Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Substrate Surface Decoration With  ${\rm CeO}_{2}$ Nanoparticles: An Effective Method for Improving Flux Pinning in ${\rm YBa}_{2}{\rm Cu}_{3}{\rm O}_{7-\delta}$ Films

We have demonstrated improved critical current density, J<sub>c</sub>, in YBa<sub>2</sub>Cu<sub>3</sub>O<sub>7-delta</sub> (YBCO) films through a controlled study of substrate surface modifications with nano-sized second-phase pre-formed CeO<sub>2</sub> particles. Nanoparticles were applied to single crystal SrTiO<sub>3</sub> surfaces using suspension-based techniques prior to YBCO film growth. With the introduction of CeO<sub>2</sub> nanoparticles, YBCO films showed more robust field dependence at intermediate fields (J<sub>c</sub> prop B<sup>-prop</sup>), where a smaller power law exponent of alpha ~ 0.3 is obtained. The self-flefd J<sub>c</sub>(77K, Bparc) values of the YBCO films on reference and CeO<sub>2</sub> modified substrates are 1.1 and 1.9 MA/cm<sup>2</sup> ; and at 1 Tesla 0.1 and 0.52 MA/cm<sup>2</sup> , respectively. Consistent with this alpha-value, angular field dependent J<sub>c</sub> and transmission electron microscopy studies indicate the presence of c-axis aligned correlated defects in these modified samples.
Impact of gender, menstrual cycle phase, and oral contraceptives on the activity of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis.

OBJECTIVE Results from animal and human studies suggest that disregulations of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis are involved in several behavioral, circulatory, endocrine, and immune disorders with clear-cut gender differences in disease prevalence. The aim of the present study was to investigate sex-specific HPA response patterns with a focus on the contribution of gonadal steroids as possible mediators. METHODS A total of 81 healthy adults were investigated in the present study. Twenty men, 19 women in the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle, 21 women in the luteal phase, and 21 women using oral contraceptives (OC) were exposed to a brief psychosocial stress test (Trier Social Stress Test; TSST) and injected with 0.25 mg ACTH1-24 on consecutive days. Basal HPA activity was investigated by repeatedly measuring cortisol levels immediately after awakening, as well as in 30-minute intervals from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM. Additionally, questionnaires were used to assess psychological state and trait parameters. RESULTS Results show that the TSST induced significant increases in ACTH, salivary-free cortisol, total plasma cortisol, and heart rates, as well as increased wakefulness and reduced calmness in the total group. Significant group differences emerged for ACTH and salivary-free cortisol stress responses: Although men showed higher ACTH responses to the TSST compared with each of the three groups of women, salivary cortisol responses showed the following response pattern: Luteal = Men > Follicular = OC. The salivary cortisol responses to ACTH1-24 showed a similar response pattern: Luteal > Men > Follicular > OC. In contrast, total blood cortisol levels did not reveal any group difference between sexes or follicular versus luteal phase in either test. Although a similar salivary-free cortisol increase after awakening was found in the four groups, the circadian cortisol profile was significantly different throughout the first 4 hours of sampling. Questionnaire-derived psychological variables, as measured in the present study, could not explain the observed results. CONCLUSIONS We conclude that gender, menstrual cycle phase, and OC use exert important effects on HPA responsiveness to psychosocial stress in healthy subjects. Although men seem to have a stronger hypothalamic drive in response to stressful stimulation than women, differences in salivary-free cortisol levels, at least in part, may be explained by estradiol-induced changes in corticosteroid-binding protein levels. ACTH and cortisol secretion is not affected by OC use per se but the amount of bioavailable unbound cortisol ("free") is greatly reduced in this group of women after stimulation. Inasmuch as none of these differences between the study groups emerged in total blood cortisol levels, we strongly advocate for the simultaneous measurement of free and total cortisol levels in future studies on HPA functioning.
In vivo strains in the femur of the nine‐banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus)

The capacity of limb bones to resist the locomotor loads they encounter depends on both the pattern of those loads and the material properties of the skeletal elements. Among mammals, understanding of the interplay between these two factors has been based primarily on evidence from locomotor behaviors in upright placentals, which show limb bones that are loaded predominantly in anteroposterior bending with minimal amounts of torsion. However, loading patterns from the femora of opossums, marsupials using crouched limb posture, show appreciable torsion while the bone experiences mediolateral (ML) bending. These data indicated greater loading diversity in mammals than was previously recognized, and suggested the possibility that ancestral loading patterns found in sprawling lineages (e.g., reptilian sauropsids) might have been retained among basal mammals. To further test this hypothesis, we recorded in vivo locomotor strains from the femur of the nine‐banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus), a member of the basal xenarthran clade of placental mammals that also uses crouched limb posture. Orientations of principal strains and magnitudes of shear strains indicate that armadillo femora are exposed to only limited torsion; however, bending is essentially ML, placing the medial aspect of the femur in compression and the lateral aspect in tension. This orientation of bending is similar to that found in opossums, but planar strain analyses indicate much more of the armadillo femur experiences tension during bending, potentially due to muscles pulling on the large, laterally positioned third trochanter. Limb bone safety factors were estimated between 3.3 and 4.3 in bending, similar to other placental mammals, but lower than opossums and most sprawling taxa. Thus, femoral loading patterns in armadillos show a mixture of similarities to both opossums (ML bending) and other placentals (limited torsion and low safety factors), along with unique features (high axial tension) that likely relate to their distinctive hindlimb anatomy. J. Morphol. 26:889–899, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Prevention of autoimmune inflammatory polyarthritis in male New Zealand black/KN mice by transplantation of bone marrow cells plus bone (stromal cells).

OBJECTIVE To prevent polyarthritis in male New Zealand black/KN (NZB/KN) mice by transplantation of both bone marrow cells (BMC) and bone (to recruit stromal cells) from normal mice. METHODS Arthritic lesions in male NZB/KN mice injected intravenously with BMC plus bone from C57Bl/10 mice were compared with those in untreated male NZB/KN mice. RESULTS Male NZB/KN mice engrafted with BMC plus bone were both radiologically and histopathologically normal, and had decreased production of anti-single-stranded DNA antibodies and rheumatoid factors at 8-12 months of age. CONCLUSION Bone marrow transplantation prevented polyarthritis in male NZB/KN mice.
The myopathology of floppy and hypotonic infants in Singapore

Aims: This study attempts to determine the type and relative frequency of muscle diseases contributing to floppy and hypotonic infants in Singapore. Methods: Eighty consecutive muscle biopsies in the Department of Pathology, National University of Singapore, in the period 1978‐2000, in which a clinical diagnosis of floppy or hypotonic infant was made, were reviewed. Results: The commonest cause of severe hypotonia in infancy was spinal muscular atrophy, which accounted for 33% of cases followed by congenital muscular dystrophy (13%). Eight cases (10%) of infantile type II glycogenosis (Pompe's disease) were encountered. There were seven cases of congenital myopathy, of which four were centronuclear myopathy, and one each of central core myopathy, nemaline myopathy and congenital fibre type disproportion. One case of centronuclear myopathy was associated with type I fibre smallness. Type II atrophy, which is generally considered a non‐specific change, was encountered in five cases. Of interest is the relatively large number of muscle biopsies (29%) in which no significant pathological features were encountered at the light microscopic, histochemical as well as ultra‐structural level. Conclusions: The study has revealed a great variety of pathology affecting the muscle of children presenting as floppy infants or with hypotonia. The muscle diseases included spinal muscular atrophy, congenital muscular dystrophies, congenital myopathies and metabolic myopathies. However, 23 (29%) cases showed no significant pathology. For this group of floppy and hypotonic infants further studies are needed.
Social Media Brand Community and Consumer Behavior: Quantifying the Relative Impact of User- and Marketer-Generated Content

Despite the popular use of social media by consumers and marketers, empirical research investigating their economic values still lags. In this study, we integrate qualitative user-marketer interaction content data from a fan page brand community on Facebook and consumer transactions data to assemble a unique data set at the individual consumer level. We then quantify the impact of community contents from consumers (user-generated content, i.e., UGC) and marketers (marketer-generated content, i.e., MGC) on consumers' apparel purchase expenditures. A content analysis method was used to construct measures to capture the informative and persuasive nature of UGC and MGC while distinguishing between directed and undirected communication modes in the brand community. In our empirical analysis, we exploit differences across consumers' fan page joining decision and across timing differences in fan page joining dates for our model estimation and identification strategies. Importantly, we also control for potential self-selection biases and relevant factors such as pricing, promotion, social network attributes, consumer demographics, and unobserved heterogeneity. Our findings show that engagement in social media brand communities leads to a positive increase in purchase expenditures. Additional examinations of UGC and MGC impacts show evidence of social media contents affecting consumer purchase behavior through embedded information and persuasion. We also uncover the different roles played by UGC and MGC, which vary by the type of directed or undirected communication modes by consumers and the marketer. Specifically, the elasticities of demand with respect to UGC information richness are 0.006 (directed communication) and 3.140 (undirected communication), whereas those for MGC information richness are insignificant. Moreover, the UGC valence elasticity of demand is 0.180 (undirected communication), whereas that for MGC valence is 0.004 (directed communication). Overall, UGC exhibits a stronger impact than MGC on consumer purchase behavior. Our findings provide various implications for academic research and practice.
From the 41 st Clinical Aphasiology Conference Acquired Apraxia of Speech : The Effects of Repeated Practice and Rate / Rhythm Control Treatments on Sound Production Accuracy

Purpose: This investigation was designed to elucidate the effects of repeated practice treatment on sound production accuracy in individuals with apraxia of speech (AOS) and aphasia. A secondary purpose was to determine if the addition of rate/rhythm control to treatment provided further benefits beyond those achieved with repeated practice. Method: A single-subject design was employed with 10 speakers with chronic AOS and aphasia. Articulation accuracy served as the dependent measure. Participants received repeated practice treatment until a plateau in performance was observed or high levels of accuracy were achieved. If performance criterion was not reached, rate/rhythm control was added to the treatment to determine if additional gains would be made. Results: For 8 of the participants, improvementswere evident for all applications of repeated practice treatment, and positive response generalization was observed in most cases. When rate/ rhythm control treatment was applied, modest additional gains were apparent for the majority of the applications. The 2 participants who did not benefit from repeated practice treatment also did not show improvements with rate/rhythm control treatment. Conclusions: Repeated practice treatment resulted in improved articulation for the majority of participants. The amount of improvement varied within and across participants. Rate/ rhythm control appeared to have limited additional benefits for some participants.
Palliative care education and training during residency: a survey among residents at a tertiary care hospital.

BACKGROUND Palliative care is the active total care of patients in advanced and incurable stages of cancer. More than 70% of all cancer patients in India require palliative care for relief of pain, other symptoms and psychosocial distress. The need for education and training in palliative care has been emphasized by the World Health Organization (WHO) during the past 15 years. This survey aimed to assess the awareness, clinical knowledge, and education and training aspects of palliative care among the clinical residents of a tertiary care hospital. METHODS During January and February 1999, a total of 100 residents were asked to respond to a questionnaire on palliative care education and training during residency. The questionnaire consisted of 10 questions (each question with 3 different responses). Awareness regarding palliative care was assessed by 3 questions; clinical knowledge by 4 questions; and education and training obtained during residency by 3 questions. Comparisons were made using the Chi-square test between the oncology and non-oncology resident groups. RESULTS Forty-nine residents (23 oncology and 26 non-oncology) responded to the survey. Awareness that palliative care involves active total care was lacking in 8 (16%) residents. The cost of palliative care in India was considered high by 17 (65%) non-oncology residents and 21 (43%) of the whole group. Hospice, as the right place for palliative care, was chosen by 14 (61%) oncology and 3 (11.5%) non-oncology residents (p = 0.0003). In the whole group, 21 (43%) believed that palliative care could be provided on an outpatient basis. Pain, depression and cachexia were identified as the most distressing symptoms of patients with incurable cancer. Seventeen (83%) oncology and 4 (15%) non-oncology residents (p = 0.000) knew how to use the WHO step-ladder for cancer pain relief. All oncology residents and 10 (38%) non-oncology residents preferred the oral route for providing medications for pain relief (p = 0.0001). The didactic education and training imparted during residency was considered as 'not enough' by 39% of oncology and 62% of non-oncology residents (51% overall). The confidence to deliver quality palliative care was lacking in 43% and 58% of oncology and non-oncology residents, respectively. CONCLUSION Clinicians in India need to be provided focused skills and training for them to be able deliver quality palliative care to the large number of patients with incurable cancer. The cost of palliative care and the optimum place to deliver it, the symptoms of advanced cancer, pain relief and symptom control methods and quality of life in end-stage cancer patients are some aspects that should be an integral part of clinical residency programmes.
Canadian Inuit community engagement in suicide prevention

Abstract Objectives. To review suicide patterns among Inuit in Canada and highlight new developments inInuit-driven and community-based suicide prevention. Study design. Narrative overview of suicide among Inuit in Canada, strides towards Inuitautonomy, and community and government action towards suicide prevention. Methods. Review of Inuit meanings of mental health, movements towards Inuit control acrossInuit Nunaat (the 4 Inuit regions) of Canada, and of community and government action towardssuicide prevention. Results. Economic advancement is occurring in Inuit Nunaat following land claim settlements, and territorial and provincial governments are overseeing Inuit well-being. Inuit communityengagement in suicide prevention is taking place and studies are being planned to evaluate the efficacyof such action for suicide prevention and community mental health. Initial evidence demonstratesthat community control over suicide prevention itself can be effective towards preventingsuicide. Conclusions. A new orientation is taking place in Canada in the name of Aboriginal communityempowerment. There is a new hope for the model of meaningful community engagement andpartnership with the Canadian government in suicide prevention and well-being.
Real-time motion planning of legged robots: A model predictive control approach

We introduce a real-time, constrained, nonlinear Model Predictive Control for the motion planning of legged robots. The proposed approach uses a constrained optimal control algorithm known as SLQ. We improve the efficiency of this algorithm by introducing a multi-processing scheme for estimating value function in its backward pass. This pass has been often calculated as a single process. This parallel SLQ algorithm can optimize longer time horizons without proportional increase in its computation time. Thus, our MPC algorithm can generate optimized trajectories for the next few phases of the motion within only a few milliseconds. This outperforms the state of the art by at least one order of magnitude. The performance of the approach is validated on a quadruped robot for generating dynamic gaits such as trotting.
Recombinant human erythropoietin for the treatment of anemia in children with solid malignant tumors.

BACKGROUND Cancer is often associated with chronic anemia which frequently requires blood transfusions. This study was performed to assess the efficacy and safety of r-HuEPO therapy in children with cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS Twenty-five patients under 18 years of age with solid malignant tumors were treated with 150 U/kg/day of r-HuEPO 5 times weekly for 12 weeks. Response was defined as an increase of the baseline hemoglobin level by at least 2 g/dl. r-HuEPO patients were compared to 25 matched historical controls. RESULTS Response was achieved in 72% of r-HuEPO patients. Hemoglobin level increased from 9.8 +/- 0.6 g/dl at baseline to 12.4 +/- 1.7 g/dl at the end of treatment in the r-HuEPO group and increased from 9.5 +/- 0.7 g/dl to 9.6 +/- 1.4 g/dl in the control group (P < .001, Student's t-test). Only 16% of patients receiving r-HuEPO required blood transfusions vs 96% of control patients (P < .001, Student's t-test), with mean units of blood transfused per patient being 0.35 in the r-HuEPO group and 3.56 in controls (P < .001, Student's t-test). There was a statistically significance improvement in Karnofsky's index in r-HuEPO patients. No adverse reaction related to r-HuEPO therapy was observed. CONCLUSIONS r-HuEPO is a safe and effective means of increasing hemoglobin level and reducing blood requirements in children with solid malignant tumors receiving chemotherapy.
Out of Breslau Shall Come Forth Torah, and the Word of the Lord from Frankfurt am Main: The Religious Impact of German Judaism on Russian Judaism During the Last Three Decades of the Nineteenth Century

In his story Early Passover, written in the Pale of Settlement at the beginning of the twentieth century, Shalom Aleichem described a typical German Jewish community. He chose to call it Kisslona in Hebrew and Narenberg in Yiddish, both meaning ‘‘city of fools,’’ and he mocked the wisdom and understanding of the community and its rabbi, the ‘‘doctor and preacher,’’ in matters pertaining to Judaism. He portrayed German Jewry as assimilated, kitschy, lacking backbone, pathetic, and with only a farcical connection to its heritage. This literary image, which is by its very nature a generalization, leaves no room for nuance or historic complexity. It is clear that German Jewry is not all hewn from one block. The same goes for Russian Jewry. During the last three decades of the nineteenth century it was generally accepted that Russian Jewry was far more attached to tradition than was German Jewry, as portrayed by Shalom Aleichem, but this acceptance in itself is not reason enough to negate the Jewish influence and inspiration that actually flowed in the opposite direction— from Germany to Russia. In this article, I will discuss the religious impact of several factions of German Jewry upon segments of Russian Jewry during those decades. In the fourth section of his book Shalom Al Israel (1873), moderate intellectual Eliezer Zweifel (1815–1888) drew a surprising analogy between the three religious streams of German Jewry: liberal, Breslau, and Orthodoxy, and the three prominent groups of Russian Jewry. In
Generational Involvement in the Top Management Team of Family Firms: Exploring Nonlinear Effects on Entrepreneurial Orientation

The present study contends that an inverted U–shaped relationship exists between generational involvement—i.e., the number of family generations simultaneously involved in the family–firm top management team (TMT)—and entrepreneurial orientation (EO). Drawing on the upper echelons theory, we conceive generational involvement as a proxy of knowledge diversity in multigenerational family TMTs. We argue that while moderate levels of generational involvement stimulate task–related constructive conflicts for EO, increased kinship distance and relationship conflicts led by high levels of generational involvement are likely to undermine this potential advantage by damaging the relational context for EO. Our hypothesis is confirmed on a data set of 199 family firms.
Jack in the box: inguinal endometriosis

A 39-year-old woman with a left-sided inguinal swelling was referred to us with a diagnosis of inguinal hernia. On asking leading questions, the patient gave a typical history of cyclical pain and increased swelling during menstruation. Fine-needle aspiration biopsy revealed endometrial glands. Preoperatively, the extent of the endometriotic lesion was delineated using MRI. The lesion was approached through the patient's caesarean scar for cosmetic reasons and excised in toto. Final diagnosis was round ligament endometriosis. The patient was asymptomatic at 3, 6 and 12 months’ follow-up. This case re-emphasises the fact that endometriosis is an enigmatic disease and can be found anywhere in the body. Thus, a woman of reproductive age presenting with any cyclical symptom should be asked about its relation to her menstrual cycle.
Characterization of form variants of Xenorhabdus luminescens

From Xenorhabdus luminescens XE-87.3 four variants were isolated. One, which produced a red pigment and antibiotics, was luminescent, and could take up dye from culture media, was considered the primary form (XE-red). A pink-pigmented variant (XE-pink) differed from the primary form only in pigmentation and uptake of dye. Of the two other variants, one produced a yellow pigment and fewer antibiotics (XE-yellow), while the other did not produce a pigment or antibiotics (XE-white). Both were less luminescent, did not take up dye, and had small cell and colony sizes. These two variants were very unstable and shifted to the primary form after 3 to 5 days. It was not possible to separate the primary form and the white variant completely; subcultures of one colony always contained a few colonies of the other variant. The white variant was also found in several other X. luminescens strains. DNA fingerprints showed that all four variants are genetically identical and are therefore derivatives of the same parent. Protein patterns revealed a few differences among the four variants. None of the variants could be considered the secondary form. The pathogenicity of the variants decreased in the following order: XE-red, XE-pink, XE-yellow, and XE-white. The mechanism and function of this variability are discussed.