Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Contribution of the Pulvinar and Lateral Geniculate Nucleus to the Control of Visually Guided Saccades in Blindsight Monkeys

After damage to the primary visual cortex (V1), conscious vision is impaired. However, some patients can respond to visual stimuli presented in their lesion-affected visual field using residual visual pathways bypassing V1. This phenomenon is called “blindsight. ” Many studies have tried to identify the brain regions responsible for blindsight, and the pulvinar and/or lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) are suggested to play key roles as the thalamic relay of visual signals. However, there are critical problems regarding these preceding studies in that subjects with different sized lesions and periods of time after lesioning were investigated; furthermore, the ability of blindsight was assessed with different measures. In this study, we used double dissociation to clarify the roles of the pulvinar and LGN by pharmacological inactivation of each region and investigated the effects in a simple task with visually guided saccades (VGSs) using monkeys with a unilateral V1 lesion, by which nearly all of the contralesional visual field was affected. Inactivating either the ipsilesional pulvinar or LGN impaired VGS toward a visual stimulus in the affected field. In contrast, inactivation of the contralesional pulvinar had no clear effect, but inactivation of the contralesional LGN impaired VGS to the intact visual field. These results suggest that the pulvinar and LGN play key roles in performing the simple VGS task after V1 lesioning, and that the visuomotor functions of blindsight monkeys were supported by plastic changes in the visual pathway involving the pulvinar, which emerged after V1 lesioning. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Many studies have been devoted to understanding the mechanism of mysterious symptom called “blindsight,” in which patients with damage to the primary visual cortex (V1) can respond to visual stimuli despite loss of visual awareness. However, there is still a debate on the thalamic relay of visual signals. In this study, to pin down the issue, we tried double dissociation in the same subjects (hemi-blindsight macaque monkeys) and clarified that the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) plays a major role in simple visually guided saccades in the intact state, while both pulvinar and LGN critically contribute after the V1 lesioning, suggesting that plasticity in the visual pathway involving the pulvinar underlies the blindsight.
Effects of sulfur dioxide, ozone, and ambient air pollution on bone metabolism related biochemical parameters in a rat model

Ambient air pollution (AAP), as an important environmental health problem, affects everyone. A large body of literature links AAP, such as sulfur dioxide (SO2) and ozone (O3), with a wide range of non-communicable diseases. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of the pollutants on the bone metabolism biochemical parameters in a rat model. Thirty-two male Wistar rats were divided to four groups: control, SO2 (10 ppm), O3 (0.6 ppm), and AAP groups. After 5 weeks of exposure (3 hours/day, 6 days/week), blood samples were taken, and biochemical parameters were assayed. Vitamin D level of the AAP group was higher than the control and SO2 groups (p=0.004 and 0.003). Parathyroid hormone (PTH) level of the O3 group was significantly higher than the AAP group (p=0.006). Alkaline phosphatase (ALP), phosphorus, magnesium levels of the SO2 group; Vit D, ALP, osteocalcin (OC), and PTH of O3 group; and OC and osteoprotegerin (OPG) of AAP group were higher than those of control group but differences were not significant. Calcium level of the SO2 group; OPG and calcium of O3 group; and PTH of AAP group were less than those of control group but differences were not significant (p>0.05). The results showed significant effect of AAP with natural daylight on vitamin D and also O3 on PTH of the rats. In the concentrations and conditions of the study, we didn’t find any significant unwanted effects of AAP, SO2, and O3 on the bone biochemical parameters. More investigations with more concentrations and exposure time are recommended.
Temperature sensitivity of Burning Rate of Ammonium Perchlorate Propellants

The temperature sensitivity of burning rate of ammonium perchlorate (AP) composite propellants was studied as a function of AP particle size and a burning rate catalyst. A simplified temperature sensitivity model was presented in order to discriminate the effect of the gas phase and solid phase reactions on the initial propellant temperature (T0). The temperature sensitivity was decreased by the addition of small sized AP particles and/or 2,2-bis(ethylferrocenyl)propane (BEFP). This is caused by the insensitive burning surface temperature to T0. Thus, the gas phase reaction rate becomes little dependent on T0, and the temperature sensitivity decreases.
Oxygen demand by a sediment bed of finite length

A model of sedimentary oxygen demand (SOD) for a sediment bed of finite length is presented. The responses of diffusive oxygen transfer in turbulent flow above the sediment surface and of microbial activity inside the sediment to a developing diffusive boundary layer are modeled numerically. The developing diffusive boundary layer above the sediment/water interface is modeled based on shear velocity and turbulent boundary layer concepts, and dissolved oxygen (DO) uptake inside the sediment is modeled as a function of the microbial growth rate. The model predicts that the diffusive boundary layer above the sediment/water interface thickens in flow direction, and that DO penetration depth into the sediment is practically constant over the length of the sediment bed. The effect of the developing diffusive boundary layer on SOD is minor, except at very low shear/flow velocities (shear velocity U* <0.01 cm∕s ) and/or high microbial density inside the sediment. The average SOD over the sediment bed therefore va.
European Cruise ports: challenges since the pre-pandemic era

ABSTRACT This study provides an empirical analysis of the challenges that cruise ports in Europe were facing before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 triggered an unprecedented global health and economic crisis with severe, and potentially structural, consequences for the cruise world. In this context, knowledge of the key challenges that cruise ports need to address builds capacities for conceptualising, but also better responding, in the post-COVID-19 conditions to both pre-existing challenges and the ones produced by the pandemic. The study examines the former group of challenges. It does so analysing a survey answered by 155 cruise ports in 34 countries in the two European markets (North Europe and the Med) just before the pandemic outbreak. The survey identifies the significance of different types of challenges (operational, strategic, societal, environmental), and the hierarchy of challenges referring to the relationships between ports and cruise lines. Detailing which issues were (not) shared by the entire cruise port industry, the findings reveal that the pre-pandemic search for sustainable growth of the cruise activities hosted had led to diverging challenges in each of these two cruise markets. They also establish that port governance models do matter when it comes to the variation of the confronted challenges. These results imply that policy initiatives based on a “one size fits all” approach would provide a rather ineffective helping hand in resolving the major of the identified challenges.
Predictivity of Biochemical Markers on Aetiology and Length of Hospitalisation in Acute Pancreatitis

Background Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a common cause of emergency hospital admission. Predictive value of biochemical markers including alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), bilirubin and lipase on pancreatitis has not been fully established. This study aimed to assess the role of ALT, ALP, bilirubin and lipase levels at admission on predicting the aetiology and length of hospital stay in AP. This study also assesses quantitative high lipase as a predictor of gallstone pancreatitis (GP). Methods All patients above the age of 18 with a diagnosis of AP between October 2016 - 2017 were included in our study. The exclusion criteria were patients with a known history of pancreatitis or biliary disease/bile duct stones and pregnancy. This is a retrospective study performed from a prospectively collected electronic patient database at our hospital. Results Among the 143 patients with AP, 50 patients were diagnosed with gallstone pancreatitis (GP) and the remaining of 93 patients suffered non-gallstone pancreatitis (NGP). Mean ALT level was significantly higher in gallstone pancreatitis (237 ± 351 IU) compared to non-gallstone pancreatitis (107 ± 162 IU; P = 0.005). ALP level was numerically high in GP (151.5 ± 186) compared to NGP (138 ± 105 IU; P = 0.64). Similar results in bilirubin level also noted in GP (35.5 ± 24.5) comparing to NGP (20.7 ± 79.6 µmol/L; P = 0.09). Raised ALT (9.3 ± 8.2 versus 3 ± 2.19 days), bilirubin (8.5 ± 2.5 versus 6.9 ± 1.19 days) and ALP levels (6.26 ± 6.1 versus 3.5 ± 10 days respectively; P = 0.05) were associated with longer hospitalisation in GP comparing to NGP. The lipase level more than 10 times the upper reference level (10-URL) was found to be associated with GP (39/50) than NGP (54/93; P = 0.027). Conclusion Raised ALT, high lipase of 10 URL levels were associated with gallstone pancreatitis. In gallstone pancreatitis, patients with high ALT, bilirubin and ALP levels had longer hospital stay.
A good QoL is beneficial for outgrowing egg allergy

Background: Safely liberalizing the diet to include an allergenic food may accelerate resolution of food allergy. The outcome of liberalization, however, varies among patients. Methods: We conducted a prospective observational study to identify factors associated with outcome for egg allergy 1 year after oral food challenge (OFC). We enrolled children < 72 months-old who had egg allergy and underwent OFC for determination of the safe intake quantity of egg allergen. At enrollment, each child’s clinical background was recorded. The Food Allergy Quality of Life Questionnaire–Parent Form (FAQLQ–PF) was administered to the caregivers to assess their children’s QoL. Dietary advice based on the OFC result was then provided to support safe consumption of eggs. At 1 year after OFC, the quantity of egg each child safely consumed in daily life was surveyed. We classified the egg allergy outcome as Outgrowing (Group O) if the quantity increased during the 1 year, or as Non-outgrowing (Group N) if it did not. Factors associated with the outcome were investigated by multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results: A total of 93 children were enrolled, and after 1 year 57 finished in Group O and 36 in Group N. The mean FAQLQ-PF score at baseline was significantly lower (i.e., better QoL) in group O than in group N. Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified comorbid asthma, comorbid atopic dermatitis and a poor QoL as factors predicting an unfavorable outcome. Conclusion: QoL may affect food allergy outcome. Intervention focusing on QoL may promote outgrowing food allergies.
Reactions of thiyl radicals with transition-metal complexes

Reactions of thiyl radicals (RS . ) were studied in aqueous solution by laser flash photolysis. Alkyl radicals, which were used to generate the thiyl radicals, were produced by the photohomolysis of the cobalt-carbon bond of RCo([14]aneN 4 )(H 2 O) 2+ complexes (R=CH 3 , C 2 H 5 ). These carbon-centered radicals abstract hydrogen atoms from thiols (C 2 H 5 SH, CysSH, or GSH), generating thiyl radicals. Thiyl radicals readily oxidize a variety of reduced transition-metal complexes
Cynical consumer: how social cynicism impacts consumer attitude

Purpose This paper aims to examine the effect of social cynicism on consumer cynicism. The negative inferred motive is tested as a mediator between social cynicism and consumer cynicism; whereas, negative affectivity is tested as a moderator between social cynicism and negative inferred motive. Design/methodology/approach The study was carried out in India using a mixed-method approach. In the first stage, a survey was conducted to test the moderated mediation model, followed by in-depth interviews in the second stage. The survey was analysed using structural equation modelling, while themes were generated from the data collected through interviews. Findings The study established the effect of social cynicism on consumer cynicism. Negative inferred motive mediated the relationship between social cynicism and consumer cynicism. Negative affectivity moderated the influence of social cynicism on negative inferred motive. Research limitations/implications With rising anti-consumption behaviours, it is imperative to understand why consumers turn cynical towards marketers. The study indicates that consumer cynicism is influenced by previous experiences of the consumer with the society and is not merely a reaction to arm-twisting by firms. As social cynicism cannot be changed drastically, understanding how it impacts consumer cynicism would help a firm handle its marketing efforts better. Originality/value The study empirically validates the relationship between social cynicism and consumer cynicism. The mediating effect of negative inferred motive on consumer cynicism was also validated. The study is also the first to point out the moderating role of negative affectivity on the relationship between social cynicism and negative inferred motive.
Energy Diagnosis of Android Applications

The abnormal energy consumption of Android applications is a significant problem faced by developers and users. In recent years, researchers have invested their efforts to develop energy diagnosis tools that pinpoint and fix the energy bugs from source code automatically. These tools use traditional software engineering methods such as program analysis, refactoring, software repair, and bug localization to diagnose energy inefficiencies. Existing surveys focus only on energy measurement techniques and profiling tools and do not consider automated energy diagnosis tools. Therefore, this article organizes state of the art by surveying 25 relevant studies on Android applications’ automatic energy diagnosis. Further, this survey presents a systematic thematic taxonomy of existing approaches from a software engineering perspective. The taxonomy presented in this article would serve as a body of knowledge and help researchers and developers to understand the state of the field better. The future research directions discussed in this article might help prospective researchers to identify suitable topics to improve the current research work in this field.
Validating grid‐forming capabilities of hybrid power park technologies in future OFTO networks

In recent years there has been considerable interest in convertor based generating solutions which to a greater or lesser extent mimic the behaviour of synchronous machines, thus overcoming many of the disadvantages of the existing technologies which are potentially destabilising at high penetration. Such solutions are frequently referred to as Grid Forming Convertors (GFC). This paper focuses the application of GFC technologies in offshore windfarms, where installation, maintenance and/or modification of any offshore equipment is very expensive and carries greater commercial risks, requiring extensive testing and confidence building prior to deployment in real applications. This is time consuming and particularly significant for GB and where there are large quantities of offshore generation. Onshore solutions to stability are therefore desirable for Off-Shore Transmission Owners (OFTOs), especially, if they could be applied by retrofitting to existing conventional converter plant. Consequently, this paper proposes and investigates the performance of hybrid solutions for offshore networks where the conventional STATCOM onshore unit is replaced by alternative options such as synchronous compensator and VSM converter of similar (or appropriate) rating with the aim of achieving Grid-Forming capability. A laboratory scale implementation of the proposed control algorithm is also presented with selected validation test results.
Relationship Between Symptoms and Stage of Change in Both Adopting a Healthy Life Style and Quality of Life in Patients with Liver Cirrhosis: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Previous studies of patients with liver cirrhosis have not considered the broad range of symptoms or the association between healthy behavior and quality of life. The purposes of this study were to examine the association between symptoms and adopting exercise and consuming fruits and vegetables and to identify factors associated with quality of life in patients with liver cirrhosis.Methods: This cross-sectional study enrolled 91 consecutive patients with liver cirrhosis in one tertiary general hospital in South Korea between February 2016 and January 2017. Each study participant completed a self-administered questionnaire that measured symptom, stage of change in engaging in exercise and consumption of fruits and vegetables, and the Korean version of the 36-item Short-Form Health Survey. Multivariate ordinal logistic regression analysis and multiple regression models was used, respectively, to examine the association between each symptom with stage of change in engaging in exercise and consumption of fruits and vegetables and to evaluate factors affecting quality of life.Results: Experiencing nausea was associated with a higher stage of change in engaging in exercise, but experiencing shortness of breath was associated with a lower stage of change in engaging in exercise. Experiencing right upper quadrant pain was associated with a higher stage of change in engaging in consumption of fruits and vegetables. Muscle cramps, anorexia, right upper quadrant pain and body pain, itching, ascites or edema, bruising, and change in appearance negatively affected quality of life.Conclusions: The results suggest that the types of symptoms experienced by a patient with liver cirrhosis hinder or promote the patient’s adoption of exercise and dietary behavior. Experiencing symptoms may negatively affect quality of life. Caregivers should provide supportive care to patients with liver cirrhosis, which includes assessing and managing symptoms to improve quality of life.
Learning Programming Fundamentals via Music

This article describes a unique ongoing experience of learning programming via engagement in music programming of known melodies. Seventh and eighth graders participated in 10 lessons of weekly activity. Via the programming of melodies, using the Scratch 2.0 environment, they became acquainted with basic concepts of programming such as methods, variables, repetition and control commands, parallel processes, and more. The study was conducted in the form of an action research. The study units were designed in the spirit of the spiral learning method, in which the learning concepts are revisited several times while their level of complexity rises. From the data analyzed so far, four categories emerged: enjoyment, interest, gaining programming knowledge, and experiencing feelings of success. The students were enthusiastic during the learning lessons, and they were curious to learn and use advanced concepts. The music programming provided them with practical meaning for the learned programming structures and concepts.
Methanolic extract of Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) escalates functional restoration following a compression injury to the sciatic nerve in a mouse model

Abstract Peripheral nerve injury (PNI) is one of the major health concerns faced by the community at present. Till now, available therapeutic approaches are ineffective to fully heal a nerve injury and to assure the functional recovery entirely. Natural compounds can prove attractive and effective drug candidates to bridge up this gap. In this scenario, the present study was designed to explore the role of methanolic extract of Foeniculum vulgare (F. vulgare) seeds in accelerating the function regain following a sciatic nerve injury in a mouse model. For this purpose, 12 adult healthy albino mice (BALB/C), 8–10 weeks old, were grouped as control (Ctrl, n = 6) and treatment (Trt, n = 6). The treated group was given methanolic extract of F. vulgare (200 mg/kg per day) started from the day of nerve crush until the end of the study. The sensorimotor function regain assessed by hot plate test, grip strength, and SFI assessments was found significantly (p < .05) ameliorated in the F. vulgare‐treated group. A prominent improvement in the muscle mass of the treated group further affirmed these effects. Furthermore, morphometric analysis of muscle fiber cross‐sectional area of tibialis anterior muscle between groups revealed a noticeable improvement in muscle fibers’ diameter of the treated group. Conclusively, these findings suggest that F. vulgare methanolic extract exhibits the potential to escalate functional recovery following a peripheral nerve injury. However, the real players of this extract and the mechanism involved in boosting functional restoration need to be dissected by further work.
Negative Cultural Policy: Tools, Elements and Analytical Potential

His main fields of are foundational concepts of cultural policy, digitization, performing arts and museum policy. Among his publications are the books Kulturpolitikk. [Cultural Policy] Organisering, legitimering og praksis (2017, with Per Mangset) and Aesthetics and Politics. A Nordic Perspective on How Cultural Policy Negotiates the Agency of Music and Arts (2018, with Erling Bjurström). Abstract This article is a discussion of the concept of negative cultural policy , understood as intentional and systematic efforts to curtail the production, distribution and/or consumption of culture. It argues that this curtailing side to cultural policy deserves more academic and analytical attention than it has received and points to challenges and directions in which such an analysis can be developed. The article describes a series of core elements for negative cultural policy, and through examples, describes a sedimentary development of negative cultural policy. New elements have been added to the existing ones, thereby producing a policy field of increasing complexity. The research questions for the article are: What are the elements of negative cultural policy? How can we build a relevant analytical framework for negative cultural policy? In order to shed light on the importance of and analytical potential of negative cultural policy, the article combines a perspective of cultural history with conceptual perspectives from literature on policy tools.
Gastric signet ring cell carcinoma

Zemni I et al. reviewed clinic and pathological characteristics and outcomes of gastric signet ring cell carcinomas (J Gastric Surg 2020; 2(3):71-78) focusing on the major prognostic factors of progression-free survival and overall survival including hypoproteinemia, tumor size, stenosis, advanced stage, and recurrence. The majority of patients were males under 60 years of age. The data were compared with those of non-signet ring cell gastric carcinomas. There was no significant difference in the 5 years overall survival between the compared groups. The increasing incidence of aggressive tumors in an advanced stage with poor outcome is emphasized and additional comments are about gastric signet ring cell tumors that affected a female and an elderly male.