Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Commerical reference shape standards use in the study of particle shape effect on laser diffraction particle size analysis

The purpose of this paper is to describe the use of LGC Promochem AEA 1001 to AEA 1003 monosized fiberanalog shape standards in the study of the effect of particle shape on laser diffraction (LD) particle size analysis (psa). The psa of the AEA standards was conducted using LD psa systems from Beckman Coulter, Horiba, and Malvern Instruments. Flow speed settings, sample refractive index values, and sample cell types were varied to examine the extent to which the shape effect on LD psa results is modified by these variables. The volume and number probability plots resulting from these measurements were each characterized by a spread in the particle size distribution that roughly extended from the breadth to the longest dimension of the particles. For most of the selected sample refractive index values, the volume probability plots were characterized by apparent bimodal distributions. The results, therefore, provide experimental verification of the conclusions from theoretical studies of LD psa system response to monosized elliptical particles in which this apparent bimodality was the predicted result in the case of flow-oriented particles. The data support the findings from previous studies conducted over the past 10 years that have called into question the verity of the tenets of, and therefore the value of the application of, the equivalent spherical volume diameter theory and the random particle orientation model to the interpretation of LD psa results from measurements made on nonspherical particles.
The Taiwanese/Chinese Identity of the Taiwan People

The purpose of this article is to provide the reader with a picture of the distribution of an important political attitude of the Taiwan public-their Taiwanese/Chinese identity. The term ”Taiwanese/Chinese identity” refers to whether individuals in Taiwan identify themselves as Taiwanese or Chinese. This identity is often considered a key variable in explaining how Taiwanese think about politics in general and cross-Strait politics in particular. The authors also seek to demonstrate how the distribution of Taiwanese/Chinese identity has changed in recent years. Survey data collected by the Election Study Center of National Chengchi University are used for the analysis. The results indicate that regardless of ethnic background, age, educational level, gender, and partisan identity, Taiwanese people's Chinese identity ratio declined while their Taiwanese identity rose sharply.
Language Recognition Based on Acoustic Diversified Phone Recognizers and Phonotactic Feature Fusion

One typical phonotactic system for language recognition is parallel phone recognition followed by vector space modeling (PPRVSM). In this system, various phone recognizers are applied in parallel and fused at the score level. Each phone recognizer is trained for a known language, which is assumed to extract complementary information for effective fusion. But this method is limited by the large amount of training samples for which word or phone level transcription is required. Also, score fusion is not the optimal method as fusion at the feature or model level will retain more information than at the score level. This paper presents a new strategy to build and fuse parallel phone recognizers (PPR). This is achieved by training multiple acoustic diversified phone recognizers and fusing at the feature level. The phone recognizers are trained on the same speech data but using different acoustic features and model training techniques. For the acoustic features, Mel-frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCC) and perceptual linear prediction (PLP) are both employed. In addition, a new time-frequency cepstrum (TFC) feature is proposed to extract complementary acoustic information. For the model training, we examine the use of the maximum likelihood and feature minimum phone error methods to train complementary acoustic models. In this study, we fuse phonotactic features of the acoustic diversified phone recognizers using a simple linear fusion method to build the PPRVSM system. A novel logistic regression optimized weighting (LROW) approach is introduced for fusion factor optimization. The experimental results show that fusion at the feature level is more effective than at the score level. And the proposed system is competitive with the traditional PPRVSM. Finally, the two systems are combined for further improvement. The best performing system reported in this paper achieves an equal error rate (EER) of 1.24%, 4.98% and 14.96% on the NIST 2007 LRE 30-second, 10-second and 3-second evaluation databases, respectively, for the closed-set test condition.
Energy and nutrient intakes in relation to sex and socio-economic status among school adolescents in urban Cameroon, Africa

Abstract Objective To assess energy and nutrient intakes and physical activity of adolescents in urban Cameroon according to sex and socio-economic status (SES). Design Cross-sectional study with adolescents randomly selected from schools in low-, middle- and high-SES areas. Weight and height were measured and information about food intake and physical activity was obtained through repeated individual 24 h recalls. Under- and over-reporting of energy intake and inadequacy of nutrient intake were assessed. Setting Yaoundé, Cameroon. Subjects Boys and girls aged 12–16 years (n 227). Results Boys had a lower BMI and reported higher energy expenditures and physical activity levels (PAL) than girls. Under-reporting of energy intake was large among boys and girls regardless of PAL; boys under-reported more than girls. Among those with low PAL, over-reporting of energy intake was common. Over 50 % of boys and girls had protein below the recommendations. The intake of fat varied; 26 % of the adolescents were below and 25 % were above the recommendations. Inadequate intakes of vitamin B1, vitamin B3 and Fe were more common among girls, while boys more often had inadequate intake of vitamin A. Adolescents with low SES were more likely to be below the recommendations for fat and vitamins B2, B3, B6 and B12 than those with high SES. Conclusions A high proportion of boys and girls reported inadequate intakes. However under- and over-reporting were also very common. Boys under-reported energy intake more than girls and inadequate nutrient intake was more frequently reported by adolescents with low SES than by those with high SES.
Double Jeopardy: The Effects of Comorbid Conditions among Older People with Vision Loss

This retrospective study used national survey data to examine multiple effects of nine comorbid conditions—breathing problems, depression risk, diabetes, heart problems, hearing impairment, hypertension, joint problems, low back pain, and stroke—on physical functioning, participation, and health status among older adults with visual impairments. Bivariate and multivariate procedures were used to compare older adults who had neither visual impairment nor these conditions with adults of similar age who had one of the nine conditions only, visual impairment only, or both visual impairment and the condition. Findings indicate that older adults with visual impairment frequently experience comorbid conditions, and that these conditions are associated with difficulties in walking and climbing steps, shopping, and socializing, and with significantly more self-reports of declining health. Results suggest that interventions by health care and mental health providers, as well as enhanced rehabilitation services, have the potential to reduce or prevent the deleterious effects of comorbid conditions.
Resistance of Growth Hormone Secretion to Somatostatin in Men With Type I Diabetes Mellitus

The effect of continuous infusions of somatostatin (SRIF) on growth hormone (GH) secretion induced by GH-releasing hormone (GHRH) bolus was compared in a dose-response manner between diabetic subjects in poor glycemic control and nondiabetic subjects to address the hypothesis that altered pituitary responsiveness to SRIF contributes to the hypersecretion of GH in diabetes mellitus in humans. Studies were conducted with a modification of the euglycemic clamp technique to minimize fluctuations in glucose and insulin. Suppression of GHRH-induced GH secretion was demonstrable in diabetic subjects only at a SRIF dose 15-fold higher than that at which suppression could be detected in nondiabetic subjects. The calculated 50% inhibitory dose (ID50) in diabetic subjects was 4-fold higher than that in nondiabetic subjects (P = 0.03). In diabetic subjects after 2 wk of intensive insulin management, the change in the dose-response curve persisted despite significant decrements in glycosylated hemoglobin and increments in plasma insulinlike growth factor I. The increment in plasma SRIF predicted at the SRIF ID50 from concentrations measured during the SRIF infusions in nondiabetic subjects would result in hypophyseal portal SRIF concentrations in the physiological range reported in recent animal studies, whereas those for the ID50 in diabetic subjects would be ∼1.5–2.5 times the upper limit of that range. These studies indicate that pituitary resistance to the action of SRIF occurs in men with insulin-dependent (type I) diabetes at physiological concentrations of the hormone and is therefore highly likely to contribute to the hypersecretion of GH in diabetes.
The influence of medication beliefs and other psychosocial factors on early discontinuation of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs.

OBJECTIVE Although drug survival time might be a better measure of clinical effectiveness than drug adherence, there is little research literature in this area, in particular about the influence of medication beliefs and psychosocial factors. This study aimed to investigate the above relationships using patients who were newly diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS Sixty-eight RA patients starting their first disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD) were interviewed shortly after initiating therapy, and then one year later. Before each meeting, patients were asked to complete a set of questionnaires, including Beliefs about Medication, Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory - Short Form, the modified Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory-1 and the Significant Others Scale. Relevant sociodemographic background, disease activity and drug history were obtained. Clinical measures such as grip strength and joint count were assessed. RESULTS A stepwise logistic regression analysis was applied to two patient groups: those who continued taking their DMARD one year later, and those who did not. No significant difference between the groups for levels of disability and disease activity were found. Only age and anxiety emerged as significant predictors of drug discontinuation at 52 weeks. CONCLUSIONS Contrary to expectation, this study demonstrated that older and less anxious patients were more likely to discontinue taking their initial DMARD within the first year. The study may have implications for counselling older and less anxious patients prior to DMARD therapy. However, there are limitations in generalizing the results because of the small population sample. It also did not take into account drug intolerance as a pertinent factor for early drug discontinuation.
Balance Across Contexts: Importance of Balanced Need Satisfaction Across Various Life Domains

Self-determination theory posits that satisfaction of three basic psychological needs—autonomy, competence, and relatedness—are required for psychological well-being, and a recent study showed that the balance in the satisfaction of these three needs independently affects well-being. The present investigation builds on these findings by examining the balance of adolescents' need satisfaction across distinct life contexts. The results of three studies show that adolescents who experience a balance of need satisfaction across important life contexts, including at school, at home, with friends, and in part-time jobs, reported higher well-being and better school adjustment. This finding emerged consistently across four countries and across multiple measures of school adjustment, including teacher reports. Together, these results support previous research that highlights the importance of consistency for psychological functioning.
Novel overshoot cancellation in comparator-based pipelined ADC

In this paper, a new overshoot cancellation method is presented for comparator-based pipelined ADCs. By introducing charging and discharging operations in two adjacent stages, the large overshoot in each stage can be either tolerated as sub-ADC error or cancelled out with each other. Applying this concept, a 10-bit pipelined ADC has been designed and simulated in a 0.18-μm CMOS process. It achieves 57.2dB SNDR at 20MS/s and consumes 2.6mW under 1.8 V supply, resulting in an ENOB of 9.2-bit and an FOM of 0.221 pJ/Conv. -step.
Serum albumin, C-reactive protein, interleukin 6, and fetuin a as predictors of malnutrition, cardiovascular disease, and mortality in patients with ESRD.

BACKGROUND Serum albumin (S-Alb), C-reactive protein (CRP), and interleukin 6 (IL-6) predict malnutrition, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD), and mortality in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Fetuin A, an inhibitor of vascular calcification, also is associated strongly with clinical outcome in patients with ESRD. In this study, multivariate analyses were performed to assess these 4 biomarkers as predictors of malnutrition, CVD, and mortality in patients with ESRD. METHODS One hundred seventy-six patients with ESRD (54 +/- 12 years) underwent measurements of S-Alb, high-sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP), plasma IL-6, and fetuin A close to the start of dialysis therapy and were followed up for a median of 26 months (range, 1 to 66 months). Nutritional status was evaluated by means of subjective global assessment. CVD was defined based on medical history. Associations between biomarker levels and malnutrition, CVD, and mortality were evaluated by means of receiver operating characteristic curve, logistic regression analysis, and Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS All 4 biomarkers predicted malnutrition, CVD, and mortality. Multivariate analysis, according to receiver operating characteristic analysis, showed that malnutrition was predicted best by hs-CRP and IL-6 levels; CVD, by IL-6 level; and mortality, by albumin and IL-6 levels. When using the cutoff levels derived from receiver operating characteristics, logistic regression analysis showed that only hs-CRP level (odds ratio [OR], 3.6) was associated with malnutrition, and only IL-6 level (OR, 3.7) was associated with CVD. Levels of S-Alb, IL-6, and fetuin A, but not hs-CRP, were associated with increased relative risk for mortality as assessed by Cox in a model adjusting for age, sex, and diabetes mellitus. CONCLUSION Multivariate analyses show that in patients with ESRD, malnutrition is predicted best by hs-CRP and IL-6 levels; CVD, by IL-6 level; and mortality, by S-Alb, IL-6, and fetuin A levels, but not by hs-CRP level. This comparative analysis indicates that of these biomarkers, IL-6 level may be the most reliable predictor of CVD and mortality in patients with ESRD.
Disparities by race in heat-related mortality in four US cities: The role of air conditioning prevalence

Daily mortality is typically higher on hot days in urban areas, and certain population groups experience disproportionate risk. Air conditioning (AC) has been recommended to mitigate heat-related illness and death. We examined whether AC prevalence explained differing heat-related mortality effects by race. Poisson regression was used to model daily mortality in Chicago, Detroit, Minneapolis, and Pittsburgh. Predictors included natural splines of time (to control seasonal patterns); mean daily apparent temperature on the day of death, and averaged over lags 1–3; barometric pressure; day of week; and a linear term for airborne particles. Separate, city-specific models were fit to death counts stratified by race (Black or White) to derive the percent change in mortality at 29°C, relative to 15°C (lag 0). Next, city-specific effects were regressed on city-and race-specific AC prevalence. Combined effect estimates across all cities were calculated using inverse variance-weighted averages. Prevalence of central AC among Black households was less than half that among White households in all four cities, and deaths among Blacks were more strongly associated with hot temperatures. Central AC prevalence explained some of the differences in heat effects by race, but room-unit AC did not. Efforts to reduce disparities in heat-related mortality should consider access to AC.
Efficient parallel Particle Swarm Optimizers on GPU for real-time harmonic minimization in multilevel inverters

In this paper, we present a parallel implementation of the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) on graphical processing units (GPU) using CUDA. By fully utilizing the processing power of graphic processors, we show how our parallel CUDA-PSO can be used to minimize harmonics in multi-level inverters. The computing power of the GPU coupled with the parallelism of our algorithm allows for real-time computation of optimal switching angles for multilevel inverters with several DC inputs while minimizing the 50th first harmonics. Compared to other solutions, our CUDA-PSO offers superior converging rate by running hundreds of independent swarms in parallel without increasing the computation time.
The effect of exposure time and water replacement in the application of ozonated water to maintain the quality of tuna

Fish was one of the common protein sources consumed by the Indonesian people. One type of fish that was widely consumed was tuna. Tuna contains protein as much as 18−30%. With high protein and water content, tuna was a highly perishable commodity. Therefore, the handling of tuna needs to be done to maintain its quality. The use of ozonated water for this issue was promising because ozone was a strong oxidant and does not produce toxic residues. This study used ozonated water to maintain the quality of tuna. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of exposure time and water replacement of the ozonated water on the quality of tuna, measured by the parameters of Total Mesophyll Aerobic Bacteria (TMAB), pH, water content, and protein content. Exposure time of 40, 80, and 120 minutes can deactivate the TMAB by 4.94, 60.99, and 65.43%, respectively. Meanwhile, water replacement every 60 and 40 minutes within 120 minutes can deactivate more TMAB, which values 82.59 and 89.38%. Exposure time of 120 minutes can also decrease the pH by 0.12, lower the water content by 0.63%, and decrease the protein content by 0.80%. Water replacement every 40 minutes within 120 minutes can decrease the pH by 0.08, lower the water content by 1.44%, and decrease the protein content by 2.20%.
EXTRACTION TOTAL PHENOLIC CONTENT OF KETAPANG LEAVES (Terminalia catappa) USING ULTRASONIC

Ketapang leaves (Terminalia catappa) is a plant which has many pharmacological activities one of them is antioxidat activity. Phenolic compound is one that represented the antioxidant activity. The concentration of phenolic compounds was influenced by the method and condition of extraction. This study was conducted to determine the effect of ultrasonic extraction method, extraction time and the ratio of ethanol : water to total phenolic content in Ketapang leaves (Terminalia catappa). Extraction is completed by ultrasonic extraction method using 96% ethanol-water as solvent with solvent ratio variation (50:50, 60:40, 70:30) in time (5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes and 40 minutes). Measurment data from total phenolic content of the extracts Ketapang leaves (Terminalia catappa) shows that the extraction with 20 minutes with 96% ethanol-water 50:50 generate the highest total phenolic content, equal to 4862,352941mg GAE / g.
Do retirement planning strategies alter the effect of time preference on retirement wealth?

ABSTRACT An individual’s willingness to accumulate retirement wealth is influenced by their preference for intertemporal consumption. People with a strong preference for current consumption (high personal discount rate) may choose to save less and face the risk of decreased retirement preparedness. A negative relation between a high personal discount rate and retirement wealth may be reduced when individuals engage in some form of retirement planning. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, we provide evidence that respondents with a high personal discount rate accumulated 37% less retirement wealth, on average, between 2004 and 2008, when compared with respondents with a low personal discount rate. However, when retirement planning strategies were included in the model, there was no statistical difference in retirement wealth between people with high and low personal discount rates. The retirement planning strategies included calculating a retirement income need, hiring a financial planner for retirement or engaging in both of these activities.
Progress on the development of high spatial resolution imaging techniques in nuclear medicine

Functional imaging of the human tissues has traditionally been performed using intravenous injection of radio-tracers in the field of Nuclear Medicine. Quantitative assessment of the tracer concentration distribution across the body is the key for functional study of the tissues. Achieving high spatial resolution is the major task in developing the imaging modalities. This article reviews the current progress in the technology development, as well as our research work in the track.
Subcellular Localization and Analysis of Apparent 180-kDa and 220-kDa Proteins of the Breast Cancer Susceptibility Gene, BRCA1*

The breast cancer susceptibility gene BRCA1 encodes an 1863-amino acid protein that acts as a tumor suppressor. The biochemical function of BRCA1 is unknown, and there are conflicting results describing its subcellular location. We have identified a 220-kDa protein, which is reactive with three antibodies raised against the amino- and carboxyl-terminal regions of BRCA1. Immunoflourescence staining with an antibody to the carboxyl terminus of BRCA1 localized the protein to the nucleus of breast, ovarian, and cervical carcinoma-derived cell lines. A similar result was observed by biochemical subcellular fractionation that indicated that the 220-kDa protein was localized primarily to the nucleus of cell lines established from breast carcinomas. In addition to the 220-kDa protein, one antibody, C-20, also recognized a 180-kDa protein in MDA-MB-468 total cell lysates that was not detected by the other two antibodies. Several observations suggest the 180-kDa protein is the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor: (i) C-20 reacted avidly with a 180-kDa protein immunoprecipitated by an antibody to the EGF receptor; (ii) an EGF receptor antibody detected a 180-kDa protein immunoprecipitated by C-20; (iii) the affinity purified EGF receptor was both immunoprecipitated and detected on immunoblots by the C-20 antibody but not another BRCA1 antibody; (iv) similar phosphopeptide maps were generated from the EGF receptor and the 180-kDa protein immunoprecipitated by C-20, and this peptide map was distinct from the 220-kDa phosphoprotein; and (v) the C-20 immunizing peptide bears sequence identity to the EGF receptor. These results indicate that BRCA1 is a 220-kDa nuclear protein and that the 180-kDa protein reported previously may be unrelated to BRCA1.