Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of the effects on nasal mucociliary clearance of various nasal solutions applied topically in patients with sinusitis

Mucociliary clearance (MC) is one of the main defense mechanisms of the nasal respiratory mucosa. The purpose of this study was to determine changes occurring nasal MC in patients with sinusitis, and how medical treatment affects changes in MC, and to identify an appropriate topical solution with positive effects on MC for use in the treatment of sinusitis by examining the effects of various topical solutions on MC. 60 patients diagnosed with rhinosinusitis at the ear, nose and throat clinic were included in this prospective study. Patients were randomly assigned into groups. Group 1 (n:10) received no topical treatment. Group 2 (n:10) was administered with fluticasone propionate, Group 3 (n:10) received mometasone furoate and Group 4 (n:10) received oxymetazoline. Group 5 (n:10) received isotonic sea water for nasal irrigation, while Group 6 (n:10) received isotonic Ringer’s solution for nasal irrigation. Group 7 represented the control group (non-sinusitis). The saccharin test was used to determine nasal mucociliary clearance times. The saccharin test was performed before and on the 2nd week of treatment in all groups. Basal MCT and 2nd week MCT values were compared in all groups. When measurements performed 20 min and 14 days after administration of topical agents were compared with basal values, mean MCT values at 20 min. and 14 days were shorter in all groups compared to mean basal MCT values. However, the difference between 20-min, 14th day and basal MCT values was only statistically significant in the oxymetazoline and isotonic Ringer’s solution groups (p<0.05). We think that oxymetazoline and isotonic Ringer’s solution can be used as supportive therapy in the treatment of sinusitis since these produce a significant shortening of MCT.
Floating Node Method and Virtual Crack Closure Technique for Modeling Matrix Cracking-Delamination Interaction

Abstract A novel approach is proposed for high-fidelity modeling of progressive damage and failure in composite materials that combines the Floating Node Method (FNM) and the Virtual Crack Closure Technique (VCCT) to represent multiple interacting failure mechanisms in a mesh-independent fashion. In this study, the approach is applied to the modeling of delamination migration in cross-ply tape laminates. Delamination, matrix cracking, and migration are all modeled using fracture mechanics based failure and migration criteria. The methodology proposed shows very good qualitative and quantitative agreement with experiments. 1 Introduction Damage in composite materials generally occurs as a combination of different and interacting failure mechanisms, e.g. delamination and matrix cracking. Capturing these interactions accurately is essential to confidently model and predict progressive damage and failure. Many approaches have recently been proposed that explicitly model different failure mechanisms and attempt to capture their interaction [1-3]. However, no single strategy has yet surfaced as totally satisfactory. The present approach combines the Floating Node Method (FNM) [4] with the Virtual Crack Closure Technique (VCCT) [5,6] to explicitly account for different failure mechanisms and their interaction. Delamination, matrix cracking, and migration events are all modeled with the same FNM element using fracture-mechanics-based failure and migration criteria. The approach is validated using recent experimental results in which a setup capable of isolating a single complete migration event was developed [7]. Migration is defined as the transition of a delamination from its current ply interface to a new interface via transverse ply cracking. The results obtained offer a simple, yet very challenging, benchmark for the validation of numerical and analytical approaches aimed at high-fidelity modeling of composite materials, such as the one proposed in the present paper.
Inflated Expectations and Natural Resource Booms : Evidence from Kazakhstan Gerhard Toews

We use the exogenous variation in oil prices to study the negative effect of income aspirations on households’ satisfaction with income. To evaluate the effect we use data on reported satisfaction with income from Kazakhstan’s Household Budget Survey a quarterly, unbalanced panel of households covering the period 2001-2005. Our results suggest that a 20% increase in the oil price decreased households’ satisfaction with income by half a standard deviation within a year. We argue that the drop in satisfaction is due to peoples’ inflated expectations. This result highlights the importance of managing expectations in a rapidly changing economic environment.
Repellence of essential oils from tropical and Mediterranean Lamiaceae against Sitophilus zeamais

The insect repellent activity of the essential oils of two tropical Lamiaceae, Hyptis spicigera Lamarck and Hyptis suaveolens (L.) Poitier, and of a Mediterranean one, Lavandula angustifolia (Miller), has been measured against adults of the granary weevil, Sitophilus zeamais Motschulsky (Coleoptera Dryophthoridae). The chemical composition of the three essential oils was also examinated. Results showed that the three essential oils had repellent activity on S. zeamais adults. At the lowest dose (0.001%) H. suaveolens essential oil exhibited a significantly higher repellent effect compared with H. spicigera and L. angustifolia, while no significant differences were observed for the repellent effect of the three essential oils at the highest dose (0.1%). L. angustifolia essential oils evidenced a significantly lower repellent activity at the intermediate dose (0.01%) after 1, 3 and 5 h of exposure. Chemical analyses showed that in the essential oil of H. suaveolens monoterpene hydrocarbons were the most represented class of volatiles (64.1%), followed by sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (24.0%), oxygenated monoterpenes (8.1%) and oxygenated sesquiterpenes (2.4%). In the essential oil of H. spicigera monoterpene hydrocarbons were the most represented class of volatiles (70.4%), followed by sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (22.6%).
Studies on single polymer composites of poly(methyl methacrylate) reinforced with electrospun nanofibers with a focus on their dynamic mechanical properties

The dynamic mechanical properties of single polymer composites of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) rein- forced with electrospun PMMA nanofibers of different diameters are reported. The effect of electrospinning parameters on the morphology and diameters of the electrospun high molecular weight PMMA was investigated in order to obtain suitable diameters for the reinforcing fibers. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to study the morphology and diameters of the nanofibers produced at different electrospinning conditions. It was found that polymer solution concentration influ- ences the diameter of the electrospun nanofibers more than the spinning voltage and spinning distance. SEM analysis of the PMMA nanofibers showed that the fibers had a smooth, regular and cylindrical morphology with no beads and junctions. Effects of the processing temperature for the preparation of the single polymer composites via film stacking were investi- gated. Dynamic mechanical analysis showed a pronounced improvement in the storage modulus of the composites com- pared to the matrix.
JN-SAF: Precise and Efficient NDK/JNI-aware Inter-language Static Analysis Framework for Security Vetting of Android Applications with Native Code

Android allows application developers to use native language (C/C++) to implement a part or the complete program. Recent research and our own statistics show that native payloads are commonly used in both benign and malicious apps. Current state-of-the-art Android static analysis tools, such as Amandroid, FlowDroid, DroidSafe, IccTA, and CHEX avoid handling native method invocation and apply conservative models for their data-flow behavior. None of those tools have capability to capture the inter-language dataflow. We propose a new approach to conduct inter-language dataflow analysis for security vetting of Android apps, and build an analysis framework, called JN-SAF to compute flow and context-sensitive inter-language points-to information in an efficient way. We show that: 1) Precise and efficient inter-language dataflow analysis is completely feasible with support of a summary-based bottom-up dataflow analysis (SBDA) algorithm, 2) A comprehensive model of Java Native Interface (JNI) and Native Development Kit (NDK) for binary analysis is essential as none of the existing binary analysis frameworks is able to handle Android binaries, 3) JN-SAF is capable of capturing inter-language security issues in real-world Android apps as demonstrated by our evaluation result.
Numerical Investigation of the Middle Atlantic Bight Shelfbreak Frontal Circulation Using a High-Resolution Ocean Hindcast Model

A nested high-resolution ocean model is used to hindcast the Middle Atlantic Bight (MAB) shelfbreak circulation from December 2003 to June 2008. The model is driven by tidal harmonics, realistic atmospheric forcing, and dynamically consistent initial and open boundary conditions obtained from a large-scale circulation model. Simulated shelfbreak sea levels and tracer fields compare favorably with satellite observations and available in situ hydrographic climatology, demonstrating the utility of this nested ocean model for resolving the MAB shelfbreak circulation. The resulting time and space continuous hindcast solutions between January 2004 and December 2007 are used to describe the mean structures and temporal variations of the shelfbreak front and jet, the bottom boundary layer detachment, and the migration of the shelfbreak front. It is found that the shelfbreak jet and boundary convergence reach their maximum intensities in the spring, at which time the foot of the front also migrates to its farthest offshore position. Vorticity analyses reveal that the magnitude ratio of the mean relative vorticity between the seaward and the shoreward portions of the shelfbreakfront is about 2:1. Theshelfbreakageostrophic circulation islargelycontrolledbytheviscosityinthe boundary layers and by the nonlinear advection in the flow interior. Simulated three-dimensional velocity and tracer fields are used to estimate the transport and heat and salt fluxes across the 200-m isobath. Within the model domain, the total cross-shelf water transport, the total eddy heat flux, and the total eddy salt flux are 0.035 60.26 Sv(1 Sv [10 6 m 3 s 21 ),1.0 310 3 64 310 4 Wm 22 ,and6.7 310 25 67.0 310 24 kg m 22 s 21 . The empiricalorthogonalfunction(EOF)analysisonthe4-yrshelfbreakcirculationhindcastsolutionsidentifiestwo dominant modes. The first EOF mode accounts for 61% variance, confirming that the shelfbreak jet is a persistent year-round circulation feature. The second mode accounts for 13% variance, representing the baroclinic eddy passages across the shelf break.
Dietary Intake of Cadmium, Copper, Lead and Zinc from the Consumption of Cereal Foods in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

The human dietary intake of the heavy metals cadmium, copper, lead and zinc from cereal foods consumed daily in Dar es Salaam were assessed using the Total Diet Study (TDS) method. The food was bought from restaurants and street food-vendors at several city locations (i.e. Buguruni, Manzese, Mwenge, Temeke and Ubungo) over several weeks. Heavy metal concentrations were determined by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS) after wet digestion of the edible portions of pooled samples of the foodstuff. The results showed significant variations in heavy metal concentration among the foodstuff and at the different locations. The main contributors to cadmium dietary intake were cooked rice (42.8%) and tea (36.9%) while ugali (56.6%) and cooked rice (33.2%) were the main contributors to copper dietary intake. Ugali (27.9%), cooked rice (34.1%) and tea (20.0%) were the main contributors to lead dietary intake whereas ugali (43.7%) and cooked rice (37.9%) were the main contributors to zinc dietary intake. The average weekly dietary intake of cadmium and lead from cereal foods ranged from 0.95 - 3.06 μg/kg-bw/week (i.e. 13.7 - 43.8% of Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake (PTWI) and 12.0 - 38.7 μg/kg-bw/week (i.e. 48.1 - 154.7% of PTWI) respectively. The daily dietary intake of zinc and copper at all the locations was below the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) for these elements, the average being 30% for copper and 26% for zinc. The results show clearly that from cereal foods the dietary intake of cadmium, copper, lead and zinc by the population at the studied locations was acceptable at the daily level. Keywords: Heavy metal, cadmium, copper, lead, zinc, dietary intake, Dar es Salaam.
Validity of the sports emotional intelligence scale among taekwondo players

The purpose of this study was to explore the factor structure of the Sports Emotional Intelligence Scale to develop a revised scale of sports emotional intelligence using a sample of taekwondo players by analyzing its validity and reliability. Before administering the Sports Emotional Intelligence Scale, translation/back-translation procedures and content validity checks were done to assess its cultural appropriateness for use in the Korean context. Data were collected (N=923) by random sampling. These data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, comprehensive exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and the measurement invariance test. The significance level was set at . 05. The factor structure of the Sports Emotional Intelligence Scale revealed four factors (appraisal of others emotions, social skills, utilization of emotion, and appraisal of own emotions) and thirteen items. The model’s fit satisfied the criteria for acceptability, and the factor showed satisfactory/good convergent and discriminant validity. The validity of the Sports Emotional Intelligence Scale was adequate, and the measurement invariance test by gender showed that there was a cross validation. The scope of research investigations on emotional intelligence should be broadened to include athletes from other sporting events to examine the role of emotional intelligence in the performance of athletes in various competitive situations.
New estimates of Australia’s centenarian population

Abstract Introduction The population of Australia at the very highest ages is growing rapidly, like that of many countries. But official population estimates at these ages are of lower quality than those at younger ages, a problem shared by many countries which base their population estimates on census counts. This has implications for many uses of the data, especially rates for which the estimates provide denominators. Objective The aims of this paper are to (1) present new population estimates of Australia’s centenarian population (those aged 100 years and above) for 1981 to 2016 which are better quality than official statistics, and (2) illustrate the utility of such estimates as rate denominators by calculating centenarian death rates. Methods Population estimates at the highest ages were prepared using a combination of the Extinct Cohort method and a modified Survivor Ratio method. The key modifications of the latter involve projecting and smoothing Survivor Ratios within an iterative set of calculations. Death rates were calculated as standard occurrence/exposure rates. Input data of deaths and official Estimated Resident Populations were obtained from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Results We show that Australia’s centenarian population grew from about 500 in 1981 to just over 3,900 by 2016, equivalent to an annual average growth rate of 5.9%. Centenarian death rates for the 1981-2016 period remained roughly steady, averaging 0.44 for females and 0.51 for males. Conclusion Our modified approach adds a degree of stability to the Survivor Ratio method and yields high-quality population estimates and death rates at advanced ages. It could easily be implemented by national statistical offices.
What Can We Learn About Debriefing From Other High-Risk/High-Stakes Industries?

Objectives: To explore the debriefing methodologies utilised in high-risk/high-stakes industries with the intention of informing healthcare practice. Methods: A sequential mixed methods approach was adopted to explore the use of feedback/debriefing methodologies in ten different industries. A first phase standardised survey focused on timing of debriefing post-event, debriefing techniques used, duration of debrief provision, technology used, and follow-up provision. A second phase observational study at one site (aerobatic team) explored debriefing in detail with a standardised tool and semi-structured interview technique. Results: This study highlighted variability in debriefing practices, style, and duration amongst ten high-risk/high-stakes industries. The second phase observation study identified a highly effective method of self-directed video-based auto-debriefing.
Reference concentrations for trace elements in urine for the Brazilian population based on q-ICP-MS with a simple dilute-and-shoot procedure

Biomonitoring of trace elements is of critical importance in human health assessment. However, trace element concentrations in biological fluids are affected by environmental and physiological parameters, and therefore considerable variations can occur between specific population subgroups. Brazil is a large country with large environmental diversity and with a limited knowledge of the reference values (baseline data) for trace elements in biological fluids. Atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) and inductively coupled plasma emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) are still the dominant analytical techniques used for biomonitoring trace element analysis in clinical specimens. However, the use of ICP-MS is becoming more usual in clinical laboratory analysis. Then, we evaluated here a simple dilute-and-shoot method for sequential determination of Al, Ba, Be, Cd, Co, Cu, Cs, Mn, Ni, Pb, Pt, Sb, Se, Sn, Tl and U in urine by quadrupole inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (q-ICP-MS). Urine samples (500 µL) were accurately pipetted into conical tubes (15 mL) and diluted to 10 mL with a solution containing 0.5 % (v/v) HNO3 + 0.005% (v/v) Triton X-100. Diluted urine samples also contain rhodium, iridium and yttrium added as internal standards. After that, samples were directly analyzed by ICP-MS against matrix-matching calibration. Method detection limit (3s, n = 20) were in the ng L-1 range for all analytes. The method was applied to the analysis of 412 ordinary urine samples from Brazilian healthy and non-exposed subjects to establish reference values. Data validation was provided by the analysis of the standard reference material (SRM) 2670a toxic elements in urine (freeze-dried) (high and low levels) from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and reference urine samples from the trace elements intercomparison program operated by the Institut National de Sante' Publique du Quebec, Canada.
RISK FACTORS FOR LOW PREGNANCY RATE IN DAIRY CATTLE: A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY IN THE NORTH WEST OF SPAIN

En el presente trabajo se han estudiado los factores de riesgo de las bajas tasas de gestacion en primera inseminacion artificial, utilizando los datos procedentes de 2859 lactaciones de 203 explotaciones ubicadas en la provincia de Lugo (Galicia, noroeste de Espana). Los datos fueron obtenidos de los registros previamente recogidos por los diferentes veterinarios o en algunos casos por los ganaderos. Los potenciales factores de riesgo considerados en este estudio fueron: tamano y situacion de la explotacion, numero de partos, duracion de la gestacion, intervalo parto primera inseminacion, estacion de parto, dificultad de parto, parto gemelar y enfermedades posparto (hipocalcemia, retencion de placenta, metritis o cetosis). La tasa media de gestacion en primera inseminacion artificial fue del 49,8 p.100. El analisis de regresion logistica multiple indica que el intervalo entre el parto y la primera inseminacion artificial menor de 51 dias (OR= 2,47, p<0,01), la distocia (OR= 1,79, p<0,01), los partos de otono (OR= 1,43, p<0,01), las vacas alojadas en explotaciones localizadas en el area central de la provincia respecto a las localizadas en la zona de la costa (OR= 1,46, p<0,01) o las vacas con 5 partos (OR= 1,38, p<0,05) tienen un mayor riesgo de no quedar gestantes en la primera inseminacion artificial. Las patologias posparto como la metritis (OR= 1,75, p<0,01) hipocalcemia (OR= 1,66, p<0,05) y retencion de placenta (OR=1,46, p<0,01) estan tambien asociadas a un mayor riesgo de bajas tasas de gestacion en primera inseminacion.
Molecular characterization and phylogenetic analysis of cyclopoid copepod Mesocyclops leuckarti using mtCOI

Copepods are the most abundant metazoan zooplankton amongst multicellular animals. The present study was performed to establish the sequence variation of partial mitochondrial Cytochrome c Oxidase I gene (COI) from Mesocyclops leuckarti collected from the Retteri Lake, Chennai in order to identify and describe their genetic divergence along with the phylogenetic relatedness with other species. DNA of individual M. leuckarti was extracted and the partial mitochondrial COI gene was successfully amplified using the universal primers LCO-1490 and HCO-2198. A 576bp partial mitochondrial COI gene sequence was obtained. Analysis of partial COI sequences of M. leuckarti exposed 93% similarity amongst all the individual of copepods selected from Genbank. The obtained COI sequences of Cyclopoid copepod was confirmed with BLAST analysis. Phylogenetic analysis of M. leuckarti along with selected out groups from different taxa level further supports the clarity and maintained the authentic of taxonomy up to the subclass level: Copepoda. The results showed that, the COI barcoding of cyclopoid copepod species could be distinguished from the others very clearly. Thus, it strongly indicated that COI may be a useful construction of a comprehensive DNA barcode database for copepods inhabiting the freshwater bodies in Chennai.
Preliminary studies on tempeh flour produced from three different Rhizopus species

Tempeh which is culturally an Indonesian food was produced by fermenting soybeans with different Rhizopus species Rhizopus oryzae, Rhizopus stolonifer and Rhizopus oligosporus. The tempeh was subsequently dried and milled. The tempeh flours were subjected to proximate analysis, physicochemical (total titratable acidity, pH and water absorption capacity) and microbiological tests. Selected minerals such as calcium, potassium, iron and zinc were analyzed. Vitamin contents were evaluated. Sensory evaluation was conducted in order to determine the acceptability of the samples. The statistical analysis was carried out using the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) at 95% confidence limit and Duncan test. The pH and total titratable acidity ranged from 6.8 to 7.0 and 0.032 to 0.077 g/100 g, respectively. No significant difference existed among the water absorption capacities of the samples. The average percent crude protein was 44.27, 44.62 and 44.85% for the three samples. The fat content ranged from 16.45 to 17.12% while the % crude fibre content ranged from 0.38 to 0.42. There was no statistically significant difference in the Vitamin B2, Vitamin C and Vitamin D content of the samples while a significant difference existed in the Vitamin B1 and Niacin content among the samples. The result of the mineral content analysis revealed that the potassium, iron, zinc and calcium contents ranged from 0.14 to 0.17, 0.011 to 0.014, 0.0046 to 0.0050 and 0.19 and 0.21%, respectively. Yeast and Coliform was not detected in the samples. The total bacterial count ranged from 0.5 × 10 5 to 1.6 × 10 5 cfu/g, the lactic acid bacteria ranged from 18.0 × 10 5 to 22.4 × 10 5 cfu/g while the mould count ranged from 0.8 × 10 5 to 1.4 × 10 5 cfu/g. There was no significant difference in the aroma and texture of the flour samples. The tempeh flour produced using R. oligosporus and the one produced using R. oryzae were compared in terms of colour and overall acceptability.