Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sea level and salinity variations in the Baltic Sea - an oceanographic study using historical data

The Baltic is a large semi-enclosed sea with positive freshwater balance and restricted water exchange both with the Kattegat and between the interior sub-basins. Sea level variations cause barotropic transports and are therefore important for the salinity of the Baltic. Thus, with long time series of sea level recordings from the Baltic Sea large scale transport processes can be studied. The spatial variation of the daily sea level variability has been investigated for periods from a few days up to several years. For periods longer than one month, the Baltic Sea behaves like an open fjord with increasing amplitudes from the mouth and inwards. For shorter periods, the Baltic Sea acts like a closed lake, and the variability has a minimum in the Stockholm area and a maximum in the extreme north and south. With a five-box model, it is shown that most of the sea level variance on time scales longer than two months is due to external forcings provided by the sea level in the Kattegat and the freshwater supply to the Baltic Sea. These external forcings explain between 50 and 80% of the total sea level variance in the Baltic Sea with a maximum in the central parts. A coupled three-basin model explains 85% of the sea level variance. The relative importance of different forcings is investigated, and it is concluded that for periods longer than 2months, external forcings plus internal forcings due to air pressure and density gradients explain around 80% or more of the sea level variance. For shorter periods 30-80% of the variance is explained. Including the wind stress, which is especially important during winter, increases the explained variance with a few percentage points for periods longer than 2months and with lo-30percentage points for shorter periods. The mean sea level in the Baltic Sea is also investigated with the three-basin model. It is concluded that the approximate contributions to the mean sea level slope are: density gradients 55%, air pressure gradients 30% and wind stress 15%. The estimated mean sea levels compare quite well with mean sea levels in the geodetic height system NH60 which is found to be well suited for oceanographic purposes. The three-basin model is also used to study the barotropic transports between the subbasins and between the Baltic proper and the Kattegat. Among other things it is found that major Baltic outflows are more common than major Baltic inflows. The annual mean salinity in three different depth intervals decreased with around lpsu during the period 1977-1990. It is found that this was due to an increased freshwater supply. The increased freshwater supply also impeded the import of saltwater from the Kattegat, thereby decreasing the salinity in the deeper parts of the Baltic Sea. It is argued that the changed vertical distribution of salt within the Baltic Sea in the same period was partly due to increased vertical mixing.
Effects of (R)-9-(2-phosphonylmethoxypropyl)adenine monotherapy on chronic SIV infection in macaques.

(R)-9-(2-Phosphonylmethoxypropyl)adenine (PMPA) acts as a reverse transcriptase inhibitor of retroviruses and has been shown to be effective against acute simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection in macaques. To study its efficacy at different stages of infection, we tested PMPA in cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis) that had been chronically infected with SIVMne for at least 19 weeks before treatment was begun. PMPA was administered subcutaneously in a single daily dose of either 30 or 75 mg/kg body weight for 28 days. Within < or = 2 weeks of treatment, PMPA in both dosing regimens reduced SIV levels by >99% in the plasma or peripheral blood mononuclear cells; in some macaques SIV levels were reduced to below the lower quantitation limit. At a dose of 30 mg/kg/day PMPA was well tolerated, causing no side effects while increasing the mean CD4+ cell counts in animals that received this dose. Thus PMPA seems to be a promising agent for use against retroviral infections.
A papillomavirus E2 phosphorylation mutant exhibits normal transient replication and transcription but is defective in transformation and plasmid retention

Papillomavirus DNA persists in infected cells as a nuclear plasmid, causing epithelial lesions in many hosts, including humans. The viral protein E2 is required for both replication and transcription to facilitate this persistence. Bovine papillomavirus E2 protein is phosphorylated at two predominant sites. Phosphorylation of one of these sites (serine 301) inhibits replication of the genome. Using mass spectrometry and Edman sequencing, we have mapped additional phosphorylation sites in tryptic peptides to positions which lie primarily in the putatively unstructured hinge region of E2. Mutation of the major sites facilitates transformation in the absence of viral repressors and only has a minor effect on transformation when the repressors are present. Mutation of the major phosphorylation sites combined with one additional change at a newly discovered site (serine 235) blocks transformation. Transformation can be restored by mutating this residue to aspartic acid, mimicking a phosphorylated amino acid, suggesting that phosphorylation is key to the regulation. Transformation by the mutant genome can also be rescued by ectopic expression of the E2 enhancer protein, demonstrating a loss of function by the mutant protein and not a toxic defect. In transient assays, phosphorylation site mutants of E2 protein were normal for all viral functions tested, including replication, transcriptional activation and repression (by the overlapping mutant repressors), protein accumulation, and surprisingly, viral oncogene E5 promoter activation. While the mutant genome transiently replicated to high levels, stable replication was defective, suggesting that a function of E2 required for plasmid retention is regulated by phosphorylation.
Timing Verification of Fault-Tolerant Chips for Safety-Critical Applications in Harsh Environments

Critical real-time embedded systems (CRTES), which are deployed in cars, planes, and satellites, among other domains, feature increasingly complex safety-related, performance-demanding functionality. Realistically, such functionality can be provided by means of advanced (high-performance) hardware and software. This will inevitably shift CRTES from using simple control software running on in-order, single-core processors with no caches to complex multisensor and multiactuator software running on aggressive processors implemented in nanoscale technology deploying several computing cores and a cache hierarchy. However, the use of aggressive technologies and architectures challenges time predictability and reliability, which are mandatory features in CRTES. The authors present a processor design that reconciles all three goals--namely, predictability, reliability, and high performance. Their design obtains trustworthy and tight worst-case execution time (WCET) estimates for safety-critical applications running on high-performance hardware facing hard and soft errors by means of a smart use of timing-analysis techniques in combination with minor hardware modifications.
Differences in Attentional Set Between Athletes and Nonathletes

The purpose of this study was to determine if the ability to set attention is different between athletes and nonathletes. University volleyball players were compared with nonathletes on a spatial cuing task similar to that of C. L. Folk, R. W. Remington, and J. C. Johnston (1992). As expected, both groups showed evidence of entering into a specific attentional set because attentional cuing effects were found only when cues and targets shared a task-relevant feature (onset or color). In addition, the cuing effects when the cues matched the targets were greater for the athletes than for the nonathletes. The results are discussed in terms of the orienting of attention and athletic performance.
Perceived effects of midwives attitude towards women in labour in Bayelsa State, Nigeria

The attitudes of midwives towards women in labour certainly counts for their decision about where to give birth the next time they are pregnant. When the attitudes exhibit by midwives to mothers in labour are good, mothers tend to generalize a likeness to every midwife viewing the midwives as having the same character. On the other hand, when midwives exhibit a bad attitude to women in labour, it will be counted on the midwives as being wicked and unfriendly. As such negative attitude will bring negative outcome of the birth process such as prolonged labour, severe haemorrhage, severe labour pain, still birth e.tc. Hence, this research was conducted to determine the perceived effects of midwives attitude towards women in labour in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. A descriptive survey design was used, a sample of 80 respondents were selected using a simple random sampling technique. Questionnaire was used to obtain information from literate respondents; oral interview was used for the illiterate respondents using the same questions. The data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics in form of tables and charts. The results of the study revealed that midwives exhibit both positive and negative attitude but the negative attitude (55%) outweighs the positive attitude (45%). These attitudes have effects on the woman in labour and it is a major factor influencing the women’s choice and decision about where to give birth. Hence, there is need for midwives to improve in their attitude towards women in labour in order to render quality care to the women and this will enable them to patronize the health care facilities in order to reduce maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity rate. It was recommended that midwives need to be train and retrain on inter-personal skill in order to have positive and sensitive attitude towards their clients during labour.
The Structure of Tariffs and Long-Term Growth

We show that the "skill bias" of a country's tariff structure is positively correlated with long-term per capita GDP growth. Testing for causal mechanisms, we find evidence consistent with the existence of real benefits from tariffs focused in skill-intensive industries. However, this only accounts for a quarter of the total correlation between skill-biased tariffs and growth. Turning to alternative explanations, we extend the standard Grossman-Helpman "protection-for-sale" model and show how the skill bias of tariffs can reflect the extent of domestic rent-seeking activities in the economy. We provide evidence that the remaining variation is explained by this endogeneity.
Uncorrelated Encounter Model of the National Airspace System, Version 1.0

Abstract : Airspace encounter models, covering close encounter situations that may occur after standard separation assurance has been lost, are a critical component in the safety assessment of aviation procedures and collision avoidance systems. Of particular relevance to unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) is the potential for encountering general aviation aircraft that are flying under visual flight rules (VFR) and which may not be in contact with air traffic control. In response to the need to develop a model of these types of encounters, Lincoln Laboratory undertook an extensive radar data collection and modeling effort involving more than 120 sensors across the U.S. This report describes the structure and content of that encounter model. The model is based on the use of Bayesian networks to represent relationships between dynamic variables and to construct random aircraft trajectories that are statistically similar to those observed in the radar data. The result is a framework from which representative intruder trajectories can be generated and used in fast-time Monte-Carlo simulations to provide accurate estimates of collision risk.
Integrating functional, social, and psychological determinants to explain online social networking usage

People involved in business are increasingly aware of the online social phenomenon and its potential as a marketing tool. Building upon the marketing, social psychology, and information system literature, this study empirically examines a set of functional determinants derived from the technology acceptance model and socio-psychological determinants drawn from the theory of reasoned action and social cognitive theory that may be responsible for the motivations of participants in online social networks. We propose a model by integrating functional, social, and psychological factors in predicting attitude and online social network usage. The survey outcomes from a cross-sectional study among 387 Facebook users in Malaysia support the hypothesised model. This study contributes by extending the cognitive learning theories in predicting online social networking usage. Particularly, this research presents a different perspective on online social networking by exploring the mediating effect of attitude and the moderating role of individual characteristics. This study demonstrates that desirable changes in the perception of functional benefits, self-efficacy, and need for cognition as well as perceptions of social pressure from significant others might lead to corresponding changes in attitude towards online social networking. Results of the study support the model efficacy and predictive ability of the proposed integrative model which may serve as a theoretical foundation for future researchers interested in examining other virtual community engagements such as blogging, online advertising, and online public relations activities.
Combined inguinal herniorrhaphy and transurethral prostatectomy

Between January 1979 and June 1988, 41 men underwent combined inguinal herniorrhaphy and transurethral prostatectomy at the Instituto Nacional de la Nutrición in México. These cases (group 1) were compared retrospectively with 100 consecutive cases of inguinal herniorrhaphy alone (group 2) and 100 consecutive cases of transurethral prostatectomy alone (group 3) during the same period. Group 1 had the highest incidence of preoperative risk factors because of age and associated medical problems. However, there were no significant differences in the rate of operative or postoperative complications between groups. No recurrences of inguinal hernia were recorded in group 1 after a follow‐up period of 47.1 months. The length of hospitalization was similar between groups, and no patient died. Our observations suggest that when an inguinal hernia and symptomatic prostatism occur together, combined inguinal herniorrhaphy and transurethral prostatectomy is a practical, safe and effective operative procedure. The advantages of this combined procedure include one anaesthetic period, one operative procedure, one hospital stay and one convalescence with morbidity and mortality rates that are comparable to those of inguinal herniorrhaphy or transurethral prostatectomy alone.
Rapid detection and serotyping of dengue virus by multiplex RT-PCR and real-time SYBR green RT-PCR.

INTRODUCTION Dengue fever and dengue haemorrhagic fever currently rank highly among the newly-emerging infectious diseases, and are considered to be the most important arboviral disease worldwide. The definitive diagnosis is culture analysis, but practical considerations limit its use. Also, the period for viral detection is limited. Within a day or two after fever subsides, rising levels of antibodies interfere with viral cultures. An alternative to this quandary is the use of viral RNA detection assays. In our laboratory, a reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay was developed using a set of degenerate primers. METHODS This multiplex RT-PCR assay was evaluated with 280 samples collected during the year 2003. These groups include prototype dengue virus (serotypes 1-4), acute serum from which the dengue virus was isolated, seronegative acute samples (culture negative) but whose convalescent samples seroconverted, and sera positive for other microbial diseases. This assay was then modified into a real-time SYBR Green RT-PCR assay. Sensitivity and specificity of both assays were compared. RESULTS The multiplex RT-PCR assay was able to detect 134 samples whereas SYBR Green RT-PCR assay was able to detect 178 out of 306 samples. Both assays were 100 percent specific. Further analysis of 53 samples showed that the virus could be amplified at IgM positive/negative values of up to 4.2, and up to six days after onset of fever. The viral detection rate was inversely proportional to the day of fever onset as well as IgM values. CONCLUSION The sensitivity and specificity of the conventional multiplex RT-PCR assay are 98.18 percent and 100 percent, respectively, and for the real-time SYBR Green assay, 99.09 percent and 100 percent, respectively. The melting curve analysis allows all four dengue serotypes to be discriminated based on distinct melting temperature value. The accuracy and speed of this multiplex RTPCR assay makes it a suitable test for the diagnosis of dengue and for epidemiological surveillance.
Concerns and hopes about outsourcing decisions regarding health information management services at two teaching hospitals in Semnan, Iran

Background: Changes in health programs in Iran have led to an increase in administrative costs. One cost-saving option available to hospital administrators is to outsource administrative services. Objective: This study aimed to explore the attitudes of hospital staff towards outsourcing health information management services in advance of a decision being taken, to assist healthcare organisations to assess the potential benefits and challenges of outsourcing such services. Method: Six hundred and four clinical and allied health employees in two hospitals in Iran, who had had prior experience with outsourcing hospital services, responded to a survey designed to measure staff attitudes towards outsourcing health information management services, based on their perceptions of potential costs and benefits for the organisation and their own employment prospects. A 16-item attitude scale, developed by the researchers, was used in the study and demographic data were also collected. Results: Summary statistics showed that approximately one third of the sample (34.53%) had a negative view of outsourcing, one third (35.16%) had a positive view, and 30.31% were neutral. An exploratory factor analysis of items on the attitude scale identified three underlying constructs, labelled: data security and management; workplace environment; and staff and customer satisfaction. One item (concern about the impact of outsourcing on staffing levels) did not load on any of the factors. A separate analysis of this single item showed a significant relationship between the sex of participants and their views on the impact of outsourcing on the number of hospital staff employed (p<0.05). Conclusion: While results of this study indicated that staff in hospitals surveyed held both positive and negative views of outsourcing, a large number of staff in these hospitals (a third of the total sample) had reservations about the skills of outside providers to securely manage hospital data, and did not consider that outsourcing health information management services would be positive for the organisation, their working environment or for staff and patient satisfaction. These findings have important implications for healthcare organisations planning to outsource health information services. Further research that focuses on communication skills of senior managers and their ability to provide team leadership is needed, as is research into the impact of geographical location and current market forces that impact on outsourcing tasks.
Growth, haematology and serum biochemistry of broilers fed probiotics based diets

An experiment was conducted with a total of one hundred and twenty one-day old Marshall broiler chicks to determine the effect of probiotics (Biovet-YC and Gro-Up) on the performance characteristics, haematology and serum biochemistry of broilers. A completely randomized design was used and the experiment lasted for eight weeks. The birds were grouped into three treatments (T1, T2 and T3 respectively). T1 served as the control, T2 contained 0.1% Biovet(R) and T3 contained 0.1% Gro-up(TM) both at starter and finisher phase respectively. Data were collected on feed intake and weight gain, while blood samples were collected for haematological indices and serum biochemical indices examination. Bird on T3 had the highest live weight (2321.10 g), while those on control had the lowest (2117.00 g); the same trend was elicited for the feed conversion ratio. The results of haematology and serum biochemistry revealed significant (P<0.05) difference in the values obtained for lymphocytes, neutrophil, and cholesterol. The highest lymphocytes value was obtained in T1 (59.00%) while the lowest value was obtained in T2 (44.75%), but for neutrophil, T2 has the highest value of (54.75%) while T1 has the lowest (40.00%). The same trend was noticed for cholesterol. It can be concluded that the inclusion of probiotics in the diets of broilers will bring about improved live weight and feed conversion ratio, but can elevate the serum cholesterol value. Key words: Probiotics, broilers, performance, haematology, serum.
Changes in Body Composition and Mitochondrial Dna in HIV-1-Infected Patients Switching to Fixed-Dose Abacavir/Lamivudine or Tenofovir/Emtricitabine: A Substudy of the Bicombo Trial

Background Fat distribution, bone mineral density (BMD) and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) may improve, in the long-term, after switching from nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) to fixed-dose abacavir (ABC)/ lamivudine (3TC) or tenofovir (TDF)/emtricitabine (FTC). Methods This was a prospective, randomized, open-label, multicentre substudy of the BICOMBO trial in which virologically suppressed patients had their NRTIs switched to ABC/3TC or TDF/FTC. Whole-body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) was used to measure limb, trunk and total body fat and total BMD. Lumbar and hip DXA scans were used to measure lumbar and hip BMD. Fat mass ratio (FMR; % trunk fat/% leg fat by whole-body DXA) was used to assess fat distribution. mtDNA was measured in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Parameters of interest were measured at baseline, 48 and 96 weeks, and were compared between treatment groups. Results Of 56 patients included, 45 (20 ABC/3TC and 25 TDF/FTC) completed the substudy. After 96 weeks, ABC/3TC (+756 g, +12.1%) and TDF/FTC (+337 g, +7.6%) led to non-significantly different increases in limb fat (P=0.60). By contrast, trunk fat showed a significant increase (P=0.04) with ABC/3TC (+1,184 g, +10.6%) relative to TDF/FTC (-370 g, -4.2%). Median (IQR) FMR remained unchanged with ABC/3TC (-0.01 [-0.16–0.06]; P=0.23), but it decreased significantly with TDF/FTC (-0.13 [-0.30–0.00]; P=0.007). Total BMD and mtDNA significantly increased after 96 weeks, without differences between groups. Conclusions Switching from NRTIs to either ABC/3TC or TDF/FTC led to similar increases in limb fat, BMD and PBMC mtDNA after 96 weeks.