in the IS risk literature. It also shows that many of the most important and most commonly cited risk factors for IS in operation and IS projects are actually risk factors for work systems in general. Furthermore, risk factors initially associated with one type of system (e.g. ERP implementation) are often equally relevant at other levels (e.g., information systems projects or work systems in general). Over half of the risk factors in a representative sample of the IS risk literature are valid for work systems in general. This conclusion is a step toward useful risk diagnostic tools based on an organized set of risk factors that are meaningful to business managers and IT professionals.
The energy cost of horizontal walking and running in adolescents.

PURPOSE This study developed and cross-validated generalized equations for predicting VO2 (mL x kg(-1) x min(-1)) and caloric expenditure (kcal x kg(-1) x min(-1)) during horizontal walking and running in adolescents. METHODS Subjects were 47 male and 35 female adolescent volunteers, ages 12-18. Each subject underwent a submaximal treadmill exercise test to determine VO2 at randomly selected walking and jogging speeds (67-215 m x min(-1)). Caloric expenditure was estimated from VO2 and RER. Multiple regression was used to develop prediction equations for estimating VO2 and caloric expenditure from a derivation sample of 77 random observations, both walking and running. RESULTS The group relationship between running speed and energy cost in the derivation sample was linear, whereas the relationship between walking speed and energy cost was quadratic. Gender, age, and height each failed to account for significant additional variation in energy cost after speed and mode were considered. Skinfolds accounted for a small yet significant amount of additional variation in energy cost. The derived equations were cross-validated on a sample of 76 separate random observations. The cross-validation statistics are: for VO2, R = 0.95, error = 3.58 mL x kg(-1) x min(-1), and for caloric expenditure, R = 0.94, error = 0.019 kcal x kg(-1) x min(-1). Most selected adult equations consistently underestimated both VO2 and caloric expenditure in the cross-validation sample. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that in adolescents, within the range of speeds tested, the relationship between speed of movement and energy cost for running is linear, but for walking is curvilinear. Also, adult models for estimating VO2 or caloric expenditure do not account for the higher relative energy cost of walking and running in adolescents.
Repetition Priming Follows Spontaneous but not Prompted Recognition of Familiar Faces

Reaction times to make a familiarity decision to the faces of famous people were measured after recognition of the faces in a pre-training phase had occurred spontaneously or following prompting with a name or other cue. At test, reaction times to familiar faces that had been recognized spontaneously in the pre-training phase were significantly facilitated relative to an unprimed comparison condition. Reaction times to familiar faces recognized only after prompting in the pre-training phase were not significantly facilitated. This was demonstrated both when a name prompt was used (Experiments 1 and 3) and when subjects were cued with brief semantic information (Experiment 2). Repetition priming was not found to depend on prior spontaneous recognition per se. In Experiment 3, spontaneously recognizing a familiar face did not prime subsequent familiarity judgements when the same face had only been identified following prompting on a prior encounter. In Experiment 4, recognition memory for faces recognized after cueing was found to be over 90% accurate. This indicates that prompted recognition does not yield repetition priming, even though subjects can remember the faces. A fusion of “face recognition unit” and “episodic record” accounts of the repetition priming effect may be more useful than either theory alone in explaining these results.
Effect of Donor and Recipient Factors on Corneal Graft Rejection

Purpose: To assess the relationship between donor and recipient factors and corneal allograft rejection in eyes that underwent penetrating keratoplasty in the Cornea Donor Study. Methods: Overall, 1090 subjects undergoing corneal transplantation for a moderate risk condition (principally Fuchs dystrophy or pseudophakic corneal edema) were followed for up to 5 years. Associations of baseline recipient and donor factors with the occurrence of a probable or definite rejection event were assessed in univariate and multivariate proportional hazards models. Results: Eyes with pseudophakic or aphakic corneal edema (n = 369) were more likely to experience a rejection event than eyes with Fuchs dystrophy (n = 676) [34% ± 6% vs. 22% ± 4%; hazard ratio = 1.56; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.21–2.03]. Among eyes with Fuchs dystrophy, a higher probability of a rejection event was observed in phakic posttransplant eyes compared with those that underwent cataract extraction with or without intraocular lens implantation during penetrating keratoplasty (29% vs. 19%; hazard ratio = 0.54; 95% CI, 0.36–0.82). Female recipients had a higher probability of a rejection event than male recipients (29% vs. 21%; hazard ratio = 1.42; 95% CI, 1.08–1.87) after controlling for the effect of preoperative diagnosis and lens status. Donor age and donor recipient ABO compatibility were not associated with rejection. Conclusions: There was a substantially higher graft rejection rate in eyes with pseudophakic or aphakic corneal edema compared to that in eyes with Fuchs dystrophy. Female recipients were more likely to have a rejection event than male recipients. Graft rejection was not associated with donor age.
Patterns of Abnormal Visual Attention in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis

Purpose To experimentally assess visual attention difficulties commonly reported by those with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). Methods Twenty-nine ME/CFS patients and 29 controls took part in the study. Performance was assessed using the Useful Field of View (UFOV), a spatial cueing task and visual search. Results Patients and controls performed similarly on the processing speed subtest of the UFOV. However, patients exhibited marginally worse performance compared with controls on the divided attention subtest and significantly worse performance on the selective attention subtest. In the spatial cueing task, they were slower than controls to respond to the presence of the target, particularly when cues were invalid. They were also impaired, relative to controls, on visual search tasks. Conclusions We have provided experimental evidence for ME/CFS-related difficulties in directing visual attention. These findings support the subjective reports of those with ME/CFS and could represent a potential means to improve diagnosis.
Efficient Exhaustive Verification of the Collatz Conjecture using DSP blocks of Xilinx FPGAs

Consider the following operation on an arbitrary positive number: if the number is even, divide it by two, and if the number is odd, triple it and add one. The Collatz conjecture asserts that, starting from any positive number m, repeated iteration of the operations eventually produces the value 1. The main contribution of this paper is to present an efficient implementation of a coprocessor that performs the exhaustive search to verify the Collatz conjecture using a Xilinx Virtex-6 FPGA with DSP blocks, each of which contains one multiplier and one adder. The experimental results show that, our coprocessor can verify 4.99A—10 8 64-bit numbers per second. Also, we have implemented a multi-coprocessors system that has 380 coprocessors on the FPGA. The experimental results show that our multi-coprocessor system can verify 1.64A—10 11 64-bit numbers per second.
Trends in Cancer Mortality in Italy, 1955-1978

Trends in age-specific and age-standardized cancer death certification rates in Italy from 1955 to 1978 were analyzed. In males total cancer mortality rates increased in all age groups. However, when respiratory and other tobacco-related neoplasms were excluded, death certification rates were roughly stable up to age 64. Moderate decreases in overall cancer mortality have been apparent at younger ages (35-44) since the early 1970′s. In females, all the age-specific and the age standardized, under-65 death certification rates decreased; the downward trends were more pronounced (–18.5 %) in the younger age group considered (35-44 years). Respiratory cancer mortality increased sharply in males: lung cancer death rates reached a plateau in the early 1970′s in the 35-44-year age group, but increased at all subsequent ages. In females, the increase in lung cancer mortality was about 50 % in the 45-54 and 55-64-year age groups, but no upward trend was evident in younger women. Other tobacco-related cancers (mouth or pharynx, larynx, esophagus, pancreas, kidney and bladder) also rose considerably. In both sexes, gastric cancer mortality dropped about 50 % below age 65, but mortality rates from cancer of the stomach were still considerably higher than in other Western countries. Likewise, mortality from cancer of the (cervix) uteri decreased markedly, mostly in younger age groups. Upward trends in death certification rates were evident for cancers of the bowel (colon and rectum, about 50 % in males, and 35 % in females below age 65), and of the breast in females. However, these trends have levelled off since the late 1960′s, at least in the younger age groups. Certified death rates from cancer of the skin (melanoma) increased over all the periods considered in the young of both sexes. Cancer mortality rates showed marked increases in older (≥ 65) males, but this can be partially explained in terms of better case ascertainment and more accurate death certification.
IRANIAN CORAL REEFS STATUS WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO KISH ISLAND

In this paper, the coral status of Iranian waters in the Persian Gulf are reviewed and discussed based on the obtained results and information after three years of field surveys in Nay Band Bay, Kish and Farur islands. Altogether, 27 species of corals were identified from the studied areas, belonging to 9 families and 20 genera. Faviidae with 6 genera and 8 species is the most diverse of all families. On the other hand, Poritidae with 2 genera and 4 species is the most abundant corals in all areas. In the last 10 years, Acropora has declined from being the most abundant genus in shallow waters of fringing islands, to almost absennt, due to environmental stresses and human impacts. Anacropora forbesi is reported for the first time from the area. Regarding the coral health, the live coral coverage ranges from 9 to 30%, with minimum coverage in Kish Island and maximum in Nay Band Bay. During this study, no new bleached coral was observed at the surveyed areas, though in the past few years, considerable bleaching events have occurred throughout the area. This may have been the result of high sea surface temperatures reported during the years of 1996 and
Reducing demands on clinicians by offering computer-aided self-help for phobia/panic

Background Many patients with phobia/panic find it hard to access effective treatment. Aims To test the feasibility of computer-guided exposure therapy for phobia/panic. Method Self-referrals were screened for 20 min and, if suitable, had six sessions of computer-guided self-help (from a system called Fear Fighter). Pre— and post-treatment ratings of 54 patients were compared with those of 31 similar out-patients with phobia/panic who received the same treatment guided by a clinician. Results At pre-treatment, computer-guided cases were slightly less severe than clinician-guided patients. In a post-treatment intent-to-treat analysis, both groups improved comparably but computer-guided patients spent 86% less time with a clinician than did purely clinician-guided patients, who had no access to the computer system. Conclusions Computer-guided self-exposure therapy appeared feasible and effective for self-referrals and saved much clinician time. A controlled study is now needed.