Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Potential toxic effects of iron oxide nanoparticles in in vivo and in vitro experiments

The aim of this study was to determine the potential toxic effects of iron(II,III)oxide nanoparticles (IONPs). In in vivo experiments, the toxic effects of IONPs were monitored in adult male Wistar rats by morphological methods after a single intratracheal instillation. For the control group 1 ml of physiological saline per animal was given, and the treatment group received the same volume of a suspension containing 1 and 5 mg kg−1 body weight IONPs. Lungs and internal organs underwent histopathological examination after 1, 3, 7, 14 and 30 days. The mutagenic effect of these nanoparticles was evaluated by the bacterial reverse mutation assay on Salmonella typhimurium TA98, TA100, TA1535 and TA1537 strains, and on Escherichia coli WP2uvrA strain, in the presence and absence of the mammalian metabolic activation system S9. The in vitro cytotoxic effect of IONPs was also examined in Vero cells after short‐term (4 h) and long‐term (24 h) exposure. There were no pathological changes in examined internal organs, except a very weak pulmonary fibrosis developing by the end of the first month in the treated rats. While in vitro MTT assay showed a moderate cytotoxic effect, IONPs proved to be devoid of mutagenic effect in the bacterial systems tested. The results may be a useful extension of our knowledge on the safety of magnetite nanoparticles in view of their possible medical applications, such as in hyperthermia and magnetic resonance imaging. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Prebiotic and synbiotic effects on rats fed malted barley with selected bacteria strains

Background Butyric acid, one of the key products formed when β-glucans are degraded by the microbiota in the colon, has been proposed to be important for colonic health. Glutamine bound to the fibre may have similar effects once it has been liberated from the fibre in the colon. Both β-glucans and glutamine are found in high amounts in malted barley. Lactobacillus rhamnosus together with malt has been shown to increase the formation of butyric acid further in rats. Objective To investigate whether Lactobacillus rhamnosus 271, Lactobacillus paracasei 87002, Lactobacillus plantarum HEAL 9 and 19, and Bifidobacterium infantis CURE 21 affect the levels of short-chain fatty acids and glutamine in caecum and portal blood of rats fed barley malt. Design The experimental diets were fed for 12 days. The daily dose of the probiotic strain was 1×109 colony forming units and the intake of fibre 0.82 g/day. Results The malt mostly contained insoluble fibre polymers (93%), consisting of glucose and xylose (38–41 g/kg) and some arabinose (21 g/kg). The fibre polysaccharides were quite resistant to fermentation in the rats, regardless of whether or not probiotics were added (25–30% were fermented). Caecal and portal levels of acetic acid decreased in the rats after the addition of L. plantarum HEAL 9 and L. rhamnosus 271, and also the levels of butyric acid. Viable counts of Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium and Enterobacteriaceae were unaffected, while the caecal composition of Lactobacilli was influenced by the type of strain administrated. Portal levels of glutamine were unchanged, but glycine levels increased with L. plantarum HEAL 9 and 19 and phenylalanine with L. rhamnosus 271. Conclusions Although the probiotic strains survived and reached the caecum, except B. infantis CURE 21, there were no effects on viable counts or in the fermentation of different fibre components, but the formation of some bacterial metabolites decreased. This may be due to the high proportion of insoluble fibres in the malt.
Incidence, patterns of care and prognostic factors for outcome of gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs): results from the National Cancer Registry of Spain (RGETNE).

BACKGROUND Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are an unusual family of neoplasms with a wide and complex spectrum of clinical behavior. Here, we present the first report of a National Cancer Registry of gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors from a Southern European country. PATIENTS AND METHODS Data was provided online at www.retegep. net by participating centers and assessed for internal consistency by external independent reviewers. RESULTS The study cohort comprised 907 tumors. The most common tumor types were carcinoids (55%), pancreatic nonfunctional tumors (20%), metastatic NETs of unknown primary (9%), insulinomas (8%) and gastrinomas (4%). Forty-four percent presented with distant disease at diagnosis, most often those from small intestine (65%), colon (48%), rectum (40%) and pancreas (38%), being most unusual in appendix primaries (1.3%). Stage at diagnosis varied significantly according to sex, localization of primary tumor, tumor type and grade. Overall 5-year survival was 75.4% (95% confidence interval 71.3% to 79.5%) and was significantly greater in women, younger patients and patients with hormonal syndrome and early stage or lower grade tumors. Prognosis also differed according to tumor type and primary tumor site. However, stage and Ki-67 index were the only independent predictors for survival. CONCLUSION This national database reveals relevant information regarding epidemiology, current clinical practices and prognosis of NETs in Spain, providing valuable insights that may contribute to understand regional disparities in the incidence, patterns of care and survival of this heterogeneous disease across different continents and countries.
Interspecies hydrogen transfer between the rumen ciliate Polyplastron multivesiculatum and Methanosarcina barkeri.

Ushida, K. , Newbold, C. J., Jouany, J. P. (1997). Interspecies hydrogen transfer between the rumen ciliate Polyplastron multivesiculatum and Methanosarcina barkeri. Journal of General and Applied Microbiology, 43 (2), 129-131.
The Experiences Of Parents Of School Children With Special Education Needs: An Empirical Study

This study sampled 99 parents whose children attended primary schools in Nhlangano area of Swaziland to assess the training, and psychosocial needs of parents of children with special education needs (SENs). It employed the survey research design and followed both qualitative and quantitative research approaches. Data obtained through the questionnaire and semi-structured interview instruments were analysed using frequencies and percentages, and were presented in tables. The study revealed that parents encountered challenges more especially when assisting in the education of their children with SENs at school. Data also indicated that parents were not prepared for the inclusion of their children with SENs in mainstream classrooms. Lastly, there were perceived differences in participants’ perceptions on the implementation of inclusive education. Lack of training on their expected roles in educational decisions impacted the home and school experiences of parents of children with SENs. It is recommended that urgent measures be put in place to alleviate the situation. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014. v5n15p227
The Development and Preliminary Validation of the Adolescent Domain Screening Inventory

The objective of this study was to develop a screen assessing domains in at-risk and substance-using adolescents. The Adolescent Domain Screening Inventory (ADSI) consists of four subscales: school, family, community, and individual or peer. A convenience sample of 6,661 youths was employed. Analyses included concurrent criterion validity, known instrument construct validity, convergent construct validity, cut points, and gender and race correlations. Concurrent criterion validity correlations range from r =. 85 to r =. 95. Correlation for known instrument validity is r =. 56 and convergent construct validity is r =. 49. Cut points produced positive predictive values ranging from . 46 to . 53. The ADSI demonstrated a general applicability across gender and race. The ADSI is an instrument demonstrating acceptable psychometric properties.
Bacillus thuringiensis monogenic strains: screening and interactions with insecticides used against rice pests

The screening of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) Cry proteins with high potential to control insect pests has been the goal of numerous research groups. In this study, we evaluated six monogenic Bt strains (Bt dendrolimus HD-37, Bt kurstaki HD-1, Bt kurstaki HD-73, Bt thuringiensis 4412, Bt kurstaki NRD-12 and Bt entomocidus 60.5, which codify the cry1Aa, cry1Ab, cry1Ac, cry1Ba, cry1C, cry2A genes respectively) as potential insecticides for the most important insect pests of irrigated rice: Spodoptera frugiperda, Diatraea saccharalis, Oryzophagus oryzae, Oebalus poecilus and Tibraca limbativentris. We also analyzed their compatibility with chemical insecticides (thiamethoxam, labdacyhalothrin, malathion and fipronil), which are extensively used in rice crops. The bioassay results showed that Bt thuringiensis 4412 and Bt entomocidus 60.5 were the most toxic for the lepidopterans, with a 93% and 82% mortality rate for S. frugiperda and D. saccharalis, respectively. For O. oryzae, the Bt kurstaki NRD-12 (64%) and Bt dendrolimus HD-37 (62%) strains were the most toxic. The Bt dendrolimus HD-37 strain also caused high mortality (82%) to O. poecilus, however the strains assessed to T. limbativentris caused a maximum rate of 5%. The assays for the Bt strains interaction with insecticides revealed the compatibility of the six strains with the four insecticides tested. The results from this study showed the high potential of cry1Aa and cry1Ba genes for genetic engineering of rice plants or the strains to biopesticide formulations.
The Case for VOS: The Vector Operating System

Operating systems research for many-core systems has recently focused its efforts on supporting the scalability of OS-intensive applications running on increasingly parallel hardware. Lost amidst the march towards this parallel future is efficiency: Perfectly parallel software may saturate the parallel capabilities of the host system, but in doing so can waste hardware resources. This paper describes our motivation for the Vector OS, a design inspired by vector processing systems that provides efficient parallelism. The Vector OS organizes and executes requests for operating system resources through "vector" interfaces that operate on vectors of objects. We argue that these interfaces allow the OS to capitalize on numerous chances to both eliminate redundant work found in OS-intensive systems and use the underlying parallel hardware to its full capability, opportunities that are missed by existing operating systems.
Reducing the Concretization Effort in FSM-Based Testing of Software Product Lines

To test a Software Product Line (SPL), the test artifacts and the techniques must be extended to support variability. In general, when new SPL products are developed, more tests are generated to cover new or modified features. A dominant source of extra effort for such tests is the concretization of newly generated tests. Thus, minimizing the amount of new nonconcretized tests required to perform conformance testing on new products reduces the overall test effort. In this paper, we propose a test reuse strategy for conformance testing of SPL products that aims at reducing test effort. We use incremental test generation methods based on finite state machines (FSMs) to maximize test reuse. We combine these methods with a selection algorithm used to identify non-redundant concretized tests. We illustrate our strategy using examples and a case study with an embedded mobile SPL. The results indicate that our strategy can save up to 36% of test effort in comparison to current test reuse strategies for the same fault detection capability.
Throughput optimization MAC scheme for cognitive radio networks: A POMDP framework

Media access control (MAC) protocol plays a very important role in cognitive radio networks (CRN) because it is responsible for decision making on whether to access or not to access the radio spectrum based on the spectrum sensing outcomes. The design of MAC protocols need to achieve the highest spectrum utilization by detecting all spectrum opportunities under fading environment of wireless channel and access without causing interference to primary users (PUs) while maximizing the amount of information transmitted (Throughput). We present in this paper a throughput optimization MAC scheme using cross-layer design concept which integrates the design of spectrum sensing at physical layer and sensing and access strategies at MAC layer while taking into account the channel quality in terms of fading level. We formulate a problem as partially observable Markov decision process (POMDP). Simulation results demonstrate the throughput performance improvement for the proposed scheme using greedy algorithm.
The Size and Specialization of Direct Investment Portfolios

Existing models of the size and scope of investment activity traditionally assume an infinite pool of ex-ante identical projects, despite the fact that managers often face a limited choice of projects that vary in quality. In this paper, we investigate optimal project selection in a model in which a portfolio manager observes a limited pool of heterogeneous investment opportunities. We use an order statistics argument to derive predictions on the size and scope of the investment portfolio. Counter to existing models, we show that the number and specialization of investments within a portfolio are substitutes; variables that increase (decrease) the set of available projects or returns to investment activity, such as skill (competition) cause the portfolio to be larger (smaller) and more generalized (specialized). We test our model's predictions and document new stylized facts in a setting with highly skewed payoffs, formalized specialization, and a high shadow cost of access to potential projects: the U.S. venture capital industry.
LCL and CL compensations for wireless three phase bi-directional EV charging systems

Performance of inductively coupled electric vehicle (EV) charging systems is significantly affected by the misalignments between charging pads (coils). This paper investigates the use of inductor-capacitor-inductor (LCL) and capacitor-inductor (CL) compensations in wireless charging systems, based on inductive power transfer (IPT), to achieve high tolerance towards pad-misalignments. A three phase bi-directional inductive power transfer (BD-IPT) system is studied with both LCL and CL compensations, and a mathematical model is developed to investigate its performance under pad-misalignments. Theoretical results are presented in comparison with simulations, verifying the proposed concept and the accuracy of the developed model. Both theoretical and simulation results indicate that the adoption of combined compensations is a promising approach to achieve high tolerance for pad-misalignments during wireless charging.
Long term language recovery subsequent to low frequency rTMS in chronic non-fluent aphasia.

BACKGROUND Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has emerged as a potential therapeutic tool for the rehabilitation of language in chronic non-fluent aphasia post-stroke. Previous studies report that low frequency (1 Hz) rTMS applied to homologous language sites can facilitate behavioural language changes. Improvements in picture naming performance and speech output are frequently reported. OBJECTIVES This study aims to assess the efficacy of inhibitory rTMS to modulate language performance in non-fluent aphasia. METHODS Low-frequency (1 Hz) rTMS was applied to six active stimulation and six placebo patients for 20 min per day over 10 days, as outlined in a previous published investigation. Behavioural language outcome measures were taken at baseline (pre-stimulation) and 1 week, 2 months, 8 months and 12 months post-stimulation. RESULTS The findings demonstrate treatment-related changes observed in the stimulation group, up to 12 months post-stimulation, when compared to the placebo control group over time for naming performance, expressive language and auditory comprehension. CONCLUSION These outcomes provide considerable evidence to support the theory of rTMS modulating mechanisms of transcallosal disinhibition in the aphasic brain, and highlight the potential clinical application of rTMS for language rehabilitation in chronic aphasia.
Climatised Moves - Climate-induced Migration and the Politics of Environmental Discourse

This work seeks to de-naturalise climate-induced migration (CM). Combining political ecology and post-foundational theories, I read CM as a construct that reifies a series of phenomena into an issue to be researched and governed. By assessing the narratives, the knowledge, the logics and imaginaries on which conflicting discourses are built, I analyse the strategies of government they envision. I trace the roots of the debate and discuss its contiguity with other environmental topics such as desertification and peak oil. Along these lines, the thesis offers three main ‘findings’. First, the debate on CM inherited the strains of the environmental discourses of the 1970s from which it sprouted, reproducing their Malthusianism and environmental determinism. CM has been signified with crisis narratives that weave the spectre of mounting waves of climate refugees within the frame of security, reproducing post-colonial imaginaries, pathologising migration and othering the concerned populations. Second, the debate is undergoing a shift when CM is mainstreamed and (re)signified in terms of ‘human security’ and resilience. The motto that advocates (governed) migration as an adaptation strategy configures CM as an object for mundane policy-making rather than for exceptional measures. Third, CM offers insights on the role of ‘security’ in contemporary climate politics. Together, security and governance appear conducive to a de-politicization of CM, in which the very distinction between the exception and the rule dissolves into the horizon of a biopolitical government of ‘disordered’ populations. Instead of policy recommendations, I elaborate a ‘politics recommendation’ – a constructive critique to radical political agendas. Because of a poverty of alternative narratives and imaginaries, those engaging with the climate-migration nexus have ended up either reproducing Malthusian logics, or being co-opted into mainstream narratives – whose polite facade reinforces rather than destabilizes dominant (social) relations. Therefore, I suggest that the struggles for fair climate politics and for the rights of migrants have greater chances to succeed if abstaining from current problematizations of CM.
XTalk: A middleware for personalized service discovery in Future Internet

Future Internet is envisioned to cater to a wide range of multimedia services allowing their access through heterogeneous devices like laptops, TVs, PDAs and 3G mobile phones and interconnected via wired and wireless networking technologies. Such a heterogeneous environment (device and network) reinforces the need of a system that enable context-aware provisioning of multimedia resources to realize the some of the needs of FI like personalized media services and better end-user experience. In this paper, we present XTalk: a context-aware multimedia service provisioning middleware. The XTalk middleware make use of a wide range of context information modeled using ontology and uses policies to automate the process of service discovery and service personalization.
Ieee Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics 1 Model Synthesis: a General Procedural Modeling Algorithm

—We present a method for procedurally modeling general complex 3D shapes. Our approach can automatically generate complex models of buildings, man-made structures, or urban datasets in a few minutes based on user-defined inputs. The algorithm attempts to generate complex 3D models that resemble a user-defined input model and that satisfy various dimensional, geometric, and algebraic constraints to control the shape. These constraints are used to capture the intent of the user and generate shapes that look more natural. We also describe efficient techniques to handle complex shapes, highlight its performance on many different types of models. We compare model synthesis algorithms with other procedural modeling techniques, discuss the advantages of different approaches, and describe as close connection between model synthesis and context-sensitive grammars.
Map Navigation Using a Wearable Mid-air Display

Advances in display technologies could soon make wearable mid-air displays---devices that present dynamic images floating in mid-air relative to a mobile user---available. Such devices may enable new input and output modalities compared to current mobile devices, and seamlessly offer information on the go. This paper presents a functional prototype for the purpose of understanding these modalities in more detail, including suitable applications and device placement. We first collected results from an online survey identified map navigation as one of the most desirable applications and suggested placement preferences. Based on these rankings, we built a wearable mid-air display mockup consisting of mobile phone, pico projector, and a holder frame, mountable in two alternative ways: wrist and chest. We then designed an experiment, asking participants to navigate different urban routes using map navigation displayed in mid-air. For map navigation, participants ranked wrist-mount safer than chest-mount. The experiment results validate the use of a wearable mid-air display for map navigation. Based on our online survey and experiment, we offer insights and recommendations for the design of wearable mid-air displays.
Technology and Discourse Intonation

One of the first applied linguists to use the term “discourse intonation” was David Brazil, who proposed a theory of how intonation contributes to the communicative value of speech in British English, based on the work of Halliday (1970). Keywords: discourse analysis; language learning technology; pronunciation; prosody
Methods to identify individual eddy structures in turbulent flow

Turbulent flows are intrinsic to many processes in science and engineering, and efforts to elucidate the physics of turbulence are of critical importance to many fields. However, ongoing efforts to achieve a fundamental understanding of the mechanisms of turbulent flow are hindered by the difficulty of quantifying the complex, non- linear interactions between individual eddies in these flows. The difficulty of this task is compounded by the lack of robust methods for accurately identifying individual eddy structures and characterizing their dynamic evolution and organization across multiple scales. In this paper we address this problem by proposing several novel approaches for more accurately segmenting individual eddy structures in turbulent flows.