Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fraction of air coming from conductive airways has the negative balance in heat dissipation after maximal effort exercise—a physiological basis for exercise-induced bronchoconstriction

Exhaled breath temperature (EBT) has recently been used as a tool to assess the level of inflammation in airways. The newest technology can also assess EBT coming from different fractions of exhaled air (fEBT). We aimed to assess the changes in fEBT after a maximal cardio-pulmonary exercise test in healthy athletes. Forty-four healthy professional athletes (two females) were included. Their mean (±SD) age was 22.9 ± 4.8 years. An innovative device (FractAir®) was used for fEBT measurement, dividing the exhaled air into three fractions (V1, V2 and V3) coming from different parts of the lungs; the large airways (anatomic dead space), conductive airways (functional dead space) and the peripheral part. For V3 an EBT point measured at 1200 ml of exhaled volume was used to obtain the information about the distant parts of the lungs while eliminating the difference in the volume of total exhaled air before and after the exercise. The difference (temperature gain) between the starting and peak EBT for each fraction was also calculated. The peak fEBT values before and after exercise did not differ significantly (p > 0.05 for all three fractions). Temperature gain analysis for each fEBT showed a significant fall after exercise for V2 (1.71 °C ± 0.43 versus 1.38 °C ± 0.50, p < 0.001), but not for the other two fractions (p > 0.05 for both). The lower heat emission from this part of the airway (conductive airway) after exercise could mean that during hyperventilation heat emission is increased in this specific fraction. We can conclude that the changes of fEBT after physical exercise are not linear. They affect different fractions of the lungs in different ways, and the relationship between flow and volume on one side and the temperature of exhaled air on the other can vary significantly.
CASE SERIES OF HYPERBARIC OXYGEN THERAPY FOR CENTRAL RETINAL ARTERY OCCLUSION

Therapy with hyperbaric oxygen offers patients experiencing acute central retinal artery occlusion potential improvement in visual acuity with few complications. Purpose: To retrospectively report the outcomes of patients presenting to our facility with central retinal artery occlusion and receiving therapy with hyperbaric oxygen (HBO). Methods: This was a retrospective, chart review at a single hospital center. Patients with diagnosed central retinal artery occlusion were treated with HBO twice daily for 5 days during their inpatient stay for a total of 10 HBO treatments. Main outcome was change from the documented presenting best-corrected visual acuity to discharge best-corrected visual acuity. Thirty-nine patients with central retinal artery occlusion were included in the analysis during a 30-month period. Results: Twenty-eight of 39 patients (72%) had some improvement in acuity. There was a mean of 5.05 lines of improvement using a modified Snellen chart after completing their HBO treatment course. Patients treated within 12 hours of symptom onset showed the greatest improvement in their visual acuity (6.11 mean lines of improvement). Complications of therapy included middle ear barotrauma (10/39) and confinement anxiety (1/39) and did not interfere with the therapy regimen or hospital course. Conclusion: This retrospective case series supports the use of emergent HBO therapy as a viable treatment option for patients with central retinal artery occlusion. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy was safely administered and well tolerated.
Re-Visiting Metoclopramide to Optimize Visualization with Gastrointestinal Bleeding – Mobilizing Existing Data

Derek J. Estes, Shivali Berera, Amar R. Deshpande and Daniel A. Sussman Department of Medicine, University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, Division of Gastroenterology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA Open Access
Multiple-access interference in time hopping ultrawideband radio

A method is proposed for precisely analyzing the effects of the multiple access interference in the time-hopping ultra-wideband communication systems on the average symbol error rates. An exact analysis is derived for calculating the bit error probability of ultra-wideband systems operating in multiple access interference. The analytical expressions are validated by simulation and used to assess the accuracy of the Gaussian approximation, a widely adopted method for evaluating bit error rate performance. The Gaussian approximation is shown to be inaccurate for predicting bit error rates for medium and large signal-to-noise power ratio values. The different time-hopping modulation schemes are accurately assessed in terms of their sensitivities to the system parameters and the bit error rate.
Molecular epidemiology and risk factors of Anaplasma spp., Babesia spp. and Theileria spp. infection in cattle in Chongqing, China

Tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) seriously affect cattle production and can be economically damaging. The epidemiology of these organisms in the Chongqing municipality of China is not well described. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and risk factors of TBPs including Anaplasma spp. , Babesia spp. and Theileria spp. in cattle in Chongqing municipality. The results showed that 43.48% (150/345) of cattle were infected with at least one TBP, of which single infections were detected in 104 (30.14%), double infections in 34 cattle (9.86%) and triple infections in 12 (3.48%) of the cattle. The overall prevalence of Anaplasma spp. , Theileria spp. and B. bigemina were 22.32%, 23.19% and 7.24%, respectively. Among these, the prevalence of A. bovis, A. central, A. phagocytophilum, A. platys, A. marginale, T. sinensisi and T. orientalis were 8.41%, 7.83%, 4.93%, 4.35%, 2.61%, 22.32% and 2.60%, respectively. We could not detect B. bovis, T. annulata, T. luwenshuni or T. uilenbergi in cattle. Cattle ≥1-year-old were more likely to be infected with Theileria spp. [adjusted odd ratio (AOR) = 2.70, 95% CI = 1.12–6.56)] compared with younger cattle, while cattle ≥1-year-old had reduced susceptibility to B. bigemina (AOR = 0.14, 95% CI = 0.03–0.60). Cattle living at higher altitude (≥500 m) were more susceptible to B. bigemina (AOR = 6.97, 95% CI = 2.08–23.35) and Theileria spp. infection (AOR = 1.87, 95% CI = 1.06–3.32). The prevalence of Theileria spp. on farms with cats was significantly higher than that without cats (AOR = 2.56, 95% CI = 1.12–5.88). Infection with A. bovis and A. central were significantly associated with A. phagocytophilum infection. Furthermore, there were significant associations between A. bovis and A. central infection, T. sinensisi and A. marginale infection, and B. bigemina and T. orientalis infection. This study provides new data on the prevalence of Anaplasma spp. , Babesia spp. and Theileria spp. in cattle in Chongqing, and for the first time we reveal a possible relationship between the afore-mentioned pathogens, which will help in formulating appropriate control strategies for these pathogens in this area.
Noninvasive Intracranial Pressure Estimation With Transcranial Doppler: A Prospective Observational Study

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text. Background: Transcranial Doppler (TCD) ultrasonography has been described for the noninvasive assessment of intracranial pressure (ICP). This study investigates the relationship between standard, invasive intracranial pressure monitoring (ICPi) and noninvasive ICP assessment using a simple formula based on TCD-derived flow velocity (FV) and mean arterial blood pressure values (ICPTCD). Material and Methods: We performed a prospective observational study on 100 consecutive traumatic brain injury patients requiring invasive ICP monitoring, admitted to the Neurosciences and Trauma Critical Care Unit of Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, UK. ICPi was compared with ICPTCD using a method based on the “diastolic velocity-derived estimator” (FVd), which was initially described for the noninvasive estimation of cerebral perfusion pressure but subsequently utilized for ICP assessment. Results: Median ICPi was 13 mm Hg (interquartile range: 10, 17.25 mm Hg). There was no correlation between ICPi and ICPTCD (R=−0.17; 95% confidence interval [CI]: −0.35, 0.03; P=0.097). Bland-Altman analysis demonstrated wide 95% limits of agreement between ICPi and ICPTCD (−27.58, 30.10; SD, 14.42). ICPTCD was not able to detect intracranial hypertension (ICPi >20 mm Hg); the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for prediction was 34.5% (95% CI, 23.1%-45.9%) with 0% sensitivity and 74.4% specificity for ICPTCD to detect ICPi>20 mm Hg. Conclusions: Using a formula based on diastolic FV, TCD is an insufficiently accurate method for the noninvasive assessment of ICP. Further studies are warranted to confirm these results in a broader patient cohort.
Involving patients in the development of interpersonal skills of optometry students

Providing patients an opportunity to give feedback to optometry students on their communication and interpersonal skills allows for a unique learning opportunity. The aim of the current project was to determine if the Doctors’ Interpersonal Skills Questionnaire (DISQ) was suitable for use with optometry students in a large teaching clinic and if it provided useful feedback to the students for learning purposes.
Evaluation of neuroprotective activity of digoxin and semisynthetic derivatives against partial chemical ischemia

Recently, cardiotonic steroids (CTS) have been shown to lead to the activation of Na,K‐ATPase at low concentrations in brain, promoting neuroprotection against ischemia. We report here the results of the use of digoxin and its semisynthetic derivatives BD‐14, BD‐15, and BD‐16 against partial chemical ischemic induction followed by reperfusion in murine neuroblastoma cells neuro‐2a (N2a). For chemical ischemic induction, sodium azide (5 mM) was used for 5 hours, and then reperfusion was induced for 24 hours. Na,K‐ATPase activity and protein levels were analyzed in membrane preparation of N2a cells pretreated with the compounds (150 nM), in the controls and in induced chemical ischemia. In the Na,K‐ATPase activity and protein levels assays, the steroids digoxin and BD‐15 demonstrated a capacity to modulate the activity of the enzyme directly, increasing its levels of expression and activity. Oxidative parameters, such as superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, lipid peroxidation (thiobarbituric acid reactive substance), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione (GSH) levels, hydrogen peroxide content, and the amount of free radicals (reactive oxygen species) during induced chemical ischemia were also evaluated. Regarding the redox state, lipid peroxidation, hydrogen peroxide content, and GPx activity, we have observed an increase in the chemical ischemic group, and a reduction in the groups treated with CTS. SOD activity increased in all treated groups when compared to control and GSH levels decreased when treated with sodium azide and did not change with CTS treatments. Regarding the lipid profile, we saw a decrease in the content of phospholipids and cholesterol in the chemical ischemic group, and an increase in the groups treated with CTS. In conclusion, the compounds used in this study demonstrate promising results, since they appear to promote neuroprotection in cells exposed to chemical ischemia.
Hydroinformatics techniques in eco-environmental modelling and management

The high complexity of aquatic ecosystems and the multiple processes involved, make the development of ecohydraulics and eco-environmental models a challenging subject. Conventionally, computer-based models use a mathematical formulation for the processes involved which are then solved by numerical methods. These models are often derived based on the assumption of spatial homogeneity and conservation principles of mass, momentum and energy. Development of these models often demands a clear understanding of the processes involved. However, the above assumptions are easily violated when spatial heterogeneity, individual species behaviour and local interactions play a significant role in the system dynamics. In particular for eco-environmental systems, knowledge on local interactions that determine the overall system behaviour is not always available. Although the rapid advances of data-driven techniques have recently made great contributions to water-environment related research, data on ecosystems are often quite limited, which restricts the application of data mining methods to eco-environmental system modelling. In addition, no modelling ‐ also not black-box modelling ‐ can be undertaken without having at least some understanding of the basic processes and mechanisms involved. It is always advisable to start exploring any dataset using conventional statistical techniques, as elaborated in this paper for a case study on Western Xiamen Bay, China. Neural network trimming was then used to establish the dominant factors; it was shown that a relatively simple ANN model was quite capable of capturing the essential features, provided the right input parameters are chosen. Examples of integrated approaches to ecohydraulics modelling coupling formulations with cellular automata and physical equations with fuzzy rules are presented for applications on eutrophication modelling of Taihu Lake in China, competitive growths and colonization of two underwater macrophytes in Lake Veluwe in The Netherlands, and forecasting of algal blooms in the Dutch coastal waters on the North Sea. A mussel dynamics model developed for the Upper Mississippi River in the USA demonstrates the feasibility of individual based modelling in ecosystem dynamics. Numerical models are quite capable of simulating the abiotic aquatic environment, including complicated fluid flow and transport mechanisms. However, when it comes to simulating the biotic and ecosystem dynamics, the interaction of individual species with their environment, as well as the interactions amongst species, has to be taken into account. The future of ecohydraulics and ecoenvironmental modelling thus seems to lie in the integration of different paradigms and techniques, which is the core content of the hydroinformatics discipline.
The Ascent of Babel: An Exploration of Language, Mind, and Understanding

In the beginning. 1: Looking towards Babel. 2: Babies, birth, and language. 3: Chinchillas do it too. 4: Words, and what we learn to do with them. 5: Organizing the dictionary. 6: Words, and how we (eventually) find them. 7: Time flies like an arrow. 8: Who did what, and to whom? 9: On the meaning of meaning. 10: Exercising the vocal organs. 11: The written word. 12: When it all goes wrong. 13: Wiring-up a brain. 14: The descent from Babel. Biblilography
The use of social networking and learning management systems in English language teaching in higher education

Purpose – The use of web-enhanced teaching of the English as a foreign language in higher education in Greece is addressed in this case study which examines the student's perceptions of online instruction using Moodle as a learning management system (LMS), with and without the use of Facebook (FB) as an adjunctive learning platform. The merging of this collaborative and interactive social platform with a LMS is explored, examining the attitudes of higher education foreign language learners toward Moodle as a LMS, and FB as an adjunctive informal learning environment. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – Results are drawn from a pre-FB questionnaire after a term using Moodle only, and a post-FB questionnaire following a term using Moodle and FB. Findings – Results suggest that the use of web-based tools and social media changed the way students viewed the role of internet technology in the development of their English language learning. Most students (76 percent) agreed tha.
ADAPTIVE FUZZY LOGIC-BASED FRAMEWORK FOR HANDLING IMPRECISION AND UNCERTAINTY IN CLASSIFICATION OF BIOINFORMATICS DATASETS

Classification in the emerging field of bioinformatics is a challenging task, because the information about different diseases is either insufficient or lacking in authenticity as data is collected from different types of medical equipments. In addition, the limitation of human expertise in manual diagnoses leads to incorrect diagnoses. Moreover, the information gathered from various sources is subject to imprecision and uncertainty. Imprecision arises when the data is not validated by experts. This paper presents an adaptive Type-2 Fuzzy Logic System-based (FLS) classification framework for multivariate data to diagnose different types of diseases. This framework is capable of handling imprecision and uncertainty, and its classification accuracy and performance are measured by using University of California Irvine (UCI), well-known medical data sets. The results are compared with the most common existing classifiers in both computer science and statistics literatures. This classification is performed based on the nature of inputs (e.g., singleton or nonsingleton) and on whether uncertainty is present in the system or absent. Empirical results have shown that our proposed FLS classification framework outperforms earlier implemented models with better classification accuracy. In addition, we conducted empirical studies on this classifier regarding the impact of various parameters of FLS such as training algorithms and defuzzification methods.
Evolution of architectures and conversion algorithms in adaptive sub-ranging A/D converters

The paper presents the survey of architectures and conversion algorithms used in so called adaptive analog-to-digital converters considered during the studies on these converters carried out by the author and his colleagues. The key idea that distinguishes the adaptive analog-to-digital converters from other sub-ranging converters consists in application of the iterative digital signal processing algorithm for calculation of the output codes of the converters and for calculation of the values of residue signal gains in subsequent steps of conversion. Application of this approach in the proposed converters allows to achieve better parameters of the converters in comparison with parameters of conventional sub-ranging analog-to-digital converters.
Lossless and nearly lossless compression for high-quality images

While a losslessly compressed facsimile image might require 20,000 bytes of storage, a losslessly compressed color high resolution scan of the same sized document might require 200,000,000 bytes of storage. This factor of 10,000 in the image size necessitates more than just better compression, it requires a change in viewpoint about compression. A compression system for high quality images must provide a way to access only the required data rather than decompressing all the data and then selecting the desired portion. Furthermore, a high quality image compression system should be able to provide the best possible images for output devices which as of yet have not been manufactured. Finally, a high quality compression system should allow decompression and recompression without continual degradation of the image. This paper describes technologies including a reversible color transform, a reversible wavelet transform, a doubly embedded context mode, and a 'parseable' file format, which work together to provide solutions for high quality imaging needs.
Social Navigation on the Internet: A Framework for the Analysis of Communication Processes

The term “social navigation” (SN) refers to media use patterns that are driven by the previous media activities of others. This phenomenon is widely encountered in social media environments, which allow users to easily leave and receive information. However, investigating the variety of SN actions, such as rating, forwarding, and even producing media items oneself, increases the prevalent challenges of empirical research on web content. The article reflects on these challenges and offers possible solutions via the example of a pilot study concerning online news based on a multi-method design with a particular emphasis on online content analysis. Special attention is devoted to the dynamics of online media and online news in particular, data reactivity during research, algorithmic content production, and the impact of relationship-related information.
Environmental conflict resolution using the graph model

The graph model for conflict resolution is employed to study systematically the bargaining that took place during the appeal of an environmental control order. Uniroyal Chemicals Ltd. appealed the order issued following the discovery of significant levels of the carcinogen NDMA in the water supply of the town of Elmira, Canada. NDMA was a by-product of Uniroyal's production process, but direct evidence of discharges from these processes into the aquifer was lacking. These environmental negotiations were analyzed as a strategic conflict using the decision support system GMCR. The formal modeling and analysis were carried out while the negotiations were in process; the results of the study can now be compared to the actual outcome. <<ETX>>
Teachers’ implicit theories and use of ICTs in the language classroom

This qualitative and exploratory case study sought to examine if and how implicit theories influence the implementation of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the language classroom in Chile. To achieve this goal, data was gathered from nine experienced university instructors in English as a Second Language. Based on semi-structured interviews, a self-assessment skill survey, a record of the equipment available and document analyses, the authors’ findings are presented in three sections: perceived affordances of ICTs, use of ICTs in practice and challenges for implementation of ICTs. They set out and discuss each theme, and conclude with suggestions for further research and pedagogical implications.
Exploring knowledge sharing discussion behavioural patterns in e-learning communities: a comparison of peer-assessment and problem solving strategy

In a Web 2.0 e-learning context, the knowledge of teachers and learners is often shared via online discussion environments. In-depth exploring the online discussion behavioural patterns for teacher/learner communities with different interactive learning strategies via empirical observations and comparisons may provides important further references for community managers or system developers. In this paper, we summarise a series of our findings of three-empirical studies in Taiwan, and make in-depth comparison and discussions of the online discussion behavioural patterns of two-interactive strategies: peer-assessment and problem solving, then discuss the features and limitations of the strategies. The comparison and discussions may provide some important references for community management and system development in e-learning environments. In turn, we also propose suggestions regarding guiders’ intervention, strategy design and intelligent agent development.
Sound Patterns of Syntax: Object Shift

Abstract In this paper, I explore what a purely phonological account of object shift (OS) involves and what research questions it leads to, in particular what it means for word order to be phonologically motivated and what morpho-phonological primitives are involved. I pursue the possibility that what licenses OS of full DPs in Icelandic is phonological properties, not found in other Scandinavian languages, together with overt case marking. Although the position of the object is determined phonologically, the architecture I propose, in which topic and focus play a central role, allows for an account of the semantic effect associated with OS in Icelandic.