Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Association of air pollution and mortality in the Ludhiana city of India: a time-series study.

BACKGROUND With rapid industrialization, the quality of the air is being compromised in several Indian cities. Hence, the effect of air pollution on mortality was studied in the Ludhiana city of Punjab in northern India. MATERIALS AND METHODS Air quality and meteorological and mortality data were obtained for 2002-2004. Punjab Pollution Control Board monitored air quality on specific week days at different sites. Respirable suspended particulate matter (RSPM) (equivalent of PM 10 ) was measured by the gravimetric method and NOx and SO 2 by chemical method. The estimation of the daily average RSPM level was attempted by combining 24-h average of the monitoring stations working on a particular day. Sahnewal Airport records temperature, dew point, and relative humidity at 8.30 am, 11.30 am, and 5.30 pm. Visibility of fixed landmarks is observed manually every hour from 6.30 am to 6.30 pm. Daily death records were obtained from the civil registration system. The association between visibility as proxy for RSPM and mortality was established using the generalized additive model (GAM) with natural spline smoothers at 6, 3, 3 df in R software with deaths (excluding accidents) as a dependent variable. Smoothers for day of the week, temperature, and relative humidity were also included in the model. RESULTS Air quality monitoring days for different monitoring stations ranged from 86 to 138 per year. The annual mean RSPM ranged from 226.7 to 269 μg/m 3 , SO 2 from 11.6 to 20.9 μg/m 3 , and NOx from 32.2 to 46.3 μg/m 3 . The mean (SD) temperature was 25.6 (7.9)°C, relative humidity was 58.1 (19.3)%, and visibility was 3398 (1418) m. Overall 28,007 deaths were registered, with an average of 25.4 deaths (SD 5.8) per day. The association between air quality as indicated by visibility (haze) and daily mortality was found to be statistically significant. For every 1 km decrease in visibility at midday, mortality due to natural causes increased by 2.4%. CONCLUSIONS In Ludhiana, air pollution levels were quite high. The air quality (as measured by visibility) was significantly associated with mortality.
An online LiFePO4 battery impedance estimation method for grid-tied residential energy storage systems

There has recently been a significant interest directed towards residential battery storage systems mainly motivated by high penetration of renewables, the low cost and high efficiency of power electronic devices, and the advancements in the safety and energy density of the batteries, especially Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) batteries. Furthermore, the possibility for the end user to become a utility-independent entity with the capacity to overcome power outages and tariff rises is even further propelling this fast growing industry. Lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) battery is one of those technologies chosen to take the lead in residential battery storage due to its intrinsic safe performance, good energy density and price. This paper describes an online method for estimating the impedance of LiFePO4 batteries when they are used in residential single phase energy storage systems. Single phase power systems have the intrinsic characteristics of delivering power at twice the frequency of the grid; by energy conservation principle, this pulsating characteristics is transferred directly to the current in the DC stage of the battery storage system. The proposed method takes advantage of this phenomenon and, without interrupting the energy conversion process or adding any external perturbation to the system, is able to characterize, in situ, the AC impedance behavior of the battery. Experimental results are provided to validate the proposed method and simulations show the potential applicability of this method in the assessment of the actual battery aging state.
A news media analysis of economic sanction effects on access to medicine in Iran

Objective: In the past decades economic sanctions have been used by different countries or international organizations in order to deprive target countries of some transactions. While the sanctions do not target health care systems or public health structures, they may, in fact, affect the availability of health care in target countries. In this study, we used media analysis to assess the impacts of recent sanctions imposed by the Central Bank of Iran in 2012 on access to medicines in Iran. Methods: We searched different sources of written news media including a database of nonspecialized weeklies and magazines, online news sources, web pages of daily newspapers and healthcare oriented weeklies from 2011 to 2013. We searched the sources using the general term "medicine" to reduce the chances of missing relevant items. The identified news media were read, and categorized under three groups of items announcing "shortage of medicines," "medicines related issues" and "no shortage. " We conducted trend analyzes to see whether the news media related to access to medicines were affected by the economic sanctions. Findings: A total number of 371 relevant news media were collected. The number of news media related to medicines substantially increased in the study period: 30 (8%), 161 (43%) and 180 (49%) were published in 2011, 2012 and 2013, respectively. While 145 (39%) of media items referred to the shortage of medicines, 97 (26%) reported no shortage or alleviating of concerns. Conclusion: Media analysis suggests a clear increase in the number of news media reporting a shortage in Iran after the sanctions. In 2013, there were accompanying increases in the number of news media reporting alleviation of the shortages of medicines. Our analysis provides evidence of negative effects of the sanctions on access to medicines in Iran.
Plant‐like mating in an animal: sexual compatibility and allocation trade‐offs in a simultaneous hermaphrodite with remote transfer of sperm

The importance of sexual compatibility between mates has only recently been realized in zoological research into sexual selection, yet its study has been central to botanical research for many decades. The reproductive characteristics of remote mating, an absence of precopulatory mate screening, internal fertilization and embryonic brooding are shared between passively pollinated plants and a phylogenetically diverse group of sessile aquatic invertebrates. Here, we further characterize the sexual compatibility system of one such invertebrate, the colonial ascidian Diplosoma listerianum. All 66 reciprocal pairings of 12 genetic individuals were carried out. Fecundities of crosses varied widely and suggested a continuous scale of sexual compatibility. Of the 11 animals from the same population c. 40% of crosses were completely incompatible with a further c. 20% having obvious partial compatibility (reduced fecundity). We are unaware of other studies documenting such high levels of sexual incompatibility in unrelated individuals. RAPD fingerprinting was used to estimate relatedness among the 12 individuals after a known pedigree was successfully reconstructed to validate the technique. In contrast to previous results, no correlation between genetic similarity and sexual compatibility was detected. The blocking of many genotypes of sperm is expected to severely modify realized paternity away from ‘fair raffle’ expectations and probably reduce levels of intra‐brood genetic diversity in this obligatorily promiscuous mating system. One adaptive benefit may be to reduce the bombardment of the female reproductive system by outcrossed sperm with conflicting evolutionary interests, so as to maintain female control of somatic : gametic investment.
Gestión de Museos: ¿Existe un modelo ideal?

espanolLa gestion de un museo es un tema que sigue sin resolverse de forma unitaria, es decir, no hay un modelo que funcione de manera "ideal" en todos los paises y que pueda ser extrapo­lado para el resto de museos del mundo. Por ello, teniendo en cuenta las caracteristicas de Espana en cuanto a su organizacion administrativa se refiere, se va a realizar, a traves de la comparativa con otros modelos europeos y norteamericanos, un analisis de los sistemas de financiacion, organizacion y direccion optimas para un museo. Por otra parte, se plantea el modelo norteamericano como posible modelo ideal analizando las semejanzas y diferencias con los de Francia, Italia, Paises Bajos, Austria y Gran Bretana. El ultimo punto culminaria con la actuacion de los museos ante un periodo de crisis. Reflexio­nando, como conclusion, sobre que modelo es el mas apropiado y cual se adapta mejor a un tiempo de crisis. EnglishThe management of a museum is an issue that continues without be solving of unitary form, there is not a model of "ideal" way in all countries and can be extrapolated for the rest of museums of the world. For it, bearing the characteristics of Spain in mind as for his administrative organization it refers, there is going to be realized, across the comparative one with other European and North American models, an analysis of the systems of financing, organization and direction ideal for a museum. Moreover, the North American model appears as possible "ideal model", analyzing the simi­larities and differences with those of France, Italy, Netherlands, Austria and Great Britain. The last point would culminate with the action of the museums before a period of crisis. Finally it is thought over, as conclusion, on what model is the most appropriate and which one adapts better to a time of crisis.
Prevalence and Risk Factors of Asthma, Rhinitis, and Eczema and Their Multimorbidity among Young Adults in Kuwait: A Cross-Sectional Study

Objective To estimate the prevalence of allergic diseases and allergic multimorbidity (coexistence) among young adults in Kuwait and to examine associations between risk factors with allergic diseases and allergic multimorbidity. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted by enrolling 1,154 students, aged 18–26 years, attending Kuwait University. Participants self-completed a questionnaire on symptoms and clinical history of allergic diseases. Prevalence ratios (PRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated by applying Poisson regression with robust variance estimation. Results The prevalence of current asthma, rhinitis, and eczema was estimated to be 11.9% (135/1135), 20.4% (232/1138), and 9.2% (105/1143), respectively. The coexistence of “asthma and rhinitis” (5.1%, 57/1125) was the most frequent allergic multimorbidity. Both maternal history (PR = 3.97, 95% CI: 2.32–6.80) and paternal history (PR = 1.72, 95% CI: 1.10–2.68) of allergy were independently associated with having two or more coexisting allergic diseases. The joint effect of having both maternal and paternal history of allergy was associated with 8.16 times (95% CI: 4.19–15.90) higher risk of allergic multimorbidity. Conclusion Allergic diseases and allergic multimorbidity are common among young adults in Kuwait and their burden mirrors that of westernized countries. Parental history of allergy is a strong predisposing factor for allergic multimorbidity.
Disease transmission in territorial populations: the small-world network of Serengeti lions

Territoriality in animal populations creates spatial structure that is thought to naturally buffer disease invasion. Often, however, territorial populations also include highly mobile, non-residential individuals that potentially serve as disease superspreaders. Using long-term data from the Serengeti Lion Project, we characterize the contact network structure of a territorial wildlife population and address the epidemiological impact of nomadic individuals. As expected, pride contacts are dominated by interactions with neighbouring prides and interspersed by encounters with nomads as they wander throughout the ecosystem. Yet the pride–pride network also includes occasional long-range contacts between prides, making it surprisingly small world and vulnerable to epidemics, even without nomads. While nomads increase both the local and global connectivity of the network, their epidemiological impact is marginal, particularly for diseases with short infectious periods like canine distemper virus. Thus, territoriality in Serengeti lions may be less protective and non-residents less important for disease transmission than previously considered.
The Impact of Environmental Regulation on Productivity and Exports: A Firm-Level Evidence from China

Abstract This paper investigates the influence of environmental regulation on firm performance, as captured by firm productivity and firm exports. We first construct a Melitz-style model investigating the causal effects of environmental regulation on firm productivity and firm exports, and then test the theoretical predictions using firm-level data over the period 2005–2009. The theoretical and empirical investigation suggests that environmental regulation promotes firm productivity slightly with a lagged effect, has a harmful impact on firm exports, and has a U-shaped relationship with firm exports. China is to the far left of the inflection point, but this U-shaped relationship is not present at firms in clean industries and clean regions.
Electromyography‐based seizure detector: Preliminary results comparing a generalized tonic–clonic seizure detection algorithm to video‐EEG recordings

Automatic detection of generalized tonic–clonic seizures (GTCS) will facilitate patient monitoring and early intervention to prevent comorbidities, recurrent seizures, or death. Brain Sentinel (San Antonio, Texas, USA) developed a seizure‐detection algorithm evaluating surface electromyography (sEMG) signals during GTCS. This study aims to validate the seizure‐detection algorithm using inpatient video–electroencephalography (EEG) monitoring.
Challenges in the development of novel treatment strategies for neuropathic pain

SummaryNeuropathic pain might best be considered as a collection of various pain states with a common feature, that being symptoms suggestive of dysfunction of peripheral nerves. The development of therapeutic options for the treatment of neuropathic pain is complicated significantly by several factors. Neuropathic pain may arise from widely diverse etiologies such as physical trauma, disease, infection, or chemotherapy. Symptoms indicative of neuropathic pain may also arise in individuals with no evidence of any type of nerve trauma (idiopathic). Although neuropathic pain is a substantial health care issue, it is relatively uncommon and only occurs in a small fraction (<10%) of individuals with these initiating factors. Moreover, the efficacy of treatment protocols, even against the same type of symptoms, differ depending on the underlying initiating cause of the neuropathy. Although these observations strongly suggest that there are predisposing factors that may impart susceptibility to the development of neuropathic pain, no common predisposing factors or genetic markers have been satisfactorily identified. Because of these vagaries, treatment of neuropathic pain has been based on trial and error. However, recent progress in the understanding of neurophysiologic changes that accompany peripheral nerve dysfunction indicate that regulation of ion channels that maintain membrane potentials or generate action potentials may provide an important therapeutic approach. Neuropathic pain is accompanied by increased activity of peripheral nociceptors, which is produced in part by changes in levels of specific calcium and sodium channels. The identification of sodium and/or calcium channels subtypes that are expressed almost exclusively on nocicpetors may provide a way of regulating the activity of exaggerated nociceptor function without altering other sensory modalities. Thus, the selective targeting of ion channels may represent a viable therapeutic target for the management of the neuropathic pain state, regardless of etiology.
An evaluation of English Crown Courts with and without special measures implemented in Section 28 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act

This series of studies was the first to evaluate the effects of the Section 28 pilot study on the treatment of vulnerable child witnesses in English Crown Courts. Section 28 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act implemented mandatory Ground Rules Hearings, during which the judge, lawyers, and intermediary (if applicable) discussed appropriate accommodations to be made for child witnesses, following which the cross-examination could be pre-recorded. Analyses examined 43 cases that implemented the special measures (‘Section 28’ cases) and 44 cases that did not implement the special measures (‘Non-Section 28’ cases) that took place between 2012 and 2016. Analyses revealed that children in the Section 28 cases experienced less systemic delay than their counterparts. In addition, the trial preparation in the Section 28 cases was more thorough and this was associated with less risky questioning in the cross-examinations. However, younger children experienced longer delays and had fewer accommodations made for them than older children, regardless of condition. Additional analyses demonstrated that the forensic interviews replaced the evidence-in-chief in most cases almost entirely, with prosecutors asking few substantive questions. In the Section 28 cases, defense lawyers used fewer suggestive questions and asked less complex questions than Non-Section 28 defense lawyers. However, both types of lawyers still predominantly asked option-posing questions. Regardless of condition, defense lawyers asked fewer suggestive questions than their counterparts in other common-law countries and they asked younger children less complex questions. Results indicate that, although the Section 28 pilot study has not fixed all of the existing problems, it has significantly reduced systemic delay and improved the treatment of child witnesses in Crown Courts and thus should be rolled out nationally. As well, regardless of condition, English lawyers and judges seem receptive to recent special measures and appear to be effectively implementing them.
Tyrosine aminotransferase and gamma‐glutamyl transferase activity in human fetal hepatocyte primary cultures under proliferative conditions

The ontogeny of gamma‐glutamyl transferase (GGTase; E.C.2.3.2.2) and tyrosine aminotransferase (TAT; E.C.2.6.1.5) activities in 14 to 36 weeks gestational and neonatal hepatocytes during development of human fetal liver was studied. Subsequently, 20–24 weeks gestational hepatocytes were cultured in media supplemented with epidermal growth factor (EGF) and insulin with or without glucagon and dexamethasone to investigate the proliferation and differentiation of fetal hepatocyte in vitro using GGTase and TAT as biochemical markers. During the development of the liver, the activity of GGTase increased continuously from the first trimester through the third trimester and decreased (p < 0.001) in neonates. A low basal level of TAT activity was seen only during the third trimester, which then increased significantly (p < 0.001) in neonates. Fetal hepatocytes, in the presence of EGF and insulin, undergo proliferation from the fourth to 10th day with an increase in cell number (p < 0.001) and concomitant increase (p < 0.001) in GGTase activity. As the cells attain confluence, enzyme activity decreased significantly (p < 0.001) from the 10th to 16th day. Maximal TAT activity (p < 0.001) was observed at 48 h of culture, which decreased, but not significantly, during cell proliferation and the enzyme activity was regained as the cultures attained confluence. Furthermore, TAT activity was induced synergistically (p<0.001) in the presence of glucagon and dexamethasone, while GGTase was inhibited (p<0.001). These results indicate that GGTase increases with proliferation, whereas TAT, once it has been expressed, is not suppressed during cell proliferation. In conclusion, human fetal hepatocytes undergo enzymic differentiation by 48 h of culture, and proliferate with an increase in GGTase in the presence of growth factors with maintenance of differentiated status up to the studied 16 days of culture. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Reversible phase variation of expression of Neisseria meningitidis class 5 outer membrane proteins and their relationship to gonococcal proteins II

Neisseria meningitidis class 5 proteins are major outer membrane proteins that share many properties with the proteins II (P.II) of Neisseria gonorrhoeae. We generated two bactericidal monoclonal antibodies, each of which bound specifically to one of the two identified class 5 proteins produced by N. meningitidis FAM18. The monoclonal antibodies also bound to class 5 proteins of a limited number of other meningococcal strains. Using the bactericidal activity of the monoclonal antibodies, we demonstrated that expression of both class 5 proteins was subject to reversible phase variation in vitro. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of a purified class 5 protein revealed striking similarity to the N-terminal amino acid sequence of gonococcal P.II proteins. Using a cloned class 5 gene, we identified three potential class 5 gene loci in N. meningitidis FAM18. These class 5 sequences also had homology with gonococcal P.II gene sequences and contained the CTCTT repeat sequence believed to be important in the regulation of gonococcal P.II expression.
APPLICATION OF WIRELESS SENSOR NETWORKS FOR GREENHOUSE PARAMETER CONTROL IN PRECISION AGRICULTURE

The technological development in Wireless Sensor Networks made it possible to use in monitoring and control of greenhouse parameter in precision agriculture. In last decades there have been tremendous advancements in technology for agriculture and growth of final yield. Due to uneven natural distribution of rain water it is very crucial for farmers to monitor and control the equal distribution of water to all crops in the whole farm or as per the requirement of the crop. There is no ideal irrigation method available which may be suitable for all weather conditions, soil structure and variety of crops cultures. Green house technology may be the best solution for this solution. All the parameters of greenhouse require a detailed analysis in order to choose the correct method. It is observed that farmers have to bear huge financial loss because of wrong prediction of weather and incorrect irrigation method to crops. In this contest with the evolution in wireless sensor technologies and miniaturized sensor devices, it is possible to uses them for automatic environment monitoring and controlling the parameters of greenhouse, for Precision Agriculture (PA) application. In this paper, we have proposed and analyse the use of Programmable System on Chip Technology (PSoC) as a part of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) to monitor and control various parameter of green house.