Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The role of A 1b -Ars in Regulations of Renal Hemodynamic and Renal Functions in Hypertensive Rats; Impact of High Dietary Sodium Intake

Background: Renal α1B-adrenoreceptors (α1-ARs) contributes to the pathogenesis of hypertension in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). The present study examined the role of α 1B -ARs in renal hemodynamic and tubular functions in SHR subjected to high-salt diet (SHRHNa) for 6 weeks. Methods: Renal cortical vasoconstriction to noradrenaline (NA), phenylephrine (PE), and methoxamine (ME) in presence and absence of chloroethylclonidine (CEC) was measured in SHRHNa and SHR on normal sodium diet (SHRNNa). Renal tubular functional responses to PE and CEC were assessed as a measure of insulin clearance. Results: SHRHNa showed no significant change in the mean arterial pressure (MAP) as compared to SHRNNa. SHRHNa expressed enhanced renal cortical vascular sensitivity to NA, PE, and ME. Furthermore, renal vasoconstrictor response to NA, PE and ME was accentuated in the presence of CEC in SHRNNa. On the other hand in SHRHNa, renal cortical vasoconstriction to NA and ME was inhibited by CEC. However tubular response to PE was inhibited by CEC in SHRNNa and remains unaffected in SHRHNa. Conclusion: Thus it is concluded that, augmented α 1 -adrenergic response to adrenergic stimuli contribute to salt-related increase in renal vascular sensitivity in SHRHNa and these changes were independent of any further increase in MAP in SHRHNa. Irrespective of dietary sodium changes, α1-ARs are involved in mediation of tubular functions like antinatriuresis and antidiuresis of SHR. In addition, α 1B -ARs are the functional subtypes that mediate renal cortical vasoconstriction in SHRHNa and tubular function in SHRNNa, while high sodium in SHR did not influence the functionality of α 1B -ARs in mediating tubular functions.
The Establishment of Functional Play Behaviors in Children with Autism: Implications for School Inclusion

Research on evidence-based methodologies is conducted to expand skills of children with autism. Among the skills, which might be considered important for development, the literature emphasizes functional play. In many children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), the repertoire related to play is impaired and specialized treatment may address the issue by designing individualized procedures based on one-to-one interactions. Discrete trial teaching may help establishing such repertoire in a structured setting and generalization goals must be delineated to increase the likelihood with which the learned skills will emerge in new environments, such as the classroom, the home and other natural contexts. Thus, it is important that skills be shown in places where other people participate. Principles from Educational Psychology are also relevant in the advisory process to professionals related, for example, to school settings in order to favor inclusion of children with ASD to school routine and the relationship with peers. People related to these educational environments should become knowledgeable of evidence-based procedures in order to increase, with their help, generalization of previously established skills in more structured contexts. This paper assessed the efficacy of a structured intervention with functional play activities in three 4-year-old children with autism or suspect. A binder with pictures depicting actions with the components of each of four or two toy sets was used as resource to orient the target-responses of the study. Correct responses, under the control of pictures, produced access to tokens exchangeable for preferred items. Errors were corrected. Errorless performance occurred for all children with responses under the control of pictures for all and generalization with two toy sets for one. The results extended those from the previous literature and, even though the generalization to other environments such as school was not directly measured, the implications of the research to inclusion practices in the school context and development of verbal behavior were discussed.
The effect of LMS characteristics on students‘ LMS adoption

There has been great growing in adopting Learning Management System (LMS) as a mode to connect with students. Almost every university have started developing their own LMS to train and teach students. The objective of this study is to analyze the effect of LMS Characteristics on students‘ LMS adoption. A survey is conducted among 75 undergraduate students who use LMS extensively at the Department of Industrial Management, University of Kelaniya in order to fulfill the objective. The conduct of this study involves quantitative approach. The result of the study indicates LMS Characteristics including of system quality, information quality and service quality play a significant role in determining students‘ LMS adoption.
Inter-annual variability in flowering of orchids: lessons learned from 8 years of monitoring in a Mediterranean region of France

It is important to evaluate the loss of biodiversity caused by global changes. In the case of orchids, it is still unclear how long the monitoring duration should be chosen in order to achieve a good compromise between the reliability of the orchid dynamics recorded and sampling duration (e.g. years of monitoring). This study aims to propose a method of monitoring orchids. Using a large database, we investigated the inter-annual variability in flowering of orchids in a French Mediterranean region. The database includes an 8-year-long study (2006–2013) of 47 species at 26 locations in three different types of habitats. The number of individual plants that flowered per species varied significantly between years, but not the number of species. Depending on habitat, two to four years were needed to observe the total number of species per location. Therefore, in Mediterranean regions a one-year-study seems to be insufficient to produce reliable results.
A Practical Comparison of Scheduling Algorithms for Mixed Criticality Embedded Systems

With the consolidation of automotive control processes onto single highperformance ECUs the issue of running, and thus scheduling, processes of varying criticality on a single CPU has moved to the fore. This has resulted in a number of new algorithms for scheduling such systems, for example Adaptive Mixed Criticality (AMC). This project attempts to measure the performance of some of these algorithms on a singlecore embedded system CPU and compares them in order to shed some light on their different advantages and disadvantages.
Testicular and Epididymal Characteristcs of Rabbit Bucks Fed Diets Containing Cottonseed Cake Supplemented with Carrot (Daucus carota) or Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe)

This experiment was conducted to investigate the reproductive characteristics of rabbit bucks fed cottonseed cake-based diets supplemented with carrot or ginger. Twenty four (24) cross bred (New Zealand White X Chinchilla) 6-8 weeks old rabbit bucks were involved in the study. The bucks were balanced for weight and allocated to four dietary treatments T1, T2, T3 and T4. Treatment T1 (control) contained soyabean meal (SBM) as the main plant protein source denoted as (SBM or 0% CSC). T2 had 100% SBM replaced with cottonseed cake (CSC), while T3 and T4 had T2 supplemented with carrot and ginger respectively. Except for testicular width, testicular characteristics were not significantly (P>0.05) affected. Testicular width decreased from 2.20cm in the control (T1) to 1.63cm in T2 (100% CSC). Mean epididymal weight and mean epididymal length were significantly (P<0.05) affected with mean epididymal length decreasing from 13.72cm in the control to 8.32cm in T2 (100% CSC). Supplementing T2 with either carrot or ginger increased the epididymal characteristics significantly (P<0.05). It could be concluded from this study that CSC with or without carrot or ginger supplementation may not have adverse effect on testicular characteristics. However CSC depressed epididymal characteristics which were corrected by carrot or ginger supplementation with ginger proving more effective. Keywords : Rabbit buck, Reproductive characteristics, Cottonseed cake, Carrot and Ginger.
Nonlinear Impacts of International Business Cycles on the U.K. -- A Bayesian Smooth Transition VAR Approach

Employing a Bayesian approach, we investigate the impact of international business cycles on the U.K. economy in the context of a smooth transition VAR. We find that the British business cycle is asymmetrically influenced by growth in the U.S., France and Germany. Overall, positive and negative shocks generating in the U.S. or France affect the U.K. in the same directions as the shock. However, a shock emanating from Germany, whether positive or negative, always exerts negative cumulative effects on the U.K. Further, a positive shock arising from Germany adversely affects the U.K. output growth more than a negative shock of the same size.
Trophic ecomorphology of cardinalfish

Trophic diversity in 9 cardinalfish species was investigated by comparing 14 morphological characteristics of their feeding apparatus with dietary data based on stomach content analysis. Analysis of the morphological characteristics separated the 9 species into 3 distinct groups. The first group (Cheilodipterus macrodon, C. artus and C. quinquelineatus) was characterized by elongated heads; the second group (Archamia fucata, Apogon guamensis, A. cyanosoma and A. fragilis) by large gapes; and the third group (Apogon exostigma, A. doederleini) by wider heads and low transmission coefficient in their jaw mechanics. Stomach samples, however, revealed that morphology was of limited utility in predicting dietary groupings. The majority of species examined displayed generalist diets. The results indicate that while morphology may predict feeding potential, or feeding mode, actual resource use in this group may be shaped primarily by other modifying factors such as behaviour and prey availability. In contrast to other reef fish groups, morphology does not appear to play a strong role in influencing diet in the Apogonidae.
Research and characterisation of blazar candidates in the Fermi/LAT 3FGL catalogue using multivariate classifications

In the recently published 3FGL catalogue, the Fermi/LAT collaboration reports the detection of γ-ray emission from 3034 sources obtained after 4 years of observations. The nature of 1010 of those sources is unknown, whereas 2023 have counter-parts well identified in other wavelengths. Most of the associated sources are quoted as blazars (1717/2023), but the BL Lac or FSRQ nature of 573 of these blazars is still undetermined. The aim of this study is two-fold. First, to significantly increase the number of blazar candidates from a search among the high number of Fermi/LAT 3FGL unassociated sources. Second, to determine the BL Lac or FSRQ nature of the blazar candidates, including those determined as such in this work and the blazar candidates of uncertain type (BCU) already present in the 3FGL catalogue. For this purpose, multivariate classifiers –boosted decision trees and multilayer perceptron neural networks– are trained on the basis of carefully chosen discriminant parameters. The decisions of these cl.
The Dynamics of International R&D Spillovers

Coe and Helpman (1995) among others report positive and equivalent R&D spillovers across groups of countries. However, the nature of their econometric tests does not address the heterogeneity of knowledge diffusion across countries. We empirically examine these issues in a sample of 10 OECD countries by extending both the time span and the coverage of R&D activities in the data set. We find that the elasticity of total factor productivity with respect to domestic and foreign R&D stocks is extremely heterogeneous across countries and that data cannot be pooled. Thus, panel estimates conceal important cross-country differences. The US appears to be a net loser in terms of international R&D spillovers. Our interpretation is that when competitors ‘catch-up’ technologically, they challenge US market shares and investments worldwide. This has implications for US productivity.
Linear response of doped graphene sheets to vector potentials

A two-dimensional gas of massless Dirac fermions (MDFs) is a very useful model to describe low-energy electrons in monolayer graphene. Because the MDF current operator is directly proportional to the (sublattice) pseudospin operator, the MDF current-current response function, which describes the response to a vector potential, happens to coincide with the pseudospin-pseudospin response function. In this work, we present analytical results for the wave vector- and frequency-dependent longitudinal and transverse pseudospin-pseudospin response functions of noninteracting MDFs. The transverse response in the static limit is then used to calculate the noninteracting orbital magnetic susceptibility. These results are a starting point for the construction of approximate pseudospin-pseudospin response functions that would take into account electron-electron interactions (for example at the random-phase-approximation level). They also constitute a very useful input for future applications of current-density-functional theory to graphene sheets subjected to time and spatially varying vector potentials.
Does Rejection Still Hurt? Examining the Effects of Network Attention and Exposure to Online Social Exclusion

Social media platforms archive the content and flow of social exchange across communication networks. This may present challenges for individuals because using these platforms increases the probability of observing exchanges among their friends in which they were unintentionally excluded. This study randomly assigned 194 participants to conditions where they were presented with written scenarios describing hypothetical online conversations between their close friends in which they were excluded or included. Results suggest that participants in the excluded condition experienced the most negative and least positive emotional responses. Further, participants with the tendency to devote cognitive resources to understanding their social networks—a construct we call network attention—were particularly sensitive to the stimuli. Network attention predicted negative emotional responses in the excluded condition and positive emotional responses in the included condition. Results are discussed in the context of communication and cognition via social media.
Slope stability and rockfall assessment of volcanic tuffs using RPAS with 2-D FEM slope modelling

Abstract. Steep, hardly accessible cliffs of rhyolite tuff in NE Hungary are prone to rockfalls, endangering visitors of a castle. Remote sensing techniques were employed to obtain data on terrain morphology and to provide slope geometry for assessing the stability of these rock walls. A RPAS (Remotely Piloted Aircraft System) was used to collect images which were processed by Pix4D mapper (structure from motion technology) to generate a point cloud and mesh. The georeferencing was made by Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) with the use of seven ground control points. The obtained digital surface model (DSM) was processed (vegetation removal) and the derived digital terrain model (DTM) allowed cross sections to be drawn and a joint system to be detected. Joint and discontinuity system was also verified by field measurements. On-site tests as well as laboratory tests provided additional engineering geological data for slope modelling. Stability of cliffs was assessed by 2-D FEM (finite element method). Global analyses of cross sections show that weak intercalating tuff layers may serve as potential slip surfaces. However, at present the greatest hazard is related to planar failure along ENE–WSW joints and to wedge failure. The paper demonstrates that RPAS is a rapid and useful tool for generating a reliable terrain model of hardly accessible cliff faces. It also emphasizes the efficiency of RPAS in rockfall hazard assessment in comparison with other remote sensing techniques such as terrestrial laser scanning (TLS).
A search for X-ray sources around WR 22 in the Carina region

We present the results of a deep search for X-ray sources in a circular field of 30' in diameter situated around WR 22 in the Carina region and observed with the XMM-Newton observatory. This field is broadly located to the west of the main part of the Carina nebula. On the basis of six pointings (nominal exposure time: 10 ks each) centred on the WR+O binary star WR 22, we perform a survey with an effective exposure time of 68.8 ks. We introduce a catalogue of 43 bona-fide X-ray point sources, most of which were unknown before the XMM-Newton observations, and perform the first steps towards their identifications by cross-correlating the positions with optical/infrared catalogues. We investigated the possible variability of these sources in the X-ray domain and we extracted a few X-ray spectra for the brightest ones. A short description of the diffuse X-ray emission present in the region is also given.
Match-to-Sample Stroop Task: A Systematic Manipulation of Sample and Response Option Onset

The Stroop task, in which participants identify the font color of a word which names an incongruent color, has long been used to investigate attentional processes; however, there is still debate concerning the source of the effects produced by the task. The semantic competition hypothesis posits that interference results from competing semantic processes associated with the word and color dimensions of the stimulus prior to response selection. The response competition hypothesis posits that interference results from competing responses for articulating the word versus the color dimension at the time of response execution. Sturz, Green, Locker, and Boyer (2013) designed a Delayed Match-to-Sample Stroop task to differentiate between semantic and response based effects. Though the results supported a semantic competition hypothesis, it is still unclear whether the results globally supported semantic interference as the source of the Stroop effect or whether the effect was contextually driven by the DMTS task. In Experiment 1, a sequentially presented MTS task with no retention interval was implemented and the results replicated the findings of Sturz et al. Experiment 2 consisted of a simultaneously presented MTS task, where sample and response options onset concurrently for the duration of the trial. RT’s on incongruent Stroop stimulus trials were significantly longer than neutral or congruent Stroop stimulus trials. Accuracy data indicated asynchronous interference of words on color matching and no interference of color on word matching. Together, these results provide converging
Generating Adversarial Driving Scenarios in High-Fidelity Simulators

In recent years self-driving vehicles have become more commonplace on public roads, with the promise of bringing safety and efficiency to modern transportation systems. Increasing the reliability of these vehicles on the road requires an extensive suite of software tests, ideally performed on highfidelity simulators, where multiple vehicles and pedestrians interact with the self-driving vehicle. It is therefore of critical importance to ensure that self-driving software is assessed against a wide range of challenging simulated driving scenarios. The state of the art in driving scenario generation, as adopted by some of the front-runners of the self-driving car industry, still relies on human input [1]. In this paper we propose to automate the process using Bayesian optimization to generate adversarial self-driving scenarios that expose poorly-engineered or poorly-trained self-driving policies, and increase the risk of collision with simulated pedestrians and vehicles. We show that by incorporating the generated scenarios into the training set of the self-driving policy, and by fine-tuning the policy using vision-based imitation learning we obtain safer self-driving behavior.
Decomposition numbers for weight three blocks of symmetric groups and Iwahori–Hecke algebras

Let F be a field, q a non-zero element of F and H n = H F,q (G n ) the Iwahori-Hecke algebra of the symmetric group G n . If B is a block of H n of e-weight 3 and the characteristic of F is at least 5, we prove that the decomposition numbers for B are all at most 1. In particular, the decomposition numbers for a p-block of G n of defect 3 are all at most 1.
Book of Abstracts

Uncertainty quantification (UQ) is an interesting, fast growing research area aimed at developing methods to address the impact of parameter, data and model uncertainty in complex systems. In this course, we will focus on the identification of parameters through observations of the response of the system the inverse problem. The uncertainty in the solution of the inverse problem will be described via the Bayesian approach. We will derive Bayes? theorem in the setting of finite dimensional parameter spaces, and discuss properties such as well-posedness, statistical estimates and connections to classical regularization methods. We will briefly examine the extension of the Bayesian approach to the infinite dimensional setting. The remainder of this course will be devoted to algorithms for the efficient approximation of the solution of the Bayesian inverse problem. We will give a detailed discussion on Monte Carlo methods in this context, and review alternative approaches such as multilevel Monte Carlo, Markov chain Monte Carlo and the ensemble Kalman filter. A-1 Mini-course: Regularization theory with convex regularizers Otmar Scherzer (RICAM Linz, Vienna, Austria))
Transactions of the American Mathematical Society Classifying Spaces and Infinite Symmetric Products

1. Introduction. The object of study in this paper is a construction B(G, X) which essentially includes the classifying space construction BG of Milgram [7] and Steenrod [12] and the infinite symmetric product construction SP(X) of Dold and Thorn [4] as special cases. § §2, 3, and 4 are preliminary in nature. Let us just remark that §2 describes the category of spaces we are working in (a modification of Steenrod's [11]). We make the convention that in the rest of the paper all spaces, products, topological monoids, etc., are meant in the sense of this category. §5 deals with the algebraic and set-theoretic side of the construction B(• , ■). The definition is quite simple: If G is a monoid with unit e and X is a based set, then B(G, X) is the monoid of all functions u: X->G such that u(*) = e and such that u(x) = e for all but finitely many xe X. In §6 we topologize B(G, X) when G is an abelian topological monoid and X is a based space, in such a way that B(■, ■) becomes a bifunctor to the category of abelian topological monoids. If G is an abelian topological group, then so is